Adam Silver's NBA tanking problem. USA wins gold vs. Canada, Floyd Mayweather back? | 02.23

Summary

The Right Time with Bomani Jones (Wave)

Episode: Adam Silver's NBA tanking problem. USA wins gold vs. Canada, Floyd Mayweather back? | 02.23

Date: February 23, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on key challenges facing the NBA, particularly the ongoing problem with tanking and the perceived devaluation of the regular season. Bomani and Ryan also dive into the USA’s rare hockey gold medal win against Canada, react to rumored boxing comebacks involving Floyd Mayweather and Mike Tyson, discuss AI and humanity with a Sam Altman clip, and take lively audience voicemails about hip-hop nostalgia, The Simpsons, unusual names, and more.

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Main Discussion: The NBA's Tanking Problem

[00:53 - 20:08]

Setting the Stage

• Post-All-Star Slump: Bomani notes that the post-football season leaves fans with an unsatisfying NBA All-Star Game and amplifies broader NBA frustrations.
• Adam Silver, "the Online Commissioner": Silver is described as highly responsive to public and podcast commentary, which means NBA fans’ outcry about tanking is definitely heard at the league office.

Proposed Anti-Tanking Rules ([02:41-07:34])

Bomani lists 7 possible anti-tanking rule changes reportedly under consideration:

1. First-round picks can only have specific protections (“It’s like a gift card to Home Depot, but it can’t be a blank check…” - Bomani, [03:30])
2. Lottery odds freeze at the trade deadline/later date
   • Both call this idea “horrendous.” Bomani: “You just change what it is that people are going to be throwing games…” ([04:48])
3. No team can pick in the top 4 in consecutive years / bottom 3 finishes
   • “There is no birthright that says… you deserve to get an early pick—a pick that, by the way, you’d probably fuck up anyway. We might be saving some kids by doing this actually.” ([05:18])
4. Teams making Conference Finals can’t pick top 4 the next year
   • Bomani points out this targets rare loophole cases, like injured stars derailing a contender.
5. Lottery odds based on two-year records
   • Both dismiss as needlessly complicated.
6. Expand lottery to include all play-in teams
   • Intended to disincentivize tanking into play-in range.
7. Flatten odds for all lottery teams (like the old system)
   • Bomani reminisces about the Clippers always getting close but flopping—except the year they got a great but injured #1 pick ([07:23]).

Key Conclusion:
“These guys don’t know what to do… They’re just like, ‘Who’s got ideas, huh?’ Just throw stuff out here… The larger problem is the perception that the regular season doesn’t matter.” ([08:52])

Tanking & the Regular Season Crisis

Fans Pay for What?

• “You still charge people money to come watch these games, right? You have an obligation to offer something to your paying customers.” ([09:51])

Regular Season Used to Matter

• Bomani recalls the Miami Heat “Big 3” years and the Warriors’ record-chasing, “every year, every game they played mattered.” ([11:48-13:12])
• But after KD joined Warriors: “It was just difficult to talk yourself into thinking anything that happened mattered in terms of determining who the champion was going to be.” ([13:43])

Can Any NBA Regular Season Storyline Break Through?

• Even huge statistical feats (“triple-double seasons”, “40 points per game,” etc.) no longer seem to matter.
• “What would have to happen to make NBA regular season matter?” ([14:38]) — Both hosts are stumped.

Memorable Quote:
“That to me is really the larger NBA issue—because as a result, the only NBA thing that matters is tanking.” ([16:50])

Potential Solution? Make It Fun Again

• “You know what they always suggest in NASCAR when interest is low? Bring back fighting.” ([17:49])
• “Fighting in the regular season is how you… show me you care.” ([19:24])
• “The here and now has to matter. The here and now has to feel like something.” ([20:12])

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USA vs. Canada: Gold Medal Hockey Win

[21:04 - 28:41]

Canadian Hockey Obsession

• Canadians’ relationship with Olympic hockey is like Americans with basketball—it’s “their jam.”
• Bomani describes being in Canada during the Olympics and seeing how seriously Canadians take gold medal hockey.

The Game

• USA’s first hockey gold in 46 years, winning 2-1 in overtime, including a wild 3-on-3 segment and a 5-on-3 penalty kill.
  • “US gritty Americans just found a way to pull off the victory on a counter attack and ended up winning the gold.” - Ryan ([25:14])
• Canada is expected to win “every year,” making this one sting.

On American Hockey as the Underdog

• “America doesn’t really get the opportunity to be very often the underdogs… Hockey is a rare place athletically where America really is the underdog…” ([26:12])

Sports Seriousness Scale

• “If [the US] really cared about hockey or soccer, we’d have a lot more brothers out there… You all ain’t really trying to win. The soccer team, they need to be a little more serious. The hockey team, perfect level of seriousness.” ([29:29, condensed])

Quote:
“America’s relationship with USA Hockey: the healthiest relationship in sports.” ([30:34])

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Boxing News: Mayweather & Tyson Rumors

[33:44 - 37:41]

Floyd Mayweather vs. Mike Tyson?!

• Exhibition fight reportedly set for Netflix; Mayweather also rumored to be unretiring.
• Bomani: “There’s no way you’re getting me to watch Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather in an exhibition… That just doesn’t even make any sense.” ([34:09])
• Both hosts speculate on the “need money” factor for boxing “retirements.”
• “One thing that is never going to change—boxers always going to need the money, man… There’s no infrastructure in place to make sure they do good things with their money.” ([36:00])

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AI & Humanity: Sam Altman Clip

[37:50 - 40:06]

Sam Altman (OpenAI CEO) quote:
"It takes like, 20 years of life and all of the food you eat during that time before you get smart… The fair comparison is: ask ChatGPT a question, how much energy does it take, versus a human? And probably AI has already caught up on an energy efficiency basis measured that way.” ([37:50])

Reaction:

• Bomani: “These guys hate people. We have completely devalued human beings.” ([38:39])
• Referencing AI doom literature: “If someone builds it, everyone dies...it’s pretty much guaranteed that if it comes around, it’s going to kill us all.” - Bomani ([39:23])
• A chilling, unironic AI existential tangent.

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Miscellaneous News and Listener Voicemails

TSA PreCheck False Alarm ([40:24 - 43:10])

• Early-morning social media panic over PreCheck shutdown in NYC.
• “Can you imagine if you had that 8am flight?... That line isn’t there.” ([41:00])
• PreCheck riff: “Have you heard of anybody getting turned down for pre[check]?... That shit ain’t exclusive at all.” ([43:04])

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Listener Voicemails

BET Uncut/Nostalgia ([43:25 - 47:39])

• Mike from Detroit reminisces about “Put It In Your Mouth” and the “Tip Drill” video.
• Bomani: “The Tip Drill video is just as ridiculous today as it was in 2004… seven minutes long… What are we doing?” ([46:41])

Simpsons ‘Epstein Files’ Debate ([48:04 - 50:11])

• “Crusty the Clown definitely would have been in the Epstein Files.” ([48:49])
• “In the Simpsons universe, there just ain’t enough people with enough paper...” — humorous, conspiratorial riff.

