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For trusted protection, Trust Pampers, the number one pediatrician recommended brand. A career high 25 points and 16 rebounds for Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese. In her 36 minutes of play in front of the home crowd on Sunday, a nationally televised game and other than College World Series, really the deck was cleared. Maybe you're watching golf, maybe you're watching actually the LPGA Women's Championship or the LPGA Championship, but if you weren't, you had plenty of time to be able to devote to Kaitlyn Clark and Angel Reese and the Sky and the Fever and a back and forth affair that was a lot of fun. Kaitlyn played all 40 minutes and she also had a double double with her 17 points and a franchise record 13 assists, six rebounds. These two rookies were crushing it and it turned into a one point win for the Sky.
So yeah, a lot of back and forth, but Angel Reese had the last laugh in this game with a dominant final quarter. I'm just hoping. I'm from Baltimore. This is what I do. Like I come out and perform. I do whatever it takes to win every single day. This is what I love.
I love this game. Well, part of the reason why the Sky won is because they were able to reel in the Fever after they built a second half lead of 15 points. A lot of talking back and forth, a lot of energy in the arena.
Of course we want to get the inside details on what has been a surge by the Fever until they ran into the Sky on Sunday. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence. You can find me online at ALawRadio or also on our Facebook page. Good to connect with you. I know a lot of you still reacting to our conversation with Jennifer Rizzotti about Kaitlyn Clark not being on the Olympic team, but that's kind of old news when they've got games to play.
And right now they're moving forward trying to climb up the standings in this first half of the WNBA season. We are pleased to welcome from Indiana Clutch Points beat reporter Matthew Byrne who went to the game in Chicago. Matthew, the crowd seemed to bring a lot of noise, a lot of electricity. It was a sold out affair and it was back and forth. So what was the atmosphere like in Chi-town?
Yeah, absolutely. I think there was a little bit of disappointment that it wasn't going to be in the United Center in Chicago, which could probably fit about double the fans. Regardless, atmosphere was great. It was an incredible game.
Back and forth, as you said, Angel Reese took over in the fourth. So it was great to see the home crowd be able to have that to cheer for. It was awesome. After the game, Fever Guard Kelsey Mitchell was saying that the WNBA took a big step and that women's basketball took a big step as well. I definitely agree. I read, and it was also on the broadcast, that the average ticket price to get into the arena was $358, which as far as the WNBA can tell is a record going back about 10 years.
What's your reaction to that? I think it's crazy and I think it speaks to wherever Kaitlyn Clark goes. I haven't been to all the road games I've been to, I'd say probably five, and every single time there's one section of the lower bowl in these stadiums.
Usually the corner closest to the tunnel where families, younger fans as well, will be wearing Kaitlyn Clark jerseys, they'll have all the memorabilia. It's why every single time I'm on Twitter and have a video that I title it as the autograph tour. That's really what it is. It's so fun. It's so fun to go to cover a game, get there two and a half hours before, two hours before, and fans are there as well. I think it's tremendous.
I would love to get your perspective on the way the team handles it. We know that Kaitlyn Clark is adept at this. She's been in the spotlight for two plus years now. She has a great demeanor when it comes to all the interviews.
She never seems to get impatient, annoyed, frustrated. She just kind of takes it all in stride. But the rest of the fever, her coach Kristi Sides, as well as the other players, this is relatively new, the white hot spotlight.
So how have you seen them navigate the change? Yeah, I mean I think that there's no jealousy when players are speaking to reporters just because of the spotlight. I think that they're all handling it well. Kaitlyn herself is being very media trained is definitely an example. But I also think that it's a good blend where if she's around her veteran teammates, maybe around her coach, it kind of makes her more comfortable. Maybe it takes the stress away from maybe her veteran teammates. Maybe she's dealing with most of the questions. So whenever there's a press conference, it's usually a pretty good balance of all those factors. We're excited to catch up with Indiana Fever beat reporter Matthew Byrne fresh off the game in Chicago covering it for Clutch Point.
It's after hours with Amy Lawrence. Alright, let's talk about that fourth quarter because the Fever had a 15 point lead. It looks like they're about to track down their fifth consecutive win.
And as you point out, Angel Reese has a phenomenal fourth. Where did the Fever leave points out there in the fourth quarter? Kaitlyn was saying after the game, the ball just got stuck.
