After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 2

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Get a wedding suit as unique as you with Indochino. Go to Indochino.com and use code PODCAST to get 10% off any purchase of $3.99 or more. That's Indochino.com promo code PODCAST. We're going to get the lowdown from Arizona where the NFL is holding a couple of days of owners meetings and all the coaches, all of the general managers on hand. It's AFC, it's NFC, it's just another moment where we get to pick their brains, right?

Because we haven't done that enough since the Super Bowl. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. Glad to hear from you on Twitter, ALawRadio.

Our show Twitter is After Hours CBS. And then you can also find us on our Facebook page or our YouTube channel. I know a bunch of you have been responding to our latest video which capitalizes on spring bling and spring things. The most compelling, most entertaining, most perfect format when it comes to post seasons and sports.

Which one offers you the most bang for your buck? So check it out on our YouTube channel After Hours with Amy Lawrence. We'll get to some basketball coming up. Pair of one seeds in the women's game actually seeking spots in the final four. And also news about Rodney Terry at Texas plus a little bit of brouhaha in the NBA.

The Dallas Mavericks playing again. Is Luka any happier? But we have promised you the latest from the desert as the NFL League meetings land in the same spot where we had the Super Bowl going back now six weeks ago. And we're pleased to welcome Rob Motti to the show for the first time. He's the lead NFL writer for the Associated Press. And I got to tell you, Rob, around the country shockwaves when Lamar Jackson shared on Twitter that he has requested a trade out of Baltimore. So there in Arizona where you're insulated with everyone in the NFL, was it as big of a shock, as big of a story as it was elsewhere? Oh, big time, Amy.

Let me set the scene for you. So the seven forty five a.m. breakfast for the AFC coaches is everyone's gathered around and most of it like there's a ton of media around the Jets table for Robert Salah because you want to talk about Aaron Rodgers. Right. And then you start seeing people gravitating and going over towards John Harbaugh and a raven because like Lamar drops this news on social media, on Twitter, just as John sits down to speak to the media. And I don't know if it's coincidental. I don't know if it was timed on purpose, but John handled it about as professionally as can be. But that dominated that segment.

Right. It goes from Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets. And now everybody's talking about Lamar Jackson and a Baltimore Ravens. And of course, Daniel Snyder, such a hot topic, even though he's not on it on the agenda for this meeting. What did Harbaugh say then, as you all are communicating to him this bombshell from Lamar's social media?

Well, of course, you've got to say the obligatory I didn't see the tweet or like, well, it just dropped. But he said he loves Lamar. He's planning as if Lamar is going to be there.

Great player, great person, great leader. And, you know, I thought he actually did Lamar kind of a solid because he goes, he's doing a great job handling his own negotiations. Because there's been so much criticism of Lamar handling without an agent. And John Harbaugh says that he's doing a great job. And he basically said it's not a problem with Lamar, it's a monetary thing.

And I think we all understand where Lamar's coming from. He wants a fully guaranteed contract because he saw what Deshaun Watson got last year. Now, no other team other than the Browns since has given a quarterback a fully guaranteed contract.

So this is one of those cases where you can understand both sides. Lamar sees himself as more valuable, more accomplished than Deshaun Watson, certainly without the legal trouble that Deshaun Watson was going through. Why can't I get a fully guaranteed deal? And then the Ravens look around the landscape, see no one else is giving these fully guaranteed deals out. Lamar also has been prone to injury the past two years.

And they haven't even reached an AFC Championship with him. So there's no right or wrong. I can understand both sides. That's actually what I'm writing today.

That's great because it's certainly going to be a topic of conversation moving forward. But just what you know of the NFL and the QB chessboard, as I call it, Rob, are there actual places where the Ravens might trade him? I really think his only option is going to end up being Baltimore. It's hard for a team to come in and want to negotiate with a non-exclusive franchise tender, knowing that more than likely they believe the Ravens will match. And if they don't, then they're giving up two first-round picks. So you've got to ask yourself, are you willing to lose two first-round picks, or would you rather, if you're in a position to draft a young quarterback, build around them and develop and try and win with a quarterback on a rookie contract? You saw where the Eagles got to with Jalen Hurts. You see how the Bengals and the Chargers have had success with a quarterback on a rookie contract. So I don't see a team coming in and wanting to sign Lamar and risk that possibility.