Life-Long Nicknames: “Dutch” ([50:12 - 51:42])

• If your nickname is “Dutch” your whole life, “that is an honorific—you have earned this.” ([51:32])

Unusual Names & Racial Perceptions ([52:56 - 55:49])

• Listener calls about a white “Tavon” at BYU.
  • “Mormons, yeah, they throw some monkey wrenches…” ([53:29])
• “It is entirely possible he is from a place where… he has no idea why people think he’s Black.” ([54:20])
• Riff on Chris Collinsworth, the rare white 100m sprint champion.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• Bomani on NBA’s Directionless Rules:
  “They don’t know what to do… Just throw stuff out here. Because we have this problem with tanking.” ([08:52])
• Bomani on Why NBA Regular Season Feels Empty:
  “It’s a perception that it doesn’t matter if you’re good. It’s a perception it doesn’t matter if you’re bad. That’s the part the league has to fix.” ([10:28])
• On Mayweather-Tyson:
  “That feels like elder abuse for both parties.” - Ryan ([34:53])
• On AI:
  “These guys hate people. We have completely devalued human beings.” ([38:39])
• On PreCheck:
  “That was the ashiest day in the history of the friendly skies.” ([41:41])
• On “Tip Drill”:
  “The Tip Drill video is just as ridiculous today as it was in 2004. Like, what are we doing?” ([46:41])

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Start | End | |----------------------------------------------|---------|---------| | NBA tanking & rule proposals | 00:53 | 20:08 | | NBA’s declining regular season significance | 10:28 | 20:08 | | USA vs. Canada Olympic hockey | 21:04 | 29:29 | | Boxing comeback news (Mayweather/Tyson) | 33:44 | 37:41 | | Sam Altman AI quote & reaction | 37:50 | 40:06 | | TSA PreCheck confusion/riff | 40:24 | 43:10 | | BET Uncut nostalgia & 'Tip Drill' | 43:25 | 47:39 | | Simpsons 'Epstein Files' | 48:04 | 50:11 | | Name “Dutch” and life-long nicknames | 50:12 | 51:42 | | Tavon, white athletes, names & race | 52:56 | 55:49 |

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Tone & Style

• Smart, sharp, and irreverent—a signature blend of cultural analysis, sports insight, deep recall, and conversational wit.
• Exchanges between Bomani and Ryan are casual and humorous, with frequent asides and playful asides that keep the show personal and accessible.
• Listener voicemails bring out nostalgia and crowd-driven digressions in music and sports culture.

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Summary

This episode thoroughly explores the NBA’s ongoing struggle with both league structure and narrative, highlighting the unintended consequences of decades-long changes in prestige and competitiveness. Bomani situates the tanking “problem” within the larger issue: the regular season just doesn't feel meaningful. The show then delivers trademark pivots to the emotional resonance of underdog Team USA hockey, skepticism at aging boxers' media stunts, philosophical dread about AI's impact on human value, and a comedy-rich sequence of listener calls spanning hip-hop, pop culture, and social perception. All in all, a quintessential “Right Time” blend of hard sports talk and entertaining cultural commentary.

Transcript

[Ryan Brumbley]

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[Bomani Jones]

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Right Time a Wave original. My name is Bonnie Jones. Thanks for listening wherever you get your podcast. Thanks for watching us on YouTube. Subscribe like, rate us, review us, give us five stars. You only give us four stars. I'm inclined to believe you are a hater. We gonna talk about the hockey in a little while. Hell yeah. Know what I'm saying? It's a real hacksaw Jim Duggan sort of situation right now with that. But anyway, we're gonna talk about that. But first, right? I can't remember, I think we talked about this in the last show. I can't remember if I explicitly made the point. But you know, the NBA's got this problem, which is we be trying to. And I know we talked about this. We try to shake off that football jones. Yes, right. And then all we typically get is the dog shit of the NBA All Star Game. Right. And that just doesn't do enough. And that leads to everybody. Like it's just the time to the NBA is not what people want at that moment. And so it becomes an opportunity for people to project all day unhappiness onto the NBA for reasons that don't really have that much to do about the NBA. Except the NBA be making it easy, right? So if there's anything we know about the NBA, you correct me if I'm wrong here. I think I've talked about this before. Also, the commissioner of the NBA is real online. So if like y' all get online and start talking about what kind of things y' all think or something need to be changed, don't you worry Adam Silver will hear you, right? That doesn't necessarily mean that there will be changes, but you get to talk it in your podcast or on threads even perhaps and the NBA is going to have some sort of response or at the very least they going to say something to you. Right.

[Ryan Brumbley]

So you have to imagine that the NBA always gets like these briefs of the people's takes.

[Bomani Jones]

Yes. Like you look at Joe, whose job is it? Right. Who works, who works in the podcast research department. There's certainly somebody be like well you know Bill Simmons on his show the other day he said da da da. Right. But anyway, Adam Silver has heard us loud and clear about the tanking thing. And according to Sean Soranya, there are seven potential anti tank and rule changes that are on the table. I am going to read them all off to you because I want to see if you get the same conclusion that I have received after reading the seven. First one is the first round picks can be protected only top four or top 14 plus. So for those of you who don't understand what this is about, and by those of you I'm referring to my mother, you can trade first round picks in the NBA with caveats. Like it's a 2027 first round pick. If that pick is in the top eight, the team trading the pick away gets to keep it. But if it's outside the top eight, then the trade has to be the pick has to be traded. And if it's not like the top eight, then there's a second round pick next year that conveys in order to make the trade work, it's a way to kind of like minimize the risk of trading away a first round pick and give picks kind of a sliding value. Because of the way the NBA salary cap works. Picks are very important currency in order to make trades work. The nature of what it means when you trade away a star player, you are in effect starting over. So you want like more opportunities to help you with the rebuild. Right. More supplies. It's like a gift card to Home Depot. You understand what I'm saying? But it can't just be a blank check to Home Depot. Okay. Number two, lottery odds freeze at the trade deadline or a later date. Ryan, I understand why people think that this is a good idea. This is a horrendous idea.

[Ryan Brumbley]

It's a horrendous idea.

[Bomani Jones]

Right, Right. You just change it. What it is that people are going to be throwing games.

[Ryan Brumbley]

Yeah, like I like we don't like the idea that people tanking during football season when no one's watching.

[Bomani Jones]

Yes.

[Ryan Brumbley]

The idea that that's better makes no sense.

[Bomani Jones]

If you put this provision in Laurie Market would not have played a game until like now. Yeah, right. Like. No, no, no, no, no. This is a horrendous idea. Number three, no longer allowing a team to pick top four consecutive years and or consecutive bottom three finishes. I am okay with this idea. Right. Like, like, first of all, we have to stop pretending as though the purpose of the draft is to redistribute talent. The purpose of the draft is to keep salaries low and to maintain control over players with a secondary benefit being the redistribution of talent. It is not a fundamental purpose of the draft. It is a secondary notion that has been added to justify the indefensible practice of having a draft in the first place. That's how it works. So anyway, I say all that to say there is no birthright that says that just because you. Sorry. You deserve to get an early pick. A pick that, by the way, you'd probably fuck up anyway. We might be saving some kids by doing this actually. Right. They getting sent to the wrong foster homes and they turn. They still turn out to be. You know. You understand what I'm saying? Anyway, number four, teams can't pick top four the year after making the conference finals. Which feels like a provision that is specifically geared toward this year's Indiana Pacers.

