4-4-23 After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 3

Getting to know yourself can be a lifelong process, especially since you're always growing and changing. Therapy is all about deepening that self-awareness, because sometimes you don't know what you really want until you talk things through. BetterHelp connects you with a licensed therapist online who can take you on that journey of self-discovery from wherever you are. Visit BetterHelp.com slash positive today to get 10% off your first month.

That's BetterHELP.com slash positive. Searching for the perfect gift idea for that hard-to-buy person on your list? The Allbirds Wool Runner is a natural fit. The Wool Runner is super cozy, super comfy, and super giftable. It's made with ZQ certified merino wool, a naturally cozy material that offers next-level comfort and a lower environmental impact. The cushioned midsole and versatile design offer all-day comfort in a classic style you can wear every day, even in a winter wonderland. And its fully machine washable construction makes it easy to keep your shoes looking like new. Allbirds shows off the Wool Runner's carbon footprint right on the shoe so you can see the difference for yourself. On top of that, they actually offset that carbon footprint to zero, making the Wool Runner completely carbon neutral, so you can stay cozy and tread lighter on the planet. This holiday season, give tidings for comfort and coziness with the Allbirds Wool Runner. Discover your perfect pair at Allbirds.com.

That's A-L-L-B-I-R-D-S dot com. This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Wait, what just happened? Jay, what's going on?

Why are we all of a sudden talking over silence? What? Bed right now.

I guess I haven't played that one. I didn't realize your bed was running out there. Oh, gotcha.

Okay, operator error is alright because eventually I have to start talking anyway. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio. Congratulations to the UConn men's basketball team on the heels of LSU winning the women's championship. We've got UConn back on the throne, back with the crown, back as the king, that's what I should have said, of men's college basketball.

And it's the first time since 2014, so nearly a decade, but certainly a program and a school that is not just known for its women's basketball supremacy, but the men also have their fifth national title. On Twitter, ALawRadio, on our Facebook page, After Hours with Amy Lawrence, your responses are pouring in. The most iconic and recognizable voices in broadcasting does not have to be sports, though obviously many of you are sending us answers with a sports bent.

But for me, and I don't want to give away too many because I know that you all are coming up with your own answers and you've got your own ideas and responses, which is great. Vince Gulley, for sure. Al Michaels is one that we didn't talk about earlier on the show that I think is extremely recognizable. Yes to Kevin Harlan, and many of you have said Kevin Harlan. I would also say outside of the sports industry, the voice of Paul Harvey, he used to do his comment. So I kind of got him late in his career, but he used to do commentaries, his daily news run, and then also did Paul Harvey's the rest of the story. And so those were two features that I used to listen to when I worked in news. And Rush Limbaugh as well, even before I had any clue what politics were, when I was a kid I can remember being in the car and he would be on the radio. And then growing up, even if you are not someone who believed the same or supported the same political views as he did, he was certainly a giant in the broadcasting business and his voice was supremely recognizable. On the heels of Jim Nantz calling his 37th Final Four, his 37th Final Four, we're talking about the only voice that many people have ever heard on the CBS broadcast of the Final Four. He is walking away from college hoops, though he's not retiring. He's got still a lot on his plate between the NFL and the Masters, so we don't have to go very long without hearing from him. That will come up later this week, and in fact we're going to talk Masters golf this hour. We want to know, along with the names that I mentioned, as well as Jim Nantz, who are the most iconic and recognizable voices in broadcasting.

And I don't care what era you go to, we're all different. We all have memories and voices that are part of our soundtrack, whether it be news or sports or maybe even entertainment. I love, love, love the answer that I got, and I'm going to find it right now from Dan on Twitter, ALawRadio, that includes James Earl Jones. Yeah! I mean, as someone who is a Star Wars nerd, but also someone who is a huge fan of James Earl Jones, that voice? Oh, you only have to hear a couple of notes, and you already know exactly who that is. And to that end, by the way, I walked out of my house around 7 o'clock on Monday evening, still light at 7 o'clock.

