The Dan Patrick ShowHockey Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky recounts countless memories from the ice and breaks down this year's NHL playoffs. Basketball Hall of Famer Chris Webber joins the show and talks about the NBA playoffs, what makes Tyrese Haliburton special, and memories from playing among the greats. Plus, Covino & Rich finish out the week for DP and react to the Thunder taking a commanding 2-0 series lead over the Timberwolves.
You are listening to the Dan Patrick Show on Fox Sports Radio.
We make way for Wayne Grensky, the Hall of Famer, part of Turner's sports coverage of the Stanley Cup Final. He'll be in attendance for all the games. Waynea, good to see you again. How are you feeling?
I feel older, but it's great to see you. You know, when you get your two youngest kids graduating college the same week, you know you're getting old. So Thursday, NYU, Friday SMU, and onto the Stanley Cup semis and the finals.
Now, could you give me a shift on the ice?
No, I'll tell you what happened about the age of fifty seven. I was playing in a charity game and I came back and I threw my bag down the hotel room and I said to my wife, that's the last time I'm ever going to skate, And she goes, what.
Do you mean.
I said, I was scared to death. I was going to fall and hurt myself, and you can't play this game with fear. So it was time for me to officially retire. Even though I retired at the age of thirty nine, but I stayed every now and then. My son's hockey schools and then get on the ice. But I don't play in charity games anymore. I don't trust myself out there.
But that's what makes what yarmy or yonger or Gordi how did listen?
It's amazing Gordie how got twenty goals in the NHL at the age of fifty. Think about that. Almo Yager, I don't know. He's got to be fifty eight. I don't even know how holy he is. And he's still playing games, although he told me one day he said, I only play the home games now, though I said, well, you're arrested. And Chris Jellio has played to fifty years old, and the way he played, he was a maniac at the age of twenty and the age of fifty. So I have great admiration for older players, older athletes who have excelled, Guys like Tom Brady, guys like Lebron. It's pretty remarkable that you can go on at that age because you know, and you've been around sports a long time. The athletes are better today. They're bigger, they're stronger, the coaching is better, and that's not a knock to the past. That's just progression, right, twenty years from now, it's going to be better. Today it's different. Every sport is different than it used to be. But the athletes I think are better today.
Did you lift weights?
Brad Hall had the greatest line of all. Somebody said to him, you lift weights, and he said, I've never seen a bar bell score, but I've seen a lot of We used to do a training camp. We would come in and they'd have these kids from university that would do or you know, I guess they were seeing what kind of shape you're in. So they had this you had the bench press one hundred and ninety five pounds, and I would just look at the bar and I'd say to the kid, just mark me down for one. I didn't even try to lift it. I said how many that I do last year? He said seven?
I said, mark, we got eight.
So say they would think I was getting better, But listen, I did eight pushups in training camp and scored ninety two goals. I did one hundred and twenty five sit ups my last year of training camp, I got nine goals. There's no correlation, right.
When did you realize that Ovechkin could get your goalscoring record? Well?
When he scored on his back against us. When I was coaching at Phoenix in about two thousand and seven, I came in the locker room and I think it was Rick Talkt said, the writing's on the wall. This guy's going to be chasing you down. Now we knew he was listen, he's.
A I said this.
There's only three guys him, Messe and Gordie Howe that could play with the finesse, the goal scoring touch and the physical part of the game. Those three guys did that. Now, maybe Mark had a little bit more creativity with passing, but scoring. Mark scored big goals all the time. Gordy House scored big goals. But if they weren't scoring, they'd run through you. And that's what those three guys have in common.
But explain to us that it's the hardest thing to do, aside from hitting a baseball. But you're on skates with a stick and guys are trying to beat the hell out of you when you have the puck on your stick, Like, what were you looking for?
Well, people always say, how did you score that goal? Did you see that open spot? Did you scout the goalie and know maybe where his tendencies were and what was his weakness? The game is so fast. To me, I was just shooting, trying to get an open spot, trying to hit the net.
It was my biggest pet peeve in the.
World when you go all the way down the ice and the guy would shoot the puck and miss the net. And if you look at Mike Bossy and Brett Hall and Vet Skin and er A Curry Mario, they didn't miss the net.
They hit the net.
You can't score if you don't hit the net. Common sense, Right, games too fast. Now, in practice, you get out there and you put up targets and you work on things like that. But during the game, the game's too fast. You're just trying to get it to the net.
Do you hold a grudge against anybody?
Do I?
Yeah? From your playing days. No.
As a matter of fact, the exact opposite. I have so much more respect for the players I played with and against today. Even back then now listen, there was a lot of guys who didn't like because they're trying to win and I was trying to win. But today, even even the guy that played me the hardest, the guy like Dennis Potvan, if he called me needed a favor. I would try to drop everything and try to help him. You know, we become one. There's one common thing that we all have as professional athletes. One day we're going to be alumni. We're all going to be retired, right, So I got a great deal of respect. Now, there was a lot of guys that probably hated me when they played against me, and there's a lot of guys I didn't like. But when it's all said and done, it's like the other night when you saw Dallas, Jamie Benn and Scheifeley battled for six games like real men. They were physical, hard, played hard, and that's what makes our game so great. The emotions that they showed after the game and the sportsmanship and the respect they had for each other was truly remarkable. I happened to be at the game, and I thought it was just amazing.
Talking to Wayne Gretzky, the Hall of Famer. Does your wife ever call you the great one?
No?
Every time that she probably says, do you think, why do you think you're the great one? I will tell you I was having dinner with Charles Berkley one night in Phoenix and my son and I and we're sitting there and his wife said, great one, will you pass me in the sault? And I went to grab the salt and his hand was already there, and he said, in this house they call me.
The great One.
My son was fifteen then he thought it was the greatest thing in the world.
Where are all your trophies.
