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Hour 2 – Hall of Very Good, Mike “Doc” Emrick - The Dan Patrick Show | Wave AI Podcast Notes

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Hour 2 – Hall of Very Good, Mike “Doc” Emrick

The Dan Patrick Show

Tue May 06 2025

Summary

The Dan Patrick Show – Hour 2: Hall of Very Good with Mike “Doc” Emrick
Release Date: May 6, 2025 | Host: Dan Patrick | Network: iHeartPodcasts and Dan Patrick Podcast Network

Introduction

In the second hour of The Dan Patrick Show, host Dan Patrick delves into the intriguing concept of the "Hall of Very Good" with beloved sports commentator Mike “Doc” Emrick as a special guest. The episode blends lively sports discussions, audience engagement through polls, and insightful commentary from both the hosts and their callers, all while maintaining Dan Patrick's signature humor and in-depth analysis.

Sports Highlights and Discussions

The hour kicks off with Dan Patrick and his co-hosts—Todd, Seaton, Marv, and Paulie—reviewing the latest basketball games. They analyze key matchups and standout performances:

Pacers vs. Cavs and Warriors: The Pacers are discussed as nine-point underdogs taking on the Cavs and Warriors, with efforts to sustain their winning streak by stealing game one on the road.
Knicks vs. Celtics: A thrilling recap of the Knicks' comeback victory over the Celtics is provided, highlighting the Celtics' missed 45 three-pointers and the Knicks' resilience in overtime. Dan notes, “If you're a Knicks team, you'll take any win you're going to get” (03:15).
Nuggets vs. Thunder: The Nuggets' buzzer-beater win against the Thunder, featuring Aaron Gordon's impressive 42 points and 22 rebounds, is another focal point. Dan humorously remarks on Gordon winning game one, “Not another one of those nights” (04:05).

Throughout these discussions, statistical highlights and personal anecdotes enrich the conversation, offering listeners both factual insights and entertaining banter.

Polls and Audience Engagement

Dan engages the audience with several poll questions, revealing interesting trends and sparking debate:

Which team will advance? Knicks, Nuggets, or neither?
Current Results: Neither (44%), Nuggets (42%), Knicks (14%)
Dan comments, “Nobody's got a lot of faith in the Knicks” (06:15).
Which do you prefer, analytics or gut?
Current Results: Gut (86%)
Dan expresses skepticism, “That is the wrong answer. Those analytics right there are very wrong” (07:00).
Aaron Gordon, Hall of Fame: Very Good or Pretty Good?
Current Results: Pretty Good (58%), Very Good (6%)
Dan dismisses Gordon’s Hall of Fame prospects, “Aaron Gordon is not a Hall of Famer” (08:00).

These polls not only engage listeners but also highlight the hosts' perspectives on current sports debates, particularly the role of analytics versus intuition in coaching decisions.

Hall of Very Good Concept

A significant portion of the hour is dedicated to exploring the "Hall of Very Good," a tongue-in-cheek alternative to the traditional Hall of Fame. Paul Pabst introduces the concept, leading to a vibrant discussion among the hosts:

Proposed Members: Kevin Johnson, Latrell Sprewell, Peja Stojakovic, Sean Kemp, Jermaine O'Neill, Penny Hardaway, Rip Hamilton, Antoine Jameson, Rasheed Wallace, and Elton Brand.
Debate Points: The hosts evaluate whether these players deserve a spot in the traditional Hall of Fame or if they fit better in the humorous “Hall of Very Good.” Dan argues, “Rip Hamilton is not in the basketball hall of Fame. He is in a collegiate basketball hall of Fame” (10:56), prompting further scrutiny of player achievements and contributions.

Transition to Guest: Mike “Doc” Emrick

As the discussion heats up, Dan introduces the special guest, Mike “Doc” Emrick, a revered former hockey play-by-play voice and Hall of Famer. The anticipation builds as listeners prepare for an in-depth conversation with one of hockey’s most iconic commentators.

Interview with Mike “Doc” Emrick

Retirement and Career Reflections

Doc Emrick shares insights into his decision to retire, emphasizing the physical and emotional demands of play-by-play commentary. He reflects, “The travel was starting to get to me and I wanted to be home more” (24:01), highlighting the importance of work-life balance after a storied career.