It's staying lighter longer, which I appreciate. Hanging in the sky off to the east of my home, the moon, but it looks suspiciously like the Death Star hanging in the bright sky. So we'll take your answers again on Twitter, ALawRadio or our Facebook page, and then our phone number is 855-212-4227. That's 855-212-4CBS, a little bit from the Major League Baseball world.

It's too early to have hope. It's too early to be on board with the Angels, but I am watching with some interest. On Thursday, a day game wraps up the series at T-Mobile Park. Here's the pitch on Shohei. He swings and drives the ball deep out into right center field. It's showtime. Otani with a two-run homer, and the Angels have their first lead of the night. It's 4-2.

Do you know who scored in front of Shohei Otani? That would be Mike Trout. These two guys can be the best one-two punch in any lineup out there. They could rival what we see with the New York Yankees. They could rival some of the Dodgers' combos. These two guys, if they can stay in lockstep, can help to propel the Angels to maybe the top of the AL West, but I would think certainly to a wild card in the American League. They're off to a good start. All four of their games have been played away.

At this point, they haven't even had a game in Anaheim. Way too early to get excited. But Phil Nevin, he wants people to know this lineup has a lot of potential. We keep coming at you.

There's a lot of guys in our top to bottom. We're going to give you good or bad. We did that tonight. They end up winning after Otani gives them the lead in the fifth inning, that home run that you hear with Terry Smith. He actually changes his call, right, because his home run call is, it's out of here.

And instead, he has gone to Showtime for Shohei Otani. So for Otani, with Trout on the bases in front of him, that lineup can be contagious. They've got guys who can rake. So he gives the Angels the lead, and they never look back against the Seattle Mariners. That's the American League West. The National League West has also featured a whole ton of fireworks.

Oh, the Giants are locked in early in the season. 0-2 pitch. It's a drive into right center field, into the gap, deep for the wall, and goodbye!

Speaking of iconic voices. It was a line drive, and it just would not come down. I kept waiting for the carom, and there was none. Now, Estrada, and tell it goodbye! Deep into left field, headed for Lake Michigan. Whoa! What a shot!

5-0 Giants. Now, Yes hits one, high and deep. Right field, on its way. Adios!

And they are not happy here in the south side of Chicago. Now the swing, and there's a high drive. Deep left field.

That one is going, and goodbye! Into the White Sox bullpen, and one hop up against the Vienna Beef sign out there. Just as the White Sox bullpen gets busy. Four home runs in this inning for the Giants. Speaking of iconic voices. John Miller on San Francisco Giants radio. It's after hours on CBS Sports Radio.

Bryce Johnson hit his first career home run in the ninth inning. And, of course, there's always a surprise waiting from your guys. I got dunked in there. Everything you can think of.

Ketchup, mustard, everything you can possibly put on a pancake or anything like that. No! It was on me in there. But no, it was fun. Why didn't I do that?

I enjoyed it. Jay! Maple syrup! Why didn't I do maple syrup?

Oh my gosh, that was a huge fail. Maple syrup would have been the answer. I have so much pure maple syrup.

That's it. I'm going back. I'm doing them all over again. I'm using maple syrup.

What a dummy! Oh my gosh, I can't believe I didn't think of that. I honestly want to try them with maple syrup now. Oh, they'll be delicious with maple syrup.

Absolutely. Everything's good with maple syrup. Especially pure New Hampshire maple syrup. Oh, I cannot believe. Oh my gosh!

I'm going to be beating myself up over this. For those of you who missed it, I was just talking about a baking fail that I had last Friday where I didn't have the caramel ingredient that I needed for a particular recipe. And instead of doing caramel, I rummaged around in my drawer and I found some spicy pumpkin butter. And it tastes okay.

Can you imagine how good maple syrup would have tasted? I enjoyed it. Oh, what a dummy I am. And I think I'm some kind of an expert baker or something. Nope.

Big time fail. It did come to you, so next time. Oh my gosh!

