Smorgasbord (5-8-24)

This is The Drive with Josh Graham Podcast.

We're internet sensations guys! Tune into The Drive weekday afternoons 3 to 7 on WSJS. Welcome to a Wednesday Drive.

It is WSJS News Talk Sports for the Triad. Where thank goodness we have weekly positivity on tap because your guy needs it today. Morale is low in the studio because of the Canes Game 2 loss at MSG last night. Speaking as a fan of the team, it was an absolute gut punch. But from a hockey perspective, in terms of how it can affect the rest of this series, New York up now two games to nothing, that loss could very well leave a mark. It's the kind of loss that can carry over into tomorrow night and maybe beat you twice. Let's go back to the 2006 Stanley Cup Final.

Rob Brindamore, after the fact, Carolina won that series in seven games as you might know. Rod said after the fact, it was a blessing in disguise that when they lost in Edmonton in Game 6, that they lost the game 4 to nothing. That it wasn't an OT loss like Game 5. That it wasn't incredibly close and emotional.

It was a lot easier to turn the page. Let's not even watch the tape of this one. Let's turn it over. This is the opposite of that. Multiple overtimes.

Those can swing things. Multiple overtimes is how a series that feels so close, like say Carolina and Florida did in the Eastern Conference Finals last year, can then become a four-game sweep. Because so much is invested in that and it takes so much out of you.

Vincent Trotek, the former Kane who had the game-winning goal, could barely speak to Emily Kaplan on the bench after the game. Multiple OT losses. It's so demoralizing. You're exhausted.

WD, you're waving your arms in the air. Come on! Pick ourselves up! Let's go! No, I'm just saying. You're exhausted and now you've got to go back home.

You don't even get a travel day. So you're playing tomorrow night. And the way Igor Shostakin's playing, that has to get into your head a little bit. How many pucks on net do we have to put on this guy to beat him? To beat this team? How many pucks did he stop?

Close to 60? Speaking of goalies, you should expect the Canes to make a goaltending change tomorrow night. Even before it went to OT, it was pointing that way, after the third goal wasn't the greatest to tie it up.

But with multiple OTs and no travel day, this frankly should be a no-brainer to go to P.O. at the Kochek Cup. But it's the first time in the postseason that he will play. Now, Freddie wasn't bad last night. He was certainly better than he was in Game 1.

But he gave up rebounds that Shostakin was not giving up. This is something we'll run past Adam Gold, who covers the Canes closer than anybody in the media space. Certainly in the talk space. He'll join us. Last year he was crowned as the North Carolina Sportscaster of the Year.

We'll see what he thinks about the decision Rod has for tomorrow night. And the tension, it's going to be intense in that building. You know how we talk about the butt-clenching in that building at PNC? When it's not the Canes, but it's NC State basketball when North Carolina comes to town?

Maybe that's not going to happen so much anymore with the Pack making a final forerun and beating North Carolina in an ACC championship. But all the baggage just comes out and it's palpable and can be felt even by the players in the game. Oh man, something bad is going to happen. This isn't good. You just have the baggage, the demons.

They're all there. And it hurts NC State or it has hurt NC State in games that they want to win. That's when NC State stuff was real. All the pressure is going to be on Carolina tomorrow. Because you're not beating New York four straight times. You're probably not beating them three straight times. Which means the next two games are must-win games for Carolina to hold serve. But past playoff experiences, whether it be Florida last year with the overtime losses both at home. Or it be the year before that, losing Game 7 to Igor Shostakin and the Rangers on home ice. Or getting swept by the Bruins in 2019 or losing to the Lightning in 2021. These are things that are not forgotten and fans probably are going to be bringing those experiences into the building.

But that's the thought I had. It's the type of game that can leave a mark for Carolina. Will Dalton, he's the executive producer of this show. We're streaming video on YouTube, Twitch, X, however and wherever you are listening or watching. We appreciate that. You can chime in on the show 336-777-1600.

Or on our Twitter feed, we see you on the YouTube replies as well. Lance writing in, Graham Cracker. Man, last night that was tough for Canes fans.

WD, typical Yankee slash Tar Heel fan too. What are you guys so down about? Oh, you should just pick it up and be excited again. Hope the good things happen. Well, yeah, I'm very optimistic.

Pick it up. Come on. This is why people should be required to root for teams that are historically bad. I'm a Hornets fan. Yeah, but the Hornets have no experience being in the playoffs, so that's different.

Is it? How old were you the last time they were in the playoffs? Were you still in high school?

It was my second year of college, I want to say. Exactly. That series against the Heat? Yeah. Purple shirt guy. Are you ready to dive back into golf mode? Yes, I am. If anybody is, it's me. Shots up, shots down.

Yeah. Wells Fargo championship tomorrow, we'll pick that. We'll have picks for that shortly. PGA championship next week, second major championship of the year. The third is the U.S. Open. It's in North Carolina at Pinehurst in a month. I think Adam Gold actually played Pinehurst number two earlier this week, so how about that? We can ask him about that when he joins us in less than a half hour.

The Wyndham championship in Greensboro not too far after that. This might be news to some of you, but there is a lot of Nikola Jokic hate out there, which you might not be that aware of now, but you're going to be soon. Because over the next week, that Jokic hate is about to be amplified a great deal.

