Burrow says Bengals built to beat the Chiefs... are they? (Hour 1)

Call from Mom. Answer it.

Call silenced. Instacart knows nothing gets between you and the game. That's why they make ordering from your couch easy. Stock up today and get all your groceries for the week delivered in as fast as 30 minutes, without missing a minute of the game. You have 47 new voicemails. Download the app to get free delivery on your first three orders while supplies last. Minimum $10 per order.

Additional terms apply. Think of all the sleep hacks you've ever heard. You could spend years trying them all, or you could instantly transform your sleep with Bolin Branch. They make the softest, most breathable bedding you've ever felt, and it's all 20% off. That's their best sale of the entire season.

Millions of sleepers love their buttery soft sheets, airy blankets, cloud-like duvets, and so much more. And you can try all of them for 20% off with promo code ODYSSEY. So hurry to bolinbranch.com today. That's B-O-L-L and branch.com. C-site for details. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance.

Whether you love true crime or comedy, celebrity interviews or news, you call the shots on what's in your podcast queue. And guess what? Now you can call them on your auto insurance, too, with the Name Your Price tool from Progressive.

It works just the way it sounds. You tell Progressive how much you want to pay for car insurance, and they'll show you coverage options that fit your budget. Get your quote today at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates.

Price and coverage match limited by state law. No matter what you're a fan of, Texas has the trip for you. There's the trip to Texas and the trip. Or maybe you're the kind of fan who'd prefer a trip to Texas or a trip.

Either way, go to TravelTexas.com slash get your own for the only trip to Texas that matters. Yours. Let's see if we can get this right. Live from the police show, yet not overly ostentatious, studios of the Infinity Sports Network. Welcome on in to this Monday edition of the Zach Gelb show across all of our great local Infinity Sports Network affiliates. Sirius XM, Channel 158, the free Odyssey app, and of course streaming live on YouTube.

You can find this on YouTube, youtube.com slash at Infinity Sports Net. All righty. One for one.

855-212-4227 is the number to jump on in 855-212-4227. You could always get at me on Instagram or on the good old cesspool of Twitter at Zach Gelb, Z-A-C-H-G-E-L-B. Got Pat Boyle here with me.

Got Moist Mike here with me. We are rock and roll and all the way up until 6 p.m. Eastern, 3 p.m. Pacific today. If you have not been made aware now, now you know we are now called the Infinity Sports Network. And I do have a mug and I got about 25 cents in my pocket that I now got to bring in each and every day.

And I'm hoping by the time I get out of the studio, I could hold on to that quarter. And the way that I will do that is by not saying the old name of our network. Now, some people will say, what does this mean for me? What does this mean for you?

The listener means absolutely nothing outside of that. We just have a new name. We will deliver the same great programming.

We are owned by the same great company, and we will be here 24-7 providing you live compelling sports talk and doing the best national radio programming in the business. So I know there's a lot of confusion. There's a lot of speculation. People think they're in the know and they say things and media critics write things when they don't have a damn clue what they're talking about.

It's very simple. Our deal expired. This was something that happened in the sale when CBS Radio owned a bunch of radio stations, and they sold them to Enercom, which turned into Odyssey. And we knew eventually that CBS Sports Radio, I don't want to say would be no more, but just the name would be no more. And now we are the Infinity Sports Network.

So if you're a fan of Maggie and Pearl, guess what? Down the same station. If you're a fan of Bill Rider, same network. The legendary, the franchise, Jim Rome, same network. Your boy, Zach Gelb, same network. JR, same network. Bart Winkler, guess what? Same network.

Amy Lawrence, same network as well. And also all the great fine weekend programming that we do have. Alright, so that's the notes right out of the gate. Now mentally, I will just try to not say the old name of the network, but it's pretty much been programmed into my body to do it that way ever since I jumped on board here in either 2017 or 2018. Whenever it was through the weekend overnights to the 6 to 10 p.m. Eastern time shift.

And then obviously the shift that we've had here since about September from 3 to 6 p.m. Eastern. All right. Got it. Good. Away we go.

Let's do what we do best. And that is some sports talk. So I saw something emerge over the weekend. And I guess it happened when Jason and Travis Kelsey, I guess we're getting honorary degrees at their now alma mater, I guess, Cincinnati. And they honored them. They had them be the valedictorians and they spoke to the graduating class at Cincinnati. So I guess since the Kelsey's were there from Cincinnati, but they linked up with Joe Burrow and they did a podcast. Now, no audio of the podcast has emerged, but it was transcribed on the Cincinnati Bengals website.

