WED POD @SpenceChecketts on fixing NBA All-Star, Runnin' Utes surging, RSL CONCACAF, 4 Nations + more

All right, what is going on? It is drive time for Wednesday. It's about eight minutes past the hour, two o'clock typical February day. Outside, it's about forty two degrees in cloudy here in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. Looks like we're gonna get some warm and sunny conditions coming up this weekend. But as it is every single day, it's going to have you along for the ride. Spence check,

Tonight, it's gonna be the Lakers and the Hornets. They'll get the.

Second half of the NBA season going. So we'll do some pro basketball on the show today, some jazz basketball on the show today, get your for the final portion of the NBA season. We'll also do some college basketball. BYU just dog walked Kansas last night. They undressed them on national television. It was embarrassing for Kansas and for

So we'll get to it on the show.

We'll do some college basketball on the show today and BYU as a result of a dominant win last night in Provo in front of a great crowd at the Marriott Center. A lot of love today. Up to number thirty one in the NET. Up to number thirty one in the Ken Palm rankings. Our good buddy Ken Palmroyestas

Landscape is going to be.

And a lot of those things are being discussed in New Orleans this week. But it's just two conferences and they're basically telling people what's what, and that's just kind of how it is. So we'll keep you up to date now on these meetings that that are going on in New Orleans, because I know you all love some college football. If anything comes out while we are on air, we will bring it to you. Rayl saw Lake is starting their season kind of at four thirty Mountain time, RSL. Eradiano.

RSL is an action and then they're gonna be an action coming up.

MLS play. They'll open it up against San Jose San Jose's new striker is named Chicho Rongo, and that's gonna cover yourway this weekend. So soccer season is also here a lot to do. Wednesday show, We'll start with Zach Harper, NBA Daily Assist. We'll look back a little bit on All Star weekend. I'm already over the topic of how to fix it because you can't. But mostly we'll look out of the second half of the NBA season, do a little jazz basketball as well with Zach Harper. Today

It is leading shows and leading coverage.

As a lot of people, over five million people watched the semi final between Canada and the US up in Montreal. Now Montreal with one hundred plus years of hockey history. Well, the city of Boston step up the way Montreal did. We'll see Boston's a great hockey city. And we've got Matthew Kachuck and Brandon Hegel going head to head as far as a lot of trash talking, going back and forth with their words after they went back and forth

They did, And I did see some of that game, and you mentioned it right.

There were.

A lot of really really uncontested shots. And that's not a discredit to BYU. When you're shooting the way BYU was last night, and you're you're grooving the way that they were, you're gonna you're gonna win most times than not. That's the difference between basketball and some other sports is that if you're hot, or a particular couple of players are hot, there's just no beating that particular team on

Yes they are, and we'll see what the final four or five games left in conference means for both Utah and BYU. Stoc Harper is our first guest out of the gates on this Wednesday afternoon. But before we get the Zach, courtesy of our good friends at Prize Picks, it is time now for your opening tip on a Wednesday afternoon. Now, Prize Picks is the best place to get real money sports action. With over ten million members and billions of dollars in awarded winnings, Prize Picks has

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All right.

So, as we've talked about, I talked about this this during Crosstock with Sean and Porter and I were just kind of bantering back and forth.

You know, the Kansas Jayhawks are.

The winningness program in the history of college basketball. They are the bluest still blue bloods in this conference. And there's no argument, there's no debate. Bill Self has been coaching at Kansas for twenty two years. For the first twenty years, Bill Self never lost more than six conference games. Last year they lost eight. This year they've already lost seven. They're going to drop out of the top twenty five.

That is wild. This was the.

Preseason AP number one basketball team for the second year in a row.

Now, last year was a little easier to explain.

They lost their best player, got hurt than everything fell apart from there, but everybody applauded their transfer class, their returning class. Hunter Dickinson came back and a lot of people think he's going well, I don't know anymore. A lot of people predicted he would be the big twelve of the year, and last night certainly wasn't on Hunter Dickinson. But I'm going to say this, and it's not a

If they can win ten games in conference play.

That would be a great accomplishment and it would also put them at eighteen wins on the season.

So you know good solid year.

I don't know that the NCAA tournament is in Utah's future this year unless they do something wild and crazy at the Big twelve Tournament. But on the BYU side of things, you know this. Ultimately, last night was a game that caught the attention of the country for a few different reasons. NBA All Star Break, it finishes up or finished last night. The NBA's back tonight, But last night there was no basketball on. Last night, there was no NBA basketball on. And maybe you're into watching pro

As the first interview.

Van Pelt gets a ton of eyes man like He's the one show on that network that I find digestible and a lot of people still love to watch. And you know, last year BYU actually beat Kansas at fig Allen and after the game it was kind of similar, Mark Pope goes on SVP, because if you're going to do something in Big twelve play, notably do it against Kansas. That's how you're gonna get everybody's attention. Like I said, the winningness program in the history of college basketball, the

And that's what he is a lead at. That's why he is a thousand point score. Bring me up.

That's why he is in the top five of three point shots made.

But watch BYU.

Watch Trevin when they ask him to dribble it, he panics and passes it to either down Hall or Jager Demon. He has no desire to be a playmaker because it's not in his skill set. At the collegiate level, he is one thing and one thing only, and he's elite at that, and that is a knockdown, spot up shooter. Your job as a defender, playing defense against BYU is to know your personnel and know you can't leave that

That he was three or four.

Everybody came off the bench knockdown shots. It was a dominant, overwhelming performance from BYU down in Provo and excuse me, Kansas leaves the state of Utah suffering two wells and never leading for one second against either Utah or BYU. It was the largest loss in the history of college basketball by a former AP preseason number one team. No preseason number one team in AP history has lost a game by more than thirty three points, and BYU got

Eighteen ninety eight or whatever.

And it is wild to see the team that everybody picked to win the Big twelve and the ap had is the number one team preseason, go down to Provo and get dog walked. It was humiliating for them, and if you're a BYU fan, certainly a good night because, like I said, after the game, Van Pelt opens up his sports center, does the opener and boom Kevin Young on Scott Van Peat Show, and BYU is now playing themselves into a situation where they are very very safe when it comes to the NCAA tournament Bubble.

Watch, and they look to be a lock at this point.

Now they've got some work to do because at this point they are thirty one in the net and on selection Sunday, if you don't win your conference, you really want to be in the twenties in the net, then you'll feel safe. I don't think there's any way BYU misses the NCAA Tournament at this point, and it looks like they have the clearest path to the number five seed for the conference tournament.

Houston is the class of this league.

There's no doubt, Arizona probably the second best team, Iowa States kind of come back around after a rough stretch, and Texas Tech is probably the surprise that nobody saw coming.

But then it's BYU.

They're ahead of Kansas, they're a head of Baylor, and they have the tiebreaker against both those two teams.

So we'll see what happens down the stretch.

If Utah can get three of their final five games, they will win ten games in conference, which is a great accomplishment. And if BYU can get three of their final five, they'll win twelve conference games year two.

Finally, b YU two.

And zero against Kansas in the Big Twelve in basketball, zho and two against Kansas in the Big Twelve in football, which is just weird. You know, I've got a new goal in twenty twenty five, and that's just to say yes to more things and just find joy in things that bring joy to others. So I don't care anymore that you guys like Pitbull and I don't. I'm just going to embrace the bit and welcome in Zach Harper on a Wednesday afternoon.

I'm over a man. You win, I give up.

Here's the thing is with that song, you have no choice but to give up because that is a banker. That's an all time banker, right.

Okay, Like I said, if it brings you joy, It brings me joy, Zach. That's my new goal for twenty twenty five. Where do we find you today? It sounds like you might be on a sailboat somewhere.

Oh god, I'm in Los Angeles trying to find a parking spot anywhere in the city, and it's yeah, it's what everyone wants to hear, LA traffic.

But yeah, look, I never knew how real it was until I spent a year working there, and I'm like, screw this. I'm like, it's it's enough to make me not ever want to live there. And then you land and it's seventy five degrees and like, maybe I'll deal with it.

Yeah, it's like it's it's kind of overcast a little bit. It's seventy six. You know, we're in the middle of February, late February. I guess I don't know what the cutoff is there, and so there are worse places to be. But if you like I made the mistake of going out at one thirty, that's on me.

All right.

Philosophical question for you, Zach, right off the top, Are you ready? Yeah, So at some point the asteroid's going to hit and we're cooked, Okay, it's it's it's it's just going to happen, and you have talked about it before, and ultimately what we've learned now, according to scientists that are smarter than you were, you and I, the asteroid y are four has risen to a record level to hit the earth in twenty thirty two.

Here is my question to you. Do you want to know when it's coming?

If you I had the opportunity, if whoever's in charge, whoever is really behind the Wizard of Oz controls, whoever's in charge of this whole thing, hit you up. Was like, Zach, I can tell you the day this is happening if you'd like to know and nobody else will know, or you just blissfully live your life until you don't anymore.

Which avenue would you take?

That's a great question, because like, at this point, do I have knowledge that this might happen in twenty thirty two?

You do not.

It's gonna happen in all right, it's just gonna it's gonna happen in your lifetime, but you.

Don't know when.

Correct?

Yes, man, I think I kind of gotta know.

I'd like to think I'm a bigger person, Like, no, just live my life and every day is the best.

There, I think, I gotta know, see, I this is you know for listeners, it's a peek beyond a curtain.

I'm a Weirdoh.

I sat up and thought about this for like thirty minutes last night when I read the article, I'm like, would I want to know? Or would I just rather live my life until I wouldn't know? And the thought Zach, of what you could accomplish like the last day revenge wise on people who have wronged you over the years, is enough to be like, I gotta know, man, because the last day before the world ends.

Can you imagine how many boxes you could check on your list?

I would be an absolute menace.

Oh yes, like like I wouldn't use this.

For like, oh, I'm gonna like you know, I'm gonna make all the wrongs right and everything. No, this would be like revenge week leading up and be like, wow, you're really like kind of crashing out here, which I think is a you know, turn. Kids are still saying like you're kind of crashing out here, And I said, just you wait, I.

Know what I'm doing. Yep.

Now I'm one hundred percent with you that I was debating, and then when I realized what I could do the final day before the world ended, I'm like, I'm I'm on board.

I want to know.

