Shedeur Stock Climbing? (Hour 4)

It is the JR Sport Brief Show here with you on the Infinity Sports Network. I'm coming to you live from Atlanta, Georgia. Much love and many thanks to everybody tuned in and locked in all over North America. I hope you're safe. I hope you're well. I hope you've had an amazing Thursday.

I'll be hanging out with you for one more hour. This show gets started every weekday at 6 p.m. Eastern, 3 Pacific. I'm in Atlanta.

Our producer Ryan Botcher is holding things down in New York City. You can always listen to the show on the free Odyssey app, your local Infinity Sports Network affiliate. You got Sirius XM. It's channel 375. You got yourself a smart speaker.

Ask the speaker to play the Infinity Sports Network. What a day. What a day. What a show.

What a show. Right now, we got Game 1 of the NBA Finals underway. They're balling out in Oklahoma City. And at this moment, the Thunder, they lead the Pacers 21 to 15, about two minutes to go here in the first quarter. We know last night we had Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

The Edmonton Oilers, they went out there and beat the Florida Panthers 4 to 3 to open things up on that end. Speaking of open things up, Aaron Rodgers is going to open up his 2025 NFL season because apparently he is heading to Pittsburgh to sign a one-year deal with the Steelers. Looks like Lamar Jackson is looking for and working on a new deal. Looks like Anthony Richardson is already hurt for the Indianapolis Colts. Looks like we have another quarterback named Shadore Sanders who might actually be a starter in Week 1. We just talked about that.

Derek Carr says, I didn't want to steal money from the Saints just to have surgery and rehab. We've had a very, very busy show. Hey, thank you to our guests who came through and joined us as well. James Herbert, who covers all things NBA at CBSSports.com. And then thank you as well to David Paknoda for coming through. Covers all things NHL for NHL.com as well as NHL TV. A busy, busy day it's been. If you've missed a minute of the show, you can always go ahead and hit rewind on the free Odyssey app. You can find me online at JR Sport Brief and if you want to call the number again is 888-710-4ISN.

That's 888-710-4ISN. Oklahoma City Thunder now leading 25 to 15. About a minute to go here in the first quarter. And typically you can look at a basketball game.

I'd say primarily in the postseason. You have a good idea of who's giving the chase. And then who is giving the beat down. And even though Oklahoma City started off on a fast run right out the gate seven to one, the Pacers were able to tie it up.

And now they're right back here to doing the chasing. Tyrese Halliburton has three points. Pascal Siakam has four. Shay Gilgas Alexander.

Nobody can stop this guy. 11 points, five of 11 from the field. He has yet to shoot a free throw and they may not need him to shoot a free throw. I mean the way this game is going, if he continues like this and they can stretch the lead some more, he may be having a seat sooner and earlier than later. I mean he spoke to the media over the past couple of days. Let's just say Shay Gilgas Alexander sounds very relaxed because he was asked about how he's planning to stay focused. The guy has 11 points right out the gate.

Listen to what SGA had to say. I figured out how to like navigate through all the emotions and the nerves and the waiting process, which is just plugging into my loved ones. Try to not think about it so much, just about it so much and just enjoy life and stay in the moment.

Hang out with my loved ones, enjoy life one moment and second at a time. Life is real good right now for Shay Gilgas Alexander, okay? This man is probably going to win finals MVP.

He just won the MVP. And I think most people are just, he's just so relaxed and so chill. There's no controversy, thank God. There's no guy hanging out on social media.

He does his skims commercials. It's nobody's going to confuse him with Mr. Personality. And there's nothing wrong with that because I mean we have enough stars that, and there's nothing wrong with being vocal.

Some of these guys could be whiners and complainers and pains in the ass. And it looks like Shay Gilgas Alexander just shows up. He plays basketball and he leaves. God bless him. I appreciate that. No drama from Shay Gilgas Alexander.

Right now, Oklahoma City leads 27 to 17. We'll keep you up to date on the game as we continue to sit here, as I sit here with Ryan Botcher for the next about an hour. I like a superstar with no drama.