Here's why. W.D., did you know that tonight the MVP is going to be announced? Yes, I did. And did you know Jokic is the heavy favorite to win the MVP? No, I thought it was Shay Gilgis Alexander. No, it's going to be Jokic tonight. And it's going to be his third MVP in four years. And it's going to be over Donkic and over SGA. And this could be happening in the midst of the Nuggets being eliminated in round two by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

So those two things together. Hey, Jokic winning a third MVP in four years. Jokic being eliminated in round two by the Minnesota Timberwolves. That's going to lead to the Jokic people, the Jokic haters that were in the shadows after they won the title last year, feeling very emboldened to come out and to yell at people again. And the reasons for hating Jokic, they're absurd, a lot of them. There are some people who don't like him because, frankly, he's a white guy dominating a predominantly black sport.

Some have said that pretty explicitly. Remember the controversy with Kendrick Perkins talking about Joel Embiid versus Jokic last year when Embiid ended up winning the award? Gilbert Arenas said some things that are not so veiled in that regard, related to some things that Gilbert has said other people just don't like the fact that foreign players have dominated this award, it seems in recent years, dominating the MVP in the NBA. To put that in perspective, W.D., can you name the last American MVP for the NBA? It was James Harden, no? Correct.

How about that? Look at you. Six years ago, James Harden. But that's six years.

It was. Since then, you had Giannis twice, Jokic about to be three times, and you had Joel Embiid. Yep.

So it's been a long time. It's been a minute since you had an American MVP winner. And then there are some who think, if you win the MVP, you've got to get to the finals.

You've got to win. You can't be eliminated in round two. It's unacceptable. That's the piece that bothers me. The opportunist saying, oh, Jokic is overrated. Why?

Because he got eliminated in round two. The playoff performance dig, that's the one that bothers me because that wasn't used against Embiid last year. No, that was Doc Rivers' fault. Before that, it was Ben Simmons' fault.

OK. If Jokic wins the MVP, and Jokic's nuggets get eliminated in round two tonight, or in round two over the next week against the Wolves, he will be the seventh straight MVP in the NBA to not make it to the finals the year they won the MVP. Seventh straight MVP winner not making it to the finals the year they won the MVP. Only one of the last nine won the title the year that they won the MVP.

Nine times. That was Steph Curry in 2015. And none of that really should matter because Jokic won the championship last year. But rest assured, when Jokic wins the MVP tonight, the haters, they're going to be out there. It's going to be like the old Chappelle bit where you got Buck Nasty and I think it's Leon Washington.

Maybe that's the former running back of the Jets. I don't know. The player haters ball.

Hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate. We should probably move things along. Excuse me while I change Buck Nasty's mama's dish. Let's go to the sidelines. Tony Haines.

Those who know know. Up the road, it is quite the sports week for the Queen City. Tomorrow, the Wells Fargo Championship will open up Quail Hollow Friday. The North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame ceremony will happen at the Charlotte Convention Center. We'll be doing our show from there, visiting with the likes of Steve Smith, who will be inducted in our buddy Randolph Childress from Wake Forest.

Wells, you have Ron Wellman going in as well into the hall from Wake Forest. That should be a fantastic show. Saturday, you can listen to it on WSJS right here. You got, they're expecting a huge crowd at Bank of America Stadium after the win last week against Portland Charlotte FC facing Nashville FC.

And then, of course, you wrap up the Wells Fargo. A champion will be crowned on Sunday at Quail Hollow. Here to talk about it with us is our buddy from the Queen City.

It is Will Pelagic, the voice of Charlotte FC. What's your weekend going to look like, Willie P? Should be pretty busy, Josh.

I'm being persuaded to show my face out at Wells Fargo here for a couple days, maybe a couple afternoons here, Thursday, Friday. Obviously, got the big game this weekend, Saturday, and lots going on. You mentioned the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame inductions going on, which is real, real great for Steve Smith and the others that you mentioned as well. And I tell you what, it just continues with a big, big month. Of course, we've got the big race at the end of the month, so May is heating up.

It's become very much a very heated part of the sports calendar here. Let's get into the golf. Rory McIlroy, Max Homer, Wyndham Clark. Those are the three Wells Fargo champions since 2018. Homer winning twice, Rory has two wins over the last decade, Wyndham Clark winning last year. If I were to give you those three guys or the field, who do you take, Will Pelagic? You're telling me McIlroy, Clark, and who? Max Homer. Max Homer? I take the field because I'm really into Shauffele, honestly.

I think he's somebody who, I listened to him speak yesterday, he seemed pretty content. I think Rory, while he's played this course very well, it's been up and down for him this year. I think Wyndham Clark is somebody who I feel like might be the most threatening of those as the defending champion. But I think it's going to be wide open. I think scoring is going to be very much something that people get a lot of this week, especially if the rain stays somewhat away. I know the one thing they were talking about yesterday is that the course is going to be playing a lot softer than it has been, so it might mean for some good scoring.

Of course, any time it's firm, it can be one way or the other, especially with the greens. I also think that this field is kind of wide open, and obviously with the signature nature of this event, I think it obviously also brings in a higher caliber of player than you would have seen maybe here in previous years, especially knowing what's up ahead here with PGA Championship coming up here as well. Xander Schauffele, the runner-up last year to Wyndham Clark. Wyndham Clark's 19-under par, winning by four strokes, kind of broke this spell of not-so-low scorers winning this tournament. 8-under par for Max Homa the year before.

