5.6.24 - JR SportBrief Hour 3

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Price and coverage match limited by state law. Odyssey app. City holding it down for us on the boards. And you, you might be listening on the free Odyssey app, your local Infinity Sports Network affiliate. You can be locked in on Sirius XM Channel 158.

And if you got yourself a smart speaker, you can always ask it to play the Infinity Sports Network. It's May. Yeah, I know May is here.

I can't believe it. It's basketball playoffs. There's hockey playoffs. There's Major League Baseball. NFL just had its draft.

So things are a little quiet. But for right now, like listen, New York City, the New York Knicks lead the Pacers 21 to 15 in the first quarter. And about two hours from now, the Denver Nuggets are going to host the Minnesota Timberwolves again.

The Timberwolves are trying to go up 2-0 against the defending champs. We got no word on Rudy Gobert. Is Rudy Gobert going to show up to work? Or is he going to be hanging out with his wife or girlfriend? Anyway, they got a baby.

So we don't know what he's doing. Hickey, I don't know. Is it girlfriend, wife? Does it matter? None of my business, right? I believe girlfriend. Either way, a baby is here. They got a baby. So true. That's all that matters. That's all that matters.

A healthy baby. And Rudy Gobert was with her. And we don't know if he's going to be playing basketball.

We'll find out sooner than later. And speaking of Rudy Gobert, if you had no idea he's going to be eligible, or he is eligible, he's a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year. And if Rudy Gobert gets this award, he's going to join somebody like Ben Wallace and Dikembe Mutombo as the only dudes to have won Defensive Player of the Year four damn times. Let's see if Rudy Gobert shows up tonight.

Let's see if he wins Defensive Player of the Year this week. And you want to know who's also in that conversation? Victor Wenbenyama.

But I'm going to tell you about Victor Wenbenyama in a second. If you want to talk to me, it's simple. 855-212-4227. You can also find me online. I'm everywhere at JR Sport Brief. This portion of the show is brought to you by Wesley Financial. Are you stuck in a timeshare in one out?

You contact Wesley Financial Group now and get a free timeshare exit information kit at WesleyFinancialGroup.com. I get started here every weekday at 6 p.m. Eastern, 3 Pacific. Thank you so much to Cavs legend Austin Carr for joining us earlier in the show. He's also a color analyst for the Cleveland Cavaliers. It was great to chat with him as the Cavs get ready to take on the Boston Celtics. And then also, last hour, we had a chat with Chris Hine, who covers the Timberwolves for the Star Tribune out in Minnesota.

And as I told you in about a couple hours from now, the Timberwolves will be in action against the Nuggets. Now back to Wenbenyama. Congratulations, Victor Wenbenyama.

It's official. This man has been named the NBA Rookie of the Year. And Victor Wenbenyama became Rookie of the Year unlike anyone has ever done it before. Listen to the stat line. And by the way, we know Victor Wenbenyama is a 7 foot 4, 20 year old freak of nature.

You know what? Nike has a whole damn campaign right now where they're letting everybody know that Victor Wenbenyama, he's not a freak, he's not a unicorn. Victor Wenbenyama is just, he's just an alien.

21 points a game, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 and a half blocks of steal. And God bless his soul, Victor Wenbenyama, for skinny and thin as he is at 20 years old, we didn't know how he'd hold up. He played 71 games. Thank you, Victor Wenbenyama. A matter of fact, Victor Wenbenyama, he spoke to the great folks at the NBA on TNT and Shaq and Kenny and Ernie and Charles, all of them. And Victor Wenbenyama said, listen, people, it was important for me to win Rookie of the Year. I mean, my goals were always to help my team as best as I could and get better as the year went on. And I knew that in order to do this, I had to be individually good on the court, you know, and dominate.

So it was a huge, a huge thing for me and a big, big thing to get. So it's always been really important and I'm glad it's finally official. I'm glad it's official too, because I think Victor Wenbenyama is going to usher in a new era here in the NBA. I think Victor Wenbenyama is going to bring us in a new era of players who actually give a damn. I know earlier on in the show we talked about Jimmy Butler talking crap for a guy. Pat Riley said, man, you don't even play.