Tim Duncan was one of my favorite players ever. Unlike Shay Gilgas Alexander, we do have another superstar. He is full of drama. He is making, I don't want to say a triumphant return, but he's coming back for one more NFL season at minimum. It's Aaron Rodgers. And this is the news we got earlier today from CBS Sports HQ. Big breaking news here at CBS Sports HQ. We have been waiting forever and now our NFL insider Jonathan Jones confirming it. Aaron Rodgers will be a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers. According to JJ, he plans to sign a one-year deal with the Steelers ahead of next week's veteran mandatory minicamp. The wait is over. Future Hall of Famer, according to JJ, will now officially continue his career in Pittsburgh.

Yeah, Aaron Rodgers. He'll have a funny press conference. He'll make some funny jokes.

Eventually, he'll be a pain in the backside. The Steelers will go 10 and 7 again. They'll have a winning record. They'll go to the postseason and they'll be eliminated.

That's it. And then the Steelers will once again be looking for another quarterback. Come on, everybody knows this is not a long-term thing. I'd be surprised if Aaron Rodgers was back next year. I'm not going to say he's going to tank the entire situation like with what happened with the New York Jets. I hope that the guy doesn't tear his Achilles, you know, for the Steelers right out of the gate.

It's pretty ironic, pretty hilarious. He's going to open up or they, the Steelers, are going to open up the season taking on the New York Jets. That will be absolutely hilarious.

Sign me up for that one. But this is going to be, the Steelers are going to be one of the teams to watch. What are we going to hear from Mike Tomlin? I mean, for all the crazy wide receivers he's had in the building. We can point fingers.

One just left in George Pickens. We can look at Antonio Brown. Aaron Rodgers is a different type of crazy or centric might be the word. Or it could be obnoxious. It could be arrogant.

It could be a complete pain in the ass. But maybe things will be different in Pittsburgh because Aaron Rodgers, a couple of years ago, after playing the Steelers, he talked about how much he appreciates and respects Mike Tomlin. Maybe this one will be different. This is what he told Pat McAfee. I'm a big Mike Tomlin fan.

I have been for a long time. I like the way that he speaks about his team. I like the way that he goes about his business. I like his confidence.

I've heard nothing but good things from guys that have played there. Well, good. They don't have mutual respect.

They have mutual respect. Good for Aaron Rodgers. I mean, what the hell else is he playing for? I don't think they're going to win a Vince Lombardi this year, but I guess they're going to go out there and try. Aaron Rodgers is sticking around for shotgun marriages. I don't think this is going to be a Tom Brady situation. At least Tom Brady only had to try once with another team to win another Super Bowl. Aaron Rodgers is now on team number three, looking for Super Bowl number two.

I don't think it's going to come in the black and yellow. Here today, gone tomorrow. You know, Batcher, when you really think about it, it's crazy. Aaron Rodgers will probably only be a stealer for six months max. Not too bad of a deal, huh? For 20 million? Yeah, I'll take that too. Not too bad. The guy's going to show up, hang around all summer, play some football and leave. Not bad. Most likely cause a lot of drama too.

Get a lot of clicks to his name. One is the first, I don't want to say controversy, and maybe we don't get one. Maybe it'll happen after they come back from Ireland against the Vikings. How long does it take before they got beef? Do you think they'll beef? Oh, with the Steelers themselves, I think it'll take till mid season. Between, I'm talking Aaron Rodgers and Tomlin. I think there's a possibility that they don't beef. I think Mike Tomlin will do a good job diffusing any potential issues by pretty much what he's done his whole career.

It's the art of saying nothing. And so I think Aaron Rodgers will definitely put himself out there. And I think Mike Tomlin will certainly look at him and just go, nothing to see here, folks, just moving along. A lot of interesting press conferences will come out of Pittsburgh without a shadow of a doubt. Speaking of the AFC North, outside of Aaron Rodgers and Mike Tomlin, we did hear and we did learn that Lamar Jackson, not in news for a bad reason. We know this guy isn't going anywhere. It's kind of crazy. Aaron Rodgers is about, let's see, 13 years older than Lamar Jackson.