But it was there! It was in my fridge. I have so much maple syrup. I love maple syrup. Pancakes with pure New Hampshire maple syrup.

My favorite thing to eat after a long run. And with my next half marathon just over a month away, that was an epic fail. You've got to use it as an opportunity for something greater in the future. Not a fail. I'm going to take that epic fail as a springboard for... Yes.

A springboard motivation for success down the road. Dang it. I'm a dummy. Okay, back to baseball. Yes, we're going to pivot right back to baseball. So the San Francisco Giants have seven home runs.

And as I say, speaking of iconic voices, John Miller is certainly one of those. They had four homers in the fifth inning. First time they've had four home runs in an inning going back to 2011. And that was at Coors Field, which I feel like would be a pretty fair standard. So yeah.

San Francisco Giants after they drop two of three to the Yankees are now taking on the White Sox. They're able to work out their frustration. Their epic fails.

Their maple syrup fails. I cannot believe it. I'm not going to be able to let this go. Okay. Let's move on.

Speaking of the Yankees, well, they are piling on the defending NL champions. Here is the payoff. Swung on. Hit in the air to deep right. That ball is high. It is far. It is gone. It's Labor Day.

The 2-1. Swung on and there it goes to deep right. It is high.

It is far. It is gone. It's a second-deck two-run home run by Anthony Rizzo. Rizzo rakes once again.

And Holmes deals. Struck him out swinging. Ball game over. Yankees win. The Yankees win. Well, the Yankees won this one by the score of 8-1.

It's a weird little tag that we left on the end there. John Sterling on Yankees radio. I suppose many people, especially in the New York area, would consider Sterling to be an iconic voice. The Yankees definitely do because he's a lifer. As long as he wants to do games, he's allowed to do games. He can take time off when he needs it and sometimes, not often, but he's starting to take more of the road trips. The longer, more arduous road trips off so that he can remain fresh for the course of a season. But that man, he's already set records for the number of games that he's done. Yeah, it's John Sterling's world. And so many New Yorkers would say that he is an iconic voice on the Yankees radio network.

Ow! Meanwhile, the offense for the Yankees right now has propelled them to a 3-1 start. They're kind of feeding off each other right now and just the quality of that bat up and down. And that was, again, the case tonight. DJ set the tone right out of the shoot with that bullet up the middle on a good at bat. And then there were a lot of contributing bats throughout the night. Gleibert-Torres and Anthony Rizzo both going deep in this one for Aaron Boone. The bigger picture, though, and it's so early.

We already saw the Phillies last year rally from not the basement of the NL East, but the nether regions of the NL East. And after making a managerial change to Rob Thompson, they have had a rough start. They're now 0-4. Again, first week, very early.

Thompson being asked about it. Well, you don't want to start 0-4, that's for sure. But if we lost 4 in a row in July, it wouldn't be that big of a deal. So it looks a little bit worse when you start the season, but we don't want to keep doing this. We want to keep playing and keep fighting. I know everybody's frustrated, but they keep working. They keep preparing. It's a resilient group. It's the same group as last year for the most part. So I expect them to come out here tomorrow and prepare and go out and compete.

Yeah, he makes a good point. If it's July, nobody's really blinking much at a four-game losing skid. And with 162 games, which is, I mean, we're talking double what the NBA and the NHL play. And people talk about how there's too many games in those regular seasons. Baseball goes on and on and on and on and on.

They're the boys of summer for a reason, because they are bookends and they're all the way through the summer. It seems like the season does stretch on interminably. And yet it offers the chance for these teams to start in a bad spot to make corrections. It also offers the opportunity for teams to try to be in the best space possible when we're in September, the stretch run and then on into October should they have the opportunity. It means that you can absorb injuries. It means that you can figure out your lineups, what works, what doesn't. Maybe you have pitchers who get injured.

Maybe you have to make moves at the trade deadline. Whatever it is, it's a marathon. So anything can and will happen over the course of a baseball season. So there's never, ever, ever a reason to panic in Major League Baseball.