A trade could be worked out where the compensation is less than two first-round picks, because if there is a trade, it doesn't necessarily have to follow signing the tag. But then you start looking at all the teams and you go, who can fit at this point? And so many of them have ruled out Lamar.

Whether they've leaked it here, there, or somewhere else, there's teams where you go, oh, well, he could fit with the commanders today. They say we're not interested. He could fit with the Indianapolis Colts. And even though Chris Ballard today said, anytime there's a great player out there, you've got to investigate all options, I've already reported that the Colts are not interested. We know that the Panthers traded up for the number one pick.

So I think Amy, when all said and done, his best option is they're going to have to kiss and make up and end up back at Baltimore. Rob Motti is with us from Arizona, where we've got the NFL owners meetings taking place for a couple of days. He covers the NFL as the lead writer for the Associated Press, and it's After Hours with Amy Lawrence here on CBS Sports Radio. What else made big news? I guess it was the Aaron Rodgers lack of a trade, but what else is happening in the league? I think the news of the day in regards to Aaron Rodgers is twofold. One, it's Joe Douglas from the Jets saying that they've made progress, and then it's Packers GM Brian Gudeku saying that they may not necessarily get a first round pick, which I think most of us to this point realize, like you've got a guy who said he's 90 percent going to retire and then decided to come back at 39 years old. That's not first round pick or 13th pick overalls, what the Jets have, worthy. So I believe that they're going to have to end up on some sort of a second, a third, and maybe a conditional, Amy, to where if Aaron Rodgers leads them to a Super Bowl, then a second becomes a one next year, or if he plays X amount of years, because there's no guarantee he's going to play more than one season. So the Packers are going to have to accept some sort of conditional deal, conditional picks, but I can't see it being a first round pick for 2023 for sure. Do you believe the Jets when they say there's no urgency to get this deal done, or as Rob said, to add a veteran QB? That was before I ran over and heard him say that, and I'm like, all right, that's great, that's what you're going to portray, you got to say that. You need Aaron Rodgers in the building, you got to get him familiar with, I know he played under Nathaniel Hackett and he knows the system, but you want to get him over there, you want to get him in the system, you want to get this wrapped up, sealed, delivered, because until it's done, it's not, right? Anything can happen in the world of sports. I think that there is some sort of urgency to have this get finished, finalized before the draft, especially if there's going to be draft to compensation.

You need to know what you have and what you don't have in 23, 24, whatever it is, and I think it will, Amy, I think it will get done. I think they say there's progress being made. It looks like the Packers have come to a realization that they can't hold out for as much as they want, and I wouldn't be surprised if this is done within the next week to 10 days. It's interesting because you compare those two big storylines, Lamar Jackson and Aaron Rodgers, and what a tough sell it's been to get the deals done, but then you think about Jalen Hurts and Joe Burrow and how it's been so quiet around them, even though those two guys are in line for major deals. Anything from the Eagles or Bengals?

Anything about how close they might be to those extensions? Eagles GM Howie Roseman today said it's a priority for the Eagles to extend Jalen Hurts, which we knew that coming in. They got to get this done because they got to be able to figure out how they're going to allocate money, salary cap, everything going forward. They were fortunate enough to get to this point where they went to a Super Bowl with Jalen Hurts at a second-round pick salary. Now it's time to get paid, and as great of a job as Howie Roseman has done over the past decade or so, and he won a Super Bowl in 17, this might be his toughest assignment yet. They lost a lot of talented players in free agency, and now Jalen Hurts is going to command 40, 45, 50. If Daniel Jones can get 40 million a year, I think Jalen Hurts can be well within his rights to ask for 50 million a year. Now you got to figure out how you can construct a roster around the QB making that much money. I know the salary cap continues to go up, but I think the Eagles will get it done. And I kind of feel like each quarterback and each agent is waiting for the other deal, right? Yes, yes. And it's smart, isn't it, Angel?

It is. Hey, if you see Jalen get X amount, well, Joe Burrow's going to want more. And then Justin Herbert is going to, like, if I had to rate them, I would say Burrow should get the most, and Hurts should be right there with them, and then Herbert third.

So it's going to be interesting to see how this plays out. I would anticipate all three get done before training camp. From Phoenix, AP lead NFL writer Rob Motti is with us after hours on CBS Sports Radio. You mentioned, actually, the commanders, Daniel Snyder, how much of a priority is this for the NFL that they can get that issue and that sale done? Yeah, I think it's a big-time priority. And even though he's not on the agenda for discussion, he has been a hot topic of conversation.

