JR SportBrief Hour 4

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It's the J.R. Sportbrief show on CBS Sports Radio. Thrilled to be here with you on a Friday night. Shout-outs to everybody out there doing all types of God knows what. You going somewhere? You gonna have some fun? Are you leaving fun? Anyway, whatever fun you're getting into, I hope it's safe in a car or maybe whatever.

Anyway, let's get away from that. I'm gonna be here with you for one more hour. It's a four-hour show. If you're just tuning in, where the hell have you been?

I have no idea. We get started 10 p.m. Eastern, 7 Pacific. I'm coming to you live from Atlanta, Georgia. Thank you so much to our producer, super producer and host, Dave Shepherd.

He's coming to you live from New York City. And we've had a busy night. Jimmy Butler is getting taunted and then he's answering by destroying the Celtics. 1.11, 1.05, the Miami Heat beat the Celtics tonight. Miami now has a 2-0 series lead.

This is what you need to know. The Celtics had a lead in the fourth quarter, about 10 points give or take. Grant Williams started yapping at Jimmy Butler. The Miami Heat then went on a 24-9 run to close out the game. Jason Tatum did not make a field goal in the fourth quarter and he still finished with 34 points. Jalen Brown finished with 16 points. The two of them combined in the fourth quarter, they were, I think, one for eight, one for nine.

Pathetic. These are your two superstars. They're not even putting up shots. They can't make a shot.

They're getting ran out of the building. And a lot of the conversation really was surrounded around Grant Williams talking crap to Jimmy Butler and getting him fired up. I can tell you someone who wasn't happy with that. Jalen Brown. He was asked specifically after the game by the media, one of the reporters, hey, what you think about that crap that Grant Williams was talking to Jimmy that got him fired up? Listen to this interaction. Listen to this comment from Jalen Brown. Did Grant Williams make a mistake poking the bear with Jimmy Butler? Next question. Oh.

Well, maybe, maybe Jason Tatum, who disappeared at the end of the game, maybe Jason Tatum. Maybe, maybe he also felt the same way? Listen to his response about this. What was your reaction when Grant Williams got into it with Jimmy Butler there? I don't think much of it. Did you think that was a mistake to kind of poke the bear a little bit?

No, I didn't think much of it. Tense basketball game, guys competitive and talking. It happens all the time, I guess. Oh, OK. Well, let's talk to the let's talk to the guy who is the bear.

What did Jimmy Butler feel about all the yapping from Grant Williams? Listen to this. It makes me smile.

It does. When people talk to me, I'm like, OK, I know I'm I'm a decent player. If you want to talk to me out of everybody that you can talk to. But I don't know. It's just it's just competition. I do respect him, though. He's a big part of what they try to do. He switches. He can shoot the ball.

I just don't know if I'm the best person to talk to. You better leave that man alone. Don't get that man fired up. He has something that the Celtics don't have right now. That would be fire. That would be heart.

It'd also be a coach who doesn't seem to have too much of that either. It's been a busy night also. It's been a busy day. Friday afternoon, we learned and we heard that that Jim Brown.

Passed away 87 years old, 87 years old. The greatest running back of all time. Some of us saw him. Some of us did not.

I'm in the latter category. But if you watch the highlights, if you look at the stats, if you look at the numbers, if you look at the results. When he stepped away from the game following his nine seasons, he said these records are mine. Rushing yards. Total yards. Rushing touchdowns. He just, he did everything.

Everything. I actually love this piece that the NFL and Cleveland Browns put together. It includes Steve Harvey. Yes, the comedian from Family Feud and a million other things.

I think Steve Harvey's on television more than anybody. And then also one of the greatest running backs of all time, too. Terrell Davis. And then you also hear Jim Brown talk about himself and his style and being recognized as one of the greatest players of all time.

And what a shock, right? He made the list. He damn near was at the top of every one. Especially numero uno when it comes down to the running backs.

Listen to this from Jim Brown, Steve Harvey and Terrell Davis. I don't know who wrote the list, but when I look at myself, God gave me a physique. This is Jim Brown, the most devastating ball carrier in the history of football.

