Christine Brennan: Caitlin Clark snub is missed opportunity for USA Basketball

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That's Dell.com slash deals. This is the Rich Eisen Show. I just don't know, man. The fact that I didn't have the Bengals on my top 10 in the first week of June. Fourth in Super Bowl odds. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. Rich's power rankings.

This last one, though, was poppycock. The Rich Eisen Show. In the top 10. Earlier on the show, Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell. Coming up, USA Today columnist Christine Brennan. Actor Anthony Michael Hall. And now, it's Rich Eisen.

That's right. Hour number two of the Rich Eisen Show is on the air. Hour number one, Kevin O'Connell of the Minnesota Vikings was on the program. Hour three, Anthony Michael Hall will be in studio. We'll go down a nice celebrity true or false wormhole with him, and then we'll take some phone calls. 844-204-RICH.

Number to dial. We just began to unpack the story that was basically number one in terms of conversation online, but over the weekend. But anything to do with Kaitlyn Clark these days is exactly that. And her being left off of the U.S. Women's National Team final roster for the Paris Olympics was top of mind for a lot of people.

As I said just moments ago, if this is about marketing, it's an abject failure and a wasted opportunity. If this is about building the best team and the best roster, your guess is as good as mine in terms of who would have to come off the list for her. And to help me have this conversation and to help all of us be better understanding of what went down behind the scenes and what this is all about, certainly in the long history of her covering the U.S. Olympics from USA Today and contributor ABC News and CNN and so many others. Thrilled to have a few minutes with Christine Brennan here on the Rich Eisen Show. How are you, Christine?

Rich, I'm great. Thanks so much for having me. Good to see you again. You bet. Thank you.

And good to see you again. So what's your opinion on this subject matter? Yeah, well, I've given it, as you know, over the last 60 hours.

I broke the news right around midnight Friday to Saturday morning. And I think on both fronts, merit and publicity, you of course mentioned it. You know, it's just a total swing and a miss by the national governing body, by USA Basketball, just a missed opportunity. And but I'll start with my answer by saying I have covered this women's basketball team and I've covered it longer than anyone else, probably. I reported on that team at the 1984 Olympics in L.A. And every single Olympics after I haven't missed one, lucky me, so fortunate, I dropped into the women's basketball team at some point. I think I counted five at least gold medal games that I covered. And what happens when you go to a woman's gold medal game, U.S. women's basketball, the greatest team, most dominant team on the planet, men's, women's, any sport rich.

I could make that case. They last lost in the 1992 Olympics. That's how good they are. But when I stand in that press tribune, it's tumbleweeds. There's a few reporters here, a few there, Bob Ryan, you know, a couple others.

I remember Bob and I talking in London at the 2012 Olympics. Of course, others, but in general, nowhere near the coverage that they deserve. And I will say this. Many of our buddies in the sports media, male dominated sports media, obviously find the men.

The guys have laughed at me for going like, oh, I'm not doing that. They'll cover the men's basketball team, but they won't cover the women's. That is a fact. It is part of the story. So you put Kaitlyn Clark on that team, the team that so richly deserves attention and doesn't get it and won't get it without her, because there's just so much going on in an Olympics.

On that same day, there could be there probably will be 30 other gold medals given out and sports editors and others have to make a decision. Do you go to Simone Biles? Do you go to women's soccer?

Where do you go? It's, you know, there's just too much going on. You put Kaitlyn Clark on that team and every single one of those guys that can't stand women's basketball are running to watch that team and not just Americans. I was at the Masters. A British journalist came up and said he couldn't wait to cover Kaitlyn Clark for, of course, his audience in Great Britain and around and around Europe at the Olympics.

That's not going to happen. Think about the dream team in 1992, Rich, how that the men's team, how that grew basketball around the world, especially for boys and men. And where it reached, Africa. Well, the opportunity with Kaitlyn Clark's popularity, Africa, Europe, Asia, think of how many number 22 USA jerseys would have been sold, money that could have then been pumped back in to help have developmental programs in the U.S. and maybe around the world, gone, not happening. And I know people might say, oh, she's crazy, you know, whatever. Well, I was there, I've been there, I've covered it, I've seen the lack of interest. And right after you, my next hit is a New Zealand radio show, children don't wear near as good as you or have to reach rich eyes in New Zealand. I when the guy got in touch, I said, really, what he goes, we love Kaitlyn Clark here, we're devastated. And then he even texted me, my mom is devastated.

New Zealand. That is how terrible this decision was. And we haven't even started talking about Merritt and her good play. So then let's get to the why then, based on your reporting, why did they leave Kaitlyn Clark off this team? You know, I'm working on that and continuing to work on it in my piece that people can find, there's no paywall USA Today that was up Saturday afternoon. I didn't get much sleep over the weekend, but it was Saturday afternoon. I report two sources, impeccable sources, you know, me, you and I both have been around a while.