Rory McIlroy with 10-under. So, we'll see if it's around that 15, between 15 and 20 under par for a championship this weekend. Charlotte FC wins 2-0, and I'm still trying to program myself accordingly in terms of how excited I should be looking at standings and how much I should attach stakes to games to matches in the month of May. See, I've got it all figured out from a baseball perspective now that I'm getting used to watching a baseball team that's pretty good in the Orioles case, like how appropriately excited or bummed out you should be in the middle of May looking at standings, for example. But since we know at this point, this being year three of Charlotte FC, that it is not a sprint, it is a marathon, where would you assess the level of urgency, this point in the calendar, how much we should be paying attention to the standings? Well, I think based on the jump they made this past week, I mean, they went from 11th all the way up to 6th, which is one victory, and they were 7th for a little bit, and then with New York's loss because of goal differential, they were even able to jump up an additional spot up to that 6th spot. So, it kind of tells you how penal a loss can be and how rewarding a victory can be. I've always said that, you know, you kind of know around Father's Day, that's kind of the marking point that I've always kind of put out there, because by then you've got teams playing midweek games, all of the preseason competitions, you know, CompCap Champions Cup is out of the way, most of the teams are done with US Open Cup in previous years, obviously it'll be a little bit different this year with lesser MLS teams competing in that. I think that's kind of the place where you look at and you say, okay, now I know who's good, who's not, you've had some repeat matches by that point as well, so there is a little bit of that regression of the mean. Not to say that this is not an important stretch for Charlotte FC because of the way the schedule breaks, it's very important because they play four Saturday home games in their home building, and I would say that they have a good chance to win all four of them, given the way that Charlotte FC has played at home, absent the Minnesota result. I think we're finding out also now, Josh, that Minnesota is actually one of those teams that is really good. They got a big victory this past weekend over Atlanta, and they right now are tied for the Supporter Shield lead with Inter Miami, and Inter Miami has literally just been coming in and blowing out fools this year.

So from that perspective, I think it's still a little early to be going to haywire over things, but it is still a nice place to be. It's still the best 11-game start Charlotte FC has had in their young history, so seeing these kinds of returns is something that should be an encouraging part for a Charlotte FC fan, but as we know, things always change week to week with this league. Will Pelagic, voice of Charlotte FC, with us.

Nashville, Charlotte, Saturday night, you can listen to it on WSJS. Let's close our conversation a little bit off the beaten path, because things have gotten very quiet on the Charlotte Hornets coaching front. Last week was talking with some folks in the organization, and they told me, next few weeks, keep an eye, something's going to come down, something's going to shake loose. If Will Pelagic had his number one draft pick of who Charlotte's next coach would be, who is that? I still feel like Charles Lee is the odds-on favorite, just based on coaching experience, pedigree, and what I think this team needs to succeed. Is that the Celtics? Is that Missoula's assistant?

Yes, yes. Boston Celtics, got it. And that's not to say that I wouldn't like J.J. Redick. I'm not as anti-J.J. Redick as a lot of other people are. I know our mutual friend Chris McLean has went on an anti-J.J. Redick crusade, telling everybody that he could possibly get to in a 100-mile radius to not hire the former Duke star to be the head coach.

He might be the first person I've heard go super... You're talking about Mack from Mack and Bone in the Morning over there in Charlotte. He might be the first person I've heard go super negative on it who's just not an outward Carolina fan that hates J.J. Redick going back through his days at Duke. Honestly, there are people who are Carolina fans who are all for it, and I know some staunch North Carolina fans who think, oh, if you're doing this, you're not a serious organization.

The thing I keep coming back to is this, Josh. The head coach of the Hornets, whomever they hire, is not going to be an impediment to me, to them being able to win. The thing that's an impediment for them winning is LaMelo Ball not seeing the floor. It's Mark Williams not seeing the floor. It's not bringing back Miles Bridges, which is something I think, if we looked at this a year ago, would not have been something we were saying, but how much he played, how effective he played, and the fact that he has kept his nose somewhat clean since the incidents from a couple of years ago, it is at least something that is somewhat encouraging from that perspective. Whether they get some more pieces around him remains to be seen, but I do feel like the most effective this team is going to be is dependent on who is going to be on the floor and that who being the man who wears number one and the man who is supposed to be your center and big part of your future, not necessarily who's drawing up the X's and the O's.

Completely agree with everything you just said, which is why I am incredibly for JJ Reddick because it's interesting. And the bar for this organization is so low that the bar is not even winning. The bar is be fun, be interesting, be competitive. Like people revere those 90s Hornets teams. Oh, Muggsy Bogues and Grandmama and Dell Curry.

They won one series. Like that's the bar. That's the bar. Don't even be great. Be fun.

Be interesting. JJ Reddick's interesting. And look no further than that one reaction video with Luka Doncic and Godsham God looking at JJ Reddick. He's somebody who's going to have some credibility walking in there because you not only have people who grew up watching him play, but you have people who grew up with him in the league. I understand that he'll probably have to build a bit of a stronger staff around him with some NBA experience and I'm sure Steve Clifford will be able to at least assist in trying to get that together. But it is something where it might be an attraction for players to want to come play for him. And there isn't really anybody right now who's around the game who talks about it more smartly or smarter, I should say, than JJ does. How does that translate to the coaching ranks?

We don't know yet. I understand that folks don't want to be the guinea pig for this because you could see him maybe not have success here and then go on somewhere else and not necessarily have success with the Hornets and success somewhere else. To me, I don't think it's a bad scenario for the Hornets to be in.