I have one trophy here that rocket Rashard gave me, the only hockey trophy. I have one of the trophies I'm most proud of. I have here Sports Illustrated Sportsman in the year. That's the only two I have here. The rest are at the Hockey Hall of Fame or in the basement of my since past parents' house that my nephew lives in, and my trophies are still there.
How important were trophies to you, aside from the Stanley Cup?
Yeah, you know, Glenn said. There had a theory in training camp. I want to win the scoring race. I want to win the best defenseman. I want a goalie to be the best goalie. I want to have the MVP. But with all that, I want the Stanley Cup. So yeah, it was. He put it out there. He didn't hide from it at all.
The difference between playoff hockey and regular season hockey, and it's not, you know, that much different than other sports. You know, maybe the NFL is still in each game because there's only seventeen games, but what is it about playoff hockey that we you know, it's just different. It's different than any other sport.
It really is.
Although I'm a basketball fan, I think the basketball has been phenomenal this year in the playoffs, and you can tell those guys have gone to another level. Our game has just always been that way, and I think one of the things that happens is it's so hard to referee our sport so fast, and our referees do a great job. And when we get in the playoffs and referees tullboth teams. Look, you can play hard and you play physical, just don't be stupid. We don't want to be the difference in the hockey game. And so the game becomes extremely physical and very fast, and it's hard to It's hard to win in the National Hockey League. And I thought Carolina played a really good hockey game last night. Unfortunately, they're playing maybe the best team in the last three years, and they get beat and no play all year to get home. I savantage and you lose it in one night, and so I expect and anticipate Burns and Company will come out flying tomorrow night.
I don't know if you're like Peyton Manning when you're watching Peyton gets upset, you know, when he's watching bad football, or somebody does. I don't know. How are you similar to Peyton Manning when you're watching hockey and you're like, why are they doing something? Or you get you know, visibly, you know, upset with what you're seeing.
No, not at all. I don't critique it. If anything on the opposite, I just sit and enjoy it. I really appreciate good plays. I really appreciate good coaching. And you can see the four teams are in the finals. They all have good coaching and that's part of the reason they're there, and then they have the skill and the talent to go with that. So now I know how hard these kids work, and I never critique enough.
The oddest place where you were recognized is where.
Oh gosh, I don't know, maybe Rome, Italy. You know, it's amazing. I retired twenty five years ago. I think I get recognized more now than I did in nineteen ninety nine. But people are nice. It doesn't even phaze me. You know, people are always nice. Everybody has their opinions. Who the best player was, who the best teams were? We all do That's what makes sports great and all. We don't have the right answer. It's your opinion, as simple as that.
But Michael Jordan thinks he's the greatest basketball player of all time.
Yeah, he was the greatest athlete I think of all time.
Do you think you're the greatest hockey player of all time?
No, No, not at all.
I always said that Gordy how and Bobby Orr were the two greatest hockey players that ever lived. I made my life because of those two guys. They took the NHL to another level and gave me an opportunity. No, I would never say that, and I mean that sincerely. I tell my kids that i'd say publicly. I have too much respect for both those players that I would think that I was better than they were.
But if I said, I can wipe away everything you did in hockey, but you would have been a Hall of Fame baseball player for the Tigers, and.
I would have told you I was the greatest baseball player ever.
I can bragging about my baseball.
But you told me years ago that you that really was that was a goal, Like you loved the Detroit Tigers.
Oh, I really did. I grew up an Ernie Harwell fan. Mickey Lolich. One of the great days of my life. I watched Mickey Lowls's pitch when I was thirteen, and I wrote it in my book. We're playing in Detroit one day and trainer came in and said, there's a guy out here that wants to sign his book.
Can I bring him in? I said, sure, it.
Was Mickey Lolich because I wrote the story in the book, and so I got a chance to meet him and get a picture taken with him.
And then through those.
Years, you know, Mark the Burn, Fidrich came and you know, and then when Sparky Anderson went to Detroit and they won the World Series. So I grew up a huge Tigers fan. Now I love the Blue Jays, but they weren't there till seventy six, so I'd been fifteen years in baseball by the time the Jays were sort of founded.
Were you starstruck first time you met Jordan?
Yeah, I think everybody is. Like I said to me, the two greatest athletes ever were Michael Jordan Muhammad Ali, and I got the chance to be friends with both of them. I got a chance to spend a lot of time with Muhammad Ali. I went to New York in nineteen seventy eight when I signed the WHA and I was with Gordi Howe and Bobby Hall, and I was a kid, just starstruck, right, And We're in the Plaza Hotels, the first time I'd ever been to New York and there I was standing there. Muhammad La came over to shake Gordi house hand and I almost.
Fell over like that.
And then five minutes later, Pat Boone came over to say lo to Gordy Howe, and I said, is there anybody this guy doesn't know him?
So he fascinated me from the very first time I ever met him.
Yeah, but they have to be starstruck when they meet you too.
Oh, I don't think so, I hope not, because I'm like you, I'm a normal guy.
Well you are. You're so approachable, you know, And I liken you to kind of Joe Montana. If people see you, they don't realize that guy did what he did in his sport. Like you see Montana, he looks like he's a kicker. You don't think that's one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. Like you're disarming because you're very generous to people and very gracious.
Yeah, people are nice and listen, I got everything in my life because of hockey and because of fans. But I remember our sons played together, and I used to love the fact that Joe was there because we go to the high school football games and non't even cared that I was. Everybody was bothering and getting pictures with Joe.
He made my life in high school that much easier.
But that's I mean, it's been a pretty amazing career. But like any goals, that what's left here for you?
Oh, I don't know.
Right now, I'm proud of five grands or five grand children and two more on the way, and you know, families for me now. And you know, I did my hockey thing and I loved every minute of it. Now I'm a fan. I enjoy being on TNT. They're wonderful people and the people we work with, and Liam is unbelievable. He's our quarterback and you know, he does all the legwork and all the heavy lifting, and I just got to sit there and talk hockey. How nice is that you get to sit there and I don't have to worry about getting hit or run or.
