The Drive with Josh Graham - Tar Heel Basketball - 10/3/19

This is the Drive with Josh Graham podcast. Tune into the Drive weekday afternoons 3-7 on Sports Hub Triad. We're one month away from the United States. and college basketball season. And I've got something to say about the Tara heels.

ACC Operation Basketball's next Tuesday in Charlotte. It's something I've been thinking about for a while, but. have now just mustered up the courage to say it aloud on this platform. I don't view North Carolina as an ACC contender this year. There!

Aerosetic. At least Not Yet. And it's mostly because North Carolina is going to be reliant on freshmen more than normal. Probably more than any other Roy Williams team we've seen. Probably Sant 2009.

Or 2006, those two seasons. Not really. Years you remember, North Carolina basketball too much for. Freshman-reliant teams don't win the ACC. It's that simple.

Duke's last regular season title in conference. was 2010. That next year, Kyrie Irving started playing. That was the start of the Duke One and Done era. I don't think that's coincidental.

Literally, look through the entire history of the ACC. Find me the year where. A freshman laden, a freshman reliant team. Won the conference in regular season. It literally has not happened.

There's not one example. You could maybe go to 2010, 2011. The closest thing would be Harrison Barnes with UNC, but. Tyler Zeller was an ACC Player of the Year. Cole Anthony's going to be asked to be North Carolina's best player.

Armando Bacot might be the second best. If not, he's third. Behind Leaky Black. Speaking of Baycott, that leads to the next thing. Roy Williams only has two forwards he could trust right now.

And that's assuming Baycott's going to be that guy. It's still an assumption, but all I've read so far Baycott is in great shape. He's a five-star player. If he has an excellent season, he potentially could be another. North Carolina one and done in the post.

So it might be generous. I'm putting Baycott in that category. Garrison Brooks, he seems to have added things to his offensive game. But aside from those, two, who else is there? You might be thinking, oh, what about Sterling Manley?

He's back for North Carolina.

Well is he? Roy Williams said this at his press conference yesterday when asked about. Manly status. He's not practicing. I don't know.

I mean, I'm not going to get Coach Rivera, I loved it when he walked out. He got tired of answering the same dadgum question, but I don't know. I really don't. I mean, Sterling's not doing anything. I mean nothing.

And the easiest way to figure that out is that when he gets to the point that he can start practicing, it will tell you. He doesn't shoot, he doesn't run, he doesn't get down in a stance. He's not playing. If you're asking what's the Progress report down the road. I have no idea.

I have no idea. There's no other way you can ask me anything. I have no idea. I do not know when he will play. Period.

Yikes. Doesn't shoot. Has it run? Can't even get down into his stance. It can't get much worse than that, can it?

Oh, wait. Roy Williams broke a little bit of news. while talking about manly as well. He had surgery.

Okay, we didn't know. We've not told people he had surgery. No. Oh, he had surgery. Jesus Christ, I thought we told everybody.

I mean, he's not playing. He looks really damn good in the suit standing on the side, but that's all I can tell you guys. He is not playing.

So Can't really bank on that guy then. The way that he's describing it.

So you have Brooks, you have Bakart. Maybe? Brandon Huffman could play some minutes for you. I'd imagine North Carolina goes small. That's probably the best way to do it, even though Roy would prefer having the two bigs in there, and Brooks and Baycott seem to both be.

capable of that. But when you don't have that many reliable bigs, You might be best suited doing what North Carolina did two years ago and playing Theo at the four. The way they did playing Leaky Black the same way you played Theo two years ago, and having Justin Pierce, who apparently is an aggressive rebounder, be the one that can spell that guy. In a smaller lineup, and you just stagger the minutes with Baycott and Brooks. for most of the game.

You might start both Brooks and Baycott and then most of the minutes, it's a smaller lineup until you get to the final five minutes and both guys are rested enough they could play at one time. But I think UNC might be better served playing a smaller lineup. Your thoughts, welcome. 336-777-1600. On Twitter at SportsHub Try at Desmond Johnson.

Taking your phone calls at 777-1600. Yes, Des. I can see, and I agree with what you're saying there because, A. A lot of people don't realize that Sterling Manley was probably the most polished offensive post-player that Roy had coming back. Like, he has a very good offensive game.

He just had issues with stamina and his legs, basically, since he stepped foot on Chapel Hill's campus. Good rebounder. He was a player that. When he was in the game, it was impactful. Heck, even the Duke game, I believe, the final home game for North Carolina last year.

He played a role when he got into the game that was very key for North Carolina. But you can't rely on that guy.

So after Bay Cotton Brooks, it's Huffman, maybe Walker Miller, Wes Miller's brother. I don't see that either. I can kind of see Roy rotating Leakey Black and Justin Pierce in the fourth spot. Pierce is 6'7, Leakey 6'8. It'd be their wing kind of lineup because you'd have Cole out there too, and you'd probably have.

Brandon Robinson.

So you'd basically have four wings and a and a center out there to give one of them a break. But you know Roy wants to run both Baycott and Brooks together, and they're probably starting together, I would think. He might not be able to do that to a certain point. But regardless of what they do, I think it's gonna take time for this group to figure it out. I'm not saying they won't.

Like, it wouldn't surprise me if this team gels and then makes it to the Final Four. We saw it with Duke in fifteen, we saw it with Kentucky in 2012, and there are some experienced players on this roster that weren't there for Kentucky and Duke on those teams. But There's going to be times this year where, in the regular season, you have a head scratcher or two because there's just so much to figure it out. I doubt it will be in time to win a regular season. That's what's happened to Duke.

Even when Duke has these great teams that advance through the NCAA tournament, they haven't won since 2010 because these freshman teams, it takes time for them to gel.

So, North Carolina, I don't really view them as a contender to win the ACC this regular season. My preseason poll going into Media Day, Operation Basketball next week. I like Louisville to win the league. Love What Chris Mack has returning with Enoch and Wara. Boat deciding to Return to Louisville rather than GoPro.

You bring in Samuel Williamson, a top twenty-five player. You have just A great collection of young players and returning guys.

So I like Louisville to win the league. Duke. You bring a point guard back, and you bring Jack White back, and Alex O'Connell, and Javin Delaurier. I think those things matter in addition to having Cassius Stanley, who's just dropping these insane highlights at practice so far. Duke, I think that makes up the top tier.

Louisville one, Duke two. Believe it or not, I trust Virginia more right now than I trust North Carolina. Just because You got champions on this team, and it's Clark. And it's Diakite? And it's Braxton Key who was the leading rebounder for the Cavaliers last year.

And Jay Huff, I think he's going to be a more effective player than Jack Salt was starting these last few years.

So they bring that back. They had a better recruiting class than they normally do in years. I trust Tony Bennett. He recruits in that system.

