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Dan Patrick
This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.
Marv Albert
I can't tell you how many times I spilled something on my shirt right before walking out the door. And it's always while I'm wearing a white shirt too. And somehow that's the exact moment I realize I'm out of stain remover and I don't have another clean shirt to change into. Unpredictable moments like that are a part of everyday life. Luckily, Amazon helps make it easier to manage life's curveballs from unexpected needs to everyday essentials. And Amazon offers everything in one place with reliable value and great prices. So when a small mess turns into a last minute problem, Amazon makes it easier by saving the Every day I
Dan Patrick
raised my glass to Miller Lite. They've been doing it for 50 years now. They are iconic. They are the original. They're legendary. That's why I reach for a Miller Light. And you should too. Legendary moments. Start with Miller lite. Great taste. 96 calories. You can pick up some Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer. Go to Miller. Find delivery options near you. It's Miller time. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Co. Milwaukee, WI 96 calories, 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.
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Dan Patrick
Learn more@electricforall.org tires matter. They're the only part of your vehicle that touches the road. Tread confidently with new tires from Tire Rack. Whether you're looking for expert recommendations or know exactly what you want, Tire Rack makes it really easy. Fast. Free shipping, free road hazard protection, convenient installation options, and the best selection of general tires. Go to tirerack.com dan to see their general tire test results, tire ratings and reviews, and be sure to check out all the special offers. Tirerack.com the way Tire buying should be. You are listening to the Dan Patrick show on Fox Sports Radio. We made it to a Friday. It's hour one. Morale is high because it's a meat Friday. It's a Fritzy Meat Friday. He won our Masters tournament. So he gets to have a master's menu. And I don't know if there's, well, a couple of surprises in here. He's got pepperoni pizza bagels on onion bagels. He's got pork egg rolls. He's got house special fried rice, meatball parm, chicken parm grinders and coffee cake a la mode with Neapolitan ice cream. Let's go. Who has it better than we do? Nobody. It's like two weeks worth of stuff. Let's get it going. Wow, you crammed a lot in there. Very excited. All right, all right. You got five items. You took all five items there, including your famous onion bagels that will have pepperoni pizza bagels. Party time. 8 7, 7, 3 DP show email address dpdanpatrick.com Twitter handle the DP show we'll make all this magic on the Rec Tech Grills, a grill that you can get next Friday. We'll be giving one away. Go to rectech.com search the Dan Patrick show for details. Stat of the Day brought to you by Panini America, the official trading cards of the program. Also, if your hair isn't playing like it did in the 20s or 30s, then maybe it's time for a real comeback. You can start neutral fold today and make the hat optional. Visit neutral fold.com Enter the promo code Dan Patrick Got a Play of the Day Poll questions Stat of the Day all of that forthcoming Charles Barkley will join us next hour. Pistons over the Cavs. They're up 20 in the series. Thunder over the Lakers. They're up 20 in THE SERIES. I wondered yesterday that you had the Lakers 15 and a half point underdogs last night, and I thought that you would probably have the Thunder seven and a half or eight and a half point favorites in Los Angeles. Well, it's eight and a half on Saturday night. The Thunder and their traveling show, they will be eight and a half point favorites tonight. It's the Knicks. They're getting one and a half against the Sixers. Spurs four and a half point favorites in Minnesota. And then on Saturday, the Pistons look to go up3.0. They'll be four and a half point underdogs. Let me start with the Cavaliers and the Pistons. Cade Cunningham has been wonderful. He really has. And he might be having a Tyrese Halliburton breakout because now you're going to see him. What happens in the postseason is you're kind of forced to watch players, teams that you normally wouldn't watch during the Regular season, but Pistons fall into that category. But Cade Cunningham is a great player and the Pistons have played well. Tobias Harris has played really well, giving you that consistent second score, which is what I said they were going to need. Well, you know what always helps, you're going against James Harden and playoff James is just not very good. The Cavs are paying James Harden and Evan Mobley just under $100 million combined this season. Harden's defense, we know, is a problem. More turnovers than points. In two games against the Pistons, Mobley, nine points, one rebound last night. And with James Harden, we could accept that he wasn't going to play defense. Didn't even have to try playing defense. But the Cavaliers are in a win now mode because you got a couple of really good players and you do have a nucleus to make a deep run. If not go to the NBA Finals. You trade Darius Garland to the Clippers and you get James Harden. Well, I don't know what James Harden did in the playoffs. Where you go, you know what, we want that on our team. Great regular season player doesn't come up big in the post season, and we've seen that so far. And he doesn't give you the offensive burst that he once did. Where you can go, ah, you know what? We can look past that. He looks old, he's playing old. And Detroit's taking advantage of that. Now, Cleveland can still come back and win this series. They have the talent to do that. But James Harden should be a benefit. He should be a positive. He should be something more special. Now, I like Darius Garland. I think he made a couple of All Star games. And maybe they thought, well, he's not a big guy, kind of frail. Maybe he's not going to come up big in the postseason. Can is he durable? Whatever their reasoning was, the Clippers probably said, wait, we can get younger and get rid of James Harden. Okay, we'll do that. And look, there was a time where I said on this show, I thought he was must see tv. I thought that he was incredible as an offensive weapon. I think one year he averaged 36, 37 and 10 and he was ball dominant. But I was okay with it. It's like Russell Westbrook ball dominant. But there was a time when you couldn't take your eyes off of him. And then you realize that you had Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kevin Durant on the same team in okc, and you wonder if they had beaten the warriors that year when they were up 3:1. How would that have changed history? Now James Harden wanted To have his own team. That's why he went to Houston. Russ was there for a little while longer. Then Durant decided, I can't beat him. I'm gonna join him. But you had that moment. And I wonder how history would have been written, changed if that did. Yes, Marv.
