Loading summary
Transcript321 lines
- [00:01]
A
Spring is here and there's a whole
- [00:02]
B
new way to chai at Starbucks that's made perfect for you. Choose your sweetness. Dial it up or keep things light. Add a touch of pistachio, a hint of strawberry or vanilla, or make it a spring classic with lavender. Because this season there's endless ways to chai at Starbucks.
- [00:23]
C
This is Matt and Myron, the podcast.
- [00:26]
B
That was a good day. First time Myron encountered Irish people here on Matt Myron on ESPN Radio. You know, expanding horizons. We got people on, on hold who've done joint bachelor and bachelorette parties.
- [00:41]
C
Stay on hold because I want to
- [00:43]
B
talk to you because I'm, I don't understand your mindset. 888, say ESPN. But first, Mike Ferrin is on from Sirius XM. He is the on the play by play for the World Baseball Classic in Houston. So, Mike, I'm going to start with this. I the World Baseball Classic is something I don't really ever know when it is. And then when it happens, though, I enjoy it, especially when the games get down to the best teams playing each other. So do me a favor because I think most of the listeners are probably in my boat where they don't know the format or exactly. It feels like they're playing in different cities. And so tell me what, give me quickly the ballpark of what the World Baseball Classic is and what we're watching over the next week.
- [01:27]
A
Yeah, so I think it's a great question and I do think that most fans are in the same boat on it. So right now they're scheduled to happen every three years. There are 20 teams that are part of it. Most of them qualify by being in the top four in their pool in the previous wbc. But then there are qualifying tournaments during the year, just like you would have for the World Cup. I'm sure more people are probably familiar with that in their format. And this isn't all that dissimilar. Right. So what happens is you're in a pool. There's five teams in a pool. So here in Houston, for example, we have the U.S. brazil, Great Britain, Mexico and Italy. You play around Robin. The top two teams come out of that and then they go into the quarterfinals. There are four pools total, so you get eight quarter finalists. And then it becomes single elimination.
- [02:14]
B
And where are the quarterfinals? And where is that?
- [02:19]
A
Yeah, so two quarterfinals will be here in Houston and the other two will be in Miami.
- [02:24]
B
Okay, gotcha.
- [02:25]
C
So, you know, I'm big in the social media attached to some of these events, and I saw that Italy had an espresso machine. What's going on with that in their dugout?
- [02:37]
A
Well, yeah, so they started out in 2023. That was kind of their home run celebration was to do the espresso machine. And it's part of Italian culture, right? So that was kind of. Mike Piazza made that like something that his biggest thing that he was upset about was that they didn't have ceramic, that they were using paper cups in the dugout instead. So they still have paper cups, but it's part of their home run celebration. The big issue they had yesterday was that the espresso was too hot when they made it right away. Oh, poor guys were taking sips of it and having to spit it out because their mouth was on fire. Now apparently the trading staff has taken over. They're pre making it now, so it's not going to be as big an issue. But I want to know what kind of brand of like espresso pod maker they have because I have one and it never comes out steaming up. So I like this feels like it's up for a good company recall at this point.
- [03:32]
B
It also feels like the definition of white people problems. My espresso maker is too hot.
- [03:39]
A
I feel like absolutely fair. And like, listen, if we were at home, nobody care about it. But if you're doing a shot of espresso in the sixth inning of a baseball game and you have to spit it out because your mouth is burning, I think it takes on national significance.
- [03:53]
B
All right, now give me another because I know Aaron Judge is playing. I saw Paul Skeen's school. But. But give me a sense how many. What's the percentage of the best players in baseball that are playing? Like I'm a Reds fan, I know Ellie's not playing, but Eugenio Suarez is. So like what. What percentage of the best of the major leagues is actually doing this?
- [04:16]
A
Man, that's a great question. I don't know that I can break it down by percentage. Like here are some things I can tell you, right? So you have multiple time MVP award winners in the US lineup and Aaron Judge and Bryce Harper. You have a former National League MVP that's on their bench in Paul Goldschmidt and a three time Cy Young award winner and Clayton Kershaw who's pitching out of their bullpen, right? Plus Tarek Skubal pitched last night. Paul Skeens pitches against Mexico tomorrow night. So like those are kind of the stars or some of the stars on Team USA and everybody else basically is an all star one of the top relievers in the league, the Dominican team will run out eight guys in their lineup on a nightly basis who have received MVP votes in their career. And the ninth guy is the catcher for the New York Yankees. So, like, that's a loaded team, right? Team Japan. There are some big leaguers. Part of it, you know, Shinobi Yamamoto, show you Tanisha Homerton. The first two games for Japan. Right. They are the favorites probably outside of the US to win it, they've won the most WBCs. So those are some international stars that people may not know as much about, but just about every team save the exception of Brazil. Major leaguers honored. We saw ones that are playing in North America. The Chechya team that's playing in Asia, like, that's also kind of a cool story because, like, they have guys that have real jobs, right. They have a teacher on the team, the Brazilian team, as a DH first baseman who is a construction worker.
- [05:45]
B
They have a teacher. Have they played the US Yet? This teacher and construction worker, the construction
- [05:51]
A
worker did in game one. He had a hit against them, so. Oh, really?
- [05:55]
B
The construction worker got to be telling that story.
- [05:59]
A
That guy has never made a dollar playing professional baseball. He plays amateur ball in Brazil. Brazil is not a while it's a giant country, is still very much an emerging nation when it comes to baseball. And so like, yeah, you get some of these guys that are out here that are living their dreams, you know, Andre Schubert.