Everybody wants to know what's happening with him. I will give you a little bit of news that I did report today, is that although there's been rumors and different groups that are interested in buying the commanders, it has yet to reach the point where Daniel Snyder has accepted anyone's offer and then presented that bidder to the NFL. And that would be the step.

So no matter who wants to bid on buying the commanders, he's got to eventually accept an offer, then submit that bidder to the NFL for their approval. So it hasn't reached that point. So it's not in that imminent status that some thought it was as recently as a few days ago. So nothing's going to happen during these meetings.

The hope is that something can get done by the May meetings in Minnesota. Who else attracted a lot of attention in Phoenix on Monday? It's Jerry Jones.

Oh, gosh. Jerry, people are always going to flop to Jerry and the Giants, Amy, too, because John Maris spoke and he said he wants Saquon Barkley to be a giant forever. He mentioned Eli and he mentioned Tiki. He mentioned Michael Strahan. He also said he hasn't they haven't ruled out Odell Beckham Jr. And he would love to say he said he's going to leave it up to the coach in the GM.

But if he had a say in it, he would certainly favor that. So it got a lot of Giants fans excited and then something where we don't want to go down that road either. Speaking of coaches, I'm not sure if any of the new ones are on hand there. I know there's a lot of people excited about what D'Amico Ryans can do in Texas.

How do you see that pairing between the Texans and Coach Ryans? I just had a chance to speak with D'Amico for a few minutes at an event. And I've always thought since his days playing in the NFL, I got to see him for a few years when he was in Philly and I was there. I thought he was certainly a guy who was positioned well to be a leader of a team like this. Chip Kelly loved him as a player and thought that he had all of the intangibles and everything that you look for in a coach. And they just need they need players.

They need pieces around them. I think he's the right fit. This is the third year, third straight new head coach for the Texans. I know that the front office has been in disarray and there's been a whole lot, so many issues involving that franchise. I think they got their guy now in D'Amico. So I'm excited to see what he can do.

But he's going to need a franchise quarterback too. Rob, before I let you go, in addition to covering the NFL for the Associated Press, you have a show called Faith on the Field. I just saw it on your Twitter.

What is that? What's your show all about? Amy, Faith on the Field is my passion. It's a show I launched several years ago in twenty seventeen on radio affiliate sports radio station in Philly. It has since grown to I believe we've been on over eleven or twelve sports stations across the country.

And my wife is my co-host. And I interview a different Christian athlete in professional sports. Now that I cover the NFL predominantly, it's been a whole lot of NFL players. But we talk about their faith in sports and how the intersection of that has helped them get to where they are, what their faith means to them. And it's been awesome because it's been, I've never had a player actually say, no, I don't want to sit down and do that interview, whether it was Tua Tunga, Bailoa, Brock Purdy, C.J. Strav, most recently all at the Super Bowl. Russell Wilson, he's been on a few times. It's been a who's who. Hall of Famers, everybody.

And it's just a great opportunity. And we don't we don't sit there and preach and beat anybody over the head with a Bible. We just talk about what their faith has meant to them in their lives. And we try to give people inspiration, hope and motivation and find peace and joy in things that aren't worldly, find their peace and joy in someone.

And for me, it's my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I got to tell you, following the scare with Tamar Hamlin, it was pretty incredible to hear it from every locker room that they were praying for him to hear guys like Josh Allen talk about the conversations that were taking place with teammates around faith and what that looks like. And and then, of course, to see the miracle of his recovery and even now the talk about him getting back on the football field.

It's incredible. So it was yeah, it was neat for those few days to hear NFL players who very often are putting their health and even their lives on the line. And and they have, you know, they have this kind of moment where they realize, hey, like there's something bigger than than what we do on the football field that that was awesome. Yeah, it really was. I thought it was an opportunity where the country really came together in prayer for someone for Tamar. And it was prayers answered. It was miracle being played out right in front of our eyes.

And it's so great that Tamar understands the platform that he's been given. You mentioned Josh Allen. I think of all of the players who talked about it and related faith to it. He gave me goosebumps when he spoke that that game and said, hey, I was going up and down the sidelines after I guess my second kickoff return saying that's real. And I was like, man, what an what an awesome moment. So I love that. Yes, that was amazing.

