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That's R-E-B-A-G.com and use promo code RebagNew for up to 15% off your first purchase as a member. Master outdoor cooking this summer with The Meat Eater Outdoor Cookbook, the inspiring and practical new guide from Steven Rinella, host of The Meat Eater podcast and television show. With over 100 recipes for meat, fish, poultry, and game birds, accompanied by lush photography and easy-to-follow tips, The Meat Eater Outdoor Cookbook is the ultimate guide to open-air cooking, whether you've hunted the ingredients yourself or forged them from the supermarket. Because food just tastes better when it's caught, cooked, and eaten outside.
The Meat Eater Outdoor Cookbook by Steven Rinella is available now. If they weren't going to pull me off the air for that, going back to, gosh, first year that we were here as a network, my first year. In fact, I've been here since day one, the only original host left. There are some who've gone away and come back.
There are a couple of anchors who've been here the whole time, but goodness, that should tell you about it. Not just my staying power, but also how old I am. So the first year that I was here as a host, our Dallas affiliate, 105.3, the fan, asked me to be part of Yo Roger Raps, and I got to pick the song, and I had to record it. And I have to tell you, it was so far out of my comfort zone. I had a cold the day that I did it. It actually worked out perfectly. But also, I did it dry.
No music. That is maybe my claim to fame. And so every time a fill-in producer is here, it seems that little clip resurfaces and is aired for all the world to hear. So yay me. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence, 855-212-4227. Hope you enjoyed it.
Yay me. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence, 855-212-4227. Hope that you enjoyed your weekend. I know it was grand. Just greatly needed to see my brother and his family for the first time since the wedding, actually.
Well, the day after the wedding. Hadn't seen them since we got married. And it was neat to be able to spend time with them in Virginia. We went into D.C. We celebrated my brother's milestone birthday.
And this is kind of funny, too. We were getting ready to leave on Sunday evening, but I was leery of the traffic. It can be pretty bad before the sun goes down. Just people returning to New Jersey, New York, the metro, which is where we live, returning to that area following either a vacation week or just a weekend away.
I've tangled with that traffic before around D.C. and then on up into the New York area, and I just wasn't interested. So I told my brother, hey, we came back from his birthday dinner, and I said, you want to watch a movie? We're going to stick around for a couple hours. And so my younger niece said, OK, well, I'll stay, too. So then we're trying to figure out what movie to watch. And my brother, it was his birthday. So we told him you get to pick whatever movie you want to watch.
Somehow, somehow I don't exactly remember how it happened. The information came out that my husband has never seen Pride and Prejudice. I mean, in my family, that's sacrilegious. I'm pretty sure that my nieces have seen it 100 times. If not, they are to Pride and Prejudice what their auntie is to Star Wars. And so they have seen it so many times they can quote the movie, not just that, but my brother and my sister in law also love it that much. So, yeah, there we were on Sunday evening.
Watching Pride and Prejudice for the first time. Well, I've seen it before, but my husband had not seen it. And so it was kind of fun. My brother and my niece were quoting lines from it.
That's how much they've seen it. But, yeah, we laughed. We enjoyed it a lot. It was the Keira Knightley version of Pride and Prejudice.
I know there are a lot of different versions. So that was my Sunday night. And then we got in the car and we made our trek home. So while you're watching sports, if you're watching sports, I don't know what you were doing on Sunday night, but we were watching Pride and Prejudice. So that was enjoyable.
And now it's back to work and this will be enjoyable too, but in a very different way. We talked about Paul Skeans being the starter for the National League in the All-Star Game. It's Corbin Burns, actually, of the Baltimore Orioles for the American League.
Excuse me. And so that's kind of fun. We'll get to a little more of the game from the new ballpark at Arlington, Globe Life Field. It's just about the hottest place on earth. Okay, not on earth, but just about the hottest place in the United States right now. But that's the beauty of having a stadium that can be fully enclosed and that has the A.C.
It's a heatwave over a good portion of the United States of America. So good for them that they can host that event. Maybe that was the reason why, but what are the reasons why they chose to build a new ballpark there in Arlington? Because they needed to have the climate control and wanted to be able to host events like the All-Star Game.
