Hour 2: Worst Impression

Summary

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Sunday Mornings with Matt and Myron

Episode Title: Hour 2: Worst Impression
Date: March 29, 2026
Hosts: Matt Jones, Aaron Goldhammer
Producer/Assistant: Rachel
Guest/Contributor: Josiah (headlines segment)

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Episode Overview

Hour 2 of “Sunday Mornings with Matt and Myron” delivers a lively mix of sports analysis and classic radio banter. The hour opens with a comedic duel of bad celebrity impersonations, shifts into a deep dive on NCAA tournament matchups, delivers sharp commentary on automated umpiring in MLB, and wraps with news headlines ranging from NBA tanking to Kentucky Derby traditions. Throughout, the hosts blend insightful sports talk with their signature humor and pop culture references.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Impersonation Showdown: Bill Walton & British Accents

(00:34–05:28)

• Matt Jones teases Myron and fill-in host Aaron Goldhammer about their questionable impressions.
• Aaron attempts a Bill Walton impression on-air (“Throw it down, big man.”), which spirals into ribbing from Matt and listeners, as the impression is compared to “Sideshow Bob” from the Simpsons, Stewie from Family Guy, and even Bane from Batman.
• They play a real Walton audio clip, highlighting the disconnect and providing comedic relief.
  • Quote:
    • Matt (03:09): “Why does he sound like a snooty butler?”
    • Josiah (05:07): "Someone just wrote me and said you sound like the criminal from the Simpsons. And I actually think that might have been Sideshow Bob."

2. NCAA Elite Eight – Tennessee vs. Michigan Preview

(05:28–09:26)

• Aaron favors Michigan due to overall talent but notes Tennessee’s defensive strength; doubts their ability to score 75 points.
  • Aaron (06:10): “I just think their luck runs out against a team that’s much more talented than them... They need Michigan to play at a C minus or worse and they need to play at an A minus or better in order to win this game.”
• Matt gives Tennessee a puncher’s chance if star Nate Amen plays to his projected potential, framing it as a “money-making” high-stakes game for Amen’s draft value.
  • Matt (07:11): "This is what I call a money making game. John Caliperi used to say that...this is a five million dollar game for Nate. Amen."
• Both agree Tennessee is the least impressive remaining team, with Matt joking about his “PhD in hating Tennessee.”

3. MLB Umpire Drama and Automated Strike Zone (ABS)

(14:46–21:51)

• Matt narrates a wild Reds–Red Sox game featuring umpire C.B. Buckner, whose strike/ball calls were so egregious that game challenges and the automated system repeatedly overturned him—creating fan uproar and a “master class of awfulness.”
  • Matt (15:24): “CB Buckner was behind the plate and he had a master class of awfulness...umpires always cop an attitude, but they never, ever have to pay back. Like, they never have any accountability ever, ever, ever. Right now in baseball, they have accountability.”
• The drama peaks with Reds’ Suarez successfully challenging three consecutive “strikes” (all balls), leading to the biggest cheer of the game.
• Both marvel at the real-time transparency and foresee shifting umpire behavior, with Aaron saying, “Now finally in every phase of this...it's immediate. That's the other beautiful [thing].”
• They discuss strategy around manager and player challenge timing, and anticipate wider implications for officiating accountability.

4. Sports Headlines with Josiah

(24:19–35:31)

a. Apple’s Carnegie Museum Takeover

(24:28–26:13)

• Matt describes visiting D.C.’s Apple-sponsored Carnegie Museum: ostentatious and highly symbolic of “America in 2026.”
  • Matt: “We’re going to hold on to our history, but it’s going to be sponsored by T Mobile...That is America in 2026.”

b. NBA Tanking Concerns

(26:13–28:55)

• The post-All Star break NBA is called “the worst sport in America currently…Just get to the playoffs.”
  • Matt (26:47): “The basketball season is too long in the NBA. They can try to fix tanking, but...it's just too long. Take 10 games off the regular season.”

c. Illinois Celebrations & Alcohol Ban

(28:55–31:36)

• Discussion of Illinois’ Final Four run and Champagne city officials’ preemptive alcohol sales ban.
  • Matt: “How could the city of Champaign take away...the chance to run roughshod in the city when they make the Final Four?”
  • Aaron: “The name of your city is Champagne. What are you doing here?”

d. Arkansas Derby Results / Kentucky Derby Discussion

(31:36–35:31)

• Renegade wins Arkansas Derby; Matt riffs on Kentucky Derby’s underappreciated scale in US sports, with Aaron (whose wife is from Louisville) confirming its cultural importance.
  • Matt: “The Kentucky Derby is the biggest sporting event in America that for whatever reason, sports media just chooses to act like doesn’t happen. Even though it outrates every game of the NBA Finals.”
  • The two discuss traditions like “Therby” and the rise in ticket prices.

