The Ryen Russillo Podcast - What NBA Front Offices and Coaches Think About the Mavs-Celtics Finals, Plus Van Lathan on the Caitlin Clark Coverage

Episode Date: June 4, 2024

Russillo begins by sharing what NBA front office members and coaches think of the Finals matchup, then reveals his own pick (0:40). Then, he’s joined by Van Lathan to preview DAL-BOS, discuss Kyrie becoming likable again, and share their thoughts on the Caitlin Clark media coverage (9:15). Plus, a new-look edition of the Alliance (60:55) and Life Advice with Ceruti and Kyle (69:38)! Is my wife gaslighting me? Check us out on YouTube for exclusive clips, live streams, and more at https://www.youtube.com/@RyenRussilloPodcast The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please check out rg-help.com to find out more, or listen to the end of the episode for additional details. Host: Ryen Russillo Guest: Van Lathan Producers: Steve Ceruti, Kyle Crichton, and Mike Wargon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On today's podcast, I'm going to share with you the perspective of NBA front office members and coaching staff, their thoughts on how the finals are going to go. We're going to talk with Van Lathan a little bit about the finals, but more importantly, this Kaitlyn Clark story is worth talking about, even though it feels out of control. We've got a conflict resolution update right into Life Advice and our NBA Finals Alliance, which we are still hanging on. We did a bunch of stuff on Sunday and we have a lot for you in this podcast, so I always feel like it's a lot more interesting to listen to people that

do this for a living. So I reached out to a bunch of coaches and a bunch of people in the front offices and I got six perspectives on the NBA finals and I give you a couple of quick thoughts of my own and my pick at the very end. Okay. So anonymous quote, number one, his thoughts on the NBA funds. Quote, my brain says Celtics are better, but I can't pick against the best player

in the world right now. I know Celtics are far more experienced playing, but Joe Mazzullo scares me if things get close. This is the old schoolness in me, but I feel like if the Cs miss a bunch of threes, their only counter is Tatum Isso. Think Brown is gonna struggle, not because he isn't good enough,

but because he's going to have to take on Luka. Genuine question to come out of this are, if Dallas wins, are people going to try and get their new age Tyson Chandler of the world? I.e. does this make Sarr almost a lock to go number one? I was watching a little Sarr last night. That dude can move. That was my quote.

He continues, or if Boston wins, do people once again double down on wings equaling wins? I think both teams being here reinforces that teams need to build with skill in mind first, then get as much size and skill with each position. But size is apparent with all role player spots. Okay. I like that. Pretty good perspective. Let's do another one here. Quote, the finals is such a unique series because at this point in the season, nothing is a secret.

It comes down to which team is comfortable enough in themselves to know which parts of their identity to stick with and which parts need to be changed as the series unfolds. So then I asked who's more comfortable in your opinion? The quote continues, Boston. They've been in this spot and know what it takes. They've felt the emotional sting of tough moments on the biggest stage. Their ability to deal with adversity

is going to be a strength. So a pick for Boston. All right, let's continue as I scroll through my contacts. Quote, I see the Celtics winning it in five, especially if Przingis is healthy enough to give them 15 to 20 minutes of quality basketball. Boston has four players they can throw at Luka and Kyrie, which no team up to this point has been able to do that.

Dallas' bench is deeper than Boston, but neither has gone deep into their benches in the postseason. Dallas has probably thrown, you know, whether it's a Josh Green Boston, but neither has gone deep into their benches in the postseason. Dallas is probably thrown, you know, whether it's a Josh Green or a Hardy moment, the Exum hard away thing hasn't really mattered, but then you have the double big deal where it's a platoon with Gaffer and Lively. Um, but I think that's actually going to be really interesting to see if Boston goes with an actual double big non platoon, but Horford and Porzingis, which they played for a long stretch there in the second game against Dallas,

uh, back on March 1st, which I went back and watched and he watched that game. And you're like, okay, I feel really good about Boston, but I think it's irrelevant. And from that point on, basically, Dallas turned into one of the best teams in the NBA, especially on the defensive side. All right. Another piece of perspective. All right. Another piece of perspective. All right. Quote, I think since the deadline, Dallas has been playing the best basketball in

the league, so this run for them isn't a total surprise, although I do think the matchups worked out nicely. Boston is just a superior team in my opinion though. So I think they'll handle it in five or six. Prozingis' ability to drag Gafford lively away from the rim is pretty key. They basically hunt down a mismatch and attacks of Dallas can't really hide anyone or try to funnel guys to their back line guys because they won't be there since they're dealing with Brazingas. If the series were a little

closer in terms of team quality level, I'd lean towards just who had the best player, which would be Dallas obviously, but I don't think it's all that close team-wise. That was one of the more aggressive ones. I would say of the which would be Dallas, obviously, but I don't think it's all that close team wise. That was one of the more aggressive ones. I would say of the people that I've talked to and I'm not using every single quote in all the conversations that I've had over the last few days, the analytic model for Boston two years ago was so overwhelming. And it wasn't like, hey, a pick for Boston against Golden State, the bad pick, it just was shocking how many of the models just had weighted it so heavily

in Boston's favor. And I think there's still some of that with Boston, but, um, look, we have difference of opinions all over the place. All right, let's get another one here. I got two more. Um, for me, it's Luca and Tatum trying to get out from the shadow. They've been under as elite young stars, but having won the big one, Brown and Kyrie are clear X-factors of the twos in this series

that could dictate the series entirely while Prozingis could also ultimately change the series too if he's back to form. I would love to see Drew get his second with two different franchises while being traded from Milwaukee when everyone knew that immediately made Boston that much better. Such an underrated player in his career has a chance to show just how valuable he's always been in his role. And finally, quote, this series will come down to the centers, the Celtics ability to mix matchups and coverages with Luke and Kyrie, who do they put Perzingis on and Horford on?

And how will they guard pick and roll when involved in the action? If they're relying on just switching everything to stall out the Dallas offense, they are in trouble. And if they're going to play in a drop, they will equally be in trouble. Both can be effective, but in mixed doses at opportune times. The Mavericks Bigs will be tasked with a very different task. They will be tasked to guard stretch bigs, aka five shooters. They guarded very few five out shooter lineups in the Clippers series. When Chet was in with OKC, the centers were able to quote guard,

meaning not guard Giddy. And in the mini series, they had Gobert Anderson on the floor for majority of minutes. In this series, how disciplined will they be guarding Przingus and Horford in the strong side corner, in the weak side slot, top of the floor? If they can't do so, Dallas at least has the option to go Cleba Washington at the five. What option does Boston have if their bigs can't guard loop it, hide, pick and rolls? So there is an overwhelming amount of just, Hey, even if you like Dallas,

it's going to look different, which was entirely my point on Sunday because of Porzingis. Porzingis has not mattered at all. And as you were projecting it out and how he's going to look, and I still think it's a lot to ask of just, Hey, you've been out for a month plus now go out there and run around in the NBA finals and contest at the rim, close out to the corner, know what the right movement is against Lucas shit and the Kyrie stuff flying off the ball.

So series consistently remind us how different teams can look in 48 hours. And I wonder if Dallas in that game one is going to look horrifying because Przingus doesn't even have anything close to his sea legs. And yet it could be an incredibly misleading part of the story that's told games two through the rest of them. I like the Celtics in seven. It's not me not really knowing. It's me being around for a really long time. And there are just very few times where I'm definitively like, in this series, this team has no chance. So I think some of the more analytically driven people think Boston's an overwhelming favorite.

I think the coaches that I've talked to kind of love the Luca part of this more than anything else because he's the best player. I've heard that consistently. Is it just bullshit with guys? There's a couple of numbers that are really interesting where the Pacers hit an absurd number of mid-range jumpers in that series where you're like, wait, Boston can't slow down the Pacers. The Pacers probably a little bit better than people realize, but without Halibur, nobody wants to hear it, although that makes it better defensively. And again, I'm not comparing

the Pacers to the Mavericks, but there was stuff that happened in that series where you're like, And again, I'm not comparing the Pacers to the Mavericks, but there was stuff that happened in that series where you were like, why is Boston, why are they struggling? And then they kind of did a Dallas closing number on the Pacers that Dallas has been doing to everybody else, specifically Minnesota, where that talent gap just shows itself really quickly in those last two minutes. But then there's some other numbers where you look at some of the corner threes made against Boston during this run and it's like a 25%.

You're like, well, that's not going to happen against Dallas. You wouldn't expect it to because if it isn't PJ, then it's been Jones. Like guys have found ways and it feels like even Josh Green's thrown a couple of hardies thrown in a couple. So that number would probably go up. But the overwhelming thought is what is Przing is going to look like? Because if he's anything close, it's just going to be a different series than what Dallas has had in the past. And that's why I'm going with Boston at seven.

He may be America's favorite guest. It's Van Lathan from the ringer. He and Rachel Lindsay produced the higher learning podcast out twice a week. You can check out their YouTube channel as well. What is up, my man? What is up with you, brother? Been a while, how you doing? I'm good, I'm good.

I'm excited about the finals. I wanna go a bunch of different ways with you here today, but I don't think I've heard any of your finals takes. So let's start there. Boston's gonna win. You seem excited about that. How can you be? Wait, where's this negativity coming from?

How could one be excited about something? Number one, it will make Bill happy. That's always a big, big minus. We're not gonna get any memes out of it. He was talking to him, he was telling me how excited he was to go to all the games and stuff like that. I'm thinking, Jesus Christ, this guy's going to get what he wants.

My nightmare. And then, you know, just the Celtics, I feel like are more compelling at this point. This Celtics team is more compelling when they're knocking on the door. I don't know how I'm going to feel about them when they finally break through, which I really feel like they are. I feel like them just getting there and failing is the thing that I like to see from them. What does Jason Tatum champion feel like?

What does Jaylen Brown champion feel like? I don't know if I'm ready for it. I think they'll wait a couple of more years. Maybe they get around 30 would be my whole thing. I'll be out of the league, out of the interest of the league by then, by the time they get that old. You'll have moved on.

You'll just be like, oh, that's what happened to those guys? Yeah, like what, those guys make it. They get their ring then, but I think, I think really do. I think they're gonna break through. I was talking to you earlier, it is a good matchup for them. Dallas has run to the finals, has been so energetic and so fun to watch. But I just think they're up against a team that's primed to beat them, that's probably going to play superior basketball than them over the course of six or seven games.

