Doc Rivers (3:57)

I sure am. You know, the Masters app is on right now, and so I'm watching the featured groups. Dan. Dan, I haven't talked to you in a while. You know what, what's going on with you?

Dan Patrick (4:10)

Kind of status quo. Just, you know, kind of running out, playing out the string here, you know, just the last couple of years. When are you retiring?

Doc Rivers (4:18)

Playing out the string here last.

Dan Patrick (4:21)

Okay. Who retires first, Doc?

Doc Rivers (4:25)

Oh, man, I got a feeling. What did you say?

Dan Patrick (4:28)

28, 2028, February of 2028. Will you still be coaching in the NBA?

Doc Rivers (4:35)

I, I think there's a very good chance I'm going to beat you.

Dan Patrick (4:39)

Yeah.

Doc Rivers (4:39)

Yeah. We'll meet afterwards to have a drink somewhere.

Dan Patrick (4:43)

Is this your last season?

Doc Rivers (4:44)

I don't Know, I don't know that, but, you know, I'm leaning a lot of different ways, you know, so I don't want to commit to anything. I don't. You know, Dana, it's so tough, and you probably have dealt with this. The word retirement means you don't work at all, and I don't think I'm going to do that. I would drive people nuts if I was at home every day.

Dan Patrick (5:09)

Are you still having fun? This has been a pretty tough, trying

Doc Rivers (5:12)

year, but, yeah, this has been a rough year. Nothing like, you know, if you. If you read Sham's article the other day, that. That article was so far off base that it was nowhere near like, as hectic or what toxic situation as it. As it looks. But it's still losing, Dan. You know, this is my first losing season in 20 seasons. That's a hell of a run. Losing is no fun for anyone. And then the Giannis situation has been really rough for everyone, including Giannis. So this has not been a fun year. But every year is not going to be fun. And you don't have great years every year, and you just deal with it. So I look at it, I put it in that compartment, and not nearly as bad as May look on the outside.

Dan Patrick (6:01)

What does Giannis want?

Doc Rivers (6:03)

Oh, boy, I don't know. And we talk probably more than anyone. You know, Dan, it's a tough one because he has done such a great job here in Milwaukee. Right. And yet he still wants to win a title. And clearly we have to do a better job here with our roster to make that even look like a possibility. And if we can't do that, then he's going to look outward. And so I think that's a twofold answer. I think, one, if we had all the pieces here, I have no doubt he'd want to say here, but we don't. And so that puts him in a tough spot.

Dan Patrick (6:42)

What say do you have in this?

Doc Rivers (6:44)

Not a lot. Just with him, trying to guide him. You know, we talk a lot about it, I can tell you that.

Dan Patrick (6:54)

And why isn't he playing these last couple? He wanted to play, correct? Is he.

Doc Rivers (6:59)

Yeah, he wanted to play. He just hadn't been cleared.

Dan Patrick (7:02)

Okay.

Doc Rivers (7:03)

You know, and so that's another one where I'm kind of caught in the middle, I think, yeah, this was a playoff game, you would play them, but if it wasn't a playoff game, there's no way you would play them. I think that would be the correct answer.

Dan Patrick (7:14)

Talking to Doc Rivers, hall of Famer, and watching The Masters here. Have you played Augusta?

Mike Vaccaro (7:21)

Yeah, I have.

Dan Patrick (7:22)

Who'd you play with?

Doc Rivers (7:24)

Didn't play it with Jimmy Dunn, who was a great guy, and then two other friends had a great time, played miserably. You know, Dan, I've been in finals. I've been in so many pressure situations.

Dan Patrick (7:39)

How nervous were you?

Doc Rivers (7:40)

Oh, I gotta tell you, on the first tee box, I think it was kind of Lisa Rice, I want to say, Peyton Manning, of all people, were coming out, and they were, you know, Peyton, you know, and it was hard for me to pull the thing back. Like, I'm sitting there like, oh, holy. It's just the golf course. But it's not just the golf course. It is. It's one amazing place, you know? So, yeah, I was a little nervous.

Dan Patrick (8:04)

I got traded on the first tee by my caddy.

Doc Rivers (8:09)

Yeah. Yes.

Dan Patrick (8:11)

Like, they were betting on us, and my caddy caddied for Sevy when he won in 1980.

Caller (8:17)

And.

Dan Patrick (8:17)

And I just remember they. They swapped bags after my tee shot, and I said, what happened? And the caddy goes, you just got traded on the first tee.

Doc Rivers (8:27)

Well, I can tell you my caddy took a big loss because I. I hit a huge drive on one. So I did. I ripped it, and I saw my caddy give two people high five. That was the only good shot I hit.

Dan Patrick (8:43)

How did you find out about the hall of Fame?

Doc Rivers (8:46)

I'm sitting exactly where I was sitting, as a matter of fact, and I get a call from the Hall.

Caller (8:51)

It's funny.

Doc Rivers (8:52)

I have my phone block, which I learned to non numbers that are stored, and so I didn't answer the phone then, you know, which was hilarious. And I get a text, hey, doc, this is such and such from a hall. We really need you to answer the phone. So I was in the dog house before I got in the house. You know, it's a great call, Dan. I gotta tell you, it's. You know, it's funny. I get the call and they say, doc, you're in the hall. And I didn't. It's not something you work for. Like, you don't work to be in a hall. At least I can tell you. I've worked because I love coaching. I love whatever else comes with it. But when I called my brother and he answered the phone and I told him he was golfing, which pissed me off, and he just started crying, and it was like the most emotional thing because my parents are no longer with us, and he just said my two parents names and start bawling. He walked away from the phone. Another guy picks the phone up. Who. I still don't know who that was. And the guy says, hey, Doc, is everything okay? And I said, yes, things are good. I'm in the hall of Fame. So he start, whoever the guy was, start celebrating too. So that was my, my first five minutes in the hall. It was pretty cool.