Yeah, all right, real quick, let me let me add

Yep, I'd promise.

You're not keep up with those plans. Hopefully it makes you happy.

I thought you'd be a good one ask that question, and maybe we'll get back to it at some point.

But here's here's where I'll a pivot.

Now.

How much of the All Star Weekend did you consume? I mean, I don't know if you went, I don't know if you were watching. How much of it did you consume?

I didn't. I didn't.

I didn't watch the Celebrity game because I don't hate myself. And then I I watched the second half of the Rising Stars games because I kind of forgot they were on, So like I caught like the second half of the second game, and then the entirety of the of the Championship game or whatever I guess it's called. Watched all of Saturday night, watched all of all of Sunday. You know, it was fine, which I guess is an upgrade over last year, but like it was just it was fine.

Yeah, yeah, I guess it was fine if you enjoy the weekend. And so ultimately, because you and I are members of the media or cover the NBA, we are obligated to do the topic how do we fix this thing right? And when when anybody asks me what's your preferred format? I say, well, it's the all star game comprised of players who care about playing.

That's my preferred format.

What we saw for like thirty or forty years that, for the most part, was very awesome. Now, I'm not a revisionist historian. Not every game was great up and down the entire time when I was growing up watching in the nineties, but more often than not, it was the greatest pickup game in the world because the greatest players in the world showed up and more often than not tried to play. So my preferred format is the all star game, comprised of two teams with the best

So I don't really know what you do.

Yeah, I mean, it's just there's you know, they make so much money. And I'm not using that as a complaint. I'm just like, that's a that's just a fact of life, right, get to a certain point and these things, regardless of like your job or whatever like things, there's certain things

It matters.

It matters when the good players decide to care and decide to set the tone and almost shame. I'm into shaming.

I'm into bullying.

I don't know how you bully someone who makes two hundred million dollars, but there are ways to shame them into it. And I guess throwing rising stars into the mix on a Sunday like yeah, you don't want that, then you better bring it next year.

Yeah do you?

Well said, I mean, it is on any player who's complaining about, hey, the sanctity of being able to earn your way to play on Sunday, Well, yeah, you guys had the chance and you didn't deliver the performance. And look, ultimately, I understand that when I complain about what I perceive

Yeah.

I mean remember like the first year of the elam ending where you had to hit a certain marker after the fourth quarter, Like that was a great All Star game and everyone was like it got fixed, they figured it out, and then like a year later, maybe two years later, it sucked again, right, Like I just the toothpastes out of the tube and I don't know how you get it back in there. And I think it's like you can make all these tweaks and make all

Okay, excuse me.

So the Lebron portion of this, and I'm not a Lebron hater at all. I mean, if anything, I've always been a guy that's like, I'm stunned that this dude lived up to everything that we placed on him when he was seventeen years old and then some I mean, I I am in awe of this career and always And there's a period at the end of that sentence, no matter what, but to show up and not really tell anybody that you're not going to play initially, and then as the players are being introduced and you're the

His peers feel about him.

I really don't, because I think there are two sides of the coin, right, I think there are probably plenty of players that appreciate the path that he paved for simply more player empowerment, and that's not necessarily even a bad thing. But then there's the over exaggeration of his own story, the outright lies that are very easy to.

Pull receipts up for.

And if I'm like Porter brought up the name Norman Powell, if I'm one of players that was on the outside looking in and realizing that I had a chance to be an All Star and make a little cash and I'm watching that, I'm probably pretty upset.

Man.

So give me your thoughts.

Well, I'm with you, Like, I think all that is fair. If that's the case. Now, our friend Amin al Haffen had a theory today on the part of the podcast Basketball Illuminati. Maybe it was a quiet protest. Maybe it was a quiet protest of rising stars being allowed to play on the Sunday Game, and and it like, I don't know if I completely buy that theory, but I'm interested because when you think about it, all right, he

Intrigued by it.

I don't again, I don't know if I believe it. I've been processing it since I heard it this morning, but I like, I'm not outright rejecting it as a possibility.

All right, hmm, I'll have to digest that.

I look like I've been thinking about it all yeah.

Yeah, yeah, it means my guy, Tom's my guy. At times. I listened to that podcast, I'm like, how much ayahuasca did you do this morning prior to the record, Because they go into places and look, it's why it's a good product, because they do think outside of the box. Yeah, man, I don't know. Let me just follo up with this since I alluded to it. How do you think, like if you had a room full of the majority of the league and they had to tell the truth. How

It's a great question because you do have you know, you have so many different eras of people who are like, you know, hey MJ's the greatest, right, or hey, Kobe's actually the greatest. Why isn't he considered for this? Like I saw a video, an older video, but it was Alan Iverson recently enough talking about it. I can't believe Kobe gets you know, skipped over for these conversations and he's like, no disrespect to Lebron, but you know, Kobe

Guy, right.

I'm like that's crazy, Like what a crazy jump there to be like, hey, you know the best players? To me, it's Paul George. You know, Ant's favorite player. I don't think he's say the best. His favorite player is Kevin Durant. I don't know how many current players look at Lebron that way. I think they appreciate the longevity. I think they know, especially once they've been in this for a few years to recognize that we're on year twenty two.

I don't.

I don't know how many players would be like I think they they're appreciative of the player empowerment. I think they're appreciative of how this stuff is gone. But maybe it was always going to go that way and he was just the person to do it rather than he's the reason.

You know, if that makes sense.

It does, And my best guess is most players would land on you know, ultimate respect with a side of eye roll right from time to time, where you're like, dude, come on, like you know you've already proven it's in

Right? And I kind of that's why he's the greatest.

To me, Oh no, look it was, and that's probably one of the things that he used every single night to motivate, you know, to play at the top of his game. But I think in a different way, I feel the same about a lot a lot of the Lebron stuff where he's not as outwardly like I want to kill you and slash your throat, but like the comments about having a high basketball at Q and the comments about like you don't understand what it is to play on the level that I do.

And like it's the same thing. I'm like, I know, man, I watch you. It's amazing.

You don't have to remind us how great you are because we can see it. Like that's the stuff with him that kind of falls on deaf ears for me.

Yeah, I mean, like I'll push back on one thing.

I love the line.

The line that we can like outright.

Prove immediately to be wrong.

I think is such a bold move by him, and such a funny move and such a funny part of his legacy is that he will just outright say stuff that isn't true and we're like, hold on a second, like, no, none of that, Like we've got receipts here, as he said, like we've got these receipts, like I don't know, and he just kind of like just try stuff with that. In terms of narratives his whole I'm not even a score. It's like, you've averaged twenty four points of games since

You know, well, yeah, I mean the entertainment values through the roof. There have been more than a few times or I'm watching him in a real time say something, I'm like, dude, what that's like?

Not even close?

Even just walking into an arena on page one of a book, right, is so funny?

Yeah? Right?

It's so funny.

Yeah, yeah, no, And and I just I always wonder how other players digest it because it seems so fake and so corny for a guy that's so awesome. It's so many things that he does. But one more thing here, because have you ever done any anything with its van Lathan? Have you ever worked with him at all?

Yeah? Yeah, I like him.

I don't know, I don't know him, but whenever he's on a pod, I try to catch it because I like his insight and I had forgotten this story, so I wanted to see if you had any insight to it.

Yeah, I don't, Like I definitely remember that, and I remember the rumors and then I like the footage got out at some point it did, yes, and it's like it's not even like it's not like Anthony Edwards on John Collins, Like it's like it's like he dunked on him, but it wasn't. It wasn't this like biblical thing. And so it's funny to me because I do think, like I do think there is a real level of insecurity with Lebron, whereas I like, I think Kobe was insecure

Right.

It's like the kid in school who tried the hardest to be cool is the one that was least cool.

It's like, you know you either are you you aren't? You know, like, stop trying so hard?

Would you trade a life that is thought to be miserable in exchange for being Michael Jordan? I should say, would you agree to a life that is not to be miserable if that meant you could be Michael Jordan?

I man, like I have a lot of irrational confidence in my life. I can't be I can't imagine being a little to back it up that way like that would be. That's a level of power that I don't I mean, of course I would like that like that. My answer is ultimately yes, but I think it's way more complicated than people think.

And I also do not trust myself with that type of ability. I mean, I would score twenty in a high school game and almost get shot in a venue because I just couldn't stop talking to the other players or the other crowd. So if I was the best player in the world, I probably would be murdered. If I'm honest.

Here's the thing. I don't think you could be that type of player, that type of personal I don't think you could be that today. As much as it's like sort of revered that level of like And again, I don't say this as like a disparager remark. I think it's I think it's ultimately a positive for his career, but that level of like competitive psychosis, like, I don't think that. I don't think that would be accepted today, like as a culture.

Yeah, you're probably right, I would, you know, And I guess it's a good point to bring up because in fairness to Lebron, like, I wonder what the Michael Jordan narrative would be if everywhere he went there were cameras following him. Man, because I know some of the sausage there was maybe on the scenes. I certainly don't know all of it.

And you know, like, I'm sure it's rough.

Oh if we knew, if we knew all the details about Michael Jordan, and I mean all the details about Michael Jordan when he wasn't playing basketball, there's no way he's remembered the way he is today. So in fairness to lebron Our guy was raised under a microscope the way that Mike wasn't.

Yeah, absolutely he was. And I think, man, like you have any kind of eyes on it, it's like it's the whole thing of you might like feel like you're wearing something that doesn't fit right or looks stupid, and you're in your mind, you're in a grocery store and you're like, everyone is staring at me, everyone is judging me, everyone's looking at me, and reality like, no one cares. Maybe

Yeah, yeah, you know, And and a lot of the criticisms are fair. I've always been a Chris Paul guy, but your point is well taken. All right, man, good stuff today, and I'm glad we agree. And I'm gonna have this asteroid topic with the rest of my guest because I could not stop thinking about it last night. But yes, the thought of what you could do the final couple of days, be where everything ends is just it's too intoxicating.

I'm not gonna lie if you remember.

Let's revisit it again next week because I want to. I really want to think about this and like what that would entail for me.

Fair enough, We'll do that, buddy. I have a good week with Chatso I'm Zach Harper from The Athletic also host the Cinapho podcast. He's got a podcast called Count the Dings. He does work on Serious XM. He's a busy boy at tak Hoops is where you find him on social medium. Brought to you today by our good friends at Burt Brothers. With over thirty years of experience

I think Graduate is on a different Third Eye Blay hit. But I mean they're all bangers.