Damn. And Lamar Jackson, he's not going anywhere at 28. And we learned earlier today that Eric DaCosta, he said that Lamar Jackson, yeah, we're going to pay the man. We started talking about money.

Listen to this. Well, we've had some conversations before the draft, after the draft in person last week. I think we're in the introductory sort of stage of looking at what an extension might look like. We've got a lot of business that we're conducting with different players. And we're in a situation where we're blessed to have most of the team coming back. But as we look out over the next two, three, four, five years, we're trying to keep as many good players as we can. So we've got some guys that we feel like have the chance to really be prolific players for us that can be here a long time. We're trying to get as many of those guys signed up as possible. That's a big challenge. And Lamar is certainly a big part of that, but there are other players as well.

Yeah. Like they gave Rashad Bateman today $37 million over the next three years. What a busy news day in the AFC North. At least Rashad Bateman got paid, had a career high nine touchdowns. Now he can go ahead and look at some bigger numbers in his bank account. Lamar Jackson already making a crap ton of money, $52 million a year, but he's now the 10th highest paid quarterback in the game. This guy's a multiple time MVP and he should be making more money than Dak Prescott. I need that final Lamar and ask him for a loan.

That's what the hell I need to do. And then another team, this is, this is positive. If I'm a, if I'm a Browns fan, first of all, God bless you. If you're a Browns fan. Okay.

You deserve some positive fortune coming your way. We learned today that Shadore Sanders might actually be the starting quarterback. Now I don't believe it. I think it's a lot of lip service, but I want you to hear from the Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator. His name is Tommy Reese. And he basically said, yeah, we got Joe Flacco. Yeah. We have Dylan Gabriel. Uh, yeah, we have Kenny Pickett. Yeah. We have Shadore. Any one of the four of these guys could be the starting quarterback.

I don't believe him, but it is quite telling that he said it. Listen. I mean, yeah, you can see them all winning the job, I think. Right. And so in terms of the competition, we're so early in the process, we're so early in evaluating that. But yeah, I think, you know, we have a good group of guys that are continuing to push one another. And by the time September rolls around, we'll be ready to go.

Oh man. I don't believe they're going to throw Flacco out there first. I think when you think about the, when you look at the room, the locker room and who players are going to respect, there's an expectation that you at least want to give the veteran the first shot. And if he really sucks, then you go ahead and give him the hook. Now it's quite different if Shadore is out there without a shot of a doubt, he's the best QB. I think that changes things.

But in most cases, you got to let the vet go out there and roll. You have to give him the first chance to fail because it's hard to just throw a rookie out there and then you're yo-yoing him back and forth throughout the team. I just think it makes for poor chemistry. The Browns are known for poor chemistry. This is a team that decided to bring in and trade for a pervert to be their starting quarterback.

And then they defended it. Uh, I think things will go a little smoother here with whoever they decide to put in a QB, but I think Joe Flacco will get the start. Uh, Botcher, do you think, or do you believe what Tommy Reese just said that anybody could start? I think they will not start either Gabriel or Sanders. The question right now is between Flacco and Pickett because I don't see either of them lasting long.

It's just, what's the better and worse evils to say the least. Oh my God. Yeah, I would rather go to Kenny Pickett if I'm the Browns, but there's no shot that Shador or Dylan Gabriel is starting. Oh man. Could you imagine if Kenny Pickett started this season?

I wouldn't be surprised. Yeah, but I just think like what, what confidence, not that anybody's expecting anything from the Browns, but what does he evoke? Nothing. Like I'm thinking, I don't want to say I'm thinking about a, uh, a failure, but he's just, he's whatever as a quarterback. He's a guy that I expect to be on the sidelines, just, you know, carrying water and picking up a clipboard. I see Joe Flacco as a brand name. He's been in Super Bowls. He's won a Super Bowl. He's old.