So Joe Burrows doing the podcast with Travis and Jason Kelsey, the new heights podcast, very popular new heights podcast. And Joe Burrow said, I think we match up pretty well with them when talking about the Chiefs. I think we're built to beat them. I always appreciate the legendary battles we have. Guys are out there always making plays. Patrick is always out there making plays. Both teams have big time defensive lines.

It's a great matchup. Now, that's a pretty innocuous comment. But in the world we live in, and sometimes I am a part of this because our show makes quite a few headlines nationally. You will have something that is not really said that that is that big, but then it will blow up and it will become a big story. So that pretty harmless, obvious, truthful thing that Joe Burrow said is now getting sent out and it's getting aggregated everywhere where it's, Oh, Joe Burrow said they have the team that's built to beat the Kansas City Chiefs. Like no crap. Have you been watching football the last few years?

Yes, I'm fully aware. The Kansas City Chiefs, the last time they played the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship game when some members on the Bengals defensive side of the ball started saying, Oh, we're going to Burrowhead, which was like the dumbest thing you could do after they defeated the Buffalo Bills two playoffs ago. The Cincinnati Bengals lost to Kansas City. But before that, the Cincinnati Bengals were on a three game win streak against the immortal Kansas City Chiefs. And one of those victories did occur in an AFC Championship game. So if you sit here and you say, Zach, who's the team that has the best chance to dethrone? And who is the team that has the best chance to slay and annihilate and beat Sampders Kansas City Chiefs? It's obviously the Cincinnati Bengals. Now, the only reason why it wouldn't be Cincinnati and Sampders gave me a look, so I'll get to Sampders in just a second. He was like he had his nose held high in the air.

He's like, Oh, that is a preposterous saying that Zach Gelb just said. It's an obvious fact. It's it's so the only team that has defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in a big game, big game playoffs when it matters have been the Cincinnati Bengals. So the only thing that could derail the Bengals is the health of Joe Burrow. And we have seen in four seasons, Joe Burrow be healthy and be able to play against Kansas City in two of them, and then has not been able to stay on the field.

The other two, because his offensive line, even though it's improved, has had problems. And we've seen Joe Burrow in his first year done season ending injury. And then last year, right when the year started, he was hurt. They got off to the Rockies start.

Then he finally started to get healthy and then boom, injury season over. So as long as Burrow is healthy, that's the one team. I don't want to say that could spark fear into the minds of the Kansas City Chiefs, but they are the one team that is clearly by far and away the biggest challenger to the Kansas City. How about those chiefs from winning another Super Bowl?

Now, the question becomes, after Cincinnati, who's the next biggest challenger? And I'm sure if I went around the room right now, people would say, oh, the 49ers. Some would say, hmm, maybe it's the Eagles.

Both of those teams, though, share something in common. With leads in the Super Bowl, they were not able to close out the Kansas City Chiefs. The Eagles were up by 10 at halftime in a game where Jalen Hurts outplayed Patrick Mahomes. The Eagles still weren't able to close out the Kansas City Chiefs. The San Francisco 49ers have probably the best roster in football.

Not probably. They do have the best roster in football. The 49ers with Kyle Shanahan have been up by 10 twice. Double digit leads twice in a Super Bowl. And Kyle Shanahan, even though he's a really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really good coach. Notice I did not say great. He is notoriously known for choking away leads in a big game.

Now, he at least gets there. But when he gets to the big game, whether he was the OC of the Falcons or the head coach of the Niners twice up against the Chiefs, he has choked away the big game. So I won't say it's the 49ers. I won't say it's the Eagles. When you go through this pecking order, who's the biggest challenger to Kansas City if you eliminate the Bengals? Because it's clearly and obvious the Cincinnati Bengals. And the next team I go to and the team that I think after Cincinnati is the biggest challenger of the Kansas City Chiefs.

And I don't think this is premature whatsoever. It's the Houston Texans. That is how blown away I was by year one of C.J. Stroud.

C.J. Stroud is the fifth best quarterback today in football. And this offseason, they went out there. They got Danielle Hunter.

