4-5-23 After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 4

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That's betterhelp.com slash positive. I have no idea why the NFL network is currently showing a game from 1999. It is a wild card game between Buffalo and Tennessee. If you remember the game, I'll be really impressed.

It's probably some crazy ending that I would remember if I saw but I don't realize it's actually this game. Anyway, it's funny to compare not only the lack of high def. I'm a high def snob, so these days I can't watch anything that's not in high def. So it's not high definition TV. Hello Warren Moon.

And it's also, like the graphics are so archaic, or at least that's what they look like. I think that was Bruce Smith. It was! Bruce Smith just rudely greeted Warren Moon and knocked him flat. That would be a flag these days.

That would be roughing the quarterback, because he landed on him with full body weight. Oh, I love this. This is the football that I grew up on.

I'm not going to get distracted, but it is kind of funny to look at it now and think, wow, those graphics are so, they're just so old. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio speaking of old. You can find us on Twitter, After Hours, CBS, or on our Facebook page. I always go back on Wednesday. I do have a bunch of stuff to do on Wednesday afternoon. Actually, more prep for my course that I'll be teaching starting next week. So I have a bunch of things to do. I'm going to be up in the afternoon. I promise I will get to you and I will answer as many questions as I can that we did not pose here on the show.

So if you are late to the party and you want to send a question, you can do it on Twitter or Facebook. While you're there, I've shared my latest favorite photos from the flowers in my yard. I can't help it.

I think I have a problem. I can't stop taking photos of my flowers, but if you could see them, they are drop dead gorgeous. And so I want to share them with you. It's an obsession I have this time of the year.

April is my favorite month of the year. So check them out. Either social media. I'm trying to think what else we have up there. Well, our question from two nights ago is still getting traffic and that's the most iconic and recognizable voices in broadcasting, whether sports or otherwise. We've got hundreds and hundreds of replies to that question. And then as I say, ask Amy anything. You can always find the link to our podcast every weekday morning on both Twitter and Facebook. And so we want you to be well equipped as you move forward into your hump day.

So good morning to you if you're waking up on your Wednesday. According to Doc Rivers, it is no longer a contest, no longer a debate about who should win the NBA MVP. It beats. That's a screen hard to rejects. It goes all outside hard mobile left hand dribble back out to it. Be dying to shoot to be keeping away from smart puts it up and good and smart is called for the foul mark is smart with a foul. And beat has it bumps him again, throws it to the corner. Tucker open again.

So they double and beat twice. He finds Tucker in the corner twice. And Tucker hits a three twice and beat has 48 points in the game and he has the ball. Joelle one on one spins by one man down the line and a slam. He eats up the room, a two hand stuff, a quick turn, a catch and a go and a dunk. 54 and B to the corner tatum. He turns, he fires.

It's in the air. It's just off log. No. And the Sixers win one oh three one oh one. Oh man. Holy smokes. This is immediate chalk talk. Gather around.

Let's go over this. Are you kidding me? Tom McGinnis soaking it all in. Joelle Embiid's monster night.

Well another one, another monster night. I think it's his third game this season in the fifties. 20 of 25 from the floor. So in other words, pretty much couldn't miss. Nearly perfect from the free throw line finishes up with 52 points and 13 rebounds and chance in the arena in Philadelphia of MVP.

MVP. The MVP race is over. I'm really like tonight we had, we couldn't make shots.

We had guys making shots with open shots. The man just scored half our points in the NBA game and I'm biased, but the MVP race is over. It's over.

I don't think it's over and I don't mind that he's biased. Of course you as the head coach of the team as well as the teammates should be stumping for Joelle Embiid. I do think he has a very strong case considering what's happened with the Denver Nuggets and how they've fallen off the map here. They cannot, for some reason there's a mental block when it comes to clinching that overall number one seed in the West. They misfire on yet another opportunity even with Nicole Jokic back on the court last night after missing three games, they lose in Houston.

No one is worried about the Denver Nuggets. It was a couple weeks ago they lost five of six. Now they've dropped another four in a row and so they're really scuffling even as they are supposed to be playing their best basketball or gearing up for a repeat trip to the playoffs. They were supposed to have learned from last season. Now I suppose there's still time if they get the home court advantage.

It's not like it's out of reach or anything. If they get the home court advantage and they make use of it, well then I can change my tune. But as it pertains to MVP, I kind of feel like Jokic has lost it in these last couple of weeks. He was a slam dunk for the most part and between missing a few games and now the backsliding Denver Nuggets, can you really call him the most valuable player?