And again, I think their success is more derived by how much the Miller Ball sees the floor this year. Yeah, I think you and I are on the same page in this regard. Will Pelagic, enjoy what is going to be a very exciting weekend in the Queen City. We appreciate your time in the meantime. We need you to stay down after Friday night's event and go to the game center. See, I was about to bring that up and say, hey, we need to go to that event. The problem with that is I'm locked into Game 4 Carolina Hurricanes Saturday night in Raleigh. You don't have to watch until Game 7, I promise you. If Game 7 was on home ice, I'd be with you. But you know, got to make sure we get to Game 4, unfortunately. But we'll be out there sometime soon.

Hey, you know what? I'd be willing to commit to this at some point if we could figure out the details behind the scenes. I'd love the idea. Do a show from Bank of America Stadium.

Figure it out. When do we start playing midweek games? That's coming up soon. We have the first one coming up in June.

That's it. So once we get done with US Open and we're getting close to sometime during the summer. We'll figure out a midweek date, try to get out there for a game, maybe do the show from there. I know that's something that's been talked about behind the scenes. So I'm just going to put it on air so salespeople and other people hear it and then it gets worked out.

That's usually how these things work. You are a ready, fire, aim type person. That's it.

I'm LeVar Ball. Speak it into existence. Undefeated.

When is everything? Never lost. Willie P, have a great call this weekend. Thank you, pal. Appreciate you. All right, let's go.

Oh, I'm so excited. And three, two, one, go. Back to the drive with Josh Graham. We'll get back to hockey when Adam Gold joins us.

He still is the reigning North Carolina sportscaster of the year. Until Mike Salarte and Eric Collins rips the title from his dead cold hands later this summer in Greensboro. We'll talk golf with him as well. And speaking of EC and Salarte, who are in the Queen City, the Wells Fargo championship starts tomorrow at Quail Hollow. So let's get to handing out some picks, even though it's not sexy to do this.

It's not the most interesting thing to do. Chalk's the way to go at the Wells Fargo. This is not the tournament to get cute because to me, it'll be one of these three players winning the championship Sunday afternoon. Rory McIlroy, Wyndham Clark, or Max Homa.

One of those three, I might even go as far to say give me those three versus the field. Can I bet that? Somebody should give me the chance to bet that. Because if I could, I would. Tell me what the odds are.

We'll figure it out. The last time one of those three did not win this tournament was 2016. Oh, pardon me, 2018.

Six years ago. Rory has won this tournament twice in the last decade, had a runner-up finish as well. These three players have won five of the last eight Wyndham championships, or not Wyndham, Wells Fargo championships. Getting my North Carolina golf courses mixed up, golf tournaments. Quail Hollow, it's not the course to be deterred by repeat champions.

You see it quite a bit. The common thread that links these three players, Rory, Wyndham, Homa, long hitting. Quail Hollow is for bombers, which is why Rory absolutely loves this course and has his entire career. He prioritizes playing in the Wells Fargo even before it became one of those elevated events. But since it is one of those elevated events, you can count on the top hitters, top bombers to be playing in the tournament year in, year out.

Except Scotty Sheffler this year because Scotty, still expecting his child, not playing this week, staying at home. Still? Yeah. Apparently the due date was two weeks, three weeks out.

People just trying to make stories out there. I was about to say, it made it sound like any second. That's what I'm saying. But he hopefully will be ready to go for the PGA championship next week. But no Scotty in Charlotte this week. Rory, Wyndham Clark, Max Homa. Those are the three guys. And between the three, if I have to pick one, because you might think I'm cheating. Oh, Josh, you take three of the guys with the five or six best odds in the tournament.

Okay, I'll pick one of the three. Max Homa. He's my pick. He's won it twice. So it would be his third win in the tournament, the last five out of the last five.

He's been playing well lately as well. Third, tied for third in the Masters. Six tournaments, finishing in the top 25 out of the 10. He's participated this year. Only one missed cut. Max Homa, my pick, to win the Wells Fargo championship in Charlotte this week.

We'll see what Adam Gold thinks in just a bit. You know who also had a rough go last night? It wasn't just the Carolina Hurricanes. ESPN. Yeah, not great.

So, those who watched know exactly what I'm about to mention. It was a frenetic finish at MSG. Chances left and right, great saves being made left and right. Final minute and a half of the game. We're creeping into the final minute when this happens on the ESPN broadcast. Oh, in regulation time as the Canes. This is the scene and we are ready to go for a high-powered series in the Western Conference in the second round.

With that, we say hello and thanks for joining us. I'm outside A.J. Bolesko. I'm Mike Bonico.

Leah Hextall joins us. Tjotjec in the bumper position. 30 seconds left in the third period. Just in case you didn't know, that's not us messing with audio. Are they playing the right clip or not? Oh, yeah. Oh, no. That's what it sounded like on the broadcast.

Chance after chance. And then, oh, here's Mike Bonico. I've never been more unhappy to see his face. I was so unhappy.

I even texted him. I'm like, Bonico, why did you do this? It reminds me of when the Billy Joel got interrupted by the 11 o'clock news. That's exactly what happened. And then it goes back. And what you don't hear there, right after McDonough timestamps it, 30 seconds to go, is Shasturkin robs Seth Jarvis 10 seconds after that.