So we'll get back to some of the cool storylines. When I was telling Chris what audio to pursue, I was telling him I love the Chris Sale story, of course love the Paul Skeans story. But also really love the fact that the Orioles have got a good group of guys there.
Gunnar Henderson was part of the home run derby on Monday and he'll be batting second as a starter for the American League on Tuesday. But also the Orioles being able to catch the Yankees. I know they didn't play great going into the All-Star break, but being able to catch the Yankees and then giving their fans hope that there could be another 100 win season as we head into the second half. But it's actually not the Orioles who have the best winning percentage in the American League at the break.
No, that's the Cleveland Guardians and they'll have Stephen Kwon leading off. So some really good stories in the American League. Same thing in the National League where the Phillies far and away have the best record in Major League Baseball at the break. So we'll do a little more baseball as we head through the show.
Honestly, the best thing, well, I take that back. The best thing to come out of the home run derby was just watching the guys, seeing Ken Griffey Jr. and hearing from him, which I think we all really enjoy. He actually said that his favorite home run derby of all time that he participated in was the one in Pittsburgh because he was born not far from there and it was neat for him to be able to show off in front of his family and friends. He said I didn't want to hear what they would have to say if I did not rep the area well when the All-Star game was here. So that was kind of fun. Anyway, so seeing him, but the most notable moment sadly was that awful national anthem.
That's probably got more traffic on social than anything else does, which is saying something. Alright, so we'll come back to baseball as we head into our Tuesday morning and I definitely do want to talk about the SEC media days as well. Nick Saban, now an analyst for SEC Network and to hear from him I think helps with the transition. To know that he's there, he's kind of the godfather of SEC football at this point. I think that the entire league will miss him, his leadership, his voice, not to mention he's the gold standard. So I do think the conference will miss him even as Alabama finds its footing and is now collecting more and more of the blue chip recruits and some of the highest rated prospects out there. So Alabama is going to be just fine.
I really do believe that. But to have him there at SEC media days just kind of provides a calm for a conference that's going through a bunch of changes. Now expanded to 16 teams because of the additions of Texas and Oklahoma. So we'll hear from both the commissioner as well as Nick Saban. And also as we get set for the football season at the pro level, kind of a neat moment for one future Hall of Famer.
So I'll explain that coming up. But as we prepare for the Olympics in Paris, I gotta tell you, considering how many people enjoy traveling for NFL games across the pond. Remember NFL played in Germany for the first time this past season in 2023.
We know that the London games always get a ton of interest. Lots of people book travel packages to take vacation and to not just watch their teams internationally, but also to enjoy the local sites. These are the types of travel packages that are sold. Actually, there's companies out there that sell these packages. They put them together for sports fans who want to create an entire vacation and make a trip to see a game, to see their team overseas and think this is the best opportunity. So there are companies out there that put these travel packages together. As I was driving into work a few hours ago, I was listening to the news and I heard this on a Bloomberg Business Report.
This comes from Bloomberg, so it's legit. Olympics travel for the games in Paris. Paris is, I would say, one of the most renowned travel destinations in the world for obvious reasons. I've never been. I know people who've been.
They say it's amazing. I would like to go at some point. But yeah, everything from the architecture, the Eiffel Tower, the food, the culture. There's all kinds of reasons that people go to Paris. I was thinking that these Olympics would be attracting a ton of international sports fans or just people from all over the world who can combine a visit to Paris with a chance to see the Olympics, a global sporting event. But as it turns out, according to Bloomberg, Olympics travel will fall far short as in embarrassingly short of expectations for these particular summer games. And also summer is a big travel time, right? We're not talking about the winter games.
We're talking about summer games where kids are not in school and people tend to take time off. Paris or the Olympic Committee for Paris has indicated that it expects to see an influx of 11.3 million people for the games. So 11.3 million people showing up in Paris for these Olympics.
But get this. Also, according to the travel and tourism stats, only one and a half million of those people will be international sports fans. So coming from other continents, other parts of the world. That's crazy. 11.3 million people, only one and a half million of them will be international travelers. And then I heard this. Again, this is the Bloomberg Money Minute.
