The Daily Zeitgeist - Favorite Finals Moments and More with Carl Tart

Episode Date: June 2, 2022

Miles and Jack were joined by writer/actor Carl Tart on the latest episode of Mad Boosties. The trio broke down predictions for Warriors vs Celtics, before discussing some of Carl’s favorite Fin...als moments and matchups.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 I'm Keri Champion, and this is Season 4 of Naked Sports. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry, Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's basketball. And on this new season,
Starting point is 00:00:18 we'll cover all things sports and culture. Listen to Naked Sports on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio apps, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Black Effect Podcast Network is sponsored by Diet Coke.
Starting point is 00:00:30 I'm Keri Champion and this is season four of Naked Sports. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry. Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese.
Starting point is 00:00:39 Every great player needs a foil. I know I'll go down in history. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game.
Starting point is 00:00:45 Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports. Listen to the making of a rivalry, Caitlin Clark versus Angel Reese, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Elf Beauty, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports. Captain's Log, Stardate 2024. We're floating somewhere in the cosmos, but we've lost our map. Yeah, because you refuse to ask for directions. It's space gem.
Starting point is 00:01:10 There are no roads. Good point. So where are we headed? Into the unknown, of course. Join us on In Our Own World as we uncover hidden truths, navigate the depths of culture, identity, and the human spirit. With a hint of mischief. One episode at a time.
Starting point is 00:01:24 Buckle up and listen to In Our Own World on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Trust us, it's out of this world. Welcome, welcome, welcome. The NBA finals are about to kick off, and you know we got to talk about those conference finals as well as this matchup, but we have a very special guest to do it with today we are joined oh my goodness with somebody who's written on tv acted on tv
Starting point is 00:01:51 and you may even know him from the hit nbc show grand crew which just got a second season we have carl tart in the building i'm miles gray i'm jack o'brien And this is Miles and Jack Got mad boosties Flawless intro Woo Yes, the finals are here But more importantly Our guest
Starting point is 00:02:16 Mr. Carl Tart If you don't know who Carl Tart is Maybe you're not familiar with laughing Because if you are, certainly this is a name you would have ringing in your ears. But Carl, let's not delay any things further. Welcome to the show. How you been, man? Thank you for having me. Two of
Starting point is 00:02:34 my oldest and dearest friends. Two of my oldest. And Jack and I are such dear friends that he has watched every single episode of my show twice. Everyone. I send you notes. He sends me notes every week. He tells me how much he likes me. He sends tells me how much he likes me sends me flowers if nobody's giving me my flowers jack is giving me my phone there there it is listen i'm so happy to be here y'all i'm so happy y'all finally talking basketball i'm sure you've talked about jack's history with the game of basketball
Starting point is 00:02:55 it's in his blood yeah and miles i ain't never seen you who but you got to come out with us on sundays because i need to see what you're talking about oh yeah you could you can see i'm i'm pretty transparent with it. I have about three just heavy dribbling moves that I've like mainline from the N1 mixtape. I have no left and that's pretty much all you need to know about me. So if you show me left
Starting point is 00:03:16 they're like you've neutralized me on the basketball court. Is that heavy dribbling like you're dribbling many times like James Harden or you're just like pounding it? I'm hitting like the hurricane that like A.O. used to do or like hot sauce. Like there were certain like moves that I was like, I just want to create the muscle memory because I would see I didn't I didn't make the basketball team. So I played at nutrition with the kids in the honors classes who also couldn't make it. And I was serving those young students out there on the blacktop.
Starting point is 00:03:42 So that's that's me. The kids we weren't allowed to play with. My coach used to be like, don't you be out there with them. You got a game to play. Yeah. When I was a freshman in high school, we used to,
Starting point is 00:03:51 uh, we used to gamble and for the, for like the gangsters. And they'd be like, Oh, Oh, cargo, cargo shoe for me.
Starting point is 00:04:00 They used to call it shooting for bucks. Remember that? Right. Right. Right. Right. So much pressure. Cause you didn't want to get beat up. Right. But so we're like out there and i'm like i gotta make
Starting point is 00:04:08 these shots like that's how they made and these are like seniors and i'm like 14 right right right yeah oh that kind of peer pressure i don't think there's more pressure than a senior being like hey you you're like yes yeah you're gonna shoot for me like he got he got a jumper and called called jimmy is wet yeah you shouldn't have to edit that out that's a basketball reference yeah oh man so how you feeling about what did you think about the conference finals east or west who do you want to talk about first uh we could talk about we could talk about the western conference finals first sure it's pretty quick. That happened. Yeah, that happened. It was what it was.
Starting point is 00:04:47 I'm happy with that outcome. I was rooting for the California team. I have my thoughts on the Dallas team and their fan base, but I'll keep it to the other podcast. But I was rooting for the California team. I like those dudes now. Everybody was hating on them back in the day. Us LeBron guys, big LeBron guy.