Do you think it's good for company morale if the Celtics win, as opposed to if they lose, then Bill sending you texts being like, I have some notes, I have some thoughts, where it just, actually, if anybody knows him, that's not exactly what would happen. Yeah, I think angsty Bill is actually better for company morale. I think Bill riding high is not great for company morale. Like, now, I wasn't around before

when the Patriots were winning and all of that. See, when Bill is angsty, he becomes an everyman. Like, you know, he's relatable. But when he's riding high, then you start to think, it's really not like us. It's really different. But we connect over the angst. But he's, I mean, he knows, he can feel it. You've seen him. You've seen him walking around. He can feel it. He can feel what he's on the precipice of. He's already started to try to like, ah, yeah, Missoula's inside my,

he's got some matchups and Missoula's gonna lose it for us. No, he knows they're gonna win. So he's already into it. I don't know when he's picked against them in the finals. I don't, but I mean, we'd have to, we'd have to go through the finals. I mean, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's already into it. I don't know when he's, he's picked against them in the, but I mean, we'd have to,

we'd have to go through it where in 22, I know he didn't, I don't believe he did. And then, cause I was doing the pods with them. And then prior to that, it wasn't like I was doing the pods with them, uh, going all the way back to those Lakers matchups, the two times in three years. How am I supposed to, or maybe I just should ask it this way and said, how do you handle the full circle Kyrie part of this that's really already happened and will only be amplified if Dallas were to win it where it feels very predictable that somebody that is, I don't even know if it was polarizing.

I think the only people that were defending Kyrie were still people, fan bases that were invested in him because he was on their team, where it's like, well, I might as well still continue to stick up for my guy and hope he turns the things around. But how do you handle kind of the full circle moment of feeling like you're telling the full Kyrie story?

Yeah, I mean, that's a very compelling question in terms of him and what happens if they were to win and him being back in Boston. For someone that had just so much criticism surrounding him and seemed to make every single mistake in the book around that time, we will call them mistakes. He will call them being who he was. To get back to the good graces of NBA fans and to be received like he's being received now by just doing what people kind of wanted him to do, which was play basketball.

There's something to be said about Kyrie Irving getting back to the core of who he is, which is being a sensational basketball player and a plus player in the league. Now I think him playing in Boston is almost like the greatest referendum on that. It's the place where things kind of exploded prior to the Brooklyn situation. So if he goes through that and wins, it's a pretty amazing sports story. But it's also, when I look at it, it's like,

Kyrie didn't do anything profound to turn around his public perception. His artistry and his main way to connect with people is in his God given ability. And at least part of the criticism of him was that he wasn't doing that enough. He wasn't endeavoring into that enough. Now, of course there was the thing with the movie,

there was the reason why he wasn't playing, which was the COVID thing. But then there was the reason why he wasn't playing, which was the COVID thing. But then there was the fact that he just wasn't available very much. And so now that he's just hooping again, left-hand runners for game winners, found a way to make it work with Luca when you think that two ball-dominant guards

couldn't figure it out. He's just playing basketball again, getting back to who he is, people can find reasons to like you when you do what the fuck you're really, really good at. And with the Boston thing now, I mean, I think the Luka Porzingis storyline is just as compelling,

but I mean, stories are the reasons why we watch these games. So that makes the finals just that much more spicier. Yeah, I'm sure Kyrie, I think I'm well versed in this enough paying close attention to it because it was impossible to not be paying attention to the Kyrie ups and downs. And going all the way back, like, I don't even think the Cleveland exit actually was a bad thing, especially once I became

more informed on it. In the beginning, I was like, wait, what's he want to do? Like, how is this happening? And like, oh, here we go. And then you get more information to the people that were involved. It's like, he decided to know, I'm not going to be LeBron's pawn in improving this roster. It was actually something I respected.

The Boston thing I didn't really care about. And for Bill and I, it's always, oh, you don't like Kyrie because he left Boston. It's like, nah, it doesn't really matter. Because if you look at Boston, finding a way to reinvent themselves on the fly post Kyrie, Hayward injury, Horford was good, not great, but he does a lot of different things. But then he leaves his free agency for this massive deal with Philly that also doesn't work out. The fact that they were able to improve the roster and all these different things, like there's not really the,

oh no, Kyrie left hangover that usually would happen to a team that loses a player that that that's that talented. But if you, if you look at like the broader topic, that's not necessarily even just about Kyrie, but we'll use them as the example here is that, okay, do you want me to be this object for your entertainment? And yeah, it can seem belittling and it can seem like you're dismissing the rest of the package, but ultimately that's why people are turning on games.

And I feel like more often than not, players can, can act like we're supposed to care about all of it. But I don't think that's what most people do. And you could even spin it to a positive. about all of it, but I don't think that's what most people do. And you could even spin it to a positive that at least you provide something that everyone does care about, and you're compensated greatly for that thing

that you can do as well as anyone in the world. Yeah, I agree. I think that there's multiple aspects that are sort of working there. Number one, there's what the players are being asked aspects that are sort of working there. Number one, there's what the players are being asked to do by different factions of the basketball watching public. Like, there are parts of people that are saying,

just play basketball. Then there are other parts of people that are saying, well, you can't just be about basketball. Like we need you to show up here, we need you to show up here, we need you to care about this, we need you to care about that. There was a time in sports, in celebrity period,

where nothing that you did mattered except for the thing that you did. So if you're a great actor, if you're a great singer, you're a great ball player, that's what we care about you for. And then if you take your Corvette and you drive it like off of a cliff and it lands on four people that are vacationing, oh, so what?

Who cares? Like, we'll see you next week. If you go through, take your favorite dude from the 70s, your favorite actor, your favorite singer, whatever, and then look at their Wikipedia page. I found myself on James Brown's Wikipedia page one time. Jesus. Like, my God.

Dude made sex machine. Who fucking cares? Okay. So there's different things being asked of them. Oh, be a world citizen, show up this way. So they're trying to do that and dealing with that at the same time that they're also trying to do the thing

that people love them for. I think with Kyrie, with a lot of these guys, their development is arrested to a degree because it's all basketball and being held, their hand is being held by people till they get to be about 26 or 27. And then they go, I've played a lot of basketball. Like, what else is out there?

What else is out there? Do I wanna start dressing weird? Do I wanna get into fashion? Do I wanna be a Twitch streamer? Do I wanna be a social justice advocate? And then we watch their intellectual and social adolescence in real time. Like all the weird stuff that we thought

in our mid-20s, early-20s, no one has to see it. When you became a five percenter, when you started reading the teachings of whoever, when all of that stuff that you were into when you were in college and all of this, ah, conspiracy theory. I remember when Zeitgeist came out and all of that. Like, no one has to watch you go through that.

But these guys, we watch them go through it because they post it on their social media. And then when they grow out of it and when they move past it, we go, oh, so that was a phase. And I think for Kyrie, I'm not saying he doesn't believe any of the stuff that he believes in. I do think that what he's been able to do

is to have a more balanced relationship with Kyrie Irvin, the basketball player, and Kyrie Irvin, the world citizen, and just find his joy again. And that's always gonna be on the court. He is like maybe the most singular hooper, just hooper that I've seen watching, watching play the game at this level, you know?

Yeah, I'm glad you brought up the music analogy because when it starts to go against the artist, okay, and there's extremes. Okay. Why anybody be playing any Diddy song would shock me to begin with. But there's other artists that we absolutely love. But in the moment, if it's somebody who you're

playing their songs all the time and then that person becomes incredibly unpopular for something that has nothing to do with music. And again, there's extremes. And then there's some that are probably a little bit more debatable on how Adam is actually supposed to be. And then you think like, okay, yeah, but when that song comes on, man, like, I want it, I want to hear it, you know, depending on what you think of Michael Jackson, it's like, you're going to tell me you're not going to enjoy a thriller.

Like you're not going to enjoy it. So I always feel like there's, there's contradictions out there. Be like, okay, these are your rules for this player or this, this singer. But when it comes, when it comes to your personal enjoyment, you're going to break a lot of your own rules that you're applying to all of these different things. And that's where I generally think it's just hard to have the same set of rules for all of these different industries knowing that you're gonna break your own rules.

Yeah, I mean, you're definitely gonna break them and you're gonna be forced into a situation like we get in trouble on higher learning about this, right? Because, you know, we're moral. He says with a smirk. Okay, so, but you know, I had to admit on higher learning. The Michael Jackson thing is just, it's impossible. Like I was born in 1980.

Like it's impossible. It's impossible for me to hear a Michael Jackson song and just be like, oh, fuck that guy. It's not a, when I say it's not a poss, I can intellectually do it, but even now, I'm like, you know what I mean? It's like, I'm gonna do it again, oh, no.

Do it again, no. It's just, it's hard. And so you have to be able to call that out within yourself. And I think a lot of the excuses that we made for people back in the day, I mean, some people are grandfathered into it. Obviously Michael Jackson's, what surrounded him, no one's really turned him off.

But now I think in real time, people are asking themselves this question. And there are different levels to it, right? But now I think in real time, people are asking themselves this question. And there are different levels to it, right? There is posting the anti-Semitic video, which I don't think that he watched it, but if he did watch it and he posted it, you need to come out and address that.

You need to come out and be like, nah, can't do it. I watched it, I watched the thing. I looked at it because I wanted to see what was up with it. The very first fucking thing that popped up was this quote from Henry Ford. Now, if you know anything about history, you know Henry Ford was a pretty vicious anti-Semite, which I might add, that even though he was,

you don't look at Ford motor cars and think anti-Semite. Like that thing right there is like a real, these are things that we, decisions that we make almost unconsciously. Henry Ford, the Dearborn Independent, the paper that he made, all of that stuff, was actually informed some Nazi ideology, right?

It's the first quote that you see when you watch that thing. So I'm thinking, hey, if I'm watching this video and I'm thinking to myself, maybe this is just, you know, a historical investigation into the connection between black people and Jewish people. As soon as I see that quote pop up, I know it's not that. The question is that did Kyrie Irvin know that and did he do his due diligence to find out

where that information was coming from? I can't make that decision, but I know that once that's called out, he's gotta kinda deal with that. And then that on the heels of everything else that he was dealing with and how he had decided to show up, I think it was therapeutic for him in a lot of ways. He seems happier.

Like he seems happier. Like forget about everything else. Kyrie Irvin is walking around with a bouncing step. He is smiling again. He's still showing up for a lot of issues in the world. Like we've seen in the past. He's still the same guy. You want him to be able to do that.

But it seems like he's found himself again. It's interesting even about the Cleveland exit, right? Because he didn't want to be, I guess, second fiddle to LeBron James, right? It's gonna always be LeBron James' team. Am I saying they'd be second fiddle to Luca Doncic right now because they found a way to kind of be co-managers, but at the same time that franchise is built around Luka. So even in

that he's found a way just to play basketball and be an asset to a city, a team and a culture. And that's something that a lot of people thought that he might never do again. I want to talk about Caitlin Clark, which I think is interesting in itself that you're at its NBA finals week and I want to talk about it. I've seen you talk about it yesterday with everything that happened. There was a moment on first take with Stephen A Smith, but I want to get into that with a story. So I was back in Boston, six weeks out from the cafeteria. I was like, you know, maybe it's time. Maybe it's time to get some shots up.

I had a free afternoon. I was like, well,, maybe it's time. Maybe it's time to get some shots up. I had a free afternoon. I was like, well, I don't have any shoes with me. And I'll tell you what, and I'm sure Van, the reason me to this one, nothing like back in the day going, I'm ready to get some new kicks. I'm going to shop for some basketball sneakers. It's the best. Be like, okay, these, I can see myself cutting.

