It is the JR Sport Brief Show on the Infinity Sports Network.
Thank you so much to everybody tuned in all over North America. You could be in Canada. You could be in New York with our producer Ryan Botcher. You could be here in Atlanta, Georgia with me. You could be in Florida. You could be in Idaho. You could be in Oklahoma City. You could be in Indianapolis.
Man, you could be in, I don't know, Sacramento, Vancouver, Honolulu, Anchorage. Thank you for being a part of the show. I appreciate you.
What's up to my main man Mark in Nova Scotia? Thank you to KT for listening in South Carolina. Thank you for my, thank you to my folks in Western New York, everybody in Rochester and Buffalo, Toronto. I appreciate y'all. The show gets started every weekday. It's 6 p.m. Eastern, 3 Pacific. I don't care where you are, what you're doing.
Thank you for being here. Listening on the free Odyssey app, being tuned in on your local Infinity Sports Network affiliate. You got Sirius XM. It's Channel 375.
If you got a smart speaker, ask the speaker to play the Infinity Sports Network. We've had a full show, of course, talking about the firing of Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau. Talking about CJ Stroud.
It's June 3rd. He has shoulder soreness. CJ Stroud isn't even throwing a football at OTAs.
Shame, shame, shame. John Ooh Smith might be traded from the Miami Dolphins to the Pittsburgh Steelers. In a few seconds, we're gonna talk about who might be throwing him the football.
He's not at work. His name is Aaron Rodgers. Doesn't even have a contract. And then we got a player in the NFL who does have a contract.
He's kinda showing up to work, not showing up to work. His name is Michael Parsons. Next week, nothing voluntary about the Dallas Cowboys. The mini camp next week is mandatory, and we have no idea whether or not Michael Parsons is going to show up.
We have so much more to do as the show continues on. At the end, of course, we'll talk about a few things that took place this day in sports history. Shaquille O'Neal, now that the NBA on TNT is curtains, now that it's over, Shaq has some worries about what the show might look like being on ESPN. And about 20 minutes from now, we're gonna have a chat with Rylan Stiles, who covers the Oklahoma City Thunder for Sports Illustrated.
And before we get into Michael Parsons and his contract situation, which has yet to be resolved yet with the Dallas Cowboys, before we talk about Aaron Rodgers and his situation, whatever the hell it is with the Pittsburgh Steelers, I told you that the Pacers, they haven't even played a basketball game yet in Oklahoma City. And Oklahoma City Thunder or Oklahoma City is already giving them some problems. If you know anything about Oklahoma, you got that flat land.
Unfortunately, it is susceptible to tornadoes. And we had some tornadoes that were hitting Oklahoma City with a warning and a flood watch and severe thunderstorms and what have you. The Pacers had to divert their plane to Tulsa. They had to get some more gas and they're gonna try to get to Oklahoma City tonight if they have not already landed.
And so tomorrow, Wednesday is media day for the NBA Finals. We have game one that will take place this upcoming Thursday in Oklahoma City. And so, hey, what's a couple of hours to the Oklahoma City Thunder?
They should be fine. But you want to think about a tornado? I think by the time they hit the basketball court, I think the Thunder are going to hit them with a little bit more. I'm picking a Thunder to go out there and win this series.
Ryan, this is the first day that we're working together since the NBA Finals have pretty much been been set in stone. You going with the Thunder? You think the Pacers got a decent chance here? I'm gonna say the Thunder are gonna win this one pretty handily in five. I think maybe you catch the Thunder sleeping in game two after they blow them out in game one. Not to disrespect the Pacers, it's just the Thunder entire regular season, best differential ever. And you see it in the playoffs. Besides for the Nuggets series, they've been great. Yeah, I'm not.
I'm with you, man. I see maybe Indiana picking up a game. Two games max. I just think when it comes down to their offense, offensive versatility, defensive versatility, their size, we saw the Indiana Pacers get up and down the court. And I think you can win a game on a shootout. And so I wouldn't be shocked if they picked up a victory. But to go out there and beat them four times?