Marv Albert
Yeah, you got to think about, they got to the finals in 2012. They were super young. They're almost like the 95 Orlando Magic, where you keep thinking they're going to get back there a couple times. That's why I hate that term. They'll be back because they're young and they just kind of all went their separate ways.
Dan Patrick
I think if they beat the Warriors, Kevin Durant doesn't join the warriors, and then maybe Golden State is not winning an extra title or two once again. It, it's a small moment, but it kind of came into my head. It crystallized last night when I'm watching Harden and, and, and I think we're going to look at Harden now. Durant won a couple of titles. Ben Harden was an mvp. But I think, you know, when you're writing the history of James Harden, it's, it's going to be a little bumpy. Like Durant has the titles. That helps. And one of the all time scores, but it's a little bumpy there as well. And what went on in Houston, we still haven't gotten to the bottom of that, but it feels like Kevin Durant is going to be on yet another team next year. Yes, Marv, James Harden, he feels like
Marv Albert
he's going to be one of those guys that just put up a lot of numbers that didn't amount to anything. A lot of empty calories.
Dan Patrick
Yeah, he's a great regular season player, but, you know, we're so, so focused on postseason. You know, that's changed here in the last, you know, 30 years. Maybe when it comes to arguments, you're like, well, what do you do in the postseason? Nobody ever says, what did Bonds do in the postseason? That doesn't come up. I don't think people can tell you. How many World Series titles did Babe Ruth win? You don't know. But certain players, we do say Tom Brady, we know, Patrick Mahomes, we know, you know, there's certain success that goes along with certain players in certain sports. But, you know, when I look at Kevin Durant, okay, two titles, one of the great scorers of all time, what could have been an okay, see, James Harden will be just like, man, that's a lot of points or a lot of assists. A lot of bad playoff games. You know, same with Russell Westbrook. I appreciate that. He plays hard every game. He's a scorer, not a shooter. He's entertaining. There's certain players where we do attach the. What did you do in the big games, the big moments? Well, Iverson was a wonderful regular season player. Postseason, he went to an NBA Finals. They took a very suspect team to the NBA Finals. But we do point that out as a positive there, and I think that's sometimes where we pick and choose. When you're trying to win an argument, you're like, well, what did he do in the postseason? What kind of defensive player was he? Yes, Dylan, I think it's always tough
Dylan
when you start to really bounce around to team to team. Like, like Durant and Harden have both done. As you're. Your play is getting worse or less, you know, efficient, and you're just third, fourth, fifth, sixth team in a short period of time, people kind of start to get a little disillusioned, I think.
Dan Patrick
Well, sometimes when you go, oh, I didn't know James Harden was in Cleveland, like, that's not a good sign.
Dylan
You disappear a little bit.
Dan Patrick
Yes. Like, oh, okay, he's in Cleveland. Oh, maybe he'll get a title. Maybe he'll get a chance. And I don't know what that is. I mean, he's not going to get that title this year, probably won't get a title, but he's bounced around. And, you know, we've seen that with Durant as well. Now, this didn't work it out. I want to go play with my buddies in Brooklyn. And it same thing with James Harden. Just kind of vagabonds, gypsies, hall of Famers. But when you put everybody under the same roof, they're all hall of Famers, but they're. They got in there for different reasons. Yeah. Paul.
Paul
James Harden has been on six teams in the past six seasons, but he had a run from 2014 through 2020. He was MVP. Second, second. First. Second, third. That's a run. Yeah, that's a run.
Dan Patrick
Yeah, he was great. He changed the game. Now, you may not like how he changed the game with his step back, but he did change the game. It's just like Ginobili with the Euro step. You change the game. Yes. Marvin.
Marv Albert
I think ring culture has kind of hurt the NBA because a lot of times, what happened with LeBron, you're a great player, but you haven't won any rings. And the same thing with Harden. Those guys are trying to chase championships, and then People don't like the way they chase those championships, but you're on them because they haven't won any titles.
Dan Patrick
The Thunder looked great last night. SGA has not dominated, which is the scary part of this. They haven't needed it. There's so much depth with okc and they have so many draft picks coming up, and there's no place to put these draft picks. And you might see okc, you know, they have the Clippers unprotected pick. They have Utah's top eight protected pick, the Rockets top four protected pick, the Sixers top four protected pick, and also a top four protected pick in 2027. Then they have more draft picks in 2027. This is the draft, though, that everybody tanked for because you have five or six players who will probably start right away. OKC doesn't have enough room right now. They got guys coming off the bench, their ninth or 10th guy. Those guys are ready. They want to play. They get buckets. Yes. Dylan,
Dylan
why are the Thunder just gonna absorb the Clippers into their organization at this point? Cause they may as well.