Starting point is 00:05:12 I definitely was hating on the Warriors back then. But after getting to know Steph and Draymond a little bit more, seeing the adversity that they faced with Klay being out and seeing that stuff, I'm like, all right, man, y'all don't bother me no more. And I also feel like the fighting for LeBron is just going to what it's gonna be he's entering his 20th season so like i'm like yeah man he's he's gonna get the rings that he got like i don't know if he i don't know if he wins another one he's gonna be my goat forever right he's my guy but i don't i don't have no problem with the warriors anymore that series what it was that showed you saw experience versus no experience uh you saw the the smart the the brains of defensive minded players like draymond green and the way he helped
Starting point is 00:05:54 andrew wiggins do as much as he could with luka donchic yeah uh he did he did as much as he could and he did a pretty good job. You know? When you got a player like that who's never going to be that rattled, you got to capitalize on the moments where they do get rattled. Because Luka is still very immature on the court. And you can see his bravado, his cockiness when things are going well. And then you can see how much he shuts down when it's not going well. And you want to make sure that you capitalize on the moments of him not playing well so the other players don't know who to look to because there's no other dog on that team.
Starting point is 00:06:34 And they need another dog. They need another dog. They got rid of Chris Dobbs. Chris Dobbs wasn't that dog. I think they need another superstar to help him there. Mr. Denweedy came up strong. Jalen Brunson is great. I love a four-year college guy because they get the most disrespect.
Starting point is 00:06:52 Jabari says a John Collins type. I think that that would work there. I mean, Dorian Finney. I think Tim Hardaway Jr. coming back is going to help them tremendously. I think he's very good. I think he's an underrated player. I watched him in those Clippers series, and he ate us up a couple games when we did kind of neutralize luca and neutralizing luca is letting him do what he wants and making sure nobody else scores the basketball
Starting point is 00:07:12 right and uh but he uh yeah john collins type uh a a big forward that can that can shoot the ball from the outside kind of like what they have. But somebody that's a little bit faster than like a Maxi Kleber. Somebody a little bit more of a dog. A little bit of a better scorer than Maxi Kleber. I think that's what they're lacking. But anyway, on to the Eastern Conference Finals. Yeah, yeah. Alright, so game set.
Starting point is 00:07:38 I mean, we might as well talk about the thing the whole series turned on, which is the Jimmy Butler 3. But like, up until the moment that that hit the front of the rim, it felt like he was just the, the heat were just like, like somebody tweeted that it seemed like they were playing for a game eight.
Starting point is 00:07:55 Like they were, they were just kind of slow rolling it. And then when they made the comeback, I was like, damn, like they really are just giving exactly what they need to win this by one shot. And then obviously, he didn't make it. Didn't make the shot.
Starting point is 00:08:09 I was at a wedding while that game was going on. And I was watching on my phone under the table. And I was watching a little bit because I'm kind of, this playoffs has been exhausting, man. It's been exhausting. So I'm watching, I'm going back and exhausting, man. It's been exhausting. So I'm watching, I'm going back and forth, but I was rooting for the Heat. I'm not a Boston fan by any means. I love to see them lose, but they didn't lose. And rightfully so, they were the better team.
Starting point is 00:08:36 That shocking game six win by the Miami Heat was beautiful. Yeah. It was like Jimmy Butler is one of the most underrated players in the league. I saw somebody tweet and these are the type of things that make me exhausted with me it takes like this i saw somebody tweet jimmy butler is one of those rare guys that's not a top five player but oh but has top five top five performance yeah something like that i go you know i think we just gotta we gotta tone it down with the rankings the live live rankings, and things like that, and understand what basketball is.
Starting point is 00:09:11 Yes, there are superstars that play better, that do better things than others, but the system is what works. The system has to work. The Golden State Warriors proved that to us with their first three championships. The system has to work. The Golden State Warriors proved that to us with their first three championships. It's the system that works that allows the superstar players to thrive in said system. It all has to come together like a beautiful mix. Jimmy Butler has not had that.
Starting point is 00:09:41 Jimmy Butler, I was talking to a friend about this, and I always bring him up just because he's talked. I'm not a huge fan, but he, he, he talks, you know, I can't deny who he is. Luca Donchic. If Jimmy Butler is playing Luca Donchic one-on-one, I think Jimmy's got way more dog in him than Luca does. And I think that Jimmy Butler could win that if he makes the shots and Luca misses a couple,
Starting point is 00:10:01 you know what I mean? Right. I mean, that was my whole thing was that he should have made the three. He should have made it. Like, that's the thing nobody's talking about. They're like, should he have taken it? Should he have not taken it?
Starting point is 00:10:10 But, like, if you think about whether he had made it, if he had just made it, like, they would have had the lead, I think. Jack, that take is ridiculous. 100% ridiculous take. You think he should have made that shot as opposed to missing it? Jack, come on, man. They let you talk he should have made that shot as opposed to missing it Jack come on man they let you talk on this
Starting point is 00:10:28 microphone like that he's setting himself up for a storybook comeback by missing that shot think about next year Jack this year don't matter I know a lot of like you know Max Drews hit that three it is the games winding down it's what the 98-93
Starting point is 00:10:44 so that three puts them within two. And again, like you're saying with the momentum going at the end of the game, I'm like, this feels as Jimmy Butler's coming down the court. I'm like this. I remember being like, I feel like this is,
Starting point is 00:10:57 we're about to see the thing that's supposed to happen. But here, let's just take a little bit of a listen to that play from that three to take it to 96-98. So again, the energy feels like, okay, now they're within two. The comeback is on its way. An 11-0 run. So Struis had just made his shot.