Spence, So we were talking about this during the break. Porter yesterday asked a question on air that honestly blew my mind a little bit, so shout out to him because I randomly the algorithm on Spotify was like, you're in the mood to listen to Interstay love song by Stone Temple Pilots today, Boom, here you go, and I probably haven't heard that song in five or six years.

And I was like, oh, I like this song. This is a good song. STP fine, not great.

So I did the Spotify I know you you and will Hardy Apple Music.

I did the Spotify.

Thing where you can pull up the song and then just go to the radio station that will play other songs like that one, and the algorithm tells you what you like. And it was littered with nineties one hit wonders. There was a ton of Pearl Jam, there was Nirvana, STP and and a little bit of Third Eye Blind as well. And so when Porter brought that up, like how has this music aged, I honestly don't know the answer, because I don't know how many youngs are like Rocking Ram these days.

That's a good point.

I would say that the nineties were probably are probably overlooked in terms of what are conceived to be oldies now.

I would imagine the youngs have.

Their fair share of eighties music for the Michael Jackson's the all that stuff. Probably the seventies as well. I don't know, that's a great question. I know that some youngs, like my youngest sister in law love's nineties hip hop.

How how old are.

Twenty three?

Yeah, so that resonates. But like if we're talking about, you know, going to a coffee shop in the Avenues, I don't know if one of the baristas there is like, you know, crushing b sides of h Third Eye Blind or you know depeche Mode.

Cafe on First a excellent spot, great spot, great breakfast breeder. Yeah, they could work on the wrapping of the breedo. I'm just going to say that if you get like the extra cream, cheese and stuff, they're not. But no, it was actually making me think, and I'm a little bit older than you, but you appreciate the nineties first of all, Nineties hip hop is by far the best decade. It's not even close. And if there's another close decade, it's

The best decade decade? What did you say off here? Everything was great?

Everything was good?

Love it.

I mean, listen, I listened to the Rewatchables podcast Bill Simmons, Kyle Brandt did Wayne's World, Oh nice? And that is you know, a top five movie for me all time.

It's got to be up there. I want the c K tangents all hour man. And by the way, the most gen x thing I'll say on the show today, Kyle Brandt for me is Kyle Brant from the Real World, Real Real World, Chicago, not from the NFL network. Okay, Kyle Brant was on the Real World like twenty.

Years ago, and he was a soap opera guy. He was.

Yeah, that's right, yep. But no, I mean, did you watch the Real World back in the day.

Yeah, I watched Real World Seattle, San francisc Sattle was good.

I was always a Real World guy. Over road Rules, I was.

Road Rules came later.

Yeah, and then they did like a Real World versus Road Rules type thing.

I mean for.

MTV used to be really cool. Oh yeah, I'm telling you it was. I would get home from school and I would go watch Total Requests Live TRL Carson Daily three thirty pm. Absolutely, and you know, you wanted to see what was going to be the top video of the day, and so often it was you know, your

The day, MTV for a number of years ruled and it's our generation, the generation now. First of all, I don't watch you know, anything outside of YouTube or their phones. But you know TRL and I got to say, Real World Road Rules Challenge. I loved it.

Yeah that was great. Yeah. VH one Behind the Music.

Nice, like bring that back for real though, yes.

Like that was almost like sixty minutes like for musical talent yep, very fascinating stuff. I would love them a different channel. But like stuff like that, we need more of now.

I totally agree there's not a lot of that out there, and maybe there's some on YouTube that haven't discovered yet because I need to maybe.

Uh might as well just go back and rewatch stuff because we're so inundated with information that I'm sure we've forgotten a billion things that we once to do.

No doubt.

But nineties, okay, we're on the same page. Things of age, well, movies, music and such. YouTube television is where we're able to watch the lads today. Let's see a little bit on the lads.

C k no on YouTube, not YouTube TV. It is streaming on YouTube, but it's not on YouTube TV.

So RSL Conca CAF Champions Cup in about one hour twenty minutes streaming on YouTube.

And you can watch it on two B which is a free app. Okay, but there's other there's other CONCA calf games on tonight. So Messi's playing, so okay, they get the main draw.

I see.

I think Seattle's in Honduras or Guatemala. There's a bunch of matches tonight. I know last night you were grinding tape on on Rapids LAFC. But tonight, when the star is front and center, everybody else's secondary.

Yeah, and look there's no debate. I mean, obviously I've talked about this before. When when you have a signing like Lino Messi, I mean I draw the parallel to Beckham, even though worldwide there's really no comparison. I mean, hell, Trey came on the show and compared him to Jesus. Okay, so that's where.

The message done to some people literally is.

Yeah, and that's what I'm saying, Like, I don't think, and I'll only speak for myself. I've been overseas and attended games in the EPL, and when you do that, you open yourself up to an entire new world. On a number of different reasons. First of all, you say, oh, soccer can look like that all do you respect to MLS thirty years old, a dumb.

Weird league and the and only getting dumber. Yes in some in some areas.

Quality of play improving, certainly, but a league that is just dumb in so many differ it is it is, and the quality improving. But when you actually see what it looks like in the Premiership, and you know, I've never been like Bundesliga or La Liga or whatever, but I've seen it on television, you realize that soccer can look like that, and that's why it is the world's game.

Yeah, I mean, the easiest comp would be our American football because that runs the show in this country and probably will forever. But yeah, I mean, it's it's still insane to me. I think Miami's playing another MLS team in Conker CAF tonight, but like it's still hilarious that Messi brought his buddies to Miami and brought another great Argentine who he played with at Barcelona to be their head coach too.

So it's like it's.

Messi's show and MLS and you're right, like the star power that he wields is I mean, Lebron, Kobe, Michael, those are the guys. I mean, did we like, who is the most famous American football player?

Is it Brady?

I'm sure, yeah, it's probably still Tom Brady.

Yeah, but like currently active, No, I'm saying, like in our in our life.

Yeah, it's probably Brady.

I mean, I think if Tom Brady goes to Peru, or if he goes to Gabone, or if he goes to Sri Lanka, nobody's freaking out.

If they seem more.

Right on the streets.

Right in the NFL, you know, there are rumors that they're going to try to expand internationally in Mexico City and Europe and such. I don't like why it's never been embraced overseas. I think it's a very uniquely American. Yeah, well everything else, but they don't need it, they don't.

You know, like the NFL doesn't.

The NBA very much needs international revenue streams to kind of offset the domestic.

Uh apathy that's right to the product.

During the regular season where players just don't really seem to care at all. Did you watch one second of All Star Weekend?

I did not have you ever? Oh yeah, so you a fan.

Back back in the day when I was single and sad and didn't have much of a life, I would you know, fire up a you know, Kraft mac and cheese and watch the Dunk Contestino pizza. Yeah, or you know, during my super sad days, I would go to Cafe Rio and get a giant two thousand calorie salad and

And that dunk contest was something else.

Yeah, yeah, I mean, and now it's all gimmicks, and you know, it's fine, you don't. We don't need to go over NBA All Star Hot Takes by c K today.

Now, I am honestly wondering as somebody who makes is living in the world of sports. If it even resonated with you, I know I should turn this on.

Not even a little bit.

I mean, is it shallow to say that if there were star talent in the dunk contests that I would probably tune in?

No?

I mean, look, Matt, that that to me is more intriguing than the game.

Well, and it's one of the things that's changed. And I hate to put all of this on Lebron. It sounds like I am and mac McClung is a tremendously talented dunker, but he's a G League player that most people have never heard of. And he looks like your little brother's friend that came over to try to steal your uncrustables. He just looks like a dude. But Lebron, I think was kind because Kobe won the Dunk Contest.

He may have won a twice.

He was really young though, right that was it was before he got famous.

Well sure, but he did win it twice, and I do think the second time he wanted he was kind of evolving into one of the better players and league. I think the first time he was in it, he was a rookie, to your point, the same rookie that airballed like five three share in Salt Lake. But I mean, you know, when Lebron kind of burst on the scene. I can remember when you know, people who covered the league were talking about it. It was almost like this rite of passage. Mike did it, Kobe did it, and now

Never you want.

Brons too smart, man, he was never going to open himself up to potentially lose on that stage, and they probably wouldn't have let him lose. Is that smart though, or is it weak? I mean it depends, man, it's a dunk contest. I agree with you. I'm just telling you through the lens of how the current modern player thinks. And I think everybody blames Lebron. At the end of the day, everything's about money. You're going, how are you

The NBA, and it's the way they are now. And I just need to stop being like, hey, it used to be different. And the reason why I continue to bring this up topically it's different than the Pro Bowl because I've had a few guests like, hey, well what about the Pro Bowl? Nobody watches the Pro Bowl. Here's the difference. The Pro Bowl has never been good. It

What am I watching?

Yeah?

And if you're a.

Player, Chris, and you play a game and you play hard for about fifteen minutes to try to win, and then they come over the side and say they say, hey, okay, you're gonna have to sit here now for twenty or thirty minutes.

Kevin Hart does stand up. They interviewed Jokic and they're like, hey, what'd you do during the break. He's like, I got tight. That's how you get hurt exactly.

Yeah.

No, I don't know how people didn't think that through. Yeah, that is the quintessential. Like, if you're going to play, play otherwise, do not do that because the chances of you getting a muscle pull or a tweak or something are so much higher if you play for fifteen or twenty minutes then have to sit for an hour and a half and then play again.

One hundred percent. And any pickup soccer player knows this. You don't have to be a high level athlete. Kevin Hart funny, yes or no.

Kevin Hart was funny on forty year old virgin See.

But like as a stand up I don't think, yeah, no, I'm the stand up stuff is like, there are two He's really good at making money in Hollywood.

He works his tail.

I respect his grind, and I respect anybody who works as that's what people.

Want to listen to. The drive about is are Kevin Hart takes.

Well in the grind and they respect my grind last night. You know, I'm kind of the Kevin a local sports soccer radio scene. It's not a big deal, but I respect the grind. This stand up is horrible, and to force feed that to people I think was really blind and misguided. Like there were a couple of funny mom it's here there, but not near enough. And I'm not tuned in to watch a stand up comedy show. There are two stand up comics that make me feel old and not be able to relate to young people.

