Yes, Josh Graham has opinions. There is nothing that entertains the audience and the masses more than me being bothered. And yes, he's got attitude. Really, none of the game made sense to me. And that's exactly why you love him.
When this all gets sorted out, I think you and me should get an apartment together. You're on the drive with Josh Graham. You are on Monday Drive, WSJS, News Talk Sports for the Triad, where we are live at the National Sports Media Association's Awards Banquet. Yes, live action, Tracy. Downtown Winston-Salem, more specifically, we're at the Marriott or.
As Darren Botts pointed out to me, it's actually pronounced Marriott. gotten through thirty years of life calling it Marriott and I don't plan on changing now. The Marriott, Marriott. Sight of sports casting seminars all day yesterday and today. And then once we're off the air, we'll be at the convention center watching the likes of Ion Eagle get recognized.
Ion's going to be. Our first guest in about a dozen minutes or so. He's the National Sportscaster of the Year. But before we get to him, for several reasons, we've got to talk about Victor Webanyama.
Somebody whose name I'm sure has been butchered just as many times as people butcher Marriott and Marriott. Ever since he was drafted last Thursday night, he's been at the center of the NBA news cycle. And let's start with the headline that's most related to the Charlotte Hornets. We learned yesterday, W.D. That Victor Webbinyama's debut in a Spurs uniform.
Summer League Edition will be against the Hornets on Friday, July the 7th. Mark your calendars. Not this Friday, but the following Friday in Las Vegas. As A pouring salt in the wound gesture from Adam Silver and Company. Just a reminder of who the Hornets almost got.
Brandon Miller going up against Victor Webanyama. I'm not emotionally attached to the team. You are.
So how How does that how do you expect you're gonna feel if you watch Victor inevitably torch whoever's on the floor wearing a Hornet's uniform in about a week and a half? I mean, I think it's to be expected. I mean, I I think that that staying and that burn of Not getting Victor. It's worn off by now. It's subsided.
It's Miller time. I'm super excited about Brandon Miller. It's Miller time. Did you just say that? It's Miller time.
What's the better t-shirt for Brandon Miller? I've seen a couple. I've seen it's Millard Time. I've seen Let's Go Brandon. Which one do you want to use?
I want the Miller time. I don't. Yeah, let's stick with that one. Hey, stick the sports, sports guy.
Okay. No, it it actually has me intrigued with Summer League. I, frankly, haven't really cared much about Summer League. I feel like it's. like watching a lesser version of preseason basketball.
But With Zion in 2019, I was super engaged with that. And I suspect I'll be super engaged watching Victor 2 just because there is a circus element to this.
Now, It's not because of you know I I I say that in a In a reverential way, that we've never seen a talent quite like him, just like I said it in a reverential way when it came to Zion.
Well, what's it gonna look like when he goes against NBA athletes?
Okay, turns out he's pretty efficient and pretty dominant, just like he was in high school and at Duke. But what's different is. is that Victor is coming from France, and we didn't get a chance to watch as much of Victor, obviously, as we would a guy that's right in our backyard with Zion.
So there's going to be the appeal there and the Summer League schedule, it is out. And Victor's been so impressive. In interviews and in the clips that you see, it's almost boring. Which, can you. Think of a better description for a San Antonio Spur than that.
You're so impressive, you're boring. David Robinson checks that box. Tony Parker, Mono Genobly, of course, Tim Duncan, they all check those boxes. It's mastery, but even more impressive, maybe not more, but maybe equally as impressive as his mastery of so many basketball related things at his height. Is his mastery of the language, despite the fact he's coming from France?
Like, he Is saying all the right things, even though English is clearly his second language. Here he was after getting drafted when asked who his five greatest players ever were if he had to create a lineup to save the planet. I think was the way the question was framed, the Victor. I'm gonna go with uh Steph, Jordan, Brom, Timmy, Shep. Not you, you're not including yourself?
What's it? You're not including yourself in that. Haven't proven anything, man. Any issues with that list? No, I I I don't.
Do you do you have an issue with that? Staff's already on that list? I get it. Who? Steph.
Sure. He did. No, he did. He is the greatest shooter ever, but. And he is younger, so we get that.
Yeah. I mean Where's Bill Russell? On this list. Maybe. Maybe overseas, there isn't as much familiarity with the history piece of it.
I want to be fair. Two Victor Web and Yama. Don't want to torch him by any means for those reasons. Please tell me, W.D., that you saw the picture from over the weekend. This might be, we might have buried the lead here at the NSMA.
100%. This picture If you haven't seen this picture. You should look it up as long as you're not in your car driving. If you're watching on YouTube or Twitch or Twitter. at WSGS Radio, continue doing that.
We strongly encourage it. But if you haven't seen the picture that I'm alluding to here, it's Victor standing next to Spurs Luminaries. Including Wait great Tim Duncan. And manu genoably. And the Admiral David Robinson.
And he makes all of those people look like the sports writers who are at the seminar in front of me right now, and and myself included. That's In other words, makes them look very small. That's That's the best way I could describe it. He makes Tim Duncan. Yeah.
Very, very small. And I don't think I I think y it goes it just feeds the idea that we've had for a long time, W D, that We just need to give this guy a TV show where he picks up things and stands next to people and does normal things. Watch it for hours. Just everyday life. That's the everyday life of Vic.
Do you think any of those people. We're thinking in the back of their minds that this is going to go viral when they put this picture out. Like, they had second thoughts of standing next to Victor and the picture coming out. I don't think they have second thoughts about it, but they probably knew how ridiculous this is. I mean, because they were the ones next to him, so they had to have known.
Yeah, just thinking: if he was a Charlotte Hornet, that could have been Victor standing next to Muggsy Bogues and Bryce Young. Yeah. Yeah, he would have been at his navel. He could have put Bryce Young up on his shoulder. That's the.
Bryce Young on his shoulders and holding monkeys bogues as if he's. Simba and the Lion King. That's what we could do. Will Dalton is back in our Kernersville studios, as I'm here at the Marriott downtown Winston Salem. He's the executive producer of the show.
W.D., shall we get another movie recommendation from Ion Eagle when he joins us? I think we should. I really do. Yeah, last time it was Blues Brothers. We watched Jaws together on Friday night.
You hadn't seen that. I and Eagle, we might need to get like a thinking man's picture out of him. W.D. needs more of a thinking man's picture. Precisely.
Real quickly, let me move over to the Carolina Hurricanes. After a few weeks of quiet since the loss in the conference finals, we are. Didn't know we were doing that on location. Surprises to me. We are seeing the beginning of the Kanes offseason moves as free agency looms in that sport.
They re-signed Jordan Stahl over the weekend. It's a four-year contract for the captain, but really a three-year deal if he decides to even play that long. There's no money on the fourth year, so. The Kane's probably looking at three years for a guy who turns 35 in September. Don't just take it from me that he thinks that this is the last, that we think this is the last deal of his professional career.