And there wasn't as much flow. Kaitlyn only took two shots in the last seven minutes. And earlier in the game, she hit some deep threes, some big threes. Kelsey Mitchell hit three threes in the third quarter. You know, she wasn't shooting as much. So it's just the ball got stuck.
You saw it with a fewer number of shots. After the end of the third quarter, it really did seem like the door was kind of fully closing. Kind of seemed like there was that vibe in the arena as well.
Hats off to Chicago. I mean, Fever and the Sky were, I think, a half game back. So now the Sky had something to play for.
Home crowd as well. The Sky got to the free throw line a lot. The Fever struggled with points in the paint, defending the paint, allowing too many free throws.
And Angel Reese just took over. That was her fourth quarter solely. Her signature moment so far in her WNBA career. You mentioned the end of the game and not seeing a lot of shooting from Kaitlyn Clark.
What about those final 10 seconds? I was a little surprised that there wasn't a play drawn up for her. Yeah, the explanation I think that was given after the game is that Kaitlyn rebounded and was in transition with the Fever down by one point.
Because that 10 seconds to go, she opted to give it away, pass it away, and the Fever shot didn't go in. And then with seven seconds out of a timeout, they had a play. And from what Christy Sides, head coach, was saying after the game, that play was meant to go to Aliyah Boston. I asked her why, just because it seemed like the play was drawn up for Kaitlyn on the wing. And then she got double teamed and it seemed like it was the second option to have to give it up to Aliyah Boston. Who was open in the high post. And Aliyah had just hit a three to bring it back to a one point game.
Maybe that was sort of the logic there. She just hit a shot, she could do it again. Kaitlyn will draw so much attention that Aliyah can hit a shot. But she missed it. Not enough time for a catch and shoot for the Fever with 0.2 seconds left.
They tried, but not enough time. There are a lot of positives, obviously, over the last couple weeks. This wasn't a fifth consecutive win, but the Fever have been stringing some wins together. They're very competitive. What has Christy Sides said about their uptick and how they've been able to find a rhythm and a groove? Christy's been saying the pattern has been that four starters, including Kaitlyn, Aliyah, Kelsey, and Alyssa Smith.
They're all getting into double figures. They're all shooting more efficiently. They're just playing well together. Aliyah Boston has really turned a corner. She was in a little bit of a slump after being the Rookie of the Year.
Her connection grew with Kaitlyn. That was just a big thing to success. And all four did well again today. So there was a lot of growth with that four game win streak, but I think equally as much as this game will sting, it's going to be really important for them. They haven't had many heartbreaking losses. They've had to survive in this win streak.
No win. Three of the four wins haven't been conquerable single digits, and this is the first one that they let slip away. So I guess in an optimistic sense, maybe it'll kick an extra gear for them. Maybe it'll motivate them to do better because it was inexcusable. It was embarrassing.
But maybe it's not the end of the world. Growth through winning and also growth through losing as long as it doesn't become a bad pattern. That adversity definitely can make a locker room stronger. Matthew Byrne covers the fever. He's with us from Indiana after hours with Amy Lawrence. A franchise record 13 assists for Kaitlyn Clark. Man, it was really impressive to watch her pass.
And over and over now, we're seeing that connection with Aliyah Boston. Here's an interesting question that I thought of as I was watching the game, Matt. How much balance does Kristi Sides want between Kaitlyn shooting and Kaitlyn passing?
Yeah, I mean, I think that's definitely the biggest question to ask. Kristi after the game was saying that it was a little vague. She was saying that she's not going to say Clark shouldn't be aggressive. So I think as the season progresses, us reporters are going to learn a little bit more about that balance between them, the conversations that they're having. But I think as Kaitlyn has progressed in two games before this one, there was a few off-target passes in the second half. Maybe a few questionable shot selections. And I think that this game, the opposite was that her court vision was phenomenal, but there was just a little bit of a lack of shooting towards the end. So I think that these last two games are probably just the perfect case example of a rookie trying to learn the ropes, trying to smooth out performances, trying to stay consistent through all four quarters. So yeah, I think that's been how it's been going for the season. You know, Kaitlyn still has to, or at least there's room for growth for her to be more consistent throughout all four quarters. So I think that's probably the next learning curve. One thing's for sure, Boston and Clark have definitely developed that connection.