And to quote Ron Burgundy, the great wise sage and roaster, apparently, I was in a glass cage of emotion watching that happen. Then, as if that wasn't bad enough, they had to bump Mike Bonico, the Stars-avs game to ESPN2, while the Canes game finished up in overtime, obviously. And during the OT intermission, Steve Levy at ESPN, did you hear this? Steve Levy, while the game was 3-0 Stars, they got off to a great start.

Steve Levy made this crack. There is one other game going on tonight. At this point, it does not appear like it's going to overtime. God, because the Stars are up 3-0. This one's not going to OT.

Stars-avs went to OT and the Avalanche won. So we jinxed them. That's a hardcore jinx.

Surely, that is the greatest jinx that we can find on television last night, right? What? There's something else? Getting to baseball. This is outstanding. MLB Network had, they wanted to spotlight late night last night, Yoshinobu or what's the name of this? Yamamoto. Yamamoto, thank you.

You're welcome. What's his first name? That one's a little trickier. That's what I was trying to pronounce. The Dodgers' new Japanese pitcher, who's really good, has had a run of 15 straight scoreless innings. The Marlins, meanwhile, are the Marlins.

They're not good. So, what's his name? Yoshinobu.

See, that's what I was trying to go for. Yamamoto. Yamamoto.

That's not what it is. Yamamoto. Yamamoto. There you go. Nailed it. Yamo be there.

We do radio for a living. If I got to hear Yamo be here one more time, I'm out. Yamo burn this place to the ground. If you know, you know. So, the Marlins are facing Yamamoto. And I think this is in jest. But maybe it isn't. They're setting up the Dodgers' broadcast with Joe Davis on the call.

And this is the way they set it up. Don't take this the wrong way. But we are already a no-hitter alert. Yoshinobu Yamamoto before he throws a single pitch tonight against the Marlins. We have a no-hitter alert.

Okay. Enjoy what could be a no-hitter from Yamamoto. You know jest when your first pitch. Right here on MLB Network for Herald.

They see why I'm Greg. We have a no-hitter alert. Enjoy this game live on MLB Network.

Oh boy. It's in the major leagues to establish himself as that guy. Dodgers looking for a six straight win and a 13th out of their last 15 after they took the first game 6-3 last night. Yamamoto comes home and off we go and the aggressive Marlins get a first pitch swing and a high fly ball and a home run for Jazz Chisholm on the first pitch. Magic.

First pitch. Now, Greg Amzinger had to have been kidding, right? Because you have Harold Reynolds there saying Jazz is going to swing at the first pitch.

This is what you're doing. And yet he still continued to go down that path. Part of me believes that this was taped too.

Maybe they knew because that just seemed too perfect. That's the skeptic in me. I'm less likely to believe that than that he was serious.

I don't think he was. But that does allow for us to have the conversation about announcer jinxes. Do you believe in announcer jinxes?

You played baseball. You seem to be superstitious. I don't believe in announcer jinxes.

I don't believe in any of it. But you shouldn't do that. Why? Because you're just setting it up. Maybe I do subconsciously because you're just setting it up to happen. Okay, in this instance of doing a no-hitter alert before a pitch is thrown, yes.

But if it's the seventh inning and a guy has a no-hitter. You don't speak of it. So you are superstitious. Maybe I am.

Maybe I am. Because from a broadcaster's perspective, you want as many people to know about it as possible. That's fair.

From a storytelling perspective. And I've been on games before where I cringed a little inside every time I would say it because I'm like, oh, you don't do it. Okay, how about kickers lining up for a kick? This guy hasn't missed an extra point the entire season.

He hasn't missed an extra point in his career. I think as a broadcaster you have to say it, though. You're painting the picture.

You have to do it. But when you're in the game, like when we're in the dugout, we don't talk about it. No. Shut up. I don't want to hear it.

I am not an announcer jinx guy. Ah. Just not.

Tell me the story. Now, sometimes I'll play along with it just because I don't like hearing from the crazy people. Yeah.

The crazies. Also, it's a little bit fun just to play along. Let me be cagey about it. It does.

It just seems like a fun part of the game, fun part of the gimmick. But do I believe in it at all? No. No. I mean, I don't actually either, but... I think you do.

I could see it on your face. You are religiously against bringing up a no-hitter while a guy is throwing a no-hitter. Do you get up and move to a different spot? No. I don't do that. I don't take it to that extreme.

I know it doesn't actually affect it. How dare you move to a different spot during a no-hitter? Look what's happening here.

How can you change things up? You sat in a different chair. I mean, listen.

There's forces out there that just can't be explained. Fresh off playing Pinehurst number two, and closely covering the canes, as he's done for a very long time, the yes, reigning North Carolina Sportscaster of the Year from the NSMA, Adam Gold joins the show next. This is it. Ready? All right. Hold on. All right. Do it. Do it. All right.

Listen up. This is The Drive with Josh Graham. Having the YouTube channel gain some traction, I've understood the importance of thumbnails and such, and getting people to click on videos and things if you haven't already subscribed to the podcast.

Wherever you get your podcasts into the YouTube channel, search The Drive with Josh Graham. Last night, the Canes Corner podcast hosted by Adam Gold, who last year was the North Carolina Sportscaster of the Year. He still is that until Eric Collins and Mike Salarte come from Charlotte to rip it from his dead cold hands in Greensboro later this year, I saw the thumbnail after the double overtime loss, and all I could imagine was a funny photo session where Adam is giving a bummed out face. He looks like a sad puppy dog in the picture, and then I see some of the other ones for other Canes wins, and it's goofy faces, it's happy faces, and I appreciate that a great deal.