This was Jordan Stahl yesterday. That's where I wanted to be. Um and um We've got I feel like we've got some unfinished business and I'm just super excited to be. part of this organization and um this group of guys and um just just everything everything about it just fit Exactly what I wanted to finish off my career with.
So I'm excited about it, and it's going to be a lot of fun and a lot of good future memories. Yeah, the Kanes are trying to add Tony D'Angelo now, but apparently a snag was caught with some of the CBA, new CBA requirements. Here's how much the Kanes have grown defensively the last two years, and they've always been really good under Brenda Moore defensively. There Tony D'Angelo, when he was a Kane a couple years ago, was on the top defensive pairing. He was their top offensive option, top right-handed shot.
Now they got Brent Burns. If he was added this time around, it'd be replacing a third line defenseman in Shanghai Steber.
So it's a good spot Carolina's in. Goaltender and extensions, they'll still be the biggest hot offseason items. We don't have the questions of what Ajo is going to be re-signed to, but Tom Dundant's adamant that that's going to get done. But what about Pesci? What about Shea?
What about Jarvis? What about Nachus? What about Tabo? Those are all questions that need to be answered. And then goaltending.
Do you bring both Freddie Anderson and Ante Ranta back? Or just one out of the two if you trust Piot or Kuchetkov to take the next step, being under contract as a young goalie? There are a lot of questions to be answered. I have no issue with the Tony D'Angelo trade. If it were to happen, the Kanes would be paying, what, half his salary for a guy who can help you who is a top-line Defenseman for you just a few years ago.
He has familiarity with the culture. But as mentioned, our first guest today is our friend Ian Eagle, this year's National Sportscaster of the Year. He joins us from the NSMA in Winston-Salem next. Uh On a handful of occasions. Our next guest.
was here as the New York Sportscaster of the year. But for the first time... And probably not the last. Ion Eagle, named the National Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Before we get to that distinction, You have another new title that we can attached to you now.
You're the lead announcer for the final four. Yeah. For CBS starting next year, replacing a giant in gymnants. Other than adding an extra weekend to your calendar in early April. How do you suspect that's going to change your approach for college basketball?
Do you find yourself you're probably going to dive more into the sport? Especially early on as you step into it.
Well, first of all, I'm honored on a couple of things. One, Sportscaster of the Year, incredible. Two, Final Four. Three, to have Shaggy as my lead-in for this segment. WD.
I'm now. achieved a level that I never imagined. That was my first concert. It wasn't me. That was my first concert.
It wasn't me. It was a little-known act named Alicia Keys, followed by Shaggy, followed by the Backstreet Boys in the summer of 2000, Nine Eagle. Don't think we're not going to ask you what your first concert was by the end of this, by the way. You got it. Josh, to answer your question in regards to college basketball.
You know, the reality for me is not much changes. All of a sudden, am I going to change how I approach it or change how I do the games or change my preparation? No. No. I was hired based on The job that I've done all these years, and that's the job that I will do.
Yeah, does it mean Uh a little bit more of a Concentration on certain parts of the game, the league, the season? Yeah, maybe. But As we know, when you get to the final four, the storylines are about those four teams, and unless you can tell me who the four teams are in November. It doesn't really provide much of an incentive for me to adjust what I've been doing. It's been working the way I've been doing it.
Ian Eagle with us here from Turner, CBS. You know him as the voice of the Nets as well for Yes. You also know him as somebody who does NFL as well. And being in the AFC, you got to know Frank Reich a little bit with the Colts. How clearly do you think?
Or how closely do you think teams are going to be following the Bryce Young experience when you consider there's never been a guy his size drafted number one overall, and it seems like if he's successful, it can further break whatever prototype still exists for what a quarterback's supposed to look like?
Well, I think we hit these marks in sports where it's the first time of this or the first time of that. And we'll look back on them and it'll be instrumental in how things are shaped. But I don't think Bryce wants to be the one that's known for that specific thing. just wants to be a really good quarterback and a really good leader. And someone that adjusts to the pro game.
So Look, when you're doing a talk show, when you're doing... A hot take show in the mornings on a certain network. All of these things obviously qualify as fodder. But when it's you, the individual, I don't think Bryce is thinking in that way at all. And I'm not sure if Frank Reich is thinking in that way either.
They're just thinking about how can we get him to a point where he is comfortable. Where he has command and where he can do this job at a high level. You're always going to be Gauged, and you're going to be critiqued on where you were selected. That's just the nature of the business. It's the nature of the beast.
But you have to get past that. You're not trying to live up to something. You have to just be who you are and the best version of who you are. Just knowing what I know about him, I I would think You're not going to question the effort and the work that the kid's gonna put into being the best he can be. You don't know this, I and Eagle.
Or actually I might have given you a heads up at this at Roar last night in downtown Winston-Salem. But ever since you recommended Blues Brothers to WD, you helped change his life in a sense. Wow. And you've given us a drop that we now use on the show. W D needs more of a thinking man's picture.
So we try to come up with some thinking man pictures to give them. I guess like. If something is on regularly, or when you think of Thinking Man Pictures, what comes to mind so we can help WD Further here, like he watched Jaws for the first time two days ago, which, by the way, my biggest surprise is learning, like, when it came up, that it was. It was rated G. Yeah.
Oh, wow. G? Or PG. I was about to say, there's no shot that's G. Criddle guided.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Watching Robert Sahl spit out blood getting eaten by a shark and a nude woman in the first scene get eaten too. PG, 1975. Yeah, yeah.
Well, 70s were a special time. There are some of us that can actually attest to it and tell you that the the country was going through some stuff. And because of it, a lot of our movies, music, television was very much groundbreaking. Like, what are you into Iron Eagle? Like, what are you into?
What am I into? Movies-wise. Movies-wise. Look. that whole string of eighties comedies was seminal.
For me, I was young, I was impressionable. It was the Chevy Chase, Eddie Murray, yeah, it was all of that. I was fledged, it was Beverly Hills Cop, it was 48 Hours. No chance he's seen any of those three.
Okay, well, any of those, I'm throwing it out to you right now. Obviously, coming to America, you had so many films that. The the lines are still quoted today by a certain age group. But with that said, if you get into the Vince Vaughan Owen Wilson comedies, I'm right there with you. You get into the Will Farrell comedies, I'm right there with you.
The Jim Carrey silliness. I'm right there with you. That has me wondering. Let me put a pin in that. Have you seen Wedding Crashers WD?
Yeah, we've done that. Yeah, we've already done that. Already did that. Making progress here. You see old school?
Who's in that? Old school, that's Vince Vaughan. It's Luke Wilson. Luke Wilson, not Owen. And it's Will Farrell.
You know what? I think we were talking about this the other week, and we haven't gotten to it yet. Yeah, no, you need to see that one. Jeremy Piven also makes an appearance. Not that you would know who that is.
Frank the Tank. Frank the Tank. Going streaking to the quad. I had a reference many years ago, Frank Kaminski on Wisconsin going off in a game. And I said, Frank, the tank is streaking.