How are these boxing out? So I look at the display at Nike on Newbury Street and I found it somewhat limited. I was a little surprised. By the way, if Tatum were to win a title, I think Nike, Tatum, his reps, I think he needs a bigger display, maybe something more like Dick Sporting Goods on Boylston. I was a little shocked that inside of Nike in his home city, that there was a more Tatum options or a bigger just Tatum area. I bet they had a lot of Pritchard options though. Oh, let's see.

A whole Pritchard, like everybody's out there, big, big Porzingis statue outside, no Tatum, no Brown. They got them grouped together. I bet there was gigantic Pritchard selections there. It was right next to the House of Payne Museum. So. So I go over, I go over and look at the other available sneaker options and I see a Jordan pool display.

No shit. So I grabbed an employee, not physically, and I go, Hey man, I'm looking for some basketball sneakers and he turns and goes for you, sir. And I went, are you fucking serious? As playful as I can. And then he goes like, yeah, I meant like, you know, what kind of, what size are you? What can we, and I go, I gotta ask.

I go, I'm looking at these sneakers. These, these are the Jordan pool sneakers. I'm like, and you have a Jordan pool picture here and he's wearing these. He's like, yeah. I go, I got to be honest. This surprises me. And he was like, why I go, I Jordan pool. He goes, he gets a lot of engagement.

And I went, he does. I go, he does get a lot of engagement, but it's Jordan pool who you could argue in this past season is one of the worst kind of high opportunity players where he's given a lot of opportunities to shoot and play and all of these things. And I don't know what happened to the guy that was a pretty well-rounded player with golden state. Well, I shouldn't say well-rounded, but at least somebody dynamic enough scoring wise, he actually had to worry about and was a big part of

the playoff run. So I go, I'm just surprised that of all the options you would have, just because he wears this line of sneaker that you would use the Jordan pool picture. And he just looked at me again and said, Hey, good or bad, a ton of engagement. And I went, wow.

And I think that's the lesson with all of the Caitlin Clark stuff, the stuff you like, the stuff that you hate, that the win here is that it is still a huge win. That this is the WNBA being talked about in a way that I can never remember since the inception of the league being talked about by people that would have never talked about it.

I'll raise my hand in there as well. And the topic goes in a million different ways, by people that would have never talked about it, I'll raise my hand in there as well. And the topic goes in a million different ways, but the biggest part of it all is that, like baseball would kill for a Caitlin Clark right now. They would love a Caitlin Clark, whether you love her, hate her, believe in the drama, don't like the drama, the drama exists and it's good for the league.

1000% in agreement and I'll tell you this. It's good for a league to have players that people love. It's great for a league to have players that people hate. Okay. Loving someone is easy. It is. Loving someone is easy. It's good to wanna be like Mike.

That's great, that's fantastic. You build around that. But what people didn't understand is the same way that the Bulls were running rough shot over the entire league. There were people that hated to see them come in town. They hated the tongue wag, that hated the whole, you have to inspire intense emotion, intense emotion in order to have a fan base that tunes in. Intense emotion is what makes people do that.

The NBA has that obviously because of tradition, because of players that have stepped into tradition and because of players and their personalities. Kaitlyn Clark is inspiring, intense emotion in people, whether you love her or you hate her, right? The most predictable part of all of this, the most boring part of all of this is that she's going to figure it out,

and one day is going to torch the WNBA, and it's not gonna take very long. Six weeks from now, Caitlin Clark is going to have figured it out to a point to where we're gonna be able to see the player that she's gonna become in the league. I definitely believe in that. A lot of the other stuff is just shit to talk about. It's funny. It's funny to watch her and her trial by fire be

litigated in such a precious way. And all of those things could be like deeper deeper conversations, but it's also enthralling. This is what the league has to love this. The league has to really, really, I was talking to Kalika last night, and Kalika's like, they're not treating her fair. This is my woman in the house with me. She's like, they're not treating her fair. It seems like they're jealous.

This is 8.45 at night. You know, I'm wiping the dog down with coconut oil, as I do every night before he goes to bed. I'm talking to him. This is my peaceful pre-bed situation. I'm wiping the dog down with coconut oil. I'm telling him he's the greatest. Hey, I love you, pal.

You're the greatest. You, I love you pal. You're the greatest, you've changed my life. And all I hear is, they're not treating her fair. Peace disturbed. Now me and her gotta go 12 rounds, didn't end up getting to bed till 11.30, that's late for the kid, okay? Cause me and her gotta go back and forth, I gotta show her examples of other people being filed.

Me and her gotta watch the game, and we gotta watch Monica McNutt. Like, this is me and her talking out of nowhere. She's talking about all kinds of things. She's saying, how can I say this? I don't really know how women are, because I'm a man. And sometimes bitches are jealous. And she's saying all of this stuff and I'm like,

well, I'm the feminist. Kailin Clark made me the feminist in an argument with my beloved Kalika Abrams. You know, the dog half wiped down with coconut oil. Where'd you go, Dad? What the hell is happening? Whenever we argue, the dog sits in between us and tries to make cute faces.

I'm like, get the fuck out of here. I got to sit your mom on the right track right here. So that's good. That's what the league needs. Cause me and her weren't doing that last year about the WNBA. It's definitely, definitely true. Now do I think it's hilarious that like all of these people

are babying her and treating her as if she's a porcelain doll and not a finely tuned athlete. Yeah. But that's something to talk about. Like that is something to have a conversation about, and it's going to make it even better when she does start crushing the lead because people are not going to want to have seen it.

Incidents like the foul this weekend and the actual basketball part of it. I think most of us land somewhere where we're like, okay, she got hit by another player who has a track record of doing stuff like this, okay? I also think she flopped a little bit after the play. Angel Reese clearly has a huge problem with Caitlin Clark. It's gone back to the college days.

Some of Angel's quotes, like if you wanted to be totally fair about this, if you wanted the coverage, you want me to talk about the WNBA the way I talk about the NBA, then I would be like, okay, when is the next Angel Reese quote coming along where I'm like, hey, great point in reasonable observation. It just doesn't seem like there's a ton of those right now, but this is still new for me. It's all still new for me. And it becomes less about how Clark is being treated. And it becomes more about us all just reacting to each other's reactions.

And when I watched the clip from first take and Monica nut and Steven A were going at it and Steven a address it afterwards, where he's probably more criticized for that than anything he even said in first take. Knowing that I look back at having to come up with a show every day for three hours a day for almost 10 years, depending on how long you look at, you know, I was there longer than that, but, but having an afternoon show, it felt like there was a push toward the end where it was like, hey, this may not be great for ratings, but it's the right content to do.

Giving the WNBA some love or some other story where you felt like it was an underserved topic. You're like, okay, I think the motivations behind that are good intentions, but I still have a show to do where I have to worry about how many people want to listen to my show. So I don't agree with Stephen A on plenty of stuff, but I thought to then go at him saying prior to Clark, you could have done more coverage when it's like, okay, but the Clark part is a topic that is working in a way that no other WNBA topic has worked before. Again, as somebody who had to do this every single day,

there was never a time where I was like, we should probably do more WNBA because it's the right thing to do, the right thing to do knowing that I'm going to lose my audience maybe in that segment. And whether you think it's because the audience is just too misogynistic or outdated, that's totally fair. But I think it was unfair to go at Stephen A in that moment, specific to that by saying, you could have been doing this earlier when the likelihood is that first take would have the numbers going, hey, after we go from NFL or this NBA potential trade demand or all these different things and we did a breakdown on the sky and fever. I know what would happen to that segment as far as viewership. And I sometimes feel like that is forgotten. The programming part is

conveniently overlooked when we talk about whether or not something is just the right thing to do as far as content. Yeah. So this is the crux of the WNBA discussion for the last, I'd say, five to 10 years. Because if you've watched the W, the product has increasingly got better, right? And we had this conversation on higher learning last season about the charter flights, the whole charter flights thing came up. I just did a mathematical breakdown of what percentage of the WNBA revenue

charter flights would cost and what percentage of the MBA revenue charter flights cost those guys, right? And does it make financial sense to do it for a league that wasn't turning a profit at that point? And I was flambéed. I don't know if you've ever seen Last of the Mohicans, but there's a point where the guy is set on fire and the long rifle shoots him in the head to give him a merciful killing. That's what happened to me, and I was wishing that someone could come along

and kill me, so that I could get out of what was happening to me. But my point was that, if you're arguing that we should do something because it's good for the delays of the WNBA, then yeah, cool, I have no problem with that. But if you're arguing that they should have it because the NBA has it,

then you didn't have to compare the WNBA to the NBA, which isn't fair to the WNBA. The league is much younger. The product is different. Okay, so to your point, if the basis of argument is really that the WNBA wasn't moving the needle for some people, the league was continuously growing, the product was getting better, but it wasn't moving the needle for some people because they weren't exposed to it as much. It's not being marketed properly is what you

would hear. We're not getting the stories of the WNBA much. It's not being marketed properly is what you would hear. We're not getting the stories of the WNBA told. We're not getting all of this. And then on the other side of that, it's like just, you know, people aren't into it because people don't really get with the product. So Monica McNutt is coming from it from a narrative about the league that says,

hey, if we would have been featured on First Take, people would have seen how physical the league was and the storylines and all of that stuff, and then maybe they would have gravitated towards the league. And Stephen A. in First Take are probably coming to it from the fact that it's on ESPN. If people want to watch it, they'll watch it, and if people are interested, we'll put it on.

I think that the realism of the argument, to me, is always like people watch what they want to watch and you can give people the option to watch something that the marketing of the league is not going to make 10 million people watch a game that 2 million people would have watched to make 2 million people watch a game that half a million people would have watched. When certain guys come on in boxing I'm like my God, I can't wait to watch them fight. And not all of these guys are the best boxers,

but there's something that's compelling about them that makes me go, hey, I'm gonna watch this. I'm gonna check this out. Either you're, like Ryan Garcia. Ryan Garcia is a very good boxer, but I'm not watching him because he's a very good boxer. I'm watching him because of the shit around Ryan Garcia. I wanna see what happens in the ring.

That's why, that's another reason why Katelyn Clark is good for the WNBA, because there's shit around her. And I can't think of that many players before that had anything around them that extended off the court. There was a reason to the, we think that the game is enough. The game is never enough for casual fans. It is never.

That's the game. The gate, like the, the, for hardcore fans, hardcore fans will watch Washington play Chicago on League Pass on a Tuesday night. They wanna see it, they wanna be able to have an analytical, but for the casual fan, for the fan that's just tuning in, the game is never enough. And the WNBA now, because of Clark,

because of Reese as well, because that goes back to college between those two players as well, it's more than the game now. It's all of these other conversations and all of these other subplots. And hopefully they'll be able to maintain that. And it was always moving. The game had already been something that was super entertaining to watch. Now it's more than the game. And they should really be into that.