Kevin Hart and Pete Davidson. Pete Davidson has never said anything funny in the.

Entire good actor, though he's good in movies. He's good in movies. King of Staten Island. No, hey, come on, let's go there.

No, No, I'm not watching King of Staten Island because Pete Davidson is so good movie.

He's so the people.

Not when it comes to Pete Davidson, because this is a disconnect. I've never heard him say anything that's funny. I've never seen him do an impression that's clever. I have no idea why he was on SNL. I think he's a total hack. When it comes to Kevin hart and Pete Davidson.

On the man, there's got to be one. There's got to be one Pete Davidson type. What do you think got more viewership the SNL fifty or the All Star Game?

SNL fifty? Did you watch, by the way.

Oh yeah, it's good, right, absolutely, see it was awesome. I got I got choked up during Sandler's song.

Man, that was great.

Sandler nobody carries I think the weight of the people that brought him along the way Sandler does to this day, like the way he talks about guys like Farley and Hartman and just those guys like you can tell that it still weighs on him thirty thirty five years later. And it's cool because I mean, here we are talking about SNL and sports talk radio, which is totally fine.

Peyton Mann, Peyton Manning was there.

Drive two to six Man, Yeah, you know the deal.

Gotta feel some are yeah, I I the SNL fifty was amazing. And if you gave me the two options between watching a team of who who was on the Yant George, no offense to your guy, Kyante. If you gave me the chance to watch Kiante George play Victor Webbin Yama or watch SNL fifty, I'll take SNL fifty ten times out of ten.

Hard to argue with that, and I think the number would back you up. Best SNL cast member of all time. You have a hot take on that. You can throw a few names out there.

I mean, my generation was I got I had, Farrell was my generation, So I'll go Ferrell. But like, I'm old enough that my friend's siblings bought the old best of VHS tapes of like Farley and Dana Carvey and Mike Myers, so we would watch those on VHS because we missed that era. Like and I mean some of some of those sketches, man just kill me still. I mean it's they're so amazing. But I'll go Ferrell because that was my wheelhouse.

See to me, it's Farley, Yeah, you know that's because that's my era. The Dana Carvey, Adam Sander, Al Frankin tim Meadows, tim Meadows, wildly underrated, Phil Hartman, wildly underrated, rest in people. Absolutely, and you brought this up off air, which I think is spot on. And actually there's a sports parallel because whichever generation you came up in, yeah

Pick up basketball player great?

Well?

I mean, I mean gets involved in great pickup games.

I think living a life like Adam Sandler seems very appealing to me.

If there are legit Sandler haters in the world, I mean, listen, man, We're in a world of pain on a multitude of reasons.

But everybody just needs to.

Calm down, yes, and just enjoy the thing that's in front of you for what it is, unless it's the All Star Game, because it's horrible.

That's called the transition, kids.

It is and we'll catch a break.

But coming up next, we'll move on from this stuff because there are college football topics to talk about today, with Christopher Camaraddie, the Big ten in the SEC currently meeting in New Orleans plotting a hostile takeover. Is that traumatic? We'll tell you about it coming up next. Brought to you by our good friends at Prize Picks, it is the best place to get a real money sports action.

I know you guys are pumped. I know when it comes to sports.

Soccer radio in February, you want to talk concer Cap Champions Cup rsl Aradiato. First round aggregate comes into play here. Have you ever been to a soccer game down in Central America?

I have no.

Mcl got to go cover that run the goat and he said it was insane.

That was our guy, mcl.

He's good man. He's got some kids and just living the dream. We miss him. Michael C. Lewis for the uninitiated, good people.

I can remember. We're gonna have Bill on today.

Actually, I think the first game that Bill called in Central America, he was with Donnie Yeah, and Donny was like, dude, just walk up the stairs, don't look left or right. Yep, let's get to the broadcast booth and let's stay safe and during the broadcast, and we'll get Bill to tell these stories. If I remember correctly, the fans were throwing like batteries at them cool as they were trying.

Yeah, I mean, it just means more.

Cool. He says could do some damage at some point.

I mean, that's Phil's already miss Midwest Man.

That's fair.

Bill can take a couple of batteries to the dome in any college hoops these days, you watch any college basketball.

You'll be proud of me. I watch some of both of the Kansas losses to our local teams this week.

Wildly enough, Kansas did not lead for one second while they were here in state.

So my take is Kansas sucks because I watched I had to cover them when they were here in the tournament last year, and that they're our big guy is probably gonna make a lot of money playing like at Real Madrid or something, but like our guy is not giving more than like fifty percent effort out there. Yeah, and he was like that last year, and I feel

Your take on Kansas, I feel like is correct, okay, because and I don't want to come across as if I'm diminishing a really good win for Utah quad one win and then BYU dog walk them. I mean, at one point it was a thirty eight point game. It is tied for the biggest defeat Bill Self has ever suffered to Kansas.

But like.

The defense for Kansas in both games quite frankly against Utah and BYU was atrocious. Now to Bill Self's credit, he talked about it after the game. But like Trevinell, who plays for Brigham.

You is your guy. I know you have a bone to pick with Trevan.

I don't have a bone to pick with him. Why would I have a bone to pick with Trevornell. It's just Chris.

If I think he's a battleful guy. Maybe I'm wrong.

No, I think he went to Woodscross.

Okay, same thing.

Look, he can shoot the you know what out.

Of the basketball. He is an elite shooter. Yeah, but if he couldn't shoot it, he'd be in his fourth year blogging about BYU basketball for CASTL.

There's lots of people around here that do that exactly.

Because he's like twenty seven. But that's what he can do, and they like ignored him Kansas. There was no no closeouts, zero closeouts good good term, take away the airspace, get up in him, make him uncomfortable on the scouting report for Kansas when it comes to number twenty one on BYU. The one thing you can't let him do is shoot it from the outside. And that's the only thing they let him do.

I mean, it seems like they let everybody shoot from the out.

But that's the thing.

Like, I don't know what the game plan was or if the players were just like screw it and ignore the game plan.

Like they were.

Like we went to Kubby's last night. We went too hard. We had a Sprinkle milkshake. Feeling a little bloated. Don't know where I'm going.

Little swig after party and ultimately didn't have the energy like, Okay, here's one for you. I was stunned at how poorly Kansas was defensively.

Richie Saunders really good future pro?

Yeah, probably Europe. Okay, but I think he's b yu's best player. I don't think he's their best.

Pro probs can he be Sam Merrill?

I don't think he can shoot it like Sam can shoot.

It because nobody really saw Sam's my guy. Yeah, covered Sam in high school. Noo braves, Yep. A lot of people were like, Sam will make millions of dollars in Europe and now he is a rotational player on the best team in the league.

Yeah, it's so it's a good It's a good COLMP.

Because the interesting thing is Richie's a better athlete than Sam is. Yeah, and Richie up until like last year, was only like an energy guy that didn't shoot it very well.

So he's clearly put in the work.

He is a knockdown shooter, maybe a fringe NBA guy, but he is six ' five and he is a good athlete, but he doesn't shoot it the way Sam shoots it. My old thing with Sam was like, if he can find a way to get a little stronger and improve his release time, Like you have a cor then he has a shot because he's knocked down. My concern with him was what was going to happen with Sam Merril is ultimately what happened with Jim Erferdad, which

Yeah, that was a good Richie Saunders Tangent and we just went on. I like Richie, he's a good player. Yeah, local kid.

Where where do you go to high school? Shoot?

I want to say PG somewhere in there. It feels like somewhere American Fork.

Maybe it feels like somewhere down there. Okay, Well, Mark wanted him to go to Kentucky. Oh really yeah, and Richie decided to stay here.

Did anybody follow Mark to Kentucky?

Oh?

Yes, number two Jackson.

Robins, Jackson Robinson, look at you, good pull.

But no.

The reports were that Mark wanted Dallen Hall and Richie Saunders to follow him to Kentucky, and they both decided to stay down at b YU. And I do not have a bone to pick with Trevinell. I'm just saying it's amazing to watch a player who only does one thing be allowed to do that thing.

Yeah, makes sense.

It's like just leave shack open at the rim. Yeah, get a dunkit.

Yeah, college football, you're.

Ready for it.

I'm ready. What are we What are we mad about?

Well, we're not mad about anything.

But for the second time and if just a few months, the SEC and the Big Ten are having meetings this week in New Orleans about the proposed changes they want to scheduling partnerships the CFP format. According to your guys Stuart Mendel, I love it when Stewart is grumpy because he'll.

He'll be going off on people.

Yeah.

So what he wrote is the expectation is that these two conferences want the CFP to expand a sixty.

To fourteen or sixteen.

And then they get four auto bids each, Big twelve acc get two each and I think that leaves one for the G five schools and maybe three at large bids something like that, either.

One or three, depending on if it's fourteen or sixteen.

There it is.

So what do you make of this?

Do you think this is something that's going to come to fruition and potentially in twenty twenty six?

What's what's the golden rule? Spence?

I know?

And with the gold yeah, it's this is always going to be an evolving reality. They're never going to settle on anything because nobody's ever going to be happy. And the more games they play, the more money they make. It is as simple as that. You don't need to go on Reddit and look for any sort of conspiracy

That's it, bottom line, that's all it is. Yeah, I mean, are they wrong?

Are they wrong that more games may mean more money?

Are they wrong in basically hijacking this next iteration and what it could look like?

Because if we're if we're going beyond, I mean, if if the Big ten had top four team last year, like you're talking about, like Iowa in the playoff, nobody wanted to watch Iowa play. I think Top four would have been like a in the SEC, it was like a four way tie between Mississippi and Arkansas and you know, all these teams. So there's always gonna be somebody that's mad.

How much time you spent on a Reddit I don't spend.

I never got into it, and my buddies were really big into it, and I was always kind of skeptical. And I don't really understand the format all that well, Like you have to click the minus and the plus, and I don't know, I'm not very smart when it comes to it's got to be pretty streamlined for me.

Yeah, you strike me as a Reddit guy. I'm not gonna lie.

Yeah, Yeah, I'm full of surprises.

I mean I'm not.