So I. Believe it or not, I like Virginia despite losing Jerome, Guy, and Hunter to be third in the ACC, and North Carolina joins Virginia in that second tier, that next group. I don't know who's going to finish. Fifth, and who's going to finish? Eighth.

Out of Syracuse, NC State, Clemson, and Notre Dame. We'll talk ACC football with. Andrea Edelson, which he joins us in a little over five minutes from ESPN. We have a Twitter poll that we just put out here. Since it is October the 3rd.

Some view it to be Mean Girls' Day. In that movie. Lindsay Lohan's character said, It was October third that he asked me what day it was. And people seem to remember very strange things from that movie. But we started discussing Regina George and Mean George in this and Mean Girls in this movie.

It's Rachel McAdams character, and she had a three-year run where she The Ming Girls of 2004. She did The Notebook in 2005, Wedding Crashers in 2006. And we simply ask the question on Twitter. And you can vote on this poll at SportsHub Triad at Josh Graham Radio. What is peak?

Rachel McAdams. I'm going to leave the definition to be loose here. I think it's the first person you think of in your mind, the first Rachel McAdams character you think in your mind is what? And that's probably peak Rachel McAdams. Got a lot of votes already on this poll.

54% of the poll says wedding crashers. Claire That's peak. Rachel Madams, twenty nine percent say the notebook, seventeen percent. Same girl. 17%.

It's pulling up three or it's in third. It's amazing. That's crazy to me. Wow. That's how people feel.

And while we're talking about movies. There's a real argument in the Panthers locker room. This could impact Sunday's game against the Jaguars. I don't think enough people were talking about this. The Joker movie.

Comes out tonight. And according to Brendan Marks of the Charlotte Observer. An impassioned debate has broken out in the locker room where Brian Burns. And Gerald McCoy are debating whether Batman or Spider-Man would win in a fight. Brian Burns thinks.

It is Spider-Man, and Gerald McCoy is not buying that argument. Not really buying it either, to be honest. Just I'm giving it a deep thought here, right? Because basically Batman is basically the DC version of Iron Man. Spider-Man he can He has a little bit more flexibility in how he could get around.

He also can just stay afar and then use the spidey webs to his advantage. And also, the spider gave him. More strength too.

So, you have those three things working in your corner. You got to think that. Minus four, four hundred. That Spider-Man is an overwhelming favorite against Batman. Not that Batman can't win, but Spider-Man minus 400.

Let's just call it what it is. Batman's smarter.

So Batman would probably go into that fight with him. Says some who's who? He is smarter. Says who? A 45.

Typically, f build some sort of device to fight the guy. Spider-Man's 16. He's in high school, yeah. He's like a sophomore junior in high school. Toby Maguire Spider-Man wasn't in high school.

They picked him up after he had graduated college and he was working at the Daily Bugle or whatever. That's what I'm thinking of. You're working at the Daily Bugle and you're in high school?

Well, Tom's unbelievable.

Well, actually, he was freelancing in high school.

So, yeah, he was doing that too. Hmm. Yeah. Give me Spider-Man every day of the week. ESPN Andrea Adelson will share her thoughts on Wake Farce.

and her concerns with the Clemson Tigers next on the drive. Come here to talk sports. It is man at his most man. And do it like you mean it. What you got, Beatch.

This is the drive with Josh Graham. Not to be confused with Andrea Adelson. We are being joined by Andrea Adelson of ESPN. I've wondered this for a while. I don't think we've ever talked about it.

Andrea, how often does your name get messed up? And we'll get to the football in a bit. Um, which one, Andrea or Adelson? Andrea, Andrea, Adelson.

So depends. We were both at Clemson, North Carolina on Saturday, and I see a lot of overreaction in college football this week. What's your level of concern with Clemson as they head into the buy?

Well, I kept Clemson in my top four, and I think it was a little ridiculous for people to take them out of their top four at this point just based on What happened this past weekend? Was it pretty? No. It was ugly. It was not perfect.

Dabo Sweeney said as much afterward, and so did all the players. And the coaches, and when you're a 28-point favorite, you only win by the skin of your teeth because you have to stop a two-point conversion at the end. and you're the number one team in the country, you are going to get a heaping amount of criticism. But at the same time, I don't really think we can forget how this team played in the opening part. Part of the season and the way that they really took apart everybody else that was on the schedule.

And by the way, they've played four, I believe, Power Five teams out of five, which hardly anybody else in this country has done at this point in the season.

So I expect now that this bye week is here for them to work on trying to get a little bit more consistency and rhythm going on offense, try and get The defensive line in particular to play with a little bit more consistency because I think they've been using their linebackers and DBs on a lot of blitz packages, and maybe they want to try and work on being able to get more pressure with the men that they have up front.

So I don't really sense that this is a team that is in trouble or in crisis. Clemson has had these games before where they get close calls or they start kind of slow on offense and then they end up Rolling toward the end to another ACC championship.

So we'll see how they look once they play Florida State next weekend. Yeah, and every title team has that. Clemson had it twice last year with Syracuse, Texas AM, and Bama. They were a non-division champ two years ago. Ohio State lost at home to a decent Virginia Tech team, but an above-average one in 2014, and they still went on to win the title.

But here's what I find to be ironic: like, if I told you people would be expressing concern one month in about Clemson, how much would you have bet? we would be talking about the defense because That's not what people are talking about. It's the m it's mostly the offense people are centering on.

Well, that's an excellent point. And I do think that the narrative going into the season was We'll see what happens with the defense because of the losses that they took. Up front in particular, losing every starter on that defensive line. I think we all believed that with all the players they had coming back on offense, Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne and Tee Higgins and Justin Ross, oh, the offense is just going to keep rolling along. And in fact, the defense has had to bail this team out in a lot of key situations, particularly last week beyond just.

The two-point conversion at the end. And so I think that's been one thing that's been an interesting dynamic to watch. And I think. You know, the other thing that isn't really being talked about. And people kind of laughed when Davos said.

last week we're a young team.

Well, they are. I mean, they're a much younger team than they were a year ago. They don't have a lot of that junior, senior veteran leadership that showed up um in big key moments. You know, um the o the defensive line is just so So young and inexperienced when it comes to just showing that type of leadership. Same with Trevor.

He's only a sophomore and he's not really a vocal guy. You lose a player like Hunter Renfro, who was a security blanket on offense, and now he's gone. And talk about a veteran leader. I mean, he was there for what, 200 years?

So it is a younger team. trying, I think, to find its leadership, its voice, its identity right now. And I don't really think that's super unusual. I just think in this case, because we had such high expectations For what the offense. was going to look like, I think we forgot that this is still a team that is mostly led by sophomores on offense, some at some of the key positions.

And Travis Etienne is a little bit older. But the fact remains that I think Davo brought up a good point that nobody wanted to listen to. It's Andrea Adelson of ESBM with us on Sports Hub Triad. I'm interested in what you make of Clemson dropping out of the top spot in the AP poll. I know if the AP poll didn't exist and we just put it out one month in, the Tigers probably wouldn't be one, two, or maybe even three.