[Ryan Brumbley]

Correct.

[Bomani Jones]

Right. So you had a good player get hurt and it messes up your whole season. You're not just going to take this whole thing away. This would also have applied to the 2020 Golden State Warriors.

[Ryan Brumbley]

Oh, yeah. I mean, but yeah, talk about someone who didn't do anything for those picks either.

[Bomani Jones]

That's us. But say they don't seem to know how to do this either.

[Ryan Brumbley]

Yeah.

[Bomani Jones]

Number five lottery odds allocated based on two year records. I kind of see what you're saying. I don't think this will help.

[Ryan Brumbley]

It sounds complicated.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, Yeah. I don't think it's help. Number six, the lottery extended to include all play in teams. Okay. I mean that's basically saying you're disincentivizing the idea of trying to tank out of the play in. Right. Okay. Get that. And number seven, flatten odds for all lottery teams. This is what the lottery used to be. Right. One envelope for every team. Pull one out and then you go from there. And it would always be the Clippers who were so sorry but would never get the number one pick. Except the one time they got the number one pick, they got a dude that was really cold but couldn't stay healthy.

[Ryan Brumbley]

Who.

[Bomani Jones]

Whom they eventually traded for. Dominique Wilkinson.

[Ryan Brumbley]

Yeah.

[Bomani Jones]

Anyway, the idea behind flattening the odds on the Lottery is. It disincentivizes tanking because there's no reason for you to be abject. If you're in the lottery, you are then just in the lottery. I mean, I can live with that. Like I say, it was a world that was like that. The NBA, though, is notoriously reactive. Like, I don't know if you remember this one, ryan. So in 92, the magic won the lottery. They drafted Shaq. The next year, they were the number nine seed in the East. The way the lottery worked, that at that time was a pyramid. The worst team, I think got 15 ping pong balls. Next, 14, 13, 12, 11, all the way down. As I recall, there was 66 ping pong balls in there. The magic had one out of the 66 ping pong balls. The Magic won the lottery, meaning that Shaquille o' Neal got to be paired with Pity Hard away. It turned out. Yeah, they immediately changed the lottery.

[Ryan Brumbley]

Yeah.

[Bomani Jones]

Right. Like, this is what they're good for. An outlier result happens. And all these sports are like this. An outlier result happens. And now suddenly the BCS was notorious for a behavior for operating like this. Right. Something weird happens and. And you never give the system.

[Ryan Brumbley]

Then the formula changes or. Or one poll thrown out all time, right?

[Bomani Jones]

Yes, yes. I ran all seven of those things off just to make this point. They don't know what to do. Right. They're just like, who's got ideas, huh? Yeah, they like just. Just throw stuff out here. We'll see if we can come up with something. Because we have this problem with tanking. And tanking is a reflection of what I believe is a larger problem. And maybe I'm overestimating or under. I'm estimating in the wrong way. I'm not exactly sure how to express it. But this is what I'm saying here. I think there's a larger problem. But even if the larger problem is corrected to a degree, perhaps tanking still exists. Now what I am going to say is the larger problem and I think is like, tanking is a great talk show topic. I also think that tanking matters on the level that we don't talk enough about, which is you still charge people money to come watch these games, right? You have. You have an. You have an obligation to offer something to your paying customers. And like Mark Cuban had thing where he talked about your fans will understand that you're trying to lose. No, I think that that's a very particular, like, strain of online. I want to be the GM fans that really appreciate it. I think that people ultimately understand it. But if you want me to pay money to come to your arena, and I would like. I think people would like to pay money to come to your arena.

[Ryan Brumbley]

You.

[Bomani Jones]

You can't just be out here like, we give up. We don't care. Right. But I think the league has a larger problem than. And that is the perception that the regular season doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. It's a perception that it doesn't matter if you're good. It's a perception. It doesn't matter if you're bad, that it simply does not matter. That's the part the league has to fix. And how the league got here, to me, is really, really interesting, because 10 years ago, the regular season really, really mattered. And 15 years ago. Oh, buddy, did the regular season ever matter? Look, I know we're at a point where I ain't got that many people who won't be able to say that they remember this, but the LeBron, Miami Heat, four years, every year game they played mattered. We were doing a ones on television shows basically every time that he played, unless it was a football game, every

[Ryan Brumbley]

game was a referendum of that team, team decision. They all made.

[Bomani Jones]

Yes.

[Ryan Brumbley]

LeBron's legacy, what LeBron's going to do next.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah. For four years, every single game mattered. And then when that was over, they wound. We wound up with this weird thing. After that was over, LeBron leaves and goes to Cleveland. And we think that's going to be the story because we've got LeBron, we got Kyrie, they got Kevin Love. Right. That was going to be the story. And then the warriors happened. And then the warriors had. That year. They came out of nowhere. I mean, keep it in mind. They fired a coach who brought them back to relevance. That seemed like Joe La. You know, I don't think I've said it out loud, but, you know, I wondered, you know what I'm saying?

[Ryan Brumbley]

You considered.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, yeah, it was. It was a hypothesis worth testing. And then they won 67 games, and it was like, oh, my bad. I didn't. I didn't. I didn't understand what it was. But the next year, they won 73. The regular season really mattered. Them winning 73 games mattered enough that Kobe's last game was on ESPN2 and the warriors trying to break the Bulls record was on espn. And then the combination of them losing in the finals to the Cavs, plus them signing Kevin Durant immediately after, and the regular season has not mattered since. Right. Like, what would the warriors record had to have been in 2017 for people to really think they weren't going to win a championship. I mean, I was on some. Hey, man, you never know, right? Like I was. Nah, man, nobody else was going for that. Like I would. No. No one else gave that. The credulity. I believe that is the word that I gave that.

[Ryan Brumbley]

And so even that, they were just good. They were good and they were historically good off the jump. And they were still good at defense too.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, you could, you just couldn't talk yourself. It. It was just really difficult to talk yourself into thinking anything that happened mattered in terms of determining who the champion was going to be. And it happened in a manner that people found to be somewhat distasteful. Like nobody did anything wrong there. What was Kevin Durant supposed to say? No, man, they too good. Why would I do that? What were the warriors supposed to say?

[Ryan Brumbley]

I'm going to sit here and hang out with triple double cone there.

[Bomani Jones]

Yes, yes. Like, right. What were the warriors supposed to say? Hold on, man, that won't be fair to the other kids. Right? Like, nah, nah. It was the move, but it hasn't. It didn't feel like the regular season mattered that much when LeBron and Anthony Davis got together. It was somewhat interesting, like when Chris Paul went to Phoenix and they popped up.