5. NCAA Women’s Tournament Venues – Geno Auriemma’s Critique

(38:06–44:01)

• Clip: Geno Auriemma (UConn Coach) sharply criticizes NCAA tournament logistics and venue selection, arguing that consolidated regionals hurt attendance and the player experience.
  • Geno (39:18): “I just don't understand some of the decisions that are made about our game when we're trying to grow the game.”
• Aaron agrees, suggesting venues should match basketball hotbeds and that combining two regionals in one city, like Fort Worth, has diluted atmospheres.
• The hosts contemplate solutions—either splitting into four venues or playing regionals on home courts, with Matt suggesting NCAA needs to listen more to coaches.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote / Moment | |-----------|---------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:09 | Matt | “Why does he sound like a snooty butler?” (reacting to Aaron’s failed Bill Walton impression) | | 05:07 | Josiah | “Someone just wrote me and said you sound like the criminal from the Simpsons. Sideshow Bob.” | | 07:11 | Matt | “This is what I call a money making game...a five million dollar game for Nate. Amen.” | | 15:24 | Matt | “CB Buckner was behind the plate and he had a master class of awfulness...they never have accountability ever, ever, ever.” | | 28:55 | Aaron | “The name of your city is Champagne. What are you doing here?” (on alcohol bans after Illinois wins) | | 33:19 | Matt | “The Kentucky Derby is the biggest sporting event in America that for whatever reason, sports media just chooses to act like doesn’t happen.” | | 39:18 | Geno Auriemma | “I just don't understand some of the decisions that are made about our game when we're trying to grow the game.” |

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Impersonation Battle & Bill Walton Challenge: 00:34 – 05:28
• Elite Eight: Tennessee vs. Michigan Preview: 05:28 – 09:26
• Reds–Red Sox Umpiring & ABS Discussion: 14:46 – 21:51
• Headlines Segment: 24:19 – 35:31
  • Apple Museum: 24:28 – 26:13
  • NBA Tanking: 26:13 – 28:55
  • Illinois Celebration/Alcohol Ban: 28:55 – 31:36
  • Arkansas/Kentucky Derby: 31:36 – 35:31
• Women’s Tournament Structure & Geno Auriemma’s Comments: 38:06 – 44:01

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Original Tone and Banter

The episode is marked by a genuine camaraderie, sarcastic wit, and willingness to poke fun at each other (especially around impressions). The sports takes are rooted in deep knowledge but punctuated by everyday fandom and relatable experiences (e.g., “PhD in hating Tennessee”), and the unscripted energy continues through the “headlines” where research gaps or on-air gaffes are played for laughs.

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For Listeners Who Missed the Episode

This hour of Matt and Myron delivered everything from sports analysis and pressing NCAA questions to off-the-wall humor and relatable fan perspectives. Even non-sports fans will enjoy the personality-driven segments, especially the infamous “worst impression” contest and the headline lightning round riffing on Apple, alcohol, and American culture.

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Transcript

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[Matt Myron]

This is Matt and Myron, the podcast.

[Matt Jones]

I really like when Myron does accents because they don't necessarily. They fluctuate. There was a little bit of British, a little bit of Russian in that accent, which is not something you see a lot in Steve. You know, all the spot Australian in there, too. There is a little bit. The thing I like about it is when he does an accent, there are only, like, two phrases he feels comfortable saying, and one of them is spot, hey. And so, like, that's it. And then you. He's out. He's out of material. I used to be a good Bill

[Aaron Goldhammer]

Walton impression, but I could only say,

[Matt Jones]

okay, well, now you can't. So you can't say that and then not do it. So let me.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

Let me do an impression of a guy who, you know, that we've lost. Like, I haven't done it, I think.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. I mean, people passed away. Yes, people. I think you could. People still do Richard Nixon, but they're not like, Rusty. You can say, rest in peace and then do it in person.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

For all the younger people who don't know or really remember who Bill Walton is, this will go.

[Matt Jones]

He's not been dead since the 50s. He's only been dead, like, two years, Aaron. Like, people remember Bill Walton. Yeah.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

Here, you know, throw it down, big man.

[Matt Jones]

That's awful.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

See, I can't do it anymore.

[Matt Jones]

Wait a minute. That did not sound.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

It doesn't sound like him. Throw it down. No, no. Okay.

[Matt Jones]

Not at all. Okay, so. All right, hang on just a second, Rachel. We're going to talk about this basketball. Reggie, you have to do me a favor. You need to pull up a clip somewhere above Bill Walton talking. And I just want to. I want to give Aaron a couple minutes to collect his thoughts. I want him to get to do his Bill Walton, and then I want to play the actual Bill Walton, and we'll let fans decide how good his impersonation is. What's better or what's better or worse? Myron's British guy or Aaron Goldhamers. Bill Walton. We'll have our first ever Matt Myron impersonation.

[Rachel (Producer/Assistant)]

All right. I grabbed a random clip. That's okay.

[Matt Jones]

Don't play Walton.

[Rachel (Producer/Assistant)]

So just know.

[Matt Jones]

Don't play.

[Rachel (Producer/Assistant)]

We have it. It might not be a call. It's just labeled.

[Matt Jones]

It's fine. All right, so let's. Let's. Let's set this up. Well, I don't want Aaron to hear it in his head, so I want Aaron to go first. This is Aaron doing Bill Wal.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

To chant. Trying to channel Bill Walton. Okay.

[Matt Jones]

Here. Okay. Channel.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

Throw it down, big man.

[Matt Jones]

Okay.

[Josiah]

Why does he sound like.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

Like.

[Josiah]

Like a snooty butler?

[Matt Jones]

Like, you sound like someone, but I can't think of who it is. All right? It's like b.

[Rachel (Producer/Assistant)]

Villain is what it is.

[Matt Jones]

It is. It's a thr. You. You. Someone from a movie, and I can't think of who it is.

[Josiah]

Feeling about this. 888.

[Matt Jones]

Say ESPN. I cannot that you. You sound exactly like someone. That is not Bill Walton. Okay? And I promise I won't make you do it again. I'm not trying to just. I'm not trying to just ridicule you. Just give me one more so we can play Bill Walton right after it. Go ahead.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

Okay, here we go. Hold on. Throw it down, big man.

