Tweets and pucks with Sara Civian

This is The Drive with Josh Graham Podcast. Tune into The Drive weekday afternoons 3-7 on Sports Hub Triad. We're live from the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds annex, side of the ACC Hockey League Championships. And strangely enough, it be an all-star weekend had me thinking about Duke in North Carolina. Former Blue Devils Brandon Ingram and Jason Tatum will be playing in Sunday's game, while Zion and RJ Barrett participate in the Rising Stars game. By that count, that's four Blue Devils and no Tar Heels. In the span of a decade, Duke in North Carolina standing in the NBA has completely flipped. I remember probably the draft where Sheldon Williams, JJ Reddick, and others were coming out. Many were critical of those Blue Devils saying, hey, nobody from Duke has a big NBA career. The Tar Heels, meanwhile, in their past, they had Michael Jordan, James Worthy, Sam Perkins.

You know all of the big names. Heck, if we even go 10 years ago, 2010, the five best Tar Heels versus the five best Blue Devils, that list would look something like Raymond Felton, Vince Carter, Antoine Jameson, Rasheed Wallace, and Jerry Stackhouse for the Heels. And for Duke, the Wild Dang maybe would be playing the point guard. You got Shane Battier, Carlos Boozer, Elton Brand, Grant Hill.

That would be the list. Grant Hill, a very good player, but one of the greatest what-if stories in all of basketball for a two-decade stretch. Elton Brand, a number one overall pick, but only made two All-Star games. Carlos Boozer, a fine player, but not a Hall of Fame quality player. Shane Battier, borderline in that. And the Wild Dang, a serviceable NBA player who lasted a really long time, but not nearly close to those names I mentioned from North Carolina. If those two teams went head-to-head, it would be a rout by the Tar Heels.

Let's fast forward 10 years now. 2010, give me the five best Tar Heels in the NBA right now versus the five best Blue Devils because it's completely flipped. Duke would wax North Carolina. I don't care who you throw out there. For UNC, Kobe White maybe running the point guard. Danny Green, Wayne Ellington at the shooting guard, Justin Jackson, Harrison Barnes playing small forward. The bigs would consist of Ed Davis or John Henson. Meanwhile, for the Blue Devils, Aaron Gabriel, this list is insane. Kyrie Irving, Jason Tatum, Brandon Ingram, Tyus Jones, Grayson Allen, Seth Curry, Harry Giles, Wendell Carter, Marvin Bagley, Zion Williamson. What do you think that Duke team would do to this North Carolina team?

Probably what Stackhouse, Carter, and Jamison did if this hypothetical matchup happened 10 years ago. You can tweet the show at sportsubtriad. 336-777-1600 is the phone number. Right now, NC State is going head-to-head with Charlotte here at the ACC Hockey League Championships.

You can drop by and say hello at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Annex. We're going to be here all show today and talking pucks with Sarah Sivian of the Athletic Carolinas in about 25 minutes as she's getting set to cover Hurricane's Devils later on tonight. Now, how did things flip in this manner? You might be immediately thinking, Josh, Coach K, he sold his soul to the devil to try and recruit the way John Calipari did. He may have altered his recruiting approach, but I think you go even further back than when Kyrie Irving became a Blue Devil and then was the number one pick in 2011.

I think it all changed in 2008. After Coach K won gold in Beijing in the Olympic Games, we knew that his coaching style, his coaching greatness, transcended college sports. He was seen to be the best basketball coach, not just great in the college game. He proved that he could coach pros in addition to coaching college kids. What happened shortly after that? His involvement in USA Basketball connected him to that Kyrie guy.

And once he became the number one pick, the pipeline was set for Austin Rivers, for Jabari Parker, Rodney Hood, and the list goes on and on, which has led to 11 Blue Devils being lottery picks in the last five NBA drafts. Robert Walsh is producing back in our studio. Aaron Gabriel here on site.

Our engineer, Rob, hooking a lot of things up as well. Appreciate all of the folks who have us here at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Annex. Another aspect that can't be overlooked, and I'm sure Tar Heel fans are thinking it right now, the academic investigation into UNC. That no doubt impacted this. It lasted a decade-long span, and North Carolina went a long run without having a number of players who were top 50 quality guys. This team right now doesn't have many top 50 quality players in the ESPN 100 or ESPN top 300. But what happens right after the NCAA cloud clears? They get this year a little in Kobe White, and then this year they had Cole Anthony, and next year they have four McDonald's All-Americans.

So I'm interested to see what happens over the next five years. But in a decade span, because of Coach K's involvement with USA Basketball and the academic cloud that's floated above the North Carolina Athletic Department for about five or six years, things have completely flipped when it comes to North Carolina and Duke's standing in NBA circles. Also, let's not forget, Coach K, he's adopted many of Dean Smith's principles. It was a really neat scene after Duke North Carolina last Saturday. I'm sitting in the press room at the Smith Center, and Coach K, he got very emotional talking about what Dean Smith meant to him.