Dan Patrick
I mean, that trade, I mean, that's the Herschel Walker trade for the NBA. Paul George, it might be a better outcome than what happened for the Cowboys with the Minnesota Vikings. But, you know, you're watching last night. Austin reeves played well. LeBron played well. It. It's just not enough when I don't get anything out of deandre Ayton. Yeah, I mean, you gotta, you gotta give me more than three points. But Holmgren and Hartenstein, you know, they bang him around. I mean, they, they make him work. And deandre Ayton, that's where. Okay, you don't have Luca. All right? Deandre Ayton still walks out there as a seven footer. Act like one. Reeves did play better, although, you know, now you're hearing the Lakers saying that they're not getting calls. They're being disrespected. In fact, here is JJ Redick. He now the entire team surrounded the officials at the end of a game. I've never seen this before. Almost they had, they had a summit with the officials to talk about not getting calls. Here is JJ Redick on LeBron not getting the benefit of the down.
JJ Redick
Well, he gets clobbered on that, that one, you know, with Jalen Williams coming over, trying to block the shot when he spun baseline door. That was in that stretch as well. LeBron has the worst whistle of any star player I've ever seen. I mean, I've been with him two years now, you know, there's again, the smaller guys because they can be theatric. They typically draw more fouls. And the bigger players that are, you know, built like LeBron, they. It's hard for them. But he gets clobbered. And he got clobbered again tonight a bunch. And that's not like a new thing. That's not specific to this crew or, you know, this, this series. He gets fouled a lot that doesn't happen. He get. Guy gets hit on the head more than any player I've seen on drives, and it rarely gets called.
Dan Patrick
So. Well, there was a play, a continuation that the officials missed, but LeBron is theatrical as well. I mean, let's be honest here. I know SGA is. LeBron is theatrical. Does he get fouled? Not more than anybody I've ever seen. Shaq got fouled. Wilt Chamberlain got fouled more than anybody I ever saw. Every single play. Because this is what happens when you're LeBron and you're six nine and you're 260. If I hit you, you may not react. That's why he's theatrical. He has to sell it because. Because it really doesn't affect him. A lot of times with Shaq, Shaq could play through your contact and you'd think, oh, he didn't get fouled. It didn't affect anything. But he did. And the same with LeBron. So that's why you see LeBron where he is theatrical and officials don't like seeing it, although it feels like they're okay with SJA selling it all the time. But I understand it when you're the big guy on the block, you're not getting any sympathy there.
Marv Albert
Yes, Marvin, all this stuff is taking away from how good Oklahoma City is, because we just talk about them getting away with maybe some foul calls with guys like Lou Dorr and Alice Caruso playing physical all the time, getting the benefit of the doubt. And they're such a good deep team, and now they're playing a marquee team like the Lakers. So now it's on front street on how they play.
Dan Patrick
Yeah, and that's. That's the other thing. Now you're seeing Cade Cunningham. You've already seen Brunson because the Knicks are always on primetime tv. You're seeing SGA again, where he's going to go back to back MVP and may go back to back with titles. So now you have to have him in the conversation. It's just like Joker, when you win an NBA title, now you're legitimate hey, you won MVPs. Now win a title. Giannis. Hey, you want MVP? Now win a title. Indeed. We're waiting for that. It'll probably never happen, but that you're looking for validation here. SGA has given you validation. He's a great player. He's not exciting. They're not exciting. But it's like the San Antonio spurs efficiency. Deal with us. You don't get style points. I mean, Golden State, if that was the case, Golden State had style points that would last forever. But you don't get style points. You know, the Miami Heat with D. Wade and Bosch and LeBron. Style points. But you want to be efficient, you want to be great night in, night out. And I look at OKC the way I did San Antonio, they just have players who know their roles. They're deep. We like to say they're well coached and they're the team to beat. The fact you're going into LA and LA is an eight and a half point underdog in their biggest game of the year tells you just about everything you need to know about this series. Yeah, Paul.
Paul
Hey, kids, pile in the car and let's go down to the stadiums to watch some efficiency.
Dan Patrick
Hey, you want to see guys flop? Are we watching soccer? No, no. We're watching the NBA. Yes, Marvin.
Marv Albert
And that's the number one reason why SGA isn't a bigger star than he should be.
Dan Patrick
Yeah, but he created this.
Marv Albert
Oh, I know, but I'm just saying that's the reason why.
