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Let's go! Let's fire this thing up. Welcome in to a Tuesday drive right here on WSJS. News, talk, sports. That's where we come in.
For the triad, I'm Will Dalton, also known as the WD. Gonna be rocking with you for the next two hours. Come along, why don't you? We got a lot to talk about. They're partying like it's 1999.
In New York. At the garden. They don't know what to do with themselves. Yeah. Let's wipe the dust off a little bit.
Missed you yesterday. Hope you enjoyed our best of show that we put together.
Some of the highlights from last week. But let's get right into it. We'll get to the basketball here in just a second. But we got to talk about those Carolina hurricanes. It's actually a little bit very simple.
Jeez, Louise. He's rusty, everybody. He's a little slow. on the trigger there Morgan. Hope you had a good Memorial Day.
I did. How is yours? I had some burgers. Did that? It's never long enough that when you have a day off.
It's really not. But. It's always fun to get back in the studio because when you're gone for three days, a lot of things happen. The Hurricanes are one step closer to returning to the Stanley Cup. And probably taking on the Vegas Golden Knights, because good grief, they have taken control of that series.
Um Two one. The Keynes lead. Last night took overtime again. To get it done. And who was it?
None other than Andrei Svetnikov. Svetch. to get the game-winning goal. It's just the second goal of the playoffs, you guys. What did we talk about with Mike Maniscalco of FanDuel Sports Network and Joe Gilio of the Ovius and Gilio podcast last week on this show?
This is the part. Stank has been great. Logan's stank oven's been great. But this is The part. in the playoffs where they need svetch.
Aho, Seth Jarvis, to be who you believe them to be. That's what they needed. Shout out to Nikolai Ehlers, though. They got the game-winning goal.
So back-to-back games, it's taking overtime. Ehlers got the goal in game two. To wrap up the first couple of games in Raleigh. And then Montreal, of course, was where they were last night. Svetch getting that goal.
And that's what they need. That's what they need him to do. And it was a battle. We knew this thing was going to be a battle. The Canes were not going to be sweeping Montreal, and they're still not out of the woods yet, even despite.
having a 2-1 lead. And this is the part where You have to be careful. You have to be careful as a sports fan. You can celebrate. can do all those things.
Taking control of the series. It's great. I'm right there. Hey. I got a beer skate back here.
I'm right there with ya. I am. But You still Got work to do. You still got work to do. Rod Brindemore.
Last night after the game... He had some things to say about the Game 3 win. I don't make a lot about this to be honest with you. It's It's one win. in this You know, we need three more.
The past is the past. I mean, I don't really know what to say about that a lot. I thought in all our past. The times in this whatever, Eastern Congress finals, whatever it is. Played pretty well.
And that's the the way I judge it, and it's just not good enough. And so we're Am I right back in this? same time frame. We played a good game last night.
Now we gotta play another one. All that stuff I know it gets talked about. It's just I spend zero time thinking about it and my players do too and Yeah.
So the moral of the story is There's still more work to be done. You know, it's not just. You can't just look back at how Lopsided, it's been for the Kanes in the Eastern Conference playoff runs. They've been to three of the last four, and they've won a before the last two games. They had won a game, one in 17, I believe, the exact record in the Eastern Conference final since their Stanley Cup title in 2006.
So it hasn't exactly gone great. Um But nothing about this team this year resembles the past. Like, nothing. Other than you have some of those same guys like Aho and Svetch and a lot of experience, but nothing resembles the past. And you gotta remember that.
So, you're not out of the woods yet. It's important to remember that. And that is the discipline of which the Kanes have been playing with. These entire playoffs. They could have dropped that first game 6-2 at home.
To further drive this point. They could have lost that game 6-2. It was 4-1 after a period. And they could have got flustered thinking, you know, some of those. Veteran guys that have been there for a while.
And they could have thought back to all those Eastern Conference final games they've lost and all the disappointment in the conference finals they've had. And they could have shrunk. But these canes have not. done that, which is why again Well different than years past. They've stayed steady Eddie.
They have. No matter the situation. After going 8-0, 6-2 loss at home, what do they do? They come through at home in game two. And then again, on road ice last night.
And here was Rod Brenda Moore, a little bit more from him on past years. Because it's so irrelevant, trust me. We've learned from every game we've played, every win, every loss. You know, we definitely I think are better for it, but I don't waste uh too much time thinking about that. It's too much to worry about right now.
Vance Ballard, shout out to him. My guy in our YouTube comments here says the old canes are down 3-0 in this series at this point. I could buy it. I could. But these aren't the old Kanes, to your point.
And You know. We mentioned uh Mike Maniscalco, though. Just a minute ago, shout out to our guy here.
So they do this thing called the booth cam or whatever it is. At the end of the day. that they have in there, he and Trip Tracy calling the game. on radio in Raleigh. And here's what it looked.
If you're watching on our YouTube stream or our X stream, this is a good incentive to do that. This is what it looked and sounded like. Mike Manascalco on the call for the svetch overtime goal last night. Darson stretching a couple hanging onto the clock. Sand to cross Jarvis has to settle it.
