NBA Game 1 Upsets (Hour 4)

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Do the amazing. Help save lives. Donate today at your local CSL plasma center and be rewarded for your generosity. Our number four of our radio program, that's right, it is the Zach Yelp Show, coast to coast on CBS Sports Radio. We have playoff pucks, playoff hoops as well. The start of the Stanley Cup playoffs, four games tonight. Already underway as we're about to head to the third period. Hurricanes up 2-1 on the Islanders. The Bruins are in the second period right now, midway through, 1058 to go. Bruins up 2-1 on the Panthers. Bruins scored just as we went to break.

And then the Panthers answered right back. Marchand and Pasternak have the goals for the Bruins as the Bruins tried to go through these playoffs. As we know, they already had the most regular season wins in NHL history and the most points as well. Coming up in about 30 minutes, you have the Wild and the Stars, our pal Pete DeBoer. Another year one success with what he's been able to do in the NHL. This time taking over the Dallas Stars in year number one.

And you will have the Kings and the Oilers later. Connor McDavid, the star of the sport. Gary Bettman joined us earlier. We'll play you this audio later.

So P.K. Subban earlier today on ESPN, he was on with Stephen A. He said that Connor McDavid does things that Wayne Gretzky couldn't even do. And that Connor McDavid may be the greatest hockey player ever. I think that's a premature statement in terms of being the greatest hockey player ever. But he did say maybe.

And the commissioner, we'll play the audio later, said a lot of people share P.K. Subban's analysis. And we know that Connor McDavid this year has 64 goals, 89 assists, 153 points. And he is on the verge, and he will do so unless there's some idiot in the media, of winning his second ever unanimous MVP. Only two times it's been a unanimous player winning the MVP. We saw McDavid do so during the COVID season. And then Wayne Gretzky do so one time in his career.

It's crazy, it only was one time. And we're expecting that McDavid's going to be able to take on that unanimous MVP for the second time in his career and become the third time in NHL history that we've ever seen somebody do it. McDavid already doing it one prior time.

And like we said, Gretzky being the first player to ever do so. So that's the hockey schedule for tonight. And also in the association, James Harden is being, well, real playoff James Harden, struggling in the contest. Nets up by two right now, 51-49 with 10-19 to go early stages of the third quarter.

And at the top of the hour we do have Warriors and Kings. Kings led by De'Aaron Fox in game number one with his 38 points look to take a 2-0 series lead. Hickey, I look at the gambling line tonight. The Warriors being at two points, I'm trying to figure out what Vegas is trying to make you do there. Because I do think a lot of people share the belief that the Warriors even up this series tonight. And I think just by nature of how many times you've seen the Warriors before, that you see the Warriors at minus two, you believe to bet the Warriors at minus two. But then I don't know if that is setting it so low where you think a lot of people will bet the Warriors and their bank on the Kings to win.

I'll take a guess and maybe I'm wrong here. I'm going to assume that Vegas is begging people to take the Warriors minus two just with past history and how many times they've had success in the playoffs. And then they're going to bank on the Kings to win this game. But I can see the argument be made either way on this one. But I'm taking the Kings to win the game tonight after seeing that spread.

I would plus the two points. Even though I think the Kings are winning the series, I do think the Warriors get a road up here and even it up 1-1. Even with how bad they've been on the road this year. Yes, but they have, this is a championship, obviously caliber team.

They know what it takes to win. It's going to be, I think the Kings can do it and will do it, but it's going to be very, very tough to put them out to pasture. Yeah, the more I think about that, even though the Warriors have been a horrendous road team this year, like on paper the Warriors should not be a favorite on the road against anyone.

It feels like in the NBA or a playoff caliber team. And we know the Kings are the three seed in the Western Conference because they have an 11-30 record on the road this year, the Warriors. But I think that line, especially with the Kings being at home in that atmosphere, they're begging you to take the Warriors tonight, minus two. Now I could argue probably either way on what Vegas is trying to beg you to do, but usually when I think Vegas is begging to do one thing over the other, I will go the other way. That will be the bet tonight.

Because logically, you're probably right. It's like the Warriors, even if you think the Kings are going to win the series, they're not just going to be some pushover. They are the defending champs for a reason, but I don't know. That line makes me sway more to the Kings than it does the Golden State Warriors.