Dan Patrick (10:15)

Now you have your nickname after Dr. J. Yeah. Could Dr. J be part of the induction ceremony?

Doc Rivers (10:24)

That's not a bad call. It could be. There's other names too, you know, Pat Riley, Kevin Garnett, so it's so funny, Dan. These are the other things I don't. I've never been in a hall, so I've had 20 people ask me what you're asking me. Who's gonna introduce me. There's a lot of guys. You know, one thing, you know with your success, you don't, you don't reach success without a lot of people helping you. It's really you and a whole team that people don't know. And so anybody I asked would be someone who helped me. Pat Riley was instrumental in me coaching. Kevin Garnett is instrumental me getting my success. Wayne Embry probably is the most important person in my life just because he was guiding me even in college.

Dan Patrick (11:09)

So there's a lot of people I've been talking about. The rookie of the year with Con Knipple is favored over Cooper Flag. Just to give you my opinion. I, I don't think this should be close. I think what Cooper Flag is doing at 19 as the guy night in and night out, as opposed to Knipple, who, who's the third option for a playoff team. Wonderful year. But Cooper Flag's 19 years of age, doing some things that we haven't seen since LeBron. Your thoughts on who should be the Rookie of the Year?

Doc Rivers (11:38)

I tell you, I do think it's close and I've gone back and forth on it because it's, it's this year probably more than any year that I can remember. It's probably, it's almost two categories. Cooper Flags numbers just scream at you. They really do. Scoring 40, scoring 50, being the point guard, playing a position that he's never played before, handling that night in and the featured guy each night. Like when you play Dallas, you're preparing for Cooper Flag. But what Khan has done is, in my opinion, he's changed the, the culture of an organization that has had cultural problems with his, which his approach.

Dan Patrick (12:25)

Okay.

Doc Rivers (12:26)

You know, his play is tough. He's a tough, he's a two way player. I've never seen a rookie have an impact on a team as much as he has had. And there's something to be said about that as well.

Dan Patrick (12:40)

Wow.

Doc Rivers (12:41)

And the reason he doesn't have the numbers is because he is on a good team, you know, so he's sharing the ball with Lamelo ball and Bridges and everybody else.

Dan Patrick (12:51)

Wait, you think he could be a featured guy and score 25 a game?

Doc Rivers (12:56)

I think he could score more points if he is on a team was worse. But he's such a team player, he's such a leader. And I do think from a coaching standpoint that means a lot. But you're right. I wish this is the one year I would be fine if they had CO MVPs.

Dan Patrick (13:15)

Yeah.

Doc Rivers (13:17)

But if you just go on numbers, which is what you're supposed to do, you're right. It's Cooper flag. If you go on impact, it's con. And that's how I look at it.

Dan Patrick (13:28)

Have you had anybody match Kevin Garnett's intensity in your career?

Doc Rivers (13:33)

No. Yeah, I would say intensity. Yeah. I've had some guys. You know, Patrick Beverly was nuts. Yeah.

Dan Patrick (13:41)

So I would throw him out. Was it a good nuts or bad nuts?

Doc Rivers (13:46)

It depends on the game. You know, I jokingly one night I was very upset at the way Patrick played and Pat played and I told him, I said, I'm gonna put you on the all scare team. And he's like, what's that?

Dan Patrick (13:58)

You scare me just as much as you scare them.

Doc Rivers (14:01)

And I said, I don't know which way to go every time I put you in. But that dude was so dang competitive, man. Like he, you know, it's funny, he was a good defender, but he was a great defender because he scared the hell out of the guy he was guarding every night. And Kevin KG had a lot of that. What I've never had with Kevin, I've never had a leader like Kevin ever. Like, Kevin cleaned up the locker room for me every single day. If shoot arounds are bad, Kevin patrolled it. I mean when you got something like that on your team, it makes coaching a whole lot easier.

Dan Patrick (14:40)

How would he have been as a coach?

Doc Rivers (14:43)

Oh, I'll give you a quick story. He was working with a guy in Boston and I don't want to say his name, but the guy wasn't paying attention to Kevin's, you know, like Kevin threw him out of the gym, like literally threw him out. The guy went to the other basket. Kevin said, no, get out of the gym. At last in like two minutes. And I walked over to Kevin. I said, you know, when you're working with a guy, you gotta have a little more patience. He was like, no, I don't. And so, no, that would have been really rough.

Dan Patrick (15:23)

Before we let you go, we have Fritzi's impersonation of you. So we thought that Fritzi would be able to congratulate you on going into the hall of Fame. Fritzi, I just want to hear this. Okay, here we go.

Doc Rivers (15:34)

I just want to say it's been a great run as a player, as a coach, an ambassador to the NBA. I wish you all the best.

Mike Vaccaro (15:41)

You deserve everything you get.

Doc Rivers (15:43)

I'm glad you go into the hall, my friend.

Mike Vaccaro (15:44)

Congratulations.