It was close to the five-year anniversary of his passing. Coach K, he was expansive talking about how facing Dean Smith in the Tar Heels impacted his team and impacted what his career looked like. This is some of what Coach K had to say. The other thing I recognize is the loyalty of his players, which we have now, too.

A lot of that stuff we've tried to emulate from what he did. Now we have two programs that do it, and they both play tonight in a magnificent game. All right, Sarah Zivian going to be with us in just a short while, but there's another headline today that we need to get to if you're a fan of the Carolina Panthers particularly. Greg Olson, he apparently has told people close to him he's down to three teams that he's looking to play for.

Carolina Panthers great, who parted ways with Carolina just a couple of weeks ago. It's down to the Buffalo Bills, the Washington Redskins, and the Seattle Seahawks. Out of those three teams, you might think Seattle has the best quarterback. They've had the most playoff success over the last decade. That's the place that Greg should go if all three teams should offer him.

I disagree. I think Greg Olson should sign with the Buffalo Bills. Number one, familiarity really matters in instances such as this. Sean McDermott, former Ron Rivera assistant as the defensive coordinator.

Brandon Bean helped play a role in getting Greg Olson to Charlotte as he was alongside David Gettleman, or it might have been after Olson arrived, but there's a lot of familiarity there. How about just the fact they speak the same language? I don't know about you, Robert, but I can't speak many languages other than English. I had classes where I took Spanish. There was an attempt at Latin.

I didn't really inherit any of it. It's been said that children between the ages of 8 and 15 can learn languages better than grown adults can. At this point, there's no shot. You're teaching me anything else new. I think the same thing holds true for football players. Greg Olson, he's known something the same way the last ten years. If there's any element of familiarity and verbiage in how things run, I think that's going to be more attractive to Greg. Also, let's not forget time zone difference plays a factor in these things too. Buffalo on the East Coast while Seattle is way out west. Washington is not a playoff contender, so I'd be surprised, even though Ron Rivera is there, if he jumps ship to go to D.C. Also, Josh Allen, his game is similar to Cam's.

It really is. I don't know what the best nickname for him would be. Should we go Cam Light? Maybe Cam White?

I don't know. But what we've learned is Greg Olson has been a number one target for Cam Newton for a lot of years. And if Josh Allen does play the same way Cam does, it means a lot of targets for Greg. There's going to be a lot of involvement there.

He's going to be used quite a bit. Plus, I think the Buffalo Bills might be the best team of those three. Seattle, they have the quarterback, but I think they overachieved last year. Buffalo, they're just scratching the surface. They are on the upward swing.

I don't know if I could say that about the Seattle Seahawks at this point. Like I said, we have a lot of stuff going on here at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Annex. It is NC State and Charlotte doing battle right in front of us, and it's a 2-0 lead for the Wolfpack at the moment. Wake Forest is going to be playing a little bit later on tonight. Sarah Sivian will join us to talk pucks, the Carolina Hurricanes specifically, in a little over 15 minutes. Zion Williamson had a big night last night, though, and I'll tell you why. Timing's everything. And with Zion coming into the NBA, it's the perfect time for these two sides to meet.

That's next on the draft. We're at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Annex. I got hockey on right in front of me, NC State. Club hockey facing Charlotte, it's 4-0. It's the ACC Hockey League Championship, so it feels fitting that we chat with Sarah Sivian from the Athletic Carolinas now, who's getting set to cover Hurricanes Devils.

A little bit later on tonight, it is pucks and tweets. Sarah, are you ready? I've never been more ready in my life, Josh.

What's up? Robert is new to this segment, so he's excited for it. So I think we should just start things out lightly with a tweet at Sarah Sivian. I'm getting tweets and texts from people saying, how do you follow this Sarah person's name, because we've been building this segment up for just a couple of minutes.

Let's get it started with this. At Sarah Sivian, coconut water is the biggest scam. So gross. My God, I was in Las Vegas, so you can imagine what I needed to do. I needed to get a little, feeling a little better, so I crack open a coconut water and it made me feel worse.

I'm like, this is, it tastes like, somebody responded that it tastes like water that's already been in somebody else's mouth, and that's exactly how I would describe it. How likely are the Carolina Hurricanes to make a move as they try to make a playoff push in the last two months? On a scale of one to ten, I'd give it a hard six. I think, more likely than not, that something will happen, but I don't think it's going to be some monumental thing. I think they might try to bolster the blue line with like a pick or a prospect.

We'll see. On Twitter, at Sarah Sivian. Halfway through my second year living down south and I think I've lost my Boston edge. I asked my dad what was new back home, and he said, quote, just keeping tabs on grandma, she's really old and stuff, end quote. I couldn't even chirp grandma.