[Ryan Brumbley]

But like, I'm sure Brooklyn Nets experience. Yeah. That 2020 year when they brought Harden in.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah. But like I'm asking this, what would it take in 2026? What would have to happen to like make NBA regular season? Like, hey, this game is happening tonight. And this is the thing, you know, I don't know, like what winning streak would have to happen if a team had a 19 game winning streak? Are people waking up every morning to find out if they won the game they played the night before? I don't think they are. Right. Like I thought. I, I think about this in the context of baseball because this isn't just an NBA problem. This is an everybody but the NFL problem. Right. And it's been a long time since we've had a super long hitting streak. How many games of a hitting streak would somebody have to get to for us to care? So there are hitting streaks that I can remember in my lifetime. I, I don't remember the Pete Rose 44 game hitting streak. Right. But my dad and my brother were actually at the game in Atlanta when it ended. Right. But the fact that I can tell you the number of games and I remember it, that that tells you what the magnitude of that was. I believe in 1987. Benito Santiago had a 34 game hitting streak as a rookie and Paul Molitor, it was either 38 or 39. But I could remember these numbers, right? Joe DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak was a, a thing. If somebody had a 45 game hitting streak, will we care? You know what I mean? Like does that break through? If somebody was hitting.390 going into September, does that break through? I don't know. Like, I don't know at all what would have to happen in the NBA, like average triple double four season. We've seen that, you know what I mean? Would somebody have to be like, yo, what if somebody was averaging 40 points a game, does that break through? I don't know what it is that breaks through, but that to me is really the larger NBA issue because as a result the only NBA thing that matters is tanking. Right? Like look, we have a built, we have two really big building rivalries that are going to matter in the postseason. I believe in the west is San Antonio and Oklahoma City and in the east it is Detroit and New York. Right. Teams that actively dislike each other and are also all four, I would argue

[Ryan Brumbley]

independently compelling and, and strong fan bases who care.

[Bomani Jones]

Yes, yes. We gonna talk about the idea of tanking more than that just because of the declining significance of the regular season. And I don't have an answer for the NBA about how exactly you go about getting to the place of making people care. You know what I got, I don't know if I'm gonna throw it out there. Like it's a full on idea per se, but I'm gonna throw it out there. Now, Ryan, how much you care about what you call it?

[Ryan Brumbley]

Nascar, three out of two out of ten.

[Bomani Jones]

Okay. Do you know what they have a tendency to do periodically when NASCAR interest is low? You know what they always suggested people do.

[Ryan Brumbley]

I'm not sure where you're going with this, but let's find out together.

[Bomani Jones]

Bring back fighting. Little bit more paint swapping cats on victory, Victory Lane, Victory Road, whatever they call it, engaging this NASCAR underrated fighting sport. Yes, it is. Yes it is. And, and, and fighting in a very interesting sense, it's like, you know, you know they coming in, they like Floyd Mayweather, you know what I'm saying? Like they the 147s, right? That's what they out there doing.

[Ryan Brumbley]

And it is an interesting fight is like you almost killed me with your car. What's getting in White fisticuffs.

[Bomani Jones]

Yes. Like did you see that? Clip. Whatever. The clip. But that Miami. Memphis game, where Miami's beating the dog shit out of Memphis and some dude from Miami ran into Scotty Pippen Jr. From behind and took him out. Yes, Scotty Pippen Jr. It was so funny because he got up and he just kind of. It looked like he just shook it off, right? Like, he got up, just like. And then he went out here. He. He was ready for the ruckus, ready to go. It felt great. It felt great. And like, we don't just. It was good to know that somebody was about that action, right? Show me that you care. Like, fighting in the. Isaiah Stewart. I know that he cares. Fighting in the regular season is how you. Show me that you care. That's. That's all we need is some reason to believe that these games matter, right? Rings. Culture is a big problem in this also, right? Everybody's playing. Everybody's playing for a championship. And, you know, I understand, right? Everybody's playing for a championship. Everybody thinks they could be a champion. Most of y' all just need to be out here for a good time. That's what we're really here for.

[Ryan Brumbley]

Especially when the checks are so large.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, yeah. I'm talking about, like, it's fans.

[Ryan Brumbley]

Yeah, yeah.

[Bomani Jones]

We just here for a good time, man. Like, we. We make the Games matter. Make this something to stay consistently in our lives. Don't make. The only way that you can enjoy this is if you start thinking like. Like. Like. Like corporate, you know? Well, if you look at our projections for what we're going to do in the year 2027, I think we're really on the. No, no, no. The here and now has to matter. The here and now has to feel like something. The here and now has got to be important. And I just wish I had an answer for you on how to solve that. I don't know what it is. I don't know, but you gotta have that. Cause otherwise we just gonna be talking about tanking every year. Cause they always gonna find a way to tie. Take. You know, Ryan, I. I was in Canada last weekend during the. During the wider Olympics. And it's very interesting being in a place during the wider Olympics where they don't call them the wider Olympics up there. They just call them the Olympics.

[Ryan Brumbley]

Yeah, the Olympics.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, yeah. Like those in Canada, Those. The real Olympics, right? That is their time.

[Ryan Brumbley]

What's this track bullshit?

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. They're like, man, you got us out here rooting for these Jamaicans. You know what I'm saying? They, like Nah, this is our shit. They got the, the, the. They. They do the hockey. They got the curling, you know what I'm saying? They do.

[Ryan Brumbley]

They got the running up, skis, uphill.

[Bomani Jones]

They've got all their things, man. It is their jam. Like in the elevator, it was a sign. I was like, yo, this is all the stuff from the Olympics that they're going to be showing at the bars at different times. Like, like, it was a. It was a thing, man. Um, and so I am fascinated kind of sort of by the idea of Team Canada and hockey. I don't know if fascinated is the right way to put it, but I think for those of us who are just kind of aware of hockey, I don't think we. I don't think a lot of people properly or fully appreciate, like, hockey really is theirs. The NHL, we can't tell because they just all white folks to us. So unless you got all the consonants in your name, we don't really understand that, like, those is Canadians out there, right? Like that whole. That's a league full of Canadians. As a result, Team Canada in hockey is very similar to Team USA in basketball. The difference is in Canada, they actually like the hockey team, right? Like, when they win, they celebrate with the same fervor with which they ruminate in the event of a loss, right? It's a, It's. It's a thing for them. And so I saw it, it was played against the United States. And I'll never forget this because, you know, I used to do work for a company called the Score that was based out of Toronto. It was in 2010, and that was the year that Vancouver hosted the opening ceremony. I mean, the wider Olympics. And I remember watching the closing ceremony and I did not realize, like, how much Canada thought about us until I watched those closing ceremonies. I mean, they really. All the jokes were just kind of about what Americans think of Canada. Right? Yeah, all of that was the case, right?

[Ryan Brumbley]

Like, there's a little bit of Alabama, Auburn to usa, Canada for sure.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, yeah.

[Ryan Brumbley]

Or Michigan, Michigan State, like something like that.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. They, they, they give us a lot of thought and it's nothing personal, but we don't.

