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Debt Life Lock. Save up to 30% your first year at lifelock.com slash podcast. Terms apply. See, Norton, I'm thinking. I'm thinking that I'm Jim Rome, and this show is brought to you by FanDuel.
I'm also thinking. Tell me. How about a decky? Heading into the Red Holiday weekend. And I'm also thinking this because we are heading into a long holiday weekend.
You got to get up in here. You got to finish strong. We have a best of program on Monday. We will not be here. None of us will be here.
So make sure you head into this weekend and you finish. Man, finish strong. Let's get it. Good show for you today. Lots to get to.
And I'm looking for you to do your part. You know we're going to do our part. You know we're ready to roll. I'm looking for you to step up and find a way to make it better. As I've always said, ask not what I can do for you.
Believe me, I've done more than enough for you. Ask not what I can do for you. Ask what you can do for the jungle to make it better. All right, telephone number is 1-800-636-8686. If you're not about that life, just get to the X, hit me at Jim Rome.
If you wanna email me, email me at Rome, R-O-M-E at have a take.com, or get into the chat. We have a YouTube channel. We are working very hard to build that channel out. You know how you can help us. If you're asking yourself, Rome, what can I do to help?
I can tell you, you can go to our YouTube channel, you can hit subscribe, you can ring the bell. And then go into the chat. That would be extremely helpful to us. And thank you very much ahead of time. All right, coming up today.
I'm really excited about this. Found an old pal. This guy was a jungle icon back in the day, and I actually have not spoken to him in years. John Barry John Berry, former NBA. And I thought about this because somebody brought up the Sacramento Tour stop not that long ago, and I'm like, John Berry.
There was no Sacramento Tour stop without John Barry.
So I should run down John Barry, see what he's up to, and maybe we can relive that.
So, John Barry is coming up in 40 minutes, 12:40 Pacific time. Second hour is wide open. Top of our number three, former SEC great Aaron Murray, joins us. And a lot of noise in the SEC.
So, I'm going to get there momentarily. Also, on this Friday, I've got an ATP, I've got Alvie's Week that was, and I'm just looking for your way to get in here. I'm looking for a way for you to get into the program and participate.
Alright, first things first. I mean, I wish it weren't so, but it is. And there's no getting around it. There's no ignoring it. But the never ending courtroom drama, known as college football, continues another round of litigation heading into the first full weekend of the season.
And with that in mind, I do have to ask. How is this worth it? For Lane Kiffin. How is going to war with the SEC in the hours before your season kicks off beneficial to LSU? As always, for who?
For what? For a couple of depth players. That's why Lane Kiffen and LSU are going to the mattress with the SEC. How does that make any sense? All right, fine.
LSU won a ruling yesterday. Is so?
So what? All that does is ensure that this nonsense is going to drag on even closer to the start of this season, especially since they got adjudged a rule that prohibits the NCAA or the SEC from punishing any school that puts the players in question on the field, aka the players who came from NFL training camps. All right, great. Great for LSU. But of course, the SEC was not going to accept that.
In fact, the SEC actually sued Lane. and LSU in the middle of the hearing that led to that ruling. They didn't even wait to see how the judge was going to rule. Probably because we all knew all along how the Baton Rouge judge was going to rule. Of course, he was going to rule for these players.
Of course, the SEC was going to keep fighting it. Again, my question. How does having this gigantic controversy hanging over that program that could threaten the program's existence? In the conference, by the way. How does this actually benefit LSU?
How does this massive distraction, the day before they have to pay or play Clemson, help LSU beat Clemson? See to me. This notion of risk versus reward, that's an REO, and LSU's calculation of the risk versus reward is way off. we're talking again about good players. But supporting depth players.
Now, if it seemed like there was a guy involved who might put LSU over the top for a natty, then maybe that makes more sense. But as it stands, I'm just lost on how this is worth it to Lane, how this is worth it to LSU, how this is helping set LSU up for this enormous season.