[Matt Jones]

Okay, now play Bill Walton. Here was this classic figure who studied, who thought, who dreamed, who gave. And he did it all so humbly and so selflessly. We love Jack Ramsey. You had to play a memorial feminine and play a basketball car.

[Rachel (Producer/Assistant)]

I told you I played football.

[Matt Jones]

Weren't you sure he was talking about wood?

[Aaron Goldhammer]

Matt. Weren't you sure he was talking about John Wooden?

[Matt Jones]

Played a memorial.

[Rachel (Producer/Assistant)]

I'm telling you. I told you. I warned you. That's all I had.

[Matt Jones]

You already knew. Aaron was worried about doing an impersonation of a person who had passed. And then you made it a memorial to another person who had passed.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

When I think of great Portland Trailblazers, coaches, I think of Dr. Jack Ramsey.

[Matt Jones]

That also didn't sound like him, but didn't sound like him in a different way than your initial impersonation. Someone just wrote me and said you sound like the criminal from the Simpsons. And I actually think that might have been Sideshow Bob.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

Is that.

[Matt Jones]

Yes. I think you see sign.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

Joe.

[Matt Jones]

Joe.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

Bob.

[Matt Jones]

All right, I promise you I'll move on, but do the initial One you did one more time. And let me think if it sounds like Sideshow Bob.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

Hold on, hold on. Throw it down, big man.

[Matt Jones]

I think it does. You just need to tell people that that's what you were doing and not Bill Walton. Rest in peace, Bill Walton. And for Rachel, rest in peace Jack Ramsey as well. The NCAA tournament elite eight games today. Tennessee and Michigan at 2 o'. Clock. Yukon and Duke at 5 o'. Clock. Rick Barnes goes for his first Final Four. Tennessee Volunteers go for their first Final Four as well. Never made one in the history of their program. And Michigan trying to get back as well. What do you expect to happen there in the first game, Eric?

[Aaron Goldhammer]

Well, I expect the big man to throw it down. I think. You know, I would be surprised if Tennessee can hang. I think, Matt, they've had a great run. I think they've had a pretty good draw in order to get to this point.

[Matt Jones]

Yes.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

But I just think their luck runs out against a team that's much more talented than them. They need Michigan to play, I think at a C minus or worse and they need to play at an A minus or better in order to win this game. And I think it's reflected in the spread in particular. I think Tennessee is going to struggle to score, Matt. I, I just, you know, can they get to 75 points to me, is going to be one of the big questions of whether they're able to hang with the team that I thought for a good chunk of the season was one of the three or four best in the country.

[Matt Jones]

So here's where I give, here's why I give Tennessee a chance. There is a chance that if he plays to his best ability, they'll have the best player on the floor. Okay? So to me, when you're looking at major upsets, you ask yourself in a 40 minute game, is there someone on the team that's trying to pull the upset that could be the best player on the floor? And Nate Amen could be that. Okay, he, he has not been most of the year in games, but there are moments when Nate Amen is the best player on the floor in Michigan. As good as they are, and they are very good and Jax Lanenberg is a great college player and they got a lot of guys, they got a lot of size, they can throw a lot of things at you. There isn't an individual who can take over the game quite as well as in his best moments. Nate Amen can. All right, so that's why I say if Nate Amen, if I'm Nate Amen. Here's what I do. I'm going into this game. I was projected to be the fifth or sixth pick in the draft when the season started and now I'm projected more like 12 or 13. You want to get back to fifth or six? You want to be in the conversation with Caleb Wilson, Darius Acuff, the kid from Illinois, Kingston Flemings for that number five pick. This is the game. You can do it. This is what I call a money making game. John Caliperi used to say that he'd look at players and go, this is a five million dollar game for you. This is a five million dollar game for Nate. Amen. That to me is Tennessee's only chance to get a victory.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

Well, Tennessee was one of the best defensive teams in the country all year. I think they were the best defensive team in the sec. But I think I looked it up, Matt. I think they were like 12th in the conference in offense this year.

[Matt Jones]

Yes. Oh, they would go through periods where they look awful trying to score.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

Yeah. And so I think that's going to be because they might have the best player on the floor. But then if you selected the next five, they might all play.

[Matt Jones]

If you were to say who are the eight best players in the game? Tennessee would have two. Nate, Amen, Jacoby, Gillespie. That's it.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

So. So you're right about that.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

I think this is a good draw for Michigan. I think Tennessee. Look, if, if Iowa State didn't have the injuries that, if they'd have faced Virginia in a different sequence. I don't know that Tennessee is even here.

[Matt Jones]

To your point.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

It's an amazing Rick Barnes accomplishment, but I don't think they were one of the eight best teams in the country. I think they're the biggest fluke left.

[Matt Jones]

Oh yeah, they are. I mean, look, I, I have a PhD in in hating. In hating Tennessee and so I know, I know how to hate Tennessee as well as anyone in the world. And, and this is not even that great. Like the last two Tennessee teams have been better than this Tennessee team. So, so I'm very surprised that they're here, but they are. And so I give them a shot. But they'll have to play perfect or else Michigan is going to the Final Four. Eight, eight, say espn. I am hoping we will get more golden impersonations from a modern day rich little Aaron Goldhammer and be able to continue to laugh. But we are presented by Progressive Insurance. Insurance for motorcycles, boats and RVs. For protection on the road and on the water. See how much you can save at 1-800-progressive and progressive.com now, it's only been three days into the baseball season, but we had a heck of a day yesterday. As a matter of fact, one of the elite all time, horrendous umpiring performances in the history of the sport occurred and we got to see it in real time. We'll deal with that next. I'm Matt Myron on ESPN Radio.

