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All right, welcome in What's Right with Nick Wright Episode one sixty five, our last episode before a week of vacation. I know we were off last week, but that was because, you know, my partner in crime, my co host, was gallivanting around East hamp You say.
That, you've said that every episode since.
I think it's worth noting. You know. I'm proud of you. You know you've got You've got powerful and wealthy friends and they invite you to their you know, pretty parties at their pretty houses on East You know, I've lived in New York for seven years. I'm a man of the people. I've never been to the Hamptons. I wouldn't know how to get there. I wouldn't know what to do. Well, I've never been. Next week, however, we are off because I'm off TV and podcast next week as we're taking
a vacation and today. We might only have one more podcast with the Aura over the next few weeks because she's coming with me on that vacation.
Business.
It's going on another vacation without me, so you know it's gonna be very hit and miss. But we had a great episode for you today. We will be on television today at three and tomorrow before we take a vacation. Also, more on this in a moment. Happy birthday to my original podcast co host, Do you're his brother? My son Demanse, who turns twenty five today.
What if he wanted to lie about his age, you got to keep the age secret?
Well, nope, he turned He's a public figure. He's probably got a Wikipedia page with his birthday and everything. He turns twenty five today. More on him in a moment because I have a hilarious demonse story for everyone. But first, here's what missed the cut on today's show. Naomi Osaka shout out to her she welcomes her first child. Netflix releases the documentary Quarterback. I am yet to see it, but some friends of mine produced it. I'm very excited to see it, and I've been told that I make
an appearance in it in the first ten minutes. What's that face to youra what I mean? It's the number one thing on Netflix right now within the first ten minutes you see or hear me, I'm not sure. I haven't watched it.
Uh, you haven't watched it yet.
No, I haven't watched it. A handy god, I haven't watched it. I'm very excited to watch it. People are tweeting to me saying that I'm in it, but I am yet to be able to sit down to watch it. I actually would love if we could watch it as a family's Patrick Mahomes is kind of the main character of it. That's wonderful. I think you and your sister would love it. I know you do, not I do think that. And by the way, also not making the cut,
Patrick Beverly taking a pottery class in Philadelphia. Good for Patrick Beverly. Always good to keep those post career options open, All right, deal? Or what are we starting with today.
So last night, Lebron announced that he is not retiring, and his agent Rich Paul said that he wouldn't rule out seeing the Goat play into his mid forties. Paul says, it all comes down to his motivation. We know playing with bronni as a goal, but it's not entirely in his hands. So what could possibly still be motivating someone who's already achieved everything awesome?
I mean that people that are great at something and it's a fun job and it's incredibly lucrative typically don't walk away voluntarily when they're still awesomatic. In the last game we saw Lebron James play, he went forty ten to nine, playing all forty eight minutes on sixty percent shooting,
and against the Nuggets. Now, yes they lost, they got swept by the Nuggets, but Lebron was on the court with the league MVP soon to be Finals MVP Nikally Jokic, and it was clear at this point Jokic's better than it, but it was also clear Lebron was the second best guy out there. I know Jamal Murray was awesome in that series, but after this postseason, if you were talking about the top performers league wide of the postseason, Lebron
finishes either second or third. Jokich is a clear number one, and then Jimmy Butler or Lebron are the two and the three and so. And in this postseason he, you know, in the closeout game against the Warriors, with Steph having one of the best seasons and one of the best well the best probably game of his playoff career set the fifty point Game seven against the Kings. In that game six against Golden State, Lebron scored went thirty nine and nine on fourteen shots. He is, you know. Rich.
Paul also came out and said that if Lebron loses, he tells Lebron, if he loses his athleticism, he's just Karl Malone and Brew and I got into an argument about yesterday. He said he was insulting to Malone. I said, it's a little insulting to Lebron because Lebron without his athleticism as Karl Malone plus elite passing, and he has dropped off significantly from peak Lebron. But your eighteen year, nineteen year, twenty Lebron are all almost interchangeable as far
as how they look. When they're when he's healthy, and so if he suffers one significant cataclysmic injury like Kobe did with the Achilles, like we've seen happen to guys, then yeah, I think he'll step away. But I think he still believes he can win titles. I think everyone acknowledges at worst, he's still one of the ten best players in the league. And I do think he likes the attention, everyone would like the money, and he really does want to play with Bronni And we talked about,
you know, Lebron, when would he potentially retire? And I stumbled upon something yesterday that I think is noteworthy, which is other all time legends with incredibly long careers. I used Kareem, Kobe, Karl Malone, all twenty year plus guys. All of them played three more seasons after their last All NBA appearance. So All NBA basically means you're one of the ten to fifteen best players in the league.