Now normally this is the part where I say it's just lane being lane. But it doesn't feel like that this time, does it? This doesn't feel like his typical antics. This isn't him being deceitful with a dog on social media. Again, I get that if Lane is not pushing the envelope as hard as he possibly can.
He not only thinks that he's not doing his job, but He thinks that he's not being true to who and what he is. I know that's how that dude's brain works. But again, that's not what this is. And that's why this makes no sense to me at all. Of course the dude is self-serving.
But how is any of this self-serving? How is any of this helping him? It feels way more self-defeating. Then self-serving. It's almost like the dude is just unleashing chaos for the sake of unleashing chaos.
It's almost like he can't help himself anymore. Like the turmoil, the controversy, they're his oxygen. He needs them to survive at this point. Lane is like a mayhem junkie. That said.
If Lane Kiffin were to zoom into this show right now, I can almost assuredly tell you that he would say the following. I bet he would very calmly tell us everybody's overreacting, that all he's doing is supporting three of his own former players who were misled initially by the NCAA, that they had no eligibility left. Then the NCAA changed the rules on them after the fact, after they declared for the draft. And that's the reason that they keep running in court.
So, exactly, what is the problem?
Well, the problem is, you're choosing to possibly die on that hill. For some reason, when you have way more important things to worry about this week. The problem is you haven't even coached a game at LSU yet, and yet your actions have the SEC threatening to boot the school out of the conference. You haven't even coached a game yet. Yet you might get the school thrown out of the conference.
Every coach in the world, not named Lane Kiffin, is always looking to shut down any and all noise and distraction. But lame, per usual, can't stand the silence, like he's afraid of being alone with his own thoughts. Hey dude, you want you want noise? You want chaos. Lose to Dabo tomorrow.
Then it will be noisy and chaotic as hell. Like the world long ago turned on lane. But somehow, some way, he was able to dig and work his way all the way back from FAU to his dream job at LSU. And there, they all love him. And they have his back.
However, lose this game and you will start to lose them too. And he did it all to himself. Oh, don't forget, don't forget, dude has to go back to Oxford in two weeks to play Ole Miss. Imagine losing to Clemson. And old Miss.
If all of that happens in the first month of the year, I'm not even sure FAU would take him back at that point. The whole situation has the potential to explode right in this guy's grill in the first month of the season, which is all the more reason why I do not understand how this eligibility war is worth his time and his attention right now. Let me give you another example. Like Texas Tech. Remember when Texas Tech tried to pull all that nonsense with Brendan Saresby?
I mean, it was absurd. And they also handled it horribly. Which of course didn't help. But We were talking about an elite College quarterback, the kind of player who could put a team over the top, the kind of player that could turn a top 10 team into a bona fide national championship contender. That's why Texas Tech was willing to compromise themselves.
That's why Texas Tech was willing to take some heat. to try to get that dude on the field. And yet, when Texas Tech realized how badly they had misread that room. And how toxic that situation was, and that there was like 100 times the heat that they expected, they backed the hell down. They didn't carry the fight forward into their season.
They didn't try to wage war with their conference. They're not getting sued by the Big Twelve on the eve of their season.
So what I'm saying is, as horribly as Texas Tech botched the hell out of that Sourceby situation, they still did not make it nearly as big a mess as Lane and LSU are currently making right now. But of course. Of course, that did not stop the attorney representing these former NFL training camp players. From spiking the ball in everybody's face after the ruling yesterday. This is actually awesome.
Check this out. It's about student athletes. It's not about Coach Kiffin, it's not about LSU, it's about treating these kids fairly. It's about the fair application. You've got to apply the rules and apply them fairly to everyone.
So today justice was served. And just as was served through the SEC, it was served like a cold cup of gumbo. And that just forced him to eat it. All right, just in case you didn't pick up on the audio, what he said was: justice was served to the SEC. Like a cold cup of gumbo.
And the judge just force-fed it to them, like the way you shove food in the mouth of an infant in a high chair. Man, you gotta love Louisiana. You've got to love Louisiana and Louisiana Man. Right about now? Florida man.
