Horse or Punk Band?

We're locking loaded! On a Friday drive, Panthers offensive coordinator Joe Brady was speaking with reporters yesterday, and I continued to be impressed with how polished he is beyond his years. He's 30 years young, his football resume backs up his words, and being in the sports observation business I pride myself in being pretty good at recognizing stars. For example, I saw it immediately with Zion last year.

It didn't take much longer with Kobe White with the heels. I remember the Panthers first preseason game with Cam Newton was against the New York Giants. There was a slant route in the slot left side, and as soon as I saw Cam needle it through there, I knew that transitioning from Auburn, where he was awesome, to the NFL wasn't going to be that much of a problem. For Cam, I saw McCaffrey a ton in college at Stanford. I was sold on him way back when before Carolina picked him in the top 10 of the draft.

And in coaching, Joe Brady is a star, and I don't expect him to be in Charlotte for more than three seasons. The players first off, swear by him. I always encourage people, if you want to learn who the it guys and girls are, girls doesn't sound right, it guys and women are in a given industry, ask people within the industry. Because odds are, if you practice the trade, you know who the cream of the crop is. They are the experts.

They have the best perspective. When it comes to Brady, listen to people entrenched in football. The players, they cite him for their excellence. Michael Thomas, when he emerged in 2018, he built a strong relationship with Brady. We saw it with LSU's wide receivers. Justin Jefferson at the combine was talking about Brady being a star for Carolina. Michael Thomas, by the way, went to the national championship game, not just because it was in New Orleans, but to root on Joe Brady.

That's how close of a friendship they have. Drew Brees was reportedly upset when they let Brady go to LSU to be the passing game coordinator. Teddy Bridgewater, I thought way back in February, he would be a better option than Cam over the next five years.

But I ruled it out because I didn't think he was going to be affordable. So I truly believe, to this day, the Panthers didn't screw over Cam. They had every intention to try and bring him back until they learned Teddy would take so much less to be a part of a rebuilding team. The reason he wanted to do that was to get reunited with Joe Brady. Joe talked about how for preseason in 2018, he was responsible for the quarterbacks. And that's when he got close with Teddy.

So there is a close tie there. All of these guys, they cite Brady for their excellence. Then you look at LSU. Joe Burrow, he was an average quarterback with a six-round grade attached to him at this time last year. He became the number one pick in the draft, had the most successful offensive season we've ever seen in the history of college football for a quarterback, and the only thing that changed, this Joe Brady guy got involved.

That's the only thing that changed. Jabbar Chase, wasn't really familiar with him, his freshman season, and then he emerges. Justin Jefferson, pretty good. But LSU, they had a long history of great talent going through their boring, anemic offenses.

Think about it. They had Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr. there at the start of the decade. What did they produce offensively?

They were beating Alabama nine to six in order to get into the national title game back when it was the BCS. Joe Brady transformed LSU's offense. He was the hottest name on the market. Carolina got him.

And now he has a ton of weapons. And I don't think teams have a clue where to begin preparing for him. We've spent a lot of time talking about how Carolina is being hurt by the pandemic. You're not allowed to work with your players. It's a first-time head coach in the NFL, and it's college coordinators coming to the league as well.

There are a lot of negatives in that, but here is one positive. If you're playing the Panthers, week one, let's talk about the Las Vegas Raiders playing the Panthers. What tape are you looking at to prepare for Carolina? Are you looking at LSU? Are you looking at the Saints a few years ago? Because Matt Ruhle wasn't involved in that operation. The current players on this roster, Sands Teddy, not involved in that as well.

So that's a little bit of an advantage for Brady. In fact, we saw it last year. Cliff Kingsbury came from Texas Tech where he got fired to the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals, worst in the NFL in offense, averaging 14 points a game in 18. Last year, they went from dead last to 17th in the league. 17th, bumping things up eight and a half points with Kingsbury not only being the coach, but being the play caller.

So I think there's going to be some advantages in that. This was Joe Brady when he was asked about it yesterday, and ideally what he wants this offense to look like. Every year is going to look different. It's all about finding a vision for each player on your team and figuring out what they do best. And so when we get together in a training camp, once we figure out what our guys do well, then we'll be able to figure out what our offense is going to be. It's a great coaching answer. What I love most about what Coach K does at Duke, what John Calipari has done at Kentucky the last decade, they adapt their style to the personnel versus the other way around. That's a great, subtle answer that's very telling on Brady's part.

Again, polished beyond his age, 30 years old. But Josh, what if the Panthers don't win enough? Don't they have to win a ton in order for Brady to truly get recognized?

I don't really think so. The offense, they can operate and fire on all cylinders with Teddy, McCaffrey, Robbie Anderson, DJ Moore, Curtis Amule, and Carolina still lose a ton of gains because they're awful at defense. Even if a team doesn't win, GMs are very good at spotting talent.

Robert Walsh is the producer of this show. Robert, did you know Sean McVay's Redskins, his last year in 2018 before becoming the Rams coach, was 8-7-1 that year? Not a great look. 8-7-1, we can agree the Rams made a pretty good hire.

For sure. Doug Peterson, when Philadelphia hired him, the Chiefs, they didn't win the division in 2015. They were a wild card team, but they can recognize talent. They saw how effective he was under Andy Reid. Kyle Shanahan, Atlanta pulled him away from Cleveland, which wasn't a very effective place to be in 2014.