All of those guys played three full years after they last were you know, by the voters or whatever, considered one of the ten to fifteen best guys in the league. Well, Lebron was All NBA this year, and so I think he could play, not as long as he wants, but I think he could easily play for I expect him to play for at least two more years. I think he likely plays for three more years. And I don't think it's crazy that he could play for five more years.
I really don't. And we'll see how the Bronni thing works out. If he plays with Bronnie and they enjoy it, then you see if he starts changing the expectation or be like, you know, I want to play with Bryce too. But and again, Bryce is not the at this point in his high school career the prospect Bronnie was. But Bryce is tall, and so you see how the kid develops.
All right, next next season, flopping will be punishable with a technical foul. You think this will have disastrous ramifications and fans will hate it. However, Demond thinks that you have an agenda. Yeah, how are you the only ones still out there out here defending flopping?
Okay, so this is the hilarious Demonse story. So I was we were talking about this on TV, and tweeted, of course, the biggest lebron supporters on TV right now defending flopping. And I then tweeted. Turns out Dann and Door's share of the future inheritance just jumped from thirty three to fifty percent. So this I don't I don't know if I told you this or not. Demanse got in trouble for that tweet.
Yeah, he told me.
Demonse got in trouble for that tweet. Because Demanse works at FS one in the he's you know, the production staff, and obviously you can't have you know, folks taking shots at your on air hosts, even if they happen to be your father. Now, I don't think he actually got in trouble because I know the guy who told him he shouldn't have done it. I think that guy was mostly messing with him, but he got Demanse so shook. Demand sent an apology tweet out later that night, saying
he was totally joking. Would never mess with quote the great get Nick right. Demanse was in shambles because he's working some days, he's getting into work at five am, he's trying to learn new jobs. He's really doing a great job there. And this was the first time he had gotten scolded for anything. It was because he sent a tweet about me now on to Monsay again. Happy birthday to him. He's working on his birthday as a grown man. Should I'm happy? I asked him. I was like,
she got any big plans? I talked to him yesterday for your birthday and he was like, no, maybe i'll do something this weekend. But you know, he's like, I'm just gonna work. And I was like, that's right, that's what you're supposed to do, and he's not. And twenty five is a somewhat of a milestone. I think twenty five your milestone birthdays are like all of them is a little kid.
I wouldn't say all of them as a little kid. I think as a little kid it's one, five for some reason, eight ten, and then thirteen, yeah, sixteen eighteen.
So that's the reason I say all is a little kid is as a little kid, you have a birthday party, you're super sided. But then I do think it goes sixteen, eighteen, twenty one, twenty five, and then after that it's just decades. It's just thirty, forty, fifty.
Sixty by fives.
I don't think so. I think it becomes by fives. I think it then starts again when you're old. Then sixty sixty five is something, it's like retirement age. And then it's every five years seventy seventy five, eighty eighty five, and then after that, once you hit ninety, it's like your little kid again. Every year's a big deal. It's like, holy crap, ninety two, look at what I've done here. And so, yeah, Demons won't have another milestone birthday till he's thirty, So shout out to him. Now to the
flopping stuff. I want to be very clear on this. I like the NBA wanting to penalize guys who pretend they got hit when there was no contact. When someone swipes in front of their face, doesn't touch them and they grab their eye. When someone takes a jump shot, pretend someone took their legs out and there was no contact. That should be eradicated from the league. During summer league, one of the things they have been penalizing is when a guy does get hit, but they think he is
over emphasizing the contact. I think that overemphasizing the contact. They are penalizing that. I think that is an incredibly slippery slope and incredibly risky, And I don't blame players We're in a weird spot where I'm gonna pantomime an offensive foul that is an offensive foul pushing off. If you do that as an offensive player, it should not be determined is it or is it not a foul based on whether or not the guy you do it
to is strong enough to withstand the hit. Your action is the foul, and so what has happened is guys don't get the call unless they fall backwards. So you have stronger guys. There were instances when we were running the highlights of it, of Jokic and Lebron, the two strongest guys on the court, along with Aaron Gordon in the Western Arms finals, both getting hit and then both
selling the call. In Summer League, they have called that as a technical for flopping a. I'm not sure how fair that is, but B and this is my real beef with it. I don't think this will be adjudicated consistently,
and I think the fans will hate it. And I think we're going to have an instance where a guy commits an offensive foul, does not get called for it, and then the guy he offensively fouled gets a technical for trying to get the call and much like when they said, hey, we're gonna review past interference in the NFL, I was one of the people saying sounds good. Will be a disaster. I think instant replay across sports, aside
from tennis, has been mostly a disaster. These ideas that they're like, well, the refs aren't that good, so let's help them out with it by adding this. It doesn't help them. It gives them another thing to screw up, and so I understand why they would try this. I do not think the fans will like it. I do not think the refs will effectively adjudicate it. All right.