No way am I going to, you know, torch my reputation without knowing that I feel very comfortable. Two different sources told me these are people who've been decades and decades in women's basketball, that they had been told that one of the concerns about Kaitlyn, this is, by the way, before the decision, before I was able to break that news, that the concern was that if she's on the team and only plays a few minutes, which of course, she'd only play a few minutes, that the outcry and the uproar in the United States from her fans, millions and millions of fans, of course, which by the way, that's a good thing for the WNBA. And of course, radio shows and everyone, whatever, would be furious that she wasn't playing more. When I first heard that, I laughed. I thought, well, that's a joke. Well, that's absurd. Well, it's like it's like seventh grade, isn't it?

And maybe it's fourth grade. And so, OK, put that like you do talk to people that's reporting. You put in my back of my mind, don't give it another thought. About five hours later, I run into another source, equally as strong, great and steeped in women's basketball for probably 50 years. I asked this person, hey, what are you hearing?

You know, Kaitlyn Clark, Olympic team. He says the exact same thing. And I'm going, oh, my God, this is something I put a paragraph or two. And I said, I'm continuing to confirm it.

I did hear one other person basically say it was true as well. I haven't gone further with it because I'm waiting for USA basketball, 60 hours and counting, not a word from USA basketball. I think they're waiting for the embargo for the Today show tomorrow. But that's 1950s PR.

You know, they've got a firestorm on their hands and I'm trying to get answers. So I'm staying on it because the other piece of it, too, the coach of the Olympic team, Cheryl Reeve, I do not know her. But on May 3rd, when the WNBA was promoting Kaitlyn Clark's first preseason game against Dallas, then Cheryl Reeve put out on Twitter, you can watch us, too. She's the Minnesota Lynx coach. And she said in a hashtag, the W is more than one person. The WNBA is more than one person. So let me just jump in here, Christine.

And if you're making a, right? Anyway, no, no, no, no, no. And but because of what you just said, this is the most head scratching aspect in my mind of the Kaitlyn Clark conversation. Since she's left Iowa to go to the WNBA is that the folks who have been toiling in the WNBA and probably experiencing the same tumbleweeds that you said you experienced when you were on the beat for years of one of the most dominant teams in the history of Olympic sports.

OK, or I should say Olympic sport, because that does sound, you know, a little fancier whenever you're talking about the Olympics, but you're they're probably experiencing the same amount of tumbleweeds that there is nothing but for some resentment, there seems to be resentment of Kaitlyn Clark bringing the eyeballs in. And the thing that's the biggest head scratch is I don't think it's because of what she's saying or how she's carrying herself. She's not chest pounding and saying, I'm creating this league. I have taken this league to new heights, this association, new heights. She's not saying that. So where's the animosity coming from, Christine?

Yeah, Rich, I'm reporting and continue to report and talk to people. I was texting a few people a couple of minutes before coming on with you, I am equally blown away. This is the greatest moment in the history of women's sports, certainly team sports, right? Tennis, you know, Serena, Venus, Chrissy, Martina, that's that's a whole different level. But in terms of this is bigger, I wrote a couple of months ago right before first game for USA Today. This is bigger than the 1999 Women's World Cup, and I never thought I would ever be able to say that.

I covered every second of that. And this is bigger. This is a woman not wearing USA, you know, because that's how most of our female stars are, whether it's Peggy Fleming, Katie Ledecky, Simone Biles, it's because of the Olympics or international competition, even Serena, it's because of winning Wimbledon or the U.S. Open representing the U.S. Kate Clark, this is Iowa. This is the black and gold of Iowa. This isn't the coast telling the heartland what to do.

This is the heartland setting the agenda for the coast. That's why this is so remarkable, unprecedented, never before seen. Why the WNBA wouldn't be embracing this. And, you know, I guess they are, but they, for example, even little things like someone's talking about Kaitlyn Clark and then you see a reporter say, well, Kaitlyn and Angel, Angel Reese is great. She won the national title for LSU over Kaitlyn Clark.

Absolutely fantastic rebounding. She's also had a great start to her season. Kaitlyn was the runner of the month, Angel Reese. This is not about Angel Reese.

And of course, race is a huge part as you and I, two white people sitting here talking about this. But for this moment, facts are facts. And it's Kaitlyn Clark, folks. I broke the story of the charter flights because of Kaitlyn being viewed on social media in the Dallas Fort Worth baggage claim, looking like an animal at the zoo.

The WNBA had to immediately go, we got to do charter flights. They should have done it for Brittany Greiner after she came back from being so terribly imprisoned in Putin's Russia. They didn't.

Of course, that's terrible. They didn't. But they are doing it now. Why not take the win? Why not take the victory instead? It's like it should have happened sooner. Well, you know, I don't think time travel has been invented. And so there's that you saw Tarazi, Chilly Chippy at the at the women's final for Brianna Stewart, unable to say that she's one of the greats of all time.

Not the goat, but one of the greats. Brianna Stewart literally talked for 30 seconds in circles, not saying that what on earth was going on. But it also is a journalist for me. It's very insightful. And I wrote about it then. I've kept my ear to the ground. I've been talking to people since February. That's how I was fortunate enough to break the story.

I'm on it. I will continue to stay on it as I go to Paris, if necessary, because it goes to the very heart of whether a woman's sport can grow. And why on earth you would look the greatest thing that ever happened and you would look at that and say that that's wrong or negative or be jealous or whatever the right word is, which I'm still trying to figure out by my reporting. Caitlin Clark, on the other hand, remarkable. Look at her answer yesterday.