They should be stoked. So you said something in there that I have always brought up and I think it's important because I'm not sure I know the answer but it was like well if it had been marketed better or if it was on first take prior to this then that would have raised the consciousness and then it would have been more stable and these things would have grown and there's just I think a lot of resentment because it's like, oh, so now you want to pay attention to it. And I I'd say, well, at least there is a moment that's called now where more people are paying attention to it, but that doesn't seem to be enough for

nobody seems to want to hear it. And then I'll hear like, oh, well, there's so many people and so many players for the two plus decades that have laid the foundation. It's like, okay, but when's the last George Mike segment that you've seen done for the NBA finals? People turn the page on the past with sports and want to know what's going on right now. When you brought up the marketing part of it, maybe it's that, maybe the stories haven't been told, but then I remember every single person I know that's had a failed TV show or radio show and they never say it's them. They'll always say, well, wrong time slot or we were going up against this or it wasn't

marketed properly or we weren't promoted the right way. It wasn't a priority. We didn't get the right producers. We didn't have the best guest booker. Our business, people like us have a, I wouldn't say difficult. It's nearly impossible for anybody to ever go, you know what? Maybe I just wasn't good enough. Maybe my show wasn't good enough. So when I hear that mentioned the same way I hear a mention with baseball, right?

They don't promote their stars enough and they've lost. It could just be as simple as, I don't know, maybe people just weren't that into it. Maybe people just weren't that into it. And it feels like no one ever wants to admit that. It's hard to admit because the most frustrating thing about doing anything is that like, you never know why people like something. Like I'm saying, like you never know what's gonna grab people.

Some things just connect. There's some people who you give them a $50 million budget for a show or a network, and it fails. And then there's some kid sitting behind his computer somewhere uploading to YouTube, and then one moment after that, he's on the cover of Time Magazine

because 300,000 people tap in every time he goes live. And you look at it and you go, well, God damn it, what the hell? Sometimes things just work, right? Sometimes people are just magnetic. For whatever reason, that's the whole thing with Katelyn Clark. Then there are situations, like the baseball argument is actually interesting.

Because baseball has worked forever. Then it stopped. So it's the inverse of that. Baseball worked forever. They were the biggest heroes, the biggest mythical figures. They were fucking Marilyn Monroe. They were like all of that stuff, right? Baseball worked forever and then it stopped.

So there is a question to be asked with baseball, not what's not connecting, but what stopped connecting. So there is something there, either we changed or they changed, or maybe we changed a little bit and they changed a little bit too. So when I think about baseball, I do think about, okay, well, how's the sport being marketed differently?

Has there been, just to be honest with you, a demographic shift in the sport that people can no longer connect with? just to be honest with you, a demographic shift in the sport that people can no longer connect with. It has baseball, like all of these other sports, just something, like if you watch the NBA All-Star game from 1995, it's hilarious. Go watch the dunk contest from 1995

and go look in the audience, all right? I mean, those are, that's America right there, okay? Like go look in the audience and look at the audience now. You know what I mean? Like change. Basketball saw that there was something to be invested into with the basketball fans, right? And they changed, they adjusted.

They marketed their players differently. They went with the edge, be it hip hop, be it youth culture, be it whatever. They changed football to a degree, changed. While maintaining the essence of the game, baseball has resisted this sort of change. They've resisted this evolution and I think it's cost them with a younger audience. When I was coming up, even the guy, there was still a casual sports knowledge of baseball, still a casual sports knowledge.

You still have players that were subversive, that were, like I said, villainous. You have Bobby Bonilla, you have Barry Bonds, you have people, you have Jose Conseco, you have people who people liked and people who people didn't like but had to root for begrudgingly anyway. The sport just doesn't have those stories anymore. Like, it's not the same. And it's possible that we grew away from it, but it's also possible that they didn't keep up with the storytelling that resonates with the rest of America. When was the last time a star baseball player dated the hottest pop star in the world?

Like when was the last time a Jose Conseco Madonna situation happened? When was the last time a baseball player was a rock star? Like there might be people out there that are thinking about instances that I'm looking over, but I can't. Verlander, right, yeah, I mean. Like Verlander, oh, that's a good one. Verlander and the Teach Me How to Dougie piece

of sensational white milk, yeah. But yeah, that's kind of the one that that one's out there. That one matters and she matters she matters a lot. So let me because you know when I when I thought about the programming debate that happened with with Monica and Stephen A in that moment and just to be totally fair to any of us that have worked with women that are in sports. Oh here we go. The shit they deal with, like it would be, it would be hard to not have a day where you're like, what, you know, are you kidding me?

Like the stuff, cause especially men that I guess I should put it this way. Men that wish they could do what I do are not impressed with me. They're like, fuck the guy, right? Guy sits around and watches, watches games. He's got some legal pads. If I can tell him about his notes, like how hard is that?

I could do that. I do that and I don't get paid. Like I get that. I get, I get people not being impressed with me. I don't, I don't really expect it. But if I were a woman and I had their dream job, like it's one thing when a man has their dream job, but when a woman has their dream job,

the amount of shit that Nina Kimes deals with, like that's real hard. That's real hard for a lot of dudes. And the kind of dudes that you just go, hey, you're ruining it for the rest of the reasonable people because you're an unhinged person. Okay. So I sympathize with any woman that's working in

sports. It's like, I can't even fathom what your day to day is like, but not so much that I then have it change my idea of like what good programming is. I mean, is anybody going on first take saying you guys should do more hockey? Well, no, they're not. And I would say hockey fans don't want first take to talk about hockey because those guys aren't watching hockey. And then

when you're like, okay, yeah, but this is different. So you're saying, okay, prior to this, I was supposed to do more segments on something that just wasn't as popular because of feelings. Like that's not how business works. It's not how programming works. And I don't understand why there's that disconnect. You're absolutely right. But my thing is why didn't Stephen A just say that?

So I fuck with Stephen A, right? So I can't- Hey, you got me on that. Right, right. No, so my thing is that like- His followup was tough, man. That followup was- Yeah, it's like so my thing is that like follow-up was tough man that follow-up was Yeah, it's like it's like my thing is I focus even able like why not just say that why not just say okay? Well, we're covering the league right now because we've had

historic Interest yeah in women's basketball coming from college to where they were setting viewership records viewership records Okay, historichip records, okay, historic interest. And so now there is something to be covered. But to say that we've always been doing it is not true. And to say that we've always been doing it, that's not true. And so Monica, he actually, to me, I love Stephen A,

but he got pissed up by Monica because he said something that we all know to not be true. Okay, but in the daily run of programming, the way I would look at it if I were Stephen A, I'd be like, the fact that I've done any of these segments on a show that's this important is, I'm looking at it as like, look what I've done. Right.

Because I'll tell you right now when I'm doing radio there and it would be different now, because I would be talking about a Clark the same way I am on the podcast now. Somebody was like, Hey, you know, the guys from upstairs, we've got kind of this bigger WNBA game. Is there any way you got an open on this? I'd be like, I don't have one. I don't, I don't have an open on it the same way there any way you got an open on this? And I'd be like, I don't have one. I don't, I don't have an open on it the same way.

I don't have an open on. I, there were plenty of times where Scott, I never even did Stanley cup final stuff, so I know that Steven A thinks that he's like, I've served this topic prior to this, but the overall number would still be so low. That it, it hurts his overall argument, even if I completely understand his point. It's like me doing any of this on this platform

should have been seen as a win. But of course it was never deemed enough. Right. And it's never going to be deemed enough by the people who want more. Cause we're negotiating the more now, right? Right. I, like I, there are fights on every Saturday.

Like in case people don't know, there are fights on everywhere every Saturday. I mean, D'Zone's got fights, ESPN's got fights, there's boxing on, so, there's so much boxing happening every Saturday, I search for the boxing. I go to different boxing YouTubes. I go to TJ Love's fights, I go to different boxing YouTubes. I go to TJ Love's Fights. I go to Modern Martial Artist.

I go to Rummy's Corner. I watch Sean Porter's podcast. I do all of his Teddy Atlas. I'm watching boxing podcasts all week. I'm searching for the boxing. There's no more HBO boxing. It's gone, right? So I'm searching for the boxing because I love boxing like that, right?

I'm going to go and get it. I don't get served that much boxing on ESPN, hardly any, until there's a big fight that people care about, or there's a big fight that ESPN thinks people are supposed to care about. And there's business that's into it. And it's the whole nine. So I think she actually got him

because she said something that was unassailable, maybe not logical in terms that they should have covered it more. Maybe you can make that argument. But she said something that was unassailable. And then he was like, nah, that's not true. So she said, hey, you haven't been covered in the WNBA like this before, and the answer would have made him

look even more savage. The answer would have been like, well, there wasn't that much reason to. Like if he would have come at it like that, there's not much reason to now. But then he loses there, he loses there. Like if he says the truth and says because it wouldn't have done well. Well look to me that's kind of what Shannon said. Shannon was like nobody was. Shannon said that and when

Stephen A came back and even expounded what he said was I've platformed more women on first take than anybody has. He brought up Monica, he brought up Janay. Well, the follow up was a disaster. Right. And so, and so that's the thing. So the reality is, look, there's nothing wrong with saying that the WNBA is experiencing a surge in popularity.

That's what everybody always wanted. Everyone wanted the WNBA to experience a surge in popularity, that's what everybody always wanted. Everyone wanted the WNBA to experience a surge of popularity. The league has been growing prior to this, but now there is a unique and very direct surge in popularity. If I'm the WNBA and fans of the W, what I'm wondering is I'm the WNBA and fans of the W, what I'm wondering is I'm not criticizing

or castigating people who are just Johnny-come-lately's to the league, shouldn't do that at all. I think that's biting off your nose and spite your face. Unless they become annoying because I do get that. I do get annoyed when people just like, when they get something new, like when they get something new that I've been on.

Yeah, of course. That's always annoying. That's always annoying. Like, I understand that. When they get something new that I've been on, that's always annoying. That's always annoying. Like I understand that. When they get something new I've been watching this. Like when everybody, when Dion made everybody casual college football fans last year, it was my nightmare.

Okay, but college football didn't need it. Okay, the WNBA needs it. And here we're at this moment where it's like you're actually now getting the attention you so desperately wanted. And now guess what? You can't gatekeep it. And if you're gonna have this being covered

by a bunch of different people, just like the NBA, I love the NBA. Do you know how many times a week I see something from somebody else in the media? I'm like, what the fuck are you talking about? And I would say to the WNBA, welcome to the party. Yeah. Cause now it's going to be the same. The annoyance is a part of it. But what I would say this though, if I'm a WNBA, what I'm thinking about is how do

you keep it going? Because let me tell you something. I personally think that Caitlin Clark is being dealt with too physically is the best thing for the league right now. The fact that they're beating up on her like this. Do you know why? Because as of yet, she hasn't found her game. In that game that she was talking about, in one of those games where, where

Caitlin Clark was up against one of the better teams in the league, she scored like three points. So she hasn't found her game yet. She's scoring, she's decent, she's 15 points, she's leading the league, she's shooting below 40% from the field and like 30% from the three, right? Her turnovers are crazy right now. She's going to find her game, but she hasn't found it yet. If you were watching the games,

expecting to see the Kailyn Clark that you saw at Iowa, you might start turning them off. But now people are watching the games to see if Kailyn Clark can shoulder roll, avoid a right hook, dip, you know what I mean? Get under a jab, whether she can slip a jab, counter. Now they're trying to see if she can escape a figure four leg lock, an ankle hook. There are a lot of reasons to watch it.