I'm sure you can find it out there if you really wanted to hear it, I should say. And if you wanted to know the name of the bureau and also the name of the travel company that shared these stats. But according to this one travel company that is packaging tickets and opportunities to sight see.
So this company that puts together experiences for sports fans who want to travel overseas to see their teams but also want to go sightseeing, so making a week out of it if you will. According to this company, they are 80% below what they expected based on previous Olympics. So they had a certain goal, a certain number of packages they expected to sell, a certain number of sports fans they expected to accommodate for the Olympics. And instead right now they're running 80% below expectations. And their projections were based on previous Olympics. 80%?
I am stunned by that. And I'm not even referring just to Americans, but think about how well Americans travel to the World Cup for instance. We'll get to soccer. Think about how well, again, Americans travel for the NFL in multiple countries around the world. We've got Brazil coming up this year. I'll bet you there are a bunch of American fans who are going to make that trip to Brazil.
It's a Friday night, it's week one, albeit a rehearsal dinner for a wedding. It's a huge deal for the NFL. But they also, NFL fans also travel to Mexico, they travel to London, they travel to Germany.
They're going to keep traveling wherever the NFL goes. Major League Baseball, the NBA, international events that also attract fans. Here are the Olympics, and I mentioned the World Cup. If you're looking for something that's kind of every four years, here are the Olympics in an iconic Western culture city, Paris, where we just saw the French Open not that long ago. People travel to Paris and center their trips around the French Open. Only a million and a half international travelers for the Paris Olympics.
And right now, according to one company that sells packages for sports fans to travel and follow their teams or favorite athletes, they're 80%, running 80% below what they expected. With, what is it, two weeks to go until the games are underway in full force, Olympics opening ceremony. I think it's on the 24th, but I'm not sure. I want to make sure. Nope, I lied. It is Friday, July 26th, so I was close.
Just over 10 days. And right now, it seems as though people are not interested in going to Paris for the Olympics. Maybe it's the expense.
I don't know. Maybe the Olympics don't hold the same shine for people anymore. I know they do for me. I really enjoy them. Now, would I build an entire vacation around them? Probably not.
I'll wait until they're here in the United States. But I'm not typical anyway. I'm not the type of person who travels as a fan for sports. When I do travel and take time away from work, I don't have anything to do with sports. I learned quite a while ago in my career, when you get time off, take the time off. So I just don't normally do, well, I may play sports or do outdoor activities on a trip, but I'm not usually going to follow a team or an athlete.
But I'm not the norm. 80% below what they've expected based on previous Olympics and so few international travelers to Paris for the Games. And so essentially what Bloomberg is saying is they're going to lose money. They're not going to make the money that they expected that they would when the Olympics were secured for Paris. I hope that's not the case.
I hope it changes as we get closer. But this is not COVID anymore. People are traveling all over the place for July 4th.
Americans set a record in terms of people flying and people driving for the July 4th long weekend. So we're moving, we're grooving. We're just not going to the Olympics apparently. USA Basketball features some of the NBA's best. They are going to the Olympics. In fact, they're already in Abu Dhabi to get ready and we're scrimmaging. What you call a scrimmage? We're running full court against Australia in an exhibition on Monday. Up next, by the way, Nikola Jokic and Serbia, who was in the stands, also the audience, in the stands doing a little advanced scouting for the game against Australia. So we'll talk about it a little coming up.
It's an exhibition so I'm not going to get all crazy about it. Speaking of the Olympics, Kaitlyn Clark asked the question again over the weekend because her Indiana fever, we're taking on the Minnesota Lynx and the head coach of the Lynx is the coach of the US women's basketball team. So those questions continue to surface and she continues to handle it with really impressive grace and class. Glad to have you with us. 855-212-4227. If you need to weigh in, you can also find me on Twix. At Amy After Hours is our show account and then our Facebook page too.
After Hours with Amy Lawrence here on the Infinity Sports Network. 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. But the outdoors is closer than we realize. With AllTrails, you can discover trails nearby and explore confidently with offline maps and on-trail navigation.