Hired him away. So even if a team doesn't win a ton, and I don't expect Carolina to be a contender over the next two years, GMs are pretty good at spotting talent, especially where the sport is going, which is trending towards college, and nobody was as effective as a coordinator in college than Joe Brady was at LSU last year. We're going to be joined by Mr. Game 7 in 20 minutes, Justin Williams. He netted the empty net goal that gave North Carolina its first and only major professional sports championship 14 years ago today. The Hurricanes winning the Stanley Cup, and at that time, RBC Center. And to me, Robert, that championship was so special to me. It remains very special. First off, I'm a North Carolinian, true and true.

I note the history there. You also have the two Super Bowl appearances. The Canes were also in the Cup final in 2002, but that was the season I became a rabid sports fan. Growing up, I watched ACC basketball. I love sports. I just never was emotionally attached to one team.

A lot of people can't believe that, but when you got four that you watch, it becomes very easy to try and watch everybody. The Hurricanes, I remember going to my first hockey game in September or make it November of that season, not thinking the team was going to be that great. They won, I think, an overtime game, and I was hooked immediately.

And I continued to follow it. They won it, and I was a teenager. One of my bigger regrets, I was on vacation with my family when Game 7 happened. So I didn't get a chance to go to the victory parade. My parents, they could care less about hockey, so they were both asleep in a hotel room. I'm watching the game, and when Williams nets the empty netter to clinch it, make it three to one with a minute to go, I just remember pumping my fist in the air. The only thing keeping the room from being pitch black dark was the television. I didn't want to wake my parents up.

So that one vividly sticks out to me. If you think about it, I was too young. I wasn't born when the Baltimore Orioles won in 1983. So the only experience I have of my team, a team that I am a fan for winning a championship, was the Hurricanes 14 years ago today. So we'll celebrate that when we have Mr. Game 7 Justin Williams on at the bottom of the hour. But now that we're going to be without jam-packed stadiums at capacity for the foreseeable future, I'll tell you of the major four sports where home field or home court matters least.

That's next on the drive. So we're not going to have jam-packed stadiums for the foreseeable future. The NBA bubble is not going to feature any fans.

I guess you'll have spectators with team executives and also other players who are watching on. But it had me thinking, what sports do home court and home field advantage matter most and matter least? Because in the case of the NBA, it's been a popular discussion this week. In fact, we were talking to Rick Bunnell of The Observer a couple days ago how these playoffs potentially could go differently because for the first time, the element of home court is not a factor. There's an assumption for decades that home court advantage, having the right to host a Game 7 of a playoff series, is a massive, massive thing that you play all season to acquire. We're finally going to find out how much that really matters because this is going to look, in terms of format, more like the NCAA tournament as far as neutral sites than it is like what we think of as a typical best of seven playoff series. I think home court advantage matters less than home field advantage in baseball and in football, and I think it matters less than home ice and hockey as well.

Speaking of hockey, Justin Williams, Mr. Game 7, is going to join us in a little over 10 minutes. For that reason, I don't see any monumental upsets happening in Orlando than what we would normally see if there was home court. I think we played out the bracket, how we thought things would go, Robert, and I have Milwaukee and the Clippers playing in the finals and I still think the Clippers are going to win it.

That's where I stand. I like the Clippers to win the title, but here's why I'm not a big fan of the idea that home court really matters. In basketball, less communication is necessary than what you have in football, where if you can't get a call somewhere, somebody misses a block, misses an assignment, fans that can have that effect with crowd noise, you're only talking about five players on the floor versus 11 in football. And it's a lot more compact, so it won't be that more difficult to have a coach communicate things when he's right there.

And the players, they can all kind of see what's happening on all areas of the floor in a way that you just can't in football. And it's pretty easy to spell out why home court advantage in basketball is less valuable than say home ice or home field in baseball because there are built-in rule advantages in those two sports. Hockey, you get last change. Baseball, you get the bat in the bottom of the ninth.

You get the bat in the bottom of the inning. So I think we might overplay this idea of home court. It might be a tiebreaker in basketball if you see it going to a seven-game series, but I think it's overemphasized in that sport. Popular belief suggests opponents, this is what popular belief, I think, of where home court helps you the most. It's lack of communication for the opposition and being able to have a familiar routine being at home.

Those are the biggest advantages that you get. The reality in talking to coaches is this. The biggest advantage of being at home in football, in basketball, in baseball, or in hockey is potentially getting calls from the referee because the officials, they're human.

If a call is close, human nature suggests they're more likely to give the call to the team that has all the supporters set to cheer what they do if they make that call or don't versus making a call that would go against the crowd and then you would have to deal with that. The science is out there. You can find this. So out of the four major sports, being at home matters the least in the NBA. Don't look now, Robert, but horse racing is coming back in our lives. We already got NASCAR, got some KBO baseball, we do the Dinos daily, even though I think that's turned into more of a weekly bet. We have NASCAR, I think midweek, that's a major thing that we've talked about.

Golf is back in our lives. This weekend in South Carolina, competing at Hilton Head, it's the RBC Heritage. Horse racing, tomorrow, it's the Belmont Stakes. The Belmont Stakes. So I want to bring back one of our favorite annual games. It is, is it a horse that's actually competing in the Belmont Stakes or is it an obscure punk band?