Unbelievable poise. She's 22, folks, 22 going on 40 or 50, the perfect role model for the perfect time for women's sports, how lucky women's sports is to have her now. And she has been nothing but, you know, grace and class, goes on Saturday Night Live, what other WNBA players go on Saturday Night Live, folks, and would, of course, mentioning all of her heroes, Rich. And again, Caitlin Clark speaking and the adults, USA Basketball, US Olympic and Paralympic Committee, crickets, nothing for 60 hours.

I've been trying and I'll keep trying. A few minutes left with Christine Brennan here on the Rich Eisen Show. Let's talk about the merit part of it, because, again, you've been covering this for quite some time. And there's a lot of folks, you mentioned how the men were making fun of you for covering the gold medal press conferences of the U.S. women's team when there's a men's team to cover. A lot of the same men are now making, you know, decisions or comments or having takes over the merit part of this that, quite frankly, I don't think they're qualified to make and I'm one of them.

So I'll leave that to you. What about the merit part of all of this? Well, and of course, also the guys and again, love them.

And, you know, I think many of them mean well. But if women's and men's sports were equal, like if the WNBA players were making the same as the NBA players, which will not happen in our lifetimes or our children's or our grandchildren's lifetime, probably. If it was the TV money was the same and ratings, then we wouldn't have this conversation because you wouldn't have to grow the game. Right. Right. And you would you'd say, oh, we're already there. We're so not already there, obviously, you know, the decimal points on the salaries. And so, you know, that's part of it.

But let's go, as you asked, very about merit. And I was just right before we went on, I was looking at the WNBA stats, by the way, something I've covered the WNBA off and on. But it's not something I would be doing often and focusing on the WNBA as I have and frankly, all because of Kaitlin Clark and the interest that our readers and viewers have in it. Kaitlin Clark is fourth in assists in the WNBA. That's better than several of the women who are on the list as guards and certainly better than Diana Taurasi. She and Taurasi are tied for three pointers made and in points per game. Kaitlin Clark is one spot above. She's now she was 13.

I think she's now 14th or 15th and Taurasi is right behind her. Apples to apples, apples to oranges. We can pick and choose. I'm sure people are screaming at their, you know, as they're listening to us.

But those are sats, folks. And in a subjective decision, I think there's been this, you know, that's that can be part of the conversation, Rich. And I think there has been a notion out there for some that Kaitlin Clark has not had a good first month. I think she's had a great first month. She is being bird-dogged and blitzed and double and triple teamed and covered all 94 feet. There is no one in the WNBA that has received that. Not Taurasi, not Jewel Lloyd, not Kelsey Plum, not Anescu, none of them.

What does that mean? That means she's the most important player in the league. She's not the best player in the league.

Not yet, maybe never, who knows? But she's the most important because they're treating her that way. And I think that's fascinating. And these are defensive statistics, by the way, not mine. They're statistics in the league that she is the most heavily defended player in the league.

Not Taurasi, not any of them. So that tells me that people think she's the best, or that she's worthy of that, not the best, but focus, whatever. She's the one you want to stop. And yet, I saw her have seven threes and score 30 against a really bad Washington team the other day in front of the biggest crowd, over 20,000, in 17 years in the WNBA. And then within a few hours, she was being told she wasn't on the team.

This is a magical moment. She is the high wire act in the circus, Rich. She is the trapeze act. Grandma and grandpa in the produce section, who would never turn on men's or women's basketball, are running to their TVs, are aware of the difference between ION and Prime and NBA TV, and they are setting their schedules around Kaitlin Clark.

Guaranteed, because these numbers are there. And that's what USA Basketball has pushed away now. Congratulations. You have literally pushed that away. Those people, we wish they would watch Breanna Stewart and Tarazzi, but they're not yet. That's the reality.

You can wish it were, but it's the reality. And that, again, is the opportunity. You have all those sports writers coming to watch Kaitlin Clark.

She's the magnet, right? And then what do they do? Kaitlin maybe plays three or four minutes, one for two in three-point range, three points. But they end up writing about Breanna Stewart or Jewel Lloyd or Brittany Greiner or whomever, right? And that's how you grow a sport. Kaitlin would have been the conduit to that. And that's all gone now.

And I think history will judge this so incredibly poorly about not growing the game when the mission, one of the mission statements of USA Basketball is all about growing the game. Christine, thank you for the time. Say hello to my new friends in New Zealand. I will. I will. And thank you. And thanks for thanks for the conversation. Keep up the great work. But you too. You too.

Look for more of my texts and calls. Christine, thanks again. Appreciate it. You bet.

That's Christine Brennan of USA Today, CNN, ABC News, and so much more right here on the Rich Eisen Show. Yeah, that was great. Okay.

You want to jump into it? You didn't, we only didn't have much time at the end of the first hour. So if the decision to not include Kaitlyn Clark was based upon, as Christine Brennan of USA Today said, two different sources separately steeped in the sport. One of them been around the sport for 50 years, independently told her the reason why Kaitlyn Clark was left off is they didn't want to piss off. The legion of fans would be tuning in to see her by having her be like, what, the 10th, 11th, 12th player on the bench, getting garbage time, getting, you know, few minutes, then that is patently absurd.