Hall of Fame Perspectives

A central theme of the interview revolves around the Hall of Fame versus the Hall of Very Good. Emrick offers his expert opinion on notable players:

Alex Ovechkin vs. Sidney Crosby: Emrick passionately argues, “When you force me into that corner and the paint is still not dried, I choose Sid” (29:01), favoring Crosby's leadership and consistency over Ovechkin's goal-scoring prowess despite Ovechkin breaking Gretzky's record.
Draymond Green’s Hall of Fame Candidacy: Emrick expresses skepticism about Green's Hall of Fame potential based purely on statistics, noting, “He never averaged double digit rebounds” (08:54), while acknowledging his intangible contributions to team dynamics.

Play-by-Play Insights

Emrick delves into the nuances of play-by-play commentary, emphasizing accuracy and emotional control. He advises aspiring commentators, “You have to be right on it… you have to be in control of your emotions so that you don't overdo it” (32:27). Discussing memorable moments, he reminisces about historic games and the critical role of referees in maintaining game integrity.

Personal Anecdotes and Memorable Moments

Emrick shares anecdotes from his illustrious career, including interactions with legendary players and behind-the-scenes experiences. He recounts the moment Alex Ovechkin surpassed Wayne Gretzky’s goal-scoring record, highlighting Ovechkin’s dedication: “He came in and scored seven goals in the first two games” (27:00).

Conclusion

As the hour wraps up, Dan Patrick and Doc Emrick summarize their discussions, reinforcing the value of recognizing "very good" players who may not make it to the traditional Hall of Fame but have left significant marks on the game. The episode closes with a tease about upcoming segments and future guest appearances, maintaining the show's engaging and informative momentum.

Notable Quotes:

Dan Patrick on analytics vs. gut: “That is the wrong answer. Those analytics right there are very wrong.” (07:00)
Paul Pabst on Hall of Very Good members: “Tom Chambers should be in the hall of Fame. He should have been better.” (07:36)
Doc Emrick on Crosby vs. Ovechkin: “When you force me into that corner and the paint is still not dried, I choose Sid.” (29:01)

This comprehensive discussion not only entertains but also provokes thought on how we honor athletic excellence beyond traditional accolades.

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Transcript

Dan Patrick (0:00)

You are listening to the Dan Patrick show on Fox Sports Radio. Welcome to the program already in progress. It's hour two on this Tuesday. Todd's here, Seaton's here, Marv, Paulie, yours truly in the back room. Guys. Basketball tonight, can the Pacers do it again? They're nine point underdogs at the Cavs and the Warriors. They try to keep the trend going by stealing game one on the road. They're seven point underdogs. Knicks come back, beat the Celtics, Celtics missed 45, three pointers. The Nuggets beating the Thunder as Aaron Gordon at the buzzer. And they take game one Joker by the way and oh, by the way of 42 and 22 rebounds. Stat of the day is always brought to you by the great folks at Panini America. The official trading cards of the show and make sure you download the app. If you haven't done so our streaming partner peacock. Go to danpatrick.com you can click on the Spirits tab. And a great offer that we well, it's been 10 years since it was last available and we've been working on it for a while. It's an award winner. Go to danpatrick.com play the day we had that with Aaron Gordon there were a couple of plays of the day certainly with what the Knicks did, winning it in overtime. And if you're a Boston Celtic fan, I guess you just have to chalk it up is one of those nights and we won't have another one of those. But if you're the Knicks, the Celtics couldn't have played worse in the second half and you won by three in overtime and might concern me a little bit. But if you're a nick team, you you'll take any win you're going to get. They'll be hard to come by. Do I think Boston will have another one of these games? Probably not. Can the Knicks steal another game? Probably so. 8773 DP Show Email address dp@danpatrick.com Twitter handle @DP show the great Doc Emerick, a former hockey play by play voice hall of famer will join us coming up a little bit. And Gilbert Arenas, former NBA all star favorite of the show, he'll join us in the final hour of the program. Talked a little bit about the Ravens cutting Justin Tucker. They had football reasons to cut him. Now we know why they cut him. But they can't say that they cut him because it's football related. He spent 13 years there. Probably going to be a Hall of Famer. Certainly has the credentials. But you have these civil suits that are still ongoing. And he's under investigation by the NFL. The NFL also announced the draft in 2027 will be in Washington, D.C. next year. Of course, it will be in Pittsburgh. 8 7, 7, 3 DP show poll questions. Seaton, what are we going to go with in our two. We have many up there right now. Which team will advance? Knicks, Nuggets, or neither? Right now, with 44% of that vote is neither. No. Nuggets at 42%. The Knicks only 14% of that vote. Nobody's got a lot of faith in the Knicks. Okay, we also have. Which do you prefer, analytics or gut? Hmm. Right now, 86% of the audience say they prefer the gut. I also put up there, which leads to more wins. Analytics or gut? Right now that's at 66% say gut. That is the wrong answer. Those analytics right there are very wrong. And then we also have Aaron Gordon, hall of Fame. Very good or pretty good? Right now, pretty good is leading at 58% of that vote. 6% have him as a Hall of Fame. No, he's not. I also think that we need to establish which is better, good or pretty good, because there's a lot of debate happening right now on social media about is good better than pretty good or is pretty good better than good? Okay, but let's say your wife comes downstairs and you're going out and you say you look pretty or you look good. Like pretty is going to win out over good. I don't. That's. That. That doesn't work well, you know, because I could. I could easily say, like, oh, you look good. And she's gonna like that a lot more than, oh, you look pretty. Okay, but it's pretty. It's good. It's pretty good or good. Isn't that what we're kind of saying? I know. I was trying to cheat a little bit. Todd, I don't see how pretty good would be better than good, especially using your comparison. How about this? If your wife cooks dinner and you say, and she says, how was it? And you say, pretty good? Or you say, how was it good? I think pretty good is much worse. It's pretty good. No, but I could say it. I could sell it. Because I'm an actor. Hey, how was dinner, hun? Pretty good. Or if she says, how was dinner? I go, good. It's all in the voice, the inflection. Yes, Todd. And I'd say back to what would have made it good instead of just pretty good? Dan, after dinner Very well. Thank you, Todd. Paulie wants to come up with a Hall of Very Good. Hall Star game. Hovg, asg, of course. Hall. A Very good. Aaron Gordon is not a Hall of Famer.