We'll get it right back and she has a score! They score! Andrei Svetchnikov wins it in over time. And the hurricane has silenced the Bell Center and have taken a 2-1 series lead here in the Eastern Conference Final. I love that.
Trip Tracy over there just bodying up Mike Miniscalco, throwing elbows at him. I heard, yeah, they did silence that crowd, which featured maybe five Keynes fans in it. I I Montreal, they don't play. Uh again. Five, six Keynes fans tops in that stadium, maybe last night, of the few that tweeted out that were actually there.
So the Canes take a 2-1 lead. And It feels great. But Still more work to be done. This is still going to be a series that, in my estimation, probably going to go about six games. I don't know if it goes seven, six, seven, probably six games.
I think. Big game coming up in game four, though, for the Kanes on road ice to try and take a commanding 3-1 lead going back. to Raleighwood. Happy Late Memorial Day to everybody. Hope you had a good one.
Hope you threw some some hot dogs, some burgers. Maybe some brats. On the grill. We did get a little bit of rain yesterday around here. We did.
Had that. What did you eat? What did you eat yesterday? I don't know if I asked you that or not. We had brisket.
Brisket. Memorial Day brisket. Yes. No watermelon?
So, you're going to go out and put watermelon on your top five.
Sold out. Top five cookout foods.
So we did that in our best of show yesterday. We did a no rules top five. Top five cookouts. Cookout foods, because that's what you think of in Memorial Day. You think about cookouts.
And you didn't have any watermelon? No. The day before we had Italian sliders, though, and those were very good. What's that have to do with watermelon? I don't know.
I'm so hungry right now. You're always hungry. It's a common theme. Yes, it is. Watched a lot of racing this weekend.
So much racing this weekend. Shout out to uh Suarez. Yeah, winning the Coke 600. We'll actually hear from him a little later on when we get the sound check. Incredibly um Emotional moment.
When Samantha, Kyle Bush's wife, came out. Um, the kids I didn't know if they'd do that. I wasn't expecting it. That had to be incredibly tough. Just to imagine, what?
It happened on Thursday.
So just three days after. Kyle Bush tragically passes away. Which we now know it was like an extreme form of pneumonia or something like that. And she was out there. In front of Everybody.
I mean, just. What a thing to see. I'll say that. Kurt Bush laying down the roses. Uh at the number eight.
thing that they made on the infield. incredibly, uh, emotional out there in Charlotte. But looking at our YouTube comments again. Jay Davis puts in, let's go, Matt Abel. That's right.
So we learned Earlier today, Matt Abel, who Transfer it in. From NC State. From Will Wade's crew. Maybe that would that could have been a guy that Will Wade could have tried to To lure to LSU. Coulda.
Could have tried to get Paul McNeil over there too, but guess what? Paul McNeil's staying at NC State. Matt Abel's going to UNC. And we learn he's going to stick. With UNC.
Earlier today, Mark Spears reported it first. Matt Abel was going through the NBA. Combine Um process. And he really turned some heads. He was I mean, he was out there shooting it well from behind the ark.
Going up and down the floor with command. He looked great. He really did. And it scared some Carolina fans a little bit because you saw. I mean, he had two breakout games that I know of.
I don't know how many scrimmage games they play in total, but there were two breakout games that he had that left some people. Whoa, what's that? What's this? And some Carolina fans were a little bit concerned about this because they saw that. They saw those performances and then they heard some of the comments that Matt Abel made.
Talking about how he had one foot in the NBA draft and he had one foot at Carolina, and he kind of was going back and forth a little bit. And Carolina fans have already missed out on Henry Vassar. That's the last thing you need is to miss out on Matt Abel.
So the last thing you need, it would have been terrible. What a ben. And Here's what I'll say about all this. I think Matt Abel. has a chance to be the best player on this team next year.
I don't think I'm crazy for saying that. I think he has. Just a boatload of potential. Me showed you a lot of it in NC State last year, just on a surface level. And then going through the NBA combine process and showing what he did there amongst those guys that are going to the draft.
And now you come back to college officially. And you play for Michael Malone? Who's An NBA champion just a couple of years ago who developed Jamal Murray. Jokic? Who's got the respect of so much of the NBA community?
Shout out to Deion Thompson, by the way, 0-9 champion for the Tara Heels. He's going to be on Michael Malone's staff. I think Matt Abel really does have a chance to be. Like we've been trying to figure out, all right, who's the dude? going to be on this team because Henry Vessar, he ain't going to be there.
Is it Terrence Brown? Is it Jaron Stevenson? I think it might be Matt Abel. And and don't sleep on Neo. The point guard, 6'9 guard that can pass it really well from Virginia Tech.
I think he's being a little bit slept on, not talked about enough. But I do believe that Matt Abel. Has an opportunity to be the best player on this team. I really believe that. Looking at our YouTube comments a little bit more here.
Jay Davis, uh None of Will Wade's players were going to follow him. Yeah, you're probably right. Based on the way he talked about him in press conferences and then doing what he did at the end there after s You know, promising so many things. Yeah, you're probably right about that. And then he also adds: either Abel or Nico.