Starting point is 00:11:24 Right. Which is pretty good. According to math, that puts them within two now. Smart comes in. Striving throws it up. It was starting to feel preordained. You heard it
Starting point is 00:11:44 in his voice right there like that was the right shot because he clearly thought it was going in and I think everybody was like for the lead like in their heart they thought they were about to watch like when people just suddenly have
Starting point is 00:11:59 the ability to rewrite the laws of physics and just do whatever they want for a couple plays on the basketball court right uh jabari brings up an interesting point there was a three that was retroactively wiped away that could have definitely made a difference was why right he did not step on the line yeah his heel was like right over it his heel was up he didn't step on the line and he took that away which you know i can we can write that off as a boston call but i'm not gonna do that i'm not gonna do that fair and square i think the better team won the series of course i think that you
Starting point is 00:12:31 know bam being your second best score is tough when you're playing against such a strong defensive minded team robert williams does so much on the court and makes up for so many mistakes that Boston makes. Jason Tatum and Jalen Brown have the most turnovers in the playoffs, I think. But when you got to play like Robert Williams out there, he makes up for mistakes like that. Al Horford is just a basketball mind. He knows what's going on. He played so well in that game. Shout out to the geriatric millennials right now
Starting point is 00:13:05 representing for Marcus Smart you know he's gonna do what he's gonna do when he started hitting threes I just like
Starting point is 00:13:14 turned to the people I was with I was like that's it it's over it's over right there you gonna have that I think
Starting point is 00:13:20 going into this Golden State series it's gonna be it's a Jack a Jack O'Brien point. All you got to do is make the shot. It's going to be a great offensive team versus... This is my Booker McFarlane take.
Starting point is 00:13:35 The team, these two teams, I'm going to just tell you like this. It's going to be an offensive versus defensive game. At every possession. At every possession. At every possession. One team is going to be playing really good defense, and the other team is going to be playing really good offense.
Starting point is 00:13:52 And that's what we're going to see, and that's what we look out for. No, I think an X factor in this series is Andrew Wiggins. I think he has to play defense on Jason Tatum as well as he did on Luka Doncic. And I think Jason Tatum, I want to say Jason Tatum is better than Luka, but that just might be my hater rate coming out of my pores. But I think he definitely can be stopped easier than Luka Doncic because his turnover rate is much higher than Luka Doncic. Luka Doncic protects the ball
Starting point is 00:14:26 a little bit more with the angles that he uses to play with. Jason Tatum plays a little bit more, you know, athletically and that calls
Starting point is 00:14:32 for a lot more turnovers. I think if Andrew Wiggins can neutralize him a little bit, then Golden State has a chance. I think that's the X factor. And it also has to be
Starting point is 00:14:42 from both sides. He has to make shots. He has to. Andrew Wiggins has to be on offensively and defensively. I think he's the X the x factor and it also has to be from both sides he has to make shot to yeah he has to andrew wiggins has to be on offensively and defensively i think he's the x factor in the whole thing steph is gonna do steph i think if they win like steph's finally gonna get his his offensive uh in uh his mvp his finals mvp this this series uh but boston's defense is just yeah out of this world yeah that's the thing when you compare tatum and uh luca is like well tatum's also one of the best perimeter defenders in the league so yeah that that makes a difference because as you pointed out that uh you know wiggins is going to have to play defense on tatum um and that is important is whether you can play defense on the
Starting point is 00:15:23 guy uh who is trying to put the ball in the basket that's what i hear too you know it's just as important what you're doing when you don't have the ball in your hands yeah right you know it's the little things that count you know they all add up you know the little things add up to big thing and brian you can add the al pacino speech from uh from uh any given sunday there about the inches. I mean, yeah, that matchup is interesting. I'm really curious to see how, you know, how the coaches
Starting point is 00:15:50 go after it in terms of like, you know, the overall strategy in dealing with each other's offensive threats. Really like looking at the Warriors. Part of me, see, this is the thing. When I look at this series, so many things I thought
Starting point is 00:16:04 were going to happen have not happened so at this point i'm looking at the outcome as just sort of like well i think the universe is telling me i'm i don't know anything and if that's the case my fear i don't and this is just my fear as i predict what could happen here is that I see a reality where the Boston Celtics very much win this. And that freaks me out. And I'm being honest, listeners, that freaks me out. That freaks me out. It freaks me out too because I would much rather
Starting point is 00:16:35 see them do the opposite of win this thing. I'd much rather see them lose this thing. Oh, lose, okay. Yes, he loses. Losing is that one team is going to win okay and i think the team that wins the most games will be the winner of the series okay and that's out of how many games gotta win four out of seven games you at least need to win four of them okay so listeners write that down you need to win four out of the seven games we're gonna get into the math a little bit
Starting point is 00:16:59 later no but i i definitely think that they they have a huge chance at winning the series. I think it, it, it hinges on a lot of little things. Uh, now where the Golden State Warriors do have the advantages, of course, it's the best shooting team we've ever seen.