Doc Rivers (15:45)

And you got to give me 48. You got to give me 48. I was just going to keep losing. Give me 48. You know, I didn't always talk like that. Frisky.

Dan Patrick (15:54)

I don't know what happened.

Doc Rivers (15:57)

You see that play behind me?

Dan Patrick (15:58)

Yeah.

Doc Rivers (15:59)

It didn't work. That's why I have the voice that I have.

Dan Patrick (16:02)

Oh, that was a play you diagrammed last game.

Doc Rivers (16:07)

Guys running at each other.

Dan Patrick (16:08)

Yeah. Congratulations on the hall and whatever you decide here at the end of the season. But thank you again for sharing.

Doc Rivers (16:20)

I appreciate. Good talk to you. Good seeing you.

Dan Patrick (16:22)

Thank you, bud. That's Doc Rivers, hall of Famer. And I go back to when he was playing in Atlanta with Dominique. Kevin Willis, John Khancak, John Battle. They had a really good team. They just weren't good enough to beat the Celtic. Well, nobody was back then, but they were fun. Number 25. But Doc. Dr. J, introducing Doc Rivers. Yes, Marvin.

Doc Rivers (16:54)

Is Kevin Garnett now in that Larry Bird, Michael Jordan category. We're not the same player, but everyone's got a story about him.

Dan Patrick (16:59)

Yeah. Yeah.

Doc Rivers (17:01)

That dude was nuts.

Dan Patrick (17:03)

But I. I've told this story before, and it was Tim Duncan who said that KG was on an elevator with him. And I think it was the All Star week. And it was just those two. And KG started yelling at him, and it's just those two. Now, Tim's the one who told me the story. They're on the elevator. KG is yelling at Tim Duncan. And Tim said. I didn't say a word. We got to our floor. I walked off. He walked off. But he said that that's just Kevin. He was. He was always intense. Always. All right, we'll get to more phone calls. It's a meet Friday. It's the final Friday for Seaton. A lot of people want to call in. Rich Eisen got a hold of me on Tuesday. And he said, I'd like to call in and say goodbye to Seaton as well. And, uh, I believe Will Ferrell would like to call in. He reached out to me yesterday. He said, uh, you got a time slot for me to say goodbye to Seaton? I go, we'll make one. So Will Ferrell's gonna join us a little bit later on. That's crazy. Yeah, I know. Rich Eisen. Yeah. Oh, wow.

Caller (18:13)

Wow.

Dan Patrick (18:15)

Okay. I can't tell you. All right. You're right. You're right. Dang.

Seaton O'Connor (18:21)

Oh, and Will. Yeah.

Dan Patrick (18:22)

And Will Ferrell. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I'm not gonna tell you the number of people who didn't want to say goodbye to you, but I. These are the ones who want to

Seaton O'Connor (18:30)

say currently speaking for themselves, actually, it's the.

Dan Patrick (18:32)

Yes.

Seaton O'Connor (18:33)

Phone not ringing.

Dan Patrick (18:34)

Yeah. All right, so we'll take a break. Mike Vaccaro, great baseball writer, columnist, has written a book on George Steinbrenner, the Yankees, and we'll give him the stage coming up next year. Dan Patrick Show 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. Fox Sports Radio is taking over YouTube and you can be a part of it. Just go to YouTube and search Fox Sports Radio. Hit that subscribe button and SM that notification bell and catch all the videos from your favorite shows. Two pros and a cup of Joe. Dan Patrick, Colin Cowherd, Stu Gotz and company Live, Cavino and Rich, the Odd Couple with Rob Parker and Kelvin Washington, the Jason Smith show with Mike Harmon and the Ben Ma Show. Fox sports radio on YouTube. Subscribe. Hit that thumbs up icon and comment away.

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Mike Vaccaro (19:58)

We're lost and kickoff's coming up.

Dan Patrick (20:01)

I don't want to miss the lineup.

Solaray Magnesium Advertiser (20:03)

I'm going to ask that man for directions.

Dan Patrick (20:06)

Hi there. We're trying to get to the stadium.

T-Mobile/US Cellular Advertiser (20:08)

Well, you're going to take a Left at the old oak tree at this here road. Nah, I'm just kidding. Let me get my phone out.

Dan Patrick (20:15)

How is there signal out here?

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Solaray Magnesium Advertiser (20:29)

Actually, can you pull up the way

Dan Patrick (20:30)

to a T Mobile store?

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Podcast Host (21:00)

Conversations about volleyball go beyond the court. Today we have a little best friend compatibility test. Okay, how long have we been best friends for?

Dan Patrick (21:07)

Since the day we met.

Podcast Host (21:08)

As the League1 volleyball season heads towards its final stretch, there's no better time to tune in. We really are like yin and yang, vodka and tequila. You'll hear unfiltered analysis, behind the scenes stories and conversations with leaders making an impact across the sport. Today we have Logan Le Niki. I feel like our fan base in general is very connected.

Dan Patrick (21:26)

Just like a comforting feeling getting to play at home.

Podcast Host (21:29)

Whether you're following the final push of love season or just love the game, serving pancakes brings you closer to the action and the people shaping the future of volleyball. Jordan Thompson had that microphone. Oh, God forbid we make mistakes or cuss at our coach like one time or two times. Open your free iHeartRadio app, search serving pancakes and listen.

Seaton O'Connor (21:49)

Now.

Podcast Host (21:49)

This has been serving Pancakes and we'll catch you on the flip side, okay.