Download the free app today and make the most of your summer with AllTrails. In the market for investment-worthy bags, watches and fine jewelry? Rebag is the answer. Rebag is a luxury resale platform where each piece is carefully inspected by experts to ensure quality and authenticity. Use Rebag to buy and sell finds from the world's top brands, including Hermes, Chanel and Cartier. Head to Rebag.com to get up to 15% off your first purchase as a member with code REBAGNEW. Shop today at Rebag.com.
That's R-E-B-A-G.com and use promo code REBAGNEW for up to 15% off your first purchase as a member. Hi, I'm Angie Hicks, co-founder of Angie. When you use Angie for your home projects, you know all your jobs will be done well.
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Bill is listening in Houston. Hi, Amy. You mentioned on the show you were going to be on TV here. I kind of pictured you different when I hear you on the radio. It was good to see what you actually look like.
What did you think I looked like? Small brunette, but I guess you played basketball and I should have figured that you were larger than a, you know, a little petite person, but... Larger?
That's not something I've been called. Well, taller. Taller.
I meant taller. And blonde, too, or silver hair, whatever it was. Silver! Like I'm 60! A larger, silver-haired woman. Buxom, actually. If you like me, that's a lot of getting caught in the rain. Here's Amy Lawrence.
If you're not into yoga, if you have half a brain, if you like making love at midnight... I gotta tell ya, some of the comments I've heard when people finally see my picture or see me hosting a show that airs on YouTube or also catch me on TV, YouTube, whatever it is, it's funny to get the reaction. I have no idea why, but we as humans do often tend to form this idea or this image of what a person looks like based on their voice, and then a lot of times we're so incredibly wrong that it's jarring. That guy thought I was a petite brunette and couldn't believe that I was larger with silver hair.
Silver hair. I welcome all comments. Feel free.
It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence. You can find me on Twix, ALaw Radio, or on Facebook. I'm just about to post a few photos on Facebook. I'm working on it, I'm working on it. It's not as seamless as it used to be, now that it's just me doing all the social media.
But I'll get to it eventually so you can check it out. A few pictures from the weekend and walking the mall on a very hot day in Washington, DC. But still awesome to be there and to be able to show my husband the monuments for the first time. And just to hang out with my brother and sister-in-law. We took the train in and we enjoyed it. We ate food from a food truck, which is just kind of fun every now and then. It was a good weekend. Hope that you enjoyed a weekend as well. Maybe you've had some vacation or a long weekend here or there.
That's what some, some summertime is all about. Alright, we're going to get to some of the basketball and USA men's national team coming up. But Dan is waiting in San Diego and wants to talk about the home run derby.
I hope not much because it wasn't really all that exciting. Hey, what's up Amy? How you doing? Yo. We meet again.
Do we? This is the third time. And I'm not going to ask you what you think I look like based on our conversations. Okay.
First, I just want to say God is good. And then second, I just want to say, did you see the national anthem of the home run derby? Well, if you heard the first half of the show or first hour of the show, you know I did because I actually played part of it. I missed it. I missed it. We played part of it and I'm stunned. I don't understand how, A, in Texas, Major League Baseball can't come up with a more accomplished, well-known and obviously a singer who's talented enough to be able to sing the anthem.
Not even talent really, just has the range to be able to sing it and also the foresight to take the words out there with you if you think there's any chance you might forget them. So that stuns me. But also, how did anyone listening to her do a sound check or listening to her practice beforehand not say to her, probably not that.
Whatever you're planning, don't do that. Right. I mean, that's like kind of like, I don't know, I don't even think I could have said it better myself.
That's what they pay me to do. Also, the fact is a lot of people had never heard of her before. I'd never heard of her before and I actually really like country music.
So this is something that's not going to go away. It'll be replayed and attached to her name for the rest of her life, which, I don't know, maybe she likes it. Maybe that's exactly what she wanted.
I'm not sure. You know, some people want to be infamous or something, but I mean, you know, Carrie Underwood is a pretty good country singer. Pretty good, yes. You know, I'm sure she could have done a pretty good job, better job at least. I think she's on tour, actually.