I don't think so. This is like watching one of those games at the YMCA or LA Fitness. There's one group that walks into the gym and you just go, oh no, I'm picking them.
And you just do it by eyesight and what you see. And I think physically OKC is just, they're dominant in comparison to the Indiana Pacers. We're gonna have this chat with Ryland Stiles in about 15 minutes as well. Covers the Oklahoma City Thunder for Sports Illustrated. Looks like the Thunder are not just set up for success this year.
But for all the parity that we currently have in the NBA, it looks like the Thunder is set up for the future as well. We'll talk with Ryland in about 15 minutes. 888-710-4ISN. That's 888-710-4ISN. David is calling from LA, Los Angeles, the City of Angels. You're on the JR Sportbreeze show. What's going on, David? Yo, JR, thanks for taking my call. Good to talk to you. Most certainly. What's up?
All right. You know, with Tom Thibodeau being fired today, is there a profession right now that is, or position right now, that is more unstable than NBA head coach? Because it just feels like there's, what can you do now as an NBA head coach to keep your job? I mean, Thibodeau is the latest in a long line of head coaches who've won, who've taken their teams to a place they've rarely been before in a long time. And he's gotten fired.
I mean, look at all the list of head coaches who've won and got fired. Nick Nurse. We went through, well, you don't have to do that, David. We went through the entire- Oh, you already went through it.
Okay, I'm sorry. I just, I just tuned in to Joe. Yeah, we talked about Michael Malone and Taylor Jenkins and Mike Boonholzer and Nick Nurse and Frank Voelk.
Yeah, we went through the list, David, yes. Oh my goodness. I mean, what can a coach do now to keep his job in the NBA? It seems like not even winning will do it, you know?
And this is, this is a space and an era that we're in right now. And thank you, David, for calling from LA. You have to have somebody that's going to go to bat for you. Simple as that. Like if I'm going to, and it's not a coincidence that unfortunately after Greg Popovich and his stroke, that the longest tenured coach with an organization is now Eric Spoelstra down in Miami. That's not a surprise. You know, Pat Riley is not going to wake up and go out there and just give him the boot.
He's not going to give him the hook because of Miami Heat, similar to the San Antonio Spurs. These are two teams that they've had success because of the people at the top who are running the organization. They're not just going to go out there and pull the plug the first time something doesn't work. They're not going to make harebrained decisions. They're not going to run around like the house is on fire.
Oh my God, we just need to, you know, evacuate, evacuate and get a new house. No, this is, these are organizations that do things the right way and actually have patience. You know, there's a lot of jokes and the Miami Heat have certainly played into it, not even as a joke, but as a branding mechanism.
They're references to heat culture. I remember they put their catchphrases on the court and it's just like, okay, this is a little too much, but it's a reality. Like having an understanding that you play for the Miami Heat, that Pat Raleigh wants you in an excellent shape. You don't want no Eddie Curry's Oliver Miller's, you know, Zion Williamson's eating the table down in Miami. He doesn't want that.
I appreciate the fact that we still have somebody in the NBA, an executive that can look at somebody like Jimmy Butler and just go, nah, man, we ain't paying you. Like you over here popping off online, talking crap, talking nonsense. Oh, well, if I was playing, we would have won. Shut up, man. Just play. How about you? And then you want me to pay you.
I wish we had more of that. And so when you ask, what could have Tom Thibodeau done? What could have this coach done? Who could this guy like?
Like nothing. I think only thing that's left is to say, if I'm a player, no, that's my guy. But you know what? We're in an era of players. They don't care. The coaches are disposable because we're in an era of players where the players make so much money.
And that's not a bad thing. But on a college and as well, the players have more leverage in sports than they have ever had before. It used to be the coach is the one making the most money. The coach is the one constructing the team. The coach has some stroke. The coach can get you minutes. The coach can sit you down. The coach can punish you. How are you going to punish a guy that's now making four and five and six times amount of money as you do and has a longer contract? You can't. And if I'm a player and a lot of these players have been coddled since they were kids, told that they're the best thing in the world revolves around you and you're at the top of the totem pole.
