5-2-23 After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 2

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I tried to be polite to the guy and he just continued to steamroll me about how the earth was flat. A little bit of Kyrie Irving. He had the Kyrie disease. Where is Kyrie these days?

Where are the Dallas Mavericks these days? No, I'm not saying that with an evil grin on my face. What are you talking about? It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio here at Syracuse University and still hanging out. You guys are hardcore. I'm impressed.

Three students of the eight that I had in my class. And the fact that they're here makes me think that the class was a success, at least partially. I'm getting nods. That's good. Thumbs up even.

You want to hear what's really cute? Producer J at the end of the class. What we so this is what we did today. The class.

This is actually my favorite class. Although I know that it was a little uncomfortable for some of the students, but their final project was they had to put together their own radio segment. They had to choose a topic.

They had to research. Plan out a radio segment. They could use creative elements like we do here on the show, whether it be audio, whether it be a guest, although they would have had to fake the guest or have one of their friends be the guest. But they could use guests. They could use music.

They could use promos, whatever it is that they wanted to use. But they had to put together an entire radio segment. A bunch. Would you say half the class had never done this before? In fact, the three of you had never done it before, right? Oh, so one of my students had done podcasts, correct? So they all had to pick their own topics and they all had to put it together. And I really left everything up to them. And so about half the class had never done a radio segment before.

A few of them have done radio shows and are still doing radio shows. So impressed with you guys and the effort that you put into it. But here was the uncomfortable part. Not for me, but I was worried about them, that they were that this was going to be tough for them. We listened to all eight of them in class. So every student had his or her opportunity to be on the hot seat, if you will. And we listened to the entire segment. So in some cases they were 12 minutes. We we said between 10 and 15 minutes or 12 minutes, 13 minutes. I think the shortest was six and a half.

So somehow he fell short. But we all just sat there and stared at each other while we listen to radio, because you know what is so true about radio? Different than TV, different than I'm trying to think of it. Well, you're when you're entertained in person at a concert or a sporting event, you're looking at those who are creating the entertainment on TV, but on radio.

No, you're not. In fact, you're generally using radio as background noise or let's say you're driving. So you're focused on the roads, theoretically, not your phones. You're focused on the roads while you're behind the wheel or if you're listening to radio while you walk or while you run or while you're studying. You're not staring at the radio.

And so this was completely different because even for me, not that it was uncomfortable for me. In fact, I like awkward silences, so I'm good. But we're all sitting around this long rectangular table as the audio is playing over the sound system in our classroom. Looking around, looking up, looking down. Do you guys at any point look around the table to see how people were were processing? Some people were like had turned their chairs completely outward and were facing the other direction.

Some of you were leaning back, looking up at the ceiling. But it was it was good practice because part of getting comfortable with yourself as a host or as a voice is that you need to listen back. But it was also I was really proud of you. It was also great to hear you all support and encourage your classmates because we said it was a safe space where they could have constructive criticism. No, I don't think anybody offered any type of constructive criticism.

Right. It was all very positive. I offered a little bit. But for the most part, you all were so kind.

And I would say great cheerleaders for your your fellow classmates. But yes, for a good two hours almost, we just listened to each other's radio segments and found ways to inspect that spot on the ceiling. It's like being in an elevator.

Have you ever noticed elevator behavior when you don't especially if you don't know the people in the elevator? You're looking around. You're staring at the numbers. You're you're looking at your phone, except they weren't allowed to do that because I actually got on a couple of students that had their phones out.

So, yeah. What was that like? Tell me. What was that like to sit there around a table and just listen to radio? Was it weird? It was fun. It was like daydreaming almost. I liked it. Yeah, it was kind of cool. OK, good. I don't know if you can hear them, but they said it was it was kind of interested. Oh, Jay actually boosted you.

So you just went over CBS Sports Radio. What do you think, Nuri? Was it fun? Yes, it was. It was calm for a couple of hours. It was calm. All you had to do was listen.

Jake was daydreaming during it. OK, but was it a good exercise, though? Did you enjoy it? I was really proud of you guys. So then we got done with our it actually ran over. So I had to ask them to stay or I asked them to stay for a couple of extra minutes.

We finished our radio segments and I just wanted to maybe 30 seconds of their attention and just kind of summarize and told them, thank you for being my guinea pig class, my first ever class as an adjunct professor. And they clapped for me. I'm such a sap. I almost. Oh, no, no, I'm crying.