So you have a one, two punch to get to the quarterback now in Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson. And then, oh, yeah, by the way, Nikko Collins played like a number one wide receiver this past year. You were able to keep Dalton Schultz. And then you went out and traded away, you know, in a relevant draft pick.

For Stefan Diggs, who even if you think Stefan Diggs is declining, he's still a top 10 wide receiver in the NFL. So I look at the Texans who also added Joe Mixon this offseason, and I think the Texans understood the assignment. The Texans said, let's not sit on our hands here and just rest on off the laurels of what happened a year ago.

Let's make a team that overachieved last year even better. And, yes, they play now in a tough division, the AFC South, where the Colts almost made the playoffs last year without Anthony Richardson. I got to think the Jaguars are going to bounce back. The Tennessee Titans had a sneaky good offseason where now you could get a fair assessment on if Will Levis is that dude or if he isn't. But I look at the Texans with Nick Casario, D'Amico Ryans, C.J.

Stroud, Nikko Collins, Stefan Diggs, Will Anderson Jr., and Danielle Hunter. And I think right now, today, they are the third best team in the AFC, where, number one, Kansas City, number two, Cincinnati, and then number three, the Houston Texans. And part of why I'm picking the Texans over a team like the 49ers, over a team like the Eagles, in terms of who has a better chance to slay Kansas City, is because I've seen the 49ers now fail at it twice. I've seen the Eagles get the better quarterback play and still not be able to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs.

So that is engraved in my memory. And now, even though I was dead wrong in this past Super Bowl, I picked the Niners, even though last year I was dead wrong and I picked the Eagles to beat the Kansas City Chiefs, if let's say we see a Super Bowl rematch this year of Chiefs or Niners, or a rematch from two years ago, Chiefs and Eagles, I won't pick against the Chiefs this go-around. Because there is just a lack of trust, even with how great those teams appear, where we've seen them squander the opportunity when they were working in front with leads. Now, I'll throw out two more teams. How about the Green Bay Packers?

Go, Pack, go! I've got to maybe put a future on the Green Bay Packers. Because Jordan Love, at times last year, especially towards the end of the season, he looked like a star.

He looked like, okay, the Packers got it right, going from Favre to Rodgers, now to Love. So I will monitor and I will maybe place a future on Green Bay. Another team, and I understand they blew the lead up against the 49ers, so it could sound a little hypocritical with how much talked about the 49ers blowing leads up against the Chiefs, but you look at the Detroit Lions, they just have a mentality. And you need a certain mentality from your coach.

You need like an effort mentality from your coach in order to beat that team. Because the Kansas City Chiefs could play like crap for three quarters and still beat you in the fourth. The Lions, to me, I like their quarterback, Jared Goff, I don't think he's great, but you could win with it.

You have good weapons around him, a defense that improved as the season did go on. But that coach, you know, he will empty the kitchen sink and then some in order to try to beat the Kansas City Chiefs. So when I look at the two teams that I have the most confidence in heading into this upcoming season to try to prevent the Kansas City, how about those Chiefs, from going to three-peat? It's Cincinnati, number one, and then the Houston Texans, number two. Let me open this up to you, 855-212-4227.

You could always shoot me a tweet on the good old cesspool of Twitter or hit me up on Instagram or on straight flexing at Zach Gelb, Z-A-C-H-G-E-L-B. But Boyle, let me take away the Cincinnati Bengals because I think they're the obvious team here. Joe Burrow, you know, we have a team, we're built to beat the Kansas City Chiefs. So I take Cincinnati out of the equation, who is the team in the NFL, whether it's for this year or future years, that you say, okay, I like what they're building, I like what they're doing, and they have the best chance to slay the Kansas City Chiefs moving forward. I'd say the Baltimore Ravens. They were in position to do it last year and they got over-hyped and committed stupid penalties and stupid turnovers after, I think you would agree with me, they were the best team in football throughout the regular season.

Certainly the AFC, they had the number one seed. And then they got, they let emotion get in the way of beating the Chiefs. And they made mistakes and turnovers that they did not make in the regular season. I think you put another year of experience under their belt with a great coach and John Harbaugh, a multiple-time winning MVP quarterback, Lamar Jackson, and a defense that, yes, lost guys like Patrick Queen to a division rival. But they retooled a defense that I think is going to be top five in the NFL. And I think you put those two together in the playoffs next year, and I think you could be looking at Baltimore getting their revenge. The only problem with that, and I for years defended Lamar Jackson, where I thought the postseason play critiques were premature, is last year, and I heard what you just said, but in the divisional round, they didn't show up in the first half, they played well in the second half, and they completely no-showed against a vulnerable Kansas City team in the AFC championship game.