Starting point is 00:17:14 Uh, and, uh, I, I do think Steph is going to be the best player on the court for both teams. I think that's, think that's beneficial. Draymond's got to keep it.
Starting point is 00:17:28 He got to keep it. He got to stay in the game. He thinks he's very important. But, however, I think they're going to need some – Kevon Looney's going to have to keep playing well. He's been playing well. He's going to have to keep playing well because they're going to need his size against Horford and Rob Williams.
Starting point is 00:17:44 I think it's going to be tough. It's going to be a real tough matchup. I think it goes to six or seven. People are like Golden State's heavily favorite. I don't know why they would say that they're heavily favorite. Look at what Boston has done against every team in this. Miami was probably the worst team that they played, and they were the
Starting point is 00:18:05 number one seed needs like when you think about you know they they sweet kairi and kevin durant two generational talent they beat the crap out of yannis oh my god i hope that dude that dude probably still sitting in the ice bath and they they were they were injured and their offensive efficiency was awful abysmal when he was off the court but i don't i don't know why people are like oh there's gonna be a cakewalk for golden state every time boston wins i'm like how are they not sweeping this series like when they have it going they look so much better than whoever they're playing and yeah that's not that's not my preferred outcome but i mean it makes sense to me that like warriors are the public team because they have the stars that people have
Starting point is 00:18:50 seen win a championship before um and just like the more recognizable names but i don't know i'm not saying anything that like zach low hasn't said a hundred times or whatever advanced stats people's names are i mean one fact that i saw posts, I think, from the ESPN stats account was that both teams in this finals, their top three scorers this postseason were drafted by their respective teams. So Curry, Thompson,
Starting point is 00:19:16 Poole, and Tatum, Brown, and Smart. And the first time the top three postseason scorers on each NBA finals team debuted with their respective team, that's been since 1998 in the Bulls Jazz series. Let me ask y'all this. Do y'all think Kuminga's gonna see
Starting point is 00:19:32 some good run in the Finals? I have no idea. Because I think it's gonna be a close series and it's gonna be unpredictable, I could definitely see them wanting to use him to just like kind of keep Austin off balance. Right.
Starting point is 00:19:49 Yeah. I mean, when it comes between him and Robert Williams, I feel like, you know. Yeah. That's a good matchup. Yeah. That's cool, though. like that's something that I feel like GMs are probably have been taking note of is like you know keeping a core together as opposed
Starting point is 00:20:09 to like the era of you know just stacking blue chip players and like everybody being focused on the offseason more than like what would actually happen like last year you know Giannis stuck with Milwaukee won the chip and And this year,
Starting point is 00:20:25 whoever wins is going to be kind of same, same lesson. Right. Yeah. Um, so maybe, maybe there's something to it. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:20:33 Keep your eyes peeled front offices of certain teams. All right, let's take a quick break. We'll be right back. I'm Carrie champion. And this is season four of naked sports where we live at the intersection of sports and culture up first i explore the making of a rivalry caitlin clark versus angel reese i know i'll go down in history people are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game every great player needs a foil i ain't really near them boys i
Starting point is 00:21:03 just come here to play basketball every single day, and that's what I focus on. From college to the pros, Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports. Angel Reese is a joy to watch. She is unapologetically black. I love her. What exactly ignited this fire? Why has it been so good for the game? And can the fanfare surrounding these two supernovas be sustained?
Starting point is 00:21:26 This game is only going to get better because the talent is getting better. This new season will cover all things sports and culture. Listen to Naked Sports on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Black Effect Podcast Network is sponsored by Diet Coke. It was December 2019 when the story blew up. In Green Bay, Wisconsin, former Packers star Kabir Bajabiamila caught up in a bizarre situation. KGB explaining what he believes led to the arrest of his friends at a children's Christmas play. A family man, former NFL player, devout Christian, now cut off from his family and connected to a strange arrest.
Starting point is 00:22:07 I am going to share my journey of how I went from Christianity to now a Hebrew Israelite. I got swept up in Kabir's journey. But this was only the beginning in a story about faith and football, the search for meaning away from the gridiron and the consequences for everyone involved. football, the search for meaning away from the gridiron, and the consequences for everyone involved. You mix homesteading with guns and church and a little bit of the spice of conspiracy theories that we liked. Voila! You got straight away. I felt like I was living in North Korea, but worse, if that's possible. Listen to Spiraled on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Do you ever wonder where your favorite foods come from? Like what's the history behind bacon-wrapped hot dogs?
Starting point is 00:22:49 Hi, I'm Eva Longoria. Hi, I'm Maite Gomez-Rejon. Our podcast, Hungry for History, is back. Season two. Season two. Are we recording? Are we good? Oh, we push record, right?