And they deserve to be torched for this decision. It wasn't like, listen, she's not ready yet. We know what she did in Iowa. We, you know, who would you kick off the team? You know, it would be like, listen, we, we told Diana that if she's still playing around the next Olympics, that we would, you know, and still playing at the same level, we would definitely take her as a farewell tour. She deserves it. But it's just like, we don't want to upset the gajillions of people that are going to be watching this team and what the, the, the, the coaches said.

And what the, the, the, the coach is such a wallflower. She can't handle the heat. That's absurd. That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. If that's truly the reason why they left Kaitlin Clark off the list. And that's the unfortunate thing is we're sitting here, but we're, we're pegging Diana Taurasi, one of the greats of all time because of her age. That's my problem with this.

That's the low hanging fruit here. Diana Taurasi isn't one of the goats. Come on. Three time champion, former MVP.

I'm with you. Literally one of the greatest of all time. So we're going to act like she isn't her all of a sudden. Yeah, she's 42.

This will be what? Olympic six or six gold medal. Right. But you like she has earned that right. And she's been there before in Olympic International Games.

A little bit different than the American game, right? There's a little bit differences inside, but I don't think I don't think, you know, they're going to lose the gold medal because they left Kaitlin Clark off the list, which is what Christine Brennan's point is that if your job is to grow the game, that is in your mission statement and that you do have somebody like Kaitlin Clark, you put her on the team. And even if she's not playing, the tent will be so filled with interested folks that those who have not gotten the spotlight deserved shined on them like Diana Taurasi, like Brianna Stewart, like Kelsey Plum.

Now, everyone is watching them play, and now everyone will say, let me tune into the WNBA, the final throws of their regular season in playoffs. I'm starting to wonder now if that's the case, because like, as you guys know, I was watching I've always watched WNBA and now I'm starting to think, like, do Kaitlin's fans, do they like basketball or do they like her? I don't know.

I mean, I think both are true, probably, right? I don't know. The thing is, are they going to watch other games if she's not playing?

Is it just like they're so infatuated with her? I don't know. But again, we're talking about women's basketball. Oh, yes. Well, and that's the win. And that's the win. And that's what Christine Brennan is saying is like, why are you turning down an even bigger win? Right. By telling her we're not taking you to Paris.

Despite your face. When when when she's now after clicking off a zoom with us is now zooming with New Zealand, because they reached out to her all upset that they're not going to see Kaitlyn Clark on the Olympic stage. And it's down in New Zealand. Rich, right before Christine mentioned that, I text Chris and I go, do you think Kaitlyn Clark's that popular outside of the U.S.? And Chris is like, I'm not sure.

And then as he texted me, she was like, Christine's like, we're not we're not talking about, OK, right. We're not talking about New York, New Jersey, New England, New Mexico. We're talking New Zealand. Shout out to our Kiwis out in Hampshire. I mean, come on, New Hampshire.

Sorry. You know, Newport News, I mean, what should I keep going? OK, so don't forget them. And so that's that's her point here.

This is a tough one. It's a tough one to say she's she's wrong. But you do know if they did take Kaitlyn Clark and they left somebody off, even if it's somebody who's beyond outstanding and deserve to be part of the players that get the attention because Kaitlyn Clark is there. You know, the conversation would be that Kaitlyn Clark doesn't deserve it from many different parts. I mean, she's your most popular player, how about how about how about Christine Brennan pointing out that the head coach of the U.S. Women's National team, Cheryl Reeves, is the head coach of Cheryl Reeves is the head coach of of Dallas. Right. And prior to the start of the season, she's like, you know, you can tune in to watch us too.

In the preseason. And it's just like, listen, like what? She's bringing the attention, right? She's bringing the attention and she's not doing that based on saying, I'm coming to the WNBA and I'm going to change this entire situation.

Watch me. And and thus, her words have merited getting 94 feet of defensive coverage. Her attitude has merited that. Her lack of humility has brought it upon her. No, it's her incredible ability on a team that lacks players of similar. Ability in droves, not saying they're completely devoid of talent, but there is a reason why they had the first overall pick in the draft, right? Two years in a row. So we all know that if there's somebody you want to defend, bringing the ball up, if there's somebody who you want to defend to make sure the assists aren't coming in bunches, if you want to defend somebody to make sure a three point shot is defended, that's the one.

So I understand that she's getting that attention because, again, if you want to beat the fever, taking Kaitlyn Clark out of the game, you know, just call me Rich Wooden over here, right? You know, pyramid of success. Yeah, that's my pyramid. That's my circle of success. It's just one round. Stop CC. Correct, right.

That's it. So but you know what I mean? Like it's amazing how the conversation around Kaitlyn Clark is not brought on by her attitude, her words or she's the exact opposite. She's actually carrying herself very well.

Not even, you know, clapping back. Certainly when there's been weird reporters asking her weird personal questions that have thankfully seemed to dissipate. But you know the conversation today, but she didn't deserve it.