I follow her on social. Vegas, right? Vegas? Yeah, I'm not, maybe.
I'm not sure. I know she's- Well, she has residency in Vegas, but I don't know what she's doing. But anyways, I'll, you know, the invitation still stands for San Diego, Petco Parks calling your name. I love that. Fact is that this year, 2024, sadly, we have used so much of our vacation on family events and, well, honeymoon too, which I wouldn't trade.
We don't have a lot left, so I'm staying put where I am until, I think it's second weekend in September, and then beyond that, won't have any time off until the holidays. So here I am. Here I sit. Last thing before I let you go, I mean, Tiosca Fernandez, I mean, the truth is, I didn't even watch the home run derby. All I saw was the anthem, which, I mean, was- And then you turned it off?
No, I was actually doing other things today. Gotcha. And then I saw the anthem, you know, going around on Twitter, and I was like, wow, this is something. But I will say, you know, Dodgers getting another championship, I guess, with a big old asterisk next to it. What, you're crowning the Dodgers champion in July? No, I'm just saying the fact that Tiosca won the home run derby. Oh. And it's the first time a Dodger did that. Okay. Gotcha. And I mean, you know, I don't know, any other thing is, I don't even know how I feel about the new rules.
It seems like the home run derby has new rules every year. I was kind of reading an article on it, and it was like, I guess, you know, the one thing I liked was the whole, like, boxing thing for the final match. I did see that. That looked pretty good. Like, when the guy that does the, you know, intros came out to introduce Tiosca and the guy from the Royals, that actually was well done. Yeah, I actually, I didn't like the format. I thought it was a yawner. It took way too long.
I don't care who does the intros. If people are not still watching because it's gone, it's boring, and it's already been three hours, then what good does that do? Was there any other highlights from the derby that I missed that you care to... Well, my favorite part is always seeing the athletes hanging out on the field.
Now they get couches instead of sitting on the ground with their kiddos. And then Kim Griffey Jr., I enjoyed seeing him around as well. Otherwise, eh, tomorrow will be much better.
Last thing before I let you go. Sorry, I always will speak with you. Do you think Barry Bonds should be in the Hall of Fame? Yeah, I think all of the steroid users who have the numbers should be in the Hall of Fame because they tell the story of Major League Baseball.
You can't tell the story of the league. You can't tell the story of some of the top home run hitters of all time if you don't include the steroid era. And Major League Baseball fostered it, allowed it to continue. I know that it's not the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame, but it's a lot of the writers. And some of them turned a blind eye to it as well. A lot of people knew what was happening, so it seems to me a little bit self-righteous now to leave them out of the Hall of Fame when you're part of the reason why it was allowed to continue instead of uncovering what was happening in the sport behind closed doors. But also, if the Hall of Fame is to tell the story of, in part, to preserve the history and tell the story of the game, well then yes, the steroid era needs to be included. Well, I mean, good old politics, right? I mean, politics and sports, it's great. And Bud Singelig was voted in in a special election and, you know, he oversaw the whole thing.
So, why does he get to go to Cooperstown when none of these other guys do? And by the way, you know, it's not like Pete Rose or some of these other guys from, you know, a couple generations ago were all, you know, perfect people either. Oh, there's no such thing.
There's no such thing. We can certainly agree on that, Amy. All right, Dan, good to talk to you in San Diego. Thanks so much for your phone call. Let's get to Tony, who's in Eugene, Oregon. Tony, welcome to After Hours.
Hi, Amy. He was talking about why a lot of the Americans are not traveling to France and Paris and stuff for the Olympics. Well, being a Navy veteran, I did two port calls in France and there were signs saying no Americans allowed in restaurants and places. So, it's been an anti-American for quite a few years. So, that's still the case? They know that. When were you there?
I was there twice, once in 2010 and once again in 2018. Gotcha. Okay, so you're saying Americans are not welcome in France? Their money isn't welcome either? There used to be signs in the restaurant. Huh, interesting. Well, I guess Americans can take their money elsewhere.