But I have difficulty believing. I'm not a guy who really buys SEC bias in many areas, but I feel like people would be revolting in the South if Alabama won by a point, say at Missouri or whoever, a lesser SEC team. I feel like they don't get knocked down, and there's a little bit of disrespect that exists with the ACC. What do you think? Oh, absolutely.

There's a complete disrespect that exists with the ACC, and I think that's why Clemson gets penalized. I believe I wrote a story along those lines in the preseason. I think the fact that Clemson Clemson, going into that game last week, was such a prohibitive favorite, not just against North Carolina, but to make the college football playoff. I mean, they had the highest odds. out of any team in the country to make it in there, the fact that they were going to be a twenty plus point favorite in every single game they had, the fact that Wake Forest right now is the only ranked team remaining on the schedule, I think that all plays into this narrative that, well, Clemson should beat everybody by 30, which is another point Dabbo made last week.

You know, everybody expects us to just be robots and go out there and dismantle the competition. Oh, by the way, all of these teams, Are giving us the best effort of the season. We're just not another team to everybody.

So every opponent that they're facing. has been scheming and game planning for them. Since probably January or February, because they know that that is the game on the schedule that is circled. And so when you combine that With a performance that isn't necessarily the cleanest performance or the most perfect performance, you're going to get a backlash, especially among national media who think that Clemson plays in the worst conference in the country and should never get a pass, no matter who they're playing in the ACC, because the level of competition to them doesn't rise to where it is in some of those other conferences, most especially the SEC. I just find it interesting.

When Missouri makes it to the SEC championship game, people applaud Missouri, and rightfully so. When Kentucky, they get ranked at the top 10 last year, nobody says, oh, the SEC, look at that. Kentucky and Missouri, oh, they're having great years. Clearly, the conference is down. But meanwhile, when the ACC, you get Wake Forest and Virginia in the top 25.

You have people in SEC circles and Big Ten circles pointing and laughing. Ha, ha, ha. How good could the ACC be if your second and third best teams are Wake Forest? In Virginia. Speaking of the Deeks.

How much are you buying in considering they're ranked for the first time since 2008 and they're off to a 5-0 start for the first time since Jim Grove's magical 2006 season? Oh, I'm definitely bought in. I love what this team has done, particularly on offense. And you could make an argument that at the midway point of the season, Jamie Newman should be the first team. Quarterback on the all-ACC team ahead of Trevor Lawrence because he's played better than Trevor Lawrence to this point.

You know, he ranks in the top 10 nationally in total offense. They're the most efficient passing team in the ACC. They're the best team on third down in the ACC. And it's fun to watch them play offense.

Now, Defensively, that there's still some issues they've got to work around and work through, including trying to limit the amount of explosive plays that. That they've given up. And Wake Forest has always been known as that solid defensive plane team, not so much offense, at least in the first few years under Dave Coston, but the fact that this offense is now blossoming and looking exactly the way that Dave Clawson envisioned it when he got to Wake Forest, I think, speaks to not only Dave Clawson, but also the staff he's put together and the way they've been able to develop players In their system. We all know that Wake Forest is a developmental program. That's how they're going to be able to.

get guys to compete at a high level in the ACC, especially in the Atlantic division. And the way that some of these key guys, Jamie Newman, Scotty Washington, Dave Surratt, have developed the offensive alignment, the way those guys have developed has now put Wake Forest in a position where not only can they be a ranked team, but they're going to have an opportunity to maybe win nine or ten games. this season because of the way that they play. You know, the other thing they have going for them is they win closed games. And they have won close games.

You know, Dave Costen knows are not going to be like Clemson and blow everyone out in every single game or just about every single game. But they have to get in the fourth quarter and then try and win close games. And that's something that they have done exceedingly well. And that's something they've done exceedingly well this season.

So I think he's done a great job. He's my mid-season ACC coach of the year. And I don't really think that he or that program have gotten enough credit for the stride they've made to get to this point right now. It's Andrea Adelson of ESPN spending time with us here on Sports Hub Triad. There's a very important debate that's going on right now in the Carolina Panthers locker room up here where Brenda Marks reported that with the Joker movie coming out tonight, Brian Burns believes that Spider-Man would win a fight against Batman, Gerald McCoy, disagrees with that assessment by Brian Burns.

Who do you think wins the fight out of Batman and Spider-Man? Oh my gosh, wow. I feel like I need to ask my kids that question. They probably would have the best. Because at first, I wanted to say, Batman, 'cause Batman is amazing.

But at the same time, couldn't Spider Man just like wrap him up in all of his like, you know, spider wrappy stuff and just like put them up against a wall uh and So I think Spider-Man.

Now I'm waiting Spider-Man because I feel like we could just wrap him up and be done with it. And lastly, Mean Girls came up because it's October the 3rd, and that's a thing from that movie. We were thinking Rachel McAdams had this three-year run where Mean Girls came out in 2004, Notebook 2005, Wedding Crashers 2006. When you think Rachel McAdams, what comes to mind first? Definitely Wedding Crashers.

Yay. I I know, I know, I know. And, you know, when I think of that movie though, I don't really think of her at first.

So, you know, uh that to me is one of my All-time favorite movies.

So that's why I'm going with that. And, you know, honestly, I got to say, I was a little disappointed you didn't ask me what is today. I thought you would open the show with that. Yeah, it's a good point. I'm looking at the poll, though.

52% of people agree with you right now. They're saying Claire from Wedding Crashers. They're first. And I think Spider-Man wins the fight.

So you're somebody who, in addition to football, you're really a great arbiter on all things, movies and superheroes alike. Appreciate you spending a little bit of time with us. I'm sure we'll chat sometime soon. Thanks for doing this, Andrea. Absolutely.

Thanks for having me. Appreciate it. You got it. That's Andrea Adelson from ESBN. You can shoot a follow on Twitter and follow her coverage.

She spent a lot of time on the ACC network the last few weeks. A. Adelson ESBN is the Twitter handle. for you to follow there. It's great analysis, Dez.

Spider-Man. Just Get 'em get 'em in the web.

So you're assuming Spider-Man's stupid. Oh. Right. I'm assuming Batman's smarter. Right.

But, like, that's. You can be smarter. But also face someone who is smart. Like I'm not assuming any of the two are dumb I mean, you guys. Assume we got two smart people here.

So, you guys assume that once Spider-Man just goes to wraps him up in the web, it's over? Like, Batman doesn't have something that can come out of his wrist that can cut through websites? The super strength. Helps too. Like, Spider-Man's got some of that.

It's a radioactive spider. Batman's armor would be able to absorb a lot of that. Like I said, this is literally, Batman is literally Tony Starks in DC. Because Tony Starks isn't a superhero either, but you would consider Iron Man a pretty powerful. Hero, correct?