And now the conversation from Christine Brennan is, well, USA basketball doesn't deserve her. Wild. This is perplexing, man. 844-204-H. Tupac, jealousy and envy.

Number to dial. That's all it is. Well, again, you know, jealousy and envy are words that are infused.

Why can't we just be honest when we talk about it? Well, those are all haters. Because I think it's all under the umbrella of the best word of it is something that Stacey Dales introduced is resentment.

And that's the word I've landed on. Resentment. And I don't understand it because I would understand the resentment if she did, in fact, at her introductory press conference in the Indiana paper and say, this league has not been up to snuff enough to get the eyeballs that I'm about to bring.

I'm going to win seven titles and all that. Yeah, she didn't say that. She's done the exact.

It's been high class. So it leads to no other conclusion. And they're just all a bunch of haters. And I do want to say this. And the part of that conversation is how Angel Reese has called out for not taking the high road or anything like that. And she's now getting hammered for that sort of thing, where I actually appreciate the heat that she brings based on her personality and her needing to get her game to where she needs to get.

And that's the way that she does that for herself. And she's an outstanding player and she deserves to be talked about. She deserves to be talked about being snubbed off this team as well. Fact. And how she gets hammered, I think sometimes unfairly because she doesn't have the same approach as Kaitlyn Clark. And you may read that if you want in terms of race or not. But I wanted to bring that up because I don't know if that's what you were referring to earlier on when I pointed out the Chicago Sky brought in less than half the arena audience that Kaitlyn Clark did.

I pointed that out to say, if there are somebody on that people on that team who are resentful of Kaitlyn Clark because of the attention she brings and potentially isn't worthy of it, she brings it. And don't be resentful of it. Actually use it. 844-204 Rich number to dial here on the Rich Austin show. Take a break.

Come back with so much more here on the program with Anthony Michael Hall coming in hour three. Passion, drive and patience. The formula for winning championships is also what keeps your ride or die alive. Ebay motors has everything you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to peak performance. Superchargers, roof racks, exhaust kits, LED headlights and more. Whether you're into speed, power or style, Ebay motors has you covered. With over 122 million parts for your number one ride or die, you'll always find exactly what you're looking for. And with Ebay Guaranteed Fit, your part is guaranteed to fit your ride every time or your money back, because with Ebay motors, you're burning rubber, not cash. With all the parts you need at the prices you want, it's easy to make your car the MVP and bring home huge wins. Keep your ride or die alive at Ebay motors.com.

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Just go to linkedin.com slash direct and get started. Rockman just out of the blue. Where were you when you sent this tweet, Chris? Oh, I mean, was that on a Sunday? Was it a Sunday night? Don't remember.

I was probably just at home watching the games. And you just said, you know, if the Eagles make the playoffs, I'll take a bite out of Mike Del Tufo's hat. You said, I will take a bite out of Mike Del Tufo's hat? Yeah. Eagles have made the playoffs and you have avoided the inevitable for a week.

That ends now. I just sliced up a one inch by one inch cutout of Mike Del Tufo's Callaway hat. And I placed it like little Easter eggs into the half of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Take a bite. Here we go.

Here you go. Rockman is taking a bite. Did you get a piece of the hat there? I think you did. You're the one who chose the peanut butter too. You're standing nearby? Nope.

We don't. Oh, it's part of the hat sticking out, I didn't get it all. Oh, that is an awful piece right there in that sandwich. Can I pull that out? No, you may not. As long as you eat it.

As long as you eat it. Keep going. Keep going. I didn't go through. Stop, man.

This piece is like right on my tooth. Why did you even do this? Chris, you didn't have to. You took the McLovin. Because the Eagles stink. You took the McLovin ball.

They're terrible. Oh my God. Another Sunday. I can't even tell if that's a piece of glistening jelly or a piece of a glistening jelly glistened Del Tufo hat piece. Down it. I feel like I'm talking to Taylor eating her broccoli. Just eat it and we'll get off your case. Oh, he just went one bite. He finished it. This is not going to be good. Because that is peanut butter and it is jelly and it is Del Tufo hat.

And you just jammed literally three inches by three inch piece of sandwich. It was a proud day for my future son. Oh my God. Back here on the Rich Eisen Show 844-204-RICH number to dial. I'm sitting at the Rich Eisen Show desk furnished by Grainger with supplies and solutions for every industry. Grainger has the right product for you.

Call clickgrainger.com or just stop by. Turzo and Iowa all rise, all rise right here from the nation's heart line. What's going on counselor? Hey, what's up guys? Hey, just to kind of address this Kaitlyn Clark issue. So my girlfriend, she doesn't watch a lot of sports, but she even asked me on Saturday why I thought Kaitlyn Clark was left off of the Olympic team. And my explanation kind of to her was, you know, maybe they just felt at this point that she did need a break and they wanted to give somebody else an opportunity. But in all honesty, I think that they missed a great opportunity, not just one for getting all the eyeballs on the TV screens, but I believe having her there with those veterans, maybe clearing up some of these issues and maybe kind of creating a relationship with them would have been better for everyone because then maybe we're not in this position where there is any resentment to her or jealousy, right? It just feels like you miss a good opportunity having them there competing together.