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Presented by Capital One, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports.

Dan Patrick (21:58)

This message is brought to you by Apple Card. Apple Card members can earn unlimited daily cash back on everyday purchases wherever they shop. This means you could be earning daily cash on just about anything, like a slice of pizza from your local pizza place or a latte from the corner coffee shop. Apply for Apple Card in the Wallet app to see your credit limit offer in minutes. Subject to credit approval. Apple Card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA Salt Lake City Branch terms and more@applecard.com I thought Doc Rivers was pretty loose there, pretty wide open when I said, who's going to retire first, me or you? And he said it was going to be him. I would be surprised if he's back next year for a variety of reasons. But he did want to make sure he was on the record of saying Shams had a, an article that was pretty damning for the Milwaukee Bucks and for Doc, losing the locker room, the Yanis situation. But he did say, you know what, that's blown out of proportion. But it feels like this is it for Doc Rivers. Mike Vaccaro, New York Post Sports Columnist and he's written another book. It's called the Bosses of the Bronx the Endless Drama of the Yankees under the House of Steinbrenner. And Mike joins us on the program. So what brought you to this moment where you go, you know what, I got to tell this story.

Mike Vaccaro (23:20)

You know what, Dad, I hear from a lot of younger generation Yankee fans who really don't, didn't know George or if they knew him, they knew the kindly old man who would walk into Yankee Stadium and get ovations. And, you know, they don't know. And a lot of people of our generation kind of forget that. You know, 10 years before that, he was walking into the stadium to a lot different reaction every day he went there and, you know, it was a full, complete, complete story of who he was, who he became, the good, the bad, everything in between, the crazy, lots of crazy in there, Dan. And, you know, I wanted to get that between the covers of a book. And I thought it would be a fun project. And it was a, it was a blast to go back, especially to the, to the older George, the 70s and the 80s and just all the nuttiness and zaniness that went on under him.

Dan Patrick (24:01)

I was there in the early 80s, I was working at CNN in New York. And I just remember that you couldn't walk on the grass at Yankee Stadium if you're a reporter, right? You had to walk on the dirt. And I did meet with him. I did meet him a couple of times, got to interview him once. And I actually sent him a letter to say, hey, thank you for sitting down with me. And he said, I'm a big fan of Ted Turner who started cnn. Anytime I can help you, you let me know. It wasn't long after that that Billy Martin got fired again. And so I had somebody help me call Steinbrenner's office. I said, hey, it's dan Patrick from CNN. Could you ask Mr. Steinbrenner if I can Talk to him. I never heard back from George Steinbrenner.

Mike Vaccaro (24:46)

Still. Still waiting in that callback, huh?

Dan Patrick (24:48)

Still waiting. He did write me a letter, though, at cnn. I still have it. I have it framed here. But he did write me a letter and talked about, you know, Ted Turner. So there, there was always this fear like he. I don't know, did he want people, did he want media, did he want players to fear him?

Mike Vaccaro (25:06)

I think he liked being known as the Boss. I mean, you know, even before the New York papers figured out that the boss was a more headline friendly word than Steinbrenner, he called himself the Boss, you know, and that drove Billy Martin crazy. And he acted it. Look, I mean, he liked being in charge of the Yankees. That's what appealed to him about, you know, being part of the group that bought the Yankees. He wanted to be the guy in New York with the Yankees and. And that's what it was all about. Very imperious, very impetuous. And together those made for some pretty harrowing times for Yankees fans, you know, and certainly in the 80s when they won more games than any other team in the sport and couldn't win a championship because every now and again they go on a losing streak and George would fire somebody or trade somebody, and that was that. You know, the Yankees themselves used to call it getting Georged. And that happened a lot in those years.

Dan Patrick (25:53)

But should he be in the hall of Fame?

Mike Vaccaro (25:56)

You know what, for a lot of years, Dan, I thought the answer was no, because you know what? Two suspensions is probably one too many to be considered. But you know what his son Hal told me this one time, he said, you know, you can't write a history of baseball without writing a couple of chapters about my father. And he's right. And the more I considered, say, Pete Rose, right, to me, I think Pete Rose belongs to the hall of Fame. But I think his plaque should say the first half should be got the 4,000 hits and did everything he did. And the second half should be why he got in trouble with baseball later on. And I think similarly, it's important to do that with Steinbrenner because, look, for better or worse, the teams that he owned won seven championships. Every other owner in the hall combined won nine. And yeah, he was suspended. And I think it's worth. The baseball is a museum, you know, and it's supposed to tell the whole story of baseball. And the important figures in baseball should be on the walls there. And I do think at this point that he should get on. I don't think it's going to happen for a while. He has never really gotten any traction, but I think he should.

Dan Patrick (26:53)

What is called the hall of Fame and he certainly, he certainly was famous. We're talking to Mike Vaccaro as a new book on the Yankees and George Steinbrenner. It's the bosses of the Bronx, the endless drama. The Yankees under the house of Steinbrenner. What would George think of the Dodgers and their approach to today's game?