Now you're trying to see if she can establish the high guard on some of these girls who are trying to submit her. So all of that stuff is a reason to watch it to just see how she's being treated, because the Caitlin Clark version of basketball that you got in college, you haven't gotten that yet. So this storyline is actually helping the lead tread water until she does find her game.

And then that'll be, and I believe that she will, and then that'll be good for the league. It's also making other players who they didn't know into some of the villains, and you need some villains. You need some Dremons. You need some people out there like that. So Kennedy Carter is a player that people did not know. Now people might wanna see Kennedy Carter get it.

So when you see them play, you might watch the sky because you wanna see what happens to Kennedy Carter and it's a compelling reason to watch it. So all of this is undoubtedly good for the league. Yeah, that's the thing I completely agree with and it's a compelling reason to watch it. So all of this is undoubtedly good for the league. Yeah, that's the thing I completely agree with. And it's a good spot to finish is you may not like all the ups and downs along the way, but where the season could go the destination because of Clark and everything surrounding

it. It just gets back to kind of the point, like, are people actually aware of it? Are people aware of it in a way they never have before? Are they paying attention in a way they never have before? And the answers are an absolute yes. Let me ask you a question. Let me ask you a question right now, real quick. Yeah. You and Kailin Clark to 11.

Three dribbles. What do you mean? No, you can't dribble more than three times. Three dribbles. I get cooked mean? No, you can't dribble more than three times. Three dribbles. I get cooked. Cooked. Cooked. Cooked. Rachel on my podcast thinks she can guard Caitlin Clark.

Let me ask you this. What a crazy fool. Now look, 20 year old me, how would I answer that? Very differently, but that might be based more on stupidity than it would be basketball ability. Uh, if you can't give me more than three dribbles and I can't post and I'm even more cooked. I'm a quick, I'm cooked anyway.

I can't really pick her up 35 feet away from the hoop. She's going to dribble past me every single time. The awful. Yeah, I'm not doing that. Uh, all right. I, I'm not doing that. All right, I love Rachel's confidence though. I love it, never lose that. Man, it's been bothering me so badly. That should bother you.

It's, cause she said it with such confidence. I don't like that type of shit. Like I love Rachel and I love her confidence, but that makes me just want to take Rachel to a high school gym and just bring some little five foot six jitterbug guard from like North LA polytech. Cause I know it. I'm Kaylin going for 90 on Rachel.

You know what I mean? It's going to look like white supremacy. It's like the whole fucking thing is just so fucking funny to me. And it's, but I think if I would have said that, if I would have said that Howard got cooked, I'm still thinking about that clip. I gotta see that.

I'm gonna go back and watch that. And you can watch Van and Rachel, Higher Learning on YouTube. The podcast is out from the ringer and Spotify twice a week. My man, good seeing you. Good seeing you too, brother. The Alliance will take a shot at the NBA finals. So I know Saruti has this worked out.

We have a Simmons profit boost at the end as well. So this is a little different. So what do we have, Saruti? Basically, we're going to pick four different categories of sort of futures bets, I guess, or specials that Fandil has up now. So we're going to do a series pick, we're going to do an MVP pick, we're going to do one of the Fandil final specials, and we're going to do a wild card pick. So four picks. If you like any of them, you can obviously bet all these on FandilSportsbook.com. But I think what we'll do, let's just start off with the series pick this could be like if you just

like the Celtics or the Mavs straight up or you can take you know like for example I'll just start I'm gonna take I like the Celtics minus one and a half games at plus 110 that basically means the Celtics have to win it in six or fewer I think too many people are on the Mavs I'm actually rooting for the Mavs so I wouldn't be mad if they won this but I kind of I don't know I think way too the public is Raheem said this the other day I think like when there's a very big public underdog that kind of makes me nervous so I actually think the Celtics take care of this in six hmm okay I'm taking Celtic straight up I too am rooting for the Mavs but you're rooting for the Mavs Kyle yeah I'm not for Boston guy everyone thinks I

am I mean I know I'm aware guy and just a Pat guy and just a Pats fan, man. That's all. Yeah, but you're rooting for Dallas. Reasons. I don't know. I even liked the last two series, I was just like, I don't know, I just kind of rather see Luca and Kyrie do fun stuff. Like I wasn't like all the Timberwolves.

I mean, we kind of need them. This is great. I mean, everyone's like, answer the truth. He's great for basketball, US, all that stuff. I just, I was like, ah, I kind of would rather see, uh, Luke and Kyrie do it. Wow. Okay. Yeah.

I think most people know you're not from Boston, although it would be weird. We would be like, I am, I just vacation and I'm passionate about Poughkeepsie. My mother's Poughkeepsie guy. Yeah. Right. You brought up a good point though, Saruti, if you like the MAVs in the series at plus one 84, then you should just take Luca MVP, right? So, well, that was a good point though, Saruti. If you like the Mavs in the series at plus 184, then you should just take Luka MVP, right?

So, well, that was gonna be my next pick, but do you give us your series pick first? Who are you taking? So both of you are picking Boston, and then you'd be laying the one and a half games on the series. That means you could think it's going to be six or less. So I would go, give me the odds for Boston and seven.

Plus three 40. All right. So that's what I'm taking. It's good. Thanks. All right. So the next, next category we have is MVP and you kind of tease it here. If you think the maps are going to win in what world does Luca not win the MVP

in that scenario and the maps to win the series is plus one 84 and Luca not win the MVP in that scenario and the Mavs to win the series is plus 184 and Luca to win MVP is plus 200. So if you think the Mavs are going to win the title, you might as well just take Luca to win MVP. You get better odds there. So that would be my MVP pick. Pete Slauson The only thing I would say to that would be if you wanted the value of plus 1800 with Kyrie and the way series voting can work where we saw a glimpse of it with the Jalen Brown three and then the block in the past, Derek White, where he had a couple Heisman-y type moments and the absurdity of Iguodala winning it in 2015, where the writers in that moment, if there were some Kyrie redemption story

where even if his stats were less or he has one huge shot to send it to overtime or just to win a game or win a game at Boston, will Kyrie get the benefit of the emotional dramatic story that voters love where Kyrie wins MVP even if it's very clear that Luca is the more valuable of the two. It's possible but I don't know. I feel like Luca and Jokic are the two guys. How could anyone else win MVP on their team? I think Luca might have, he's going to average go to a triple double in the series. Win or lose likely. I don't know how. There might be some stuff like if, it might be like LeBron in that Warrior series where they lose and people are still gonna be talking about Luca should he get some MVP votes.

Okay. So the picks are? Well, I've gone taking Luca. What's Kyle have? Well, I think Bill would pick poor Zengis, uh, considering the news today, I'm going to, I'm going to go with Jalen, uh, Jason Tatum. All right. Jalen's plus 700, but I'll go Tatum minus one 25. Jason Tatum. All right, Jaylen's plus 700, but I'll go Tatum minus 125. Just wondering if there'll be some moment

where he's given a little bit more credit for it all. But again, I can't. So that's kind of weird. You guys are going against the series, but you're looking at the Luka odds, the better odds. Yeah, well, Kyle's taking Tatum, but yeah. I'm just saying from a strategic standpoint, I think if you like the maps,

I think taking with the plus 200 is a good bet. All right, next one, Fanduil special. So this is basically you can go on Fanduil and they have a bunch of different options of like different parlays. I'm going to take this one. This is Jason Tatum to have five plus assists in every single game of the finals is plus 500. He's done it in 11 out of 14 games in the playoffs so far.

And I wonder if it's one of those things where they're going to try to take away a little bit of scoring and he's going to have to be a pass first guy. I think these games will be a little bit more high scoring than what the Western Conference finals were from the map side. So it's a listen, I mean, it's a little bit of a long shot at plus 500, but I think Tatum is going to be a pretty big distributor in the series. So if you're saying five or more assists in every game of the finals plus 500, don't think it's a bad bet. And speaking of Jalen Brown getting more credit, Ryan,

I'm going to take Jalen Brown 20 points or more every game of the finals. I think that's, I think that's probably going to hit, especially if Tatum's passing it around. Okay. I'm going to go based on minutes and how spread out the teams will be here. I think Luca most total rebounds in the series at plus 165 that's a good one all right let's go to the live league after they're gonna be split up minutes wise and then I think that they're gonna be stretched in ways that they haven't been before and I think Boston's bigs

are gonna want to play in the outside to provide some of that stretching so Luca being on the floor more than anybody else. And the fact that he already gets damn near 10 rebounds a game anyway. Um, plus one 65 Tatum's actually minus one 20 in that. Yeah. There was a bad of like Luca to have to average or have at least a double double in every game of the finals that I was kind of intrigued by, but I ended up going with the Tatum one. Uh, I do have a Luca bet though for our, for our last category, which is wild

cars, so this is any like random kind of like, you know, series special that you like, I was kind of surprised. Luca to have the most threes in this series is even money. Even money. I don't... So basically, just for context, he and Derek White have hit the most or tied for the most threes per game in the playoffs, I think so far, with like 3.4. But if you're asking me basically for Luca to just hit more threes than Derek White in

this series, I kind of feel like even money is a great bet. So I'll take even money on that bet. Right. This is this is a Luca bet too. Well, I did like that for my wild card. There was like it's like plus 1800 last time I looked for Kyrie Irving to have a buzzer beater in any of the games. I'm not gonna do that and I'm gonna just take Luca as the top scorer for the series at minus 180. All right. I I well, this is stupid, so I'm not going to do it, but there were a bunch of options for NBA Finals records. Yeah, so any player to break Elgin Baylor's NBA Finals series points record is plus 50,000.

He scored 285 points in the 6162 finals. He averaged on the series 40 and a half points a game, 18 boards. By the way, Bill Russell grabbed 19 rebounds in the fourth quarter of game seven, which is a playoff quarter record. Jerry West has four of the top nine finals point totals, finals in NBA history. And that's why he was able to win finals MVP for one of those. But you know what? That's plus 50,000.

Yeah. Great trivia, but I don't know. On top of that, I don't know what else. Luke could go for 41 a game in seven straight games. That seems. Throw a buck on that. Honestly, if there's one guy in the league to pick to do that, I think I'd pick him.

Plus 50,000. It'd be fun if he got like 45 the first game. You're like, I'm in it! I'm in it! But I don't think I'm gonna do that. I don't think I'm gonna do that. I think we have an overtime game in here. One or more games to reach overtime plus 190. I like it. I do like the buzzer beater and the overtime. I'd say actually a very good bet. I like this.

All right, well, good luck. And we got a little profit boost token, right? That's right. Bill's gonna have a profit boost tonight that's going live and staying live until game one. This is eligible on any NBA bet, whether it's a game one bet or the series future bet. Yep, 30% profit boost.

Fandool.com, Fandool app. You want details? Fine. I drive a Ferrari, 355 Cabriolet. What's up? I have a ridiculous house in the South Fork. I have every toy you can possibly imagine. And best of all kids, I am liquid.