Keeps my heart rate low, much lower. A lot of you weighing in with your most iconic and recognizable voices in sports broadcasting. We're going to get to those, so make sure you keep them coming. I swear that's coming up in our next segment. But while we're talking baseball, one scary moment on Monday. Oh my goodness, the pitch goes up and in on Josh Smith and it hits him in the helmet. And he is down, both hands on his face, in the left-handed batter's box.

Oh my goodness, the trainer comes out and is checking on him. That pitch came up and in and Smith had no chance to get out of the way of it. And they have a towel on Josh Smith's face. Matt, did you see, did he get him in the helmet or did it hit him actually in the face?

I could not tell. He's obviously bleeding. Head athletic trainer Matt Lucero holding a towel up to his face. If it did hit his helmet, it only glanced off of his helmet and then hit him. Hard to tell where it was that it hit him, but it looks like he's holding the towel over his mouth and or his nose as he walks off here on his own. It hit in the lower jaw. We did take him to ER. He had some CT tests. They came out clean. So we got good news there. He's feeling better as I'm speaking right now.

And tomorrow we'll just re-evaluate him and see where we're at. That's the voice of Rangers manager Bruce Bochy talking about his outfielder, Josh Smith. And if you haven't seen the video, I don't know that they did a close-up. At least not when I was watching.

They didn't. They didn't want to show the replay. But it's clear that this slider kind of gets away from the pitcher and and just cocks him in the face. And so right away he drops into the dirt and he's got his face down in the dirt. They put a towel over his face and kind of help him off the field. He was able to walk under his own power, but clearly they were trying to to make sure that he keep that towel on his face. And in the lower jaw is what Bruce Bochy said.

And good news, his initial test came out clean. So it would be scary regardless. And we know that there are baseball players every year who take pitches to the face, the helmet, other body parts. And it's hard for them to step back into the box and not have flashbacks and revisit that moment. I hope that Josh is able to heal up. There are no damages or injuries that require a lot of time away. But I can only imagine what it will be like for him to step back in the box the first time. I think I would get a pitch clock violation because I would be reticent to get back in that box. So thinking of him and hoping that he is OK. Straight ahead. Your suggestions for most iconic and recognizable voices in broadcasting does not need to be sports.

Though for the most part, that's where you're going. I don't care which era. I don't care which generation.

I just want to know which voices you can name in three notes. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. We love Kevin Harlan. We love Kevin Harlan. And as it turns out, we just had the realization that he wasn't a guest on our show this year during the NFL season, which he typically is. We'll have to get him during the NBA playoffs because he's one of our favorites.

And yes, if we're listing the most iconic, recognizable voices in broadcasting, he is right there with Jim Nantz. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on Facebook. Our Twitter account is After HoursCBS. And I'm just going to run through a bunch of these on Twitter.

I'm going to read the unique ones and then we'll shift to Facebook a little bit. Also, I want Jay to answer the question if he's ready. Sometimes Jay takes a lot of time and I catch him off guard and he gets very mad at me. Like, he gets really mad at me.

And so that I can't, I don't want to get him in a bad space where he starts making mistakes. Am I getting sick? Excuse me? Well, I don't know what you're talking about. Anyway, so we'll start with Twitter. Rick goes with Don Meredith and Dick Vitale. And oh goodness, as Dick Vitale battles cancer, I do want his voice to return.

Yes. Another tweet goes with Kevin Harlan. Tracy says, Ernie Harwell. And my personal favorite, Johnny Most. He is one of the reasons that I am in the broadcast business, going back to my days as a kid listening to the Celtics broadcasts on local radio. Another tweet, Bob Costas, Billy Packard, Pat Sajak.

Interesting. From the Wheel of Fortune, my Grammy Helen would have agreed with you. Bob Barker, I would definitely agree with. There's an entire generation of people, though, who don't know that Bob Barker was the longtime iconic host of The Price is Right. Is it still Drew Carey now? I haven't watched The Price is Right in 20 years.