Dan Patrick (15:46)

Yeah, I know we, I don't want to do play by play on this, but that's analytics, John. That's what I keep talking about. They, they played the analytics game and it cost him. And Denver hits a big shot. Boston played the analytics game and it cost them. Normally those teams win these games, but you start to look at the philosophy and you look at the numbers. It's situational basketball and it certainly cost Denver or cost OKC last night. We'll take a break. More phone calls coming up. One of our favorites, the greatest play by play voice the NHL has ever known. Doc Emrick will join us coming up next. We're back after this. In the Dan Patrick Show, 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. Hey, it's Steve Covino and I'm Rich Davis and together we're Covino and Rich on FOX Sports Radio. You can catch us weekdays from 5 to 7pm Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. And of course, the iHeartRadio app. Why should you listen to Covino and Rich? We talk about everything, life, sports, relationships, what's going on in the world. We have a lot of fun talking about the stories behind the stories in the world of sports and pop culture. Stories that, well, other shows don't seem to have the time to discuss. And the fact that we've been friends for the last 20 years and still work together, I mean, that says something, right? So check us out. We like to get you involved, too. Take your phone calls, chop it up, as they say. I'd say the most interactive show on Fox Sports Radio, maybe the most interactive show on planet Earth. Be sure to check out Covino and Rich live on Fox Sports radio and the iHeartradio app from 5 to 7pm Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific and if you miss any of the live show, just search Covino and Rich wherever you get your podcast. And of course on social media, that's Covino and Rich. T Mobile's stats are as impressive as your favorite athlete's highlight reel because T Mobile helps keep you connected from the heart of Portland to right where you are on America's largest 5G network. Switch now. Keep your phone and T Mobile will pay it off up to $800 per line via prepaid card. Visit your local T Mobile location or learn more@t mobile.com KeepAndSwitch up to 4 lines via virtual prepaid card. Allow 15 days qualifying unlock device, credit service port in 90 plus days device ineligible carrier and timely redemption required. Card has no cash access and expires in six Want to keep your personal number private but still stay connected? With line 2 you can get a second phone line right on your device with a super simple app and no need for another phone. Whether it's for online shopping, dating or shielding your main number from spam, Line two is an easy way to manage it all. Ready for peace of mind without breaking the bank call, text block and more for only $9.99. Get started with line2.com audio or download line2 in any app store today. Line 2 your second line simplified it is Ryan here and I have a question for you. What do you do when you win? Like are you a fist pumper? A Woo hooer? A hand clapper? A high fiver? If you want to hone in on those winning moves, check out Chumba Casino. Choose from hundreds of social casino style games for your chance to redeem serious cash prizes. There are new game releases weekly plus free daily bonuses, so don't wait. Start having the most Fun ever@shambacasino.com no purchase necessary. VGW Group void where prohibited by law 21/ terms and conditions apply. The American west with Dan Flores is the latest show from the Meat Eater Podcast Network. Hosted by me, writer and historian Dan.