He's, I guess, two steps away from being a grandfather. You know, just put Joe Flacco out there and see what happens. But the only thing about Kenny Pickett is that he was a former first round pick. He's not that far removed from the Steelers starting job.

Maybe they'll give him a second fresh start and hopefully something changes. Uh, uh, it, well, it's certainly a possibility, but Kenny Pickett is as, as bland as they come. I don't think he was okay to get away with his athleticism in college.

I don't think he's athletic enough to run around in the NFL and have success. And so that's why I think Kenny Pickett is nothing other than in his career, he's a sitting duck. Like he's a backup.

That's what he is. Do you think, do you think Kenny Pickett could be a starting quarterback, a sustained starting quarterback in the NFL? No, but we're talking about the Browns here. If it was any other franchise, I'd be like, there's no way that he should get any playing time. But the Browns and the way their quarterback room is positioned to where they have two rookies and a guy who's 40 years old, really didn't play well at the end of last year with the Colts. They have a chance for someone to play here and it's not good.

Yeah. Well, they'll, they'll all get a chance to play, but given who cares what happens who cares what happens last year with the Colts. I think if you're the Browns, you're like, Hey, we had success last year. We pulled this guy. Well, the year before we pulled this guy off the couch, he took us to the playoffs. Let's, let's throw Joe Flacco, pardon the pun. Let's throw Joe Flacco a bone and just let's see what happens.

Yeah. Maybe Chidora can take the reins sooner than later. I think a lot of Browns fans would appreciate that. And then we'll see where the chips may fall and Chidora Sanders is going to have a chance and an opportunity to go out there and prove himself. And so far it sounds that he's been, he's been playing and moving that ball pretty well. I mean, we just shared this audio with you not too long ago. Listen to Tony Rizzo and Aaron Goldhammer.

You can hear them on ESPN Cleveland. And apparently Chidora has been looking real good in comparison to his contemporaries. I got a text from an ESPN Cleveland employee, not named Tony Grossi, big surprise there, that said, quote, Chidora looked like the best quarterback in camp.

I have come to a realization. Oh boy. By the time we get to September, I think Tony Grossi is wrong. I think there's a way Chidora Sanders starts the first game.

Wow. Now that I've seen some videos and talked to a bunch of people and multiple practices, I think Chidora Sanders was the best quarterback out there yesterday. I think now Chidora is putting the draft slide behind him and showing why Mel Kiper thought he was the best quarterback in this draft. Yeah, well, that's, that'll be something that he'll start. It's just a matter of when. I think a lot of people want to see Chidora.

I think a lot of folks want to see Chidora. It's the JR sport re-show here with you coast to coast on the infinity sports network, 888-710-4ISN. That's 888-710-4ISN. Oklahoma, the Oklahoma City Thunder. They lead the Pacers 39 to 28.

About three and a half minutes have gone by here in the second half. We'll keep you up to date on game one of the NBA Finals as we continue on. On the other side of the break, yeah, we talked about something positive involving an NFL quarterback. I'm going to tell you about something negative involving an NFL quarterback. And if you're a Chiefs or Royals fan, I have some positive news for you, or maybe it doesn't make a difference.

I'll tell you about it on the other side. Of course, we'll talk about a few things that took place this day in sports history. You're listening to the JR sport brief show coast to coast on the infinity sports network. You're listening to the JR sport brief. It is the JR sport re-show here with you coast to coast on the infinity sports network. Yeah, I like a little Nate Dogg and Warren G. Okay, I appreciate that.

Hey, how about this? I don't know how many people in OKC are listening to Nate Dogg and Warren G, but down in OKC right now, the Thunder have the lead of 41 to 34. Almost halfway through the second quarter, Tyrese Halliburton with six, Pascal Siakam with six, Shay Gilgus Alexander with 14 points.