You had no understanding of that call, but now my hope is that you will. That topic is getting hot in here when Nelly is coming for the basket in Greensboro a couple months ago.
Okay, we've got to close with this, though. The Iron Eagles here. My first concert I revealed to you. Shaggy. Alicia Keys and the Backstreet Boys sold two thousand, twenty-three years ago.
What was I on Eagles' first concert that he could remember? First concert I can remember, I saw Genesis with Peter Gabriel. Whoa.
So going way, way back. Not just the Phil Collins version, like Genesis. Was this pre-Sledgehammer? Pre-Sledge.
Okay. Yes, yes. Saw it i in Forest Hills. I grew up there. I snuck in, did not have a ticket.
So that shows you what the seventies and eighties were like. You could sneak in and they would just Dismiss it, no big deal. they they saw it as as child tomfoolery. It was not it was not seen as as a criminal act. Uh and I saw a lot of concerts there.
Diana Ross and uh Holland Oates and Asia and the Eurythmics. Grateful Dead was there. I did not see that. Grateful Dead actually appeared in Forest Hills and because they appeared in Forest Hills, concerts were canceled for about five years because Deadheads descended upon my hometown and didn't leave.
So that was the end of concerts for a long stretch of time because uh Forest Hills decided we can't have this any more. But then it came back and and that's when I I jumped on board. And then I was heavily into rap as a kid, New York City rap.
So I saw Rundy MC, I saw LL Cool J, I saw The Beastie Boys. I had a very varied childhood in terms of my musical tastes and I took advantage Houdini. Great. Rap guru. Yeah.
That was in my My world and my sphere back in the day. W D, he's well read. He watches Thinking Man Pictures. We've come to find out. He's a statesman.
He's just the full package. Yeah, give me that. Thank you. Give me that drop one more time on the way out, just for good measure. WD needs more of a thinking man's picture.
Thinking man's picture is like old school. That'll really make you think, WD. I don't know. I don't know how he gotta handle that. He sleeps the way it's gonna be.
Can't wait to find out. You just saw Jaws. This is not the same. This is different. Let me prepare you.
You'll be good. You'll be good. You're going to enjoy it. I'll be thinking of you. Congratulations.
Thanks, Joe. Thanks for being here. Appreciate it. That's I and Eagle, National Sportscaster of the Year. A National Sports Media Association Hall of Famer has just sat down with us as we're here in the Marriott downtown Winston-Salem.
Our good friend Bob Ryan is here, and Bob. It's always one of the great joys to catch up with you. You probably don't remember this, but the first time I was at this event in Salisbury in 2015, I didn't know anybody. I am a talker, I'm a socializer, but I was shy and didn't really know who to speak to. I sit down at the hotel bar in Salisbury, and some guy named Robert Ryan tapped on my shoulder and asked if you could sit down and watch a finals game with me.
And Frank Isola and Ann Killian sat down soon after that. That's when I knew this event was special, and that meant a lot to me.
So I appreciate you doing that.
Well, that's very nice. It's always nice to be reminded that you did the right thing at the right time. That's great.
So, in the last week, Chris Paul. Went from being a Phoenix Sun to a Washington Wizard, still waiting for that jersey to come in the mail, by the way, the Washington Wizards Chris Paul jersey, to being a Golden State Warrior. Before we get into the fit of that. When you are thinking about point guards, how do you place Chris Paul historically?
Well, all right, we we know he's in the top ten, so now we have to go all time.
So now you have to but back down. Um yeah I I have to I haven't I never really done that one, okay, s s spe specifically. Uh the standard, you know, to me still, you know, magic. Uh Stockton. Uh, for sure.
Uh um Isaiah. Isaiah. Isaiah. Uh pure point guard. Um uh you know, he not I tell you, it always surprises me that he was as prolific statistically as he was.
was Mark Jackson.
Now he doesn't he's he's probably a top ten.
So Chris, right now I'm down to why why shouldn't I say he's at least number four or five? I I don't I'm trying to think who I may be you know quite obviously forgetting. All those types of point guards, magic excluded. Are a certain brand of point guard that you don't really see in the NBA anymore?
Well, because. I'm trying to think of who the, yeah, you're right. I'm trying to think who the. If you remove Chris Paul, who is the classic old school point guard? No, I'm.
Ate who had a d a great year last year and and fulfilled the the the job uh was Jalen Brunson. I have to admit, when when uh the when Nick signed him, I I I I I've always always I've long coveted him. I would have loved to have had him have him in Boston, but I thought they overpaid. I thought, hey, he's not a star. He's a he's a a wonderful complimentary piece.
That's what an E and an I well, Turns out I was wrong. Turns out he's a higher-level player now. Anyway, yeah, you're right. The job is a little bit different now because of the, you know, let's face it, what's the number one job for anybody? Get the ball to some guy in the corner camped out waiting for a shooter three.
You're one of the top basketball people I trust in terms of what looks right, how things are going to fit. And Bob Ryan's with us, by the way, here from the NSMA.
So when your brain first starts to think about, let's assume Draymond Greene's back for now, even though that's not a guarantee. Chris, Paul, with Clay, Steph, and Draymond. From a basketball perspective, how does that gel for you? For me it was okay. I've seen some people pick uh nitpick it a little bit, but uh but the issue is will he be available when they need him?
Period. It's 30, it'll be 39 when this playoffs start next year, the 2024. And it's all about that. You know that. Whether they qualify as the first seed or the eighth seed, you know, that's all about that for them and trying to gear themselves to be ready to go for it.
Get in somehow, some way, and then be and will he be available to them? I wonder if they stagger his minutes throughout the year. Oh, I think it's going to be a m uh a a a a care uh a TLC project for them all year long. And there'll be there'll be load management, there'll be everything will be geared to trying to keep him healthy and hope he's ready to give them what what what you know they want from him and them and I think it would make a a difference. It would uh first of all it's so you know you're lucky that Curry, who is not a point guard, kind of though I'm eliminating him from discussion.
He happens to be a shooting guard who can pass.
So let's deliberately he's not a point guard. I mean, I'm sorry. This is stupid. Uh and and and that's it doesn't matter. You know, he's f he's w he's the greatest shooter of all time.
And but don't classify him as a point guard, he's not. It is not that. I agree with that. You know, but uh that's just uh we're just talking semantics here. You know, I just bristle with that discussion.
But the point is this. Being the best movement without the ball guy alive now playing, you know, uh He will flourish playing with Paul if Paul's out there, you know, in that circumstance.
So it's going to help him take pressure off. I think it makes sense. I know there's some disagree, but I think it makes sense. We're streaming video on YouTube, Twitch, and Twitter in addition to broadcasting online here. I want to surprise you with a photo.
I haven't prepped you on this. Victor Webanyama posted a picture from over the weekend. Have you seen this? Yes.
Okay. So if you haven't, it's Wimby standing there with Spurs greats, including David Robinson and Tim Duncan. And. It looks like Victor Webanyama standing with a bunch of sports writers. Or a high school team.