Yeah, usually I let my grandma have it, and we all do, but I was like, wow, that's pretty sad, and my dad was like, what? Sarah Sivian on Twitter, at Sarah Sivian. You can find her there. So, have the Carolina Hurricanes exceeded your expectations? They're four points out of a playoff spot in the wild card. They're well over.500 after making the Eastern Conference Finals last year. Have they exceeded your expectations?

No. I think the team is better than the team it was last year, and I think there's been some issues with buying in and the little things, and also the metro is the hardest division. Rod Bryndon Moore said once that it's probably the hardest he's ever seen in his life to play in right now. They're going to need a lot of points, and they need to raise that expectation themselves. I think they obviously realize that, but every game counts.

On Twitter, at Sarah Sivian. Just hung up a phone conversation where I meant to say either no problem or any time, and I said, quote, no time, which is probably the most accurate. Ain't that the truth, brother? None of us have any time, and I honestly meant it, because you know what, this person was asking me for a lot, and guess what, I have no time. I should just start saying that more often. What do you say after you have that slip-up? Do you hang up the phone? Yes. It was one of those things where my brain was a little delayed, like a few seconds after.

I'm like, whoa, I just said the wrong thing. Sarah Sivian with us, Carolina Hurricanes beat reporter. Find her work, the athletic Carolinas, including her work today where she's describing trade possibilities such as Trevor Van Reemsdyke and Stormy in exchange for Gritty with the Flyers, so that's the type of stuff that, yes, the fans are very curious about all of these type of things.

So you mentioned it's your second year covering the team. The Hurricanes, they make the Eastern Conference Finals, and I asked you this question right before the season started, and I'm interested in what your thought on it is now. How has the following for Carolina Hurricanes hockey picked up this season versus where it was last year leading up to the Eastern Conference Finals run?

Oh, yeah, even leading up to before the storm surge. Before and after that, there's so many little things that, I mean, all the new marketing staff and the old marketing staff too, but everyone, the way they kind of changed that because they knew that the team was going to be pretty good, and they knew Rudrin Demura, he wouldn't allow them to see anything less than acceptable, you know? So I think the ticket sales have increased by, what, 55.1%, and it's like a sellout every other game.

It's important that they keep up the winning though so that they can make that sustainable because that's been an issue in this town since the franchise was brought here. On Twitter, at Sarah Sivian, music peaked when Train released drops of Jupiter in 2001, and nothing has compared. Yeah, it was definitely drunk tweeting.

I don't think that's accurate at all. I think I heard it and it hit the right notes at the right time for me. It's also the only song I've ever done on karaoke.

Really? I thought you were someone who would be into karaoke. Darren Vaught, we share with him every single week, and we were hanging out a few weeks back and we thought, we need to get Sarah Sivian involved in the action. We never ended up getting together, but I thought you sounded like a grizzled karaoke vet. No, you guys never invite me to karaoke, so you better start doing that. All right, see, by the way, if you go back to 2001, the Billboard year-end, top 100 singles, the number one song that year, and I think it's just fitting, I just looked it up, Hanging by a Moment by Lifehouse.

Was it exactly the greatest year for music, 2001? I'm asking this honestly, because we've gone through, I think, 35, 36 minutes of today's show, and we haven't even acknowledged the fact that it's Valentine's Day. There's a lot of things happening. We got the ACC Hockey League championships, and I did something that some would say is questionable earlier today. I went to Starbucks, got my chai tea latte, and I said to the lender, who I don't know, happy Valentine's Day.

And she looked at me funny. What is the policy on this? Can you not say to strangers, happy Valentine's Day?

I think you can. I think it's actually probably more controversial. Now there's a war on Valentine's Day, I guess. If somebody said that to me, I'd be like, thanks, you too. It doesn't mean you're married, but who do I know? Sarah, you know quite a bit, and on Twitter, you can find her at SarahSivian, and read her work, The Athletic Carolinas. Enjoy the hockey tonight. We'll talk soon. You too. See you later.

Got it. That is SarahSivian there. Robert, you sound like someone who might have a rule of thumb on this. Is saying happy Valentine's Day exclusive to your lover? Like, that's the only person you should be saying it to. I will say it to people, like I've said it to people around the office today, but is it another woman who is not related to you? Who have you said it to the office to today? I said it to Deej, I said it to Sawyer, I said it to Jenny, I said it to everybody, happy Valentine's Day.

But if it's a woman that is maybe your friend, I don't know, that's a little, it might seem a little promiscuous. Happy Valentine's Day, Aaron. How does that feel? It's so sweet.

That's the first happy Valentine's Day I got today. What? Yeah, yeah. How does that happen? I don't know. I'm not loved evidently.