And I think Coach K did a great job with that. I just don't know if, you know, the Olympics getting to know you moment is what is necessary to remove whatever the hell is going on involving Kaitlyn Clark and the rest of this association in the way she's perceived by some. I can only wish that would be it.

And thanks to the call, Turzo, great to chat with you. You know, I don't, I just, I would love to have seen a GoPro on the NBC sports executives when they were told that she's not going to be there and there she wouldn't be there in the opening ceremony, waving and smiling to everybody in France, bonjour, bonsoir, you know, strolling around and, you know, being part of the coverage. Oh my God, they probably thought they're, they're, they're going to get Kaitlyn Clark's first Olympic moment in the middle of the heat of everything right now. Oh boy. Nope. Not going to happen.

A lot of F-bombs. What? Yeah, exactly.

Exactly. Can they get a mulligan? Can we get a redo? Is there a challenge? Can we, can we turn on the green siren, the green siren? Can we get that going?

Let's go. Where's the red challenge flag? Can they challenge it? Is this a challengeable call?

In a Belichick stock drill. How, by the way, what, what do you think, like, is it possible they're, they're seeing the reaction from so many different places and going, do we add, do we add, do we add somebody else? What is it? Just a first-class plane ticket? You know, you know, just an extra dorm room or wherever the hell they're staying in the Olympic village, you know, it was a big deal. Is anyone currently injured? Like, is it possible she's a replacement? Let's not hope that.

That's crazy. Well, I mean, Chelsea Gray has not played since the finals last year. She's still in the boots, still rehabbing. So people are thinking that she might, maybe that's why Kaitlyn's been so chill because she knows she's going to be an injury addition. Well, I mean, that's one way to get out of it, but I mean, not for Chelsea Gray. I'm sure she wants to play.

Well, yeah, obviously, but yeah, if she she's been out since last year, I mean, I don't know. 844-204 Rich, number two dial. Ready set griddle this grilling season, everybody. Get the Weber Slate rust resistant griddle with a carbon steel cooktop that's safe for metal tools. It's pre-seasoned and ready to cook on right out of the box. It's the griddle that stays ready, not rusty. This griddle heats evenly edge to edge. It reaches up to 500 degrees. The Weber works prep cook and store system keeps cooking supplies handy. You can carry all the food, condiments and utensils you need.

Get fired up for your new Weber Slate rust resistant griddle. Hey, everybody. Good week. How about this? Hey, wait for it. Good weekend for Major League Baseball. How about them apples?

Right? The London series. Kind of a success, right? Met's Phillies out there in London. Your team didn't embarrass themselves, TJ? Game one, they did.

Game one, they did. I think I even tweeted out it was the biggest New York beat down the Brits have witnessed since the Battle of Yorktown. And I think I put that out there or Saratoga or something, I forget. I actually did Google, give me a good one. Revolutionary War.

I did Google it. It's been worse. It was a six run inning they coughed up. Wasn't really that good. But Bryce Harper scoring and then sliding like he was celebrating a soccer goal was really good.

I'm just glad. Could you imagine if he hurt his knees doing that sort of thing? It looks painful just in the picture. If I did that, literally, I'd be in traction.

Well, you'd rip every tendon in your knee. Don't you think? Yeah. But it was well done. Going out and throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before game two decides not to throw the ceremonial first pitch to Chase Utley, but goes to short, had somebody feed him a ground ball and he flipped to Utley for one and Bryce Harper came on the field and fielded it at first base. It was the first ever ceremonial double play.

I like that. So Utley didn't break it up is what you're saying? Fans showed up. Fans showed up.

Well, did you see this? The Phillies fan shirt, it said the British blew a 13 colony lead. It's a great shirt right there to walk around London in. You blew a 13 colony.

What a Philly thing to do to show up in London and go, you blew a 13 colony lead. That's amazing. I mean, I love that. It's not too soon. Clearly. Definitely not.

I mean, we're 250 years next year. And then the Mets got the split. You probably thought this was going to be a sweep the way things were going in the top of the ninth. The Phillies having a bunch of ducks on the pond.

And then this happened, what's the name of this and that? His name's Darren Fletcher, I believe is the name of this call. He's calling it for Turner Sports for TNT.

Listen to this call by the Brit. Not the closer by any stretch of the imagination. That's Edwin Diaz. It's a closer by committee. He's the man today with the pressure on his shoulders and Castellanos' bat explodes and they're going to get the runner at home. They're going to get the double play to win the game.

What an end. The shattered bat. The runner out at home plate and the ball fired into the glove. And the first baseman, Peter Lonzo. And the New York Mets somehow withstand the Phillies rally and they win game two in London.

Since five, 17 hits, what drama, what a game, what a finish. Luis Torrens, the Mets catcher with Castellanos' bat exploding in front of home plate, collects the ball, steps back, touches home and fires to first for the unassisted 2-3 walk off double play. I've never seen that. That was weird. How about the Brits seeing that 2-3 double play on a smashed bat.