I was 6'2", 232 pounds, and I had quickest in speed, and the word got around that I was a different kind of guy. An animal, a real raw talent, man. See, my father made me understand it. He said, watch this, boy. He don't run out of bounds. He gonna put his head down, he gonna get some more. And when he got tackled, he said, watch how slow he get up. He said, you know what that is? He said, in life, just get up slow, because you're gonna have to pick yourself up a bunch of times.

Ain't no need to rush it. And this dude never missed a game. Every Sunday we watched, Jim Brown was on the field. Jim Brown was the greatest back to ever play. He was a bad man. And not only on the field, Jim Brown, being an activist, had an impact on me as well.

An activist he was. He had that Cleveland summit with Muhammad Ali, Bill Russell, Kareem. He also, we know he went into film, he left the NFL on his own terms. I want to share that with you next break. And then he was also, unfortunately, there were many accusations thrown his way as it regards to physicality with women.

And I'll share that with you on the other side of the break. When it comes to this man as a football player, there was no doubt, no doubt, that he wasn't just a badass. That he was the best running back of all time. And he was very critical of many backs that followed him.

And their lack of physicality, or running out of bounds, and not taking the yards in front of them, not challenging the defenders. And I've seen this man up close and personal. He was intimidating even in the latter years of life. 855-212-4CBS, 855-212-4CBS. Paul is calling from Rhode Island. You're on the JR Sport Brief Show.

Unfortunately, there were many accusations. Well, that's not going to work on the radio. Clarence is calling from Mississippi. You're on CBS Sports Radio. What's up, Clarence?

What's going on, JR? You're the favorites. Thanks. One thing you are right about.

Jim Brown, the greatest running back ever, pro football. No doubt about it. Okay. And thanks for taking the call. Oh, no doubt, Clarence. I love you, man. Hey, Shupp, I love talking to Clarence. I love it. He keeps it short and sweet.

I love it. He a boom. He's the template, man. Hey, Shupp, what's on your mind? Well, JR, obviously, a talking point is going to be Joe Mazzola.

Now, you can look at one of the two ways, right? One, he doesn't get flustered, right? Either way, whether it's a win or a loss, when you listen to Mazzola speak, he's 34 years old.

And to his credit, emotionally, he never gets rattled. And that's a good thing. Now, look, he's getting out coached by Eric Spolstra. We understand Eric Spolstra is going to go down if he retired tomorrow as one of the ten greatest NBA head coaches to ever live.

And so I think most people are being a little too harsh. We're being prisoners of the moment, saying that, look, we don't know if he's going to survive after this season. Like, the guy took over a pretty tumultuous situation. And he has them in the Eastern Conference Finals.

My question for you is this. What will he have to do in order to save his job? For instance, if he goes to Miami and he pushes this series to five, six games, and they're competitive in all six. Because these games have been competitive. They're not getting blown out right now. They're not getting completely wiped off the floor.

Do you think they run it back with Mazzola and have a full training camp for year two? I have my answer for you. You actually said part of it. It's competitive. And I don't know to what degree or to what game competitive means. I don't know if that means that they have to just go out and win the next four. I don't know if that means they push it to seven.

If they go to seven, I think you'll stay around. They have to be competitive. And I think everyone is justified, maybe not the word, in saying, oh my God, get rid of him. But it's the reality that he is, he's hypothetically playing with fire when you take a look at his job. When you look at the circumstances of which he got the gig, yes, he deserves credit for where the Boston Celtics are. This is a man who had to take over from Ime Udonka after he was basically sent upstairs to the attic. Because of his, I don't want to call it a problem, well it is a problem. Sleeping with somebody else's wife that he shouldn't have been.

And they put him in cobwebs until they got rid of him. And so to be able to take over the team, not have head coaching experience, this be one of the biggest jobs in the NBA. Yeah, kudos to him. But as we've already seen here throughout the postseason, from coaches who've actually won championships, it's a hard knock life. Go queue up Doc Rivers and Nick Nurse and Budenholzer and Monty Williams, just go ahead and check all those boxes. And the reality is, and I remember we had a caller, maybe this week, maybe last week, we had a caller who said, oh man, they should have done more than just hire Joe Mazzulla. Oh man, they should have brought in a veteran coach, oh my god, they should have brought in Larry Brown to coach these Boston Celtics.