Mike Vaccaro (27:12)

It's a great question because really in his day he was the Dodgers, right? He was a one man model as a one man corporation. Whoever he wanted to get, he would get. He didn't always overpay for them, which is interesting because he knew he had New York to sell. That's how he sold Reggie Jackson. You know, he offered 2 million bucks less than of all teams, the Expos. And yet he knew that Reggie would have the appeal of, of going to New York and you know, bringing a star with him. As he said, he. I think he would be certainly challenged by the Dodgers, by the, by the, by the Blue Jays. I mean, look, by having Steve Cohen in the same town with them, I mean, it was not the same situation as the Dodgers, but he's his own one man corporation, right? His own one man, deep pocketed challenger. And look, when George was coming up and trying to establish the Yankees against the Mets, he was going up against Lorinda De Relay who was asking if foul balls can be brought back and washed off so they could use them tomorrow. That's not what Steve Cohen does. Steve Cohen might not be the perfect owner, but he's not going to do that. And that's what Hal is going up against as opposed to George.

Dan Patrick (28:10)

But I always look back and George starting the YES network and the value that that had, and you'll know this better than me, but it felt like he was treating his starting lineup like it was the cast of Friends. He, it was a TV show. And the amount of money that they were getting and reinvesting, I thought, you know, that was business 101. It was a brilliant, brilliant move.

Mike Vaccaro (28:35)

Yeah, it was. And look, I mean, I think of in George's heart of hearts, if he could have had the YES network and all of that represented back for the teams in the 70s, because what he enjoyed about those teams even as much as they were winning was the fact that he had guys who would go at him on the back page. I mean, you know, Reggie would fight with him, Billy would certainly fight with him. Thurman Lived to fight with him. You know, all those guys live for that stuff. You know, you fast forward to the team from the, you know, from the late 90s and the, in the, and the early aughts. You know, no one's gonna get into a back page fight with Bernie Williams or Andy Pettit. You know, I mean, that's just not who they were. They were just guys who won. They weren't characters. And George, George admired characters because he knew that he was his own character. He admitted he was a ham. He knew he probably got in the way too much. And he, but, but, but he enjoyed it. Look, he enjoyed being characterized on Sam Seinfeld, you know, and, and actually got a laugh out of the fact that he got bounced. The one time they asked him to be a, to, to make a cameo. You know, Larry David just deemed him, he deemed the material unusable. He said he was a, he said he was a terrible actor. And I'm not exactly Olivier, but I can tell you he was a terrible actor. So he liked all of it. And then that was all the stuff that he loved about being, you know, being the owner of the Yankees, even, you know, hosting Saturday Night Live while he was suspended. You know, he was bad, and people said that he should keep his day job, but at that moment, he didn't have a day job, so, so he did that, too.

Dan Patrick (29:50)

The Yankees hold on. This generation, as opposed to previous generations, is what.

Mike Vaccaro (29:56)

Well, I think a lot of is inherited is. You know, my father, my grandfather rooted for the Yankees. So that's also what I'm going to do. And look, it happens. It helps that they win every year, win 95 games every year. They haven't won a championship in 17 years, which is, you know, really a problem for a lot of Yankees fans. And people think they're spoiled. And maybe there's a degree of that. But look, I mean, why are they spoiled? Because, you know, really, in the, in the, in the corporate mission statement, it's championship or bust. And, you know, guess who invented that? That was George Steinbrenner. And so that was really the gift he handed to his son. I mean, sometimes it's a hard gift to accept, but you look, I mean, they still fill the ballpark. I mean, you're still going to get a game, you know, a makeup game in July that's going to get 35,000 people. And back when Don Mattingly was, you know, the biggest star in New York and one of the biggest stars in New York, I mean, you can still see the Old video of how empty that place was. So it's really become a different thing. It's a. It's an everyday thing that people really care about. That's why every time the Yankees go on a losing streak, you know, I hear from 25 people who want, you know, managers fired and players traded because that's what George would do. You know, they always ask, what would George do? And maybe he would do that. And I say, well, maybe, you know, Aaron Boone be the manager. He'd just be on his third tenure,

Dan Patrick (31:02)

you know, you know, so, yeah, I was there twice when Billy Martin got fired, and all you had to do

Mike Vaccaro (31:09)

was go every couple of weeks.

Dan Patrick (31:11)

How much of a threat is Shohei Ohtani to Babe Ruth's legacy in baseball history?

Mike Vaccaro (31:17)

Look, I mean, he can keep pitching at this level for, you know, for five, six, seven years. I mean, I'd love to know what Babe Ruth could have done if he'd stayed with pitching. You know, if he decided to do both things. He just preferred to be a hitter. And so basically, he gave up being, you know, one of the best pitchers in the game and decided to go full blown poor into, you know, into. Into hitting. If Ohtani can do that to me, that's why, you know, it's a. It's a weird argument when you ask who's better, Ohtani or Judge. Because, look, I mean, Judge is phenomenal. You can't say a bad word about his career. But, you know, he hasn't struck out anybody. You know, he hasn't done that many career wins. And Ohtani does. And he does that at a high level, too. It's not like he's a fantastic hitter and he's a, you know, situational relief pitcher. I mean, this is a, this is an ace of a staff, potential ace of a staff, in addition to being, you know, one of the two best hitters in baseball. So, yeah, I think he's got, you know, he's got some work to do and some time to do it. But, you know, he doesn't seem to be slowing down at all. So why not?

Dan Patrick (32:13)

I'll leave you with this. How would George Steinbrenner do with today's sports culture? With the Internet, everybody, social media, with the things, you know, how he governed?