Dan Patrick
All right, we'll take a break. Just getting started. Come up with a poll question. This meet Friday, 877-3-DP Show. Email address dpdanpatrick.com Twitter handle @DP Show. Fritz, he's here. Dylan, Marv, Paul, yours truly, and the backroom guys. Back after this. Be sure to catch the live edition of the Dan Patrick show, weekdays at 9am Eastern, 6am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app. Hey, it's Cabino and Rich from Fox Sports Radio. Now, in addition to hearing us live weekdays from 5 to 7pm Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific, on Fox Sports Radio, we're excited to announce a brand new YouTube channel for the show. Yup, that's right. You can now watch Covino ENRICH Live on YouTube every day. All you got to do, search COVINO and RICH FSR on YouTube again. Go to YouTube. Search COVINOENRICH FSR. Check us out on YouTube. Subscribe. Hit that thumbs up icon and comment away.
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Dan Patrick
Learn more@electric for all.org every Friday at the end of the show, I said, the weekend's ready to start. When you hear this, It's Miller Time. I raised my glass to Miller Light. They've been doing it for 50 years now. They are iconic. They are the original. They're legendary. That's why I reach for a Miller Light. And you should too. Enjoy Miller Time by enjoying Miller Light in a place where you're free to enjoy yourself. You can have a walk with a family member. Now's the time because the best beers are the ones you don't expect. A taste you can depend on. Great beer Trusted by beer lovers for 50 years. Simple ingredients Malted barley, that rich, balanced toffee note flavors and that iconic golden color looks gorgeous and it tastes great. Cheers to legendary moments with Miller Lite. Great taste. 96 calories. You go to millerlight.com Patrick you'll find delivery options near you. Or pick up some Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer. It's Miller Time all the time, anytime. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Co. Milwaukee, Wisconsin 96 calories, 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces. It's Miller time.
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Dan Patrick
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Robert Smigel
Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy not quite on Humor Me with Robert Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Jim Gaffigan to Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier this week. My guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel Help an acapella band with their between songs banter. Who's the worst singer in the group?
Marv Albert
The worst?
Robert Smigel
Yeah, Me. Is there anything to the idea that because you're from Harvard, you only got in because your parents made a huge
Dan Patrick
donation to the group?
Robert Smigel
The group.
Dan Patrick
The Yard Birds. Right. That's the name.
Robert Smigel
The Harvard Yard. They're open.
Dan Patrick
Do you have a name suggestion?
Dylan
We're open.
Robert Smigel
Since you guys are middle aged, one erection. Listen to Humor Me with Robert Smigel and friends on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.
Dan Patrick
Humor me. I need some jokes to make me seem funny. Play the day. Coming up, settle on a poll question. Your phone call is always welcome. 877-3DP show. By the way, if you're watching on Peacock and why wouldn't you be, we're bringing back the confessional. At the end of each hour, one of us has to go into the confessional and maybe expound upon something that was said during the show. Big day. Ray will ask a question. Could come from the audience. It might be just from Ray where he wants to know a little bit more about something and will be in the confessional for 60 seconds. It's kind of an interrogation room. And you go in there and whatever you say stays in there. Yes, Dylan, can people.
Dylan
So people can't hear this. We can say anything we want. And it's like a real church confessional.
Dan Patrick
Well, the audience can hear.
Dylan
Oh, okay.
Dan Patrick
The audience is your priest. Oh, okay.
Dylan
All right, guys, don't say anything.
Dan Patrick
Yeah, we can't hear it, but the audience will be able to hear it.
Dylan
So if it's about you guys, it's fine.
Dan Patrick
Yeah, okay. Yeah. Yes, Paul.
Paul
But when you say what is said in there stays in there, to what level is that true?
Dan Patrick
I don't know. Kind of a case by case.
Dylan
I think it's almost not at all.
Dan Patrick
I was pretty good about, you know, years ago when we did it. I was pretty lean in on some of the things that were said certainly by Todd. But if you have a moment where McLovin is trying to balance, you know, he's spinning the ball in his finger and it smacked him in the face and broke his glasses. Well, then, sorry, that's. Everybody's going to find out about that. What's poll question for the first hour of the program?
Dylan
We got a couple Dan. On the topic of flopping, this is from Paulie. Flopping is smart. It's on the refs to call it. Or soft and bad for the Product.
Dan Patrick
Okay, SGA is flopping. He's not making the call. He's making you make the call. Chad Holmgren with an elbow. Like, you know, there's certain plays, moments. You got to sell it. You know, there's a. There's a famous moment where Kareem Abdul Jabbar gets a rebound and he swings his arm against the Celtics in the finals, and it looks like it hits Larry Bird. It doesn't, but Larry sells it. Like, Kareem just, you know, threw an elbow at him. I mean, it happens. You're always looking for an edge. And if you're flopping, it's like some of the greatest soccer players of all time flop. Because if I can get an unfair advantage, I'm going to do it. They're not worried about the aesthetics. We are. The NBA should be. But, you know, it's unfortunate that we look at SGA and the first thing we think of is. Well, you might think of is he flops. He's really good at drawing fouls. How about that? That's a dressed up way of saying, but he's really good at it. Harden. Really good at it. They were. They changed the rules for Harden because of Harden, I should say, because Trey Young was then doing it. If you can get an advantage, if it's an unfair advantage, it's still your advantage until they change, until they decide that they're not buying in to what you're selling. Yes, Dill.