There's less accountability or care for anybody else's dog eat dog world. I'm here for me. That's it. Used to have coaches that were associated with players. This is my guy.
This is the guy who helped me get here. It's not the case anymore. And that's not how coaches are looked upon by organizations either.
And so we are just in a completely different era. I mean, it would take Victor and Benyama to just go not pop. I want my coach. It take John Moran to just go. No, I want to keep Taylor Jenkins. It doesn't don't work that way. We had Jalen Brunson and he didn't say it in the he didn't say if he's not he's not here, I'm leaving. But that's that's what we might need.
And nobody's going to put their behind on the line like that because I got to pay my bills first before I even think about you. It is your answer, David. The answers. The answer is nothing. Eight, eight, eight, seven, ten for ISN.
That's eight, eight, eight, seven, ten for ISN. Tom Thibodeau doesn't have to worry about showing up for work. I mean, the New York Knicks barely do press conferences anyway. He doesn't have to worry about that. But speaking of management and ownership, there is a group that's sick of doing press conferences.
And I guess Stephen Jones specifically from the Dallas Cowboys, the son of Jerry. He is sick of questions about Michael Parsons. He was chatting it up with the media recently and they kept asking him about his contract and his deal. And when is Michael Parsons going to get a new deal? And he's just like, listen, I don't have anything new to tell you.
When I do have something new, I will. Michael Parsons just turned 26 years old, multiple time Pro Bowler. Just last season, he had 12 sacks and 13 games. And you think about some of these big contracts that have been handed out to. Well, we can think about Max Crosby getting what, thirty five and a half. You think about old Miles Garrett who decided to leave Cleveland. Cleveland decided to throw money at him.
He doesn't want to go anywhere. He's getting more than 40 mil. Michael Parsons has been eligible for a contract extension for two years now. Dallas Cowboys haven't given it to him. He's in the final year of that contract, playing on his fifth year option. He wants to get paid. And when you think about the big money, Miles Garrett is making about 15 million dollars more than him right now.
And you could say that their numbers were comparable. And so, hey, look, Trey Hendrickson is doing interviews saying how bad that he's being treated by the Cincinnati Bengals, how much they're not communicating. Michael Parsons is he's been pretty quiet all things considered about this. He could get loud next week. When mandatory OTA take place and if he does not show up to work, he could get fired. He apparently has been in and out the facility. But next week is when he really needs to be at work. And today, Brian Schottenheimer, he talked about Michael Parsons and whether or not he expects him to show next week, even though he wants a new deal. I would assume Mike and I talked a couple of days ago. Again, he's doing a little bit of traveling. But again, everything that he and I've talked about, I expect that he will be here. Like I said, I say each and every week, Mike and I have had great communication, everything I've asked him to do and vice versa. He's followed through on. So I would expect to see him voluntary.
Keep that in mind. Everything so far has been voluntary. Next week is mandatory. The Dallas Cowboys are going to have to make a decision as to whether or not they want to find Michael Parsons if he doesn't show up to work next week. And I think that's that's much to do about nothing, because ultimately, in a lot of cases, they're about to pay this man more than 40 million dollars a season.
And then a lot of cases we've seen money just get wiped off the books. Hey, as a part of the contract negotiations, hey, can you go ahead and waive the fines? I don't think Michael Parsons is going to take a hard stand. I think he's going to show up next week. I think he's going to take the opportunity to help put pressure on the Dallas Cowboys. Now, is it going to work?
I don't think so. This is something I believe is going to drag on into training camp. The Dallas Cowboys like to take things to the line. They could assign Michael Parsons to a big old deal.
Where he could have got 30 million dollars where he could have got 35 and just sat there. The Dallas Cowboys wait and wait and wait. And they end up paying some more. It's like that that that that kid who always wants to wait. For the new game to stand outside and instead of getting things done early, you got to pay the price for waiting.