I don't even know. They still make new ones? I think they do.

I think they make new ones, but I could be totally wrong. Cram goes with Baltimore Orioles and Colts broadcaster. That's how you know this is an old one. Chuck Thompson mentioned Dan with his nod to James Earl Jones. He also includes Morgan Freeman. Yes, two very recognizable voices.

Kellen on Twitter says, George Michael of the sports machine. That's going back a few years, but yes, for sure, was one of those Sunday night features. Hubie Brown on TNT, Marv Albert on NBC. Is it Marv on TNT now?

I could be wrong. Is it Marv on? I think Marv, the last I knew anyway, he was on TNT, but he's made the rounds. John says with Vern Lundquist, who just retired in the last few years.

Let's see. Another Don goes with Keith Jackson, who was the voice of college football and ABC for years. Ron says Howard Cosell, and then Kevin says Howard Costello. Do you think he meant to say Howard Cosell?

Maybe. Howard Costello, then a cross between Howard Cosell and Abbott and Costello. Let's see.

And we are retweeting some of these. Matt goes with Pat Hughes, Cubs Radio for the longest time. He's been replaced now by, oh my gosh, what is his name? I can see his face in my brain.

Oh, for heaven's sake, it's going to drive me crazy. Somebody tell me if you have the name off the top of your head. He's red headed for heaven's sake.

Why can I not? John Shambi, John Shambi, got it, got it, got it, phew. He's a colleague of mine for years.

Let's see. Peter says Howard Cosell from the Wild World of Sports. Rick goes with Tom Hamilton, who is the Cleveland, I almost said Indians, Cleveland Guardians longtime voice. Prime goes with Joe Buck, yes. Lots of people from the Detroit Metro saying Ernie Harwell, though Mike also gives us a nod to Vin Scully. Another mic for Kevin Harlan.

I like this one from Ron, obvious answer, A-Law Radio. Well, here's the thing, I may not be iconic, but I am recognizable, I will say that. There is not another voice in broadcasting like mine. And for years I was made fun of for how loud I was, how obnoxious my laugh was, how much I talked.

And now I consider all of those to be compliments that go back to my preparation for this moment in my life. Andrew on Twitter goes with Don Orsello. Oh, a man near and dear to my heart, my friend who I met when I was working in the Boston market and he was calling the Red Sox games on TV with Jerry Remy. Now, of course, he is the voice of the San Diego Padres and you want to talk about laughing. He's got the best laugh in the world, I think.

Let's see. Gabe wants us to look at some of the regional sports broadcasters, which I guess, I understand why, it's just that the point is that these are recognizable across the board. They're voices of a generation. But he does point to Dave Niehaus with the Mariners and then Wayne Larrabee with the Green Bay Packers. But Wayne actually does Westwood One as well.

And so you'll hear him on national broadcast too. I like this one from Mike, Casey Kasem. Yeah, remember the top 40? Oh, he's an old DJ. Jay just said behind the double pane glass, who is he? He was an old DJ and he did the top 40 countdown every weekend.

I think it was on ABC. But then he also was part of the New Year's Eve countdown. The ball drop was Casey Kasem as well for years. So those are some of your responses on Twitter where they continue to come in.

So I'm not able to get to all of them. A couple of them and one guy's yelling at me, how is no one mentioned John Madden? Yes, for sure, John Madden.

Byron includes John Madden as well. Yeah, what's with the Howard Costello? Did you retweet that? Because someone retweeted Howard Costello. No, we're not going with Howard Costello.

Let's see. Stan says Harry Carey. Oh yeah, I mean I never did listen to a lot of his stuff, but for sure.

Just the voice alone. And then Rick goes with Steve Sable, who if I'm not mistaken is the longtime voice of NFL films. So that's another one that people will recognize. But yes to John Madden.