Starting point is 00:23:01 Okay. And this season, we're taking in a bigger bite. Out of the most delicious food and its history. Saying that the most popular cocktail is the margarita, followed by the mojito from Cuba, and the piña colada from Puerto Rico. So all of these... We have, we think, Latin culture. There's a mention of blood sausage in Homer's Odyssey
Starting point is 00:23:21 that dates back to the 9th century B.C. B.C.? I didn't realize how old the hot dog was. Listen to Hungry for History as part of the My Cultura podcast network, available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And we're back um this is this is the part of the show carl where we like to ask our guests some things about their their relationship to uh round ball uh which is what i call basketball
Starting point is 00:23:58 when i'm hanging out with john tesh me and john tesh are close personal friends uh it's only reason the nba would let me do this show. You checked the voicemail. You were the one that checked the voicemail. And he doesn't add that when he's doing it live. He doesn't say, and then my boy Jack checked the voicemail and was like, hey, I think you might want to listen to this again. Wait, Jack, what's it say?
Starting point is 00:24:20 It says something like... Jack, what's it say? It says something like Have you ever played ball with John Tesh? I guess that's my first question for you because I have never played basketball with John Tesh. I've been trying. I DM him every day. Man, let's get Let's get him going. I need you to hold this L, Tesh.
Starting point is 00:24:43 Dribbling with his whole body with the ball out in front of him. He's got a very old school looking when he's pretending to dribble the ball. And he got that balance hand out back. We're all referring to. Yes. Oh, do, do, do, do.
Starting point is 00:24:56 Yeah, exactly. Do, do, do, do, do, do, do. Anybody who doesn't know what we're talking about should just go Google google john tesh round ball rock round ball rock yeah why yeah um all right first thing we like to ask everybody craziest thing you've ever seen on a basketball court in person carl tart like just wild it's like athletic move just supernatural ability uh i saw uh demar de rosen catch two bodies at the same time at ucla
Starting point is 00:25:26 and we were standing on the sideline being like yeah luckily we don't have neck it's just that ucla pickup game that like yeah this was a senior in high school and we were all there playing and you know me and my friends like to wax nostalgic about those days but there was three courts in the wooden center at ucla and we would call like the first court the d1 court the second court was the d2 court and third court was just like a bunch of very smart kids like kind of running that's literally me like playing the nutrition class yeah yeah yeah we we spent most of our time on the d2 court getting like medium runs in, you know what I mean?
Starting point is 00:26:06 Right. Yeah. But that D one court at a certain point, you just went over there and watched. Right. Cause everybody was there. Everybody would be there. Like I remember seeing all the guys from the team come in.
Starting point is 00:26:16 This is at the time. My freshman year of college is also, you know, like the years of, of the Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook years, Drew Holiday was around, Darren Collinson was around. They would all come and hoop with guys like Romeo.
Starting point is 00:26:35 Lil' Romeo was out there. Romeo Miller? Yeah, he got the run because he was Romeo. He was definitely not at the caliber of those players, even though he did get a D1 scholarship to SC. Jabari calls romeo the pride of sc i see that uh but i uh and demar will be out there uh some older nba guys would be out there uh stefan marbury's brother he was always a person who would come out there and be killing everybody. And those were just the fun days of hooping up there. And you wanted to play, but it was like, I can't.
Starting point is 00:27:12 I shouldn't get out here. But, yeah, that's one that off the top of my head, I literally saw him just, like, jump over two dudes that was trying to play. He was so athletic at that point. And it's like, okay, you got next. You're like, no. No. Get in the car. What did I tell you about coming around here messing with these boys?
Starting point is 00:27:30 I think that was something you guys mentioned on your great basketball podcast and Flavor Ones, which that's one I've caught every episode of. And I think you guys talked at one point about how it would be interesting to add a regular person like what every team just has to have a regular person out there just to,
Starting point is 00:27:48 so that we could see the differential. Yeah. Just see watching like a six foot one guy who like has some post game. Yeah. Cause he plays center in high school. Right. Exactly. Just get it.
Starting point is 00:28:03 Getting absolutely demolished. Yeah, yeah. Think about it, NBA. He's got to be the person who talks the most crap on Twitter. Right, of course. I just like the idea, too, where it's like there's a stretch of the game
Starting point is 00:28:16 where the regular dudes have to come in and they're like, substitution for the Lakers, number 97, Rick. Yeah. And just like some dude. The only first name. Yeah, it's, Rick. Yeah. And just like some dude. Only first name. Yeah, it's just Rick. First name, last initial.
Starting point is 00:28:32 Help group. He works on HVAC units and installations and thinks he's better than Steve Nash. Yeah. Great. Put him out there. It's his senior year. Did not make the varsity basketball team. Only made JV his senior it's his senior year. Did not make the varsity basketball team. Only made JV his senior year because his father was the health teacher. Oh, no.
Starting point is 00:28:51 Okay. Luka may have blinded him with that dunk. I think the ball hit him right in his eyes as it came through the bottom of the net. Oh, boy. You hate to see that. But, yeah, I would say off the top of my head, that was one of the craziest moments. Give you a little history of myself. One of the craziest moments
Starting point is 00:29:07 in hindsight is yours truly LeBron style blocking James Harden off the backboard in 2006. On a breakaway? On a breakaway? Set this up.
