7-3-23 After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 2

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Visit L2R Smarter, Safer, Faster.com and start moving today. This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Happy 4th of July. Happy holiday weekend. This is one of my favorite holidays, one of my favorite events, one of my favorite weekends, when it falls on a weekend of the entire year because I love red, white, and blue. Love seeing all the extra flags that pop up around my neighborhood and different places that I drive with all of its quirks and with all of its challenges and even the problems that we create ourselves as a society.

I still believe far and away this is the greatest country in the world and the only one that I would ever want to call home. You can find me on Twitter, ALawRadio, also our Facebook page After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Coming up more on the start of NBA Free Agency, Marcus Smart speaks for the first time about getting traded out of Boston, essentially blindsided and other moves that maybe raise eyebrows plus Shohei and his sidekick. Is it fair to call Mike Trotta sidekick? Shohei and his sidekick are at it again. We've got the pitchers for the all-star game so we got the starters late last week. Now we have the pitchers and the rosters include Clayton Kershaw of course. Did you know the Atlanta Braves are about to take over as the best team in Major League Baseball? They are reeling in the race and then Wimbledon on the horizon. So a lot to talk about on this edition of After Hours but it was history for Chicago and for NASCAR in its 75th year as the sport celebrates its 75th anniversary, the entire sport had been building up for a race like no other. The sport had never seen street racing but definitely not in downtown Chicago with that skyline and the backdrop that made it so visibly or visually I should say visually appealing but visibly freaking cool.

So from Chicago we are pleased to welcome Chris Knight who is the owner and insider for Catch Fence, follows the NASCAR circuit, the cup circuit all over the country and here we are about dead center of this 2023 season with this iconic moment and really a ton of buzz around Chicago even going back to when the announcement was made a year ago. So Chris thank you for joining us on the holiday weekend. First time ever for NASCAR, first time for Chicago, first time for street racing, you were there, you got to witness it all. What will you take away from it? I will take away that NASCAR pulled off one of the most unbelievable race events of not only this season but probably the last 75 years right because to put the NASCAR Xfinity and Cup Series on the streets of Chicago was something I had never thought I would ever see in my lifetime and for them to do that and to overcome the rain that the track experience or the circuit experience on Sunday and then for everything to clear out you know right close to race time. I know we were a little bit delayed to get the green flag but once we got the green flag fans and the motorsports world was treated to an absolutely unbelievable event as something that just keeps your goosebumps flowing even after hours that the checker flag has come and to see a driver you know with Justin Parks' Project 91 initiative and a driver from you know across the across the world come over and win the NASCAR Cup Series Grand Park 220 for the first time you know it was just unbelievable.

When you talk about how special and how iconic and how unique and also how historic what made it that way what was so amazing about being there on the streets of Chicago? Well I think people were skeptical about how well NASCAR would put this event together right and and and how would the people of the of the of Chicago react to it right and Julie Gissi and her entire NASCAR team hats off to them because they put on not only a incredible weekend but an incredible week of events leading up to the races this weekend in Chicago. It was event after event the fans came out into the thousands and fans were cheering and high-fiving and just capturing an unbelievable moment for the sport and I think it really opened up the door for NASCAR to look in another direction and say hey we can not only do this in Chicago but we can we can have the opportunity to have a NASCAR street course race throughout the country or even throughout the world. I mean the opportunities are endless knowing that they were able to to pull this off and they and they were troubled by weather they conquered the weather and and then wound up having an incredible race. Shane Van Gendesen did an absolutely great job coming back through the field you know he's trapped by strategy and for him to come through the field in his first ever race and to win and beat the guys like Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch, Austin Sindrick the Daytona 500 champion from 2022 you know just unbelievable what we were able to witness on Sunday. It was pouring before they dropped the green flag and actually I guess they had him out there for a few laps under caution.

Initially we saw a bunch of cars spinning out hitting tires losing control ultimately how did the weather impact what we saw on Sunday? Well I think they made the track treacherous to start the race right we started on the wet weather package which is uh you know obviously a a tire that that's conducive to resting on a wet pavement right and so we started the race at the wet and obviously it was it was treacherous and I think people were um you know maybe going a little bit faster or taking chances that they probably shouldn't have been taking so early into the race but thankfully Amy the track was able to dry out much before the halfway point of the race and once you know the we got to that point of the race where they were switching from treaded tires to the standard slick tires we saw unbelievable opportunities we saw drivers you know making passes and putting themselves in position and ultimately you know because of uh starting the race late we had to unfortunately shorten the event by about 25 laps or so right but still that intensity built up because you knew the the end of the race was coming and it offered so much strategy and I just you were just on the edge of your seat wondering what was going to happen next and to see Shane come back through the field and we all thought Justin Haley and Austin Dillon and Chase Elliott we thought the race was going to boil down to those three guys and here come Shane in the track house car and he boils them all down and he did it so cleanly for his first ever cup series race it was just it was really a magical day for that for that organization and what Justin Marks and Pitbull have done for the sport and bringing this project to the to the forefront with Kimi Raikkonen and you know Shane and and who knows what who's next right NASCAR's in a really great place right now and I can't wait to see what's in the future for the sport we're so excited to welcome Chris Knight back to the show his enthusiasm is what we love about him and he is co-owner of Catch Fence but also has been covering NASCAR for a long time is there in Chicago after the Grant Park 220 it's after hours with Amy Lawrence here on CBS Sports Radio it's never happened not in my lifetime not in your lifetime that a guy making his debut in NASCAR in the cup series has been able to pull off a win it hasn't happened since 1960 but then the fact that as you point out it's a global perspective where maybe street racing and the road racing is more common in parts of Europe and other parts of the world to be able to treat the fans to such an incredible finish once the track had dried out all of that makes this race even better than just the concept because it actually worked yeah it did work and it worked well and it worked great and and and Shane you know we call them SVG for short you know over the last couple weekends as we've gotten to know him he he brought a world audience with him right you know he's a three-time a VA supercar champion that's the same kind of racing that Marcus Ambrose did and he came to NASCAR for you know for a long time Marcus Ambrose had a successful career one in the cup series one in the Xfinity Series but for Shane to come over here and adapt as quickly as he did and he had a you know when you have Darien Grubb and you have Justin Marks and you have the teammates of Daniel Suarez and Ross Chastain behind you but for Shane to hop in that car with very you know no experience in a cup car and him to adapt to a street course it just played into his wheelhouse I think a street course and I think the drivers all seem to have fun they I don't think they wanted the race to end but unfortunately it had to end because we got close to darkness but I think you know the drivers got so accustomed to racing it and of course we've had you know different forms of road course racing over the last couple years with the robo being introduced at Charlotte Motor Speedway but this street course racing it was just something it was breathtaking to see these cup cars and these Xfinity cars racing you know when and they had the pier and Lake Michigan you know behind them and beside them and just a backdrop of the buildings of Chicago it was just it was whether you if you weren't there you you still felt it whether you at home or or listening on the radio or watching the races on tv and if you were there it was something that you'll never forget well good I'd love you to expand a little more on driver reaction what did they have to say about this event you know I've heard that uh you know from the drivers that were interviewed it was all positive it was very positive um you know obviously there were some drivers that were frustrated because they felt like that maybe NASCAR waited a little bit too long to tell them that the race was going to end and it ultimately hindered their strategy so there were some backlash on that but that's I don't think that's either here or there because Shane was put in that same position as someone like Christopher Bell who challenged for the race race win early in the race but Shane was able to conquer that strategy and win but overall just a vibe and you could see it Amy on social media after the races when the drivers went to their social platforms and we're just embracing this race and talking about how much they enjoyed it and can we do it next year and you know the fans turn I think the fans is what really made this event right despite the heavy rain despite the the the potential for um you know just uh just miserable conditions for most of the day the fans still packed the house and and when they packed the house and they were able to see such a a great race unfold uh you could just feel that electricity when the checkered flag flew nobody wanted to leave they were just there to enjoy it and they didn't care about the rain and they didn't care about you know having clothes drenched all they care about was seeing a part of history unfold on the streets of Chicago and I think that's something that will all take away for weeks and even months to come I gotta tell you it was a little jarring though to see them racing through puddles like they were standing water on the streets as they started and that was different as someone who's grown up watching NASCAR where generally they've had to drive the entire track before they could get cars out there I applaud that because they did a great job yes there was some areas in standing water but for the most part the track was in really great shape the circuit was in really great shape and I applaud NASCAR and the drivers you know I you know NASCAR asked the drivers and the spotters and the teams if they were okay to go racing and they all gave them the thumbs up right and and so you had some drivers had some trouble early in the race I know you know Kyle Busch had some problems and Noah Gretchen had some issues and Keselowski and Eric Jones but I think that was those guys just overstepping the limit of what the cars were capable of doing that early in the race until the track got got drier and once that track got dry you just saw mistakes happen because people were being more aggressive and they realized that the end of the race was coming and so I think that's what the intensity built up and I think that led to a lot of electricity that the event happened but Amy we've been able to take this wet weather package and we go to places like North Wilkesboro and Martinsville the short tracks on the ovals and to be able to compete in a damp condition I just think that it's grown volumes that we never would have thought that NASCAR would be in a place to do that for for years and years ago and now that we're able to go on a street course or a road course and even the the smaller ovals and compete on a damp surface I just think that speaks how volumes how far NASCAR has come uh within the last couple years oh absolutely it's a total shift and change in terms of logistics makes it possible for NASCAR to avoid some of the rain outs that are so frustrating for fans but also the tv broadcast rights Chris Knight of Catch Fence is with us from Chicago in the wake of the Grant Park 220 even the name sounds cool it's after hours with Amy Lawrence here on CBS Sports Radio what type of logistics made this possible because we're talking about downtown Chicago Chris yeah it's not like they had a stadium with a street race set up inside of it now this was actually clearing out a major portion of downtown Chicago and it started several weeks ago that and any of the track didn't get finished until overnight on Friday night you know ahead of the first practice sessions for Xfinity on Saturday right but I think a lot of it has to do with the team that NASCAR had in place they brought Julie Giese over from being the Phoenix Raceway president and she her job was to oversee the Chicago um event and she did a great job uh logistically I thought the course was very entertaining it had fast parts it had slow parts and it had twists and turns um it was not an easy event to put on but I think that they were smart and they were methodical about how they could make this race uh so great right now and not only I know a lot of this got hindered because of the weather but they had so many concerts lined up right uh for the race weekend so it wasn't just about coming to the streets of Chicago to watch cars on the racetrack it was coming to see some of the best music artists in the country right now uh playing during an event weekend and it was an opportunity for you know just everyday people and or fans new fans and old fans and current fans just to embrace a contagious atmosphere um and I think the logistics you know they were difficult but they worked and and they've already started to disassemble the track tonight to get back to the business already you know earlier this week with it being the 4th of July week right but I think it proved that they can you know just like they've done with the the Coliseum at the LA Coliseum that they can build a race course in a relatively short period of time and then put on a phenomenal show and then take it down just as quick. And the 75th anniversary of NASCAR what a cool way to be able to celebrate uh with the Chicago backdrop and this announcement was made what over a year ago so the logistics the planning they were massive as you point out Chris what have you heard about moving forward and doing this again whether it's in Chicago or somewhere else? Do you I would be very shocked Amy if we do not go back I if not you know I know that there was talk about that the opportunity was there for NASCAR if it was a successful weekend and by all accounts even despite the rain and the cancellation of the concerts this was a successful weekend and put on a successful race for the NASCAR cup series and I would expect uh the cup series to be back at the streets of Chicago and uh for other cities to be calling NASCAR around the country saying hey we want you to come take a look at our downtown uh you know Detroit, New York um you know there's there's so many good Miami, streets of Miami, Vegas even you know if they're gonna put Formula One at Vegas why can't we go race the streets of Las Vegas with NASCAR you know so I just think that the the successfulness of this event just opens the door wide open and I'm excited to see what's in store for the sport not only in 2024 uh for but uh in the future. All right so Chris before I let you go what's the next big thing coming up in NASCAR? Um I think a lot of people are excited to go back to the Indianapolis road course um in August uh and then obviously Daytona is coming up at the end at the end of the summer to set the tone for the playoffs you know we don't you know as far as new tracks we don't we don't really have any other new tracks on the circuit other than uh just getting ready for the playoffs but I tell you what Amy we've had a lot of interest from other drivers of other disciplines throughout the throughout the country and throughout the world and it would not surprise me if we see it's because of what Shane pulled off on Sunday afternoon if we don't start seeing some other drivers come knocking on our door wanting to be a part of of this great sport. So SVG is what he's called but Shane Von Giesbergen it just sounds like a NASCAR name. I know right if he's a great guy you know he really is a great guy he's very tall one of the tallest drivers that we've ever had in NASCAR but when Chase Elliott goes out and said man that guy is fast you know you you realize that what he did wasn't just a fluke he's a talented race car driver. Hmm well and as you point out because of his global appeal and because this was so cool this event was so cool there will be other drivers who are attracted to it similar to the way that the brickyard attracts drivers of various disciplines and Daytona does as well because those are iconic events and this one history in NASCAR's 75th year so you want to find Chris Knight on twitter at nighter k-n-i-g-h-t-e-r-0-1 he covers NASCAR follows them all over the country for catch fans that we're glad to have him back on the show again I love how excited you are about it glad you got a chance to experience it Chris thank you so much.

All right thanks Amy takes care and thank you for having me on and hope to talk to you soon. It's the perfect weekend to host it as well as much as local Chicago ones may not have wanted to give up their Grant Park streets and Grant Park in general. Chris is someone that we had not had on the show since 2020 but I remember even then his enthusiasm for the sport and his passion for covering it so good intel and if they start to move it around think about some of the some of the cities some of the metros where you have well-known stretches of road or sections of the city he mentioned a few which could be set apart which could be designed and twisted into a road course. I'd love it absolutely. On twitter a law radio thanks for hanging out with us on part of your holiday weekend we're here for the duration straight ahead baseball is also here for the duration of the holiday counting the days until the all-star breaks we've got the pitchers as well as fireworks of course coming from a duo that certainly is always capable of producing them and the Atlanta Braves are about to overtake the Rays for best record in baseball could that happen by the fourth it's after hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio.

You are listening to the after hours introducing L2R Smarter Safer Faster.com your solution to combat the negative effects of sitting at a desk sitting at a desk eight hours a day is as harmful as smoking if you're stuck at a desk all day you don't need to quit your job you need to join our desk to 5k program no running experience is required as a doctor of physical therapy I'll be honored to guide you every step of the way to reach your running and fitness goals let's conquer running together and make it enjoyable visit L2R SmarterSaferFaster.com and start moving today. The next delivery now swings to Devon and drags the ball deep out into left center field that one's carrying and it is trout of here he jumped all over that pitch there from gallon here's the next pitch Shohei hits one a mile deep out there it's a right field boy that went right through the catwalk there that the fans enter and exit down the right side they're running down there to try and retrieve that baseball that's another big time blast and here on this sunday once again it's showtime this is after hours with Amy Lawrence well to be fair it wasn't just Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout who go deep for the Angels on Sunday also Mickey Moniac had a three-run shot in the second and the Angels get by the Arizona Diamond backs even though Zach Gallin now an all-star had a dozen strikeouts 30th time in their six years together that Ohtani and Trout go deep in the same game eighth already this year and maybe you thought those home runs were wasted a lot of the time because the Angels just can't sustain winning for the most part have been unable to sustain winning for the most part but actually they're seven and one this season when both go deep and 21 and nine overall those are your Angels nerd alerts it's after hours with Amy Lawrence here on CBS Sports Radio and the Angels kind of hit the skids a little bit uh still definitely in the mix but had lost six of their last ten fallen back behind the Astros now into third place with the Rangers still on top of the AL West and the Angels are now just a few games above 500. So they're treading water a little bit you can't say it's Shohei Ohtani though because he now is up to 31 home runs most in major league baseball and 68 RBI we're not even to the all-star break yet. What he's done and what he's meant to this team um you know obviously it's immeasurable he's uh he's been big for us and he's been he's been big for us and the best part is that these guys are having fun doing it and you know he's playful with his teammates and he's really having a good time out here. I do love to see him smile I love to see the joyfulness and the camaraderie with him and his Angels teammates I would love for him to stay in Los Angeles with the Angels not with the Dodgers it seems like so often that there's a handful of teams in baseball that collect the talent the top superstars and I think it's great that the Angels have too but yes they do need to make the playoffs for the first time since 2014. Now while we're talking about the NL West some question about Clayton Kershaw even as he is named to his 10th all-star roster so the pitchers were announced on Sunday and Clayton Kershaw who started last year in LA this year's game is in Seattle you've got his 10th appearance and I hope he's healthy for it because he really has been the really has been the mainstay of the Dodgers roster for the last decade but this year as they've had so many injuries to the starting rotation Julio Arias came back on was it Friday or Saturday and got shelled so they really need him now he took himself out of his last start remember there wasn't a particular body part at least not that Clayton told us he said it was more than he just didn't feel right Dave Roberts felt like it was about them asking him for so many innings it was really more about the fact that they've been riding him so hard will he make his start on Monday against the Pirates I will say that there was progress what that means you know for us for the start tomorrow I just don't want to say right now you know there's some things that we have to think through if he if he starts if we give him extra a couple extra days to kind of kick the can so right now for me watching him throw the baseball he hasn't thrown a pen didn't throw a pen uh didn't spin spin the baseball but there was progress he felt better um so that's encouraging that's Dave Roberts before the Dodgers game on Sunday so Kershaw with his 10th All-Star appearance only Mike Trout has more on this roster with 11 and I love this element or this stat from the All-Star rosters 42 first or second time selections 26 of them 26 players will be in the All-Star game for the first time ever that is great for baseball an infusion of young talent exciting talent not just the ability to hit but also run and the more you can incorporate young stars fresh faces like Julio Rodriguez from last year right and how much fun he was the more you can incorporate the young talent from around the country the more you can attract young fans and expand the fan base and it is taking place in Seattle not sure if you saw sunny night baseball but Pete Alonso announces that he will compete in another home run derby which is also cool bombs away baby bombs away it's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio by the way of the highest payroll in baseball history only Pete Alonso will be in Seattle he's the only All-Star from the Mets the Braves in that same NL East division as the Mets have eight guys going to Seattle the most of any team in more than a decade decade the most of any national league team since 2008 and why well because right now the Braves seemingly cannot lose now Contra delivers swing and a drive to right field that's got a chance to get out of here Soler at the wall it's gone home run Ozzie Braves lead four to two huge run down there for Iglesias and the Braves when he comes on the night and Travis hits one well to right Soler back to the wall here comes the insurance you wanted a two-run homer by Darno and the Braves and the lead here in the eighth on the long ball by Travis Darno it's not just about the hitting it's not just about the home runs though there were more home runs against the Marlins their top competitor if you can call them that in the NL East the Braves now have eight consecutive wins with three homers but Spencer Strider another quality start into the seventh inning he picks up his tenth win to go along with nine strikeouts and we knew the Braves were the best team in the national league right so they've been setting the pace in the NL for a while now but did you know they're also thanks to this June June early July surge on the heels of the Rays as best record in baseball overall yes early early in the season um but uh they're all big games so um you know we kind of show up every day and try to just kind of be as level-headed as we can and um you know we kind of think of the first half as practice for the second half in a way so um we like where we are and we're doing a good job of treating each day as its own sort of task and um as you hear on Braves radio is Ozzie Alby's with a two-run blast in the fifth that gave Atlanta the lead over the previously hot Marlins stymied the Marlins for the Braves eight straight but also 16 of their last 17 and everybody's pitching in it feels really good you know more importantly to the win the series is more important to me than the eight in a row the integral is cool but the nine series in a row is what it's all about since day one day they've been aggressive you know again us again our pitchers you know but we know we just gotta keep positive you know get to Miami tonight you know try to not think about it you know and try to to win the next couple win that we have before the break if you look at the standings now and the Rays have backpedaled a little bit the Orioles are within five and a half games Orioles are also falling back so the pace the early pace tough to maintain the Rays are sitting at 57 wins and 30 losses so they're already 87 games that's well past the midway point of the season the Rangers oh sorry not the Rangers the well the Rangers are at 50 wins in case you're keeping score at home the Braves are now at 56 wins so there are three ahead in the loss column and only one came back in the win column now if you're going by win percentage the Braves actually have the better record but I was looking at wins the Rays have had the most wins in baseball for almost the entire regular season to this point the Braves are nipping at their heels now 16 of 17 8 in a row and we have seen this before from Atlanta speaking of young superstars and a great collection of talent all right on Twitter a law radio our Facebook page too after hours with Amy Lawrence love to hear from you where you're listening and what you're up to this holiday weekend we'll be here of course but there will be fun fetti and cupcakes and the latest video version of ask Amy anything what could be posted any second now straight ahead of the game straight ahead it's become not just an annual holiday celebration for one manager in major league baseball but really it's uh become a very common occurrence almost weekly if you will you are listening to the after hours podcast so carve out a terrific major league career as a you know number three starter and someone just got tossed from the Yankee dugout Dan Burzell presumably tossing Aaron Boone for arguing balls and strikes on the LeMay who at bat well is it him or somebody somebody else yelling let's see how angry he is he looks pretty heated and it's only begun Susan oh yeah it's intensive well we're seeing who so he wouldn't be talking like that well out and out comes Lance Barksdale this is after hours with Amy Lawrence interesting because I swear I shortened that and edited that cut but we got a little Susan Walman on the end uh just cut her right off it's after hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS sports radio Aaron Boone is made a living of it being tossed out of games this time it was the third inning as he's arguing balls and strikes fifth time this season and you know what he just thinks it's overkill you got to have a little bit of room to let us say something we said one thing hand up not out and and that's just that's that's wrong in my opinion especially coming from a what I think's got a chance to be a really good young umpire you know that's it's ridiculous I thought we had some at bats and you know I mean obviously I get tossed there and I feel like DJ works a walk there um and you know it's a big big big point in that game first and second one out all of a sudden now in a pitch in an inning where he's throwing a lot of pitches maybe it turns a little bit different the he that he's referring to is former Yankee Jordan Montgomery remember when Jordan got traded from the Yankees to the Cardinals well this is the second time that he's beaten the Yankees since that move was made it's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio Aaron Boone Yankees Radio Network with Justin Shackle and Susan Waldman and that was the highlight for the Yankees for the Cardinals who are desperately seeking wins not making a whole lot of noise they're way below 500 and at the bottom of the NL Central they will take the win the Yankees are a team that you look at them compared to the Rays have not been able to make up any ground even though every team in the AL East is above 500 and is part of the wild card the problem is there's so much competition in your own division they were the team last year that every other team was trying to track down remember they started out like a house on fire and then came back to the pack but did manage to hold off the east and win the American League or win that division we'll see if they can put things together once Aaron Judge returns but right now it's about treading water Judge is around he's in the dugout smiles a lot he roots for his teammates but will he be part of the all-star festivities in Seattle there's still a ways away so we really haven't got to that point yet so we'll see how we continue to progress and then we'll get to that point in other words I got nothing I got nothing for you Garrett Cole loses on Sunday to his former teammate but he is also named an all-star and really he didn't pitch poorly he gave up let's see two runs on six hits he went through six which seems to be the standard these days but there really was no offense to speak of for the Yankee so he is at eight and two and he is definitely heading to the Pacific Northwest congratulations from your teammates and you know like I said a lot of them deserve a lot of credit for you know us playing as well as we have so it's yeah I mean it's special I mean I got to prepare for next week's start at the same time but um it's a good feeling it is always cool to see those videos where the managers in the clubhouses let guys know that they are all stars if you haven't seen them they're all over social media this weekend now the starters were unveiled on Thursday we had the starters on Thursday night before the show but now we were hearing about pitchers and also getting the reserves and the rosters being filled out and especially when you have so many first-timers it's really cool to be able to see their reactions inside the clubhouses and to hear them and to know that it's such a special moment for them an unforgettable moment for them really represents a dream come true speaking of dreams coming true Ricky Fowler finally after four plus years ends his drought on the PGA Tour and in a playoff is able to hold off Adam Hadwin, Kala Morikawa and capture another PGA Tour win his sixth but again hasn't happened since Super Bowl Sunday of 2019 that's pre-pandemic it's just nice to have this one out of the way I'm obviously gonna soak this one in and and celebrate a bit yeah it's just been a long road and yeah I'll get emotional at some point whether it's I already did up there to in here or when we're heading home or over this next week we're just going to be home for a couple days we're actually heading over to London with JT and Jordan and our our wives so yeah we should have fun when he says JT is referring to Justin Thomas and also Jordan Spieth those three are like the three musketeers they hang out a lot together they travel together they play together they play golf together and now finally he can feel as though he's got this huge weight lifted off his shoulders that won't actually bring down the plane I'm not sure if you saw his I guess his emotion his display at the end of the Rocket Mortgage Classic in this first playoff hole it was maybe understated except it made so much sense it made so much sense for Ricky he just tilted his head back and let out what was a humongous exhale as in I can finally stop holding my breath the relief the relief and the release doesn't crumble this time remember the last two tournaments he's had opportunities the US Open the travelers he was in position and just could not close it out on the final day so maybe just maybe those experiences of the last month put him in position to capitalize on this win and this opportunity in Detroit any situation prior helps but the more recent the better you know I've been in contention you know plenty of times and I've won and I've also not played well or been close and not been able to convert but definitely over the last couple weeks you know with with LA and then last week I I felt you know better and played better just didn't score but it was ultimately you know too far back and Keegan played very well throughout the whole week so yeah the last two weekends definitely helped going into today he still wants to win a major of course he still covets a major championship then you can imagine he would say his career is complete right not that he will ever stop trying but that's the one resume item that's the one line on his resume that he does not have and he's come close he's come so close a bunch of runner-ups so many top five finishes but at least he's able to check this off the list a win after 96 starts and now maybe a little bit of a springboard for moving forward to the british open this is definitely one of the the main goals this year was was to win you know outside of that was obviously you know playing well and and doing what I've been doing you know to plan to make it to the to the tour championship and kind of the one of the end goals was to to be a part of the the Ryder Cup team and that's still what we're focusing on right now not sure if you watched any of this rocket mortgage classic in Detroit but for some reason Detroit's a hotbed of Ricky Fowler fans there was Oklahoma State Orange everywhere because he went to OSU and there were chants of Ricky Ricky which is fun and I've told you I think he's a sentimental favorite because of the fact that he's been always a bride's been never a bride in the major so he will continue to be a sentimental favorite but also one that people really love to cheer for as for Colin Morikawa he comes up just short in that playoff playoff suck when you're on the wrong side of them what put everything you want into it and comes down to one hole but that's what golf is you know you got to perform you got to execute the shots and we did a lot of that really good this week it was awesome to see having seen that through 72 holes in a while and I still wouldn't have changed anything about hole 18 and regulation and the playoff I truly thought I hit the perfect shot and I just was a little juice went a little far and just didn't really have a you know the putter in the hand not that the chip wasn't possible but it would have been nice to have a to have the putter in the hand so overall you know still pretty proud of myself yeah you should be a minus eight on Saturday night and you're should be a minus eight on Sunday near record final round for him is what got him into the playoff but Ricky Fowler he needed one boy did he desperately need one he got married and had his first child since his last to win it's after hours with Amy Lawrence CBS Sports Radio introducing l2r smarter safer faster.com your solution to combat the negative effects of sitting at a desk sitting at a desk eight hours a day is as harmful as smoking if you're stuck at a desk all day you don't need to quit your job you need to join our desk to 5k program no running experience is required as a doctor of physical therapy I'll be honored to guide you every step of the way to reach your running and fitness goals let's conquer running together and make it enjoyable visit l2r smarter safer faster.com and start moving today.