Has nothing on Louisiana man right about now. Bat Rouge, gonna bat Rouge. And then they're gonna spike that ball on your face and bust out some cold, stale gumbo and jam it right down your esophagi. Everyone in LSU should be laughing and are proud about now.
Well, they can though, because I promise you, this thing gets really dark really fast if Lane does not immediately start running off wins. This situation will immediately get toxic unless Lane runs a juggernaut out onto the field.
Now, he might. He might. The Sam Levitt reviews. We're all outstanding in camp. We all know this guy threw huge money around to put this team together.
So they might be great. We know that this guy can coach. Absolutely. Why do you think he is where he is despite all the stuff he's pulled over the years? Because the guy can coach.
The guy can coach. and they've got talent and they might be great. I'm telling you, Lane, For all of Lane's issues. We are still talking about a brilliant football mind. And a guy who was able to pull himself out of the college football gutter.
I might even call this guy a great football coach at this point. But you know what? I'll give you the one thing he's even better at than coaching football. Self-sabotage. Creating chaos.
And while Lane might have stopped drinking, and might have stopped social mediaing and may have stopped chasing Coedtail. He will never stop self-sabotaging. or creating chaos. Because this dude is hard wired for it. And there is no reboot.
or clean install that can fix that. Why else would he risk lighting a second chance at a dream job on fire? A dream job that he absolutely busted his ass for. Why? Why?
Okay.
So now we wait.
Okay.
They're playing tomorrow and we still don't know exactly what's going to happen. Who's going to play? What's that judge? In that federal court, that the SEC sued Lane, and now what you're going to say. Oh, Clemson, by the way, has got something to say.
Yahoo Sports quote breaking. Clemson has notified LSU. They're playing former professional players on Saturday, may breach the game contract between the schools per a copy of an email obtained by Yahoo Sports Ross Dellinger. Clemson still intends to play the game and is not seeking financial damages. All right.
So then why are you telling them? You're still going to play. You're not seeking financial damages, but you're making it clear that you object. All right, so then there's Clemson. Anyway, again.
For who? For what? It's not just Lane being Lane. This is different. This is different.
Remember, remember the SEC threatened penalties such as: we will suspend the coach for half a season. We will fine the program millions and millions and millions and millions of dollars. We will not let you have voting rights. on conference issues. Like they're pissed.
And but but but It's a pretty good tight end now. We're talking about a pretty good tight end. Can never have too many of those. 1-800-636. Eight six, eight, six.
I The world needs plenty of titles. Plenty of bartenders. They already have a pretty good one, by the way, but. You can't ever have too many. Like, again, I know Lane can't help himself, and it's Lane being Lane, but this is different.
This is different. Ole Miss to get to LSU. This is him being at LSU and now taking on the SEC. But, but The SEC just got fed an ice-cold cup of gumbo. And the judge forced to write down their esophagus.
Alright, so there's that.
Sorry to lead with that. On top of that, I know you want to get into these very sordid reports.
Well, one report. about UNC and Bill Belichick. There's a way to handle that. And there's a way not to handle that. And I'm going to get into it.
But I'm going to handle it responsibly. Just so you know. Already, the college football season is underway. How hilarious was that Rutgers loss last night?
Well, hilarious to everybody except for Craig Chiano and his star quarterback who was doing burpees on the sideline during the game. And the guy who had to sit off to fireworks after the game. Nothing like Having a gimme game to start the year, a paycheck game. A paycheck game. We are favoured by nearly thirty.
To have the other guy come into your house, punch you in the face. And you got a stroke tat check. And you already paid for the fireworks, so you might as well set them off.
So I'll get into that too. and lots of other things. on this Friday, including Including, it's one of my favorite athletes' birthdays ever. And I'm not a big birthday guy. But I do love this guy, so I want to acknowledge that.