Oh, I did the baller move last night. I was supposed to hang out with my girlfriend, and here's the thing, like she said she couldn't hang, and then I thought we weren't going to see each other until the night, so I went to Costco, grabbed myself some Godiva chocolate, and I took it over to her place, surprised her. You grabbed what chocolate? Is it Godiva or Godiva? I think it's Godiva.

Robert, can we get some confirmation on this? Aaron is correct, it is not Godiva. It's Godiva?

Yes. I'm learning a lot this segment, that apparently some think it's strange to say happy Valentine's Day to people in person, that it's not Godiva, it's instead Godiva. How long have you been saying Godiva? In what circumstances would I be saying Godiva, other than Valentine's Day? How often do you buy boxes of chocolate? I don't.

I bought a box of chocolate last night. I thought I was being more descriptive. Instead, you're starting to figure out that I'm the sports equivalent to Rick Tamlin, where if it's outside of the sports purview, odds are I'm not the person you should be asking. And probably not Sarah Sivian either, considering she just said that music peaked when Train released Drops of Jupiter 20 years ago.

Do you even know that song, Aaron? I know Train, but I only know Train because I dated a girl from Oregon. I'm just going to let that one sit exactly where it's at. So there you have it.

Train and hockey and Godiva slash Godiva. It's one of those things I'm probably just going to continue to call it that. Darren Vaught says it's Marriott instead of Marriott. I tell him, bleep off, I'm calling it the Marriott for the rest of my life.

You can tell me all you want that it's Cherry Berry instead of Cherry Berry, but I'm calling her Cherry Berry the rest of my years on this planet. Coming up, why Zion Williamson has a higher ceiling than LeBron James. It is the sports op, and you're on the drive. Ten games isn't a small measurement sign, and that's how many games Zion Williamson has played. But through ten appearances, statistically he's off to a better start to his career than LeBron James.

Let's go through the numbers. LeBron threw his first ten games in 2003. 16.8 points per game, 6.4 rebounds to Zion's 22.1 points and 7.5 rebounds.

Here's the kicker, though. LeBron didn't have any 30-point games during his first ten, and those 16.8 points a game he produced, he did that in an average of 41 minutes per game. Zion has the 22 and 7 in an average of 27.4 minutes per game. I think Zion's ceiling is higher than LeBron James was in 2003. Like, when you look at just how amazing of an athlete Zion is, specifically his body, it's more freakish than LeBron's was. I think this is simple evolution, where you go from Magic Johnson, him being seen as just the exception to many rules, this point guard who's this big who could do so much, to LeBron James who was the next iteration of that coming out of high school when it was still a relatively new thing. Of course you had Kevin Garnett and Kobe who helped revolutionize that a bit. But this process has now taken us to Zion being 6'7", 285 pounds, making rebounding look like an amazing athletic feat. And he's become an impossible player to stop in the post. If you want to tweet the show, you can at SportsUpTriad. 336-777-1600 is the phone number.

We are broadcasting live from the ACC Hockey League Championships inside the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Annex. I'm not worried about Zion. His health, his work ethic, some say his conditioning is a problem, and they put that right next to the same box or put it in the same box as conditioning. If Shaquille O'Neal had Zion's mentality, I think Shaq's the greatest player who's ever played in the NBA.

I really do. The thing that I tell people when they ask me, what was it like to watch Zion? What stood out to you the most? It wasn't just this massive person running as quickly as he did, moving side to side the way he did. It was also somebody who played harder than every player on the floor.

Think about that for a second. The idea that you can be the most talented, the most God-gifted player on the court, but also be the hardest working guy out there. Kobe, he was the hardest working guy, but he was never the most talented player. Shaquille O'Neal was the most talented, but there were seasons he was out of shape.

No question about it. With Zion, the ceiling is high, and I'm not going to be the guy who doubts him because even though he's had injuries, Zion's body doesn't play by the same rules ours does. I'm not a doctor, similar to David Tepper, so I'm not going to put limitations on Zion. I'm just going to tell you, this guy has exceeded lofty expectations for the last three years. Astronomically high expectations in a way that we haven't seen from somebody of his stature since LeBron. And in the first 10 games, LeBron has less points per game, less rebounds than Zion through 10, and LeBron's played nearly 15 more minutes per game. Robert, what does that tell you when you look at the start that Zion has had to his career? These guys aren't ready to play with him.

These guys aren't ready to play with him, and they're scared to play with him down in the post, and he's bodied. Steven Adams. How many years has Steven Adams been in the league?

Like 10 or 12, a while. I think he was involved. He was one of the draft picks involved in the James Harden trade all those years ago, and here he is playing in massive playoff games, and he looks lost. He looks lost, and I've already mentioned Zion. He's arriving at the perfect time here where basketball is this finesse sport that's trending towards shooting and trending towards small lineups.