Starting point is 00:29:24 It's the Orange County Classic. Hamilton High School versus Artesia High School. These guys at this time got three of the top players in California. One guy named Reynardo Sidney. He was a 6'10 shooter. Big guy. Hard to guard. He was one of the top guys in the state.
Starting point is 00:29:44 Another guy named malik story i think he went on to play indiana for a while but kind of petered out there and james harden who you know in high school you everybody's kind of like at a similar level you know if you play varsity basketball so i'm like i'm guarding this dude and like you know he's not like murder he's not putting up 100 points on me and i like, and I'm coming in and he kind of shakes me and then goes up with like a soft layup. And I just kind of bow. And I'm talking,
Starting point is 00:30:11 I'm talking cash, you know, let's go, let's go. Top 10, top 10. Oh no. Anyway,
Starting point is 00:30:19 he comes back. Let's just say he catches a body and that body's name was called Tart. He got me good. He got me good. He got me good. So what, like, why he, you just went up for it.
Starting point is 00:30:32 You said, you know what, let's try. I thought I could contest you because at that point, you know, this is before social media, this tape will never be found. Unless you go like to the film room at Artesia high school or something,
Starting point is 00:30:42 maybe, but like, uh, they, this tape will never be found. So this is before social media era where everybody's like running from the the getting dunked on right this is only you only got to deal with the embarrassment of the the immediate crowd in the gym teammates never exactly but he also went on to be well james hart right yeah so like i'm cool with i'm cool with that uh and uh yeah, he got me good because I got too cocky after blocking his layup.
Starting point is 00:31:09 Because he was, like, two inches taller than me. So we were virtually standing at the same, you know, length and, like, yeah. Well, you know, at least, look, that's a moment that at least you can remember. It's wild. Like, I was just looking up Artesia High School. There's a Google review for Artesia high school and one of the google reviews four stars but the review is james harden a dog bro yeah i love it thank you he was a dog of a high school all right so we wanted to play this clip from a podcast i I'm actually just going to read the quote.
Starting point is 00:31:45 But it's Jermaine O'Neal talking about why he eventually left Miami. It was not the reason I was expecting. He said, I'm going to start with Miami. They wanted me to re-sign. I knew that Braun and them was coming. And this is the realest thing I could tell y'all. You know they got that 8% body
Starting point is 00:32:01 fat. That shit is serious for a big guy that's heavy lifting. Referring to the Miami mentality where they demand everybody get in really good shape. Then he says, I remember going into the pantry at night looking at the Oreos. The Oreos looking at me and I couldn't, bro. I am in a full battle daily on what I ate. And I was like, bro, I'm 30 plus years old. I can't go through this. So I was like, I'm
Starting point is 00:32:28 too old to be having a debate whether I want to have an Oreo or not. I can't do that shit. So that's why I left Miami. Oh, I can relate. I can fully 100% relate because it was recently that I learned that two Oreos are like 180 calories.
Starting point is 00:32:49 Like the serving size is two. And that goes up if you're getting double stuffed or mega stuffed or whatever. Right, right. The serving size is two. You should be having two cookies. You should be sitting down. If you want a nice, if you want to eat in moderation, have a nice treat. Right.
Starting point is 00:33:03 Put them on a plate by themselves on a plate two oreos you sit down on the couch and you have your tea and you eat your two oreos like i eat sleeves of oreo yes i do this thing where i'm like oh they might go stale if i don't eat if i can't seal this bag i have big mac oreos i take the one side off one of them and put it together so there's three cookies two stuffings and that's my ideal amount and i eat those goodness come on you best believe i'm doing it with whole milk straight oh yeah absolutely you know i mean i'm not doing no oat ain't no oat you're on your back under a cow eating the oreos and then straight shots just chugging heavy
Starting point is 00:33:43 whipping cream you know what time it is i think about that now what basically what he was when i first heard that clip i was like i relate to this so much even now in a world where i don't have to have eight percent body fat to be in my career uh less than eight percent body fat i'm like man that's got to be extremely hard because i'm the type of person like right before we got on to record i went to the gym and i'm like i'm doing this i'm putting in this this heavy lifting i'm doing these five by fives and i'm on this peloton so i can eat that sleeve of oreo oh yeah i can maintain us a healthy balance you know i mean i i don't uh i don't know how they i don't know i totally relate to him i'm like
Starting point is 00:34:26 especially at that point he's probably like man basketball i'm i'm about done right if you had if there was a food you struggle with carl what would it what's your oreos crispy cream donuts man just a regular place yeah when they're hot and fresh come on i don't think there's anything better tasting but also for me it's just like late night eat like i i like late night eating is bad yeah also like just snacking cup of satisfying like imagine that imagine going to your pantry and you seeing a bunch of maruchan cup of noodles yeah and you can't eat them no not doing that you put. You put an egg in that, and it becomes the health food. Yeah, exactly.