Alrighty, anyway, five questions, five answers. We do this segment every Monday and Friday right here on the Zach Gelb Show on CBS Sports Radio. Let's get to a little Onside's Offside. Hot take kicky?

Hit it! Zach's taking on the most polarizing issues in sports. Which side of the line of scrimmage will he end up on? Offside, defense number 69.

It's Onside's Offside's with Zach Gelb on CBS Sports Radio. Alright, hot take kicky, what do you got for me today? Well, safe to say Jalen Hurts had a pretty good Monday because earlier today, he became the highest paid quarterback in NFL history, agreeing to a five-year, $255 million contract extension.

Now, where he does break history and is the highest paid quarterback is in the average annual salary. Time out. I have to interrupt you real quickly.

Sure. You throw out the numbers, five-year, $255 million, $189 million guaranteed. If you're Jalen Hurts tonight, how are you celebrating this one? What are you doing tonight? You have all the money coming in your way.

What are you doing tonight to celebrate this big contract? And let me remind you, being around Jalen Hurts in the few amount of times I've been around him and the few encounters I've been around him, he comes off as someone that is very low key. And I don't think he loves to be out and about and flaunting everything in everyone's face. I do kind of think what you see and what you hear in the media is pretty much a lot what you get at home and off the field.

Not that we always know, but I think that's the case. If I were Jalen Hurts, I would be called the Sixers, getting a luxury suite, inviting my buddies, my friends, and just getting frankly wasted. That's what I'd be doing. I'd be partying up. Don't be quartz like some people could see if you're stumbling over.

A little sloppy. Right. So go in the suite. I'm sure the camera will panty maybe in the first quarter, give a wave, maybe get a little EAG alias Eagles chant going, and then just live up the rest of the night. Here's why you're wrong on that.

Why is that? This net series isn't big enough for Jalen Hurts to go to to get the standing ovation. If I'm Jalen Hurts, I don't go to the Sixers game and they ring the bell before the game. That's like a tradition.

They bring a celebrity, a local celebrity, national celebrity, whatever it is that's a Sixers fan or has a tie to Philadelphia to ring the bell a few times to get the big standing ovation. I think you wait. You can't wait until the conference finals because you don't know if they're going to be there. I think you wait until the next round series up against you would presume the Boston Celtics. I don't think you throw out that card if you're the Sixers right away or if you are Jalen Hurts. I would wait on that. With that being said, I think you just go out for a wonderful dinner tonight. And then and then you get a private room somewhere and you invite right your close friends and family as well and make it like a private event. But I'm going big steak dinner tonight. That's what you got to do. It's the off season.

I know that he's always grinded and working to try to get himself in the best shape to go win a championship. I got the lobster mac and cheese tonight. I got all the oysters tonight.

Well, you know, it's surf and turf as well. Lobster. I'm getting all the steaks I could imagine. Mashed potatoes, french fries, asparagus, tons of cake, disgusting desserts. I'm really getting fat tonight and having a great steak dinner, maybe over some wine to go hard stuff if you want as well. And then afterwards, or maybe you don't even need to go out, out, out to like a club.

You could just have a rent out a steakhouse or a back room at a steakhouse and you treat your friends and family. That's what I'd be doing tonight if I'm Jaylen Hurts. But that's just me.

I like my plan a lot better. That's for sure. I've been having a lot of fun tearing it up with my fellow companions, the Sixers fans. But when you're an athlete and you're a star like that. On a night that is so special, I don't need to be going to a Sixers game. And let's be real, this is an irrelevant game too. In an irrelevant series between Brooklyn and Philadelphia.

I would just do something away. Say it again? Then that makes it even more of a hype moment. You get the fans going nuts before the game try to lift up their spirits a little bit.

Unless they're already downtrodden and going in there. Geez, same old Sixers, here we go. Let me tell you, you don't understand Philadelphia.

It doesn't matter if they're down 0-3, 0-2. You bring out the quarterback of the Eagles. It's football and then everything else in Philadelphia. You bring out the quarterback of the Eagles. I don't care what happened before the game. That city would be ready to erupt and would explode.

Because they love their Eagles and they love Jaylen Hurts. Anyway, wait, you don't agree with that? No. Oh, you turned your head to the left and you look like I just threw up. Just casual stretching from hot take kicky.