Next, Okay, Mahomes, Borough, and Allen are all tied at plus seven hundred for MVP. Back to back MVPs are actually sort of common in the NFL. Rogers, Manning, and farv All did it in the last twenty five years. How insulted are you for Mahomes?
All Right, So I'm not insulted. I think it's gonna be very difficult for Mahomes to win another MVP. Yes, guys have won back to back, but Mahomes did win it he wanted in eighteen, He should have won it in twenty. It was criminal that he didn't win it in twenty twenty. They were fourteen and one when he started said out week sixteen or week seventeen, and then giving that one to Rogers was ridiculous. He didn't deserve it in twenty one, and then he won it in
twenty twenty two. He should have been unanimous. But I think Joe Burrow is going to go into the season understandably with some of the hype and the smoke that Josh Allen went in the last season with. Now I don't think Josh Allen is gonna have anything close to an MVP campaign, but everyone has basically at this point bent the need of ma Homes. There is no longer a disbate or discussion about who the best player in
football is, and there shouldn't be now. The problem for him is going to be when it comes to winning MVPs. Is he judged against the other great players in the league or is he judged against himself? Is are do they hold him to a different standard. I think that might happen, but I also think I think for a Homes to win MVP this year, I think the Chiefs would have to go fifteen and two at worst. I think if he has amazing numbers but they're thirteen and four,
they'll give it to someone else. I think the Chiefs are gonna have to be head and shoulders better than everybody, which, by the way, I think they could be. But I'm not insulted by this. I'm a little insulted on behalf of the Chiefs that they are not bigger favorites to win the AFC that I think if you look at it right now, the Chiefs are plus three point fifty, the Bills are plus four point fifty, and Cincinnati's plus
five hundred, that those shouldn't be the odds. It should be Chiefs plus two hundred since he plus five hundred and the Bills worse than that. But that's fine. And to win what is it to win the Super Bowl? Let me check real quick. The Chiefs are six to one, the Eagles are eight to one, Buffalo nine sincey ten San Francisco ten. I get that the NFC path so much easier, but it's it's gonna be difficult for Mahomes win second trade MVP. I also think my guy Trevor Lawrence,
because I think they could have an awesome record. I think the Prince might be League MVP this year.
All right, next the Jets are officially this year's Hard Knocks team. Aaron Rodgers wish to have all the cameras and attention on him as coming true.
Yeah, but by the way he was asked about this at the Tahoe Golf tournament. He didn't seem too happy about it. But go ahead, but.
Now the pressure will be even greater to end the Jets playoff drop. Is Aaron Rodgers biting off more than he can chew?
Well, yeah, not so much with the Hard Knocks, but with the super Bowl talk. I just I don't know why Roger has I mean, I guess I do know. I just think it was poor strategy that his messaging from the very beginning that very opening press conference was I'm at you know, my plan is to add another Lombardi Trophy, that that trophy looks lonely, hadn't been to the Super Bowl and fifty years. All of that, I think the messaging should have been, this is a great
franchise that has needed a great quarterback. I'm gonna be that we're gonna be playing meaningful games in December and into January and set the expectation of we are going to be a playoff team and then I believe we can win the Super Bowl. Where he has set it up is if they go eleven and six and make the second round of the playoffs, that would be the
most successful Jets season in fifteen years. If they go eleven and six and make the conference championship game, that would be the most successful Jets season in fifty years. But it would still somehow be a little disappointing because he has set the expectation at Super Bowl. That's the mistake that I think Aaron's making. I also don't think the Jets are gonna be great. I think that entire AFC East, I think the Patriots will be the worst,
the Dolphins or the Bills will be the best. But I think it's gonna be nine and eight, ten and seven, eleven and six for the three two one uh in that division. And if it's when the margins are that close, anybody can win it. But I don't think anyone's gonna in the AFCs this year gonna have a gaudy thirteen to four or better record. Take Quick Break, Come Back, What's Right? Episode one sixty five.
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Welcome Back, Episode one, six ' five The women in Finals this weekend. We'll see if it ends up being dope. Oh my goodness, Grazio practice, Jokovic and Alcarez.
There you go?
Is the woman in final? The number one sports of it you'd want to attend?