Sure. Why do you bring an Iron Man into this? Because that's literally Batman. That's Batman. Batman is a regular human being who has a bunch of toys and he's a rich Playboy.

That's Tony Stark. They're the same thing. Batman would hold his own against Spider-Man. I think I'm changing my answer on the Rachel McAdams front. I'm going I thought mean girls, but I think I'm going wedding crashers.

Wow. I think I'm flipping on the wedding crashers here. I thought that was a bit part for her, wasn't it? She was in that movie a lot. Wedding Crashers?

Oh, she's in it all the time. She gives the toast and the the Speech for her sister at the wedding. Maybe I need to watch it again. Oh, she's she's in the entire thing. Bradley Cooper, the first time we ever see him in a movie, essentially.

Like, he's kind of like the jerk boyfriend who's talking about seals and stuff. saving them Meanwhile. Owen Wilson, John Ryan trying to win her heart. Is that the best?

Meanwhile, like the mom comes in, and Owen Wilson's like, Claire's mom made me see her hooters. Is that the best?

Wow. Is that the best movie, though, out of these three? Wedding Craftsman? I think so. You think so?

Overmeaning? Either that or Mean Girls. Notebook's not a good movie. I'm sorry. Yeah, if we can put Notebook in the trash, but.

Whoa! I didn't say that. I feel like throw it in the trash. I feel like Mean Girls is a classic. Tina Faye wrote it.

Great performances from Tim Meadow. I mean, I don't know, man. That's that's wild to me. It's a great night. And sports tonight, by the way.

We've mentioned it, but it's ECU Temple, it's Hurricanes Montreal. It's Ram Seahawks. It's the MLB playoffs. It's USA women's soccer in Charlotte at Bank of America Stadium. I think I'm going to ECU Temple first.

I think that's where, if I could only watch one. I'm gonna watch a mean. Adam Amin, Pat McAfee, Van Hassel Beck. And Molly McGrath broadcasting from Greenville, America, because that's going to be an incredible environment. I think it's going to be a fun broadcast.

McAfee coming from West Virginia and Morgantown, a great fit for Greenville America. There might be some barbecue on the broadcast. I s I sent them some texts. Weird flex? That They need to get some specific S Sam Jones barbecue on the set.

Like. That's Stamey's and Sam Jones barbecue, the two best barbecue joints in the state. Granted, I haven't spent much time in Lexington.

So. Really? Understanding that. Having barbecue seemingly everywhere else in the State, Stamey's and Sam Jones BBQ in Greenville, America, the two best spots. I assume, since it's in Eastern North Carolina, they only serve Eastern-style barbecue at Sam Jones.

Come on. I mean, there's places here that serve both. Oh, I know. And that, I think, tells you everything you need to know about which style is better. I'm not an Eastern style fan.

I like the tomato base. I like the Lexington style. But I grew up here. It's definitely. It's black.

I grew up in the middle. Where there was Lexington and Eastern in the capital city, I'm telling you. We gotta roll out to Lexington for lunch one time. I'm down. We'll do it.

Welcome to the show that cloned the Loch Ness Monster. And got her drunk. The drive with Josh Graham. Uh WXII Sports Director Brian Formica announced last week. that next week will be his final week.

Anchoring Sports. 4WXII, a 12-year run of him. covering sports. Pretty much in this area, somebody who went to Elon and Burlington, and one of our favorite people to chat with. every now and then.

He's on Twitter at Brian Formica. Brian. It's good to have you on with us. The last couple of weeks, what have they been like? And they've been a whirlwind.

You know, I announced that I was moving on to Arizona with my family and. And after twelve years, you know, kind of Hang up the mic for the triad and uh It has been it's been a total whirlwind of support and just You know, we go to work, you know, Josh, we go to work every day and we try to do our best, and then for people to reach out and say, you know. Hey, we enjoyed your work and job well done. universities and and coaches and players from you know present and past. All reaching out with their well wishes.

It's been overwhelming. You always hear people say, Oh, I'm so overwhelmed with all the support. I never really got that until now. I just, I've. I can't believe how many people that we affect and how many people that chose us to get their information from and chose.

I just try to tell good stories every day and And it seems like uh people appreciate it. And that's I think that's all we can ask for in life is that we're appreciated. Dating back to your Elon days, how many years have you lived in the triad now? I got here in 2003, so I guess it's been, what, 16 years. I did a stop in Florence, South Carolina to start my career for 11 months.

And then came on back, and I fell in love with the area and just have loved covering the hotbed of sports. Uh for so long. Is there gonna be a sport you're gonna miss covering most? You know, it it's funny. you you see the teams rise and fall.

and the players that you get to know at the high school level or you cover their game winning shot in JV and then you see them go on to be in the NBA and NFL and Major League Baseball and WNBA. I I love Friday nights. There's nothing like high school football in the triad. I will miss that probably the most because that is the most fun anybody could ever have in anything. Um but ACC basketball and college basketball in this state, there's really nothing like it.

Brian Formica, WXII Sports Director with us here on Sports Hub Triad. I want to get to some of the things going on this weekend. The Carolina Panthers hosting the Jacksonville Jaguars. I'm looking at the injury report for Carolina. Brian Burns, he had a hard cast on yesterday, softer cast on today, but did not practice altogether, even though he was named the NFC's defensive rookie of the month.

Dante Jackson did not practice with the groin injury that caused him to miss the Houston game on Sunday. No Cam Newton, of course. Greg Little out with the concussion. Chris Manhurtz out with the concussion. And also Eric Reed did not practice, but Jordan Rodriguez said that she.

I expect Reed to play against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Trey Turner did not practice. He missed Sunday's game as well. Just how concerned are you about this game, even though it is a home game for the Panthers? If you had asked me three weeks ago, or any Panthers fan, how concerned they were, it looked like a lost season.

But I think this kind of resurgence of hope Yeah, you can say guys are injured, that's great, and they they are. But at the same time, there's something about this Team around Kyle Allen, it seems like everybody, you know, they know they need to step up. Whenever you don't have your leader in, everybody kind of steps up and comes to the plate a little bit extra. 'cause instead of depending on stars, you need to depend on backups or third stringers. And I think that this Panthers team, I'm not a big guy in, oh, Will, your way to win.

But I I think that stars speak for themselves. But without starters in, We thought the Panthers were doomed, and all of a sudden they've won back-to-back games.

So I have full confidence that they can do both those things on the road. I mean, with a jarring news of Cam Newton, you know, not being full strength and not playing. If they can rally around Kyle Allen, I think they can rally around anything. The one thing the Panthers and Ron Rivera has always harped on is depth and the Panthers They have that with guys who are willing to step up. And I I think if there's ever a chance for them to step up, it's at least it's a team like the Jags.

You're not playing a Rams. You're not playing a Falcons, even though the Falcons are struggling right now. You're not playing those teams with proven leaders. You're playing the Jags who. They have a couple of stars, but not really stars.