It just felt like last year. If you weren't going to get there last year, then maybe you'll never get there. But Lamar's a top five quarterback, and John Harbaugh is a top five coach as well. So whenever you have a top five quarterback and a top five coach, that's usually a good recipe for success. Samter, first off, let me start with you, and I know now that since you're new into this Chiefs kingdom and you're like a snobby kind of Chiefs fan now, you probably look down on the Cincinnati Bengals. But the moment I said that it is obvious that Cincinnati is the team to beat in football if you take the Chiefs out of it, you're like, whoa, you gave me a look as if I started speaking a different language into this microphone. What's up with your Cincinnati hate?

So it's not necessarily hate on Cincinnati. I would be fine with the argument that they're the second best team in the NFL, they're the biggest. I'm fine with you saying I think that they are the second best team, the biggest threat.

But when you say it is no question, they are absolutely number two, then that's when I scoff at that. This is a team that went five and five last year with a healthy-ish Joe Burrow. He was not healthy to start this season. Healthy enough. The injury was looming throughout the entirety of the start of that season. They were still five and five. They haven't gotten any better since 2022 when they lost to the Chiefs in the AFC Championship game.

Right? 2021, they beat the Chiefs in the playoffs. 2022, they lost in the playoffs. That year, they were sixth in points per game allowed, 16th in yards per game allowed. Last year, their defense, forget about Joe Burrow, their defense got worse. 21st in points per game and 31st in yards per game. Their defense is getting worse.

Joe Mixon is gone. They don't really have a real run game anymore, so Zach Moss is their number one running back. They lost Tyler Boyd, who was their slot receiver, so they lost their third best receiver. I'm just saying when you have a wide open offense, you need to either run the ball, throw the ball, and they might also lose T. Higgins. We don't know. Their defense is getting worse.

Joe Burrow, we don't know if he can stay healthy. They probably are the second best team in the NFL. They probably are the biggest threat. But to say they unconditionally are, no doubt, I don't agree with at all.

Well, here's why. They don't have a mental fear. They don't have a mental roadblock with the Candace A. Chiefs.

They might have a physical roadblock, though. But the other teams have roadblocks. Kyle Shanahan wakes up in the middle of the night screaming at the thought of Patrick Mahomes with a football in his hands in the second half of football games. The injuries are a concern, but there's only been one team to beat Kansas City when it's mattered. And that is the Cincinnati Bengals.

And also, you're new to this winning thing. You're not used to winning as a football fan because we all remember who you rooted for the first 30-something years of your life, those pathetic New York Jets. Great elite quarterbacks find a way to still be great and elite even when they lose a Tyler Boyd or even a T. Higgins.

As long as he has Jamar Chase, the Borough to Chase connection will be good enough. Well, they will be a contending team for the foreseeable future as long as Borough is healthy. One team we have not mentioned, but they could be the most important. The Los Angeles Chargers. Now, the Chargers have a lot of work to do. I don't think the Chargers are going to be all that special this year. But for 20 years, the Patriots were in a division that basically urinated down their leg in trying to be competent anytime they got an opportunity to be competent. The Jets, the Dolphins, and the Bills, for the most part, were all incompetent for 20 years. The Chargers with Harbaugh and Herbert need to be serious contenders. It's not going to happen overnight, but ultimately they need to be serious contenders because in that division, you need someone to take the baton away.

And I don't trust the Broncos and I don't trust the Raiders, so I have to trust the Chargers and I hope Harbaugh can get it right with Herbert. Call from Mom. Answer it.

Call silenced. Instacart knows nothing gets between you and the game. That's why they make ordering from your couch easy. Stock up today and get all your groceries for the week delivered in as fast as 30 minutes without missing a minute of the game. You have 47 new voicemails. Download the app to get free delivery on your first three orders while supplies last.

Minimum $10 per order. Additional terms apply. Okay, picture this. It's Friday afternoon when a thought hits you. I can waste another weekend doing the same old whatever or I can conquer it. I can hop into my all-new Hyundai Santa Fe and hit the road. Any road.

