B (2:31)

So explain that.

A (2:32)

And in fact, that friend is also TBTL employee numero uno, Mr. John Sklaroff, who is standing in for Andrew today on the program. Hey, Romano, welcome to the show. John.

B (2:43)

Hey, good morning, Luke. How's it going?

A (2:45)

Great. How was. How's stuff in the Twin Cities stuff actually nice.

B (2:49)

You know, things are. I know last time I was on, things were very chaotic. Things I think have been settling down, which has been really nice. And then also the weather has finally turned for us.

A (2:58)

Nice.

B (2:59)

Which is it was a really snowy winter and a really cold winter. So it's really nice. Like everything's, you know, as far as things can be going. Everything's going a lot better these days, I think, for most folks here.

A (3:09)

Good. I'm glad to hear. Well, you guys, particularly you folks in Minnesota deserve to have some nice weather and some.

B (3:15)

Yeah.

A (3:15)

More chill times.

B (3:17)

Yeah.

A (3:18)

Thank you for standing in for Andrew today. He is off in Hawaii.

B (3:23)

Must be nice.

A (3:24)

I know, right? One of us still has to work today.

B (3:27)

Yeah. No, he. He absolutely deserves it. He and Veeves deserve to have that time.

A (3:30)

Yes. I did think it was interesting that he and I have gone to almost the extreme furthest two sort of areas that are considered part of the United States. He went to Hawaii. I went to Florida.

B (3:45)

Oh, yeah.

A (3:46)

It's like we have almost half of the globe in between us.

B (3:49)

Really. The entire western hemisphere is covered by tbt. Can that be a slogan or something?

A (3:55)

Sure. Put it on the merch. Have you been annoyed lately at how much Andrew and I've been telling people not to buy the merch?

B (4:02)

No, because your favorite. No. No, I actually am not. Because I think we've talked about before, like, the merch is not the revenue driver. If we're pulling back the curtain, like.

A (4:11)

Yes.

B (4:12)

Not how we pay our salaries. It's something we do because we know the tens like it to. To have to show off their tippy tail pride to communicate to other people their tens. And also because we have some fun with it. But it's not like we're getting rich by any means off the merch. So if people don't want to buy the merch, I'm like, yeah, that's fine.

A (4:31)

That's fine. Right. Because the other thing is that, you know, around thon time, we've usually got some thank you. Some thank you gifts, if you will, for people supporting. And that is the financial lifeblood of the operation. So if someone were to buy a T shirt and then maybe not donate at the Thawne, it would be a. A bad outcome. I just think about you though, like, you know, as the. As the sort of master of coin and the Business boy. The number one business boy on the show, hearing us say, like, yes, we just designed some new merch, but please, we would really appreciate if you don't interact with it. Can't be. Can't be your very favorite thing, but you take it in stride.

B (5:03)

It's. It's. Yeah, it's not too bad. That's not too bad. If you want, buy a shirt or hoodie, cool. If not. All good.

A (5:09)

All good. I saw something, and we're going to talk about basketball coming up a little bit later because you're a big NBA guy, and it looks like Seattle's gonna get an NBA team. Are you a March Madness guy? Do you care about March Madness at all?

B (5:21)

Not really. When I was younger, I used to like college basketball. I used to follow it a lot more. You know, if a game's on somewhere, you know, I'll watch it. Maybe. Maybe the championship game. I'm kind of that guy now. But I'm definitely much more like, I love the NBA and college. I follow mostly to the extent of, like, just reading about who the top prospects are, like, who's gonna be drafted high in the NBA and, like, seeing who could, like, shake out in the league down the road.

A (5:46)

I saw. Yeah. I used to be much more into March Madness when the Huskies. The Huskies men's basketball team was kind of decent for a while there.

B (5:54)

And would.

A (5:55)

We had a season where. And I think I was actually still in college at the time where I think we were in the Final Four and we were about to go to the. To the championship game. If not for Richard Hamilton of UConn. RIP Hamilton shooting a shot while seated on the court. He had fallen down or the ball had somehow he shot a shot while sitting on the court, and it went in. And it was what lost the game for us and did not allow us to go on to whatever it was. The Final Four or something.

B (6:25)

Yeah.

A (6:26)

And something inside of me died. But I saw something on TikTok as I was flying over here to Florida, where a guy was saying basically that, like, March Mad List. March Madness is essentially like, MAGA coded.

B (6:38)

Oh.

A (6:39)

And he gave a very compelling argument for it. It basically had to do with, like, the kinds of teams that get. That people tend to root for. They tend to be. Oftentimes they're like Duke or Gonzaga. They're like kind of white teams.

B (6:52)

Sure.

A (6:53)

And then he had a bunch of other better kind of evidence to support his argument about how the, like, what gets rewarded in the March Madness tournament. The kind of teams that we Root for and sort of like basically he like ripped the veil off of the whole thing for me. And now I feel like if I, if I watch March Madness, I'm somehow supporting the wrong political side. He had me fully convinced by the end of the 90 seconds of his TikTok.

B (7:15)

I think like 20, 30 or more years ago. Like, maybe that was. Again, this somebody has. I'm coming from somebody who's not really paid that much attention in recent years. But like back when, like guys, it was like say Duke, for example. And I like, every good American hates Duke basketball. No offense.

A (7:32)

See, I grew up liking Duke, which makes me really. Well, was the appeal because I was struck by the fact that there were, I mean, there were guys that looked like me that excelling at basketball.

B (7:43)

Okay, so that is the answer.

A (7:44)

I liked Bobby Hurley because I thought I could grow up to be Bobby Hurley.

B (7:48)

Sure. Christian Leitner.

A (7:50)

I mean, I know, I know these are the people I, I literally found out, I think this season, like, I think our friend the stu bot was in the sports chat saying something to the effect of, you know, like, every. Basically what you just said, like, every good American, we're all rooting against Duke. And literally that was news to me that we're all rooting against Duke. I feel like an idiot because, yeah, of course it's, you know, it's. You're rooting for the, you know, you're rooting for the bad guy from Karate Kid 2.

B (8:15)

Yeah.

A (8:16)

When you're rooting for Duke. But for some reason I was, I was, I was compelled as a kid. I liked Duke.

B (8:21)

I do think so. Like I was going to say though, like, that's really. I. I find obviously what you're saying, I think is probably what this kind of tick tock was talking to. It's like mostly white people love, you know, in a sport that's predominantly black, you know, African American players. It's interesting that like a team that's so often associated with like rich white kids is the kids the team that like so many Americans are for. Right. So, like, I get that. But I was going to say before is like, I think that is, like I said, more historically accurate. But back when, like, you know, it was rare for a player to only play one or two years in college and then get to the NBA draft. And Duke for so long, like, was like, no, we do things right. Our guys play four years. But then Duke, like everyone else realized, oh, the best players are only going to college because the NBA requires you to be out of high school. For an extra year. And they, you know, the quote one and done players. So they go to college for one year, show off how good they are and then go get drafted. And Duke started doing that like 15 years ago too. Like all their, you know, every top Duke player. I mean, last year, Cooper Flagg was the number one draft pick. He was a one and done before him, Zion Williamson, Kyrie Irving, Anthony. Nancy Davis went to Kentucky. But like there's Marvin Bagley, although he was like a third. Anyway, it doesn't matter. There's like a litany of guys over the last 15, 20 years from Duke who are just like one duns. Where years ago, coach K. Mike Shersky, the coach there, was like, no, we don't do that. We do things the right way. And being coded as like rich white guy who sticks out for four years.

A (9:50)

Right, exactly.

B (9:51)

Yeah. So I don't know.

A (9:52)

And slaps the floor on defense. If he's Steve Wojahowski.