I can't speak for the voters, but to me it would matter what happens in these late stages where you're chasing something, where there's a sense of urgency, where it's a stretch run. The Nuggets didn't feel the breath of the Memphis Grizzlies behind them. They had this race wrapped up and while it's still likely their number one seed, let me see if I can remember, two games up with three games to play, I think is what we're looking at.

I'll check it out quick as I'm talking here. Two games up, three games to play, yes. But they're leaving this cringe-worthy taste or cringe-worthy look as they are supposed to be, building on last year's playoff run, getting better, getting stronger, getting mentally tough.

Instead, their coach Mike Malone has a prime word that he's using to describe his own team. Soft. Soft. They dominated us. Kicked ass in the glass.

That's all we talked about all day. That's all we talked about before the game was keeping them off the glass. They had 20 offensive rebounds. I rebounded us by eight. Obviously, I had turnovers. Then they had 25 points off my turnovers.

62 in the paint. They were the aggressor. They were the more physical team and really disappointed in terms of our effort and our approach tonight. I wouldn't be surprised if that was a more calculated post-game remark, post-game rant from Mike Malone of the Denver Nuggets, but he's got a point. And what is the number one thing that people said about the Nuggets last year? Not defensively tough, not a threat because they just play one end of the court, really. They didn't have Jamal Murray.

They've got him back, but their own coach is calling them soft. So then returning to the MVP conversation, is he really the most valuable if they can't clinch the number one seed or if he's not on the court in the late stages? Now granted, Joel Embiid sat out a game between who was it against the Bucks that Joel Embiid sat out? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think he sat out a game that a lot of people were ticked about it. Maybe it was the Celtics, but I feel like it was the Nuggets. I knew it was another team with the MVP candidate. And he sat out and there was a lot of criticism. It was a nationally televised game.

People were really upset about it. But for the most part, he's been durable. He's been reliable.

And man, is he a beast on both ends of the court. Now he's saying, I don't care about the MVP. What we care about is playing our best basketball and getting the W. And on this night, last night, it was against the Celtics. A win is a win.

It doesn't matter what we did wrong out there. And, you know, like I say, we found ways to basically lose that game. But a win is a win. A win is a win is a win is a win. Speaking of that, the Miami Heat finally get a win and someone asked Jimmy Butler whether or not he cares if it looks pretty.

That's an odd question, but hey, he's willing to answer. We won. That's all that matters. If we would have lost, then you could ask me that question. But as long as we win, I don't care how we do it. I don't care who scores. I don't care who's passing but who's rebounding the basketball.

We just need to win as a unit. Butler with 27 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists. They do manage to survive the Detroit Pistons and so they're trying to lock down the 6th seed in the East and avoid that play-in tournament.

It's after hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio. Bucks get a big blowout win last night and so right now, they are still the best team in the East. They got a 3-game lead on the Celtics and then a 2-game spread back to the 76ers. Right now, you've got 5 teams that have clinched in the East. You've got 4 teams, including the Suns, who have clinched in the West. Phoenix still has not lost with Kevin Durant on the court and while he did not have a massive game last night, they run like a well-oiled machine more often when he is part of the offensive equation. They've got the longest win streak in the NBA right now. Only 6 games. It's only 6 games. You know who's got the 2nd longest win streak in the NBA right now?

This is kind of funny. The Los Angeles Lakers. But with LeBron back, they are peaking at the right time and a lot of people are starting to buzz about whether or not the Lakers are going to be a threat in the postseason. So what exactly are the Lakers doing these last few games besides riding Anthony Davis?

We control our own destiny. I think right now, we bumped up to 6 tonight. We're in the playoffs, but obviously depending on what I think Golden State does. But we're saying to win basketball games. We're not looking too many games ahead. We're worried about tomorrow now.

That's the Clippers. Take care of business and then we'll go from there. Moody comes down the left wing, feeds Moody to Poole. Poole, deep 3 straight on. Got it! And ties the game at 108. Jordan has had a great night, but that was a great shot. Poole on the front court, deep 3 on the way.

Got it! Davis takes a couple of possessions and when Poole heats up, the confidence goes from 0 to like 200. Gildas Alexander makes them both. 115 all. Poole takes a quick 3 left side. Up and no good. DiVincenzo high in the air. Tipped it back out to Curry.