You got to wait longer, just get it done and move on. The Dallas Cowboys over and always making things more painful than they need to be. It's the JR Sport Breeze show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. We'll get into Aaron Rodgers later on in the show. His former teammate, Mercedes Lewis, had some interesting words about Aaron Rodgers and whether or not they could potentially play again.
We're going to take a break when we come back. I mentioned OKC. Looks like the Pacers had some trouble or are having some trouble getting into the city, unfortunately, with a tornado warning. We'll have a chat with Ryland Stiles. He covers the Oklahoma City Thunder for Sports Illustrated. We'll get his thoughts on how this team was constructed, what he's seen, what we can expect here on the finals and man, the way this team is looking, what we can expect going into the future.
Ryland Stiles is going to join us. You're listening to the JR Sport Breeze show on the Infinity Sports Network. You are listening to the JR Sport Breeze. It is the JR Sport Breeze show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. Man, the Pacers haven't even touched down in Oklahoma City and they're having some issues with their travel.
I mean, by the time they actually get to the games on Thursday, I think they may run into some other issues as well on the basketball court. Joining us right now to talk about these Oklahoma City Thunder, where they've been, how they got here, what we can expect moving forward is someone who covers the team. He's the host of the Locked on Thunder podcast.
You can catch him and his work covering the Thunder for Sports Illustrated. Joining us right now is Ryland Stiles. Ryland, how are you, man? I'm doing good, man. How are you doing?
I'm excellent. Thank you for taking the time to join us. I mean, everybody is basically is OKC on a title watch right now. Is everybody just waiting for this one to get done or people kind of just cautiously optimistic? Yeah, right now, I mean, the feeling around Oklahoma City is that everybody is only nervous about how not nervous that they are for this matchup against Indiana. I mean, the heavy favorites in Vegas and the heavy favorites with the national media pundits, the heavy favorites locally.
Now they have to just go do it. I think that some of that is a little bit of a disservice to Indiana. But another part of that is this has been a dominant team all season long in route to 68 wins. Historically, great defense that got better in the playoffs. And you have the best player on the court, which oftentimes in the NBA, having the best player on the court, that's kind of been the one fact that you needed to win the series.
And this under have that with SGA. So it is their best chance to ever win one because that 2012 team ran into the desperate Miami Heat heatles and this team runs into three haliburton. So it's much different than the last time they were in the finals.
Everybody is super excited. What is the biggest threat? What are the Pacers have? What is the biggest threat, if I may say so?
What has people worried if there's anything? It would have to just be Indiana's three point shooting because the Pacers have protected the ball at an extremely elite level. So have the Thunder this season. The Thunder's historic defense is built on creating controlled chaos and forcing turnovers. And then they kind of use that to have an avalanche like effect where they rack up five turnovers in a row, which leads to fast break points, which leads to a gap on the scoreboard. And if India is able to keep the basketball on their side of the floor, then you're going to see them whip the ball around to the corners where the Thunder typically let up the most corner three point shots in the league. And those open corner threes will be taken by players who are capable of hitting them unlike in previous rounds, broken the city. So the pathway for India to get upset when in these games in this series is by protecting the basketball and finding the corner three point shooters and knocking them down, which they've done at an elite rate throughout the postseason. Ryland Stiles is here with us, covers the Oklahoma City Thunder.
It's the JR Sport Reshow Coast to Coast on the Infinity Sports Network. Ryland, when you think about this team and what took place last year and where they've grown and what is the biggest factor here? Is it just a matter of experience? Yeah, it's certainly experience is the biggest key to all of this. I think experience in this postseason is the biggest key. I mean, the fact that Jalen Williams, J-Dub has followed up that game six in Denver with that game seven against Denver and then went on to help this team win the West.
That's just a maturity that you didn't have a year ago. I mean, when things went wrong for J-Dub last postseason in round number two against Dallas, they kept being wrong and he never could figure it out offensively. It took him a year to get that part of his game elevated. And even for as great as this team is, had they had a repeat of last year's Dallas offense from Jalen Williams, they wouldn't be in the NBA finals right now. So his experiences and his ability to get better led to this happening.