I kick looking on the far right and I said, Is that Duncan? Is that really Duncan? I mean, and the height discrepancy is extraordinary. No, he is. You know, it it just takes your breath away.
You just uh I I can't wait to see this happen and to see it pl play out, to see how it's going to play out. What intrigues you the most about Victor? Um well number one is commander of English. That's not above it. And you know, that was a deliberate part of the entire plan that he had in his own mind to become for this moment to crystallize and become an NBA player by the time he was 12 years old.
He was so impressive last week, it was boring, which makes him perfect for the Spurs, by the way. No, that's going to be a good marriage. And he's so lucky to get to play for pop and have the resources that are going to be available to him with Robinson and Duncan, I'm sure, are going to want to have a hand in the process. But the talent-wise, obviously the 7-5, we're used to big guys who now can shoot the ball. But we'll see what the level of it is.
I know he can make threes. I don't know what's going to happen. But he obviously should have no trouble getting it off when he wants to. Do you think there's so great of an assumption right now about what he's going to be that for me, when I hear that, I worry a bit because it almost seems like people don't think there's going to be an adjustment for how the Spurs are going to use him, one, but two, his adjustment. To the physicality of the NBA game.
Positively. I just hope that people in San Antonio are properly prepped and realize that this isn't a given. It's not a given that they're going to be able to hoist another banner because they have Victor Wimbayana. There's too many other things that have to happen. And he has to stay healthy.
And of course, the number one question, you look at that body and say, whoa, you know, it's a strange, you know, he's 7'5 and he's 225. You know, now we went through this last year with Chet Holgram, who we never got to see, because guess what? He got hurt before he ever played. And I'm equally not equally, but qu almost equally curious to see how he's going to work out because of that body. But I want to see it.
I want to see the ball handling skills. Everybody's trying to compare him to this, that, and the other, whether he's got a I've seen everything from obviously from Ralph Sampson to Porzingis. And to me, what I'm looking to see, or what I'm anticipating, is a bigger version of Giannis. Giannis, think you know, what's the greatest what's the greatest thing about Giannis? That incredible ability to go to the hoop.
More than anything. And finish. And apparently, this kid can do that. But he's six inches taller than Giannis. And I want to see this.
So it's probably in some ways a combination of all those people. And it's going to be fascinating to see, but still, it doesn't mean that they're going to be hoisting a banner immediately at all. But he's already talking in those terms. It's just a matter of, you know, we'll get there. Just don't rush me, but I'll get there.
And if he has that level of confidence, that's okay. Last thing for Bob Ryan here at the NSMA. He's in an SMA Hall of Famer. Bill Plaschke just walking by, NSMA Hall of Famer. Hall of Famer's all over the place, but um to close things out What makes this event so special to you?
You've been here so many times now. What makes it special? I'm very proprietary toward the NSMA. I'm proud of the profession. I'm more and more proprietary as years go on because of the attack of...
I'm thinking more about the print side. I'm a print guy who happens to have had a wonderful adjunct career thanks to ESPN and the formats that they've offered. Oh, what's happening in radio, too? That they've offered me. And I'm known to anybody.
99% of the youngins that are here know me only because of my appearance on ESPN and not because of my writing. I understand that. But I'm very proprietary toward the print thing. I want to. Honor and support the whole nature of the newspaper industry.
And obviously, I have friends that I get to see here. It's a convention, and I love it. This is my convention. I don't have any others of the nature.
So I look forward to it every year. And I'm grateful for them for the honors that they bestowed upon me. And I just want to help support and help Dave Gorin support this very worthy organization. NationalSportsMedia.org. If you'd like to support it, we strongly recommend you do.
Bob Ryan, thanks for being here. You're welcome, gosh. Before we come. Yeah. I need pushed up.
The National Sports Writer of the Year. Co-National Sports Writer of the Year, Ken Rosenthal, is now with us. We're at the Marriott in downtown Winston-Salem. It's the NSMA Awards weekend, something we look forward to each and every year. You were a Maryland Sports Rider winner a handful of times in the 90s.
This is your first time at the NSMA. And you're getting to meet writers and broadcasters from across the country and some of your colleagues. What's been your experience like thus far, Ken?
Well, I got here later than most because I was in London doing the game on Saturday between the Cubs and Cardinals.
So I flew Sunday and basically didn't get until last night. But so far so good and It's funny, Bill Plaschke, who is of course going into the Hall of Fame. He had a great line on this. I can't quote him directly because... There is a word in there that can't be used, but he basically said.
We get dumped on all the time, sports writers. By the people we cover, we're always kind of getting grief. And here we're treated like kings. It's very unusual for us, so it's really nice. How was London?
Uh it was great. It was great. And It was just fun being in a foreign country and that stadium is beautiful. Yeah, and I was like, yeah. I'm not even sure I can put it into words because When I started covering baseball, actually when I got into the business, I never thought I'd be covering a baseball game in London.
And I've done it twice now, in 2018 as well. And it's very cool. Ken Rosenthal is with us here.
So a couple weeks ago, we had the North Carolina governor on, Roy Cooper, who's a huge sports fan, loves the Carolina Hurricanes out in Raleigh. And his agenda items that he's hit on, sports-related, in the last couple years, he got the NASCAR track at North Wilkesboro fired up, and they had a NASCAR all-star race there two months ago. And then he just signed the sports betting bill that will allow for legal sports betting to happen starting next year. But then during his press conference, he noted... We have some other things that we need to take care of on the agenda, too.
And he said on our show. Look at the populace, how populated the state is. And look at the gap between where, like Washington, D.C. and the closest major league team beyond that, Atlanta probably it is. When you talk to people in league circles about the next city that makes sense for expansion.
Obviously, of the Nashvilles of the world and the West Coast places. Where does North Carolina fit in that, you think?
Well, they're going to add two once all these stadium issues are resolved in Oakland and Tampa Bay. Oakland, it seems, is close to resolution. They're going to Las Vegas. Tampa Bay is getting there, it seems, with the stadium. in that area.
And after that, they'll pick the two. I expect at this point Nashville is going to be one. There's a lot of momentum there and It just seems to me that Their group has been very well organized. There's been a long. They already have a stadium made up.
Yeah, a long ramp up here.
So I expect there'll be one. Where they'll go in the West, I don't know.
So when you ask. where North Carolina fits in that. I think they're second to Nashville. Among East Coast. Among East Coast plays.
And then there's Portland and Salt Lake out in the west. They're not going to do two in the east. And they wouldn't do Nashville and, say, Raleigh-Durham, because then the Braves would scream, hey, you're kicking us here, you're kicking us there, etc.
So. You never know with these things, and the governor actually has a point. I know this area somewhat, and I do know it's a booming state, period. But It just seems to me, based on everything I've heard and gleaned, that Nashville is the leader. When you say add to.
Are you talking about Like the next two moves being what we're seeing in Vegas and then potential relocation for the race? Or are you talking eventually we're going to see expansion with some expansion franchises? I should have been clearer. Expansion with two. What I.