Zion, he's disrupting all of that. The way that the 49ers and the Ravens did, well, everyone's passing the football and trying to play finesse in the NFL. The 49ers and Ravens said, we're going back to Smash Mouth. We're going to run the ball and kick your ass, and that's what they did this season.

Zion's doing that in the NBA, and I'm interested to see what the adjustment is. Miles Garrett is in the news today. Remember, he was reinstated earlier in the week after missing the last six games of the regular season. He hit Mason Rudolph in the head with the helmet. That was actually Mason's helmet.

You remember the play on Thursday Night Football halfway through the regular season. He said in an interview with Mina Kimes that Mason Rudolph said the n-word to him. That's what sparked things initially. Then Mason went out of his way to try and continue the dispute at the very end of that Browns-Steelers game. Now, this isn't new information. We knew this once before, but it wasn't because of Garrett telling us after the fact. It was because his appeal to the NFL, appealing the suspension that was indefinite at that point, it included that detail in it. It included Garrett saying that Mason Rudolph called him the n-word. This wasn't Garrett going to public.

It was leaked to the public, and I think that detail matters because I believe Miles Garrett. His story makes much more sense than Mason Rudolph's does. Remember, the Browns were up two touchdowns with 10 seconds to go in the game.

If you're a pass rusher, the thing you try to do on a given play is to get to the quarterback. Even though Rudolph got rid of the ball, Garrett got home. So when trash talk goes both ways, I'm leaning towards believing the Pittsburgh Steeler player, regardless of who it was, Rudolph, Pouncey, whoever was involved in the altercation, he was the one that sparked it because Garrett, he got to the quarterback, he beat his man to get there.

They're up two touchdowns in the game. What trash talk would Garrett possibly be telling there? Why would he be inspired? Why would he be motivated to talk trash at all there? And also, considering the track record, Garrett's background, this is a first-time offender when it comes to something that seemed to be dirty.

Trash talking. Garrett isn't a dirty player. He's never been that. This is a guy who writes poetry.

This is a guy, during the interview with Mina Combs, he's wearing a Stranger Things t-shirt. This is not a malicious, dirty player. This isn't Vontaze Burfic.

This isn't anybody of that sort. So Mason Rudolph's story doesn't check out the way that Mason, or Miles Garrett's story does. Miles' story explains in a way that we can understand why he would be fueled, why he would be sparked to act the way he did. Now, it doesn't justify it.

It's wrong. We're not justifying Miles' action by any means. But there's no question, after the fact, Miles Garrett acted more professionally than Mason did. After the game, Mason Rudolph is saying, oh, Miles Garrett, he's a bully. He's a coward.

He's bush league. Miles Garrett apologized. And he even apologized in the interview with Mina Combs. He didn't excuse his actions.

Robert, do we have a piece of this sound? Miles Garrett, here he is, talking about why he didn't come out publicly at first, saying that Mason Rudolph called him the N-word. Instead, it was leaked in his appeal way after the fact. Because I didn't want to try to use it as justification for my actions, because there's nothing to justify. Like, there's nothing that I can say or do to justify what I did on that day. I'm not saying there's nothing to justify it, and I didn't do anything wrong. And I know what happened. I know what I heard. And people say things when they're heated or they're full of emotion, and I leave it on the field.

He said it, but that was three months ago, four months ago, and I leave that behind. I think the NFL let Miles Garrett down here, because I struggle to believe they don't have the evidence that'll say one way or the other. The NFL said they found no evidence in this investigation that revealed Mason calling Miles a racial slur.

This is Miles' response to the NFL saying they found nothing. Most quarterbacks wear mics in their helmets. He somehow lost his helmet and had to get another one without a mic. There were guys who were miked up near me, near us in that time, who didn't hear anything. And from what I've heard, there have been audio in that game that could have heard something or could not have heard something, but they don't want to say. So something was said. I know something was said. Now, whether the NFL wants to acknowledge it, that's up to them.

I believe Miles Garrett in this. His story makes sense. I haven't seen a response from Mason Rudolph, but I do understand why the NFL might not want to reveal audio if we assume that they have it. If you already have something that seemed to be heinous by the public, Miles Garrett ripping off Mason Rudolph's helmet and then hitting him over the head with it. The last thing you want on top of that is one of your players spawning this, sparking this by calling that player a racial slur. That's the last thing you're going to want to touch.

So if you can cover it up, if you're the Rooney family, if you're somebody who says, hey, this is something we don't want getting out for the good of the league, while I disagree with it, I don't think, I'm not surprised if that's something that would happen. There is something we need to address, though. We are here at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Annex. It is Aaron Gabriel on location here as well with me. Robert Walsh is back in our Kernersville Sports Hub Triad studio. Aaron, right before we went into this segment, seconds before the microphones were turned on, he, in dead honesty, looked to me and said, man, it's cold in here.

No, no, no, no. I said it's cold as hell in here. We are sitting 10 feet from a hockey ice rink here. An ice rink with Charlotte and NC State going head to head.

You hear the fight song. NC State is rolling Charlotte. That's six.

Yeah, six to nothing. I was telling some of the Charlotte players, yo, got to make this a game if you want anything from this game to make it on our show today. But Robert, I should add, not only does Aaron have his Kansas City Chiefs jacket that he wears every single day, I gave him a hockey sweater. It's not a jersey. It's a sweater. This is not a sweater. It's long sleeve. This is absurd to call this a sweater. This is a long sleeve T-shirt.

There are sweaters all over this place. I don't have one of them. We got one in front of us that has a great nickname on the back. You can say it.

Can I? Yeah. Goodwood.

Goodwood. It's pretty good. And let's just say it's surprisingly diverse in here. Is it? It is.

Yeah. It's a diverse crowd here. NC State and Charlotte right now going head to head. We are here in the Winston-Salem Fairground Annex. Having a ton of fun here as the Wolfpack face the Charlotte 49ers at the moment. Robert, if I remember correctly, you've never been to a hockey game before.

Do I have that right? I have been to ECU Club Hockey and the old ice skating rink, but I don't know if you would count that as an actual hockey game. I'd count it. Club hockey certainly counts. It was fun.

We snuck a few beverages in there. Aaron, have you been to a hockey game before? This is my first.

This is Aaron's first hockey game. How about that? He deserves a trophy or something. I think they have one of those in here. I deserve a coat. You have two coats.

Could you imagine that? Hey, a surprise for being at your first hockey game, Aaron. Here's a coat. Thank you.

You're gold? Thank you. Why are you wearing the jacket underneath? I'm not even sure. First of all, this hockey jersey is huge.

All right? It's ginormous. I'm not even sure what I'm supposed to do with it. It's Carolina Thunderbirds jersey. You're wearing it.

Yeah. It's very nice. I'm very grateful to have it.

That's seven to nothing. I'm just not sure if I'm supposed to put my jacket on over this. I have my hoodie on underneath my... All right. I'm going to reassess this situation here a little bit.

All right. Aaron's going to do that because Aaron is cold. You are listening to WSJS Winston-Salem, WCOG Greensboro, WPCM Burlington, WMFR High Point.

Those signals make it up sports time. Triad, Aaron, go get yourself warm. We are Sharon with Darren Vaught. Only one segment this week. Darren, he's such a diva where he tells me, hey, we can't really do Thursdays because I got to broadcast high point basketball.

Usually we go 3.30 to 4.30. He says, nah, man, I can't do that today. He can't come into the studio today either. So he's just on the phone as we're here in the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Annex for the ACC Hockey League Championship. We have Sarah Sivian earlier in the show.

She tweets how much she loves being on the show. And Darren says, how about you take my weekly time slot, which we've already switched two or three times. I hate Josh. So now Darren's joining us on the phone to play the movie game only because we need three people to play. Hey, Darren. No, it's because, well, I was going to say, I don't hate you. You're my Valentine. But it's a holiday I don't quite believe in. But I do quite like you and quite like being on the show. So here we are.

I got nothing to say to that. So we're just going to go into this imaging that, quite frankly, is a little bit too much imaging for the nonsense we're about to do. It's a holiday themed movie game.

I've just been handed an urgent and horrifying news story. It's time for some kind of movie game. All right, all right, all right.

With Josh Graham and Darren Vought. Show me the money. All right, Robert, you want to take it from here? It's Aaron, Darren, and myself playing the movie game this week. What are the rules?

The rules are as follows for you guys that have played multiple times, but for you listeners who probably haven't. Rotten Tomatoes is the scoring system. We're going off the audience score.

So I'm going to give you a movie. Whoever gets closest to that score will eventually win after three movies. It's kind of golf score. So whoever has the highest score will probably be the loser.

You want to have the lowest score possible. And if at the end of these three movies, we are in within 10 points, we will go to a special golden movie that will decide the victor. And you guys all have your pens and pencils and papers, I'm assuming.

We do. And Darren's probably doing this so he could cheat. I'm sure he has, like, some app up that has all the movies anyway. I can't see Darren this time around to see if he's playing by the rules. We can provide photographic evidence later if needed. I've been on the run today. My computer hasn't even been out.

I trust Darren. I want a picture on Twitter that shows your completed scorecard for the movie game. How many points docked if you get it on the nose? I forget. It's 10. 10 points. All right, what's the first movie? The first movie, usually I have a little bit of imaging. I do not for you guys today, so you're just going to have to remember off your little noggins. Our first movie is The Notebook.

Oh, wow. So we're doing just these romance movies. The Notebook. I hated this movie. Darren, what did you think of The Notebook?

I mean, look, I'm not fond of it, but I understand its significance, right, in the romance movie landscape. Bearded Gosling or Clean Shaven Gosling? Who do you prefer? Bearded or Clean Shaven Gosling?

Clean Shaven. I actually like Crazy Stupid Love Gosling the most, and he might have had like what, a little stubble maybe? Just a little bit. Enough to tickle. Remember the Titans Gosling can get the hell out of here.

He was a liability. Am I starting it off here? You are. You're starting it off. What you got, Josh? 64% for The Notebook. 64%.

All right, and Darren? I've got 78. 78.

And Aaron, what you got? I have a solid 80%. 80%?

The Notebook comes in at 85? God, you've got to be kidding me. So Aaron, the Notebook?

Aaron, he blew the lead last week North Carolina style. We'll see if he's able to hold on this time around. What's the second movie? The second movie is a Patrick Swayze classic Dirty Dancing.

Nobody puts baby in a corner. And if they do, they're going to regret it. You're going to see a lot of badass dancing. Does this movie date well? No.

Does Dirty Dancing does not date well in any way? Not at all. How old is baby here?

Probably like 15 or 16. She's a baby. Literally a baby. It's not great. She's not literally a baby, Robert. But it's not great.

However, you care to slice it. Fun nugget from this movie. Patrick Swayze and I think her name is Jennifer Gray. I could be wrong on that. They hated each other.

And they almost recasted baby's part because they could not get along throughout shooting. Interesting. Fun nugget for you. I'm going to go 90% for this movie. 90%? What you got, Darren? I love this movie. I think it was well received. I put down 85. 80?

And Aaron? I have never seen Dirty Dancing. What? But I'm familiar with how much people like it. I have 84%. 84%. One of you hit this movie right on the nose. Oh, snap.

Dirty Dancing comes in at 90%. Let's go! That's what we're talking about here. We're right back in the mix.

Guys, this is a heated debate because you got it right on the nose. You knocked 10 points off. So Josh, you and Aaron are tied for first with 11. And Darren is scampering behind with some Valentine's candy at 12.

What? So it's 11 to 12 right now? That's the score?

Yes, 11 and 11 with you and Aaron. And Darren is in second. This is the closest game we've ever played. Aaron's having a day. He hadn't seen Dirty Dancing before.

And on top of that, he's never been to a hockey game. We're feet away from a sheet of ice. And he said to me, It's cold in here. Cold as hell in here. Yeah.

It's ridiculous. What's the third movie? Third movie. I took it back to a classic.

Probably that some of your parents watched on this day. Casablanca. Casablanca. Okay, Godiva. I don't even want to hear about you talk about any kind of how you pronounce anything. I said Godiva instead of Godiva. We're in the same word assuming that the origin of that word is the same. Rarely will you use a different sound for the same letter.

You used the three sounds for A there. Come on. All right, so Darren's not going to win. Josh. Mr. Marriott. He says the Marriott because that's the right way to pronounce it.

Call the corporate office. Darren, do you have a score written down for this movie? Because I do. Are you ready? I do.

I'm ready to go. You got one written down too? I got 97%. 97 for Casablanca. All right, Darren, what you got? 88 doing it for Dale Jr. It's for Dale.

Aaron. Dollar. I've never seen Casablanca. I think it's in black and white. It is. All right, there we go.

I'm going with 77%. Oh, wow. All right, Aaron. Well, let me tell you guys one thing. We will be going to a golden movie.

Casablanca comes in at 95. Oh. But Darren. So close. Darren and Josh are within 10 points. Actually, Darren is trailing him by seven points.

So we're going to go to a fourth golden movie. How far off is Aaron? Aaron is, he's way back there.

He is 10 points behind Darren. Did I just tank myself with that 77? Is that what happened?

You did yourself no favors. Well, you still can win the game because you're 17 off. It's 13, 20 to 30. So the last movie we all play, you still have a shot, but you might have to take a little bit of a risk.

Are you guys ready? What is the golden movie? The golden movie, which probably didn't age that well either, Pretty Woman. Pretty Woman actually ages pretty well. I watched that a few months ago for the first time. I'm sprucing up a prostitute.

That looks great. This is like the greatest love story of our time. And I'll contend it until the day that I die. I love Pretty Woman. I love Pretty Woman. What's your favorite part of Pretty Woman? Got a favorite part, Darren? Oh, I like the end too. It's going back into the store, right?

And proving them wrong. Tremendous. That movie is awesome. I'm ready for scores. What you guys got written down?

You ready to go? I thought this movie, I love this movie. I thought it might have been pretty well received. I'm going to go a subtle 83%. 83? Darren, what you got? I am perhaps letting my view of this movie cloud my perception or my guess at what the public perception was and is. Just say a score.

I'm sorry, Josh talked all over you right there, Darren. 92. 92. There we go. And Aaron, save yourself.

What you got, buddy? I'm going with a hefty 85%. That's enough difference, though. If it's more than 92, Darren's going to win this game. Sadly enough, he is not going to win this game.

Pretty Woman comes in at 68, and that means your winner is Josh Graham. Yeah! I love you. I love you.

I love you. I've got a couple things to say. This game is trash. A couple things to say very quickly. Don't take up my time. Happy Valentine's Day to my girlfriend if she's listening.

I love her very much. Oh, stop. That's what I'm going to do. I'm going to use the platform. Even though I have three hours, I could have done it elsewhere.

I earned this platform. I won the Valentine's Day movie game. She's not big into movies. We're going to watch a movie later tonight. It's probably going to be The Departed more than it's going to be a love story. So that's what we're going to do. We're going to watch The Departed and eat some steaks later on tonight. So that's who I'm dedicating this win to to my girlfriend. There we go. That's a good move, Darren, right?

Yeah, sure. Did you say she's not into movies? Are you dating a serial killer? No, she's just like not big into movies, and she's not big into music either.

So that's Aaron's now rolling his eyes at it as well. Like, she listens to music and is fine with movies, but I think there's two types of people. There's TV show people and there's movie people.

She happens to be a TV show person. OK, got it. All right, that makes sense.

All right, yeah, that's a good way to categorize. Darren, thanks for squeezing in time for us. We'll talk next week.

Yeah, for sure. See you guys. All right, that's Darren Vaught. That caps our Sharon with Darren Sesh. Zion Williamson had another big night in the NBA. And in life, timing is everything. And Zion, he's arriving in the NBA at the perfect time. Zion, when he's arriving at a point where trends are changing in the NBA or he's going against a trend, I'm not sure how many of these you may have participated in, Robert. Is there a trend that you admit you were a part of? Probably not for women like high water or the high-waisted jeans, fedoras for guys. That was in and then out, baggy clothes.

I think we were all a part of that. The trend in the NBA today, it's threes, it's finesse, it's small lineups, and it's veering away from post-play. Zion is the basketball. What the 49ers and Ravens were this season in football. Look at the trend in the NFL. It was finesse, it was passing. Defenses responded by having a bunch of DBs and smaller linebackers on the field who could cover in passing.

So what happened? You had a team realizing where things were zigging zagged back. Kyle Shanahan saying, we're going to run the football and we're going to play smash mouth ball that kicks your ass. The Ravens, the same exact way with Lamar Jackson. It was kind of a throwback seeing these two teams go at it. Zion, that's how I felt watching him go up against Stephen Adams who looked powerless as he overpowered him at the post.

Many different points. Zion with 32.6 rebounds in 31 minutes of action. He topped his previous career high with another career high in his 10th game of his NBA career. Another reason why it feels like the perfect time for Zion, LeBron, KD, and Steph Curry, they're all in their 30s. With Zion being 19 years old, I feel like when he turns 25, this is a person who's going to be not just the biggest star in the NBA, he's going to be the biggest star in all of sports. LeBron, when he was 25, he made the decision, 2010. He was the biggest name in American sports. Zion's going to be that.

I'm not going to be the one that doubts him because every single person who's tried to doubt Zion has looked foolish at every point. I've just been appreciating it and enjoyed watching it all the way through. I'm also just happy because I just won the movie game and I'm trying to bask in that a little bit as well. A reminder, we are at the ACC Hockey League Championships. All weekend long at the Winston-Salem Fairground Annex, there's going to be games being played. West Virginia is apparently in the ACC Hockey League. They're facing Wake Forest.

This game's going to start at 6 o'clock. Charlotte, apparently a part of the ACC Hockey League as well, just got beat 12-0 by NC State. NC State beating Charlotte. 16-0. The final was 16-0? 16-0.

Holy bleep. Charlotte hockey, not great. I guess Charlotte is an NBA town.

Raleigh, it's an NHL town. We had Sarah Sivian on the show talking a little bit of Hurricane's Pucks. It's all starting to make sense around here.

Yeah. That's my Chris Berman up there. Thanks to everybody who's helped set this thing up and all the folks at the Winston-Salem Fairground Annex staff who's been fantastic and given us a prime location as people are walking in to watch the hockey today. We're not done with today's show. We still have Take It to the House to do, and it's a special Take It to the House because it is a Rhinestone Cowboy Friday.

Robert, what do we got in Take It to the House today? Why, KFC and Crocs should just mind their own business. Crocs, did you ever participate in that fad? Not at all. Robert, did you participate in any of these fads I mentioned? Not a single one.

You will never catch me. Listen to some My Chemical Romance, some Fall Out Boy. You didn't go through that? I know Darren did. He's a big emo rock guy. All right. We'll Take It to the House next.