And it was home runs the same way. And then they also added two excellent players and Alex Crusoe and Isaiah Hartenstein. And Crusoe has been a postseason just absolutely elite player for the Thunder compared to the cold body you had on the floor in Gordon Hayward last year, who was out there in name only was dead on arrival with that trade from Charlotte. So that's a huge upgrade to your playoff rotation with the intensity and the leadership that Alex Crusoe has brought in the versatility that Caruso has brought. I mean, he defended Nicole Jokic in that game seven to frustrate him and get the Thunder a game seven win. So they improve their roster externally, but they especially improve it internally.
And now they're sitting here four wins away from a championship. Rylan, everybody talks about Shay Gilgus Alexander and the players on the roster, even Sam Presti, but the head coach Mark Degnault, he doesn't get a lot of attention. How has he kind of flown under the radar here? Yeah, I think that, you know, last year when the coach of the year award was the only time he's ever been acknowledged, because I think that some of it is still the the perception of him as like, whenever he got hired, he got hired from the G League, nobody knew who was his birthday on the internet was an act. Nobody knew anything about this guy whenever he got hired, and people kind of dismissed it as like, Oh, they're hiring this guy to bridge the gap from the rebuild, he won't be long and no one took the time to kind of understand who he was.
And then you know, you go down this this run now this path with the Thunder. He was not the guy just for the rebuild. He was the guy and and he's been in every bit the part of the guy as the head coach for OKC. He's still one of the youngest coaches in the NBA, but now also one of the most tenured coaches in the NBA.
Whenever you look at that time, people getting fired today. So he's been around the block now. And now he's having his moment, you know, in the spotlight at the NBA Finals. I think he's one of the best X's and O coaches on the NBA, but I also think, almost more importantly with a team this young, he's one of the best leaders in the NBA of how he approaches things, how he approaches relationships with his players, and how he approaches the game. Rylan Stiles is here with us Thunder beat writer for Sports Illustrated. And so given what we've seen is no way that, uh, you know, he's getting the boot like some of these other great coaches that we've seen over like today or the past year or so, right?
He's he's gonna be sticking around for a while. Yeah, I mean, there's the stats that are flying around about winning coach of the year dooms you. That's not what dooms you. What dooms you is you have a bad you have a bad front office, you have bad ownership and you have a bad team. The Thunder have none of those things as a bad aspect. Their owner is a completely hands off owner who does whatever it takes to help the organization.
There's nothing to kind of take the spotlight. Their front office is the best in the sport, and their team is set up for long term success. He has really no reason to worry long term. I think he's gonna be here a while.
When you think about the roster construction and Shay Gilgas, Alexander, and you got a bunch of other young guys who haven't yet jumped on some of these these massive deals and contracts, what is the likelihood that this team stays together in such a way? Because we know that eventually, quote unquote, the tax man cometh. I mean, that's true. This is the first NBA Finals where neither team is a tax paying team since the luxury tax has been a thing. And so obviously, the bill will come due in the Thunder trying to willingness to pay that tax. I think that people misconstrued the James Harden trade with an unwillingness to pay because the Thunder paid the luxury tax for teams that were getting bounced by Ricky Rubio. I think they paid the luxury tax for teams that were not any good, frankly.
And so they're willing to do it. And the Thunder will do it. What's going to change about this team is not about the top three. They'll be able to keep Shay and Chet and Jada. What's going to change with this team is, you know, guys in that seven through 18 flat on the roster, you're gonna have to cycle through with all these draft picks and continue to hit on these cost controlled counts. Once the bill comes due on some of these role players, they have to go somewhere else. And you have to use your abundance of draft picks again on more really impactful role players who are now reset on the on the contract timeline of when you have to pay them. And the Thunder are going to have to have a lot of pressure put on their front office to execute that plan. But they have a really good front office in terms of drafting players and developing them. This coaching staff has done an excellent job of developing players. I mean, how many guys on this roster have second round, you know, draft pick slots, and are now playing in the NBA finals in a meaningful way. Same way with like undrafted guys. So they've shown an ability to develop, they have to continue to do that, though.