Meant was, and what the plan by baseball is, is to resolve Tampa Bay and Oakland.
However, they resolve. If Tampa Bay moves, okay. Oakland seems like they're going to move, okay. Once they are resolved. Then they will expand by two teams.
And of course, it's natural to expect one to be. More east, one to be more west. Co-North Carolina, or Co-National Sports Rider of the Year, Ken Rosenthal's with us on WSGS. What's been the best story in baseball this year, and why is it my Baltimore Orioles? Good question.
Tampa Bay has been the best story this year. Baltimore's been a great story. But what's great is I love the new rules in baseball so much. Bob Ryan was yelling at me about this not too. That's also what's great about this event.
Yeah, absolutely. It's great. He's not yelling at me. Innerly, he doesn't like the fact that everybody plays everybody, old school and all that. But I like the fact that Cincinnati and how hot they are, they're playing in Baltimore tonight.
It's cool. I just love that. I love a month ago, I'm listening to the MLB app, and I get to hear Bob Euchre calling an Orioles game in Milwaukee, right? I'm glad that teams are playing each other more. But those are two great stories of teams playing tonight, right?
Absolutely. And Cincinnati of late has been a really good story. When you ask that question, there are so many stories in a season. And Texas has been a great story as well. I can go to Louisa Reyes, Yuri Perez with the Marlins.
There's all kinds of things happening at all times. It's hard to keep up with. And. But I guess the overriding one would be Tampa Bay and just what they've accomplished. What have you enjoyed?
About this event upon arriving thus far, what are you being told about what tonight's going to be? I haven't been told much about tonight. I assume it's going to be really nice. Everyone has always spoken highly of this. Everyone has always said, even those years when I was winning the Maryland Award, you got to go.
And that was when it was in Salisbury. I never could go because of work. You work in the summer. Yeah, and this year I just obviously had to make a special trip because it's a big award.
So. The best thing about it to me is the best thing about the job, period, which is the people. And I love seeing my fellow sports riders. A lot of people here I haven't seen in a while.
So that is. the best thing to be. I haven't seen Bill Pulashku in years. I ask you that as a setup. The setup being, do you know what you're going to be handed tonight?
when you win Co Nor Co National Sports Writer of the Year. I've seen pictures. It looks like a statue of some kind. There's that. But you're also going to receive a Louisville Slugger with your name etched.
Oh, really? Louisville Sluggers been a longtime partner.
So the national winners get Louisville Sluggers. That's going to be your essential trophy for tonight.
So I got to know, that's obviously probably going to be a prize possession. Baseball is a sport that lends itself to having a lot of prized possessions. What might that be for Ken Rosenthal? What's something that is prized that you either have sign or a picture or something of that sort?
Well, I don't collect autographs. This is my job, so I can't do that. Understood that. I would say some of the photos of me interviewing some guys on television, I keep as much as I can. That would be.
The m the main thing. Even in London this weekend if people took some photos of me With the microphone in my hand, as I was interviewing people, I'd get a kick out of that. That's fantastic. Yeah. I hope.
You have a great time tonight. I'm sure I will. I tell people this last year I I postponed my honeymoon a week. In order to go to this event, me and my wife last year. Charles Barkley learned about it and he was here with Ernie Johnson, called me over to the bar and let me know how much I outkicked my coverage and other things that I can't say on the radio right now.
But that's what this event is. You get to just correspond with all these people and build new friends. It's good to meet you. It's good to admire. You work for a while.
Thanks for the time. Thank you. Appreciate it. We must talk. Go ahead.
Talk Back to the Drive with Josh Graham. The Director of Athletics at Wake Forest University is John Curry, who's joined us on site. Right now, we're at the Winston Sale Marriott, which I've been told after 30 years of my life. of pronouncing it Marriott is actually pronounced Marriott.
Something that I've just learned just now from our guy Darren Bott over there. That's where we are now. In about an hour or so, when we get off the air. Things are going to be hopping across the street at the Benton Convention Center. And the thing I always encourage people to look at, we've been at this event every year that we've been on air.
Six years we've done the event here on SJS. A lot of people just don't know we have this in Winston-Salem. And the fact that we do, and the likes of Lee Corso and Pete Bammel, and Ion Eagle, and all these others. Really view this as a destination, as a crowning achievement for their careers, that's a special thing. And I don't think a lot of people know that we have it here.
You're right, Josh, and hats off to Dave Gorin for his leadership and the way Visit Winston-Salem and the mayor have all pitched in to help make this thing a regular occurrence here. This is a great place to come. You know, we know that our city continues to grow and provide more services and better amenities. I mean, you think about the transformation since this event first came to Winston, Winston-Salem downtown, and the whole deal.
So I know a lot of our colleagues in the media, my friends in the media who are here, I know Pete Thamel's getting a big award tonight and others have gotten them over the years, and it's cool to see them all here. Yeah, Ion Eagle actually just walked by right now, and Coach Corso is going to be on the way. I don't know if Coach Corso, I'd love to know who you're most excited to meet because for me, with Coach Corso, Wake was on that list of like eight teams a few years ago, never to have a college game day appearance. And when they did, he was unable to be here because it was the first year of the COVID season. Fans weren't allowed to attend, and Coach Corso stayed in Orlando.
You know, that seems like a thousand years ago. Crazy. Three years ago. A thousand years ago, we were preparing for that. And thank goodness we've moved beyond that.
Certainly, we didn't let that slow us down from a Wake Force athletic standpoint. We sprinted right out of it and into a couple great years. Yeah, what do you remember most about? Trying to work out the logistics. Obviously, the season's starting, and it's the COVID season.
And then, oh, yeah, you are the first college game day show of the season of the COVID season, too. I think what I remember about that the most, Josh, is how our staff was just incredibly creative of coming up with ways to make it a celebratory event. And, you know, for our students that year, and really all students in the community who were online and remote and all this kind of stuff, that was a great moment of fun. And we created the big watch party across the street at the fairgrounds, and we really were able to pivot into putting our best foot forward. The most extraordinary performance, though, was done that day by the spirit of the old Golden Black and the Wake Forest Chief Squads because they were at the stadium from like 6 a.m.
all through the show. And then, of course, the game didn't start till 7.
So they were, I mean, they put in like 18 hours that day. They were incredible. It's incredible, but the quote that resonated with me the most that day, I'll never forget it, was Dave Clausen saying, even though the scoreboard didn't say, We win, when the ball was kicked off, that was a win. When the ball was kicked off, it felt like we had already achieved something. It certainly was, and you know, I can't remember the numbers, but we ran them for that particular game, and it was like a you know, it's like a twenty million dollar impact in terms of exposure advertising wise.
You know, the ratings were were terrific. And, you know, speaking of ratings, we had pretty good ratings for uh the the the Diamond Deeks in the College Royal Series. Greatest, it was it the greatest for a non Championship series for ESPN? Right, so three games, you know, see, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. The Monday and Wednesday games both drew over two million people.
And I think the statistic I saw was that that was more than the Yankees-Red Sox Sunday night baseball game on ESPN drew a couple weeks ago.
