Is Haliburton Soft? (Hour 2)

It is. The JR Sport Brief Show here on the Infinity Sports Network. Happy Thursday. I hope you're safe. I hope you're well.

I hope you're all the great things. None of the bad things. I hope you're only the good things. I'll be hanging out with you. for the next three hours.

This show gets started every weekday at six PM Eastern. Three Pacific. I am in Atlanta, Georgia. Which unfortunately feels like New Orleans, Louisiana. There's been humid as hell out here, okay?

Anyway, I'm in Georgia. Thank you to our producer in New York City, his name. is Ryan Botcher. I don't know your name, but I'm glad that you're listening. You can always tune in on the free Odyssey app.

your local Infinity Sports Network affiliate, If you got SiriusX MH channel 375, If you got a smart speaker, ask it to play the Infinity Sports Network. We've been hanging out for an hour already. And we've already discussed a lot. Just well, a few minutes ago. Shamar Stewart of the Cincinnati Bengals deciding to leave work.

No new contract. We talked about the Philadelphia 76ers trying to move up in the upcoming NBA draft. The Sacramento Kings, there's rumors about them getting better.

Now You know, that's impossible. They're going to just get worse. That's what the Kings do. And then, how about better? The Pacers, with another bounce-back performance, all they do is get better and better in the fourth quarter of games.

Now the Pacers. Have a 2-1. NBA Finals lead. In an hour from now. We got the NHL Stanley Cup finals.

Man, the Panthers are trying to go up three one against the Oilers. We got a lot to do. How about this? And about Yeah, fifteen to twenty minutes, Dustin Dopirac is gonna join us. Covers all things Indiana Paces for the Indy Star.

We got the start of the U.S. Open. Wes Reynolds is going to join us, covers all things golf. For Veeson. Mandatory mini camps that are closing up, grand opening, grand closing.

What an unspectacular three days Bunch of coaches showed up. Maybe they were in a new uniform. Maybe they were Aaron Rodgers. Maybe they didn't show up to work at all. Maybe they were fat.

People are looking at Debo Smith going, Man, what we This is the guy that we brought in. They're like, damn, Debo, please, sir, come back in shape. in another uh another month. I know they're begging for it. Eight eight eight seven ten four I S N.

That's 888-710-5. Four I S And yeah, we're waiting for that puck to drop. Got another hour. Bonch, you think we're going to see some more fights tonight? Oh, 100%.

Okay.

Okay.

Wait the way the last game ended, I wouldn't expect to be to see a fight to start the game. Oh, you think they're going to get after her right out of the gate, huh? They should.

Well they probably not. Yeah, let's um well let's see. I'm I'm here for fights. The sun be up. See some teeth flying all over the ice.

Not my teeth. I do not care.

So let them go out there. and fight. Anyway, somebody who does care. Why he cares, I do not know. This man has taken his game to another level.

I think he has gained and garnered a whole new level of respect. And I think he's I think he's earned it. His name is Tyrese Halliburton. In last night's one sixteen one oh seven victory Over the Oklahoma City Thunder Tyrese Halliburton. went out, And he decided to only contribute 22 points, 11 assists, and 9 rebounds.

Okay, only. There's some games when Tyrese Holliburton. You know, can kinda disappear on the scoring side. He goes through stretches where you just go, where is he? It'd be halftime of a game.

He'd be like, Oh my god, this guy only has four points and How is he a star? I think everybody remembers. Right before we got to the postseason. This NBA Players Association Anonymous Survey came out. It was like, oh, Tyrese Halliburton.

most overrated player in the game. And then he eliminated the Bucks. And then he eliminated the Knicks. And then he's over here or the Cavaliers too. And now he's over here just Dropping some shots.

Game one. One game one. For the Oklahoma City Thunder. Everybody knows. that this guy, is a star.

Everybody knows that this guy is going out there getting it. But Cyrus Halliburton hears some of the criticism. From people like Stephen A. Smith, From the NBA players who say that he's overrated. People who don't think the Indiana Pacers are going to win this series, like me.

And it really boils down to He sat down at his postgame press press conference last night. And he was asked about the people who don't believe in him. And he actually got sucked into it. He actually gave a response. And and listen to what he said.