B (9:55)

Yeah.

A (9:55)

Or a lot of floor slapping.

B (9:57)

Yeah. Also, Grayson Allen's probably MAGA coded. He was a former Duke player and he's just like.

A (10:02)

Yeah, he is. He is a bad guy. He's the heel.

B (10:05)

I.

A (10:06)

Have you heard about the Boozer Twins?

B (10:07)

Yeah, Cameron and Kaden.

A (10:09)

But have you heard about the reason they exist?

B (10:11)

The bone marrow thing? Yeah.

A (10:13)

Yes.

B (10:13)

Can we real quick, just because I know you introduce this as like basketball talk. I just like the things I would. I'm bringing to the conversation. I think we're generally bringing the conversation. Even if you're not a basketball fan, this episode of TBTL is still for you. This is not. We're not gonna be breaking down the X's and O's. There's like. I have some goofy things I wanna talk to you about, but. Yeah, please. The Boozer Twins are a phenomenal story. So I think anyone, even if you're not a basketball fan, would be interested in it.

A (10:38)

This is. Yeah. This is not a story about basketball. This is a story about two guys that exist to save their older brother. Like something out of like a Marvel comic or. Well, wait a minute, I forgot who I was talking to. You could probably tell me very. In a very detailed way if this fits into the MCU or not.

B (10:55)

Definitely sci fi.

A (10:56)

Sure. Okay. There you go. So. And also, by the way, not only are they miracles, there's a whole story about their dad's shoe polish hair, which is also fascinating. The whole boozer.

B (11:06)

Carlos, my guy.

A (11:08)

Yeah, so. So there's a guy. There was a guy who played for. For Duke. His Name was Carlos Boozer. They played in the NBA for a long time. He did one time, unfortunately, do like, you know, I always talk about putting topic in my hair, putting that hair powder in so I look a little less bald. He went to another level with it where like somebody did some crazy thing to his hair, like right before the game. Cause he didn't have a lot of hair on top of his head and it was so noticeable. And he has been roasted for this for like the last 15 years now. He's taken it in stride. By the way.

B (11:36)

That's gonna be the show. Today's the Carlos Boozer hair.

A (11:40)

Andrew's gone. It means we can do whatever we want, including, including honoring the legacy of Carlos Boozer and his hair. But anyway, so Carlos Boozer and his wife, they have a child and that child is born with a condition. I think it's sickle cell.

B (11:53)

Yeah, I think that's right.

A (11:54)

And this was a really unfortunate situation for their son. And basically like, I mean, again, I'm kind of going on memory here, but my sense of it is that it was actually Carlos Boozer's wife who was like, usually doing your own research is a recipe for disaster in the modern era. But my understanding is that she basically found some kind of sort of leading edge technology and research around trying to improve the health of her son. And she figured out that if there was an exact match for her son from a sort of like, I guess, what a DNA standpoint.

B (12:32)

Yeah, yeah.

A (12:33)

That, that there they could do a transplant, a bone marrow transplant, and potentially, I don't know if they cured the son, but at least made his life a lot better. And so they went through the process of having more children, having these twins, but it was incredibly, it was a very controlled environment. It was, you know, I think that they were doing a lot of selecting for particular genetic matches.

B (12:52)

Yeah, it was like IVF and in that kind of situation.

A (12:55)

Yeah. And they had to make sure that these, these new children were going to be an exact match for their son who was alive. And it, it worked out. And it's these two twins who now play for Duke along with saving their brother's life or in improving their brother's health outcomes, which is an incredible story.

B (13:11)

And not only do. Oh, sorry, please, no, see, not only do they both play for Duke, they're like this top seeded, you know, NCAA tournament team. But Cameron, at least there's Cameron and Kaden are the twins. Cameron's like projected to be like a top three draft pick in the NBA this next Season. So it's not only like save brother's life, have a great college career, but like also going to be a highly touted NBA prospect as well.

A (13:35)

Incredible stuff. I do think naming your kids Caden and Cameron is regrettable, but you know, I'm not here to criticize the boozers child name. Well, I mean, have you heard the Knipple family?

B (13:48)

Oh, I've. I feel very strongly with negative feelings towards the Knipples.

A (13:52)

But the Knipples are there's a kid named Khan Kanipple who's actually Han, not Don. No, but he's. He has the least weird name in that family. Yeah, like they're all K names, right? Yeah. The last name is Knipple. And like you, you know, I'm trying to make sure that our. I'm in Florida today, obviously. I'm making sure that our Internet connection is relatively stable. Can you look up the other Kanipple names?

B (14:16)

Literally, I was. As you were saying that I was typing it out.

A (14:19)

It's like they're ridiculous.

B (14:22)

Let's see. Khan, here's his wiki. Let's go. Khan, Knipple, blah, blah, blah.

A (14:27)

Yeah, and he is a phenomenal basketball player, as are his little brothers. But he's got like 10 year old brothers that are playing at AAU ball or whatever and are phenomenal. But it's like I feel like their names get weirder.

B (14:38)

They all start. Okay, here we go. You ready for this?

A (14:40)

Yes.

B (14:41)

Oh, this is his father and his uncles. Before I get to the brothers, his father. And these are all names that begin with K. Oh God. Clint, Clay. Clint with a K. Clint, Clay and Cole, all with a K. Okay. And then his brothers are. Oh, why is wiki not.

A (14:59)

But it's something because you didn't donate last time.

B (15:01)

Oh, here we go. Here we go. Yeah, here we go. Cager, Cager. Cager, Cager.

A (15:08)

Yeah, John, it's Cager, Cager.

B (15:10)

Of course.

A (15:10)

Why would you be confused by that?

B (15:12)

So sorry, Kinston. Not Kingston, but Kinston Cash, like somebody we all know and love. And then Nicole, and then Kidman, presumably

A (15:22)

named after Nicole Kidman, Knipple. So we've got, okay, Kidman, Cager, Cash and Khan.

B (15:31)

Yeah. So here's the thing about Khan. Okay? This is. You want to talk about kind of real quick on a TikTok conspiracy I saw. I don't feel great about this, but I also, I'm like, I am who I am. And, and, and that'll be revealed in a moment of a paranoid maniac, which is Khan. So his dad is what I just read. It's something is also Khan, right over his dad's also Khan.

A (15:54)

So he's not Clint or Clay.

B (15:55)

No, those are his brothers.

A (15:56)

Okay.

B (15:57)

Con. That's Khan Senior's brothers. So Khan Knipple is Khan Knipple ii. Right. And has been pointed out online. Remember, all white family from Wisconsin not saying anything yet. But concanipple ii, which written out is concanipple I, I because the Roman numerals and I I looks like an 11 and the 11th letter in the Alphabet, Luke. Want to guess what that is?

A (16:24)

Oh, boy. Are you also. Do you also think the band 311 was.

B (16:28)

No, no, no, no.

A (16:30)

Because of. Because that was the rumor I heard growing up.

B (16:31)

No, because they played stoner music from California. So, like, I feel very safe about them. But if.

A (16:38)

I mean, if you were to like,

B (16:39)

look at Khan's initials or tech could be read as KKK 3K's.

A (16:43)

Yeah, K, K. Well, I mean, they could have really slam dunked it if. I wonder what his middle name is.

B (16:50)

I don't know if he has one. At least according to Wikipedia, nothing is shown.

A (16:53)

It's probably just as well.

B (16:54)

Yeah.

A (16:55)

Hey, speaking of offspring, you guys have a new puppy?

B (16:59)

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Good training.

A (17:01)

Cager, right?