And I love that he was so open about it, too, that these emotions that kind of cut him off guard. So, yeah, that's so cool. So you can check it out on Twitter. Find Rob at Rob Mody, M-A-A-D-D-I. He's the lead NFL writer for the Associated Press. Joining us from Phoenix, where the NFL's going through its owners meetings, but also the show is called Faith on the Field.

The variety of stations that you can you can listen to it. Rob, it's great to connect with you for the first time. We'll definitely have you on again. Thank you. My absolute pleasure, Amy.

Thank you so much. It is astounding to me in this business that we're still finding people after this is now year 11, after more than a decade of doing this job with at least one interview, four nights a week, usually five, sometimes more interviews if we have different topics that require guests or I feel like are better with multiple voices. And we still come across people that we've never had on the show before that I had never connected with before. And so good. They're so good at what they do. I love the personalities.

I love being able to hop around the country and interact and connect with various voices and minds and personalities. And Rob Motti is a keeper. We like him a lot.

So good stuff. I think based in Philly for quite a while, maybe in Tampa now. Well, in Arizona now, but Tampa could be his base. And how about hosting a show with his wife? Yeah, I don't think that's in my future. Hosting a show with a spouse. I'm too much of a control freak when it comes to my radio show. That would not work. All right.

You can find me on Twitter, A-Law Radio, also on our Facebook page after hours with Amy Lawrence. A little bit of basketball ahead. Why? Well, the Dallas Mavericks are trying to stop their backsliding into the depths of no postseason hell and the thought of losing Kyrie Irving, right?

Because his contract is just for the remaining part of this regular season, whatever playoffs will come. Are they in a better mood today? We'll find out after hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio.

You are listening to the After Hours podcast. Luke, a left wing, no double team, turns to his left, cross court hardaway, touch it Bullock, right corner three. That's where he wants to shoot from. And he makes that shot at a time out by the Pacers and the Mavericks max their biggest lead of the night. Neelakina to McGee, fakes the handoff, McGee on the drive to the rim and a spike. Oh man, he turned the corner and soared and slammed. The rebound tipped ahead from McGee to Hardy to the right to Kyrie, pulls up for the wing three.

It's good. Yeah, good push by Dallas and Irving with 14 points in the Mavericks up by eight. Wara at the right wing spinning. Hardy reaches in. Luca gets the steal. Here comes Luca pulling up. He'll shoot the three and down it goes.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Chuck Cooperstein and company on Dallas Mavericks radio. They end the slide. The skid goes four games and they've managed to right the ship a little bit. They get this victory on the road in Indiana. They're still on the outside looking in and that is the big picture right now is the Mavericks are not even in the 7-10 tournament. They're on the outside, but these are constantly changing, very fluid standings.

Tomorrow it will look something completely different, right? Because Golden State has now slipped back into that 7-10 tournament. Meanwhile, the Minnesota Timberwolves, they are out of the tournament even though Minnesota and Golden State have the exact same record. But if you missed it on Sunday night, the Timberwolves, well they eclipsed the Warriors in the late stages.

They were able to survive that trip to the Chase Center. And because of that, at least right now, they're ahead of the Warriors in the standings. So this can change minute to minute, night to night with just a handful of games left for each team.

It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. Remember Jason Kidd had been torching his team over their lack of effort and what he called a lack of interest over the last couple days. The guys came out from the jump ball, executed defensively and offensively. And from that point once we got control of the game, I thought again another thing that we've normally let leads get chopped in half or given up a lead.

I thought the guys did a great job of building the lead and keeping the lead. And they did that coming out of the halftime locker room. So not only did they win the first two quarters and they actually outscored the Pacers by 10 in the second quarter, they picked that up.

They kept up the intensity through the halftime and also outscored them by double figures in the third quarter to build what was a nice lead. Luka Doncic, last we heard from him, frustrated thinking about another suspension for a 16th technical. He ends up with 25.7 rebounds, six assists, not nearly as pissy on Monday night. I let my frustration go out a little bit more than I'm supposed to on the court, you know, but I was just focused now on getting wins, helping my teammates, you know, because we need wins. Yeah, channel that frustration, that emotion into making your team better. He's one of the best players in the league. I know sometimes this emotion gets the best of him. It does for other great players as well, but the team needs him to be locked in and using all of his energy toward basketball. Kyrie Irving ends up with 16 to go along with six assists. Is anybody paying attention to the story of Jaden Hardy?