It's partly because I've only had two hours of sleep in the last 24. And so that makes me more emotional. But yes, I don't know if you meant it, but if you did, thank you. That was really sweet.

Yes. So as maybe I should just stop now. I've done one class. Best class ever. Great success.

I should stop right now. Yes, it was cool. It was really cool. And then it was back to work. Left new house where I was teaching, where we have our class.

And and actually, this is kind of interesting, too. Today was the last day of classes and here on campus. And because we had an evening class, Eastern Time, that's it. You all are done, right?

It was your last class. Yes. Pretty cool. Well, you're welcome. I'm just teasing.

I'm totally teasing. It was a great experience. And I hope that Syracuse invites me back. But you guys were the best class ever.

No one will top the group that we had participated. Did all the assignments. I don't think anyone missed an assignment the entire class, which was great. And I think I made them answer all the questions, but they did. Well, they did very well.

Put some thought into it. Survived without any unmitigated disasters. If there was one, don't tell me.

Just let me live in my little orange bubble. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence here on CBS Sports Radio. Speaking of disasters. Oh, Producer J, was that a segue? Segue!

J, would you like to deliver the eulogy for your New York Rangers? Or are you not feeling it yet? I don't know if I'm there yet. You're not there yet?

It's still raw. Sorry. You know, this is a sports radio show, so we need to talk about the sports. All the sports. At some point, we actually have to talk about the sports.

And so I put off game seven as long as possible. We have to talk about the sports. Here's the deal with the NHL. And it really, it can happen in basketball, too. But over the course of a seven game series, baseball, I guess, as well, though a lot of that is determined by hot pitchers.

If you get a couple of pitchers that are really locked in, it can be more of an individual battle in baseball than it is a team sport. But when it comes to the NBA and the NHL, over the course of a seven game series, there can be multiple momentum swings. Yes, injuries can can play a factor. But as I just mentioned last hour, the fact that you're coming off of an 82 game regular season and then you're into the playoffs, where you need to be mentally tough and you have to give it all of the energy and the gosh, all of the energy and the sense of urgency that you've got in your physical body.

You're talking about athletes who at this point, they're I don't want to say they're running on empty because that's not entirely true, but they can be out of gas. And so a lot of times with a quicker turnaround and the travel involved, although the NBA does spread out its series, it can play a factor. The fatigue can play a factor. And it could be not just physical fatigue.

It can also be mental fatigue. And then you also factor in the crowds right where these games are held. Though weirdly enough, in the case of the Devils and the Rangers, the Devils dropped the first two games of their series at home. There were multiple devils who said at the time they felt like because they were just getting their feet wet in the postseason, maybe a little bit of nerves that factored in.

But the idea that they had to experience it, no one can tell you what it's going to be like, especially if you've never been there before. And they do have a couple of guys who've who've accumulated some postseason experience. But for the most part, as a group, you're talking about a bunch of devils who didn't really know what they were in for. Rangers had far more experience, which I think can explain why the Rangers came out in the first two games and played the way that they did. But we knew because the Devils are well coached, because they've got some strong leaders and again, a couple of veterans who've been in the playoffs before, we knew that they would find their footing.

We knew that they would be able to figure it out. But could they, after dropping the first two games at home, figure it out long enough or quick enough to extend the series and then long enough, stay locked in to be able to win four games? But four games in a row?

Not sure I was expecting that. So the New Jersey Devils, the New York Rangers, the final game of the first round, the hoops in hockey playoffs, and it was fairly lopsided. Takeaway by Palat from Fox, recovering though is Kreider, it's taken back by Palat. Palat still with him, who's in, floats one to McLeod, backhand scores! Michael McLeod! And it's 1-0! Right wing side, it goes for Marino, across the line, head up, looks around, cuts in, front, makes a move, oh he backhands wide, now plays it in front, they score! And it's Tomasz Tatar! It's 2-0! Takes it away from Kakko, gets it to Hughes, it's a 2-1-1 with Lindgren back, Hughes goes cross-ice, they score!

Eric Holla! It's 3-0! Brad with it behind the net, steps out in front, and he scores!