Maybe you should shut up. Victor Wenbenyama is 20 years old. He's coming over from France and he has a completely different perspective on life. Victor Wenbenyama, listen to this. He turns his phone off at night so he can get proper rest and not be bothered. Victor Wenbenyama, before he goes to sleep, he's not scrolling through Instagram. Victor Wenbenyama is reading. Guess what? Listen to this. Wait for it.

He's reading books. Victor Wenbenyama, before he even played a game in the NBA, he talked about positive manifestation. Victor Wenbenyama said, I understand my skill set and I want to max out at it because I have control over what I can do with my mind and my body. Victor Wenbenyama isn't talking crap on social media. Victor Wenbenyama is 20 years old. NBA players are afraid of this man. They don't want to see this dude in the paint.

They don't want Victor Wenbenyama flying out towards them at the three point line. Victor Wenbenyama, dare I say it, is still only 20 years old. He's not old enough to buy a drink in the United States of America. And I think even if he was, he probably wouldn't have one. I mean, he's French, so maybe he has some wine here and there.

I don't know. But the fact is, he might grow another inch. Look at his arms. Look at his legs.

The guy, he is an alien. Thank you, Nike, for the wonderful commercial. You got to appreciate a talent like Victor Wenbenyama. When you have so many players who, you know, take for granted what comes their way.

Is it a shock? Is it a surprise that we have so many international players who are dominating the NBA, that we got our guy like a Doncic, who was a professional as a teenager in Barcelona, that we have another guy in Nikola Jokic. This man is destroying the league and wants to go back home to Europe to play with his horses like the stars of the league.

A lot of them ain't coming from the States, right? Thank you, Anthony Edwards. He's a dog. He wants to get after it.

But it's no shock. I mean, even somebody like Victor Wenbenyama, he said, listen, folks, I had an amazing season. I had an amazing year. I'm rookie of the year, but there's more that I can do, especially my off season work. I'm already on it.

Listen to the rookie of the year. Yeah, there's plenty of stuff I plan on working on. You know, physically, of course, the work is never going to be done. So I've had my plan for months already for all of my body. We're going to keep discovering new ways, new ways to get better and to work on my body. For basketball, there's a lot I want to work on. There's a lot Pop wants me to work on and the coaches.

So I'm excited. But a big thing I can tell you is already working on my balance and the use of my strength and learning to know even my body better in the space, learning his body better. I mean, there were criticisms about Victor Wenbenyama before he got into the league. He's too skinny. He's being hyped up.

How is he going to last? Well, damn it. He answered all of those questions. He played seventy one games, one games, seventy one games.

Let me tell you something. I think he could have played in more if the Spurs didn't say, no, we need to have him sit down. The fact that he made it through the NBA season without a major injury, he wasn't too skinny. He didn't break down like a stick. Man, what is he going to do as he puts on strength? He doesn't have to get all that bigger.

I don't think we're going to wake up and Victor Wenbenyama is going to look like Ben Wallace. But the man is going to get older. He's going to get bigger. He's going to get stronger.

How about this? He's going to get smarter. His approach to the game is going to pick up. And you think about his accolades already.

I told you about the league going international. He's the fifth international player to win Rookie of the Year over the past 10 seasons. A guy like Luka Doncic.

And how about this? A guy like Ben Simmons. A lot of people don't realize he's from Australia. You want to know what Ben Simmons is doing? Not playing basketball. A matter of fact, tonight, Ben Simmons was at the Met Gala in New York City. Ben Simmons was playing dress up on a carpet.

I haven't seen Ben Simmons play basketball in God only knows how long. This is what makes Victor Wenbenyama different. Victor Wenbenyama wouldn't come outside if he couldn't suit up to do the quote unquote main thing. This is what makes Wenbenyama different.

This is what makes Wenbenyama a great spur. David Robinson won Rookie of the Year. Tim Duncan won Rookie of the Year. And you want to know what those spurs did?

They showed up and they went to work. Victor Wenbenyama. Yeah, they can call him the alien.

Let me tell you this. They may have to call this dude the blueprint and not because he's a perfect basketball player because he's 7'4 and he moves like a guard. His attitude towards the game is what the NBA absolutely needs. There were conversations earlier on about, you know, Chet Holmgren, you know, he could be Rookie of the Year and he's as good as Wenbenyama.