Because it's become pretty impressive now. 20 points for him off the bench and he continues to point to both Kyrie and Luka as teammates who are bringing out the best in him. Planning a wedding is intimidating, but finding the perfect suit shouldn't be. Design your dream suit at Indochino.com and use code PODCAST for 10% off any purchase of $3.99 or more.

That's Indochino.com code podcast. So for him as a rookie, it's got to be a boost to play alongside Kyrie even for this, what I presume will be a short time. So the Mavericks still on the outside looking in, but get that win to end the skit. It's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio, also in the Western Conference. Red hot right now are the Minnesota Timberwolves. They're the best two-point shooting team this year and in NBA history. Naz a right side three, cans it. That's a big time shot.

The Wolves lead by six. A little bit of momentum with 8.34 left to play. Conley now off to go bare.

Kick out and left side three on the way. Oh, it's a big time shot by Anthony Edwards. Fine time for his first three of the night.

Anthony Edwards puts the Wolves up seven, 108-101. And with it, crosses over to the baseline, rises up, kicks it far side. Anderson up top. McDaniels, he'll take a run down the lane. He rises and throws it down over DeMonte Sabonis. Big time finish by Jayden McDaniels.

He's got 19. The Wolves lead 114-104 with 3.46 left. And they're able to hold off the Sacramento Kings. This is a big deal because for Minnesota, as I just told you, it keeps them out of that 7-10 tournament.

What it also did, at least for the moment, everything's likely to change again. What it also did is prevent the Kings from clinching. So the Kings were attempting to, on their own court, lock up a playoff spot first time in a long time.

They're still going to make the postseason, barring some calamity, which I actually think is impossible for them to not make the playoffs. But for De'Aaron Fox and Harrison Barnes, there's a little disappointment because they were hoping to do it and reward the fans who have been so faithful. Guys wanted to clinch a playoff spot at home.

Wanted to share it with our fans. But, like I said, at the end of the day, regardless of where we do it at, I think people are going to be appreciative and people are going to love it. The fans have been great all season. They've been great since I've been here. So obviously it's disappointing for them. But as a team, like I said, our focus is just continuing to get better every single day.

And while this was a missed opportunity for a lot of different reasons, we will continue to press forward. The Wolves have now won four in a row. The Pelicans, this cracks me up, have won five in a row. And so they put themselves in position now where they're nipping at the heels of the Warriors. So let's go over this log jam in the middle of the West again.

By the way, Alan Horton on Timberwolf's radio. Okay, so here's how it looks. The Kings are likely to clinch next time they play. Okay, so they are sitting in third in the West. The Suns are in fourth. Their record is 40 and 35. From the Suns in fourth through five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven. So you're talking about all of those teams from four through eleven. Just three and a half games separating them in the standings.

That is insane. So here are the Pelicans who've won five in a row and seven in the last ten. And they're only a half game back of the Warriors. The Warriors who had won four in a row, they drop a game against the Timberwolves on Sunday, right? And now they've dropped back into the 7-10 tournament because they've switched places essentially with the Wolves. The Suns are in danger of being caught by the Clippers who were hot on their heels. And the Lakers, even though they lost their last game, are actually back into the 7-10 tournament. Because the Mavericks on the outside looking in. I mean it's really very convoluted and fascinating. I've never seen anything like that.

I haven't either. Three and a half games. All you have to do is win two in a row or lose two in a row. And your playoff position drastically changes. And I mean this is wild because you've got the play-in tournament obviously with the new rules all the way down to ten.

Imagine if this was just the eight. I mean it's absolute insanity for the Western Conference and how bunched up they are. And there's not a lot to play, but again any loss now really does. I mean any loss could be the difference between going to the playoffs and not. And crazier, not only going to the playoffs, being a sixth seed or being out. It could be one game. Sitting there and waiting for your opponent or being gone from the playoffs. We're not just talking the play-in tournament.

We're talking, you know, seeds of the Suns. I would like to think that they're okay. I mean they're 40 and 35. Right, but for a playoff spot. Three and a half with like six or seven to play. I would like to think that they're not going to be not in the playoffs.

You know what I mean? Yeah, most teams have like six, seven games to play. So you're talking three and a half games with a six game. I would like to think that they make the playoffs. That's too many teams that have to be hot at the exact same time.