Starting point is 00:35:08 My thing, I think, would be, yeah, Jabari put the question, what would be our Achilles heel if we were professional athletes? I think mine would be like Mountain Dew and like other sweet beverages. Oh, my God. Soda. Soda is deadly. Soda is killing me, too. There's nothing
Starting point is 00:35:25 more refreshing after a night of heavy drinking than an ice cold Coca-Cola in all of its glory. For me, it would probably be Kern's Nectar Juice, which is just pure sugar.
Starting point is 00:35:41 I thought that was healthy back in the 90s, didn't you? Oh, yeah. You know, I was getting in the can. Jack, come on now. This is for the West Coasters out here. That can, Kern's Nectar, and mashed potatoes with a ton of butter. I can. Of all the dishes I have trouble not eating,
Starting point is 00:35:57 if I see something that looks good as a mashed potato on a restaurant, I'm like, let me also get a side of those mashed potatoes. Now, let me ask you this. You like your mashed potatoes chunky? I like them always. I'm like, let me also get a side of those mashed potatoes. Let me ask you this. You like your mashed potatoes chunky? I like them always. I can eat them smooth. I can eat them chunky with the skin parsley in there. Whatever.
Starting point is 00:36:11 I love a chunky mashed potato. I love a couple pieces of whole potato. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Especially when it's cooked. Rather than sometimes someone will rush it and you're like, was there an apple in there? Yeah, not that. Alright, let's take a quick break, and we'll come back with our rapid-fire round of questions
Starting point is 00:36:27 for our guest, Carl Tartt. I'm Keri Champion, and this is Season 4 of Naked Sports, where we live at the intersection of sports and culture. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry, Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. I know I'll go down in history. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game.
Starting point is 00:36:50 Every great player needs a foil. I ain't really near them boys. I just come here to play basketball every single day, and that's what I focus on. From college to the pros, Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports. Angel Reese is a joy to watch. She is unapologetically black.
Starting point is 00:37:06 I love her. What exactly ignited this fire? Why has it been so good for the game? And can the fanfare surrounding these two supernovas be sustained? This game is only going to get better because the talent is getting better. This new season will cover all things sports and culture. Listen to Naked Sports on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Starting point is 00:37:29 The Black Effect Podcast Network is sponsored by Diet Coke. When you think of Mexican culture, you think of avocado, mariachi, delicious cuisine, and of course, lucha libre. It doesn't get more Mexican than this. Lucha libre is known globally because it is much more than just a sport and much more than just entertainment. Lucha Libre is a type of storytelling. It's a dance.
Starting point is 00:37:52 It's tradition. It's culture. This is Lucha Libre Behind the Mask, a 12-episode podcast in both English and Spanish about the history and cultural richness of Lucha Libre. And I'm your host, Santos Escobar, the emperor of Lucha Libre. And I'm your host, Santos Escobar, the emperor of Lucha Libre and a WWE superstar. Santos! Santos!
Starting point is 00:38:10 Join me as we learn more about the history behind this spectacular sport from its inception in the United States to how it became a global symbol of Mexican culture. We'll learn more about some of the most iconic heroes in the ring. This is Lucha Libre Behind the Mask. Listen to Lucha Libre Behind the Mask as part of My Cultura Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
Starting point is 00:38:31 or wherever you stream podcasts. It was December 2019 when the story blew up. In Green Bay, Wisconsin, former Packers star Kabir Bajabiamila caught up in a bizarre situation. KGB explaining what he believes led to the arrest of his friends at a children's Christmas play. A family man, former NFL player, devout Christian, now cut off from his family and connected to a strange arrest. I am going to share my journey of how I went from Christianity to now a Hebrew Israelite. I got swept up in Kabir's journey, but this was only the beginning. In a story about faith and football, the search for meaning away from the gridiron,
Starting point is 00:39:12 and the consequences for everyone involved. You mix homesteading with guns and church, and then a little bit of the spice of conspiracy theories that we liked. Voila! You got straight away. I felt like I was living in North Korea, but worse, if that's possible. Listen to Spiraled on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Starting point is 00:39:38 And we're back. To close out the show, Carl, we got to hit you with some rapid-fire questions. Do not think, just respond, and we will move to the next question. We will be judging you, though. We will be judging. Here we go.
Starting point is 00:39:51 Start the clock now. Carl Tartt, what is the greatest finals matchup ever? Warriors, Cleveland. 2016. 2016. Okay, yep. Favorite finals moment ever? The block.
Starting point is 00:40:04 The LeBron block. The Tartt on Harden ever? The block. The LeBron block. The, the, the tart on Harden block. The tart on Harden block. The way he stole from me. He stole that from me. He saw me do it in high school and he stole it from me.