Dylan
Is there, like, a solution, though? Because, I mean, obviously it would have to come from the officiating side. It's not going to come from the players.
Dan Patrick
But like you said, you just don't call it.
Dylan
Yeah, but like, how do we make that happen? Because you, like you said, soccer. I'm not the biggest soccer fan, but I'll, you know, I'll tap in from time to time. Some of those Premier League games, just the, the diving and the flopping, it is a. Makes for a bad product. Like whether you win.
Dan Patrick
Well, that's why you have a commissioner. That's why you have people who are overseers. And there is a rule. Just call it. I mean, there was a. A pitch clock that had been in baseball for decades. It was written in the rule book. They just didn't call it. Just call it. You go to the free throw line, there's a time element when you go to the free throw line. You can't spend, you know, 60 seconds there. So call it. There's a lot of things that we don't call that. There is legislation that Says it's in the rule book.
Paul
Yeah, Paul, the NBA's anti flopping rule has been in the book since 2020, 24. And it basically says the refs have the authority to call it on the defender if he's trying to sell a foul.
Dan Patrick
Yeah, just. That's. That would be how I would start to clean it up. I'm going to guess you're going to stop doing it if you're not getting the calls. Yes, Marvin.
Marv Albert
And I think that's the frustrating part with someone like sga. He's so talented without all of the drawing of the fouls and getting to the free throw line and being called a file merging. He's too good for all that.
Dan Patrick
I know, I know. But you have some of the greatest players of all time. Did it, you sell it. Yes, Mark.
Marv Albert
I think the difference is someone like Kobe and Jordan, those guys would try to make the shot as well as get foul. He just pump fakes and just drops the ball and goes to the free throw line.
Dan Patrick
Yeah, well, Harden created this too, where he would. He would draw contact into you. He would use your aggression against you. If you had your hands out, he was going to take the ball into your hands. You know, you just have to. Once you say this or you call this or don't call this, word gets around really quickly. They're not calling that anymore. Yeah.
Paul
Paul, I hate to say this because he's our guy, but the first player I remember doing this was Reggie Miller.
Dan Patrick
Yeah.
Paul
Reggie would go for a shot, they would graze his arm and he would flail his arms up and the ball would fly out and he'd get the call. I'm sure others did it, but that's a guy I remember.
Dan Patrick
Yeah. Reggie. And he said that on the show, that he did it and he was really good at doing it. You didn't like it, but if he was on your team or the team you root for, you're like, hey, I'm fine with it. It's like nobody liked Pete Rose except for the people in Cincinnati who loved Pete Rose because of the way he played. And then when Pete went to Philadelphia or Montreal, you're like, you know, now you root against him. Yes, Dylan, it's tough when those guys
Dylan
are also good, too. Like I think of Brad Marchand on the Bruins. I despised him, but it was like he was such a nuisance. But he was also just a really good hockey player. So it's like, shucks.
Dan Patrick
What's the poll question for the first hour?
Dylan
So we have the one about flopping. Okay, we've got a couple others. This is kind of a random one, but would you want to get caught? What would you want to get caught in less an avalanche or a hurricane?
Dan Patrick
Oh, yeah. Todd asked me this, and I just. I just kept walking by the top seeds. They are expected to probably meet each other in the Stanley Cup Final, so it's not that random. I know we've had discussions about natural disasters and weather before, but avalanche, hurricane. Which one do you think you got a better chance of getting out of?
Dylan
It's sort of a modification of a poll I think Paul brought up in Pittsburgh that we didn't get around to. It's, you know, dodging natural disasters.
Dan Patrick
Yeah, yeah. When did we come up with natural disasters for nicknames? What was the first natural disaster that we came up with? And go, yeah, probably volcano.
Paul
Well, wait, you mean a sports team?
Dan Patrick
Who's the volcano?
Dylan
Oh. Oh, I thought you're talking about, like, in real life. I was like, the first natural disaster was probably a volcano.
Dan Patrick
Tornado.
Paul
The Hawaii Fighting Volcanoes. Was that the original name? I think the Miami Hurricanes would be first.
Dan Patrick
Okay.
Dylan
College teams. Probably it.
Dan Patrick
Okay. But I'm talking professional sports. The first natural disaster team was who? Yeah, Paul.
Paul
There's the San Jose Earthquakes. There's a Colorado Avalanche. Miami Hurricanes. Tampa Bay Lightning. Chicago Fire, which was not a positive in Chicago.
Dan Patrick
No, no, that was a bad day, believe me.
Paul
Yeah, the Oklahoma City Thunder. The lightning's the danger. The thunder is more entertainment. Miami Heat, but it's not the heat stroke. And of course, the Indiana Fever. And that's more of an illness than a natural disaster.
Dan Patrick
Yeah, but that could be 24 hours.
Dylan
Yes.
Dan Patrick
You got a fever.
Dylan
We got the Brooklyn Cyclones.
Dan Patrick
Yeah.
Dylan
Minor league, but.
Dan Patrick
But what? Which one was the first one? First for the professional sports?
Paul
Colorado Avalanche. I think they were better first, I think.