Mike Vaccaro (32:25)

Well, I would argue that he used the back pages against each other as an early form of social media. You know, he called the Daily News, then the Post have to call him back and they. And he'd be in the news for a week at a time. You know, his son Talks about how, you know, he gets mad watching the Yankees lose, throws a shoe at the tv. And his father would do the same thing, only the difference was, you know, he'd call the Daily News and the Post and say, guess what I just did? I just threw my shoe at the tv. And that's three days. That's three days of headlines. And now he wouldn't have to worry about doing that. He just go on his phone and do that. I believe me, I guarantee you that they'd have to find, hide his, hide the old man's phone every now and again because he'd be on Twitter and all the other social medias x and everything, you know, all the time. I have no doubt about that.

Dan Patrick (33:03)

Congratulations on the book. Thanks for joining us. We appreciate it, Mike.

Mike Vaccaro (33:07)

Thank you, Dan. I appreciate it.

Dan Patrick (33:08)

That's Mike Vaccaro, New York Post sports columnist. The book is the Bosses of the Bronx, the Endless Drama the Yankees under the House of Steinbrenner. I hated the Yankees only because of George Steinbrenner and their front office in the PR department. But they were doing their job. Like, I think they worked in fear, lived in fear. But I remember the first time I got to Yankee Stadium and I was walking around the batting cage, and next thing I know, security guy comes up and he says, hey, get off the grass. And like, I'm half on the grass and half, half on the dirt around the batting cage. And there was somebody up behind home plate during batting practice, and they were just looking, you know, to see if you were. Everybody had to kind of walk in a line. You couldn't be out on the grass. You know, if a ball player was out there, you couldn't go out there and say, hey, can I get five minutes? Can I talk to you? You had to wait until they came by. You're standing there on the dirt, waiting to talk to somebody. Yeah, Paulie.

T-Mobile/US Cellular Advertiser (34:10)

When I was a kid, he was the first owner whose name I knew outside of the town I lived in, the first kind of celebrity owner where you, like, there is drama and coverage. I don't remember. Maybe Al Davis of the Raiders may have been second, but back then you didn't know ownership, and they weren't characters or players in the, in the soap opera.

Dan Patrick (34:28)

He wanted to be famous. He wanted to be known. He wanted you to know that he was running the Yankees. He was the boss. But still, he created a sports network, and that was different than anybody else. The yes Network. And then that kind of paved the way for, you know, other teams to have their own sports network. And to spend that money, you know, he would get players. The difference is the Yankees would. Would get players, draft players, and then they would resign them. They didn't lose them like the Pirates, you know, the Pirates, you know, lose players or some of these other smaller markets. The Yankees would be like, all right, we draft Bernie Williams at 15, or we're bringing up Jeter or bringing up Posada. Instead of losing them. When they get to that point where they're going to make good money, the Yankees were able to keep them in house and reinvest that money. All righty. Coming up, who had the best week in sports? Rich Eisen will join us. I think Will Ferrell wants to call in as well. In the final hour of the program, Ken in Vegas joins us. Morning, Ken. What's on your mind today?

Caller (35:35)

Hey, D.P. how you doing?

Dan Patrick (35:37)

Good, sir.

Caller (35:38)

Good. I'm lying here in bed recovering from reconstructive back surgery. The doctor called it the Fritzi special. I went from seven foot to five, eight now.

Dan Patrick (35:50)

So three things.

Caller (35:52)

First off, Eaton, it's been a while to ride. Van, thanks for giving us, listeners, a glimpse into part of your life in the immortal words of Johnny Utah from Point Break via con Dios.

Dan Patrick (36:08)

Thank you, Ken.

Seaton O'Connor (36:09)

That's awesome.

Dan Patrick (36:10)

Cody in Texas. He's not coming back. Cody in Texas.

Caller (36:15)

Hey, Dan. Just wanted to call in and, you know, tell Seton. Appreciate him. I was trying to think of my favorite Seton story. It actually happened yesterday when. When James in Jacksonville called in again and Seaton told him that he's still a bad person. I was in tears for that. But, man, I mean, Seaton, thank you for everything, man. Been listening to the show since 2008. They've grown up with you guys. Got a chance to meet you in Houston and Vegas for both Super Bowls. Just wanted to tell you, man, you know, congratulations on moving on. And, man, it's probably going to be a little dusty next hour in that man cave.

Dan Patrick (36:53)

Thank you. Cody James in Virginia.

Caller (36:59)

Oh, thank you for taking my call, brother. Happy Friday. DP Dan X. Salute the commanders. Big time, all the time, every time. Let me take a breath. Often imitated, never duplicated. You can only hope to contain them. You can't stop them. You can only hope to contain them. Especially that's questionable. But then again, aren't we all hearing from parts unknown, height unknown, weight unknown. He's in fuego. It is cheating. Oh,

Dan Patrick (37:29)

thank you. Thank you, James. Thank you.

Seaton O'Connor (37:32)

Lot going on there.

Dan Patrick (37:33)

Yeah, yeah. Not going.

Seaton O'Connor (37:34)

I wanted to come out in a cape. Yeah, after that.

Dan Patrick (37:38)

Like James Brown. Watch yourself.

Seaton O'Connor (37:40)

Yeah.

Dan Patrick (37:42)

How about we take a break? More phone calls coming up. Who had the best week in sports? We'll discuss that on this meet. Friday. After this, 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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Mike Vaccaro (38:33)

We're lost.

Dan Patrick (38:34)

And kickoff's coming up. I don't want to miss the lineup.

Solaray Magnesium Advertiser (38:38)

I'm gonna ask that man for directions.