Colorado with a win last night. Interesting game. Ben Simmons gets a one-year deal with the Sacramento Kings. And the internet is losing its mind because Mike Tomlin is doing a TikTok with his co-workers. Finally the straightfor that he promised.
I didn't know that the straight fire would be Mike dancing with his coworkers on TikTok, but finally, the internet straight fire that we expected. And apparently, Mount Everest climbers are melting glaciers with their urine.
Okay.
Of course. I Doc. I'm the I'm no mountain climber. But given how gnarly Everest is, If I had to take a dump on the glacier to melt it, I would do that. You have a big dump in your pants.
You gotta bag up your dumps, don't you? You you can't You you can't take dumps on the mountain. It's like It's like a dog when you walk your dog with a blue bag, except you're a human and you're walking yourself up a mountain and you gotta bag up your dump and walk it off. I mean, understandably, otherwise, we'd be talking about people. I mean, if it's not dangerous enough, then all of a sudden it's like, Frisco fan, trying to avoid all the human excrement on the sidewalk.
Imagine trying to scale that mountain, and it's nothing but human excrement everywhere. I mean, my gosh, people die doing that. They die without the excrement. Of course you have to bag it up. No, but yeah, I mean, glaciers, Mount Everest, you're going to do whatever the hell you can to finish that climb and to survive.
Not surprised by that at all. All right, when we come back, how about some reaction? That'd be cool. Coming up also at 1240, John Berry joins us.
So lots to get done on this Friday. Program brought to you by FanDuel. If you ride You already know this. It only takes a second for things to go wrong out there. What a lot of riders don't realize is it only takes that one drink to change your entire life.
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Alright, first things first, I love this. Winnipeg is in the house. Love that. Yeah. I love any Canadian representation.
But it's not often that we hear from Winnipeg. Momenta Andrew, long form, Winnipeg. Her own. UNC football or frat house. What the hell is going on over there?
I thought the hoodie implements no days off. It was like all days off partying to four wins last year. Stevie, the facelicker, you had a golden opportunity and blew it. Rome, can the hoodie fix this tire fire or will he be joining Lombardi? Loam, you are the best.
Can't wait to hear your take. Andrew in Winnipeg. Andrew, my dude. Appreciate you. Love Winnipeg in the House.
I will have a take on that later on. I'm not going to answer that directly right now because I've got a take later on that I'll have for you. Quick reminder: Friday is an ATP day. You clones get to ask me or anybody else on the crew a question. It is sponsored by O'Reilly Auto Parts.
Post your question at Jim Rome. Use the hashtag ask the pros on X. Listen later on. I might answer your question. Think O'Reilly Auto Parts for all of your car care needs.
Get the parts and service you need fast from the professional parts people at O'Reilly Auto Parts. All right.
Now, I don't know. If this is what It appears to be. There's somebody on the phone right now. Who tells us That it's drizzle from Wichita. We have not heard from Drizzle.
in a minute. A long minute. And I did not screen this myself.
So, I'm going to be really aggravated if it's somebody pretending to be Drizzle and it's not Drizzle because I want to hear from Drizzle.
So I'm hoping it's him. Let's find out. Right to the phones. We go to Wichita. To drizzle.
Drizzle, my dude, is it really you? What's happening with you, Romey Rome? How you living today? My dude, it is you. How are you doing, dude?
Yo, man, I can't count it how you got it, baby. Good, man, good. It is so good to hear your voice. Hey, y'all, I appreciate you, Romani Roll, man. Real talk, man.
In case you've been wondering where I've been at, man, look, a couple years ago. Your boy went into congestive heart failure, alcohol withdrawal, and I had walking pneumonia at the exact same time, man. I had to take a minute and go reevaluate myself, man, and get it together. But once I put it together, I'm all gravity, baby. Just bought a new crib, living life, doing my thing now.
Hell yes. Speaking of which. Good, dude. Good. Appreciate you, fam.