He's leading the way. The next highest scorer for the Oklahoma City Thunder, they both come off of the bench. Isaiah Hartenstein coming off the bench here in the NBA finals, seven points. Alex Caruso with seven points off the bench as well. Kason Wallace getting the start here in the finals.

I guess given the size and the speed, not the size, but the speed of the Indiana Pacers, I guess they wanted to have Kason Wallace out there to get up and down the court with everybody. And so far, it is certainly, it is certainly worked. 888-710-4ISN.

That's 888-710-4ISN. We just talked about a lot of quarterbacks before we went to break. Aaron Rodgers finally getting ready to sign a one-year deal to play and start for the Pittsburgh Steelers. We got into Lamar Jackson.

It looks like that he and the Baltimore Ravens have already started to look at a new contract for him that'll give him more than the 10th highest paid average salary for a quarterback in the NFL. Man, we talked about Chidor Sanders. Chidor Sanders is in the space right now where it's been said by the offensive coordinator of the Browns that any of their quarterbacks could start the regular season.

Now, I don't see a scenario that Chidor Sanders is going to start over Kenny Pickett or Joe Flacco, but I do believe sooner than later Chidor Sanders will get his chance and his opportunity. And so a lot of positive news. If you think about some of the quarterbacks in the NFL today, and then we got a quarterback, well, he just got a lot of negative news. He got bad news. He has injury news. It's Anthony Richardson, the fourth overall pick in the NFL, just, just two years ago. This man has dealt with concussions and leg issues and shoulder issues and apparently an OTAs for the Indianapolis Colts. Anthony Richardson, I don't want to say that the man got a boo-boo, but the guy he's hurt again. He can't throw right now. His shoulder, that same shoulder that knocked him out of action in his rookie year in 2023 is bothering him again. It is June. They're playing non-contact.

They're running around in t-shirts and shorts. Nobody is hitting him. His head coach Shane Steichen had to speak to the media today and said, yeah, Anthony Richardson, the guy that we brought in that we don't trust, which is why we signed Daniel Jones. Yeah, he's broken already. Last week in practice, Anthony sustained an injury in his throwing shoulder, felt some pain in it.

Doctor's trainers checked it out. He's got some aggravation in his AC joint. So we're going to set him out this week. Obviously he'll sit out for mini camp. We'll see when he comes back, not going to put a timetable for training camp on it, but when he does come back, we'll ease him into throwing.

And then we'll go from there. The good thing is he's not going to need a procedure right now. Yeah, Daniel Jones is not a dumb man. He said, let me go to a team where I can get an opportunity to start. And he looked at Anthony Richardson and he said, oh yeah, I can take that guy's job because that guy's either A, going to suck or B, he's going to get hurt. Did anybody think that he was going to be busted up in June?

I didn't think so. Here we are at the beginning of June, Anthony Richardson is in the same space of CJ Stroud, who's also had his history of shoulder issues. These guys can't throw a football in June?

What are we supposed to think that they're going to do come September and October? I don't know, maybe they'll give him a shot or two, but at least we know CJ Stroud is a good quarterback. Anthony Richardson, give us a completion percentage higher than 50, you know, one time.

888-710-4ISN, that's 888-710-4ISN. Man, this is a botcher, this is pretty much going, it's one quarter, it's one half, but this is what people expected here. The Pacers are going to go on a run at the end of this game and, you know, OKC will probably still win. I see this game going exactly like how the Timberwolves series went. They're only up 7, now 10 in this game, and they're going to go on a run in the second half, blow them out by 20. Oh my god, we're talking blowouts?

I think so. Oh man, I hope not. Well, if it's a blowout, I'd go to sleep early, I'm not sticking around for this. Well, the Pacers will have a tendency to come back sometimes. Oh, they will. It's just a matter, is it going to be today, is it going to be the next game? Shay Gilgus Alexander is already running around here with 14 points. Yeah, this is, well... Scripted, like usual?

