Loading summary
Transcript259 lines
- [00:01]
Matt Myron
Lamine Yamal steps into McDonald's, looks left, sees Pulisic, looks right, sees Jimenez, gives a nod to Ronaldinho in the corner with a FIFA World cup meal. Ronaldinho sees son in the booth. Son finds Beckham going for extra Big Mac sauce. He's got Davies at the table just behind him. Davey's going for his collectible cup. A steal by Henry, who pulls his own collectible cup. Collect one of nine legendary cups with a FIFA World cup meal. Participating McDonald's for a limited time while supplies last. All rights reserved. 20:26 McDonald's at FIFA World Cup 20:26
- [00:31]
Podcast Announcer
this is Matt and Myon the podcast.
- [00:34]
Matt Myron
It's Matt Myron here on ESPN Radio, tuned by Progressive Insurance. Progressive can help you protect your home, auto, boat, motorcycle, rv, ATV and more. And if something some luxury appliance like David Dennis has, that's not on that list and you want it, they'll cover it@progressive.com go to 1800-Progressive because it probably can be covered. Kendra D. St. Aubyn, am I saying that right? Kendra from Apple TV, is that correct?
- [01:01]
Kendra D. St. Aubyn
You absolutely nailed it. That was perfect.
- [01:04]
Matt Myron
All right, good. I want to get people's names right. Kendra, we've been talking about the World cup. We've talked a lot about usa. So I want to, if you don't mind, use you to talk about some other teams. Is that all right?
- [01:15]
Kendra D. St. Aubyn
Absolutely.
- [01:16]
Matt Myron
Okay, so tell me, after you've watched all the group stage, who do you think is the definitive or is there a definitive favorite at this moment?
- [01:26]
Kendra D. St. Aubyn
Well, I know I'm not going to be shocking anybody here, but I think France is probably the definitive favorite after they came out in that first game against Senegal. They got off to a slow start in the first half, but then the stars are going to be stars and they were shining in their next couple games. And you know, when you have Kylian Mbappe on your roster, that's a good thing. But Usman Dembele with a hat trick in the next match so they can just kind of pass it off to the next player and decide, okay, now you're going to be the star in this game. You're going to be the star in this game. And they are absolutely flying right now. So that's going to be a team to watch for sure.
- [01:57]
David Dennis
Yeah, so that's the favorite sort of the team. But I think the person that a lot of people know and love and, but like new fans are kind of learning about him now is Messi. And like some of these people are watching him and Saying, we've heard this guy's the goat. We're watching him score these goals. But, like, what makes him the actual goat? For people who are not totally familiar Fowler's career, what makes Messi so great,
- [02:20]
Kendra D. St. Aubyn
I think it's his calmness on the ball. He's quality on the ball. And everybody used to kind of mock him about how little he actually moved on the field. And that's kind of his secret sauce, is that he picks the right moments to make the runs at the right time. And so you can kind of lose track of him as a defender, which sounds crazy, but in any sport, as you guys know, if you kind of hide in the shadows, you kind of lull your defender, your opponent to sleep, and then you make the right run at the right time because you think they're not doing anything. And he just finds himself in these pockets of space. And then when he gets on that opportunity, he's so good on the ball. He rides every tackle. He doesn't go down easily. He's not rolling around on the ground, you know, waiting for the foul to be called. So there's a number of things that make him special, but I honestly think the biggest thing is his movement off the ball, because then he finds himself in great places to be on the ball, to set up his teammates or to finish some of his chances. And everybody speaks so highly of him, his teammates, the fan base. You know, there hasn't been a negative thing said about him. So it's been fun to see him shine again in this World Cup. It's going to be tough for Argentina to repeat as champions, but if you want to watch a midfielder and you're a number 10 out there, I would definitely highly recommend trying to keep track of Messi on the field and watch his movement when he doesn't have the ball.
- [03:37]
Matt Myron
Now, he said people never say anything negative about Messi. True, but that can't be said about Cristiano Ronaldo, who, at least when I listen to British podcasts, they rip constantly and destroy the. I think it's Roberto Martinez, the manager of Portugal, for setting up a system to give this old man the ball. Is the Ronaldo, he stinks hype, Is it. Is that. Do you think that's true, or do you think that's overrated? Where is Ronaldo at the age of 40 while he's playing here on. Like, is he. Can he lead the team on any sort of run?
- [04:12]
Kendra D. St. Aubyn
I don't think so. I mean, I think when you talk the tale of two goats and that that was always the constant debate. It was Messi vs Ronaldo when they were talking about player of the year, you know, best player in the world. But I think what everybody is seeing now is Ronaldo is a little more about himself and less about the team, regardless of where he goes. You know, he went to play in Saudi Arabia. Messi came to Major League Soccer. Like he, Messi wins a World cup with Argentina. He's, you know, the leading goal scorer. He's in a similar age. Whereas Ronaldo goes down on every challenge, looks for the penalty. Most of his goals that he has scored or a good chunk of them have been from the penalty spot. He's not the one that got fouled. He'll grab the ball and take the penalty to kind of raise his stat. So I can understand the frustration with some of these other coaches, pundits, former players, all those things, because they see this player who just exudes confidence, but more for himself and less for his team. And so I think that's what the. Yes. Where the big criticism comes of Ronaldo, he's been more about himself and the money and the hype, and Messi is more about the team and wanting to do so for his.
- [05:24]
Matt Myron
Like, you're not a fan either, though. Like, it's like you're saying whether sounds like Kendra's got some Ronaldo angst, too. Am I right?
- [05:33]
Kendra D. St. Aubyn
You're absolutely right. I've always been a Messi fan. It's like a long standing debate in our family have we're a Vikings fan, you know, and you're constantly going up against each other and trying to prove your point. That's kind of how it is for this. It's like you're in, in the Ronaldo camp or you're in the messy camp. And I've always been in the messy camp.
- [05:52]
David Dennis
Kendra, let's keep the, let's keep this negativity going. I like this. MAD has got this, got this going. I like this. Like, we, we spend a lot of time, we talk about Cinderellas, who we root for. I want to know who we're going to root against. What's the team that we're going to hate as they go through the tournament and we want to see them lose. Like, let's get the boys who are the bad. Who's the bad guys here?