Will be the best player. I agree. I think there's a great chance it's going to be Matt Abel. I really, really do. I like what he looks like already.
Will Dalton doesn't just talk sports. A gentleman never talks down to anybody. He debates them, talking sports in the triad like nobody's mom is listening. This is the drive. Yeah.
We'll get to Dalton's dollars. In about 10 minutes or so. Things are going very well in my pocket. I'll just leave you with that. I want to give you the Knicks starting five.
Some of the Knicks starting fives that we've seen over the last decade or so. How's this sound to you? Louis Ummundson. Lance Thomas. Wasn't he a dookie?
Think he was. Jason Smith, Tim Hardaway Jr.
Okay, I steeze it. Langston Galloway. Anybody want that? Anybody want that starting five? Let's get to another one here.
Kadeem Allen Damien Dotson. Kevin Knox. I remember I used to play with him in 2K My Team. Sneaky, sneaky player, but. Not the point.
Noah Von Ley, Luke. Cornet. Here's one more for you to drive the point home. Langston Galloway, Alexei Schved. Andrea Barnani.
Lou Amundsen, Lance Thomas. Does anybody? Want that? Knicks fans deserve this. That's my point here.
That's the starting fives that you would see. On a nightly basis for New York in the last decade to 15 years. See Wayne Ellington on one of these Lakers rosters that this Knicks team was playing? Shout out to Wayne Ellington. But yeah, Knicks fans, they've been needing this for a long time.
And so party like it's 1999. Do exactly that. I saw where the NYPD was like shutting down certain watch parties just c uh before the game last night in New York City just because of how crazy it had been getting. Like, if the Knicks win the final somehow, some way, Manhattan might explode. They might explode.
We might see smoke coming up from the streets. You probably will. But This Knicks team has been on such a run. Like they've won 11 straight games. Like there was a second where it looked like the Hawks might get them early, but they've won 11 straight since then, blowing by their opponents.
And to further drive that point home, They have outscored their opponents in those 11 games by 262 points. Two hundred and sixty-two. That is the best point differential. In the NBA, in an 11-game stretch, In history, regardless of regular season or postseason, it doesn't matter what the stretch is, that's the best.
So I'm not saying these are the Bulls from the 90s or even the 16, 17 Warriors. But by the numbers, It's one of the best teams in NBA history. It's just just as it is. You obviously Have to look at who the Knicks have been playing. I get it.
It's a little bit of a different situation in the East than it is the West. We all know this. I mean, the West has just been a gauntlet, has been for years. You know When I rem when Milwaukee won their title, That was The East was pretty strong that year, if I recall, somewhat comparable to the West, but it's obviously not. Quite right now.
And I mean, when you look at the teams. that the Knicks have played. Atlanta, of course. Then swept the Sixers, now swept the Cavs. But you gotta play who's in front of you.
I mean I It's not their fault. And these are still NBA playoff teams, mind you. It's not like these are tanking teams in the regular season anymore. These playoff teams.
So Knicks fans, you deserve this. And I actually want to get to this. I saw um On Instagram. I saw something that Complex put out. They always put out good things, uh good good little pieces of information.
So the last time the Knicks were in the NBA Finals, 1999, that actually, I believe, was against the Spurs, too, by the way. Yeah, that was against the Spurs too, oddly enough, who I think they're gonna face again. And This is what the world looked like the last time the Knicks were in the finals. Spike Lee was 42 years old. He's been going through it for a long time.
SpongeBob debuted. Yeah. Eminem drops slim shady LP. That may not mean m much to non-hip-hop fans, but Shout out to those who know. Family Guy had just debuted.
Show's been around a long time. Ah, social media didn't exist. Didn't have that. The Yankees were on their way to winning back-to-back world titles. Had to sneak that one in there.
LeBron was in middle school. It's been a while. Been a while.
So The NBA is better when the Knicks are good. The NBA is better when the Knicks are in the NBA finals and MSG. Is one of the spots, the one of the two spots where we get to watch NBA Final Games. When the organ is playing. Doesn't get much better than that.
So what are their chances? against the spurs, against the thunder. Uh slim.
Okay. I this is why we build you up to tear you down. It's slim. It is. The thunder, the spurs, They're really good.
Better than the Nicks, methinks However, the one slight edge that I I would give the Knicks. Over either of those teams out west. Is the fact that the Knicks have just been able to coast? for the last eleven games, and now they get to rest. And the NBA Finals don't start till...
Next Wednesday? Regardless of what happens in the Western Series, I believe. I believe that's the firm start date next Wednesday.
Meanwhile, what's happening in the Western Conference finals? The Spurs and the Thunder are literally in a heavyweight battle, beating the crap out of one another. Just going blow for blow, all tied up at two a piece. Thunder took game three. Spurs handled it last night.
So That is the slight edge, slight edge I would give the New York Knicks. I don't think they're going to win. The finals. But Against either one of those teams. That's the edge right there.
It's just the fact that the Knicks are so well rested. And I don't care. About the rust factor, really? I don't really care about that. If you give an if you give a head coach.