And I'm saying man, just come to earth. The Boston Celtics didn't have any time to put this together. It was right at the top of training camp. And this was the best coach you could bring in or have for continuity purposes. And so if the Celtics had time, if they had two or three months, if they had the summer to figure out who their next head coach was going to be, then by all means, go out there, hire somebody. They got Joe Mazzulla, they've done good, but for what they're doing right now, they're crapping the bet. And if they continue to blow leads like this, there's no reason why they shouldn't have won game one. There's no reason why the Celtics should not have won tonight. Joe Mazzulla is really facing a fire, and what's going to allow him to keep his job? Being competitive. If there are more blown leads, look at all the coaches that are available. Championship level coaches, guys who have won rings. Joe Mazzulla might have to take a back seat. I don't care what message he got.

And Shep, you mentioned how cool and calm he is, and that's good. That doesn't do you any favors with the media or the fans, I should say. Take a listen to Joe Mazzulla from earlier tonight about what went wrong with his squad. Guys who make a field goal over the last basically four minutes, what happened down the stretch? I thought we got good looks.

I just didn't think we made them. And the team's execution, you had turnovers, offensive fouls. It seems to be a recurring issue down the stretch at close games.

Why does that keep happening? So yeah, the offensive fouls, there's someone there. We have to kick it to the next open guy. They do a good job of protecting the paint, and some of the turnovers were unfortunate. Just lost the ball at half court.

But when we did get a shot off, we got a good one, and we just have to execute better. How inspiring. Jerry, is he Bruce Pearl? No. Is he Greg Popovich?

No. But he's true to himself. He's not throwing anybody under the bus.

He recognizes there's an accountability factor when it comes to these Celtics and closing out games, and they completely you-know-what the bet every single time down the stretch. I get all that, but you know what? I'm going to take my chances with a 34-year-old and give him a few years to grow.

I just think we're so quick to dismiss this guy. I'm not disagreeing with you. That's all I'm saying.

Thank you. I'm looking at the reality of how coaches are and what their lifespans are. I don't disagree with you, but there's a reality here that he might get fired.

And if that wasn't a reality, we wouldn't even be having this conversation. The NBA has stepped into a different realm in a different space. If you do not perform, you go. You see Brad Stevens being that cutthroat and that irrational that he's going to get rid of a first-year 34-year-old head coach that brought the team to the Eastern Conference Finals? I wouldn't be surprised.

I don't know if I'd go as far to call it cutthroat. I wouldn't be surprised. This is professional sports.

I don't care who anybody is. Not at all. This is the nature of the beast right now. Hey, either way, he got a contract extension. He'll be paid and even if things don't work this go round if they don't which is even even pushing a button. I'm sure he'll find someplace else.

855-212-4CBS Todd is calling from Chicago. Always always love you, man. So I got one word for tonight insecurity. And that's the key word tonight insecurity from the Celtics coach insecurity from Lowry. Let's talk about Lowry down the stretch zero point the man the man the man he should have thrown the ball to was Robinson.

Robinson had knocked down two perfect threes. I'm talking about, you know, barely hitting a net and he forced he forced his hand. And that was the key that was that that was really telling us of Robin of Lowry in that instance. Well, nobody's going to think about him. I agree. And let's talk about the coach for the Celtics. Yeah, I agree with you.

They cannot not escape this series for him to survive. That's that's a simple thing. Anyway, that those are a couple offers observations. I add and thanks and you know, I think you know, what I love about the show is really dissecting what's going on the series and the heat managing to win this game is ridiculous.

Okay. Well, when you got something to do on this game and when you got Jimmy Butler on the team, and I know woman as the best dude in the playoffs and ain't so far-fetched those baseline that that baseline shot and that that was that was that's that was a moment. That Jimmy I'm sure will relive in his mind throughout his life and the rest of his career. You know, I'm saying down the stretch there when he hit that shot that that was really deciding the point the game. But anyway, you know, I really enjoyed this discussion with you. Well, thank you. You're a professional man. Well, thank you, Todd.

I think I don't know if I'd agree with you. I feel like I'm just a dude here, but I'll take all right. We love you. Well, I love you too. I love Chicago. I love six seven. I love the score. I love everybody Todd have a great weekend.