That board with the take that he just starts stretching in the middle of my take. Make sure the neck is nice and loose here. I don't want a stiff neck. What, did you start yawning like some other people? No, I will not do that. That's a no-no. Well, make me act like other CBS sports radio hosts and start yelling at you for yawning. God forbid you yawn.

That's a no-no for sure. So Hurts, the reason why he's celebrating tonight, is the highest paid player in terms of average annual salary in NFL history. He will be getting now with the new extension, $51 million per season, which did surpass the previous record of $49 million held by Aaron Rodgers. Now of the $255 million that Hurts to get in the new deal, $179 million of it is guaranteed. Guaranteed.

Onsides or offsides. Lamar Jackson will receive a contract extension this offseason that will surpass either Hurts' total money of $255 million, guaranteed money, $179 million, or average per year salary of $51 million. So it's just one.

It just has to be one. Any of the ones, any of those three categories, will he surpass one of them? I don't think he'll surpass five years. $255 I'm not sure of, but the guaranteed money I do think so. Because if he agrees to a long-term deal, it's not going to be fully guaranteed, but it can't just be at like $179 million. It's got to be like probably $195, $200 million. And Rappaport said they already offered something that was like $200 million guaranteed. I think bare minimum would be $200 million guaranteed. So I would go onsides. It'll surpass one of those.

All right. So in the NFL draft, it is presumed, believed, that we could see quarterbacks going one, two, three, and four. I believe that. Well, Adam Schefter, earlier today in NFL Live, did throw out something that he's hearing that maybe we will not see as many quarterbacks going as early as we believe. Here's Adam Schefter explaining what he thinks. What if the run on quarterbacks gets a little bit delayed?

What if it's a little bit later to start than people thought? We've been hearing about quarterbacks going one, two, three, four. That's not going to happen, I don't believe, in this draft. And what would happen if and when we've seen Carolina make the move up right away, right away for a quarterback at one, but we haven't seen anybody trade up to two when Houston's open to listening? We haven't seen anybody trade up to number three?

Because you know what? I think Indianapolis thinks there's a real chance right now that they could sit right where they are at four and get potentially the second quarterback in this draft. There's a chance we might not see a quarterback go at two or even three. These teams right now seem willing to wait. They seem willing to wait. And I don't think we're going to see a quarterback go at two. And I think all the teams that were talking about trading up to three know that.

And so they could sit back and wait. And so this great quarterback rush that we've all been expecting might start a little bit later than we all thought. So Adam Schefter is there telling you right there, does not think maybe the run of quarterbacks will start as early as you think, and does not predict him for sure one, two, three, and four quarterbacks wise.

I love the reactions in the background as he's saying that. A lot of people are surprised. Because here's the thing, when Schefter gives an opinion, whether he has the information or not, with how much information he has access to and he breaks, you think even when he's giving an opinion, he's using it off the information that he has.

But if that's the case, then why don't you just report it as fact? Well, that's the tricky part with Schefter giving opinions. Yes.

From a public consumption standpoint. So after hearing that audio from a very trustworthy source in Adam Schefter, onsides or offsides, you agree with Schefter and no quarterback will be taken at pick two and pick three. No.

I go offside. I do believe that Bryce Young is going to be the first overall pick, and that was Schefter who's been on that from the jump. At two, even if the Texans did pass up on CJ Strout, and I don't think they will, then the Cardinals even get more ammunition to trade the pick. Because if you don't have a quarterback go two, then whoever people perceive as the second best quarterback in the draft is available at three, and you know Indy would then take a quarterback, so then you have teams, whether it's Tennessee or the Raiders, whoever it may be, that would jump to the third pick to try to get a deal done. I do believe that we're going to see one to be quarterbacks. I am mocking that the Cardinals then trade the pick, and you get another team to trade up to go get a quarterback as well. But even if I'm wrong on four straight quarterbacks going one, two, three, four to kick off the draft, I still don't see how both two and three punt.

Maybe one does. I don't see how both punt, whether it's the Cardinals trading or the Texans just saying, we're not taking quarterback altogether and no one trading up. So you asked me if we won't see a quarterback go after one until four.

I don't see that's the case, so I go offside. On Sunday, John Moran suffered a scary fall in the fourth quarter, which he landed on his right hand, screamed in pain, and failed to return to the game. Earlier today, WOSDA reported that there is, quote, significant doubt, end quote, that Moran will be able to play in Wednesday's game two. And Lakers in game one had four players score 20 or more points. This is the first time that happened in a playoff game for L.A. since 1988. Onsides or offsides, the Lakers will win this series. I think so. I'm actually rooting against the Grizzlies in this series.