Knocked over the head. I can just sit there and have fun.
But you're healthy, very healthy, Okay.
Although like everyone else, you know, I had some pre cancerous things taken off my face in the last few weeks, but.
No concussion stuff.
Like if you asked my wife, she would tell you, I forget things I just told you an hour ago.
You must have.
Back in those days, they told you to go home, have a beer, go to bed, have an aspen.
We'll come and skate at of you tomorrow. You'll sweat it out.
Do you have any pictures of you fighting, like the frame photos of you? Yeah, it was going to happen very often. I'm curious if you I.
Was talking about my sports Illustrations trophy. I got one fight, really in my career. Neil Broughton. Wasn't even his fault. I jumped him. The guy flies from New York and he's out there giving this presentation about how my sportsmanship, how I don't fight.
First shift in I'm fighting Neil Broughton.
I get to the bench and I'll never get MESSI said to me, what were you doing?
And I said, I don't know.
But Davison Mica says, the good news is that's not even a fight.
That's called cat fighting, so that doesn't count.
But did you throw a punch?
I don't even remember. I think I kind of, I don't know, I got it.
We got to the pedally box and I remember I looked over and I said, I'm sorry.
I apologize Neil.
I think he's more shocked than the seventeen people at the game and the.
Nineteen teammates I had on the bench going what was that all about? One night we were playing in Chicago.
Bob Murray kind of he's always whacking me and hacking me, and I got so mad at grabbed him and he threw me on the ice and he had his hand like this, and I'm looking over at our bench and there was five guys with their legs over the boards and he's holding me.
He goes, now, don't move, I'm not going to hate you. And I.
Got back to the bench and I told all the guys, I said, nobody's allowed to touch him the rest of the night.
But did you give like Dave Simenko an extra gift? He was your protector. They had to have one on each team. I'm guessing in.
Those days everybody had sort of that guy, right. You know.
The one thing I did give him, I gave him my car that I wanted the All Star Game in nineteen eighty nine and Edmonton, I guess, yeah. I brought him downstairs after the game. I said, here's the keys, so you can have the car. So he was great. He was a great teammate to all of us, and he was beloved by the fans, the fans in Edmonton. He was as big as anybody on that team. They loved him to death. And you know, he was witty, He was fine, and he didn't really want to fight. He only did it if he had to, if he saw somebody abusing a teammate. He never went looking to hurt anybody. And that's listen. That's the other thing about our league, especially in those days. Those tough guys didn't want to go hurt guys. They didn't want to go after those guys. They fought the big guys, right, They fought each other. It was kind of a code, all right.
Handicap the teams that are left in the playoffs, give us like a tutorial on what do you think is going to play out?
Well?
I like all four teams because I think all four teams are welcome coached, and I think all four teams right now are getting goaltending. I think Attinger and Bobrovski have proven to be two of the elite goalies. Skinner last year got to the finals and had a good run. He's got two shutouts in a row, so he seems to.
Be on a roll.
Anderson in Carolina, I wasn't. He didn't have a bad game last night, but he didn't have a great game last night. The thing between Carolina and physical I think Carolina is a little bit faster and they the go, go, go go. Florida is smart and disciplined. This general manager has made some great deals. He's got to chuck. He got Bennett traded for Seth Jones or Shawn on and on. So it's tough to knock out the Stanley Cup champions, right.
So I like Florida.
But Roddy Britnemore and I were roommates at the Olympics in nineteen ninety eight, so you know my Hurt's with him also, and he's done a phenomenal job. Now everybody knows Edmonton that you know, that's where my life was made.
And I always vote for them. My brother's the assistant GM.
They have the two of the best three players in the National Hockey League and dry Sidle and McDavid questions the best player in the game. They're going to have to contain him. Pete de Boor has done a great job. And Dallas, they made incredible trade getting Ratting in.
I think it changed their team.
The team that Dallas is playing Edmonton's playing this year in the semi finals. Dallas is a better team than they were last year and that series went six games. So this series I predicted go seven games.
My best your wife and the family. Great to see you again and uhe.
Seeing you and it's always a pleasure. I hope everything's going well for you and your family too.
Thank you, Bud. Good to talk to you.
You guys all take care.
How about the great one?
What?
Wow?
Bye?
Fritzy?
Yeah jealous?
Yeah?
Wayne was it on the bus last night coming back from the Emmys, said.
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Chris Webber, hall of Famer, joining us on the program. See web How does that happen? You're up fourteen at home, three minutes to go.
It happens when you have a really special team.
You know, first of all Haliburton when you look what he did, and the Smith, all the other guys.
But please, let's not forget coach Carlisle.
You know, he's a great coach, and he's coached guys like Jay Kidd.
He's coached against the greatest players.
He's played with the Celtics, by the way, so he knows a little bit about offense. And to me, it was just wearing you down. Some teams we give a lot of credit for wearing you down with their defense, and I played on teams, whether Sacramento and others, where we we wore you down with our offense as well. And that means just keeping your foot on the pedal, never looking up, and trusting your players. And you know those last three, I mean, wow, these are some of the most exciting games I've seen a long time. So it's great to be a fan and watch all the excellences going on.
Why is it different playing in the garden than any other place?
Well, I would say the garden in Old La, Old La, because you had stars like Jack and others that were there and you would see. But I think it's because it's not just about new stars. I think it's about the fact that because those arenas are so old, you know Kareem played there or you know you know that I don't know Willie Allen or someone else was at those games. And so as a player, you come in saying, you know, I better give my best performance because this is where the best performers are. How many times do you get to perform in front of your heroes? And so for me, New York was always special. And you know, if I could send out a PBA alert because New York is so cocky.
I have a very close friend. His name is has.