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[Matt Myron]

Matt and Myron, the podcast these songs.

[Matt Jones]

I can't keep doing this. You gotta pick songs that are not like this. Sounds like a motivational thing at a fitness.

[Rachel (Producer/Assistant)]

This is a very famous person.

[Matt Jones]

Who is it?

[Rachel (Producer/Assistant)]

Justin Bieber?

[Matt Jones]

Exactly. Matt Myron on ESPN Radio. Matt Jones, Aaron Goldhammer presented by Progressive Insurance. It is amazing to me you can talk about anything about sports and then all of a sudden you go, what does Aaron Goldhamer's impersonation? Who does it sound like? And that's when people blow up. We have votes for Sideshow Bob. We have votes from Stewie, for Family Guy, Bane from Batman. I think all of those, by the way, are all better choices than what you said, which was Bill Walton.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

Well, it does sound at all like Bill Walt. See, when we heard it to the actual. I think it does sound like Bill

[Matt Jones]

Walton, which is why I do think you need to like, I'm sure there's a doctor in Cleveland that can work on hearing there. You've probably worn these headphones for a long time. Too long.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

Too long.

[Matt Jones]

Too long that maybe we, we look at it. But we've got Anthony in Ohio has a thought. Anthony? Yes. I think you sound like Arnold Schwarzenegger. So that would be the movie that you've been hearing that from. That's not true either. It doesn't sound anything like the next person is going to say, say you said, like Barack Obama. You do not sound like Arnold Schwarzenegger. You can't just say names.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

I'll be back.

[Matt Jones]

That's not the same thing as what Aaron Goldamer was doing. Let's go to Justin in Kansas real quick. Justin, how's it going? I think you said Rick Barnes is going for his first Final Four, but he took Texas there, I think, in 2003, I think. Didn't he just go to the Elite 8? No, that was T.J. ford. Okay, my bad. Syracuse, My bad. I think I got confused that Tennessee has never been to a Final Four. But you're right, looking at here, Rick Barnes has. Yes.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

And the 2000. Was that Lamarcus Aldridge also, or. No, that was Lamarcus soldiers was later. Right. Let's see.

[Matt Jones]

You're right. He's right. T.J. ford. That's the team that made the Final Four. You are correct. And I, I, I appreciate the call. Tennessee, Tennessee as a program has not made it, but Rick Barnes has made it. He gets criticized for having, he gets criticized for never having made it with Durant when he was there.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

But yes, Brandon Mouton was on that, that Texas team and they lost Syracuse. You know, mellow had 33 and 14 boards, if you need.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, that was a weird Final Four. Marquette made it with Dwayne Wade and then Syracuse wins the title. I think can't beat Kansas in the Final. Okay, so. All right, I, you probably didn't watch this yesterday, Aaron, but I'm a Cincinnati Reds fan and the Reds were playing the Red Sox yesterday and we kind of got to see our first game with the automatic 8 with ABS. Is it automatic something?

[Aaron Goldhammer]

Balls, strikes.

[Matt Jones]

Automated balls and strikes. And there was a, there is a, A, an umpire and an umpire named Buckner. Is it CM or CB Buckner.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

Cb. CB Buckner.

[Matt Jones]

You got it. So CB Buckner was behind the plate and he had a master class of awfulness. Okay. Early in the game, the Red Sox challenge four of his pitch calls. They get two right and two wrong. But because they get too wrong, Aaron, they lose the challenge for the rest of the game. And I think CB Buckner just decides, you know what? Now I'm just going to get everything wrong, because you're not going to be able to challenge it. The Reds, however, have more challenges. And they have a sequence which is one of the most electric baseball sequences I've ever seen, where Suarez challenges three straight strikes, where he calls him strikes and rings him up, and all three times they're balls. And on the third one, the red stadium, it's the loudest cheer of the game. They go crazy. And you get this sequence where Suarez keeps hitting himself on the head, challenging these things. And you can watch Buckner, the umpire, and he gets madder and madder and madder. And as he gets madder, his calls get worse and he keeps getting overturned. He gets overturned, Aaron, in four batters, he gets overturned on five pitches. It was. It is. It was one of the more magical things I've seen in sports because, you know, umpires always cop an attitude, but they never, ever have to pay back. Like, they never have any accountability ever, ever, ever. That's the right now in baseball, they have accountability. Buckner's out there calling strikes at pitches that are hitting birds, and then he has to sit there and look Ellie Dele Cruz in the face and go, all right, I got another one wrong. Suarez does it three straight times to him, and it was wonderful.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

Well, there's nothing an umpire likes more than a called third strike.

[Matt Jones]

Oh, he loves it because they're just dancing because everybody.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

Yeah, it's. Who was it? Leslie Nielsen? And like, you're. You're dancing around, you're punching the air, you're getting all fired up, and it. There's a certain, I don't know, pizzazz of doing that you have to use for the strike three, and you're out. Well, what's wild about this sequence is Buckner calls. It was Suarez out on back to back pitches. And the second one, he clearly took it personal. Buckner was like, no, no, no, no, no. I already told you to sit down. Now I'm going to tell you to go sit down again. And Suarez says, no, I'm not going anywhere. And as you said, the, the call, the second call was even worse than

[Matt Jones]

the first call was.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

The first one was a borderline pitch. The second one felt like it was six inches outside, like it was not even really all that close. And what's funny about it, too, is you have the pitchers celebrate, you have the catchers Celebrate. You have everyone react and then realize that you just get to hit the rewind button on the wall and this is going to change basically forever.

[Matt Jones]

And on the fourth pitch, he ends up walking him. On the fourth pitch, it. I mean, it almost hit like, the roof of the stadium. And you could tell he still wanted to call it like he. Like he is Buck. The umpire is so mad at the Reds. And to be fair to the Red Sox, go though, oh, the ego is crazy.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

And everybody else has to deal with a certain level of accountability. Except for the umpires don't even want to listen to the commissioner. If the players criticize them, they get fined. They now finally in every phase of this. And it's immediate. That's the other beautiful.

[Matt Jones]

It is immediate. It's very quick. Yeah.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

Within three seconds, you get to determine whether the umpire knew what he was doing or not.

[Matt Jones]

I kind of wonder. I was sitting there thinking, watching that game last night, because again, the Red Sox had another four or five that they probably would have challenged later, but they had run out. And I was sitting there thinking, two things. One, the art of when you use the challenge is actually going to be something that. Because the managers don't get to challenge challenge, the players have to. So you're going to have sequences where the players do it when the manager didn't want them to, and they will get very mad at them.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

How often do we see in basketball, hey, let's challenge this in the. And the coach is like, no, like.

[Matt Jones]

And the manager is going to be like, it's the second inning. It's one. Oh, what are you doing? But last. I think that game yesterday is going. Is a. Is a warning shot to the umpires in the league. He got so thoroughly embarrassed, the Buckner guy, it went viral. I mean, everyone listening to this, just look at social media. You'll see it. You're going to see this sequence of pitches. I do wonder if that sent a shiver Aaron, through Major league baseball umpires yesterday going, I don't want that to be me. What happened to that guy yesterday?

[Aaron Goldhammer]

Well, they said they thought that, you know, to some degree, the fact that a strike zone could change and evolve over the course of a game, that it was all part of the lore of baseball.

[Matt Jones]

Well, now, that's not now completely.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

You don't get to choose your own adventure when you're an umpire and decide pitches outside look good to me today. And then everybody else has to adjust to it. So. But it's. It's a way that technology should have changed the game a long time ago and now I'm rooting.

[Matt Jones]

Matt.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

I want the third strike of Game 7 of the World Series to be an ABS challenge.

[Matt Jones]

Yes, I do too. And you know, it is a symbol of how sometimes baseball can be boring in the sense that during that entire game Yesterday, a very good 65 Reds win in extra innings. The loudest cheer was when Buckner got overturned for the third time against Suarez. The place goes absolutely insane and you could just see this guy go, one of these days I'm going to get

[Aaron Goldhammer]

these kids the other so T mobile. What a sponsorship for every time this gets mentioned, they get a bunch of love.

[Matt Jones]

I love it. I think it's, it's good stuff. There are other stories in the world of sports besides basketball and umpires looking bad. We'll deal with it next on Headlines with Matt Myon.

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[Matt Myron]

Matt and Myron the podcast

[Matt Jones]

Little Alabama here on a Sunday morning. You know Alabama fan Aaron, you like a little 40 hour week for a living. Little mountain music.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

I only know one of their songs because it was the theme song to my college sports talk radio show. There's nothing like

[Matt Jones]

oh, you did Cheap Seats as your college sports radio station

[Aaron Goldhammer]

and then those darn sklar bro stole it from us and it was never the same. Do you remember those guys, Randy and Jason?

[Matt Jones]

Let me just for the record, I'm good friends with the Sklar brothers and I think that they were pioneers. Cheap Seats was a great show that when it was, I loved it too.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

They just ripped the name of it from WNYU's own cheap seats.

[Matt Jones]

Oh, you think they stole it from your NYU show?

[Aaron Goldhammer]

I'm sure of it. I'm sure.

[Matt Jones]

Oh yeah, interesting.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

They were big college radio listeners on 89.1 FM. Only from sundown to sun up, I'm sure. And that's exactly There's a wnyu.

[Matt Jones]

All the hipsters at NYU would go to the art shows and listen to Aaron Goldhammer on College sports.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

It was Monday and Friday from 7:30 to 8. Nobody talked better.

[Matt Jones]

Only Monday. Friday you just were like, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. Not necessary.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

The news department got Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. But the sports department ran.

[Matt Jones]

Build a consistent listenership when you're only on Mondays and Fridays. But, well, there you go. I didn't know that about you. I will tell the Sklar brothers to apologize. It is now time for Sunday Headlines. Extra, extra. Read all about it.

[Matt Myron]

The Sunday headlines.

[Matt Jones]

All right, Josiah is filling in today. What do you got for us in the world of news and sports?

[Josiah]

Well, I wanted to start Hawks, but now you got me interested about this Apple Carnegie Museum.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. So I was. Well, I was walking in D.C. yesterday and there's a Carnegie Library museum that I guess has existed in D.C. for years with cultural artifacts. And apparently they were about to close and Apple bought it and said, you can keep the museum as long as there's an Apple store on the ground floor. So you can go to the Carnegie Museum, but you just have to try to buy an iPad before you go up. And I went into it yesterday and I was like, on the one hand, this is the nicest Apple store I've ever been to. On the other hand, it's kind of sad that our museums are now sponsored by Apple. Aaron. So it just depends on how you look at it.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

Does Apple own all the artifacts? Because they don't think so.

[Matt Jones]

I think they just own the building. And so. But let me just say the Apple products get a better placement than the museum artifacts. No question.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

You have to go upstairs. Is the first ever, like Macintosh that has to be in the museum, does it not?

[Matt Jones]

No, it's. There's no connection between what's in the museum and the Apple products. Besides, you can purchase the Apple products as you're walking into the museum. It's very symbolic of America. Like, we're going to hold on to our history, but it's going to be sponsored by T Mobile. That's just going to be what it is. And you can, you can appreciate that or not. That is America in 2026. And I got to see it y yesterday. All right, go ahead.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

American history through the lens of Apple computers.

[Matt Jones]

That's exactly right. American history. But at Target,

[Josiah]

I had to start there. That was a great conversation we were having off air before we came into the segment. But the Hawks, they defeated the Kings last night. 123, 113. I bring this up because the Hawks are now 15 and 2 in their last 17. 11 of those games were against teams Headed for the draft lottery. Matt, what can the NBA do to combat tanking? Because it seems like a lot of these teams are going to start ripping off a lot of these win streaks when they have a lot of lottery teams on their schedule late in season.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, I think the worst sport in America currently is the NBA after the All Star break and before the playoffs. Like, don't get me wrong, I love the NBA and the playoffs. I enjoy the NBA during some of the regular season. But this post All Star break basketball is the worst stuff I've seen. First of all, I think Oklahoma City plays San Antonio every night. Every time I turn on the television, they are playing each other. Oklahoma City, San Antonio and Denver are in a best of 45 series because they're the only teams that are ever on television. And the games that are not those games are somehow always 140 to 60 and there are people I've never heard of playing. So I saw the Hawks 115 of 17 and I was like, oh, that's cool. But then I saw that they don't play anybody and I realized, just get to the playoffs. The basketball season is too long in the NBA. They can try to fix tanking, but the biggest issue is it's just too long. Take 10 games off the regular season, as soon as the final four is over, start the playoffs and there you go.

[Rachel (Producer/Assistant)]

Go.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

Well, the owners are never going to agree to do that because they love their money. And that's what. Well, that's the nature of the. The Wizards are tanking. They're 1 and 9 in their last 10. I just brought up the standings. The Nets are tanking. They're 0 and 10 in their last 10. The Pacers are tanking their 1 and 9 in their last 10. The Jazz are tanking. They're 1 and 9 in their last 10. And for some reason the Sacramento Kings are tanking. But they're for. They're screwing this up. They're.

[Matt Jones]

They can't even take.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

Yeah, they can't even do that. Right.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. I will say someone has to investigate how many times Houston plays Oklahoma City and Houston. Like, it cannot be that these teams draw each other this morning. And let me also say Boston and Philadelphia have never stopped playing each other. Those games are on television every single day. They are in a best of 50 series. Just get to the playoffs and then let's stop the regular season as it is now. What's next? Anytime you're ready.

[Josiah]

Sorry, lost my place in my dock here. Alcohol sales were limited Saturday night because Illinois's campus was in. Sorry, lost my place again.

[Matt Jones]

Do you, do you work on this show, Josiah? Like it's right there. The store

[Josiah]

Rachel's now laughing in the background. While Illinois was in anticipation of a potential property damage and excessive celebrations of Illinois were to be Iowa, which they did. They advanced to the Final Four. The emergency order included a requirement all bars on campus to sell alcohol and paper in plastic cups. This story was from our own Myron Metcalf.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. So Illinois in preparation. In preparation, Aaron, for them potentially winning, they basically said no beer after 9 o' clock in the city of Champaign. I was at the uni. I was at Transylvania in Lexington when the University of Kentucky won the title in 98. And it was one of the best nights like of my life celebrating in Lexington then in 2012 and when they won the national title, I was a little older, but still awesome. How could the city of Champaign take away for the good students at University of Illinois the chance to run roughshot in the city when they make the Final Four?

[Aaron Goldhammer]

I mean, the name of your city is Champagne.

[Matt Jones]

That's exactly right.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

What are you doing here? Yeah, I get wanting to try to limit the overall level of craziness to some degree, but to shut down beer sales at 9 o'. Clock, all you're doing, Matt, is the kids that are the most prepared are the ones who are going to buy all the beer in advance and then. But I would have. I don't care what the law says. I would have been reselling it last night on the street corner. No price.

[Matt Jones]

This is where you actually leave things open later and cancel class. You don't go, all right, everyone go home. We made the final Four. But now go to your. Like, that's a good way to actually have more negativity than if you just opened it to begin with.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

I completely agree. And I think it's probably the most memorable night of college for a lot of those kids. Without question.

[Matt Jones]

I mean, in 1990, 1998 when Kentucky won the title, I was on top of a sign. I haven't been on top of a sign since then. If I did it now, I would hurt myself.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

Never again.

[Matt Jones]

Never again. I rode in the back of a truck with strangers and we all were singing, coincidentally, Alabama. And I will remember that moment for the rest of my life. And they took that away from those kids in champagne and they should be ashamed. What's next?

[Josiah]

All right, we got one more here. The Arkansas Derby took place and Renegade ran away with it. It, you know, pun intended, I guess from this line makes the last to first move under Irad Artiz Jr giving trainer Todd Pletcher a record six victory in the key Kentucky Derby prep.

[Matt Jones]

Matt, you're reading every word of this story like you've. It's the first time you've ever seen the word. I like that.

[Josiah]

You're like, no, I guess, obviously I, I got this from the newsletter or the report on this and that's what the line was. I was like, okay, they went with the pun there. Okay.

[Rachel (Producer/Assistant)]

At least he doesn't try to hide it like James does. I give you credit.

[Matt Jones]

You're not trying to be an expert on these stories.

[Josiah]

I am not an expert on alcohol sales in Illinois or Arkansas or anything. Horse racing.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

Hold on, let's recap though. Was Renegade the name of the horse?

[Matt Jones]

Yes.

[Josiah]

Yeah, and he ran away.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

He ran away with it, literally and figuratively. Okay. The Arkansas Derby. Okay.

[Matt Jones]

All right. So the reason this story is on here, I know it would be hard to know by Josiah's telling of it, is that this is one of the big prep races for the Derby. It has produced more Derby winners than any other race. So my question for you, Aaron, is I'm a big Kentucky Derby person. I make a very strong argument that the Kentucky Derby is the biggest sporting event in America that for whatever reason, sports media just chooses to act like doesn't happen. Even though it outrates every game of the NBA Finals. Do you care at all about the Kentucky Derby or like you. Are you like all of the coastal elite liberal media that does not enjoy horse racing?

[Aaron Goldhammer]

My wife, as you know, Matt, is from Louisville, Kentucky.

[ESPN App Announcer]

Yes, she is.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

Not only do I care about the Derby, it is the highlight of my year. The first Saturday in May and we noticed. I don't know if you've recognized this being around. Are you a Costco member in Kentucky or.

[Matt Jones]

Gosh, no. I find that place to be hell on earth.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

You can buy Therby Oaks and Derby tickets in one package at your local Kentucky Costco store.

[Matt Jones]

We found out for people who don't know you said therby. If you're not a Kentuckian, you may not realize that they have the Derby on Saturday, the Oaks on Friday, but they have now made it to where Thursday of the also a thing.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

Right, Rachel?

[Matt Jones]

They call it it Furby. Do you get it? Because it's Thursday before Derby.

[Rachel (Producer/Assistant)]

It's almost like one of our hosts here says the prekind on Thursday.

[Matt Jones]

He does not say the preta.

[Rachel (Producer/Assistant)]

It is the prekin to the weekend.

[Matt Jones]

Who says that? Scott it's got.

[Josiah]

That's a Randy Scott special, right?

[Rachel (Producer/Assistant)]

It is a Randy Scott special. Sports center is one and only.

[Matt Jones]

Well, so they do Therby Oaks. I just bought my suit Aaron for, for Derby and Oaks. But I just wanted people to know the derby is coming. And if you have never gotten into derby fever, you should. It's the most fun sports event that people don't give the credit. It should.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

And they, the tickets have gotten astronomically expensive. Right Matt. In the last like five or seven years.

[Matt Jones]

Like, but not for therapy. That's why you can do Therby.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

Okay. But for Oaks and Derby, I mean because I would usually go to Oak sometimes I would get a credential for derby, which there's a bar in the press box. It's the only other place there is

[Matt Jones]

a bar I've ever seen that.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

But even to go to Oaks now, oh my. You got to do the all inclusive food and drinks and it's. You're talking thousands of dollars to have this experience.

[Matt Jones]

I'm just saying you, every town you live in, someone's throwing a derby party. Put on a nice suit. Go watch the. The horse that's the favorite is Rampage. As Josiah said. Now you know, something for your, for your. For your office pool.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

But Renegade into the Renegade, I think.

[Matt Jones]

Okay. Yeah, him too. They're both, they're both very, very good this year. 888, say ESPN. That was maybe the best headline segment we've ever had. And this is Matt Myron on ESPN Radio.

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[Rachel (Producer/Assistant)]

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[Aaron Goldhammer]

Cause there's always something new.

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[Matt Myron]

Matt Myron the podcast

[Matt Jones]

It's Matt Myron here on ESPN Radio. He's Aaron Goldhammer. I'm Matt Jones. I'm Going to tell y' all something you don't know. The ESPN app is home to WrestleMania 42 and every WWE Premium Live event. I mean, you might have known that. But if you want to be there for the biggest moments, you'll need the ESPN Unlimited plan. Sign up, go to stream. This is very easy. Go to stream.espn.com and you can get ESPN through DirecTV, Spectrum, Xfinity, Verizon, FiOS, Cox, Fubo. ESPN Unlimited is included at no additional cost. But head to activate.net no, I'm sorry, had to activate dot.

[Rachel (Producer/Assistant)]

Have you ever seen this read before, Matt?

[Josiah]

I just want to point out that reading is hard sometimes.

[Matt Jones]

Wait a minute, let me try that the way I wanted to do it. Go to activate dotespndot. Com. Makes more sense to say activate espn.com and follow the steps to set up. Then sign into the ESPN app and you're in WrestleMania and the biggest WWE Premium Live all in one place, anytime, anywhere. There you go.

[ESPN App Announcer]

Why are we involving the Department of Transportation here?

[Matt Jones]

I just walked by that yesterday. I had no idea they were part of WrestleMania. Although we are doing UFC at the White House, right? So anything can happen, I guess, in today's world. Gino Arima, first of all, do you like Gino Arima? Aaron? Is he, is he somebody, you very controversial guy.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

Respect Gino Auriemma, but I can't say that I'm like a huge, that, that I'm like a huge fan. I mean, I, I, he's one of the most incredible coaches in the history of American sports. There's no doubting that. But I don't know that I would really put him on the list of the top people that I would want to have dinner with if given the opportunity.

[Matt Jones]

I guess he's a perfect example, though, of how if you stick around long enough, everybody will act like you're nice. Like, remember when Kareem Abdul Jabbar played basketball? No one liked him. And then when he went on his retirement tour, everyone gave him, like, a rocking chair and everybody was like, you're the greatest guy. If you stick around long enough, everyone will like you. And Gino's kind of like that. I think people kind of like him now, but he, he went on a rant about the way the women's tournament is put on by the ncaa, and it was about three minutes. But we, we've got the, the short version, and let's play it right here.

[Gino Auriemma]

What did you have to ask them this morning that you didn't ask them last night? Or us. Know what time I Practice time is 6:30 tonight. So we had to get our kids up, come over here. You already knew who we were playing last night. But we can't get on the court and neither can the other team. Walls have media at 7:30, I think. Does anybody who makes these decisions ever ask the coaches and the players, hey, does this work? Do you guys do this during the regular season? Is this normal? Total attendance yesterday at both places, 18,000. If we had four regions and you got a minimum 5,000 people. I mean, I went to Western State University. It's a great university. I think that comes out to 20,000. So what are we doing here? Do you know when the last time they had a regional in the Northeast? Probably because we were a number two seed and NC State. NC State was a one seed and we had to play in Bridgeport. So there'll be no more regionals north of. I don't know. I guess there's one in Philly coming up. So that's just a personal pet peeve because we've gone to the Final Four no matter where the regional was. So it's kind of. But I just don't understand some of the decisions that are made about our game when we're trying to grow the game.

[Matt Jones]

He was very, very upset, and to be honest with you, he seems to have the most frustration at the fact that they are now doing two regionals at one spot. So, like Fort Worth, Texas is one. I'm not sure where the other one is. But they're doing two regionals in one spot and they tend to kind of put them in the middle of America. But unfortunately that's led to none of them having great attendance. Aaron, do you agree with Gino that maybe the women's. The way the women's tournament is set up needs to alter somewhat?

[Aaron Goldhammer]

Well, I think that you should put them in locations that are hotbeds of women's basketball.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, it's Fort Worth and Sacramento.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

Yeah, yeah. Clearly hotbeds of women's basketball if I

[Matt Jones]

ever told you to. Right.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

I mean, and. And I absolutely think that there should be four different regionals for the women's tournament. Matt, the women's tournament has become one of the biggest sporting events of the entire year. I was here in Cleveland, the Final Four couple years ago when Caitlin Clark and Iowa had her team and Don Staley in South Carolina. And I mean, you're telling me if you had an opportunity to go watch Notre Dame play Connecticut today and Hannah Hidalgo to try to take down this, you know, Goliath of a team that UConn has, that hasn't lost yet, that you wouldn't want to be courtside or you wouldn't want a good seat for that game.

[Matt Jones]

Well, you might not if it's in Fort Worth, Texas though, right? So I think that's the thing. If north, if Notre Dame was playing Connecticut in Chicago or in New York or in Philadelphia or even in Hartford or whatever, like it would be a

[Aaron Goldhammer]

different sell out at Madison Square Garden, would it not?

[Matt Jones]

But the problem is it's in Fort Worth. And so it's like that's not close to anyone. You know, I think they went down there. Texas was there. I mean, what's, what was kind of sad is Texas was there and the crowd wasn't that big and you're in Fort Worth and so you're like, well, what else are we supposed to do? The move from four to two regional, I think has been a mistake. I think that the thought behind it was you consolidate it. Fans will go to all the games and it will be a big feel. But it just really hasn't happened. And so I don't know. I think think you got to start listening to these coaches because all these women are saying like all the women's coaches, men and women, are saying this and I think they're going to have to go back because the two regionals in one place just doesn't seem to be working.

[Aaron Goldhammer]

Should they be playing at home, at a home site, Matt, until you get all the way to the Final Four, the problem, that's the atmosphere that because for the College Football Playoff, all we want, we love these home site games. Everybody raves about it.

[Matt Jones]

The problem is the regional. It's hard to know what to do with the regional. Regional because there's something that seems unfair about having the regional on people's home courts. The first and second rounds a little different. At the same time though, do you want the atmospheres to be good or not? I mean, like at some point you have to somewhat, you have to ask yourself in reality if this, if this Yukon game was at UConn and if UCLA was playing at UCLA and if Texas was playing in Austin, they'd be better atmospheres. So now it might be even harder to pull upsets though, right? Like, I mean, you might end up with one seeds in the Final Four

[Aaron Goldhammer]

women's tournament where there aren't a lot of upsets anyway.

[Matt Jones]

That's the other counter. So why not? Wouldn't you rather see South Carolina play at South Carolina? Would you rather see Notre dame play against UConn in Connecticut? I think the answer is not make

[Aaron Goldhammer]

them practice at all these weird times because they don't have appropriate facilities.

[Matt Jones]

Exactly. The practice at the weird times is because you have two regionals in the same place. And so, you know, I think Geno makes a lot of sense. He later talks about the basketballs, which we talked about earlier. They gotta remember. I understand the desire to put on a television show, but still the basketball product matters and, and sometimes I think that's got put to the side, especially on the women's side of the bracket. We're gonna talk more about the NCAA tournament and does everybody still hate Duke? I do. That's next.

[Matt Myron]

Thanks for listening to Matt and Myron the Podcast. You can listen to the show live every Sunday morning at 10:00am Eastern on ESPN Radio, the ESPN app, and on SiriusXM Channel 80. Matt and myron the podcast hey sports fans.

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