- [06:11]
Kendra D. St. Aubyn
Oh, man, that is a really tough one because when I look at these teams and I am all about the underdog, I love to see the smaller countries, the little countries, the countries that nobody expects anything from. I love to See them succeed and move on to the next round. So, you know, when you go back to the negativity, we've got Messi against Cape Verde, which is the story of the tournament, right? Cape Verde being the first ever time they've made it to the tournament. They're undefeated. They tied Spain in the first game, and now they're moving on, and they're playing Messi and Argentina in Miami in the next round. So if I had to pick someone that I wanted to root against. Oh, man. I'm looking at the brackets here.
- [06:50]
Matt Myron
You're wanting to run against Messi. I don't even know who I. It's all right.
- [06:55]
Kendra D. St. Aubyn
Oh, I'm. Well, first of all, I'm rooting for Kate Verde because I love that story. They're not going to beat Messi in Argentina. But you talk about these stories that have come out of the World cup and the fans and the, you know, the doubt and what they're. When they're representing their countries and their crest. I mean, you just look down the line, and it's so cool to see the energy in all these stadiums. My daughter and I just went to the Netherlands game, Kansas City the other day, and we literally went there because we wanted to be a part of the World cup. And the vibe and the energy, and we're like, how can we miss this? How can we not go to the game? I mean, I'm gonna just keep on the negativity train of rooting against Portugal. I'm just gonna ride that train all the way till the end. Nothing against Portugal, but I'm gonna stick on the Ronaldo negativity train.
- [07:38]
Matt Myron
Croatia plays Portugal.
- [07:40]
Kendra D. St. Aubyn
Let me ask you, and I love Croatia. Croatia.
- [07:43]
Matt Myron
Oh, by the way, we can hate England, right? Like, that's completely American. Thing to do is to hate England, right?
- [07:50]
Kendra D. St. Aubyn
That's true. It's not coming home, right? That's always the big.
- [07:53]
Matt Myron
Yeah.
- [07:54]
Kendra D. St. Aubyn
Like, no, you guys are not bringing it home. It's not going there. And there's always an arrogance about anybody who, you know, plays for, represents, and is a fan of England because they've always thought they're just better than everybody else when it comes to soccer. So I'm on that train, too. That's a good one to be on. I agree.
- [08:13]
David Dennis
Yeah. So we're talking about. Let's get back to Team USA a little bit here for a second. What does this mean for them going forward? Like, nobody expects them to win now. We're talking about the team and what they are building. Are they building for something like to potentially be contenders going forward in these years to come.
- [08:32]
Kendra D. St. Aubyn
Well, there's two things here. When you look at their next opponent in Bosia and Herzegovina, I think that's a game that they should win and people should discount the last game, not because they lost to Turkey, who's actually a good team. But Turkey didn't advance, and, you know, the United States was resting several of their players. So for me, when you look at Mauricio Pochettino, it's this year or bust. You know, he's not expected to be here in the next World Cup. He's not expected to be a part of this team in U.S. soccer going forward. That's just the way the men's side usually works. It's very rare that you have a team for more than one cycle. So it's 20, 26. Can they win the World Cup? I don't think so. Can semifinal? Sure, why not? When you look at their path, this next game, they play Belgium or Senegal, the winner of that game, Senegal is a very good team. You know, historically, soccer country loved Potentino's vibe. The other day when people were asking him post game, well, you lost the momentum in his last group stage game. You didn't get the result. And he was baffled by the question, like, no, no, you're thinking too small. I don't care about the group stage momentum. We've already won the group. We know who we're playing. I want to be eyes on the prize. We need to try to win the Cup. The goals need to be bigger and better. You're thinking too small. And I think that's the energy that he's bringing to this team, to this country and to this World cup is like, yes, we already knew we were finishing first in our group. We knew we were playing Bosnia Herzegovina. We want to focus on getting the best, you know, team at hand, keeping everybody healthy, not on a yellow card, red card, suspension, and win that next game and continue to move on and try to win the World Cup. So I think there's so many good players on this roster and the way this country has gotten behind them, it's been so fun to watch. And I don't know about you guys, but if you had to pick a fan base, what's been your most favorite thing that you've seen from this World Cup?
- [10:25]
Matt Myron
Because you're to see squatting, of course. The score or the Norwegian. They've been a lot of fun in the Democratic Republic of Congo. I'm mad they didn't let that guy in that that wore that stay. It stands. Yeah, Straight all the time for Mumbamba. But nevertheless, they did not. Hey, Kendra, thank you very much. Great stuff. Kendra D. Saint Aubin, Apple TV MLS analyst. Thank you very much for your time.
- [10:51]
Kendra D. St. Aubyn
Thanks for having me, guys. I appreciate it.
- [10:53]
Matt Myron
Appreciate it. We're going to get to the world of headlines. There's other things going on in sports and we must comment on them. That's next on Matt Myron, Matt and Myron, the podcast.
- [11:11]
Podcast Announcer
As you know, managing maintenance, repair and operations is never easy.
- [11:15]
David Dennis
But for the ones who always rise to the challenge, Grainger has your back. From professional grade products you can count on to fast, dependable delivery, they're there to help you keep things running smoothly. Plus, their technical product specialists are here
- [11:28]
Podcast Announcer
to help answer your toughest questions.
- [11:30]
David Dennis
And because Grainger knows safety is always a priority, they're committed to being your partner in protecting both your people and your facility. Call 1-800-GRAINGER click granger.com or just stop by.
- [11:41]
Matt Myron
I like things my way.
- [11:43]
Podcast Announcer
My coffee, my schedule and my treatment. So I talked to my doctor about self injecting with the Vivgard Hytrulo pre filled syringe, which contains fgartegamide alpha and hyaluronidase qvfc. It's injected under your skin subcutaneously. It means I can inject in my space on my time.
- [12:01]
Matt Myron
It's my treatment, my way.
- [12:03]
Podcast Announcer
Visit vivgartmyway.com that's V-Y-V-G-A-R-T myway.com and talk to your doctor about Vivgard Hyrulo, brought to you by Argenics.