Dan Patrick (38:40)

Hi there. We're trying to get to the stadium.

T-Mobile/US Cellular Advertiser (38:42)

Well, you're going to take a left at the old Oakland tree at this here road N. I'm just kidding. Let me get my phone out.

Dan Patrick (38:49)

How is there signal out here?

T-Mobile/US Cellular Advertiser (38:51)

T Mobile and US Cellular are coming together. So the network out here is huge. We get the same great signal as the city, saving a boatload with benefits. And there's a five year price guarantee too. Okay, here's the turn.

Solaray Magnesium Advertiser (39:03)

Actually, can you pull up the way

Dan Patrick (39:05)

to a T Mobile store?

T-Mobile/US Cellular Advertiser (39:07)

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Podcast Host (39:34)

Conversations about volleyball go beyond the court. Today we have a little best friend compatibility test. Okay, and how long have we been best friends for?

Dan Patrick (39:41)

Since the day we met.

Podcast Host (39:42)

As the League1 volleyball season heads towards its final stretch, there's no better time to tune in. We really are like yin and yang. Vodka and tequila. You'll hear unfiltered analysis, behind the scenes stories and conversations with leaders making an impact across the sport. Today we have Logan Lednecki. I feel like our fan base in general is very connected. Just like a comforting feeling getting to play at home. Whether you're following the final push of love season or just love the game, serving pancakes brings you closer to the action and the people shaping the future of volleyball. Jordan Thompson had that microphone out. God forbid we make mistakes or cuss

Mike Vaccaro (40:17)

at our coach like one time or two times.

Podcast Host (40:19)

Open your free iHeartRadio app search serving pancakes and listen. Now this has been serving pancakes and we'll catch you on the flip side, okay?

Solaray Magnesium Advertiser (40:29)

Presented by Capital One, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports.

Dan Patrick (40:32)

Before we had ATT Business Wireless coverage,

Doc Rivers (40:35)

our delivery GPS wasn't the most reliable.

Dan Patrick (40:38)

Once our driver had to do a

Doc Rivers (40:39)

14 point turn to get back on route.

Dan Patrick (40:42)

A 14 point turn. An influencer even livestream the whole thing. Not good for business. Now with AT&T business wireless routes are updating on the fly and deliveries are on time. And the influencer did get us 53 new followers though.

T-Mobile/US Cellular Advertiser (40:57)

AT&T business Wireless connecting changes everything.

Seaton O'Connor (41:03)

The like cherry on top of that self awareness Sunday was him eating my lunch right in front of me. No, that's okay Todd. Just go ahead and eat my lunch.

Doc Rivers (41:10)

I tried to put it back if you're taking a few bites. He didn't want any part of that. I said all right, I'll save you the crust.

Mike Vaccaro (41:14)

Why?

Doc Rivers (41:15)

How do I make this better?

Dan Patrick (41:16)

You just made it seem like hey that that's for everybody. It's community.

Doc Rivers (41:21)

Yeah, didn't ask. Didn't want to make sure. I'm like all right, pizza for everybody. This happened to put it by Seaton's desk.

Mike Vaccaro (41:26)

Cool.

Dan Patrick (41:27)

Let's meet Friday here. And the rec tech grills are all fired up. Ribs, wings, brisket, everything gets fired up. Powered by rec tech wood fired grills. They'll be with us in Pittsburgh. Learn more R E C T E Q dot com. You'll be able to see everything on their website there. All right. Best week in sports Todd, who had the best week in sports?

Doc Rivers (41:53)

I'm giving it to rookie shortstop Connor Griffin. Why you ask? Or maybe not asking. Gets a nine year extens from the pirates reportedly worth 140 million and gets a passive aggressive vote of support from their ace Paul Schemes who said about Connor he will be the face of the Pirates for a long time. I love the passive aggressive vote because I'm not going to be here. So he'll Be the face of the Pirates for a long time, as opposed to me.

Dan Patrick (42:14)

I know if I'm a Pirate fan, I go, wait a minute. What did he say? Skeins is saying, by the way, did you look on Fritz's computer or Paulie's computer screen?

Doc Rivers (42:23)

I did not.

Dan Patrick (42:23)

It's on his computer screen.

Doc Rivers (42:25)

All his scoreboards.

Dan Patrick (42:25)

I'm.

Doc Rivers (42:26)

Now I'm stealing his best.

Dan Patrick (42:27)

We could see, so. All right, Paulie, you're gonna have to adjust your best week in sports. All right, Seaton, who had the best week in sports?

Seaton O'Connor (42:35)

You know, selfishly, I'm just gonna say me, because this week has been awesome. So I. I appreciate everything you guys have put together. The worst week in sports. This isn't my last one, if you'll indulge me for a second. This is a terrible story. There's a kid named Patrick Ajimong.

Dan Patrick (42:48)

Oh, yeah.

Seaton O'Connor (42:49)

He's from East Hartford, Connecticut. He's, like, become a local hero. He was a D3 soccer player, played his way into D1, where he played at Rhode Island. Absolutely killed it. Then he was drafted into MLS by Charlotte. Absolutely crushing there. Was called into the national team, which is a really, really big deal. Really shined there. Absolutely crushing it. Then was bought by Derby County, Was overplaying in the English championship with the second tier, and it was absolutely phenomenal there. And he was a sure thing to be called into the World cup team for the U.S. men's National Team. And he just tore his Achilles. And it is just, man, you know, sometimes sports can be so cruel. You know, it can really just be just the cruelest thing to have happen. But you only get. You know, some people only. This is their only chance in their lifetime is to play in the World cup in this one shot. And I hope that's not the case for Patrick, but just a devastating injury and a really unfortunate part of what has been just one of the best stories in certainly in U.S. soccer.