They're probably playing each other. So I'd like to think the Suns will make the playoffs, but they're looking at home court right now. And they could go from home court to play-in.

And that's not out of the realm. That's nuts. They're only a game and a half out of the play-in tournament in fourth spot. So you've got a team that could be right now looking at the nine, playing the eight-nine matchup. And all of a sudden they could wind up as the four seed and have home court. It's nuts.

So this is, like I say, it makes me giggle. It's so comical that the Pelicans win five in a row. And they've now put themselves in the eight spot. Jonas Valanciunas is talking about this five game win streak and what it means to potentially set them up for the postseason. We play with energy. We play with, you know, we play together.

We enjoy basketball. So that gives us, you know, extra motivation. We're playing for something. So I think everybody motivated, everybody have a goal. That's what leads us.

It's the exact opposite of the Dallas Mavericks. We're having fun. We're playing together. We're motivated. We've got something to play for. Jonas on Bally Sports, New Orleans. So there is a lot that has yet to be decided.

Four playoff spots already locked up in the East, but still plenty of jostling still to come there as well. Let's see. We're going to do some QB news at the top of the hour because there's more than just Aaron Rodgers and Lamar Jackson. How about Mike McDaniel? No, not Mike McDaniel. Well, Mike McDaniel, but he's not QB news. Hold on.

That's actually really funny. He outs the Washington commanders. They weren't the commanders when he was there, but apparently they're cheapskates. Not so different than our company here, although we finally got free coffee machines again.

Remember Marco? They took him away for years because people were stealing the K-Cups. So now they've brought them back.

I don't know if people are still stealing things, but I mean, there's plenty of opportunity. Oh, there's some K-Cups actually back there. But that's not really our thing. Thank you, Duncan. Thank you, Duncan. Biletti does run on Duncan, yes.

So anyway, it's kind of funny that we can identify with what Mike McDaniel is saying and also one NFL head coach unfamiliar with Jordan Love. Ruh-roh. That's top of the hour.

Coming up next, Rodney Terry gets his contract with the Texas Longhorns and also a couple of top seeds trying to make the women's final four. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence. You are listening to the After Hours Podcast.

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This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. On the Westwood One NCAA Radio Network, Matthew Chasnow with the call and another first-time Final Four participant. This from the women's tournament, Virginia Tech reaches the Final Four for the first time in school history with a victory over Ohio State.

This was in the Seattle three regional final Monday night. This is kind of funny. I spoke to my younger niece who graduated from biotech a couple months ago.

I would be willing to bet all of what I'm worth. She has no clue that the women's basketball team is in the Final Four. That's how much my family is not tuned into sports and I absolutely love it. So in the women's game, it's slowly opening up for those who for years have watched and tried to pattern their programs after the likes of UConn and then South Carolina, Tennessee, Duke.

I could go on and on. Stanford, another women's program that's a power. What happened with UConn women's basketball and that's where it started, though there have been some other powers along the way. It's forced the rest of women's basketball to raise their standards, their expectations, their recruiting, their training, their coaching.

If you don't, you're not going to be able to keep up with the powers in the sport. And now here we go. It continues the streak. Seven times in the past 10 years, there is a first timer. As much as men's college basketball is almost a level playing field now, we think of the three first timers in the men's Final Four. It's slowly starting to open up in women's college basketball, too. So congratulations to top seed Virginia Tech and Elizabeth Kitley, 25 points, a dozen rebounds. This is actually the first time the Hokies have ever even reached the regional finals, so they've never been in the Elite Eight. Kitley is a name to know, six foot six center and the Hokies leading scorer. And it was really her world in the second half.

Everybody else was just living in it. She was dominating in the paint. This is really neat.

I want to surprise my niece. Hey, did you know? It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. Congratulations to Coach Kenny Brooks. You give them credit, Mike, so she got hot early. It seemed like no one was going to miss. But then the second half, we locked in, understood what we needed to do. The job that Kayana did on her and Kayla, they really made it tough for her.

And then we just did everything else right, did all the little things. So very proud of them, very team effort, tremendous win for this group, tremendous win for our university. Coach mentions Taylor Mikesell, he calls her Mikesell, but that's Taylor. And she led the Buckeyes early on. She had 19 points in the first half and so this was a challenge for the Hokies because they had to figure out how to contain her. So they actually held her scoreless for the first quarter and a half of the second half. So in women's basketball they played quarters now, they went back to quarters.