So, now you know what's possible. Let me tell you what's required. The email address as always, lifeadvice, rr at gmail dot com. Feel free to explore some advice requests. We should mention, by the way, people were asking about the Joy Taylor stuff that we teased. We were supposed to have her last Tuesday. We had a little bit of a scheduling thing.

She will be on, so that will happen. We didn't forget about it. It will happen, TBD, maybe next week. Never forget about Joy. I have all of those emails filed away and ready to go. There's some really good ones in there as well. Kyle is with us. It looks like you've added a few hats to the collection

or am I just seeing things differently? Wow, very astute. Yeah, they're not new hats, but it's a new place. So that's really all I've got to say about that. Man, nothing like being in college and having all those game hats on those hooks that you would just. Just smash into the wall.

I think there were nails for me. Like guys like crown molding, not in dorms. Hats. Hats on this. I found a St. Louis Blues 90s game hat the other day. Let's just say that rim is working. Rim, I should say. Yeah. Working overtime.

Before we get to these little conflict update, had one the other night shared with the boys on a text, wanted to share the story and what would you do moment. I hadn't swung a golf club since the calf tear. So six weeks out, as you mentioned, van, um, sitting around the other night, no games on, got done watching Edmonton, Dallas, stayed loyal to the oil, fun to watch McDavid, excited about it. And so I went, you know what, why don't we go play the par three there in El Segundo, quick little five minute drive, played it a bunch of times, have a lot of fun.

I have my own course number, my own personal best that I'm always trying to beat. And so I show up a little dreary here have a lot of fun. I have my own course number, my own personal best that I'm always trying to beat. And so I show up a little dreary here in the South Bay, June gloom, they call it. They don't put that in the tourism pamphlets. Weather's just really bad in June for some reason all the time. I'm sure I could look it up barometric pressure. I'm not going to get too into it. So, yeah, right.

So I always go, Hey, can I just jump on now solo? And if it's not busy, they love it. They're like, yeah, go ahead. No problem. So pay the 22 bucks and bogey bogey double to start. So not my favorite start ever, but whatever is out there. Well, look, but I knew I hadn't swung clubbing forever. When you don't putt for over a month, I'm like, I'm not going to My favorite start ever, but whatever. It's just out there. Well, look, but I knew I hadn't swung clubbing forever when you don't putt for over a month,

forget it. And the swing was just not dialed in, even though I kind of know what swing I need on all 10 of the holes because I've played it a bunch of times. Right. So there was a group of kind of just hacker types in front of me, but they were having a

good time. They were moving. It wasn't slow. And then there was a massive of kind of just hacker types in front of me, but they were having a good time. They were moving. It wasn't slow. And then there was a massive gap behind me and me playing solo was not even close to being the issue. So put together a couple of pars. Seventh hole there is a little tough. It's over the water.

And then there's a two-part green where it's really hard to get to the elevated part of it without it rolling off. I find a way to get it behind the pin, feel pretty good about it. And as I'm lining up my putt, I hear just a simple thud, the sound you would expect to hear of a ball hitting the green. And I'm like, what? What was that? And it's dark, right?

It's at night. So even though it's lit, you're not really seeing things the way you normally would. And then as I hit the next putt and I'm starting to walk back towards my bag that I left behind the green, I hear another thud. And I was like, all right, well, these guys threw two darts onto the green behind me, but I was putting and the guy teed off. So I give a simple arms to the side, what the fuck, and then keep it moving. So as the group in front of me was taking a bit of time to finish up on eight, I'm in the eighth tee box and I use a 54 for that one. And the two guys that hit under the green behind me, I've already let it go. They're walking up. I would say twenties,

one white kid, one Asian kid. And I skull it a bit of a blade and the tee shot goes behind the green and the white kid goes, good shot. And I was like, Hmm, I feel like something may be happening right now. So I walk from the T box towards the green knowing that I'm gonna have to chip up with a 60 over this mound to get it back onto the green. And as I'm walking, the white kid tees off while I'm in the fairway and throws a fucking dart at the pin by the way I Was like so he just kind of did it again even more egregiously after I think he was pretty much fucking with me by Saying nice shot because it wasn't a nice shot second shot was great threw it right up at the pin itself

Save par put it But I'm looking at his ball and I'm going so he did it again he did it again But he did it more aggressively. So now what do I do? And I thought I should just pick up his ball and throw it on the parking lot. But I was like, it is Sunday night. I don't know that I really feel like doing this. So I get to nine, which is a brutal hole. It's like 50 yards to the pin par that, but they have to wait for me. So I set my bag by them in the tee box and then they're now there's going to be an

encounter and I was like, I'm going to go to the. So I set my bag by them in the tee box. And then there now there's gonna be an encounter. And I was like, I'm going to say something because I'm annoyed. So I go, hey man, what are you doing? And he's like, it was a great shot though. Fully acknowledged, but how about that shot? Not really the point, but yeah.

It was a great shot. And I was like, yeah, it's a great shot. It's a dick move. He's like, look, sir, I'm just really confident in my abilities. And I knew that you would be safe. I was like, you've done it twice. I was like, if you're good at golf, you know, you're doing something like clearly you're good enough at golf to hit shots like that.

So that means you play. And if you were actually do that in a real course and do that while somebody's walking twice, everybody would be pissed off. So why are you doing that? And then in a very condescending way, he was like, I'm sorry. And I was like, okay, all right. And so then as the guys in the 10th go to tee off,

as I get my bag, get ready, because I'm cutting middle here now, the guy in his backswing, the white kid screams and the other groups backswing So now I turn around go what the fuck are you doing? Like what are you what are you doing? Like what are you? It's just the goal the Asian guy to his credit wanted to defuse it and Then the white kid continued to be a dick and was like I just wanted to play with you really bad

That's why I wanted to catch up. I was like, I think you know what you're doing He's like it was a catch up. I was like, I think you know what you're doing. And he's like, it was a good shot. And I went, look, okay. And it's my favorite thing to do in any of these and be like, right, because I'm wrong. I'm the wrong one here is what you're going with that I'm wrong and that you're right. And then he's, would you say he was gaslighting you? Yeah, exactly. I think it's the best example I could think of. I think for a couple years, I actually didn't know what the, like I would hear a girl say, just gaslighting. And I'd be like, wow, I didn't even know what that is, but I can't admit it. Uh, then he held up a club.

It was like, want a sword fight? And I went, all right, fuck this guy. Have you searched YouTube for Ryan Russell loses his shit on the golf course? Cause it sounds like a hidden camera situation. Oh, I have you know, this guy's super into tick tock. There's no question that he's, he's into tick tock, uh, without confirming it whatsoever. And so then we finished up on 10 and as I actually joined the group ahead, they

were like, you want to just play with us? And like one guy had a huge black eye and I was like, I don't think I'd be messing with you guys and they were kind of laughing. I was like, are you pissed about this? And the guy's like, we're not really any good. I'm like, okay, who cares? So, um, the four of us end up finishing up on the 10th. That means Dickhead and his buddy are waiting to tee off. And then there's one last active,

just awesomeness. The kid screams for as he tees off at the four of us walking away off the green, even though the ball wasn't even close to any of us. I actually don't think he ended up on the green on that one. So that was kinda it. And then I just hit around on the putting green because I was like, I don't think I'm gonna let this go yet. And I hit on the putting green and he walked by and then we kinda looked at each other

and he gave a big smile and that was the end. So I really feel like the world is full of pretty good people. And then there's guys like this that are just finding a way to fuck it up for the good ones out there. I don't really get it, man. There's just people,

and it is like a TikTok culture thing now where it's like the prank thing where the people just do things in public just to fuck with other people. It sounds like prank behavior. Yeah, so Kyle's right. Like if you're not even filming this, like what are we, you're just do things in public just to fuck with other people. It sounds like prank behavior. Yeah, so Kyle's right, like if you're not even filming this, like what, you're just an asshole, that's just it. That's like some shit you'd expect to see

in like a stop and shop parking lot by like two kids that have nowhere to be, like not in the golf course. And I'll admit too, like in your head you're going, okay, what are you really gonna do here? You're not gonna do anything. You're gonna fight a 22 year old? Yeah, too much to lose.

I think he was like more like 26 or 27. Oh man. Then you're doing all the math in your head and you're like, well, what if he actually trains in Jiu-Jitsu or something? You never fucking know anymore, right? I mean, look at the ears. And I would like that to be super embarrassing. You get into a fight at a par three golf course and the next thing you know, the guy's submitting you on the tee box.

That would be pretty bad footage. I think that second ball is coming with me though. That's the one thing I think I would have done differently. I think you're right. I think the second ball should have just been chucked with a look back. Cause that way you can be like, now you have to do something to me

for me to be able to justify doing something back to you. And then I'll admit too, it's like, if he's this good with his wedges, there's no way he's a good fighter. You only get one. Right. You can't be both. You can't have awesome, awesome touch around the green and then knocking people

out, right? I would for the most part, I would test it. I would test that theory. Yeah. Who do you think like the best fighter on the PGA tour is? That's a great question. Like, is it, I mean,

pretty who? Well, Bryson's huge, but I question. Like, is it, I mean, Capco looks pretty who? Well, Bryson's huge, but I don't think he's like, I don't know that. I would say he's a good fighter. People don't like him either. Right. He's not as big as it used to be. I mean, Brooks is a pretty sturdy guy because he looks a bit surly. You wonder if he could crack some, but you don't know. And anybody that's like from a real town of tough people would be laughing at the

whole idea of like, who is the toughest guy in the PGA tour? Because if you're spending your most of your lives, like most of these guys are in the best country clubs. But there's just not yeah, you're stealing golf carts and trying to make out with some hedge funds daughter. Did you ever think about the old hit the ball back at them trick? I didn't it didn't cross my mind. I wasn't, I wasn't there. I wasn't there. Cause that's a move that I've had friends pull off before.

They'll just, if it happens more than once, it's, I'm sending it right back at you. But stuff like this doesn't even happen on a real guy. Like it could happen by mistake. It could be, Oh my God, I didn't, I thought you were in the clear. Or if it's a par four, you hit up on somebody. I mean, that kind of stuff happens.

And usually it's handled. You're allowed that one mistake of like, what are you doing? But I knew immediately on seven, I go, here we go. And then the nice shot thing where I was like, did he not see where it went? Although I did recover pretty well, but then on eight and then all of the other stuff afterwards. But I guess you just get to a point where you go,

how mad, and in my head I'm like, how mad are you actually going to get here? Even though you're definitely like, you're annoyed. I think you were willing to be fucking pretty mad. It's just such a lame behavior. The other thing I'm thinking of too is like his buddy who is trying to defuse the situation. I couldn't imagine being friends with that guy. I would not, I would not hang out with that.

That would be it. We'd be done. Like a bit cool. You that's the kind of guy you are. All right. Pass on our friendship. So yeah, if your friend went um, went and played the else are going to a par three on Sunday night around eight to nine o'clock and he has an Asian buddy, that

kid sucks little PSA out there for everybody. Kyle, what would you have done? Would you, would we be talking about an assault? No, no, the ball's coming with me. And I think that's kind of it. I think it's your move, dude. What's next? That's how I respond to this.