Guarded by Luedor. Takes a 3 anyway. Knocked it down! Warriors go up with their largest lead. 118 to 115. That's Tim Roy on Warriors radio.

This was the Jordan Poole show. I think he had 18 points in the 4th quarter alone. Finished with 30. Steph had 34. And the Warriors beat the Oklahoma City Thunder without Klay Thompson, who was a late scratch. It was something to do with his lower back.

I hope it's not real serious. The Thunder will give teams a game. They're below 500, but right now they are in that play on...play on? They're in the play on tournament. You can play on if you get into the play in tournament.

Okay. So because of that, the Lakers do not end up taking over the 6th seed. But that was the idea. If the Warriors lost, the Lakers would actually have jumped out of the play on tournament. And instead, it would have been the Clippers back in that 7-10 split.

So it's very convoluted. From the Warriors down to... Let's go Mavericks. I don't think we need to include the Jazz, though I guess you're saying there's a chance. The Mavericks, you want to talk about going the wrong way?

They are going the wrong way. But there are still only 4 and a half games separating 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11. And the Warriors right now, Warriors and Clippers are the 5 and 6 teams.

Though that certainly could change. It's crazy, right? Because here we are in the final week of the NBA regular season. The MVP is still up for debate. So Joel Embiid, in my opinion, has moved in front. Though you can't go wrong with Giannis. He had a triple-double last night. And if we're splitting hairs, Joel Embiid is the top scorer in the NBA this season, yes. The Bucks are 5 wins better than the Sixers right now. And Giannis, while he's missed a handful of games, when he's out there, who guards him? Who matches up with him? Again, you could say the same thing about Joel Embiid. And so to me it's become a 2 team race.

2 horse race. But I could be wrong because I don't have a vote and Jokic certainly has put up some quality numbers just shy of a triple-double this season. So yeah, just a handful of games left in the NBA regular season.

Play-in tournament is early next week. Anybody afraid of the Lakers? I don't think I'm afraid of the Lakers necessarily. But they do have a couple of core guys, obviously, who are not only superstars in their own right but have a lot of postseason experience. Producer Jay is sure the Warriors are going to win the NBA championship again.

Why? Why are you so confident in the Warriors when they cannot win if they are not in the Bay Area? It's kind of like the Chiefs where, if I count them out before, so I've got to see them not achieve and win the championship because of their experience in order for me to believe that they're actually done.

Because until I honestly see Steph Curry losing the first round or something, I'm going to believe they could win every year. Alright, the big piece here that not a lot of people are talking about is that Andrew Wiggins is about to return to the Golden State Warriors. And he, of course, was a major piece of their championship run last year. He's missed 22 games. He took time off because of a family member who was ill. But he has indicated that he hopes to return very soon. He's been away from the team for nearly two months and yet his return is nearing. So before he can get back on the court, the Warriors have to go through and evaluate him physically just to make sure he's okay. You can imagine that there's going to be this reintegration period because he's been away and out of basketball for so long. But what a boost.

Once he gets his sea legs under him, what a boost for the Warriors to have this guy back who, again, was part of their championship run last year and can bring so much to the table as a versatile player. It's just, you know, when you're in a certain situation and your family needs you and requires your attention and, you know, your love, that's my first priority. You know, my career, everything, you know, family is always first for me, you know, and always be that way, you know, whenever I think I'm and I felt like I was in a safe space to, you know, to come back.

You know, I feel that we had we got everything settled, not fully settled, but, you know, in a place where I safe place where I can come back. And how would you describe your conditioning at this point? Not terrible. You know, I've been I've been working out, you know, obviously the NBA is a different type of, you know, conditioning you need.

But I don't think it'll be too long before, you know, I'm up there. It's good. I'm glad to hear. So, Bob Myers, you mentioned producer Jay.

We also have the general manager of the Warriors talking about Andrew. I'm excited that he's back. I'm really excited you're back.

Oh, but I'm sad that you had to be gone. So I don't want to sit here and forget about that part. But with that, as far as return to play. That'll be decided by our medical staff, Andrew. But we don't I don't have that answer.

I don't think anybody has that answer. But once we do, we'll tell you as soon as we know he's not hurt. But basketball requires a certain level of stamina and endurance. And we need to make sure he's ready to play when he when he comes back. So producer Jay makes a point.