They talk a lot of smack, and you're allowed to talk smack, but I think you got to then back it up. I don't have a lot of confidence that this team is going to back it up, and now Moran dealing with this injury and not sounding all that optimistic about game two. And I don't know when the heck would he would return, because he sounded really, really somber when discussing the injury after the game. And you didn't even see the Lakers play all that well, and you know LeBron's just going to win two games on his own, and he hasn't had to play great because it was only been one game, and he didn't play a spectacular version of LeBron James. I do think the Lakers are going to win this series, so I go onsides. Going back to Sunday, we had three game one upsets in terms of seedings that did go down. The Heat that played against the Bucs team that was missing Giannis for most of the game did take down Milwaukee 130 to 117, while the Lakers beat the second-seeded Grizzlies by 16 points. That one got out of hand late. And the Clippers, led by, of course, the dynamic duo of Kawhi Leonard and Russell Westbrook, took a 1-0 series lead on the Suns. Onsides or offsides, of those three upsets, the Clippers had the biggest game one upset. Is this if you would have told me going in?

Just wondering? Like, if you would have told me going in that the Bucs would have had Giannis onto the Kumpo, get injured in the game and not return, I wouldn't say that's a huge upset. Is this just how it played out? Yeah, how it played out.

Okay. Then I would say, when you asked me the Clippers had the biggest game one upset, I would go offside. Even though I did think the Suns were going to win in four Suns in four Suns in four Suns in four, it's not inconceivable that the Clippers would beat the Suns in a game.

Maybe even two. But that was my bold prediction that the Suns would win in four. No one was talking about the Heat heading into this postseason.

I know Jimmy Butler is great. For the Bucs to drop game one, I know the history and all that and how they've been down in series and come back, I would have not have thought out of those three that the Heat beating the Bucs would be one of those that would have happened in game one. So I would say that the Heat beating the Bucs is the bigger upset than the Clippers finding a way to win a game up against the Suns.

Offside. And finally, many stars did ball out this past weekend. Kawhi Leonard scored 38 points and played lockdown defense on Kevin Durant late to lead to the Clippers' victory. Jimmy Butler lived up to his Jimmy Buckets nickname, scoring 35 points to serve as a catalyst for that big Heat upset in Milwaukee. Austin Reeves scored 23 points, 14 of them coming in the fourth quarter to have the Lakers get past the Grizzlies. And De'Aaron Fox, going back to Saturday night, dropped 38 points on the Warriors. Onsides or offsides, Kawhi Leonard had the best game one performance of any player over the weekend.

So the wording here is interesting because you say best. Like I thought the most valuable to the Clippers was Russell Westbrook, but Kawhi did play the best game. You then look at De'Aaron Fox, he had 38 points in the contest in the Kings' 126-123 victory over the Warriors. But I actually think the best performance, not to just keep on going back to this series, is the Heat Bucs. When Jimmy Butler goes for 35-11 assists and also had three steals in the contest as well, and shot 15-27 from the field, I thought it was Jimmy Butler who had the best game one performance over the weekend. It is 131-17 victory over the Milwaukee Bucs.

You say Kawhi had the best game one performance of any player over the weekend? I will go offsides. It is that Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. We'll come on back. We got some football stories for you.

One in college, three in the NFL. We'll get to them on the other side. You're listening to the Zach Gelb Show. Zach Gelb Show, CBS Sports Radio. We'll get to some football stories in just a bit. But let me squeeze in one hockey call here.

855-2124 CBS, 855-212-4227. We go to David in Buffalo next up on CBS Sports Radio. Dave, how you been? Good, Zach.

I appreciate you taking my calls tonight, man. I'm a huge hockey fan after the NFL and golf. It's my second or third favorite sport. I just love watching the playoffs this time of year, even though the Sabres haven't been relevant in a long time. I think this is really time for Toronto to show that they are a proven team. They got franchise players in Tavares and Austin Matthews.

To me, they always have a lot of pressure on them because of where they are in Canada. But I think the team that wins it all this year is Edmonton. I think McDavid, the way he's played this year, has been fantastic. And their goal-sending that they've gotten out of Stuart Skinner really has been underrated because there's so much talent on that team.