Okay, I mean, I bro no doubt about it. Hey, if you're in Chicago right now, what's up? I got a lot of friends in Chicago. I need to go back to Chicago right now.

Hang out in that loop that the loop hit the West was the West loop. Yeah, I got some good memories out there. Every other good memories is the JR sport brie show here on CBS Sports Radio.

We're going to take a break. I'm going to get tomorrow your calls. We're going to hear some more memories from Jim Brown out of his own mouth.

Unfortunately is some good and and then this well not unfortunately for good, but some good and some bad. And then I want to tell you about a great memory that I had this past week or this past weekend. I should say I was up in New York do it go up to New York and mind my business and I was hanging out with the New York Red Bulls soccer team and it was a very good reason as to why I was there. I'm going to get some more your calls. We're going to talk or hear from Jim Brown and then tell you about my trip here on CBS Sports Radio.

Don't go nowhere. You're listening to the JR sport brief on CBS Sports Radio. You're listening to the JR sport brief on CBS Sports Radio. You know, my daughter listens to you every night.

She's got a radio next to the bed. I don't get to listen to you often, but I'll tell you what. When I hear you're a gentleman, you never cut anyone off. You never back down. You're an excellent sports jock. I'm going to tell you that right now. Call in now at 855-212-4CBS. You hear that money power respect something that Jimmy Butler has a lot of right now.

Kudos to him. Let's see what takes place on Sunday. Game three down in Miami. I think the Celtics will will get one. You know, I think the Lakers will win tomorrow. I think the Celtics will win.

I think at least by the time we roll around to Monday. You know, we'll have we'll have some have some W's here or Brittany Greiner scored 18 points in her return. Didn't miss a minute. Didn't miss a second, even though her team lost the Phoenix Mercury. They were smacked around by the L.A. Sparks.

Ninety four to seventy one is the final score. But Brittany Greiner ain't no concerns about her game. The full stat line for Brittany Greiner, 18 points, six rebounds. And then she went out there, had four blocks. Diana Taurasi. Oh, my God. Still playing.

Fifteen points on a crap game. Anyway. Also. Right before we went to break, we spoke briefly about Jim Brown, his passing at 87 years old. If you listen to the first hour of the show, we talked in more depth about Jim Brown. Certainly a complicated individual.

You can't sneeze. You can't, you know, ignore his accomplishments as an athlete. Going to Syracuse, coming out of Georgia and then also going to New York, being a great basketball player, being one of the greatest, if not the greatest lacrosse player ever playing for the Browns Rookie of the Year Pro Bowl every year that he played. And then there was the the good, all of his social activism. There was the bad. A lot of the unfortunate incidents where he was charged with violence and putting his hands on a woman. He wasn't charged for any of that or excuse me, he wasn't found guilty for any of that. There were always technicalities as to why they never went to trial or did not go through. And that was something that Jim Brown always spoke out about. This man was never afraid to speak his mind. And so when it came down, unfortunately, to some of the negative aspects about his life that granted and caught attention.

Jim Brown, even sitting down with Graham Bessinger, he was just like, man, it's accusations. It's a bunch of crap. Listen to this. The facts is that I didn't do nothing. I didn't rape no damn body and there's no blood on nothing and no 20 feet, somebody fell and all that kind of mess. I've never written all the things that I've done in my life to assist people and I don't do it. You know, because you do it. But when you try, people try to then take everything you've done and lump it into this and put it against this.

It doesn't fit. OK, it's Jim Brown and that'll be a part of his legacy that's always brought up outside of being the greatest running back of all time. Something else. Well, this I definitely respect about him is just Jim Brown taking advantage of the opportunities that were in front of him and not just settling for what was expected or what was wanted from him. Knowing that at at and in his prime, he was going to step away from the game and we can go ahead and look at the opportunity that was in front of him to go to Hollywood and the Browns and their owner Modell at the time was just like, hey, if you don't come back to work, we're going to find you.