Into the empty net, it's 4-0! This was a first period with no goals, there were opportunities, of course there always are in these hockey games. A lot of times, we're going to talk about Akira Schmid and the goaltending change for the New Jersey Devils that really seemed like a major turning point, but yeah, you can have the opportunities. And in this series, it felt like, and it wasn't the case in every game, Game 2, I was actually at Game 2 at the Prudential Center, and the Devils started out with the momentum, and then Rangers were able to snatch it back, but it seemed like the deeper we got into the series, the team that was able to break through first, was able to grab that momentum, the full head of steam, it actually did turn out to be a major advantage if they could get that first goal or could break through, I guess, first. But to come back from 0-2 down in a series against a team that is a rival, that has a ton of playoff experience, where you have lost both games on your own ice and have to go into their building, and the Rangers fans, they show up, they're loud.

One of the, I would say one of the most electric places I've ever seen a hockey game is at Madison Square Garden during the postseason. This was not easy. The Devils did not take the easy road, they ratcheted up the degree of difficulty, and yet, in a Game 7, they are last team standing. Well, I did say that, you know, we started the year 0-2, and we bounced right back.

So, I said they give me everything they've had, and they continue to do that. So, we don't want to dig an 0-2 hole, but we fought back hard, and we played a hell of a game tonight. Lindy Ruff about the Devils rallying from 0-2 down to be able to, not just 0-2 down, but then down 2-1 as well.

And the Rangers, well, remember the question that was asked of Giannis? Actually, this was one of the topics of a student segment that was done for class. Actually, kind of cool too, just as a big picture. There were multiple radio segments from my students that featured topics, and audio that we had talked about here on the show, which was really cool. I actually liked that, the fact that we had some crossover.

But one of the students picked the Giannis question and answer about whether or not the season was a failure for the Milwaukee Bucks because they did not win a championship. Now, I loved it. In fact, he's here.

Mark is here in studio. He went and took this major risk and kind of got away from the sports aspect, and did big picture perspective about life and about humans and about the human experience. It was great. We all clapped for you too after that. It was wonderful. He waxed poetic on us.

It was awesome. But I thought of that as I was thinking about delivering the eulogy for the Rangers because that question could be posed for the New York Rangers. They fall short of the conference finals. They don't get back to the Stanley Cup final.

This is a team that felt like they were built for this. And a major turning point in the series is when the Devils, Lindy Ruff, he puts his accomplished veteran goalie on the bench, the goalie that was really the anchor for them most of the season. And he turns to Akira Schmid. Actually, side note, because our studios are in lower Manhattan in New York City, there are plenty of Rangers fans who roam the hallways even in the morning. Boomer sighs him last week.

I don't know why. Maybe I was feeling like a fourth grade girl or something, but I was in the morning just standing outside in our newsroom saying Akira Schmid, Akira Schmid, Akira Schmid, just to see what kind of reaction I would get. Boomer nearly, I mean, he gave me the look of death. You're ruining my morning, he said through gritted teeth, because he didn't want to hear that name, but it will forever be, it will forever be grating on Rangers fans to hear the name Akira Schmid. They will never hear that name again without remembering this series and how the Devils turn to Akira Schmid. And he had not one, but was it two shout outs, producer Jay? It was. It was two shout outs, Akira Schmid. Jay's about to knock me off the air accidentally.

Just kick a connection in the control room and all of a sudden we're off the air. But no, this was really a turning point. They turned to Akira Schmid after game number two.

And from that point on, it was a different series for the Devils. We have great leadership group in the room, you know, who kept us ready at all times. And, you know, we just try to work hard and one win at a time and, you know, worked out in the end. It's just a timely saves that I feel like those are the things that really, you know, calm our group down. And it's just, you know, not that we didn't have the most that are confidence in him, but it's just, I'm very impressed by his play and good for him.

Really happy for him. 31 saves, second shutout of the playoffs. He's what, had four games?

Well, five games, I suppose. He's a rookie. And sometimes I feel like experience is a major factor in postseason play, regardless of sport. But then every now and then you'll get these rookies who just go out there and don't have any idea that they should be feeling pressure. And so good for the Devils, good for Akira Schmid, who again, will go down in Devils and Rangers lore, took over as the starter in game three when his team was trailing and it was a major turning point.

But I like what Eric Holla had to say about the fact that he settles them down. And really any goaltender can do that. When you know you have a guy behind you who can come up with a big save, who's got great vision, it steadies you. And yet again, a reference to the nerves, a reference to the Devils maybe needing that steadying and calming force on the ice.

So there's two aspects to this. There is the thrill of victory for the Devils who win their first playoff series in over a decade. And they take on the Carolina Hurricanes now in the second round of East playoffs. But there's also the Rangers. It's frustrating.