[Ryan Brumbley]

You're correct.

[Bomani Jones]

It don't. It don't. It don't really come up, you know, and part of it is most of them live close to a border with us. And yeah, relatively speaking, we don't. Anyway, it's a thing for them. But they hockey team, they really, really, really care about that. And I saw that Sidney Crosby was not going to be playing. But they had a whole other team full of Canadians. Right. So they probably should have been okay. And another factor is very important is I discuss the fact that they think about, about us. They. Not really, they don't. They don't really fucking with us right now.

[Ryan Brumbley]

No, they're not. No, they do not.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, yeah. The, the whole Trump thing and tariff thing and all kinds of other stuff. Like I didn't feel no glares or nothing like that when I was up there in Canada. But let's be honest, they know it ain't my fault. Like I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. They all some enemy of my enemy type situation with me. At least that's the presumption that they making. I don't know. I don't know how they was treating the other. The American whites. For me, they probably looking at me like, sup brother? Bad. You know what I'm saying? Like, like, like they, like they see what time it is. But anyway, I guarantee you they were unhappy that the USA brought home that gold in that hockey match. I ain't even looked. I could just promise you there are none too pleased up there in Canada about that one. Right. Was it, wasn't it off of a. Was it off of. Off of Odd Man Rush?

[Ryan Brumbley]

Yeah, I mean it's like so, like, so the overtime specifically is three on three. So it's just like.

[Bomani Jones]

Which is incredible, by the way.

[Ryan Brumbley]

Yes, it's incredible. It's fast paced. It's really opened up and it's a classic, you know, like a hockey, soccer, soccer match where the real nerd stats really favor Canada. Like expected goals and all that stuff. Yeah, but you know, us gritty Americans just found a way to pull off the victory on a counter attack and ended up winning the gold. 2. 1 first golden 46 years.

[Bomani Jones]

And didn't they have a 5 on 3 penalty kill?

[Ryan Brumbley]

Yes, against.

[Bomani Jones]

Against Team Canada. Yeah, again, they, they, they supposed to win every year, right? That's how this goes. America's first goal since 1946. Does that mean they.

[Ryan Brumbley]

46 years ago?

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, 46 years ago. Sorry, it was 1980. And my question is, does that mean that we can stop talking about that?

[Ryan Brumbley]

I'm not sure.

[Bomani Jones]

I don't.

[Ryan Brumbley]

Not to be dark, but probably until someone very prominent in our industry.

[Bomani Jones]

Fair, fair, fair, fair. The thing about the Miracle on ice is it's very difficult without the Cold war, like being present to explain like the US Soviet Union. I mean that really was Auburn, Alabama, every day yes. For decades between two countries, for 45 years, we are with really big bombs. Right. It was every day. And they had like a team full of grownups, you know, like, they would. Here's something. America doesn't really get the opportunity to be very often the underdogs. Underdog. Right. Like, we are not. We are giving points in just about every situation. Hockey is a rare place athletically, where America really is the underdog in such a way where. Where as long as they don't tear up the hotel, even our professionals, all they gotta do is really go out there and give it to old college try and we'll be happy with it. And when they win, it's always emotional. Right, Right. Like, and anytime we win, it winds up being an emotional situation because once again, this ain't really what we do. No, it ain't it. Right. And then we had the. The. What was my man's name? Was it Johnny Gore?

[Ryan Brumbley]

Yes.

[Bomani Jones]

Right. So if you hadn't seen this a couple years ago, hockey player, he would have been on this Olympic team, was cycling with his brother, got killed by a drunk driver. And so his kids are there for the game and they got his jersey and they take the picture with it and everything like that. Like, if America's going to win the gold in hockey, we gonna have a great story. Yeah, great story around it. Right. The American soccer team is interesting because they done got to the point, you know what? Here's how I say American hockey is right in the sweet spot. They're good enough where you got a chance, but not quite good enough that they're really going to disappoint you.

[Ryan Brumbley]

Correct. It would have been. It would have been a bummer, but people would have. It would not have been a disappointing result. Like, you know, you as a basketball.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like. Like, they rarely just go flat out, like, to bed.

[Ryan Brumbley]

They have to lose their country that most people hadn't heard of.

[Bomani Jones]

Yes, yes. But if they don't win, it's okay. It kind of goes USA Soccer. They still ain't. Like, they ain't got good enough to where you could just like, they. They are at the. Come on, guys.

[Ryan Brumbley]

Yeah.

[Bomani Jones]

Like, what's the.

[Ryan Brumbley]

They're. They're at the point now where they get, like, cracked for not being like, American gritty hustle people enough.

[Bomani Jones]

Yes. And people want it really bad. Like with the hockey team, you really only think about it when the Olympics come up or whatever world championship they might have. People think about that American soccer team all the time. And they're tired of waiting. Yes, we will be waiting for a very, very, very long time. Now look, man, we got to recognize both of these sports, man. We both know that America ain't serious about neither one of them. Because if they were, what? You know what America does when it's serious about winning at something? It take them a long time to get there. But when America's serious about winning, they go get black people. That's what they do. If they were serious about any of these sports in the wider Olympics, it would be a lot more black people out there. It'd be a whole lot more programs saving kids from gangs and shit by having them out there. Like Chicago. Chicago would just be they had the one brother, Shawnie Davis a few years ago, but it would just be a whole bunch of brothers out here speed skating. White people already think we faster than them, but somehow would you think that changes because of skates? Nah, nah, nah. Y' all just ain't serious. Y' all ain't really trying to win. I'm not saying that winning means having a bunch of black people, but I do know when y' all serious about winning, y' all gonna give us a chance. That's what y' all gonna do. Same way with the soccer team. Y' all ain't really serious about winning, right? You would simply like to win and that's fine, right? We get it. For the soccer team, they need to be a little more serious. For the hockey team, perfect level of seriousness, right? Just the nice baseline level of seriousness that allows us to appreciate the good and take the bad in stride. America's relationship with USA Hockey the healthiest relationship in sports. Ever wanted to go to the NBA Finals. Well, now's your chance. Courtesy of FanDuel. All you have to do is use your profit boost on an NBA future and you'll be entered for a shot to win an NBA Finals trip for two NBA futures let you lock in your pick for who you think will go all the way. Whether it's a team to win the championship or a conference title. Visit FanDuel.com Bomani to get started. Play your game with FanDuel official sports betting partner of the NBA.

[Ryan Brumbley]

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[Bomani Jones]

It's the biggest time of year for college basketball. Great moments, fierce rivalries and incredible high stakes action. Teams face off against each other and along the way there are surprises, comebacks and upsets. Is anyone's game? Well, regardless of who makes it to the final round, one thing's for certain, it takes the most talented people to build these incredible teams. The same goes when you're hiring. If you want your business to be at the top of its game, you need the best people on your team. The place to find them is ZipRecruiter, and now you can try it for free at ZipRecruiter.com Bomani ZipRecruiter smart matching technology immediately finds qualified candidates that check all your boxes. ZipRecruiter recommends screening questions you can easily add to get the highest quality applicants. Want to see who's recently active? ZipRecruiter's filters can show you score the best for your team with ZipRecruiter. Four out of five employers who post on ZipRecruiter get a quality candidate within the first day. Try it for free at ZipRecruiter.com bomani that's ZipRecruiter.com bomanI meet your match on

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[Bomani Jones]

We know you can't be on top

[Ryan Brumbley]

of all the news and information of the day.