Yep, and on the national anthem for the game, I was lucky enough to be in a sports bar where the game was mute. Good call, Tony. Good call. I appreciate your phone call and also your insight because I didn't know that and thank you for your service, sir.
Thank you. So, if that's the case, I'm not saying all of these people that are staying away are Americans. That's not what I'm saying. But obviously, not only does the United States form one of the largest contingents of athletes that travel, which means family and friends and others, agents, other people who want to see these athletes compete. But yeah, the fact that Paris is supposed to be this incredible destination, I didn't realize that there are places in Au Paris that are anti-American. But that's what you get.
You don't want the red, white and blue fans, then you don't get the red, white and blue money. Too bad, so sad. Alright, I did get some photos up on Facebook. Boom!
Proud of myself. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence coming up. We'll talk a little bit about the basketball.
They're still coming together, but there is one big weakness, glaring weakness for Team USA even now. You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. We do the dog show. The annual dog show. It won't be like the Westminster dog show, but it could be somewhat popular, considering we now have an Iditarod racer that we've adopted. We've got people who've never called the show before.
Who let the dogs out? I will be honest, I'm not sure I've heard this particular piece of production, that montage in, I don't know, seven, eight years. That's tremendous. This is what happens when you have different producers behind the double pane glass. They find different pieces of music and production that they like and they trot it out and whoa, it's a blast from the past.
I like it. After 12 years, trust me, there's a lot. Although one of the jobs of the new producer will be to freshen up our production. They call it re-imaging and to try to get some new stuff because a lot of our production, and again, that's the music and the montages, along with either my voice or highlights and that kind of stuff, the voice guide, they are from years ago and really do need a little updating. It's like having an old house, not quite a fixer-upper, but just having an old house that you've been in for a little while, either rearranging furniture to give it a new look or you can also paint the house or you can buy a new piece of art to put on the walls or you can build a new room, something along those lines. Yes, well our imaging needs some updating and we hope to get to that right as we kick off football season because, you know, why not? Let's ratchet up the degree of difficulty.
It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence. There are now photos up on our Facebook page. Boom!
I was able to do that during the break. So a few photos. I've got another couple that I'll throw up at some point just because I want you to see the photos that I took of C3PO and R2D2, the original costumes from Star Wars Return of the Jedi and actually the Smithsonian. So I shared the photo and I included not just the Smithsonian on Twix but also Star Wars on Twix just to direct people to the right way. Would you know the Smithsonian sent me a tweet back using a Yoda voice or a Yoda phrase, which is kind of fun.
So yes, that was neat. Smithsonian's got to be one of the most prominent accounts ever to tweet me behind Star Wars actually. I one time got a reply from, actually two replies from Star Wars. I guess you could say I had a conversation with the person running the Star Wars Twitter.
I'm going to believe that it was Luke Skywalker or Princess Leia. And that was probably the pinnacle. That and I think I got a tweet once from Cirque du Soleil which is pretty amazing. So Smithsonian's right up there.
You can check out those photos on our Facebook page or you can find me on Twix at ALawRadio. You know I would play a highlight from USA Men's Basketball but it's kind of wah wah wah toward the end of the game and it's actually an exhibition. So I don't know that it matters a whole lot but here's some of what you need to know. Steve Kerr, who's the head coach of Team USA actually switched up the starting lineup. And I do think we'll continue to see this in the run up to the actual games.
The games that count. Because he's trying to find out which lineup is most effective to begin the game. And so instead of Devin Booker and Drew Holliday along with Lebron, Steph and Joelle Embiid. The starting five against Australia. Remember this is just their second exhibition game. But the starting lineup against the Aussies. James, Steph, Joelle, Anthony Edwards and Jason Tatum.
So you had a switcheroo. No Anthony Davis yet in the starting lineup which is interesting. Though he did have a major impact on the game on Monday. Anthony Edwards, remember when he told us that he was the number one option and everybody else on the team was going to have to revolve around him.
I'm paraphrasing. Well he's now in the starting lineup and is playing extremely well. And then Jason Tatum who's coming off of his first ever NBA championship.