So you think about that in terms of the relevancy and the excitement that America has for college baseball and the way that we've been able, under Coach Walters' leadership, to leverage that into more exposure for Winston-Salem and our community. John Curry's with us here from the NSMA. On the note of ratings, I'm actually interested. You made me think about it for a second before we get to Omaha. This year, the first weekend, for example, North Carolina, South Carolina is getting the prime ABC treatment.
This is the year where there is no Big Ten football on ABC platforms, and the SEC had yet to jump in prime packages to your partners with ESBN, Disney as well. Is this something that was brought up in Amelia Island at all in terms of opportunity this year to maximize on exposure? Oh yeah, it's a great opportunity for the ACC this year because that's essentially, I can't remember the number exactly, Josh, it's like 18 games, 18 windows that are open, and you're talking about ABC and big ESPN.
So that exposure, whether it's at noon or 3.30 or the night game, is a great opportunity for our league. John Curry with us here, getting to Omaha. You had been before with prior stops, but going to Wake For Us. And seeing your alma mater return to Omaha for the first time since 1955. What made the trip special to you?
Well, it's hard to boil that down into just one thing, right? Ultimately, how much it meant to our student athletes to be there is always the most important thing to me. You know, what is our student athlete experience? And our students had worked so hard to be in that position, and then they got there, and then boom, they were right there on the national stage, one or two games. Just an incredible scene.
So that's something that's really important to me about it. The second thing that's most important to me about it is how validating it was, because we talk a lot about, you know, Wake Forest fandom is bigger than people think and historical, you know, stereotypes or whatever. And it was incredible. I mean, Wake Forest, I mean, we had thousands of fans there. We literally had people came from all over the world.
I talked to one of our former baseball alum who graduated, I think, 08 or 07. He had flown there from Shanghai. He's lived in Shanghai for 10 years. He had gotten a plane ticket and flown from Shanghai to the game. I met baseball.
Players and alums from California, New York, and Boston, and Florida, and Washington, and just all points in between that, you know, they just got up and went. And so, I've heard some of our alums and some of our fans, Wake Forest fans, talk about it, you know, somewhat equivalent to like the Orange Bowl experience in 2006, 2007, in terms of kind of a national stage moment. And in those stands on Saturday, and on Monday, and on Wednesday, and on Thursday, that Wake Forest chant was just as loud as any other chant that there was there.
So, that was really cool to me. And the last thing I want to say about that is the coach Walter and I were visiting today and talking about the number of notes that we've gotten. And he gets a lot more than I do, right? He's a lot more popular than me, right? But the number of notes we've gotten from Wake fans or people who are ACC fans, you know, they're Carolina fans.
I got one today from a local executive who went to app, and he was talking about how he's on a text message thread with all his app buddies, and they're all pulling for the deeks. You know, the way this team just kind of captivated. Our entire region is a really important moment. You know, the last note I got when I got back to the office today, I had an email from a woman who. Used to live here and and her father is a military veteran and he had gotten a note from Tom Walter and she just wanted to talk about how much that meant to her for her hometown to be represented like that.
So I think those would have to be the two biggest things right now at this moment. Stan Cotton, who's going to be recognized here tonight, perhaps we can get to that in a second. He's not one to get emotional about many things. But the thing that he was emotional about was Super Regional Clinching Day and seeing Gene Hooks. Rolled out onto the field and celebrating with Ron Wellman and celebrating with you, talking about.
I mean decades upon decades upon decades of Wake Forest leadership all in one field. What were you feeling as that happened?
Well, um to me First of all, that particular moment with Dr. Hooks and Ron, I mean, they have 57 years of equity as ADs poured into baseball and poured into getting us to this point. I've got 45 months or something like that.
Well, then, 52 months or something. And you're an alumnus.
So they're the ones that have really done the work, and obviously Coach Walter and the staff, and then great donors like David Couch and Chris Hurt, et cetera. I think what the word I would use is intentionality, right? It was not an accident that Wake Forest was in Omaha. Just like it wasn't an accident or a Cinderella story that our women's golf team won the national championship this year. We were not a Cinderella story in Omaha.
It was not an accident. It was intentional. It was part of the plan. And it was a plan that had been constructed and built responsibly, funded, and it was executed. And that's kind of the Wake Forest way.
And if you look at the city of Winston-Salem, where we are right now, you know, this beautiful renaissance of our downtown is not an accident. It's happened because of intentional decisions by leaders, by investors, by philanthropists, et cetera, to elevate our community and our city. And it's the same way with Wake Forest Baseball.
So the guy on Colonel, what's his name on Hannibal? Oh, yeah. The A team, right? The A team. I love it when a plan comes together.
So I guess I got that, right? I love it when a plan comes together.
So I think that it's metaphorical this day and age in college athletics, right? Wake Forest intends to compete. At the highest level, and we will compete at the highest level. And there's an example of Wake Forest leveraging and maximizing our advantages, including this spot right here in the middle of a state with 12 million people, right here in the middle of a media market with 1.3 million people that Wake Forest and Winston Salem anchor. It's a pretty good spot.
Let's go. Is that the part that bothers you when you hear people talk about expansion? And it's not really about the teams that. Compete at the highest level on the field. That doesn't seem to get brought up.
It's always about how big is your air quote footprint and things like that, but it's not actual competitiveness on the field.
Well, I think people, it's really easy to cut to some things and especially old thoughts about what an entity is now based upon what it was 20 or 30 or 40 years ago.
So it's easy for that lazy narrative to be a factor, or to be the prevailing kind of thought, the easiest thought, right? And so that's why you have to get to moments like we had in Omaha or win a national championship in women's golf. Wake Forest has won 10 national championships now. We were close to getting the 11th, right? There's only seven schools in the league that have done that, right?
Wake Forest, North Carolina, Duke, Virginia, Notre Dame, Florida State, and Syracuse are the only schools that have done that.
So we've got to continue to leverage our strengths and tell those stories with humility, but not shyly. 30 to 45 seconds. I want to give you a chance to give some love to Stan Cotton, who's being recognized tonight. 27 years with the Digs. Consummate professional.
Consummate professional. You know, I know you know this, Josh, but you know, if Stan shows up less than three hours before a broadcast, you know, he's all nervous, right? You know, so, but he's just a consummate professional, and you can always count on Stan to be prepared and tell the stories the right way. You know, his. We tweeted out, somebody put out his call at the end of the first LSU game, I think, or maybe it was the end of the Stanford game, right?
The Deke's deliver, or Danny Crono deliver, you know, whatever it was. It was great. It was iconic.
So, just a great person to work with. Thank you for being here. Have fun tonight, John. Thanks, Josh. A couple nights ago.
They had sports trivia here. At the National Sports Media Association weekend. And West Durham was at Our table.
So I figured The best place to start is with a little bit of trivia as Wes sits down with us. He's going to be emceeing things tonight at the awards banquet. Do you know how many times your dad won North Carolina Sportscast for the first time? Do you know the first time? He won North Carolina Sportscaster of the Year for his outlet.