And he just said, I'm done. He left at the top and Jim Brown back in 1966, he sat down on a show called Say Brother, and he talked about that element, being able to do things on his own terms. There are a couple of people in professional football that did not want me to succeed in the movie industry, and I know for a fact that one of these individuals contacted the head of Universal Studios and, you know, there was kind of a move there. But my allies were able to say, now, wait a minute, we know this guy, we know that he has a talent, we know that we can make money from him. There is no reason to blackball him or to hinder his ability or opportunity to make a living. Was the resentment because you're not a trained actor or because you're black? Well, not because I was black and not because I was a trained actor, mainly because I was an individual who understood that a top athlete, a champion, should quit at the right time. And I quit because I wanted to, and I wanted to look out for my welfare, and this was opposed by certain people in the National Football League. They felt that I should have been happy to play as long as they wanted me to, and then quit when they said quit, and be happy to come back and coach in some capacity and make about $30,000 a year. They resented my attitude of independence, and not just because I was black, but because I had that attitude of independence. Oh, listen, the NFL, we know, it doesn't care who anybody is, never has.

Can you play? Well, we're going to run you into the ground until we replace you. And that's something that was not the case for Jim Brown.

There was no replacing him, the top running back, one of the greatest football players of all time. We know he passed away Friday, Thursday I should say, the world found out on Friday at the age of 87. It's the JR Sport Brief Show here with you on CBS Sports Radio. I'm going to get some more of your calls before we roll out. I'm going to tell you about my amazing experience in New York and New Jersey last week with the New York Red Bulls, and I'll tell you specifically why I was there. We got more to do before we roll.

On CBS Sports Radio. Hey, what's going on, sir? I love the show, man. I wanted to say I've enjoyed your show forever, and I've gone through some tough times. And your show, I feel like you're my spirit radio personality.

I just really enjoy you and I really appreciate it, and I thank you for your time. Call in now at 855-212-4CBS. That's right, it's the JR Sport Brief Show here with you on CBS Sports Radio. We have talked a lot tonight, obviously, about the NBA playoffs. We talked about that crazy match last night between the Panthers and the Hurricanes.

We talked about the passing of Jim Brown at 87 years old. I do want to go back. Last week or last weekend, I should say, I was in New York. I went to New Jersey. I went to the Red Bull Arena, Red Bulls Arena, New York Red Bulls Arena, MLS team. We know MLS and soccer, football, it's growing tremendously here in the United States of America. The World Cup will be held here in 2026.

San Diego, congratulations to all my folks in San Diego. Y'all picked up a new MLS franchise. I know Manny Machado has even invested in that. But one thing I appreciate about the New York Red Bulls and here in Atlanta, it gets done as well. MLS has teams that represent or I'd say additional teams that allow folks of all abilities to play. And so they've partnered with Special Olympics and they have actually signed new talents to play before the games. Before the pros play, you get a chance and an opportunity to be out on the field and play a rival. And so the New York Red Bulls have a unified team. NYCFC has a unified team and they had a match on Saturday before the pros went out there and played.

And this was a derby, obviously two New York squads going at it. And it was pretty amazing to take place. And so you all know about the podcast Agents of Inclusion. Every week I highlight a different Special Olympics athlete and their story. And this week I spoke to a unified pair that represented the New York Red Bulls.

Shout outs to Izzy, shout outs to Shirley. You can Google Agents of Inclusion and listen to that. But as a part of the entire experience, not only did I watch that game, not only did I watch the pros play and see all the events and festivities. If you're in the New York metropolitan area, it's definitely worth a visit to go check out the Red Bulls up in Harrison, New Jersey.

Easy access from every place in New York City. I spoke to the president. I spoke to the man who runs the entire show for the New York Red Bulls. Because the Red Bulls are leaders when it comes down to inclusion and everybody having an opportunity to enjoy the game, to enjoy the festivities. And so the man running the show, his name is Mark de Grand Prix. And I asked him right out of the gate, I said, hey, man, what do you do around these parts?

Take a listen. I am in charge of the organization from running the building, the business operations commercially, everything that's going on with the Red Bulls. I oversee and hopefully we put on a good experience for our fans week in and week out.

And I love doing what I'm doing and I love it, especially because of what we're going to talk about now. And what we spoke about was that unified match that took place between the Red Bulls and in between NYCFC. And so if you're not familiar with a unified match and what it is, I mentioned it already.

