2.1.24 - JR SportBrief Hour 2

The Sultan of Sizzle. The Titan of Toastiness. The Kingpin of Kindling.

These are the admired ones. Those who've created the prime place to gather. They don't just have a backyard. They have the backyard because they know a Solo Stove Fire Pit is more than just the ultimate smokeless fire pit. It's a place where friendships are forged, football is revered, and food is enjoyed. Solo Stove. The perfect flame for the big game.

A Peanut Butter M&M's Production. In a world where Super Bowl winners get the world's admiration and a fancy ring, but the runners-up get nothing, one retired cop returns. That's one retired quarterback. Read the script.

Oh, sorry. One retired quarterback returns to claim what's his. Um, that's claim a ring with diamonds made from M&M's peanut butter, but you're on a roll. The Ring of Comfort, coming soon to a Super Bowl new you. It is the JR Sport Brief Show here with you on CBS Sports Radio. I'm coming to you live from Atlanta, Georgia. Thank you to everybody tuned in and locked in all over North America. You can always tune in on the free Odyssey app. You can lock in on your local CBS Sports Radio affiliate. Sirius XM Channel 158. If you've got a smart speaker, ask it to play CBS Sports Radio.

CBS Sports Radio dot com. All of that good stuff. Happy Thursday. I hope you're having a good one. If you're not, I'm sorry.

My apologies. I'll be here for the next three hours. This is a four hour show.

I get started every single weekday at 6 p.m. Eastern, 3 p.m. Pacific. Thank you so much to super producer and host Ryan Hickey holding it down for us in New York City on the boards. And thank you again to you, because there is no show without you. And we've had a busy hour already, chock full of fun and chock full of action. First of all, thank you to Adam Pacman Jones for hopping through and joining the show. This is the benefit of being here in Atlanta, Georgia. People love being here.

It's I don't want to say vacation town is a lot of retirees here, especially when it comes down to athletes. And this is like, oh, it is Pacman Pacman. Just jump on the air here. Pacman Jones is now getting into music and he's actually releasing a song tonight. Good for him. Said he has no interest in coaching.

I believes that the Kansas City Chiefs are going to walk away as Super Bowl champs. And so thank you to Adam Pacman Jones, former All Pro Pro Bowl, all that good stuff for taking the time to hop on. If you missed the interview, you can go ahead and hit rewind on the free Odyssey app. Thank you as well to JP Finley for joining us from Washington, D.C. He covers the Washington commanders for NBC Sports, as well as one oh six seven the fan where he hosts on Middays. And we talked about the hiring of Dan Quinn. Yes, the same Dan Quinn, who is he was here in Atlanta. And he was the head coach of the team that blew a twenty eight three lead against the New England Patriots. But we're not going to talk about that. Oh, we are.

But, you know, just just saying that for my friends here in Atlanta who get triggered when that happens. And then we also had a couple of head coaches who were introduced today to the media. How about one of them, Jim Harbaugh, introduced by the Chargers, wearing a nice blue suit, a gold tie.

Yeah, could be Chargers, could still be something out of his closet related to Michigan. Jim Harbaugh spoke to the media and Jim Harbaugh talked about the type of team that he is looking to build. I mean, humble and hungry right there. That's that's where we are right now.

Humble and hungry. And we're going to we're going to respect all our opponents and we're going to we're going to strive that we're going to earn their respect. And we're going to earn our winning tough team, the resilient team, a relentless team, physical team is where we're going to aspire to be. Don't let the powder blues fool you.

That's where we're going to aspire to do. Oh, don't let the powder blue fool you. Powder blue is nice.

What is it? It doesn't scream enough aggression for Jim Harbaugh? Is he going to try to change the color scheme of the Chargers?

No, of course you can't. Anyway, he sounds. Sounds like he's ready for the job. A matter of fact, Jim Harbaugh says he is ready. He is locked in and ready to go.

I'm waking up like real early in the morning these days going. I got to bring it. I got to bring my A game in every sense of the word. I want to get a coaching staff put together and hired that is going to be worthy of, you know, of coaching not only Justin, but, you know, Derwin and all the guys. I mean, I think I really think this is a talented group that's been assembled here. And that's what's going to motivate. That's what's going to drive.