No, uh, And I do think it's going to be Djokovic Alcarez. I did think we were going to get that American unranked you Banks against Djokovic in the semish, but once he lost that fourth set tiebreaker. I was watching it at work yesterday and I said to our producer Keta, I said, if he loses this tie break, he's gonna get washed out in fifth set, and that's exactly what happened. And al korais Sella's work to do. He's got to win another match and Joe listen, Medvedev
is not gonna be an easy opponent. By the way, can I tell you the dumbest thing that Wimbledon is doing an ESPN not a knock on ESPN, but they are seen to be complicit in it. The so in tennis, when they show your name with your score, they show the flag of your country because people playing from all over the world, the Russian tennis players just have a blank space. Because of the war in Ukraine, Guys Danil
Medvedev did not, you know, try to invade Kiev. Okay, I understand that we as an international community are on Ukraine side. I believe that is the correct side to be on. They are the country being invaded, and I think Russia's overreach here is is very unsettling for an international order. But what is being accomplished by putting you, I mean at.
That point, like we know that they're Russian, right right at that point, just don't have.
Or just put like an angry guy emoji like ah mean Russian, Like, give me a break. This is not Medvedev's fault. And it's like, oh, we can't even acknowledge that the country exists. I don't get it when the at one point, I think some Russian athletes were banned from competing and then and now I actually in the very early days, and I'm not trying to be politically or and I'm not an international affairs expert. I'm an expert in a lot of things. International affairs, however, is
not one of them. But you could convince me that in the very big ginnings of the war, or in the lead up to the war, if you had said, if the Olympics, if different international sporting events had said, hey, if Russia invades Ukraine, their athletes are banned from our competitions. We don't blame the athletes, but we're doing that to put added pressure on the regime to not go through
with this. That actually would make sense to me. The idea of, you know, if there are people inside the Kremlin that are like, maybe we shouldn't do this, that maybe you put a little weight on the don't do side of the scale. Off It's like our athletes, won't be able to compete, won't be able to be the world up any well. But the war is now a year and a half in. I don't think and a half I think so. Yeah, I don't think the I
have another hot take on this. I don't think just just stripping Medvedev of his flag emoji at Wimbledon is having any discernible impact. Here's my other No, I have a question for you. Here's my other question, because you had a there were people at your school that, like I saw it, like put at their desks like the Ukraine flag. And there were people on social media that like changed their avatars or whatever to you or change their name to I see with Ukraine on the stuff.
And by the way, I get it, heart's in the right place. Here's my question, because it has been a year and a half. When you do that, are you then just pop committed that I have, like I'm just leaving this up until the war is over.
That was like with the Black Lives Matter movement when people.
Posted the blank spaces or.
The black screen and then change their like pick sure on their account.
Yeah to like George Floyd or Breonna Taylor or something like that.
And then a bunch of celebrities got a lot of backlash when they removed it.
Well, that's the thing. Nobody thinks about anything, man. Nobody is like, oh okay, I'm gonna put this up there, Okay for how long until racism's fixed. That's not it. That's not tenable. So at some point you're going to And again, I understand, I get the human.
I've never got on social media people like I understand like resharing something on your story maybe sure, but to change, like to post something on your account about it when you have what three hundred followers, Well you just that just being your reason of showing I'm not racist or I I'm on this side.
You know what I mean. So there's all right, So you know what, let's just spend a minute here. It is the middle of July is and all the sports going on, and then I'll answer the question. I answer the question about what sporting man I want to go to.
So there's a lot of levels of this, right, there is a natural human urge when something awful has happened or is going on to not want to feel helpless and to want to try, in some way, shape or form to help It's why when after nine to eleven, right, we had blood banks across the country overwhelmed with donations, even though there was at some point it was like, okay, we have too much now, you know what I mean, people were like, I can't do anything. I feel helpless.
Let me do this. It's why when DeMar Hamlin, the Buffalo Bills player who died on the field and they brought him back, It's why his charity raised millions of dollars because people watched it, felt awful, wanted to do good, and that was something they could do. That I think is one of the best parts about humanity, is like the want to help even if logically, you know, I can't really help this specific situation. So that's a good thing.
Then there is the less good thing, but it doesn't have an outright negative impact, so I guess it's still good. But it's the I want to show everyone that I'm one of the good guys, that I'm that I'm on and the difference.
I totally agree when people donate something and then screenshot it and like posts like oh I just donated money.
Sure, but again that does kind of you know.
There is a negative impact. It's just right.
And so it's the And the example I've always used in the past is if they're there's an old lady struggling across the street and I see her. I shouldn't use myself as example in this example, but I will just imagine single nick and I see her, and I also know there is a very attractive girl woman walking down the street behind me that I like. If I help that old lady cross the street just to impress
that woman. For the old lady, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if I was doing it with good intentions or with selfish intentions for her, she just experienced the good for you know what I mean, your ethics and morality or whatever one is better than the other, but you don't say what I'm saying. Like, the positive act is still done no matter what the rationale behind it was.
So if I donate a thousand bucks to a chair because I want to be able to screenshot it and show the world the charity receives that money, no matter what, it is still a net good, even if it feels a little different to the to the observer, whatever it is. So I'm okay with that, but I do recognize it is not as pure, if you will, as other things.
Then there is the one that is, again I think, a pretty common human phenomena, and it is in my opinion, very unattractive, and it is a version of main character syndrome, which is the there was a I'll pick something truly awful, a school shooting in Michigan, and the person who's like, you know, my cousin used to go to school there, it's like hmm, or it's the something really awful happens.
They're like, wow, I was almost gonna be there. And where it's the it's the making any major event exactly, making any major event that happens anywhere it only happened in relation to their life and how it affected them, and go ahead. Uh and so the Again, this was sorry for this tangent, but I actually think it's an interesting conversation. Uh. I don't know why. Uh. And you know where. You see it a lot when celebrities pass away and people.
Post that one time they met.
Them exactly right, and so I I'll give you guys my the So people maybe people would argue I did something similar to that when Doyle Brunton passed, but I was legit. I was you were there, that we were in California. I was really really sad. I did consider him a friend. It's not like we'd known each other for our whole lives, but he had come into my life late. He invited me to his house. I get sad thinking about it now. The I was legit sad about that. I was really sad, and I wanted to
pay tribute to what a nice man he was. I understood though when it happened that it might kind of look like I was doing that, but I didn't really care because I knew in my heart this was ernest. I really really loved that. Loved is probably strong. I felt like I loved the man, and I felt a deep connection to him, and I was legit sad and shocked by it. That was the other thing he went. I knew he was really old, but he wasn't sad.
We were all sitting together and you like looked on your phone. You just got up and walked away.
I couldn't believe it, because it's not when that happened. I found out through Twitter. I saw someone that I follow in the poker community before it was like announced by the family. I saw someone post a tribute to him. I was like what. So I texted my friend who's a friend of his and said, is this true? And he said yes, And I just couldn't believe it. I was just like really shocked by it. But again, I'm not trying to I don't feel like I was doing that.
It kind of could have looked like that. But you do see that sometimes when someone who people have no connection to, that it's a weird thing where people just feel a need.
That's a lot of that's really big with I'd say like high school and middle school students too, and older people. Do you know what I mean?
Well, if it's gonna be big with high school, middle school and older people, it might be big with everybody. Kids, Yeah, but that I don't with kids.
The I used to say, I remember when Cameron I like post it up, I apologize. He's the the freckled kid that was on Jesse the Mixed Kid. Yeah, And I had met him that once at the Disney Channel Music Awards. Oh yeah, And I was so sad when he died that I like, I like got I searched up on Google a bunch of photos of him and posted it. It was like, I'll miss you.
Yeah, and it's just like but you. But the thing is, that's to me. I used to say this your brother a lot, and maybe I've said it to you once or twice, which is, you shouldn't be mad at teenagers, but you should try to, as a parent as quickly as possible help them evolve out of the stage of what I call the world ending at the end of your nose, which is it is very difficult world. Right, It is very difficult for adolescence to see anything outside
of from their own perspective. And so I don't think that's an abnormal thing at all for teens, and there are kids and teens. I do think part of becoming an adult is recognizing when there is someone that passes or a tragedy or whatever, there are people who this is actually tragic for and if the spotlight should be on anyone, it should be on them, not the the And again, and this is the last thing I'll say about it. I also this is again not the same tree, but or I guess a branch of the same tree.
The folks when there is like a not that there's a lot of plane crashes, but when there is a plane crash or something like that. The folks, the folks that say, you know, I was supposed to be on that plane and then say God is good. I'm always like, eh, eh, less, like the plane ended up being empty, there was no one on it like that one that's always bothered me. Like when there was the you know or I remember,
I forget it was some celebrity. There was an earthquake and then a massive title wave in Asia like fifteen years ago, and went on TV and was like, I was supposed to be there, man, but God is good. I'm like, I think, like thousands of people just died. Maybe like I'm glad you were spared, but that's not great. Okay. Yeah, So to answer your question, the sporting event I would most want to attend, I actually think is the World Cup Final. I think the World Cup Final would be
the greatest. I think Wimbledon's on the short list, and I hope to go at some point. I've been to an NBA Finals game. I'm lucky. I've been to a super Bowl. Super Bowl is not even really on my list. The I I'd rather watch that from home on TV. NBA Finals I'd go every year if I could, and court sided the NBA Finals. I've never been by think that would be near the top of the list. By think the World Cup final will be number one. Okay, I said we're gonna do a quick show, and said
we did fifteen minutes on the overtime non secutor. All right, let's get to the game. Go ahead.
We're playing two wrongs in one right, yep. In an effort to be healthy this season, Zion says he wants to follow on Lebronze footsteps this offseason. Next season, Zion will be dominant, healthy or scandal free.
You know, I obviously hope all three. You know, he's had some lady trouble as of late. It's unfortunate. I also the Mariah young woman who he seemed to be having a relationship with, who then got his name tattooed on her face and won't stop harassing him on social media. I'm being totally serious here. I don't know if she will, but if she attempts to at NBA games, I think she has to be banned. I think the league has to step in. You can't have someone that's essentially stalking
your players show up to the games. I was thinking about this, like the situation uh, I'm not familiar with that, the Blueface the rapper, but I don't know what happened there. But I hope he is scandal free. I hope he is healthy. I know he'll be dominant. The thing about Zion is when he's played, he's been as efficient a high volume scorer as we've seen in the history of the league. That is not an exaggeration. He's sixty percent from the field, better than twenty five points perand for
his career, we've never seen someone like that. So my one right will be dominant. I hope they're all right. All right? Go ahead? Next?
Why a messy Landon and Miami ahead of his debut with Inter Miami on the twenty first, and the Woman's World Cup starts next week. Will we finally enter a new era of soccer popularity America? Will embrace soccer, stick to football or overtake Europe?
Listen, I ain't gonna marry. I think the right answer is stick to football, But I think soccer. Soccer never had the massive, enormous exponential jump people thought it would have that people were predicting for twenty years, but it has slowly but surely gained market share and I think it has clearly passed hockey as America's number four sport as far as interest in viewership. And I think it could one day pass baseball. I did wall one day baseball.
Say it again, Soccer, Yeah, I think soccer could pass baseball. Uh, it's not there. Uh.
I don't really understand the baseball appeal. I used to really like it when I was a kid, but I never I still don't really know what's going on.
Well, so it was.
I feel like being at the games for soccer are way more exciting than being at a.
Yeah, but being at a baseball game is like it's less about excitement and more about the experience. Yeah, it's outdoors, it's nice, it's kind of relaxed. There's a lot of great things about going to baseball games. Baseball has tried, and they've done a good job this year to try to reinvent itself on the fly a bit, which has stemmed some of the kind of atrophy of its fan base, but very very difficult to gain it for a slower sport.
As people's attention spans get quicker and quicker, to gain a foothold on young people, and if you don't have young people, you don't have the fans of the future, So soccer listen. I think I think American football will be the dominant sport in America for the entirety of my adult life. I believe that unless for some as
long as it exists. But I don't think anything has a monopoly on those other top two spots, and soccer can gain traction, and I don't think it's irrelevant at all, but I don't think it's going to become number one in my lifetime, all right, if ever.
Next, Mark Cuban came out saying that Kyrie is just misunderstood and that he really likes him. Cuban's worst investment is Chandler Parsons. Kyrie Irving are accepting doge coin at Maverick's home game.
Well, the dogecoin thing, I think was mostly a joke. So I'm not gonna say that Chandler Parsons I objectively was bad. And then he got a big contract from Memphis and I don't. But here's the reason I'm going to say Kyrie, and I know it sounds mean, because Kyrie is doing his best. I do believe Kyrie's heart's in the right place. On a lot of stuff. I just I think he's mixed up on certain things and you know, gullible to internet videos and faux documentaries and things.
But I also think he does really good work in the Indigenous community and the Black community, and does some really good things. I also think that him becoming you know, CCO of a Chinese sneaker company as a friend of mine, you know, put it. Once he stumbles across that Wikipedia page, he might have some questions about, wait, they do what to who over there? But set that aside. Kyrie's gonna
the Kyrie trade and the contract extension. I think it's gonna be one of the reasons Luke ends up leaving, and that will be something the franchise can't recover from. And so the answer there, unfortunately, is Kyrie all right.
Next, James Harden has doubled down on his trade requests after opting into his contract, and Dave is trying to force his way to Miami by any means necessary. Player empowerment is great, gone too far, or will get worse.
I think player empowerment, I think is fine, But I also think it's been bastardized a bit. You know, Lebron is the one credited with the player empowerment era. But all that meant was Lebron was going to you know, basically make teams woo him, pick his next destination and maybe playing years ahead of time. But Lebron honored every contract he ever had. Dame accepting the two year extension and then a year later demanding a trade to one
specific place is a tricky one. I think will get worse is the answer, and by and worse is probably I will I would tweak that will get more extreme. I think you're going to see a guy at some point take the you know, the full max extension and then immediately demand a try. That's right, And I think it's going to continue on that trajectory until a team stay. And I don't even know if this will be good. It's just my prediction of what will happen until a team stands up to a player and says, no, not
doing it. Like the players have won each and every one of those so they're going to keep doing it. And again I don't really it doesn't really bother me. I know bother some people. But it's going to take a team, you know, drawing a line in the sand, and I don't see that happening anytime soon. Next, a few.
NFL teams are bringing back their throwback jerseys. The throwback NFL jersey you'd buy is the Bucks Creamsicles, the Eagles Kelly Green, or Titans oilers.
Well, so, the Houston Oilers jerseys are awesome. Uh, the Titans wearing them is kind of weird. The Texans should be allowed to wear them, but they're not. Uh. I like all these jerseys, but my answer is none of the above, because I'm a grown man, so I'm not wearing a jersey. Sorry. Next, I pick the Oilers. The Oilers one is dope. Go ahead.
After staying there. During OTA's Sam Donald claims that George Kittle's pool house was haunted. This is the first time, this isn't the first time he said that he saw ghosts. Ghosts are real, fake or visible to only Sam Donald.
Do you believe in ghosts? You do?
Of course I do. No, of course I believe in ghosts. Are you insane?
What am I insane? Yes? What do you believe?
I believe that ghosts. Ghosts are always around.
Always around. Do you think you've had an encounter? No, You've just been lucky. So like, what do you I think that.
Like ghosts are like spirits, spirits to always.
Like around just hanging out.
Where are they supposed to go?
I don't know. I assume they have better things to.
Do, maybe not always around, but in.
Do you believe their houses can be haunted? Yeah?
Really, I think our house is haunted.
But our house, Yeah, why do you think it's hanted?
I've said this before.
I guess I didn't. I thought you were maybe just trying to base your mother, who I know believes in these types of things. What why do you think our house is haunted?
One time I woke up in my room, and you know, I sleep with my doors every door in my room closed, like my bathroom door, my my bedroom door, and my closet door. And I woke up one day all of my blinds were open, my windows were open, my doors were open, and the sink in my bathroom was on. And I try to just convince myself that I like sleep walk, but I was like, And then I asked mommy if she was in my room while I was asleep, and she was like, why would I do that? I
wouldn't do that. I was like, Okay.
And then later in the day I didn't.
Like, I left my windows open because Mommy told me to. And then later in the day I went back in my room and like, all of the windows were closed, the blinds were closed and there and all the stuff that was in my windows was just on on the floor right in front of my window.
All right, Well, that makes me think we had an intruder, not that there was a ghost. I wish you guys would have told me.
I did tell you this. You guys just don't listen to me.
No, you know, if you started the yes, maybe, if you started with ghosts, I tuned you out. But if you'd have told me all that, I would have thought there was an intruder in your room, which would have really concerned me.
So you think, no, having a contruder intruder would concern you, Like the other day when I thought there was somebody into Monday's room and you thought it was really funny and just knocked on the door and barged, and you're like, see, did you.
See anyone that you No? No, I went down there to protect you first of all. Second of all, so you not only believe there's ghosts, but you believe they have the ability to physically move objects.
Yeah, I think there's nice ghosts and good ghosts.
I'm I'm glad.
I think our house has good.
Santa Cruz has already accepted you. A lot of people.
Believing in ghosts is like the same as believing in aliens.
No, it is not.
Yes, it is yes, it is no, it is not.
There is is scientifically, it is more likely than not that aliens exist. Okay, but when when people scientific there is no basis for ghosts, go ahead.
For for aliens. People are like, We're not the only ones in the universe with ghosts. We're not the only ones there.
I I get what, I understand what you're saying, but what I am saying is from a mathematical and scientific perspective with an infinite.
I've also been watching scary movies since I was five years old. Okay, I you kinda kind of give me a break.
Listen. I'm not like the evidently the pole says is fifty to fifty on if the right house is haunted. I I don't believe in ghosts. I am gonna answer that question. I don't believe in ghosts. We have now talked about Ukraine dead celebrities and ghosts. If you can't tell it's the middle of July, you can. Now we'll answer your questions. Next What's right.
Welcome Back, Episode one sixty five. Now we're gonna read your fan questions. Ariel Miller said, Nick, would you be would you be doing an NFL preview show? Well, I know season win totals and division winners have been out a while, and the odds market is already baked.
Yep, baked.
But I always like hearing your take one thousand percent.
So when just so I can just quickly hear if you're still listening, if you made it through our Ukraine take and our ghost take, you are a loyal viewer or listener, so you might actually care about this ours. I can give you a little preliminary podcast schedule for the rest of the summer. So next week we are off. We are then theoretically on the following three weeks from July twenty fourth through August eleventh, but I might take
a show here or there off there as well. Then the week of August fourteenth, we are off because I am on vacation with my wife and her grandparents. We will be back that week of August, starting that week, we will essentially be in all NFL all the time mode. We will do our gambling preview show, our season picks,
all of it over those next few weeks. Also around that time is the time Demands will start back here with us as you were, will be getting ready to go to college and it will be football, and Demand will be doing the show from Los Angeles. But one thousand percent we are going to do that preview show like we did last year. All right, next, okay, Jacob Christiansen.
Christiansen asked if Joe Burrow would were on the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes are on the Bengals, how would you how would the last five Super Bowls slash AFC Championships have gone down?
Okay, so that's a good question. So twenty eighteen, Joe Burrow would have lost to the Patriot It's like Mahomes did in the AFC title Game. I think he would have gotten there and they would have lost. I don't think he would have had the crazy comeback Mahomes did twenty nineteen. The Chiefs would have lost in round two. No disrespect to Burrow, but the Chiefs round twenty four
to nothing in the second quarter of that game. No quarterback in the league on the Mahomes is coming back, and so they wouldn't have won the Super Bowl twenty twenty. The Chiefs would have gotten to the Super Bowl as they did and gotten the offense the Borough would have
gotten annihilated like Mahomes did in that Super Bowl. Twenty twenty one, the Chiefs would have won the Super Bowl, assuming that Mahomes would have then had the second half meltdown in the AFC Title game that he did with the Chiefs for the Bengals, and twenty twenty two, the Bengals would have beaten the chief So if you had this level Joe Burrow the last five years on the Bengals on the Chiefs, pardon me, the Chiefs would have
won one super Bowl. If you had Mahomes on the Bengals eighteen nineteen twenty, they weren't anything so like it's very hard to I don't even know how to do that math. You can't even put him in the playoff games. They weren't in the playoffs. But the Chiefs would have won the last two Super Bowls twenty one and twenty two. That's my answer. I mean, the Bengals would have if they had mahomestead of Burrow. All right.
Next, Shepherd said, this is going to be the review the reviewable past interference fiasco the NFL went through all over.
Again regarding flopping a one thousand percent agree. All right.
Next, Xavier Alvarado said, Nick believes in the sports gods, but not ghosts.
So here's the thing. The sports gods thing is really more of a metaphor. I don't actually believe there is a god dictating the outcome of the games, but I do think there are things you can do that set things in motion that work against you. And the catch all term for that is the sports gods frowning upon it. But I think psychology. I think guys can do certain things that have a psychological impact on themselves or their
opponent that negatively or positively affects them. And that the kind of the metaphor for that is the sports gods. That's what I believe. Oh go ahead, mister.
Rage asked, is Demante believe in ghosts? I bet he does.
I would bet yes as well. Doesn't believe in dinosaurs, does believe in ghosts?
Demanse doesn't believe in dinosugs.
He does, but that was an old from one of his very first podcasts, he decided to like try out. He didn't really know who he wanted to be on the air, so he evidently was trying out like a comedy goofy guy routine and did all like, give me proof there's dinosaurs. I've never seen it. And he was trying to be funny, but people just thought he was an idiot, and so they made fun of him for a long time and he still regrets it and he's
still like, guys, I believe in dinosaurs. But he was trying to be a funny guy and people didn't know him well enough yet. So that's what that's the that's the reference, all right.
Last one, everyone wants to know what did you get Demanse for his birthday?
Would you get him?
I got him a trip to Graham Cayman.
No, oh really, yeah you got him that. Yeah, you're gonna transfer me that money?
Then I already did.
Oh, okay, their aunt. If you just go look, okay, thanks, yeah, I'll just take it out of your five percent that No, he won't did this. Look at that image. Look at you. You made the photoshop.
But I'm not at the party though.
I asked him what he wanted. No, you're on TV, your star. I asked him what he wanted. I assumed it was money. He said money. Uh, he's really trying to start his own little small business and so he wants money. And his mother, instead of asking what he wanted, just says, I'm getting you a dining room table.
I'm sure he really appreciates what.
He definitely wants, what he likes to pick out his own. But he is trying to, you know, breathe. That's you know, kind of his passion his snakes and breeding snakes. So I think he's gonna he's gonna continue to work on that. Happy Birthday Pal. Can't wait to see his side. Love you guys. We will see you guys on TV today at three o'clock. What's right