I don't agree with it. Listen to what he said. The commentary is always going to be what it is. You know, most of the time the talking heads on the major platforms. I I couldn't care less, honestly.

Like what do they really know about basketball. But I think as a group, you know, and and watching film myself, seeing where I can get better is important. And, you know, I I mean, in a time like this, I'm not really on social media as much. I try to stay off it as much as I can. But, you know, you see it and, you know, ESPN might be on in my house and there it is.

And, you know, it is what it is. But I think just seeing where I can be better is the most important thing. And having that reflection with myself, I talk a lot, obviously, with my trainer Drew and Coach Carlisle and all those guys. And it's a... you know, constant conversation of seeing where I can get better.

There was adjustments that had to be made coming into today for me, and I thought I did a better job at that. And I'll watch film again and see where I can get better. But, you know, I think there's going to be ebbs and flows. You know, I'm never going to be. you know, super great and shoot so many shots every game consistently.

There's gonna be games where I don't. And, you know, I gotta be able to find the right balance between the two. Listen. I don't disagree with what he said about Everybody has an opinion, and this and that, and what have you. He's right.

What I don't agree with him on Is that, hey, what do the what do what do people know? Man, I ain't play no college basketball. I didn't play on no high school team. I was too lazy. I think I told everybody.

In high school, I was. I was having vodka and orange juice in high school, okay. I wouldn't think about no basketball. Trying to go outside. Ain't playing college.

Well, after college, what is it? Obviously, I didn't play in the NBA and I quit playing basketball like. 10 plus years ago, I'm not playing nothing. I know what the hell I'm looking at. I need to be an NBA player.

I need to be in a huddle with Rick Carlisle to know what the hell I'm looking at. I don't need to. That's like it's like eating food. You don't need to be a master chef. You don't need to be in the kitchen.

to know whether or not something Tastes good, okay? Like, I can sit down and watch, and I did. I saw them here in Atlanta, watched them play in person. There's a difference between watching the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are now here in the NBA Finals, And sitting down watching the uh the Sacramento Kings. Like there's a difference.

Okay? Anybody could eat food and know that this food sucks. This doesn't taste good. I mean, you may know the difference. You may go to one grandmother's house, and grandma, number one, her food is delicious.

You go to the other grandmother's house and the food is garbage. You got to turn the plate over, you know, with your hands covering it so she doesn't see. Like, we've all been there. Maybe not your grandmother. Maybe it's your friend.

Damn it, I hope it's Not your significant other, not your wife, hopefully not. Maybe it's not your mother. Not everybody can cut. But I think we all know What bad food tastes like. I can watch a basketball game and know what the hell I'm looking at.

without sitting in the huddle. And when it comes to Tyrese Halliburn, the criticism of him has been about His the level of stardom. Whether or not he is a a superstar. And I'm not ready to put him in the superstar category. He's a star, okay?

When I think superstars isn't there's not a conversation about it, okay? Giannis Atara Kumpo is a superstar. LeBron James is a superstar. Steph Curry. Is a superstar.

Like, you don't have to sit around. and debate it. If you gotta debate it, then you're not there yet. I mean, even if we gotta think about other places and spaces of entertainment, There's not a human being who, if somebody walked around and said, you know, That Michael Jackson. He wasn't a superstar.

He was just a star. You wouldn't even entertain him, okay? If somebody told you today What's the Travis? Taylor Swift is not a star. She's not a superstar.

People go, what are you talking about? You stupid idiot. Beyonce's not a superstar. There's no questions about it. None.

And so Tyrese Halliburton took issue with I just talking heads. Magic Johnson, he was actually on ESPN earlier today. There's no doubt that Magic Johnson was and still is a superstar in basketball court the business world. Magic gave his definition. definition of what a superstar is.

Listen. A person who can go on the road and sell the building. There we go. That's the simple definition. Simple.

I'm going to see that person, right?

So you ain't talking skill on the court. That's it. You talk about drawing. You got to be. Magic sits now.

You're going to the game. Yeah. A superstar got to say, man, or you running home from the office and saying, oh, I got to see him on TV. Right. And that's what you, Larry Bird, people running home.

Right. Charles Byron, people running home. Shaq, people running home. Kobe, people running home. And then, of course, the greatest that's ever played, Michael Jordan, people going running home to see him.