Not only do they have experience, championship, heart and metal at their core, but Andrew Wiggins is about to return and hopefully will be able to get back into basketball shape quickly. You can imagine it's going to be a haven for him. You think about maybe family situations that you've dealt with.

I know for me, sometimes that I'm going through pain and grief, loss of a family member, my grandmother in July last year, work was an opportunity for me to turn my brain off or turn in a different direction and just be distracted. And for Andrew, who's done his his due diligence as a family member, taking care of his family, I admire him for that. You certainly can see why he wants to get back on the basketball court and why he feels like that's a good place for him and is ready to pour his energy and effort into it.

All right. Coming up, Kaitlyn Clark tells you why you need to lay off LSU's Angel Reese. UConn returns home to Gampel. Well, to Storrs Gampel Pavilion, which is their home arena.

Nothing says championship basketball like vandalism. And come on down, Manny Machado. You are the answer to a trivia question. We're glad to have you with us at the hump show.

Good morning to you on this Wednesday. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. You are listening to the After Hours podcast.

Ryan Radke on the Westwood One NCAA Radio Network. It was just Sunday afternoon that we saw LSU win its first ever women's basketball national championship. And I got to tell you, as much as the ratings shattered records.

Right. There were 10 million people just shy of 10 million people on average who tuned in to watch this women's championship. It was the first one on ABC in years.

So that made a difference. It was on over the air network TV, not just cable TV. But also it was Sunday afternoon, which is kind of that NFL window where people are watching more TV.

And there really wasn't a whole lot else going on other than I would say Major League Baseball. So it's kind of cool to have this one game that really was drawing so many eyeballs. And then it was compelling because it was LSU, Kim Mulkey, second season getting them to their first national championship game. But also Kaitlyn Clark, who's become a household name.

Unfortunately, not enough people realize that Kaitlyn Clark does as much trash talking as did Angel Reese in the championship. So this is what people were talking about. It's crazy. I'm still getting social media responses about that game along two lines. One, the officiating sucked. OK, I've even had people tell me the officiating is why LSU won.

It just it drives me bonkers because it's obvious that people weren't paying attention, if that's really what you think. I agree with you, there were a lot of fouls called, but there was only one more foul called on Iowa than there was on LSU. LSU only had one more free throw than did Iowa. So the fouls and free throws were not the reason why the Tigers won. And with the Iowa players that fouled out late, I could counter with Angel Reese had to miss the entire second quarter because she had two fouls early on. That's not why LSU won. The other major theme has been Angel Reese in the final minute of the game when it was already said and done.

Approaching Kaitlyn Clark. Pointing to a ring finger. And that's something LSU had been doing all tournament long. OK, so that was I saw that from them even before they won the championship. But in addition, using that John Cena motion.

Waving your hand, your open hand in front of your face like you can't see me. Do you know where Angel Reese got that from? Maybe she knew John Cena did it, but I'll tell you where she most recently saw it. That would be Kaitlyn Clark herself who did it in the Elite Eight game against Louisville. So Kaitlyn won the wooden award for the best women's college basketball player.

There's one for men, there's one for women. And then she did an interview with Jeremy Shapp on ESPN and we snagged a couple of these cuts in the first one. She says, hey, Angel Reese does not deserve the criticism she is getting for being a poor sport or trash talker or any of the things that people are saying about her for what she did in the final minute of that game. I don't think Angel should be criticized at all.

You know, no matter which way it goes, you know, she should never be criticized for what she did. You know, I'm just one that competes and she competed. So I think everybody knew there was going to be a little trash talk in the entire tournament. It's not just me and Angel. So LSU deserves that.

They played so well. And like I said, I'm a big fan of hers. So Kaitlyn points out, not only should Angel not be criticized, not only did she do what I did, but there was trash talking the entire tournament.

Here's where she goes next. And I do appreciate this. There is definitely more criticism for women who trash talk than there is for men. You are not paying attention if you do not see the trash talking in the men's game. There's taunting in the men's game as well. And then it seems to be gamesmanship, right? It seems to be, hey, this is all part of the competition. They're fired up. They're in the moment. What does Steph Curry tell us when he shimmies?

And Chris Paul makes fun of them. If you shimmy, you better be prepared to be shimmied on. If you can shimmy on somebody else, you got to be all right getting shimmied on.