It's disappointing. They made moves at the trade deadline to bring in Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrick Kane, who let's be fair, that move did not work out the way that they anticipated. I think everybody could see he had lost a step in terms of his speed and explosiveness. But man, at times he was flat out slow.

Still had the handle for sure, but it didn't pan out. And for the Rangers to be out in the first round, I wouldn't say it's as cataclysmic as the Bruins being out in the first round, only because the expectations were so high. But internally for the Rangers, the expectations were just as high. Internally, this is still a failure.

And by that, I don't mean their entire season, everything they've ever done in their lives. Your points are worth more than you think. This first class flight to Tokyo, you can book it in your credit card portal for 1.4 million points. Yowsers. With PointMe, you could redeem just 120,000 points for that same flight.

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That's point.me. This is Flea for This Little Light, a podcast about falling in love with music. I started a nonprofit music school about 20 years ago called the Silver Lake Conservatory of Music. The reason that I started doing this podcast was music education. I'll be speaking with Rick Rubin, Thundercat, Stuart Copeland, Margo Price, Corey Henry, Cynthia Erivo, Sheila E, and Patti Smith. Please listen and follow This Little Light, a presentation of Cadence 13 on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts.

Donate today at your local CSL Plasma Center and be rewarded for your generosity. Is this a complete and total failure? No, but internally they would tell you, like the Bruins, this is far short of their goal. We got some opportunities. We made some big saves. That pushed a little bit and gave up a couple too many admin rushes.

Igor made some incredible saves. Yeah, they beat us. It definitely stinks. Feels like we let an opportunity slip away. Yeah, man, it's hockey. Give them credit.

It's not just this room failing. I think that team played well. They obviously had an incredible regular season.

They're a good hockey team, so I give them a lot of credit as well. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure he used the F word. Didn't he say it's not just this team failing or did I mishear that, Jay? No, he said that. He said it's not just this team failing, meaning the Rangers. It's also you've got to give credit to the Devils for how they played.

Yeah, there's always a combination of one team grabbed the opportunity, one the other team lost, especially when you get to the postseason. Both those things can be a factor, but he used the F word. Jacob Truba, he used the F word. Oh, no, that has such a negative connotation. But this time of the year, I think the more painful F word would be failure.

I think guys would rather hear the other F word than the failure. He uses that word to describe their season. So that's what I mean internally for the Rangers.

This is far short of what they had planned for the 22-23 season. And I don't know if it hurts more that it comes against the Devils. This rivalry is only recently rekindled because the Devils have been the ugly redheaded stepchild among the New York hockey teams. For the Devils to put together a group that's relatively young, that didn't have a ton of playoff experience, they've got speed, they've got explosiveness, they've got veteran leadership. Now they've got a goaltender who's playing out of his mind, or as we hear the adage, standing on his head.

They've got the right package. It may not result in them getting to the Eastern Conference Finals or the Stanley Cup Final, but boy are they building a foundation with this newest iteration of the Devils. And for the Rangers, I'm not sure where you go from here. Again, similar to the question about the Bruins.

Where do you go from here when you've poured all your effort into building a team that you believed would have the right combo and would be able to advance in the postseason? Ultimately, my favorite hashtag this time of the year, because it's the Cup. Hashtag, because it's the Cup.

Thrill of victory, the agony of defeat. It's very stark this time of the year with hoops in hockey. All right, you can find me on Twitter, ALawRadio. Don't tease producer Jay, he's very fragile right now. Jay, Jay. It's true. Is this thing on?

Jay. It's true. You know that we have to talk about it, right? I'm not just rubbing your nose in it. Oh, I know. I mean, I had to go collect all the sound.

And so it was, it was, that was fun. It's fine. It's fine. It's totally fine.

You and Aaron Rodgers, you have something in common. It's totally fine. It really is.

It's totally fine. I hope that makes you smile. Some. A little. I'm sorry I'm not there to feed you candy or whatever else.

That would have helped. Actually, I did. OK, before we take our break, I have to tell you that one of the students, I won't name any names, here hanging out with me in our control room tonight, ate seven of my oatmeal caramel chewy bars. Seven. Seven, Jay. Have you, Jay loves my baked goods. Mark, Jay loves my baked goods. Have you ever eaten seven of any of my cookies or bars or any of the treats I've ever made? Seven within the span of two hours? That's a lot. I mean, they're delicious.