If you want to take Canes coverage in real time throughout these playoffs, you should be subscribed to the Canes Corner podcast, as we welcome Adam Gold to the show. Now AG, do you remember this? Am I accurately depicting this photo session that occurred?

Yes. I was asked by somebody affectionately known as Video Joe. He gave me an emotion, he gave me a face that meets the emotion. We did this for about 10 minutes, and I really feel like I was probably doing the same face over and over again, but I guess there was enough difference where we got all of these different things, and I don't know which one, I don't put those together, the thumbnails, I don't know which one Graham used yesterday, but Graham's pretty good at picking out the right emotion. What a gut punch last night was.

Oh, it really was. Carolina was good last night. I know Carolina was the better team last night, but you gotta convert on the power play.

There's no doubt. Carolina allowing two power play goals in game one, going 0 for 5 on the power play, and then last night allowing two power play goals, including Trochek's game winner, and 0 for 5 on the power play again. You also played Pinehurst number two, I understand it, this week.

We'll get to the goth in just a second, but... But played is it completely, that's relative. Yeah, we'll get to that in a bit, but I need to know as we push things forward. Now that we're trying to turn the page from last night to tomorrow night, no travel day, how difficult of a decision does Rod Brind'Amour have in selecting his game three starter in net? I think it's hard, because I think it's bold both ways.

It's... Personally, let me just say what I would do. I would go to Kachekoff, because I think there are two things that you need when you play the Rangers. You need, I think, lateral quickness and athleticism, and Kachekoff checks a box higher than Anderson does there. He Kocheks the box.

Very nice, yes. He Polk checks the box, and I also think that his ceiling as a goalie is higher than Anderson's. Of course, his floor is also lower. The real... To me, the real dilemma is Kachekoff hasn't played now in three weeks, so it's a tough spot to throw Kachekoff in when he hasn't played at all in three weeks. Part of the reason I really wanted to see Rod use him in either game three or four of the Islander series, but Rod was trying to wrap it up in four games. He went Anderson in three, and I thought he would come back with Kachekoff in four, knowing that he could use Anderson in five, but he went Freddie on both.

I was a little surprised at that. I would personally use Kachekoff, but it's bold because as well as Anderson played in making some third period saves where Carolina had to kill two power plays, and in the overtime, two point blank opportunities for Zibanejad, maybe even a better scoring opportunity on a two-on-one with Jack Roslovic and a great blocker save, I thought Freddie was great until the power play goal that ended it, but I've always been reminded of this, as a goalie, you are only as good as the goals you allow, and game one, Artemi Panarin's goal can't go in. That made it four-two. And last night, you made the save on the third period power play, you made the save. Now it's about locating the puck and covering it. It was under Anderson, but he didn't know that, and he couldn't locate it, and it ultimately slides out from under him, and Slavin is not in position to box him out.

Crider is bigger and stronger than Slavin anyway, and Crider is right there, and he just slides it into the net. Now it's not a game, and then on the game winner, if Freddie doesn't come out to try to basically slap the puck out of the way, if he doesn't try to do that, then he is in position in his net, and he can get low and close off all the holes, but because he made that initial move, he wasn't really in position to deal with that puck, because that's a puck that can't go in either. And I would just say, and this might be unfair, and again, Brent Burns wasn't good on that play either, but the other guy, the other guy wearing number 31, isn't allowing those two goals, and he's not allowing the Panarin goal, and Shastirka's playing great, and Anderson shouldn't be held to that standard, but there's three areas that Caroline is losing. Special teams, goaltending, and boxing out in front of their own net, and Caroline has got to neutralize those in game three to win the game, and with all that said, Caroline lost two, four, three games. It really was, and the first overtime power play, Martin Neches rang the, from the left faceoff dot, rang the inside of the far post. He beat Shastirka, if it's a half inch further left, Caroline wins it 3-2. Those are the margins we're talking about, even with the power play and goaltending advantages.

That's how close this series is, I don't ever want to forget that, so Caroline plays a little bit better in those three areas, I think they'll be fine, but that's easier said than done. Second straight game that Martin Neches rings the goal post, it's Adam Gold who's with us here. Canes Corner Podcast, be sure to find that on YouTube, wherever you get your podcast as well. Great stuff in the moment after each of these playoff games. Going to golf, the list of guys I love at Quail Hollow is three names long. It's last year's champ Wyndham Clark, it's Rory McIlroy, it's Max Homa, all are bombers on this golf course.

How do you read this week's tournament? So somebody said to me today that based on the level of anger that Rory McIlroy is carrying, carrying around, carrying around towards some of the more prominent fellow PGA Tour players who actively don't want him on the PGA Tour's policy board now, that Rory might just say blanket and beat the field by a dozen. So I will say this about Rory, if he can get out of his own way, there's nobody better in golf if he can get out of his own way.

That's not easy to do. I think Rory has a tendency to tighten up, which is hard. I mean, I would say the same thing about like Serena Williams.

I think Serena Williams might have five more grand slams if she didn't get tight in certain situations. And that's what really has happened to Rory. All respect to Wyndham Clark, Rory wins the U.S. Open last year if he's not, I mean, completely, you couldn't pull a pin out of his hand, we'll just say, with a Mack truck in the final round. Same thing that happened in the Open Championship a year ago or two years ago at St. Andrews. That's his tournament to lose and he lost it because he just couldn't get out of his own way on Sunday.