An opportunity to have rest. In the playoffs at this point, especially going into the finals, they'll take it. They'll take it.
So Nixon. Headed to the finals, first time since 1999. And we'll see who they face. The Spurs Thunder Series, it's getting really good. It's going about how I thought it would.
I had Spurs in seven and So far, everything tracks that we've seen. Um in that series. Looking at the YouTube comments very quickly.
Okay. Jay Davis asks, Isn't Morgan a Chargers fan? I don't think either of you were born last time they went to a Super Bowl. Same for the Cowboys, too. I was not born.
Last time the Cowboys went to the Super Bowl. Don't think I was born last time the Chargers did either. Don't think I was? He goes on to say, These Knicks are reminding me of when the Mavs won the championship. Yeah, a little bit.
A little bit. He says he might put a bet on them to win. I don't know if I would do that. I don't know if I would take that bet. A small one, maybe.
Yeah. Yeah. It is a little bit like that Mavericks run. Just a little bit. Although I think that Mavericks team was even.
I mean, these are still the Knicks, still a big brand. Like, Mavericks. Man, that came out of nowhere going up against the Heatles. And they and they took on everybody. Dirk ta just.
Was an assassin in that series in those playoffs. They took on OKC with the big three. They took on Kobe. Yeah. Kobe and Powell, I believe.
They did. And then the big three down in Miami. It's true.
So, I mean, it is a nice comparison, Knicks to the Mavericks. Uh from back then.
Okay. Dalton's dot. By the way, we'll get to the Cleveland, and 336-777-1600. That. Is the number to call if you have thoughts on the NBA Finals?
Do you give the Knicks a chance? Do ya? Maybe you're a Knicks fan. Maybe you're a you know You might be a bandwagon Knicks fan. Those exist.
Especially now that they're good.
So 336-777-1600. That's the number to call. Are the Knicks, do they have a chance against the Spurs or the Thunder? Listen, I can't get to the Cleveland Cavaliers right now. I need a whole segment to deal with them.
And what the heck they just did or didn't do. Just embarrassing, man. Absolutely laid an egg. On their home floor, they looked like they didn't even want to be out there. Just gotta love it.
Right, Cleveland fans gotta love it.
So we'll get to the Cavaliers in a little bit, but first we got to get. To Mark and Greensboro here, who has an interesting comp, I believe, for these New York Knicks. What's up, dude? How are you doing? I'm terrific.
Good to hear from you. Yeah, man. No, I was listening to it, and I know I'm older than you guys.
So I think for me, I was actually in LA when the Pistons beat. the Lakers with Chaucy Villa, Richard Hamilton. Rasheed Wallace, Ben Wallace, like those that team was Kind of like this Knicks team. You could make a case that Jalen Brunson is a. As big a star as Chanti Phillips or as clutch as him.
And you could also make a case that. That I've They do all the little things. You got guys like Josh Hart. I don't know who he would comp to, but I don't know, man. I don't think there's been a.
A faceless, because I mean, think about it: it's the villain over Knicks. It's like that's a big thing. It's been about this team that has this cohesion since they were in college. And I think that that's probably the only edge I give them when they play. Whoever they play, because you know me, I'm a UConn guy.
I love Antonio with Steph Castle. I think Steph would give Jalen Brunson a ton of issues. being as big as he is. I don't know, man. It'd just be cool to see him.
kind of win, but um I'm still rooting for this person. Appreciate the call, Mark. Good to hear from you, as always. And I do like that comp. I do like that.
Because that is the thing about these Knicks. I mean, I would say Jalen Brunson's a superstar, but The fact One thing that I really appreciate about him... is the fact that he took significantly less money Then he could have To build this team around him and to get some of the guys like the Villanova Knicks, point.
Some of the guys that he wanted. I I love that comp. Let's get the Jew in Winston here. W D. What did it do?
What it do? I think the one thing, I believe the Knicks Duke really got a chance, and I said it in the chat. What people are not really saying is by the time these finals start, whoever it is, OKC or the Spurs, they're going to be banged up. Yeah. It is true because I mean, when you look at the fact that I'm now granted, DeAaron Fox and Dylan Harper are playing, but they're still not 100%.
And then J-Dub, he's questionable tonight, and he's on his fourth hamstring injury of the year.
So I agree. Who do you like to come out of the West? Honestly, I think it's gonna end up being OKC. I think Spurs is a little bit too banged up.
Okay. I think one more year for Wemby. I don't think it's that time yet. All right.
So according to Jew and Winston, I appreciate the call. Uh Thunder Nicks. Man, MSG And the Thunder's Arena is your two spots for the finals. Good grief. Just inject it in our veins.
All right, let's go. Oh, I'm so excited! And three, two, one, go. The triads ride home just got louder. Welcome to the drive.
Back at it on the drive, right here on WSJS, where we're taking your phone calls. We've already had a couple of good ones. Do you give the Knicks a shot? Against whoever comes out of the west. Spurs, Thunder.
Who do you think's coming out of the West? 336-777-1600. That is the number to dial up.