I won't give his full government name, but anyone in New York please look out for how you just make sure you watch over him because.
He was hitting me with being bong and all this other stuff.
And I haven't heard from him in about sixteen hours, So please look out for my manor house. But it's so much fun, and part of that too is sending those crowds home quiet. It's no better feeling than any arena, but you know LA and New York, when you do it, you know you feel a little extra special.
Okay, but did you ever have conversations with celebrities? Did you ever flirt with a celebrity in LA when you were playing?
Never flirted.
But if I saw, you know, someone that I wanted to flirt with, or I raised my game, you know, you want to play well and send them home with something.
You know, so Billy Mary is their court side, you might you might want the ball a little more.
Oh yeah, and you know you might, you know, shoot your shot of dunk on someone a little harder and mistakenly look at it. You know, you know it's not the weak. But oh, I'm sorry, Did I just do that? You know, that's that type of thing.
I do. Remember.
One of the best compliments I ever got was Jack looks before the game and the playoffs in LA and you would change right by him. And I'm really focused and nervous and getting ready to go, and he says, the calm before the storm. You were the calm before the storm, and we blew la out that game, and I remember thinking he never should have given me that compliment because I had to live up to that in front of him.
What's it like, though, when everybody knows you're getting the ball like you and the feeling of I don't. Some guys, you know, they run away from the ball, Others run to the ball.
Yeah.
I think that it's all about knowing your game. It's really simple. Knowing that you have a move and a counter move with its starting like that, it's really easy. And then if you have great players around, it's easier to trust. So I can only speak from my experience, but knowing that I was gonna get double team late in the game, I would be talking to Pager of Lottie and them during the whole game, like you see, they're gonna come double me at this point. Later I got you, and so so it gives you freedom. The easiest person to check on the court is a selfish person, and so you have to make sure through your abilities that you keep everyone on their toes.
Just look at a guy like Jokis.
You know he wants the ball late in the game, but he may not shoot seven possessions in a row, but they're going to score seven possessions in a row. So for me, the most important thing is, yeah, can you score? But there are a lot of guys we waited to the end to double because they didn't have to acumen the pass or didn't even know where other teammates were. And so to me, it's how can you make a score happen if you're a great player late in the game. And Lebron was accused a lot for that, but he's one of the best examples Magic as well of being able to take a moment, find it, know that I can score, but it may be easier to loosen you up by finding a wide open Jr. Or someone in the corner or Booby Gibson that hurt us in Detroit to kill you a little bit better instead of being selfish.
Yeah, but we give Magic a hall pass and say that's a positive Lebron. People viewed that as a negative, that he didn't want to take the big shot in those situations with Magic. It was like, look at how unselfish he is.
Yeah, no, you're right, Dan, but so let's separate.
The first time he played against San Antonio, let's separate, you know, when he was learning on that learning curve, but he always played the right way. And so there was one game I think in the Pistons Game seven, I think we're playing against him and we're, you know, trying to go to the championship, and this guy scores.
Twenty four in a row, twenty five in a row.
But Booby Gibson had a great game because he was finding this guy in the corner. And then you wonder, how does a guy like Mesmith, how does a guy like Booby Gibson come out of nowhere? How does a guy like Fisher, Derek Fisher come out of nowhere and do these things? So let's because Shaq trusted at one point, it's because Lebron trusted. So yeah, that's that line in the sand with Lebron. But when he was able and found his voice, found his way on the court, he still played the right way. And for me, he doesn't get enough credit for that.
Did Lebron have forty three on you guys in that game seven?
I know he had twenty four to twenty five straight and oh.
He had forty had forty eight.
Thanks, I'm an call.
Rashii Wallason reminds him of that because that's one of Rashid's biggest failures, or I won't even say that that's something that hurt Rashid the most, is a defensive player that it was one guy on the floor that we couldn't stop it. So yeah, whatever he did, he hurt our feelings and he kept us from a championships.
Hurt your feelings. He's Chris Weber Hall of Famer. I mentioned this earlier. We can't underestimate the impact of the Dream Team in nineteen ninety two on the world because here we are, what thirty three years later, and look at the best players in the game. The players are from outside the top five players. You can make an argument are not American born shay Gil just getting the MVP. You got Luca, you got Jannis. I mean, we can go down the list there. But that impact of we laughed at the rest of the world. We're crushing Barkley's making fun of people. We're focused on us, whereas the world focused on them, and how how do we get better as a basketball country? And look at what that impact did with the NBA.
So you're right, that impact was great.
I remember just hearing about players like Sabonis or other players, and really not knowing until I got to play with great players like Sharona's Marshalon this or or Payserstoyakovich or Potapinco or others. I think we did a great job in showing our secrets and showing them you know that you can be like Jordan at least you could dream like this, and if you don't reach Jordan's ability, you can still be pretty good if you watch him. And so I think that we did a great job in exposing the game. But I also think the way that the system was set up. You know, Luca was professional at what fifteen, So if he's professional at fifteen, comes to the NBA with five years experience and playing against grown man, he's going to have a.
Better trajectory.
And so I think that the systems that we had overseas and a lot of guys to play professionally the younger help them advance a lot quicker. But our last seven MVPs then were all foreigners so to speak, or people from other places. And truthfully, Sean could have won last year, and truthfully the year indeed won, you know, Yokis could have won that so you could have a full time I really look at Yokas.
Is missing the MVP. He should have one more MVP.
So I love the way that the game is spread, but it comes back to skill skill skill, and hopefully it a set of fire under a lot of the young kids to you know, be the best that they could be. But I think the game is going to always elevate no matter who's the best, because guys around the world watched the best and we become better after that.
But you also look, and I'm sure you remember this, but when Barkley won MVP, when Karl Malone won MVP, everybody knew that Michael Jordan was the best player in the game. Right, Shay gilgis is getting the MVP, but I think everybody recognizes Joker is still the best player in the game. It just and yeah, I mean SGA and OKC had the best year and he's the best player. But I don't know how players reacted when you know Barkley played well for Phoenix, Carl played well for Utah. You know, Michael, I don't think cared about the regular season as much as he's gonna win a championship.
Well, I also think there's fatigue. You know, there's jo kids fatigue.
Yeah, yeah, you know, you really.
Think about it. You can't have a co m VP. But how did he not win the MVP? But then again with Shay, I think I think too. I think it's the culture of how we play, if we want to really be honest, I think that, you know, I love playing with players that make everyone better, and so I think the days of just scoring forty and being that guy like that's that's not necessarily winning basketball, to be doubled in the post and not get anyone else involved.
That's why we love Jolkics and maybe not other sinners.
And so I think the culture, at least from watching doctors, at least from watching Shi is that Shay gilges is that they're always gonna try to make the right play, even if it's being selfish four or five times in a row. But watching them facilitate get other guys involved is so special. That's why Holler Burton is special though, and I've always known that even if he was drafted this Sacramento, because he gets everyone involved. And I think that that has become the culture of the European player and as Americans being the best scorer. You know, it's a little more that you can add to that. And I think that that's where the line of the sand is gonna come, like how much better do you make your team? And Shy's team would not be that good? Okay, see when the gout the first round without him, and Denver may not have made the playoffs without Yokis. And that's what I like. The distinction in the MVP argument is not that, oh look at the stats. If we really take them away from their teams without them even scoring, they make their teams better. And I think that that shows what the most valuable player is not the most valuable score, but the most valuable teammate.
But you were on the college select team that beat the Dream Team, right.
Oh yeah, we beat them, coach, K how you doing.
Like it was real though? That was a real game, right yeah?
I mean it was a practice then. Like you know, I'm sure that you've been around your heroes and commentating or journalism and things when you first got in the game, and if you really first remember those things.
Just you know, there was no social media.
Dominique Wilkins and you know I had him on the wall with books and the Tonics, the different shoes I had, Magic every I knew everything about them that you could at the time.
I watched all the Bloopers tapes.
Remember that's all we could get was the Bloopers tapes with the coach from Utah at the time, so access was not here, and so Frank, Frank Laydon and I remember. I remember being in a huddle and with literally with tears in our eyes because we're eighteen twenty at this time.
I just come from the championship.
We were losing a duke, and I'm playing with Bobby Hurley and Grant Hill and all my friends and we're in a huddle like this is a dream come true. None of us were thinking about going to the league, you know what I mean? This is the if I go back to the purest of moments in sporting life, it had to be then, you know, because it was okay. I couldn't believe how quick Bobby Hurley was and that it transcended onto the court against Magic where he's taking Magic and Stockton, Like we didn't believe in ourselves like this.
These were just our heroes. Barkley was my favorite player.
So to go against Barkley and Patrick ewing and a dunk on them that was like the biggest thing in the call home. And so we really played the hardest that we could. We caught them sleeping, and Chuck Day, being from me, tried and had a great relationship with him, and I remember him patting us on the back like good job. And you know, as a good coach, you want to use different things to centivize your team. And we beat them, and for them to say last point, it's so infuriating to hear him say, well, Jordan's sat on the bench. Jordan could have sat on the bench the whole scrimmage. And you're saying, we still beat the All Star team, but we'll take that.
And so I think.
Any excuse for them is not giving the credit of how great they were, and any great team, thoughs, you can get caught slipping. One day, we caught them slipping, and the next day I do not remember us scoring one basketball.
That's how much they wanted to pay us back.
So if they didn't beat us, then they wouldn't have been that mad that next day because they kicked our ass.
Who was it was it? Rodney Rogers, Rodney.
Rogers, I don't know why he kept talking. He was just always talking. His country guy is so strong. And I remember Larry Bird because because he was my hero, and I just remember watching him and we didn't realize he was that tall.
His back was hurting, you know, he kind of ran with a little bit of a gate.
But his movements because he was such a great passer, you couldn't come up on him because his first step was so quick and Rodney Rodgers were rotating and he goes to the corner and he pump fakes, and as he pump fakes, he's like, welcome to the parachute club. And we're like, you're talking during the shot I'm talking about it just fell through. It looked like the nets didn't even move, you know, one of those things. But we would have got fined because we're kind of giving each other five, like, did you see what Larry.
Just did to us with Oh, you guys are celebrating him tortching Rodney Rogers.
Yes, bad, but Larry Bird made a lot of people do that.
Look, go look on YouTube against the Hawks game when he's calling shots with his left hand.
That whole bench should have got fined because they did.
If they did get fined, Oh, good.
Good, because that's a bad president.
I mean I would have gone to the locker room and tried to fight my teammates like there's nothing I could do, and you guys are cheering them.
Moll you never you never did that when you played against Jordan, or you're on the bench and Jordan did something and you like turned your your guys and said, oh my God, give me fined.
I put I put my shirt over like that, act like let them know later. One time, Jordan, we were in the playoffs. Jordan parks is Ferrari inside the building, which you shouldn't be able to do. He's smoking a cigar before the game, which I mean, you can do whatever you want. And we're the lowly bullets and uh, Jawan and I are getting off the bus and Jawan's very close with him.
And he's like Juan, who's guarding me tonight?
And Calbert Cheney was behind us and we both looked and dead like that. And that was the one time our crims about how I left the teammate hanging because Jordan had fifty five on us that night and beat the tea.
Poor Calvert Cheney.
Yeah, for he's the man though, but yeah, Hey, is you dealing with Jordan and Kobe. You're gonna have to take You're gonna have to take some aails man.
Yeah, but there was that same like tenseness that like or they probably were like, Okay, who's who's gonna get take a beating? You know, tell me? And then you guys are like pointing at Calbird Cheney there.
That's exactly what we left him hanging down as a teammate and a captain. That's the one thing our Crians that like because we both are like, hey, this guy, leave us alone.
But Kobe didn't do that.
No, Kobe didn't do that.
But I had a teammate and now a coach, and Doug Christie that very honestly he's the man, because Kobe would score a shot after shot, Doug would play it correctly, hand in his face. I saw him tap Kobe on his head before and things like that.
It didn't stop him. It didn't stop him.
And after the game, you know him look at himself in the mirror like I did all I could do. When he get forty four and I'm ready for tomorrow, you know, you gotta have you gotta have some big nuggets to do that and teammates that that do their job knowing that it's it's an uphill battle.
Man.
It's so great playing with guys with that commitment because it makes you commit that much more.
You can't tap Kobe on his forehead on the jump.
Shot, Oh yeah, a lot of it.
Oh yeah, you know how guys toop you on the Yeah, I know that. Oh yeah, no, yeah, on the forehead on the shot on the forehead, Oh yeah, on the forehead.
Damn, that would piss me off.
Yeah, a little man stealers and you know all that stuff. Yeah, blowing in your ear. You gotta try anything.
You didn't do that though, No, I.
Think against the key. I pushed and you know, try stuff, but it didn't work.
It didn't work. Didn't work.
It doesn't seem like a kem would get agitated with anything.
No.
No, And you're hoping one guy, like whether he makes the shot or misses the shot, you're hoping he misses it.
It starts to complain, and then.
You've done your job because at least he's thinking about something else while trying to destroy me.
I can't imagine somebody tapping Michael Jordan on the head. Even Kobe I can't imagine that I.
Want to, you know what, I couldn't either, But I'm I played with some guys and I think would like a Vernon Maxim.
No, yeah, Vernon Vernon and Albert Alvin Robertson seemed to be the craziest guys that. Like, there have been crazy guys, but those are two guys that might be on the Mount Rushmore.
Yeah.
Yeah, and you know what, You're just so right And what's so great about guys like that. I think people think that, you know, and I'm sure Draymond must do this, but I think people think that they're a distraction, and really what it is is comfort because we needed what Vernon Maxwell had in Sacramento our first year. Jay Will White Chocolate needed that because if he gets that every day in practice and you get tired, almost like your big brother, then you understand when these other guys do it, it's nothing because you're getting you know, abused all the time. And so those guys make locker rooms better because they do set an expectation where you have to be more accountable because you know, this guy over here is crazy giving it his own.
Always great to catch up with him.
Thank you, Joe, thank you, looking forward to seeing you. And I'm Sayler's movie.
Thank you Bunny and so see Webb.
Be sure to catch the live edition of The Dan Patrick Show week days at nine am Eastern six am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Oh, I don't be too upset. We'll have fun today. I mean, that's that web right, even though it's early for us, Happy to be here, always pumped, stopping in for the great Dan Patrick, Steve Cabino, Rich Davis, our super producer, Danny g He's the guy with the smooth and buttery voice, but it sounds like this, Yeah, that's Troy. We're gonna be playing James today, be giving away prizes, having fun and Iowa. Sam's on the xylophones. I'm sorry, the Glockenspiel cypress Hill style because he wants to be a rock superstar. That's Rich Davis in the background and spots on the videos. You know. We stream live now on Fox Sports Radios YouTube page. What's going on? Always putting videos up? So join us. We have big announcements. We have a big party coming up. You know, I'm gonna say it brighton early before you step into the office before you put your helmet on, your hard hat, your helmet, whatever you're doing today for work. We have a big party coming up and we want you to come celebrate with us. A live broadcast and everything. June twentieth, twenty first, twenty second in Vegas at Circa. All the details at Covino and Rich But book your flights, book your stay, and come join us live. We have prizes, lots of lots of people showing up, so we'll see you in Vegas, tell you more about it later. Lots to get to though. Like we said, prizes. We got last one Standing Friday Edition. It's one of our favorite games, is Heated. We'll give you a chance to play and always participate. At eight seven, seven ninety nine on Fox, Hope you had a okay cee sort of night. They just slaying it. Huh yeah, dominant, very dominant, makes it kind of boring. It's the really ist. The ratings are trash right right because proof of the ratings, I mean, the reality is okay. So he's just steamrolling everyone. But that brings up a thought that I want to get to in a second about SGA. We're gonna talk about balding Baldo Ronaldos and what would you do if you are a balding guy? And what if I told you you might be able to reverse it easily? And it's not some stupid commercial. There is a crazy breaking story about balding men. Is this like a real story or something you saw on TikTok? Well, dude, this is real. Okay, it's real, fake okay, plus a dumb hypothetical about being mad about something, but yet you don't support it. I'll give you an example. Remember when Twinkies they were like, we're discontinuing Twinkies in the world, was like outrage, No, no, life is over. Meanwhile, you hadn't bought a Twinkie in years. I get it. It's like twenty years passes and you haven't bought a Twinkie, but you're mad if they discontinue it. So okay, I have a funny story in the news about that. But we'll get you ready for the weekend. That's what we do. Happy to be here holiday weekend. So that being said, we salute all who served and died for this country as we headed to a Memorial Day weekend. Happy to be here, And I said we'll get you ready for that, and we'll get you ready with something called weekend hobnobbing. Aside from all the great sports, what you need to watch in the world of sports and entertainment, Weekend hobnobbing. We do it every Friday. A big story that I want to get to today. I'm just to listen to these things so I make sure I get to them. Alex kra put in a scenario that people love to debate in sports, and that's personal life versus work, And where's the line what's more important? I think it's obvious, but this story where it's like, was it obvious? We'll get to all that coming up. But I mean again, ratings probably stunk OKAYC and Minnesota. The Wolve's even gonna show up or what? What do you think the executives are saying? Ratings, Yeah, the Timberwolves have to show up. Make it a series. What are we gonna put a little uh little respect on the name of the Oka ce Thunder? When is SGA? What is Shae Gilgas? Alexander gonna get the love he deserves right because I thought about it and.
It's almost like he should be named MVP of the league. Or something.
Yeah, right, he should be MVP. I think you're right. I think when you could say his name with full confidence and not think that you're saying it wrong, Skilde.
Why don't think everybody?
It's like when you couldn't say Yannis. Really no, you couldn't say ant to the Koupo. Yeah, well you just still can't say that, so you call him SGA. I think that's it starts there. But I think it's just a matter of familiarity. Rich I think after the series, after this run, but especially if they win it all, if they win it all and he's MVP. Yeah, like I thought about it. You go back to the draft in twenty eighteen, if you go back in ten ten, if you go back in time twenty eighteen, and you realize, let me look at that draft real quick, that was the luc At covid. If I remember, the world changed. If you go back to the year before I lost my eyesight, you know, it's not that I'm getting older. I suffer from what I call COVID. I you don't have COVID now, the same, dude. No, it's it's definitely not that you're in your forties. No, no, no, no, no, no, And uh my hair thinned out a little bit now because I'm getting older COVID hair, bro, So you're going pre COVID eighteen the older days. Take me back. The Suns chose DeAndre Ayton. Marvin Bagley went two. That was the year Luca went three, right, m Jaron Jackson, Junior, Trey Young, couple, couple you know stars in this draft, but you go all the way down to crappy once with eleven. I mean it was a first rounder. But again, a guy I've had has averaged over thirty points a game the last couple of seasons. Yet he's never in the conversation. But like I know, he's MVP. So you could say, rich, you're fulling. What are you talking about? Yes? Quality wise, but I don't think do you know many kids that have an OK see Alexander Jersey. Do you see that around town? Well?
Part of that is the market therein I.
Was gonna say just that small market anything, smaller market anything, and of course they become a bigger household name with a bigger reputation the more they win. I think it's simply that small market teams, small market reputation. I mean, it's a weak yess example, but Otani was always a star. Are you saying how Otani went from like Yo, the guy dominatingbody's on the Angels to the Dodgers, Like if you're tell me Sga was part of some mega trade and ended up on the Knicks, Lakers, Golden State, the Heat, something like that. Then all of a sudden that would change completely. Yeah, I mean tie it into your own world. We always talk markets here in radio, and by the way, happy to be on a million of them. Shout out to all the affiliates this morning, appreciate you. Always great to be here. I think Patrick, I think Dean Patrick really is on close to a million affiliates. But you could be the greatest radio show ever, like weaning the butt in the mornings. But if you're only on in Dayton, Ohio exactly not to dateon Ohio. It's just you could be the greatest there, but not everybody's gonna know and respect you the way they should because it's Dayton, Ohio. It's as simple as that. It's a market thing. I agree with Danny g that doesn't mean it can't change. But winning, as we always say, winning changes everything. Bill Belichick, right, everyone's like, man, Bill's bringing a whole lot of a lot of noise to U n C. You know how you fix that? Winning? Winning fixes everything. So winning. I think of Charlie she and I think it's old enough that it's retro again.
Winning you still have that.
I stand by yo a sampulled that out of his back pocket, winning huge Charlie sheet fans. You were waiting for us to bring that back.
I do love the Three Musketeers.
Honestly, something's not right. We're not saying that anything's wrong, but it is wrong to not respect them the way that we should because they seem insanely. Winning fixes that I know. And Danny g you may roll your eyes because you're like, dude, he's the MVP, and he's you know, look say he's gonna roll to the NBA Finals. But but it's not a household name. Yeah, I feel like your mom doesn't know his name unless the mom test, the mom test, you know. But you're right, you brought up young people, young people probably very yeah, wear point, but it's the uh, it's the Aunt Sharon at Easter, Christmas or a holiday event, like I do leave my Aunt Sharon Avis.
They might be listening and Rich, you may need to slow down that comment just a little bit until I see Okac get a big lead and keep it in Minnesota. Then I'll agree with that because think back, ask a Laker if it's easy to win in Minnesota.
Listen Minnesota. I think the t Wolves, Anthony Edwards, that whole squad is fun to watch. I enjoy them. Like I said, this matchup isn't necessarily what the executives wanted. Ratings gold Baby Gold, of course that they would have wished upon a star for somehow Golden State or the Lakers or staff.
You're getting there. Ratings in the Eastern Conference.
Of course, big time, but a big time difference to of star power and excitement and competition and market size and market size. Yeah, it comes back to that New York, the Knicks, the Garden. I'm not trying to be the ratings guy, like boring, because I don't want to be that guy. I really don't. But we said it a little while back. If it's the Pacers, okase, you could argue that it could be the lowest ratings of the twenty first century. Well, here's the thing, Rich, is it as far as ratings, maybe ratings executives clearly would appreciate the Knicks stepping up and taking it further because it's great for basketball and it's high profile and big market. But who would be the greater ratings rival in the finals? I would have assumed the Timberwolves. You know, I don't stand corrected, but I just found the top selling jerseys in the NBA, and would you assume that SGA is in the top ten. Young kids are front runners and they're like superstars, and everybody's a fan of greatness. Hey, your boy here, Steve Cavino from Union, New Jersey. I had a Michael Jordan jersey. I mean I also had like a Jalen Rose jersey because I thought the Nuggets jersey was kind of cool. Back then, I had a bunch of random jerseys, but of course I had a Jordan jersey because greatness is fun to root for. I'm not surprised we're talking the MVP. Young kids who were in the market of buying a New Jersey absolutely would probably go to that first. Oh, you're a Yankees fan. I'm surprised you're not a Cowboys and Lakers fan too. Yeah, but hold on, we lived in an era where things started to change. You became a fan of greatness. I didn't root for the Raiders, I didn't root for the Royals, but I was a fan of Mo Jackson, who wasn't what nineties kid didn't like Michael Jordan or Bo Jackson or Ken Griffy Jr. Right, So he would be in that category for a young person today, you're hanging up posters in their room or whatever they do. What do they do? A little light up my kids? No, it's not the same. Even though my daughter has posters. You can still have a fatheads or is at the two thousand tests and like cool lights, some sort of galaxy on their ceiling, like my kid. My kid has some little ball that you let it out that it makes like it looks like the Milky Ways on their ceilings. So they probably have some SGA hologram up there, you know, floating around their room, some sort of fat head. Because he is the m v P. So it's just it doesn't pass the Aunt Sharon test, but it passes the give me a good Little Kidney Jackson test. With an ex Jackson jacks, it passes the Kyler test. Yeah you know Jackson, So yeah, you like SGA of cars. I know at an SGA wall hologram.
With with that in mind, with SGA and after this MVP season, maybe his stardom will pick up. On the other side of things, Tyree Salliburton, is he a superstar?
Well, I mean want to find the superstar? Is that the question? Why didn't get to that too? You know that's a great transition. Let me ask you before we do that, though, Well, you know what superstar moments? What are the what do you think the top ten selling jerseys are?
Now?
This is based on the second half of the NBA season. Luca's in there, Lucas number one. I remember this is the second half, so fake people buying that Luca Lakers jersey. Jason there, he's number four. I imagine Lebron's still in there. Number three, Curry is still in there, number two. You guys just nailed the top four.
Okay, New York so Brunston number five?
Yeah, Hey, you guys are like Steve Harvey would buy his mustache would be uh, you know, shimmering right now with your family feud style excellence. Speaking of which, Dan Patrick's celebrity family Fewud. How cool is that? We gotta get on that, all right, you guys name the top five. It's called celebrity far Gettenberger family. I'm thinking young stars. Jahn Morant, John Morant's number eight. So here you go, you're rolling. Keep on the young stars.
Oh I didn't play the second half of the season, but Wemby.
Number six, nice, my clean sweetness. Then there's one more at number seven, and I'll give you this. Sga is number nine, and it's someone he's playing right now, Ah Edwards. Edwards is number seven, baby Jordan's and then your kit rounds out the top ten and then Giannis Lamello, Ball KD, Devin Booker and Jalen Brown. But he's a top ten selling Jersey. So Camino your theory of like your kids know, it's just it might not pass the Aunt Janet at Christmas test like man okc with uh.
Who's that guy again?
Uh? And Sharon and Janet that's uh Shay gilg is Alexander. Oh yeah, just saying for guy that's putting up these numbers, I think he should be more of a household name. And when people talk about the young stars of the league, who else is in their twenties doing what he was doing a lot of the other guys we speak of on that list are thirty ish or older, the veterans. Right, well, there is a feeling. I saw Charles Barkley being interviewed by one of our pals, Adam Glenn, who does celebrity interviews like TMZ style interviews, and he's like, how do you feel about the Thunder's chances and what do you think about SGA sort of coming out of nowhere? That's the feeling like he sort of came out of nowhere. But that's not the truth. Yeah, but it feels that way, right, not the truth doing it. Plus, it takes a minute to acclimate to the NBA, so let's keep that Night's still a young guy, but he's been averaging thirty plus, which seems like foreverybody. But it seems like exactly, so it's not out of nowhere. It just feels that way. And now they're on a bigger stage and all those things change a reputation. That's when the kids tell the older folks like, see we told you now when it's not a big stage like this doesn't matter what market they're playing for, and that's how you create that reputation and that's what makes you a superstar, and we can actually transition into that. But before we move past the timberwolves, and I'm sure we're gonna bring them up again. Timberwolves just looking weak compared to the thunder. They're not wolves, Rich, But this is a viral story today. I see this. I'll tell you what I did see this though, on my way to work this morning. We live out here in Los Angeles. I'm never up at this early, you know, that four or five am hour here on the West coast, you know, getting ready to come here. Yeah, it's not our normal schedule. Normally we're on two to four on the west, five to seven pm on the east. What were those wolves in Game of Thrones? I swear I saw a dire wolf on my street. I think you're lying. I mean it could you might argue, Rich was probably a little coyote. But in my mind this morning, as I pulled out of my driveway, I'm like, this is a dire wolf. I want you to look this up immediately. Immediately. I immediately texted my wife, don't let our dog outside like that. Saw a shadow in my mind, in my four point thirty in the morning mind this morning I was like, I think John Snow is walking a dire wolf on my street. Dude, they are everywhere in Los Angeles. I'm sure you guys have seen the stories. You sell that story with Tommy Lee's dog. Right, some coyote hopped over like a ten foot fence grabbed this dog dog and yeah, hungry man, Yo, these things are wild right, So literally there's a story today, or I saw it today. I think it was a timber wolf, not a wolf. Not a timber wolf, but five coyotes. Five coyotes I think equal one wolf, but five. You can ask me one man or five coyotes. No, no, no, no. Five coyotes versus a ceping Five coyotes are a silver bag girl. And I think this story is a random stray black labrador fights off and fens off five coyotes. Now, I don't know, like, of course, maybe you're thinking, of course a lab could fight off five coyote. To me, I was like, Yo, that's impressive. This five pack of coyotes attack and one black lab fights him off. That's viral today. Protecting the I thought it was protecting the house and the kids. But I think it was a stray and it was all caught on film and it went viral this morning on my way and I saw, Yeah.
It says wildlife cam shows stray dog fighting on right.
The stray got the best of him when he drew a tunnel on a brick wall. Really tricked the coyotes. Nice. Yes, yes, so look out for that. It's a local LA story though.
From my understanding. Raa, California.
Yeah, so I saw it on the news today, but again, not wolves but coyotes. Props to that black lab. Pretty sweet.