Starting point is 00:40:14 Carl Tart, what is your ultimate finals matchup? As in, you could take the 0-1 Lakers versus the 96 Bulls, or maybe the 2016 Warriors versus the 86 Celtics. What's the ultimate finals matchup you'd like to see? I'd like to maybe the 2016 warriors versus the 86 celtics what's the ultimate finals matchup you'd like to see i'd like to see the 2016 cavaliers versus the 91 bulls oh okay all right you can pick any song as you're in arena music after you make a three what's your song uh the country rap king by michael knight and goes i'm a chain smoking
Starting point is 00:40:47 whiskey drinking son of a that's also my walk of music in baseball uh and uh carl you can get any basketball shoe ever okay what are your top two or three uh the best basketball shoes i played in are the lebron 16 and remember the 2007 shocks with the with the strap you remember those which one did they have they were the east bay shoe when you got east bay they had them in every single color uh oh wait the elite two let me see that had like the like a air force one like mid strap up there by the ankle? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. Those were superior.
Starting point is 00:41:29 So they have the little like springs in the, in the heel area. 2005 Nike Shox Elevate. That was another good one. Oh, yes. All right. Greatest clipper of all time.
Starting point is 00:41:41 You said don't think about it. I'm going to go with my favorite, Sean Livingston, just because I didn't think about it i'm gonna go with my favorite sean livingston just because i didn't think about it okay fantastic but you know quite leonard court right there okay uh if you could go back and pick any final series game to watch in person from history that you could say i was there here is my ticket stub what is that series you want to go see or game oh not, not very creative, but
Starting point is 00:42:06 I still got to go with that game seven. Like, 2016. With the block. With the block. I imagine what it was like to feel that room of brand new Warriors fans defeated. Just
Starting point is 00:42:22 defeated. You more excited for next season with the clippers or what the pelicans can do because i know you you have a rooting interest in both teams but those are both teams that i feel like next year everybody's got their eye on them as like they could be the the grizz the the warriors of next year they were very fun to watch this year i was at the game at the play-in game where the the Clippers lost to the Pelicans, so it's not bad for me either way. I mean, it is kind of because I've been a Clipper fan
Starting point is 00:42:49 long enough as a Pelicans fan. I was out here before the Pelicans moved to New Orleans. For the listener, I'm originally from Mississippi, born, came out the womb a diehard Saints fan, who that nation, Latin go till I'm dead and cold. That's NFL. We're not here to talk about that.
Starting point is 00:43:04 However, I moved to Los Angeles in 1998, became a clipper fan 1999 2000 the hornets moved to new orleans in 2002 i kind of supported them right but they're definitely my second team i got gear i got hoodies i got right right right we'll allow it we'll allow allow it. We shall allow it. I've never seen a like off season thing where they were just like, he's been cleared to play, you know, but like, I think that's how excited. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:43:31 When they did with Zion this past week, they were like, Zion is cleared and ready to play. Even though we're like months away, I think people are just so excited to, you know, to see him on a team that was already kind of putting some interesting looks together.
Starting point is 00:43:45 Absolutely. Carl Tart, truly a pleasure. Uh, one of the best, one of the best in the biz. Um, where can people find you,
Starting point is 00:43:53 follow you, hear you, see you all that good stuff. Uh, you can follow me on Instagram at dammit, Carl, D A M M I T C A R L. You can watch my show grand crew.
Starting point is 00:44:03 Yeah. All the episodes streaming now on Peacock or Hulu, wherever you watch NBC shows. You can also see the season two of Grand Crew coming out on NBC sometime, either late this year or early next year. But don't forget about it. It'll be there. And you can listen to me on The Flagrant Ones,
Starting point is 00:44:21 which is another basketball podcast. That's on thepatreon.com slash The Flagrant Ones or my Gossip Girl podcast, that's on the patreon.com slash the flagrantones or my Gossip Girl Rewatch podcast with my good buddy Lamar Woods, XOXO Gossip Kings on the Headquake Network. Find it wherever you get your podcasts. There it is. All right, folks. Well, we got game one of the finals about to start at any moment,
Starting point is 00:44:39 depending on when you're listening to this, as it is coming out the day of game one. So, you know, enjoy. If you don't listen to day of game one. Enjoy. Let us feast upon it. After game one, though, don't listen to it. It immediately goes bad. I guess we should have told you that up top. Sorry if you did. That's our bad.
Starting point is 00:44:56 Anyway, take care and we'll see you next week to keep on talking the basketball. Bye. on Talking to Basketball. Bye. I'm Keri Champion, and this is season four of Naked Sports.
Starting point is 00:45:15 Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry, Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's basketball. And on this new season, we'll cover all things sports and culture. Listen to Naked Sports on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio apps, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Black Effect Podcast Network is sponsored by Diet Coke.
Starting point is 00:45:40 I'm Keri Champion, and this is season four of Naked Sports. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry. Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. Every great player needs a foil. I know I'll go down in history. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports. Listen to the making of a rivalry.
Starting point is 00:45:59 Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports. Captain's Log, Stardate 2024. We're floating somewhere in the cosmos, but we've lost our map. Yeah, because you refuse to ask for directions. It's Space Gem, there are no roads. Good point. So where are we headed? Into the unknown, of course. Join us on In Our Own
Starting point is 00:46:25 World as we uncover hidden truths, navigate the depths of culture, identity, and the human spirit. With a hint of mischief. One episode at a time. Buckle up and listen to In Our Own World on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Trust us, it's out of this world.

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