Oh, you don't hear that no more. Chet Holmgren is not Victor Wenbenyama. He might be in the postseason, but if you ask me, give it a year, give it a couple of years, Victor Wenbenyama will be leading the spurs into the postseason. And I'd say deep into the postseason, Victor Wenbenyama is the sixth player in the Rookie of the Year award history to get every single first place vote.

Do you know how difficult it is to get writers and journalists on the same accord? Because somebody always got to be smarter than somebody else. Victor Wenbenyama picked up every single first place vote. You want to know how many votes that was? 99. All 99 individuals said Victor Wenbenyama is the Rookie of the Year.

And you want to know something? He may not win Defensive Player of the Year this week. That may go to Rudy Gobert, who he already told him it's going to be his time soon. It's only a matter of time before Victor Wenbenyama isn't looking at Rookie of the Year. But Victor Wenbenyama helps turn the spurs around. And he's looking at MVPs. Victor Wenbenyama got next.

And I know there's a lot of people who look for and believe in and don't believe in aliens. All you got to do is find him. He's right in San Antonio. 855-212-4227. That's 855-212-4227. Congratulations to Victor Wenbenyama, your Rookie of the Year.

And I just call this guy the NBA's blueprint. The phone lines are open if you want to give me a holler. You can also find me.

I'm everywhere at JR Sport Brief. The New York Knicks and the Indiana Pacers, they're playing it close. 29-27.

The Pacers lead the New York Knicks in the second quarter. When we come back, I have additional announcements. How about this one? Rob Manfred is begging for money for stadiums. And Snoop Dogg, yeah, you heard me right, Snoop Dogg. Snoop Dogg has a bowl game for college? I'm not lying to you.

We'll talk about all of this on the other side. It's the JR Sport Brief Show. On the Infinity Sports Network. Congratulations, Wenbenyama. You're listening to the JR Sport Brief.

It's the JR Sport Brief Show here with you on the Infinity Sports Network. Congratulations, Victor Wenbenyama, Rookie of the Year. Hickey, you thought I was, well, not you. Like, this is crazy timing for real, Hickey.

Like, almost at the same exact time that Victor Wenbenyama wins Rookie of the Year, Ben Simmons is walking the carpet at the Met Gala. Like, you can't make this stuff up. You can't, you can't, you can't.

And this is what I mean about mindset. It's crazy. I'm with you a million percent. I mean, it's, you would think someone in his shoes would just have a little self-awareness. Like, you really, if you want to go, whatever. Do we have to stay there and stand for pictures and have, you know, your picture tweeted out to let everyone know you're there?

I mean, I guess that is a Super Bowl now because it's not really playing anymore, but my God. You get crap, I mean, and this is the point where it, I don't see, I don't think it's ignorance. I think it's just not caring. If I'm Ben Simmons, I don't want to do nothing. And there's nothing wrong. Ben's, see, I'm going to tweet this out right now. Okay, Bleacher Report has the picture. This is from two hours ago, Ben Simmons.

This is what I have here. Ben Simmons arrived to the Met Gala. Is this his new job? Is this his new job? Question mark. Is this his new job? Post.

There you go. If you want to know what the hell Ben Simmons is wearing, if you're interested, just go ahead and look at my ex at JR Sport Brief. He just, he doesn't care. He can't be that dumb hickey. He just don't care. He knows that everybody jokes and it's with good reason. It's not, you see, I think people would have even more sympathy for Ben Simmons if he was just like hurt all the time, but it's not that he's hurt. And there's nothing wrong with having a life. I'm glad he has a life outside of basketball, but he's, he's like, I don't want to call him a thief or a criminal.

He comes off as I don't give a damn. And we heard these things when he was at LSU. It's just like, hey, I'm at LSU and I don't care what the hell is going on with the team and I know I'm going to the NBA, so what, whatever. We heard these inklings and especially with his behavior and how he left the Sixers and basically won and cried his way out of there. And for a guy who's afraid to play basketball, has a mental block, he ain't got no problem showing up to be criticized as a fashion plate.