- [06:17]
B
Mike, let me go back to the construction worker. Who did he get a hit off of? And how's that dude not getting made fun of all the time?
- [06:27]
A
That's good. It was. I got to think back. I don't have my lineup card in front of me, but it was a bona fide major league starter, let's put it that way, that he got a hit.
- [06:35]
B
That's kind of cool. I like that. Yeah, I think it's awesome.
- [06:38]
A
Right? Like it's.
- [06:39]
C
It.
- [06:39]
A
It makes you think if you can get a hit off a big league or if you think you can at home, it certainly fuels that fire. Right?
- [06:45]
C
Yeah. So, you know, whenever we have international competition, I think we're always wondering, what does that mean for the sport domestically? We've had that conversation. Hockey, basketball, what might the World Baseball Classic do for Major League Baseball and the popularity of that sport locally?
- [07:02]
A
Yeah. You know what's, what's funny is I. I don't know that it one like it gives you something other than boring spring training games to watch. Right. Like, spring training is not the most important Exciting thing in the world. Not a whole lot of people watch it. So it gives you real competition. So it gives you a better platform for the season, I think, for casual fans to get involved, I do think the bigger purpose is internationally, right? Obviously, we know that places like the Dominican Republic and Venezuela and Puerto Rico and Japan, Korea, those are countries that have baseball traditions. For places like Great Britain who are still trying to grow the game and who have ties to the early days of baseball's history, this event is very important to bring about awareness. Right. And I don't know that we as American sports fans necessarily need that in our lives, but we do like sharing baseball. Right. And I love baseball. It's my favorite sport. It's something that I wish more people around the world were a part of, and then more people can get excited to be able to get an opportunity to play. So when you see countries like Brazil, you see countries like. You see countries like Great Britain, even Italy, even though Italy is almost all big leaguers or top prospects, like, it gives them some national pride and exposes them to a game in a really cool competition where they also get to watch, you know, some of the best players in the world compete. So I do think that it is a little bit more holistic in what its value is than it is just like, hey, like, let's remember that there's hockey going on, because every four years, the US Has a chance to win a gold medal. Baseball part of our everyday life as it is, but it does help to introduce it to a lot of people around the world.
- [08:43]
B
Mike will finish with this. Just got, like, a minute left. Finals will be us and who.
- [08:50]
A
It'll be US and Japan. That'd be my guess. I mean, it's the Japan Dominican Republic game. If it sets up. Japan's already moved into the championship round. If the Doctor faces Japan in a semifinal, that's going to be one of the best games of the tournament because the Doctor is loaded. But Japan is the favorite until further notice. Like, they are. They just dominate international competition.
- [09:12]
B
All right, well, I appreciate it, Mike Farren. Seriously. XM Major League Baseball. Play on by play by play. You'll be on two games today. Italy, Great Britain and Brazil. Mexico. I hope they get their espresso temperature correctly for today. And thank you very much, Mike.
- [09:28]
A
I'm going to go get an espresso now because the time change messed with me. So thanks, guys.
- [09:31]
B
Oh, and tell the construction worker I said, hey. I feel. I feel like he and I would be buddies.
- [09:37]
C
Beautiful.
- [09:37]
A
Yeah. I think you would. All right.
- [09:40]
B
I appreciate it. There you go. Now we got a lot of people on hold. I got to talk to them about their joint bachelor and bachelorette parties. There's a lot yet to happen here. You know, it's Sunday morning, it's a big day of basketball, but it's also a day of fun here on Matt and Myron on espn. Right?
- [09:57]
C
Matt and Myron, the podc.
- [10:03]
D
As you know, managing maintenance, repair and operations is never easy. 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 to help answer your toughest questions. And because Grainger knows safety is always a priority, they're committed to being your partner in protecting both your people and your facilities. Call 1-800-granger. Click granger.com or just stop by. Watching someone close go through loss really changes your perspective. You see how quickly grief can turn into financial stress, and it's something no family should have to deal with during an already difficult time. Experiences like that make people think differently about planning ahead and protecting the people they love. Life insurance isn't about expecting the worst. It's about being prepared and knowing your family will be supported if something unexpected happens. That's why life insurance through Ethos is worth considering. They make the process fast and easy. Everything is 100% online, so you can get a quote in seconds, apply in minutes, and even get same day coverage. There's no medical exam, just a few simple health questions. You can get up to $3 million in coverage, and some policies start as low as $30 a month. As of March 2025, Business Insider named Ethos the number one no medical exam instant life insurance provider. And Ethos has 4.8 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot with over 3000 reviews. Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos now by going to ethos.com sports in as little as 10 minutes, you can get your free quote and up to $3 million in coverage@ethos.com sports. That's E T H O s.com sports ethos.com sports application times and rates may vary.
- [12:00]
B
That's right, Matt Myron on ESPN Radio presented by Progressive Insurance. Dak Prescott and his fiance broke up on a joint bachelor bachelorette party, which was something I didn't know existed. Sounds miserable on all regards. Also sounds like a bad sign for the marriage, but we have some folks on the phone who have been to them. We got two people here who have both been. Who went on different. Different results. All right, so she did you want to start with the good one first, Byron? Because. To see how it can be good.
- [12:36]
C
No, I always want the disaster first.
- [12:38]
B
Let's start with the good one. Let's start with the good one to see.