Yeah. They accept that as part of the game. It's not my style. It may not be your style, but it's just blind. You're being blind. If you're only seeing Angel Reese, you're not seeing Kaitlyn Clark or the other players who do it. And you are holding the women to a different standard than the men.

And I appreciate that Kaitlyn Clark also made that point with Jeremy Shop. I think men have always had trash talk. You know, that's what it's been. And I think more and more people, as they turn on the game, they're appreciating it for what it is. You know, I'm just lucky enough that I get to play this game and have emotion and wear it on my sleeves.

And so does everybody else. So that should never be torn down. That should never be criticized because I believe that's what makes this game so fun. That's what draws people to this game. That's what draws it to the pro level, to college level, to the high school level.

So either way, it doesn't matter. You should be able to play with that emotion. That's what makes it so fun. Nobody wants to tune in and not see people be competitive and passionate about what they're doing across any sport. That's how it should be.

So I believe that's what it should be. And that's how I'm going to continue to play. That's how every girl should continue to play. So I'm just lucky enough that we have fans support us and want to watch that type of basketball. She has brought a lot of new fans to the game. She's a Des Moines product.

She stayed home. They get to their first Final Four. LSU does the same thing in winning its first national championship. There's a lot of eyeballs on college basketball right now, both the men's and the women's.

The transfer portal has opened things up. So we're going to continue to see fresh blood, so to speak. We're going to continue to see first timers in the Final Four.

In the men's side, three of the four teams had never been there before. I like that Caitlin believes that playing with emotion, playing with a little trash talk, a little edge is good for the women's game. If nothing else, isn't that all anybody's been talking about for the last 48 hours? Seriously.

Even people who didn't watch the game. All they've seen is that five second video of Angel Reese pointing to a ring finger and standing next to Caitlin Clark doing the John Thien emotion. That's all people have seen, is her staring Caitlin Clark down. I think Draymond Green would be proud.

I bet he is. Now I don't want to turn this into a race thing. All I'm saying is that if you didn't see Caitlin Clark do it, you need to go back and watch. That's where Angel Reese got it from. So if you're going to criticize Angel, make sure you criticize Caitlin.

Or maybe just let them have fun and don't criticize at all. Y'all better stay on Twitter. Didn't Angel Reese tell us it was going to blow up Twitter?

She did say that. Bit of a prophet, that one. Also a national champion. But congratulations to Caitlin and Angel. Women's basketball banner tournament that really captured a lot of new fans, I believe. Alright, coming up, Manny Machado.

He is a first in the Pitch Clock era. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence. On Twitter, ALawRadio. I've shared some flowers with you. April flowers. Also on our Facebook page.

You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. In one to Manny. Here's the pitch from Gallinetta.

Swing and a miss. Good curveball and the count is full. In the case of Seth Lugo, his job is to try to throw those balls in the same tunnel, but they're not going to spin the same out of the hand.

And the quicker you can pick that up. Manny's just been called out for an automatic third strike. He called time. And now he and Ron Kulp are discussing it. Bob Melvin's coming out. But this is not reviewable.

It's not going to change. Manny has just taken an automatic third strike. They tell us you can't argue these pitch clock things the same way you can't argue balls and strikes. Manny asked for time.

Didn't get it. And the conversation is continuing a little bit more calmly now around home plate. I think it's Bob that's been tossed. By the way, it might have been Manny. I think it's Manny that got tossed.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Who knew? Come to find out, you cannot argue the pitch clock any more than you can argue balls and strikes. But I think my favorite part, if you don't know this, in a Major League Baseball game, now maybe it's increased a little more or will with the pitch clock. But the average time of actual play-by-play, meaning the average time of the ball being in play and the announcers having action to describe, six and a half minutes in every three hours.

Isn't that crazy? The rest is storytelling or filler. Well, not filler, transition, right? So explaining who's up, reviewing a play, giving you the numbers. Baseball's big on its numbers. That's why Vince Scully was so brilliant because he was such an incredible storyteller that you almost felt like you were just hanging out with the guys opposed to listening to them call a baseball game. And weirdly enough, how is it that Vince Scully always finished a story at the perfect time? His story always ended at the end of an inning. It always worked out that way.

He had an uncanny ability to wrap up a story right when he was going to a commercial break. Manny Machado, come on down. You are the first major leaguer to be ejected for arguing not balls and strikes, but the pitch clock.