So I made three picks over the weekend. And uh They went well, to say the least. Let's get to them in Dalton's dollars. Stack it. Stack a stack, gotta stack it up.
Get the money, get the money on the side note. It's time to cash in. Welcome to Dalton's Dollars. Drop me and light it! Yeah.
Show me the money. Breaking down the board and building the bankroll. Yeah, we're building the bankroll, all right. You can say that again, Bob.
So I placed Add a nice plethora. Had a bet for each. Each sport that I was looking at there.
So I took on Friday night. I took Thunder. Minus one and a half. That was game three in San Antonio. First game in San Antonio of that series.
That cash, Thunder 123 to 108. STROPIN DEVINER! Hmm. I mean, those two games played out exactly how I thought. I thought the Thunder would take game three.
I thought the Spurs would respond in game four. And here we sit at two apiece going back to OKC. Then In the Vegas Colorado Series, Western Conference Finals in the Stanley Cup. I liked Vegas Moneyline. And that cached.
STROW FEAGES LIGHT YOUR Vegas leads that series 3-0. Here I thought. The Kanes were gonna play the Avalanche and the Stanley Cup. Oh, buddy. Vegas, they got other ideas.
Game four of that series tonight. Um This is the bet that really pissed me off. Shut the fuck.
So Garrett Cole made his debut. On uh Friday, what was this? Tampa Bay Rays. I think that's right. I'm gonna double-check this.
It's the part where I Google things live on radio. Yeah, it was the Rays. Garrett Cole, making his return, had not seen him in a year and a half. And listen. The part That really upset me.
Is not the fact that the Yankees lost necessary? It's the fact. Garrett Cole looked pretty good. Went six innings? Only gave up two hits.
Just two K's, three walks. But then they went to the pen, and that's where they gave up before Burger. Four runs. Tim Hill, thank you for that. Yankees lost 4-2, so that didn't cash.
Hate that. But we went 2-1 over the weekend.
So, our summer bet so far, the record. 13 and 9. Haven't been in the negative yet. And yes, I'm knocking on wood when I say that.
So let's put a four-pack out in the universe tonight. Let's do that. Spurs Thunder. No, no. Even when the Spurs have lost...
They've kept it close. For the most part, they've done that. I think they do that tonight. I think I like the Spurs to win tonight. They cover four and a half.
STROVE DIVINE! Four and a half point dogs. They are. Vegas Avalanche mentioned that. I'm not gonna touch that spread.
I'm just gonna go over six six uh six goals. STROMPIN DIVINE! I went over seven and a half over the weekend. Bad hit. A lot of goals scored in this series.
So. I like it to go over six. Cam Schlittler. On the mound tonight for the Yankees against the Royals. Gonna go over five and a half strikeouts.
DROW VENGENL LITE! And one more baseball bet. The Phillies play at San Diego. I like Kyle Schwarber to go over one and a half combined hits, RBIs, runs. Show me delighted!
Yeah. I like that.
So that's the four on the card tonight. Spurs, they cover us four and a half dogs. Going back to OKC tonight, Vegas Avalanche. Combined over six goals. Cam Schlittler records over five and a half K's against the Royals, and Kyle Schwarber over one and a half hits.
RBI's runs combined against. A pod raise. Spend Dalton's dollars.
So I see uh Pete Thammel reporting. That um The NCAA has denied Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Saresby a request for eligibility reinstatement for this year. That's the guy that got in trouble for gambling. Did you see that?
So most likely what's next for him is the supplemental draft? Have you heard of this before? I have, but I don't know what much about it.
Okay, so I did some research on this because I assumed that they were going to deny his eligibility. There you go. And essentially, what it is. Is each team? There's a bunch of players that lose eligibility or whatever, and they've lost eligibility due to academics or whatever, in this case, gambling.
And there's a supplemental draft after the NFL draft for these players. And essentially what happens or what happens is Say you're the Chargers and you want this Swordsby. You can pick him. And you submit the pick that you would give up in your next draft.
So if it's a first, second, third, or whatever. And they just I think they take the highest pick. For the highest round pick. Oh.
So, like, if I'm the Panthers and I pick, I'll say I'll give them a fourth round and you say you'll give a third round, you'll get them because you gave a higher pick. And you'll lose your third round pick for the upcoming draft in the next year. That's an interesting process. Yeah. I didn't know about this.
This is why we keep you around and know these things. Doing your daily digging on the interwebs. It's what you do. Um What'd you think of the race? Coke six hundred?
It was so much fun. I watched two this weekend. I asked Chat GPT, I wanted to go back and watch some old ones, and it said the 2007 race was a really good one. Who won that? Casey Mears for the Hendrick Motors in the 25 National Guard car.
What a pull. Yeah, it was a great race. It was an endurance race. Everybody got shuffled around great, but this year's Coke 600 was phenomenal. The cars are so good on these mile and a half tracks.
The rain held off. Thank you, Vortex. Have you heard of the Vortex? Real ones know the Vortex. Daryl Waltrip in the 2000s pretty much said rain goes around the track because cars are going so fast in a circle that it goes around the track.