- [12:41]
C
Why'd you ask them? Why'd you ask my opinion? If you were just gonna go with
- [12:44]
B
the good one anyway, you would think about how this works.
- [12:46]
C
Don't ask my opinion, Just do what
- [12:47]
B
you were gonna do. I know, but there's like. Well, I just thought you were gonna give me the answer I wanted. So let's go to Josh in Connecticut. He went on a party to New Orleans with his wife. Josh, why did it work?
- [13:01]
A
It worked because, first of all, we had a. We had some friends with a house in the French Quarter, so we started there. Everybody started there. We were taking.
- [13:09]
C
Son, but does your phone work?
- [13:12]
B
Yeah. Get off Bluetooth. Josh, we have a rule on this show. If you're on Bluetooth, you're not on. So I want to hear this story. So get off Bluetooth, and then now go
- [13:26]
C
from a BlackBerry.
- [13:28]
B
I'm telling you, man, it. When people call in on Bluetooth, it
- [13:32]
A
takes time to get off Bluetooth. I put it back on hold. Let's go.
- [13:34]
D
Negative.
- [13:35]
A
We go back positive.
- [13:36]
C
Okay,
- [13:38]
B
Josh on Now.
- [13:39]
C
Just kidding.
- [13:39]
B
Let's go back.
- [13:41]
C
He dropped. He dropped.
- [13:42]
B
Yes, because people should not be on Bluetooth. They should not be calling on Bluetooth. All right, Jeff, in North Carolina, you had a joint party. What was that like?
- [13:52]
A
Oh, it was about 25 years ago. One of my college buddies gave me the opportunity to plan his bachelor party. So we picked Vegas. There's about six or eight of us guys.
- [14:04]
C
Yeah.
- [14:04]
A
And a couple weeks later, he calls me up and he says, hey, just a heads up, my wife wants to do her bachelorette party in Vegas at the same time.
- [14:15]
B
Oh, brutal. Brutal.
- [14:17]
C
Yep, Yep.
- [14:20]
A
So it. It actually gets worse.
- [14:23]
C
Okay.
- [14:25]
A
He promised me. He promised me that they were gonna do their own thing. Yeah, that's not hotel.
- [14:33]
C
He lied.
- [14:33]
A
Yeah, well, what really happened is he calls me again a little bit later and says she really wants to stay at the same hotel. Okay.
- [14:42]
C
Yeah. He was laughing.
- [14:43]
A
And then ready for the icing on the cake, she. Apparently, she didn't have very many friends because my wife hits me up a few days after that and says she's invited.
- [14:54]
B
Oh, man. So she had to, like, invite. So it. But she had to invite the wives because she didn't Have a lot of friends. Oh, that's tough. So then you all. Did you all end up just at one party all weekend?
- [15:09]
A
Well, the plan was everyone's gonna do their own thing.
- [15:11]
C
No way.
- [15:12]
A
We get to our hotels in our hotel room, and sure enough, on the same hall. One of those big fancy hotels in Vegas that they have. Their rooms are on the same hall in the same hotel.
- [15:23]
C
Yeah, that was. That was always gonna be the plan. He lied when he called and said, my wife is thinking about going to Vegas. He knew that was going to be the plan the whole time.
- [15:30]
B
Now you said they did. This was 25 years ago. Is that couple still together?
- [15:35]
A
They are. It went. It got rocky after that trip for quite a while, but they. They did make it through. They did make it through. Yep.
- [15:43]
B
So did you still do male bachelor party Vegas things, or were you not able to do that?
- [15:51]
A
Oh, well, that's. There you go. Here's the final punchline. I'll give you all the first dinner, guys only dinner we plan. No, no bs. The girls show up at the exact same dinner.
- [16:05]
C
He was telling her everything. Everything in your group text. We didn't have group text back then. But everything you thought was a guy's plan. He was telling her every move you guys were gonna make.
- [16:14]
B
I'm surprised they're still together, though. I appreciate the call. I. I can't. I can't imagine. Like, that says that's a relationship.
- [16:22]
A
Yeah.
- [16:22]
C
It's just not a great idea.
- [16:24]
B
Yeah, I think that's a terrible idea. I can't imagine for. Bachelorette parties in general are just a lot. But if you're with the guys in Vegas, forget it. It's not going to work. Let's go to. Let's see. Matt and Vermont. Go ahead, Matt.
- [16:41]
A
Hey. Thank you, guys. First of all, I want to say you guys are fantastic. Best. Best radio show on. I use PN easily. But anyway, so my wife and I, we. You know, she didn't force me to do it. I didn't force her. We basically kind of like the same things. We're like, hey, let's have a great party, lots of friends. We basically said to everybody, you know, eyes wide open. It's going to be lots of drinking, craving.
- [17:05]
B
I think it would have been a lot more fun if it was an Eyes Wide Shut party.
- [17:10]
C
That'd be a whole different party.
- [17:12]
B
That would have been a different kind of bachelor party. But you went with her eyes wide open. All right, but go ahead.
- [17:19]
A
So. Well, I didn't want her friends to be offended because There was. There was. I don't even know how many strippers we had. We had a lot. We had open bar.
- [17:28]
B
Hang on. You had strippers? Joint, party.
- [17:32]
A
Oh, yeah, yeah.
- [17:33]
B
She.
- [17:34]
A
She got to pick them out. That was the only caveat. Hold on a second.
- [17:50]
B
She got to pick him out. What an interesting compromise.