But if Rory puts it together, he's got the best toolbox in golf. So good pick. I love Max Homa too, by the way.

I'm a huge Max Homa fan. The last time somebody not named Wyndham Clark, Max Homa, or Rory McIlroy won this tournament was 2018, six years ago. So repeat champions, don't be afraid in this tournament. And before that Rory won another time. Rory also was a runner up in this tournament too, of course, loves this golf course. I'm sure you love Pinehurst number two. We're going to be doing our show from Pinehurst next month. I've never been to Pinehurst, so I'm very excited to be there for the first time.

Can't wait. Are you from North Carolina, Josh? You're from here?

I am. Unless you count, like, what do you count if people are born in another state but live there for one year? Like I was born in Baltimore, moved when I was one. Where'd you move to?

North Carolina. Then you're from here? Yeah.

Yes. I'm from here. I've been here. I've been here 26 years. I'm from here now.

Yeah. I am a North Carolinian. I've never been to that course. I've been to Quail Hollow, been to, obviously, the Wyndham, I forget the name of the course at Wilmington. I forget it, but I've even been there. They only had it there one year. I didn't go either.

Right. So I just, you know, I've never been to Pinehurst. I'll be there next month. You played the course.

How did it go? Yeah. Well, you know what? I birdied 18.

There you go. They had the pin in the same spot where Payne Stewart made his putt in 1999. I decided that the 18th hole would be my swan song, maybe, that I will ever play golf again, because that was only the third hole we played that day. But one of the rare fairways I hit, one of the rare greens I hit and made the putt, got an ovation from the veranda, and it was all downhill the rest of the way. It is a phenomenal, phenomenal, two things about Pinehurst. One, the player who can hit his ball whole high the most will probably win the tournament. You will not beat players up off the tee, because there's a lot of landing area, and even off the fairway, unless you get unlucky, these guys will all be able to hit out of the natural area.

But the trick is the size of the greens are about one third of what you see, because so much of the greens are unusable for a landing area, because they're all bold and they all have falloffs on the edges. I basically described Scottie Scheffler as your slant on Twitter. I mean, Scheffler would have to, honestly, because there's nobody better right now. Are we sure he's going to have his kid by then, because he's not playing this week because of the child? We have to hear about this child for about two months, I think. Well, if Meredith is still holding on to the first Scheffler baby by Father's Day, then we've got other issues.

Then it's not a human child, then it's like an elephant or something like that. So I am confident that Scottie will be in. Hey, look, I didn't even know this. Did you know that he has never won a tournament after April? Whoa, that's a stat.

Where's the where's Brent Musburger when you need him? That's a stunning to me. That's crazy. Scottie Scheffler has not won a tournament after.

I'm going to write that one down. Just beyond April, he has not won a golf tournament. He's certainly threatened, right, but he has not won a golf tournament after April.

That doesn't mean he won't win at Valhalla next week, assuming Meredith has the child. But to me, the way he hits his approach shots flag high, better than anybody else in the sport. He is the overwhelming favorite.

I think it's not an easy course to putt, not a lot of movement on the greens, very subtle. But as long as he hits it whole high, he is the absolute odds on slam dunk favorite. Adam Gold, you're not allowed to win the North Carolina Sportscaster of the Year back to back year. So I will say next year, you're the slam dunk odds on favorite to win a year from now. I was eligible this year. I won it two years ago. I was eligible this year. I didn't win.

Oh, for some reason, I thought that was last year. Well, that's my bad. I'm not very good. I'm not that good at this. I don't know. I won it two years ago.

Yeah, the people know. You probably put your thumb on the scale for me. I've certainly thrown my weight around to try and get Adam Gold some love. Canes Corner Podcast with Adam Gold, AG, it's good to hear your voice. I'll see you. I'll be at game four on Saturday night. I'll see you then. Oh yes, I'll be there.

Carolina will be evening the series that day. Whoa! Where's Brent when you need him as well? Whoa! Hey! Let's go into the yard and throw ball with Pop! Whoa!

Okay, that's great. We're all here. Adam Gold, thanks man. You got it, bro. Josh Graham loves to talk sports.

He also loves to take herbal body baths to keep his skin supple and youthful looking. We're on the drive with Josh Graham. Hank Williams Jr. playing in Raleigh next week. If you'd like to go, all you have to do is give us a call, tell us something good. 336-777-1600, because it is that time of the week where we lift morale across the Piedmont in weekly positivity. Oh yeah, you're talking to me?

Well, I'm the only guy here, so you must be talking to me. Daily Positivity presented by Biscuit King, 336-777-1600. That's the number you need to call if you want to go see Hank Jr. in Raleigh next week. WD, usually when I write down on this piece of paper in front of me things that are good, it's very easy to do so. It's just a smorgasbord of good things to pick between. I'm struggling to find good things today. After what happened to the hurricanes and my Orioles yesterday, maybe there was pizza in the office when I got here today.

Yes, there was. Good deep dish. That was good.

Glad you mentioned that. I'm not a fan of deep dish. Oh yeah, good crust. And what frustrate, it's not a frustration because I love all types of pizza. I'll eat the deep dish I did is, I guess it's just interesting.