There's no. There's no science involved in it. It's not scientifically backed. But Denny Hamlin said it on the CW broadcast The Best. If we're talking about the vortex theory, it's not a great night for racing.
Because that means there's rain, but it held off long enough for Daniel Suarez to win it. How many laps were left? Like 27? 27 laps. Because I was watching.
And I didn't have the sound on. But I I saw the rain And I saw him come into the pits, and I'm like, okay, they're just going to take a little breather. And the next thing I know, Daniel Sworaz is celebrating. I'm like, oh, all right.
So there was a thunder delay before that and they brought all the cars or they thought they were going to bring the cars down Pitt Road and they didn't. Normally in sporting events it's thirty minutes after a lightning strike within I think it's eight or ten miles. Apparently there's a new rule if the storm's moving away from the arena. And there's no more lightning in a few minutes, you can just resume. Hmm.
So they resumed it and then Suarez held off on two tires two times and Now, the Coke 600 trophy is going back to Kyle Busch Motorsports all in, which is a spectacular story. That is very cool.
So, we'll get to.
Some of the best sound from the racing ra uh racing weekend. The long weekend. Um, when we get the sound check next hour, because boy, I've got some doozies.
Some Kyle Bush stories. Also. Kenny Atkinson being completely off his rocker. Who Let's just get to this now. Sports talk for people who yell at the TV and mean it.
You're on the drive, the triad's only live sports talk show. Back at it on the drive, right here on WSJS as we wrap up hour number one. And I wanted to get to the Cleveland Cavaliers specifically. I think the Knicks deserved their flower in a speci a separate segment. The Cavs deserve their own segment too, because what are we?
Doing What are we doing?
So they blew. That 22-point lead. In game one. Where the Knicks went on a 30-8 run. In the fourth quarter, And Kenny Atkinson Did not call a time out either, by the way.
That's important to note because after the events that have unfolded. Of the last four games, I mean. First of all. Calves Pistons Look like a series that was just going to be whoever blows the most games. Is it going to be the one that loses?
It was just back and forth. Cleveland would blow it on their home floor, and then Detroit would blow it on their home floor. And the Cleveland Ag just came out on top. I did not like. The Cavs chances?
Against the Knicks, I thought the Knicks would win in five. I didn't think they had a defensive answer for Jalen Brunson. I did not take into account the Cavs just completely looking like they were going to fold up shop and just say the heck with it. Because they got, they never really recovered from going down from blowing that 22-point lead. They never did.
And then they got back to Cleveland down to They didn't look like they looked like they already had their reservations booked in Cancun. They really did. Which is sad because again... You're on your home floor. You got a chance to fight back here.
And they just... I don't know, they didn't look like they were in it. Didn't look like they were very interested at times.
So That wasn't very good. Just an embarrassing showing for Cleveland. These just runs. These runs that the Knicks would go on with no resistance.
So Kenny Adkinson, according to Shoms of ESPN, Just an hour or two ago, reporting that Kenny Atkinson is going to be returning. For a third season, The entire staff in the front office are coming to. or staying to, I should say. And That's the first report. Of the offseason that we have about Cleveland.
Then. Brian Wyn Winhorst. Um Is saying that it's looking like James Harden is going to be planning to stay long term in Cleveland. He reported on ESPN earlier today, this, that James Harden. is planning to sign a long-term deal.
So That's That's the second report that we have of the day. And James Harden. Was a big piece of that 22-point collapse in game one. James Harden. tends to disappear in big playoff moments.
And I like James Harden. He's a hooper. He's one of the o like. You know, I I always thought the 2010s 2016's like The the 2010s were my like favorite era that I've been alive for of the NBA. And James Harden was a big piece of that.
You know, Steph. Harden, Chris Paul, LeBron, KD, like those are the guys, man, back in the 2010s.
So I love James Harden. But at this point, we've got enough of a sample size that James Harden just disappears in big moments in the playoffs. He just does. And Cleveland apparently wants to run it back and have him sign a long-term deal. whatever long term means.
Brian Winhorse also says That you should expect the calves to make significant changes.
Now, we don't know what that means. I assume it could mean Potentially moving Jared Allen or Evan Mobley to try and get Giannis, perhaps. If you bring Giannis in... See? Morgan, you like that?
I I like that. Because that's what they need. They need somebody. Two Pair with James Harden and Donovan Mitchell. And It could also mean LeBron.
I s I I believe that the table is set The stage is set for the final part of the LeBron dock. Where he The cabs get swept. In embarrassing fashion. And LeBron returns to Cleveland yet again. to save the day.
Bring Cleveland. Cleveland! This is for you, part two! He does it again on his retirement tour, rides off into the sunset. LeBron goat.
I actually think that would make him the GOAT, me personally. Let's get to the phones here very quickly. Doug and Winston, what do you got? Hi, W.D., you make some good points. Let's just take one at a time.
It's a team sport. And Hardin did help. He helped them get to the finals. Sure. After that, he's the liability.