Great call. I bet that hasn't happened a whole lot. Coop was saying on, because he's nonstop on the MLB app as I was driving him to tennis in beautiful Palos Verdes, California, said it's a rarity in terms of a walk off too. First time since 1940 that that's happened.

Here you go. And so that was on Fox and ESPN and internationally. And then the Yankees and the Dodgers played three. Friday night was on Apple TV, which you could see right here on Roku.

Saturday was on Fox and last night was on ESPN. And T. Oscar Hernandez wrecked the buffet on Friday night in extra innings. First game of the season to go into the 11th inning scoreless. And then on Saturday night had two home runs. And then last night had a go ahead home run. Luis Hill, as the Yankees fans watched Juan Soto sit them all out. And with Tyler Glass now having a 3-2 lead, because Luis Hill, who has been untouchable, got touched, little old school Yankee nightmare fuel, Mookie Betts returning to the Bronx with a two run double to tie the game. And then T. Oscar Hernandez going up 3-2. Two runners on and Trent Grisham, who's batting fifth in the lineup, a little used Yankee batting from the left side of the plate, steps in and I turn to Coop as we were getting ready to head back home from the tennis club, if you will, the tennis courts. And I turn to him, I say, this is where Verdugo would have been hitting had Soto been in the second spot. And we've got Trent Grisham here.

And as I'm saying that, you could hear from the television fans chanting, we want Soto. As Grisham goes yard, three run shot and the Yankees take this final game in the series. And Aaron Judge, who homeward for an insurance run and a ball that's still traveling for his 24th home run of the year.

Still going. It's an orbit. He's got more than 30 extra base hits in his last 30 games. The only other Yankee to do that is Joe friggin' DiMaggio. But this guy's a Yankee captain.

This is what he had to say to Cape for his teammate after the game last night. You know, Grisham works his butt off every single day. You know, Soto's out right now. He's going to be back soon. And he's been carrying this team all year and anytime you go up against good teams like this and fans pay to come see us do our thing, they want to see the best out there and Soto's going to heal up, be fine.

But man, Grisham's a, he's a half a ball player, you know, and he showed up tonight in a big moment when we needed him and I wasn't, I wasn't too happy with it, but I think he, I think he made a good point, a good point across there with that home run. Not many people could tell Yankee fans pipe down. Aaron Judge is one of them. When you tell Yankee fans, I don't really appreciate what you're doing. Normally you can't come back from that in New York City.

No, Aaron Judge. And man, oh man, fun weekend. Dodgers take two of three, Mets and Phillies split in London.

Baseball gets on national television, different places, a lot of people paying attention. That's good news. Love it. Dan Hurley's made a decision. Let's take a break and we will tell you what he's, what he's decided. Is he staying at Yukon or is he going to the Lakers for a generationally enriching moment for him?

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Slows, full terms at mintmobile.com. Man the hoops finals are right around the corner. How cool would it be to go to one of those games?

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Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. Back here on the program. We will, um, with all due respect to our Roku channel audience, wait till our radio audience returns to talk about the Dan Hurley news that just broke. We were expecting to hear something today and we will discuss that at length. Just had a nice chat in our green room with Anthony Michael hall, dude.

It's just fun. It's great. This is going to be fun.

Talk about his new stuff. Season three of reacher, bro, that is great. Reportedly cast in that cannot wait for that. That's right. Um, and then of course we'll just go down memory lane.

We've got a really good celebrity, true or false. We as a group cultivated this caper throughout the weekend, back and forth about what to put in there. Whatnot.

The questions to ask. It's going to be great. That's coming up in our number three, more of your phone calls. Oh, by the way, we're going to do our overreaction Monday pod as soon as this is over. That's right. So, um, that'll be fun. So keep an ear out for that when we post that, and obviously that gets posted on our YouTube channel as well. Um, every single Monday during the football season and then occasionally throughout the year.

And today's one of those occasional days, which means we'll do overreaction Monday on a Tuesday on tomorrow's program. Correct? Correct.

All right. Now that I got some Dan Hurley stuff to react to. You're compiling right now?

You're compiling? Got some Dan Hurley to react to. Okay. So when you're compiling the information, when you control the mail, you control at which point I should also mention, um, dropping that Seinfeld line. Michael Richards is on tomorrow's show and who played Cosmo Kramer.

So we'll go down memory lane with him. This is fun right here on the rich eyes and show eight four four tool for rich is the number to dial. If you want to have a chat with us, we could see who's on hold. If you're on hold, stay on hold, uh, cause there's boy lots to talk about here on the program. If you're buying game tickets, make sure that that game time app is right there on your mobile device near you and start buying tickets. Certainly if you're in the Metroplex area and you're rooting for a longer finals series, or you want to go there and be part of the throng rooting on the folks there in Dallas, get ready to go to game time and buy tickets for the basketball finals makes getting those tickets even faster and easier prices on the game time app actually go down the closer it gets to tip off. If you want to go and make sure there's all in prices, last minute deals views from your seat, lowest price guarantee takes the complete guesswork out of buying basketball final tickets. You can also get concert tickets.