So I'm really thinking about my accountability and just making sure that that I'm ready, you know, and the things that I tell him are going to be, you know, exact because I've because I've looked at it and watched it. And but but it's going to be it's going to be a team effort all the way. We know it's a team effort. Coach Harbaugh, we know that isn't expectations to turn these charges around. And unlike a lot of teams, one thing that the charges do have. They got a quarterback.

They got Justin Herbert and Jim Harbaugh. He could not shut up about how good this guy is. Justin Herbert. You know, you see, I mean, he's a as well said on that video.

That's a that's a he's a crown jewel in the National Football League during James. There's another one talking to talk about somebody getting me fired up. I mean, I mean, let's go. You know, Justin Herbert walks up on you, you know, like, OK, all right.

This is awesome. Well, he's ready to go. Hey, Hickey, no, no comments from Jim Harbaugh about how his wife has just been the apple of his eye. None of that, right? I know. No, sir. It sounds like Justin Herbert is now the apple of Jim Harbaugh's eye.

Oh, yeah. Listen, man, if he wants some success in the NFL a second time here, we know about what he did with the 49ers. Justin Herbert better be the apple of his eye.

Let's see what they do. Justin Herbert expected to to help turn things around with a new head coach in Jim Harbaugh. And, you know, it'll be nice when Justin Herbert, all things considered, he'll be healthy to start next season. So let's see what they do at the running back position and and health has been a key factor, an indicator here for the success of the Chargers. And even when they've been healthy, a lot of times coaching has been I want to say their downfall. Let's just say coaching has not been a strong suit for these Chargers over the past several years, whether it's Anthony Lynn or you want to take a look at Brandon Staley. I don't think Jim Harbaugh is going to be costing them games. I think he's actually going to help them hold on to some of these leads.

And yeah, you can ask the Jacksonville Jaguars about that playoff lead last year. Speaking of injuries, as I stand here in the studio. The NBA all star rosters, the reserves are being announced. The West reserves are pretty much down to the nitty gritty here. We've got to wait for the East reserves. Anthony Davis, Anthony Edwards, Kawhi Leonard and Devin Booker have already made it here for the Western Conference as reserves is Charles Barkley and Shaq. Kenny Smith let everybody know who's going to be coming off the bench.

That includes Steph Curry with his 10th All-Star selection. I must tell you this in about 13 minutes or so, we're going to talk with someone from the NBA. I'm going to ask him about the All-Star game.

His name is Sal Larocca. He is the president of partnerships for the NBA. And so of all the money that the league makes, all the billions of dollars and all of the brands and companies that they work with, he's in charge of it. And so I want to get his opinion on what's getting ready to go down with this All-Star game in Indianapolis.

And this is an All-Star type of year, whether it happen to be the NHL. We actually have the Pro Bowl coming this weekend. It's, well, Hickey, you excited for the Pro Bowl, right? Oh, fired up. Get me there. Flag, flag, when's the last time you participated in a flag football game?

You know, not, not recent enough. I would love to play flag football, probably in college. So I'm down to play again, just not watch pros play.

Oh, well, you, you can, you too can be a pro by participating in this, this flag football game that they're going to have. You know, we know that these All-Star games are pretty much have lost their luster. Paul George just named as the, I guess, the last reserve here for the Western Conference. Carl Anthony Towns also making it his fourth All-Star selection. So I guess they're not done with the West. And this is the thing, we know the All-Star games are kind of like blah, maybe at the end, maybe just maybe if you're lucky, you'll get a good game, a competitive game at the end.

I'm going to ask Sal about that. Some of the rule changes that the NBA is implementing. Another rule for the regular season that the league is implemented is, is a requirement for players to go out and play enough games, 63 games, to be eligible for postseason awards. And in a lot of cases, these postseason awards can help lead to contract bonuses, extensions, kick-ins, et cetera. We heard Tyrese Halliburton, you know, upset following his hamstring injury that he is four missed games away from missing out on $4 million because he won't be or excuse me, $40 million because he's not going to be eligible for an all NBA team.

And we know that this rule has been implemented because we have tons and tons and tons of players and stars over the years who just set out. So for instance, tonight, when they finish up these NBA All-Star starters or excuse me, announcing the reserves, we're going to see the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers, but we're not going to see the Lakers. We are not going to see none of the damn Lakers that anybody care about because LeBron James is not going to be playing. Anthony Davis is not going to be playing. LeBron is old. Anthony Davis is just always broken down.

He's dealing with a hip and a groin. And just at the last minute, we found out they're not playing. The Boston Celtics and the Lakers, the most successful teams in the NBA, probably the league's most storied rivalry on a nationally televised game on TNT, we got nothing. We got the fans left holding the bag.

We got the fans in Boston. You want to tell me that you're not disappointed that you buy a ticket to see LeBron James, maybe not so much Anthony Davis, but you buy a ticket to see LeBron and he's not there like like we've been through this before. And yeah, LeBron James is 39. He's going to get hurt. He's not going to play in every single game. Anthony Davis, you should be used to it.

And so I can understand the fan shock and the appall. But can anybody really be surprised at this point? It's almost like buyer beware if you get an NBA ticket, you have to be very, very careful what game you're going to. And you've got to think about the age of the players. LeBron is the oldest dude in the league and is still playing at a ridiculously high level.

It was surprising to me earlier this week. He came here to Atlanta, arrived at, I don't know, two, three in the morning, played at night with a bunch of bums, sorry to LeBron James and his teammates. They lost 138 to 122.

And the night before, they lost in Houston. LeBron James, he just seemed so, so through with what was going on with the team. You know, he was asked after the game like, hey, what message do you have to your teammates? And LeBron James was like, I don't got no message for nobody. Listen to this.

And then he put the hourglass out. Yeah, just go out and do your job. Shout outs to Terrell Thomas asking the tough question there of LeBron James. I got nothing.

Just go do your job, man. And as Terrell said, you got games coming up, but there is no LeBron tonight. I expect LeBron James to be on the bench sitting next to Anthony Davis. And I don't know if that's a pacifier for the fans up in Beantown and somebody else. He always gets hurt.

We can't be surprised about this. It's Joel Embiid. The Sixers fined $75,000. And not because Joel Embiid can't play or he's not eligible or he's not really hurt. The NBA pretty much said Joel Embiid wasn't on the injury report this past Saturday against the Denver Nuggets. And that all of a sudden he's out. And so they were fined $75,000 for not disclosing that information. It's been revealed over the past week that Joel Embiid has been dealing with knee pain and soreness over the past month.

And we can even take it a step further. It's been reported, I've heard, that he's been dealing with a bum knee all year long, off and on, and has felt obligated to just play through it because he doesn't want to be, let's just say, soft. And Nick Nurse, yeah, even though Jonathan Kumenga fell on this guy's leg, Nick Nurse said the other day, hey, one thing doesn't have to do with the other.

This is what he said. Obviously he got landed on. So they're going to do an MRI tonight or tomorrow. It's kind of unrelated to what's been bothering him.

So we just wait on that. Yeah, so he probably saw the play, he was laying there, and he got landed on. He got landed on, landed on, yep. Look, Joel Embiid is a walking injury. It doesn't matter what's going on with Joel Embiid. He could have been hurt, not hurt. There's an expectation that he's going to be hurt.

And the Philadelphia 76ers, I must tell you, I think they're cooked for the year. That's even with Joel Embiid coming back. Yeah, he might play through broken eye sockets and a broken hand and a swollen knee. He's big as hell. There's an expectation that he's going to be bigger or better, excuse me, as the season goes on. No, unless he's getting rest and losing weight, which I don't think is going to be easy at his size, unless he's running up and down the court. This process for the Sixers that started a long time ago, I don't know if the process is going to work out.

I'm sorry. Anyway, it is the J.R. sport re-show here with you on CBS Sports Radio. All-Star reserves for the West.

They've been announced. Karl-Anthony Towns. Paul George. Steph Curry. Anthony Ant-Man Edwards making his second All-Star appearance. Devin Booker making his fourth. Anthony Davis not playing tonight. He'll be an All-Star, his ninth All-Star appearance. Kawhi Leonard will go as well.

Can't believe he's been healthy enough to get through the season. But these are the All-Star reserves for the Western Conference. The announcement for the East, they're going to take place momentarily. It's the J.R. sport re-show here with you on CBS Sports Radio.

We're going to take a break. And speaking of the All-Star game, I just mentioned to you, we're going to have a conversation with an executive. We got you covered on everything here on CBS Sports Radio. We can go from a player, Adam Pacman-Jones, and then we can talk to the president of partnerships, global partnerships for the NBA. Sal Arak is going to join us. I'm going to ask him about these All-Stars, their marketing. I want to ask him about these rule changes. We're going to get into jerseys. There's so much I want to ask him.

It's the J.R. sport re-show here on CBS Sports Radio. Hey, do yourself a favor. Don't move. The Sultan of Sizzle, the Titan of Toastiness, the Kingpin of Kindling. These are the admired ones, those who've created the prime place together. They don't just have a backyard. They have the backyard because they know a Solo Stove Fire Pit is more than just the ultimate smokeless fire pit. It's a place where friendships are forged, football is revered, and food is enjoyed.

Solo Stove, the perfect flame for the big game. Your fever is high and the pressure to log in at work is too. But when you finally decide to take care of you, there's Instacart. Just because that one perfect coworker of yours is attending all meetings, camera on while she's sneezing, coughing, and aching doesn't mean you have to do the same. Take it from us. Trying to stay on top of things will only get you further behind. Instead, get everything from tissues and teas to cough suppressants and comforting soups delivered through Instacart in as fast as 30 minutes. If anyone needs anything, they can just redirect their questions to that one perfect coworker of yours.

A peanut butter M&M's production. In a world where Super Bowl winners get the world's admiration and a fancy ring, but the runners-up get nothing. One retired cop returns. That's one retired quarterback. Read the script.

Oh, sorry. One retired quarterback returns to claim what's his. Um, that's claim a ring with diamonds made from M&M's peanut butter, but you're on a roll. The Ring of Comfort, coming soon to a Super Bowl new you. You're listening to the JR Sport Brief on CBS Sports Radio. It's the JR Sport Brief show here with you on CBS Sports Radio. We now know that the NBA All-Star rosters, they all set, they're all out. We're getting ready for the game next month in Indianapolis.

And I wanted to hit things from a different perspective. So joining us right now is the president of partnerships for the NBA. It's my main man, Sal LaRocca. Sal, how are you? I'm terrific, JR. It's nice to be with you. Absolutely.

Thank you for taking the time to hop on. I know you got a busy several weeks ahead. Things are always busy in the world of the NBA.

Things keep expanding globally. And I want to talk to you specifically about All-Star. But tell everybody exactly what you do with the NBA. So my role at the NBA is I oversee essentially the commercial business with all of our partners. Our marketing partners, our merchandising partners. And really we're in the business of bringing to life the NBA through those partnerships.

So when you see a t-shirt or a hat or you see a promotion with one of our marketing partners, let's say State Farm or folks like that, that's my kind of area of the business. Absolutely. And we know the All-Star break, the All-Star weekend, the All-Star game. That's a huge weekend, huge platform. It's always like a fun convention for the NBA.

We know about the three-point contest, dunk, et cetera. What are some of the biggest elements of putting that weekend together with the partners that you work with? So really for all of our partners, that weekend is essentially a way for all of them to bring their relationship with us to life. So if you pick a partner like Nike or any of the footwear providers, typically they're launching new shoes on all of the high-profile players. So you'll see shoes that you've never seen in an NBA game before being launched during All-Star weekend. When you have our various marketing partners for the Saturday night festivities, the slam dunk, the three-point, those are really the culmination of year-long promotional activity highlighting those events at the weekend. And then you have the launch of different uniforms every year, as I'm sure you know, and different products that commemorate the fact that this All-Star game will be in Indianapolis and Indiana, of course, being a hotbed of basketball forever, in fact. We're pretty excited to be there and certainly our partners are excited to be there as well.

Sala Rock is here with us, CBS Sports Radio. He's the president of Global Partnerships for the NBA. Anything specific that we can look forward to that All-Star weekend? You mentioned Indianapolis. It is a basketball hotbed. You can't go anywhere in the city without seeing a court or seeing the Pacers logo.

Anything specific we should look out for? I think one of the things that's going to be very interesting is we have All-Star Saturday night taking place at Lucas Oil Stadium. And the game will be at the arena on Sunday, but we did that back in 2010 in Dallas, but it was reversed. So we had the game at Cowboy Stadium and we had All-Star Saturday at the arena.

We're switching it this year. I think it will be interesting for lots of people to see what we have in store on Saturday night, being in a much bigger venue with an opportunity to program very differently. So that's going to be very interesting. And I think for Herb Simon, who's the owner of the Pacers, he's, I think, the longest tenured governor in the NBA.

He and his organization have been incredible to work with. So they've planned lots of activities, in fact, for the whole week. And we talk about it as if it's All-Star weekend. But it really is now activity that takes place over the course of the week leading up to the game. And and as you said, like Indiana has been really a hotbed for basketball forever.

So we're excited to be there and excited to bring the game to life to the to the fans in Indiana. Well, Sal, everybody takes a look at the NBA. We know it's a star driven league.

I don't think there is a professional sports league here in North America that highlights its players as much as the NBA. When it comes to your work and what you do with partnerships, how easy is that tie in between the superstars of the game, the LeBrons and, you know, Joel Embiid's of the world with corporate America? You know, the relationship that the NBA has had with its players, we think has been really one of the foundations for our global success. We've we've enjoyed an unbelievable working relationship with the Players Association for as long as I've been here.

And that's, you know, here over three decades now. And so when we have the relationship we that we have with them and the players, as you know, are all brands unto themselves. They're business people. They are entrepreneurs. So they are very connected to the business side of the sport and very willing to be participants with their individual sponsors and with league sponsors and partners, as well as they realize, as part of the overall ecosystem of basketball, that they play a vital role in its global success. So we we tap into our relationship with the players on an ongoing basis, and they are always willing and really have been beneficiaries of being global icons. And working with the partners is a way for them to continue to grow their their individual brands on a global basis.

Sala Rock is here with us, the J.R. Sport Show on CBS Sports Radio. This pops up a lot, whether it be a conversation on air or, you know, even in arenas when I'm running around south. What's the deal with so many uniforms? I understand the marketing, but every team that we used to have home whites and darks and now we have everything.

We're going to have this forever. What's up with the uniforms? Every team has a million uniforms now.

So it's not quite a million, but I appreciate the sentiment. Over time in sports, the jersey has been the signature product that fans have really assimilated to. And so fan demand, frankly, has been the catalyst for the expansion of on court uniforms. And so we brought Nike in as a partner eight years ago, and they one of the things they wanted to do is take a fresh look at how we can bring various uniforms to the court. And they've created different programs around uniforms, giving players and teams an opportunity to express themselves very differently than just having the as you reference the home white or the road color. And so you've seen that evolution, I think, in all sports. And I think largely because fans have kind of demanded that variety. And when you go into multiple team venues, you'll see fans wearing a whole variety of jerseys. So I always think about it this way.

If you were a company making any kind of consumer product, you probably wouldn't just bring the same product to the market every year without evaluating, updating, innovating. And uniforms are no different. I can dig that, man. I certainly have my share. You know, I got them. I got them behind me hanging up in the office.

It's the chair. We have to get you a I see your office there. And I think we have to get you some basketball jerseys to hang up behind you. Oh, I think I think behind me, the New York Knicks granted me one. Oh, I see. OK, in New York.

Thank you so much. The New York Knicks for keeping me updated and all set. And speaking of the All-Star jerseys, we know the game is coming up. How does that process go about who designs each individual All-Star game uniform? And I see this a lot as well.

And it to me, I don't particularly care for it. Just every team wearing its own individual, you know, uniform on court got kind of confusing. But who helps with that process? So we have a team of people in-house that work with Nike on the development and the design of the uniforms for All-Star, as well as all the other related on court apparel. And that process typically starts up to two years before the game is even being played. And the inspiration is typically drawn from the history of basketball in that city and what the cultural elements of that city kind of mean in connection with basketball.

So there's a pretty extensive creative process and a design review process. And as you said, at one point we had players wearing their individual team uniforms. But I think over time, I think players feel more special about being handed an All-Star jersey.

It's commemorative to them. And when you have, you know, different players from all over the world playing in the All-Star game, it is meaningful beyond just that game on that day. So we have we've had varieties of designs and in an effort to always pay homage to the city that the game is being played in and draw on different elements of what basketball means in that market.

Sal Aroki here with us. President, Global Partnerships, the NBA. You talked about expansion and so many different players from all over the world, whether it's Nikolay Jokic or Joel Embiid or Giannis Eterakounmpo.

Just the world has gotten bigger but smaller at the same time. How has that changed in how you guys market and sell the NBA and find partners from really all over the world with the players you have now? Yeah, I think, you know, for us and it was really David Stern's vision many, many, many years ago that basketball and specifically the NBA can truly be a global sport. And now when you see players in the league that certainly the three you just mentioned that are not only just players in the league.

I mean, they are at the top of the pyramid and really all time great players. So what that has done for us is frankly opened up the rest of the world to basketball and specifically the NBA. And unlike professional soccer, certainly European soccer, there are many leagues that are A-level leagues and basketball really is just us. So every great player from around the world aspires to play in the NBA.

And obviously, you mentioned three, but we obviously have a rookie from France in the league this year. And that will unlock a lot of interest in the French market. And we obviously had Yao Ming from China over 20 years ago and that unlocked tremendous amount of interest in China. But the game has become global in a way that I think we've realized what David's vision was three plus decades ago. And we're seeing the benefit of having truly a global sport that is played by boys and girls all over the world. Which, you know, for us, you know, there is no, you know, there's 300 or so million people that live in the US, but the global population is 8 billion. So we think it's a huge opportunity for us on a worldwide basis.

Most definitely is. And we know All-Star Weekend, as you had mentioned, it's a big, huge opportunity for everybody to get involved, check out and really just love the game. Tell everybody why they need to lock in to All-Star Weekend again before we roll out. I think because, you know, it's the most fun type of atmosphere for superstar players to play with players that they don't get an opportunity to play with during the course of the season. It is a game that is both fun and competitive.

As you may know, we're back to the East-West matchup this year without doing a player draft. So there's more of a competitive side to that. And the players take a tremendous amount of pride in winning that game. And, you know, when you have guys that are as competitive as professional athletes are, they want an opportunity to win everything. So it'll be fun.

It'll be an opportunity, like I said, for the best players in the world to showcase their skills in a fun environment. So now, Sal, we got the rosters out, so I'm looking forward to the game and I really want to see what goes down on that All-Star Saturday night. Thank you for taking the time to hop on, Sal. Appreciate you. Thank you, JR. I very much appreciate you having me.

We'll see you next time. at jamesallen.com Promo Code Podcast. You're listening to the JR Sportbrief on CBS Sports Radio. It's the JR Sportbrief show here with you on CBS Sports Radio. Thank you so much, NBA President of Global Partnerships, Sal LaRocca, for joining us on the other side of the break.

You heard this from Pat Boyle as well in the newsflash. Not good. Terrible news out of Philadelphia. Joel Embiid has suffered a torn meniscus in that left leg.

Let me update you. Joel Embiid tore this same meniscus back in 2017. Dare I say, and I don't think I'm out of line here, I'm not sure that we will see Joel Embiid for the rest of the season. It's been reported that he will be reevaluated.

He's not going to play through the weekend. They will figure out a course of action. They can try to hold off, but ultimately, what is he going to do? They're just going to buy him a new leg? They're going to get him a new kneecap? They're going to get Joel Embiid a new body?

It does not work that way. We are probably done seeing Joel Embiid for the rest of the season. Joel Embiid is about to be 30 years old.

I hate to hop on here with the cliches, but I think we all know him at this point in time. The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Joel Embiid is a massive human being. 7 feet, 7'1", I don't know how much he weighs, over 300 pounds. This is a giant dude. And I got to tell you, I don't care who you are in the NBA, when you are that big, and you take that much punishment, and you are running up and down the court, the league is littered with big men who have come and have dominated and have gone and maybe have limped out. Think about Yao Ming, feet. Think about Greg Oden, didn't even last, didn't even get out the gates, knees. Like there is something just amazingly athletic when you are that damn big. But can your body last?

And I think ultimately the answer is always no. You know, this is what you don't see a lot of times in the NBA. You don't see big men, I don't want to say even living longer, but just having a high quality of life towards the end. That's one thing when we see a lot of these stars, I'm talking about the biggest ones, the guys who are 6'10", 6'11", 7 feet, 7'1", 7'2". When you see them in person, especially as they get older, and I don't even mean old-old, I'm talking still maybe your 40s, maybe your 50s. They start to lumber.

They're big. You see the bodies and the joints start to atrophy after running around on that hardwood for all these years. I just, I feel bad for Joel Embiid. The man just won an MVP. The only thing left for him to do is to win a championship. He is basically eliminated for competing for MVP this season based on this injury. Joel Embiid's entire career, I'm not going to stand around and call this dude, you know, new Bill Walton. But damn, he missed the first two seasons of his career due to injury. God knows what's going to take place as he continues on now. He's about to be 30 years old.

He's not going to wake up with a refresh. Joel Embiid, torn meniscus in his knee. And we heard Nick Nurse, he said that the injury, excuse me, Jonathan Kumenga falling on his knee the other night. It was unrelated to the soreness that he's been dealing with, but just, does it even matter?

We know Joel Embiid is big. We know he's fragile. We know he's prone to being injured. He's injury-prone, yes. His knee has been sore and a guy falls on it, that's like the death knell. And I would not expect to see him for the rest of the season at all. Joel Embiid, torn meniscus in his knee.

NBA All-Star rosters, the reserves were just announced. Let me give you a quick rundown there, get Ryan Hickey's thoughts on Joel Embiid. It's just sad.

It stinks all the way around. And he's a nice guy. Joel Embiid doesn't bother anybody. Let me give you these rosters, these reserves. On the east tonight, Donovan Mitchell announced, Jalen Brown, Jalen Brunson, Bam Adebayo. Julius Randle, two New York Knicks making the team. A 76er, this guy's going to have to shoulder a lot more scoring load. Tyrese Maxey makes the All-Star team, as well as Paulo Bancaro making his first. Meanwhile, for the west, the reserves announced Kawhi Leonard.

You want to talk about health? He's healthy enough to make the team. Anthony Davis, also out tonight against the Boston Celtics.

Devin Booker, Anthony Edwards, Steph Curry, Paul George, and Karl Anthony Towns. A lot of conversations right now about Trae Young not making the All-Star team for the east. Given the fact that, well, he's averaging 27 points and 10 assists.

He is the team, in most cases, here for the Atlanta Hawks. But ultimately, they got a roster, or excuse me, they have a record of 20 and 27. And I think people are looking at those numbers and going, well, man, yeah, the team sucks around you.

But why can't y'all win? Like, you would think an All-Star with those type of numbers would be, you know, leading a team to victory, but not the Hawks. We're going to talk more about that on the other side of the break. The All-Star reserves were just announced on TNT. And Charles and Kenny and Charles, Chuck, Charles, so many guys. Shaq, Kenny, Charles. And who am I missing? Shaq, Ernie.

They had some thoughts there, so we'll share that with you on the other side of the break. Ryan, when it comes down to this news on Joel Embiid, we ain't going to see this dude the rest of the year, I don't think. And I don't know. I don't know if he'll ever win anything, man.

I really don't. I'm with you in part just because I'm not sure how much longer he can play at a high level. That's number one, where unfortunately we see yet again, like, you do the math, I think, I think, outside of either the bubble and maybe one other postseason, he's missed, like, at least one postseason game every year of his career.

So it's not just even now, it's also in the playoffs, too. His body breaks down. It's sad. You said it before, like, he's, I mean, I'm a Knicks fan, so in theory you would hate the Sixers. Joel Embiid's very likable. He's a character, he's awesome, and it's just like it sucks that it's unfortunate to see him every single year. It's, I hate to say this, but it's true, it's not a matter of if he gets hurt, it's a matter of when at this point. Yeah, I mean, for someone who was drafted, so Joel Embiid turns 30 next month in March.

Welcome, everyone, to February 1st, if you're not aware. Joel Embiid was drafted in 2014. He could not play the first two seasons of his career due to injury. We didn't see Joel Embiid until 2016-2017. He came out the blocks and he averaged 20 points in his rookie season.

20 points, 8 rebounds. Joel Embiid only played 31 games his first season that he actually played because he tore his meniscus in 2017. So the first year that he actually played, he tore the same meniscus in his left knee that he tore earlier this week that we just found out about. That's 31 games. The following seasons, we know it's an 82 game season, Joel Embiid goes 31, 63, 64, 51, 51, 68.

And then, you know, yeah, one of those years was the bubble year. 66 games played last year when he won MVP. This year, he's played 34 games. And I don't know if we're going to see him again for the rest of the season.

And we do know this. Joel Embiid playing 66 games last season and winning an MVP award, he would have been three games over the threshold to win. In order to win MVP now, in order to win any award, you got to go out there and play at minimum 63 games.

Ah, man, I don't know how to feel. I feel bad for Joel Embiid. The NBA, there's so much going on. You know, right now, this game is underway between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers. Boston is leading at this point.

8 to 6. There's no Anthony Davis. There's no LeBron James. The All-Star starters were just announced. The Knicks have two starters. There's no Trae Young.

There is no De'Aaron Fox. It's, I don't know. I don't know how to feel. The NBA is just full of news all the damn time. Karl-Anthony Towns making his fourth All-Star team. But the biggest news, and this is, unfortunately, it's followed the NBA for a few years now.

Especially as they try to renegotiate some of their television deals and get new TV deals. People want to see the stars, man. LeBron James, we get it.

Almost 40 years old. People want to see him. I assume he's going to be playing in the Garden when the Lakers take on the Knicks. But what good are the stars if they're not available and they are not playing?

It's sad. 8-5-5, 2-1-2 for CBS. That's 8-5-5, 2-1-2 for CBS. Joel Embiid has suffered a torn meniscus. Sixers are going to evaluate him and then figure out a plan for recovery, whatever it is.

Me personally, I'd be surprised if we see him again this season. It's not looking good. It's the JR Sportbreeze Show here with you on CBS Sports Radio. We've got a busy weekend. Pro Bowls and All-Star games and NBA All-Star announcements. We're going to talk more about this on the other side as we take a listen to the geniuses at TNT. Like Charles Barkley here on CBS Sports Radio. Don't move.

A Peanut Butter M&M's production. In a world where Super Bowl winners get the world's admiration and a fancy ring, but the runners-up get nothing, one retired cop returns. That's one retired quarterback. Read the script.

Oh, sorry. One retired quarterback returns to claim what's his. Um, that's claim a ring with diamonds made from M&M's peanut butter, but you're on a roll. The Ring of Comfort, coming soon to a Super Bowl new you.

OK, picture this. It's Friday afternoon when a thought hits you. I can spend another weekend doing the same old whatever, or I can hop into my all-new Hyundai Santa Fe and hit the road. With available H-Track all-wheel drive and three-row seating, my whole family can head deep into the wild. Conquer the weekend in the all-new Hyundai Santa Fe. Visit HyundaiUSA.com or call 562-314-4603 for more details. Hyundai, there's joy in every journey. 2024 Santa Fe available early 2024. Nobody wants a surprise in their jelly donut.

It's toothpaste? That's because the middle is the most important part. At Graybar, we're at the middle of electrical and datacom jobs across the country, connecting installers, facility managers, and business owners with smart solutions for their most challenging projects. Which means stocking and delivering crucial products on time and on budget with no surprises thanks to our nationwide logistics network. Yep, Graybar does that.