Say what? It's not scripted, but it's following the same storyline as the other games. Yeah, it's just, it's predictable. I mean, the only thing to really watch for here is whether or not the Indiana Pacers can put up a fight. This is like a boxing match.

It's like a boxing match where you just go, well, I know this guy's going to win, but then on the other hand, this guy does have a chance, and I'm only watching to see if there's an upset. Like, there's no meat here for this series. There's no history between these teams. I would say casual fans, and just in America who just, you know, bit names like Curry and LeBron, they have no idea who Shay Gilgus is.

They don't know about Tyrese Halliburton. It's just, I don't want to say I'm already bored with the series, and they haven't even gotten to halftime, but I'm shrugging my shoulders at it. I wanted the Celtics, and this ain't, this ain't what I wanted, so we'll see what happens. Marco, are you bored like me with this?

I can't say I'm bored. I'm more of a scorned lover, because I'm still processing things as a Knicks fan, so this is more difficult to watch, knowing that the Knicks wouldn't have been able to beat the Thunder anyway, but it would have been fun to watch, but I feel like the Pacers are looking at a better version of themselves. It's impossible for me to see how Indiana wins the series. Yeah, you still feeling the Knicks pain? Come on. Yeah, JR, it's, it's, it had been a quarter of a century, man, since they actually got to that spot, and game one deflated all the hope that I had, so yeah, I'm still processing.

It's been a long time since I've been hurt, and it sucks. Well, who needed to see, all right, we talked about this early in the show. I remember Tim Duncan, just young Tim Duncan, giving the Knicks the business. They couldn't do anything about it, and I knew it, like, we all knew it, like, like, they weren't going to beat the Spurs.

No, but that was a hell of a run to get there, so it was enjoyable all the way through. You gotta remember, that was an eight seed, you know, that was the strike, I was a striker, or whatever. The shot by Houston, yeah, they upset the Heaton ones. Yeah, the four-point play, and, you know, Patrick Ewing then, eventually, his body just completely broke down. They had no chance in the Finals, none. They didn't have Ewing. Larry Johnson was all messed up, if you remember, at that point.

Be happy that you don't have to see them get waxed in 2025. Yeah, I know, but like I said, I have fond memories of that run. It was, it's different than 94. Look, 94, I expected them, or I thought that they would win.

Different. It was heartbreaking. 99 was kind of like, hey man, hell of a season, and it was fun, even if it was over. 94, the biggest thing was Akeem and O.J. Simpson, okay? Yeah. That was the biggest thing. You know, I got to be the only guy in America that was screaming when they didn't have the game on, and they went to that Bronco, and I'm trying to find a radio to get me the score, because I could care less at that point, at whatever 16, 17-year-old me.

I was like, I don't care where he's going at three miles an hour in that Bronco. What's the story with Anthony Mason? Is he guarding Aljuan at this point? Yeah, well, we know what happened with O.J., so anyway, Rick Pitino said he doesn't, Marco, did you hear Rick Pitino said he don't want nothing to do with the Knicks again?

I did not. Well, hey, let's listen to this. He was having a chat with Michael Kay, because the guy from Queens was, well, coaching in Queens was wearing the Yankee jersey, talking to Michael Kay. Rick Pitino, the head coach of St. John's, said, man, I ain't going back to the New York Knicks. This is what he told Amazon Prime. Nick job is over. Do you want it?

Absolutely not. I think whoever comes in, if he doesn't get to the finals, it's going to be deemed an unsuccessful season, so whoever comes in has got so much pressure on them to take this team to the next level, because that's why they're doing it, obviously. Hey, Marco, Rick Pitino said the job is all yours, OK?

Yeah, well, I mean, he ran from it the first time after they had the sweep of the Sixers and he took off for Kentucky. Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch. Damn. Anyway, what a way to I don't want to say kick a guy when he's down, but yeah, good old memories. It's the J.R. Sportbreeze Show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. You know what? When we come back, of course, we're going to talk about a few things that took place this day in sports history. And I'm going to tell you about something that took place.