Again, something we're finding out. Not only do you have to be in the box with eight seconds to go and addressing the pitcher. So you can't just be in the box. You have to be facing the pitcher with eight seconds. You also cannot call time, apparently, at eight seconds. He thought he did. He even thought he was awarded time, but it did not happen.

I have no idea. I'm just doing what the rules are said. I had eight seconds to call a timeout. I called it eight seconds.

He did not give it to me. Now I got shrugging out. I hurt my team by coming out the game and getting tossed there.

I feel like I didn't do anything wrong. I called eight seconds. Rules are you have to be in there. You have to be engaged in the pitcher. If you're not engaged, you call your timeout and you take your timeout before eight seconds. If it's after eight seconds, seven. Obviously, you get penalized for it. I called it, as you can see. Everyone's seen. My hand was up at eight seconds for my time.

I guess I just wasn't good enough to get awarded for it. I could listen to Manny Machado talk about baseball or really anything else for a while. He just tells it. He doesn't really hold back.

He doesn't fit that convention of company line or media speak. No pretenses of Manny, which is great. It's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio. First player ejected for arguing the pitch clock.

So it's a triple whammy here. Number one, he doesn't get the time out. Number two, it's called strike three to end the inning. It's a Wednesday morning. It's our home show.

Just bear with me. Number one, number two, and number three, he gets tossed. And this isn't the first inning he gets tossed.

So that conversation with the umpire then. I heard time. So I was like, okay, there's my time. And I stepped out the box.

And then he came up to me and said, you're out. And I was like, but I just thought you granted me time. I wasn't really sure there.

It kind of got me confused there. Because I didn't know I looked up in the box as soon as I stepped in. I looked up. I had ten seconds. By the time I went back and looked at him, I put my hand up right in time to get my time. And I was going to go on and I heard time. And that's what I thought I got. And then I heard differently after that.

So I just don't know. I don't think you maybe saw it in time. I thought he did. Manny obviously thought he did. But you're going to see some of that. And unfortunately, it was a strike three. It is a whole new world. Ruthless umpires.

Not only will they call you on strike three to end the inning, but they'll toss you just for good measure. Alright. I'm not sure if that was expressed before.

Zip it. No arguing of the pitch clock. It's there in... I don't know if it's black and white. Is it red? Yellowish?

Yellowish. Oh my goodness. Major League Baseball.

First week. All kinds of drama. You know what it reminds me of? Do you remember last year when they started checking for tacky substances? So every single game you had a pitcher walk off a mound, sometimes multiple times per game. And the umpire would ask for the glove, would ask for the hat. For Pete's sake. Thank you, Gary Cole. You started the whole thing.

In some cases, would inspect their hands, whatever, whatever. Do you remember the uproar? And that includes this show.

I thought it was just ridiculous and was embarrassing. Do you remember the uproar for like two weeks and then nothing the rest of the season? Well, I think this is really a microcosm of real life, but in sports we lose attention. We lose interest in storylines so quickly unless it's quarterbacks. What else do we keep?

What else keeps our attention other than quarterbacks for longer than, say, two news cycles? And that's fine. It really is.

It's totally fine. Even now, no one's talking about Aaron Rodgers or Lamar Jackson because it's been a full week since we've heard anything. It cracks me up that we get so fired up and then we move on. It's like it never happened.

And I'm part of that because I, as a sports talk radio host, reflect what the populace is talking about. And so it does crack me up that we're outraged, I tell you. We can't get over it. We can't move on. We're not going to let it go. And then it's like it never happened. So the whole tacky substance thing, it's just like a bad dream for two weeks.

And then nothing. Do they still do it? I don't even know. So actually I believe Shohei Ohtani, like the first game of the World Baseball Classic for Team Japan, after he left the mound in the first inning, he went to go give his whatever, just to go stop by and get a check. And they don't do that in the World Baseball Classic. So that's really the only time that I've heard about it because it was just funny that he went to go get checked and they don't do it during that tournament.

So other than that, hadn't heard about it in about a year since the first half started. Yeah, maybe it's going to be the same way with the pitch clock. The early returns are that people really enjoy the pitch clock and that it's speeding up the pace of play.

Not pitchers, I mean, just in general. That it's receiving good reviews with fans. Now I will say this.

When I buy tickets, and I only do this once or twice a year, as opposed to going on a press pass, when I buy tickets to a baseball game, I want it to be four hours. I want to be there. I want to sit there.