WFNY Television. That's correct. And Greensboro. 1966 or 7. 66.
Five. Five. Wow. Woody Durham's first win, 1965. But WFNY in Greensboro, people forget about that.
Yeah, he won in. 86. And the event was May of 87. We were a May event at that point. And that's when, in the span of 45 minutes, I came, I was a rising senior at Elon.
Just kind of finishing my junior year. I was driving a bad Ford escort. It broke down on the way home. And I'm not kidding. Back to campus.
I came down and went to the awards reception and the event, like tonight, I went. In 45 minutes, I met Al Michaels. Jim McKay, Frank DeFord, Will Grimsley. And for the first time in my life, I shook hands with John Ward, the great Tennessee Vols announcer. That's what makes this event special.
And Al Michaels told me to be an accountant. But that's what makes this event special. I see I and Eagle over here. I saw a couple of people. Chris Daenerys here, ladies and gentlemen.
One of the all-time greats. Voice. The maker, the man, the myth is here. The Learfield VP. You just never know who you're going to run into.
You never know who you're going to see. Have you done your deep dive yet on ACC football this year now that rosters seem to be set? Kind of, but not to a point where I'm completely analytical about it. I can tell you that the decision I have to make. In what, a month?
Ish. Is Clemson or Florida State? Does it make you uncomfortable that Florida State's win total in most Vegas circles higher than Clemson's? No. No, because if I were somebody beyond the walls of this league and somebody within this league.
Um I would want to I would want to take a hard look at Florida State. There's a lot about Florida State. That people need to get their arms around Josh. I mean, Clemson has questions, Florida State has some answers. I get you.
You're talking about... what they have defensively now. There was no question that Mike Norvell was going to turn things around offensively. FSU's defense. Looks pretty strong, and we don't know what Ked Klubnik is yet for the time.
Yeah, we've had one up, we've had one down with Klubnik, and I think we've got to be honest about it, and I think that. Clemson needs to show some offensive. kind of toxicity about themselves. They need to go to Durham on that Labor Day night and kind of roll a little bit. We know they're going to be good on defense.
The challenge in that game that night at Wallace Wade is going to be can Riley Leonard and Duke move the football against Clemson? And Clemson's defense is going to be real. I think the issue that we're falling into is we have to know what Clemson's going to be offensively, because, in all honesty, I think that's still the biggest question that Clemson faces going into this year. You mentioned Duke. They're the team that most intrigues me from the state of North Carolina, while most people are fixated on what Carolina can be with Drake May, a quarterback returning.
Who are you most interested by out of the four in the state? NC State. Why is that? Because Brennan Armstrong, I think, with Robert Anai is a whole different deal than Brennan Armstrong in Tony Elliott's offense or Devin Leary playing for. you know, Tim Beck.
I think Brennan Armstrong and Robert Any. Made some pretty sweet music in Charlottesville. I think NC State has enough around them from a skill set. to potentially be explosive like Virginia was with Brennan Armstrong under Bronco Mendenhall and Robert and I. The question I have about NC State is Can they plug all the holes of those veteran leaders they had on defense, right?
Can they. Continue to have playmakers. Dave has done a terrific job with that defense and evolving them every year to make sure that they get better every season and they have guys in the depth, in their 44, if you will, right? The four deep at every position. And I think that that's the real test now.
And I'm excited about NC State. The Duke thing, I would be a little bit more on Duke, but the schedule got really hard when we took the division walls down. And then Carolina schedule.
Well, and we. I don't know if you know this, but Mac Brown, not a fan. No, not a fan. I've heard.
So mad about it. He got on the treadmill, host 35. Good for him. I love it. He loves Diet Peach Snapple.
Yeah, I've heard. That's his move. If you believe that, he's only one a day. I've heard only one a day. We'll see if he caves in Charlotte next month.
No, he'll be fine. I'll bring him some Diet Peach Snapple. I'm sure he will. See if he can resist. More interactive of the drive with Josh Graham.
There you go. See? Where's my camera? Right. I think I would say this.
Carolina schedules hard. Duke schedules really hard. I don't know why anybody doubts Wake Forest anymore. I think that's ridiculous. This is like, I think this year.
More than any in the last five because Sam Hartman's not around. Sure. A testing of the standard. Like this year, we're going to learn what the standard is in terms of, hey, you can lose all they did, not just offensively, but defensively as well. But they still bring back guys like Jakore Johns.
They still have good fighters. They'll do fine in the secondary. Secondary, if they stay healthy, secondary will be terrific, right? Yeah, this is a year where it's like, all right, if Wake Forest, if Wake Forest makes a bowl this year and wins seven games, then every year that's just what it should be at Wake Forest now, period. He's amazing.
He and Dave Doran. I tell you what's interesting for me is I get a chance to spend time with other coaches in other leagues at times during the offseason at various levels, other conferences, not just ACC guys. And it's really interesting to talk to other guys who have just such incredible respect for what Dave Doran and Dave Clausen have done. I mean, like, to the point where you're like, wow. I mean, these guys are like, do people really understand?
How they built that to be sustainable, and then the landscape or the rug got pulled out from under them in terms of roster composition, and they still managed to kind of keep.
Some semblance of what they originally did. You might be answering the question by how you said that there, but I'll ask it anyway. Are you more concerned now that the Hartman-Claussen marriage is over and Hartman is in Notre Dame? Are you more concerned about Hartman separated from Clausen or Clausen separated from Hartman this specific year? I'd be more concerned about Hartman separated from Claussen.
And that schedule, you got USC, obviously. Yeah, Tommy Reese update this year. Brand new offensive coordinator at Notre Dame, too. Tommy Reese is at Alabama. That's correct.
So, I mean, Sam goes up there and the game changes for him. Look, I think. I think he wanted to make sure that he could go play one more other place, figure out kind of what that looks like, whatever the deal may be, right? It seems like to me it's like Russell Wilson 2.0 in this sense. The knock on Russ was his height at NC State, and he went on a bigger stage, improved it at Wisconsin, enough that a team would take a draft pick on him on the third round, take a flyer on him.
With Hartman. It's not right that they knock them for the offense because they only run at 18 to 20% of snaps, the slow mesh in most games, as Clausen will be apt to point out. But that is a knock that some have. It's the offense that Wake runs. Sure.
At Notre Dame, if you get it done there on that stage and a more conventional pro-style offense, a team might draft you when otherwise you might have to do that. My time with Paul Johnson, that his offense could never work at the next level, and now. Half the National Football League runs RPO and VER Principals. And Calvin Johnson turned out. He could play for Paul.
Oh, wait. That was right before Paul turned out. Paul Paul was. My apologies to Coach Galey. Paul's the camera, right?
Paul was 08. Apologies. Where's the card that you guys have to read when you say things that are wrong? What's that thing called? Card 99?
I don't know. You ought to have it known. Uh West Durham. Is here at the NSMA. The last time you were on the show, you correctly predicted that the Panthers were going to play the Falcons the first game of the year.