So he I'm just saying what should happen. He's gone. Kenny Atkinson acted like he didn't want to be there. Didn't make the right decision, he didn't make the decisions he should have made. He's gone.
All right, Donovan Mitchell, he can't do it all by himself. No. Giannis. He's 35 years old. No reason to bring Giannis into the equation.
He's not going to help. He would be a liability. There's only one logical choice. You already took the wind out of my sails. It's LeBron.
He doesn't get along with management anyway. Doesn't get along with him. Doesn't see eye to eye. I'm sure talks have already been taking place. between uh his camp and the Lakers' camp.
come back to Cleveland. Does that mean a range? No. It just means he's going to come back to Cleveland and finish his career. They still need to get other pieces other than that, but Hardened, you can't sign Harden to a long-term contract.
You can't do that. That's not being fair to the people in. All right, let's talk about the Knicks for a second. The tickets, the highest ticket, the one that nosebleeds, are going for $3,000. Come on, that's price gouging.
It's insane, man. I saw that. Isn't that crazy? $3,000 WD today. And I don't care if you do live in New York, you're probably struggling to make ends meet anyway.
So as far as the NICs go, But I no way. No way. They just they're not going to match up with the West. That I know they won eleven in a row, and I know they've done this, and I know they've done that, but The the other two teams that are left there, they're in a whole different stratosphere than the Knicks. It'll probably go six.
It should go five. You know, I think I disagree with you. They win tonight at home. They're not going to lose tonight to the Spurs at home. Not going to happen.
And it'll go seven games. But the. Doug, I think we lost you. We're up against it. Let's go, baby.
What kind of like this? Let's go! Go!
Now, back to the drive. Jay Davis in our YouTube comments. As we keep it moving here on the drive on WSJS, he makes a pretty great point. about grocery stores, about Lowe's. He said he's a Lowe's Foods type of guy because you can get a beer.
And then grocery shop. It is true. It is incredible what they've done.
So I live off Wendover. And the Lowe's Foods, that's right there near Wendover, they actually remodeled the beer cave. They did that the beer, not the beer, it's it's the beer den. The beard dent and they've made it into like a full-on Bar set up. Yeah, with taps and everything.
And like, seriously, you... I so I'll go to the grocery store there, it's right up the road, And I will literally see like they have tables and there's like a crowd. There's like people out there hanging out, chilling. I'm like. When did this become like a...
A brewery? When did this become a spot to hang out? I didn't know about this. I mean, I knew they had like the beer den where you could do samples and things, but I didn't know this was like a sit-down, hang-out type of place. It's fascinating.
It's really it's really fascinating.
Okay. It's one of our favorite segments each week. We bring you some of the best clips.
Some of the best sound bites that are going out there. Got some racing, got some Kyle Busch stories. And Kenny Atkinson, what are we doing? Let's get it in sound check.
Sound check. Hey, I'm just here so I won't get fine. Plug in, turn up, and catch what everyone's talking about.
Okay. Let's start. With um A story that Joe Gibbs Cold. About Kyle Bush.
So we sat down this weekend and spoke to the media. Just talking honestly about Kyle Bush, telling stories, and you know, paying homage to him. And He sat down for probably 40 to 45 minutes with the media, actually. Here was a story that he told that I thought was pretty good. We're at loud New Hampshire.
And he finished second. And so I kind of slid over to where they're interviewing people there. You know, because sometimes, sometimes there might be something I could. have to handle afterwards. And so I slid over there.
And his interview was absolutely great. And so I said, well gosh, you know, he must be happy, you know, he finished second.
So he's probably happy. He walked ten yards to me. I was standing there. And he went just like this. He went, you're.
Cars suck. And he kept right on walking. And some of you heard it. Yeah. Kyle Bush, it was like that.
He didn't mince words very much. And uh That was just one moment of a weekend worth of tributes to him. Um, and then, of course, you had the moment of silence with Samantha, with Brexton there. As they all, the family and everybody surrounded the eight that was in the infield there. Again, unbelievable.
Can't believe like... Like I was like, there's no way they're gonna come out here, but. I feel like again, That's what Kyle would have wanted them to do. The NASCAR CEO, when he, this was after we got off on Friday, he was asked. You know, did you guys consider postponing the race at all?
And he was like, no, Kyle would have been pretty pissed off if we would have done that. Very similar to Dale Earnhardt when they went to Rockingham in 01. Like, Dale would have wanted them to race and so did Kyle. Uh Kenny Adkinson.
So, this was when the Cavs were down 3-0 over the weekend. He had this to say, and it caught everybody by surprise. Analytically I think we've won the expected, I said three out of three, we're two out of three in the expected. If you guys follow that, there's an expected score. You know, then we won two out of the three.
And I know you're looking confused, but there is really, you know, if you believe in process and all that, like man up.
So, you know, take that layer. I don't throw that on them. I see it for myself. We have this feeling, I have this feeling. Then I can go to our analytical table and be like, man, we are, you know, last.
Is he okay? Analytically, we've won two out of the three. Brother, you're down 3-0. You blew a 22-point lead. There was another massive run by the Knicks.