There is somebody out there. that is using my name that I found on Twitter. Listen, Pimpin'. Only one of us Looks like he's in congestive heart failure. I'll tell you what, though, I'll let you keep using the name on Twitter if you drop 10 pounds for every letter, but I know it ain't gonna happen.
And as far as sniveling little weasels like that go, shout out Lane Kiffin because I want to know exactly how much money was in a duffel bag that he threw to a judge out in Baton Rouge like he was a gangbanger out of Harlem, thinking that he was gonna be able to flip over backwards for some guys who couldn't even cut the mustard in the NFL, just like his favorite coach Nick Saban couldn't do. Lane Kiffin is the epitome of everything that is wrong with college football. They blame NIL. They blame the transfer portal.
Meanwhile, he ducks out, leaves all of his guys high and dry, the same ones he claims he's going to bat for for 100 mil after he said, I prayed on it. We'll pray on this, yo. The next time anybody sees Lane Kiffin, he's going to be kicking a can, living on the street, because that's exactly where he's going to be after he puts LSU out of the SEC.
Now, no more of this drizzle white, drizzle this, drizzle that. Listen to me because I'm crazy. I chew women in and I spit slim shady. My man Roan, appreciate you, fam. Y'all stay up.
Outs. Drizzle, he's back. He's back. Dude, not always my man back. Better than ever.
Dude, he is healthy. He is strong. He is clean. My man is back. Drizzle, welcome home.
Welcome home, my brother. Welcome home, my brother. You know what? Yet people have certainly gotten clout from him. Understandably, he's drizzle.
But I I think that I don't need to say this for him. But you best keep his name out your mouth. My man is back. Drizzle, all right, so there's an explanation. I I thought that maybe John put him away.
I I didn't know what happened. I didn't know what happened, but he sounds great. Not only does he sound great, not only was that energy great, not only was the clarity there. Good take. Strong take.
Rock him. That almost, that almost in and of itself signified the start of smackoff season. Like I've been waiting for a moment. I've been waiting for a sign. I've been waiting for somebody to come up here and do something different.
Give me some different energy. Give me something different so I can signify the start of SmackOff season. I'm not going to do that just yet. I won't do that just yet. Because I don't have a date just yet.
Hey, Tom, refresh my memory because we are so far out of it. Is Drizzle already in the field? I mean, he hasn't been here in like two years. He is now give a golden ticket. Drizzle, my man.
If and when there is a smack up, Alby couldn't even find it. It's been so long. Get it? It's been so long since we've given out a golden ticket. Albie had to take a minute to go find it.
If and when there is a smack off this year. You will be in it, my dude. Or at least you're invited to it. Man, that is so great. Did not see that coming.
I love it. I love it when things happen. And normally something happens every single day that I do not expect or anticipate or see coming. But I did not see that coming. I was starting to think that I would never hear from my dude ever again.
But doesn't it go to show? Everybody's going through something. We never know what it might be. That dude was really going through it. Like, could have lost his life.
And fought his way back. Got himself a crib, got himself a new lease on life. And he's back in the jungle, holding it down. Quick reactions as I go to break. Aaron in Iowa.
Quote, Yeah, the golden pipes of drizzle. EA Eddie Levin Hondo, quote What's my name? Fizzle. In Bichita. Bro, what are you listening to?
Not today! Not today. Gail in Valencia. O M G Drizzle. That felt smack off.
Vic and NoCal. Fizzle. Better than drizzle. I know what y'all are saying. Hate all you want, the guys sounded awesome.
He sounded great, and it was great to hear him. I'm pumped he's back. All right, when we come back, John Berry. is expected to be in the jungle.
So I'm gonna get out right now. JB, hopefully when we return. You're listening to that Jim Rome show. All right, so let me tell you, welcome back. I'm Jim Roam.
A whole lot has changed around here since I last spoke to this guy.
However, never ever forget where you're from. Never, ever forget the formative years. Never, ever forget the way it was. Like, don't live in the past. Always forward, never back.