Dan Patrick (43:52)

No question, Marvin. Best week in sports.

Doc Rivers (43:56)

Dusty May, head coach in the Michigan Wolverines, winning the national title in only a second season in Ann Arbor.

T-Mobile/US Cellular Advertiser (44:03)

Paulie, I gotta start going first

Doc Rivers (44:07)

just once.

T-Mobile/US Cellular Advertiser (44:08)

I'm gonna go with the Big Ten Conference. Boy, are they on a nice run, perception wise, even though they didn't win last night with hockey. But the basketball, the football, and they're great storylines, too. Michigan basketball is fresh. Indiana football is fresh. Great. Three or five months for the Big Ten.

Dan Patrick (44:24)

Well, ucla, part of the Big Ten, too. Never forget Mo in Arizona. Hi, Mo. Welcome back. What do you have?

Caller (44:32)

Good morning, Dan. Dennett, man, shout out to se man, don't miss you happy endeavors. You kind of remind me of the guy when, you know, you watch the kid get drafted and watch his whole career and then he moves on, you know, something better. So just shout out to you, man. Good for you. Proud of you. We miss you, brother.

Dan Patrick (44:52)

Thank you, Mo Austin in Virginia. Hi, Austin.

Caller (44:56)

Hey, Dan. I've been meaning to call for a while now to start campaigning for the official return of Flinch Ball before you guys retire, but today is all about Seaton. And I agree with the sentiment from all the other callers, but I do just want to add real quick that I was lucky enough to come visit the man cave a few years ago, and I still remember that the only reason Seton was there that day was because he had left his family traveling somewhere in Europe and come back a week early to be back for the show for that week. It just really meant a lot to me getting to meet him that day. He was so gracious with his time and nice and considerate. I'm super excited to see what this next chapter has to bring, but most importantly, thank you for allowing me to finally meet it again. I say suck it, back row.

Dan Patrick (45:38)

All right, Austin. Thank you. Thank you. Zack in Knoxville. Hi, Zach. What's on your mind today?

Caller (45:48)

Adp, thanks for taking my call. Y' all missed a perfect opportunity to have bear claws for breakfast in memory of se gigantic hands and just want to ask him if. If he could do a bomb off into the sunset. Not a walk off, just. Yeah, that's the perfect thing to do.

Dan Patrick (46:12)

Well, it is Request day.

Seaton O'Connor (46:14)

They, you know, they were just in the. In the break on tv. They're running, like, all these videos and stuff, and they had one of us in Los Angeles, and Doc Rivers was in studio, and I didn't get to see what the clip was, but I looked up and I saw Doc cracking up, and I saw me clearly doing a Steve Ballmer impression, like, oh, God, I did that. And front of Doc Rivers.

Dan Patrick (46:33)

Oh, that made it even better because Doc can't laugh at his. His owner at the time, but he's like, okay, all right, all right, okay. Ty in Syracuse. Hi, Ty. What's on your mind today?

Caller (46:51)

Adp, Glad to be back on. Thank you for taking my call. Just wanted to say a. I started watching the show when I was a young lady. I thought the world of you. I thought you were the man I wanted to grow up to be, just like you. I can say now that I'm in my early 30s. I'm a little bit chubby. I'm balding. I have IBS. I end up going up to be Todd. But I just want to wish you the best luck in this new endeavor. Thank you for always saying what needed to be said.

Dan Patrick (47:17)

Thank you, Ty. Wow. Complimenting Seaton while taking a shot at Fritzi.

Doc Rivers (47:22)

That was very well done by him and very accurate if that's. If he's describing himself and half as accurate as he has that he's got

Mike Vaccaro (47:29)

this to look forward to.

Dan Patrick (47:30)

What did he say? Chubby, balding, and has ibs.

Doc Rivers (47:33)

I have ibd. I wish I had ibs. The syndrome you can get past the disease part is a little tougher, but good for him.

Dan Patrick (47:39)

Would you update the poll results, Seaton?

Caller (47:43)

Dang.

Seaton O'Connor (47:43)

It's funny.

Dan Patrick (47:44)

That's a tough one.

Seaton O'Connor (47:46)

Let's see, we have up there who should be the NBA rookie of the year right now. Cooper flag has about 69 of that vote.

Dan Patrick (47:53)

Okay.

Seaton O'Connor (47:54)

I thought Doc Rivers made a great case.

Dan Patrick (47:55)

He did. He did. He opened my eyes to, like, what con canipples meant to the culture of the Hornets. Okay, the other poll question.

Seaton O'Connor (48:05)

That's the only one.

Dan Patrick (48:06)

Oh, that's the only one.

Mike Vaccaro (48:07)

Yeah.

Dan Patrick (48:07)

Yeah.

Seaton O'Connor (48:07)

I decided to go against the part

Dan Patrick (48:10)

all the part three. I mean, I wasn't bothered by it, but when somebody brought it up to me, I'm like, okay, Jason Kelsey was there. Okay, final hour. The final. The last hour. This is it. Final hour of Seaton o' Connor as a Danette. Have that for you right after this.

Podcast Host (48:33)

This is an I heart podcast. Guaranteed human.