The steeper the better. Because my all-new Santa Fe is available with H-TRAC all-wheel drive so I can hit the trail without a worry in the world. Heck, with three rows and best-in-class rear cargo space, I can pack the whole family in with all our gear.

We've got available dual wireless charging for our phones so we'll never lose touch with civilization and we won't lose touch with the primordial power of Mother Earth. So which is it? Waste the weekend or do something a little more epic? And conquer it in the all-new Hyundai Santa Fe. Visit HyundaiUSA.com or call 562-314-4603 for more details.

Hyundai. There's joy in every journey. Think of all the sleep hacks you've ever heard. You could spend years trying them all. Or you could instantly transform your sleep with Boll & Branch. They make the softest, most breathable bedding you've ever felt and it's all 20% off. That's their best sale of the entire season.

Millions of sleepers love their buttery soft sheets, airy blankets, cloud-like duvets and so much more. And you can try all of them for 20% off with promo code ODYSSEY. So hurry to Boll & Branch.com today. That's B-O-L-L and Branch.com.

C-site for details. Alrighty, welcome back. How we doing? This is the Infinity Sports Network. Zach Gelb here with you on the Zach Gelb show. I guess with the name of our old network, we can now take shots at CBS?

Is that what we're going to do? Oh, I was watching last night. Billy Joel had his 100th show at Madison Square Garden, the world's most famous arena. And it was broadcasted on CBS. And remember when they blew up the Georgia Dome and that bus? Right as they were like, all right, here we go.

Three, two, one. And then on a live TV broadcast, the bus just blocked the TV cameras and that's now gone to be like a famous meme that people use. Well, in the middle of Piano Man, CBS, I guess, ended the broadcast and they went to their local news, which is crazy. That's like the Billy Joel song. And you cut out of that when you were broadcasting the 100th show for Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden. I've seen Billy Joel once.

Mark Rivera, who is his saxophone player, one of my good friends from college. His father is very big in the art world and he works with Ringo Starr. Now, I never thought when my friend claimed in college that his dad is like legitimately best friends with Ringo Starr, that that was actually ever true. And then when he turned 21, the dad reached out to us when my friend Zach turned 21.

And they were like, oh, we're getting all these videos from friends and family to wish Zach a happy 21st birthday. And it ended with Uncle Ringo, Ringo Starr capping off the video. So through that connection and with Ringo's all star band, Mark Rivera plays not only saxophone for Billy Joel, but he plays for Ringo Starr's all star band. So through that connection, I was able to go and see Billy Joel right before the world shut down with the pandemic. And we were like fifth row backstage passes, all that stuff.

And Mark Rivera saw us in the crowd and he was literally playing to us. So Billy Joel is a great concert. I know some buffoons that used to work here, like Sean Marash are like, oh, Billy Joel over Bruce Springsteen. You're just wrong. Springsteen puts on a much better show than Billy Joel.

Billy Joel over Springsteen any day. And once again, this is what I've learned here. Working at what was CBS Sports Radio.

That's now Infinity Sports Network. Anytime producers agree here, I either just further confirm that my take is right. Like Hickey, always wrong. Santer, always wrong.

Marash actually has some right takes, but he's crazy. You've been wrong on a lot of things. You've been wrong on a lot, a lot of things. I've been right on a lot of things, too. I don't know. Does anyone know what Santer's been right on?

Euler, Euler, Euler, crickets, crickets, crickets. How about the Chiefs? OK. You jumped on a bandwagon of a football team and ditched your team at the altar. Let me give you a slow clap for that. But you could like both. I like Billy Joel. I also love and adore Bruce Springsteen in the legendary E Street Band.

But I hope he's fine from a health standpoint. I see he's not doing the Dodgers game. But Charlie Steiner, who used to be the Yankees play-by-play guy with John Serling and now for years has been a part of the Dodgers broadcast. Charlie Steiner did the Curb Your Enthusiasm chatting cut at the Billy Joel concert that I was at. So we are backstage and there's a bar and Charlie Steiner knew who I was. And, you know, I know who he is. And he walks up to me, goes, Hey, Zach, how you doing? He goes, Oh, let me get a bottle of red, a bottle of white. Oh, and he was doing that like announcement play by play typical voice.