And you said that Bryce Young's going to start in that game, and Bryce Young's already getting first-team reps. Stunning. You're Nostradamus here. Stunning. Any more Panther predictions you'd like to share so we know what to expect?
When it comes to this new coach and this new quarterback, now that we have schedules? Um. I just was alerted to D'Angelo Hall's defensive assistantship. In Charlotte. What do you think of that?
Actually, I like it. I'd love Steve Smith and D'Angelo Hall and I'm not sure you want all that. Um. Because then this thing breaks out over in another part of the field every day. There's going to be some fist fighting.
89 against 21, 89 against D. Hall. That'd be hilarious. Look, I think that You've done all the right things. If you're Carolina.
And I don't know Scott Fritter from I mean, he walked in here right now. I might know his face, but that be it. I've never met him. He he's been around the triad quite a bit. Saw him at a comedy show about a month ago.
Okay. I I think you go with Bryce Young now. Because your defense is probably going to be good enough to Hold him up a little bit. I think that's always a critical piece of it. I think, and I'm going to take you back 15 years to when Matt Ryan started for the Falcons.
The reason Matt Ryan started as a rookie was because at the time Mike Smith had the confidence in Michael Turner in the offensive line to run the ball, and Matt Ryan didn't have to throw it 35 times a game, right?
Now, it ended up in his career that ultimately we were kind of in that neighborhood, right? But early on, does Bryce Young. Is he supported by something? Yes, he's supported by a pretty good defense. Is he supported by.
A steady run game? I think so, don't you? I think that's a steady run game.
So you're not going to ask Bryce Young to go out there in week one at Mercedes Benz Stadium, and what I think will end up being a full stadium, by the way, that day. I don't think you're asking Bryce Young to go out there and throw it thirty times at Mercedes Benz And Take Carolina on a game-winning drive. You're going to turn to the opposite side of the ball and tell Brian Burns and those guys: go stop Desmond Ritter. and reduce Atlanta to a single principal. Right?
So, to me, that's why, if I'm a Panthers fan, I want to go ahead and invest in Bryce Young right out of the gate. I see the other side. I agree with you. I agree with you. I think they should start him out of the gate.
That's definitely not. I don't think the schedule makers did them any favors in this regard. Their first two games are division games: it's Atlanta. And then it's a Monday night game against the Saints at home. That's the home opener.
Which sounds great. Here's your new toy, primetime television. We get all that. But then the third game is a short prep week where you go to the west coast to Seattle. And it's just Well, you got two division games out of the game.
You're trying to win the division.
Okay, you play two division games early. Atlanta's played four of their first six at home. And one of those two is a neutral site game in London against the Jaguars. New Orleans doesn't scare me if I'm Carolina. Atlanta's more of a threat than New Orleans right now, in my mind.
And by the way, Albany Tamara may not be on the field the first eight weeks of the year either. There it is. I agree with you. I think you start him right out of the gate. That's just the other side.
Oh, I get it. I understand. West Durham, last thing for you. You're going to be emceeing tonight, yes? Yes, I am.
Yes.
Ex Express Lane. MCing is my motto. That's what I like to get. We like to try and be inside of three hours and thirty minutes because I got to get Steve Holman to his appointed spots, the legendary voice of the Atlanta Hawks. I got to get him.
Hall of Famer. Hall of Famer, Georgia Sports Hall of Famer. I got Atlanta Sports Hall of Famer. I've got to get Steve to his appointed spots. To quote the former voice of the Pittsburgh Penguins, get in the fastlane grandma, the bingo game's ready to roll.
Yeah. What is special to you about this event, even to? Oh, my guy. Look, I'm the wrong guy to ask that question. Uh.
Look, I I'm Because a lot of people are listening to this right now. And even though we've done this now for five, six years, we're at the Marriott in downtown Winston-Salem, and yes, all these luminaries are walking around, and it's something that's ours. It's ours. Yeah, I mean, it belongs to the state of North Carolina, certainly from a history standpoint. Pete DiMizzio, God bless him, never got to see it.
He came up with the idea by the time they launched it. He had passed away from cancer. Um For me I mean, look, I like I said earlier, I remember coming in 87. Right. I remember what life-changing event it was.
Um Yeah, it's so cool to see Noah and I in here. Both together. And Noah didn't win. He will one day. A matter of time.
But my dad and I won three times together. Two times we were here. One time we won, and we were in Ireland together. During the event. And we had a father-son trip to Ireland with my brother and some other people.
So Yeah. It's emotional for me. That's why I agreed to become the board chair when Diane Blix did such a marvelous job when we moved to Winston-Salem. My mission, and this again is why this is a different answer for me than anybody else. As board chair, when I was asked to become board chair, I wanted to expand what you're seeing yesterday and today, not tonight.
In my opinion. what happens yesterday and today with the convergence. is what we are about now. We can honor and pay tribute to and have legacy night and all those things, Josh. But if we don't take if we're not caretakers of our industry.
our industry will be eliminated. That's just where this is. I mean, the biz anybody that reads anything about business should read about the business of sports as it relates to broadcast and media. You know this because you're in this. The athletic went through some hard layoffs.
The people I work for are going through some hard layoffs. There are other people finding different ways to do things. We have to be good caretakers of our industry. When it comes to play by play, I'm in particular attention to young people who want to do it and how do they get started. Because the way I started, you can't start that way anymore.
Because what's funny is, you get the questions all the time, I even get them. Hey, I have a son. I have a family member that wants to break into this. How do you do that?
Well, what they can't see, even if you're watching on YouTube, Twitch, or Twitter, is like twenty feet in front of us, you've got the voice of the Indiana Pacers, and you've got a handful of other broadcasters who are literally listening to 18, 19-year-old cellphones of them calling games and giving them feedback right there too. And that's kind of what we're tasked to do. And I'm I'm pretty committed to that part of this. Tonight is nice. It's a great event.
I love the event. It's fun to do. It's fun to be part of. It's fun to see these people. Like tonight, we have first-time winners.
Across the board. Pete Thammel's never won. Ken Rothenthal's never won. Iron Eagles never won. We have four Hall of Famers, two possibly going to be honored tonight.
The other two are here: Lee Corso and Bill Plasky. That's really important to the legacy of this industry, but The most important thing that takes place happens with the young people here. And my goal is to see how many different young people we can get here and how much mentoring, even in a small space like two days, can occur here to help these folks understand the industry. Thanks for what you do, Wes. Thanks for stopping by.
Good to see you. Nice to be back in Winston-Salem. Hope I'm here on what, August 31st for the opener. What if I get the opening? Fighting?
Phoenix. Fighting Phoenix. The mighty Elon comes rolling into a legacy. Stadium. Look at me.
Got the pronunciation. I shill for the sponsors, John Curry. Just know that. Dr. Winty, the president, I'm all about sponsorship.
What's up?
Whisper: parakeet / 2025-07-04 14:37:11 / 2025-07-04 14:38:58 / 2