And I think it will work out for them in that in that capacity. Clearly, you know, all the team guys for next year under roster contract, but they are going to have to change, they are going to shuffle through, it's just not going to happen at that top three level, which is what everyone seems to worry about. But you can talk to any, you know, capologist out there, and they'll and they'll make sure to clear your worries on that because of how cleanly the Thunder have kept their cap sheet in. Because this is the first CBA that Sam Preston has ever not been had to be blindsided by. In fact, the others reports that he worked closely with, you know, crafting the CBA and what's the most important thing in the new CBA? Oh, it's NBA draft picks, who has the most NBA draft picks? Oh, Sam Preston, like he's finally ahead of the curve, for once on the CBA, which she got, he got hurt on the 2016 CBA with the with the cap spike to let Katie go to the Warriors. He got hurt with the CBA for the James Harden trade.
So I mean, now the CBA is finally playing to his advantage. And I think that the Thunder will be able to navigate that pretty well. Yeah, well, Ronald, and all things considered, you take a look at the NBA with us not having a repeat since 2018.
We've had a different champ every single season. It's now 2025. I'd say that the Thunder are going to be looking good for the foreseeable future unless they unfortunately come down with some type of catastrophic injury.
No. Yeah, I mean, that's exactly right. And that's and that's what happened to that to that team in 2012. A lot of people, whether this team wins or loses the finals, will point back to that 2012 picture of Harden and Russ and Katie with their arms casted around each other and acting like the era was some big failure up until the bitter end when that run ended in 2016. They had the Golden State Warriors on the ropes up three games to one in that Western Conference Finals series. They just so happened to choke it away and they didn't end up winning it. But they were in the Western Conference Finals. They lost to the Western Conference Finals to the Spurs. They got to the West Finals like four times, five times.
And they just happened to keep kept losing. And then in those years where they didn't get there, you know, Patrick Beverly dives at Russell Westbrook's knee and takes him out. You know, the foot injury to Kevin Durant, the injury to Serge Ibaka.
So it's like you never know what will happen when it comes to injuries. But that's that run with those guys from 2012 was sustained high level contention success. And that's what this Thunder team will do as well.
And Ron, last question for you. The finals get started on Thursday. How many games are we going to see in the NBA finals? You know, I think that the popular pick right now is Thunder and five. I think that the Indian pitchers are at least going to win two games in this series just just by the nature of that three point shooting. That's the great equalizer in this sport in the modern era. And they're going to have games where they keep the turnovers down and then they make the Thunder pay for the way that they defend the corner three point spot.
And so the Pacers, I think, will win two games in the series and the Thunder taken in six. OK. Hey, Rylan, man, this has been a hell of a ride. I think it's been a hell of a ride for you for a few seasons now. Tell everybody where they can keep up with you and all of your work covering the squad. I appreciate it. I appreciate you having me on. You can go find me on Twitter at Rylan Underscore Styles, check out Lockdown Thunder podcast anywhere. Get your podcast from and a thunder on this side. Hey, Ron, thank you so much. Enjoy the ride, man.
Catch you down the line. No doubt about it. That Rylan Styles covers all things Oklahoma City Thunder. You just heard him for the locked on Thunder podcast as well as Sports Illustrated. It's the J.R. sport re-show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. 8 8 8 7 10 for ISN.
That's 8 8 8 7 10 for ISN. It's kind of crazy whether the Pacers win or the Thunder win. I think most people believe that the NBA season is coming to a close. And as a part of that, we've already seen one chapter of the NBA close the NBA on TNT is curtains as of Saturday night when the New York Knicks win and lost to the Indiana Pacers.
That was a conclusion to that brand. And now we know the NBA on TNT will be moving over to ESPN. Shaquille O'Neal had a podcast interview released with The Pivot, and he had some thoughts about what this means. The NBA on TNT moving over to ESPN. Shaq has one major thought.