[Bomani Jones]

No need for the social media feeds.

[Ryan Brumbley]

We got you now. If you haven't heard all right, Bo. If you haven't heard Floyd Mayweather coming back into the league. He is going to be fighting Tyson and a exhibition fight on Netflix. And then he is, according to break news on retiring to get back into the boxing game. What'd you make of this news?

[Bomani Jones]

First of all, there's no way you're getting me to watch Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather in an exhibition like that. Just. That just doesn't even make any sense. Right. Like, Jake Paul. I was really hoping Mike, like, not in an illegal way, but, you know, if Jake Paul would have died, I'm sure someone would have been sad. Anyway, I know Mike can't do that to Floyd Mayweather. Right, of course. Like, I'm fully aware that he can't do that to Floyd Mayweather. I don't. I don't want to watch Floyd mayweather.in Mike's. I don't know what I'm watching this for.

[Ryan Brumbley]

That feels like elder abuse for both parties.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, I just don't. I don't what that feels like. And it's. We understand this about Mike, but it's insane about Floyd, especially combined with the idea that he will be unretiring. It just feels like two dudes who need the money and there's no way Floyd Mayweather needs the money. Right, Right.

[Ryan Brumbley]

Like, we're gonna find out how much he needs the money.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah. I mean, and I.

[Ryan Brumbley]

We're gonna find out where. If we get Mayweather, Pacquiao too.

[Bomani Jones]

Cause we know, we know that Manny needs the money.

[Ryan Brumbley]

Correct. Or someone else who might need the money. We get Mayweather. McGregor too.

[Bomani Jones]

Oh, God. Yeah. You know, look, man, one thing that is never going to change. Boxers always going to need the money, man. Yeah, they are. None of them say, or. Or it's not even like none of them say is that there's no infrastructure in place to make sure they do good things with their money.

[Ryan Brumbley]

Right.

[Bomani Jones]

Like all the people who are around you as a boxer to get a hand on your money, none of them wish you well. Not a single one of them wishes you well.

[Ryan Brumbley]

It's also a bizarre sport where your best case for make keeping your money is not fighting.

[Bomani Jones]

Yes.

[Ryan Brumbley]

But also you only get paid if you fight. So, like you're in. Sit. Like you're always in. And then you have to spend all this money training.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah. I mean, the roots of the business are just steeped in criminality.

[Ryan Brumbley]

Yes, yes.

[Bomani Jones]

Like, then it's hard. Like, I just got through reading this book about like the Silicon Valley people that try to go into selling weed, you know, like Legal weed. But it winds up being this awkward thing for them because you have to deal with some actual drug dealers along the way when you kick it like that. But there are no, like, Silicon Valley people. It feels like they go into boxing. No, it's just all of them.

[Ryan Brumbley]

The most respectable person who's going into boxing now is Dana White. That is the most. Yeah, like, like the current people involved in boxing now. Dana White, Oscar De La Hoya.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, well, Al Heyman. Al Heyman, yeah. Al Heyman's probably the one, right? Like, Al Heyman was a reputable man in the world that he was in before. But this is just. If Floyd needs the money, this is who. Boy, what an economy.

[Ryan Brumbley]

All right, speaking of Silicon Valley dudes doing things that are unlikeable, Sam Altman found a new low. Let's take a listen.

[Bomani Jones]

Hold on, hold on, hold on. Right fast. Remind people who he is.

[Ryan Brumbley]

Sam Altman, the. Well, how would you describe Sam Altman, the leader of OpenAI?

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, he's the CEO of OpenAI.

[Ryan Brumbley]

CIO of OpenAI. Found a new low in his. His view of humanity. Let's take a listen.

[Sam Altman (clip)]

One of the things that is always unfair in this comparison is people talk about how much energy it takes to train an AI model relative to how much it costs a human to do one inference query. But it also takes a lot of energy to train a human. It takes like, 20 years of life and all of the food you eat during that time before you get smart. And not only that, it took, like, the very wide widespread evolution of the hundred billion people that have ever lived and learned not to get eaten by predators and learned how to, like, figure out science and whatever to produce you, and then you took whatever you, you know, you took. So the fair comparison is if you ask ChatGPT a question, how much energy does it take once its model is trained to answer that question, versus a human? And probably AI has already caught up on an energy efficiency basis measured that way.

[Bomani Jones]

These guys hate people. They got fundamentally like, I did a. I did a residency at the University of Dayton a few months ago, and, you know, I was talking about the kids using AI to do their homework and stuff, and I'm like, why are you out here making it easier for them to replace you? Right. You are contributing to your own replacement when you do this. We have completely devalued human beings, right, Kim? Saying that out loud in that way. And in that room where no one seemed to be aghast.

[Ryan Brumbley]

Yeah, people laughed awkwardly, but no one was like, what the fuck Are you talking about?

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like the rest of us were like, I'm telling you, man. Ryan, what's the name of that book we read?

[Ryan Brumbley]

They built it. Everybody dies.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. If someone, if someone builds it, everyone dies, Everyone dies. And it's just about superhuman AI and how it's pretty much guaranteed that if it comes around, it's going to kill us all. It has been made very clear that it will destroy us in order to preserve itself.

[Ryan Brumbley]

Because that's the type of logic it has. Yes, it's like, because that is the type of logic and that is a person awkwardly, clumsily trying to make the point of that logic, not A to B of that logic.

[Bomani Jones]

Yes, yes. And by the way, the people who wrote the book, if someone builds it, everyone dies are people that are like, hey, we're trying to be cool about this.

[Ryan Brumbley]

But that's the thing is like everyone who quits, like, we're trying to be cool. It's okay, but this is very, very dangerous and I can't be a part of it anymore.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, right. And the point that was made that I thought was most important was we don't know when it'll go too far. We know it will happen. It could happen in a hundred years. It could also happen in five. We just don't know.

[Ryan Brumbley]

All right. Crazy news in the travel world. Over the weekend, it was reported by the New York Times that TSA was canceling its Pre Check program. As of 6am Sunday morning, TSA got on Twitter and responded. This time, TSA PreCheck remains operational with no change from traveling public. As staffing constraints arise, TSA will evaluate by a case by case basis and adjust operations accordingly. Courtesy escorts such as those for members of Congress have been suspended to allow officers to focus on the mission of. Of securing America Skies. Bo, what was your reaction to this news?

[Bomani Jones]

Hey, man, for those of you who don't know, it's a crazy blizzard in New York City, right? Like, the idea of getting in and out of here had to be ridiculous. And can you imagine, because they said they shut down Pre check at 6am can you imagine if you had that 8am flight and you just kicking it like you usually kick it and then you get there and that line isn't there. Like what?