I've been working in the media for over a decade now, about a decade out of school. And usually when we have pizza get together as a place, this is the first place that I've ever seen order deep dish. Now I've never worked like in Chicago or anywhere else. Most of my time has been spent here in North Carolina. I think this might be the first place, WD, that I've worked, that when they order pizza, that there's deep dish ordered. I like deep dish because I'm...

It's not as common in North Carolina is what I'm saying. Well, and I think maybe that's why I like it because I don't get to have it very often. And so when I see it, I'm like deep dish. It's just not my preference, but it was good to have some pizza today for lunch. Good pizza.

I appreciate it though. Good stuff. Let's go to Jim who's in advance. Hi, Jim. Yes, hello. How are you? I'm doing great. Tell me something good.

Okay, yeah. My granddaughter's graduating this weekend from Chapel Hill College and she's going into the medical school. Oh, wow. She's worked hard. Congratul... What's her name? Jim. J-I-M. Well, correct.

Congratulations to Jill. Are you telling me that UNC Chapel Hill has their graduation this weekend? Is that right? That's right. Yeah. She graduates Friday and then Saturday too. See, App State's having their graduation this weekend as well. So it does sound like it's about that time. So are you going to go to the ceremony this weekend?

Yes, I sure am. I wouldn't miss it for nothing. That sounds fantastic. You got to... Yeah. Hopefully the weather holds up. That's another thing. It looks like it's supposed to be pretty nice or pretty good. Yeah, I hope so.

Yeah. Well, congratulations to Jill and congratulations to you, Jim. Appreciate you sharing that with us and enjoy Hank Jr. as well in Raleigh. Should we go... Oh, we got some regulars on the line.

That's good. Should we go to Dave or should we go to Beth? Let's go to Dave real quick.

Hi, Dave. What's up, JG? How are you?

Let me think for a second. I'm good. I'm better, honestly, because of the obvious Carolina hurricane stuff, but tell me something good with you.

Well, let me try and cheer you up real quick. I'm going to do exactly what you said about 30 minutes ago. I'm going to go home and download this underdog sports book app and I am going to fire some bets to light. I'm either going to go Jalen Brunson first basket or I'm thinking about playing Scottie Scheffler next week, JG. I just don't know if I can hold my horses eight more days and wait for that to take off. So I might get some Knicks action tonight if that sounds all right with you. I mean, I think I'm with you on that rather than going with Brunson, though, I might be previewing my best bets in a bit. Dante DiVincenzo over three and a half threes is plus money tonight at MSG, he has hit over that number in eight of the last 11 home games.

And the Pacers don't play any defense. So I like that as well. I use some bonus bets. Yes, that's what I'm saying.

And what I brought up about underdog, it's very true. And you probably know this day is when you they try to sell you these other places. Oh, you get all this money in bonus bets. And then it's like, oh, well, you only have a week to use this twenty five and it's all in twenty five dollar increments or one hundred dollar increments or two hundred.

Nope. They just give you one hundred dollars in bonus bets. Use it as you see fit.

That's what they do in underdog. It's pretty cool. I'm going to download tonight and fire away some action. Promo code live action, the drive. Thank you, Dave. That cheered me up. You're right. Cheered me up a great deal.

Talking sports betting. That'll get me going. Let's go to W.D., actually. Tell me something good. Well, you mentioned the pizza.

I feel like weekly positivity has become let's cheer up Josh and give away Hank tickets. Well, you mentioned the pizza already. That was good. Good.

The fact that the Yankees have won every game since playing the Orioles, that doesn't really help. And also, so tonight after the show, I'm going out to a spot and I'm going to have espresso martinis and they have really good espresso martinis. Where is this spot?

It's called the Borough Market Bar. Free plug. I'm a fan of it and sponsor the show. You can't sponsor weekly positivity, though. That's sponsored by Biscuit King. So I'm going to go and do that.

High point in Lexington. Shout out. Going to hang out with the person I was supposed to go on the Costco date with, but you're not. That's off the board now. You ruined that.

Didn't happen. So, yeah. Espresso martini. Let's go to Beth in Greensboro. Hi Beth.

Hi Josh. Tell me something. It is a great. Wait. Yes. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. No, no. Is it a great day or is it a good day? It's a good, great day is what it is. Game changer.

Wow. Heck yeah. So I, first of all, I'm a Rory McIlroy fan, so I'm pulling for him at the Wells Fargo because I went there in 2015, I believe, and when he won, so I got to see him when it didn't.

But what is most important, I love what is good is that you said the word smorgasbord correctly and it was beautifully said and it's said so incorrectly most of the time. That's all I wanted to say that was good besides Rory McIlroy. What's your favorite part about Wells Fargo Golf Club as a place to watch a tournament? Because I know, you know, Greensboro's Wyndham Championship, Sedgefield very well. What do you like about Quail Hollow? So Quail Hollow is amazing. It's beautiful. It's almost like an Augusta in North Carolina. And what's good about it is I know a secret parking spot just off your beaten path where you pay 20 bucks and then you just walk right there and there you are and oh, it's amazing.

Well next year, I think we'll try to be out there for the PGA Championship. Then I might need to know about that secret parking spot. I will let you know. I promise. All right, Beth, that's good.

Thank you so much for sharing. There she goes, Beth in Greensboro. If the mission was make Josh feel better in weekly positivity, mission accomplished. That's been weekly positivity. No more free plugs.