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Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. Okay. So the wodge bomb went off when Thursday it was right before game one of the funds. Yes. Wodge bomb goes off this whole business of JJ Reddick being the LA Lakers coach in waiting.

Not the case. As a matter of fact, everybody they've interviewed has been informational only with the exception of one guy that they've been aggressive and relentless in pursuing his name is Dan Hurley. He is the two time national champion head coach of the Yukon Huskies and those championships are back to back. And he's considering not doing what John Wooden was the last coach to do, which is go for three in a row because he is considering an offer. He's listening to Los Angeles Lakers and TJ Jefferson for you as a clipper fan who hates all things Lakers. You do not like the Los Angeles Lakers.

I do not. You wish only the worst upon them. Well, not as bad as the things Brockman wishes, but okay, but I see you too, Chris, right? You're one of those folks too. Oh yeah. Like no chance cage. Brockman is going to be, I live in Los Angeles.

I want to be a Laker fan. No, he'll find himself without parents. Oh my goodness gracious.

That is a very strong statement. A little rough, bro. Tough to walk that one back, but he'll try.

Come hang with me. Listen, he's got to learn tough love, man. The only thing that you could expect out of the Lakers making such an aggressive move is the answer has got to be yes. Yeah. Especially since according to Woge, it's a six year, $70 million deal. Ooh, baby.

Feels a little light. And Dan Hurley said, no. Say what?

Said no thanks. And the other day I said, listen, you got a chance to coach LeBron and Anthony Davis and move out to Los Angeles, California and coach the LA Lakers for a generationally enriching contract. And I said, you know, speaking on behalf of somebody who used to work in the state of Connecticut and have enjoyed the last 21 years out here, the two words I said were, he gone. My two words now are my bad.

Entirely possible. Dan's like, I'm an East coast guy. Mrs is from New Jersey. She didn't like living in Rhode Island. That's beautiful ocean state.

That's what I brought up to you last year, you did, you know, stores, Connecticut's too far enough from, uh, from New Jersey. If that's too far, how far is Los Angeles might as well be New Zealand and Woge saying after a dogged pursuit of Hurley over the past few weeks, the Lakers will now regroup and resume bringing in candidates, trying to hire a coach, but by the draft, which by the way is in about a week and a half, James Borrego is expected to remain part of a group and Lakers could do their first formal interview with JJ Reddick. So in terms of rule, wait a minute, hold on there's more swept away as Hurley became by the Lakers courtship and vision for him. He ultimately couldn't walk away from a chance to make history and pursue a third straight title even before Laker talks Hurley already had a Yukon offer to become one of the highest paid NCAA coaches in those talks will continue per sources. And I'm sure he will cash in even more. Was, I think it was six year, 32 million contract extension for him that he signed that, I mean, if he just said no to 70, that means there is some alumni group in Yukon that is, uh, ponying up.

That sounds like hustling backwards to me. Six thirty two. That's right. So a lot of money up in that area of the world though, right, Rich? Name image and loving them up. Is that your new thing? That's it had to be, I mean, the facilities are going to, they're going to, they're going to, I mean, they're going to, they're going to look like a five star resort.

I imagine. That's right. Dan Hurley says no to the Lakers.

Which for Clipper fan and Boston fan that wants nothing but misery for the Lakers to say, I appreciate your offer and I understand what you've stood for and what you stand for, but I'll stay in Storrs, Connecticut. It's not you. It's me. How about that?

To quote Jerry Seinfeld. That's a shame. That's a shame. That's a shame.

I think we even have that as a drop. As a matter of fact, Anthony Michael Hall coming up an hour number three in studio. Don't miss that.

I mean, seriously, you want to talk about a blow to the ego. I mean, you could just roll out all the trophies, roll out all the banners, roll out LeBron James, roll out the barrel, roll out the barrel of money, roll it out and say, look at us, we're the Los Angeles Lakers and he goes, that's okay. I'll stay put. I'm good. And he's he's going to he's going to Billy Joel concerts in Madison Square Garden.

Happy wife, happy life. That's how I knew he didn't take the job rich when we saw the picture, because how do you take that Lakers job with that Laker money? He'd be in the front row of Billy Joel said he was sitting in like the middle somewhere on the set. Sure. I have no idea where this is right now. It's not first row, by the way. I can tell that that's a G.A. That's Jen.

That's not Chris. He's lucky to get into the I mean, he's sitting with the plebeians. They call in favor, you know, how about that? And by the way, how ecstatic are UConn fans to say they're right. We have our coach. He's not going anywhere. If he's not going to Kentucky and he's not going to the Lakers, he's not going anywhere. And he told the Blue Bloods in Kentucky and he told the Purple and Gold in Los Angeles. No thanks. I'm a UConn Husky. They have got to be losing their friggin minds and the chance to go for three in a row and be as dominant as the UCLA Bruins out here in Los Angeles.

I'm not going to be what a move. Every story eventually comes to an end this June. Here the final episode of season two of the hit podcast series in the red clay. Durham in the red clay tells the unbelievable true story of Billy Sunday, Bert, the most dangerous man in Georgia history in the podcast that people are calling riveting, incredibly moving, captivating, and addicting binge seasons one and two of in the red clay now, wherever you listen.