- [17:55]
C
I'll let you bring Cinnamon, but not Sparkle.
- [18:01]
B
Sparkle's out.
- [18:03]
C
Sparkle didn't make the cut.
- [18:05]
B
Only cinnamon and ice, honey. All right, all right, Keep going. Now, I didn't know. I gotta tell you, I didn't know people rode like this in Vermont. But that's all right. Go ahead, land the plane.
- [18:16]
A
But, yeah, but it was fantastic.
- [18:19]
B
And we.
- [18:19]
A
People still talk about. People still say to us, can we do that again? Like, I have my buddy. Can we do that again, please? You know, and, you know. So it's definitely was fun.
- [18:29]
C
How did your wife pick them out? Like, how did your wife pick the dancers? I'm just curious, like, what. How did she.
- [18:34]
A
It was online. She just went through, and it was basically like, Amazon shopping. Okay. This one, this one, this one. I don't even remember how many there were. Like, I don't even. That was the worst part. Like, I wish I remembered more. That was one of the things. No, no phones. That was a strict rule. No phones, no crazy crap.
- [18:51]
B
Your friends want to do it again?
- [18:54]
A
It was.
- [18:56]
B
I've got your next anniversary. There you go, Matt and Vermont.
- [19:01]
C
That's. Wow.
- [19:02]
B
I was trying to think, what do I know Vermont for? I know Bernie Sanders. I know the one when they Catamount basketball team. The Catamounts.
- [19:10]
C
Good.
- [19:11]
B
Now, I may know about wife selected
- [19:14]
C
bachelor party in Vermont.
- [19:17]
B
In Vermont.
- [19:19]
C
That's surprising.
- [19:21]
B
Let's go to Sean in Texas. Go ahead, Sean.
- [19:26]
A
Yeah. Dak has gotten a turnover. That is a good thing for him in this case. This is a good fumble. When she said, we want to do the party together, that's the red flag. He's. He's doing the right thing now.
- [19:42]
B
Are you a Cowboys fan?
- [19:45]
A
No.
- [19:46]
B
Okay, well, we don't know who did
- [19:47]
C
what, by the way. Like, there was an argument, and we don't know who started it, why it started. We don't know any of those details.
- [19:56]
B
Yeah, the only detail we know is the sizzle detail. Other than that, we have very, very little actual team is very important.
- [20:03]
C
But if your significant other walks over to you in the middle of your joint bachelor bachelorette party is like, we need to talk.
- [20:10]
B
That's bad.
- [20:11]
C
That's just. It's probably.
- [20:13]
B
You know, I may have told this story on this show. I went to Hawaii once with a woman with my family. And on the drive to the airport, myron, coincidentally, at 2am an ex sent me a risque picture.
- [20:34]
C
Okay, that's not. That's not a great for that situation.
- [20:37]
B
And I went. I was coincidentally in a grocery store getting a soda. And my. I left my phone in the car, by the way.
- [20:47]
C
That's the worst case.
- [20:48]
B
Never did that again. That's the worst. My phone. My phone has not left my hands in two years. Since then.
- [20:54]
C
You broke every rule in chapter one through seven.
- [20:56]
B
I did. So she sees it.
- [20:59]
C
Yeah.
- [20:59]
B
And 20 minutes later, we're meeting my family at the airport for our Thanksgiving trip to Vegas.
- [21:05]
C
That's not great.
- [21:06]
B
She says, you're going to drive me home. And I'm like, I can't. We're getting on a plane to Vegas. And she goes, I'll get on it. But we aren't speaking the whole trip.
- [21:16]
C
Oh, my goodness.
- [21:18]
B
And she held that for about two days as my mom tried to make conversation.
- [21:25]
C
But you didn't request it.
- [21:28]
B
I didn't ask for the picture. Came out of nowhere.
- [21:31]
C
No. Your partner has to be understanding of like, if. If an ex just decides to do something unprompted, what are you supposed to do about that?
- [21:39]
B
I agree, but that was an argument that she was not accepting. That was the picture in that moment. That was not an argument. That was seeming to work. And we couldn't really have it in front of my mother. You know, I couldn't be like, look, mom, here's what happened. These pictures come. But normally I've asked, and this time I did not.
- [22:03]
C
Yeah, yeah. I mean, it was an act. That's a dicey situation. But leaving the phone in the car,
- [22:11]
B
listen, literally, it phone never leaves my hand in any situation. Thanks to that, we will get back to college basketball next. Here. I'm Matt and Myron. Matt and Myron.
- [22:24]
C
The podcast.
- [22:32]
D
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 has 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 shopify.comnetwork. go to shopify.comnetwork shopify.comnetwork
- [23:50]
E
if you're ready for an oil change, trust the professional parts People at O'Reilly Auto Parts to recommend the best products for your vehicle. Right now, get five quarts of Valvoline, full synthetic motor oil and a Wix filter for 35.99 and receive a $15 O'Reilly gift card after rebate upgrade to a WIX XP oil filter for just $2. More limits apply. See Store for details. Stop by your local O'Reilly Auto Parts store or shop online at o'reillyauto.com.
- [24:24]
B
Selection Sunday, seven days away. This is conference tournament week and there will be buzzer beaters, there will be excitement and there will be people punching their bids to the tournament. It's Matt Myron on ESPN Radio presented by Progressive Insurance. By the way, the Great Lakes Conference has reached out to us. Who we talked about earlier today, what's it called?