How have you seen it grow? I think just Aliyah being more confident in herself. I think that Kaitlyn doesn't necessarily need any more added confidence. And not like Aliyah needs a lot either, but Aliyah is just making plays that I don't think that she was able to make or consistently make in the beginning of the season.
We've seen her so many times cut to the basket, be completely left alone on an island. That is not something that I think that she was doing before. She's having a little bit more power, might in the paint. I asked Kaitlyn two games ago, kind of what I was saying to the last question, where it's such a good first half and there's a few off-target passes.
How do you go about smoothing out your performance? Kaitlyn admitted that maybe she rushed one pass to Aliyah Boston and she was trying to remember the other ones that she could have gotten better at. And Aliyah interrupted the press conference to say with all the reporters in the room and with Kaitlyn right there that it's okay, don't worry. Kaitlyn's a good enough passer. If she thinks she can get it to me, she'll do it.
And if I don't catch it, I don't catch it. We're good, we're fine. So I think that that was a really wholesome moment between them that definitely speaks to their connection. There's multiple factors. There's that wholesome moment and there's Aliyah playing with more confidence and there's Kaitlyn getting more games under her belt. Matthew, how much does the practice factor into this considering they had very little time for that with that mad blitz of games to start the season? Yeah, that was the biggest thing for that four-game win streak. That was just my main takeaway.
I sat down to write an article and just the endings. They're bonding, they're laughing, they're winning because of it. And they had no practice time in the beginning and that's so, so tough. Because the fever franchise that gets such a high pick but there's a reason why they're in this position is not qualifying for the playoffs since 2016. I mean, they have all these high picks but sometimes it can be hard.
Veteran sees a premium in this league. So yeah, they got run through the gauntlet. They finally started to get some practice time. They went to zubilation in the Indianapolis Zoo, I believe. And then they also went to the US Olympic swimming trials as well. There's a video of Kaitlyn feeling the temperature of the pool water.
So they were laughing and then after that, they won the next day, they won the next two days or whatever after zubilation in the swim trials. And it's just Aliyah, Kelsey and Kaitlyn all just so loose, so fun, just so happy. You mentioned the autograph tour, Matthew. What's it been like to cover home games with a completely different energy this season?
Oh, it's been awesome. The fever just recently tied the 2002 Mystics as, I'm trying to remember it perfectly, it's the first eight consecutive home games with 15,000 plus attendance. And most of these last games have been sellouts. So yeah, no, it's not just kind of a phenomenon where it's like, okay, fans are just going to come see Kaitlyn one time. There's so many people that are lining up to see her and the energy is great. Indiana is obviously known as a huge basketball state. So yeah, the energy has been incredible and there'll be times where Kaitlyn will play into it, she'll hit a three, she'll signal to the crowd, everybody will love it.
So yeah, it's definitely been very fun to be inside Game Ridge Fieldhouse. What's it like for you as a journalist and this phenomenon drops into the lap of the fever and you get the assignment of covering Kaitlyn Clark's rookie season? I think it's kind of funny, the parallels, not nearly as good at basketball, but we're both the same age, we're both 22.
We both were just seniors in college. I covered the Indiana women's basketball team, so I actually covered her in college for a few games. So I think it's kind of cool, I guess I'm in my rookie year covering a professional sports team as well. But no, it's crazy, just the draw that she has, especially on social media too. If there's something that she says that's particularly interesting, that can get picked up really quickly and just widespread. There's so many Kaitlyn Clark fans and it's crazy because as I was saying that we're both 22, sometimes I'll be interviewing her and she'll almost conduct herself like she's way older. Very media trained, very mature, very professional. And it's just kind of crazy to think about.
There not being an age gap yet, kind of feeling like there is one just because sometimes the weight of the world can be on our shoulders. And yet at times she handles it better than some of the media who are covering her, present company excluded Matthew. I did not mean you. Social media can kind of go off, go crazy, be buzzing so much and sometimes us reporters don't necessarily talk to her everyday. So something can blow up, be very popular and people can make side branches off that and form their own opinions. And it's like maybe sometimes Kaitlyn can't really have a chance to speak on it again until 36 hours later about it.
It's pretty crazy what's happening around her. But still pretty amazing to be part of this and will always be on your resume. So you can find Matthew on Twitter at MatthewByrne1 covering the fever for Clutch Points.