Mark provided more detail. So basically a unified matches is a collaboration with Special Olympics where our team partners with a local high school. And in our case, it's the Westmore Central High School in Chester, New Jersey. They put together a team of kids who are part of Special Olympics that represent our club. They are our team, our club. They've signed contracts, quote unquote, with our team. And they represent us playing matches against other MLS teams. And we play a couple of matches a year. They travel with the team.

This year we're going to go to Philadelphia at the end of the season. And we give an opportunity for these kids to experience playing on what arguably is the nicest soccer stadium pitch in the world or in North America at least. That is what makes this job so rewarding and why I love coming to work, because we provide opportunities for these folks who have different abilities. We want to give them access to these opportunities and these experiences and through the unified matches and Special Olympics, it is exactly what we can offer them. It's something we're really proud of. And we've done it since 2015, stopped during the pandemic.

And this is our first match since we've returned from the pandemic. Man, that's cool. And I know we have teams that do this in different levels, but not to this degree. Could you imagine if if the New York Yankees did this or the Lakers did this and gave folks an opportunity or a chance just to play and be a part of the organization? I think it would open up more eyes for a lot of folks.

And so Mark specifically started with the organization back in 2014. And this is real near and dear to his heart. And I asked him, why? Why is this so important to you personally?

Take a listen. Well, my daughter is differently abled. She's on the spectrum. She's got a host of disabilities and challenges and she's been embraced by this club.

I don't know why. It's her personality or smile. She loves this team. And the organization embraced her when we came back.

And since we've returned, obviously, we were one of the first few clubs that has a special sensory room for folks to experience during a match. We've had an autism acceptance night for the last nine seasons and we've been able to make a difference, I believe. And through her spirit or energy, I think it's driven this organization to to help support this great cause. And she's she's the beacon of our family and our hearts.

And I think for a lot on the team, she she provides that same energy and belief. And I want to make sure that my daughter, who has access to so many great opportunities because of what I do, I want to make sure that everyone who has a loved one on the spectrum who is differently abled to have those same opportunities, access to those. And when we talk about inclusivity, that's what we try to drive through what we're doing today at the arena, through what we do on Autism Acceptance Night. And I want to make sure that whatever Julia can experience, I want to bring that to as many people who have loved ones who are differently abled. And that's very important to us. And the organization has championed it a few years ago. They they surprised me announcing that there would be a grant in our family's name to support underserved projects in the community that support differently abled kids to to get this access that not many have. And this tells you that I mean, there's 160 people who believe in it and you champion it. And I'd like to think that Julia played a small part in getting us here.

Yeah, the New York Red Bulls, they are definitely leaders when it comes down to inclusion. And the final question that I asked Mark, I said, listen, y'all in the New York City metropolitan area, you know, ridiculously or not ridiculously, but positively diverse. And you have no choice. You live on top of each other. You can have a lot of space, but it's it's congested.

You have to learn how to interact and deal with other folks. And we know sports is a is a great activity to pull people together. And I asked Mark his thoughts, his comments on that. And this is what he said. The beauty of sports, right? Everyone looks at the scoreboard at the end of the game or the standings, but sports have an ability to connect with people's hearts and emotions. So why not take that vehicle to enable folks to understand more, to appreciate more and to start including more?

Right. All these kids who are differently abled or these families who are dealing with it. We've got to use the power of sports to drive awareness, acceptance and inclusivity.

And I believe every sports team should be championing this. Ultimately, when you look at the numbers of kids who are on the spectrum now, they're the next generation of workforce that we're going to have. They're going to be able to provide services and help us get better. And we have to give them those opportunities. And it starts at the core with the emotions that a sports team can drive. Because once you drive that emotion through through the game and drive that awareness and acceptance up to me, it's a win win. And it's so important for us to do that. And I can tell you it's it's more important at the end of the day than the wins and losses. Right. Because there's only one champion every year. But we need to make a difference every day.

And that's truly what matters in sports at the end of the day. And we need to focus on that a lot more because we we've got to drive acceptance and awareness and inclusivity for all these families who don't have the opportunities that you and I have every day. Hey, a big shout outs to mark the Grand Prix, a big shout outs to Joe Stetson for for championing the cause and trying to be inclusive and help other folks and give them an opportunity, not a handout, but an opportunity to grow and be contributors, positive contributors to society. Please go ahead and check out New York Red Bulls on all social media. If you're in the New York City metropolitan area, go ahead, check out a match.