That's not like a compliment or I'm not knocking on and you just strike me as somebody, And like, I don't use it much. The only time I use it is if I'm doing a Google search. Yeah, and a Reddit threat is like, oh that looks kind of interesting.

Yeah. I'm the same way.

I don't like following any wormholes. I don't like going down any wormholes. I feel like that's a dangerous, a dangerous path to follow. Then the next thing, you know, I'm gonna be talking about vaccines and transgender athletes on air.

I don't want to go down any of those rabbit holes. That's just me.

I don't want you to go down those rabbit holes either.

Have you ever followed a rabbit hole to the place where you don't feel like you're in.

A THENT anymore. No, I'm not about the dark Web. To spend time on the Dark Web ever, not for one second. I don't even know how to access it.

I don't either. I'm more about like watching can't hardly wait for the for the millionth time.

Yeah, Or a college football expanded CFP where it's diluted the regular season.

Yeah, you know, put on Paul finebaumbe see what he's saying. You know that those are my people, and that's my that's my gig. So yeah, what I do I mean, if I could stretch a little bit, Yeah, you can stretch.

From a sports socc radio standpoint, I do feel like four auto bids for each of these leagues does dilute the regular season, which to me is what makes college football special.

Correct, the regular season will not mean anything. Conference championship weekend will be gone, and frankly, I don't think that matters all that much, like it was already on its last legs. Anyways, do get rid of it in this iteration. You'll prioritize the conference records and that's it. The Wetzel forty Doallinger podcast did a really good job this week diving into it, and Forty had an epic rant. I recommend people who know Pat Forty, who is you know,

Complain, Well, you can't deal with you can't.

Okay, you can complain, but at the end of the day, you're still going to watch it, So get off your high horse.

Yeah, it's just you know, I try, I guess in a way, trying to hold on to what makes college football or college football is. And maybe I need to go the way of my all start where it's like Alan Iverson is not walking through that door to try to hang thirty on you in the fourth quarter. Instead you get to see Donovan Mitchell not care about being you know where he is, even though I think being

We finally got it.

This is just the can is just going to be kicked down the road, and you know, the powers that beer are going to make more money and eventually, to your point, we'll get to this you know, proposed super conference whatever we're going to call it, and we're going to watch it, and people will be left out and they will be sad, and the people that are in will.

Say nin or niner.

Right, Well, yeah, look, I know you're not wrong. I understand, and I'm a grown up.

Am I acting too much of like a fatalist like you like.

You're not wrong. But it's kind of like doing this job every day. I can't crack the mic and be like, hey, guys, just get over it. Jazz are rebuilding, so just go over And I'm like, go home. If I could, I would. Yeah, but you've got to dig into this in a way that isn't as reductive as you just made it, even though you're not wrong.

So here, let me stretch.

Let me try this.

We're in about the sophomore we're in the Big twelve footprint. If you're not in the sec in the Big ten, do you have reason to be concerned? Even if you're a program like the university for sure.

Yeah, you don't have any power to wield in this scenario, and the two conferences that wield all the power are throwing their weight around.

I don't.

I mean, maybe there will be a an explosion of talent in the Big twelve, and maybe Dion's buffs will start ten to zero, and maybe Utah will write the ship and BYU Devin Dampierre and Jake Retzlov will be a Heisman Trophy candidate and Iowa State will pick up where they left off, and so on and so forth. I don't you have to they have to show it to the country first, otherwise they're they just don't have the clout built in that these other teams and other conferences do fair or not.

Yeah, Like.

I understand that nobody wants to watch, you know, Minnesota have a great year and then get into the playoffs out here at least, and maybe some people do. But the reality is they're part of the They're part of They're part of the club, and a lot of people aren't.

Do you think that the sport is in trouble at all? In any way?

She don't know, because at some point, whether it's the NBA and the apathy or college football and the disorganization, the only thing that will affect change if you're not in the room is enough people not tuning in to affect their bottom line.

College football to me is the most like international club soccer, though, like you're talking about where people grew up, where they went to school, they are. You are celebrating a sport that is always going to be in lockstep with your perceived best years of your life, and that carves out a special place in the hearts of fans, and I

Yeah, here in this country, we're just like, eh see ya, good luck.

We are a.

We are a have and have not country when it comes to a lot of things, but in sports especially.

You know what, and if I'm leaning into some altruistic approach, I apologize. One of the reasons I've always wanted to you know, I played sports as long as I could, and then in my career I've done a bunch of different things all around sports and entertainment. Before I got into radio, I worked for the Olympics, I was with Disney's wid World of Sports for a little bit, then

It was, yeah, it was. It was a safe space.

Well, and look, I grew up with VC guys. These guys are sharks, okay, and I never had any interest to me, what does VC mean then? Sure capitalists.

These guys are sharks man, and I never had any interest of hopping on the train to go to Grand Central at six thirty am to work on Wall Street for fourteen hours a day until you got yours, and then telling everybody to go bleep themselves at the age of thirty five because you bought an island. Maybe I should have questioned my life choice to do that. Probably well for me, man, Like I'm turning forty seven next, bak bro.

So like this is the deal.

Turn thirty nine this year, so you're still so young. Yeah, I have so much, so much, you know what, it's not too late for you.

Okay, okay, if you want to be a VC bro, we're gonna have to You're gonna have to cut the hair.

You're gonna have to wear like a suit. I'm telling you. I saw my eyes.

Cool friends grind for like a decade to the point where I'd go visit them in Midtown, like four of them, yes, like four of them shacked up in this little apartment.

You know, they all essentially have a closet of sleep in.

But these are like yale MBA's, These are Harvard and these like Ivy League Brooks brother wearing me if I chose an alternate reality way back in the day before I chose fun over that. Sure, and they all kind of said the same thing. We just know we have to do this for like eight to ten years and then we're good, right, And so I understand, and I'm

Well, you can see where they're coming from if you look at the current landscape of even professional sporting events. Why is it now more than ever that companies have a stranglehold on several hundred, sometimes thousands of tickets at these things where it's like, hey, we have a we have this suite, Well, we have this suite, we have

Cafe Rio or whatever.

Cup pop Like no, man, Like we are trending that direction because now more than ever, a lot of rich companies have a lot of money to throw around, and they're going to write it off as, oh, this is a business expense. We'll we'll take some people there and we'll have our suite, and we'll have our multiple suites, and then we'll have our floor seats and so on and so forth. Like next time you go to a jazz game, like look who's look who's down there, and

I still go to jazz games. I mean like, hey, he put you up to that.

I'm just saying, like, does the doc exist in this generation of jazz fandom?

I don't think so.

No.

It's it's look.

It's a very depressing yet fair point trucks and Tesla's a lot of bedazzled jeans and spray straight brim hats with dudes that probably should lead the straight brim's tans. Is there anything more awkward than seeing like a dude in his mid fifties that is clearly holding on steroids and fake tanning and bedazzle jeans and really tight shirts and a straight build baseball hat.

It's like, it's like, dude, why do you want to look like me?

It's really awkward.

It's like I don't need a spray tan, but you don't need to look like me. Just look like yourself.

Yeah, it's a bad look, but it's look, man, I can't cover it like this. I just I can't do the thing where even though there's part of me that understands your point, and believes that you're telling the truth.

This is supposed to be the toy.

Isle of life, and I can't just crack a microphone every day and say, hey, guys, just so you know, the ownership groups of the team that you love care about one thing, and that's creating shareholder value for their investors.

Okay, good night, talk to you tomorrow.

Like it can't be a We talked about Isaiah all your last week, Spence, we did. We covered, We covered Isaiah. Maybe next week we can talk about Kyle Philipowski flip as we call.

Okay.

Okay, So if you're hey, if you're a Jazz fan right now, if you're a football fan right now and you're tuned into the program, okay, and you have suddenly.

Become like this mffort again, acutely aware.

That it doesn't matter how much you love this team, doesn't matter how much you want to see them do well, it doesn't matter what you invest in this team. The people in charge don't give a rip about you, And the people running these leagues only care about one thing, and that's creating shareholder value for their investors. What's going through your mind? If that's all that really there? Is there's no reason to give a rip about.

Any of it.

Quite frankly, well, if you are a depressing if you are a Utah sports fan, meaning that if you are a University of Utah or BYU sports fan, be happy because within the last thirty years you've been able to cheer on very good teams in a multitude of sports at a level that a lot of other colleges in this country don't ever reach. Especially level if you're a pro fan, if you're a fan of the Jazz or RSL,

Well, but based off this conversation, you have no reason to be happy if you're a sports fan anywhere.

The truth is always in the middle.

It's so sad, I might as well start a radio show covering tech bros. Raising funds to start an app in San Francisco.

No, what you're gonna do is you're going to turn on the concer calf match on your laptop. I'm juice man in thirty minutes, and You're gonna see what the shape looks like.

I'm not gonna lie. I like when RSL is playing. I enjoy the soccers, of course, you know, don it's great.

It takes up so much time. We need a distraction, and it can be bad, and it often is bad. Sometimes it's good. Yeah, but what are we gonna do?

Man?

We're almost forty and forty, Like, what are we doing?

Oh?

I'm close to fifty broll coming up next month. I'll be much closer to fifty than i'm the forty. That's okay, I'm hanging in yeah, do it all right? All right dude, Well, what's your prediction for the match tonight? One to one, draw, bring home a point. My guy Diogo scores on a on a free kick, free kick. Okay, all right, what do you think the what do you think the formation will be? I read either starting eleven they have four defenders.

Yeah, so it'll be I mean they'll go four two three.

One or two three one. Yeah, yeah, because our guy Forrester is the only striker. Yeah, they're going to bring in a striker before the start of the season.

Well, the guy that they traded for that was going to be like the ideal replacement for Chicho decided he didn't want to come to Salt Lake and he was he was offended by the by the by the trades. Elias Manuel, Oh I did not know.

Yeah.

Tom Bogert reported today that Elias Manuel did not understand the trade mechanisms within MLS and was unhappy when the Red Bulls decided to trade him.

So translation, he didn't want to live in.

Utah, he said, according to a statement provided to him provided to Tom by him, he has lots of respect for RSL, but he didn't want to be traded, right, yeah, all.

Right man, Well illuminating stuff.

Say the sun's coming out. We're good, man, everybody's good.

We might get fifty degrees this weekend.

You Inigo golfin if there's a.