Paul Pabst (29:04)

Okay, Crosby. And here's why. Because you. You do need goal scorers. I understand that. But Sid is the. The guy who is always going to be prepared to play first on, last off is always going to be a playmaker and a guy that will lead by example. And that's not to say that Alex's captain does not. We saw what he did with Marc Andre Fleury, and they were arch rivals, of course, for a long time. He has led by example, too. But here's an. Here's a story that showed what Alex has grown into, and it would make that on the rare. On the total of years. Sid has done this in Pittsburgh, but Alex has picked up that slack in the later years in Washington. I was talking with Barry Trots before what turned out to be the last game that Washington would play before they won the Stanley cup championship. And I said, can you retell a story that you told me earlier in the year about. About Ovechkin? And so he did. And so I did tell this at the end of the playoffs when Washington was winning the Stanley cup. It was that summer before, and the Capitals had disappointed again, and Alex was getting married and Barry was invited. And so he went over to Moscow and attended the wedding. He was invited to the reception, and Barry said, I'm not going to go to the reception with a bunch of my hockey players. I'll wait. So he had dinner with Alex shortly thereafter, and he said, alex, I've got to talk to you seriously about what's coming ahead. There is a lot of unhappiness in Washington, and there are people who think it's your fault, and there are people who think that it's the fault of some of your teammates. And there is going to be change. You are going to have to train like you never trained before. You are going to have to be the first guy on the ice, and you are going to have to be this team's leader. It's not pleasant to think about, but that's what's ahead. That fall, he came in and scored seven goals in the first two games. And even though Washington fell behind in their playoff series, they were rallied and went ahead and they went on and won the Stanley cup and he's been the great leader ever since. But Sid has been doing that ever since he came to Pittsburgh. And so when you force me into that corner and the paint is still not dried, I choose Sid.

Dan Patrick (42:01)

Grotesque. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Horrific stories that to this day have been kept restricted from this too. A horror anthology podcast. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Paulie just sent me a list of hockey names because when we had to do the highlights at night, sometimes if you're not watching that game, and then you get what is known as a shot sheet. So the individual play of a game. And then all of a sudden I'd always go, okay, any tricky names? And then usually they'd highlight it and then they would spell it out phonetically like Jean Sebastian Jiguer. But, you know, I'm doing the highlights, so not doing play by play where it's a little bit harder with those names and trying to, you know, enunciate. But I remember there were times that you were thinking, this can't be right. It. You know, when you're Ilka Sinnasallo and you're like, sure, I hope I get close. We did. We had a SportsCenter anchor and he just, he knew. Everybody knew he was going to mispronounce the names, but he did it in a way where he didn't offend the hockey fan. It just sounded like he was getting through it really quickly and he would just rush through it and everything was just like he threw everything in the blender and put it on high and just went right through it and. But we would laugh where you just go, oh my God, he butchered it. And he would say, I'm not going to say his name. But if he came on the show, he would admit that he sort of blew through the stop sign when it. When it came to trying to get some of these names, he didn't, he didn't do too well with that. Alrighty, Fritzi, you ready to go with your Kevin Harlan in person? Yeah, let's have some fun. Okay. Kevin Harlan on the call last night. Celtics and the Knicks. Cat goes cross. Caught over to hard, hard. Dishes out to Brunson. Wow, there's an extraterrestrial among us. He wears number 11 and takes the form of Jalen Brunson. It's another three and the Knicks have come all the way back from a 20 point deficit. It's their first lead since early second quarter when the score was 33. 31 and Reggie. A palatable nervous hush has come over TD Garden. Joe Missoula's gut is sensing this one just might be getting away from his Celtics. He signals timeout to the ref and wants to talk about it. Time to buckle up in Boston. It's a Brunson 3 party. We'll step away, but for a moment. This is the NBA on tnt. Head looks like it's going to explode. Yes, Paul.