But there was a long line to get into line for the bar to get a drink. And Charlie Steiner, to his credit. So a large human being and yours truly that he had a connection with did the chat and cut and cut about like fifty five, sixty people waiting in line behind stage, got his drink, then said, good to see you, Zach, and went to another table. So respect. That is an OG move by Charlie Steiner.

And we hope obviously he get back in those Dodgers games real soon. Anyway, it is that Gelb show on CB on Infinity Sports Network. Almost did it. Almost did it.

Almost lost that quarter of mine. So that's going to be the problem. It's when you're just like casually talking and then you're just programmed to say what the old network was. And then boom, you've got to be reminded that we are the Infinity Sports Network. Anyway, CBS had to issue an apology for cutting away from the Billy Joel broadcast during piano man. A network programming timing error ended last night's Billy Joel special approximately two minutes early in the eastern central time zones. We apologize to Mr. Joel, his his fans, our affiliated stations and our audience, whose viewing experience was interrupted during the last song due to the overwhelming demand from his fans.

Billy Joel, the 100th live at Madison Square Garden will rebroadcast in its entirety on CBS on April 19th at 9 p.m. Eastern. How about that for two minutes? And how embarrassing, too, was it that that wasn't the live show last night? That was you know, they had that was in the can. Oh, was it really? Yeah, that wasn't live.

Oh, OK. They had time. I know that they had time to record. You know, they had time to edit that so that it would finish perfectly. Mm hmm.

And they still messed up. So that was like we have a hard out at the top of the hour. I have to get off the air. What is it? Fifty five. Forty five.

Thank you. Fifty five. Forty five. Fifty four. Forty five. Don't mess me up.

When do I have to get off the air? Fifty four. Forty five. Fifty four. Forty five. So I go at fifty four.

Forty six. It cuts me off. I can still speak into the microphone, but no one will hear what I'm saying.

So they had a timed out and they still couldn't get it right now. I don't know why. I just sense things a certain way when people walk into a room and like when act walked into the room, his face lit up when he heard me talking about this.

I think act is a big Billy Joel fan. I am. Were you annoyed? Were you watching this last night? No, actually, I taped the last half hour because I knew it started later because of the Masters.

So let me ask you this. Did you think when you did you go back and watch it yet? I did watch it. I wasn't so annoyed because did you think it was a recording issue at first? You know, I wasn't sure what to make of it because I was like because in New York it was the CBS local news. And I was like, couldn't they have waited? Like, didn't any wasn't anybody watching this?

Like, did it have to start at eleven thirty on the nose? So I wasn't sure what it was. But it was a but but I was also just I was a little perturbed only because they edited it to begin with, because there were a couple of songs in there that they left out. Gotcha.

So I was like, what's the difference already at this point? It almost kind of reminded like from your experience and everyone else's that was watching it live. It almost kind of reminds me of the ending to the Sopranos where when they fade to black.

I'm one of the few that like that. Well, I had really no opinion on it. But when it faded to black, I'll never forget. I thought the the cable box.

I did too. Went out. What happened?

This you some of the you know what? The cable box goes out and the ending of the most popular TV show of all time. And then we did find out when the credits started rolling up.

That's just how they are going. It was kind of a stunning ending. But I did. I actually did like that ending. But I was one of the few to Joe Ganascoli who played Vito in the Sopranos.

And this is when I was doing local radio at nine twenty a.m. the jersey when my first jobs out of college. And I told him that and he goes, well, we none of us knew how it was going to end. It's all part of of episodes toward towards the end. But not many people knew how it was going. And I think they filmed several endings. Correct.

I don't know about that. But Joe told me that him and his buddies were watching the ending altogether and they had the same reaction. They thought because that used to be a big thing. The cable box would go out and then it would slowly reload. They all thought the cable box did go out.

So I know that's very country. They weren't alone. Anywho, the play in tournament in the NBA real quickly. You had the Pelicans in the Lakers, the Kings and the Warriors in the West. And then in the East, you had the Sixers in the Heat, the Bulls and the Hawks. What's the matchup that you're most curious to see? I was going to say it was the Sixers in the Heat.

I'm actually more curious about the Pelicans and the Lakers. And I don't think this play in tournament has been a great success. I know people love to just like slobber over spineless silver, Adam Silver.

I'm not one of them if you listen to this show. But this play in tournament was supposed to make the regular season be better and they're supposed to prevent right teams from tanking. The Mavs last year tanked right towards the end of the season, didn't give a rat's ass about the play in tournament. But I don't like when you go through an 82 game season rewarding teams that aren't in the top eight.

I think it's stupid. Now, the reason why it's somewhat has worked is because you've got stars because they have kind of dogged the regular season of underperform. You have stars that are in the play in tournament.

So it's a draw. But you look at Zion going up against the Lakers. Now, it's crazy. Zion was like the thing coming out of Duke and he's been hurt in the NBA. He's been out of shape. But this year he's been good.

And I felt like nationally we've not heard a peep from Zion Williamson and we haven't heard a peep about his coverage. So it's one thing that it's good. And Samter, I'll actually give him credit. He made this point. So one of the things that I know that Samter is definitely right on.

He made the point. Yeah, it's good because he's healthy and he's playing. But it's also bad because we thought this was to be one of the future faces of the league and this is going to be a star of the league. And even when he's having his best season to date, there's really not been a lot of conversations about Zion Williamson. So I'm excited for that one.

Pelicans and the Lakers. All right. It's time to ask the pros where you, the listener, gets us a question and it's brought to you by O'Reilly Auto Parts. Simply tweet your questions at INF Sports Net or at Zach Yelb using the hashtag Ask the Pros.

Be listening later in the show when we might answer your questions. Think O'Reilly Auto Parts for all your car care needs. Get guaranteed low prices and excellent customer service from the professional parts people at O'Reilly Auto Parts.

O'Reilly Auto Parts. It is the Zach Gelb show on the brand new Infinity Sports Network. So Scotty Scheffler. He was awesome. But I wouldn't say it was entertaining because when we did go into that Masters Sunday yesterday and you were at like hole six or seven. The leaderboard was really like jammed up and you thought for a bit it was crowded.

You know, we'll probably get a playoff or at least it was going to be bare minimum an epic finish. And once Scotty almost holed out on nine. It was like lights out.

Everyone else crumbled after that. Like Eamon Corner got everyone on the back nine at Augusta. So Scotty wins. Scotty was the heavy favorite. Everyone expected Scotty to win. And I don't maybe it's because I'm such a big Tiger fan and we were spoiled for so long. But it's weird because Tiger's what got me into golf.

I don't want to say it could ruin it for me. But when you are so used to seeing a one of one talent. And not only was he great, but he was also polarizing.

Right. Came with a lot of drama was so entertaining. Like it's one thing to just be great, but are you great enough where you draw me to stop everything that I'm doing to watch you play a sport? Like Kaitlyn Clark, the last two years, didn't win a championship, but she was so great. She made me tune into women's women's college basketball when I normally would never do so. Steph Curry is so great and he's so just like a video game on the court. He made me tune in to the NBA. It's like Tom Brady makes you tune in to the NFL.

Now, Patrick Mahomes. So there are certain athletes that are great. And then they're just so jaw dropping, entertaining. Scottie Scheffler is great and he does things in a sport that is so tough to be that elite. But when I was watching the Masters, I wasn't like blown away where I said to myself, I need to watch every shot and I need to sit on my couch.

And I can't do like any errands or any like things around the house or go take a shower or something like that while the Masters Sunday was on. And I don't want that to seem like I don't appreciate what Scottie Scheffler did, because in the back nine, he was sensational. And it's so tough, right? Like we had Alex Myers on and I said to Alex Myers from Golf Digest. Scottie or the field? And it's so tough in a sport like golf to pick one golfer over the field, but you knew Scottie was going to win. And it kind of reminds me a little bit like the UConn Huskies. That's who Scottie Scheffler reminds me of. Like, you know, the UConn Huskies have been so great the last years and so dominant. You know, Scottie Scheffler has been so great and so dominant and both were expected to win their respective right championships for Scottie, the major championship at the Masters and then for UConn this past year's NCAA tournament. But when you watch them, there's not like one thing that makes you marvel and makes you definitely have to watch them. I don't want to, I'm not going to lie, and I'm not this person that says golf is boring. I love golf.

It was a boring Masters. And Scottie, he is a star. We know that. But sometimes I like to see my stars have great personalities.

Scottie just doesn't have a personality. And that's fine. You keep on winning. Eventually people just, they can't keep on saying those same things.