That is the game that we're playing. Robert, I have five names here. All you have to do is tell me, is it an actual horse in the Belmont Stakes or is it an obscure punk band?

Are you ready? Fire away with those names. Let's start with Chrome.

I'm not going to go back to a horse unless maybe they ran so fast that they were sleek like Chrome. I'm going to go with an indie band here. It is a band. A popular song that you could check out by Chrome, Half Machine Lip Moves.

I'll be sure to check that out. Sounds really good. Second name, Going Green. That's a horse.

Final answer? Yep. It's a band.

Dead Gum Hippies. One right. Phrases are usually horses, I feel like. One wrong. Third name?

Horse. Christ on Parade. Christ on Parade. See, I feel like the third one is usually where you switch people around.

You've got to get their perceptions going in one certain way. You've given me two bands back to back and you're making me wonder, would he give me three bands back to back to back? You might be overthinking this. Christ on Parade.

I'm going to go with a horse. It's a band. I knew it was a band. You're overthinking this? No, I was thinking exactly right. Next name, Farmington Road. That's a horse. Final answer?

Farmington Road. Dude, if you gave me four straight bands and one horse, I would be very upset. I'm going to say it's a band. I mean, I'm going to say it's a horse.

What is your final answer? It's a horse. It's a horse. You can get this horse at 15 to 1 odds to win the Belmont Stakes tomorrow.

And lastly, is it a horse or a band? Tis the law. It all comes down to this, right?

I'm two and two. That's right. This is what it comes down to. Horse or obscure punk band. Alright, so what's the name again? Tis the law. What are some of their hit songs?

Can you give me the odds for them at the race? Is there an apostrophe in tis or is it just tis? T-I-Z. T-I-Z. Is there any?

Tis the law. I'm going to guess that horse's real name is Tis, so I'm going to say it's a horse. Final answer? Yeah, final answer. It's a horse! Yeah!

That's what I'm talking about! Tis the law is the favorite to win the Belmont Stakes tomorrow. 6 to 5 odds. That game will really get your blood pumping.

I like playing dumb games just like the next guy, but I really hate losing. Do you want me to come up with five more names? Yes, please!

That was a lot of fun. Then we'll do it later on in the show. Yeah, we will.

We'll line that up. We also have the last list for List Week. In about 20 minutes, I will list off the five most important games in North Carolina sports history. Our state's history, the five most important games. And the reason we're doing that is because 14 years ago today, the Carolina Hurricanes won North Carolina's first and only major professional sports championship. Of course, talking about the NBA, NFL, and NHL, the three major professional sports we have, until I guess we can consider Major League Soccer one of those starting next year. We still don't have a name for the team yet. I hope they don't call them like Charlotte FC or something like that. You know that'll make me mad, right? I don't need to go down the rant about how we're trying to make American sports British or trying to mimic the British with all of our sports.

Maybe I'll save that for another week. But Justin Williams, 14 years ago, Mr. Game 7, he had the goal that cemented the Hurricanes title. He's still with the Canes. They're getting set to report for training camp on July the 10th. We don't know where the Canes are going to be playing or when the NHL is going to come back into our lives. Maybe Justin Williams has some answers for us. He certainly will have some memories next on the drive.

I don't want to sell our next guest short as I want to get my facts straight. I sold Will Jones short a win when I was citing his record since becoming the interim coach of the Aggies in the middle of last year. He had a 14-5 mark after taking over for Coach Joiner and then he won 12 of the 16 MEAC games he had as the acting coach. So I don't think anybody was surprised to find yesterday his interim tag was removed. He's the head coach of the NCAA basketball program.

Will Jones, welcome to the show. How are you spending the holiday? Today being Juneteenth. Oh man, you still got to take care of family. I'm out with the wife.

She's doing her shopping. I'm going to pick up the kids here in a little bit. So we're trying to keep the schedule pretty interesting right now. Dick Vitale, he was on this show about a month ago and he was praising you by name talking about what you did at A&T last season and now you're the head coach. If I were to tell you, let's say around a year ago, that this was going to happen, what would you have told me?

I would have told you it wouldn't have happened. I thought we were in a good place at A&T just trying to build this program and I was just doing my job as an assistant coach trying to help Coach Joiner win a championship. So it was something obviously as an assistant coach you want to be a head coach, but I thought that if I helped Coach Joiner get this program to a championship level then my blessings would probably come somewhere else at another university.

But obviously God has some better plans in mind for me. What was the biggest thrill about yesterday when it all became official? Because you said you dream of being a head basketball coach. Now you are at the place you were an assistant at.

You were at a winner last year. So what was the most fulfilling part? Just being able to officially say that I'm the head coach.

It's been a process of not wanting to overstep my boundaries, of saying anything that wasn't true. So now that the official call comes, I'm happy to be the coach of the Aggies and really excited about where we're going, where we're going to take this program going forward. I understand when you were in college, you were incredible academically. You excelled at South Carolina State, but I saw that you graduated with a degree in sports communications. If it wasn't coaching, what would you be doing? I tell you what, it initially started off, I wanted to be an athletic director.

Just not really knowing I'm from a small town. I've always been a sports person. And championships was something that I knew about coming out of high school.

When you work for Coach Alexander at South Carolina State and championships is the only thing he's talking about. I had an admiration for him. I had an admiration for what he has done and how he helped numerous student athletes reach their potential. I actually accepted a job with Sears and Roebuck out of college. He paid me $55,000 and Coach Alexander came back from the Final Four and called me over his home and said, Coach, I'm going to take the job at Tennessee State and I want you to come with me. So I turned the job down that was paying me more than the average college graduate would be paying right out of college to go take $700 to be the GA at Tennessee State, $700 a month.

I took the gamble on myself and it took 19 years, but man, it paid off big time for me. What do you feel your role is outside of basketball in terms of responsibility of taking care of your players? It's a conversation that people have had, whether it be Mike Gundy at Oklahoma State or other spots across the country, a responsibility to be socially conscious with what happened to George Floyd in Minnesota, the protests and such. But even more so, you being at a place that is so important in the history of civil rights in Greensboro, at North Carolina A&T, at an HBCU, what do you feel your responsibility is outside of basketball, Coach Jones? The responsibility that not just coaches at HBCUs, but coaches in general, you know, they call us coach, but leadership is what we should have our degree in.

Leadership is first and foremost. Yes, we go into homes and ask young men to come play for us on our campuses, but teaching these young men about leadership, helping guide them and show them the way that can help them be successful and to help them figure out life as fast as we can. And so that when it's time for them to, that basketball to stop bouncing, that they have a blueprint for what they need to do to use that degree to have an impact on this world. And I think that, you know, now in this society, especially kids, you know, African American kids that's playing at the PWI schools and especially ours that are playing on the campus of HBCUs, they can see what value they bring.

The platform is made. They have power in their voice. And I think going forward, I think over the next, you know, 10, 25 years, I think those athletes as well as coaches are going to try to help them make change and demand it by using their platforms. We're being joined by A&T head coach Will Jones. Spencer Turkin's a good friend, broadcast the Aggies, and he said that there was already a league game scheduled for next year on Martin Luther King Day for you guys. But I saw that Howard is set to host Notre Dame.

Kevin Keats was with us earlier in the week. And when asked about the proposal of HBCUs playing ACC schools next MLK Day, said he would be supportive of that. Is that something you've been discussing? Would you be in support of HBCUs playing A&T next year? Or ACC schools playing HBCUs? You know, we've played ACC schools in the past. You know, it would be a good thing, you know, if they wanted to show up on our campus and play in Club Corbett. But, you know, what my vision for our program is, is to try to put us in the best position to make our national brand pop out more than it ever has. And, you know, if that involves us playing an ACC school on campus, fine.

If it doesn't, I'm fine with it too. I think our focus right now is to continue to bring in the best players that we can at North Carolina A&T and continue to win and win championships. Well said, Coach. It's good to hear your voice.

Congratulations on the announcement yesterday. We look forward to having you on again sometime soon. Oh, man, it's going to be a pleasure.

Hopefully you'll invite me back very shortly. I don't want you taking my boy Coach Forbes over there too much. We got to share the wealth. Well, tell me this. Tell me this.

What relationship do you have with Coach Forbes? Because that guy, we love, you have a lot to live up to. If you two are going head to head on the radio in terms of entertaining guests, he's coming to the table saying that he didn't know that his moped required, oh wait, he didn't want us to call it a moped. That his scooter didn't require oil. He forgot to put gas in the damn thing.

Can you top that? Did you ever have a scooter? Listen, I've never had a scooter, but Coach Forbes, it's unbelievable our careers, him being named the head coach here at Wake Forest and me being named the head coach at NCAA A&T. When I left the junior college to leave to go to Charleston Southern, I left because my boss, he had a brain tumor.

So he had to give up his position. I had left probably about four or five months before he got that condition. After the season, Coach Forbes came in to be the head coach at the same junior college. So we became family instantly because Northwest Florida is one of the top junior colleges in the country. It's just amazing that both of us kind of landed in the same spot in the triad. And I tell you what, both of us, I know they're going to do a good job of bringing in kids and making that program successful.

We're going to do the same thing at A&T. Give me the instance Steve Forbes made you laugh loudest. Coach Forbes, he's one of the best in the business, you know what I mean?

I can't even remember what he says or how he says it. I just know he's very intense, man. He brings life to whatever room he's in. He's going to do a good job at Wake Forest. Well, we're definitely going to have a long-standing relationship with the success you've had at A&T and you being right here in the triad with us, both with Coach Forbes and you at A&T. Congratulations once again and thank you for working us in today. It's appreciated, Coach. I appreciate it, man. And good luck to you guys down the road.

Look forward to having you. There you go. That is the head coach of A&T basketball, Will Jones. He's on Twitter at willjones1911. Will Jones 1911.

You can shoot him a follow on social media. Okay. We got a top 10 list to do today, Robert. But before we get to that, I do like the idea of having Coach Forbes and Will Jones just on the radio trying to one-up each other when it comes to stories.

Like, I'm all about it. We had C.J. Johnson earlier in the week. He was bringing heat.

Winston-Salem Dash president and general manager. Will Jones with a neat story there right there at the end. I almost feel like an NBA All-Star judge. Am I having to judge one out of ten the performance, the performances of the guest, how well they do on the show? Because I feel like I would be like Shaq or like Clyde Drexler and just give tens every single time. After every single interview, I'd just be like giving a ten, overscoring these things.

I feel like you would be ruthlessly rough. I think that's how it goes with hosts. Even guys like Howard Stern will never tell you who their worst guest was.

They're never going to say that. And I can try and sometimes guests don't really hit the mark for me. And you're always there to defend them. So I think you hit the nail right in the head. I would definitely be cold and analytical and you would be forgiving.

And during the breaks, Robert always is cold and analytical. But always tell me when the guests come on the phone. I do what I can. Yeah. All right. It's the 14th anniversary of the Stanley Cup run for the Hurricanes.

They're winning it, them winning it on June 19th of 2006. So I'll stop by Top 10 Cups next on the drive. Ready?

Yes. Punch up the audio for me now. You're on the drive with Josh Graham on Sports Hub Triad. Fourteen years ago, Justin Williams hit the empty net goal to seal the Carolina Hurricanes winning the Stanley Cup. That was in 2006. If you missed our conversation with Justin an hour ago, it's already up on iTunes, Apple podcast, Google Play on our podcast channel. Just search the drive with Josh Graham and you can stream that on demand.

Make sure to subscribe as well there. In honor of the Canes winning and this being the anniversary, I've listed off my top 10 cups. It's been list week, but those lists have been sports heavy list with no wordplay or anything that's fun like we generally do with the top 10 listed around this time. This one's a slightly different than that.

Robert, do you have any guesses what might make it on the top 10 list? Have you killed the yelling? Is the yelling no more?

I think the yelling has been retired. Well, you just give me one. Oh, yeah, then it's Friday. Come on. Oh, yeah.

Is that your positivity voice? Guesses, guesses, guess. Don't say them out loud. Write them down just in case they might actually be on the list. I guess so.

Just start thinking. I have my top 10 cups. I feel very good about number two and number three. I also like number nine a lot. Number 10. My number 10 cup.

10 cup. You are a sad, strange little man. If you like number nine so much, why is it at number nine?

Sometimes things are objectively better and just don't have the wordplay that I like. Well, let's see number nine. Number nine. Jaromir Jagr.

If I wanted a joke, I'd follow you into the john and watch you take a leak. Is that Steve Martin? You got it. Right on the nose. Planes, trains, and automobiles? The only movie that, if you're talking about quotable movies Steve Martin's in, well, that's not true. I feel like a lot of the quotes come from planes, trains, and automobiles. When I think about egregious product placement, I think about Cheaper by the Dozen and all the food they ate as a family. Here's Quiznos.

Even Space Jam was really bad about that. He's like, hey Michael, what do you want to do? You want to go get a Big Mac and maybe drink a Coke? It's like five different things. Strap on your Nikes, let's go get a Big Mac and drink a Coke. It's like, okay, we get it.

You guys are trying to make some money. Number eight. My number eight cup. Goblet Ismail.

Your mom goes to college. Goblet Ismail. What is this dude's real name? Rocket Ismail. Why did he become Goblet? Goblet Ismail.

This guy was tremendous for Notre Dame. Number seven. My number seven cup. Mean Genie in a Bottle. Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn. Okay, I'm upset because you could have had Mean Genie in a Bottle Okerlund.

That's kind of where we're headed there. Either way. I wouldn't expect you to put a wrestling reference in there for me. That was a wrestling reference. Who did you say?

Mean Genie in a Bottle. I don't think I have to say Okerlund. If you're talking about Mean Jean, I think you know who you're talking about. Is there another Mean Jean I'm unfamiliar with? There's Mean Joe Green. There's Billy Jean King.

I don't know another Mean Jean. What is number five? Number five. Or number six, Robert. Oh, what is number six? My number six cup. A pitcher. And I'll tell you another thing.

Frankly, you're beginning to smell. I think he's talking about this segment. What's in Robert Walsh's pitcher? Like, is it a pick? I guess since you're talking cup, you're talking like a pitcher of liquid?

Yeah. This weekend, it will probably be... I'm an ice man. I don't hate the melted ice as much as everyone else does, so if I was starting with a whole pitcher, I'm also on a seltzer kick. I'm trying not to do the whole juice. I hate seltzer. My rapper keeps trying to get me into it.

I can't do it. I'm not a fan either, but I feel a lot better because I like a lot of mixed drinks, and where I drink gin, so if you're drinking gin and juice, yeah. You're a gin guy? I love gin. Everybody says it makes them fight or makes them mad, and now I'm switching to seltzer, so I guess I would start off with a lot of ice and then add my gin, let that chill, and then add a nice raspberry seltzer. Well, I'll tell you what you should put that drink in.

Number five. Hell no. How about Red Hope Solo Cup?

You're the biggest brown nose I've ever seen. Just a good old Red Hope Solo Cup. I would drink anything out of Hope Solo Cup.

Red Hope Solo Cup. Oh, yeah. I got it right. Yeah. She might beat your ass, though.

I would pay her to beat my ass. All right, then. Go and read that police report.

Number four. I should also note that Robert's wearing a Ray Rice shirt today. I don't know that.