They're more B- players in the NFL. We are chatting with Brian Formica. Oh, I missed an injury. Gerald McCoy also did not practice today with a knee concern.

So it seems like almost everybody isn't practicing right now among the starters for the Panthers. There's going to be four new Hall of Honor inductees for the Panthers: Wesley Walls, Jake DeLome, Steve Smith, and Jake DeLome. Or did I already say DeLome?

So Jordan Gross might be the other one there. Do you have any personal memories covering the Hall of Honor inductees? I do. You know, it was funny. I first time I ever interviewed Steve Smith.

I asked, you know, are you excited for the season? I was 23 years old, you know, didn't really know what I was doing, just getting into the season. Sports broadcasting world. And he looks at me and he goes, try again, kid. And I went.

What what do you mean? And he goes, try again. He goes, that's a stupid question. And he says, you know how they say there's no such thing as a stupid question? I said, yeah.

He says, that's a stupid question. Try again. And I mean, this is in front of everybody, all the veterans, and all you're trying to do when you start your career is fit in. You know, Steve Smith looks at me and just says that. I mean, my stomach hit my feet.

And I said, well, how are you going to tear this season up? And he says, you know. I'll give you that one. And then he answered it. But I mean, Judge, oh man, I mean, right off the gate, my first question to a Carolina Panther as a professional sports journalist.

And I get just get shot. And it's funny because everybody thinks Steve Smith, because of all the trash he talked. Was kind of a jerk. He's not. He's one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet.

But the great thing is, he will call you out in a heartbeat. And that's one thing that when you first start, you say, oh man, I can't believe Steve Smith would do that. And then later, you just realize he's just being honest and having fun with everybody. And as the entire Panthers media conglomerate was chuckling at me, I was so embarrassed. And as I walked off, everybody said, Hey, rookie, that's what Steve Smith will do to the new guy.

Don't worry about that.

Well, you're no longer the new guy. 12 years as a pro, and you were one of the first people when I got the job here. Thanked me, who welcomed me in. I appreciated that. And also, I mean, let's welcome Darren Vaughan here.

Darren, get in here. We do Sharon with Darren once a week. Elon guys need to come together, I think, since Formica is an Elon guy, and Darren's here too. He actually, did you remember this, Darren? He came up with Sharon with Darren.

Did you notice? I do. Formica had a number. He was like a handful of suggestions when we were trying to name the segment because you just, what were you calling it? Thursdays with Darren.

It was terrible. Yeah, it was bad.

So, Brian, thanks for your service to the community and all that you've done with WXII, but also for cleaning up Josh's mess. I appreciate that. You know, Josh doesn't make a lot of them, but when they do, somebody's got to clean them up, I guess.

Well, Formica, we look forward to hearing what's next for you. Follow Brian on Twitter at Brian Formica. I assume we'll follow your coverage. Panthers, Jaguars on Sunday. Look forward to maybe seeing you in Charlotte this weekend.

Thank you for the visit. I appreciate it and thank you, Triad, for all your support over the years. I appreciate it, Josh. Yeah, that's Brian Foreman, Cal. With the solid dude.

He is. Are you just saying that because you went to Elon? No, I mean, but it's not There's not really. What is the Elon girl? It's not a coincidence.

It's West Durham. It's Brian Formaca. They're everywhere. I'm not even. I almost feel bad considering myself part of the group because I'm not even like a.

A full on Elon guy. You share with Darren every week. I mean, that's a big deal. No, I'm not sure. Elon claims you.

They do. They do. But see, where my graduate degree is there, I it it's different. It's different. Like when I went to Elon, I was there a year and a half.

And I had one parking lot. that I drove to, from my shabby studio apartment in Burlington. I pulled in. walk to the same path, to the same building. Every day and then just went back.

So I I didn't I don't know. I wasn't the full full on four year Elon experience. I'll take it. Did you ever ask a question to a coach that got shot down or a player and get terrified? That ever happened to you?

I'm trying to think of a good example. I heard the back end of Brian talking about his Steve Smith experience. Nothing like that. Nothing like that. It might have been Lincoln Riley or Ruffin McNeil at East Carolina, where one of the I think it was the first time I ever asked a question in a press conference.

I think I just said my name and what student outlet I worked for way back then when nobody was doing that and they asked you not I mean they didn't say you had to do that. You just I just thought that's how it happened. And I just asked the question really nervously and then he goes, he goes, you talk fast. That was his answer to my first question. Yes, Death.

I got shut down by Dwayne Wade before. Oh, well, yeah. Yeah, it was very painful. Join the club, Dez. It happens.

There's been many times I've been. Shot down. In media capacities and non-media capacities. You've got death stares from Coach K. I've played witness to that.

Uh-huh. That happened. I once asked Julius Hodge to sing. Karaoke with me? It didn't work.

Dis I could picture that. He didn't care for that one too much. I don't mean this in a bad way, Josh, because. I'm also not cool enough to ask Julius Hodge to sing karaoke with me, but you're not cool enough to ask Julius Hodge to sing karaoke with you. There is a place that is cool enough to ask Julius Hodge to to sing karaoke with him if it was a person.

I guess that's where this doesn't work. Pie guys, pizza, and more. And Clements, right off the Louisville-Clemens Road. Kiddum in Village Commons. Yeah, if Pie Guy's Pizza was a person, Julius Hodge would totally sing karaoke with him.

The Graham Slam Pizza. If that was a person. Got a chicken and bacon on top and hot sauce. It's delicious. I mean, I need to get back there and have the Graham Slam.

I usually go once a month or so, and we'll have to hook Darren up with some of it.

Sometime soon, too. Pie Guys, Pizza, and more online at pieguys.com. Here's what we call a great segue. Up next. The story of how my old karaoke buddy Just scored $750,000 in court.

This is for real. Yeah. That's a perfect place to start. Sharon. on the drive.

He may not be beautiful, and we do sit around all day and talk sports. And yes, Britt McHenry, we feel great about him. Do you feel good about your job? This is the drive with Josh Graham. Okay, there's tough news with Sports Illustrated I want to get to in a bit.

But we're sharing with Darren from the David Gwynne show. And this headline today absolutely blew me away. I was just combing through things. And I saw on CNN. That a North Carolina man just won $750,000 in a lawsuit after suing his wife's lover.

So I'm bound to click on that as a North Carolinian? And the harem I I see a guy in a suit and I think to myself, oh. I know that guy. I read a little bit further. It's in Greenville.

America. And Turns out this guy is the person that just runs karaoke. In Greenville on Thursday nights. Every single time I hung out in Greenville, it's a good idea.

So he's your best friend. I mean, I saw this guy once a week. Every time I walk in, we call him Dog. That's his nickname, DOG! And if you're wondering how this Kevin guy you just mentioned, Kevin Howard, won a $750,000 judgment in court.

Turns out North Carolina still has old home wrecker laws. Yeah. And this guy was, according to Dog, or Kevin. Had this guy in their house and didn't know anything was awry, and he wooed her away, wooed his wife away from him, he said. And he won a $750,000 settlement.

This isn't included in the story. I was just doing some texting to follow up on this. I don't think he's going to see anything close to that because the guy's a teacher.

So Good luck with that, but his face is plastered on CNN. It's kind of an amazing thing. And I don't know how, I haven't talked to this guy since I left Greenville America. I don't know. I'm just going to reach back out and say, hey, congratulations.

I'm not looking for anything. I just, you know, congrats, thumbs up. And I remember, okay, I remember when he was going through a divorce, he would tell me what was happening with this woman and said, yeah, this guy just took her from me and it was wrong. And we're going to go to court and all this. And you may have that buddy who would just tell you these types of things with their life, and you're just thinking, oh man, um.

Yeah, uh really pulling for you. You're really just thinking in the back of your mind.

Okay, what did you do though? Uh You're going to go to court. What do you expect is going to happen? All of this is just a revelation right now. As I look to this headline now, he wasn't BSing.

None of it. And he won a 750,000. Dollar court settlement, Dad. You said the dude is a teacher, the guy that broke up the happy home? Yeah.

Maybe he can work out a payment plan or something then going forward, because, like, for life, take it all. Maybe that might be what happens. If it was worth it, yeah. That's these are bizarre laws. Is he still gonna be?

Doing karaoke on Thursday nights. He might be the ball. When I think about it, I just remember after games, I would just hang out there and he would be singing karaoke himself if nobody else was there. And it would be like: I used to be a cowboy, Toby Keefe, singing around. Is it all sad?

Please tell me he's just rocking out some sad cases. Yeah, like stained and stuff like that. Was he just up there just singing? It's been a while. We're here.

It's been a while. Oh, wow. That's. I heard that song. That is, okay.

That was like the song that was on repeat in my house in college for a while. And that's the only part of my roommates. Yeah, that's pretty much it. That's your limited impersonation of the lead singer. If you were singing karaoke, Darren, what would be your go-to song?

Oh, this is a great question. Sharon. I have ambitious goals with karaoke because. I have this pipe dream. of choosing, I believe, in a thing called Love by the Darkness, which I've done before.

And just nailing it. That would be a very good song choice. But would it? I think a lot of people would enjoy it and they'd sing along. That's a good karaoke song, Choice.

I've only done karaoke once in my life. Aside from you singing the Wake Forest fight song. Just a few weeks ago. I think. How do we not have a karaoke segment on this show?

I think on your show, John. I think this counts as karaoke. Grab, grab, wakeforce, grab. That counts. Yeah, I guess we can count that.

But the only time I've ever really done it in front of people, like live people, was at a house party I was at probably a decade ago. And the song of choice. Live people. What are we?

Well, I've been saying for you guys like that.

Well, I guess Wake Force. Anyway. I mean, we are live people. Cameo candy. Neither one of you know what that song is, do you?

Nope. Nope. Nope. No idea what that is. We need to go sing karaoke sometime.

We just need to make it happen. Group out. Nobody cares. No, that's a thing. Nobody actually cares about how bad or good of a singer you are.

Nobody does. Is that what you tell yourself when you go up there? Yeah, it's the fun of karaoke. Just go up there. Who gives a rip?

Like It's kind of like being a guy who isn't shredded at a gym. Like You're worried about what kind of weights you have. Nobody cares unless you're huge. If you're huge, yeah, people are going to focus what kind of weight you have. If you're scrawny, like me, no one's looking at the 25s that you're pulling.

Nobody cares. Right? Karaoke. No one Cares how good or bad of a singer you are. If it's bad, they're just going to drink.

I'll say this in a gym setting, to use that analogy. No one should care.

Sometimes they do, and that's where people go wrong.

Well, not when you're small. If you're huge, they care. Like, if you have massive arms and you're just Just curling 15s. I think people were going to focus on that a little more. Right?

I don't know. I think you're outing yourself here, Josh. I think so. Are you paying attention to what other people are doing in the gym? Shifting gears to Sports Illustrated.

Yeah. If you missed the headline today, it is a disaster what's going on right now with SI. And Let me just say that media. ESPN used to be the destination spiring broadcasters. Sports Illustrated was the place sports writers wanted to end up at.

But then we get the headline today. And staffers right now, they are going through a living hell. today because apparently all they're full-time staffers. They received an email from management last night instructing them to report to one of two meetings at noon today. And it became clear to employees that one of those beating 50% of the staff.

We're going to be laid off, and the others were going to figure out that they still had their job. But then That meeting never happened because Deadspin was reporting earlier today that both the meetings were canceled just minutes before they were supposed to start. And the reason why. was because Apparently The full transfer of ownership from Sports Illustrated to Meredith and authentic brand groups. wasn't officially finished yet.

It's not technically finished yet.

So, you may have seen these Maven sites that are being run. That's under this group that has purchased Sports Illustrated that's still being finalized. The staffers, they have no idea what's happening right now, and apparently. A there is somebody at Sports Illustrated who put out this statement. Just a short while ago, and I'll read it to you just now.

I haven't even read this full thing yet. Sports Illustrated has been an iconic brand for sixty five years, defined by high quality storytelling with global recognition as the people who made this publication what it is, to call on ABG to save the future of this story title. Today, Meredith executives were on the brink of announcing major layoffs that would effectively gut Sports Illustrated. The Maven wants to replace top journalists in the industry with a network of Maven freelancers and bloggers while reducing or eliminating departments that have ensured that the stories we Produce and publish meet the highest standard. With minutes' notice, transition meetings were canceled, with our futures and families hanging in the balance.

The way that today's events have been handled suggests that the publication is in unstable hands. These plans would significantly undermine our journalistic integrity, damage the reputation of this long-standing brand, and negatively affect the economic stability of the publication. After the sale of Sports Illustrated to ABG, CEO Jamie Salter cited Sports Illustrated's quote, trusted name and fiercely devoted following, end quote, as key to the success of the brand of the ABG profile. As the editorial backbone of this company, we strongly feel that all of this could be in jeopardy if this deal with the Maven goes through. If all the concerns alone, all these concerns alone, do not merit changing course, we also understand the Maven startup capital loan could be recalled instantly in the event of substantial loss of profit.

In addition, we question whether the MAVEN has been forthcoming with ABG about its ability to sustainably and effectively run the publication. We call on Meredith and ABG to drop the MAVEN and save Sports Illustrated. Wow. So That is something Very significant. to follow.

Um I don't know. How the current model of Sports Illustrated is going to be sustainable moving forward. ESPN the magazine announced earlier this year that They are finished when it comes to publishing. actual print editions of the magazine. And I I imagine in the next two or three years that's going to be the case.

with SI, but This is just a massive bummer. With the ESBN layoffs, That was a result of maybe paying too much for properties and also maybe just a change of how we view Sports Center and what we need from highlight shows and such. This seems to be management and something a little bit more sinister where they're trying to change Sports Illustrated into a scout or a 24-7 property, essentially. It's a much more. Gloomy.

Sense of dysfunction with this one, right? At least with ESPN and layoffs that we've seen in the past. There's an explanation, right? We can all defend the we at the time paid too much for all this talent because too fat and happy at ESPN. We can all understand the well, there's not really a need for a TV show dedicated to highlights because we all have that whenever we want on demand and it's in our pockets at any given time.

This is just weird because. You see the headline that layoffs are planned, and that's not as much a surprise anymore. And that, in and of itself, is a bummer, but for it to happen in. To things to transpire in this way. It's deceptive and it implies that somebody is somebody at the core of it.

Is not acting appropriately. Like, we can all, it sucks. Look, it's awful when you and I have colleagues that get laid off. Um it's not fun. But there's a business side of it that we can understand.

Yes, but this one. We're not talking about the business forward. We're not talking about that. Right. We're not talking about the common sense of moving forward.

If the headline was, okay, they have to lay off writers. And heck, even if the headline was, they can't put out print editions anymore, we'd all understand that. But. The idea that they thought it was a good idea, first off, to have just two separate meetings and then it be like a dark night situation where you figure out, hey, Are the people on that meeting? Or are they going to press the thing and blows up the boat?

That's one, not great business and not great management. And two, calling off the meeting right before speaks to the instability. And if it is for it not being fully complete, yet you're still trying to shed half the staff? Yeah, the manner in which they tried to call these two meetings is cartoonish, right? I mean, you can envision it in some sort of situational comedy because obviously the employees at Sports Illustrated, smart people.

Are going to figure out, oh, one of these meetings is for people no longer going, that are no longer going to be able to work. I got invited to meet myself. Are you going to a meeting? Oh, you're going to a meeting too? Which is the one that's not.

A new company just bought us? What's this about? Huh.

Okay, let me just do the math real quick. Um Not a big fan of A lot of these things I'm hearing about. all of a sudden. It is a bummer, and I have a lot of friends at Sports Illustrated. It goes back to ESBN was once the destination for aspiring broadcasters.

SI was once that, I think, for sports writers at this point. ESBN, they stifled personalities the last decade or so because of the importance of properties and the relationships they have with leagues. Jamal Hill, Bill Simmons, Keith Olbermann, Dan Lebatar, to a degree. It dates back to DP, where he said many times they weren't looking for another Berman.

So they've stifled personality. SI's model, I don't know if it's sustainable moving forward, but a brand that's as iconic as that one doesn't deserve to have the mismanagement that we're seeing. Right here. You are listening to WSGS Winston-Salem, WCOG Greensboro, WMFR High Point, and I I always forget one. WPCM Burlington.

There it is. Those signals making up Sports Up Triad. He may not be beautiful, and we do sit around all day and talk sports. And yes, Britt McHenry, we feel great about him. Do you feel good about your job?

This is the drive with Josh Graham. Okay, there's tough news with Sports Illustrated I want to get to in a bit. But we're sharing. With Darren. Back from the David Gunshot.

And this headline today absolutely blew me away. I was just combing through things and I saw on CNN That a North Carolina man just won $750,000 in a lawsuit after suing his wife's lover.

So I'm bound to click on that as a North Carolinian? And the hair and I see a guy in a suit and I think to myself, Oh. I know that guy. I read a little bit further. It's in Greenville.

America. And Turns out this guy is the person that just runs karaoke. In Greenville on Thursday nights, every single time I hug out of Greenville, it's a good time.

So he's your best friend. I mean, I saw this guy once a week. Every time I walk in, we call him Dog. That's his nickname, DOG! And if you're wondering how this Kevin guy you just mentioned, Kevin Howard, won a $750,000 judgment in court.

Turns out North Carolina still has old home wrecker laws. Yeah. And this guy was, according to dog, or Kevin. Had this guy in their house and didn't know anything was awry, and he wooed her away, wooed his wife away from him, he said. And he won a $750,000 settlement.

This isn't included in the story. I was just doing some texting to follow up on this. I don't think he's going to see anything close to that because the guy's a teacher.

So Good luck with that. But his face is plastered on CNN. It's kind of an amazing thing. And I don't know how. I haven't talked to this guy since I left Greenville, America.

I don't know. I'm just going to reach back out and say, hey, congratulations. I'm not looking for anything. I just, you know, congrats, thumbs up. And I remember, okay, I remember when he was going through a divorce, he would tell me what was happening with this woman and said, yeah, this guy just took her from me and it was wrong.

And we're going to go to court and all this. And you may have that buddy who would just tell you these types of things with their life, and you're just thinking, oh man, um. Yeah, uh I really pulling for you. You're really just thinking in the back of your mind.

Okay, what did you do though? Uh This you're going to go to court. What do you expect's going to happen? All of this is just a revelation right now. As I look to this headline now, he wasn't BSing.

None of it. And he won a 750,000 Dollar court settlement, Dad. You said the dude is a teacher, the guy that broke up the happy home? Yeah. Maybe he can work out a payment plan or something then going forward, because, like, for life, take it all.

Maybe that might be what happens. If it was worth it. Yeah, that's uh these are bizarre laws. Is he still gonna be? Doing karaoke on Thursday night.

He might be the ball. When I think about it, I just remember after games, I would just hang out there and he would be singing karaoke himself if nobody else was there. And it would be like: I used to be a cowboy, Toby Keefe, singing around. Is it all sad? Please tell me he's just rocking out some sad cases.

Yeah, like stained and stuff like that. Was he just up there just singing? It's been a while. We're here. It's been a while.

Oh, wow. That's. I heard that song. It is, okay. That was like the song that was on repeat in my house in college for my roommates.

Yeah, that's pretty much it. That's your limited impersonation of the lead singer. If you were singing karaoke, Darren, what would be your go-to song? Oh, this is a great question. Sharon.

I I have ambitious goals with with karaoke because I have this pipe dream. Of choosing, I believe, in a thing called Love by the Darkness, which I've done before. And just nailing it. That would be a very good song choice. But would it Would I think so?

I think a lot of people would enjoy it and they'd sing along. That's that's a good karaoke song, Choice. I've only done karaoke once in my life. Aside from you singing the Wake Forest Fight song. Just a few weeks ago.

I think. How do we not have a karaoke segment? I think on your show, John. I think this counts as karaoke. Grab, grab, wait for scrap.

That counts. Yeah, I guess we can count that. But the only time I've ever really done it in front of people, like live people, was at a house party I was at probably a decade ago. And the song of choice. Live people.

What are we?

Well, I haven't sang for you guys like that.

Well, I guess Wake Force. Anyway, I mean, we are live people. Cameo candy. Sorry. Neither one of you know what that song is, do you?

Nope. Nope. Nope. No idea what that is. We need to go sing karaoke sometime.

We just need to make it happen. Group out. Nobody cares. No, that's a thing. Nobody actually cares about how bad or good of a singer you are.

Nobody does. Is that what you tell yourself when you go up there? Yeah, it's the fun of karaoke. Just go up there. Who gives a rip?

Like It's kind of like being a guy who isn't shredded at a gym. Like You're worried about what kind of weights you have. Nobody cares unless you're huge. If you're huge, yeah, people are going to focus what kind of weight you have. If you're scrawny, like me, no one's looking at the 25s that you're pulling.

Nobody cares. Right? Karaoke. No one cares. Cares how good or bad of a singer you are.

If it's bad, they're just going to drink. I'll say this in a gym setting, to use that analogy. No one should care.

Sometimes they do, and that's where people go wrong.

Well, not when you're small. If you're huge, they care. Like, if you have massive arms and you're just Just curling 15s. I think people were going to focus on that a little more. Right?

I don't know. I think you're outing yourself here, Josh. Are you paying attention to what other people are doing in the gym? Shifting gears to Sports Illustrated. If you missed the headline today, it is a disaster what's going on right now with SI.

And Let me just say that media. ESPN used to be the destination inspiring broadcasters. Sports Illustrated was the place sports writers wanted to end up at. But then we get the headline today. And staffers right now, they are going through a living hell.

today because apparently All their full-time staffers. They received an email from management last night instructing them to report to one of two meetings at noon today. And it became clear to employees that one of those beating 50% of the staff. We're gonna be laid off, and the others were going to figure out that they still had their job. But then That meeting never happened because Deadspin was reporting earlier today that both the meetings were canceled just minutes before they were supposed to start.

And the reason why. was because Apparently The full transfer of ownership from Sports Illustrated to Meredith and authentic brand groups. wasn't officially Finished yet. It's not technically. Finished yet.

So, you may have seen these MAVEN sites that are being run. That's under this group that is perfect. Purchase Sports Illustrated that's still being finalized. The staffers, they have no idea what's happening right now. And apparently, A there is somebody at Sports Illustrated who put out this statement.

Just a short while ago, and I'll read it to you just now. I haven't even read this full thing yet. Sports Illustrated has been an iconic brand for 65 years, defined by high-quality storytelling with global recognition as the people who made this publication what it is, to call on ABG to save the future of this story title. Today, Meredith executives were on the brink of announcing major layoffs that would effectively gut Sports Illustrated. The Maven wants to replace top journalists in the industry with a network of Maven freelancers and bloggers while reducing or eliminating departments that have ensured that the stories we Produce and publish meet the highest standards.

With minutes' notice, transition meetings were canceled, with our futures and families hanging in the balance. The way that today's events have been handled suggests that the publication is in unstable hands. These plans would significantly undermine our journalistic integrity, damage the reputation of this long-standing brand, and negatively affect the economic stability of the publication. After the sale of Sports Illustrated to ABG, CEO Jamie Salter cited Sports Illustrated's quote, trusted name and fiercely devoted following, end quote, as key to the success of the brand of the ABG profile. As the editorial backbone of this company, we strongly feel that all of this could be in jeopardy if this deal with the Maven goes through.

If all the concerns alone, all these concerns alone, do not merit changing course, we also understand the MAVEN startup capital loan could be recalled instantly in the event of substantial loss of profit. In addition, we question whether the MAVEN has been forthcoming with ABG About its ability to sustainably and effectively run the publication, we call on Meredith and ABG to drop the Maven and save Sports Illustrated. Wow. So That is is something Very significant. to follow.

Um I don't know. How the current model of Sports Illustrated is going to be sustainable moving forward. ESPN the magazine announced earlier this year that They are finished when it comes to publishing. Actual print editions of the magazine. And I I imagine in the next two or three years that's going to be the case.

with SI, but This is just a massive bummer. With the ESBN layoffs, That was a result of maybe paying too much for properties and also maybe just a change of how we view Sports Center and what we need from highlight shows and such. This seems to be management and something a little bit more sinister where they're trying to change Sports Illustrated into a scout or a 24-7 property, essentially. It's a much more. Gloomy.

Sense of dysfunction with this one, right? At least with ESPN and layoffs that we've seen in the past. There's an explanation, right? We can all defend the we at the time paid too much for all this talent because too fat and happy at ESPN. We can all understand the well, there's not really a need for a TV show dedicated to highlights because we all have that whenever we want on demand and it's in our pockets at any given time.

This is just weird because. You see the headline that layoffs are planned, and that's not as much a surprise anymore. And that, in and of itself, is a bummer, but for it to happen in 2020. To things to transpire in this way, it's deceptive and it implies that somebody is somebody at the core of it is not acting appropriately. Like we can all it sucks.

Look, it's awful when you and I have colleagues that get laid off. Um it's not fun. But there's a business side of it that we can understand. Yes, but this one. We're not talking about the business forward.

We're not talking about that. Right. We're not talking about the common sense of moving forward. If the headline was, okay, they have to lay off writers. And heck, even if the headline was, they can't put out print editions anymore, we'd all understand that.

But. The idea that they thought it was a good idea, first off, to have just two separate meetings and then it be like a dark night situation where you figure out, hey, Are the people on that? Or are they going to press the thing and blows up the boat? That's one, not great business and not great management. And two, calling off the meeting right before speaks to the instability.

And if it is for it not being fully complete, yet you're still trying to shed half the staff? Yeah, the manner in which they tried to call these two meetings is cartoonish, right? I mean, you can envision it in some sort of situational comedy because obviously the employees at Sports Illustrated, smart people. Are going to figure out, oh, one of these meetings is for people no longer going, that are no longer going to be able to work. I got invited to meet me.

Are you going to a meeting? Oh yeah, you're going to a meeting too? Which meeting is that? And we have a new boss? A new company just bought us?

What's this about? Huh.

Okay, let me just do the math real quick. Um Not a big fan of A lot of these things I'm hearing about. all of a sudden. It it is a bummer, and I have a lot of friends at Sports Illustrated. It goes back to ESBN was once the destination for aspiring broadcasters.

SI was once that, I think, for sports writers at this point. ESBN, they stifled personalities the last decade or so because of the importance of properties and the relationships they have with leagues. Jamal Hill, Bill Simmons, Keith Oberman, Dan Lebatar, to a degree. It dates back to DP, where he said many times they weren't looking for another Berman.

So they've stifled personality. SI's model, I don't know if it's sustainable moving forward, but a brand that's as iconic as that one doesn't deserve to have the mismanagement that we're seeing. right here. You are listening to WSGS Winston-Salem, WCOG Greensboro, WMFR High Point, and I always forget one, WPCM Burlington. There it is.

Those signals making up Sports Hub Triad.