Well, damn it today. You know, there's concern in Kansas City that the Chiefs might be leaving Kansas City, Missouri for Kansas City, Kansas. I'll explain on the other side, but right now you just heard it.

It's a newsflash. The next coach of the New York Knicks, Marco Balletti. You're listening to the J.R. Sportbreeze.

It is the J.R. Sportbreeze Show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. Yeah, we're at halftime here of game one of the NBA Finals and the Thunder lead the Pacers 57 to 45. As you just heard, Marco Balletti, I mean, the turnovers kept on a rolling 19 turnovers, 19 turnovers from the Indiana Pacers here in the first half of the game, 19. Uncharacteristically, Tyrese Halliburton, he has three of them. He does have six points, seven rebounds.

That's not going to amount so much. If you don't hold on to the basketball, you ain't winning. And that's one of the keys to the Indiana Pacers. They can run and get up and down the court at such a ridiculous pace and not turn the rock over. 19 turnovers in the first half of the game is just nuts to me. TJ McConnell, TJ McConnell, excuse me, is actually the leading scorer for the Indiana Pacers tonight. McConnell with nine points coming off of the bench.

Meanwhile, for the Oklahoma City Thunder, we've talked about this. Shay Gilgus Alexander. There is no stopping this man. 19 points in the first half of this game.

18 of excuse me, eight of 18 from the field, two or five from downtown. Shay Gilgus Alexander, not known as a three-point shooter. He has four steals all by himself. Shay Gilgus, two steals, excuse me. He is a, he's a nut.

He's the MVP, and I think he's on his way to a finals MVP. Obviously, we won't be here to give you an update on what happens with this game, but I think we have an idea of what we're going to be having a chat about tomorrow, and it looks like it'll be a Thunder victory unless the Pacers hold on to the basketball and then shock everybody by winning game number one. Wild stuff. It is the end of the show.

You know what that means. It's time to talk about a few things that took place this day in sports history. It's time for this day in sports history. You see, back in those days, we had radio and you couldn't see anything and it was primitive and lousy and we liked it. On the JR Sport Brief Show.

I wish I was 50 years younger and I'd kick your ass. Today is June 5th, the year is 2025. But if we go back to June 5th, 1977, the Portland Trail Blazers, they went out and beat the Sixers 109 to 107 to win the NBA championship in six games.

This is notable. The Blazers were down 0-2 in this series and then won four straight. They're the first team at that time to go ahead and win four straight after starting the series down 0-2. Shout out and rest in peace to the Finals MVP. The man's name was Bill Walton.

I want you to take a listen. Back in 1977, as the Blazers picked up their championship. I just like Bill Walton. You know, he was basically old and broken down when I was a kid by the time, you know, he was, well, I don't want to say worth anything. He was old and broken down, but he was also a great person to interview and talk to. That was in 1977. June 5th, the year 2004.

Maybe you remember this if you like throwing money around. Smartie Jones, he lost the Triple Crown at the Belmont Stakes. Birdstone, who was a 36 to 1 favorite, or excuse me, 36 to 1 long shot, came from behind and beat him at the end.

Take a listen to this courtesy of NBC. Birdstone is moving to be second on the outside. And Smartie Jones enters the stretch to the 120,000. But Birdstone is going to make him earn it today. The whip is out on Smartie Jones.

It's been 26 years. It's just one for a long the way. Birdstone is an upside front. They're coming down to the finish.

Can Smartie Jones hold on? Here comes Birdstone. Birdstone surges past.

Birdstone wins the Belmont Stakes. Man, and everybody sits around for like an hour just for that 30 seconds. They say it's the most exciting time in sports.

It's exciting 30 seconds. Great, okay. I guess you got to have money down on it. Hey, the last Triple Crown winner was in 2018. It was justified. June 5th, that was in 2004. Smartie Jones losing the Triple Crown at the Belmont Stakes.

Birdstone winning. June 5th, 2011, all this guy did is win. Rafael Nadal beat Roger Federer for his record tying sixth French Open. That was at the time. Listen to this courtesy of NBC.