B (17:02)

Yeah. Cage. No, it's. Yeah, it's Cager. Yeah. But it's Cager with this. With a Z. So it's like, perfect. It's very. It's more. Xajer.

A (17:10)

Yeah. Xavier. Sure. It's a family name. It's how my. Am I saying this right? Menon.

B (17:15)

Manon. Yeah, Manon.

A (17:17)

And tell me how Manon is doing.

B (17:19)

Sheesh. Jess and I had to remind ourselves that there is like this period of where when people get new puppies for like two or three weeks afterwards. You regret getting a new puppy? No.

A (17:32)

Like you're regretting it.

B (17:33)

We. No, no.

A (17:34)

In the short term.

B (17:35)

In the short term, we love her to death. We're so happy she's here. But it is like, she's also. We think she has like, worm, like, you know, like a kind of parasite thing, which is very normal for. Not normal. Like, it's not uncommon in puppies.

A (17:48)

Okay.

B (17:48)

So she's been getting up between three and six times a night to have some bad bellies.

A (17:53)

Oh, no.

B (17:54)

Yeah. Which is.

A (17:55)

It's.

B (17:55)

It sucks. And like, we took her to the vet, like, she got. Because she had to go for all of her booster shots and stuff like that. And so we talked about there and they gave us some stuff to kind of like Deworm her and everything. And it's a bummer. And we're getting no sleep. And she's also like a vampire where she'll just like bite your legs and stuff when she wants to with like

A (18:12)

the sharpest teeth ever.

B (18:14)

Yeah. So like we're going through that. Like, we absolutely love her. We're so happy she's here. We are running on fumes and constantly in a state of like, what are we doing? But it's, it's been otherwise fantastic.

A (18:27)

Do you have her, like, have you put down like newspaper in the entire house? Is she in the garage? How are you dealing with this repeated number two problem?

B (18:36)

Well, the number two problem is she, you know, she's being crate trained. So she's in her crate, which is in our bedroom. And then she'll start yipping and crying to go out. And then I go grab her out of the crate, run downstairs, take her out back. We. She's definitely had some accidents in the house that we own. We've just been cleaning up over and over again. Like, you know, like, I mean, but she's, but she's getting better with that. You know, that's again, I think very normal. But as far as the middle of the night stuff, that's typically. And this is, this is the arrangement. This is not me complaining typically because I'm just like a deeper sleeper, a heavier sleeper, just poking me at 2 in the morning, me getting up, grabbing her going outside in 20 degrees with a lot of wind whipping around. I mean, like, please go to the bathroom. And most times she, like, in those moments she goes right away and then we just go back inside. But yeah, but it's been, it's been tough but. But again, like, is this different than.

A (19:25)

Because this is. You've had a number of. Of what kind of dog is she again?

B (19:30)

They're all golden retreats.

A (19:32)

So is it was this typical with the previous ones that you've had?

B (19:35)

So we. So not in my experience. So Jess had Thor. So our first two we had worth that we had for over a decade together were Thor and Modi and Thor. Jess, he was like 9 or 10 months old when Jess and I started dating. So I didn't go through the puppy phase. Modi Jess was in Minnesota for the summer while I was still in New York. Like, we were, we were married at this point. No, we weren't married. We're is before anyway. We. I was in New York for like. And she came out to stay with her family over the summer for six weeks or something. Like that. And we. We got Modi then. So those first, like, six weeks, she was the one doing this.

A (20:14)

Got it.

B (20:15)

And then Ben, our guy Benny, who we have now with. With Manon, you know, he. We got him. We rescued him because he has diabetes and the family was going to put him down, and so we got him at six months old. And me personally. Yeah, this is the first time I'm. I'm experiencing this joy.

A (20:35)

How are. How are Benny and Manon doing together?

B (20:37)

Awesome. Like, we expected, like, he's. He's a very friendly dog. Like, he's always, like, excited and like, we figured they'd get along, but we were pleasantly surprised. Like, how quickly, like, within a week, like, they were starting to play with each other. Now they play with each other pretty much every day. He is so tolerant of her. Like, she'll jump in his face and, like, steal his toys and he's kind of like, puts up with it. And we're, We're. I mean, he's a couple of times as, again, very normal. Had to correct behavior, Give her like a little. Little girl kind of thing here and there. And she. Which scared her off, which is like, totally fine. That's just him saying boundaries, as we all should do, right?

A (21:15)

Yes, definitely.

B (21:16)

So he's been. Yeah, we're really proud of him. He's doing awesome. It's been really lovely to see them together.

A (21:21)

Now, have you been out in public with Manon and. And like, what is it like being in the world?

B (21:27)

Yeah.

A (21:28)

With a. You know. How old is she? Six month old?

B (21:31)

No, she's just over 11 weeks.

A (21:33)

Like.

B (21:33)

Yeah.

A (21:34)

I mean.

B (21:34)

Yeah.

A (21:34)

Can you go anywhere? Are you being stopped? Constantly being mobbed. Is this what it feels like to be Justin Bieber?

B (21:39)

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Cost the Beatles. Yeah, yeah. We. So we only had been. Not like, like going on walks around the neighborhood and always people like, oh, my God, can I pet your poppy? And then they look, look at Benny and like, oh, we love you too. And he's like, yeah, whatever. But because she had only booster shots this last Friday, we were not bringing her around like, other dogs or in like, big spaces. But we will start doing more of that now. Jess did take her.

A (22:08)

Our.

B (22:09)

Our niece. Not technically. That's whatever. Our friend's kid who's basically like a niece, goes to a college down the road from us and her family's in New York. So, like, you know, we spent a lot of time with her and she loves the dogs. And so Jess yesterday brought them onto the campus and all the kids, like, 20 something kids were just like. Students were just like losing their mind over them wherever. I wasn't there for it. But yeah, apparently it went great. Everyone loved her, was freaking out over her. Yeah.

A (22:38)

I mean, I've just been like on Instagram observing her and she's absolutely adorable.

B (22:42)

Yeah.

A (22:43)

So. Well, I'm glad to. I mean, I'm not glad to hear that you're getting no sleep, but I'm glad to hear that you're not rehearsing.

B (22:49)

Yeah.

A (22:50)

Now, Modi, that name was. That was Modi named for Navendra Modi, the autocratic leader of India. Yes.

B (22:55)

We are pro dictator in this house. No, we.

A (22:58)

Is that a Marvel thing too?

B (22:59)

Not Marvel, Norse, so.

A (23:02)

Oh, Norse. Okay.

B (23:03)

Who again was Jess's dog before we were together? She named him Thor. Not for the Marvel character, but before the Norse God. Only because she's from Minnesota. Wanda dog with a strong Nordic name, like Minnesotan name.

A (23:14)

Yeah.

B (23:15)

As she was. Because she was taking a job in New York and she wanted to have like a ties back home. So. In the mythology, Modi is one of Thor's two sons. There's Modi and Magni. Not Magni after Ragnarok, you know, which is the end of days, the end of the world kind of thing, where Thor and the. The world serpent kill each other. Modi and Magni jointly inherit the hammer, Mjolnir. So he's one of.

A (23:43)

Jeez.

B (23:43)

Yeah.

A (23:43)

Did you have to learn all this mythology to marry Jesse?

B (23:46)

No, I took a Norse class in college. Just. I was fascinated by it.

A (23:49)

Really? Okay, cool.

B (23:50)

Yeah, it was just like an inch. And the teacher was awesome too.

A (23:53)

But Manon is not from the Norse world. Manon is from where again?

B (23:56)

Manon is from a book series called Throne of Glass. It's an author, Sarah J. Maas, who. Who's had several very prolific fantasy series. Yeah.

A (24:08)

Does she have that like thorns or something?