Spot, the ro tator cuff is ready. I can swing your cloth a right man. Six weeks of PT. Let's get you out this show. Christopher com Rodnie from the Athletic brought to you today by our good friends at Burt Brothers.

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Neil, Happy Wednesday, sir, how are you very good?

Thanks Spence, how about you. I've had a little bit of a break here from the NHL, so that's that's been nice. Gut to watch the great hockey though with the poor nations.

So Neil, if memory serves, initially you were not too thrilled at the prospect of what this tournament could bring us.

Is that is that fair to say?

Absolutely fair? Because I just saw it as a you know, an NHL tournament that was sort of being positioned as a national you know, somehow had national pride in it. But the players played so hard in this thing. I didn't expect them to play as hard as they played. As they were playing, I still know that it's not a truly country representative tournament because you have to play in the NHL to be able to be in the tournament.

So neil educate us a little bit on the US Canada rivalry in hockey. Now, for a long long time, I'm going to give you the space here because I'm not the expert you are, but for a long long time, it was like Canada and Russia because the US wasn't necessarily a hockey country that could rival those two. So it feels from my perspective that the juice is kind of upped over the past I should say.

The last twenty years, twenty five years or so.

But obviously these are two teams, and two teams representing two countries that have a healthy amount of sports hate for each other. So educate us, Educate us a little bit on this rivalry and why it's so intense.

Well, Spence, it actually took. It actually started forty five years ago when the nineteen eighty Miracle team won the gold medal at Lake Placid, the American team, and that inspired a lot of young Americans to want to play hockey.

You know, we had a pretty unique experience out this way in two thousand and two with the Winter Olympic Games being held in Salt Lake, and I can remember watching the Canada US gold medal game. Canada won that one five to two, and so I think a lot of people out this way got a little bit of a taste of that rivalry.

But does it feel now?

And maybe I'm being a prisoner of the moment, because I've gotta say, Neil, I was pretty excited to watch US Canada on Saturday night. I did not think I was going to watch a game that had three fights in the first nine seconds. And I did not think I was going to be watching a game that would lead to the Americans winning on Canadian soil in Montreal.

And so I'm not trying to be a prisoner of the moment.

But does it feel like this current iteration has taken another level of intensity or was that just a moment in time on Saturday night.

No, I don't think it was a moment in time on Saturday night.

I don't at all.

I think that there's I don't like those fights at the beginning of the game because two of them with the Kchuck brothers were stage fights. And what I mean by that is reason for them. There's no anger, nobody had done anything, and all of a sudden, you know, these four guys all decided they're going to fight. The

I think that.

The United States is very competitive with Canada, and I don't think that the United States has taken over Canada yet. And I don't think no matter who wins tomorrow night, that that necessarily means that, you know, if Canada wins, in Canada is still the powerhouse of the world. And if United States wins, well, there's got to be a passing of the torch. I don't I don't believe that. I think we're in a time right now, in twenty twenty five, you know, and let's say twenty twenty to

So I want to follow up on something you referenced, and you did explain why you called these fights staged. But this kind of took another level as Matthew Kachak and Brandon Hagell, who fought I believe that was the first fight of the Knights, have kind of exchanged barbs back and forth over the past couple of days, and Hagel said it was quote done. What he did as far as the fight goes, was for the flag and not the cameras. And then he continued to said, quote

No, I don't want to say that. I mean, this does happen when you know, somebody wants to send a message right away that you know what, We're not going to back down from you guys. And I think the Kachucks were the ones that instigated those I may be wrong. I wasn't on the ice. I didn't hear the language going back and forth. What's really amazing about those two things, if you think about it, is, first of all, it's Matthew Kittchuck and Hegel. Hegel plays for Campa Bay Lightning,

You got to help me understand what the hell J T. Miller was thinking.

I mean, the cold and Paraco kid who he went at was like twice his size. I mean, a lot of the attention has been on the Kuchuk brothers and what they did. But it was a little ty domish, wasn't it. It looked like that was a big time mismatch.

Neil, Well, it did, but that's JT. Miller. He's a bit of a pit bull. You know, he's he's I think he was trying to prove something right there that he's you know, he's in there for the fight and he'll take on a big guy. Colton Parako isn't really a fighter, you know. He's a big man and a good player. Obviously wouldn't be on Team Canada if he wasn't. But he's not really what you would call a fighter.

So look, it's easy to draw a straight line between the three fights and that three to one win.

Is that a real thing?

Do you think the US was motivated with the actions of the Kachuck brothers and JT? And did that give them enough Jews to go on and win. Can we be that reductive that it actually did make a tangible difference?

I don't know that those things really at the end of the day, you can point to them and say that they had a you know, a part of why the Americans won. Let's go through the game, and remember that Connor McDavid scored an unbelievable goal to make it one nothing, and so Canada was up one nothing. The United States tied it, and then I believe it was

So Charlie McAvoy, he's out for Team USA and he put a hit on was it McDade?

Who did he?

I think he hit Connor McDavid.

Yeah, yes, yes, that's right.

And I wanted to ask you because Connor McDavid potentially the best hockey player in the world.

Maybe not potentially, maybe he is.

And I feel like, once upon a time, maybe I'm misremembering, there are like unwritten rules about putting massive hits on some of these skilled players that are big time stars, Like no one ever hit Gretzky right from what I can recall, like he was protected. Was that bad form of McAvoy to put that hit on McDavid, No, not at.

All, And I think that that's another one of the things that inspired his team. I think that was a great hit. And I what I'm really happy about from my just my little perch, is that the Canadians didn't go after McAvoy and try to fight him because he laid out a good hit. So many times in the NHL you'll see a really good hit, and I'll bet if Sergacheff comes up with good ones from that time to time, and then all of a sudden he's got to fight some guy from the other team and it

How much of this I don't know.

We don't do a lot of politics on the show for obvious reasons, but there is this kind of undercurrent of, you know, the comments made by Donald Trump fifty first state, all that stuff, and then the Canadians boo our national anthem, and then a lot of people drawn a line between the booing of the national anthem and the decision making of the US team to fight from the drop of the of the or even before like things got going.

How much of that do you buy into? Do you believe it's it's real?

As far as the passion that appears to be permeating between these two teams.

Well, I'm not very proud of my fellow Canadians booing the American national anthem for any reason at any time. United States and Canada are best of friends. They'll be best of friends before this current administration, and they'll be best of friends after this current administration. And I I don't think that that that's the way you do things. But you're in a hockey arena. Fans can say whatever they want, they can do whatever they want. And you know, but but I I I don't. I don't agree with

I don't. I don't.

Again, I'm repeating myself, but I don't like that kind of thing because the Americans have always been there for the Canadians. And the Canadians have always been there for the Americans when it comes right down to it, when it comes to important stuff other than sports, We've always been the best of friends. And so.

I didn't I didn't like.

So Montreal a century if not more of hockey history, and I was not in the building, of course, but holy smokes, did that environment look electric? What sort of environment do you think Boston a great domestic hockey city, but certainly not with the history of Montreal, is going to bring coming up Tomorrow night? I mean, Neil, there are reports that current NHL players have reached out to try to get tickets and people are like sorry, like

I think you're in for an electric atmosphere. I don't think it'll and I may be wrong. So this is just I don't think it's not going to be I don't think it will be as passionate as Montreal, because I don't think that you have the passion for a US hockey team like you have for a Canadian for the team Canada. In Montreal, I think you have a

All Right, Neil, before I set you loose, what are we in for tomorrow? How do you think it goes down?

Well, it's going to be close, And that's sort of a bailing out by saying that I think Canada is going to be able to do it, just because of the injuries the United States has and because of the power play that the Canadians have. But again, it's going to be close, and it sure could go the other way for sure. It's just I mean, it's just going to be a great hockey game, and I'm not I

Well, it's always great to get your perspective as somebody who's steeped in the hockey history of both countries.

I can't wait for it. I think it's going to be exciting and I'm excited to break it down with you next week. Enjoy the game the old chat soon Okay, yeah, thanks for having me, all right.

The great Neil Smith, former general manager of the Rangers and the Islanders, Canadian born and now lives here in the United States. We have the Four Nations face off for you guys tomorrow night on the station. By the way, follows the Craig Smith Coaches Show, which follows our show, which ends at six o'clock. Hey, random, start to the interview if my memory serves you had a couple of situations where you called soccer games in Central America where maybe things were a slight dicey.

Is that fair to say, Brian Dunsith and I had one really dicey night in Costa Rica at Saprisa.

Yes, any details you'd like to share, because I can remember Dunny basically saying like he had to tell you, like, we're just walking straight to the press box and we're not going to say anything.

Yeah, we were in the press box at Saprisa in Champions League and it was a wide open press box, like there was no security. It was like going to like Skyline High School or something, and we're up there doing the game and there's like six guys that are like twenty rows below us in Luchadore masks that are huge Saprisa fans. And every time something good for Reales salt Lake would happen and I called a gold or something, they would turn around and start screaming and yelling stuff

I'm glad you made a home safe. I'm glad it all worked out.

I knew there was some sort of hairy situation I talked to you or Dunny about back in the day. Obviously, ourselves starting their cocky cap journey today. But we'll move over now to some college basketball where don't look. Now, if Craig Smith and the Utah Utes can win three of their final five games, we have a ten win Big Twelve Conference basketball team, which is something I didn't think we'd be able to say.

Now, we'll get to the end in a moment.

But let's look back on a weekend where I said last week it feels like a split would be a win because Kansas State, prior to going to BYU had one six straight. They turned it around and look your rock Chalk Jayhawks, the tremendous amount of talent on paper.

But Bill, I've got to say, man, I've watched every.

Moment of the Utah Kansas game, in the UYU Kansas game, I am extremely unimpressed with Bill self's team, which is something I never thought i'd say. But give me your thoughts. You can either go both games one game individually. On the two wins Utah hoops had over the teams from from your home state, Kansas.

Well, you're right about Kansas their disappointments. They're a collection of good individual players that are not a team. And that's very much unlike Bill self teams. But that's maybe the era we live in now with the nil But to Utah, we'll start first with the Kansas game to this point in the season. To that point, that was the most dialed in I had seen Utah play, I mean, locked into the game plan, played very well. Kansas never led in that game. Spance Utah led wire to wire.