Dan Patrick
But weren't they some other place before they went to Colorado? The.
Dylan
Yeah. Nordiques.
Dan Patrick
Yeah, the Quebec Nordiques. Maybe somebody will do some research here for us. Yes, Todd, There was a WWF team wrestling team in 1991 called the Natural Disasters. So we should include wrestling. No, we should not. We should not. No, we should not. We'll leave that up to ESPN duo. Yeah, leave that up to espn. They've fallen in love with wrestling. Yeah.
Paul
Yeah.
Dan Patrick
I'm waiting for, like, a scoreboard after a match, and they. They give you, like, information analytics on wr. They're all in. It's like I tune in and I go, what. What am I watching here? I'm sure Seth Rollins and some of these other guys and Cody something Rhodes. I was gonna say Cody Banks. Wasn't that a TV character or movie where Frankie Muniz, Frankie Munoz. Yeah. Yes, Todd. It's not real to you and what they do to their bodies and all that? No, no, no. I understand the entertainment, but espn, the E doesn't stand for entertainment anymore. It doesn't. It used to. So under that umbrella or that, you know, title, then I'm like, all right, you want to do. But wrestling is. I mean, we're covering sports. I'll tune in and all of a sudden I'll be like, wait, which. What are they talking about? Yes, yes, Marvin.
Marv Albert
So you don't like it when Roman Reigns is on first take the Friday before Wrestlemania and they're like, man, what's going to happen? He's like, I don't know. I'm just going to try my best. You do know what's going to happen.
Dan Patrick
But if ESPN wasn't covering wrestling or televising wrestling or charging or being a partner, then they would not talk about this. So that's all right. That's just a side vent here.
Dylan
Yes, Dylan, I think I found our natural disaster question. Okay, I believe the University of Tulsa, the Golden Hurricane.
Dan Patrick
No, no, I'm talking about professional.
Paul
Oh, I think the first professional will be Tampa Bay lightning.
Dylan
Yeah, they're 1990, I think.
Dan Patrick
Okay. That's the first disaster. Natural disaster.
Paul
Yeah.
Robert Smigel
Yeah.
Dylan
College level, though.
Dan Patrick
Tulsa, the Golden Hurricanes.
Dylan
Yeah. And then five years later, Miami was the Hurricanes.
Dan Patrick
Okay, Stat of the day brought to you by Benini America. The official trading cards of the Dan Patrick show gets phone calls. Coming up, the NCAA tournament has expanded to 76 teams. It's now official. Now, when you think about this, since 2020, since COVID NFL expands to 14 playoff teams. NBA adds an in season tournament and play in games. Baseball expands to 12 playoff teams. Each league, the World cup moving from 32 to 48 teams. College football to 12 teams. Now maybe 16 and now maybe 24. March Madness expanding to 76. The expansion, according to my source, will add approximately $300 million in additional revenue over the final six years of the TV contracts. There's your answer. Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. That's why we're doing it. Yeah, there's a lot of. There's a lot of things going on with college football, college basketball. I did ask my source, is it just a coincidence the college football playoffs in March Madness are expanding in the same year? He says not particularly. If anything, it's a clear sign of the Power of the SEC in Big Ten. They want those four additional at large births in basketball. That's the reason the tournament expanded beyond 64 and it continues today. So, Man, a lot is, I mean this is moving, this is fluid as far as what they're going to do. Everybody's looking for a live TV window. That's what you're looking for. You know, even these games on Thanksgiving, football games on Thanksgiving. You know, I found this out yesterday that Netflix has the one o' clock game, 4:30 game and then Fox will have the 8:15 game. So these streaming partners, they're coming, they're here. Amazon, Netflix, everybody wants to be involved. YouTube, they all want to be involved. All right, let me sneak in a couple of phone calls here. Let's see Lucas in Texas. Hi, Luke. What's on your mind today?
Caller
Hey, Dan, Good morning.
Dan Patrick
Good morning.
Caller
You know, you and I were kind of throwback man in our sports. We like to see some of the classic aspects of the game. I know that you've talked about there being a potential return or over correction in the NFL that need to go back to running backs, feature running backs or in the NBA, the guy that can hit the mid range jumper. You know, those are just crucial. And I was having a conversation with my dad, we were talking about baseball in the 90s, how different it is. We know today guys throw 100 miles an hour for four innings and then get pulled out. Guys swing as hard as they can, strike out a ton and hit home runs. So the question was, which player from the 90s who epitomized that layer of baseball? Greg Maddux, who was very much control but not a lot of speed, or Tony Gwynn, who was a lot of bat control but not a lot of home runs at all. Which one of those do you think has a chance of coming back in some capacity in modern baseball?