B (24:11)

Yeah, Thorn roses. I think it's. There's. So there's. There's the three series are Thrown Glass series. Then she did Acotar, A Court of Thorn and Roses. And then now and then also Crescent Cities are other one. And they are, you know, very popular with. On, you know, in the book talk spaces. Jess has been reading them for years kind of thing.

A (24:30)

And I see a lot of people on the airplanes with those books, with those Sarah Moss books.

B (24:33)

Yeah. Yeah.

A (24:34)

Maybe the TBT book club could tackle that next and my mom could continue to not be part of it.

B (24:39)

Well, I was gonna say that might be one you want Susie to miss because Those books.

A (24:42)

Oh, is it a little racy?

B (24:43)

A little racy? Yeah. I mean, they're like. I think Jess and I talk about this a lot. Like, they get unfairly labeled as, like, smut. They're not. You know, it's like there are definitely some explicit scenes in some of them, but it is otherwise really about the fantasy and the world building and these stories. You know, it's really token with. With some. With some sex scenes, really, when you think about it.

A (25:06)

All right, well, maybe I'll look into it and I will swerve my mom off of that. I did have an unfortunate thing happen the other day when. Of all of the days for me to randomly mention to Andrew about my youth and when I was in high school and me and my buddies getting our hands on, let's just say, an adult film. And it was a. The name of the film was a riff on Three Musketeers, which had come up on the show.

B (25:28)

Yeah, yeah.

A (25:29)

And I'll let the people fill in the blanks there. But I say this to Andrew and it happened to be a day my dad was working in the Madrona Hill studio. And he just goes like, what? From the back? And I swear to God, dude, I went from being 49 years old to being 9 years old. Like, I was in trouble with my dad. Like, I was like. I've literally never mentioned this on the show that I remember. It's not the kind of stuff we generally talk about.

B (25:51)

Right.

A (25:52)

Of all days, why am I copying to this with my father eight feet away underneath the sink.

B (25:58)

But anyway, I will say, and this is not anything from personal experience, but a friend told me a lot of those kinds of films often have really funny. Like, you're talking about, like, the play on the name. I feel like that's like a common. Again, nothing. No personal experience. I've just heard from.

A (26:12)

No, no, no. Definitely not. Yeah, right. No, but like, yeah, there used to be a theater in Seattle called the Lusty lady, which was like one of those, you know, adult theaters that had. They were famous for their marquee, their billboards. They would just had, like, great signs, like whether or not you, you know, were in for that kind of thing or had moral problems with it. You had to. You had to acknowledge that the. That some of the names. I don't even know if they were real movies or just, like, the ideas of movies that they made up. I remember Luke Thyrocker was one, obviously,

B (26:40)

that one stick out, stuck out to. Of Thigh Rocker, of course.

A (26:43)

Thyrocker.

B (26:44)

Yeah, that really stuck with you that part.

A (26:45)

I think Foreskin Hump was their riff on Foreskump. Wait, my dad's coming out of the bathroom at this.

B (26:54)

Four Points by Sheraton I In high school, I worked at, you know, like a Subway, you know, I was a sandwich artist.

A (26:59)

Yes, I know this.

B (27:01)

My boss's friend was opening a. A video store and I asked if I would, like, help, like for a few days, kind of like selling. Set up the shelves and do a few things. And like, it was good money. I was like, you know, 18 or whatever. 17. I'm like, yeah, great. And I remember because this was the time when there was like, literally a back room for that stuff. And I'll never forget. Sex. Penetration. Wait, no. Sex Trek. The Next Penetration. I was like, that was so funny to me.

A (27:32)

We had a move. We would go to Blockbuster. And Blockbuster didn't have, like, extremely explicit movies, but they had something called the midnight movie section.

B (27:41)

Yeah.

A (27:42)

So it's just like, you know, movies that only existed to show nudity but not full on, you know.

B (27:46)

Yeah, yeah.

A (27:47)

Adult films. And. But even so, I think there was. I can't remember. I think, like, technically you were supposed to be 18. I can't remember. But what I remember was we thought we were so clever because what we would do is we would get two quote unquote, normal movies, probably starring Bruce Willis. Be like Die Hard and then some other action film. And then we'd get something called like Blue Ribbon Babes, you know, or something. There was almost always a car wash that needed to happen.

B (28:13)

For some reason, they need to raise

A (28:15)

that money to save the Whatever. Yeah. And we would. So it would go. It would be like a sandwich. It would be like, normal movie on the bottom, blue Ribbon babes in the middle, normal movie on top. And we really thought like, this is. This is the biggest head fake ever. For the person checking us out at Blockbuster Video, like their brain. They see a Bruce Willis movie and then their brain just turns off. They don't even, like. They literally don't even. They're not even aware of the movie that's in the middle. Because we've done such a good job of.

B (28:41)

They're just focused on Hudson Hawk. They don't know anything about.

A (28:44)

We loved Hudson Hawk. Pete, my buddy Peter and I are probably the only two people in America who've seen Hudson Hawk as many times as.

B (28:51)

Dude, that movie was so fun. It was great because I saw it when I was like 10 on Comedy Central and he kept wanting to play Nintendo throughout the whole Movie. I'm like, yeah, me too, buddy. Yeah.

A (29:02)

Would you like to swing on a star? Carrie? Moon Beams Home in a Jar. Yeah, like, we like that. Yeah, that was, that was my first experience with loving a movie. That was also a punchline of how bad it was.

B (29:13)

Yeah.

A (29:14)

Like, people were like, oh, yeah, like Hudson Hawk. Like, like everyone acknowledging this is a terrible film. Like, I freaking love it.

B (29:21)

You're like, you mean the Citizen Kane of our generation?

A (29:23)

Thank you. Exactly.

B (29:26)

Yeah. So I'm gonna mark all this explicit on the show radio.

A (29:30)

Yes, definitely. I think the foreskin hump thing, probably it's gonna get us in trouble.

B (29:37)

On your mark, on your mark. Get set, get set now.

A (29:41)

Ready, ready, go. Everybody rattle dazzle. Hey, let's thank some dazzling donors. These fine folks are donating a dazzling amount of dough. And it's the way that TBTL is able to continue operating five days a week, 52 weeks a year, even when I'm in Florida staring at spring breakers, as I currently am. John. Yeah, I was like, I was booking the hotels for down here. I'm doing a TV story about a guy who is an opera singer who was having a little bit of a tough time finding opera work. So he got a job at a used car lot and now sings opera in the commercials for the used cars that he's selling. And it's become a big hit here in.

B (30:23)

That's amazing. I love that.

A (30:24)

Yeah. You know. Yeah. Democracy dies in darkness, people, is what I would say if you. Your boy Luke is still. Is still getting those hard hitting assignments from CBS Television, but I was booking the hotel and I was like, why is it like so crazy expensive in like Florida? And then I got here, I was like, oh, duh, spring break.

B (30:41)

How was your flight, by the way? How is. I mean, I've just seen all these videos on TikTok of the lines at the airports. I'm like, oh my God.

A (30:49)

Definitely something I think ICE is going to be able to solve. Feeling extremely good about that.

B (30:54)

They're so competent and capable.

A (30:56)

I really did have to. I saw like an immigration attorney online and they were saying basically like, well, look, if you're a person whose sort of immigration status is even in the slightest bit tenuous, do not travel right now with ICE there. And also said, hey, if you're like a person born in America and your citizenship is solid, think about you make a plan of what you're gonna do if you see ICE messing with someone. And I was like, yeah, that's a good point. You know what I mean? Like. Like, it's because I, you know, it hasn't really happened in Oregon, where I'm primarily the way that it was happening in Minnesota. But now that I travel so much, there's a reasonable. I mean, I'm not sure what my. My memory response is gonna be to start videotaping with my phone.