I don't think he gets the credit that he deserves. So I think we get a Canadian finals this year, and McDavid is hoisting Lord Stanley's Cup come summertime. So interested in your predictions, man, and appreciate you guys talking hockey on a national sports show.

Yeah, David, appreciate it. And the Sabres, I know that they just missed out in the playoffs, but Tage Thompson had a great season, and we all know that he's a young star in the sport. And you start to think the Sabres are finally heading in that right direction. But when it comes to his prediction, in the West, clearly, I could see the Oilers getting there.

I don't think that's a crazy thing to say. But in the East, until Toronto, it's one thing to get out of the first round, which they haven't done since 2004. And even though they've had a great season this year, and not that you forget about the Maple Leafs, but the story in the Eastern Conference has been the Bruins and then everybody else, just because of how out of this world the Bruins have been, with 135 points, most points in a regular season, most wins, at 65 as well. It's like, okay, yeah, the Maple Leafs have 111 points, the Hurricanes have 113 points, the Devils have 112, the Rangers have 107. Don't forget about Tampa Bay with the Lightning, until someone takes them out, they're always a threat, even though they're not as strong as they've been in previous years, but they were still at 98 points in the regular season. I just think it's too tough a mountain to climb if you're going to tell me the Maple Leafs are going to get there. We all know that roster is absolutely filthy, it's ridiculous, it's loaded, but the fact that they haven't got out of the first round since 2004, if they just get out of the first round, which I think that they will this year, it's tough for me to say that then they're going to win two more series as well to get to the Cup Finals.

So I could definitely see it with the Oilers, for the Maple Leafs, until they do it, I'm going to take a massive grain of salt on that one. All right, let's get to these football stories. Ricky, I'm actually very disappointed, and clearly spring ball is already underway, right, and you get the spring practices as well, but I'm upset that Sark announces that Quinn Ewers is going to be their guy. I thought we were going to get ready for a big-time summer push of one of the great down-to-the-wire QB battles that we were going to see with Arch Manning and then also Quinn Ewers, and for this to already be decided, I know it's not exactly April 17th, I know that today was decided over the weekend, that's underwhelming. And it makes me wonder, and I'll give credit to Marco Bellotti, because I remember the day when Arch Manning signed, Marco said maybe this is going to be a plan where it's going to be designed for him to get a red-shirt year where he'll compete, but the Manning family would not be all that disappointed, and if it's actually a red-shirt year, that's a different thing, but if he's just sitting on the sideline for a year and you use a year of eligibility, and then it's your second year where you see everything from a different angle, you don't take all the hits, you know that you're probably going to be in the NFL right after three years just with the name alone, and it's kind of like a design, not a wasted year, but you'll learn something from it, and maybe the Manning family, when they elected to go to Texas, they had to be fine with it, but maybe this was more by design because the Mannings kind of knew, okay, Quinn was going to win the job just because he's already been there.

That was up for you. Sean, you were talking to Marco and going to invite him in to give him credit for having that idea. Because you had the great analysis from the start. Again, I'm just going on based on the fact of the Mannings but the old school mentality added in the fact that from everything that we've heard, Manning's competition arch, that is, in high school wasn't the best. Now, I know he's, I'm sure, been able to break down defensive film since he was in the crib. That's not the point, though. It's a little different when you see it in front of your face, and I wonder if they felt like get acclimated to school, get acclimated to all the different surroundings, get acclimated to the speed on the defensive side that's something that you have not seen, and we don't need to do this where you go to a program where you're going to be thrust in when you're not ready. Let's make it where you win the job, you're not handed the job. And I think that's something with the work ethic with the Mannings, and also because they want to make sure that they don't, you can ruin a quarterback when you start them too early.

Nothing bad happens when you start them too late. And I don't think you're wrong on that. I really don't. And I'm surprised that the competition has wrapped up this quickly because I remember you were saying at the time that it's going to be a competition, and if he just loses up the competition, they're going to be fine with it. And I know it's a little bit different compared to college than it is to an NFL competition just because of the timeline and how much earlier they get going, but I was very surprised that it ended this early. Like, I didn't think this would be over in early April. You're right, but I also wonder if this is also a plan, too, because Sark knows what's going on, and it's the idea of let's take the pressure off. I'm not giving you a chance to win the job. Now, if he completely outplays yours, you're telling me he's not starting week one?