This is pre... No. Why did no one care when Hope Solo completely destroyed somebody and then allowed her to compete in a World Cup, but then Ray Rice is just completely ostracized and out of football, and I'm not saying he shouldn't have been. I'm saying, well, Hope Solo probably should have been kicked off that soccer team. Big difference.

She wasn't caught on video. Number four. Moving it along. My number four cup.

A&T Cup. Yo! Hold up! Time out! You know what movie that's from?

I don't. Do the Right Thing, which I actually watched last night. Great movie.

Great flick. You dropped the $3.99 to do so? I did.

I didn't snitch on anybody. But, yeah. There you go. I don't get the reference. Well, no, it's like if you were going to go on Amazon Prime or something to watch it, it costs like $3.99. Josh, how well do you know me?

I am not paying anybody diddly squat if I cannot tangibly touch something. Robert is a heathen. Number three. My number three cup. Mitch Cupcheck.

I feel like a slice of butter melting on top of them. Is that better than Cooper Cup? Mitch Cupcheck versus Cooper Cup? I like Cupcheck because when I played baseball in middle school, we played the Cupcheck game and we would always play and our coach would always be like, make sure you wear a cup, make sure you wear a cup. And the one time you Cupcheck our coach, he's not wearing his cup. Oh! Come on, coach. That's a different kind of Cupcheck than I was talking about.

I'm talking about Mitch Cupcheck. Yeah, I'm talking about, it works two ways. I like it.

Phrasing, you know? Number two. My number two cup.

Chalice at the Palace. Oh, my God. I don't even want to play this noise. That should have been number one.

I'll even give you the kids for that. That was good. Okay, well, check this out.

First of all, you're throwing too many big words at me. That Chalice at the Palace is maybe your best top ten list thing ever. Yeah! Chalice at the Palace.

I need to know what number one is. Chalice at the Palace. When you think about the Chalice at the Palace, do you immediately go to our test? Because I've told this story on the air. The thing I always go to is Jamal Tinsley grabbing a dustpan and wanting to go to war with it. Like, you can find the video of Jamal Tinsley with a dustpan trying to fight off some people before being pushed back into the tunnel. I do go to Ron Artest, and I think about how little, like, staying power he had. Because first thing, dude runs up, they do like the eye lock, and then Artest goes pow pow, gives him two. And no dude stands there and takes it. This is Ron Artest, an NBA player, who should probably be able to knock you out in one punch. But then this fat dude that wanted to start this brawl eats two punches from him?

Ron Artest can't have that much punching power. Number one. My number one cup. Bugsy Bows. Oh my god, you were a pimp. What? God no.

No, I was just trying to help a friend. I thought pimp cup might be number one, so I pulled some pimp audio, and it was not. Chalice at the Palace should have been number one. Muggsy Bogues, Robert. Gators bleeps don't wear any. We've got John Forslund who's going to join us at 5.30.

You explain this to him, then. You explain John Forslund how Muggsy Bogues is over Chalice in the Palace. Chalice at the Palace.

Chalice at the Palace. My cup runneth over, Josh. I just want you to put the good one number one. Muggsy Bogues. I mean, you understand why Muggsy Bogues is number one on this list.

No! Muggsy Bogues went the Wake Forest and was a legend, one of the more lovable hornets ever. And his name starts with Mug. Is a mug a cup?

Yes, a mug's a cup. Is a book bag and a backpack the same thing? Yes. No.

They are not. What's the difference between a book bag and a backpack? You're not going to take a laptop book bag out into the wilderness for a camping trip. But you would take a backpack.

And also, I'm not going to take one of those Swiss backpacks to school and lug around all my books in it. Other things that didn't make the cut. Devin Vasell. A vase is definitely not a cup. Justin Greycup. That is a cup. A cup of coffee? A cup of coffee. Dennis Potvin? No clue who that is.

A pot is also not a cup! Where do you come up with that? I'm glad that was done on the list.

Coming up! Oh my gosh. Why I'm convinced Joe Brady is going to be an NFL head coach. He's NFL head coaching material.

And it's going to happen sooner rather than later. Keep it on the drive. That is the voice of the legendary Chuck Caton. Who that night 14 years ago was sitting next to our next guest.

John Forslund. The voice of the Canes. Fox Sports Carolinas.

NHL on NBC. Actually sometimes, Chuck's one of the more impressioned guys out there. Usually John sits next to Chuck when I talk to him. Is Chuck Caton actually there, John Forslund?

Right now? He could be. He could be at any minute. He might be hiding around the corner here, Josh. You never know. He hasn't come out yet. He might have during the course of this interview. We'll see. Alright, we'll see if Chuck Caton makes a return on things. Also, the Belmont Stakes is tomorrow. Robert Walsh wants another crack at our game that we play every year.

Is it an actual pop or a punk rock band? Or is it the name of a racehorse that will be competing tomorrow? We'll get to that a little bit later on.

But we had Justin Williams on the show a few hours ago. He was sharing memories of 2006. From your vantage point, the image that stands out the most from June 19th of 06 is what? I think the most iconic image I have is when the cup was handed over to Rod Brind'Amour. And I think that moment and how that moment was captured really embodies what that celebration is about, the championship is about. And for that player in this franchise, if you look at it again and you look at the electricity running through his body, you know, every year you kind of get to this moment where the team captain gets the cup from the commissioner. Unlike other sports where the trophy is handed over usually to an owner and then to a president or general manager. Then it gets to the coach. Then it might get to the MVP. But in hockey, it's been tradition that the commissioner hands the cup to the captain of the team. And then it gets through all the players. And then it finally makes its way to coaches and management and ownership and so on.

So that one moment for me, and there's been a couple within the last 20 years, it would be that one. And then when Raymond Bork was given the cup back in 2001 with the Colorado Avalanche. After all, he went through with the Boston Bruins and should have never left the Bruins.

Because of a contract he did. Ended up with the Avalanche and then he finally won the silver chalice. So those moments really stand out. And the canes, that iconic moment of Brenda Moore hoisting that thing over his head is something I'll never forget. Speaking of Chuck Caton, Doc Emmerich, I remember he told me, I don't know if it was last year or before that, but after the empty net goal from Williams, he grabbed a celebratory cigar and threw it. He was able to throw from the national TV booth into the radio booth a cigar at Chuck Caton as a way to say congratulations. Do you remember anything like that?

I do. I mean, I remember everything about that broadcast after our television responsibilities were over. I was lucky enough to work with him throughout the playoffs as his color analyst. And I remember that and I remember being in the booth. I remember my son, who's 22 now, was in the booth at the time.

A suit and tie on, a red tie sitting right next to me. I remember those moments. And I remember looking down at the fans that sit right beneath us and the tears of joy and the looks of elation. I can still see it. I can still see it today. So it's phenomenally special. You just can't forget opportunities to be part of something like that and certainly the hype for this franchise.

How much has sports, as Father's Day comes up on Sunday, how much has sports been a connective tissue in your family? Not just, as you mentioned, your son, eight years old at that time, in the booth with you for Game 7, but you had a daughter as well. I think her name was Erica. I don't want to get her name wrong. You got it. That's our oldest, yeah. That's right.

She went to UNC Greensboro in the Triad and graduated last year. How much has sports been a connective tissue for you guys as a lot of people reflect on Father's Day Sunday? Well, big time. The family here, it's interesting. I'm dad here, right?

Like most people would be. They've all had their own interests. My son pursued hockey and is currently a college player at Lebanon Valley College in Hershey, Pennsylvania. He's taken it to Canada where he spent a year of junior hockey in Nova Scotia.

He's pursuing that along with his studies. My daughters have had their interests along the way. I don't think everybody's been completely wrapped up in hockey, but they certainly have been wrapped up in the Carolina Hurricanes. It's a big part of our family and going to games. Being part of those playoff runs is special for everybody. For my oldest daughter, Erica, who's now a graduate student at Clemson, she has fond memories. She can go all the way back to that series in 2006 and remember distinctly various moments that happened within the series.

Never mind just the Game 7. More or less a blur, I think, for my son, but he's only 14 months in back of her. But sports are connective tissue for families and certainly for dads with their sons, with their daughters, whether they participate or whether everybody's just a fan. It's a way to connect and share something in common.

And that usually leads you down a really good road from a family standpoint. Speaking of Clemson, I see we've been seeing a lot of these reports this week as testing goes up, you see a lot of COVID positives and Clemson just released a press release saying that they tested 300 athletes, 315 athletes and staff this week. 28 tested positive for COVID.

So that's looking at probably about 8 to 10 percent of them testing positive. The National Hockey League set July 10th for being the date that they return athletes to training camp. We don't know when they plan to have a postseason. We don't know where, but that when they do or if they do, it'll be 24 teams. How optimistic is John Forslund that we'll get that?

I'm 50-50. They're supposed to go to training camp on July 10th. None of that's been agreed to.

They're supposed to play in and around the end of July, the beginning of August. That's not agreed to. The NHL is trying to carve out an extension to the CBA in concert with this return to play format, which I think is very smart. You see what's going on in baseball. I think they're kind of caught up in a pandemic and they're also caught up in a myriad of problems they have internally in terms of the economics of the sport, which I fear is going to lead baseball at some point to a strike or lockout.

I can see that coming. I hear a lot of the rhetoric, and it's very similar to what was being said about hockey back in 2004 when the owners locked out for an entire season. Gary Petman and the owners were finally able to force-feed a salary cap on the players. Football, basketball, and hockey have all gone through that process. Baseball has yet to do it. I think they're just playing with some phony money right now, and I think that's dangerous.

I think the NHL will get there. In terms of the testing that's happening in these cases, I look at it as a positive because, listen, Josh, if we had the testing that's available today back in March, we might not be in this predicament. But the problem was we didn't, and not enough people were able to access tests.

And because of that, we went through a long stretch of time where it's led us down this horrible road where the economy was shut down for a long period of time and then we're kind of playing from behind here. So when people are tested and if they're positive, that could lead to illness, God forbid, and that could lead to some level of fatality. The odds of that happening are very little, but in some cases, you don't even know you have it, but at least you're tested. And if these athletes went to work today to try and train and were told, hey, you have it, they might not even know they have symptoms. So they go away for a while, you trace it, you contain it, and then you move forward. So I think the NHL has enough time to isolate these cases, get players back to where they need to be for their training camps, clear everybody so that when they get to the bubble at the end of July in the two hub cities, they'll go as a collective group of 50. And virtually everybody has been tested almost every day for two weeks, and they should be all right to get through it. And that's the bottom line. So that's how I look at these things. We really don't know where a positive test leads anybody other than it's a case. And the cases are startling right now in our state and other states.