Dan Patrick
Well, Tony Gwynn could be a home run hitter. He said, I'm not paid to hit 20 home runs, but I could. Great hitters. You know, Ichiro could have hit home runs. Wade Boggs could have hit more home runs. But they weren't paid to do that. They were paid to get on base. Tony Gwynn, and even with his size, when, because he was around 6263, former point guard in college, I think that he could have, you know, with Maddox, they would have said, well, Maddox used to throw hard when he first came up with the Cubs. And then he, he figured it out. He said, I don't want to throw all these pitches. I Want you to get yourself out. And he would, he would throw pitches that he knew that you would hit the ball. But he was a, what, 12 time Gold Glove pitcher. He was ready for the ball to be hit to him or his infield. So he mastered that. I think, you know, the scouts today would go, yeah, you know, they put, they put the ball in play. You can get your bat on his stuff. Well, not realizing what he did, nobody has really replicated like he was a crafty right hander. Usually it's a crafty left hander, but Maddox was so brilliant. You know, Glavin was a crafty left hander. Yes. Marvin.
Marv Albert
Another guy, Ricky Henderson and Kenny Lofton, two like natural leadoff guys that had speed and obviously Ricky had more power, but they got the, the lineup going with their speed.
Dan Patrick
Yeah. And I think that element is, is coming back because the bases are larger. There's more movement in baseball now. Viewership is up so far this year, up significantly with baseball. And it might be because there is movement. You know, you're more than just, you either swing and strike out, swing and hit a home run. You either throw it and strike somebody out or you throw it and you give up a home run. And I think that's good for baseball that it gets back to, there's movement there. Yes, Dylan, I think, I mean, Rob
Dylan
Manfred's had quite the PR turnaround over the last few years compared to like the COVID era. Like, I think the, the things that they're doing for baseball are actually working in a sport that traditionally people do not like to tinker with at all.
Dan Patrick
Viewership for national exclus baseball games through last Sunday is 2.28 million. That's a 44% increase over last year. And the best start in nine years for major League Baseball. Start of the day, Start of the day, Start of the day. Start of the day. This is the start of the day brought to you by Panini America. We'll take a break. More phone calls and our play of the day. Up next, Charles Barkley. Next hour, Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch all of our shows@foxsportsradio.com and within the iHeartRadio app. Search FSR to listen live.
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Liberty Liberty Liberty Liberty Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy not quite on Humor Me with Robert Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Jim Gaffigan to Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier this week. My guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an acapella band with their between songs banter. The worst singer in the group.
Marv Albert
The worst.
Robert Smigel
Yeah, me. Is there anything to the idea that because you're from Harvard, you only got in because your parents made a huge
Dan Patrick
donation credit to the group the Yardbirds. Right? That's the name.
Robert Smigel
The Harvard Yardbird.
Dan Patrick
They're open.
Marv Albert
Do you have a name suggestion?
Dan Patrick
We're open.
Robert Smigel
Since you guys are middle aged. One erection. Listen to Humor Me with Robert Smigel and friends on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.
Dan Patrick
Humor me. I need some jokes to make me seem funny.
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Dan Patrick
the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on £10.
Marv Albert
I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.
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Dan Patrick
Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Oh my God, the play is gonna play of the day. This is of the day. Check this out. Back across Fetchov. He's got to go skate the stick. He goes low to high for Gau to spare. Now Senec Cross. They score. It's a power play goal. Andre Fetchov. It's the second power play goal of the game. And the Canes have a 31 lead here in the third, courtesy of the Canes radio network. There's never a casual call of a goal scored, is there? Certainly not in soccer, but I know there's only a couple, you know, per match. But like when it's nine to six. Avalanche, like the ninth one. Do you sound like it's game seven of the Stanley Cup Final. That makes it nine to six. Carolina. Just the third NHL team in the last 30 years to open a postseason with seven consecutive wins. The Rangers did it in 2024, the Pittsburgh Penguins in 08. That right there is your play of the day. Play of the Day is brought to you by Rec Tech. Recteq.com search the Dan Patrick show, your official rules and the chance to win a Rec Tech grill. Coming up next Friday, update the poll results. Early results if you can, Dylan.
Dylan
All right, Dan. Early results. Flopping in the NBA is smart on the refs to call or soft and bad for the product. 92% say soft and bad for the product. I'm inclined to agree. And then what would you rather get caught in less an avalanche or a hurricane? 70% say avalanche. And I also agree with that hurricane. You can.
Dan Patrick
I can outrun an avalanche. No, I mean I can. I don't want to try. I've been in a tornado before.
Dylan
Like inside the.
Dan Patrick
No, on. On the outside. My downtown of this is back in the 80s and a tornado ripped through and I had friends who lived in the same neighborhood. One house gone. The house next to it, not next to that one gone. Crazy then. And it. And the weather. I'll never forget that cool weather that was attached to it. And I just remember it was crazy how much damage it did in such a quick period of time. Yes.
Dylan
Dale, Are tornadoes like the wildest of the natural disasters? Just like how does this even happen? Like a volcano. Okay, makes sense.
Dan Patrick
You know, tsunami is the one that is still that one.
Dylan
That's usually a double banger too, because usually it's an earthquake and then the tsunami follows.
Dan Patrick
Yes. Yes. Zach in Knoxville. Hi, Zach. What's on your mind today?