How have the crowd's been up in the Huntsman Center? Last home game I was at was BYU. But you know, when you're able to get some wins and you're able to get a little momentum, maybe more people will start paying attention. So the atmosphere both Kansas and Case State, what was it like in the building?

Well, Kansas was good. I mean it wasn't sold out like BYU, but it was probably twelve thousand. A lot of Kansas fans they travel well now Kansas Kentucky schools like that. They you know, you can't get tickets at home games, so you travel. So there was a fair amount of Kansas fans. But the atmosphere was great. And then for Monday night it wasn't bad. You know, again to Monday night it's in Utah. I would say I think there were about twelve and a half on Saturday,

So are we getting a little bit closer? And maybe it just depends on the night, but there's only a handful of games left. It does feel like Craig has landed on his preferred starting five, and all five of those players against Kansas played at least twenty nine minutes. I mean as we're played twenty nine. Well, Lawston played twenty five, but Lowton obviously needed to be saved a little bit because he matched up so well with Hunter

I think, you know, he's got his starting five. He's still inconsistent at point guard. And he said that the other night in the post game show. You know, some nights Sharp Johnson Little show up together. Some night they neither one of them show up. Some nights they'll show what one will show one won't. I think he's got the other guys pretty dialed in. Gabe Wallean's given them great minutes. Cana Dawes has given them great minutes.

You know.

Loss and Lovering made some free throws the other night, which was great. He's given them good minutes too. If they could get just a little bit more out of their point guard spot Spence, I think they'd feel pretty good. He's still playing depending on the game, nine or ten guys, but I think he's got probably his top five or seven kind of locked into place right now, and it's just kind of what are you getting on a given night at the point guard spot?

Right now?

Five games left, which is wild, but March is right around the corner.

Now.

If they get three of the final five, they win ten conference games. I did not think they would scratch double digits. What's your confidence level? Did this team get three of the final five? Have to get to that ten win mark in Big twelve play year one?

You know, I think it's possible. Now three of those five are on the road, so you've got to You've got to go to UCF. That's a winnable game. U CEF's got a lot of great offense, but they're you know, right now they're four and eleven uh Arizona, where Utah hasn't won in the Pac twelve now Big twelve era, so that that'll be tough ASU at home, very winnable game. West Virginia at home, that's a winnable game. And then

What do you think, Mark Harlin, and you know Taylor Randall, the powers that be at the University of Utah are looking for from this team this year to indicate that they've seen enough to look. I think they're giving Craig another year next year, no matter what. It's the final year of his deal. But what sort of I don't know benchmarks or boxes are we looking to get checked to indicate this thing is moving in the right direction and the right guys in charge of the team.

That I don't know because those aren't really conversations I have with those guys. But you know, I think you always want to see improvement and in some ways outpacing what expectations are. Expectations weren't high for this team. I think if they didn't win another game this year, it would certainly be disappointing. But I think you've outperformed what

Do you think postseason basket?

Look, it's gonna be tough, barring some crazy run in the Big Twelve Tournament to make the NCAA Tournament, I'm not sure anybody's expecting that, but n it is postseason basketball in the cards for this team.

You think, well, I think it's postseason. I think to be serious about the NCAA tournament because they didn't really have a marquee non conference win. You know, a win over a Saint Mary's would have helped them a lot or somebody along those lines. But let's just say, you know, for you know, for the sake of argument, you win three of your last five games. That gets you to ten and ten into Big twelve and then I believe eighteen total wins overall, and then can you get two

You mentioned Bill self, I mean, Ryles, they go down to Provo last night and they get dog walked like it was wild. I'm watching the game, going what's going on? I mean, as you know, Bill's been there twenty two years. During the first twenty seasons, he never lost more than six conference games, which is wild to think about, by the way, but he lost eight last year.

He's already lost seven this year.

And I'm just watching the get Like if I didn't know anything about college hoops and I turned on that game, I'd be like, these two teams don't even look like they should be on the same floor. They were not closing out, they were not getting back, they were not taking away airspace from shooters. And BYU when they make shots, man, I think they're fifteen and oh when they shoot forty eight percent, like they're really good when they get going. This is a Kansas team under Bill self rles that

No, I don't think so. I think if anybody steps away, the probably be him. You know, one of his best friends from what I understand is Jay Wright and Jay Wright saw this coming three years ago and stepped away. Bill self is already in the College bad and the Basketball Hall of Fame. He is winning his coach in Kansas history. He's his resume speak. You know, I would have thought he'd coached for a couple of more years.

You ever spend seventy two straight hours in Provo with a group of people you'd want to get away from each other.

If you did that as well, Manny.

What didn't you spend six great days down there?

That was eight?

Give me a credit for all eight. Please.

It was the best eight days of my life, all right, don't don't shore change me, Bill, It was eight days. But there are only so many, you know, Like are we having cubbies again? Like, I don't blame them for wanting to spend some time apart like many how much swig can you actually put down?

That's a good point. It's a good point. I'm just saying a couple of times too.

I'm just saying.

I'm just saying, all right, wanted to kick the tires with you on some college football storylines, because for the second time in four months, the leadership of the Big ten in the SEC are holding meetings to discuss the future of college football.

My first question on this is simple.

If you are not a member of the Big Ten of the SEC, should you be nervous about the conversations happening behind closed doors in New Orleans this week?

I think you should be. I don't know how nervous is the right word, because it's not as if the Big twelve in the ACC are going to get locked out. But yeah, you've got to be, you know, head on a swivel here, because it sounds like these guys are going to go behind closed doors and try to rewrite the rules again and add two more teams for each

And I am not a college football alarmist, because I ultimately believe the product is the Saturdays in the fall will always feel like Saturdays in the fall. And I also am a grown up and I understand what a front facing, revenue generating entertainment business is about, and it is whether you like it or not as a consumer, it is about making sure your shareholders get the best value they can for investing in your product.

Love it or hate it. That's just kind of the deal. But it does seem like we are, you know, if we're fair or not.

As here part of me believes we're moving away from some of the things that as a college football fan we all really love. And if there's four auto bids in every league, is there a danger of diluting a regular season that just seems prescient every weekend, which to me makes it great.

A little bit. I mean, I think this year was good because it made a lot of November games a lot more meaningful. I actually like the number twelve. I don't know where you're at with it. I use to talk about sixteen teams getting in. I'm actually okay with the number twelve. I want to reconfigure how they do the seeding for everything, But I thought the number twelve was pretty good, with the top four seeds getting buys, playing on campus, stuff like that. I don't know that

Well, And it also is hard not to draw a straight line between the power house brand of the Crimson Tide not getting in and what they're trying to accomplish. But look, if this is the way we're gonna go, then just scrap the whole thing and make it a playoff system like the NFL does, Like sorry, Bama, you lost four games, Like don't lose four games, and then

It just feels like we're wasting time.

Well, I just I don't know why you've got a college football committee the way you have college bad I don't know why conferences have to have automatic bursts outside of conference champions Why does the SE I mean, if your teams are truly that good, they'll be selected, And in most years the big ten of the SEC and football are likely going to have more bids. Anyway, but why are we going to give you auto bids? Why

This is sports.

It's supposed to be the best of the best, and there's no way to do that, you know, without having a committee do it. But I just I don't like the idea of continually adding auto bids. I like the idea of everybody's conference champion getting in there and then let the committee do their work with the other you know, six or seven picks.

Give me a quick tease for And this is called trying to fit in a college football topic in February, because people love college football Spring game. You know it's not tomorrow, but you know, ultimately it will be the first taste of college football for you fans. And I know in years past it has shown to be a scenario.

Well, I just think it's seeing Jason Beck's offense in live form. I mean seeing it in practice is one thing. Not the public gets to see practice unless something changes this spring. But I think people should be excited for seeing what the offense looks like. What's Devin dan Pierre looked like in this offense? Who's going to be the backup quarterback to Devin dan Pier? What do these running backs look like in this offense? You know, who are

What, if anything, this feels like the datist of dead periods in college football. The you know, the things that are most topical are meetings such as what we've already discussed taking place in New Orleans and potential changes to the CFP. What's sort of the mode of operation up there right now in the football building for Kyle and his staff.

It's it's a lot of you know, meetings and things like that. They can only do so much. The spring football will begin right after spring break in mid March, so they've got that. But you know, it's really strength and conditioning stuff right now with the players, and probably some meeting stuff and a lot of these new offensive coaches kind of getting to know their personnel a little bit. There's a lot of new faces. You know, there's going to be forty some new faces on this football team

I set you loose.

Some news came down last week that after twenty years, Tom Homo stepping down as BYU's athletic director. You know, for a number of years you did this job over at this station and didn't just call games. You covered the landscape of sports across the state, and you know Ryle's I don't know if being the BYUAD is the hardest job in collegiate athletic administration, but it's got to be up there. And I think Tom of the course

He did a great job. And I had a unique relationship with Tom because when I was still working at KSL and the old days and doing pre and post game for BYU and sideline reporting, Tom Holmo was a great help to me before he was the ever the athletic director. During the football games, he would stand on the sideline with me and point things out for me

All right, my guy, I appreciate the time. On this Wednesday. Did you watch any of the All Star weekend and in pro basketball?

I didn't watch a second of it, Spence, can you believe.

That, Yeah, you didn't miss anything? Unfortunately? Yeah, yeah, probably the right call by you. Thanks for the time, Bill, Chat soon, Okay, see Spence the voice of the Utes. Bill Riley himself, I always appreciate Bill's time. Yeah, three and two in the final five. Man in Utah men's basketball could win ten conference games. I did not think they'd even scratch it after beating both teams from Kansas.

All right, what's up? Driving fives?

I'm your commute home on a Wednesday afternoon slash evening starts right about now.

It is a very fed you wear every day outside.

It's about thirty eight degrees, little cloudy here in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. And as it is every single day, it's gonna have you long for the ride. Welcome into the five o'clock hour of the program. RSL is in action as we speak. It is conkor CAAFF champions Cup Round one, RSL Aridiano.

Right now, through thirty one minutes of play. It is nil nil. It is scoreless.

Why do I feel like every soccer hater every time I give a scoreboard update when I say nil nil is like, yes, of course, it is.

Too many of these games and in scoreless ties.

Man, what did one one draws?

Is how he said one one draw? I think I said one nil. RSL.