Do you want to see what's next? I don't know what next is, but hopefully you don't want to know what it is and we just end it. I think you're, I think you're built for those moments, Kyle. I'm going to say that. I think you're built for those moments in the best way possible. Oh, thanks. What do you mean?

Like to diffuse or to handle it? No, to just, I'm going to do something to you that is going to make you know. Like you're just, you're just going to know. And yeah, the ball, the ball thing, but I was still trying to save par. So I wasn't thinking about, but it did, it did cross my mind. I was like, Hey, do I just pick it up and throw it in the parking lot? I was like, I don't know.

I could, I gotta get back up on the green here though. Gotta try to sell. You're locked in true smart. Yeah. I was like, don't let this impact your game. And it didn't just to you. No, that's, I was actually enjoyed it. I was like, cool.

You're now you're agitated in this way. Are you not going to be able to finish this out? Are you going to play even worse than you did? It was like, actually I played better. At least you didn't catch up with these guys on like three. It sounded like it was towards the middle to end of your round there. So that would have sucked if you had to like

formulate a game plan for like this third hole. Is that a middle? The other move could have been, hey, if you guys are gonna do this, then play ahead of me on eight, and then I hit into them, but I wouldn't do it. Right. I take the driver out.

I'm just trying to think of like other subtle jabs that could have thrown at him that would hurt. Like if you should, cause you mentioned the tick tock thing, like what, you know, you just, you're just type casting him as a guy that would be into tick tock. Like if you just went up to him and were like, Hey man, you, you look like you have an active tick tock account. Like that might burn, you know? I had a buddy once who insulted somebody by saying you look like you have

a very active Facebook account. And it was one of the best disses I've ever heard in my entire life. So maybe that was something you could throw at him. Yeah, there was a moment where it was like, you could go, hey, there's gonna be an age where you're gonna look back at this time of your life and you'd be like, wow. I was an asshole.

Clearly you're not there yet, but I just want you to remember me when you have that you're gonna be like, wow, I was an asshole. Clearly you're not there yet, but I just want you to remember me when you have that moment where you're like, man, I used to suck, but you're not there because you still suck. But whatever, hey, we're trying to, I was trying to salvage the realm. I was trying to salvage the realm.

Okay, let's read a couple emails here. Am I being gaslit by my wife? Should we do that one? Yeah. Yeah, let's eat that. Quick, while it's fresh fresh before I lose it. Yeah. While we still know the definition.

Yeah. Before it slips back into the abyss and I just nod when people say it. I did it for a while there. I was like, I don't know what she's saying. I don't understand what this is, but I don't want to give it away. All right, 59205, 31 years of age.

Recent, whoa, whoa. Our guys on the thousand pound club here, squat bench deadlift of 1,145 pounds. No basketball comp since I'm 5'9 and gave up on ball when I saw the height disadvantage writing on the wall. This may be a little deep for the show but I needed to get it typed out. I think my wife is gaslighting me. Kyle should be an expert on the definition of that by now. I think we now have it. I think we now have it. I think we now have it. I'm confident enough to move forward today.

Yeah, absolutely. That's what I'll say. I won't say anything more than that. It took an awful par three experience for me to finally understand what it meant. Okay, first of all, I love my wife, two little girls, two years and two months, all right? Fresh, fresh kids.

However, sometimes I feel unappreciated in my marriage and every time I bring up my concerns, my wife, what's that? Fresh kids, it was funny to me, I don't know. Thanks man. Every time I bring up my concerns, my wife spins everything around and makes me question my perception of reality.

I work in public service, usually working about 45 hours a week in my regular job. Then I work an additional six plus hours at extra jobs paid out by private companies. My day usually consists of work from 5.30 to 3.30 PM. Go home for three hours, cook for the family, spend time with the wife and kids, then go out to my second job from seven to 10. Don't dance on Tuesdays.

Wow. This is a lot of work, man. My wife hasn't worked since before the birth of our first daughter. So I work extra to make ends meet while I understand being a stay at home mother, mom of two is a full time job, plus some. Anyway, the intimacy in our marriage has been lacking about three years.

Luckily we didn't have any trouble getting pregnant so we didn't have to try a lot. I'm constantly worn out juggling being productive at work, present father and adoring husband. And I brought this up to my wife and has always just shrugged off with some kind of response like being a stay at home mom isn't easy either. Which I never made that comment. A simple thank you or I appreciate the effort you put in is really all I'm looking for.

There's plenty of other examples I can provide, but for the sake of making a long email even longer i will refrain am i being dramatic what do you guys think is the best way to go about this. I want you guys take this one because i'm not i mean this isn't just about wanting to have more sex right because i mean there's no. This is like themes and sitcoms about like yeah it's just just just not there. It's a joke. We all joke about it. We're on the same page. Like it's never happening as much as you want. Yeah, I don't know. I think it's a tough thing to bring up, especially like, how are you going to frame it?

Like, I just like a little appreciation around here. I don't know. You probably don't even like the way it sounds when you say it, right? So I don't know. But you got to be careful because you don't want to slip into the passive aggressive thing, you know, where you're just like throwing little comments out and those build up, too. So I don't know, but you gotta be careful because you don't wanna slip into the passive-aggressive thing where you're just throwing little comments out and those build up too. So I don't know, I'd actually adhere to what Steve's got to say on this.

I don't know that I have a ton for you other than this is just kind of where dudes take the L's in life. That's good. I think, yes, your life and your work situation sucks right now. It seems like it's pretty terrible. It's admirable. Obviously you're doing what you have to do and that's awesome. Being a stay-at-home mom is also, there's nothing I'm going to say that's like, hey, yeah, you definitely deserve to tell her that she needs to do more, you need to do less.

When you're doing that game of comparing whose life is harder, like you're just never gonna come out the winner in that. So I just wouldn't do that. Man, I think you just gotta see the light at the end of the tunnel. Like is there a situation where, you know, maybe they'll be in school in a couple of years and you could not have this thing and it all kind of comes back around.

It just sounds like you're gonna have a shitty couple of years and that's gonna be the way it is. Maybe start listening to, don't do this, but maybe start listening to like 90s comedians on Spotify just bitching about their wives on their speakers. No headphones and just find it hilarious. It's like, so true. You hear that one? Yeah.

You are right, Ray Romano. That is crazy. I would say based on data I've collected over the years that women learning about their husbands, bitching about them does not seem to go over very well. No. That's not the answer. Even in playful, jesty ways. Yeah.

As clever as you think it sounds, it doesn't come across, it doesn't land the same way. Right. I mean, we could literally be called idiots at social gatherings to our faces. You're like, okay, uh, I think this is a really tough one. This is just a really tough one because it selfish isn't the word. Um, so I shouldn't use it, but I want you to think of it in the different ways that we can be selfish when we don't even realize that we're being selfish. So now I've just used the word multiple times. But if I were staying at home with two really young

kids, and it also depends on like what your kids are like, there's some tough kids, there's tough babies, there's easy babies, you know, it's funny because the parents that I know that were so worried about it based on everything that everybody had said. I think Saru can speak to this a little bit too. It's like sometimes you just luck out and you have a really easy kid and you seem to be so far, so good for you, right? We have, I mean, knock on wood, uh, our kids awesome. She's always in a great mood. She's always slept well. She's always ate well.

And I know parents who are not any different than I am that their kids don't sleep and they don't sleep and they don't want to eat anything. And they're just kind of a nightmare to a certain age point. It does seem like kind of a luck with the draw wild card situation. So hopefully your kids are, but I do sympathize with you. There is something for me, like at the end of the day, when I go pick my daughter up from daycare, like spending time with her, having a couple hours before she goes to bed,

we feed. That whole time period is like really awesome. And if I'm missing out on that and you know, you like that, I think maybe you frame it that way is like, I just really want to spend more time with the kids. Like I'm, I don't get to see them as much. And I know you're doing all this work all day. And because that, that, that is one, it's true. And two, it's going to make, how could she possibly feel bad about that? How could she possibly turn that around and make that a negative against you? So maybe that's the way that you kind of frame it is, you know, I would just like to spend more time with them.

Like we got to figure out a different situation and kind of enter the conversation from that angle and maybe you'll get some, you know, maybe you'll get somewhere. Yeah. I hate to pass it off because this is life advice, but it's almost like you need a third impartial person here because I mean, you're like, I'm working all day and then their triggers come out, you know, the ears perked up and she's like, yeah, sure. But the ears perk up and she's like, oh, so what I'm doing partial person here because I mean, you're like, I'm working all day and then their triggers come out, you know, the ears perk up. And she's like, yeah, sure, but the ears perk up.

And she's like, oh, so what I'm doing isn't working. It's like, God, we're not even talking about the thing anymore. So it's like, you almost need, like, I hate to say like go to therapy, but I mean, it sounds like a good thing. Like you're starting to fill up with resentment. And you know, if you're saying you're waiting

till the kids go to school, you've got a long way to go pal. So I don't know if it's becoming like, if it's, if it's eating away at you, it might be a thing we're suggesting just to have a third person in there who can be like, no, no, hold on, let him finish. And then she can have her time too. So I don't know. Other than that, I really don't have it. This could get messy, but it's not, it's not so messy right now. You're just unhappy. So it's really the next step is trying to avoid stepping in a nasty fucking puddle here with whatever you're trying to do to fix this.

Yeah. The reason I brought up the idea of like you being in your day, any of us, okay, when it's your day, you wake up and you go through everything that you go through your day. Like, that's the only thing you really have perspective on. You can clearly be aware of what your wife is doing is she can be aware of all the work that you're putting in considering your timeline, which is pretty absurd, right? Like how long you'll be able to actually maintain that. But I always think about my friends when they first would have kids and they would work and they would come home and the wife would be like, you need to deal with them

for a little while because I've been with them all day. She's not wrong, but at the same time, it's like you're just getting home to unwind. And now it's like, here's the baton of responsibility, which is entirely different. And it's, it's hard to say somebody's wrong in that transaction, her wanting you to help as soon as you get home and you being like, are you serious? It's two unhappy people. Right.

I've been gone all day. Uh, I don't, I mean, I just wonder if there be some modern version of marriage where like when I would get kind of like a wake up call dumping, it would be. Hey, we're going to maybe have to take a little break. And it was the worst thing to do to me. Cause I feel like sweet. Awesome. Are you serious about watching jazz games anymore.