Oh. Harris still belongs to Rafa Nadal. The sixth championship he's won here. And he is now just the seventh man joining Federer and five others to win ten major titles. Man, just when it comes to French Opens, Rafael Nadal, he won it 14 times. That was the sixth time he won it. He won it 14 total times for his career. The last time was in 2022. Rafael Nadal, he just retired last year.

Oh man, that guy's knees were cooked. Okay, anyway, June 5th, 2016, one of his contemporaries, Novak Djokovic, he beat Andy Murray in the French Open to win his first. Okay, this was his first career Grand Slam. He got the Grand Slam by winning this one.

Take a listen. You train as a professional athlete to always be in the moment and focus on the next point and not care too much about what's in the past or what is coming up because you can't influence that. But we're all humans and arriving so close like never before in my life to this trophy and winning it, it was, you know, I felt it.

I felt the tension and excitement, all the emotions, you name it. Yeah, man, that win in 2016 earned him a career Grand Slam, finally got his hand on all of them, all the trophies. He holds the record with 24 majors, including 10 Australian Open titles. We just talked about how Nadal won the French Open 14 times. He won it and dominated in Australia. Yeah, Nadal was killing it on clay and Djokovic just held it down in the land down under.

Wild stuff, man. And now the only guy still sticking around is Djokovic. And he's like, oh, my guys have retired. And I still got some things to do. Yeah, those are a few things that took place this day in sports history.

Today, June 5, 2025. I don't know if this counts as history. But earlier today, we learned something. And you may not know this. If you've been out to Kansas City, maybe you do, maybe you don't. The Kansas City Chiefs are literally on the border between Kansas and Missouri. Not everybody looks at a map.

Not everybody is a geography major. Now, I've been out to Kansas City. I've been to Arrowhead. I've been to Kauffman Stadium. I've been to the MLB All-Star game out there.

That was a long time ago. And, you know, it's a fun time. You go out there, the stadiums are right across from each other. You smell barbecue all throughout the parking lot.

It's a good time. I'll tell you this. There was a threat that the Kansas City Chiefs were going to leave Missouri and then go over to the other side of the border and go to Kansas. But today we got some news via KMBC and the government that the Chiefs and Royals might stay on the Missouri side.

Listen to this. Overnight, the Missouri State Senate has passed a bill designed to keep the Chiefs and Royals in the Show-Me state. Now, Senators passed the bill really just hours ago, about 2 30 this morning, by a vote of 19 to 13. Yeah, the bill needed 18 votes to pass.

It now goes on to the House. If approved, the bill would create a tax incentive package that allows Missouri to invest state funds into major stadium projects. Yeah, now there's no guarantee that the Chiefs and the Royals will stay on the Missouri side. But the government has said, hey, we'll shake some money free for you just as an incentive to stay. Yeah, we'll see if they do.

A lot of times this is public posturing, trying to scare the public. Oh, we're going to leave. We're not going to stick around.

In a lot of cases they do. As a side note, totally unrelated. I hope the Bears stay downtown in Chicago. Okay. Because as a visitor to Chicago, I ain't going out to the suburbs to watch the Bears.

It's not happening. Anyway, you've been listening to the JR Sport re-show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. Thank you so much to our guests who came on through. James Herbert, who covers all things NBA for CBS Sports.

Thank you as well to David Pagnotta, covers all things for the NHL. Right now, this minute, halftime, OKC leads 57-45 against the Pacers. We'll be back tomorrow at 6 p.m. Eastern, 3 Pacific.

I think we'll be talking about an OKC victory. If you missed a minute of the show, go ahead and hit rewind on the free Odyssey app. You can find me online everywhere at JR Sport Brief. Don't move.

Don't go anywhere here on the Infinity Sports Network because Bart Winkler, he is coming up next. Thank you for listening. Thank you for being here. Please be safe. Be well. Be amazing. Thank you so much to our producer, Ryan Botcher.