- [12:20]
Matt Myron
All right. Somebody's gonna be fired if we keep playing this junk. Who is this? What is this? Garbage? Hardy? Something like that.
- [12:30]
David Dennis
It's my guy.
- [12:31]
Matt Myron
Who?
- [12:32]
David Dennis
Luke Bryant.
- [12:35]
Matt Myron
Is this Luke Bryan?
- [12:37]
David Dennis
Luke Bryant, my guy. It's my favorite.
- [12:39]
Kendra D. St. Aubyn
DDJ picked this song.
- [12:41]
David Dennis
I picked the song.
- [12:42]
Matt Myron
Oh, you did?
- [12:43]
David Dennis
My favorite guy. One of my guys.
- [12:44]
Matt Myron
I'm really glad that it's Luke Bryan, not Bryant. Okay, for your favorite.
- [12:49]
David Dennis
That's what I said. That's what I said. Run the tape back. That's what I said.
- [12:52]
Matt Myron
For your favorite artist, I thought you might know his last name. It's Matt Meyer here on ESPN Radio. These are not the World cup and NBA. That's not the only stuff going. That's why we gotta have headlines.
- [13:03]
Kendra D. St. Aubyn
Extra, extra.
- [13:04]
Matt Myron
Read all about it. The Sunday headlines. All right, James, what's up first?
- [13:10]
David Dennis
He's the Kobe of country music. That's why I said okay.
- [13:12]
Matt Myron
Stop. You need to just get this. Turn this guy's mic off. All right, go ahead.
- [13:17]
Guest Contributor
All right. We all saw the pictures and videos of the 2016 championship Cavaliers team going on vacation together, celebrating the 10 year anniversary. Yeah, it was really great. But there's a. Timothy Mozgov was a part of that championship team, and he says, quote, I saw the video of that party. No one wrote or called me. So they left Timothy Mozgov out of the celebration.
- [13:40]
Matt Myron
Well, let me ask you a question, because I don't know. Did. Was everyone else there but Mozgoff or was it just like a few guys from the team that got together?
- [13:48]
David Dennis
It was just like eight of the guys. Eight of the guys from the team.
- [13:51]
Matt Myron
A lot, though. I don't. Like, if you're gonna have eight, I think you gotta go ahead and get. Like if you're gonna have four, I don't think you have to invite the whole team. But, David, if you eight, you got to go ahead and invite everybody. You can't just leave Mozgov sitting at home by himself.
- [14:04]
David Dennis
I think the whole thing got weird because they were like, kyrie ghosted us, and Kyrie's got to make a pub. Then it became like a public thing.
- [14:11]
Matt Myron
Did he get involved?
- [14:11]
David Dennis
Kevin Love was there.
- [14:12]
Matt Myron
Okay, then you got to invite Mozgov. You can't invite.
- [14:16]
David Dennis
What is the Kevin Love got.
- [14:18]
Matt Myron
What is.
- [14:18]
David Dennis
Why does. Why. Why is Kevin Love. Why does he love.
- [14:20]
Matt Myron
I can't articulate the exact similarity there, but I think you did Della Dova go.
- [14:25]
David Dennis
Delvedova was there. He was there.
- [14:26]
Matt Myron
Then you got to invite Mozgov.
- [14:31]
David Dennis
Are you sure they have his number? I'm not sure they have Timothy's number.
- [14:34]
Matt Myron
I mean, you could. You could call directory assistance and get it. I don't.
- [14:37]
David Dennis
I don't. I'm sure. This is. This just reaffirms my thing. I don't want to go on vacation with guys.
- [14:42]
Matt Myron
It gets weird.
- [14:43]
David Dennis
I don't. I don't want to go on vacation because, look, it's just. I just don't think it's as fun. I don't think it's as fun. Solo me. Solo me. Or boom, that's it.
- [14:51]
Matt Myron
I don't know what this has to do with the Cav story.
- [14:53]
David Dennis
Well, because it got weird. The Cavs got weird. It got weird. It got weird. There were. There was this weird Kyrie thing, and then another guy comes and he's like, oh, I don't know. I can't gonna go on vacation just
- [15:05]
Matt Myron
with Women like you want it to be a girls trip. And David just.
- [15:09]
David Dennis
Just me and. Me and me and my wife are by myself. No in between.
- [15:13]
Matt Myron
So you don't like going on vacation with friends?
- [15:16]
Kendra D. St. Aubyn
No.
- [15:17]
Matt Myron
Vacations are the best.
- [15:18]
David Dennis
Absolutely not. Absolutely not. I don't want. I don't want anybody. I don't be on anybody else's schedule. I want to do my thing. My social meter goes down. I don't want to do any of this. The Cavs trip seemed like hell on earth for me.
- [15:31]
Matt Myron
Well, I feel bad for Timothy Mozgov. I feel like you. You can't leave because it seems personal. If you're just like no Moz guy. And he seemed like a perfectly fine guy.
- [15:41]
David Dennis
So I feel like he seemed fine, but like, other guys didn't make it. Damon Jones wasn't there, but,
- [15:48]
Matt Myron
like, I mean, he went to jail. That's a different thing.
- [15:50]
David Dennis
Oh, now. Now we're. Now we're. Now we're doing background check.
- [15:55]
Matt Myron
I think Damon Jones, who's on federal indictment, is not exactly the exact same thing as Timothy Mozgov.
- [16:00]
David Dennis
We don't even know. They don't even know where he is. They don't even have his number. Nobody has to. You think.
- [16:04]
Guest Contributor
You think.
- [16:05]
David Dennis
You think Richard Jefferson has Timothy. Timothy Moscow. We can get Richard.
- [16:09]
Matt Myron
Jeff Press got his number. So it feels like Richard Jefferson, he works.
- [16:12]
David Dennis
I feel like Mozgov just kind of probably just reached out to anybody who
- [16:15]
Matt Myron
remember that he was bad for Mozgov. Who's next?
- [16:17]
David Dennis
Feel bad for him.