We're kind of going through this spike, and hopefully they'll be able to contain it, not overwhelm the hospitals. Follow him on Twitter at John Forslund. He's the voice of the Carolina Hurricanes. I want to see if Eddie Olchek's horse racing knowledge has rubbed off on you a little bit.

Tap it to win. Is that a horse or a rock band? Oh, it's just a total guess.

I'll say a horse. I have no clue. You nailed it! See, Robert doesn't know any of these either, but he had a lot of trouble 20 minutes ago, and Johnny, one for one, and we're going to have him go out on top.

Oh, wait! Is Chuck Caton there? I forgot to ask if Chuck Caton's there on the way out. He just walked in, and it's my hope that everyone stays safe, and Happy Father's Day to all. Thanks, Chuck, and thanks, John Forslund. It's good to hear your voice, man, and Chuck's voice, and I hope to catch up sometime soon. Stay safe. You got it. Take care, John. There he goes. That's John Forslund. He's on Twitter again at John Forslund.

I would be willing to bet he hasn't pulled out that impression in over a decade. So, might be a bit rusty. Are you ready to go? You got the first batch, three right, two wrong.

Second batch, two right, three wrong. So, this is for all the marbles. I have five more horses or bands.

It is, is it a Belmont Stakes horse competing tomorrow, or is it an obscure punk band? This is for all the marbles. I'm ready. I'm nervous.

The stupid stuff we do on here, usually I just go with the flow, but I really don't want to lose at this. Number one, Mission of Burma horse or band? Mission of Burma, and that's spelled Burma like the country, correct? Yeah.

Mission of Burma. Do I have to do five of these? Oh, we got time. We got time.

I've got five. Okay. God. You've been taking a lot longer. I know. I'm trying to think and try to work in my mind how I could make this a horse.

Thinking doesn't help you. It's a band. It is a band. Off to a good start.

Let's go. Their best song is Academy Fight Song. I might listen to that now. Second name, Dr. Post, horse or band? Doctor sounds a lot like a horse. I feel like I would name.

But I can also be like an opening up for so-and-so, it's Dr. Post. Dr. Post, horse or band? I'm just gonna go with band. It's a horse.

Five to one odds tomorrow to win. Third name, nomadic, horse or band? Nomadic. Can you spell that? P-N-E-U-M-A-T-I-C, nomadic. Do you know what nomadic means?

I don't. It's spelled kind of like pneumonia. There you go. That's the prefix. The prefix P-N-E-A, I think, right? P-N-E-U-M-A-T-I-C.

I think that means cold or down, but I don't. Let's figure out if Robert's definition is right for nomadic. First, tell me if it's a horse or a band. I'm gonna say that's a horse. It's a horse.

Eight to one odds. The definition though, containing or operated by air or gas under pressure. Okay. I didn't think nomadic meant cold or down. I was saying the prefix, but either way. Fourth name, max player, horse or band? You get this right.

You're through, man. You win if you get this one right. Get out of my head, Josh. Max player, is it a horse or a band? I'm gonna say it's a band. Final answer? I don't know, Josh. I don't know. Just take it.

I'm gonna say band. It's a horse. Fifteen to one odds. Why does it always come down to the last one? Dude, I just... This is for the win. Pitchfork. Horse or band? Pitchfork. Pitchfork. Pitchforks are used on the farm. Pitchforks are used to, you know, shovel... I'm aware of their work. Their work. So now you're gonna tell me they're a band.

I'm aware of how pitchforks are used. Is DJ still here? Can I phone a friend? DJ! You're in a soundproof studio, Robert.

DJ! I think you pulled this because Pitchfork would make me think it's horse. I'm gonna say it's a band. Final answer?

Final answer. It's a band. Let's go! Crank up music! They have a hit called Thin Ice.

Let's go! I was on Thin Ice every single game, Josh. Always down to the last one. But you know what? I believed in myself.

I believed in this thought process that probably does me more harm than good. But you know what? At the end of the day, I stand atop the mountain that is deciding whether a name is a horse or a punk-pop band.

Very well said. Today's an emotional day, man. Two worlds colliding where it's Juneteenth. It's the 2006 Stanley Cup championship for the Hurricanes. I've spelled out that that's pretty special for me being a North Carolina sports fan my entire life. Also, it's Father's Day weekend and I'm looking forward to spending some time with my dad because this is the first Father's Day that my dad doesn't have his dad to spend it with. So spending a lot of time thinking about him. Grieving is difficult during a pandemic where I lost my grandfather a few months ago and we haven't been able to get together as a family. So in a couple weeks we planned to do that. But yeah, just thinking a lot about my dad and thankful for our relationship because he was once a sportscaster when he was in college. And then he pursued a life in law enforcement and he's living a lot vicariously through what I do. He's my biggest fan and I'm a big fan of his. So thinking a lot about that.

And I encourage you spend a lot of time with your dads if you're lucky enough to do so. All right. What do we got in ticket to the house today? You want to go to space with me? Sure. That's next on the drive.