Yeah, he is. But Sark is getting to the point where today we're going, oh, well, I guess we're not going to see Arch Manning. So all of a sudden, all the expectations back off. We talk about it now. There's nothing to be said.

There's nothing to be seen. Hey, yours is our quarterback. We know that. If he completely outplays him in practice between now and week one in the college football season, you're telling me Sark won't change his mind? He's opened this up to make sure that he's protecting.

He's protecting both of his quarterbacks right now. And also, college coaches can be weird. Like Harbaugh last year, we all knew J.J. McCarthy was eventually going to be the guy, and he still had, I think, the first two or three games, I think it was the first two games of the season, where you had Cade McNamara play, and then McCarthy got, you know, they would go on and on. And maybe it's a loyalty thing, and maybe it's a program thing.

They all do it different. Like I will say, I do expect Quinn Ewers is going to start game one. But how long will he be able to keep the job? We saw him last year, when he was playing really well up against Alabama, and then unfortunately get hurt, and injury could play a factor into this, where Quinn Ewers ends up seeing, or Arch Manning ends up seeing the field. Or, if Quinn Ewers, who has bounced around, doesn't consistently play well, eventually Sarks would have to realize, and he knows how quickly those fans could turn on you, that you could only hold off the mob for so long. Which again, is all things that you have to deal with at the time, but the smart thing now is to say this for both of the quarterbacks, so that we don't get what we want, which is simply the competition that we all want to see.

And we want to break down everything, whether it's, you know, let's talk to somebody that was there at practice, let's do this, let's do that. Sark knows that. Manning knows that. Ewers knows that.

You know what? Let's quell all that, we'll diffuse it now, and worst case scenario, if I got to go back on it, no one's going to care that I said this in April, that Ewers is our quarterback. That's not what we're going to worry about later, if he has to make a change. But if he comes in today and says, open competition, every day. Every day for everybody. The two quarterbacks and the coach, and every other player on the team, they're not asked about their position, they're asked about their quarterback position. And the football geek and the football media whore that I am, I was really hoping that we were going to get, like, the every day update, the every day battle, Arch Manning is leaving his dorm or his off-campus housing, whatever it is, as if he was like a Beatle and it was a rock star, and you have all these reporters from all these outlets following him, every single move, that's what I was hoping for. But the way you explain it, 110% makes sense.

It's great for everyone except for anybody in the program. So, I mean, again, Sark, who's he got to worry about? He's got to worry about Texas, he's got to worry about his quarterback. So that's the smartest thing to do on all levels, because it really doesn't matter what he says, he can always change his mind, but it matters in the fact that if he opens it up, once you open Pandora's box, you can't close it. You can open it later.

You can't close it once it's open. He was smart enough to diffuse anything before it happened. Now, these other three NFL stories that I have when we move away from college football and go to the NFL, I saw something over the weekend, and it was from our pal Bryant McFadden, which I thought was a brilliant move. He has DeAndre Hopkins on, and when it's player to player, I do think it makes the player a little bit easier and let his guard down. But if he would have just asked him, like, where do you want to go play?

I'm going to give you a team, you give me your thought. You're probably not going to get much. The fact that he has, and it's on TV, so it's easy to do that. We can't do this on a radio show. You know, give me your facial reactions because you can't see us.

And that wouldn't be help to anyone unless I end up describing it as the greatest thing in the world. But then you always, if you can't see it, you go, oh, is it just getting hyped up a bit? But McFadden basically just said, I'm going to give you the name of the team to DeAndre Hopkins, and then you give me your facial expression. If Hopkins didn't want to do it, he just would have said that, and then the bit's over. But the fact that he played into it and basically gave, like, a no-look or a look of disgust with the Patriots and the Jets and then, all right, like, I'm interested in the Chiefs and the Bills, it makes everyone guessing, and it just adds more to this conversation.

I thought it was brilliant by our pal Bryant McFadden. A little surprising that Hopkins would play along as much as he did. To play along, yeah.

To give that, I don't know, that's fine. To give the, I don't want to go there, is strange. That's a little strange for Hopkins and probably not the best business move to do, but you know what, give him credit in the fact that he wasn't hiding it. He doesn't want to go to New England. He wants nothing to do with the Jets, which surprises me a little bit, simply because the Jets are going, I mean, vet-heavy for Aaron Rodgers.

Little surprised that he doesn't want to join the circus in New York, but maybe he sees it from afar and doesn't want anything to do with the organization. And if I'm him, I look at the Chiefs and the Bills, that to me is saying, this guy wants to win. Like, you go to the Patriots, you may make the playoffs. You go to the Jets, you'll be in the playoffs. But you go to the Chiefs, that's Super Bowl.

Now, not that you automatically win it, but you have two years left on that deal. I'll take my chances going to Kansas City, playing Mahomes, who does not have a true number one wide receiver right now. Like, they're talking about Kadarius Toney or MVS being his best wide receiver, but now Juju going to the Pats, and I don't even know if it would have been Juju to begin with. Now, we all know Kelsey is the main piece in that pass-catching game, but it's the tag of the tight end compared to the title of the wide receiver. And you look at Buffalo, you go then team up with Staphon Diggs.

You have Gabe Davis as a three and Hopkins as a two. Sure, you don't get as many touches as you may in Kansas City, but then you could be viewed as that missing piece that maybe gets the Bills over the top. That tells me Hopkins, who was in Houston, who at the end it was ugly, and him getting traded was the start of demise in Houston, and then a lot of other things happened that we didn't know were going to happen with Deshaun Watson off the field. But then after that, you go to Arizona, where even when they were winning, it was like a bunch of distractions as well. You go to the Chiefs or the Bills, that's the best situation he's ever been in his career.

Yeah, it's winning instability. It's just a question of, do the Chiefs or the Bills want to pull the trigger on something like that? I don't know if Buffalo would even be interested in that, to be fair. Kansas City, I can see it, but depending on the price tag, I'm sure they're not going to give up a lot of capital for DeAndre Hopkins.

It just doesn't make sense. Yes, it's a nice piece to have, but am I giving up whatever it is, draft capital? But I don't think you're going to have to give up much. Remember, he got traded for a two, so that's going to now be used against the Cardinals. They also had to give him a new contract. Do the Chiefs have to give him a new contract?

No. You give up less of a pick if you've got to pay him. He said, I read something that, I don't know if he said it, but maybe it was through sourcing that he'd be fine playing on his deal. Right, but again, you say a two, but the Cardinals had to redo the deal. So that makes the compensation a little less.

Because I don't give up as much because, hey, look, you can't pay him, I've got to pay him. There's negotiation involved in all of that stuff. And then how much, maybe the Chiefs say, okay, we'll give you a little bit more if you end up taking more of the money. Right, so we'll see what that whole situation is if the Chiefs are interested. Like, this is all on Hopkins' end. I can see wanting to go to both of those spots. That makes a whole lot of sense. Does Buffalo want to pull the trigger on that? Personally, from the outside, I would say that's not their concern.

That's probably not where they need to go to get over the hump. The Chiefs, I could see it because it makes sense. Put him in that system with Mahomes, man, that's a hell of an option. You don't have to ask him to be the DeAndre Hopkins of old. You can just make him part of the offense and he's going to put up numbers because he's that good.

I can see it. But do the Chiefs want to give up what Arizona might want to bring in a guy that's aging, that is not at the top of his game, and do they need that piece to win another title? Like, I don't know. It depends on what they've got to give up. It's almost like you're in a position of power if you're the Chiefs. Like, yeah, sure, I'll take him, but I'm not giving you much for him. And if the Cardinals are saying no, then it's a different story.

Then you may get stuck with a spot where somebody needs you as opposed to where you want to go. Now, just on a side note, just to clarify something, it was himself who reported that he doesn't want a new contract. That was just his. And that's great. I don't necessarily believe that, but that's great.

And the two other things, just real quickly, because I know we've got to get to an update. Brock Purdy saying maybe he's not going to play this year, even though he did sound optimistic that eventually he'd get back on the field. But I guess that's something you always have to throw out there as a disclaimer. If I'm the 49ers, it's like that gives you every other avenue to explore going out and doing something bold right now, because I don't think they love Trey Lance, even though they gave up a lot to go get him.

And I know Kyle Shannon may think he's the greatest wizard of all time. I would not roll into this season with Sam Darnold potentially being your day one starter. I don't know how they make it work from a cap standpoint, but do they, with the Jets hiccup, I still think that Roger going to the Jets, but they maybe explore that trying to get Roger to the 49ers.