That's, that's where the criticism comes from. Like show up for work, man. He just, he doesn't help.

Like hickey, you said you talk about awareness. If I'm a GM and maybe nobody cares, somebody will always give him a chance. Oh, six foot 10 power forward. If he can only get his back together at minimum, we got a 10 and 10 guy. I will take it.

He can also play defense. I will take it. Maybe there's always going to be a taker. Maybe there'll always be a sucker, but I don't want to say he could be done, but that's, that's a reality at this point, man. That's, that's realistic. I got to look at his contract real fast. How many years he's got left? I think it's like one or two or three maybe, but it's like, it's one of those where it's like, I mean, I'm with you. Like, I just don't know if you're a GM, how you look at him, his career, and even just how he carries himself off the court.

Like you said, like, well, I think what the biggest, maybe the biggest red flag you can have is just not caring. Like that's never going to change. Injury history, you could say injury luck could change, but if you just don't care, that's at this point, that's never changing.

No matter what team you go to. I just don't see how it's worth. If you're another team, whenever his contract with the Nets runs out, like how you can give him another deal, let alone a deal with any sort of substantial money attached to it. Look, he got one more year on his contract. Next season, $40 million is coming Ben Simmons way, $40 million.

And Hickey, how many, how many games is he going to be there for open tonight? Would you say you think you know how players are when it comes to a contract here? Oh, wait. So Ben Simmons is going to ball out of control next year, get that big deal and then put it in the tank again. Nobody could give him another max.

I mean, I would hope not, but like you said, there's always one sucker out there. And if he goes out next year, I mean, this is not going to happen, but if he goes out next year and plays 75 games and is averaging 20, 12 and eight, all Ben Simmons has to do is show up. And if he and if he played 65 games and he averaged 10 and 10, Ben, Ben Simmons would, would get a contract. Somebody would give him a new deal.

They would, without a, without a shot of a doubt, whether he deserves it or not is that's the big one. He's over here at the Met Gala posing for photos and funky outfits. What do you think of that outfit by the way? Is that something you'd wear on a Friday night when I went on a Friday night?

Nah, come on now. I will say the briefcase of the clock is kind of cool. It is. I don't know what the, you know, the Met Gala has a theme every year.

What is the theme you think this year? Is it like a mat? He looks like the Mad Hatter without a hat. It does. And I can appreciate like, I like texture with clothing. I appreciate, I don't know what the texture is of his outfit. I actually think it looks nice. I'm not, would I wear it?

Hell no. No, I'm not wearing this. It got a little bit of a mud cloth feel. I like it. And I like the pattern up top as well. So I think it looks very nice. Would I wear it?

Hell no. In a different type of way. Hey, this is the Brooklyn Nets.

This is their sensor. And this is why he's a loser. And this is why Victor Benyama after one year looks like he is on his way to being a winner. Hey, we got to talk about this. Speaking of money and winners, I've seen Snoop Dogg do everything. Snoop Dogg is selling cereal. He has kids shows. He's hosting game shows on television.

He's at, you know, WrestleMania. This is the same Snoop Dogg. I mean, in the 90s, he's, he was on a murder trial.

Murder was the case that they gave me. This is Snoop Dogg. They tried to vilify this man.

They being politicians and free speech activists. They were trying to kill this guy in the 90s. I've never seen anybody have such a turnaround like Snoop Dogg is hanging out with. Wasn't a Martha Stewart. And Martha Stewart wasn't she was the one convicted. She's the convict was a tax evasion. Yeah, she's in house arrest. Like you put her and Snoop Dogg together.

You go, hey, which which one is the is the criminal, which is the convict? That's Martha Stewart. Snoop Dogg has everything now, even a bowl game. You heard that correct. We know Snoop is a big Lakers fan.

It says wild things about the Lakers after their losses. I think he's this big Steelers fan as well. Snoop Dogg was on social media and he had an announcement about sponsoring a bowl game. I am not joking.

Listen to Snoop Dogg. College football fans are exhausted by the constant talk around NIL, conference realignment, coach movement, transfer portal and super conferences. So what's time that we get back to the roots of college football when it was focused on the colleges, the players, the competition, the community, the fan experience and the pageantry being a fan, coach, supporter of all levels of the game. I sent many players through my SYFL to colleges and the NFL. So it's only fitting that I step up and help get this thing right. I'm ready to bring the juice back to college football and I'm taking my talents. That's right.

That's right. To Arizona. Believe me, Arizona baby. I'm here to announce the new collaboration.

The Snoop Dogg Arizona ball presented by Jen and Juice by Dre and Snoop. The game will be played on December 28th at the University of Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Arizona. I'll be there. Will you be there? Well, guess what?

We'll see you there. Oh my God. The Snoop Hickey. If you, you could not, I could not have, when Jen, when I was a kid and Jen and Juice was out, if you would have told me that this would be, especially if you would have told me 15 years ago or 10 years ago, Snoop Dogg would be sponsoring a bowl game and it would be called the Jen and Juice. I'd be like, no, no, like, no, like, no, that, that, that America would reject that. But this is, this is where we're at.

I mean, you think about some of the, you know, people that have gotten jobs in this country and some of the public figures who have represented the country. I'm not shocked at anything. I'm not the Snoop Dogg Jen and Juice bowl. Like, how is this, how, how, how can you tie in alcohol? I've never heard it. Have you heard of this? Has there ever been an alcohol company to sponsor a bowl game? Not that I can think of. Yeah, the Cherubundi bowl, I don't think is promoting any alcohol in that one or the Bad Boy Mower bowl.

But yeah, this is a first. Let's go. Yeah, there's no, wait, you want some Jen? You want to go?

You want some Jen and Juice? I mean, let me tell you this. I've never been more intrigued about the Arizona bowl until right now. I think Jimmy Fallon or Gronk, someone sponsored it recently, or the LA bowl is Jimmy Fallon.

Didn't care. Snoop Dogg Arizona bowl, in for. I may want to go to this one, Icky.

Right in the middle. It's kind of that perfect time too, between Christmas and New Year. So you get that holiday, you know, some people work, some people don't.

It's kind of like a half work anyway, even if you are working. At that time of year, I typically don't want to do anything. It's about one of the few weeks where I don't do anything. I may want to just go just to have some of the Jen and Juice, Icky.

Tucson, Arizona, late December, a little Jen and Juice in hand. Why not? Boise State and like Western Michigan in front of you. Why not? Sounds a pretty good way to spend a Thursday.

Yeah, Icky, I think I might reach out to them. Hey, listen, I'm going to, this is an announcement. When you open up the email that I'm going to send you and you listen to this, JR Coast to Coast on the Infinity Sports Network, I want to come out to the Jen and Juice Bowl. Okay, let's get, let's get Snoop on the air. Let's make it happen. And let's big this up. I've never been excited about a bowl game in my life, but I want this one. And shout outs to Snoop, Arizona, Jen and Juice Bowl.

Sign me up for it. Icky, I haven't been this excited for a bowl game since that stupid Pop-Tart. That was a good one. It was.

It was amazing. Great. But this is like, I also think like in somewhat seriousness, like I think bowls need to do this now going forward. Like if they want to be relevant, get people to watch and or play, I think now NAL is going to help sponsor that and have them play in these bowl games. But make it cool. Make it different.

Well, everybody can't have Snoop Dogg, you know. Well, like the Pop-Tarts Bowl is a perfect example. They made that whole thing. It was pretty cool. I mean, I'm sure without looking at the ratings, it has to be one of the most highest rated bowl games. Oh, my God.

Like non playoff game. The social and well, not this. Well, yeah, I guess the social media impact. All the folks who worked on that had to have gotten raises. I think the woman who did it, I think she actually did at her agency.

She got a lot of accolades for that. I guess we got it. You got to either have a Pop-Tart or you got to have Snoop Dogg to make your bowl move. Well, let me not say that again.

It sounds like it sounds like something else. We're talking about bowl games, not not BM's. But anyway, congratulations to Snoop Dogg. Getting ready for the gin and gin, excuse me, gin and juice bowl in Arizona.

You can't make this stuff up. Shout outs to the Snoop D-O-double G classic. Everybody's on. Everybody loves Snoop and he got kids shows and cartoons.

So whether you're not, you happen to be a real gang banger or you happen to be a two year old like like Snoop Dogg got something for everybody. It's it's it's amazing. Shout outs to him.

It's the J.R. Sport Show here with you on the Infinity Sports Network. Everybody loves Snoop. We come back from break. I got to tell you about a guy that nobody likes. When he shows up, they boo the living hell out of him. And he said something else. That's just is dumb.

Oh, so dumb. He is the commissioner of Major League Baseball. His name is Rob Manfred. If you want to holler at me about Snoop's bowl, it's simple.

855-212-4227. And I'll tell you the latest nutty thing. That came out of the mouth of Rob Manfred. It's the J.R. Sport re-show. Infinity Sports Network. You're listening to the J.R. Sport Brief. It's the J.R.

Sport re-show here with you on the Infinity Sports Network. Hey, people like Leila Ali, right? People like Leila.

People really like her dad. God rest his soul. In a few seconds, we're going to talk about a guy that nobody likes. His name is Rob Manfred. He's the commissioner of Major League Baseball.

Yeah, here's something that you should really forget. Like, you should love this O'Reilly Auto Parts. Think O'Reilly Auto Parts for all of your car care needs.

Get guaranteed low prices and excellent customer service from the professional parts people at O'Reilly Auto Parts. Yeah, I love O'Reilly Auto Parts. Heck yeah, I love the song too. You know the song, right? Oh, oh, oh, O'Reilly. I thought you were going to finish it.

Auto Parts. I left it for you to finish. I left it for you. We crushed that. Yeah, we did. They want a new jingle. We got you. We got you. Now we're going to ask them for more money.

Hickey, that was the point. Absolutely. Well, get them now. Price just went up.

Oh, speaking of the price went up. Oh, no, Justin. Rudy Gobert ruled out of Game 2 against the Nuggets.

This is his first playoff game that he's going to miss since 2017 with the Jazz. Oh, my God. Hickey, man. What? Come on. I thought they had the plane ready.

Wow. He couldn't show up in the third quarter. They couldn't pull him off the bench. Played so well in Game 1 too.

He's a big time difference maker. Oh, my God. This series is going back 1-1. Oh, yes. Oh, boy. You know what Jokic is doing? He put his phone down from I was going to say he's betting on his horses back home and he just he just is like he's like, oh, man, I got some I got some good eating tonight.

I'm going to I'm going to go to work. Oh, my God. I'm shocked. What happened? The plane couldn't get we don't know. We don't know. I guess we're going to have to find out over the next couple of hours. I'm going to go to work.

I'm going to go to work. We're going to have to find out over the next couple of hours. You know, but damn, maybe we'll find out sooner than that, because we didn't we get word that he was trying to get back to Denver? Wasn't that what he was trying to do?

That's I mean, I was under that impression, right? He wasn't ruled out. So literally right now, about an hour or so before the game. So it's not like if you knew he wasn't going to play anyway, you wouldn't have you would have ruled him out a lot earlier than 842 Eastern.

So it seems like he was trying to make an attempt. 855 212 42 27. It's 855 212 42 27. Who's to say that Rudy Gobert couldn't just pop up at the, you know, the fourth quarter? Like, that would be iconic. Like, this is the type of story that Rudy Gobert needs. Rudy Gobert, for the most part, is not respected by a lot of his peers. I mean, guys, another former defensive player of the year and Draymond Green has talked about Rudy Gobert over the years having to be subbed out of games. A lot of people call him the soft Frenchman and, oh, he can block shots, but when you get him on a pick and roll, he doesn't do anything. They got to move him from the he doesn't get the respect. Rudy Gobert has acknowledged this.

I mean, for a guy and maybe it doesn't matter. He can go ahead and and kind of push his way up into space. He can have an epic arrival. He could roll out there into the fourth quarter, block a shot. Hickey, he could leave as an icon.

He could. The reverse of, oh my God, now I'm blanking. Who? Willis Reed. Thank you.

Holy cow. Here's the next grade where he comes in early, out, you know, out, plays what? Two possessions and leaves.

It's the opposite. He comes in late. One minute left in the game. Oh my God. Is that someone in the tunnel? Oh, it's Rudy Gobert. That would be iconic. That's the type of thing that can help you take or that you can't make that stuff up. Like you hear about that in a documentary, like 40 years or Rudy Gobert.

Oh, ridiculed the Frenchman, regardless, despite being an amazing coach, amazing player, not a coach, amazing player, not respected by his peers. Minnesota Timberwolves, his wife, girlfriend has a baby and he takes a flight back. The flight is late. He can't play until the fourth. He has the game winning. But like, you can't make that stuff up.

And I don't know the circumstances, but I'm here for a good story. He's got a lot of flack, right? This one game could take away all that years worth of it could this opportunity. I don't think people are going to destroy him over this, but they could if they wanted to. Right. They could. How do you think his teammates respond to that? They, you know, Hickey, I got to be honest, they're not going to they're not going to say nothing publicly. See, I think I think guys would be split on this.

I really do. You're going to have folks who I think everybody understands. But in the back of your at least in mind, I go, OK, the baby is here. She had the baby. You were there for the birth. You're helping.

You're supporting. Man, they got enough money. Hickey, he can show up to the game and go right the hell back home.

That's so true. I think they have a few days off. I think it's, I believe, two days off in between games, two and three. Hickey, yeah, he can literally just go back.

They got enough money. Just play the game and go back. And I get it. Everybody's partner spouse relationship is different. We don't know if the pregnancy was we don't know details. Right.

It could have been a tough pregnancy. We don't we don't know anything. We don't. And so that's the difficult part.

But the Timberwolves, they do. And if everything was swimming and everything was cool, you know, then I think you're going to have some guys who just go and they won't say it publicly because it does them no good. They're going to be like, oh, man, he could have came and helped us. He did it. 855-212-4227. Tom is calling from Harrisburg. You are on the JR Sport Reshow.

What's up, Tom? JR, there was a big claim made on Friday night. I just wanted to get your opinion. Your former producer, Mr. What the hell did you just say to me?

David Sheppard claims he can be a great coach of the L.A. Lakers. That's what he said. That's what he said.

You got it. You got to have the credentials to go out there and do it first. Right. I mean, we know LeBron James coaches the team, though. I mean, if we live in in fantasy land and he's the coach, then, yeah, he could be the coach. I could be the coach. You could be the coach.

But we we we live in reality. All right. I just thought maybe you can give him a recommendation or I'll point if you think he's the right man. No, I like my I like my credibility where it is, Tom. Have a good one. Well, thank you so much for calling from Harrisburg. No doubt about it.

Hickey, do we do we need to have a conversation with Shep? Yeah, I know he said a lot of crazy things when he was your producer. I have a tough time kind of ranking where that one is right now, thinking he can coach the Lakers. I mean, that's that claim is definitely less crazy than thinking you could beat up Mike Tyson. Yeah, I was going to get it. Well, Mike, well, we're going to find out soon enough. Well.

Here's the well. Right. Beating up Mike Tyson. I mean, look, he's been Paul, at least his training and has boxed and has like has some sort of resume.

Right. Well, he's going in there dry. Well, well, Jake Paul is also have you seen how much weight he's put on? He's put on weight to get hit by Mike Tyson. He's put on weight. I mean, he was pretty ripped before. I've not seen him like recently for this specific fight, but he's pretty big. Yeah.

Yeah. But he's he's put on additional pounds to take the punches. So you're saying like one hundred and eighty pound soaking wet Shep would not be able to take Mike punching iron Mike Tyson's punches? I think if he hit him one time, it'd be, you know, Shep has always said, oh, it's a matter of catching me.

But yes, I don't know. I don't think Jake Paul is you know, I think he's a track star. I'm sure that Shep has better endurance. Look, Shep runs marathons, right?

That's what he does. I'm sure his endurance is through the roof. He probably has. Yeah, I would say I'd bet on him having more endurance than Jake Paul.

I don't think Jake Paul is slow. I think it's different once you get in the ring, like to run around, he's going to tie a mic out. This might be the closest we get to, dare I say, a comparison.

Is that appropriate? Is this even a comparison? I mean, Mike Tyson fighting a quote unquote normal guy, but he's not he ain't no real pro. He's a play. He's an entertainment boxer, right?

I don't know. You are definitely right. This is the closest comp will ever get. And if Mike Tyson knocks him out in like two minutes, let's just say maybe Shep's life was saved by him having to not follow through on that guarantee he made. He's not next. No, please no.

For his life. Okay. Hey, listen, when we get how about this, when we know who the East who's participating in the East Finals and the West Finals, let's talk to Shep and let's get his thoughts. He can coach the Lakers. I get what he meant. He didn't mean that he's going to coach the Lakers for real, but he meant anybody could do it. It's you'd have to be an idiot to screw up the job.

And I don't think you'd have to be an idiot. You just got to you got to wash LeBron's laundry. You got to fold it. You got to pick up his dry cleaning. I don't know. I was going to say, do you have to make his bed on the road? You got to I don't know.

I don't know. You got to you got to you got to be LeBron's best friend and maybe Darvin Ham as a former NBA player didn't want to. It's like you're damned if you do, you're damned if you don't. He had former coaches, I mean, somebody won a championship with is no longer there. Frank Vogel is not there. He's coaching the Suns and now they talk about getting rid of him potentially.

The Lakers is a volatile job. Damned if you do, just damned if you don't. And speaking of damned if you do and damned if you don't, let me just get this out the way. Let's talk about this guy that nobody likes. Rob Manfred had the nerve to open up his mouth and tell everybody at a conference today, the Associated Press about how publicly financed stadiums, all these teams and all these owners who want stadiums and they want you to pay for it out of your pocket and your tax money. Rob Manfred said that this is public funds have been seen as a justified part of the quality of life and entertainment opportunities available to residents in their particular cities. This is the same Rob Manfred who's a he's a master politician at this point in time.

I mean, Hickey, this is the part about sports I hate. The politicians go for it because they think that they get money and sometimes they do and they get perks as a part of the deals. But this is robbery always, always for the fans, because I don't think the fans it's like everything else in politics. The fans don't pay close enough attention. They might think about their allegiance to the team. Like, for instance, Rob Manfred last year said the Brewers need to get public money, otherwise the Brewers are going to leave Milwaukee forever. And then the city caved earlier this year. Listen to what Rob Manfred said last year.

Listen to this. Patrick, the commissioner here making it clear just moments ago that some type of state funding will be needed in the long term to help pay for repairs and renovations here at American Family Field. The commissioner at this hour not ruling out the possibility in the long term that the team could leave Milwaukee if that doesn't happen. There's been a great relationship between ownership here and the governmental bodies, and I'm confident that the governmental bodies will come up with a plan to fund what's just an existing obligation under the lease. Look, it's an obligation and I just don't believe that's going to happen. I really believe that everyone understands that there's a funding obligation that needs to be met, that this ballpark is a community asset, and they're not going to let that great community asset fall into decay because the fans love this place.

Oh my god. And the Brewers fell for it. The city of Milwaukee, the county, they're contributing half a billion dollars to help fix Miller Park and renovate it for the next almost 30 years. The Brewers are putting in 100 million dollars.

Let me say that again. The Brewers are putting in 100 million dollars. The city, the county, the taxpayers are putting in half a billion dollars. And they have been so many studies, not just domestically with the NFL or Major League Baseball or the NBA or what have you. They've been studies all over the world that have talked about how stadiums go up and the money that goes in does not get shared locally. You know, the economy is not getting boosted in a way where 500 million in equals 500 million dollars out to the community. It doesn't happen.

It doesn't happen. There's been enough studies. Rob Manfred is a master manipulator and they use fear. I mean, we got this out in Oakland where they don't even have everything set in place for the athletics to move to Vegas. It's an embarrassment. Rob Manfred ain't nothing but a glorified politician.

Nobody likes this guy for good reason. It's the J.R. Sportbree show here on the Infinity Sports Network. We're going to take a break. When we come back, Rob Manfred gets booed for real everywhere he goes. Last night, Tom Brady, he got jeered, but it was all jokes. Or were they jokes? We'll talk about this. You actually hear some of the jokes on the other side, at least the clean ones we could play. It's the J.R. Sportbree show. Odyssey app.