- [16:19]
Guest Contributor
Yeah. It's not like he was hard to find. I mean, he just popped up, like, right after. All right, so Instagram. The NHL draft was Friday and Saturday. To no one's surprise, the first pick of the draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs was Penn state winger Gavin McKenna.
- [16:36]
Matt Myron
And it was, to my surprise, I'd never heard of any of the people in the draft, so. Speak for yourself. I was surprised.
- [16:43]
Guest Contributor
If you. If you know hockey outside of the Hurricanes, I think you knew.
- [16:46]
David Dennis
Yeah.
- [16:47]
Guest Contributor
McKenna was going to go home. Yeah, there you go.
- [16:49]
David Dennis
I don't know why you were. I don't know how you could be surprised.
- [16:50]
Guest Contributor
Also a Penn State guy. Maybe I'm a little biased because I'm a penny the guy, too. But to help draft him, number one overall to the Maple Leafs was Justin Beamer. And take a listen to how that went.
- [17:02]
Matt Myron
Mr. McKenna, we would like to draft
- [17:05]
David Dennis
you to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
- [17:07]
Matt Myron
So I watched this, all right. Because I like drafts, David. I think they're fun. I Think I like watching people be happy. I watch the lacrosse draft sometimes. Just. I just enjoy watching people be happy. So I turned this on and they brought out Bieber. And it was so awkward. No one had. It looked like no one had given Bieber a script. He wasn't entirely sure what to do. He walked up on the stage. He sort of looked at Gary Bettman and was like. They were just staring at each other, really saying nothing. And then he whispered into Bettman's ear, can I call him Mr. McKenna? He does call him Mr. McKenna. The whole thing was so awkward, which makes me think maybe Bieber missed dress rehearsal. I'm not sure. I guess Bieber's a big enough star. If he wants to come and he's a Maple Leafs fan, you do it. But it was really strange.
- [17:53]
David Dennis
I feel like you got to book Bieber for something bigger than this. Like, you got. You got one Bieber call to make. This is not the Bieber call you make.
- [18:01]
Matt Myron
You would have said game seven, the Stanley Cup Final, right?
- [18:03]
David Dennis
I was like, I need you to do. We need you to get in your underwear and play the good. Play the piano like you did at Coachella. That's what he did at Coachella. He draw. Oh, no. He did the Grammys. He was in his draws, and he just, like, played music in his underwear.
- [18:14]
Matt Myron
I must.
- [18:15]
David Dennis
And.
- [18:16]
Kendra D. St. Aubyn
And.
- [18:16]
David Dennis
And it was fine. Or like, you just play YouTube videos like you did at Coachella. Just do that halftime in Game 7. I just feel like that's what you do. You don't say Bieber. We have this big favor. Come and say a guy's name.
- [18:27]
Matt Myron
Well, also, it was in Buffalo. Yeah. And I guess the Maple Leafs are rivals with Buffalo. So the whole crowd was booing.
- [18:34]
David Dennis
Right.
- [18:35]
Matt Myron
So that was another thing. And I don't think they were booing because they hated Bieber. I just think they're like, oh, it's the maple leaf, so we hate the maple leaves.
- [18:42]
David Dennis
How fast do you think Justin Bieber got out of Buffalo?
- [18:44]
Matt Myron
Pretty.
- [18:46]
David Dennis
Do you think it was before?
- [18:48]
Matt Myron
I don't think he stayed the night.
- [18:49]
David Dennis
Do you think it was before the number two pick was announced?
- [18:51]
Matt Myron
I don't think he was on the
- [18:52]
David Dennis
plane out of there.
- [18:54]
Matt Myron
It was. I have to tell you, it was 10 minutes. The most awkward television. I'm a fan of awkward television.
- [18:59]
David Dennis
Yes.
- [18:59]
Matt Myron
And that was very awkward television. What's next?
- [19:02]
Guest Contributor
Penguins drafted twins.
- [19:05]
Matt Myron
I saw that, by the way. It sounded like they drafted the one, and then the second round, they felt like they had to take the other one. I think it's kind of.
- [19:13]
David Dennis
It was out of the Kupo situation.
- [19:15]
Matt Myron
Yeah. But like, it's. They wasted their second round pick on the other one. I will say, in the entire history of my life, I've never seen two twins that look more alike than those dudes.
- [19:23]
Guest Contributor
The rocks look like they are twins. Absolutely. Yeah.
- [19:26]
Matt Myron
You. I've had a lot of twins in the, in my life. Like, you know, well, I mean, like in sports and like. And I've never seen two twins that look more alike than those two guys going to Pittsburgh. All right, go ahead.
- [19:39]
Guest Contributor
All right.
- [19:39]
David Dennis
There's another story you got to tell us.
- [19:41]
Guest Contributor
Yeah, that's an off here. Taylor Swift, Travis Kelsey reportedly getting married this week over the Fourth of July weekend at Madison Square Garden. Two questions. Do you think that's actually happening? And to if so, why Madison Square Garden?
- [19:57]
Matt Myron
I'm going to say yes. Just cause. Is that. Do you think that's tacky, David, to get married at the Garden?
- [20:04]
David Dennis
No, I'm sure that. I'm sure they're not like, at half court. I'm sure they got like a nice little situation. They're not from New York. I mean, I'm glad that she genuinely showed up to support her Knicks and then happened to have a Madison Square Garden wedding a couple weeks afterwards. And that's not related whatsoever.
- [20:22]
Matt Myron
I think it's kind of cool. I hope they leave the jerseys, like, in the background. Like, I want there to be like a Patrick Ewing jersey in the wedding pictures. I think that would be funny.
- [20:30]
David Dennis
Or is there a stadium? You would. You would get married as you do want to?
- [20:36]
Matt Myron
No. I mean, I would say Rupp arena, but like, that's problematic in its own way. And so I would. I don't know. Probably not, but I. But again, like, if you can get Madison Square Garden, it is a little bit of a pull, you know, I mean, who gets married at Madison Square Garden? Nobody.
- [20:51]
David Dennis
Right. But I mean, like, the. The best thing already just happened there.
- [20:55]
Kendra D. St. Aubyn
Right?
- [20:55]
David Dennis
I don't want to be married at the place where the.
- [20:56]
Matt Myron
That's true.
- [20:57]
David Dennis
My thing is like the not the coolest thing.
- [20:59]
Matt Myron
That's actually a good point. I hadn't thought about that. We'll see. Caitlin Clark. That's all you got to say. There's your sports radio topic next on Matt Myron, Matt and Myron, the podcast.
- [21:21]
Podcast Announcer
If you've shopped online, chances are you've bought from a business powered by Shopify. You know that purple shop pay button you see at checkout? The one that makes buying so incredibly easy that's Shopify and there's a reason so many businesses sell with it. Because Shopify makes it incredibly easy to start and run your business. Shopify is the commerce platform behind 10% of all e commerce in the US from household names like Mattel and Gymshark to brands just getting started. Shopify gives you a leg up with hundreds of beautiful ready to go templates to express your brand style and forget about the code. Tackle all those important tasks in one place from inventory to payments to analytics and more. Spread your brand's word with built in marketing and email tools to find and keep new customers. And did I mention that iconic purple shop pay button that's used by millions of businesses around the world? It's why Shopify is the best converting checkout on the planet. Your customers already love it. If you want to see less carts being abandoned, it's time for you to head over to Shopify. Sign up for your $1 per month trial and start selling today at shopify.comnetwork. go to shopify.comnetwork shopify.comnetwork O'Reilly Auto Parts
- [22:40]
Matt Myron
can help take the guesswork out of your Vehicle's check engine, ABS or maintenance light with O'Reilly Verif. The service is free and provides a report with solutions verified by ASE Certified Master technicians. Ask for O'Reilly Veriscan today. Smart Myron here on ESPN Radio. If you've been watching the news over the last couple days, you know that there was a devastating earthquake in Venezuela last count. Over a thousand people have passed. You can help people affected by the Venezuela earthquakes if you go to redcross.org espn redcross.org espn you can give to enable the Red Cross to prepare for respond and help people from this disaster. It is going to need a significant amount of work over the next, you know, coming years. Go to redcross.org espn now. I David have taken the view really for about a couple years that I I saw pft commenter on pardon my take say this and I said this two years ago. I'm opting out on Caitlin Clark discussions but when you host a talk show on ESPN you can't always opt out. So I guess I'm opting in for 20 minutes here. I the the foul that led to the suspension but no technical has now led to questions about how Caitlin Clark is treated and respected etc. In the in the WNBA Sophie Cunningham, her teammate was on the Show Me Something podcast and said none of our team saw it happen because I promise you if we had seen it happen we would have had Caitlin's back. Unfortunately, this type of blank happens every single game to her. And the league and the refs do absolutely nothing about it. David, do you agree that Caitlin Clark gets worse treatment from the other players and that the league does nothing about it, or do you disagree with that?
- [24:44]
David Dennis
I half agree. I agree that Caitlin Clark is being treated like literally every other star athlete in the history of any sport. Where you come into a league and you get all this attention. Everybody's like, you're the next goat. And people don't like that. And they rough you up a little bit. That's just the nature of sports. We just saw Wimby in the playoffs. He had to elbow somebody in the head because people were doing this to him. This is what happens with sports now because of Caitlin Clark and because of the WNBA and because these vultures who want to hop in and talk about how much they hate the WNBA and these black queer women and all this stuff, it's become this lightning rod where you got to call in the National Guard every time she gets a flagrant foul, despite the fact that Angel Reese gets fouled just as often, just as nastily.
- [25:37]
Matt Myron
Okay, on that little point is because I will freely admit, David, I don't watch enough of it to know. All right, so let me just. Let me just say my opinion is not an expert opinion when it comes to what happened in the games. Do you. Is it true that she. That the other really good players, or in Angel Reese's case, the other really known players.
- [25:57]
David Dennis
Yeah.
- [25:58]
Matt Myron
Get those same type of fouls?
- [26:00]
David Dennis
Absolutely.
- [26:01]
Matt Myron
Including, like sort of cheap shots.
- [26:03]
David Dennis
Yeah. Well, a couple weeks ago, Angel Reese was rear naked choked and tossed to the ground. Right.
- [26:08]
Matt Myron
Okay.
- [26:08]
David Dennis
Alyssa Thomas did the. Did what she just did to Caitlin Clark paled in comparison to what she did to Angel Reese, which was clothesline her by the throat and throw her on the ground last year. Like, this is part.
- [26:19]
Matt Myron
So you're confident. Because I know you are a fan, you're confident in saying Caitlin Clark from the other players does not get worse treatment than other people in her situation.
- [26:31]
David Dennis
No, she does not. Now, what I will agree with, and I think everybody will agree with, is as WNBA is the worst referee league in sports right now.
- [26:38]
Matt Myron
How so?
- [26:39]
David Dennis
The referees just do not know how to get a hold of the game. They're just bad referees. Like, like straight up. They just miss calls. They missed that call. They are inconsistent. They like. So for instance, let's take this game where Caitlin Clark got hit by Alyssa Thomas. Right. The fever had just Played the Mercury a couple days before and it got. Oh, it got heated. Sophie Cunningham was pointing and doing her thing.
- [27:03]
Matt Myron
That was great. I don't even know what she did, but it made me laugh.
- [27:06]
David Dennis
It's the viral thing, all that stuff, the temp. Like, there was an angle of Caitlin Clark on the bench maybe saying, no, no word about one of the women on the other team. It was clear that when these two teams play in two days. In two days.
- [27:22]
Matt Myron
Oh, they play again in two days.
- [27:24]
David Dennis
They had played into. So the. The Caitlin Clark hit came.
- [27:26]
Matt Myron
Oh, you meant back then. Okay.
- [27:27]
David Dennis
Yeah, the. The Caitlin Clark hit came two days after that previous game.
- [27:30]
Kendra D. St. Aubyn
Right.
- [27:31]
David Dennis
So it was very clear that there were going to be. It was going to be an aggressive game. Matt, you've watched enough sports to know in these series, when you have one game that's super physical, the very next game, the referees are going to call it tighter. They're going to make sure that they have the game under control. The referees did not do that. So as a result, like, they let the game get out of hand. This Alyssa Thomas hit, which everybody knew was coming at some point in this game. It came. They called no foul. They called, you know, didn't review it, didn't do anything. And now you have all of this outrage and all that stuff, which you got to. You got to read the room. You got to know.
- [28:08]
Matt Myron
So let me ask you a question. Let me ask you more basic question, because this is a question that on my local show somebody asked and I don't. Again, I don't have enough knowledge to know. And I. By the way, I think it would be perfectly fine for sports people to say, I don't watch enough of it to know. Because I think a lot of people take these hard opinions and they don't have any background on it. Right. Like, I can say that about soccer, so why can't I say that about the wnba? Do you think Caitlin Clark is liked by the other players in the wnba?
- [28:40]
David Dennis
No. No, there's. No. She's not.
- [28:43]
Matt Myron
Like, why do you think that is? Because it. Cause in most leagues, I feel like the best players are generally pretty light, even if they want to be beaten during a game they respect. Like, why. If she's not liked, why do you think that is?
- [28:58]
David Dennis
I think part of it is the same reason you don't like a lot of these other people who come into the league and they're proclaimed to be the goat before they've earned it. Like, that happens, right? That happens when you have these next big thing they come into a league and everybody's like, well, how good are you, really? And we're going to rough you up a little bit. Also, Caitlin Clark is kind of a brat on the court. She complains to refs. She's, you know, throws these, you know, fits all the time on the court. She's yelling at her teammates, she's yelling at her coach. Like, she's got a nasty attitude.
- [29:29]
Matt Myron
But it strikes me that again, when I see, like, the WNBA All Star Game last year, when all. When the. What was the group that. The two women that did the film video stuff behind the scenes and all that one of the things that struck me watching that was it seemed like the best players in the league, regardless of what they do on the court, seem to really enjoy each other's company off the court, and they seem to have fun. She doesn't seem part of that.
- [29:52]
David Dennis
Well, I think. I think that she. I think that she gets along well, and I don't think that. I honestly do not think. And I'm not as tapped in in terms of, like, the behind the scenes, but. But we saw with Team usa, we saw with Angel Reese, they were getting along. I think that for the most part, this is on court stuff. Her team seems.
- [30:09]
Matt Myron
So. You don't think it's off court. You don't.
- [30:10]
David Dennis
I don't care. Yeah, I don't think that it's like. I mean, she also just doesn't hang out with those people either. You know, like, she's just not part of that, you know, inner circle or just circle of people. She's not in the stuff, I guess.
- [30:24]
Matt Myron
Go ahead. I'm sorry.
- [30:25]
Kendra D. St. Aubyn
Yeah.
- [30:25]
David Dennis
Yeah. No, I mean, she's just. She's just. But I think. I don't. I don't think, like, we don't really see people making comments about her off the court or, you know, making posts about her off the. It's really. I think the actual. And this is the thing. This is the disservice to Caitlin Clark also, because I think it's about the fans that, like, quote, unquote fans, these people who are using her to talk about these women. Because. Because Caitlin Clark is a competitor. This is the thing we got to remember. Caitlin Clark is a supreme competitor, and she doesn't want you coddling her when she gets fouled like this. She doesn't want everybody, like, acting like.
- [30:57]
Matt Myron
So that's what I want to. I want to focus on that for a second because I. And if you disagree with this, feel free to tell me. I'm Wrong. But this is just from afar my take, I feel like Caitlin Clark is kind of used as a pawn for people who just want to make social commentary. Honestly, I think most of it comes from people who just want to hate on the women of the league and what they represent. But I also think it can be used sometimes by people who are very pro the league just to like, they just hate her because of the people that are taking up for. And from my view, I haven't seen her do anything to align herself with either side. Like, I haven't seen her. She doesn't seem to me to be overtly pro WNBA players taking up for their causes. But to be fair, I also don't see her sort of doing what like Riley Gaines does. She certainly doesn't do that. That it seems to me that she just from afar looks like a woman who just wants to play basketball, that the world has created a social political narrative around. And I feel like it's kind of unfair to her. Am I wrong about that?
- [32:05]
David Dennis
It's totally unfair to her. Because Caitlin Clark, there's nothing that indicates that she wants all she wants. She don't want this like, you know what I'm saying? She doesn't want like when all she wants, it seems like, is to be files called as it should be called and to play basketball. She doesn't want this thing where somebody fouls her and now they're leaving racist comments on Lizard Thomas's page. And it's about Caitlin Clark is like the. She is the beacon of hope for like straight white women against. In this oppressive league of black gay women who just hate her and her bullies and all this stuff. She doesn't want to be that like Caitlin Clark. What we do know, she's put out some things during. During the election about her, you know, or not about. During elections, but during the off season about WNBA players and the women and how she wrote on the back of black women and she supports them and things like that.
- [32:53]
Matt Myron
Like, I haven't seen her make any political comment that I could see anyone finding offensive.
- [32:58]
David Dennis
None at all. Like she. But she said this and some of those same people who were like, Caitlin Clark, you know, she's being oppressed. They said she bent the knee and she was bullied and saying these things like there's just no way around.
- [33:11]
Matt Myron
But in some way she can't win.
- [33:13]
David Dennis
She can't win because all she wants to do is play basketball. And like, because even like I've talked about Caitlin Clark. A week ago I went to the Dream game and saw her play, and I'm like, she's kind of like, not. She's not like the best player in the league. She's more like kind of a trey young, and she's going to shoot and turn the ball over. And there are flaws in her game. And the team made it deep into the playoffs, basically to a championship without her. And now she's back and they're at.500. Like, there are some basketball things we need to talk about with Caitlyn Clark. And you can't even do that without it being about the fact that you hate Caitlin Clark because of what she represents. Right. And for her, you cannot just talk hoops to somebody from all indication, seems to love, love playing basketball.
- [33:59]
Matt Myron
I'll finish with this. And to me, it's obvious that the people who use, like, what they claim is discrimination against Caitlin Clark to create a political statement. To me, it's obvious those are bad actors. I like to ask sometimes when people call in the show and bring it up, do you even watch the W?
- [34:19]
David Dennis
Right?
- [34:19]
Matt Myron
Like, do you really care? Because the answer is almost always no.
- [34:22]
David Dennis
What's the Fever's record right now?
- [34:23]
Matt Myron
Yeah, they have no idea. So I'm going to just take it as a given that those people are acting as bad actors.
- [34:29]
Kendra D. St. Aubyn
Right.
- [34:30]
Matt Myron
I do sometimes wonder, though, if on the other side there is because people rightfully are upset about how she's used as the symbol against WNBA players, that they take that out on her, that they saw. And to me, that's also. I. I don't understand why they do that. I have not seen Caitlin Clark make a misstep yet in what has to be such a hard line to walk for her. And I also feel, though she gets it both ways, she's got these praise from people that she might not even want praise from, and she gets criticism from people who she might actually want praise from. And I feel like that's. I, I don't mean to feel sorry for her. I'm sure she's got more money and happiness and all that, but I do in some ways feel like she just cannot win.
- [35:18]
David Dennis
She. Yeah, I mean, it's a disservice to her. Like, Caitlin Clark deserves to just go out there and be able to play basketball, and she can't, with every single move that she makes, is scrutinized about something beyond basketball when she just wants to hoop. And it's coming from both sides.
- [35:35]
Matt Myron
And she's the first really good white straight player.
- [35:38]
David Dennis
There's tons in the league right now.
- [35:40]
Matt Myron
I mean, I don't know why. Well, I know why, because she got all this attention in college, etc. But, and she's from Iowa, kind of middle America and all that.
- [35:49]
David Dennis
But like straight white, beloved WNBA, like Marina Rabery just scored 53 points and everybody was very excited about it. Like, like, if you are, if you are going to say that you just hate these straight white women, then you gotta reconcile with the fact that, that there's like 10 others that are very beloved and that there's something specific about Caitlin Clark that is drawing all of this ire. And it is that fact that she's in the middle of this political firestorm that she has does not really want to be a part of.
- [36:17]
Matt Myron
Yeah. All right, good stuff. 888 say ESPN we're going to go back to the NBA off season. LeBron James. I feel like I will be 60 years old sitting in the same chair and we'll be going, what's LeBron going to do this off season? Well, I don't know whether it will be or not, but we're certainly going to do it next right here on Matt Myron, Matt and Myron the Podcast.
- [36:47]
Podcast Announcer
In today's world, planning ahead isn't always top of mind. But not having life insurance can leave families facing difficult financial uncertainty during already emotional times. In many cases, loved ones are left managing expenses, debts or long term obligations without a clear plan in place. Life insurance is one of those ways to help provide financial security and support when it's needed most. That's where ethos comes in. Ethos makes getting life insurance fast and easy, and it's 100% online. You can get a quote in seconds, apply in minutes, and even get same day coverage. There's no medical exam, you just answer a few simple health questions online. And coverage options are flexible, with up to $3 million available and some policies starting at around $30 a month. Ethos has also earned strong customer feedback with a 4.8 out of 5 star rating on Trustpilot based on more than 3,000 reviews. Help protect your family with life insurance through Ethos get your instant free quote@ethos.com sports. That's ethos.com sports application. Times and rates may vary.
- [37:56]
David Dennis
Are all batteries the same? That's like asking if all soccer players are the same. Take Messi, the most decorated player ever. Is there any other player who has achieved that? No, just him. Now take Duracell. Is there any other battery with power boost ingredients inside? No, just Duracell. Remember, goats only trust goats because they're built different. And Messi only trusts Duracell.
- [38:32]
Matt Myron
Collectively. Speaking. Today's edition of Matt Myron has had the worst music we have ever played on this show. I pride myself on Matt Myron in having good music. That's interesting. That leads to conversation. And today we just decided what is the biggest garbage that we can play? And then we're going to throw that on there.
- [38:52]
Kendra D. St. Aubyn
Nevertheless, I like to maintain that means
- [38:55]
Matt Myron
we're having conversation about it.
- [38:57]
Kendra D. St. Aubyn
So therefore it's so bad that it's good.
- [39:00]
Matt Myron
I get it. From a content perspective, maybe good, but just from a quality perspective. This whole soundtrack of this show should be thrown into the trash as it represents the worst of country music.
- [39:11]
David Dennis
This is what. This is what the kids would call
- [39:13]
Matt Myron
rage baited country music.
- [39:14]
David Dennis
You're getting. You're getting rage baited, man.
- [39:16]
Matt Myron
Do you, David, do you. Is there any country music of any point in history that you like? Like, are you a John? Do you like Johnny Cash or Dolly Parton or anyone? No, not at all. Nobody?
- [39:26]
David Dennis
No, not really. No, not.
- [39:29]
Matt Myron
That's a shame. I bet you, David, who's like your favorite music group?
- [39:33]
David Dennis
I would say outkast.
- [39:34]
Matt Myron
Okay. I mean, you got.
- [39:36]
Podcast Announcer
So.
- [39:36]
Matt Myron
You got Southern in you. There's got to be some country twangy stuff you can roll with, right?
- [39:42]
David Dennis
Yeah, I'm sure. I'm sure. Yeah, I'm sure. Like, you know, like the old, the, you know, the old country music.
- [39:48]
Podcast Announcer
Old school.
- [39:48]
Matt Myron
I bet you if I took you to a Tyler Childers concert or something like that, I bet you.
- [39:55]
David Dennis
I bet you I went to a NASCAR event. I was covering a NASCAR event many, many moons ago in my pre. In a previous life and there was a guy.
- [40:03]
Matt Myron
You like nascar? Am I correct about that?
- [40:06]
David Dennis
No, but I had a good time.
- [40:07]
Matt Myron
No, but you went.
- [40:08]
David Dennis
Okay, I had a good time. I went. There was a good time. There was an open bar. So there. There was a country. What was the guy? Justin somebody. I gotta think about who it was. He was a tiny man with a big hat. He was like.
- [40:20]
Kendra D. St. Aubyn
I was. I.
- [40:20]
Matt Myron
Was
- [40:23]
Guest Contributor
that all of them?
- [40:23]
David Dennis
That may be all of them.
- [40:24]
Matt Myron
I think that's most modern country music with a big hat. He looked kind of like outlaws, like I like Willie. Willie Whalen, Merle, Johnny Cash. That's to me, my.
- [40:35]
Guest Contributor
My tiny, tiny man with a big house.
- [40:38]
Matt Myron
It is Justin Moore. Justin Moore. That's who it was.
- [40:41]
David Dennis
Justin Moore.
- [40:42]
Matt Myron
He's a tiny man with a big hat and awful music. No offense to Justin Moore. If you're a listener, just step it up a little.
- [40:48]
David Dennis
Bit. What I noticed was that he just, like. They just cheer for, like, regular things. It's very different from hip hop. Hip hop is like, I got a. I got a bins and gold. And everybody's like, yeah, I want that. But country me was just like, I had a steak yesterday. And everyone's like. And it's like, I get. I get that.
- [41:08]
Matt Myron
So there is some cheering for normalcy. I got a big old truck.
- [41:11]
David Dennis
Yeah, yeah, I got a truck too. And I'm just, like, cool. Like, I don't. I don't. Wouldn't necessarily cheer over that. I had a hot pocket yesterday.
- [41:18]
Kendra D. St. Aubyn
Ah.
- [41:19]
David Dennis
Like, that's not really. I don't get that part of it.
- [41:21]
Matt Myron
Something to be said for being happy about simple things. LeBron James. LeBron James now has Luca and Austin Reeves, who has a new $185 million contract. And now the question is, what happens with LeBron, Lakers, Heat, Cavs? In some ways, LeBron could pick his team because money is probably not an option unless he wants it to be. He can go ask for a bajillion dollars, or he could go play at a very small salary. He's got the money to be able to do it. I would say to you, David, let's put it in two questions. A, what would you do if you were LeBron this off season? And then B, what do you think he will do in this offseason?
- [41:57]
David Dennis
Well, what I would do if I were LeBron, I'd retire. I would like.
- [42:00]
Matt Myron
I would just stop.
- [42:01]
David Dennis
I would just retire because I think the. What makes this so fascinating with LeBron? Like you mentioned, he could take a lot less money, but that's never had been his MO. LeBron believes. He believes that basketball players, athletes in general, should max out their contracts at all times and that owners should figure out all the rest. And that is a fundamental philosophical belief that he has. He does not believe in taking less money. The problem is he's not worth a max deal right now.
- [42:31]
Matt Myron
No, he's not.
- [42:31]
David Dennis
And that's never been a thing that LeBron James has ever had to deal with. And I think if you were to ask him what he thought his career would be two years ago, he would say, I'm gonna finish with. The Lakers are gonna be $50 million a year. We're gonna ride off in the sunset, and they're gonna rebuild. Well, the Luka Donches thing has just come in and just turned this on its head. And now the Lakers kind of don't need them like they. They would love to have him for 20 million. They, nobody in the league is going to pay LeBron James $50 million. And that's what makes this really tough.
- [42:59]
Matt Myron
So what, where, where does he end up?
- [43:02]
David Dennis
Man, I think him and the Lakers are going to figure it out.
- [43:04]
Matt Myron
I think he just wants to live in la.
- [43:06]
David Dennis
I mean, I think he likes to live in la. It's one year he's going to play Cleveland.
- [43:10]
Matt Myron
I mean, but there would be, there would be some, you know, if he went to Cleveland, let's just say theoretically, and, and you know, you would agree he's got a better chance of coming out of the east than he does the west, right?
- [43:23]
David Dennis
Yeah.
- [43:24]
Matt Myron
I mean there would be sort of a synergy to be able to like all the criticisms he's gotten for being, you know, a traveling man. I mean there would be, it would be something sort of poetic about that if he could stand nine months in Cleveland one more time.
- [43:38]
David Dennis
I think so. But there's like, there's so much that you got to play with James Harden, man. Like, do you want to do that? Do you want to end your year?
- [43:44]
Matt Myron
James Harden's a good passer playing with set up LeBron to his strengths. I'm just trying to play, I'm just trying to make the sale.
- [43:51]
David Dennis
Yeah, I don't know if he wants to do that. I think he wants to end with the Lakers, but they're going to make it, they're going to make it work for it, they're going to make it humbling, they're going to make it nasty for him. This is going to get worse before it gets better. I think he'll end up there at a number that is far less than the 50, 55 he's due. And I think the Lakers would actually prefer if LeBron said I'm out of town, they may get low and let him and, and you know, see what he says. But I, I, I that. Which is why again, if it were me, I would just retire. I wouldn't have to deal with this narrative. I wouldn't have to deal with team saying they don't want me. I wouldn't have to worry about being shopped. You leave, you leave. Being great still at 40 and everybody's saying he could have still played a five more years.
- [44:32]
Matt Myron
Not inviting Timothy Mozgov to your retirement
- [44:35]
David Dennis
and not, not inviting him to.
- [44:36]
Matt Myron
One person writes on the text machine, you need to make David publicly apologize with you. There's a, there, he has something he did last year that has stayed with me for an entire year and I'VE been waiting for you to host with him again so that I could write and say you needed to apologize. Please read him this sentence and make him apologize. So here's what I'm gonna do.
- [44:56]
David Dennis
I know what it's about, all right.
- [44:57]
Matt Myron
I'm not gonna say until after this commercial. This is what's going to be called a radio tease. What does David Dennis have to apologize to this man for, and will he have the guts to do it? That's next. Going into our number three here on Matt. Thanks for listening to Matt and Myron the Podcast. You can listen to the show live every Sunday morning at 10am Eastern on ESPN radio, the ESPN app, and on
- [45:22]
Podcast Announcer
Sirius XM channel 80.
- [45:31]
Matt Myron
Matt and Myron the Podcast this episode
- [45:36]
Podcast Announcer
is brought to you by Google Chrome. You think you know a browser, but Gemini and Chrome? That's new. It can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50 page restoration block. Or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks. Gemini and Chrome is here for it, ready to make anything online make sense. There's no place like Chrome. Check responses set up required compatibility and availability various 18.