Alright, let's run through a few here on Facebook. By the way, has anyone noticed the dog on Twitter? He's in the upper left hand corner. Has anyone noticed the dog? Someone please tell me that I'm not the only one who sees the dog. We got dogs, you hear me? Right, I mean I love dogs. And maybe this is Elon Musk's way of dressing up Twitter and making it more attractive.

My blue check mark is still hanging tough, so I will say that. I do not know the purpose of the dog or where the dog came from. I only know that it seems like now the dog is staring at me. And so I hope I'm not the only one who sees it.

Unless he's my own personal Twitter dog. It's like in honor of the Huskies maybe? Is it honor of the Huskies who started the season 14-0 and then finished the season on a six game run, which they averaged tournament victories by 20 points.

Alright, let's run through a few of these in Facebook. I love this from John in our New England area. And again, we're not mostly going regional, but Gil Santos is a long time voice of the New England Patriots. And then Joe Castiglione, who is one of my favorite baseball broadcasters. He's a Hall of Famer, so people know who Joe Castiglione is. He continues to call Red Sox games. Mike says the late Stuart Scott. Sterling on Facebook, Jimmy the Greek. A different Mike goes with Al Michaels in sports and then Sam Elliott in entertainment.

That's also a grizzly, gravelly voice that is very recognizable. Igor says Bob Sheppard, who was the long time PA announcer at Yankee Stadium. Yes, he's passed away. But even after he passed away, Derek Jeter still used his introductions every time he would come to the plate because he didn't want anyone else to ever introduce him.

Great one Igor, thank you. Bill goes with Bob Euchre. Lots of Bob Euchre moments. Don goes with Pat Summerall. Pam says I grew up listening to Mel Allen, the voice of the Yankees. I do not remember Mel. I don't remember anyone before John Sterling.

And Michael Kay, who does them on TV, of course. Let's see, Joe says if you're from Pittsburgh, it's got to be Myron Cope. Harry Carey, go Cubs, says Jeff. Let's see, Jim McKay. How about a Jim McKay reference? So Jim McKay, the long time voice of the wide world of sports on ABC. I did my Syracuse thesis on the impact of the wide world of sports on broadcasting. That was my thesis when I was a grad student. So I love Jim McKay.

The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat. Let's see, a few other ones that are new. Maybe Marty Brenneman, he's Reds, correct? He was Reds, Cincinnati Reds baseball? Oh, shoot, who?

Don't, no one get mad at me. Will you quick look up Marty Brenneman so I know what outlet he is? Let's see, here's another one for Vern Lundquist. Tom says Chick Hearn, who was the long time broadcaster for the Lakers. Debra says Jim Rome. Oh, there you go. A nod to the Radio Hall of Famer.

Let's see, another one here. Greg goes with Keith Jackson, Howard Cosell. Let's see, Gregory, he says besides you. Pat Hughes of the Cubs. Eric Nadella of the Rangers. And then has a couple of other broadcast ones. Kevin says Bob Costas. Rich says Harry Callas of the Philadelphia Phillies.

And then Tony goes with Jack Buck to be sure. All right, also don't give me some stupidness about how we're snubbing people. It's a wide open question. I can't possibly mention all of them. Chianti says Lee Corso. There you go, Kirk Herbstreet. This is Don Mayer, another one for Don Meredith. This is, oh, and here's one. I love this one. Travis says Gus Johnson.

Oh, absolutely Gus Johnson, to be sure. So yeah, we're getting a variety of answers, which is cool. I appreciate that. I want, for the most part, them to be recognizable across the board. And we're talking recognizable in terms of the sound.

You know them after three or four notes. So find us on Twitter or Facebook. We're asking you in the wake of Jim Nantz stepping away after his 37th Final Four. He's the only guy I've ever known to call the Final Four. Who are the most iconic and recognizable voices in sports or news? It doesn't have to be sports, but in broadcasting alongside Jim. I was right. Marty Brenneman. He was the longtime play-by-play voice on the Cincinnati Reds radio network.

And then his son Tom was until recently. So Jay, did you Google it? Yeah. Oh, why didn't you tell me? I was like, hey, can you Google it? Then I had to Google it myself. Always go with your first answer.

Marty Brenneman. I don't feel so stupid now. All right. You can find us on Twitter, Facebook. We'll take your calls to 855-212-4227. It is Masters Week.

So the live PGA rivalry has been rekindled. You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. I'm going to go home. I'm pretty tired right now. And, you know, we're going to go home and celebrate a little bit.

Honestly, I don't know. You know, I'm really at a loss for words right now. I'm kind of glad I had a little hiccup there in the last hole, maybe a little less emotional so I can get through this interview.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. One year ago, and it is Masters Week once again, Jim Nantz is still behind the mic as the driver, as the voice of the Masters. Though, of course, when it comes to the Masters, because they're so spread out, there are multiple voices that you will hear at different sections of the course.

But it is still Jim Nantz who anchors that coverage. And thankfully we have not lost him on the Masters, which begins in just over 48 hours. You hear him there with Scottie Scheffler, who won the green jacket last year.

It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. We had told you that Tiger Woods was spotted practicing on Monday. At least I haven't seen that he has spoken publicly yet.

A lot of times that comes on Tuesday. Tuesday and Wednesday you'll start to get these golfers that have to do their press conferences. And so we'll start to hear more from some of the major names. The Liv PGA rivalry is back because you've got guys on both sides of the fence who are speaking up about why Liv, why PGA, la la la la la. I'm not as big on it as I was last year for obvious reasons.

There's not nearly as much spice to it. I don't think we're going to see the same number of high profile departures to the Liv Tour this year, though I wouldn't be surprised if a few more departed. But the line's been drawn in the sand and we have the PGA faction and we have a Liv faction that did in fact take some of the best golfers in the world. They are allowed to compete at the Masters because it's Augusta Nationals call and Augusta National doesn't want to limit itself or put itself in a box where it's only allowing PGA golfers.

It's after hours with Amy Lawrence here on CBS Sports Radio. Again, Scottie Scheffler, the defending champion. It's his one major title, though he's already playing really well. And take it from Jordan Spieth. Jordan Spieth won a green jacket, nearly won a second green jacket, right on the heels of the shoot now.

The details all blend together. Jordan Spieth, though, he burst on the scene in his early 20s with his first green jacket and instantly became one of the best golfers for Team USA for the United States. And he admits that a green jacket absolutely changes your life and your access. I was able to go to Mavs games, Rangers games, go on the court, go on the field, go to the University of Texas in a football game. Just some of that stuff where you wear the jacket and everybody knows what the jacket is. You carry a trophy around. If you're not a golf fan, you may get confused, but even the non-golf fans know what the jacket is.

Oh, they know what the jacket is, I believe Jordan was trying to say. Yes, he won the Masters and then the very next year had a back nine collapse on Sunday. That's what happened.

Now I remember. He has five top three finishes, though, in his first nine trips to Augusta National. That really only matches one other golfer, Arnold Palmer, who was able to do that. So the expectations are always high for Jordan. But he had that ball in the water, if I remember correctly.

Probably Amen Corner is where it happened. It all started to come unraveled for him. He's come close. He's come close at other times and just hasn't been able to replicate that. But he did win the British Open as well and see.

There's. I'm going to have to think more about Jordan, but yeah, he won. The big thing is that he won the Masters in 2015 at age 21.

So he understands how the green jacket changes everything. Brooks Koepka, part of live, so not on the PGA anymore. And I think there are a lot of people who are disappointed. He has played a lot of the more recent majors with injuries. Remember, he had that run of the U.S. Open.

But he's really excited about going into this first major of the year completely healthy. The last time I really felt good was because I had my left knee right before the right. So maybe 19 when I lost a tiger by one. That was probably the last time I've been healthy playing Augusta. And be honest with you, I think I missed it on the year period one.

I think I missed it one other time. So it's I haven't been the healthiest playing Augusta. But yeah, so I feel good. I'm just I'm excited to get there.

Honestly, I'm ready to catch this play and go up there. So Brooks is just coming off a win at live golf Orlando. And so for him to be healthy means that he is a contender. Jordan has a U.S. Open title.

That's what I'm thinking. So he has one Masters, one U.S. Open, one British Open or Open Championship, meaning that the PGA is the only thing that separates him from a career grand slam. And he's not even celebrated his 30th birthday. But his game fits Augusta Nationals so well. There's been a lot of talk about why. How is it possible that Jordan hasn't won a second green jacket yet?

So that certainly could be a possibility this weekend. Bryson DeChambeau, he is a polarizing figure everywhere he goes. He and Brooks, by the way, are besties now.

They're both on the live tour. And he always seems to divide the fans. You either love Bryson or you hate Bryson for his antics and some of his clapping back. He constantly drops in snarky, snide remarks when he can.

Because he hears what people are saying about him. Yet he's okay with the fans there at Augusta. The reception's great. I mean, the fans are awesome. Still saying the same stuff that they would if I was on the other side. And, you know, it's fans.

What's the same stuff? Oh, you know, the normal stuff that everybody says. But I love it. I think it's fun banter and interaction. If you can't handle it, then you don't deserve to be out here. There you go. I like it.

If you can't handle the heat, get out. Oh, the kitchen, according to Bryson DeChambeau. Cam Smith, didn't he win the open championship last year and then he bolted for... He was up to number two in the world and then he bolted for live. I do not know who he's talking to here, Jay.

If we have a credit for this, you can let me know. But he's still being asked the question of why he departed for the live tour. To spend more time in Australia with friends and family. Are you happy with the decision? Absolutely.

Wouldn't change a thing. What's great about live and what, if anything, do you miss about the PGA Tour? I miss a couple of tournaments. I think, for me, Riv was always nice to me and obviously the players.

Other than that, I'm really happy with where I'm at. So Cam Smith, and that's on Sky Sports Golf, because he's Australian, always held Greg Norman as one of his great heroes, one of the guys that he looked up to. So when he had the opportunity to respond, and obviously the money is there from the live tour, but respond to Greg Norman's invite, he did. This was following his 2022 open championship at St. Andrews, which was the 150th anniversary of that incredible golf major.

See, sometimes I actually do have the details right in my brain. There are still a lot of golfers on the PGA Tour who are criticizing the live guys. Fred Couples has had some very strong words to say about the guys who depart. We know that Rory McIlroy has deemed himself the protector of the PGA Tour. It's a bit of a he said, he said still, and yet all of them would tell you that there's no problem when they get together and they play these same tournaments, right?

So this is what Fred Couples says. I have no problem with any of the golfers who departed. Just don't bash the tour that I've spent four decades investing in, right?

He says that's what bothers the bleep out of me. They don't bother me. The golfers don't. I'm a golfer.

I respect them. But don't walk around and trash the PGA Tour where you made a name for yourself. Now Cam Smith says that live golf needs to continue to grow, needs to continue to expand, and part of that deal is playing in the majors when they are able. I think it's just important for the live guys to be up there because I think we need to be up there. I think there's a lot of chatter about these guys don't play real golf, these guys don't play real golf courses. For sure I'll be the first one to say the fields aren't as strong.

I'm the first one to say that. But we still got a lot of guys up there that can play some really serious golf. I've spent probably an hour out in the range already this afternoon. It was good to see some familiar faces, lots of laughs and lots of handshakes.

And it was really nice. I really wasn't sure what I was going to expect walking onto the range, but it was good to see some familiar faces and lots of smiles. They don't dislike each other, they don't despise each other, but the divisiveness between the PGA and Live and really between the Commissioner Jay Monahan and Greg Norman has been part of the reason why there's a wedge. But both Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia are among six past Masters champions who are now competing in the Live Golf League along with Dustin Johnson, along with Bubba Watson. They're all supposed to be at the champions dinner that is hosted by Scotty Scheffler tonight, so that should be interesting. Oh, the drama. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio.