After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 3

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Hyundai. There's joy in every journey. Listen as Selenia tells us why she chose to vaccinate her daughter.

I definitely felt like the pros far outweighed the cons. The diseases that I am protecting my child against, they're still here. And at the end of the day, it's my job as a mother to keep my child safe.

Talk to your child's doctor and learn more at WhyVaccines.com. Brought to you by Merck. Halfway through my return to my own time slot. Gosh, you guys get so freaked out. I host on a Friday afternoon, which means, of course, I don't host this show on a Thursday into a Friday morning because I may be crazy, but I'm not that nuts where I'm going to do a show until 6 a.m. Eastern time and then turn around and get back in the building to do a show six hours later. No, no way. I'm way too old for that. I'm a veteran. I don't do two days anymore. Anyway, I tell you on social that I'm hosting. I'm going upside down and I'm hosting on Friday and instantly you all, some of you, not all of you, assume that I'm changing time slots.

Do you really think that's how I do it? After 12 years of hosting on this same show, After Hours with Amy Lawrence, do you really think I would just drop a post on social media, never tell you I was changing time slots and then move to a different day part and that would be it? Come on. I thought you guys knew me.

Please. First of all, that's not me. I am the kind of person that would have to let you know what was coming and why. I would explain myself if I decided to change time slots and if I made that decision, I would include you in that decision.

But also social media doesn't reach the numbers of people who listen far exceed the people who find us on social. So to just put a post on social and never mention it on the actual radio show would be, it wouldn't even be good business. So no, just because I host an afternoon show on a Friday at the request of the company does not mean that I'm changing time slots or I've been fired or they're retooling the entire network lineup. Now, all it meant is that they asked me to host a show on a Friday afternoon and I did. Anyway, you guys cracked me up. Every time I miss a show, it must mean that the sky is falling.

Nope. Just a quirk in the schedule. And now we've got a new name. So it's a rebranding, if you will, after hours with Amy Lawrence on Infinity Sports Network. Definitely is a change that I will have to get used to. I'm sure you all will get used to it before I will get used to it because after nearly 12 years of saying the same thing over and over again, it's an old habit that will die hard. It was the same thing when I left my previous network and came to this one. It took me a good year and a half. I remember a year in, I accidentally dropped the letters of my previous network and couldn't believe it.

It snuck up on me after a year. So it's going to happen. I'm sure it's going to happen. I bet you'll hear other hosts on the network do the same thing. But I do have a sign in front of me that may be cheating. I have one of my 5x7 cards that I typically reserve from my NFL notes. It's right in front of me.

In fact, maybe I'll take a photo and put it up so you know that I have to have a sign to remind myself. Otherwise, I'm going to do what comes naturally and what I've been doing for how many thousands of shows. So please know that nothing else is changing. It's just a rebranding. I'm sure it has to do with business or money or HR or PR or I don't know something else along those lines. But the decision was made far above my head. I don't know the reasons why.

Honestly, I don't care. It's just a name. I changed my name in the last month.

So it's just a name. Our phone number is the same 855-212-4227 and you can find me on Twitter again at ALawRadio. Nothing's changed there. Now our network Twitter, excuse me, our show Twitter and our network Twitter had to change because we were using the previous three letters that we're not allowed to use anymore. And so I did have to find a new way to do our show Twitter and I tried just plain old after hours. It didn't work. It was already taken by someone else and so we had to add the Amy at the front.

So it's at Amy after hours. It also sounds awkward. I'm sorry. That's just the way that it is. You'll get used to that as well. Facebook page remains the same though. We're still having to change the header photo and the profile photo.

It looks awful right now. I know that no need to tell us. We're going to figure it out. But this is all happening in the last couple of days plus teaching a class at Syracuse plus being on the road in western New York. Plus Jay and I not working together for a couple of nights.

So we'll get to it when we get to it. You get what you get and you don't get upset right because the radio show is still the same. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence on Infinity Sports Network and we are getting set to tip off the play-in tournament of the actual NBA draft. It's a little bit like the Dayton wrinkle for college basketball, but there's major star power for the Western Conference.

Crowd standing here at Golden One Center. The defensive chance loud. And there's the steal. It's Sabonis. Breakaway.

Domos with a two-hand rip. Kings lead 131-129. 7.7 seconds to go. Popovic out in the center of the floor.

He's got smoke coming out of his nostrils like a Chicago bull. To Chris Paul. Back to the basket with Henderson on his hip. Off the step. Catch and shoot. Right wing. Three!

Yes sir! 90-86. He swishes it. And it's Stephen Curry coming to life in the fourth. He's got 22.

Chris Paul gets the screen from Pajemski. Left wing. Pull up. Triple. Buh-buh-nights! This one's over.

190. It's a left wing three for Chris Paul. So you hear the calls on both the Kings and the Warriors radio networks. And would you believe we get a rematch of sorts of last year's Game 7 in the first round, only this time there's no series. It's just one game. And because the Warriors are the 10 seed, if they lose, they're out. And so here are these Golden State Warriors who dominated the league for the better part of eight years, including their last championship in 2022. And the last couple years now, they're in this play-in tournament. And they were able to, well I guess last year they went into that series with the Sacramento Kings. And they were able to, despite the fact that they could not win on the road, they were able to beat the Sacramento Kings in a Game 7. And they did it in Sacramento. Now remember, both these teams are in the Bay Area.

And so they're familiar with one another. I'm not sure we could call it a rivalry. They both went through stretches where they were god-awful for years.

But they both had their kind of blips. And so Golden State is, as I say, or as I said last year, where Sacramento wants to be. Golden State is what Sacramento wants to be. And so the Kings and the Warriors may be a renewed rivalry.

If nothing else, we got that Game 7 last year that was pretty devastating for Kings fans. But they've learned. They've gotten better. They're a different team. Unfortunately, they fell back into the play-in tournament.

And so that's a predicament they'll have to deal with. And the experience of the Golden State Warriors. It's kind of funny to hear the perspectives from both sides about this play-in tournament. And the fact that, for instance, Draymond Green, he wants nothing to do with this. Even though the Warriors have found themselves in this play-in tournament. Now, what is it? Not two of the last three. Is it three of the last four?

I'm going to have to look that up. Because they've been in this situation twice now where they've had to play through it. I hate the play-in. Just so you all know, I absolutely hate it. It's the best thing ever created. When you look at the play-in and what it's done for basketball, it's the best thing ever created.

I don't know who came up with it. I know Bron said they need to be fired. If they were fired when Bron said that, they need to get their job back. Because the play-in is insane. Since the NBA has added the play-in, it's taken the last month and a half of the season to a totally different level.

Totally different. And so, I hate the play-in. I especially hate being a 10-seed. But, as much as I hate it as a basketball player, as a basketball fan, this play-in is nuts.

And you've got to love it. So, I appreciate what he's saying. He hates it. And he hates being a 10-seed. But, honestly, if there were no play-in, they wouldn't be in the postseason.

And neither would the Lakers, who are sitting in that 9-seed. And so, yeah, there's a love-hate relationship with it. I don't love it. I think having more than half the teams in the NBA playoffs tends to water it down.

And I'm not a huge fan of the fact that it feels like a money grab to me. But Draymond Green is right on the Draymond Green show. He's right. Because they've added this wrinkle so that more teams are fighting for not just playoff spots. And in this case, we knew the 10 that were getting in in both the East and the West.

But the seeds and the matchups, they took every last game of the regular season to determine. And so, I understand why NBA fans maybe like it or the NBA loves it and it's not going away. But, honestly, it's also about them getting extra nationally televised playoff games on what will be Tuesday and Wednesday with the double-headers in both the West and the East. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence here on Infinity Sports Network.

It does not roll off the tongue. So, the Lakers are at the Pelicans. The Warriors are at the Kings. And you've got to wonder about the Kings' perspective. Not that they aren't a better team than they were a year ago, theoretically, right? They've got another year of experience under their belts. But also, they're running into a team that they lost to last year and as a team, again, it's a bit of a nemesis for them.

But Steph Curry feels the same way. Like, here we are. It's like déjà vu. Kind of ironic, just everything that was built up to that Game 7.

This is technically a Game 7-type environment in the same building. So, we've got to do it again. Now, I don't want to be hypocritical when I tell you, and I've told you for years, that I loved the one-and-done format for Major League Baseball with the wildcard games. I loved that.

I loved that they grabbed you right off the top. And you either, well, you got sucked in as a fan. You either had to win and you had to show up ready to go or you were done.

That was it. Many of you shouted at me, no way, no way, it should be a best of three, it should be a best of five. I just didn't want to lengthen the playoffs to the point where we had another full series. But that's where we are.

Kind of. I mean, recently, we've not seen many of them go to three games. But that's where we are. So, I do like the idea that you have a one-and-done right off the top in the NBA, so I guess I can get on board with that. I'm just not a huge fan of the fact, again, that it's so many teams. They've essentially expanded the playoffs because they want to have more games on national TV. This is when the networks make their money and this is when the NBA gets paid. It's playoff basketball.

That's where they make their money. So, again, I don't love it because it feels gimmicky to me, but I do believe that it establishes a sense of urgency. The problem is, and Jay and I both roll our eyes over the NBA playoffs, the problem is they start like a house on fire with these play-in games in the east and the west.

And then they turn from a sprint into a marathon. It becomes such a long, drawed-out process where you can often have two and three days in between games or sometimes in between series. To me, if you're going to have this excitement right off the top, well, make sure you give fans more of that instantly as opposed to then settling into this weird scheduling where they drag the playoffs out over the course of two months.

So I don't love that. That part, it feels like you have to invest so much to get the payoff of the NBA Finals. And I honestly do think the NBA loses a lot of people because of the way that they schedule these games and how long it is in between game two and three of a particular series.

And that's all really about what games and what matchups they want on national TV. But at least in this case, right away, we have star power with the Golden State Warriors and Steph Curry and, hey, can't believe that we're right back here in the same place. And I would say, too, guys like De'Aaron Fox and guys who have made a name for themselves with Sacramento, they're trying to turn Sacramento into a championship contender, and they've got some star power, too.

There are no surprises. You know, the main guys are out there. Obviously, we're missing, you know, a starter and a guy that we feel is the sixth man of the year. But, I mean, we're playing the same way, and they're doing what they do. So, like I said, we have to go out there. We have to focus on what we can control.

And that's how physical we can be. Obviously, however the game is being officiated, you adjust to that and you let the chips fall where they may. The Warriors are dead even against Western Conference opponents.

So 26 and 26. The Kings, they're familiar is what De'Aaron Fox is saying. He's averaged 26 and a half points and six assists per game. So he's going to be a guy that the Warriors defense has to key on, along with De'Montez Sabonis. Now, you may remember that last year he had a terrible playoff. I mean, they weren't around for very long, but through the seven games did not perform well.

So maybe there's some redemption waiting for him. But there's new guys on the Warriors as well. One of my students brought this up actually in class. So I was asking them to research a particular topic. And his research was centered around this play-in game between the Warriors and the Kings, because he's from Sacramento. He was actually one of the students that was here for a little while, Nico, and he's a sophomore.

And almost all of his topics or all of his assignments now have revolved in some element around Sacramento or the Bay Area. And so he was talking about the game. He was kind of giving me some of the storylines, the fact that it's a rematch, that you've got the Kings who are trying to take out Big Brother, blah, blah, blah. And I said to him, did you consider the fact that this could be, I don't know for sure, we don't know what happens after this, it could be the last playoff game that we ever see with Draymond Green, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. It very well could be the last time those three ever step on the court together in a playoff game or otherwise. If Klay Thompson, who is a free agent at the end of this season, if he decides to go somewhere else or if the Warriors don't offer him the money that he can get.

I've heard these rumors that the Orlando Magic are going to offer him beaucoup bucks, a max contract, because they're looking for a veteran, they're looking for some star power to go along with the group they have right now. Great for them to get into the playoffs, they're kind of playing with house money, but also, let's just say for the sake of argument, I'm not telling you this is the truth, but what if it's the last time we ever see Steph Curry in the playoffs? If the Warriors lose Klay Thompson, if they go through yet another iteration of different role players, now they've got some young guys that are under contract, so that's good, they've got some rookie guys that they really like. But what if we don't ever see Draymond Green and Steph Curry in the playoffs again, or at the very least Steph, because he's far more popular than Draymond, but what if this is the last time? And you have to consider that as he's getting older and people talk about the window that's closing and all that jazz, it's important I think for the NBA to kind of play that up, but also if you're talking about it on the radio, as I said to my student, make sure that you mention Steph Curry, make sure that you kind of throw that out there, because we don't know how many more times we'll see Steph on this stage, and I think that's critical. As for the defense against the Warriors, you heard De'Aaron Fox say we've got to be physical, and that's clearly what Mike Brown's focus will be.

The biggest thing in my opinion is we have to be physical with these guys. Call from Mom. Answer it.

Call silenced. Instacart knows nothing gets between you and the game. That's why they make ordering from your couch easy. Stock up today and get all your groceries for the week delivered in as fast as 30 minutes, without missing a minute of the game. You have 47 new voicemails. Download the app to get free delivery on your first three orders while supplies last.

Minimum $10 per order. Additional terms apply. Listen as Selenia tells us why she chose to vaccinate her daughter. I definitely felt like the pros far outweighed the cons, the diseases that I am protecting my child against. They're still here, and at the end of the day, it's my job as a mother to keep my child safe.

Talk to your child's doctor and learn more at WhyVaccines.com. Brought to you by Merck. You could spend the weekend doing the same old whatever, or you could conquer the weekend in the all-new Hyundai Santa Fe. Visit HyundaiUSA.com for more details.

Hyundai. There's joy in every journey. They're just so good, so talented offensively. They can put up 140 points in the blink of an eye. Steph can put up a 40 or 50 piece in the blink of an eye.

If we let them get comfortable, it can be a long night for us. They've been really inconsistent though, like really inconsistent. And while they've been better on the road this year, they're a little bit of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Now their last 10 games, the Warriors are red hot. And if you even stretch that out to their last 15 or the last 20, they're playing extremely well.

And the big reason is because of the defense. For the Kings, there's no Malik Monk. So you're talking about without him. And I'd heard that Steph might not play too, but I don't know how accurate that is. Jay, have you heard any confirmation of that? I have not heard that, no.

Okay, so I can imagine that he'll do everything possible. Same thing with Draymond Green. They're both dealing with injuries.

I hope that's not the case, because that would really stink. But what I'm hoping is that because we've heard from both of them, they both are planning to play, but they're both dealing with some injuries too. And so we'll see.

At this point, you get to be the walking wounded. It's so late in the season. The question has been posed about Anthony Davis and the other West play-in game. Whether or not he will be out there on the court.

He says absolutely 100%. He will be on the court. There's nothing that will keep him out of this game. And so it's the Lakers who are taking on the Pelicans while we're talking about the star power of the play-in, especially in the West. LeBron James, obviously, in season number 21. How many more times will we see him on the playoff stage against Zion Williamson and the upstart team in the Pelicans who are now just kind of understanding what they can be and who they are with Zion Williamson as their centerpiece. So he's averaging nearly 23 points and six rebounds.

He's also got five assists. I mean, I was talking about this last week. The excitement over Kaitlyn Clark and just the acceptance that she would be the overall number one pick and that the team that ended up with that top draft pick, in this case, the Fever, would be hitting the jackpot with her. Remember, that's how it was with Zion Williamson when he left Duke after one year. The NBA draft lottery was really kind of this huge, dramatic buildup because we all knew that whoever won the draft lottery, in this case, the Pelicans, they were going to select Zion Williamson number one. And he's had such a tough first few years because of the injuries and then that makes it harder for him to stay in shape.

And so it's been a battle for him both personally and professionally. But we're now getting the Zion that the Pelicans drafted. We're getting the Zion that we saw flashes of at Duke when he was a freshman. The Lakers are playing really well over the last few weeks. We've started to see what they can do, not just with LeBron and Anthony Davis, of course. And last year they ran out of gas because they only had those two. They did beat the Warriors in the semifinals last year, but then really couldn't sustain that to get back to the NBA Finals. But I think they're more well-rounded. They're healthier this year. And so you've got D'Angelo Russell, who has been playing really well and is a major complement.

Now, I don't think they're nearly as one-dimensional, or I should say two-dimensional, as they were a year ago. But ultimately, the Lakers will go as AD and LeBron go. And here is LeBron, again, gearing up for another playoff run as kind of the old man of the NBA. I've always known that when you play a playoff series, and I'm looking at this as like a two-game playoff series, if you win that first game, a team has multiple days to kind of sit on that feeling, you know, or sit with that taste in their mouth of defeat. So they're going to be, you know, extremely ready for us.

And we have to come in with the same, you know, since urgency. Yeah, it's interesting that here we are with these play-in games, and they end up with some of the biggest names in the entire NBA, right? Steph Curry and Draymond Green and LeBron James and Anthony Davis. I mean, we're talking about Hall of Famers among them, not to mention some of the younger players that at some point, well, they are superstars, their own right, or they're budding superstars, but at some point, they may be where LeBron and Steph and AD are now.

And they could be the old grizzled veterans because there certainly is the potential there. So, pretty exciting. I'm trying to think back.

Jake, can you help me? I can't remember. Did the Warriors have to do a play-in game last year? Or did they go right into the series with the Kings? Were they the sixth seed? No, they weren't the sixth seed. What were they last year? I want to say that they had to do the play-in last year, but I might be thinking of two years ago.

Let me confirm real quick. Yeah, because I know they were in a couple years ago, and they ended up falling short. Didn't they lose to San Antonio a couple years ago in the play-in? Did they play the Lakers before in the play-in? I feel like they did.

I feel like they did. I remember last year, they had the horrible road record. So, as good as they were at home, they never got to the upper in the standings because they were so bad on the road. Right, let's see.

Game one. Yeah, this is, I mean, they're all blending together. Since they won that championship in 2022, they obviously didn't go through the play-in then.

Because they were much higher seed. We'll have to look it up. If you can remember, this is how they all kind of blend together. I swear I'm trying to Google it.

I can't figure it out based on just looking at it. They were not last season. No, but the year before they won the title, didn't they?

Yes. Last season, it was the Lakers and the Timberwolves, and then the Thunder and the Pelicans. Oh, so maybe it was the year before coming out of, so they had the COVID year where they didn't make the bubble, and then the next year they were in the first iteration of the play-in tournament?

Yeah, that might be it. Okay, my goodness, the years that they go by so quickly. Alright, so their second time in the play-in tournament, so they've had a little bit of everything in the last few years. They missed the playoffs. They were in the play-in tournament back when it was first installed. Then they won the title the following year. Yeah, they won the sixth last year. Correctly right. Yeah, when Klay Thompson returns, and then they were the sixth seed last year.

Gosh, that actually did kind of pop in my brain. See, we're talking about a variety of different experiences for them, but here they are against the Kings again, which is kind of the main point. And then you've got Lakers and the upstart Pelicans, which will be a lot of fun. So those games take place on Tuesday night.

It's a doubleheader in the West, the wild, wild West. On Twitter, ALawRadio, that's not changing. On our Facebook page, also not changing. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on Infinity Sports Network.

You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. Here's the 1-1. Swung on. There it goes! Deep left, it is high. It is far.

It is gone! Number 62 to set the new American League record. Aaron Judge hits his 62nd. All the Yankees out of the dugout to greet him.

Just think of it. Three Yankee right fielders. The Babe hitting 60 and 27. The Jolly Roger hitting 61 and 61. And now Aaron Judge hits his 62nd home run, the most home runs any American Leaguer has hit in a single season. And the American League has been alive for 120 years. This is Judgment Day. Case closed.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. It is strange to me, but I'm not John Sterling. Long time, long time voice of the New York Yankees on radio. But at 85 years old, he's retiring.

Now! I have no idea why. We were speculating about it earlier.

He didn't say that there's anything wrong. He's done less and less of the extensive, exhaustive road trips over the past couple years. He's missed more games dealing with some health issues or just the fact that he's 85 and it's not as easy for him to take those long road trips.

But why now? John Sterling has announced he is retiring and he's done. After 36 years in the booth. 36 years as the voice of the New York Yankees. And he could have continued as long as he wanted.

The Yankees were not going to change. It was going to be his call about when he walked away. And today is the day. Although he last worked on Sunday, April 7th. And so that will officially be his final broadcast. He will be honored by the New York Yankees coming up on Saturday, which is cool.

They'll have a chance for the fans, the players, to shower him with all of their thankfulness, their adoration. He's an icon. He's a native New Yorker and what he's seen and what he has told us about. There are very few announcers that ever reach this rarefied territory.

It's after hours with Amy Lawrence on Infinity Sports Network and beyond. He makes this announcement and the Yankees kind of piggyback on top of it. And as he is, well maybe he's not seeing it. I don't know if he's on social media. But as social media is blowing up and people are reacting like crazy, well then he ends up doing an interview on the Yankees flagship, which is our New York affiliate.

And that's WFAN in New York. And they're asking him about his retirement and what he plans to do and whether or not it was a difficult decision. I thought his answer just kind of indicated that this is something he's clearly been going back and forth on for a long time. No, not really.

In fact, it wasn't hard at all. It's something I've wanted for a long time. I want to run my life. I live in Edgewater in a terrific place that I love dearly. And I know the life I want to lead.

I just lived it from October till the end of March. I guess I could just do the home games. But you know what's true, fellas?

I want to get up in the afternoon and have to go somewhere. In fact, I'd much rather listen to you guys and then listen to the game and watch. I can watch 800 games here.

With Evan and Tiki on our New York affiliate WFAN, which is also the Yankees flagship. You know, something that he said struck me because my mom is going back and forth with retiring. I mean, she's not John Sterling's age, but she's 10 years younger and she's going back and forth about retiring. She's a long time math teacher.

She was my math teacher when I was in high school. She has a gift even into her 70s. She communicates with teenagers far better than I do.

I don't really like teenagers much. Some of them are okay, but she doesn't take their crap. She gives it right back to them. They love her and she's able to a little bit like Andy Reid who still communicates effectively with athletes who are 50 years younger than he is 40 years younger than he is.

My mom is able to do that with teenagers. Not just that, but they they adore her. They respect her. They listen to her a lot of them and she's able to form these great mentor relationships with them. And so that's what keeps her going. But she says the same thing that John Sterling does. I don't want to have to wake up in the morning and get ready and get right out of the house. She's actually changed her schedule and the school has accommodated her so that she doesn't have a class first thing in the morning or even second period so that she doesn't have to get up early and get right to school and be there for a homeroom or something of the sorts. So I certainly understand what John, well I can't identify with it or relate to it even though I stink at mornings, but I understand because I feel like I've been hearing the same thing from my mom.

She would say to me, I would keep teaching if that's all there was and I'm sure if John Sterling could just do baseball or just watch baseball and talk about it on the radio, he would do that. But he can't. There's the travel. There's the prep.

There's the time at the ballpark. There are the other demands on his time. And so it's everything else that comes along with it that at 85 years old, it just sounds like he doesn't want to do it anymore as he tells Evan and Tiki about why now. I just don't want to do any more work.

I've worked for 64 years and in July I'll be 86. So let's face it, my time has come. Now Susan Waldman has been his partner now for two decades and I have not heard anything about her. She's also in that same space where the Yankees are not going to make a change.

It is her choice when she walks away. And she's been working with different partners over the past couple of seasons. Again, they've had to incorporate different voices because John has dealt with some health issues and has decided that he doesn't want to take the long West Coast road trips where they're gone for a couple of weeks. And so Susan has continued to do that and has worked alongside guys like Justin Shackle, also one of our colleagues, Emmanuel Babari. There's been other people who've had the chance, they've kind of rotated a few guys in there to just try out different voices and give guys a nod. Maybe thinking that at some point John Sterling would retire and they would have to have someone step in, but maybe not this abruptly either though, right? So Susan Waldman, what was her reaction and was she surprised?

No, actually I wasn't. I did know and it's been 20 years, but you got to Join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Price and coverage match limited by state law.

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Shopify.com slash odyssey podcast. Remember John and I have been friends since 1987 when I was doing updates on WFAN and he came in as a guest host and that's the time I first time I met John. He was doing a talk show standing up with his hand in his ear and I said this is a very interesting character but boy was he good. Very interesting character.

Agree with that. The one story that I have told before about John Sterling, you know I don't think I'll repeat it because I think now in 2024, I know it happened probably 20 years ago. Now in 2024 I think it would cast him in a light that people might misunderstand so I'm not going to tell the story again. Only to say that he was very personable, he was kind, he asked me questions, he introduced himself and he was very nice to me. And when he found out that I was a young budding broadcaster, he was even more generous with his time. So my interactions with John when I was covering the Red Sox going back again about 20 years ago, he was great.

And he took the time to speak to me when he didn't have to and he walked into a room and everybody knew he was there. He kind of had that command again 20 years ago but John Sterling is a Hall of Famer and 85 years old. I don't want to say it will be jarring to not hear him on the Yankees because there have been other guys who are filling in. But we're talking about 5420 regular season games, 211 playoff games, 36 years in the booth, 20 years with the same broadcast partner. He's been broadcasting for 64 years because of the Yankees. Sorry that was a total mistake.

Can we please take that out of the pocket? The Yankees. I think I was going to say Jay and then I said Yankees. The Yankees were not his first gig as Jay and I discovered earlier. But the fact that he set the record for 5060 consecutive games from 1989 to July of 2019 when he got sick. This was his dream and he gave it all the gusto and passion and flair and pomp and circumstance that he could. I could ask you all right now what is his signature call at the end of a Yankees win and many of you would be able to regurgitate it. The home run calls, the creativity with those whether you thought they were over the top or they weren't.

The fact is you knew it was John Sterling. And so he will be recognized pregame Saturday at Yankee Stadium. He'll visit the radio booth but he is effectively done and all I can say is he's been the gold standard in baseball for years in terms of his longevity and his commitment to the game. He loved it and I know that he's got plans and he's excited about being retired as he tells us but it won't be the same. I'm going to watch and listen to 162 Yankee games Mets games all the games on Turner and ESPN all the games on MLB. So he is still a baseball fan and he still wants baseball to be very much a part of his life but he doesn't want to work at it anymore and that I can understand.

I hope that I am privileged enough to work until I'm 85 and then I can walk maybe not that long and I can walk away whenever I choose. That's a luxury that doesn't happen to all of us in broadcasting but John Sterling earned it for a variety of reasons and in a variety of ways but mostly his commitment to the Yankees. On Twitter at ALawRadio our Facebook page is the same it's After Hours with Amy Lawrence here on Infinity Sports Network. You are listening to the After Hours Podcast.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. He is not a Hall of Famer yet but he is headed that direction. Connor McDavid star for the Oilers 100 assists this season and he hear that call with Jack Michaels on Oilers radio against the Sharks on Monday night. Only the fourth player in the history of the NHL to ever have triple digits in the assist category in one season and he had been dealing with a lower body injury because you know it's either upper body or lower body in the NHL. And he gets into this game against San Jose it's a home game which is cool with 99 assists over 74 games and he joins Wayne Gretzky Mario Lemieux and Bobby Orr the only other NHLers ever to get to 100 assists in a season which is really cool although as usual he's understated off the ice. It's just cool to see some of the names that have done it obviously those other guys are the best players to ever play in this game and just cool to be in the same breath as them in that regard it's pretty special. Yeah incredible just you look at the players have done in Hall of Famers beyond Hall of Famers the best of the best and now he's part of that list we thought he got it immediately on that first goal and I guess it was you know an indirect goal for him but obviously the organization all the players are extremely happy for him.

Here's a guy that works so hard puts team first all the time and just have another accomplishment to his resume we're very happy for him. Connor McDavid just needs that Stanley Cup right I'm sure that's what Oilers fans are saying let's get some more hardware let's get another major milestone and memory Chris Knoblock the head coach of the Oilers and the New York Rangers I don't know if this is a curse or if it's a blessing but they have now locked up breast record overall. Rangers hold on to the puck Snyder back in his own zone around for Miller it gets louder here at Madison Square Garden as the Rangers clinch the president's trophy with the best record during the National Hockey League regular season in two thousand twenty three twenty four. It's a good regular season you know you got to do well in this part of the process in order to get a chance to play for the cup and so we're able to do that and I think the guys are really excited to move forward looking forward to that and get going with the playoffs. Whenever you're playing for something for a trophy it's never something you take lightly I think it's kind of good for us to have that mentality of the extra sense of urgency going into the playoffs and now it's a quick turn of the page and get ready for the real stuff. The real stuff I like that that's kind of plays into what fans feel about the Stanley Cup playoffs let's get to the nitty gritty let's get to the real stuff congratulations to the Rangers they've been terrific at Madison Square Garden you hear the call there with Kenny Albert on Rangers radio but they were thirty eleven and oh at home and they really finished on a tear at MSG so the 30 home wins sets up a pretty sweet home ice advantage but winning the president's trophy as the best team and the best record in the NHL is not always a positive. It certainly does seem like there are some teams Washington Capitals who in the past have not capitalized Boston Bruins on winning the president's trophy and on being the best team and have not been able to carry that over into the postseason. But the Rangers have a little extra incentive because they were embarrassed by the New Jersey Devils in the opening round of the playoffs last spring so we'll see if they can find some redemption now and capitalize get back to the Stanley Cup playoff.

So yeah the postseason is on the horizon in both hockey as well as hoops hours away from the play in tournament in the West Wednesday in the east but all of that got quiet for the WNBA draft on Monday night what it's after hours with Amy Lawrence on Infinity Sports Network. Here's why April chose to vaccinate her child. I think actually meeting someone who was not vaccinated and now has a lifelong struggle with a childhood disease really cemented for me that it's super important that we as parents continue to vaccinate our children.

Talk to your pediatrician or visit why vaccines dot com brought to you by Merck. OK picture this it's Friday afternoon when a thought hits you I can spend another weekend doing the same old whatever or I can hop into my all new Hyundai Santa Fe and hit the road with available H track all wheel drive and three row seating. My whole family can head deep into the wild conquer the weekend in the all new Hyundai Santa Fe visit Hyundai USA dot com or call 5 6 2 3 1 4 4 6 0 3 for more details. Hyundai there's joy in every journey. Contact progressive dot com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust progressive progressive casualty insurance company and affiliates price and coverage match limited by state law.