JR SportBrief Hour 1

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The number one pediatrician recommended brand. It is the JR sport brief show here with you on the Infinity Sports Network. I'm coming to you live from Atlanta, Georgia. Thank you so much to everybody tuned in and locked in all over North America. People listening on the free Odyssey app. People locked in on the Infinity Sports Station wherever they live. People on Sirius XM Channel 158. Everybody on a smart speaker.

All you got to do is ask it to play the Infinity Sports Network. There's people all over the world. Thank you so much to super producer and host Ryan Hickey holding it down for us on the boards in New York City. And most importantly, thank you to you for listening. Because without you there, there is no show. There's none of us.

Not me, not Hickey. We'd be doing something else if you weren't here. You can always listen to the show at this time starting at 6 p.m. Eastern.

3 Pacific. What a busy Thursday, right? It started off slow and the Lakers got a head coach.

The Bulls are stupid as hell. What else is new? It's a wild world that we live in, okay? Anyway, we got a lot to get into. In about 20 minutes, Katie Wu is going to join us from the Athletic. She covers the cards. This is a big deal for the, well, the St. Louis Cardinals because they're taking on the San Francisco Giants to basically honor Willie Mays and the Negro Leagues.

Right down the row from me in Birmingham. This is a big deal. Sam Amick is going to come through and join us next hour to talk about the Los Angeles Lakers and their coaching hires.

So we got a lot to do, a lot to discuss. If you want to participate in the show, it's simple. 855-212-4227.

It's 855-212-4227. You can find me online. I am everywhere. I am at JR Sport Brief. It's going to be a lot of fun today. Besides all the NBA action, Major League Baseball action, and out in Birmingham, talk about Kaitlyn Clark.

What else is new? I don't know why Cheryl Swoopes is, she's bullying this woman now. Justin Fields, I know he never seemed too happy or thrilled with the idea of him returning kicks.

And I mean, Madden has a different idea. Justin Fields probably isn't happy about that. Paul George is openly talking about his pending free agency.

The NCAA tournament might expand. George Kittle is telling everybody the perfect way to lose weight. So we got a lot to get into here over the next four hours. Before I do or say anything else, Ryan Hickey, how the hell are you? You good?

I'm good, JR. Doing better today than I would probably say 99% of Lakers fans after this news becomes official. You said you feel better than 99% of Lakers fans? I'm sure there's 0.1% or 1% maybe that are happy, that are maybe excited about JJ Reddick, intrigued by what he could be. Think maybe buying into the notion that his NBA smarts and this podcast with LeBron can translate over to winning basketball. I'm sure there's always a small minority in every fan base that'll be optimistic.

So I can't say a full 100%, but a large majority I think I'm doing better than. Well unless you've been living underneath a rock, JJ Reddick is the newest coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. A four-year deal, $32 million. We know Hurley from UConn last week turned down, what was it, six years over $70 million. And the Los Angeles Lakers, they finally settled on a head coach. Was JJ Reddick or their first choice?

It didn't appear that way. He didn't receive a contract offer or sign until today. They looked at Hurley. And the Los Angeles Lakers, the sick he talked about, they look a little goofy right now. They're bringing in a 39-year-old dude who played 15 years in the NBA. And yes, he has a basketball podcast with LeBron. And yes, he's sitting around and doing television.

Thank God he won't be doing TV on ESPN anymore. They're bringing this guy in because A, they feel he could be a long-term coach whenever LeBron is done. But they're bringing him in primarily now because he can carry LeBron James' bags. That's just the facts.

I'm just being real. I don't know if JJ Reddick is going to be a good coach. I don't know if he's going to be a bad coach, but I know right out of the gate, JJ Reddick is going to be the whooping boy for everybody unless the Los Angeles Lakers start hot on fire, which I don't see happening. And JJ Reddick is going to feel the heat.

It's going to be real interesting to see how his relationship with LeBron James changes. There's a lot to review here with JJ Reddick as the Lakers' newest coach. Coach K. Yeah, Mike Krzyzewski, he coached JJ Reddick when people hated him at Duke. And JJ Reddick knows a thing or two about hate. Coach K said, man, if you're worried about JJ Reddick, I got some words for you.

This is what he told John Fanta. Well, I don't say anything to him because what they say doesn't make a damn bit of difference. And to think that any organization would hire anybody because of glamor or whatever is ridiculous. Every organization wants to win. If JJ gets a head coaching job, it'll be because that organization believes that JJ is the best person, the best coach, to lead their organization. If as a competitor or a coach, player or whatever, we worried about what people said, we'd go nuts. We should only worry about what we're thinking and what our team is thinking about. And then let's go.

Talk about what we're doing, not what we might do, even what we did, you know, because you keep learning. Man, if they wanted JJ Reddick, they would have just given him the job a couple of weeks ago. Come on. What did they do? They waited until the NBA finals were done.

No, they didn't. They threw Dan Hurley money and he said, no. And so, was JJ Reddick always an option?

Yes, he was. But let's not act like the Los Angeles Lakers woke up and said, that's our guy. Because they asked somebody else to the NBA finals. They asked somebody else to the prom. And they said no. And then they went back to the other guy. And that's JJ Reddick.

And I got to be very clear here. I don't know how JJ Reddick is going to do as a coach. You don't know how JJ Reddick is going to do it as a coach. We can all speculate, given the Los Angeles Lakers history, when it comes to hiring and firing coaches. They go through coaches like most people. Well, almost as frequently as people go through underwear.

Hopefully that's every day. If you think about the Los Angeles Lakers, they've had no problem with firing a Darwin Ham. The Los Angeles Lakers have no problem looking at a Frank Vogel after a championship and saying goodbye, see you later.

I don't know. Most coaches get hired to get fired. Look, I actually think JJ Reddick is in an interesting position. He's at the back end of LeBron James's career. LeBron James is going to be 40 in December. And then there has to be a realistic expectation that he could coach the team post LeBron James.

That's a benefit. Darwin Ham isn't thinking about that. He wasn't offered the job and said, hey, this is you that they fired two guys. OK, Ham and Vogel. JJ Reddick isn't stupid. The Lakers aren't stupid.

They actually have to commit to somebody in the long run. That's a benefit to JJ Reddick. But I'll tell you this.

No matter if it's Hurley or Reddick or you or me. The Lakers need a better roster. That's it. I mean, if you got an expectation that they are competing for a championship and I get it, it's June. It's still early.

If you have an expectation that LeBron James and Anthony Davis are going to go win a title, I don't think so. I think we saw that in the bubble. And man, it sounds crazy to say. Like that this was this is 2024.

They had to cancel the end of that season and play it later in the year. Like, come on now. I was done a long time ago. You want to trust D'Angelo Russell? Nobody wants him. Rui Hachimura, is he going to be back to being a serviceable, consistent guy? Is Anthony Davis going to be healthy? Is LeBron James going to just stay the same way forever?

All of these things unlikely. The Lakers need depth, man. Yeah, JJ Reddick might be the fixer upper into the future, but for right now, who cares about JJ Reddick? It's the roster. And maybe if Dan Hurley came over from UConn into the future, they could develop a younger roster.

Maybe Hurley would have better success. You know, maybe bringing in a Sam Cassell, someone who has coaching experience, at least as an assistant would help. The Lakers are taking a short in the long run here. But if I'm a Lakers fan, I'm kind of going, eh, we got LeBron's guy to babysit LeBron and keep him.

But I hope this guy works in the long run. That's what the Lakers hope as well. We spoke to Anthony Irwin who covers the Los Angeles Lakers for Odyssey Sports, and he was here with us earlier this week. And I asked him, how the hell will Los Angeles Lakers fans react to this potential JJ Reddick hire?

At that point, Anthony said it was basically a done deal. Yeah, Lakers fans, I think, are just kind of tired at this point. The only bright spot in the LeBron James era was a championship that they were never able to get together and celebrate because of COVID.

And everything basically before and since then has been mostly mediocrity. And I think Lakers fans at this point are just waiting for the organization to figure things out and try to show that they operate on the level that is expected of the Los Angeles Lakers. Come on. What I've expected from the Los Angeles Lakers over the past 10 years is to, you know, just fire everybody. Look at Luke Walton and fire him and look at D'Antoni and fire him.

We can go down the list. It's a tough job. And JJ Reddick thinks that he can go out there and do it. A matter of fact, JJ Reddick, two years ago, he was chatting it up with Bleacher Report, not on his own podcast. JJ Reddick talked about what would make him a good coach.

I don't necessarily think it's one thing. I feel like I know the game pretty well. Because of some coaches I played for, really specifically Coach K, he taught me about adaptability. And our game, the NBA, changes so fast year to year. Having the mindset of just being open to change.

One of my greatest skills as a human being is my ability to communicate and communicate in an open and transparent way. I did that as a teammate. I think that's part of coaching, not avoiding things and not avoiding confrontation. Locker rooms, team chemistry, it's a very fragile thing.

We see it all the time in the NBA. I look at coaching as a way to help. It's like I had so many people help me in my career, and not just head coaches, but assistant coaches, player development people. And they have such a valuable place in my heart and in my life.

And I'd love to be one of those people someday. Well, it's your turn. That was 2022. That was 2022.

It's 2024. That day is today. That opportunity starts in October. That opportunity starts soon.

This starts right away. Because the NBA draft is next week. JJ Reddick from Duke. JJ Reddick, 15-year NBA sharpshooter. JJ Reddick, podcast host. JJ Reddick, ESPN, NBA Finals broadcaster. JJ Reddick, podcaster with LeBron James, breaking down the game. And what a hustler way to end up with a coaching job. I'm going to do a podcast with LeBron James.

It'll be the greatest job interview ever. Well, damn it, he got the job. And now JJ Reddick has to deal with the Laker fans who are going to expect him to be a miracle worker for a roster that is aging, old, injury prone. And then the case of somebody like Russell, I know, man, you can't wait to get rid of him.

Wait till he's gone. Who the hell do you replace him with? Los Angeles Laker has got a lot of work to do. And if you're thinking about today, it's not about the coach. It's about the players.

Let me know who they add. It's actually going to make an impact to help them compete for a championship. It's going to make an impact to help them compete for a championship.

I don't see that guy out there. The Lakers look like they'll be competing for a playoff spot. They'll have a winning streak. They'll have a losing streak. People will go high.

People will go low. JJ Reddick will get angry. JJ Reddick will be fine. LeBron James will throw out subtle messages. His teammates will go, hey, LeBron is really the coach, and the Lakers are going to take us on another ride.

So where? Unlikely a championship, not this upcoming season. I doubt it, but probably unlikely through mediocrity. It's the JR Sport Reshow here with you on the Infinity Sports Network. Sam Amick is going to come through and join us next hour to talk about the Los Angeles Lakers and what they've just done bringing in JJ Reddick. We'll get into some NFL potential expansion of the NCAA tournament, but in about five minutes, we're going to show some love. We're going to talk about Willie Mays out in Birmingham, Alabama at Rickfield Field.

Rickwood Field, excuse me. Major League Baseball is going to honor the Negro Leagues, Willie Mays, and a game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the San Francisco Giants. Someone attending that is Katie Wu from The Athletic. She covers the cards.

We'll talk to her about the experience thus far, and what we can look forward to is the JR Sport Reshow just getting warmed up on the Infinity Sports Network. You can host the best backyard barbecue. You find a professional on Angie to make your backyard the best around. Connect with skilled professionals to get all your home projects done well. Inside to outside, repairs to renovations. Get started on the Angie app or visit angie.com today.

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For more details, request your appointment at Midas.com. You're listening to the JR Sport Brief, the JR Sport Brief show here with you on the Infinity Sports Network coast to coast. Yeah, the Los Angeles Lakers hired JJ Reddick.

He felt that was coming for a while now outside of that Hurley stuff. But Major League Baseball is doing something tonight out in Birmingham, Alabama that is historic. Major League Baseball is honoring the Negro Leagues and showing love to Willie Mays. They're holding their first ball game at the country's oldest ball field at Rickwood Field right down the road from me here in Atlanta out in Birmingham.

San Francisco Giants are going to take on the cards to talk about the experience out at Rickwood and Birmingham and what has taken place, what will take place in about an hour from now. Joining us is Katie Woo from the Athletic. Katie, thank you for taking the time. Thanks so much for having me. It's a wonderful experience being here.

No, absolutely. Well, please tell us about the experience. I wish I was right down the road with you, but what is things, what's taken place so far? Yeah, you know, when Major League Baseball announced this event, I immediately identified it as a can't miss experience and it has just been one big party out in Birmingham. Celebration, it's a three-day celebration, started Tuesday with a minor league game, a celebrity softball game yesterday and of course the main event, Giants Cardinals in just over an hour is set to take off. I think the purpose of this game obviously is to celebrate the Negro Leagues and introduce maybe those who aren't familiar with the Negro Leagues, just how much the players that played on this very field, at Rickwood Field, impacted Major League Baseball and beyond. And I think it's long overdue that Major League Baseball is an event like this, but it is worth the wait simply because of just how well done everything is around here. Katie Wu was joining us from the athletic.

Well, Katie, we know that you cover the cards. What is, what makes the stadium so special? Have you had a chance to walk around? I know they renovated it, fixed it up a little bit.

What's that look like? Yeah, I actually just did a lap yesterday and I did one more today. They have the original wall still out, you know, there's the Cardinals and Giants will have a makeshift wall out to 400 feet, but dead center at Rickwood Field actually goes to 478, which is wild to think about. So I walked that actual back wall, got to go see, you know, where some great football teammates played and that was really interesting.

The actual box offices for tickets from 1910 are still intact. To sit in the stands, the press box is a makeshift press box out in the stands and I think that's actually probably the best way to watch a game, especially if you're going to watch one at Rickwood Field. So the history that's in this ballpark is what makes it so special. Well, Katie, outside of the field, I know Birmingham has done a lot that was already planned to honor Willie Mays and the Negro Leagues and all the attention that was going to be in Birmingham. Have there been any additional activations that have kind of highlighted the city and its history when it comes to baseball? Yes, both the Cardinals and Giants, their coaching staff and members of their front office, went to the Negro Southern League Museum today in Birmingham for a special lunch and about to tour the museum with some of the still living current Negro League players and that, you know, talking to Cardinals manager Ollie Marmel was something he really enjoyed. Ollie Marmel also went out with Mason Wynn, Jordan Hicks from the Giants, Kyle Gibson, and went to and did a charity event in the morning with the Boys and Girls Club out in Birmingham here.

So lots of things to do, lots of events. I think this has been great for the city of Birmingham and just a great experience for everyone here overall. Katie Wu is joining us from the Athletic. We know that the intent to honor the Negro Leagues, the Barons and Willie Mays, that all changed with his passing earlier this week. Have there been any additions, changes to honor him or things pretty much been on schedule in the same?

We'll have to see. The pregame ceremony is scheduled to take place in around 30-45 minutes and, you know, I think this is designed to celebrate players like Willie Mays, like Hank Aaron. You know, Reverend Bill Griesen, a Birmingham, Alabama native, will be throwing out the first pitch.

He is a spry 99 years old, the oldest living Negro League player, and that will be something very exciting for fans to see. So a lot of special things going on. Well, Katie, with you following the cards right now, they're at about the 500 mark. They're up, they're down.

It's win, it's loss. What does the rest of the season look like for them? It's going to depend on injuries.

I mean, injuries are always going to be something that pops up for every club, but the Cardinals really got the short end of the stick in that regard. They've been without starting captain Wilson Tinchera for the last six weeks. He fractured his arm in early May. Starting center fielder Tommy Edmond has not played one game this season. He's rehabbing from oxygen risk surgery that took much longer than anyone expected.

Lars Neubauer is on the end of the list. Even Matt had another setback in his rehab. He's going to be set back down again. So it's all about getting guys healthy. The good news for the Cardinals is they've managed to stay afloat without a lot of other key guys, and Wilson Tinchera could be back as early as this weekend. So fan out central, the National League in general really is pretty weak this year.

If you can stay around 500 until the trade deadline and make some moves, you might be able to launch yourself into contention, and I think that's what the Cardinals plan on doing. Well Katie, you talk about some of the players who've been able to get outside of the game. Have you had a chance to chat it up with any of the folks from the Giants, the significance of this game for them being a little closely more attached to Willie Mays? You know, I think everyone has a Willie Mays story, and that's what makes Willie Mays the greatest of all time. I was talking to C.C. Sabathia yesterday, and he was a prominent figure in making sure this game took place, and he said it perfectly. You know, he said you think of Willie Mays in San Francisco, and C.C. obviously from the Bay Area. Adam Jones is another one talking to him yesterday where he said, you know, obviously these people are sad that he's passed, but this should be a celebration of his life, and hopefully this game can go out and do what Willie Mays did, which was play hard and hopefully entertain the crowd, and I thought that was a perfect tribute. Hey, Katie Wu is here with us from the athletic, the JR Sport Reshow Coast to Coast.

You talk about C.C. Sabathia. I've seen photos and videos of so many more prominent athletes, especially from Alabama, whether it's Terrell Owens. I saw Derek Jeter and A-Rod there. Who are some other faces that have been milling around in support of this event? Yeah, I brought out all the stars. Barry Bonds is here.

Derek Jeter. We saw Ryan Howard. It's very clearly a must-attend event for so many of these people. Hunter Pence was here earlier.

Just anywhere you go, you're looking at somebody like, oh wow, it's great to see you here. Our pool was there. Dexter Fowler. So again, it's a celebration, right, and we should be celebrating the Negro League and the accomplishments, the contributions they made to the game. We should be more aware of this for baseball history, for baseball fans in general.

So to see so many prominent players former coming back and treating this like the celebration that it is, I mean, I don't think baseball could have asked for a better turnout. Well, Katie, have you heard anything about having this, I don't want to say annually? Could we see future events like this?

Any word on that? Not yet, but I certainly think based on how well received this one, there'll be something that they would revisit. You know, I think Major League Baseball is doing a nice job in expanding things in general. We know about the London games they're playing in Mexico, plans to play in Paris next year. This is certainly something that's been long overdue, and you know, the amount of effort and time that's been for the city of Birmingham, I think they should be commended for it because they really, you know, this is a big, big event in this town.

Certainly would like to see more games at this time here, but also a good start already with number one. Absolutely, and with the renovation of Rickwood Field, have they expressed any future usage? Not necessarily for Major League Baseball. I assume the community is going to be able to take full advantage of it. Yeah, and what's cool about Rickwood Field is even with all this prestigious history, it's still used as an active ballpark. Some high school teams will play specialty games here.

The SEC will use it every now and then. Major League Baseball occasionally will play, so it's certainly a very functional field that looks gorgeous today. I'm sure most of the grandeur, if you will, will come down when the when the event ends, but in terms of field functionality, it's in great shape. Awesome. Well, Katie, thank you so much. I know it's a busy afternoon, a busy day, a busy bunch of days, a busy evening. I wish I was out there. Where can people follow you as you follow the cards, but then also attend this amazing event? I'm on Twitter at Katie J Wu and also on the athletics.

We all have tons of coverage from various reporters throughout the week. Katie, thank you so much. Enjoy it, OK?

Thanks so much, guys. Absolutely. That Katie Wu of the athletic covers of the St. Louis Cardinals and has the benefit of checking out what is an amazing event. I mean, even the thought and the idea that Major League Baseball is taking time to honor the Negro Leagues. We talked about this two weeks ago.

They have fully integrated the Negro League stats into Major League Baseball stats is is tremendous. And now it's just about sharing a lot of this history and information with everybody here. I mean, everybody learns something.

I don't know at all. I hope you don't feel that you know it all. And every opportunity is a chance to learn more.

Birmingham, Alabama is not a far ride for me here in Atlanta, Georgia. I would have loved to have been out at Rickwood Field to go ahead and check out this game. But it looks like everybody's having an amazing time. And the most important thing is people are learning and people are learning about history through sports as well.

And so, you know, I get on Major League Baseball for a lot. What I feel is is poor marketing in a lot of cases. This time, I think they did things right. And I'm trying to share the information right here with you on the air as well. I mean, shoot, I didn't know about Rickwood Field until they announced this. No wonder it's the oldest ballpark in the country.

That was news to me. It's right down the road. I get out to Birmingham about once a year, maybe more if I need to. But to know that this was so close, I'm like, man, I would have I would have stopped to go ahead and check it out. Hey, Hickey, what are your thoughts on the event, man? I wish we were there, right?

That would be very cool. Yeah, like this is like I said, it's great that you're bringing recognition and awareness and attention and celebrating the past. It's like I think you're home to right in terms of, you know, celebrating history and I think teaching people through watching baseball, everything that's happened in the past. I mean, it's reminiscent just because it's totally different event, but reminiscent of when they had the game at the Dream of Feel or Field of Dreams. Yeah. In the cornfields there.

Again, very different in terms of history and meaning. But when they do do these special events, MLB, they usually do them right. And so far, you know, least watching Fox's pregame coverage, it looks like they are sparing no expense. It looks like they right now have kind of everything set ready to go.

Looks very cool. Baseball did something right, huh? Rare, few and far between, unfortunately. Well, did they give the microphone to a Rob Manfred yet? No, which is why so far it's going pretty smoothly.

Yeah, they need to keep them. I know the man. Does he have to speak?

It's necessary, right? I don't. That's I mean, he called his own trophy a piece of metal. Hopefully doesn't get on the mic and say, this is just another baseball field.

Oh, I wouldn't I wouldn't put it past him. Maybe if he speaks after the game, he should probably not talk at all. But we'll stay tuned. I'm looking forward to watching the game and certainly we'll be here on air.

But it's going to be visually appealing that much. I know it's the J.R. sport bisho here with you on the Infinity Sports Network eight five five two one two forty two twenty seven is the number that's eight five five two one two forty two twenty seven. Thank you to Katie Wu of The Athletic for joining us to talk about her experience out in Birmingham, Alabama. Tune in is the audio platform with something for everyone. News in order to secure convictions in a court of law is essential that we conclusively sports that clock at four.

Doncic, the step back three. Music. And even podcasts, whatever you love, hear it right here on TuneIn, go to TuneIn.com or download the TuneIn app to start listening. If your day sounds like we need to report ASAP. You're imported by Crime Report, Chicago, Illinois.

Trust Progressive, Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates price and coverage match limited by state law. You are listening to the J.R. sport brief, the J.R. sport bisho here with you on the Infinity Sports Network. I can tell you what's beautiful. What Major League Baseball is doing right now in Birmingham, Alabama. What the hell are they doing out there?

Well, they're Rick Woodfield. We got a game honoring the Negro Leagues between the San Francisco Giants, the St. Louis Cards, obviously shown a whole lot of love to Willie Mays as well. Thank you to Katie Wu from The Athletic for joining us in the last break.

She is live on the scene, getting ready for all of the pregame festivities and activities. Hickey, she said the center field wall is four hundred and seventy eight feet. That is I imagine playing center field back in the day. That's a lot of ground to patrol.

Man. Well, the ball, I don't want to say the ball players now are lazy because they're not right. No, they could run that. They definitely could run it. Honestly, I think baseball would be a better sport if they had, you know, outfield that big. You'd see more athleticism, less home runs, more doubles, more triples, maybe more diving plays instead of now, you know, I'm watching the Yankee game and it's a little league ballpark down the line.

Oh, man. What is the Yankee score? Right. Is it 14 to six?

It is 14 to five. Oh, a little bit of a football score going on here. I gave the Yankees one more extra run than they deserve. Anyway, shout outs to Major League Baseball. And this is a big deal. I mean, even, you know, I was flipping around this morning with the news on even the Today show took some time to show love to what baseball is doing. This is the Today show on NBC.

Listen to this. Rick Woodfield's green walls contain more than a century of baseball members. The oldest park in the nation built in 1910.

This is how it ground. I mean, Willie Mays and Satchel Paige. I mean, it's Hank Aaron, Jackie Robinson, all the greats, all the greats played here. And now it adds a special new chapter. Major League Baseball is preparing for a tribute to the Negro Leagues, a special game honoring players who are excluded from the game.

They excelled that because of the color of their skin. Man, it's so many people trying to erase history in so many regards. It's actually nice to know that as big of a corporate entity as Major League Baseball is that they this is what they're doing. And God knows if this if we didn't live through 2020 and George Floyd and COVID and all of this other terrible things, terrible stuff, I can use another word. Man, I don't even know if we'd be getting this right now.

Sometimes you got to get knocked down to get back up. So kudos to Major League Baseball on this one 855-212-4227. You know, this isn't the only quote unquote different thing going on in the world of sports right now earlier today. And we've heard about this for months now, maybe for years, but it seems to be a little bit more intense right now. The NCAA, the NCAA, excuse me, they basically have reached out to the commissioners of all the conferences.

And they have formally said, we want to expand. Like we want to move March Madness from 64. We want to bump it up to 76, 72. And I'm saying to myself for what?

And then if they move it up on the men's side, they also have to move it up on the women's side. And I say to myself, how much more damn basketball do we need? I guess this is just a gambler's paradise at this point in time. And so now that this is in front of all of the commissioners, if it passes, the NCAA would would pretty much start this off at the end of the 2025-26 season. So that's, Nicky, what year are we in?

24? That's another season, two more? Yeah, not this upcoming season, but the one after it.

Do we need this? They already moved the NCAA tournament. They had that one team kind of floating out there. And then they decided to go for, what do they call a stupid promotion? The first four. The first four.

Yeah. So now we got 68 teams and it's nice to start on Tuesday. And so what are they going to do? They're going to, they're going to take an extra weekend before that. So we'd have, how the hell would we still have so, so you'd have to do selection Sunday.

And then what do you do? Just wait until the end of the week and then play the first four games on what Monday and Tuesday, and then still do the final four traditionally on Thursday. How much more basketball do we need? Do you think they should expand this tournament?

No, no, I don't think so. At this point, like who cares? Like you're talking about adding fringe teams that are 500 people.

And like, no one is really for the most part anymore now that it's at 68, freaking out about the bubble. And again, the teams we're talking about are like 20 and 14, you know, 20 and 15. Who at this point am I going to be glued to the TV? Are you going to be glued to the TV to watch now an extra round of what would be like first, like, it's not like, oh, it's an extra round of the tournament.

It's basically an expanded first four to now it's what, I guess the first 16 or the first eight, whatever it may be like, however the numbers work out. Who cares? Man, this is, this is for a bunch of, it has to, well, it's television. That's it. It's TV and gamblers. That's it. Why the hell else would anybody care? You said it, you said as much, I mean, you gotta be out here trying to make some money because I mean, everything is about money.

So of course the answer is yes. But when it comes to actual quality basketball, they're going to, they're going to be teams playing out there that I've never heard of in my life. It's one of those instances where I go, where, where the hell is that school at? I've never even heard of that school. What are they doing right now?

And so there's, this is, there's so many changes that are going on in college athletics is expanding the tournament the worst thing in the world. No, no, it's not. I mean, damn it. I'll likely be here on air. Maybe, maybe not while the games are going on. I don't have no choice but to have it on in the background, but am I invested?

Hell no. I could care less. I could care less about some of the first round matchups because I'm like, I, this, this school is going to win something.

There's goofy ass logo and a funny name I'm expecting them to do. No, I don't. And I'm not, I'm not gambling.

So it's no big to do to me. Let me know when the games get good. Turn the games on, which game is good. I flipped to that game. This game sucks.

I turned that game off and I go about my day. So many changes, college football, moving to the playoff, expanding there and NCA tournament, expanding the playoff. And they have to expand the women's tournament as well. And, and sorry, by the way, Hickey, I've heard that the women's tournament doesn't make money.

Am I, am I allowed to say that or do I get canceled? No, that's a fact. Interesting. Oh boy.

Yeah. And so they, they didn't have to expand a women's field too. I'm sure they make enough money, billions in regards to eating it up, but on a women's side, that's, that's an L. I mean, you're expanding the women's field. Let's be real. How many Hickey, Hickey, if I start getting in trouble, just say, JR, shut up. How many college basketball teams on the women's side is the country in whole, like really invested in what Yukon, Tennessee, LSU.

Am I missing anything? Hickey, South Carolina with Don Staley, uh oh, Iowa, not anymore with Kaitlin Clark, five, like honestly five, six USC with Juju Watkins. There you go. Okay. Washington of the women Huskies. I don't, Lady Huskies.

Maybe 10. That the public generally would watch, sit down and be intrigued by. Notre Dame, Notre Dame. And so I get it.

Title nine and I'm, I'm, I'm here. I'm all for it, but it's, it's tough. It's like anything else. This such thing is, is too much of a good thing. Like we don't, we don't need all these teams on the men's side. I don't think we'd need an expansion on the women's side.

And I look, if this is a once in a lifetime experience for the students, then good for them. I'm all here for it. But from my perspective, a consumer side, someone who loves basketball, I watch people play on the street. I watch college, I watch whatever, but I want to see something that's intriguing and competitive. I told you the NBA finals, I love NBA basketball. The NBA finals from, from this past Monday, watching that game was just like, Oh, let's just get it over with. Let's get to the end.

I don't need to watch Luca Doncic try to play one-on-five for what? He kept looking at the, okay, is it done? Nope. Nope. Is it done yet? Nope.

Nope. It's still going. Come on. It was some good basketball.

I'll take it. Good luck to the NCAA. They keep on changing things. Even the big 12. Hickey, did you hear the big 12?

They may actually put a, a sponsor name to replace big. Did you hear about that? I did.

I did. It could be, what is it? Castor oil, Castro, what do they call it?

Castor oil 12. I saw that. I saw the Allstate big, the big Allstate 12 or Allstate 12, something like that, something ridiculous.

It could be anything. And you know what's crazy? That doesn't just set a precedent. I want to say for college, I mean, the NBA was able to go out there and brand a tournament name. And if you're the NFL and the NBA, I don't know, maybe this is going to take another 50 years. I wouldn't be shocked if there was a brand sponsor attached with the league itself.

Now that would be nuts. Look how long it took for us to get jersey patches, right? Like, oh my God, the jerseys are sacred. All the Yankees can't, Yankees got a jersey patch? Come on.

What is it, like an insurance company, lawyers or something? And you can go to the stadium and actually not only buy the jersey, but then also buy the patch separately and put that on there. Oh my God. Can you really? Oh yeah. Oh yeah. I'm dead serious. Whoever wants to look like on the field jersey authentic, they have that for you. Oh man. Like they'll sell anything. And why? I mean, there's money to be made. Do it. It took forever to get the patches on the jerseys.

It took forever to get the brand names on the field, on the court, on the pitcher's mound, on the baseline. Everything is for sale. I gotta, I gotta really be honest. Is it happening soon? I don't think so. One day I really believe we're going to have an NBA, NBA season 2024 brought to you by American Express. Oh, it's, it's coming. Everything is for sale, folks.

It's the JR Sport Preshow here with you on the Infinity Sports Network. Me? I'm not for sale. Can't buy me. 8 5 5 2 1 2 42 27.

That's 8 5 5 2 1 2 42 27. I told you everything is for sale. We also talked about the expansion of the NCAA tournament basketball-wise potentially. Hickey said it. Ain't nobody thinking about Iowa anymore, but people are still thinking about Kaitlyn Clark. Kaitlyn Clark in the news again.

Not only is she going to be here in Atlanta tomorrow, I'm going to go check her out. I don't know what, what Kaitlyn Clark did to Sheryl Swoopes, but Kaitlyn Clark is just, it's a punching bag right now. We'll talk about that on the other side. The NFL is looking into some potential changes as well. Trevor Lawrence talked about his money. Justin Fields has a reason to be mad at Madden, the video game.

We got a lot to do. It's the JR Sport Preshow. Same amic is coming through as well. It's the JR Sport Preshow, Infinity Sports Network. Tune in is the audio platform with something for everyone. News.

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