With my guy Diogo on a free kick, I think RSL wins too. Trey says, four zero RSL.

I think RSL wins Conca CAF.

What you think Arsel wins the whole tournament?

You know what?

I like it just own the prediction. I just I just want Pablo and my guys to succeed.

Well, you're about the good vibe, just like let's be honest, Yeah, you're a vibe guy. Five o'clock hour of the program. Will keep you up today because I know you're on the edge of your seats for RSL Aerdiano updates and the COCKYCAFF Champions Cup Round one, first Leg, Round two.

We'll be back here in you.

Todd should be right there right outside of the window that I'm pointing out where there's a parking lot instead of a soccer stadium. But hey, yesterday's news. It is so cruel that every day I come into work and I have to look at that parking lot. That's where we wanted the stadium.

When they released the kits right, they had a nice, fancy Salt Lake City video that they put out and it's got the grid and it said all roads lead to soccer. And I gotta be honest with you guys, only one does and it's way out there. It's way too far.

South there, but obviously it's fun to have RSL back. Five o'clock hour of the program today brought to you by Burt Brothers. With over thirty years of experience and nearly thirty locations. Burt Brothers, as certified technicians, bring expertise and professional isn't to every interaction industry, leading warranties and

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Stop by Burt Brothers or Tirebuster's locations or schedule an appointment today to experience the trusted service that has made them a Utah favorite for over three decades. Burt Brothers doing it better since day one. More information online at Bert Brothers dot com. All right, the second half of the NBA season gets rolling tonight. Technically the Jazz will

Okay, porter, So here's the deal. Lebron is going to play.

They're listing him as questionable to further the narrative that he actually was hurt and couldn't play in the All Star Game. Oh that No, that this is honestly what's going on, because you know it's the continuation of him just calling the shots. And so I'm sure through back channels he has decided to tell people, No, I'm actually hurt and I'm questionable. If he doesn't play tonight, I will eat crow. My guess is he plays tonight, and this isn't all. This is a smoke string.

Well and the Lakers and more so even you can go back to the Cleveland days Lebron when he's playing and when he's missed any sort of time, they they're coy with it. They you know, it's game time decision, and then on day of game it's probable, and then during the game obviously he ends up playing. And yeah, I mean they play the politics of it day in and day out, So the fact that they're gonna they're gonna do it to come off the All Star break is no surprise. And yeah, you would have seen it

Our guy went full conspiracy theory earlier. Now, this was a me and o Hasson. I wish you get to meet on soon if she has time. A me and Al Hassen, Tom Habershaw, two friends of this show, have a basketball podcast called Basketball illuminati and look, those are my guys.

But whenever I tune into that, I'm like.

Yeah, oh they they reach the intentionally.

It feels like I'm listening to a Joe Rogan basketball podcast. There's all conspiracies about this. So they're assertion is le Lebron was giving a silent protest because the younger players were given access to play on the All Star stage on Sunday.

And for me, it's not just the rising stars, but it's the entire like we're gonna stop and do a YouTube thing in the middle of the game, it's the the whole thing around. It has become, as you've pointed out, less about just the All Star Game and more about everything else. And if Lebron were to protest, that might be a good way to do it.

Well.

And here's the only issue I have. Whether it's Lebron apparently protesting that the young players can play on Sunday or Draymond Green saying the whole thing sucks, this.

Is your fault and it's your product too.

You guys, as players, had a chance to continue what was really cool for basketball fans for a lot of years. Man, I'm telling you, this is not just me as a basketball guy talking about how much fun All Star games used to be. Any basketball fan eagerly looked forward to what was the best pick up basketball game in the world.

You know what.

Yeah, I mean, to be part of the problem is one thing. But to go out and outwardly be against it when you are part of that issue, Well, I guess that's why we're where we are.

Yep, yep, well said all right, following a joint meeting today between the athletic directors representing their respective conferences in the SEC and the Big Ten.

So it is just the SEC and the Big Ten.

And I think there are a lot of issues with this, but they are the power brokers in college football.

The golden rule. Porter, why don't you remind the listeners what the golden rule.

Is on this program.

The man with the gold he makes the rules they do, and they are the.

Men with the gold So the SEC and the Big Ten who bring in the most revenue college football by far are meeting this week without the Big Twelve, without the ACC, without any G five representation, about the future of college football, and we're starting to get some information

But last night felt.

Real.

It was like a moment that felt like kind of seismic.

If you're a BYU basketball fan because during the NBA All Star Break no NBA last night, the eyes of the sports world.

On ESPN to watch BYU Kansas.

And every college basketball podcast I saw this morning led with this game. Now from a national perspective, topically, it was more like what is going on with Kansas? Because look, I'm not taking anything away from either Utah or BYU, but this is as bad of a Kansas basketball team as I've seen in a long time, and they were the preseason number one.

They've got like four pros on this roster.

They didn't even provide any pushback defensively last night for BYU. Wide open shots after wide open shots BYU. When they knock down shots I think I read there fifteen and oh when they shoot forty nine percent, that's a team that really is make or miss, and ultimately when it is make, they are tough. And ultimately BYU down the stretch, we'll see what they're able to do. But they have

Of course, BYU will have some real payback on their mind.

On the Utah basketball side of things, if Craig is able to find a way to win three of his final five games, guess what Utah basketball is a ten win conference team, barring something entirely unforeseen. I have a hard time believing that the youths can make the NCAA Tournament this year. But at least we'll see some postseason basketball and maybe they go on some crazy run. I mean, look, the top portion of the Big Twelve is still very elite.

This year.

BYU now holds the tie break over Kansas and Baylor to get a nice path to that five seed for the conference tournament. Houston is, of course the class of the league this year. That it's Arizona, Iowa State, Texas Tech, and then BYU with a one game lead over Kansas and Baylor, but essentially that's a two game league because they own the tiebreaker. Utah finds themselves right behind both Kansas, Bay well I should say Kansas, Baylor, and TCU at

When we say good night, all.

Right, Porter, I'm gonna ask you the same question I asked Zach Harper, philosophical question. Found myself unable to sleep last night, which unfortunately is part of your boys' existence. I'm doing my best. I'm trying to get better, better habits and such. Reading about the fact that there is about a three and a half percent chance an asteroid is going to hit the Earth in twenty thirty two, and therefore we're done, yes, like not even like, hey,

Yeah, it is a good question philosophically.

It's only twenty milligrams.

And the highest chance, by the way, of this happening since two thousand and four. In two thousand and four, we had a two point seven percent chance of it happening, and it flew right by us. I would like to I would like to know. I'd like to have it. If you give me the opportunity, I'm gonna want a little bit of a heads up. That way I can

Happen, like this is the deal on this day. And by the way, how would you watch it happen? Because I don't think you can watch it. I just think it happens and then we're all done.

I'm sure you could see it coming for at least some sort of time if if they, I mean apparently they can already see it that it's on its way. So I don't know. The different perspective that you're going to take looking at this spence is that it's like a good it's a good reset. The Earth needs a cleanse of some sort, and it's it's bringing it by way of asteroid.

Well, that's not a cleanse. That's we're done, we're evaporated. This will not we are This will not cleanse the Earth. This will get rid of the planets.

I'm sure something will rise from the ashes as it did the first time according to scientists allegedly, so depending on what you believe.

You think the planet survives.

But people are done and life finds a different way. Maybe it's it's telling us that this is not the correct course and the asteroid will knock us off a little bit, but not necessarily the end. Just to change.

Do you think some humans survive?

Ooh ooh, Because what I'm reading is this is if it does hit, it's expected to completely evaporate the human race.

It would be from what I understand you, it would not be good.

I bet you it would not be good.

I bet you. And if we here's the other thing, if we have good enough notice, I do have a place I could get to with protection, and I'm sure there's other place people that have hawking about that have places with with some protection. Where could you go to be protected from an asteroid? I have a I have a plans if just in case I'm.

Not, you know you have asteroid contingent plans. That is wild.

I don't know about android asteroid specific see I I did fall out specific.

I guess I'm not sure if you're underground bunker in Summit County is going to protect you from an asteroid?

Bud that's the hope though. Okay, See I debated this.

I debated this in my own head last night as I was reading this trying to go to sleep, and initially I'm like, you know what, I don't want to know.

I'm just going to live my life and when it comes, it comes. And then I realized the type of.

Whatever you want to call it, revenge payback that you could enact on people over the final few days without any repercussion, like they don't know it's coming.

You do.

And so anyone that's ever wronged you, it is on, like Donkey Kong, give me that final forty forty eight hours of existence.

Is that petty of me?

A little bit? But that's okay. You could have a really good depending on how you look at it, or really loud exit if you had the if you had the the heads up. But yeah, I'll be I'll be in my bunker.

For the kids in the car, this is nothing you need to worry about, Okay. If you're listening to the show with children in the car, you guys are safe. You're good, Mom and dad, if you're taken care of. Hopefully if they have a bunker, don't ruin it.

There are children listening. I don't want them to think the planet's going to explode.

It might though I know three point one percent.

I'm doing a thing for the kids. Porter, I'm doing it. I know you don't like kids, and you don't care about the kids.

I like the kids. Listen, It's not that I don't like the kids, oh, it very much.

Is that you don't like the kids. You've been very clear.

I'm just not going out of my way for the kids. Okay, they you know, they got parents. They can handle it, all right, fair.

Enough, all right, time to say good night for a Wednesday show, Porter, what comes our way on a Thursday edition of the program.

On a Thursday edition of The Drive, we'll chat with our guy Andy Larson, Jazz RSL Conka Calf. I'm sure we'll go in each and every direction with Andy. You mentioned it during this this final segment. We talked a lot of college hoops on the show today. That is well naturally because the football season is over. Ken Palmer Roy in studio talking some college hoops with us yous b Yu Big twelve latest headed up to Logan. I'm sure as well with what Utah State has been doing.

All right, there you go.

Excuse me, so make us a part of your Thursday afternoon. With that, will say good night for a Wednesday show special. Thank you Zach Harper, Chris Comrodnie Neil Smith, and Bill Riley. Pretty to sawn you may miss from the show website ESPN seven hundred sports dot com. Make sure to download our mobile app take us on the go. It's how I listen to our station. That ESPN seven hundred app is available in the App Store and then also the