But you have to recognize where things were and what they were like back in the day. With that said, I'm joined by a former NBA guard. He played 14 years in the association for eight teams, currently an ESPN Radio NBA analyst. He also plays on the Pro Tour. What that is, is a pro golf tour comprised of former pro athletes and has qualified for the 30-player field in next week's season-ending championship and was largely responsible for what was one of the most legendary jungle tour stops ever.
Tour stop number 20 at the old Arco Arena in Sacramento in the year 2000. I'm talking about John Berry. John, my dude, it has been a minute. It has been a long minute. What's going on, JB?
How you doing? Wow, the jungle is still rolling. This is awesome. I mean, how long have you been doing this? And that was 2000?
Dude, I know, right? I know. Is that crazy? Can you believe 25 years, bro? We're still here.
That is wild, isn't it? How are you doing, John? I'm great, man. It's great to talk to you. It's been a long time.
I remember the days when me and Don SmackClain hosted your show. Uh, down here in LA, uh, that's where I live now.
So, if you're down here, we better hook up, but uh Yeah, everything's awesome, man. Playing on this pro tour. Getting to hang out with guys that I'm hanging out, it's really a dream come true. Yeah, and I'm going to talk to you about that in a minute for sure. But I just want to go back to that one thing.
For those who don't remember, when we're talking about the Sacramento Tour stop, the way this came to be, John, you were always so great about coming on the show when you played. And when you were in Sacramento, you said to me one day, Hey, Rome, why don't you come out here? And I said, John, let me ask you something. If I do bring the tour to Sacramento, who can you bring? Who can you bring out?
And you said, anyone, dude. Who do you want? I said, everyone. And so we show up. 18,000 people in the ARCO arena, and you made good.
You made good on what you said. C. Webb was there. Vladi was there. Jay Will was there.
You were there. Rick Adelman was there. I'll never forget the Malouf saying, holy crap, we have never seen anything like this. John, 25 years ago, what do you remember about that night? I remember I'll never do that again to try to wrangle up those guys to get them to come.
Because if you remember J Will and Webb. Came in at the last minute. Like, I was sweating it. I go, I can't let my boy Romie down. We had everybody up.
Greg Vaughn was there too. Great baseball player, Fernando Vinha. And Vladi, as you mentioned, we had an awesome show. But we needed them, and it actually turned out perfect. They walked in at the end, the place went nuts.
And I mean, that was absolutely wild. Standing on stage, and now I know what Eddie Vetter feels like, right? I mean, that was amazing having those people around. That was a lot of fun. Dude, you were the absolute best.
And it's true. You did. I know you were sweating that, but they did show up, man. Those two guys did show up at the last second.
So it all was awesome. And, John, you had such an interesting career. When you think about your time in Sacramento, when you look back on that time, what do you remember most? What were those years like for you as a baller?
Well, it was awesome because the the franchise was pretty downtrodden, one of the worst real teams in the NBA. We got to the playoffs in the first year that we came, Weber and Vladi and Pejas Doyakovic and Hito Turkulu and Jason Williams, all that list. Just turned the whole place around. And we had two great years. And then.
Unfortunately, what I remember is getting traded to Detroit, which was really disappointing. I love being in Sacramento. It was an hour and a half where I grew up. I had high school friends come up to games. We were just a fun team.
We got along great. We were the biggest show. In basketball, even though we didn't win, everybody loved watching the Sacramento Kings. But I got traded, and then they lost that tough series in seven games the next year. Uh when Robert Horry knocked down that shot.
And I remember watching, I was mad at Vladi. I always told Vladi: if you can hit the ball that hard, grab it. And he hit it hard, went right to or he makes the three. And the rest is history. The Lakers go on to win again.
John Berry joining us. What a great breakdown. They should not have moved you, dude. They should not have moved you. Maybe none of that would have happened.
Listen, let's talk golf for a minute because golf, as we know, is the great equalizer. You can be dominant in hoops or any sport, but way more mortal on a golf course because, man, it's just so humbling, hard game.