Or do they maybe, maybe, maybe place a call to Tommy B and Tom Brady? Yeah, I don't know if I buy any of that stuff. I would look. The Rogers is a perfect fit, except for the fact that I don't think Kyle Shannon would want Rogers. I don't think he wants to go that route.

I really don't. I think he wants to figure it out with what he's got, which is a little dangerous and scary. But I think in his mind, you said it, he feels like, hey, worst case scenario, I can win with Darnold. And that's not the way you want to go into this, because the rest of the team is ready. And the quarterback spot is the question mark.

That's dangerous. I would be willing to, you know, sacrifice a bit and try to get Rogers. I mean, the Brady call is an easy one if Brady wants to do it. And if Shannon wants, that one's tough.

I don't know if that works there, that blends. Rogers, I would be all over that if I were the 49ers. I don't know if they want to do it. And the last thing, this is just of note, Buddha Baker wants to trade. The Cardinals said that right now they don't want to trade him.

Monti Osborn doesn't want to set that precedent. Two years left on a deal, you getting an extension. When I first read it, I thought, oh, he doesn't want to be there because the team's going to stink and they have no direction right now. He wants a new contract. I'm like, wait, didn't Buddha Baker just get a new deal? And that was in 2020. And he got passed in the average money and he just wants more. That almost felt like Ricky Henderson. Soon as you signed the deal a month later, hey, somebody passed me, can I get more money? I literally thought he got paid last offseason. I'm like, oh, it was 2020, but still you got two years left on the deal.

That's just mayhem to me. You're listening to The Zach Gelb Show. The commissioner of the NHL, Gary Bettman, joined me earlier. And here's what he had to say about some interesting remarks P.K. Subban had to say earlier today about Connor McDavid. And I was watching ESPN early this morning and we all love P.K.

Subban. And he said that Connor McDavid, when you go to individual storylines, may be the best player to ever play the game. And he's never seen a player to play the game like Connor has, which is saying something since Wayne Gretzky, as you know, was the face of your sport for so many years. Just when you look at McDavid's season, Commissioner, 64 goals, 89 assists at 153 points. How do you kind of process what he was able to do?

Well, P.K. 's analysis is shared by lots of people. Connor may be the best hockey player on the face of the earth. And frankly, he may be the best athlete when you think about everything he has to do and how physical the game is. Wayne is and will always be the face of the game. But Connor shows that you can go from generation to generation and the sport always renews itself and can even get better.

McDavid is all-time great, but to say that he may be the greatest player ever is just too premature for me. But let's get the commissioner's thought on potential expansion to the NHL. We just had two incredibly successful expansions, as you said, with Vegas and Seattle. We're getting continuously additional expressions of interest, whether it's Salt Lake City, Quebec City, Atlanta, Houston. But we don't have an active plan and we're not actively pursuing expansion at this point. I don't know that we will.

I wouldn't rule it out. But at least at this point in time, we're pretty content with what we have with our 32. So then what do you make when you see that report today by Zach Klein at WSB-TV about this proposal in Georgia in Forsyth County, about an hour away from Atlanta, where there could be just so conveniently an 18,500-seat stadium potentially being built? Well, that goes to the point that we're getting expressions of interest, but we're not doing anything with them at this point in time in terms of focusing on a plan of expansion.

At least for the time being, and I'm not suggesting we're going to at some point in the future actively pursue expansion, but it's not something that we're focused on right now. The Coyotes, they've been a big topic of conversation. Could you see them maybe moving to Houston? I'd like them moving to Tempe into a brand-new building.

They're in Tempe now, actually, playing at ASU. There's a referendum on May 16th, which is the last step in the approval process for the team to pursue the project. Alex Morello is the owner. He wants to create a mixed-use development around an arena. He's doing it all privately, and our hope is that the people of Tempe will approve their referendum on May 16th and everything can move forward. So clearly, the NHL's had a lot of success with the Knights and then also with the Kraken now being in the playoffs in their second year.

More than 32 teams seems like a lot, but you know the money's going to be there, and if there's money to be had, it wouldn't shock me down the road if they end up expanding as well, especially with some of the interest that you hear in Houston and also what's going on in Georgia as well. All right, we'll talk to you tomorrow on the Zach Gelb Show on CBS Sports Radio at 6 p.m. Eastern, 3 Pacific. We out. Bye-bye. Thank you, everybody. Peace!