[Ryan Brumbley]

I can't imagine, like a place where, like, people are already mad enough about having to travel. Like, people have their angry face on. People don't want to interact with everybody and like you. What do you mean there's pre check clients closed? Yeah, yeah.

[Bomani Jones]

Like, no, no, no. This was. That had to be the only day at the airport that had to be worse than that one was the first day that they told people they couldn't bring their lotion. It had to be in the small canisters. That was, like, I always said, the ashiest day in the history of the friendly skies. You know, people just wasn't prepared for having to be all crackly and shit like that. They just. That just ain't what they saw coming. But I. When I started seeing the reports of people being like, nah, but the pre check was open at this airport, at this airport. It felt like the airport was treating it like when corporate says, okay, you can only give people one pack of ketchup with their fries. And they're like, whatever. There's no handful in there. Like, what's up?

[Ryan Brumbley]

My ketchup?

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, it is. Like, hey, man, like, what, What? What. What exactly do we have to lose from this one right here? No, no, no, no, no. Y' all go ahead and go through. Like, they was like, y' all ain't gonna make our jobs no harder than they have to be.

[Ryan Brumbley]

We already have to explain to people about the lotion rules that have been in place since 2003.

[Bomani Jones]

Yes. Yeah. And it's like, nah, man, not today. Not y'. All. Y', all. Come on. You know what? Pre check for everybody. How about that? Cause that's the thing for me about Precheck is Precheck is supposed to be some level of additional security. Have you heard about anybody getting turned down for pre convicted felon? Like, I'm assuming if you're a convicted felon, that they got, like, some stuff for you, but otherwise, they ain't letting anybody get on pre check. That shit ain't exclusive at all.

[Ryan Brumbley]

No, I mean that. I think it cost $80 for five years.

[Bomani Jones]

Yes, yes.

[Ryan Brumbley]

And I. I think. I think 20 million people have it. Yeah.

[Bomani Jones]

I tell you this, though, that global entry took long enough to make me believe that they're doing some double checking on that one.

[Ryan Brumbley]

All right, Bell. Lot of good voicemails. Here's our first.

[Mike from Detroit (voicemail)]

Hey, Bomani, this is Mike from Detroit. First time, long time. I just want to let you know that I'm loving the deep dive into rap in 1996. It takes me back to some great musical memories. Listening to the episode when you and Wally Sparks were talking about AK and Jelly's put it in your mouth took me back to another set of musical memories that are very near and dear to my heart. And I'M quite sure quite a few of some of your listeners. And that is when I first stumbled upon bet's Uncut One late night. My eyes couldn't believe what they were seeing and my ears couldn't believe what they were hearing. It totally blew my mind. So I have two questions for you. One, what were your initial thoughts when you first saw Uncut? And two, what is the most memorable video you can remember? And why is it Nellie's Tip Drill? Honorable mention to what that thing smelled like? Appreciate you keep doing what you're doing. Peace.

[Bomani Jones]

All right, so the answer to your Tip Drill question. Because I was just like, this is.

[Ryan Brumbley]

I love when people produce the show for me.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, Yeah. I was just like, this all has to just be going Tip Drill. Cause I don't like, remember the first time I saw BET Uncut, but I do remember. So me and one of my homies, this is. Guess it's gotta be 2004. I am in graduate school. Not doing well, not very happy. My homeboy is in graduate school in a program in education. He had no real intention of being a teacher, but he became a teacher because if you did the graduate program, it came with a job. And he was like, hey, why not? And he's a very large man. So they put him in seventh grade with the kids with behavioral disorders. Again, someone who had no intention of ever being a teacher, just throwing it out there anyway. The details and the particulars don't really matter. But sometime during the second semester, those kids got a new teacher. And my man had a lot of free time. And so he would just be up. And he told me that he had seen the video for Tip Drill and that it was so wild that he thought about calling me. Keeping in mind, BET Uncut came on at 2 o' clock in the morning. Okay. And I told him if in his heart he believed that this was something that I truly needed to see, then he should go ahead and call me the next time he came on. And sure, shit, he called me. I picked up the phone, I stumbled out of bed, I went to the living room, I turned on bet and I thought it was a dream. I couldn't believe this was real life. And I was so hazy and fuzzy that I did not have the opportunity to recognize the girls I went to college with who were in the video. Because I want to say they shot it at Ray Buchanan's house in Atlanta. And that video's like seven minutes long. That's the other thing. And look, here's the thing. Generally speaking, you Go back and watch the stuff that felt so risque back in the day, and it don't land the same way. Like, you go back and watch them old Luke videos. It don't hit the same way. You go back and watch the Rump Shaker video and the Rub Shaking video was, like, too hot for TV when it came out. I mean, it's still pretty dope, but it'll hit the same way. The Tip Trill video is just as ridiculous today as it was in 2004. Like, what are we. What. What. What are we doing? Also, I think shake it like a dog. Cain and Abel is the one that my man did that. Shake it like a dog. That was a. And it was the dude from Alaska. What was the name? Joking. The bail bondsman. That was also him. Ryan, you're learning a lot right now, aren't you?

[Ryan Brumbley]

Oh, I know about Cam Dable.

[Bomani Jones]

That's what I bet. But Joker the bail bondsman, I feel like that was a map that you were prepared for. Yeah, he's a rapper from Alaska Day. Joker to bail bonds.

[Ryan Brumbley]

You learn something new every day.

[Bomani Jones]

Yes. By the way, did I also tell you about my bad Leighton while she fired? But a dude, my RA from college performing at the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics. That happened today. What? Yeah, yeah, he's one of the major laser cats.

[Ryan Brumbley]

Incredible.

[Bomani Jones]

I went to dinner with him in Barcelona a couple of years ago, and I was like, oh, this is my richest, most famous friend I had seen late in 20 years. He was telling me about his life. I was like, God damn, this is crazy.

[Ryan Brumbley]

Yeah. Musician money is different. All right, here's our next one.

[Zach from Long Beach (voicemail)]

Okay, Bo, I like the Simpsons just as much as you. Right. I'm ask you, in the Simpsons universe, who do you think would have been on the Esteem Files? And who do you think would have just shocked you? I'm gonna say the obvious. I think Mayor Quimby, no doubt, would have been in the Epstein Files. Crusty the Clown. I'm a throw. I don't think Mr. Burns would have been in there, but I think Waylon Smithers would have been on the. In the Epstein files. But I'm gonna say the most shocking one, I believe. And what's his name? Groundskeeper Willie. I think Groundskeeper Willie would have been the biggest shock. But if you want to add to it, man, I'd appreciate it. Let's show.

[Ryan Brumbley]

All right.

[Bomani Jones]

Crusty the Clown definitely would have been in the Epstein Files. I don't think Mayor Quimby played, like, Democrat. Right. Like, I Don't know if he's. He's hanging out.

[Ryan Brumbley]

And I feel like that's not unfortunately, not necessarily exclusive.

[Bomani Jones]

That's fair. That's fair. That's fair. I don't know. I feel like Mayor Quimby's on the board. I would definitely say this. They would never invite Groundskeeper Willie to any of the. Groundskeeper Willie would be on the Epstein files. And, like, where's the groundskeeper? Like, that's where I would see him, Smithers. Nah, nah. I don't see that when. The problem with the Simpsons is in the Simpsons universe, they just ain't enough people with enough paper to get themselves.

[Ryan Brumbley]

I feel like Mr. Burns is like, almost. It just has to be.

[Bomani Jones]

It's like, no, because I don't. I don't think Epstein will let Mr. Burns come around.

[Ryan Brumbley]

Got it.

[Bomani Jones]

You know, because, hey, here's the thing about Mr. Burns. Mr. Burns does not seem to have much interest in his company. You know, like Mayor Quimby. I see. I. I see the vision on that one. Mr. Burns, I don't think he got the energy, the, the, the, the. The vim and vigor that would be necessary. But Crusty the Clown, oh, that's absolutely his kind of party.

[Ryan Brumbley]

All right, here's our next one.

[Zach from Long Beach (voicemail)]

Hey, Bomani. So this is keeping in line with the name game you got going on. It's about the name Dutch. My grandfather was named Dutch, and I just feel like it's one of those names that doesn't matter what race you are, the name Dutch is gonna mean something. My granddaddy was a man named Dutchman Compton. And everybody knew don't mess with Dutch. My uncle, my aunt, whenever they act up or go crazy, it was. Well, you know, they got that Dutch blood in them, so they ain't got no sense. But what other name works like that where you just know? It don't matter where you from, what color you are, race or creed, if your name is Dutch, you're gonna be a fool. Whereas if your name is something like Kevin, it can go either way. Just asking the question. Oh, also, shout out to your man Deontay Lee. He is now the head coach of my high school alma mater, Bonita Vista. We were champions. Year 2000. Metro League champions. I still got the T shirt to prove it. All right, you have a good one.

[Bomani Jones]

Hey, but I. What I need to know, though, is why they call him Dutch. Like, what is. What is the point? What do you have to do to get called Dutch? I've never seen the answer to that, especially if you're not Dutch, you got a guess?

[Ryan Brumbley]

I'm really not sure.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, like, that's the part. But I do. Yeah. When you have a street, like, nickname all the way through life, you have earned this.

[Ryan Brumbley]

Yes.

[Bomani Jones]

Right.

[Ryan Brumbley]

You introduce yourself by aforementioned name.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, yeah. Like, it is. It is an honorific. Right. And, like, look, like sometimes it's like, not really a nickname. For example, do you remember when that dude shot David Ortiz in the Dominican Republic?

[Ryan Brumbley]

I do remember that, yes.

[Bomani Jones]

And it was all them stories about what the reason was that I don't know what's, like, legal or safe to talk about, but the dude that at one time people were saying was behind it, they called him in Las Calles de la Republica, Dominica, El Abuzador, the abuser. And that's not a nickname. Like, there's nothing clever about that. That's not a nickname. That's a job description. Right. Like, that's just. That's what he does. That is not an honorific. That is a warning. Right, Dutch. If you are Dutch all the way through, that is an honorific. You have earned a measure of respect that gets there. Before we get to the fear, El Abuzador. Just fear. Just don't. I don't know what David Ortiz was thinking. Like, I think we forget. I got real dicey.

[Ryan Brumbley]

Yes, real dicey. Real dicey. Real fast. All right, here's our last one.

[Bomani Jones]

Hey, Bo.

[Zach from Long Beach (voicemail)]

This is Zach out of Long Beach, California. Big fan of the show that I call in and just add to the name. Sorry, add to the list of names that you typically don't see for white folks. So I want you all to go ahead and look up a Tavon kitchen. Tavon is a middle and long distance runner out of byu. Yeah. I'm curious Yalls thoughts on Tayvon when you look him up, but, yeah, thanks so much, y'. All.

[Bomani Jones]

Hey, Ryan. I don't know. I don't know if you've noticed this, but the Mormons. Yeah, they throw some monkey wrenches.

[Ryan Brumbley]

Well, I mean, not to paint with a broad brush, but sometimes they're. I'm just gonna say they're picking their 5th and 6th and 7th and 8th favorite name. I'm not saying necessarily how they got to there. I'm saying they're.

[Bomani Jones]

No, but I will say this, though, because they kind of just put some stuff together. So, like, you know, I don't always understand how the combinations have been put together. What I think would be hilarious is because I don't know anything about this young man. I don't know where he's from, but it is entirely possible that he is from a place where he has no idea. Like, like he gets out into the world and they're like, why do people think. Think I'm black? They don't understand. Like, he had no idea that these.

[Ryan Brumbley]

It's never come up.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, they're these black tay vods out there. Right? Like, there's no especially.

[Ryan Brumbley]

Tavon's a runner.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, right, right. But at middle distance. Right.

[Ryan Brumbley]

But like where he shows up to these meets.

[Bomani Jones]

Right. Like now what's. Like, maybe now what's in his life? Has Tavon been read off the roll? And he said here. And the teacher was surprised, right?

[Ryan Brumbley]

Correct.

[Bomani Jones]

He has. He just. He doesn't understand what. What the joke is. Right. He's like, with Mike, Tico was like, I don't understand what's going on, guys. I'm Italian. What are you talking about? Why do you keep saying that? You know, that that's, that's where the homie Tavon is probably coming down. But if we found out that Tavon, like, ran the hundred, like, for example, you know, I don't know if you know about this, but Chris Collinsworth was a legend in Florida because He was the 100 meter champion in the state of Florida. And this word had gotten around that there was this, like. It was like a mythical thing that there's this white guy. Because I tell you, none of these, none of these young, young boys in the league have any idea that Chris Cottlesworth is fast.

[Ryan Brumbley]

That guy, Chris. California receiver. They think Julian Edelman.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, yeah. Or. Or they thought he was a quarterback.

[Ryan Brumbley]

Yes, right.

[Bomani Jones]

Like, it just doesn't really come up if they even know that. Right. But anyway, it was just like this legendary thing. This white boy was just showing up and dusting people. But I also imagine it had to be keeping in mind that Chris Collinsworth. Chris is C R I S, which is an editorial liberty that the whites normally don't take with their names. There were also some people that was like, what you mean? That's Chris Collinsworth. Only to get dusty.

[Ryan Brumbley]

Right.

[Bomani Jones]

Only. And I think he went to Abraham Lincoln High School too. Only to get dusty. What an episode, Ryan. What an episode we did. Ladies and gentlemen, thanks so much for joining us here on the Right time. We do this four days a week. Ryan Brumbley handled everything behind the scenes. Thank you, sir. Hit the voicemail line. 323-59-67767. Remember, follow the right time. Subscribe like, Rate us, Review us, Give us five stars. You only give us four stars. I'm inclined to believe you are a hater. We'll talk to you guys in a couple of days. Take it easy. You saw the game winning play once but have to replay it three times on the way back to the hotel. Because some moments don't end at the buzzer. Life's a trip. Make the most of it at Best Western. Book direct and [e-mail].