What's Wright - Best Of - Nick goes SCORCHED EARTH on SGA fouls, Caitlin Clark vs. Angel Reese, Celtics blow it up?

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Herd with Colin Cowherd Episode: What's Wright - Best Of - Nick goes SCORCHED EARTH on SGA fouls, Caitlin Clark vs. Angel Reese, Celtics blow it up? Release Date: May 25, 2025

The Herd with Colin Cowherd delivers a compelling and in-depth analysis of the latest happenings in the sports world. This episode delves into controversial officiating in the NBA playoffs, the heated rivalry between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese in the WNBA, and a critical examination of the Boston Celtics' recent performance and future prospects. Below is a detailed summary capturing the key discussions, insights, and conclusions from the episode.

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1. NBA Playoffs Officiating and SGA Fouls

Timestamp: [02:13] – [20:41]

Ryan Wright opens the segment by addressing the contentious officiating surrounding Shea Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA) during the NBA playoffs. He expresses frustration over the inconsistent application of fouls, particularly highlighting how SGA appears to receive lenient treatment compared to opposing players.

"The dichotomy between how the Thunder guard, which is awesome playoff physical defense, and the way Shea is allowed to be guarded... is utterly maddening." — Ryan Wright [04:35]

Wright criticizes the way referees seem to favor SGA, allowing him to draw fouls with minimal contact, which disrupts the defensive strategies of opposing teams. He contrasts SGA's treatment with that of other players like James Harden, noting that while similar behavior existed, it was overlooked partly because Harden's teams lacked strong defensive capabilities.

"We have seen... James Harden was different stylistically than Shea but did a lot of this same stuff." — Ryan Wright [05:10]

The discussion touches upon the broader implications of such officiating, suggesting that it undermines the integrity of the game and frustrates players and fans alike. Wright emphasizes the need for consistent and fair officiating to maintain the competitive balance in the league.

"It's shameless flopping... it's just wildly frustrating." — Ryan Wright [15:45]

He concludes this segment by questioning the referees' motivations and the potential long-term impact on the NBA's reputation, advocating for reforms to ensure a level playing field.

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2. WNBA Controversy: Caitlin Clark vs. Angel Reese

Timestamp: [20:41] – [34:30]

Ryan Wright shifts focus to a controversial incident in the WNBA involving Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever and Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky. The episode scrutinizes allegations of racist behavior from fans during a game and examines the ensuing investigation by the WNBA commissioner.

"Obviously, that'd be way out of line. The thing is, the game was on TV. There seems to be no evidence of this whatsoever that this happened." — Ryan Wright [22:15]

Wright discusses varying reports and the lack of substantial evidence supporting claims that fans made racist noises towards Angel Reese. He highlights the impact of social media, where allegations often go viral without verification, and stresses the importance of responsible reporting.

"Caitlin Clark's Indiana Fever played Angel Reese's Chicago Sky... and it does not seem like the offseason involved a lot of miking drills of left-handed layups." — Ryan Wright [25:10]

The conversation delves into the rivalry between Clark and Reese, with Wright advocating for athletic excellence over personal attacks. He argues that Angel Reese needs to improve her fundamental skills to foster a genuine and respectful rivalry on the court.

"I love the idea of this being a real rivalry but both parties got to hold up their end of the bargain as far as making them both being awesome." — Ryan Wright [28:30]

Wright emphasizes that meaningful sports rivalries should be built on mutual respect and competitive integrity, rather than fueled by off-court controversies and unfounded allegations.

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3. Boston Celtics' Performance and Future Prospects

Timestamp: [34:08] – [43:57]

The latter part of the episode focuses on the Boston Celtics' disappointing performance in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Ryan Wright engages in a critical analysis of the team's strategy, player health, and financial decisions that may impact their future.

"I do think if you had a healthy Jason Tatum and the Knicks series was a best of 21, first to 11, you beat them in that series every time it's played." — Ryan Wright [37:00]

Wright contends that despite high expectations, the Celtics fell short due to a combination of key player injuries and overreliance on veteran players who may not sustain peak performance under playoff pressure. He argues that the team's management faces tough decisions regarding roster changes to address salary cap constraints and improve team dynamics.

"If I were them, I would let Horford walk and you trade Jrue Holiday, and then keep together Tatum, Brown, White, and hope Kristaps is healthy next year." — Ryan Wright [40:00]

The discussion includes an analysis of the Celtics' salary structure, highlighting the unsustainable costs associated with certain player contracts. Wright suggests that strategic trades and financial adjustments are necessary to build a more competitive and financially viable team for the future.

"I love getting rid of Drew and Al Horford, but you need to keep Tatum, Brown, White together." — Ryan Wright [42:15]

Wright underscores the importance of maintaining a core group of talented players while making difficult financial decisions to enhance the team's championship prospects. He posits that without such changes, the Celtics may continue to struggle in securing a championship title.

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Conclusion

In this episode of The Herd with Colin Cowherd, Ryan Wright presents a thorough and passionate examination of current sports controversies and team dynamics. From the frustrations with NBA playoff officiating to the complexities of WNBA rivalries and the Boston Celtics' strategic challenges, the discussion offers insightful perspectives aimed at both casual and dedicated sports fans. Notable quotes from Wright punctuate his arguments, emphasizing the need for fairness, integrity, and strategic decision-making in professional sports.

Notable Quotes:

• "The audience likes it and the teams have adjusted." — Ryan Wright [17:51]
• "It is sports and this is part of it." — Ryan Wright [20:41]
• "My real motivations are... I love the idea of this being a real rivalry." — Ryan Wright [28:30]
• "If I am Minnesota and this is how they are going to... I give them honesty." — Ryan Wright [24:00]

This episode serves as a valuable resource for listeners seeking a deeper understanding of the nuances shaping the current sports landscape.

Transcript

[Ryan Wright]

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[Ryan Wright]

Welcome to the Best of the Week for what's Right with Nick Wright. The best takes and moments from this week on the show. Enjoy. So you would like to have this story be a team that has been intelligently built that has a superstar scoring champ about to be league mvp, a you know, kind of up and coming second and third options in J Dub and Chet and this team just absolutely annihilating Minnesota in the Thunders first conference finals game since KD was there. You'd love for that to be the story but it's not the story. The story is and there's no way around it. And I think you guys know from as I interrupt myself my hesitation across sports to blame officials and I'm not blaming the officials in for this one but the officiating is the story because the dichotomy between how the Thunder guard which is awesome playoff physical defense and the way Shay is allowed to be guarded and the way Shea courts contact or initiate contact and then react, reacts as if there were a sniper in the crowd and just flails to the ground and time after time after time gets rewarded for it is utterly maddening and it you we have seen Listen James Harden was different stylistically than Shea but did a lot of this same stuff obviously maybe this feels more jarring because Harden's teams were not the best defensive team we've seen in a quarter century or at least 20 years that was on the other end of the court roughing everyone up. But it is impossible to watch and I like it by the way the way Caruso and Dort and Wiggins and Wallace and J Dub are allowed to guard and then see on the other end of the court how Shea Gilge Alexander is treated by the refs as if he's playing by a different set of rules. Miles Brown who is someone I quote a lot on this show cuz I think he's a smart guy and I also think he has very funny Twitter. He'[e-mail] he tweeted the way OKC gets to play football on one end of the court and behind museum glass on the other is infuriating. And that is exactly how I feel. And I do think there is a knock on effect from Ha when Shea gets when Shay draws four fouls in the first five minutes of the game. Not only does Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert and others get in foul trouble but and go bear. Listen Gobert got two fouls early. One was offensive so maybe he's the wrong example. He actually didn't foul again after that but he was kind of seemingly knocked out of the game impact wise after those opening two fouls. But the knock on effect is this when the refs make it Clear immediately we are going to reward Shay's flopping because that's what it is. It is shameless flopping. Then later in the game and you saw it in the second half, guys feel like well I have to give him space or else he's going to draw the foul. Even if the foul didn't exist and all of a sudden Shay can totally comfortably step into that 17 footer that he's the best in the league at. And we have these NBA, the, the, the, the bad acting, dopey agenda laden folks who have been trying to tell you for the last five years the league is dying. Cause the league had the audacity to be to try to have some type of social conscience. Those folks who've been in hiding this postseason because the ratings have been off the charts because the games have been great. Those folks obviously have not acknowledged that the first two rounds of these playoffs, the ratings were some of the best we've seen in more than 10 years in this league through the first two rounds. Now part of that is the game to just been awesome. But it have that type of rating when Step really only played around, when LeBron only played around, when Durant didn't make the playoffs at all, when Giannis only played one round is a testament to the fact that the audience, audience has enjoyed the way these games have been played and officiated that this postseason we are allowing a level of physicality and a level of contact that is so unlike what is allowed in the regular season. The audience likes it and the teams have adjusted. And it's not even accurate to say that that is applied to every team except the Thunder because it absolutely has applied to the Thunders defense. Alex Caruso's awesome and I give him massive credit. Alex Caruso was basically allowed to take out a police baton on Nikola Jokic. The refs were like what? Whatever man. You're six inches taller than him. Deal with it. Fine. I, I, I am not complaining about that. I thought that was great. But when you compare that to the way the refs are saying you have to guard Shay and these are laughable plays. And credit to Doris and to Richard Jefferson for acknowledging it during the broadcast. But these are Shea. It's not even like the old Harden hook the guy's arm and then go up. It is just take a, take a step and act like you got hit and collapse to the floor while tossing up a shot. Some of the most egregious ones. Yesterday he actually made the shot while falling it there. There was one truly egregious one that the Timberwolves challenged in one. But you don't have endless challenges and you don't want to use them early and it's just unbecoming. And I was one of the reasons I had a level, not huge, but a level of Thunder skepticism was I wondered was Shea going to get the whistle in the playoffs that he got in the regular season? And up to this point the answer is absolutely yes, if not a better one because he's averaging this well, probably about the same whistle his free throws in each game of these playoffs. Seven in the first game of the playoffs he only played 23 minutes because they won by 54 in game two of the playoffs when they won by 29 in game three, 13 in the deciding game against Memphis and then nine in game one against Denver. 11 in game two against Denver, just five in the overtime loss to Denver, then 12, then six, then 11, then nine and last night 14. And this is going to sound unsportsman of me, but it is sports and this is part of it. If I am Minnesota and this is how they are going to I'll give it game two and see what type of whistle he's getting. But if it's clear, any type of contact he is going, even if he generates it, even if it's borderline fraudulent, he's just going to get that whistle. Then you guys need to decide as a team if we're going to get our money's worth on these fouls because right now he is getting the best of all worlds. He's living at the free throw line and he's leaving the game physically feeling better than he came into the game because there's no hard contact. Last night there wasn't a single foul that was like, oh, that's a hard playoff foul. And I'm not talking about dirty plays, I'm not talking about undercutting him, anything like that. The audience knows what I'm talking about here and I hate that that's the story, but that's the story of game one and it is why people got and I sometimes I say things on the TV show or on here and I say ahead of time that I know I'm going to get killed for this, don't care. It's just how I feel. I owe the audience honesty, so I'm going to give them honesty. And when I said on the show yesterday I think the Thunder are the best team. I think they're going to win. I hope the Timberwolves win. Part of it was Because I do not like this style of play being rewarded. I just don't the foul baiting, flopping nonsense. And I'm glad I got that takeout prior to game one because I feel like a lot of America was watching that game joined me. And here's the other part of it. He doesn't have to do this. So take later stage Jimmy Butler who is not a volume or a good three point shooter who was not a crazy explosive athlete and in order for him to be peak effective he had to be drawing fouls. But he drew fouls kind of the old fashioned way. He would pump, fake, get you in the air and go up. And that can be annoying. But that's not grifting. That is it's a frustrating guy to go against because you're like just stay on the ground. He's not going up with his first shot and guys would have a hard time with it. Shea is just kind of wildly throwing himself into the lane, falling sideways, looking for minimal contact, selling it like Daniel Day Lewis and being rewarded by it in a playoffs when for other guys it has been if you're not bleeding from the nose, it probably wasn't a foul and it's just wildly frustrating. Now was that again? Was that the reason the Thunder won by 26? They outscored him 70 to 40 in the second half. So was that. That was the story of the game. But was that the reason the Thunder won? No. Let me tell you guys. NBA's 82G game grind is done and the real fun has begun. The NBA playoffs are here. Time for all the high stakes drama, clutch moments, jaw dropping plays. I know you can't wait. You're looking to make the playoffs even more exciting. DraftKings sportsbook has you covered as an official sports betting partner of the NBA. From the playing games all the way through to the finals, now's the time to back your favorite players and teams as they chase glory. 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[Ryan Wright]

I am just beside myself. That's too strong. The latest WNBA controversy is just evidence, Damon, that we are not yet ready societally to have this rivalry exist. And I don't know that it we ever will be. So here's the thing that I shouldn't have to say but I think because it goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway. Obviously if fans are chanting anything racist or making racist animal sounds, anything like that, that is abhorrent, deplorable and those people should be banned for life. If you didn't catch up. Let me, let me. People might be like the hell are we talking about? So here's the deal. Caitlin Clark's Indiana Fever played Angel. Reese's Chicago Sky. Caitlyn had triple double. Angel had a bunch of rebounds and a bunch of mis layups and the fever won by 30. During the game, angel committed a hard foul. I'm sorry, Caitlyn committed a hard foul on Angel. That was called a flagrant to me. That was borderline. But whatever. It was a smart hard foul and then angel got pissed. Some professional or semi professional lift readers, you know, think she's, you know, said she was effing crazy or something. There were duel, there were, you know, dueling technicals. Right. Do we think we have this all correct? Yeah, just about some random person On Twitter who we have no idea if they were even at the game was like the crowd making monkey noises at Angel Reese is, you know, way out of line. Obviously, that'd be way out of line. The thing is, the game was on tv. I the There seems to be no evidence of this whatsoever that this happened. There is a clip when angel misses a free throw of what sounds like a dolphin noise. Now I because it's 2025 and everything sucks, have learned there is some streamer who laughs sounds like a dolphin and now idiot gen zers like laugh like him. Do what Demonte, can you fill us in on this?

[Jordan]

Yes. His name's Fly. I think they're talking about flight like a popular two.

[Ryan Wright]

That's right.

[Jordan]

Tk2k youtuber. I can see a dolphin noise sounding pretty close to monkey noise, though.

[Ryan Wright]

So I agree with that.

[Jordan]

High patchiness to it.

[Ryan Wright]

I, I agree with that. I, I agree with that entirely. That. But again, I need more than one person's tweet before I'm going to. And let me say this as well, before we get to what I actually want to talk about here. Some of the alleged Caitlyn Clark fans and I said this last year. We had, you can just check our archives. We had real smart, I think, conversations on this. Some of the alleged Caitlyn Clark fans are not Caitlyn Clark fans. They are just racists. Some of them. They. They're. They just like that. They think this white girl is humbling these black girls. That. That definitely, unequivocally clearly exists. The thing is, it mostly exists online. It, to my experience, does not seem to exist that much in person at the games. And now, again, the WNBA needs to be proactive about making sure that doesn't, you know, invade the actual arenas. There's nothing you can do about the online stuff, sadly. It's the world in which we live. Those people are pieces of. And I think everybody knows it. But then the. The race stuff then gets even more complicated because then there are fans of angel who I don't even know if they're fans of Angel. I But there feels like there is a, like a solidarity of like, no, like there are shitty people on you know, attacking these black WNBA players. So we then need to act like Caitlin Clark isn't this supernova of a talent. And the whole thing just sucks because idiots get involved. And the WNBA commissioner, who I don't know that Kathy Engelbert's a wartime consular, releasing a statement today, like, we're investigating this. Like, I'm not sure. I maybe would have investigated it. And then if there was any evidence whatsoever that this happened, then I release a statement. Like to me, your statement validates the allegation when I have seen no evidence that this happened. Okay, now there's all that. Here's the thing I want to talk about. People gonna be mad. Don't care. Damanze. Angel Reese needs to be better.

[Jordan]

Yeah.

[Ryan Wright]

At basketball. I'm not talking about as a person, I'm not talking about as a podcaster. I'm not talking about as a. At the Met gala. She needs to be a better player if we want this rivalry to be able to have some staying power. Like she had a very, very busy off season. Yeah. Again, we are, we are one game in. But at this moment it does not seem like the off season involved a lot of miking drills of left handed layups. And she is right now Angel Reese. I'm. I'm sorry. Right now she is a wildly famous rebounder.

[Jordan]

She's like a, like.

[Ryan Wright]

I mean somebody had the funniest tweet on this. I think it was Miles Brown who tweeted. It was the, the Caitlin Clark Angel Reese rivalry is like if Kobe had a rivalry with Marcine Gortot. And I just can't like get that out of my head. Like, like, I mean this is there. Listen, I don't think Caitlyn is the best player in the league. To be clear, that's still Asia Wilson until proven otherwise. I think she will one day be the best player in the league. But a Angel Reese right now. Okay. Kent Taggart evidently gets credit for that tweet. Thanks guys. I mean that was really funny. Caitlyn team is I think going to be awesome and she's awesome and angel is a nice player that has real value and is maybe already the best rebounder in the league. Certainly one of them. But if, if that is going to be a real right on court rivalry, then Angel Reese needs to get better at some of the fundamentals. That's just a fact. And this is where I'm going to sound like the old man. But you had a very, very, very busy public offseason and if you didn't alt like if you come back this year the same exact player that you left last year, that's a miss by you. And so that's. That to me is the more the thing to watch is that is Angel Reese going to continue to be a 35% layup shooter? Because that's going to. That, that is going to put a real ceiling on who she can be as a player and and this is where I am just going to trust my entire career bona fides that people aren't going to be able to try to draw me into the I mean you know what everyone is going to get drawn into it. Damn people is I guess accused LeBron of being anti black because he gave props to Caitlin Clark and so there there this is so toxic on certain levels that anybody could be you know people could make allegations about anyone's motivations. My real motivations on this are I do I love the idea of this being because they clearly don't like each other. I love the idea of this being a real rivalry but one both parties got to hold up their end of the bargain as far as making them both being awesome.

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[Ryan Wright]

Let's Go to the Eastern Conference and your Celtics getting. What's the term? Dog walked in a game six. Go ahead.

[Jordan]

Not fair. I mean, we didn't have our best player, but it is what it is. Yeah. And I was obviously a little confident that we're going to win that game. And that's, that's not how it went. It's time to go home. Tatum was out. We got dogged in the game six, like you said.

[Ryan Wright]

Yeah.

[Jordan]

Do you think that we should blow this team up for the money or do you think that we showed enough to keep the band together, try to run it back next year?

[Ryan Wright]

Listen, I always. I certainly don't think they. I don't think they should blow it up. They, they, they could have won the championship. If things break a little differently like I. So I can hold both of these thoughts in my head. I do think if you had a healthy Jason Tatum and the Knicks series was a best of 21, first to 11, you beat them in that series every time it's played. Like, you know. No, no, no. My point is, is I do think Boston, over a large enough sample would have beaten the Knicks. I thought where I thought people blew the analysis of it was because games one and two were, you know, one point in overtime games despite the Celtics shooting 25% from three. What I, where I thought people screwed up their analysis was, is that it? They acted as if it mattered, that, ah, more often than not the Celtics at least split those two, if not win them both, it didn't matter. It's a race to four and it's two nothing. And so what to me, I thought the series ended then when The Knicks were up 20 in Boston. And I think the series, even if Jason Tatum is healthy and I think you might agree the Knicks still win because the Knick, if you was, if you agree with this opinion, the Knicks were winning game four. Even if Tatum doesn't suffer that horrific injury, then I just think it was unrealistic to say the Celtics were going to win three straight. And I think you saw that in what happened in game six, not the blowout. Here's the part I think people are missing and it gets lost because it was a blowout. The Celtics were relying too much on old guys who showed you all postseason that they were not able to be good in consecutive games unless they had multiple days off. And that's Horford and that's Drew Holiday and that you weren't going to get those days off. And so they. You had a bunch of time between game Four and five. Those guys were awesome in game five. And then Drew was one for eight in game six and Horford was four for seven, which is fine. Like they. So. So I think the Knicks were better in this series and that's what mattered. Now would I blow it up? No. Do I recognize the Celtics financial realities are such that they are going to have to make some significant changes? And the answer to that question is yes. To me it's pretty obvious. Here are the changes I would make if I were Boston because they are in such a devastating salary position. I would. And I'm now opening the Celtics cap table. Al Horford is a free agent. You just have to. I think he retires.

[Jordan]

Yeah.

[Ryan Wright]

You just have to let him walk. So. So that's gone. You then have these big salaries. Jalen Brown 53, Tatum 54. Drew 32, Kristaps 30. Derrick White 28. And then a sneaky one which is Sam Houser 10 million. Okay. I would if I were them. You let Horford walk and you trade Jrue Holiday and then. And you keep together Tatum, Brown, White and you hope that Kristaps next year is healthy. And now here's the other piece of the Kristaps thing because I wouldn't trade him before the year. If there is real hope that Tatum could be back for next year's playoffs, I think that is unrealistic. However, it does seem like that because they did the surgery like within hours of the injury that that could really, you know, curb shave some time off the recovery at next year's trade deadline. Because Kristaps is an expiring contract. I would, I would look and see does it make sense to offload him or to keep him if we think he's going to walk in the off season. Either way be depending on is Tatum going to be back for this playoff run. But the next time Tatum's healthy, I would definitively want Tatum Brown and Derek White together. The reason I brought up Sam Houser is I read something that because of like the repeater tax and the aprons and all this. Sam Houser's $10 million Damanze costs the Celtics $62 million because it's of the different like 3xing the penalties for if you're over the certain lines. So it doesn't. That money doesn't go to Sam. It goes to the league.

[Jordan]

So he's a fine player on his salary, basically.

[Ryan Wright]

Right. Well, not. So it's on. It's on anyone's salary. The point I'm making is if you if you stack the salaries up and like, and you're like, hey, here's our total salary. What would happen to our luxury tax bill if we traded the $10 million Sam Houser contract? That one move, if they had everyone else still there, would save them the 10 million in salary and 52 million in penalties. Now, obviously that means trading Drew Holiday saves you even more, but that's. That. That was just an example of what the financial realities are for a team that I think next year is not really competing, but I do think Tatum Brown, Derrick White, there's proof of concept. When I say competing, like, I think they'll still be good.

[Jordan]

I just don't think they're not championship level next year.

[Ryan Wright]

Right. And so, and this was the point I made going into game six, if you treated Chris Staps as if he were out, which I was. If you had a team going into a year and you said our best players, Jaylen Brown, our second best player is Derrick White, our third, fourth, fifth guys are Drew Holiday, Al Horford, Peyton Pritchard. You would put that team in the same tier. You put the regular Detroit Pistons. Like, oh, that's a good team. Like, you know what I mean? They should make the playoffs. Like, Jalen is Cade in that situation. You know, go on down. Like. But you wouldn't look at them as a championship contender. And that's what the Celtics were by the end of that series. Does that, does that make sense?

[Jordan]

Yeah, that makes sense. I, I like it all. I love getting rid of Drew. I love both those guys, Drew and Al Horford. But it is, it's. And honestly, not Drew.

[Chris]

Drew.

[Jordan]

I honestly be willing to test things out a little further, but I'm. That makes sense to me.

[Ryan Wright]

It just. If you, if you feel like. Here's the point I would make on Drew. If you, if you're. If the feeling is of your guys making 30ish or way more Chris Staps, Derrick White, Drew Holiday, Tatum Brown, that Derrick White is too important and younger and all of that. Tatum Brown, untouchable. And it's a decision between Kristaps and Drew. The, the easy answer is we'll move Kristaps. He's. But if you want to try to get real draft compensation back, because you are trying to, you know, get, you know, more young, cheap players, Drew has way more trade value. Right? Does that, does that make sense? So I. Those. But I don't think you're trading Jalen Brown. You're obviously not trading Jayson Tatum. And I would be shocked if you're trading Derrick White.

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[Ryan Wright]

You're listening to an I Heart podcast.