Or they're trying their best to get into the arena to see that brother play. That's a superstar who could go on the road and sell the building out. Oh, you know what? Great definition by Magic Johnson. Box office.

Box office is it? And I mean, given what we just heard, Is Tyrese Halliburton box office? Is he selling out arenas all over the country? I mean, when Tyrese Halliburton comes here to Atlanta, Is that place just. Are people coming to see him?

I think people will, based on what we see here, but I don't think it's. It's going to be like when LeBron comes to town. When Lebron comes here at his place is Is moving. It's Laker Jersey's all over the damn place. The building has a different energy to it.

When Halliburton comes, is well, I guess in the future people will look at him and boom. They're not they're not showing up just to just to see him, not all over the country. People in Utah ready to see Tyrese Halliburton? The Barclay Center in Brooklyn. And Botcha, you're a Nets fan.

Are you going to show up just to go out there and see Tyrese Halliburton? No. I have no interest. In comparison to other stars.

Well, that's a Magic Johnson's point. And you know, but here's here's the difference. Like there's there there are levels.

So all of this. If Tyrese Halliburton can pull off the upset. And Tyrese Halliburton can win an NBA Finals in one of the biggest upsets ever. If Tyrese Halliburton can knock down another big shot, if Tyrese Halliburton can win an NBA Finals MVP in three weeks from now, he's on WWE television. Taunting the entire country, which I know he loves.

If he is selling t-shirts and he's playing the villain and he's making more choke signs. If he wants to be the bad guy, Then he can grow into a a superstar. He can certainly be a villain. You know, nobody liked Reggie Miller. Nobody.

He was whiny. He was a pain in the ass. He was the skinniest guy on the court.

So you were just like, oh, this skinny, whiny ass guy who's just knocking down threes to kill my team. Nobody liked Reggie Miller. Reggie Miller was a star. Reggie Miller's a Hall of Famer. He's one of the best shooters ever.

By magic's definition, was Reggie Miller selling out buildings? The answer is no. I think in this day, in this era, Social media or the way Halliburton dresses. Look, Reggie Miller showed up to work in a suit. A s a big old suit and a tie.

As Gumby cut, as crew cut, as Tom and ain't nobody sh was paying to see Reggie, okay? Tyrese Halliburton in twenty twenty five can be a better star. But I'll tell you this: if he keeps playing the victim role, the bad guy role. He can emerge into a superstar. He's just not there yet.

Especially outside of Indianapolis. Wouldn't bet on that one. It's the JR Sport Brief Show here with you, coast to coast, on the Infinity Sports Network. We're going to take a break. Matter of fact, we come back.

Let's talk about. this man, Tyrese Halliburton. Let's talk about the Pacers and what they're doing. Let's get into Bent Matherin and TJ McConnell and what this team is doing now that they have a 2-1. Series lead in the NBA Flight.

Finals. We're going to have a chat with Dustin Doperac on the other side of the break. He covers all things, pacers for the ND Star. We can even ask him about Caitlin Clark. Yeah, she should be balling soon.

It's the J.R. Sport Brief Show on the Infinity Sports Network. You are listening to the JR Sport Brief. It is the JR Sport Brief Show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. The Pacers have a surprising 2-1 lead here in the NBA Finals.

There's still conversations about whether or not they can win, how good or not good Tyrese Halliburton is or is not.

So, to have a chat with us is someone that we have spoken with before. as these pacers are still rolling along now in the NBA Finals, joining us right now. Courtesy of the Indy Star is Dustin Dopirak. Dustin, how are you, man? Doing well, man.

They look happy again. No doubt, all the time. Always a pleasure. I mean, are you surprised at what we've seen so far by these pay a 2-1 lead? Are you even surprised with this?

I mean, like, the answer is yes and no. I think my The point that I thought they were gonna lose, you know, like the series that I thought they were gonna lose was Cleveland. And when they went up 2-0 on the road against Cleveland, I felt like I had to adjust my priors. You know, that was sort of not that I didn't think this this Pacers team was good. I mean, I looked at it as you know, after they won the first series, I felt like they were kind of playing with house money because I looked at it as okay, they won 50 games.

I think they made some progress off of last year. If they'd have got beat by a 64-win team in the semifinals, then that would have been nothing to be ashamed of. But when they went up to, oh, especially with that crazy comeback in game two of that series, I'm like, okay, well, a lot is possible now. A lot has sort of become doable. And so each stage since then, I've been less surprised.

So I'm not totally shocked. I mean, I think they had, I looked at the Thunder as a team that had answers for them. I didn't think the Knicks did. I'm not surprised. I expected them to beat the Knicks.

But I thought, okay, maybe the Thunder just have the Thunder just have a little bit more juice. They have the depth. They have all these switchable defenders. They have all these really, really good defenders and they've got the MVP. You know, you've got to give them the advantage.

So, I mean, I picked Thunder and six in this series. But I'm not surprised that it's competitive. I'm not surprised they were able to pull a rabbit out of the hat in game one. I'm not surprised they were able to, you know, just really ride the wave of what game three was going to be like, considering it was their first NBA Finals home game in 25 years.

So I'm not totally shocked. I mean, I will still be surprised that they win this series, but I can't be shocked. I mean, again, with all that they've gone through at this point, And all the different ways they've won games, you have to be like, Okay, wait a minute, they have something here. And I think really after game two of that Cav series, when I was like, wait a minute, you know what? They're tough, they're good, but more to the point, they've figured out how to outlast me.

They've determined a formula that works. And they trust it and they believe in it. And their belief is that basically in the fourth quarter, they're going to have more juice than you because they're going to trust. They're younger guys, they're second unit to run at you, to exhaust you, and they trust that you'll be tired at the end of games and they won't. And it's worked at every step of the way.

So I mean, again, when you it's a proven formula at this point, so I'm not going to sit there and say that it's not going to work all the way. Still think Thunder are really good, still think they can win the series, but they definitely have an advantage of formula that works that it is surprisingly less and less with every game they win.

Well, Dustin, you've been following this team. I know you were in the building yesterday for the first finals game, as you mentioned, in 25 years. Even still now, after what we've seen the entire season, we got Tyrese Halliburton who's still having to answer questions about who and what he is, even after a lot of these shots. I mean, there was a whole conversation on television this morning whether or not he was a star or a superstar. Is it even kind of played out at this point in time?

I mean, it's played out it's played out because I don't think anybody's adjusting the question. Because really, you have to put him on the Magic Johnson scale. That's where you have to operate. That doesn't mean he's a Magic Johnson. but you have to look at it as, okay, like you have to start with the idea that he's a distributor first.

And sort of consider your scale on that note that he's not a scorer first. And he's also, look, he's a skinny guy. He's not going to be like Jalen Brunson or Shea Go just Alexander or somebody that just drives into the paint and pulls up and draws fouls and hits eight footers and bounces off of people. That's just not who he is. It's not how he's built physically, it's not how he's built in terms of how he plays the game.

He views it as he's looking to make the right play every time. And a lot of the time, he thinks the right play is the pass. He's a pure point guard. He's a guy that believes in involving everybody. That's his driving force.

Like that, that's his North Star: making sure everybody's involved. And that's what makes the pacers as good as they are. And so when he gets his own shot, you know, that means that the offense is just working really well. Like his scoring and his field goal attempts, people think of them as they're the cause with whether they win or lose because, you know, generally when he scores a lot, they tend to win. But it's more in effect.

It's effective in the sense of if they're running offense really well, he'll get open shots too. If the whole system is working the way that it's supposed to, he'll get opportunities and so will everybody else. And so if you're thinking of him like you're judging D.O.N. Brunson, or you're judging Shaykh Odyssey Alexander, or you're judging Donzo and Mitchell, if you're judging any of these high-scoring guards, you're you're putting him on the wrong scale and he's never going to make it for you. And but if you judge him on the on the magic scale, if you think, okay, assists matter, assist to turnover matters, off total offensive production for the team matters.

you know, and you judge him that way and you look at how he affects that, then you're gonna see him differently. You're gonna see the way that he opens the game up. And it but like if if you're just thinking of him as a high scoring guard because he can score a lot of points, you're gonna miss a lot of the other things he brings, and you're just gonna miss that, look, he is He is going to have games like this where the thing isn't working the way it's supposed to and he's not going to be as productive. He it's easier to slow slow him down that way, but he can also be the guy that g gets the thing really spinning and makes the offense unstoppable or creates these late game surges that he's at at the forefront of, you know, that he's making these wild crazy shots at the end of games. Like you just you have to reconsider the scale on which you're judging him.

If if you're looking at it at him as the same as all these other guys, you're going to miss what he brings. And Dustin Doperac is here with us, covers all things basketball for Indiana, the state of Indiana, the city of Indianapolis. I still think the Thunder will win this series. You believe that they're in shotgun position to win this series. What do the Pacers need to do the rest of the way?

To pick up another two wins. Is Ben Matherin, does he got to now drop 20 plus a game? Like, what do we need to see? for them to shock the world. I mean, you just certainly can't bank on that.

I mean, I think time has sort of told us as far as bench guys are concerned. You have to be happy when they get it. You can't presume that it's going to happen again. You just look at what the Thunder in Game Two got, how many points each from Wiggins and Caruso. You just cannot presume it's going to be there every time.

Matherin's capable of being a really good scorer, but you can't just pencil, you know, you can't look at it as, well, you got to get 27 out of Matherin if you're not, or you're not going to win. You know, like you, you, you have to presume there's going to be a significant amount of rise and fall. I mean, like, you almost have to look at it like, all right, you have to think, okay, Mathin's, you know, you're going to be lucky if you get 10 out of Matherin tomorrow. Or the other possible problem, the likely problem, honestly, is that Matherin is going to ride that one and think, I am chucking it today, buddy. And you run the risk of that becoming a problem because Matherin obviously is very, has very high confidence in himself, and you could see him hunting shots and driving into crowds.

and doing things that are that he feels confident in that aren't necessarily always going to work. But no, I think the biggest thing, what they did well, you know, one, cause turnovers, you know, basically is you're not going to cause as many as you did game three, probably, but if you can still cause a good bit and turn that into transition buckets, I think that's important. It's just sharp execution. I mean, I think what they really felt like they had out of game two is they just got too stale. And you know, what Halliburton said, I mean, and Halliburton is just terrific at picking the game apart and being honest about it in post-game is he said, you know what, I think what I did, he says, like, I'm good in a high pick and roll.

And I just kind of realized I kept running high pick and roll, but you can't keep doing the same thing to this team because he said, he used the phrase, they'll crawl up in you. And because the way they can just pack the pain, the way they can just collapse. And swarm you. You know, it forces you into bad decisions. He had some turnovers in those scenarios in game two, and I think he just looked at it as like, all right, we got to do something different.

One thing he mentioned was playing off the pitch. And I think he meant basically kind of throwing it ahead and getting it back, you know, kind of hit hitting somebody. Kind of top of the key, you know, kind of catching it with their back to the pat basket and then kind of underhanded and pitching right back to him so he could kind of get some space, you know, kind of get that defender to get off of him a little bit and then get some downhill action. And I think that's really what it was, is just not allowing Got it. this incredibly suffocating Thunder defense to square up on you.

If you make it harder for them to know where to be, you have a chance of creating some space and some gaps. And just being able to get into some nooks and trendies from that paint score. They had a really hard time doing that in the first two games. They got 50 in the paint, I think, in game three.

So that's something they're shooting for. Obviously, just trying to keep Make Shea work, make Jalen Williams work, make all of those guys make it more difficult for them. You're not going to shut them down, but basically, if you could just make everybody a little bit more inefficient, you have a better shot. And so it's just. I'll you know, like Carlisle said, it's it's a lot of stuff along the margin.

If they just keep making these margin plays and doing it right, uh then that's the way they can win the game. And Dustin, let's see if they shocked the world. Dustin, I always appreciate the time. Before you get out of here, one last simple question. When is Caitlin Blark coming back?

I'm ready to see her bust some ass. Give me an answer. I haven't been following it close enough, but the the people I heard around this week that were uh talking about it, other reporters, I mean, nobody is in the fever, uh, but just other reporters who cover this or, you know, that that uh that some of which also came from elsewhere to go cover uh Kaylin Clark, hoping they were going to get both uh at at this point in time, are hoping to see her, you know, within a couple of games, you know, maybe one or two more before she picks up. Awesome. Looking forward to that.

Well, Dustin, looking forward to seeing her play in the rest of the finals. Tell everybody where they can follow you and your work with the ND Star. Absolutely. Add Dustin the Pirac is the Twitter handle. I've got a blue sky.

I think it's dustin.thapirac.b sky dot social, uh where you can find that stuff. And NDSTAR dot com is where we have all of our all of our uh all of our everything.

So that's that's me and everybody else. We we've we've thrown a lot of people uh at this obviously first time in twenty five years.

So we're we're bringing it Many people as we can to this. Hey, thank you, Dustin. If we talk to you again in a few weeks, maybe it'll be at a parade. Leslie, appreciate the time, man. All right, sounds good.

Thanks so much. No doubt about it. That Dustin Dopirak covers all things basketball for the Indy Star. And you're damn right. I like talking to Dustin.

But if I talk to him again over the next couple of weeks, that means that the Indiana Pacers have won. This serious. I want to talk to Dustin at the parade.

Well after the parade. Or let me not get ahead of myself. Pacer fans, probably uh Don't want to get ahead of yourselves. Either. Hey, good luck.

I I'm I'm just happy that we have. A competitive series here. as I still like dust and believe that the thunder are still going to walk away hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy. I don't know what a parade in Oklahoma City looks like. Wow.

This Man, a parade in downtown Oklahoma City. I That doesn't even sound appealing, but I think that's what we are likely going to have. Thank you again to Dustin Dopirac. It's the JR Sport Re Show here with you, Coast to Coast, on the Infiniti Sports Network. 888-710-4ISN.

That's 888-710-47. four I S and speaking of parades Yeah, the NBA finals is going on. But tonight we get more action. in the N H L. We have an opportunity.

To see whether or not the Florida Panthers can take a 3-1 series. Lead against the Edmondson Oilers. They were saying this one was going to be tighter than last year. There's still plenty of time. You know, we'll let we'll talk some hockey on the other side of the break.

As uh, Skinner is going to keep his job despite all the goals that he gave up in the last game. And speaking of Him keeping his job. There is a baseball player. He got demoted, lost his job as a closer. and now he is crying home to his mommy.

I'm going to tell you what the hell is going on. I thought there was no crime in baseball. I guess that's always been. A lie. It's the JR Sport Brief Show on the Infinity Sports Network, and right now it's time for newsflash.

What's going on in the world of sports? Here he is: it's Rich Ackerman. You're listening to the JR Sport Brief. It is the JR Sport Brief show on the Infinity. Sports.

Network. Thank you to Dustin Dopirac for joining us in the last break. from the Indy A star. Yeah, as much as I'm looking forward to seeing how the rest of things go here in the NBA Finals, whether or not the Pacers can actually. surprise everybody and and and win it all.

I'm waiting to see when when Caitlin Clark comes back. To the surprise of Probably nobody. The ratings are down with no Caitlin Clark. What a shock. Yes, she should be back soon.

She was watching the game last night. in Indianapolis. I'm I'm trying to think. Was there anybody else name worthy that the app her Pat McAfee botcher was there Anybody else out there that people might be familiar with? Terry Cruz.

Terry Cru, was he doing introductions as a part of the game? I don't know about that, but I saw a picture of him there.

Okay, wow. Did he have a shirt on? Was he popping pecs? The biceps were out. I don't know about the pecs.

Yeah, look I mean, that's his that's his thing. If you're Terry Cruz, it's just like wear a tight shirt. If you're Dwayne The Rock Johnson, I don't think I've ever seen this guy in. I don't know s maybe he does wear skinny jeans, I don't know. Part of your thing, you action hero dress like one.

You're Terry Cruz. I don't even know. Terry Cruz has to be almost, he got to be like 55, 60 at this point in time. How old is this man? 56 years old.

There you have it. He turns 57 next month, actually.

So. Congratulations. and happy birthday. To him. Good for him.

Anyway. We're about forty minutes away. from the puck dropping down in Florida Florida Panthers lead the Stanley Cup finals two games to one. The last game, they put a royal beating. down on the Oilers six to one.

So much so. that there were questions as to whether or not Skinner was still going to be in the net for the Edmonton Oilers. With their head coach. mister Chris Knoblock. He was having a chat with the media and he was asked about whether or not he was going to sit Stuart Skinner down.

And this is what he had to say: We will have. Likely a lineup change. You know, we haven't confirmed that. We haven't discussed that with our players yet, but there are some things that we've been thinking about, and there might be a lineup change. Basically, Stuart Skinner is gonna be in the net.

This man is warming up on the ice right now. And if you're Chris Knobblock, what you don't want to do after 6-1 ass whooping is pretty much. throw him under the bus and and ruin his confidence. Like, he's basically, he said there's going to be a lineup change. He's basically telling everybody else.

Y'all gotta pick up some of the slack too. It's not Just his Fund. Chris Knobloch continued and said, You know what? It's not just Skinner, it's everybody. I don't think there's an individual thing where it's one line playing against that line or sound.

Obviously, he's a very good player. He's going to get some chances. But they've got a good team, so our focus can't be. um on solely one player or one line. Never will see.

I mean, if he starts to stink the joint up early, he will absolutely. He'll get the hook. He will go ahead and he will he'll get the hook and they will get him. the heliporn out of there. I mean, the way that we saw the series last year, Florida had a lead, and Edmondson fought back.

We ended up with a game seven. Let's see if that happens. This go-around. I mean, if you happen to be a player on Edmondson, you could remember the fight. That you had at the end of the game when you were getting your ass whooped.

But Leon Dreisido basically said: we need to go out and forget the entire game. Blush out the legs a little bit and feel good about going into the next couple days. Obviously, not the game that we wanted to bring, certainly far away from our best.

So it's just, yeah. flush it out, flush it out a little bit and uh start getting ready. Yeah, that's what happens when you're a loser. You want to flush. But I guess when you win, you wanna I don't know, wanna flush away, maybe remember a little bit of what you did and And go out there and change things.

Sam Bennett. This man has been a goal scoring machine. He says, You know what? We're we're winning. We ain't changing nothing.

Pretty similar the entire playoffs. Whether it's game one or game seven, we play the same style. We play. This is just as hard. We're not sitting back, so we really are not going to be changing anything.

Or in in this next game or any other games to come?

Okay.

Look. Can we get another seven games? Kim, I thought this was going to be a competitive series, and it has been. We've had a lot of goals scored. I mean, I think we've had seven goals scored in every single match.

Last game, we certainly saw what happened. Edmondson got smoked six to one. I don't know if we're going to get that tonight, but I'd certainly love to see Edmondson tie it up. I don't have to get on the plane. And go from South Florida to Edmonton.

Okay, I don't have to take that flight. They can go back and forth and back and forth until they get to in game seven. I'm perfectly fine. With that, the same way that I'm I'm hoping for a competitive series in the NBA Finals. And I'm surprised the Pacers are up 2-1.

Do I think they're going to win? No. I mean, I'm not discounting the Edmondson Oilers here. I mean, Edmonds and Organs were actually they were favored. to actually walk away with the The cup And a close one.

So let's see what happens. The puck is going to drop in about 30 or so minutes. We'll keep you up to date. with this game for to night, down in sunrise, between the Panthers and the Oilers. Yes, Skinner.

Congratulations, Stuart Skinner. He kept his job. For now, don't be shocked if he gets pulled. while we're here on the air. Speaking of of jobs.

This guy lost his job. is upset about his current job. He doesn't want to be there anymore, and he is crying home to his mother. Aaron Savale. And unless you're a Brewers fan, maybe you ain't paying him too much attention.

I mean, why, if you happen to be in Florida, are you paying attention to the Brewers? If you are in Los Angeles, why are you thinking about the Brewers? But this guy is relatable. You probably know a guy at work. or a woman.

Maybe you went to school with somebody. Maybe you had a teammate. who when things aren't going their way. They just want to take their ball. and go home.

I mean, we heard a similar story, thinking about baseball. If we go up to the Red Sox and look at Devers, They're paying this guy $313 million. Ultimately, they say, Hey man, we want to move you because we got pregnant. He's like, I don't want to move And then he moves and they put him at DH and then Costas goes down. They want to put him at first base.

He goes, I'm not a first baseman. I'm not moving. And to me, I'm like, Man, You can at least Try.

Okay.

I think he's being a bad teammate, but he can at least by now he could be playing first base. He'd just go out there. And try. At least he's still on the team. But he has 313 million reasons why he is still there.

Aaron Savale is nothing but a You're just a guy. A jag. This man is a Major League Baseball pitcher. He's been around for a few years now, starting off with Cleveland, and now he's with the Brewers. This man just came off the injured list.

He has had five starts. His ERA is five. And the brewers basically said, Bruh. You need to sit down. We're gonna replace you in the starting rotation with our up and coming prospect, Nazarowski.

We need you to take a seat with your five ERA ass. We don't want you to start. His response With his high ERA and his low amount of starts and coming off of being hurt. He's not that smart. He said he wants to be traded.

My My question is To who? What, to to the the the Paw Tuckett socks? Like Does he want to come down here in Atlanta? Does he want to play for the. Forget Atlanta.

Does he want to play? For the Savannah bananas, like, where does this guy want to go? Yeah, I was going to get to that. Bacha, go ahead and tell everybody. It's his birthday.

So he he wanted out of his job on his birthday. Yeah, he wasn't happy that they told him that you suck at your job. and so I guessed his response, upon turning thirty to day, was to tell everybody I want to be Trade it. This is what the man had the nerve to say. about his request to to leave.

Since I've been here, it's been awesome. City of Milwaukee's been great, it's very welcoming. Fans have been great. Nothing to do with any of that. Just uh the situation is is a tough one.

Um I feel still in a position to contribute to this game. I still feel like I have a lot left to give as a starting pitcher. The decisions, the directions are out of the player's hands. I just, again, this is not a situation where I'm trying to leave this team. All the guys are great.

Coaching staff's great. The players are great. I love competing with all of them. Just uh I feel like I still have more to contribute and more to give to this game and I feel I'm best suited to do that as a starting pitcher. Then there's a difference between saying you can't talk out of both sides of your mouth.

Like the man really just said, like, I'm committed to the team. He just said, I don't really want to leave the team. I don't want to leave the team. I just feel that I'm a starting pitcher. You k th the which one is it?

Do you want to leave? Or do you want to stay and help the team as a reliever? Like, pick one. You can't have it both ways. Like, you can't be a bum.

He's a starting pitcher bum. I'm sorry. You got the creme de la creme, you got the creme of the crop, you got the top of the top. And then you got dudes that are just out there eating innings. You got guys who, when you show up to the ballpark, you go, How many runs is this guy going to give up?

Like ain't nobody waking up In Milwaukee, going, oh man, I can't wait to see. Aaron Savale today. Oh my god, I can go buy a ticket. No, he's. He's not box office.

Ain't nobody looking for him. He's my he's he's replaceable. Where's his agent at? I'm trying to think of of an somebody comparable. To say that, oh man, I just.

Is is there a cop in another sport that you could think of, Botcher? Oh, it's like Oh, uh Romeo Dobbs requested a trade because he didn't get targets. Oh my god. Yeah. But he's better than I think Romeo Dopps is better than Aaron Savali.

I I I think uh commensurate to their sports, I I would say I would say he is. When he's healthy, more productive. Trying to think of a replaceable Uh th you know, he's not even in the NBA anymore. This is like if Patrick Beverley, woke up and said, Hey. You took me out the starting lineup.

I I'm now the backup point guard. You know what? I need to betray it. Like he'd be laughed at. Like to what?

Go sit your ass down and go record some podcasts. It's just. He is he's detached. From reality. And I hope it's his emotions.

It's certainly not his smarts. To turn 30 years old today. and not understand your lot in life. As a baseball player. to have an ERA of five And to just think that you can say, I want to be traded because they demoted you.

You need to be happy that you still Have a job. You need to understand. that you have no value. You just also came off of the injured list. Man, this guy's been in the big leagues for seven years.

He's been pitching his whole life longer than that. He he he has a decent career, all right, all things considered. You can have money. But a lot of people, I think as a lot of folks know, You could have a lot of money. that doesn't mean that you can buy.

Common sense.

Somebody get Arisavale some common sense. for his birthday. I don't know, talk to his parents or something like that. It's the JR Sport Brief Show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. 888-710-4ISN.

That's 888-710-4ISN. Speaking of not being able to buy common sense. Aaron Savali is not a billionaire. I'm going to tell you about a billionaire. He can't buy common sense.

He can also buy A coach. We talk about Jim Dolan and the Knicks never-ending saga. To find a head coach. This is the JR Sport Reshow. Don't move.