I mean, it wasn't even competitive these games in Cleveland over the weekend. What are we talking about? And they're gonna keep him. Cavs are keeping Kenny Atkinson. That's what they're going to do.
Let's get back to racing. Daniel Suarez.
So there was like 27, 8, 27 laps to go when the rain came down, the race was called. Daniel Suarez your Coke 600 winner. And he was very emotional, obviously, about Kyle Bush, but here he was. you know, saying why this was for Kyle. This is very special.
You know, every win is special. Thank you, Jimmy. Appreciate it every day. Thank you so much. Jimmy Johnson and with a hug.
But definitely this one has a special flavor because of Cal. This one is for him. If it wasn't for Cal, I wasn't going to be an Xfinity champion. I wasn't going to have my shot in the Cup Series. And to be able to win this race for him is unbelievable.
It's uh it's pretty emotional stuff. You know, it seems like everybody out there had some type of story, had some type of connection to Kyle that was unique to them. I thought Marty Smith Uh throughout the day on Sunday. Just did a great job going to each of the racers, talking to them. And it just, you can tell there's just so much respect between the NASCAR drivers and Marty Smith and his ability to tell their stories and things like that.
There's a real trust there. And Daniel Suarez, that was quite a moment for him. Uh Let's go back to Cleveland. The calves have been swept. LeBron is a free agent at 41 years old.
And Cleveland Radio is already. Ablaze. Here it is.
Okay, listen to me. I used to own Corbo's bakery. Charles Oakley came to my bakery all the time. He told me he met with Maverick Carter last week. And he told me LeBron James is 95% coming to Cleveland.
Okay. And Charles Oakley and LeBron James and Maverick Carter are all good friends.
Okay, Corbo in Cleveland Heights. He has inside word LeBron's coming back. Let it begin. Yeah, let it begin. You're going to be seeing that.
I mean, it's already happening.
So you've got this, you're getting reports from Wendy. I mean, it's just, I love NBA free agency. It's all Morgan. You're shaking your head. Why?
I'm already tired of this narrative that he's gonna go back to Bleveland and all this other stuff. He's not going there. He's not going back to Cleveland. He's not going to Golden State. If they're signing James Harden to a long-term deal, they're not going to get LeBron because LeBron's not going to take a pay cut and he's going to want 50 next year.
Right? Like, unreasonable number for him is 45 or 50. He's not going to take less than 45, I think. Nicks I don't think they have the money either. No.
Uh it's what we're doing. He's not going up the street to the Clippers. He's not doing it. This is why, again, this is why the NBA offseason free agency, it's so fascinating. Because there's just so much story.
There's so many, we love it. We eat it up like it's candy. Or chicken tenders from Publix, whatever you're into. We love it. And half the time, the stuff that we're consuming, the stories, it doesn't even materialize.
Nothing even comes from it. At least not how it's laid out in the story. But we still love it. We still eat it up. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
So many food references. Um But it is true. I don't know how they're going to pull it off if he's not going to take a pay cut. I don't know how that's going to work. I'm very curious, but I don't think that's the end of the story.
I just don't. It's too easy, it's too simple. Lastly, back to racing, but to the ND500. This call. The final call of the ND500 is one of the most electric things.
You are going to hear. Uh This was, um... Will Buxton, who is he new in the booth over there?
So, Fox just acquired IndyCar in the last year or two, so he's relatively new. And boy, he laid it out there. Here was the final call of the closest finish in ND 500 history. Is that right? Insane.
Here it is.
It's not over yet, but Lucas has to defend from Rosenquist. Great run off the final corner. Here comes Rosenquist, but Lucas defended who has it over the Outside. Itched fruitly quest! Oh my goodness!
Whoa! Oh, what a month of May!
Well if you just want it easy. 500, you just want buddy. It It's so electric. It's even more electric to see him call it in the booth because he's just getting into it. He's in the moment.
Uh Closest finish in Indy 500. History. Felix Rosenquist. And he did it pretty much. I'm going to say, quote unquote, defying physics.
Yeah. If you didn't see it, IndyCar is a sport, especially Indianapolis, where there is one line, it's the bottom. If you're too wide, you're falling back. And he was too wide the entire lap, got past his teammate. Armstrong and made a huge run.
That Malukas could just not block unless he wanted to wreck. And he just got him. 0.0233. I think was the official. Differential between first and second.
Yeah, it just. Like I said, it's the best weekend in racing. And That was pretty awesome to see. Pretty, pretty cool stuff. That's been Sound Check.
Love some racing. We'll have the Madhouse Minute tomorrow. Going to do that. But you're let's light these phone lines back up again. Let's do that.
336-777-1600. I've been enjoying these calls we've been getting today. Do the Knicks have a chance? Do they? I feel like a lot of people are counting them out, even though they're on this incredible run.
And they're on the best. They've got the, again, the best point differential. They're beating teams by the most points in an 11-game stretch in the history of the NBA, postseason or regular season. While the Spurs and the Thunder are just duking it out in the West, getting banged up, injuries. Guys that aren't 100%, Knicks are just kicking it.
That's the edge right there if you can find one.