Caller
Adp, thanks for taking my call. For the Vegas team. How about the Vegas global warmings? They slowly wear you down. And just wanted to ask you about the flopping that's. That's going on. Do you think Adam Silver needs to step in and dare I say, give the refs an agenda to not only you know that Chet Holmgren play early when they went to the monitor, I felt like they. When they reversed the call, they probably should have issued a technical for flopping. Do you think that they need to step in and start issuing texts along?
Dan Patrick
They tried to do this two years ago, but then you have the officials, they have their own union. Like they don't want to be told what to do. They don't want to be embarrassed, but you know, it's like calling pass interference. And I'm trying to get an update on the referees, NFL referees. They were getting ready to vote last night at 8 o' clock and I don't know how long discussions went on, but I think they. The NFL wants referees to go to training camp. Like I think they want them to be available more in the off season. So I'm trying to get some information on that. Aiden in Utah. Hi, Aiden. What's on your mind? Yeah, good morning, Dan. Morning. Hey, I was wondering, does.
Caller
Can GMs be put in the hall of Fame while they're currently active? Because Sam Presti is a mastermind. Okay, I'm watching AJ Mitchell. He's a 38th pick out of UC Santa Barbara.
Dan Patrick
Oh yeah.
Caller
I'm sure everybody saw him being a baller. Also, how did they get Jared McCain?
Dan Patrick
And by the way, they're gonna have
Caller
a lottery pick this year.
Dan Patrick
Yeah, no, Pretty incredible. Jerry West. Is he in the hall of Fame as a gm? Did Red Arbok see in for being a gm, but nobody I don't think has been put in during their careers. Yes, Marvin.
Marv Albert
Theo Epstein should be put in in 2004 as soon as he won that championship with the Red Sox.
Dan Patrick
Yes.
Marv Albert
Then with the Cubs too.
Dan Patrick
No, I know. Yeah, I don't have any problems with that. You know, if you're an architect for a team, we, we do criticize GMs all the time. We know their names. Yes, Dylan, that might be one of
Dylan
the more underrated things. The fact that Theo Epstein took the two longest standing curses in baseball and broke them.
Dan Patrick
Yeah. What's Theo doing now?
Paul
I think he's a contributor to mlb. Like in higher office. Let me check.
Dan Patrick
Oh, he. He like graduated. Graduated from.
Dylan
Well, he was like 10 when the red Sox.
Dan Patrick
That's true. He still looks like he's 15. Yeah.
Paul
Paul, he is a senior advisor to Fenway Sports Group.
Dan Patrick
Oh, okay. Was he involved in the bloodshed there where everybody got fired?
Paul
I do not know.
Dan Patrick
Todd is going to be the first victim of the confessional. So you have to go in once we go to commercial break. If you're watching on Peacock, I don't know what the question is. You have to answer. I don't look at it as a victim. I look at as a special opportunity to go, you know, say something in private. Okay. At the world watching a TV will hear somehow. All right. You're the first participant that's better for the confessional that we're bringing back. Once an hour on Peacock. Charles Barkley will join us in about 25 minutes from now. Update the poll results. It's a meat Friday. It's all Fritzi. All of his delicacies, including ice cream and coffee cake. Hour two on this Friday, right after this.
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Dan Patrick
Learn more@electricforall.org tires matter. They're the only part of your vehicle that touches the road. Tread confidently with new tires from Tire Rack. Whether you're looking for expert recommendations or know exactly what you want, Tire Rack makes it really easy. Fast. Free shipping, free road hazard protection, convenient installation options, and the best selection of Bridgestone tires. Go to tirerack.com dan see their Bridgestone test results, tire ratings and reviews and check out the special offers. It's tirerack.com the way tire buying should be. I raised my glass to Miller Lite. They've been doing it for 50 years now. They are iconic. They are the original. They're legendary. That's why I reach for a Miller Lite, and you should, too. Legendary Moments Start with Miller Lite. Great taste 96 calories. You can pick up some Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer. Go to millerlight.com Patrick Find delivery options near you. It's Miller time. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Co. Milwaukee, WI 96 calories, 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces. This is an I Heart podcast. Guaranteed human.
Date: May 8, 2026
Podcast: The Dan Patrick Show
Host: Dan Patrick and the team (Marvin, Paul, Dylan, Fritzy)
Notable Guests: None in this hour, but Charles Barkley previewed for next hour.
The first hour of this Meat Friday episode dissects the current NBA playoffs—focusing on James Harden's continued postseason struggles and LeBron James' challenges with officiating—while also exploring broader issues in basketball such as "ring culture," player movement, and "flopping." The team reflects on OKC's rise, including their wealth of draft picks, and wraps with news and analysis about the NCAA basketball tournament's expansion, ending with thoughtful audience calls on both basketball and baseball trends.
Cavaliers' Playoff Troubles & Harden's Legacy:
The Impact of “Ring Culture” and Career Movement:
LeBron James and Officiating:
OKC Analysis:
Player Recognition and Small-Market Stars:
On Harden’s legacy:
On LeBron’s whistle:
On OKC depth:
On NCAA expansion:
This lively episode weaves through big-picture questions about player legacies, sports culture, and business changes in pro and college leagues, all with the Dan Patrick Show’s trademark wit and chemistry.