B (31:37)

Yeah.

A (31:38)

To try to do all of those kind of things that we've now learned to try to do when someone is being messed with by ice. But. But yeah, that's gonna be crazy. That being said, my flight here was actually a piece of cake. It was very early. I think I've become like, I used to do everything in my power to avoid like a 7am flight or whatever, but I've realized now, like, Andrew and Genevieve, when they were flying to Hawaii, he was all excited because I guess, you know, they were gonna be leaving at like one in the afternoon or something and. Cause he was like, I don't like those early flights. The thing is, though, like, what? It sucks getting up, but then once you're awake, everything else about it is easier. Like there. In my experience, the airport is a little less hectic. You can usually get a slightly better seat on the flight because most people don't want to do a 7am flight on a Sunday. That's not fun. Also, you can just go back to sleep on the flight, which is exactly what I did. I slept for a significant portion of it. They did. Okay, I don't want to get off track here. We're here to thank the donors.

B (32:36)

John, I brought us here.

A (32:39)

I asked, do not let this get in the way of me thanking Kevin Zentarski of Omaha, Nebraska, who's our first dazzling donor. But, you know, I've been complaining about what Alaska Airlines has started to do is they've started to just basically auction off the first class seats for next to nothing the closer you get to the flight taking off. That used to be the reward for choosing Alaska Airlines constantly, as I do, and being in their top little tier of people that fly the most. That meant that I would sometimes get to be up in first class because they didn't sell all of the tickets. But now what they're doing is they're just like, they'll start with, hey, it's a few hundred extra dollars if you want to be in first class. And a lot of people are like, well, no, thanks. And then the price just keeps plummeting. I knew exactly how many seats were available in first class. I was carefully monitoring it throughout the weekend. And then when I Got to the. The, you know, to check in. I still hadn't been upgraded. There was like four seats in first class, and I was first on the upgrade list. And then there was. I. I did actually make it into first class, but the person at the gate said. I said, did I get upgraded first class? She goes, I don't know. Someone just. Someone just paid to be upgraded. I was like. And it was like five minutes before the flight. I was like, really interesting. So I get on the plane. Luckily, there was one seat left that nobody wanted for whatever reason, in first class. I got that seat. I was sitting next to a very nice young woman whose dad was the pilot.

B (34:05)

Oh.

A (34:05)

And whose mom was the flight attendant.

B (34:07)

Oh, that's sweet. Family affair.

A (34:10)

Totally was really cute. And she goes to Embry Riddle here in Florida, which is like an aviation focused school.

B (34:17)

Oh, cool.

A (34:17)

Following dad's footsteps, keeping it in the fam. Which is really awesome.

B (34:21)

Nothing like a Nepo pilot, right?

A (34:23)

No, but she was. But very, very nice young person. And this was great. I was very happy for them. But I heard her dad, the pilot, talking to one of the flight attendants, you know, when like the pilots come out to stretch their legs and whatever. And he just casually said to this other flight attendant, not his wife, but the other one, he said, yeah, you know, we. We upgraded her because it was only 69 more dollars.

B (34:43)

Oh, wow.

A (34:44)

So that is what the price of the first class ticket had the. To. To go from being in coach. This is like a six hour flight.

B (34:50)

Yeah.

A (34:50)

That's a great. It's an insane deal.

B (34:53)

I would do that.

A (34:54)

Like, and I've. This has been my suspicion for a while now is that, you know, they're basically like the Alaska Airlines. Like, yeah, we'd rather get 70 more dollars on this flight than potentially have Luke get to go up to first class at no charge.

B (35:08)

Right.

A (35:08)

Even though that's the whole point of my loyalty to the airline, I've never actually gotten confirmation of how actually cheap it was. And in this case, it was $69 for this young person. And again, happy for her. It all worked out. Everything was fine for me. But, like, I'm just like. That is. That's almost like. That almost should be illegal to offer an upgrade for $69.

B (35:29)

I do worry, Luke, for you, because, like, now that you have this information, I feel like this is just like another opportunity to like, to gamble on, like, our, like, playing the game. Right. Of like, all right, how close are we to take off? How many of these seats are available? What? Like, I Feel like you're just gonna be like, it's like new, like horse, like horse track thing for you where like you're just gonna be like, I'm getting to the close to boarding time. What's it, is it gonna be 70 bucks? Is it still gonna be $300? Are other people getting in on it? And I just, I just.

A (36:04)

Well, I'm already, I'm already worried about my flight back.

B (36:07)

Yeah.

A (36:07)

And I'm already thinking like, how do. The other thing is because this is so boring, but because my tickets are not. I don't buy them from the airline. I buy them through the travel service that CBS has called Concur.

B (36:19)

Oh, we love Concur.

A (36:20)

Oh, you'll love this. We're switching over. We're switching over to. The expense system is going to be something else. And I was like, why are we doing that? And someone went, it's an Oracle product.

B (36:31)

Yeah, baby, of course it is. You know what they call that? Synergy.

A (36:35)

Yes. That's a real vertical integration of Larry Ellison, the Oracle founder, and then his son David Ellison, who is now the owner of the TV network that I work for. But no, I mean, I would pay $69 out of my own pocket to have that 6 hour flight. Be in touch. More comfort. But I don't even know because I book it through. Concur. Like, I don't even. Somehow I don't even see that option. So like, you know what I mean? Like, I don't know where people are seeing this number of like, hey, you can move up to first class for 69 more bucks. Because when I go on the app, I just see my ticket, I just see my seat where I'm at. So I've got to crack that code too. I've got to basically cowshi this shit and figure out. You're right. I got to play the prediction market on this and figure out exactly when. Because if it's under $100 and it's a cross country flight, I will just, I'll pay that out of my own. Out of my own pocket.

B (37:26)

And I bet you could. I bet you could just walk up there with your own debit card or credit card and be like, hey, I booked this through work. I want.

A (37:32)

What about the TBTB card? How would we feel about that?

B (37:36)

I feel like you probably don't know where your card is. I think so. I'm okay.

A (37:41)

Well played.

B (37:42)

Well played.

A (37:42)

Sklara. I have literally no idea where that. No, it's in the Madrona Hill studio. It's not lost.

B (37:48)

Good, good.

A (37:48)

But it's somewhere. I'm pretty sure it's somewhere in that studio. Kevin, I want you to know that the donations you make to the show are safe and sound thanks to John and to some degree Andrew. And we appreciate you in Omaha, Nebraska supporting the program. Here's what Kevin. Hey friendos. Thanks for another year of podcarts and helping us to celebrate the good things and survive the other times in this cluster fluff of a timeline we live in. Cluster fluff. I love that. Now that. See that? That's a very non offensive way to say something.

B (38:19)

Yes.

A (38:20)

And that will get us the explicit rating. Kevin says, I've been listening since around 2010, so I think I'm finally ready to graduate from being a new listener. I'd say 16 years probably counts. Kevin, you can. I mean that's almost the time it takes to go from kindergarten through graduating high school.

B (38:38)

That's crazy.

A (38:39)

Actually. No. Is that more?

B (38:41)

Well, yeah, because you're like five when

A (38:42)

you start kid driving five or six, it's 12 years.

B (38:45)

Right also.

A (38:46)

Right also that like K through 12. So if he's been listening.

B (38:50)

Yeah, it's the time somebody keep driving. How about that?

A (38:52)

Exactly. He says, I'm ready to graduate from being a new listener. Though I'm not sure if other listening tiers exist, as virtually every 10 I hear references themselves as a new listener regardless of when they started listening. But maybe it's better if we all stay quote new, showing that while we may become knowledgeable about the origins of drops, or being able to recognize one of Luke and Andrew's stories as one that has been told once or multiple times before, or recognizing the other amazing listeners from donation messages, content contributions or in the slack we accept that there's always more to learn and do together. Anyways, food for thought from my addled brain after a full workday. Listen, Kevin, I don't want to. I don't want to point out that your brain is a little addled, but you had a line in there that indicated that you think sometimes I tell the same stories multiple times and that's clearly a tired brain at work because that has never happened on this show.

B (39:44)

And as you point out, you just told a story that Walt was bothered by for the first time ever.

A (39:50)

I mean that I do think might have been a new one maybe. Although someone will probably find another time that I referenced that film on the show. Kevin says, I just wanted to say thank you, Luke and Andrew and John, the real hero of the operation. That's suspicious to me.

B (40:04)

So can I say on the Google Doc, when Andrew gets these from the Google Doc and sends them to you, I had a note in there, and I think a screenshot of Kevin's submission that that was something he. He said, I can prove. I have the receipts.

A (40:20)

Yeah, all right.

B (40:20)

I did not say that. I agree. Not saying.

A (40:24)

John, the real hero of the operation. And to all the legends and time bandits who make up the tens for making this podcast. I'm just as excited to see in my feed now as I was when I first got hooked listening to the Broke as a joke in Seattle episode on Repeat on the TBTL app. Was that. Did we have my friend? Well, Sean was on that one. I mean, Sean Detore was talking about some of his stuff. I thought we might have also had another friend of mine on who used to be very, very broke in Seattle. Maybe that was just Sean's stories, but I think it was like Sean was donating plasma or something.

B (40:59)

Oh, wow.

A (40:59)

That we were. Yeah, that was that. That. That show comes up from time to time. People were really into that episode.

B (41:05)

I'm not familiar with. I'm trying to find it here on a quick Google. And I'm not. I'm gonna. But, like, that's interesting. That sounds like a fascinating story.

A (41:11)

Yeah, I think I know Sean was on it, and I'm trying to remember the other. There was somebody else on there who was just kind of taking us through what it was like to just be very, very, very marginalized economically and like, the stuff that just kind of what you go through to do that or to survive that way. Anyway, Kevin says, peace and love. Signed Kevin and Melissa and 11. And the most wonderful partner I could have asked for. Also, Big Hank.

B (41:37)

Hank.

A (41:37)

He's a five, though he's about to turn four. What up, Hank? And divitt, the pod dog. P.S. the Reuben sandwich was invented here in Omaha. The more you know, I did not know that.

B (41:49)

Yeah. No, thank you, Omaha.

A (41:51)

Yeah, absolutely. Shout out. Shout out to Divot. Shout out to Hank. And shout out to Omaha. Now, this is normally where I say to Andrew, Maestro. And the fun game is, will he remember to have the music ready? He usually does, but because I'm the maestro today, I have to play it. And I remembered.

B (42:08)

Good job.

A (42:09)

We're all forgiven. We also want to thank our second dazzling donor today, and it's none other than Zach Hofstad out there in Tumwater, Washington. Zach says, hi, Cobros. As a fellow business boy, I'd like to take a few moments to discuss My law practice, which focuses on estate planning. Fellow tens, are you unmarried and have recently purchased and spent tens of dollars renovating a home situated above the Columbia River? Wait a minute. This sounds familiar to my lived experience.

B (42:44)

Yeah, this is a very targeted ad right here.

A (42:46)

That's right. The algorithm really figured me out. Are you unmarried and have you recently purchased and spent tens of dollars renovating a home situated above the Columbia river with barely functional H VAC equipment? Do you want to plan ahead to transfer that property to your daughter quickly and easily, thus avoiding probate and preventing your parents from stealing it? Now this is compelling because 100% my mom would try to steal the house. I mean, she's already trying to get squatters rights. They're literally there right now. John, I'm in beautiful Cocoa Beach, Florida, and they are back at my house. They. They were there last week. My mom left for a while, came back, then they went. On Saturday they went to or Friday they went to Portland to watch my nephew, little Luke, we call him.

B (43:33)

Yeah.

A (43:34)

And now they're back at my house again.

B (43:36)

Can I say also because I feel like this comes up a lot. Like I have the good fortune of having been to your parents home and it's a lovely home. Like they have a very nice home on some like, big property. Like there's constantly like, no, we're gonna abandon our place for Luke's. Like.

A (43:52)

Well, it's. The thing is, I didn't realize this when I got the house, but it's conveniently situated in between all of their children. So it's like when they're going to Portland or they love to go to the timeshare down at the. On the Oregon coast. My house is a convenient stopover. That makes sense to the degree that sometimes I'll just come out of the bathroom and they'll just be standing on the front porch. And I had literally no idea they were coming.

B (44:13)

Just sitting there sipping a Fresca.

A (44:15)

Totally. And again, I have to be, you know, know I'm very appreciative of the fact that my parents are in good health and that they're able to show up at my house unannounced. There will be a day when that won't be happening and that will be sad for me. So I try to remember that. But anyway, back to Zach's highly targeted message. Or perhaps are you in a long term relationship sans children and are wondering what is going to happen to your dartboard and the invaluable foul ball you caught at the EMS game when you pass on. I guess this one is more Andrew.

B (44:46)

Yeah, I think that's Andrew. Yeah.

A (44:48)

If you or your parents live in Washington state, I can help with these scenarios and many others. We can schedule a consult over zoom if you're not in the Olympia area. And for tens, I will credit the consultation fee to my already reasonable flat fees when hired. You can find me on my website, Hofstad law.com that's H, O, F, S, T A D, L, A, W. That's. People know how law is spelled, but whatever. Hofstad law.com Zach says. Power out. Zach, thank you for the donation number one. And thank you also for the reminder that is, you know, this sort of estate stuff and end of life stuff is no fun. And I am one of the many people who's been putting it off because it's not my favorite topic to consider. But this highly targeted ad has been successful, Zach, and I'm going to start thinking about this and you may even be hearing from me to try to get everything dialed in.

B (45:40)

I would be concerned, Luke, other than people like Zach who work in this field, I would be concerned to meet the person who is excited by this stuff. It's like, I can't wait.

A (45:49)

Well, listen, here's the thing. I mean, and this is true. It is an act of love, if you think about it.

B (45:54)

Yeah.

A (45:55)

To make the lives of the people who will be around after you know, you're not here a lot easier.

B (46:01)

Yes.

A (46:01)

I think about this with even, like when I'm, you know, like in the basement of my house, which is just mean. It's just got serial killer vibes written all over it. It's just like an absolute disaster. And I think of like Addie or Becca or anybody. I love having to, like, sift through all of this stuff.

B (46:21)

Sure.

A (46:21)

And I'm like, I should really probably try to get this organized. I should try to make it so that, you know, it's. So anyway, I guess that would be a way to maybe not get excited for the stuff, but at least sort of maybe make it. Think of it as an act of love towards the people.

B (46:34)

You're reframing it from a chore and something daunting and depressing and thinking of like, this is something that needs to happen. It'll be beneficial to the people I care about.

A (46:42)

Yeah. I love this person. I love my daughter. And so I would like her to have the least hassle of a time dealing with my crapola.

B (46:50)

And you don't want Addie and Susie bare knuckle boxing over who Gets what?

A (46:55)

Cause I'm worried my mom would still be able to take her. This is grandma energy.

B (47:00)

Also in this scenario, your mother is out living. You too, Luke. I mean, Susie's in great health and

A (47:04)

like, I mean, she could have happened

B (47:06)

a long, long time.

A (47:07)

It could happen. You never know. My parents did not seem to show any signs of slowing down right now, which is great. Which is, which is great. I'm very lucky for that. I have to remember myself every day. Well, Zach, thank you for the support. We really appreciate you as well.

B (47:24)

Hello and welcome to Top Story.

A (47:27)

All right, John, we were, you and I were talking like texting or something, I don't know, a few weeks ago about basketball. And I said, okay, well when Andrew's out of town, we gotta have you on the show. And you gotta make the argument for me as to why I should re. Engage with the NBA, because I'm gonna be honest with you. Like, first of all, my feelings were very, very hurt when they let the Sonics leave Seattle, of course, and I remain a little, a little bit testy about that. But also the game has actually really changed in the last, let's say 20 years or however long it's been since we've had a team with the Euro Step, which is like, I think just legalized traveling. Like, you don't have to, you don't have to dribble the ball nearly as much as you. I mean. Yeah, yeah, like I was watching. I mean. Yeah, so, so I, and this is, by the way, the least, this is like the least fun take of all time is being a guy who goes like, they let them travel too much. But like, there's a lot of things about the game that have changed. There's no mid range game anymore. It's. It's all three point shots now. And I don't know, it's like, oh, I, I understand that. I guess the game has gotten, what, more efficient. It's actually gotten to be like, it's. I guess it's gotten to be a better product, but in a way that I don't find that recognizable. Why should I care about the NBA again? Why should I let them back into my heart?

B (48:41)

Okay, so again, because I don't want to lose tens or like, I also want a whole episode about sports talk. I'll really quickly address what you just talked about, which is the actual gameplay. Yeah, you are right. There are things the game has evolved in the last like 15, 20 years, a lot of that, especially post 2015. So in the last decade plus when Steph Curry and the warriors just became this behemoth because they shoot a lot of threes and they shoot them efficiently. And you know, shooting three pointers and high volume with good efficiency is a better strategy than shooting two point shots. Like, like you talk about mid rangers with like low, lower efficiency, right? So like that's why they all do it and that's why more and more teams do. And a lot of longtime basketball fans, right, like oh, it's just everybody standing five out around the perimeter just chucking up threes and that's what the best

A (49:30)

caniple, throwing up a three.

B (49:32)

Who does have the, the record now for rookie three points made. Yes, three pointers remaining the season, right. And like, but I think what people who like view that way don't realize is what that does is it actually opens up the game for more dynamic gameplay. And that's just sounds like a lot of buzzwords, but what that means is you have a lot more strategy, you have a lot more guys cutting in out of the, of the, of the paint, you know, the area around the basket which just can produce more highlight plays, more fun plays, more action. It's more go, go go where if you look at like 90s basketball, a lot of, you know, people my age, your age will be like, oh, it's not the same since Jordan. Like you literally look at highlights and like, yeah, Jordan can dunk, do like an amazing dunk. But most of the game is 10 guys congested in and around the paint. One guy dribbling makes like a off pass, maybe makes another pass. They backs down, defender turnarounds and shoots and like it might go in now the way the game is played because things are more spread like, like in football, right? People I think love this is a good analogy. People in football love spread offenses. Lots of wide receivers, lots running lots of routes, just distracting the defense, taking attention away from different players. And you have a more explosive, more vertical as you call it, like passing game. So in basketball it's like the same kind of concept you have. Everyone is a better shooter, you know, from, from the point guard up to the center. And so everyone can shoot and you, everyone can score from anywhere on the court for the most part. And that allows you to just be more creative on offense than they were 20, 30 years ago. So to me it's just a more visually interesting product. Like a lot. Again, people be like, oh, it's just guys chucking threes and the bad teams will just do that more or less. But there is more passing, more Like I said, guys cutting to the rim, which can. You know, it allows them that. That opportunity. Whereas like before, it's like you just had two big centers and a bunch of big guys in the way of the paint. So, like, it just opens up the game in a way that just wasn't possible a bunch of years ago. If you're talking about, like, the Euro step, there is something that's been highly contested. It's called, like, the gather step, where you can take a first step and then you can take your two steps. And that's why everyone's always like, oh, they're traveling. But it is an illegal thing. The other thing, again, I really am trying to. To not talk too technically here, to, like, bore people is everyone's like, oh, there's no defense anymore. But really what's happened is, again, because of the way the offenses are so much more advanced these days, it's just harder to play defense in the NBA. Like, again, if Michael Jordan or any. I mean, he's the best. So, like, name your average NBA player in 1995 is just dribbling.

A (52:11)

Craig Elo.

B (52:12)

Yeah. Is just dribbling around and backing down players into the pain. It's. It's boring. Like, you just got guys that are just, like, just taking very boring shots. But, like, now it is. And it's also easier. I was going, actually, the defense, it's easier to defend because everyone is right there in the action. Whereas now you get more opportunity for players to break away and to get some spacing and to. And to go one on one, which allows for. Which is harder to cover, obviously, than if you have, like, a mass of people.

A (52:42)

What about load management?

B (52:44)

That is something I'm kind of annoyed with. Where. For people that don't know, that's basically. That's been popularized in the last few years where it's like your best players sit a lot of games. So, like, obviously, like, again, go back to, like, in the 90s, early 2000s, and before that, like, every player basically played all 82 games unless they had, like, real injuries. Now guys will sit on, like, the second night of a back to back. There's a whole lot of, like. Like star players that you'll pay a lot of money to go to a game. I went to a Timberwolves warriors game earlier this season. Like, awesome. I'm gonna see Steph Curry. I've never seen Steph Curry, and he was sitting out that night, and that's absolutely a bummer, but it's all in.

A (53:22)

It's just One of those things where again, it's like they just. Everything is, it seems to me that everything is so data driven now. And by the way, this isn't just for NBA basketball. This is all of it. You know, all of the major sports, they've just figured out like, oh, we're going to get a better result from Steph Curry if we don't play him as much or we don't play him in games where we don't think we need him or whatever.

B (53:40)

Exactly.

A (53:41)

And so it's just the, it's just the logical math. But again, yeah, it's like kind of a bummer when you want to go to a game and see him play and he's just not playing that day.

B (53:48)

Yeah, absolutely. So, like, your star players, your starters, you know, assuming they're relatively healthy all season, are playing, you know, 70 games and not 82. So over the course of a full season, they're not missing a ton of time. But is, is. It is noticeable and it does add up. And again, is more frustrating for when like, again, like that very specific example or other examples like where if like a star, a superstar player is coming to your city and you want to see them and then they're not playing, it's a bummer. But it's also, like you said, dad driven. It's also in the service of keeping them healthy. As you get closer to the postseason, you want your best players available and healthy in the playoffs. So obviously the less time they play in the regular season, less chance they have of being injured in the postseason season. It's also a lot of older players will be the ones kind of load managing. If you're a young superstar, you're still mostly playing a lot most of the game. So that's also part of it too. It's just like as we all get older. And also another part of that is these older superstars are playing longer than they ever have before because of load management. Because of.

A (54:49)

Right. Like Kevin Durant might be a supersonic again.

B (54:52)

Yeah. And he's like 37 years old. LeBron James is 41. Steph Curry is like 36 years old. Like these guys, you know, back in the day, you know, they would be like retired like by 35 at the latest, typically. Right. And so you have these guys who are hanging on for extra years because they are taking care of their bodies better. And.

A (55:13)

Yeah, what about, what about this whole problem which is like in the NBA you have like 10 teams that aren't even trying to win the whole tanking Equation, the tanking thing. They're just trying to have the worst record so they can get the first overall pick. So they can pick a kanip or a flag. They can. Or in boozer Kratom Knipple.

B (55:31)

Yeah.

A (55:32)

Do they have a.

B (55:33)

Do they have a Kratom Cager?

A (55:36)

Yeah. But the problem is now if they expand. Let me tell you something else that makes me mad is that like, Las Vegas is going to get an NBA team.

B (55:44)

Yeah. Well, at the same time, the NFL, well, you know, the Raiders. Success.

A (55:48)

But what I mean is just like we had a team, they stole our team. We've been waiting 20 years to get a team. And they're like, okay, you know, we're going to do. We're also going to give Vegas a team now and you a team. But it's like, like, I don't know, I mean, nothing against the fine citizens of Las Vegas, but like, it just, I don't know, it feels like we should have gotten. I don't know, somehow it seems to feel like they jumped the line or something. But. But no, the question of, like, if you already have a lot of the teams aren't trying and now you're going to add two teams that are both going to be bad at first, presumably, like, it's just going to mean more. More nights of crummy basketball happening.

B (56:22)

Yes. And I think, think it is a problem. So like you said, like, teams tank where they try. They bottom out and they try to like, secure a top draft pick. The NBA does something that the other major pro sports leagues don't do where they have the draft or, excuse me, the lottery for the draft. So, like, even if you have the worst record, you're not guaranteed the number one pick. And that's supposed to, in theory be a way to curb tanking, but you're still, if you, if you're drafting in the top four, say it's a lot better than drafting 10th. Right? Yeah, I know. That's something that's like a constant conversation is frustrating when you have teams that clearly aren't, you know, going for it. I would say like a counterpoint to that, if you just love the game is you are off in those situations, you'll be seeing typically younger players, like prospect players, basically. Like, you know, guys who like, in two or three years might be like a really good player and like, they just need an opportunity to play. So, like, my responsibility, hey, like, the Washington Wizards are garbage, but Alex Saar is getting a lot of minutes or Blal Kula Bali is getting A lot of minutes for Washington and that's pretty cool. Yeah. The other thing too is, yeah, there's, there's always like proposed solutions, like how to quote, fix tanking. Like, they'll find. They find the Utah Jazz earlier this season for like pulling all of their like starters.

A (57:43)

Oh, they did?

B (57:44)

Yeah. It was a whole thing. Because it's like that doesn't normally, they don't normally find teams. And so there is, I think more of that we'll be seeing and there's other kind of like proposed solutions in the last couple years. Yeah.

A (57:56)

Are you worried, are you worried that our friendship will not be able to survive Sonic's Knicks playoff series? I mean, we're already hanging by a thread involving the Yankees.

B (58:07)

Yeah.

A (58:08)

You know, like the difference is the

B (58:10)

Yankees and Mariners are both American League, but then the Sonics would be the Western Conference and the Knicks would still be the Eastern. So the only way they meet each other will be the Finals. And I. The Knicks are in a window right now where they could make the finals this year and potentially next few years. But by the time, theoretically the Sonics would be good.

A (58:30)

You don't know how much gas KD still has in the tank. A KD led Seattle SuperSonics 2027 NBA

B (58:39)

Final he his style of gameplay, like you talk about guys that you want a mid range jumper, jump shooter, like KD is obviously a great three point shirt, but like he scores from everywhere on the court and he's not typically banging down low like you know, driving to the basket a lot. He is more of a mid range and a three point shooter at this point his career. So that is the kind of play style that will help him age very well, I think for the league actually.

A (59:02)

Well, I was trying to remember this off the top of my head the other day and I couldn't. But you know, somebody was figuring out what KD's new burner account is. And I forget what he said, but he said something really funny on the Burner account. Or was the name of the Burner account was really funny. There was something where they were like, KD better hope that we figure out this is him because it actually shows he's got a pretty good sense of humor.

B (59:23)

Oh, I think he's hilarious. Yeah, I think that's been proven.

A (59:27)

Yeah. I have a feeling that once there is a team called the Sonics, and I assume that's what they're gonna call them, they bet right.

B (59:34)

You got it.

A (59:35)

Once there's. Once there's a team called the Sonics, And I watch a couple of games. I think I'm gonna. I think I'll be. They'll probably have me fully recaptured again. Right now I'm just. I feel. I don't know. I'm not sure how I feel about the whole thing.

B (59:47)

They'll have like Gary Payton and Sean Kemp on the broadcast and you'll feel all your good feelings. Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

A (59:54)

Okay. Well, those are some very. Those are. I don't know if you were practicing in the shower this morning, your spiel, but that was very. That was very convincing.

B (60:01)

You can. I can. I actually, like. I know we don't wanna take up too much time, but like, there's a couple other things I wanna talk about again. An.

A (60:07)

I've got an opera singing car dealer to talk to.

B (60:09)

Yeah, yeah. Very quickly. They're non. Non game specific. This is what I wanted to put out there. If you are a fan of sports, but like have a tough time with the politics of sports, like say the team USA Hockey team or any NFL team or world. USA World baseball team. The team US or NBA is of the men's because the women's leagues obviously are on a whole other level. And I mean that a positive way is by far the most progressive league. It's by far the most. Like, like just this past weekend, the Oklahoma City Thunder, who. Which were the team that were the wore the Sonics that were stolen from you guys.

A (60:48)

Yes.

B (60:48)

They are the defending champs and they were in Washington, D.C. for the first time this season to play the Wizards and they turned down a White House invitation. And that has been something that has. As a team that's not like one player. And that's been a thing that's been happening basically for the last decade while the current president was president. So like, I don't know, I feel like that, you know, famously.

A (61:09)

I didn't know that, but that's pretty awesome.

B (61:11)

Famously. Yeah, famously. In 2017, LeBron James tweeted at Trump and called him a bum.

A (61:16)

Oh, yeah. That was a great.

B (61:17)

So, like, I don't know, I was just like, I feel like there's other. I could get into more reasons about like finding good players, great nicknames. There's a lot of fun and good reasons to follow the game. That's just not the game.

A (61:30)

That's compelling.

B (61:30)

Yeah.

A (61:31)

Just LeBron James calling Trump a bum is literally probably the most compelling argument.

B (61:36)

Patrick Mahomes would never. You know what I mean? Like, he would never. No, that crazy Aaron Judge would never.

A (61:41)

Yeah, right. Yeah. Clayton Kershaw Might. Oh, wait, no.

B (61:45)

Yeah.

A (61:45)

Definitely not.

B (61:47)

Yeah.

A (61:48)

All right, well, listen, thank you. That's a. That's. That's again, that's a. I think you've. I think you've. You've convinced me that I'm gonna at least try. And also, let's be honest, I'll probably be putting a few little bets down on the Sonics too, which. Which is an extremely quick way for me to become very, very interested in what's happening in a sporting event.

B (62:05)

I would say early on, bet against the Sonics because as you know, the expansion teams are normally pretty bad.

A (62:11)

No, I had some money on Utah State to beat, like, Arizona yesterday and there was a reason I was getting like $120 back on a $10 bet because it wasn't going to happen. And of course, it did not happen. But anyway. All right, well, listen, that's going to do it for today's episode, but guess what? We are going to be back here tomorrow with more imaginary radio for all of you, so if you can please join us for that. John, thanks for sitting in today. Appreciate it, man.

B (62:36)

Yeah, glad to be here. Have fun with the opera singer. I'd be fascinating to watch that story.

A (62:40)

Yes. Hard hitting news as always. So anyway, thanks for listening, folks. Have a great rest of your Monday and we'll see you tomorrow. In the meantime, please remember, no mountain too tall.

B (62:51)

Oh. Good luck to all.

A (62:53)

There you go.

B (62:53)

Always so slow. Power out. Let's take it home. You could be swinging on a star.