Having a chance to watch this train as it burrows down the track. Matthew, thank you so much for your time and your insight. Good to have you on the show. Yeah, thanks so much for having me. This was really fun, Amy. Thank you so much. His rookie season covering the fever and he gets the chance to cover one of the most popular, if not the most recognizable and talked about rookie in WNBA history. Kind of neat assignment for him.
He says he's familiar with Kaitlyn from his time covering IU women's basketball, but this is a completely different level and a completely different fishbowl. Alright, good to connect with you as we say goodbye to another weekend. First weekend of summer, put it in the rearview mirror, head into a Manic Monday.
On our social media, you can always respond to any of our posts, of course. They're open, they're available lately. Pictures from the fair on Saturday. I felt like a kid again. I'm not sure there's a whole lot that can make me feel like a kid as much as going to a state fair. It had been probably about ten years since I'd been to one.
This was a pretty small one. For those of you who've ever been to the Texas State Fair at the fairgrounds where the Cotton Bowl is located, that one is ginormous and it's, gosh, it takes you days to get through. I've spent a lot of time at the Big E in, let's see, what did you call it, West, I guess Central Massachusetts, maybe more Western Massachusetts, which was not that far from where I lived in Connecticut when I was working in my previous network. I went to the New Hampshire State Fair a ton when I was a kid. So this was something that we hadn't done, well, Bob and I had never done, but that I hadn't done in a long time and really enjoyed going with some friends and just laughing at it. We were on one ride that was called the Crazy Mouse, I believe. It was a mini roller coaster, but it was fairly dramatic. It was fun. And we got into our seat, so it was a car that's seated four and you weren't on either side. It was almost like you were in a semi-circle. And so the four of us were in and the guy who was running the ride and checking the seatbelts and the bars that came down, he said something about you crazy kids out here having a good time. I think he was calling us old because pretty much everyone else on the ride was either parents with kiddos or were teenagers and kids younger than that. So yes, we were out there channeling our inner children, if you will.
It was fun. So online at ALawRadio or our Facebook page, it's After Hours with Amy Lawrence. You are listening to the After Hours podcast.
You're listening to After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Well, make the most of our time together, aight? Pleasure to speak with you. I always have a great time. Huge fan. So glad to have a female voice on sports radio. I love you. I love listening to yourself. Girl makes the rules around here. You are absolutely right, Amy. I listen to you every morning on my way to work and I appreciate, as do millions of others, that you report like you do.
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Amy's taking your calls at 855-212-4CBS. I'm sorry, what was that? Voice God?
I wonder if anyone will notice the voice God's mistake multiple times. It's a thing. Old habits die hard. They definitely do.
I'm still saying Twitter. I refuse to go over to the one letter moniker so instead I'm branding it like a celebrity marriage and calling it Twix. They did have fried Twix by the way. Really? Yes, fried Oreos, fried Twix, fried Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, fried Twinkies, fried Snickers which my hubs was kind of disappointed that he didn't end up trying himself. But yes, all the fried things. Just fried things. That was the title of the booth.
It was amazing. So we every now and then will drop the three letters that we're not supposed to use anymore. But whatevs, that's just how it goes. We're into year number 12 if you can believe it. Now coming up next hour, we're going to get into some of the baseball trends because here we are a month out from NFL training camps. Just as a side note, here we are about to hit the boys of summer and the dog days of summer taking over. I know many parts of the country are locked in heat waves.
It's not exclusive to one region, one state, one city. Sadly, there have been a handful of deaths already because of the heat and the extreme humidity. So please check on the people that you care about.
Make sure they're okay. I know when my second mom or mother-in-law was without any AC over the course of five days, really any power, but any AC, it was extremely hot and humid in her home. And while Bob was there and I was there, we were able to take care of her. She doesn't like a fan and the windows were open, but not providing a lot of relief sometimes.
And this applies to my grandmother going back to when she was still here. She would keep the windows closed even though it was extremely hot inside. And sometimes older people, they remain chilly most of the time, may not realize how warm it is inside their place, and then they don't necessarily open windows for fresh air. And honestly, it can be very dangerous.
So please, please check on people that you love. Maybe they are unable to get themselves fans or change their air condition or whether they're in assisted living or some type of a nursing home. Just check on them because this heat can be really dangerous and they may not even realize that they're in danger or that they're having trouble. Gosh, the thick humidity, the 96% humidity, it can affect your breathing and you may not realize that you're dealing with the effects of the heat, the extreme heat. But we were exercising early on Saturday and yeah, the humidity was nearly 98% and it's at times can feel like a heavy weight on your lungs. And then if you haven't hydrated enough, you can get lightheaded.