Who cares? You just got to tip your cap. And I'm tipping my cap to Scottie Scheffler. Like Tim Duncan, Tim Duncan, legendary basketball player, right? Spurs dynasty.

Spectacular. But he was boring. Like Tim Duncan, the personality, Tim Duncan, the person is boring. UConn, great team outside of Dan Hurley, boring.

Scottie Scheffler, great golfer, but boring. So I guess what I'm saying here, and maybe this will be the way for like my football fandom, my individual football fandom too, because I was in the penthouse for 20 years with the Patriots and Tom Brady. Now Tom Brady is only a part of there.

Like even if the Pats win a Super Bowl, like let's say they draft Drake May and eight years from now they win a Super Bowl with Drake May. And don't get me wrong, I'm going to be excited. I'm going to be thrilled. I'm going to be pumped up.

But it's never going to be able to replicate what I've seen in the past. And since I grew up loving Tiger Woods, you know, when he was in that U.S. Open on one leg against Rocco Mediate, and it went to the playoffs on that Monday, I begged my mom when the U.S. Open started for that playoff to let me miss school. And my mom is the best.

So obviously she did. And all I wanted to do was watch that and see that because that's how big of a fan I was of Tiger. But as great as Tiger was obviously for the sport, and no individual athlete in golf has driven you to watch golf more than Tiger Woods, it kind of ruins this like next chapter of golf because, yeah, Tiger gets to the four rounds at Augusta. But he was terrible.

Outside of the first two days, he was terrible on Saturday and Sunday. So now it's like, who's going to be that next face of golf? And it's so tough with all this nonsense with Liv Golf and the PGA Tour. It's like personality wise, you know, Rory was a lightning rod the last few years. But Rory needs to complete the career grand slam. He can't win at Augusta. Bryson DeChambeau had that polarizing personality, has won a major championship, but he doesn't win enough. Jon Rahm.

Kenya, you won the Masters last year. Can you at least look like you want to be there this year? It's almost like he got into his own head where you do go to Liv. You took the money. Just admit that it was all because financial. He like made it out to be in his post round press conference after Sunday that, oh, he went there and he thought he was going to be like the person expedites change to unify Liv in the PG.

Like, dude, you're poorly got three hundred million dollars. That's why you went to Liv Golf. So there's not a name in golf right now that has the success on the course.

And then also can be just like such a lightning rod in a good way, in an entertaining way and has his haters and also has a diet like a loyal, loyal, loyal fan base. It's just not that name in golf right now. And there's a lot of good golfers.

You know, I'm a little disappointed because and maybe it was a product of the environment where there's not a lot of sports on. At least golf was on. But there was a big craze where people, a lot of people playing golf more than ever during the pandemic because you got out of the house, at least be able to do something, blah, blah, blah. And it made you watch golf more. And there had been moments, obviously, when Tiger's not been healthy enough to play and can't be on the course.

I'm like, oh, wow. Golf's in a great state. When I watched the Masters, right? The tournament on Sunday.

And you had this crowded leaderboard. And it was kind of a dud of a finish where Scottie was just so much better than everybody else and everyone else imploded. It's like, OK, it's great to see Scottie win. And he is a phenomenal golfer. There's the hot take of the week, obviously, but he doesn't make you want to tune in.

He doesn't captivate the audience. And I do ultimately think that just comes down to my roots where, you know, I was a huge Tiger fan, still am a huge Tiger fan. And in a weird way, it's kind of like spoiled my future watchings of golf because no one's ever going to be like Tiger Woods again.

So those were kind of my impressions on the Masters. Scottie great. Scottie like Yukon. You knew he was going to win, but you walk away. It's like, all right. You knew that was going to happen. But, you know, outside of the shot where he almost hold out, there wasn't like that memorable moment. It's not like the defining moment where you're like, oh, my God. Like, goodness gracious.

That was absolutely spectacular. What up, y'all? It's your boy, Danny Green, three time NBA champ.

You either rooted for me or rooted against me. Join myself and my co-host Harrison Sanford on the Inside the Green Room podcast. It's a podcast that brings you never before told tales from the locker room to candid interviews with basketball legends, to breakdowns of what's happening in the NBA right now. Whether you're a diehard fan or casual about your hoops, this podcast brings you the game like never before. Follow Inside the Green Room on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts.