Hour 1: St. John's Time to Shine

Summary

Podcast Summary: Don, Hahn & Rosenberg - Hour 1: St. John's Time to Shine

Episode Details

• Title: Hour 1: St. John's Time to Shine
• Hosts: Don La Greca, Alan Hahn, Peter Rosenberg
• Release Date: March 20, 2025
• Description: Join ESPN New York's Don La Greca, Alan Hahn, and Peter Rosenberg as they delve into New York sports, college basketball excitement surrounding St. John's, and broader sports discussions.

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1. Introduction to St. John's NCAA Tournament Run

[00:21] Don La Greca:
Don kickstarts the conversation by highlighting the unusual surge in interest surrounding St. John's during the NCAA tournament. He points out the typically overlooked status of college basketball in sports radio until the tournament season ignites intense discussions.

"I do think there's a lot of fraudulence around sports radio where they ignore college basketball all year... especially in New York, for the most part, unless you're a Die Hard, it kind of gets ignored."
— Don La Greca [00:21]

Key Points:

• St. John's has become a central topic due to their impressive performance.
• The sudden shift from being ignored to being highly discussed showcases the unpredictable nature of sports popularity.
• Afternoon sports events, a trend noticed during COVID, add to the unique excitement surrounding the team's games.

2. Expectations vs. Reality in College Basketball

[02:42] Don La Greca:
Don compares the situation with St. John's to other sports teams like the Knicks and Rangers, emphasizing the burden of expectations.

"It's all about expectations, right? It's living up or exceeding your expectations...very central when in New York."
— Don La Greca [02:42]

Key Points:

• The high expectations set for St. John's as a two-seed necessitate a deep tournament run.
• Drawing parallels with professional teams like the Knicks and Rangers, the discussion underscores how failing to meet expectations leads to perceptions of failure.
• The hosts debate whether reaching the Sweet 16 suffices for a team like St. John's, given their season performance.

3. Caller Perspectives: Alumni and Fans' Insights

[13:06] Caller (Pete from New Rochelle):
An alumnus shares his pride in St. John's achievements, noting the sentimental value tied to the team's success.

"...for the first time feels like, wow, my college really means something as a sports fan."
— Caller [13:06]

Key Points:

• Alumni feel a renewed sense of pride and connection to St. John's due to their tournament performance.
• The ability to attend games without being overshadowed by fans of more prominent teams enhances the experience.
• The caller emphasizes the historical significance and potential positive impact on the university's future.

4. Impact of NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) on College Sports

[14:29] Dan Grassa:
Dan discusses the implications of NIL deals, highlighting how they affect athletic departments and competitive dynamics.

"Now when you get the settlement next year that they're going to be able to receive the Big E schools... that's going to set a standard, setting a bar..."
— Dan Grassa [15:55]

Key Points:

• NIL settlements are shifting the financial landscape, particularly benefiting basketball programs over football-centric schools.
• Big East schools without football programs may leverage NIL advantages to attract top talent.
• The hosts consider how NIL impacts team competitiveness and recruitment within the conference.

5. NHL Teams: Rangers and Islanders Analysis

[16:56] Don La Greca:
Don provides updates on the NHL standings, focusing on the Rangers' and Islanders' performances and playoff implications.

"Islands can catch the Rangers. An Islanders team that was selling off at the deadline..."
— Don La Greca [16:56]

Key Points:

• The Rangers' and Islanders' standings are closely intertwined, with potential shifts based on tonight's games.
• Performance against teams like the Maple Leafs and Canadians could influence playoff positions.
• Strategic decisions and player performances are critical as teams vie for valuable postseason spots.

6. Knicks Performance and NBA Tournament Insights

[35:07] Caller (Carmine from Paramus):
A caller critiques Rick Pitino's coaching and defends St. John's potential in the tournament.

"Rick Pitino ... he's like Bill Parcells. Never lose a game that he should win."
— Caller [35:07]

Key Points:

• The Knicks' recent loss to the Spurs is analyzed, with Don emphasizing the team's lax approach leading to the defeat.
• The discussion highlights the importance of consistent effort, regardless of travel schedules or game significance.
• The Knicks' offensive strategies and star players like Josh Hart are scrutinized, questioning their reliability in high-stakes games.

7. Tournament Updates and Ongoing Games

[17:31] Tournament Update by Amazon Pickup:
Don briefly summarizes the day's NCAA tournament outcomes, mentioning key victories and highlight moments.

Key Points:

• Wisconsin, Purdue, Creighton, Houston, Auburn, Clemson, and St. John's are among the teams progressing in the tournament.
• Notable performances include Houston's dominant win and Clemson's early successes.
• St. John's upcoming game against Omaha is anticipated to be a pivotal moment for their tournament journey.

8. Off-Topic Banter and Host Interactions

Throughout the episode, Don and Dan engage in light-hearted banter, discussing personal anecdotes and humorous exchanges about everyday topics, such as lunch outings and missed cues during the show.

"I went to a place called Confectionately Yours."
— Dan Grassa [28:29]

Key Points:

• The hosts maintain a conversational and relatable atmosphere, sharing personal stories and jokes.
• Interactions with callers add a dynamic and engaging layer to the discussion, fostering a sense of community among listeners.

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Conclusion In this episode, Don, Hahn, and Rosenberg provide an in-depth analysis of St. John's remarkable NCAA tournament run, juxtaposing it with the performances of other sports teams in New York. Through engaging discussions with callers and insightful commentary, the hosts explore the implications of high expectations, the evolving landscape of college sports amid NIL changes, and the broader impacts on teams like the Knicks and Rangers. The episode balances serious sports analysis with entertaining host interactions, offering listeners a comprehensive overview of the current sports landscape in New York.

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Notable Quotes:

• "It's all about expectations, right? It's living up or exceeding your expectations..."
  — Don La Greca [02:42]

• "...for the first time feels like, wow, my college really means something as a sports fan."
  — Caller Pete [13:06]

• "Rick Pitino ... he's like Bill Parcells. Never lose a game that he should win."
  — Caller Carmine [35:07]

• "I want to hear from Johnny's fans at 1-800-919-3776 what your expectations are and you got to live up to those."
  — Don La Greca [08:05]

• "I couldn't, not as a two seed. So it begins tonight."
  — Don La Greca [09:48]

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This summary captures the essence of the "Hour 1: St. John's Time to Shine" episode, focusing on key discussions, insights, and memorable moments shared by the hosts and callers.

Transcript

[Don La Greca]

This episode is brought to you by Lifelock.

[Dan Grassa]

It's tax season and we're all a.

[Don La Greca]

Bit tired of numbers, but here's one.

[Dan Grassa]

You need to $16.5 billion. That's how much the IRS flagged for.

[Don La Greca]

Possible identity fraud last year.

[Dan Grassa]

Now here's a good number.

[Don La Greca]

100 million.

[Dan Grassa]

That's how many data points Lifelock monitors every second.

[Don La Greca]

If your identity is stolen, they'll fix it, guaranteed. Save up to 40% your first [e-mail] podcast terms apply. This is the Don station, and we'll get into it for sure. I do think there's a lot of fraudulence around sports radio where they ignore college basketball all year, and then all of a sudden they're experts on Thursday telling you what to do. And there are people like Dave Rothenberg, Dan Grassa, you know, Chris Carlin because he works college basketball games that really know the game. But, you know, it's usually not something that's first and foremost on everybody's mind. It's most years, this year a little different with St. John's being so good. And we'll get into that as well. But it is such a unique sporting event that it goes from zero to a hundred in like two seconds. It's not talked about very much. And then on that Thursday, everybody and their mothers talking about this, following it, and it becomes something that's so central when in. Especially in New York, for the most part, unless you're a Die Hard, it kind of gets ignored. But now everybody's interested in this. They're interested in their brackets and the buzzer beaters. And I just think there's something. We found it out during COVID There's something about afternoon sports that's kind of cool. Having things going on while you're at work, while you're at school. I mean, it's not gonna help ratings or anything. But we. Right. We saw it during COVID where they were like basketball and hockey games that were on during the day and you were watching. We're used to it in baseball, but in other sports it doesn't happen that often. So to just have games going on, 12 noon, tipping off, and here it is, 3 o'clock, we've already got finals games just getting going, games at the half. It's kind of cool.

[Dan Grassa]

No, you're right. And just to kind of hit home on what you were saying about the fraudulence of. Not the fraudulence, but the fact that college basketball, at least in our neck of the woods, doesn't really have that Big of an audience, you know, throughout the regular season, because Donovan did. And I don't want to, you know, poke the dead body on the side of the road, but look at what happened with my school. I mean, if college basketball had more of an audience. The Rutgers disappointment of a season this year featuring two of the likely top three picks in the NBA draft coming up in June and the fact that they finished, forget about not making the tournament, they finished with a losing record. Can you imagine if that was the equivalent to like a pro sports team and how much talking point that would take up on this radio station?

[Don La Greca]

Well, it would. I mean, because it's all about expectations, right? It's living up or exceeding your expectations. And if you fall that short of it, it's a major problem. We're going, we're going through with the Knicks now, right? There was an expectation around this team that it was third round or bust, conference final or bust. And now the reality starting to sink in that that's probably not where this team's going to end up. And even though it's unfair, they will looked upon as being a failure if they don't do that. Because that was the initial expectation. Rangers too. Win the President's Trophy, losing the conference final, take the next step. Stanley cup or bust. They might even make the playoffs. Huge, huge disappointment.

[Dan Grassa]

The jets season, right?

[Don La Greca]

The jets, jets season, disappointing. But the Giants, not as much because you didn't expect anything and they didn't. And they delivered on their lack of expectations, so they didn't get killed nearly as much. But the last two years, the jets had their sights set on a Super bowl and to collectively win. What do they collectively win? You know, 12 games or whatever in two years, you're going to get destroyed for it. So. And that's why I think St. John's is so interesting, because now the expectations are. Well, you got to get to at least the Sweet 16 or at least the Elite Eight. They're a two seed, right? So why can't they be at least to the Elite Eight, Final Four? That. Yeah. That means that your one seed's got to get picked off or you have to beat the one seed. So I think that's a little much. But you know, Sweet 16, Elite 8, and you know, if they were to lose in one of the next two games, that would be looked upon as a huge disappointment. Right.

[Dan Grassa]

Let me ask you a question.

[Don La Greca]

It's a resurgent regular season, but is anybody going to remember this season if, God forbid, they lost to Omaha tonight?

[Dan Grassa]

Well, that's what I was just going to ask you. And look, here's the fact of the matter is like whenever anything short of a national championship probably for this team, like the way college basketball is, I mean, unfortunately, once the season ends, once you lose that last game, you know, nobody's really going to spend a lot of time, at least on like a station like this, for example, talking. It's not going to carry a conversation until the season maybe starts again in the fall. Right. I mean, that's just the way it is, you know, because there's that finality to it, unfortunately. But in your mind, how far and how deep of a run does this St. John's team have to go on here in this tournament to where you could say, all right, we can't look at this as a disaster, you know what I'm saying? Like, what, what, what would qualify? How many games have they got to win in this tournament to where it would almost validate what they've done up until this point?

[Don La Greca]

I mean, it' hard to rip a team like St. John. On that Rosenberg podcast, that sounds like heaven to me.

[Dan Grassa]

Listen live weekday afternoon starting at 3 on 8 80, ESPN, the ESPN New York app, and your smart speakers.

[Don La Greca]

Oh, it's 301 in the big city. Don and Dan, second consecutive day here on Don, Han and Rosenberg. We'll get Alan back tomorrow, we'll get Peter back on Monday. But it's always good to talk to Dan Grassa. How are you, sir?

[Dan Grassa]

I'm fantastic. You doing good?

[Don La Greca]

You're in heaven. And you're a big college basketball guy. Big Rutgers fan. They took your heart out today, stomped on it. Not today, all year. But you, you're following this. You got 17 brackets going at once. You're already owing to.

[Dan Grassa]

Why'd you have to go there? Why'd you have to go there?

[Don La Greca]

Because I like to be accurate. I like to give the audience all the information that's at our disposal here. You didn't have to tell me you're owing to.

[Dan Grassa]

No, this is, but this is really one of the great days. I'm sure a lot of people would agree. I mean, you don't have to be the biggest college basketball fan. I am. But still, these are great days. Today and tomorrow from, you know, from noon to past midnight, you have wall to wall games. Most people get into the brackets. So your bracket maybe still have a little bit of life the first couple of days, but these are right up there. I mean, we could sit here throughout the show and, you know, come up with like top Two, three, like top two three sports days on the calendar for you. This is right up there for me. This today and tomorrow, they're basically the same. It' good as it gets for me.

[Don La Greca]

But it's such a strange topic of conversations that hasn't really done anything in 25 years and spit on a sweet 16 appearance. Right. I mean, that would just seems to be illogical to go from ignored to all of a sudden there's a resurgence and we're going to be disappointed in a sweet 16. But if you look at it logically, this is a team that was what, over the last month of the regular season, consistently in the top 10. They finished the regular season as a 6 SE, the sixth best team in the entire country. They go into the tournament as a 2 seed in their bracket. So if you look at it, forget about how long it's been and the journey and all that, just the sheer mathematics of it tell you that this team has to at least get to the Elite Eight. Right now, I'm not a St. John's fan. I didn't go there, but we can take Your calls at 1-800-919-3776. You tell me. I'm listening to calls on this show. I'm looking at social media. There are St. John's fans and alum that believe this team can win it all. So if you want to look at, oh, we made it to the sweet 16 for the first time since Jarvis in 2000. Let's celebrate that. Oh, yeah. I'm not going to tell you you're wrong to do that. But if you believe in this team, if you believe where they were ranked going in, if you believe where they are in their seed, do you think any other two seed Dan is going to be satisfied with a sweet 16 appearance?

[Dan Grassa]

No, probably not. Not when you're, what are they, 30 and four this year. And remember the four games they've lost by a combined total. Don of seven points.

[Don La Greca]

Right.

[Dan Grassa]

And you got it. You got a, you have arguably, arguably the coach that you would pick over anybody else in this entire tournament on the sidelines.

[Don La Greca]

Exactly.

[Dan Grassa]

The guy who's been deep into this tournament, how many times in his career he's. If St. John's goes to the Final Four, that's the fourth team he's taken to the Final Four. Nobody could say that.

[Don La Greca]

So, I mean, I think that's. That, that's a real talking point. Want to hear from Johnny's fans at 1-800-919-3776 what your expectations are and you got to live up to those. I mean we, when I was doing the case show, Michael and I were always in lockstep with this, that whatever you feel they are, you can make adjustments as, as things go on, but when your final judgment, then you can't revert back to earlier. Right. Like you going into this season, hey, we got a chance to make the tournament, we got a chance to make some hay. And if I told you, hey, you're going to make it to the tournament and get bounced in, in in the second round or get bounced in the Sweet 16, you would sign for that. But you made adjustments along the way. As I mentioned, you're a two seed. So if you're thinking, hey, we go to the final four and win it all, I don't want to hear if God forbid, you lose tonight and say, well, it was just nice, it was just a nice run to get to the tournament. No, your expectations have to be higher than that. Now again, I'm not close enough to it from a fan standpoint to say you're wrong to be happy with sweet 16. But to me, as just a sports guy and did follow this team this year and saw the journey, I can't be satisfied with a sweet 16. I couldn't, not as a two seed. So it begins tonight.

[Dan Grassa]

I think you also have to take it as it comes. And you know the bracket is unpredictable, right? So you never know what's going to happen along the way. When you get to that point, like if you know you're upset by, let's say a double digit seed and you bow out a lot sooner than everybody thought, then that's even more of a sting that you can add to it. But I mean, there's a distinct possibility if you get chalk through this weekend, okay, you might be playing Texas Tech in the Sweet 16. Now Texas Tech is a three seed, okay? They're that team that's one notch below you in your region. Texas Tech's a good team. You know, Grant McCaslin's done an awesome job with that club since he came over from North Texas. Texas Tech. Don went to Houston and beat the Cougars this year. I picked Houston to win the whole damn thing.

[Don La Greca]

Like, they're really, really good today, by the way.

[Dan Grassa]

And they're up. They're showing you why today. So Texas Tech has a win in Houston. So if St. John's loses to a good Texas Tech team, even though Texas Tech has a couple of dudes that are banged up a little bit, they may not be 100% I can't sit there and say it's a total catastrophe. Now if, for example, let's say Drake, who's an 11 seed, if they pull an upset or two and make it to the sweet 16 and you lose to an 11 seed Drake, that would hurt.

[Don La Greca]

Now you got to take it as it comes and you got to see who you play and what the circumstances are going in. Obviously, did you get banged up, what, what happened during the course of it. And you could turn around and say, hey, this was a fun season, but I didn't like the way it ended. That's also fair too. But I just look at this journey and look where this team is. It's, you know, Cinderella has now become something more than that. It's a Cinderella story as far as their history is concerned. But right now I don't think anybody's looking at St. John's as Cinderella when they went into the tournament ranked sixth and they were two seed. No, no, now, now you got to take on the responsibility of what you've become here. You know, the wild card team now goes in with the buy. You know, whatever your expectations were, you go to the playoffs as an elite team and that's what you are. There teams ranked higher than you in the entire country, you know, that, that, that's, that's setting a standard, setting a bar that I think they got to go out there and achieve now.

[Dan Grassa]

No, no. Nobody in their right mind, even if you were born yesterday, is looking at St. John's Cinderella. I mean, Rick Patino is your head coach. You're the Big east champions. You've got nil money coming out the wazoo thanks to Mike rapoli. You know, St. Peter's their run to the elite eight a couple of years ago, that was Cinderella.

[Don La Greca]

Thank you. This is, this is not St. Peter's this is not FDU. This isn't Manhattan. This isn't some, you know, the, the jaspers making around St. John's and it's a different world now. And it wasn't for a long time. Believe me, there was decades in which St. John's was closer to Wagner than they were to a big time school. But that the days are over. You got a big time coach, you got nil money. And now, now get used to it. St. John's fans. This should be, I want to say irregularity because again, he's 72 year old coach, so I don't know how long he's going to do it. But right now they're back in the big time and it's a lot of fun. And it starts tonight at 9.45-1-800-919-3776. We got a bunch of calls on it, so let's just dive into it. Let's talk to Pete. New Rochelle, you get us started here on espn New York. What's up, Pete?

[Caller]

Hey, guys. Calling as an alumni, and I just want to say, I think you just hit the nail on the head in terms of, you know, people say, oh, St. John's what a storied team. What a storied history. But for a lot of people, we've lived our lives and never had that. You know, I was in School in 2011 when they were in the, in the tournament, but then it was just mediocrity.

[Dan Grassa]

And so I think no matter how.

[Caller]

Far they go, it's huge that you can go to the Garden now and it's not filled with Villanova fans and UConn fans. And as a school that doesn't have a football team, this for the first time feels like, wow, my college really means something as a sports fan. So I think, no matter what, this is huge, and I hope it sets us up for the future. Thanks for taking my call, guys.

[Don La Greca]

No, that's a great way to look at it, Pete, but you could also be disappointed on how it ended if it ends too early. So I do think there is a feel good story, no matter what happens, Dan, that you feel like your university, your school is back, but you got to embrace the expectations now. And getting done in the first two rounds is not. That's going to be our open tomorrow. If they were to lose and we're even win, that could be the open because again, just winning and moving on and all that stuff. But you got to embrace the expectations, too, man. At some point, the fuzzy feel good story now becomes a completely different feel. And the feel is now we got a dominant school that should at least, at least be in the Sweet 16.

[Dan Grassa]

Yeah. If Rick Pitino took Iona to the Sweet 16 when he was there before St. John's that's a Cinderella feel good story. Despite the fact Rick. Rick Patino's the head coach because it's Iona, right? You're a mid major. You're not a mid major at St. John's you're the undisputed champion of the conference that produced the national champion the last two years in UConn. You know what I mean? Like, you're legit. You're a power program. And, you know, you think about the landscape of the sport with Nil and everything how it's going to translate moving forward the next couple of years. You know, that house settlement that that's going to now be received with all these universities, as far as more nil money that's going to be distributed, all right, every school is gonna get a piece of the pie. But think about it. It's their entire athletic department's done so school like mine, for example, football's the cash cow. And at 99% of the schools, football's the cash cow school.

[Don La Greca]

That's why you see the Big east look the way that it does. Well, that's what I mean is because everybody picked apart the Big east schools that had good football programs. That's why Rutgers is gone. That's why Syracuse is gone.

[Dan Grassa]

But now when you get the settlement next year that they're going to be able to receive the Big E schools which don't have football programs, the lion's share of that money is going to go to basketball. That's only going to help them. And therefore if you're trying to compete with, let's say Big E schools to try to get some players in the transfer portal, well, guess what? They might have a leg up because they don't have a football program that they have to nurture with nil money.

[Don La Greca]

Let's go to Felicia. Mississippi, you're on ESPN New York. And Felicia, I don't know if you heard Peter mentioned you on the air. That was a great thing that you did, sending that picture of Rocky as Peter's mourning the loss of of his dog. That was a really nice gift you sent and I think everybody at the station really appreciated it.

[Caller]

Well, yeah, I was glad to do it. I just spoke to me because I'm such a big dog person and I saw how broken, broken apart he was. So I hope he and Natalie appreciate it. But I just really real quick wanted to comment the first thing you were talking about about afternoon games and how.

[Dan Grassa]

You enjoy having them like while you're.

[Caller]

At work or at school. And I just want to say I.

[Dan Grassa]

Really enjoy having games that I'm not a fan of.

[Caller]

Like if there's another game on, just to watch us have its background noise. But my team, I like to have.

[Dan Grassa]

On at night just so I can.

[Caller]

Like sit down, drink a beer, you know, eat dinner.

[Dan Grassa]

I don't want to have it on.

[Caller]

Like, well, at work I might get in trouble for screaming like if the hell underscore goal or something. But that's all. I was just kind of my take on that and I just Wanted to say hi.

[Don La Greca]

Oh, well, thank you, Felicia, and hi back to you. And you know, Islander's got a big game against the Canadians tonight. We'll get into the hockey a little bit later on, but there's actually a scenario where the Islanders can catch the Rangers. An Islanders team that was selling off at the deadline with Brock Nelson being gone could actually have the same amount of points as the Rangers tonight if the Rangers lose to the Leafs and the Islanders take care of business against the Canadians over at ubs. But yeah, listen, I think everybody would love to be able to just relax. I just think, I don't know, afternoon games are kind of cool to me. They're so rare and just like to have something on it. This is such a great day. It's just such a fun day.

[Dan Grassa]

Well, the closest thing that I could compare it to because, you know, obviously, like the sports that, you know, we grew up rooting for and all that stuff, but as far as, like having stuff on during the day to where you're preoccupied, the worst thing for me, because, you know, I'm a huge tennis guy and I was a massive Federer guy. So tennis being the global sport that it is, you got tournaments going on all over the world with the different time zones and everything. So I could be sitting there on the air Whether it's 12 o'clock in the afternoon, 3 o'clock in the afternoon, didn't matter what time it was. And he's playing some big match that I got on the tv and I'm living and dying with every point, trying to collect my thoughts into a show.

[Don La Greca]

It is kind of fun to do a show when you've got something that important going on. But that's, that's even. That's bigger. I mean, obviously you get a day baseball game. You're not living and dying with a game, you know, in April or may care. But I, but, but you know what? When the Mets were playing the Braves in the first game of that doubleheader, it was on during the Michael K show and I was on the air when all that was happening and they were, you know, clinching a playoff berth. So there are times where it's gargantuan and it just happens to be, you know, in the middle of the day, not that often, mostly baseball. But like today, if, you know, imagine if St. John's was playing in the afternoon and you've got all that going on, it would be.

[Dan Grassa]

Which, by the way, nuts. Which by the way, I know that your local listings say 9:45 boys and girls prep for it to be a little bit late. That game's not tipping off till minimum, 10 o'clock, probably even a little bit after.

[Don La Greca]

And the thing that stinks about that is if you're an alum or you love St. John's you're going to make the sacrifice, you're going to watch. But there's a lot of people that are intrigued by this that just can't physically do it. You know, that game tips off at 10 o'clock. You're making a commitment to at least 12:30. And if you've got to get up, if you're a nurse or you work shift, work and you got to get up at 4:30, 5:00 in the morning, that's a tough commitment for somebody that's not all in. If you're all in, you'll make the sacrifice and be on no sleep on Friday. But unfortunately, you know, they're not a blue blood and it's just circumstances. They got a chance to be here in the east playing in Providence, and that certainly is an advantage for Rick Pitino and his old stomping grounds. But the, the 940, which is most likely going to be a 10:05 tip, is not ideal for.

[Dan Grassa]

Well, because, yeah, because you're playing a school like you said, even though you have Rick Patino and you're New York, you're playing a school that nobody even knew where it was or even existed up until a week ago. And think about the other game that plays right before you in Providence. You know, you got Bill Self and John Calipari, two Hall of Fame coaches. That's why that got the 7:00 CBS assignment tonight. And rightfully so.

[Don La Greca]

You're playing a Manning audible, right? If you get it. Omaha. When people think Omaha, they think that more so than they think about college basketball for sure. Griffin in Connecticut. How are you, buddy?

[Caller]

I'm good. You know, I'm. I'm going to be up late tomorrow night. I already know that. 9:25.

[Dan Grassa]

What, are you going clubbing tomorrow night, Griff?

[Caller]

No, but Connecticut doesn't tip off until 9:25 tomorrow.

[Dan Grassa]

Well, and you want to see that one. That's probably the only game that they're going to win in this tournament.

[Don La Greca]

Wow.

[Caller]

I know, I know. It's been, it's, it's been a. It has not been that good.

[Don La Greca]

It's been a great run for you, Griff. Not a soul feels bad and you'll probably.

[Dan Grassa]

And he's gonna reload. And next year you'll probably Be a top four seed in the tournament.

[Caller]

Yeah, I'm not worried one bit at all. First off, I want to talk about St. John's and then I want to give you my final four picks and see what Dan thinks. I. To me, I think I said this earlier. St. John's I think getting to the Sweet 16 and losing to Texas Tech, I think is a successful season. If they lose to anybody else, I think it wouldn't be. But if they lose tonight, it would be an absolute failure. They can't lose tonight at all. They can't even be in a battle with Omaha. When you think of Omaha, you think of Peyton Manning hiking the football when he's trying to hike the football. That's what you think of When Peyton Manning's doing the Omar. Omar. That's what you think of Omaha. You shouldn't be thinking of Omar going off an upset or being in a battle with St. John's Omaha tonight.

[Dan Grassa]

Yeah. Peyton Manning in the and the College World Series. That's what you think of Omaha.

[Caller]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Don La Greca]

So what's your final four?

[Caller]

My final four is I have Florida, Michigan State, Duke, and I know, Dan, you don't like this team, but I do. I have Clemson.

[Dan Grassa]

You got Clemson going to the fun. Well, you know what? I admire you. I admire you for taking a flyer. I can't see them going to the Final Four. I actually. You know what, Griff, about Clemson and thanks for the call. I actually did a 180 on them because I told you I thought that they would be upset bait against McNeese. But then while we were on the air yesterday and we found out about the Will Wade thing, I had to back off on McNeese because I don't know how those kids are going to respond knowing that their coach already has one foot out the door. So I actually think Clemson will go to the sweet 16, but I think once they get there, they're going to run into the Houston Cougars and that's going to be the end of their run.

[Don La Greca]

Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. I don't know if you knew this, but anyone can get the same Premium Wireless for $15 a month plan that I've been enjoying.

[Dan Grassa]

It's not just for celebrities.

[Don La Greca]

So do like I did and have one of your assistant's assistants switch you to Mint Mobile today. I'm told it's super easy to [e-mail] Switch upfront payment of $45 for three equivalent to $15 per month required intro rate first three months only, then full price plan options available, taxes and fees extra. See full [e-mail] thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg Podcast. I didn't listen to anything you just said. Catch the show on demand whenever you want.

[Caller]

Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts.

[Don La Greca]

Game Time is brought to you by Tullamore New Irish Whiskey because when it's game time, it's Tully time. The Knicks are back in action tonight against the Hornets with coverage immediately following us right here. 880 at 6:30 on 10:50 the Rangers play host to the Maple Leafs and I will be on the pregame for that beginning at 6:30. Devils will welcome in the Flames at 7. Islanders and Canadians at UBS at 7:30. The Nets are in Indy to take on the Pacers at seven. And of course at 9:45 you've got St. John's and Omaha from Providence. Game one for St. John's in the NCAA Tournament and that's Tullamore. Do the original triple distilled, triple blended and triple cast matured Irish Whiskey. Be sure to grab a Tullamore Dew or try the new Tullamore Dew. Honey, during today's action. Glasses up to enjoying Tullamore do responsibly. Don't worry Nick fans, we'll get to your team because I know everybody's got a take on that. But let's get back to the busy phones of 1-800-919 before you get the 3776. Yes, Dan, the floor is yours real quick.

[Dan Grassa]

I forgot to tell you so after the show yesterday. We had a good time yesterday doing the show. We had some fun. We were laughing and everything. So many people were asking me, though it had nothing to do with what we were talking about. It was nothing about the conversation with the ties or the Knicks or the Rangers or nothing like that. Do you know what so many people wanted to know?

[Don La Greca]

What's that?

[Dan Grassa]

They wanted to know if I ever found out where Don went to lunch yesterday.

[Don La Greca]

I had a jacket because I was pessimistic about the day and then I dreaded the jacket. The kids are on spring break so we all went out to lunch together. Very nice. Playing a little baseball, Marco, earlier today, so getting it all started on what's going to be a, you know, big sports day on the eve of March Madness. Congratulations to the Tar Heels as they officially move on. See where that goes. But that's pretty much it as far as the college basketball. We'll get into that later. I'm embarrassed, Dan. I Twice you asked me And I didn't hear you. Right, because in the beginning of the show.

[Dan Grassa]

Gum on your shoes?

[Don La Greca]

No, because the beginning of the show you were a little low and I wasn't hearing you and I was in. I'm sorry. You deserve better and I apologize. I'm sorry.

[Dan Grassa]

It wasn't even like, buddy, can you spare a dime? It was like, where'd you go to lunch? You know, it was very innocent question, but the. But the reluctance to disclose that information was just. I was like, okay, that's what kind of day it's going to be. Cool.

[Don La Greca]

And did you feel like that continued throughout the day?

[Dan Grassa]

The scorn, you mean?

[Don La Greca]

Yeah, that I was ignoring you.

[Dan Grassa]

Oh, I think that's like I said, that set the tone. That was like the lead off home run in the top of the first inning. Sometimes it gets a team off and running. This was the opposite effect.

[Don La Greca]

Well, then I have to apologize. I'm sorry. I did not know that I set such a negative tone. I thought the show was good. What do I know somebody, like, so.

[Dan Grassa]

You ever find out where you went to lunch? Like, no, I guess not.

[Don La Greca]

No, I can. I'm sorry, I didn't hear you. But why would I ignore. I've acknowledged you as my best friend, so why see this? See, I'm gonna spin it back to you. This is on you.

[Dan Grassa]

Yeah.

[Don La Greca]

Because you know how I feel about you. You know how close we are. So for your mind to go with complete disrespect and setting a negative tone, that's on you instead of, oh, Don must not be able to hear me. There must be something technically wrong that he can't hear me. Cuz twice he ignored my question. You decided to skew on that. I have an issue with you. Nice.

[Dan Grassa]

Well, no, I mean, how am I supposed to feel? I mean, you heard that I wasn't.

[Don La Greca]

How you're supposed to feel is there must be something wrong. He can't hear me. There must be something wrong with the technology.

[Dan Grassa]

Anthony, your mind.

[Don La Greca]

Right. Disrespect. And where were you on this, Anthony?

[Dan Grassa]

I think we call it a tie. You split the baby. Is that what you're doing?

[Don La Greca]

No, he's trying to. The schedule is the schedule. Sometimes it's in your favor, sometimes it's not.

[Dan Grassa]

Okay.

[Don La Greca]

On the road a long time. Listen, I don't need you to chime in the schedule. What do you want, Tibs? We'll get to you and your disgraceful performance last night in just a moment. I'm sorry, but right now we've got you Know bigger fish to fry.

[Dan Grassa]

Well, no, you said Dan was low.

[Don La Greca]

Right.

[Dan Grassa]

And we. I think we've adjusted and course corrected that.

[Don La Greca]

So why can't that be the answer instead of, oh, Don has no respect for Dan.

[Dan Grassa]

This is more fun.

[Don La Greca]

All right, That's. That's great. I went to a place called Confectionately Yours.

[Dan Grassa]

Affectionately yours.

[Don La Greca]

Confectionately yours.

[Dan Grassa]

Oh, Confectionately Yours. That sounds like it's very much for the children.

[Don La Greca]

Well, it. It's. It. It's an ice cream parlor slash restaurant.

[Dan Grassa]

So we went like a friendly type thing.

[Don La Greca]

Yeah, that's perfect. It's an independently operated, kind of like a. It like a friendlies, but it's not a chain, and they do a tremendous job over there. Confection Park, I think, is the exact location of the restaurant, like, right off of 27. So go partake if you're in that Somerset county area.

[Dan Grassa]

Confectionately yours, and tell them Don sent you.

[Don La Greca]

That's not gonna get you anything. No, but if you want to just swing by there or have been there. So my apologies, Dan, to you, and extend it out to your family. Tell Natalie and. Or Natasha and everybody, your sister out there and Colts Neck, tell her all, I'm so sorry that I disrespected Dan.

[Dan Grassa]

Why'd you assume it was family that reached out? It could have been anybody.

[Don La Greca]

Because I would think that those would be the only people that would care. But even at the. Even your family, that would imply that.

[Dan Grassa]

They were locked in.

[Don La Greca]

Was apparently so felt that there were shock waves through the Grassa family.

[Dan Grassa]

No, actually, there was no family. They were all associates.

[Don La Greca]

Well, I still felt. I feel that Union county was shook by what had happened yesterday.

[Dan Grassa]

Like a tidal wave.

[Don La Greca]

Everyone, you know, Rutgers even felt it.

[Dan Grassa]

Now they're back to the drawing board.

[Don La Greca]

I think Ace Bailey felt like a twinge in his neck. Like, what was that? Oh, disrespect for Dan, who went to Rutgers.

[Dan Grassa]

I'm sure Ace Bailey really cares about me at this point. You have bigger fish to fry, and.

[Don La Greca]

They'Re not going to the nit. That's probably.

[Dan Grassa]

Oh, my God. They shouldn't. They did the right. I mean, they shouldn't go to the nit. The abc, the xyz.

[Don La Greca]

Right. What was. What was. There was the NCAA tournament. The nit. What was the other tournament back in the day?

[Dan Grassa]

Cbi. Is it the CIT now or whatever? The Crown Invitational. They have that fakakta thing.

[Don La Greca]

Don't do it. It's not right.

[Dan Grassa]

Let's go to the awol. That's where they should go.

[Don La Greca]

Carmine in Paramus. You're on ESPN New York. What's up, buddy?

[Caller]

Hey, what's going on, guys? Before I start, Donnie, I told you this before, but you guys are great together. You guys should do a solo acumen.

[Don La Greca]

Well, we were good until yesterday. Apparently. Now, now I don't know what our future is.

[Dan Grassa]

I think it's very much up in the air, actually.

[Caller]

He's a typical friend. He'll stab you in the back whenever he can. So. I get it, I get it. But. And Dan, I'm with you. Don probably didn't tell you yesterday, but I hate ties. Ties are worse than Kitchen with his sister. So I'm with you on that one. Anyhow, my main point is I'm a Carolina fan, Huge Carolina fan. And number one, I don't think they deserve it. And number two, I think, Dan, it was you yesterday that brought it up. I didn't know that their commissioner was getting a hundred thousand dollars.

[Dan Grassa]

Oh, yeah.

[Caller]

You know, for a perk. What a crock of you know what. So that, that's totally wrong. As a Carolina fan, I'm disgusted. That being said, I think they can make it a mini run, possibly to the Sweet.

[Dan Grassa]

I think you're going, Carmine, I think you're going to the sweet 16.

[Caller]

Yeah, I think so too. I think they got a good bracket. They got a good bracket. They play defense, anything like they did the other night, they're going to go to sweet 16.

[Dan Grassa]

Well, they're. They don't play, they don't play defense consistently. What you got, you have enough talent mano a mano to be able to outscore guys. And that's what they have to do. If they can go out there and shoot lights out and just run a team off the floor like they did to San Diego State. Cause San Diego State's a good defensive team. That's going to play into their favor and I think they have enough. Like you said, the way this bracket is unfolding, they could win a couple of games here.

[Caller]

Yeah, but my main point is St. John's I'm a closet St. John's fan, mainly because of my father in law. He's 91, not doing well, and he hasn't seen this in 25 years. I think it was Hatton when he was in there with Jarvis, if I remember the names correctly, when they made their run.

[Dan Grassa]

Marcus Hatton.

[Caller]

Marcus Hatton, right. I mean, he was some football player, never made it to the NBA, but I just love watching him on Saint John's, but I think Saint John's you know, I think if they make the sweet 16, I think it's a, I don't want to call it a moral victory, but it's a good thing. They can't do anything less than that. So I think they can lose the Texas Tech. Yes, but they can also win. That's a 50, 50 battle. And then anything after that is gravy. They make the Elite Eight, you know, let's go St. John's I would love to see him make it. Unfortunately, like you guys said, 10 o'clock tonight, tip off. You know, he'll be long sleeping before that. He goes to bed by seven, eight o'clock.

[Don La Greca]

Yeah. But hopefully it's a game that, that they win, you know, going away. And Carmine, thank you for the phone call, so I wouldn't worry about that. But let's see what it looks like. It's, you know, maybe the sweet 16 will. You'll live with it, maybe you won't live with it. You know, I, I, I, I, I think it really just depends on how it all kind of breaks down here. But I think you got to respect what they've done all year. As Dan said, four losses by combined seven points, ranked sixth in the nation after the season was over. One, the Big east title, regular season and the tournament. Go in as a two seed. I, I get, you know, Cinderella's longer. All right.

[Dan Grassa]

You know, so you know what's crazy? Like, you know, talking about like the start time and stuff like that. It really does play games with you. And I know that each team and each coach and even the players probably have their own preference. Like, you know, you've seen a lot of guys asked about it the last couple of days, like, well, would you rather just like be one of the first games, just get it out of the way, or do you want to wait all day? Like I remember a few years ago, like when Rutgers made the tournament, you know, to stop that 30 year drought, you know. So what was that? I guess 20, 21, they played or they were scheduled to play. It was like one of the last games on Friday night. So it's like, okay, here you are. You waited three decades to see your team in the tournament all day and night Thursday, then there's basically games all day and night Friday, and you're like the last game to finally tip off Friday, it was like chew your nails off. It was awful.

[Don La Greca]

Yeah. So we'll see how it all breaks down there. Richard of Manhattan, always a pleasure to talk to you buddy. What's going on?

[Caller]

Hi, Don. Dan. All right, who had the worst game? Rangers Tuesday night, Knicks last night. Who was equivalent?

[Dan Grassa]

They were equivalent.

[Don La Greca]

They were probably equal. But I'll give it to the Rangers because they were home and they needed it a lot more than the Knicks did.

[Dan Grassa]

Knicks did. You know what it is Rich? The old saying the Knicks did. Basically they saw the Rangers and said hold my beer. That's what the Knicks did.

[Caller]

Both baseball teams, all three hockey teams, both basketball teams, St. John's and don't forget Columbia women playing the play in game. So we got a lot going on today. But you know the NCAA is treating St. John's like they're a mid major. That's ridiculous. I've never heard of this a 10 o'clock game on the east coast. This isn't in California where we say well all right, it's 7:00 there, 10:00 here. So I mean that's ridiculous.

[Dan Grassa]

Well, they weren't going to get rich. They weren't going to get prime time tonight when you have Bill Self and John Calipari playing each other. So unless wanted them to play this afternoon, that would have been the only other alternative.

[Don La Greca]

Yeah, that's a question, Richard. Would you want the game at you know, 10:00 tonight or would you wanted it at noon this afternoon?

[Caller]

Yeah, no, this is fine but I'm just saying 10 o'clock is kind of late.

[Dan Grassa]

You know, they want it but rich, see here's their thinking. Is this all right if you want to get the New York audience into it, if those are your alternatives in the afternoon most people are at work.

[Caller]

So that makes versus 10 o'clock at night.

[Dan Grassa]

They're going to choose the latter.

[Caller]

Yeah, you're right. You're 100% right. You know, St. John's probably has the smallest on campus gym out of all these major schools, you know, the big schools. So you know, now as far as Pitino people are talking that they can get can't get to the final eight. Pitino is like Parcells. I've never seen these guys. Carneseca was the same way. They never lose a game that they should win. They may lose and you know, but these guys are such great in game. Carneseca was a master. I seen all those games from the mid-60s there were teams better than them but they never beat him by. I saw Bob Night's undefeated team holiday festival in 75 and Conor Seka k kept it close. So this kind of coach Pitino, he will never lose he's like Bill Parcells. Never lose a game that he should win. And he's got three great players on that team, Pitino. So I don't think there's any way they can get upset. They've got to at least get to the Final Four. They're playing like UConn has the last two years in their drives in the NCAA Tournament. They don't like they can lose to any team that's inferior to them. They, you know, they may lose, but that team's gonna.

[Don La Greca]

Yeah, they're not gonna fall. They're not. You're not gonna catch them.

[Dan Grassa]

So.

[Don La Greca]

And even though. Thank you, Richard. Even though one of the negatives, they don't have a ton or any experience in the tournament, their coach does. And I think basketball more than any other sport is really affected college basketball, specifically by the coach. So what they don't have on the court, Patino has. And we'll get them ready for it. And they didn't have any. Any meltdowns, Dan. They didn't have any games in which what was going on there, Four losses, you know, by combined seven points. They didn't have to win the Big east yet. They still did, you know, knocking off UConn, Creighton to get there. So good on them for the season. They had. Now let's see what they can do in the tournament. It's now time for the tournament update, which is brought to you by Amazon Pickup. Here are the follows from earlier this afternoon, it was Wisconsin over Montana 85 to 66. Purdue took care of High Point, much to Dan Chagrin, 75 to 63. Creighton knocks off Louisville 89 to 75. Games in progress. All Houston with about six minutes to go, blowing out SIU Edwardsville 72 to 35. It's Auburn 29, Alabama State 27. About three minutes to go in the first half there. And McNee State early's up 10, six on Clemson and of course, St. John's later on tonight, they'll be taking on Omaha in Providence. That's the tournament update brought to you by Amazon. Pick up Amazon Pickup is a convenient and secure way to collect your Amazon packages from locations near you. Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast. I didn't listen to anything you just said. Catch the show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts. Take a walk on the wild side. Lou Reed.

[Dan Grassa]

That's Lewis Reed. Were you a big fan of the Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch cover? Did this make the top five cover list or.

[Don La Greca]

No, no, it did not make the top five cover list. But also, how many people knew that that was one of those songs where when you're a little kid, you kind of, you kind of learn about life a little bit by the lyrics that we can't repeat that.

[Dan Grassa]

And Captain Jack, we'll get you high tonight.

[Don La Greca]

That's right. This Knicks recap is driven by Ramsey Mazda. You worked the game last night, Dan. That was, that was a surprise we, we discussed yesterday. Hey, listen, it's a tough schedule. West coast come home for a game against Miami. By the way, he lost nine in a row. So maybe it wasn't any great accomplishment beating them.

[Dan Grassa]

And then we're a stretch of Eric Spoelstra's coaching career. How about that?

[Don La Greca]

Back to back games in San Antonio and Charlotte. But you know, what does it matter? Those two teams stink. Well, the Knicks were run out of the gym last night. Run out of the gym in San.

[Dan Grassa]

Antonio without Wemby, without Pop, without Duncan, without Rob, without. Yeah, this was not Tony Parker.

[Don La Greca]

Yeah, this was not your, your, your dad. San Antonio Spurs. Not even the San Antonio spurs early in the year when they were healthy.

[Dan Grassa]

Or your grandfathers with Artist Gilmore, for crying out loud.

[Don La Greca]

Yeah, it's not, not good.

[Dan Grassa]

No, it was, it was done. It was inexcusable. And, and you know, I know that Josh Hart after the game was talking about the schedule and stuff like that, but I mean, I don't buy that when you mop the floor with the heat like you did on Monday night. And it's not like it was a back to back. You got a good night's sleep in your own bed. Monday you woke up, then you hopped a plane where you got to spread out on the plane. You go into San Antonio, you get some nice Tex Mex for dinner. Tuesday, then you wake up whenever the time you want to. On Wednesday, you get a light shoot around in and then you go and play a depleted team and you get blown out of the gym. Really?

[Don La Greca]

I'm going to tell you what happened last night. And I'm not making excuses. I'm just telling you what happened. When you see a superior team get blown away like that. The Knicks just didn't take the spurs seriously. They thought all we have to do is show up, we'll be the Spurs. Well, yeah, we, we've had a long schedule. We're deep into the season here. You know, we're a little tired because we've had a lot of travel and all that, so let's not put an effort up today. We don't have to. We're the Knicks. We can walk into San Antonio and play at 50% and win the game. And they found out, no, you can't. Because teams get up for the Knicks. A lot of fans of the Knicks in the building. So a Spurs team that's kind of playing out the string without their best player, without their coach, you know, they've got a reason to wake up and play. And in the NBA and professional sports, if you don't bring it any on a given night, you can get beat. Now the difference between the Knicks and the Rangers is the Rangers needed that game against the Flames. Who the hell are they to look past anybody? They started the day as the eight seed and finished the day as the nine seed. They should look past anybody. The Knicks. Hey, you know, we've talked quite extensively on wake me up on the playoff start. They know they're not catching Boston for the two seed. They know they're not falling to the four seed. They're kind of locked in. So it's still not right, Dan. You should still come engaged every single night. But I think they just got caught napping and lucky for them they can afford to because of where they are in the standings. The Rangers couldn't might cost him a playoff spot. That's why that was inexcusable last night. Inexcusable, but still there's a margin for error and I think that's what happened. And I think watch out Hornets tonight because I think the Knicks are going to make up for it, wipe the floor with the Hornets and feel better about themselves. But I think that is just a case of dog days of a season where you're locked in and they just weren't completely engaged. And good on the spurs for taking advantage of it.

[Dan Grassa]

I agree, you know, as far as what type of an impact it's going to have on tonight's game, I think that they got the, you know, the mail in out of their system last night. And so the Hornets are going to have to be the ones to pay the price tonight. Even though no Mitchell Robinson, tail end of the back to back, not a total surprise. Deuce is questionable, so we'll see. But you know, I even said it after the game when I was, you know, we were doing our crosstalk with Pat and John Wallace and you know, we sat there in the pregame and broke down the keys and what it's going to take to win and you know, the X factors and all that stuff. I Guarantee you we could have sat there and had that talk for an hour and the name Sandro Mamu College vili was not going to come up.

[Don La Greca]

No.

[Dan Grassa]

And when you have a guy play 19 minutes off the bench and score 34 points and only miss one lousy shot, it just goes to show you how much effort was put in.

[Don La Greca]

And that was history last night.

[Dan Grassa]

History.

[Don La Greca]

No one had ever scored that many points in that few minutes.

[Dan Grassa]

It's apparent history of the NBA, but.

[Don La Greca]

It'S forgotten about in the grand scheme of things because I just think the Knicks are locked in. And again, I'm not making excuses for them, but they are locked in. I don't know what really can be accomplished positively or negatively over the next 14 games. Now, we know Mitchell Robinson is not going to play tonight because of the fact, you know, he's recovering from the injury. And we thought because the amount of minutes that he played against Miami that he wasn't going to play in the second to back to backs. So no big deal there. I don't think it's going to affect them tonight, but that's why I'll let it slide. I hate players making excuses. I wish Hart would just like, why can't you rip your team? They say it's inexcusable. I hate, I hate teams that make excuses, even if they. The excuses are legit. But I just got caught napping.

[Dan Grassa]

How about Josh, though? I mean, as far as the offense is concerned, like, very streaky last few games, like, remember the game in Golden State to close out the trip, he was scoreless. And then he comes back Monday and has a triple double. Okay, great. And then last night he couldn't hit the broad side of a bar.

[Don La Greca]

The problem with him is that in certain moments you don't even have to defend him. Like he's, he's missing shots that he's not even being defended. That's going to be an issue for them, you know, offensively, but lucky for them, they're so good offensively that it might not matter. But he's on the court. It's almost like you can lose him and not worry about it.

[Dan Grassa]

And that's what got him into trouble last night because, you know, Cat was the only guy in that really on the entire team, but specifically the starting five, he was the only guy doing anything because the four other starters not named Karl Anthony Towns in the first half don't. Were 3 for 24. 3 for 24 against a horrible spurs team.

[Don La Greca]

That's, you know, it just, it's. It's it was brutal. It really, it was. I was really surprised that that happened. But no, no harm, no foul at the end of the day. Listen, if they lose tonight, then I guess you could see something's trending here to be a little worried about. But if they win by 20 tonight, I think we can easily forget what's been going on.

[Dan Grassa]

But what's crazy, they fell behind by 28. And in the NBA, like they went on this, I think it was like a 22 to 3 run or something and they shaved off like 15 points or what. They got it down to 8. So they, I mean, they cut that lead down in just a few minutes because you can do that in the NBA nowadays. When they got it down to eight in the third quarter, I was actually stupid enough to think they were going to come back and win the game.

[Don La Greca]

Right. Because we've seen them do that before. Like they did it against Charlotte earlier. You were talking about it off the air, that Good Friday game or that Black Friday game where like a noon start completely mailed it in. But then they got hot, Brunson got hot late, they stole the game and they probably were thinking, well, we'll do it again. And they didn't. And I think it's gonna come at the expense again of the, of the Hornets tonight. That was the Knicks recap. Driven by Ramsey Mazda. It's the experience of driving a new Mazda and buying a new Mazda from Ramsey Mazda. Choose wisely. Choose Ramsey Mazda. Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast. I don't want to know how the sausage is made.

[Caller]

I just want to know.

[Dan Grassa]

It's good.

[Don La Greca]

Hear more of Don Allen and Peter Weekday afternoon starting at 3 on 8.

[Dan Grassa]

80, ESPN, the ESPN New York app and your smart speakers. In case you didn't know, these young men are driven. They are prodigies, the savants, the ones we've been waiting for. Like Damian Lillard, for instance. He doesn't seek guidance or mentorship. He's a leader. He isn't waiting for the baton to be passed to him. He's taking it for himself. He's relentless in a pursuit of great greatness, always pushing to one up himself. He is accomplished, but far from satisfied. He embodies what it means to have an unstoppable drive and are shaking up the status quo in their community and beyond. And Damian Lillard drives a Toyota. A new generation of Toyota drivers are here and they want you to know one thing. You can't stop my drive.