And it's kind of picking up right where he left off. Less of the rust to shake off if you will. And so looking at what we saw with the game against the Aussies. I think the major concern is still the interior. Which is where Joelle Embiid comes in. Which is where Anthony Davis comes in. Even though the United States pulled out to a double figure lead.
By the way there were 12,000 plus at this arena in Abu Dhabi to watch Team USA and Australia. So the big test for them will be in the paint. Even though a lot of European players are more face up. And more mid range jumpers. In fact a lot of them can shoot threes.
One of the ways that the United States is vulnerable is inside the paint. Because of well lack of defense. Because other teams have seen this weakness with Team USA and will attempt to exploit it. For instance they take on Serbia and Nikola Jokic coming up in their third game.
I think that's Wednesday. And you can imagine that the Serbians are looking to take advantage of what they feel like is soft defense in the paint. Now this is why Anthony Davis is huge. Because not only does he have the long wingspan.
That long arm of the law if you will. But he can rebound. He's lanky, he's lean.
He can battle and create headaches, matchup issues for opposing countries. Double double for him. 17 points, 14 rebounds.
And he wasn't even out there 20 minutes. So his impact in the paint is a big deal. That will be the same thing for Joel Embiid.
Now Joel, different player than Anthony Davis. But we certainly know that he's a wide load. And when he gets into the paint, just because of his size and his talent of course. But just by virtue of his size, he's a space eater.
And so the interior is a concern. You're not worried about guard play with Team USA. Not with Steph Curry.
LeBron James essentially is a point guard trapped in a tight ends body. You're not going to worry about it with Anthony Edwards and some of the other guards they have on the team. Devin Booker I mentioned not in the starting lineup. Drew Holliday a two time NBA champion. He wasn't in the starting lineup either. What you're going to worry about is the guys on the middle.
And how much resistance they can provide to some of the other countries who do have an inside presence that has to be respected. Now, Joel Embiid, the guy who didn't play a ton of time this season in the NBA because of injuries. Seems to be healthy now. But Steve Kerr has been asked about kind of the changing starting lineups. And what about Anthony Davis and Joel Embiid and really about the idea of mixing and matching.
Well, you know, these next few games I'm going to continue to experiment with the lineups. And, you know, Joel is getting better and better every day. You know, it usually takes big guys a little bit longer to get rhythm and flow.
But I love Joel. He's a dominant player. And I think it's going to be important for us to figure out the best combinations and putting the right people together. And that's still a work in progress. Well, that's one of the things that Steve Kerr does really well. If you remember, when he first took over the head coaching job of the Golden State Warriors, he decided that he would build that first unit around Draymond Green. And then the second unit would be spurred by Andre Iguodala.
And he had two separate units. And part of the reason is because he wanted to run. They wanted to get up and down the court. They wanted to be aggressive. They wanted to push the tempo. They wanted to have the ball fly around, find the open man, have all five guys on the court touch the ball and look for the best shot. So there was a lot.
Fresh legs are huge. But also consistency and the continuity and the rapport and the rhythm that a group gets when it plays together on a regular basis. That can apply to five players coming off the bench for a particular quarter. Or it can apply to a national team, which, yes, features a ton of all-stars, but doesn't feature a lot of rhythm and guys who played together other than a couple of teammates here or there. Who may or may not even be on the court at the same time. So, yeah, the talk is, hey, Anthony Davis was really effective in this game against Australia. Could he potentially be a starter next time out?
I have no idea. I mean, I just play my role if they want me to. I will. If not, you know, that's fine. You know, whatever coach Kerr wants me to do and I'll be ready for it. So I like the fact that these guys, recognizing the talent with which they are surrounded, but also understanding the impact of wearing the red, white and blue and competing in Paris. I think more than ever, they're willing to subvert their egos, their ideas about who should be playing and when.
What their roles should be. And I think there's a lot of respect for Steve Kerr because of what he's done in the NBA. Well, not just what he's done as a coach, but what he did as a player alongside guys like Michael Jordan. He's a champion at both playing and coaching. So there's a lot of respect for him. He is a straight shooter, but he also cares about players.
He forms relationships with players. These guys want to win a gold. It's not just about personal pride. It's about national pride. It's about being part of something special.
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