- [24:47]
C
You said the Great Lakes Conference. It's the River States Conference.
- [24:50]
B
Oh, the River State. Well, I got one word right. I got conference right. River States Conference has reached out to us and they're going to send us some gear to represent Indiana University east and woods of St. Mary's the northwest. So I'm very excited. Thank you for doing that. All right, so let's talk about. I like conference tournaments because random schools, we have two teams who have already punched their ticket to the big dance. First of all, Tennessee State. Tennessee State is coached by Rod Strickland, a name a lot of you NBA fans will remember from back in the day. Rod Strickland coached long. Excuse me.
- [25:27]
C
No, you talking about Nolan.
- [25:29]
B
Tennessee State is coached by Nolan Smith. Yeah, Nolan Smith, former Duke assistant, former Louisville assistant. He takes them to the tournament for the first time since 2014. They are in Nashville, Tennessee. I have been to a Tennessee State game, Myron, and it was one of the more fun experiences I had. I've danced with the band at Tennessee State and now they're in the tournament.
- [25:54]
C
Why did you dance with the band?
- [25:56]
B
Well, I was covering the tournament for CBS at the time and I was supposed to get a feel of the environment. And one of the things we suggested was I go up and dance with the band. And they were. They, I think, enjoyed having a white Appalachian dance in the band with them. And we, we actually made some good content.
- [26:16]
C
Man, I got to see that clip. No kudos to Nolan Smith, who, who was an assistant at Duke, then an assistant Louisville and then got that job late. Like he didn't get the job till like late July and really turned things around right away that now the tough news if you're Tennessee State is now Nolan Smith becomes a candidate for a bunch of jobs that open up, but incredible job for him.
- [26:41]
B
Yes. And they'll be one of those teams that they'll get to play a powerhouse, get their chance at glory. And then the other one I mentioned, Long Island.
- [26:49]
C
Yes.
- [26:50]
B
They have made it. And they are coached by Rod Strick. Yes, Rod Strickland. The first year he was at Long island they won three games and then the next year they won 10. And then the next year they won 14. And then this year they won over 20 games and they're going to the tournament. That's how you build a program. And we always hear about former players that were really good not succeeding as a head coach. Rod Strickland does the opposite. How about your guy Rod?
- [27:19]
C
Guaranteed to make him jump like Rod Strickland. Yeah, man. That's a big move for him. What's that verse from Wu Tang's Triumph?
- [27:27]
B
A Wu Tang has a verse that says, guaranteed to make jump like Rod Strickland.
- [27:32]
C
Yeah. Yeah, man.
- [27:33]
B
Wow.
- [27:33]
C
One of my favorite songs. It is cool. I find that a lot of these ex NBA guys have had more success at the lower levels of Division one and I think I understand why. It's hard to just break into coaching no matter how much experience you have. And while these guys were in the NBA, these current head coaches were gas and assistants at different levels of college basketball. So a lot of these guys are learning on the job. It's cool to see though, Rod Strickland, what he's been able to do. Nolan Smith and other.
- [28:06]
B
Can I give you a Rod Strickland fact? Sure. Did you know he gave DeMarcus Cousins the name Boogie?
- [28:13]
C
I didn't know that.
- [28:15]
B
He said that. He watched DeMarcus play when he was an assistant at Kentucky and when DeMarcus Cousins came on campus Rod Strickland says your game's got a lot of Boogie in it.
- [28:26]
C
Oh, I don't know.
- [28:28]
B
This is a true story. So KSR was trying to give DeMarcus a nickname. The KSR, which I owned at the time and wrote for. And we did a bracket, and the final two were Boogie and Carl. Because DeMarcus, his middle name is Carl. C A R, L. Okay. I'm not kidding. And we were going to have a vote. Demarcus or Carl. And I walked onto campus the next day, and all of a sudden I feel this big paw go around my neck. Yeah. And it's DeMarcus Cousins. And he puts me in a headlock.
- [29:02]
C
Okay.
- [29:03]
B
And he goes, you know, I love you, Matt, but if you get these people to start calling me Carl, I'm going to beat the blank out of you.
- [29:12]
C
That sounds about right.
- [29:14]
B
And so you know what? We adopted Boogie.
- [29:17]
C
Yeah. Yes. That's smart move. Smart move on a lot of reasons. I mean, Boogie versus Carl in the nickname tournament is very. David versus Goliath. Like, Carl never had. Carl never had a chance.
- [29:30]
B
Hopefully, Boogie would have won the vote.
- [29:32]
C
Yeah.
- [29:32]
B
But after I had. I have a picture, by the way. Someone took a picture of him.
- [29:37]
C
Yeah.
- [29:37]
B
In me in a headlock with him.
- [29:40]
C
Yeah.
- [29:40]
B
And decided at that point, we'll just go with Boogie and we'll call off the vote. And that's what we did.
- [29:47]
C
Call off the vote. Definitely don't even give the people a chance. I think that was a smart move by you.
- [29:55]
B
So a lot of people don't realize the. The Boogie nickname starts with Rod Strickland and ended when I refused to allow Carl to be a choice. Now, there are four championship games today. First, you start with the Missouri Valley. All the top seeds have lost. Myron, this is part of March. 1, 2, 3, and 4 seeds have all lost. So the 5 and the 6 are playing Northern Iowa and Illinois, Chicago. Now, Myron, a lot of these small conferences are now basically creating brackets to protect their top seeds. The Missouri Valley does not do it. Do you think they should so you don't end up with a five and a six playing.
- [30:33]
C
Yes. And the leagues that are protecting their top seats aren't doing enough. I think we got to change all the brackets in these conference tournaments. If you win your regular season championship, you should, at a minimum, get an automatic buy to the championship game. Right. Like, that's how you fix this. It's not fair. When you spend all season winning at a high level, you win your league, and in that first game, you get dismissed from the field and you don't have an opportunity to go to the NCAA Tournament. The rules should be if you win your regular season championship, automatically go to the championship game and then you decide from there.
- [31:07]
B
But doesn't that lose a little bit of the madness? I mean, today one of these teams that didn't have a good year is going to get in.
- [31:12]
C
I'm fine with it. Because to me now you're just diminishing the value of the regular season if you don't do that. Like, what's the point of the regular season if you're not going to reward the champion of that conference? So I think that has to change.
- [31:25]
B
The Big south tournament today is Winthrop and High Point. I feel like it's always Winthrop and High Point is a lot like those. It feels like to me, always. Have you ever seen High Points Campus?
- [31:40]
C
I have not, but I know Toby Smith went there.
- [31:42]
B
Let me just say to you, for those of you driving at home, take a second and google High Points Campus. It is like a luxury Pilates resort. They give free ice cream every day of the week to students. Free ice cream. They have an ice cream truck on campus. You can get free ice cream once a week. You get a free steak dinner in a five star restaurant because they do culinary stuff on their campus and you are allowed a free steak dinner. The restaurant exists to teach kids how to run a restaurant and the students get to eat there for free once a week.
- [32:21]
C
I didn't know all that. I mean, that's incredible, man. That's like a hidden gem.
- [32:25]
B
So a lot of people, a little fact about High Point now in the Atlantic sun today you have Central Arkansas. Who went to Central Arkansas, Myron?
- [32:34]
C
Central Arkansas, I'm not sure.
- [32:37]
B
Scotty Pippen went to Central Arkansas and they play Queens University. Fun fact. Queens University not located in Queens, New York. Queens University is located in North Carolina, Myron. As odd as that would seem, Queens playing for a chance to go to the tournament, but not in New York City.
- [32:59]
C
How many different directional Arkansas schools are there? Because I think that state has more like Northwest, Southeast. There's a lot of different Arkansas schools.
- [33:12]
B
Let me just tell you, there's parts Arkansas you should not go unless you know some.
- [33:20]
C
I feel like that's most of Arkansas.
- [33:22]
B
Yeah. I mean, you get in the Ozarks.
- [33:26]
C
Yeah.
- [33:27]
B
I'm just telling you, Little Rock you get. No, Little Rock is New York City compared to the Ozarks.
- [33:35]
C
You better get your gas outside of Little Rock. I'm just telling you, you better have A full tank.
- [33:41]
B
But by the way, if they win today, Queens University, when you're doing your bracket stuff at your office, you can be the person that knows as a fun fact that it is not New York City as most people will assume.
- [33:53]
C
That's, that's cool. I mean that's.
- [33:55]
B
And then finally tonight at 9:30, North Dakota plays North Dakota State in the Battle of the Summit League. This has to be the biggest moment in North Dakota history. The state is playing each other. It's a state divided to go to the NCAA tournament. North Dakota and North Dakota State tonight.
- [34:17]
C
I mean I've been to both campuses and like that rivalry.
- [34:21]
B
You've been to both campuses?
- [34:22]
C
Yeah, I've competed at both campuses, yeah. I mean.
- [34:25]
B
You've competed?
- [34:26]
C
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean North Dakota is like one of those places where in that part of America all the top athletes go there. So I mean in the, in the, the love for those schools is really, really strong. So I mean this will be a big thing.
- [34:43]
B
Say you've competed at North Dakota and North Dakota State. What does that mean?
- [34:47]
C
I was an all conference track athlete at one point in my life. So I run at those schools. I've run meets at those schools.
- [34:53]
B
Yeah, competed all conference.
- [34:57]
C
I mean I was a state champion in high school, all conference and state champion.
- [35:00]
B
What event?
- [35:02]
C
Sprints. I was a, I was a four by ones champion. I was an all conference 100, 200 meter runner. I ran a four four 40 man, four five, four, four, four five in college.
- [35:13]
B
I've never seen you do anything athletic
- [35:15]
C
at all in that time. I was really athletic.
- [35:18]
B
Super. And then what? And then what happened?
- [35:21]
C
I'm still pretty athletic. I'm still fairly athletic. I'm still pretty strong. I got a lot of those qualities. I just, you know, I'm not as fast as I used to be.
- [35:30]
B
That's probably fair to say. Well, tonight you can watch the state of North Dakota implode as they play for the Summit League title. We are going to make our picks for the rest of action today and Myron will tell us more about how he can throw a football over a mountain. That's next here on Matt and Myron on ESPN Radio.
- [35:49]
C
Matt and Myron, the podcast Foreign.
- [35:58]
F
Here.
- [35:59]
E
You know that feeling of handing off your taxes and then hearing nothing? Total radio silence. Well, not anymore. Now your taxes are done for you by a TurboTax full service expert who checks for every deduction and keeps you in the loop with real time updates on your phone. Just match with your dedicated expert. Upload your docs and go live your life confident you're getting every dollar you deserve. This is how taxes should be. Visit turbotax.com today to learn more. Real time updates only in iOS mobile app only available with TurboTax full service
- [36:32]
G
experts Quick timeout Some breakfast intel you want to know about. Kodiak Frozen Power waffles and flapjacks are built for busy mornings. Heat it, eat it and you're out the door. No long prep, no complicated game plan. They're packed with 12 to 14 grams of protein per serving, a good source of fiber and crafted with 100% whole grains, not refined white flour. So you're getting something that actually fuels you. And there's depth on the roster. Buttermilk and vanilla blueberry chocolate chip. Even gluten free options. Breakfast that delivers, snack that delivers. Find Kodiak Frozen waffles and flapjacks and in the frozen aisle at your local grocery store. They're the ones with the bear on the box.
- [37:19]
B
Matt Myron here on ESPN Radio next week we will not be on during this time slot because we will be on from 6 to 9 announcing the brackets on the ESPN Radio NCAA tournament selection show. Myron and I will be joined by Tom Crean and the three of us, we'll get to announce the brackets. It'll be our sixth year in a row doing it and I'm looking forward to it. And we are hoping to have a variety of big time college basketball coaches and players and we will give you the brackets as they come out. One of my favorite things to do is to get them in our hand and like start reading them. It's always very exciting.
- [37:57]
C
No, it's gonna be cool. I mean, that's the end of a very long week for me. So that's always my moment to exhale for the first time after a very long week. So I look forward to it, man.
- [38:08]
B
And one of the people we're asking for is from St. Louis, Robbie Avila, the player who goes by the nickname Cream Abdul Jabbar. A lot of people may remember him with the goggles when he played at Indiana State. And I told you, you know, I'm the one that made that nickname popular for him. And you looked at me very skeptical, Myron. You were like, what? And then I told you to look on Wikipedia and what did you see?
- [38:33]
C
It says you gave him the nickname. I don't remember us doing a whole lot around that.
- [38:38]
B
Well, I don't do things. I have other ways of getting the word out.
- [38:43]
F
Also learned that you have a Wikipedia
- [38:45]
B
page Oh, I definitely. I do have a Wikipedia page. It's actually pretty extensive.
- [38:49]
F
Pretty lengthy one, too. I was surprised.
- [38:52]
B
Yeah. I don't know if everything on it's correct, but I do have a Wikipedia page. Page, so. Myron, do you have a Wikipedia page?
- [38:59]
C
I don't. I don't get involved in that stuff.
- [39:01]
B
Well, but you.
- [39:02]
C
But I didn't know.
- [39:03]
B
The point is other people do it.
- [39:05]
C
Yeah. The less people know about me. Stuff like Wikipedia pages, I'm fine.
- [39:10]
B
But that's not actually. That's a pretty. I mean, you and I have a radio show. I would like people to know about you. I don't like that you don't want people to know about you. You. We want to make the show as big as possible.
- [39:21]
C
We didn't know a lot about Shaft. Why do you expect to know a
- [39:24]
A
lot about me credited on a Wikipedia page? Yeah, someone used your.
- [39:28]
C
Your article to talk about Mr. Minnesota, Mr. Basketball.
- [39:33]
A
So you're on a Wikipedia page.
- [39:35]
C
I like to be mysterious. You know, being mysterious.
- [39:38]
B
So you're comparing yourself to Shaft?
- [39:40]
C
I mean, those are the kinds of movies I watched growing up, and they were all. All. It was all mysterious dudes. So I'm into that. You know, the less you know, the better.
- [39:51]
B
Okay. All right. So the Shaft of radio, at least in his mind.
- [39:55]
C
Myron Baker, who was the man that no one understands but his woman. That's what the theme song says. That's what I live by.
- [40:02]
B
No one understands you but your woman.
- [40:04]
C
I was listening to that at, like 10 years old. You grow up on that.
- [40:07]
B
All right, well, good. Well, I hope one day you're able to get a Wikipedia page like me and Cream Abdul Jabbar. Well, it's now time to take your pick. Take your pick.
- [40:17]
A
You take your pick.
- [40:19]
B
It's time to take your pick with Matt and Myron. All right, these are the games today or events that we want to give you a winner on. Let's get started. James, what's up first?
- [40:30]
F
I got a bunch of them, so let's get through them quick. The Celtics. The Celtics at the CAVS. Cavs are one and a half point favorites on DraftKings. This you can see on ABC television at 1pm Eastern.
- [40:42]
B
Jason Tatum is back.
- [40:43]
C
Yeah.
- [40:44]
B
And his has played in the first game. I'm going to take the Cavs, though. They've been hot and still trying to figure out how many minutes to get Tatum in, etc. So give me the Cavs to win today.
- [40:55]
C
I mean, Tatum in that third quarter. You can see it's all there. He just has to get back into game shape. Give me the Celtics in this one.
- [41:02]
B
What's next?
- [41:03]
F
Knicks at the lakers. Knicks are three and a half point favorites on DraftKings. You can hear this one right here on ESPN radio coverage at 3pm Eastern.
- [41:13]
B
This is tough, you know, I'm with Draymond. People criticize Nico too much for the trade and you'll see why today when the Knicks go into LA and get a win. Myron on the road, a lot of
- [41:27]
C
wear and tear from the travel. I think the Lakers want to get a win like this to remind themselves of who they can be. Give me the Lakers to win.
- [41:35]
B
By the way, shout out to Port Vale in the FA cup. The soccer in in England. Port Vale in the third division in England upset a Premier League team today, beating Sunderland. So big shout out to Port Vail who will move in to the quarterfinals. One of the farthest moves for someone at that level in a long time. But go ahead.
- [41:58]
F
I got the Rockets at the Spurs. The spurs are five and a half point favorites on Dragons.
- [42:05]
B
These teams play 100 times a year.
- [42:07]
C
They play a lot.
- [42:11]
B
It is Falcon Saints.
- [42:13]
C
Yeah.
- [42:13]
B
Yankees, Red Sox and Rocket spurs for amount of times they play each other. I believe the spurs win most of the time. But they're going to play again tomorrow, so who cares?
- [42:22]
C
Myron, what you got to pick though?
- [42:25]
B
I picked the spurs, okay?
- [42:26]
C
Yeah, the Spurs. I mean that comeback against the Clippers the other night was ridiculous. They were down 25 and still won. Wimby was crying. Did you see that? He was crying after regular season.
- [42:35]
B
Just for the record. Just the record. NBA at this time of year is the worst sport. The worst sport.
- [42:42]
C
I love it at this time.
- [42:43]
B
The teams don't care. People are tanking. It's. You can't watch. It's brutal, right?
- [42:48]
C
I watch it every night except the
- [42:49]
B
games on espn, which you can watch in abc because they will be on today and they will be.
- [42:53]
C
I watch them every day. They're great.
- [42:55]
F
And listen on ESPN Radio, like definitely listen.
- [42:58]
C
You can certainly listen.
- [42:59]
F
Yeah. So let's move to college basketball then. The men's number eight, Michigan State at number three, Michigan. Michigan is a nine and a half point favorite on DraftKings.
- [43:08]
B
Michigan is, is a. Is a horse like they are. They got everything. They got. Like they bring in a 6 11, you know, Yaxel, you got a 73 guy named Mara and they are absolutely a juggernaut. They win today at home against Michigan State.
- [43:27]
C
Yeah, I mean, Duke could finish the year with the highest Kim Palm rating in almost 30 years. Michigan will finish right behind him at number two. They're very, very good. They will overwhelm Michigan State again and win this game.
- [43:39]
B
What's next?
- [43:40]
F
All right, let's head to the women's side. Number 12, Louisville versus number 13, Duke. This is the ACC final. Duke is two and a half point favorites.
- [43:49]
B
Yeah, Louisville versus Duke, it's like pitting, you know, evil versus evil in my mind, but. So I'm not sure which one to pick. I guess I'll take Duke, but I would prefer this to be a tie. Neither team be allowed the victor victory.
- [44:05]
C
Yeah, I mean, I think I'm gonna go with Carol Lawson and Duke, like, what an amazing turnaround started the year. People were saying that they were going to be one of the biggest flops in women's college basketball. And now here they are, the ACC title game. They're going to end the story with a win today. Give me Duke.
- [44:22]
F
You'd also watch out on ESPN here in a couple of minutes at 1:00 clock Eastern. Let's go to the World Baseball Classic. Pool play Great Britain versus Italy. Who you got here?
- [44:33]
B
I mean, I don't know.
- [44:35]
C
Yeah.
- [44:36]
B
Pool play baseball.
- [44:38]
C
Yeah.
- [44:39]
B
Who is on Baseball Classic on Great Britain?
- [44:42]
C
I mean, I don't know, but is
- [44:44]
B
Ildris Elba on Who plays for Great
- [44:47]
C
Britain in baseball before he fakes his accent in America?
- [44:52]
B
You get so mad at British people doing American accents, don't you?
- [44:56]
C
I think it's a form of stealing. I do.
- [45:00]
B
Go ahead. You were gonna say cultural appropriation, weren't you?
- [45:02]
C
No, I was gonna say Italy has an espresso machine.
- [45:05]
B
Yes.
- [45:06]
C
So does Great Britain have a tea kettle like in there in their deckout a spot?
- [45:12]
F
Right? That's what they jazz Chisholm plays for Great Britain team.
- [45:16]
B
Do me a favor. Do your British accent again.
- [45:20]
C
Would you like to give me a spot of tea, mate? Would you give me a spot of tea? That sound British, right? I don't know what that is. That's British.
- [45:30]
B
You know, it wasn't.
- [45:31]
C
That's British.
- [45:32]
B
It wasn't terrible.
- [45:34]
C
Better than I thought. That was British. That was very British.
- [45:36]
B
Quickly. We just got like 20 seconds. Give me a quick preview of today's game. If you were a British announcer.
- [45:42]
C
The Brits are going to play Italy and a baseball World Classic. Gotta drink a spa tay.
- [45:50]
F
Does he have marbles in his mouth?
- [45:52]
B
Yeah, you. You. I think you were kind of switching accents middle of the way.
- [45:56]
C
Sorry, I'm not Idris Alba, you know. Sorry.
- [46:01]
A
Myron Keller.
- [46:02]
B
Game day is next. Spot perfect, probably. Jonathan Zaslow. This has been Matt Myron on ESPN Radio.
- [46:10]
C
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 from 30 for 30 podcasts.
- [46:41]
B
Brian Pata, senior defensive lineman from Miami, gunned down the key to this case. It's Brian.
- [46:50]
C
An hour before he died, he was on the phone arguing with somebody.
- [46:52]
B
This might be a hit.
- [46:54]
C
You want the truth? They just want a conviction.
- [46:56]
A
Being placed under arrest.
- [46:57]
B
We had a killer amongst us.
- [46:59]
C
Murder at the U. Listen now.