I think a lot of people kind of have the same. I'll let you hear from Shaq on the other side of the break. We have so much more to get into. You want to call me.
You can do that. 8 8 8 7 10 for ISN. That's 8 8 8 7 10 for ISN. It's the J.R. sport re-show on the Infinity Sports Network. And right now it's a news flash with Rich Ackerman. You're listening to the J.R. sport brief. The J.R. sport re-show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. Hey, thank you so much to Ryland Stiles for joining us to talk about the Oklahoma City Thunder.
I wish I was. I mean, it's going to be a shootout, but the defense is crazy. The offense is fine. Shay Gil gets Alexander gets what he wants when he wants it. Oh, man, it's some tough and tough going. It's going to be a tough go around for the Indiana Pacers. Thank you to Ryland for coming through to join us.
If you missed that conversation, go ahead and hit rewind on the free Odyssey app. You know what? While I'm here, might as well tell you about this before I get into Shaquille O'Neal. He was a great defensive player when he wanted to be the defensive player of the week is brought to you by the Navy Federal Credit Union.
Our members are the mission. The defensive player of the week, Jack Flaherty of the Tigers. This man started yesterday. The White Sox stink. He gave up one run in six innings. He struck out four in a Tigers 13 to one victory. That is your defensive player of the week brought to you by the Navy Federal Federal Credit Union.
Yeah. Speaking of defense, I did say, hey, Shaq, he was a good defender when he wanted to be when he wanted to rim protect when he was younger and even when he was older and bigger. Shaquille O'Neal would and could go out there and block some shots.
He was willing to go out there and do so. Now, Shaq, I'm not going to say he's on the defense right now, but we have had some changes, well documented changes in the world of sports coverage of the NBA. The NBA will be back on NBC later on this year, kind of when Shaq was a young man trying to beat Michael Jordan, when Hakeem was winning, when Jordan was winning. NBA will be on Amazon. And we know the NBA is done on TNT. But the NBA's best show, one of the best sports shows probably of all time inside the NBA. We'll continue on. Ernie, Shaq, Charles, Kenny, the show is now being licensed out to ESPN.
And so as a result, there are a lot of questions. OK, ESPN is purchasing the show. What does that mean? You know, Bill Simmons was doing a lot of chatting this week. He's like, oh, well, are they going to run the same commercial clock that that they currently have these quick breaks? Well, what are they going to do about the post game?
And a lot of that seems like, hey, if you got a good thing, don't don't change it. Like run the same exact thing that you currently have on TNT, on ESPN, that that part sounds like rocket science. But Shaquille O'Neal was on the pivot podcast with Ryan Clark and Shaquille O'Neal had his own concerns and it was less about a clock, but it was more so about about content.
Listen to Shaq and his concerns about whether or not they're going to be muzzled, particularly Charles Barkley. If you look at the reality of the situation, we all resigned. We're going to be there. We're shooting in the same place. Everybody's coming back.
The name and the title is going to be different. Only thing I'm concerned with is we're going on a bigger network. Will they be able to handle handle our shenanigans? Can Charles talk about fat women in San Antonio?
Can you know, can we talk about people's hairlines and, you know, make them cut their hair? That's the only thing I'm worried about and worried about is shenanigans. Well, I mean, it has been a running thing. I feel like for maybe a decade now, Charles Barkley referring to the the big old women down in San Antonio and he has had no shame in any of that. And it has been well documented, well documented that Charles Barkley was told about that, that he was asked about that, that Charles Barkley was told, hey, man, we're getting a lot of complaints with these comments like, buddy, you need to knock it off. They had a big old production meeting right down the block from me here in Atlanta, Georgia, where they said, hey, Charles, man, you need to chill. And Charles Barkley, well, he had his own response to that. Listen to his apology.
Maybe this is what Shaq hopes doesn't change. I want to apologize to the women of San Antonio because Ernie, what happened? What happened to prompt this? This has been going on for a good Ernie 12 years. I had churros last night.
I see what all the excitement is about. I had churros last night, Ernie. Them churros good. Them churros are the bomb. Don't break the set, Charles.
I'm telling y'all, man, I got to apologize. Them churros. Have some ice cream with those.
I had vanilla ice cream. Oh, man. So now you can watch it. Now you can understand what's going on down in San Antonio. All right. Yeah.
There is your there's your apology. It doesn't seem like Charles Barkley is all that concerned with the I don't want to say an uprising in San Antonio, but it doesn't seem like he's all that concerned. Charles Barkley is is Teflon.
Yes. This man has said some of the craziest things on national television and most people would just no longer have a job over. And he's hey, it's Charles Barkley being Charles Barkley. And it doesn't start or stop with his time on TNT.
You think about Charles Barkley. This this goes back to when when he was playing. He was outspoken.
I mean, they did an entire and I can't even call it a a marketing plan or marketing push by Nike. He said it and they turned it and branded it. He's like, I'm not a role model.
And he wasn't. This man says what's on his mind. This has been his M.O. from the day that he pretty much burst into the went to the public scene.
He is certainly one of a kind. And I don't think ESPN is going to muzzle this guy in any capacity. To be honest, I'm still I guess I'm not shocked. You think about ESPN licensing Pat McAfee show. And I mean, it's full on profanity.
You're not going that extra extra mile. But who would ever thought that that Mickey Mouse and Disney would would kind of enter into these spaces. So I know a lot of people are concerned and worried about what this show is going to look like, what this show was going to sound like.
I'm not I'm not. And you know what? If ESPN wants to go ahead and just drive the show into the ground, then good, then good. Nothing lasts forever. This show is not going to last forever. I certainly want to enjoy it just like everybody else for as long as possible. But can you imagine some of the comments and interviews that we would get from Charles Barkley if ESPN did decide to tinker with this show?
I'm not concerned. I really think and I know Chuck Charles Barkley has been talking about retiring for the longest time. I really believe I'd be shocked if we get more than five years max at this. I think somebody at some point in time is going to want to walk away and let's be real. This is Charles Barkley show.
It said, OK, Shaquille O'Neal is a good foil to have. He wasn't always on the set. Kenny is great. I love Kenny.
I know Kenny personally, but people weren't just showing up just to see Kenny. When Charles Barkley joined that show, it became a masterpiece. And whenever Charles Barkley decides, you know what, I'm done, I'm leaving the show is over. And so I say this, forget what network it's on. Just enjoy the Charles Barkley ride. When asked our producer, Batcher, Ryan, are you concerned that ESPN is going to screw this up?
Not at all. I I've been tuning into a certain ESPN show and I've heard some cuss words, just not even blurped out anymore. And I if that's going to happen with their show that they brought in, paid a lot of money for, I have zero worries about inside the NBA. They're going to let them do basically whatever they want.
Yeah, I feel I hear that. Line them up, set them up, let them let them go to work. I mean, how about this on the first night? Whatever it is, I think this is pretty standard that at this point in time. Play one of them games of who he played for. I think everybody can can expect that.
Pretty sure one of these. Old ass NBA players will pop up on the show, play that game. And I would say probably in the first five minutes of the show, let's automatically let Charles Barkley talk about his favorite women down in San Antonio.
Let's get everything that you need to right out of the gate. I think people would appreciate that. There's I'm not going to say there's no way because there's always a way. ESPN would have to try, try to go out there and screw this up. I hope not. It's the JR Sport Reshow here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network 888-710-4ISN.
That's 888-710-4ISN. It has certainly been a busy day in the world of sports. When we come back, I'm going to give you an update and a recap on everything that took place today. I mean, we can think about Tom Thibodeau getting the boot. We can look at Michael Parsons not at work. We can go ahead and look at the shoulder issue.
Well, at least it's Soreness by C. J. Stroud. So we're going to come through, give you a wrap up. The phone line's open if you want to give me a holler. 888-710-4ISN. That's 888-710-4ISN. You're locked in. It's the JR Sport Reshow coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network.