So, what's it like for you to be out there with so many alphas who are grinding in ways that they're probably not accustomed to?
Well, you hit it on the head. It's exactly right. Like, I couldn't play basketball with Ray Allen and be nearly as good as him. But when we get on the grass. And the greens.
I'm just fine.
So it levels the playing field, and we have. The ultimate locker room. We all hang out after you're walking in, you see Brett Hall. I see Glavin. I see Maddox.
I see Smoltz. I see Steve Avery, arguably the greatest pitching staff of all time. And then there's Brian McCann, who caught for him. Oh, hey, guys, how are you doing? And then you see Marty Fish, who's an unbelievable golfer.
Aaron Hicks, who's won three of our tournaments. Tyler Clippert's won. He's a great player. Joe Pavelski, he just won. You know, Cody Ross is like a giant.
I'm a Giants fan.
So I'm sitting with Cody Ross. I watched him win three Major League Championships.
Now we're buddies. Taylor Twellman, a soccer analyst, who's unbelievable. He's great, great golfer. But it's a level playing field, and we're not. Everybody's not as comfortable on the golf course because that's not what we did to be great.
But we have great players, but It's an incredible arena. You know, now I can hang with Ray Allen, I can hang with Eddie Jones and Nick Van Exel, and I got some bragging rights on the golf course because I'm number one in basketball right now, fortunately. Yeah, man, that's got to feel good. John Berry joining us. JB, the thing about that, too, I always remember this about you.
You were always a sports fan. You liked other sports, and you were a great fan of sports.
So I know that's got to make this even more fun.
So, how are you hitting them these days? What's your stick like? What's your number?
Well, I don't like to talk about that on the air because gambling is very important.
So I don't put my hand up out there. I think I'm playing at like a plus point nine right now. But I think I'm 15th on the pro tour. We have some guys that can really go. I mean, they can play.
Aaron Hicks, literally, him and Josh Donaldson hit the ball 350 yards. They're tremendous. Garrett Graham, a great tight end, is a great player. There's a ton of great players on this tour.
So you got to play really well. Joe Pavelski won our last semifinal. He shot 7-under for three days. I mean, that's legitimate golf. This is not craps and giggles, guys hitting balls and trees and laughing and dancing like Lake Tahoe is, which is great.
It's an awesome event. But this is real golf. And guys are going to get better once you start playing. You don't want to embarrass yourself. You want to improve on your game.
Guys go to work. They come back. They're better. And this thing is going to go. I think through the roof.
It's a great concept. John Smultz came up with the idea with Tim Wilbank, CEO, and Robert Blevins, who's back in this. It's a tremendous group of people. We literally love being together. It's so much fun.
When we don't have an event for a month, you really miss the guys. You know, Stephanie, our girl that takes care of us, but you know, grabs us by the hand and shows us where we need to be. We appreciate her. We appreciate everybody. We have a great pro-am.
I have pro-am guys that call me still just saying, hey, that was one of the great days I've ever had. And that's what it's all about. Great competition, but being together in an ultimate locker room, you know, you can't ask for more as a retired athlete. Man, what a great experience. John Berry joining us for a few more moments.
So, John, let me ask you about your year with the LA Lakers really quickly, 97, 98. Like, Kobe would have been a sophomore in college that year. In terms of work ethic and intensity, what was the young Mamba like, and how hard did he go at that time? Yeah, I don't remember I played with the Lakers because I probably played in about eight games, but I was on the team when they let me into the arena to the forum. I got blocked a few times.
Uh, well, you know, that was Kobe's second year, and he played behind Eddie Jones, so he played. I think maybe 18, 20 minutes a night. Uh so practice to him was game seven. Every day we got in there and he said JB get ready because we're on the second team. And he went at Eddie Jones every day like it was game seven.
He had something to prove every moment he was on the floor. He was the first guy there. He was the last guy to leave. He watched Michael Jordan highlights. That's what he wanted to be.