And she didn't score until deep into the fourth quarter. So much better job when it comes to the defense on the top threat for Ohio State. So the Hokies move on as do the defending champions, the South Carolina Gamecocks. This is Dawn Staley's team and they have been the top team in college basketball all year long. Aleah Boston is the All-American that really sets the tone for the Gamecocks. And so they're again in the Final Four. This was a matchup of number one versus number two. But because South Carolina is so good, it really was the pressure on their shoulders. So Maryland, good team. A number two seed. But South Carolina has been a buzzsaw and Dawn Staley has got her team into another Final Four.

You got to get a little lucky. And you got to get some players that really believe in it and that are unified, that really see honestly the bigger picture. And that is rare nowadays because a lot of times young people only see themselves and what they want to accomplish.

But when you get a combination of players who want those things, individual things, but they see the overarching, the big picture. So Dawn Staley certainly knows. She has changed the trajectory and the landscape of women's college basketball. She knows about participating as a player, the highest level. She went to three consecutive Final Fours as a member of the Virginia team.

That was early 90s. And she also played for USA basketball as the fierce point guard. Fierce point guard with an expression that matches her talent. It seemingly always has a scowl on her face. I've had conversations with her before. She is intense.

She doesn't even have to open her mouth and she intimidates you. But she brings that presence to her coaching, to the sidelines. And her teams feed off of that, including Aliyah Boston who is expected to be the overall number one draft pick in the WNBA coming up.

I think it's next month. And so for Dawn Staley, the standard now is Final Four or bust, championship or bust. So here they are in their third straight Final Four.

I believe it's, hmm. Let me think about going back farther than that. But it's their third straight Final Four and they are the defending national champions. So it is their throne they are protecting. And they have, as I say, been relentless pretty much all year long. In fact, right now they're sitting at 36-0. So they're attempting to be the tenth team and only the fifth school. So a lot of this was UConn, Texas, Tennessee, Baylor. They've all done it. Only five, only four schools to this point, they would be the fifth school have ever achieved that perfect record.

So yeah, it's impressive what she has done, turning South Carolina into a power and a force, a force du jour to be sure. Let's see, third in a row. Third in a row, I think it's fifth overall. Yeah, okay, we're going to go with that.

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio, I know that you will. So while we had no top seeds on the men's side, even advanced to the elite eight, we end up with a pair of one seeds on the women's side. And their Final Four is in Dallas. Men's Final Four is in Houston. So Texas is the place to be now if you like hoops.

Speaking of Texas, the last we heard from Rodney Terry, he was balling his eyes out. I love these guys and not only will I just love these guys for the time I got a chance to coach them, I'm going to love them for the rest of their lives. I'll be at their weddings, I'll be talking to those guys when they have their first born. And it was all about this team, man, and I enjoyed every single day of this journey with this group.

And I'm going to really miss working with this group. It was always about me, it was always about these guys, and I love these guys. All right, first of all, I love an ugly crier. Ugly criers are the best. Second of all, real men cry.

It's a thing, just right in town. Real men cry over something other than sports. It was never about me, it was always about these guys, and I love these guys. I appreciate that he's not crying over the loss. He's not crying over the fact that they didn't make the Final Four, that they lost to Miami. He's crying over the fact that the Longhorns' roster won't look the same next year and how much he loved working with them.

And think about his perspective. This guy was an assistant for a couple decades, finally gets the chance to coach. He takes over for Chris Beard, middle of the season.

Texas is in the toilet. It's a disaster, right, because Chris is accused of domestic violence, blah, blah, blah. So Roddy Terry takes over.

He's the interim all season long. He was trying to live in the moment, stay in the moment. He does that.

The team advances all the way to the Elite Eight. I can imagine, this may be the first time he's stopped to think about what they'd accomplished. He stopped to think about how it all played out. You know how that happens. When you're locked in, you can hold those emotions at bay for quite a while.

But then the end comes and there's this cathartic kind of cleansing and that's what was happening. I heard people making fun of Roddy Terry and I think that's ridiculous. I love that he can express his emotions and it's love for his team. And to that end, Texas knows what it has because Roddy Terry has agreed to a deal to become the school's full-time coach. Bravo Longhorns Athletic Department. Roddy Terry reportedly gets a deal for five years and he earned it and he deserves it and he can cry anytime on our show. It's after our CBS Sports Radio.