I don't think it's going to be anything that that you will regret. And I appreciate the New York Red Bulls for supporting our agents of inclusion podcast produced by myself, Special Olympics and Odyssey. You know, every week it's just new athletes, new stories that we we use to uplift, inspire, just just for inclusion purposes, just to try to make the world a better place. So if you're not sick of me here on CBS Sports Radio, if you got a phone and if you can do it safely, I encourage you. Text the word include. That's text include to 20357. Text include to 20357 for a link to listen to the show. That's include to 20357.

Message and data rates may apply. Agents of inclusion. We have new episodes that drop every single Wednesday. And this past episode features Shaylee and Izzy from the New York Red Bulls unified team. Thank you to the Red Bulls.

It's the JR Sport Reshow here on CBS Sports Radio. Let's try to get in some quick points before we roll out. Let's go to Charlotte, North Carolina, and talk to AP AP on CBS. Go ahead.

Hey, how you doing? Excellent. Go ahead. We're on time, man. I'm going to make it real quick.

Real quick. I love Jim Brown. I miss him.

I've never seen him play live. But if you don't mind, I want to talk this ship. If you don't mind, because he said something that really disturbed me when I was driving home from work. He said that the only reason nobody is the only reason why somebody is talking about the Carolina Panthers is, you know, is because we had the number one draft pick. Shep, if you hear me, I think that's wrong. Because, like at a gambling table, you know, you get cards that you really don't need to have. And when and when you get and when you get cards, yeah, AP, I'm going to answer you and I'm gonna let Shep jump in quickly.

The reason why people outside of the Carolinas have even uttered a word about the Panthers is because of their quarterback in the number one draft pick. That's that's that's not that's not a question or anything up for debate. And that's that's just flat what it is. Shep, I don't I don't think there's anything really to say outside of that. Am I wrong?

You would be correct. I mean, AP, man, I love you, man. But listen, seven wins in the last five years, you guys have not exceeded. The reality is the only talking point that the majority of people think of when it comes to the Panthers is the number one overall draft pick. It doesn't poo poo on what you guys have done in making the Super Bowl not too recently as well. So I'll give you that.

Yeah, we just everybody wants to see what the quarterback will do. That's that's reality. That's not that's nothing.

That's not a fact. Does that make sense, AP? I mean, yes, sir.

But the fact that we only missed the playoffs because of one loss with that boring game with New Orleans. AP, AP. Yes, sir.

I'm going to say it's a it's it's a very simple concept. From a national perspective, for people who do not live in Charlotte, for people who live live in Phoenix, for people who live here in Atlanta, for people who live in Seattle, in Texas. There's not an interest in the Carolina Panthers outside of, oh, my God, I can't wait to see what Bryce Young does. That's it.

That's just that's just the fact. I appreciate you for calling from Charlotte. I got a role. The show's about to end. AP said he's going to be quick.

He lied. Let's see how quick Tony can be. Tony, you got 15 seconds. Oh, you know, I'm going to be quick.

Born 1966. I just heard about Jim Brown. I'm just saying that's good. Miami Heat. They are not Philly. They don't quit.

They are a bunch of dogs. And that's why the South is having problems. And, Chef, the coach of the South, just like J.R. said, if they had time to get another coach, they would have. With all that being said, we can look at the players.

They got the same issues they've been having. That's it? You said you're going to be quick. You lied. OK. OK. I lied, man. I'm sorry, man. That's the first time, J.R. OK.

Your first time for everything. Have a good weekend, OK? All right, man. All right. Thank you, Tony, for calling.

He tried. I give him credit for that. Hey, Chef, thank you for an amazing week. My pleasure, J.R. Thank you, my friend.

No doubt. Are you on air this weekend? I am, yes.

Every Sunday, 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. Eastern Time, J.R. I'm going to do my best to make sure I'm as confident and as amazingly talented as you are, man. You don't need nothing from me, man. Go be awesome.

You already are. The J.R. Sport Pre-Show here on CBS Sports Radio is done.

Rich Herrera is coming up next. Have a good weekend, folks, at J.R. Sport Pre. Your credit card points are worth more than you think. Point me. Better flights, fewer points. Get started today at point.me.

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