He wanted to be Michael Jordan more than anything in his professional life. And I'd say he's probably the closest guy that I've seen. And he was amazing. The guy with the work ethic, I've never seen anything like it. And obviously, he turned out to be one of the greatest of all time.
John Perry joining us, JB. Never mind athletes. Have you ever seen a more physical, more dominant human being than Shaq? Probably not. Maybe Shohei and Otani, but Shaq.
Let's go. Shaq was a handful. I mean, I don't think people realize. How talented he really was to be that big, that agile. And you couldn't do anything with him.
He was amazed. It was a good seat to have to watch for 95 games or whatever we played. Hey, John, I love that you mentioned Shohei. Like I said, you're a big, big sports fan.
So, when you watch, as a guy who played in the NBA for 14 years, really good athlete, when you watch Shohei, what kind of thoughts do you have? I'm wild. I'm lucky enough to know some people with the Dodgers, and I sat five rows back the other day. I went and watched Miserowski pitch. I had to see that.
He brought it at 104 about 28 times. It was absolutely incredible. To see Otani fouling balls off to left field, you don't see that very often, but with The Miz. He was doing it. But he's a huge specimen.
You know, I sit right behind that on deck circle. He runs, he does, I mean. To be able to do what he does, it's absolutely incredible. I think he'll have to go down. It's the best ever.
I just hope he can stay healthy and I hope he can get on the mound a little more. He's just so fun to watch at anything he does. Talking to John Barry, John, really quickly, what about the 76ers? When you see what they did, they had LeBron, Jalen Brown, Terese Maxi's there, Joelle Embiid's already there. And your thoughts?
Like, if they stay healthy and they all get on the floor, how do you think their personalities and their games will mesh? It's going to be really interesting. You know, LeBron always talks year after year about how he doesn't want to have to be the primary ball handler and make all the plays, and he wants other people to do it. But he's going to resort back to getting on the ball because I don't think he's going to be nearly as valuable off the ball. He's not a standstill three-point shooter, he's not a standstill shooter.
How are they going to incorporate all those guys? I mean, Maxie's terrific, he's got to have the ball. Jalen Brown needs the ball, he's not a spot-up shooter. You know, how much is MB going to touch it if he's out there? Uh, the kid edgecom has played very well so.
Right now you look and you say, are there enough basketballs for the team? Typically, it will work out. Guys are going to take different roles and take a little less responsibility. But certainly, if they're all healthy, that gives the Knicks something to think about. And LeBron was wise enough to say, I'm going to the East.
I'm not going to mess around with OKC, San Antonio. I think Denver will come back and be a better team.
So he's basically got the Knicks. I don't think Boston's better.
So I think he's got a great chance to make a run with this squad. John Perry joining us. What a great catch-up really quickly, dude. How's Brent? I haven't talked about it.
I just had him out. I I'm out at Sherwood right now getting ready to go play, and uh I had him out the other day. I will put it out there. He shot ninety. Uh he wasn't very happy.
Is there a better track you've ever been on than Sherwood? It's the most beautiful place in LA.
Some great golf courses in LA, no doubt. But this is the prettiest place that we have. No no question about it. I tried, dude. I tried.
I tried to move there. My wife shut that down. She's like, We're not living that far out. I'm like, It's the nicest neighborhood I've ever seen in my life. It just flat out is the nicest neighborhood ever.
It's great.
Well, I'll have you out here anytime you want. You know that. All right, Jamie. Appreciate you, man. Love and respect.
So good to get caught up. Awesome time. Good to see you, John. Thanks for having me, buddy. Great to see you.
Thanks for having me. Thank you, brother. John Barry joining us. How great a catch-up is that? And I love, I love that he remembers that night as clearly as he does.
I had forgotten that one detail I'd forgotten because he did promise all those guys and C. Webb and Jay Will were late arriving, and he was kind of sweating it. But they did, they showed up. John Berry delivered. On what he promised.
That was tour stop number 20 at the old Arco Arena. 18,000 people were there that night. Truth. Year 2000.
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