I probably could, but that's a little aggressive. I mean, they're. This is why Mark is still awake.

I feel like you almost, I want to savor them more than that. No, it was almost his. It was a celebration. Every time we got through listening to another student's radio segment, he would go up and grab an oatmeal caramel chewy bar to the point where there was nothing left and the other students were actually starting. They were feeling as though there was a sense of urgency. They had to get back up to the Tupperware and grab their own treats. Because if they didn't, Mark.

Oh, sorry, we weren't naming any names. Mark was going to eat all of them. He just this is how he would indicate that he was about to get up and get another one. Okay.

And would you stand up? How do you do that? I'm not even mad. Seven. Where did you put them? Seven.

They were a big hit, but I'm not sure if the rest of the class really liked them because Mark ate, I would say 30% of my oatmeal caramel chewy bars. I mean, they were there. Didn't say take one, right? That's right.

There was no sign that said take one only, but and every time. Okay. And he would get up out of his shirt. Impressive. It's like there was a voice in his head that was telling him just get up and go get another one.

And he would respond out loud. Okay. It was an ode to the last class, but at least they were a hit. I feel as though the students are going to give me good reviews because I brought baked goods.

Has any other professor ever brought baked goods to class? Boom. No. Okay, good.

At least I have that going for me. Okay. I know we're running a little bit late. Eulogy for the Rangers, baked goods.

We've done ice cream trucks, all kinds of things. It's one of those kinds of shows. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. Good evening, Amy. Great show. Now you're stuck with me for a long time.

Stuck is a great way to put it. I'll give you a phone tomorrow night too. Thank you.

Oh, well, I appreciate the warning. Amy, how are you doing? I'm great.

Hey, I love you so much. This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence from the campus of Syracuse University and the building known as new house too, though, to be perfectly fair and well, honest about it, uh, I have required the direction of students, uh, multiple times being here in this building or another building to try to figure out how to get from one to the other and which direction to go for class. The first time that they showed me this control room where I'm hosting the show, Mark, who was actually sitting in with us, happened to be working in a lab next door. And I actually went to him and said, Hey, please don't go to class without me because I'll never find it. I have no idea where I'm going.

I would have gotten lost multiple times in stairwells or food courts or I don't know. And then I asked earlier on Monday, I asked another student for directions and he started to do, Oh, actually you too. Mark is here, tried to give me directions, a left and a right. And Oh, wait, no, no, no. It was a left and a right and a left and then another left.

And so, and so never ask a student who's in the middle of finals or the last week of class to give you directions to anything because that might be information overload. We are actually we and we, there's still four of us in here. I'm very impressed with you all still hanging on. It's great that we are now into this late stage of our second hour and it's been long enough.

I'm going to have to give props. Jay, are you ready? You ready for this? Because you heard me last night. Wonder aloud if Bob, you know, Bob, of course, if Bob was going to remember that Monday was our two month anniversary. That was a topic. I didn't even get in bed on Monday morning before I had gotten a text from Bob saying happy two months. I knew it. Brownie points, right? You knew it. You did. Now the next test and far greater test of Bob and whether or not he's a keeper will come on Thursday when it's May the 4th.

May the 4th be with you. If he lets that date go by without acknowledging, I don't know. That'd be tough to come back from.

That would be tough to rally from. Although I have introduced him to my Star Wars nerd-dom. So the fact that he's still hanging around, even though he's been exposed to just how nerdy I am. I started him out just by saying my car is Princess Leia just to kind of see how he reacted to that. And we've since watched a Star Wars movie together. I let him pick. I thought that was very generous of me.

And even though I have strong opinions about Star Wars, May the 4th is a big one, though. He can't let it go by without some type of acknowledgement, but he did pass the two month anniversary test as if that's some kind of a thing for a guy. I set the bar. I think I set the bar kind of high, but he keeps jumping through all the hoops. I mean, it's a good start for him, but I think the bigger test, like we're saying, is a little later in the week. Will you be so disappointed if he doesn't acknowledge May the 4th? A little, but I'm not even letting that thought enter my mind because I know he's going to crush it.

You want him to only because you are stealing his idea about getting popcorn from the movie theater. The man has been full of good ideas so far. As long as I've not figuratively known him, he's just been pumping out good ideas.

You'll know him at some point. I presume if he sticks around or if he does, in fact, acknowledge May the 4th, I don't think I have any more excuses. I think at that point I'm out of excuses.