Yeah, more Red Sox games. Let's go. Right. I get to sort of take a break, but emotionally, I know I'm getting you back in six weeks. So fucking, are you serious? Yeah. We've also penciled one in in July. So I wonder if there's a modern version of marriage, like a hundred years from now, where

it's like, oh, you don't like what I'm doing? Like, you don't like what you're doing? All right, why don't we just take a break? No lawyers, no finances, we don't have to divvy up anything. We don't have to start printing out the PDFs of the 401 case here and figuring out what's what and whose is whose. But maybe we just take a little reset break

so that you realize that if I'm not around, that it's actually going to suck again, this is never gonna happen and people are listening this being like, hey that's why you're you're still single that you would even allow your mind to enter into these these thoughts, but it it feels like you can't stay on this track because one it's exhausting and You have to get in front of the resentment that you're feeling that clearly she's kind of feeling maybe a different way based on the interact that there isn't now some people are just bad at appreciating

other things. Now that's probably more of a male thing where I can get really frustrated in a relationship where it's like, wait, you need to make sure I text you back immediately. Like, well, who gives a shit, right? I don't do that with any of my friends. Like you have these, these standards that you have with your male friends. That you have to learn the hard way with the women you're in a relationship. It was like, look, there's just a different set of instructions.

There's different care. You know, there's different things on the label that you have to adjust. And you may not understand it when you're younger. You may even get annoyed by the whole thing, but they're pretty fucking easy things to do by showing some kind of appreciation where this is reversed, where you don't feel like she's being appreciative of you whatsoever. It doesn't mean that she doesn't feel that way. She's just not verbalizing it.

And it may come down to, can you handle it never being acknowledged, but yet feel it enough that she's your partner and you're having kids, you're doing all these things. Is there a way that you can take a lesser verbalized version of it that you're going to be okay with it? If you can't, then you're gonna have an even bigger issue. All right, let's do another email.

Because the golf story was so long in here. Job referral after failed first date. Hey guys, long time listener, first time advice seeker, pickup player comp, poor man's Josh Hart, lot of energy running the right playing defense, boxing out, cleaning up on the boards, will only take very open shots and literally no back. Ouch.

Not entirely off though, but we all love Josh Hart. Right? Yeah. Definitely. But I think he's also saying poor man's heart where let's face it, like if heart needs to get you a dribble in, I think he's going to be able to do that. Left my job because I wasn't happy and

decided to take a break from work while my fiance's could handle it. Oh, excuse me. Fiancees. Whoa. Whoa. You should probably have some advice for the other guy.

Let me read that sentence with a different word, left my job because I wasn't happy and decided to take a break from work while You should probably have some advice for the other guy. Let me read that sentence with a different word. Left my job because I wasn't happy and decided to take a break from work while my finances could handle it. Very different email now. Recently, I went on a date with a woman who works in my industry, but not the same job title. During the date, she was telling me how much she liked the company she worked at, despite the general reputation of the company being not as great and telling me I should apply. The day continued. I thought I was going well, but she apparently didn't as she

abruptly ended the date and then unmatched me. My question is, can I apply for a job at the company she works for? I respect that she wasn't into me. So it's not like I'm trying to see her, but it feels like it could be creepy. No, you can totally do this. It didn't get further than the first date. And you're not, it would have been worse if you're still dating, I think, actually.

This is like from the entry point to this idea, it actually went the right way, right? You didn't have a terrible night with her and get fucking terribly drunk. And she's like, do you know what you said to me? She just was like, not into it, I'm out. And there's really nothing left. If you were still dating her and you're like, not into it, I'm out. And like, there's really nothing left. Like if you were still dating her and you're like,

oh, got the big interview on Friday, anything that, you know, she might start to feel gross about this, but this was a one and done, you don't even have, you didn't even like go home together or anything. So no one said anything mean. This is like, she could probably go back to being strangers pretty easily.

Yeah, what's the worst case scenario? Unless you're weird, but. Yeah, well, look, we're kind of glossing over something there, though, and again, we haven't really dug into this yet. How did the date end, that abruptly? Like you have no idea, all of a sudden, she's telling you that you should apply to the company that she works for,

and within a matter of an hour, she ends the date and unmatches you? What the fuck did you say? Like what happened? Pokemon cards on the table or something? Yeah, what happened? Game boy. Like the thing about the Nazis,

people didn't seem to understand. So I don't really, like you gotta do some self evaluation. You gotta go back and look at the tape. Like what did you say that this turned into her saying, come work at the place I work at to don't ever reach out to me again? That could have been a throwaway though, right? Her you should apply. Yeah it's great I love it.

You should apply. And he's like oh actually yeah I'm not I'm not in that anymore but I'm looking to get back in. She's like well I love it you should totally apply. Thinking like they're not gonna hire I can't even get my own friends hired. That's a great point. But that still doesn't really it still doesn't really matter though. Like who well what's the what's gonna Like if you apply to this job, is she gonna be interviewing you? Like is she, even if she, you know, you get to a certain stage and she gives you

like a bad reference or brings up the date, you don't really know any of these people anyway. And does it really screw up your career long-term? No. By the way, she's not on your reference sheet at all. That's the one thing you're not doing. So yeah, definitely point that out. So I just, I don't know what the worst case scenario here

is you just, you don't get the job. I don't know, either way, if you didn't apply, you're not gonna get the job, definitely point that out. So I just, I don't know what the worst case scenario here is you just, you don't get the job. I don't know either way. If you didn't apply, you're not gonna get the job either. So it doesn't matter. But he's afraid that, and because look, anybody that's had just the date go bad or the initial courting phase, like those are dangerous, fragile times.

The wrong word, the wrong there, there. Girls can be like, oh, this guy's a fucking moron, out. You can sense, you can feel the temperature in those opening moments. You can feel the temperature in the texts. You really can. You can be like, oh, this is warm.

And it's the same blue, maybe it's green for some of you. They're coming through at a decent pace. And then the second the pace slows down, you're like, somebody turned the thermostat down. It's unbelievable. It's like feeling the people through a PlayStation remote. No, I'm on, I'm on something here. I'm on some cook.

Yeah. It's you're not supposed to feel anything, but you can. Everybody knows what I'm talking about right now. You're like, it's just the electrons, man. They're going through my body and the fingertips all the way into my torso. And so in that, we must have done something where in the beginning, like nobody,

your margin of error is so small, so slim during those opening moments that it usually then, if it isn't that big of a deal and it goes wrong, it takes like a couple months and the person's like, yeah, maybe I completely overreacted to that. Right? And then you're like, oh, cool. Awesome. I felt like a dick for three months and now we're realizing that this wasn't really that big of a deal and it was some of the baggage you were bringing

to the table the whole time. So to the point, the job, thank you, Saruti. Don't reference her. Don't tell her because you still might be in creep face. You still might be in a three month window of, oh, that guy's a fucking weirdo. And then month four, she's like, you know what? It was really about somebody else and there was some kind of trigger of a guy that I used to date that I really liked.

And then he reminded me of that or whatever. Like I remember there was a girl, this is a long time ago, but I was hanging out with somebody. And then I did a like real simple, like I wasn't in the same location. So it wasn't anything like that, but it was late and I was like, Hey, what's up or whatever. And then she was explaining what happened. And I was like, Oh, who are you with? And she took it as a, who are you with? And I knew like some of the mutual friends and it was just a simple, like followup inquiry. And then it went real icy for a little while. And I thought,

okay, yeah. And then the ice thawed and a few months later, I got a very like, Hey, there was somebody I used to date who used to be really controlling. And that question reminded me of him. I was like, Jesus Christ. I'm like, we have mutual friends. I just wanted to know who was in the mix that night. Like, God, are you serious? Really about you.

Yeah. Right. Like, which, yeah. So, and I think a lot of guys can relate to that, but I can also understand really about you. Yeah, right. Like, which, yeah. So, and I think a lot of guys can relate to that, but I can also understand like the triggers of all these different things. So it, the interview process, who knows,

you could get to a point where it may not even matter anymore and if you were hired, then it's not gonna be that big of a deal. I would wait until you were given an offer or whatever. And then maybe you could reach out and be like, hey, I know that day didn't go great. I'm really sorry. I'm not even really quite sure,

but I just wanted to give you a heads up professionally, like I'm gonna be working here. I just was really into everything you said about the company and that's why I followed up. So I just wanted- Fuck that, wait till she founds out on Slack. Fuck that. Wow, really Kyle?

Yeah. To show up with the badge? Hey, you unmatched me. I don't even know if they have phone numbers, right? They're now complete strangers. There's no way they're of contact. I think just pretend like you're strangers and how'd you hear about us?

And it's like, oh, it's a TV commercial or something. Who gives a shit? Yeah, maybe if you don't have the phone number and then there's no way to contact or don't take it to the work email, be like, sorry, I was so horny that night. And, you know, I know the topic of conversation did a U-turn. So just want to follow up, but yeah, I'm over in building C.

This would be a great, I mean, we don't, we don't read, you know, follow-ups a ton, but if you could pinpoint what, like how the thing ended, like what was the breaking point where she just back? Cause that is true. Like for someone to leave on a date in the middle of it, like how the thing ended, like what was the breaking point where she just back, because that is true. Like for someone to leave on a date in the middle of it, like that doesn't happen that often. Leaving the date immediately is really rare. He seems to not care,

because he didn't follow up at all. Yeah, he doesn't even explain. Could he be that oblivious or could it actually be her reacting away there? He's still going, I have no idea what happened. But you're right, Suri, that's not not usually you ride it out for a little bit. Yeah. Cause abruptly ending the date could just be like, do you guys want dessert?

And she's like, nah, I gotta go. Like, like, I don't even know if it was like a mid date thing or if it was just like, should we take a walk after this or she, or should we, you know, get coffee or something and she's done. Yeah, I'm done. I'm done. Take this across the street. Yeah. But the unmatched too with it, like something had to do something.

There had to be some breaking point. Something. Yes. Don't I? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Maybe you don't look like your hinge photo guy. I don't know. Good luck. But it happened right away. I was waiting for Kyle. I was waiting and I got it. All right. Thanks to Kyle. Thanks for working on. Thanks to Saruti, Ryan, I was waiting for Kyle. I was waiting. And I got it. All right. Thanks to Kyle. Thanks to Oregon. Thanks to Saruti, Ryan Russo podcast back on Thursday gearing up for game one of the

NBA finals. And I do believe, I think we'll have joy as well for life advice. Please check out our YouTube page. Saruti, it seemed like you had some credits you wanted to throw in there as well. Well, obviously, as I was saying, we're full episodes up on YouTube. This will be the first one. So we're really excited. Obviously, subscribe, Ryan Russo on YouTube, and we should have everyone up on YouTube. This will be the first one. So we're really excited. Obviously subscribe Brian Russo on YouTube

and we should have everyone up going forward. All right, Brian Russo podcast, bring your Spotify. in the next one. Must be 21 and older, 18 plus in D.C. and present in select states. Fandual is offering online sports wagering in Kansas under agreement with Kansas Star Casino LLC. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit fandual.com forward slash RG in Colorado, D.C., Iowa, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and Vermont. Call 1-800--789-7777, or visit ccpg.org forward slash chat in Connecticut. 1-800-9 with it in Indiana, 1-800-522-4700, or visit ksgamblinghelp.com in Kansas, 1-877-770, stop in Louisiana.

Visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Visit 1-800-gambler.net in West Virginia, or call 1-800-GAMBLER.NET in West Virginia, or call 1-800-522-4700 in Wyoming. Hope is here. Visit GamblingHelpLineMA.org or call 800-327-5050 for 24-7 support in Massachusetts, or call 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY in New York.