You can feel cold even when it's hot. I got done running. I only did about 52 minutes. It was too extreme. I got done running and I kind of bent over just to do a little stretching and nearly pitched over forward and had a hard time walking after that because of the humidity.
And once I stopped, it really hit me pretty bad. You can have nausea, all that kind of stuff. But these are all signs of whether it be heat exhaustion or, you know, precursor to heat stroke and a lot of times they'll say, EMTs, doctors, medical community will say, if you wait until you're really feeling terrible, then it's generally too late to get the medical care. There can be a lot of other issues with the heat stroke and with the heat exhaustion. So please, please take care and check on people that you care about.
It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Not sure if you know this, but Copa America is going on. And Christian Pulisic, well, he's the new Captain America. Yes, the United States soccer team is already qualified for the World Cup because we are one of the host countries and that's great and all. But still, this is the time.
This is the time. I am all in on Team USA going deeper than it ever has into these Olympics, especially with the home field, the home pitch advantage, if you will. So we'll get to a little Copa and also College World Series as well as NHL Stanley Cup Final Game 7.
We've got championships coming up on Monday, which is really cool. Paul Skeens, he's crushing it still. Now, he didn't get the win on Wednesday, but he went deeper in an outing than he ever has. And I know a lot of people are tracking his rookie career with the Pirates.
I do really hope that he ends up staying there with the Pirates. And not sure if you saw it, but a lot of people. A sea of green and white turning out in Boston for the ticker tape parade on Friday. A little bit of NBA news in the wake of that because we're not that far away from free agency. It's usually around July 4th.
No joke. A week from Thursday is July 4th. That's how close we are. This is the final week of June, final full week of June, which is nuts. So yeah, as we head through this final week of June and into the dog days, we've got more baseball in our brains. Of course, we've got room for U.S. soccer.
I always do because I love U.S. soccer. And the end of the College World Series. Can we please get done with hoops and hockey? It's time for them to be over as well. And I saw this too.
I thought this was really cool. Not sure if you all still watch Jeopardy! in the wake of Alex Trebek. Of course, he had stepped away from Jeopardy! but also had passed away. They've actually created a new forever stamp.
The U.S. Postal Service has come up with a new forever stamp that honors Alex Trebek. And it's coming out, I think it's next month. Coming out next month because he would have been 84 years old.
So yeah, this is really neat. It's still bittersweet, I think, because he was such a pop culture icon. And he had hosted Jeopardy!
with that style and that flair that no one will ever be able to replicate. And although I haven't kept up with it, once my Grammy Helen passed away, I really didn't pay a lot of attention to it after that. But she watched Jeopardy! religiously every weeknight, even if they were reruns.
And not only did she love him and love his style, but he was so engaging in the little historical tidbits and the humor that he would wrap into the presentation. And it's kind of been a revolving door since then. I know they've narrowed it down. Fewer hosts. But it's not Alex Trebek.
It's not the same. Kind of wondering how it's going to be with Wheel of Fortune and Pat Sajak, who stepped away. And now it's Ryan Seacrest, who, goodness, is a jack of all trades. But with Jeopardy! it seems like the show has lost its identity a bit.
And it's just not the same. And there are some favorites like Ken Jennings and what, Producer J? He's really the only one who does it now. Okay, so they got rid of Mayim? They didn't do it anymore, no. Okay, and there was someone else in there that they had mixed in. Aaron Rodgers? No, it's been a while.
He's too busy chasing a VP nomination. There was a bunch of people that they were mixing as. We're glad to hear they've settled into Ken Jennings. But of course, Alex Trebek leaves such gigantic shoes. And so, yes, they are going through the Forever stamp and they're formatting it actually like it's a clue from Jeopardy!
And are you ready for it? It reads this. This naturalized U.S. citizen hosted the quiz show Jeopardy!
for 37 seasons. And then upside down at the bottom of the stamp reads, in true Jeopardy! format, J? What is? Who is? Who is Alex Trebek? Yes, who is Alex Trebek? So really cool.
And he was always so humble, just so gracious and classy in the way that he hosted the show. And so that's kind of neat. I'm sure there'll be a lot of people who want to collect those even if they don't put them. I may be the last holdout. I still send cards. I still send letters. I still send checks in the mail every now and then. I send a bunch of graduation cards to friends, kids with checks. And so, yeah, I'm still using stamps. Goodness, all of our wedding thank you notes were done in the first three months.
Woo! And they all were mailed by hand. So I still do a lot of cards because people enjoy getting them.
I enjoy receiving them, so I like to send them. But I don't know how many other people actually buy stamps. And honestly, the forever stamp is the way to go. Did you know they're about to raise stamps to almost a dollar? A dollar per stamp.
This is the U.S. Postal Service. They can't be counted on to get anything delivered on time. Seriously. Sometimes it can take over a week for a letter to get from one side of our country to the other.
Or just from here to my mom's house, which is halfway across the country. Forget packages. Yeah, forget.
Forget packages. Oh, they do. They do. They forget them. They lose them. They're gone.
They don't care. On Twix at ALOL Radio on our Facebook page too. Glad to hear with you. Glad to be here with you.
Glad to connect with you always. 8-5-5-2-1-2-4-2-2-7. Not the letters or anything because that was just a voice guide mistake. So yeah, Boston's ticker tape parade from Friday. There were some highlights. Actually hope to get Sean Grandy on the show this week because he took his son Jack on a duck boat with him and the photos were... We all belong outside. We're drawn to nature. Whether it's the recorded sounds of the ocean we doze off to or the succulents that adorn our homes. Nature makes all of our lives, well, better. Despite all this, we often go about our busy lives removed from it.
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Price and coverage match limited by state law. Terrific. I know he was really looking forward to that. So we'll do a little bit of the throwback and then also set the stage a little bit for NBA Free Agency. You are listening to the After Hours Podcast.
Best. Richards kick out for a Sam Houser three that rims out. But it's no longer what could be or what might be.
Now it just is. The 2024 Boston Celtics are one of the greatest teams in NBA history. They were told they had to win. There's only one thing you can do when expectations are that high. Meet them. And there's only one way to stop being haunted by the ghosts and the legends and the champions inside this building. Join them. Together they have it together.
They stand alone on top of the mountain for now. And once again, the Boston Celtics stand alone for all time. It is Banner 18. The mission demanded is mission accomplished. This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. The voice of Sean Grandy. Final call of the 2000, oops, 2024. I still do that sometimes. 2024.
I guess you could say it like that. 2024 NBA finals and a lot was made of the way Sean signed off on his broadcast. According to Sean, this was about a new generation of Celtics fans finally experiencing what they had not for 16 years. In fact, it happened on the 16th anniversary of the 2008 NBA title over the Lakers. That was Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Doc Rivers, of course.
And his son, Jack, had not been born then. And so I understand why the torch has been passed, so to speak, but why Jason Tatum and Jalen Brown needed their own championship to be part of the story of Celtics history. And now they've made it 18 for the franchise, which is the most ever. They were celebrating with a humongous duck boat parade on Friday.
And it's not only the closing of one chapter, which is the 23-24 season, but it's also the start of what could be a frenzied free agency. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence. I am attempting right now, I think it went through, Producer J, you can check on my Twix to see if the video of the Potbelly Pig races actually landed, whether or not it's posted. I hope that's the case.
And then once we get it posted to Twix, well then we'll try to get it onto our show Facebook page. This has got to be one of the funniest things I've ever seen with animals in my life. It was amazing. I love that the pigs do not care, except for the treats. That's pretty much what they care about. And they were just going to saunter.
They were not going to run on command. Anyway, you have to see it. It's awesome. It's about a minute and 45 seconds-ish, so I hope you don't mind me laughing in the background. I was laughing so hard. The people were cheering too.
We'll see if we can get it up on our Facebook page after hours with Amy Lawrence. Yes, there were moments where the enormous crowd in the Boston streets, a huge crowd for the Duck Boat Parade, could also hear from their favorite Celtics. And one of the, he's not just the NBA Finals MVP, but one of the big storylines of this year was Jaylen Brown taking command, being so much better on both ends of the court, essentially saying, this is not happening again. We are not going through this again. To get close and then fall short, it's not happening. So they were willing to go all in.
Whatever it took for us to win, that's what I was willing to do. But on the defensive side, I know that's what my team needed me to bring, so that's what I brought to the table. So understated and calm, and that's usually how he is in front of a microphone. He's very even keel, doesn't get too high or low. He'll make his point, but I wasn't expecting that.
Honestly, when I heard him, I thought there might be a little more energy or adrenaline just reacting to what was the huge crowd. But no, he was back to being even keel again. Hey, you've heard that Al Horford is not retiring, even at 38 years old. I can't remember exactly the number of playoff games.
I think it was 186 career playoff games until he finally won a title, second only to Karl Malone, who never won an NBA championship. But he's not done yet. He's going to be the Tom Brady of the Celtics, if you will.
And the question has been asked whether or not he's willing to maybe step back, take a lesser role. You know, Eudonis Haslam came to mind, though I still say that Al has more mileage on him. But remember how Eudonis Haslam with the Heat, he stuck around for a couple of seasons, even after he wasn't playing anymore. He was into his 40s. He was more about a player coach and a veteran in the locker room.
Al can still hoop, but what about taking a little less money and taking a step back to remain with the Celtics over this time and then potentially in the future moving forward? I just understood the opportunity that we had in front of us. I didn't look at it as a sacrifice per se. I know that word got brought up, but I feel like we have such a special group here. I understood what we were capable of and the talent that we have here. And ultimately, all I care about, as these guys know, is winning. I just wanted to win.
I wanted to be a part of it. And that's what it required. Yeah, but he was also a critical piece of this. Remember, he started once Kristaps Porzingis was injured.
And even when KP came back after five weeks, Horford was still the one in the starting lineup. His defense, his desire to do anything, it required to win. I will admit, I readily admit, I cringe at times when his three-point shot is so errant that it's not even in the same zip code as the rim.
And it makes me want to do a facepalm. However, he had a game in which he hit a bunch of threes. He's a rebounder.
He's a doggone defense. He's such a glue guy and such a leader that his presence matters. And so it's a key part of the championship.
And yes, Whit Grossbeck did tell our Boston affiliate WEEI last week that Al is not retiring. So Jason Tatum, then, he and Brian Scalabrini, who is hosting the ceremony, they were standing in front of the microphones and, of course, the question had to come up about partying in Miami. And you guys jumped on a flight to Miami right off the next day?
A couple hours after, actually. You guys been on a lot of trips to Miami, a lot of hard-fought trips to Miami. Was this one a little sweeter taking that trip down? They always easy. Well, I'm sure he means the flight and maybe the partying, the South Beach atmosphere. I don't think he's referring to the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals.
They always easy. Uh-huh. It's okay to talk smack about the Miami Heat now. Of course, remember, Miami could probably say the same thing about Game 7 in Boston in 2023. Oh, that was easy.
Staples button. Let's not re-run history. That's how I played the night. Yeah. Let's not re-write history about those Miami Heat. As an 8th seed, they got the better of the Celtics in the 2023 East Finals. Though, they did end up, I forgot, did they get swept by the Nuggets? They did, right? Swept?
No. They got one. Maybe the Heat captured one game. Maybe they captured one game.
One of my big concerns, and we can talk about it more as we head through these next couple of weeks. One of my big concerns about the free agency to be in front of us is that, uh-oh, Klay Thompson has scrubbed his social media and removed all references to the Golden State Warriors. According to the reports out there, he and the Warriors right now are having zero, as in a big fat goose egg consideration and a big fat goose egg when it comes to conversation about a new deal.
So they've essentially given him all the permission he wants to go ahead and seek other options. And you may remember that initially it was reported the Orlando Magic were really interested and were likely to pitch him a big time free agent deal and try to convince him that he should leave Golden State, leave Northern California, and head to Orlando. Except now, again, according to reports, there's no offer from the Magic either. And so if you think about some of the free agents, LeBron James, he's kind of a unique one, of course. He can decide if he wants to stick with the Lakers or go somewhere else. Paul George, he could actually end up declining the last year of his current deal and test the waters. You've also got James Harden and Klay Thompson, who are unrestricted free agents.
But yeah, what I've been hearing is that there right now isn't a market for Klay Thompson and that he may end up going back to the Warriors on a very reduced deal if there's no other option. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Download the TuneIn app to start listening. Start your summer road trip at Midas and get up to $30 off your next repair service. Plus, get a free Closer Look vehicle check to make sure you're road trip ready. So if you need a brake service and alignment check or tune up, hit up Midas for up to $30 off. For more details, request your appointment at Midas.com. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance.
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Whisper: medium.en / 2024-06-25 20:08:31 / 2024-06-25 20:27:00 / 18