I'm just going to have to go full speed ahead. Oh, goodness. Poor Bob. Also, Bob does listen to the show in the mornings on his way to work, and he fast forwards through the parts where I talk about sports.

I'm not sure what that means. I think he's interested in everything else I have to say, but not what I have to say about sports. He's looking for clues, for hints. He is. Remember, we talked about him being a cheater. He's a big fat cheater because he's listening to me on the radio show and gaining information. He's gleaning clues, if you will, where I do not have that same luxury. No, it's not really fair if you think about it.

No, it is not fair. Thank you. But, however, because he doesn't have a radio show, I suppose I'll have to set that aside for now, he did pass the anniversary test, the cheesy two-month anniversary test. And now we'll see about May the 4th.

Drama is building through the end of the week. Well, I already love his first choice of movie to pick to start his Star Wars endeavors. So, I mean, I think he's gonna, I think he's into it, I would say. Okay. Well, he doesn't really have a choice because if he wants me, he gets the Star Wars.

That's just, we're a package deal, really. I feel like he likes it. I do. Okay. I hope so.

I hope so. All right. I just wanted to offer an update that Bob passed the first test of the week with flying colors and we'll see whether or not he makes it through the end of the week.

It's a marathon, not a sprint, Bob, but I believe that you can do this. You've got this. All right. You can find me on Twitter, A Law Radio. I took a unique photo that I shared on Twitter.

Actually, Jay, I think we have to share it with our Facebook peeps. But because of the crazy storms that we have come through the neighborhood all weekend long, the trees that were budding covered in pink flowers. Well, the trees no longer have the flowers.

They're all over the ground because the driving rain knocked them off the trees. And so it was really cool. It was actually as though as I was walking Penny on Monday morning, I was walking over a bed of pink flowers. And so, of course, you know me, I take pictures of other people's flowers. I stopped to take a photo.

Actually, it's really pretty. So it's on my Twitter, A Law Radio. As I say, we'll put it up on Facebook as well. Glad to have you with us. Goofy as all get out. But my friends tell me the more exhausted I am, the better my show.

Also, not sure that's a compliment, but OK. You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. Bit swung on. Hit the right field and the Phillies are going to lead it.

Yeah, they are. Bryce Harper has put the Phillies on top with a two-run home run over the out-of-town scoreboard. Simply amazing. Harper here at home has hovered on back-to-back swings.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Why, you ask? Why are we playing a Bryce Harper highlight? It's been a while, first of all. Maybe we just missed Bryce Harper. Did you ever think of that?

No, there's a reason. It's calculated. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. And Bryce Harper on the Phillies Radio Network, he is rejoining the team. Now, he was supposed to be out until after the All-Star break, maybe even later, because he had Tommy John surgery in November. November, I know it's early May now, but generally, Tommy John surgery, at least for pitchers, can require a year plus. It's a very lengthy rehab process to get back to the point at which you can actually throw the ball the way that you need to.

But even for position players, and sometimes guys return as just DHs, even for position players, it can take a lot longer than this. And I don't know what he and LeBron James have in common. Remember, LeBron returned from his foot injury a lot more quickly than what we expected going back to last month.

And what did he say? His doctor was the LeBron James of feet. So is Bryce Harper's doctor the Bryce Harper of elbows? Or could we come up with a better baseball player analogy?

I don't know. That maybe is a slight to Bryce Harper, since he's the one who's returning. But he wanted to get back on the field before this doctor's timeline.

He had his heart set on it. And so he attacked, this should not surprise you about Bryce Harper, he attacked his rehab. And he actually pinpointed this week, Phillies Dodgers as his dream date to return. And lo and behold, we're about to get Bryce Harper on a baseball diamond once again.

So Bryce himself talking on Monday about rejoining the Phillies lineup. Yeah, I'm excited. I mean, just to be able to get out with the boys and, and start the year. I mean, it's, I'm just pumped. I'm just pumped, you know, it's a long process. I mean, just going through the whole offseason and trying to get back and understanding what I have to do. And just the grind of that every single day. My teammates, my training staff have helped me out so much. And it's just been, it's been really good. So a couple of things about Bryce.

Number one, according to Elias and the people who chart these things, I do not because I have not this much time on my hands. And they believe that Harper will be the fastest return ever from Tommy John surgery, as in ever. There was an infielder, Tony Womack, you may remember his name going back to the early 2000s. He came back in 182 days. Bryce Harper.

It's not a competition, is it? 160 days. Does he go into the Guinness Book of World Records for that? 160 days since he had his UCL operated on and had the Tommy John surgery.

Does this give hope also to shoot? I'm out of football mode. What? Remind me. The the quarterback Purdy Brock Purdy. No one reminded me.

I came up with it on my own. Anyway, once I get out of football mode, it takes me a couple of days to get back in. Brock Purdy actually didn't have the entire Tommy John surgery, but maybe this gives him hope because he's even younger than Harper, who's 30 years old. And here's Bryce.

Now, let's be fair. He has every tool, all the technology, all the support known to man, world class rehab facilities and resources to be able to return. But still 160 days since Tommy John surgery. And now he's coming back to the Phillies lineup without a rehab assignment.

Again, I think he's targeting this Phillies Dodgers series, but this is pretty nutso. Harper is excited to get back, of course, but I'm a little nervous for him. I I'm sure the Phillies have gone through and done the the extensive medical process and they're they're not nervous about it.

Maybe maybe they're not nervous about it. He's such a big part of what they do and certainly has had his share of injuries. Some classic, some a little more freak injuries. I think I'd be holding my breath a little bit, except he has been cleared by the doctor. It's been great. I mean, to be able to do the dirt back under my cleats, I mean, that's where I grew up playing, you know, third base and catching.

So to kind of be able to get going again over there. It's been fun working with Dickey, too. I mean, he's an incredible NFL coach and I love being coached. You know, whatever that means, I love to be coached. I love to learn something and and, you know, further my career and whatever it is. So I love having a hitting coach and Kev along to to coach me through things and Dickerson to coach me through things. Paco, same thing. So I really enjoy being coached even at this level.

You know, I enjoy trying to learn new things. And it's been good. They're not sure where they're going to play him, actually, and that's been a question for Rob Thompson, the Phillies manager, about where he'll play when they do put him back on the field, but also where he'll hit in the lineup, too. They're looking to potentially get some pop with Kyle Schwerber. They kind of move these guys around during the 22 season when they made it all the way to the NLCS will made it into the World Series. So the Phillies are going to have to manage his rest and manage his days where he's in the lineup. Kind of interesting, too.

And I didn't know any of this, but doctors. The doctors who've talked about this Tommy John surgery for hitters have noted that if it's your lead elbow when you hit, it's easier for a player to be ready to go following the surgery because when it's your trailing elbow. So for those of you who ever played and I'm straight righty Deadpool hitter for those of you who have ever held a bat stood in a batter's box, you recognize that as you're swinging through the zone, theoretically, you're swinging through the zone. It's your trailing elbow. So the elbow that comes through, it would be your dominant hand, right? The elbow that comes through last or second.

That's the one that has the torque and the twist on it. So it's actually it's more stress on that elbow in a swing. So the fact that it's his lead elbow maybe has helped him get cleared more quickly.

But also think about and I liken this to say a Tiger Woods and the stress that he put on his physical body, his back specifically because of how violent his swing. That's Bryce Harper. He swings with such speed and such violence that there is a little bit of a concern. But the Phillies don't want him to change.

And I'm not sure he could change at this point anyway. So they have put him through all the paces, all of the various hitting cages and simulations and all of that jazz. And they do believe that the fact that it's his lead elbow, if you will, take some of the stress off of him and they should be good to go. Producer Jay tells me that his do we have time for his doctor or no?

OK, go. Let's hear from his doctor. The main thing to watch out for would be exceptional events. You know, if there's a collision player, a tag play at first or potentially a sliding, those are things obviously that he will be well coached on and that everybody will be watching closely in the first few months when he gets back. No collisions. Bryce Harper, don't get your uniform dirty.

Can you just stay upright? Don't run into anyone. If there's a guy coming after you or at you or you think there might be a moment, let's just say for the sake of argument that he's on first base where he's taken some BP, just move out of the way, please. I know it's not manly.

Just move out of the way. There needs to be no collisions early on and all the base paths to you can imagine once he gets out there because of the way that he plays. This is a guy who puts his whole body into it. You can think of some of those athletes actually staying in baseball. Ken Griffey Jr. was like that. Maybe his career would have been extended if he didn't constantly dive all over the field and run into walls. But that was how he played. Bryce Harper plays with that same intensity. So maybe a few moments where the Phillies are holding their breath. It's after hours on CBS Sports Radio. Today at your local CSL plasma center and be rewarded for your generosity.