I want to put my feet up. I want to get some sun, unless it's 100 degrees like it was at Fenway Park last July. Jay, when did we go? Was it end of July that we went to Fenway?

Yes, middle end of July. And it was 99 degrees. Minimum.

Minimum. Not just that, it was 150% humidity. I mean, we were outside all day because the game was like a 3 o'clock start, 4 o'clock start, something like that. We were outside all day because we got to Boston relatively early, walking around.

And we were also with my college roommate, and so we had some drinks outside. Completely soaked. Just dripping. It's that kind of humidity.

Absolutely disgusting. And yet, I still wanted it to be a long game. Because if you buy tickets, baseball's nice and slow. It's like a soundtrack of summer. What's better than being out there in the basement of the park? Absolutely nothing.

We had a blast. So if I buy a ticket, I don't want a game to be over in 2 hours and 15 minutes. I'm going to feel like I didn't get the bang for my buck. And did you hear what happened this week already?

Marlins and Twins. Under 2 hours. If you go to a baseball game and you don't even get 2 hours out of it. That's ridiculous. You paid, let's just spitball here. You paid 25 bucks for parking. You drove, you paid for gas.

Maybe you had just gotten your meal in the 7th inning. And now you're going to rush out. They're kicking you out.

They're already cutting off alcohol service. Not even 2 hours? That's... I would feel cheated, really.

Baseball sometimes sucks. Wait, I forgot who said that. Who was that? It was Nick Castellanos.

I was going to say Nick. Yeah, that's crazy. I'm going to look at the game right now so I can see some of the deets just to see how much. Okay.

It was Alcantara. So that's important. First complete game, which matters, right? So he... They don't have to make any pitching changes, at least on the Marlins side. And there were only 6 hits. 6 hits and 1 run in the entire game. So that's a pitcher's duel. But a pitcher's duel on a pitch clock?

That's a bad combination. I'd be so mad. Under 2 hours is absurd. No, that's absurd. I'd be so angry. Wouldn't you demand to have your money back or I need another game for this price? Yeah, I'd want another game.

I know they wouldn't do it, but I would say I need something out of this. Give me another game. Anything. I need something.

Didn't get your fix. How can you go to a stadium for less than 2 hours? Baseball game when you're outside.

And you just get comfortable and put your feet up. But like all the trouble. It probably took people longer to get there than it did. Maybe it took them longer to get out of the parking lot than it did for the actual game. Wow. Like you said, if I'm going to a baseball game, I want... Give me 25 innings. I don't care. I'm out there at the ballpark. Right.

Agreed. UConn men's basketball returned home on Tuesday. So they fly into Hartford, Connecticut. And then they drive back to campus, which is Storrs, Connecticut, for those of you who don't know.

Gampel Pavilion is where they play when they're not playing in Hartford. And, you know, nothing says welcome back to campus like vandalism. My goodness. Apparently, there are a lot of UConn fans that were pulling down signs and light poles, smashing windows, causing all kinds of other damage on campus. Lots of people have been arrested. I will never understand why people celebrate or how you can celebrate by breaking crap or ruining other people's stuff.

But, yay, congratulations to UConn. I'm going to leave you with this because I just saw this. You know, sometimes on our descent, I should say, as we're landing the plane on the hump show, I try to pass along that something humorous. I just saw this question. Jay, I'm just stunned that you didn't ask me this as part of asking me anything.

You ready? Not to think of the worst. I should have stopped reading at that point. Not to think of the worst, but if Penny passes. Oh, great.

Great way to start my Wednesday. Thinking about my dog passing. You just done that and asked that one?

But if Penny passes, how long do you think you'll wait before getting another dog? I just I don't know. I saw it. Oh, you saw it? I saw it.

Not the way we wanted to start. Did you consider asking me the question? No. No, I really didn't. Did you envision the look of mortification on my face? I couldn't imagine asking anybody that question about their living animal.

No. Or pet. Oh, my gosh. Not to think of the worst, but if she passes. But if. But not to say it, though.

How long do you think until you get another dog? Oh, my gosh. Huh. Thank you, Jay, for your sensitivity in not asking me that question.

We do not need an answer. Obviously, my dog is 13 and a half. And so she's not going to be around forever. I get that. But cover your actually Penny's death. So she couldn't hear that. Thankfully, spared the trauma.

Someone's replacing her already. Have a great day. It's after hours. CBS Sports Radio. Boom.