NBA regular season heats up, NFL Combine absurdity, Kyler Murray's future | 03.02

Summary

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The Right Time with Bomani Jones | NBA Regular Season Heats Up, NFL Combine Absurdity, Kyler Murray's Future

Date: March 2, 2026
Host: Bomani Jones
Guest/Producer: Ryan Brumley

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Episode Overview

Bomani Jones dives deep into the state of the NBA as the regular season intensifies, gives his sharp thoughts on the NFL Combine’s spectacle and what it says about the league, and assesses the bizarre situation around starting-caliber quarterbacks like Kyler Murray potentially being cut in the NFL. The episode is peppered with sharp observations, humor, listener questions, and takes on pop culture and sports news.

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Key Topics & Discussion Points

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1. NBA Regular Season—It Really Matters (00:59–17:30)

• Foot on the Gas:
  Bomani admits he waits until post-football to truly immerse in the NBA but now sees it’s the best time for fans—there’s real drama, unknown young players emerging, and teams making their playoff push.

• Unknown NBA Players & Parity:

  • “Boy, you can sneak a motherfucker in there I ain’t never heard of. Real smooth.” (01:38)
  • Changes in the league mean more teams and players emerge under the radar, with less attention to college basketball and more international influence (e.g., new African players on Minnesota).

• Game Recaps:

  • Knicks vs. Spurs: Early slot games often favor home teams (“Y’all should win.”).
  • Detroit vs. Cleveland: Intense despite missing stars, highlighting Jared Allen and Evan Mobley. Detroit’s resurgence is noted.
  • Oklahoma City vs. Denver: “Lou Dort had a moment…somehow they forget the Jokic is real big.” (06:02)
    • Praise for Jokic’s toughness and how his presence changes games.
  • Minnesota vs. Denver: Anthony Edwards as “the legend killer,” Minnesota’s playoff unpredictability, and the oddity of a perennial conference finalist not getting national respect.

• NBA West Playoff Race:

  • Parity means 4–5 teams could plausibly make the finals, but some are discounted by experience. “I would pick San Antonio to win the west, except the small problem is they’ve never won anything.” (09:10)

• Does the NBA Regular Season Matter?

  • Bomani challenges the narrative that the regular season is irrelevant:
    • “The regular season seems to clearly matter to those guys.” (11:03)
    • Criticism for teams that intentionally tank: “They still charge people money for the tickets…That’s an affront to the local fans.” (11:35)
    • Even with load management, the majority of meaningful teams are playing hard—and those mailing it in rarely draw viewership anyway.

• New MVP Conversation:

  • Players like Jalen Brown, Cade Cunningham, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander earning respect by showing up and playing.
  • On the 65-game minimum for awards: “If you don’t play 65, you just don’t win MVP. That’s self-regulating.” (13:33)

• NBA Regular-Season Conclusion:

  • Bomani predicts an electric finish—especially with seeding implications and unpredictable match-ups.
    • “Conference semifinals this year are going to feel like…the divisional round in the NFL—that is the best one. That's what we're going to get.” (16:48)
  • “Let us get our minds in that. We’re past All-Star; now we see, oh no, baby, it is popping.” (17:13)

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2. NFL Combine—Absurdities and Culture (17:38–29:08)

• The Combine as TV Fodder:
  • Bomani and Ryan riff on how odd it is that so many people watch the combine, drawing a funny parallel:
    • “That’s like…how it’s illegal for you to be at the playground if you ain’t got no kids. This isn’t exactly that…but it ain’t exactly NOT that.” (20:22)
  • The combine serves as a networking event for league staffers who aren’t big enough for the Super Bowl: “This is Old Navy Super Bowl…of the Super Bowl hierarchy.” (21:43)

Absurdity of Quarterback Contracts

• NFL Offseason QB Carousel:
  • Up to five veteran QBs with major guaranteed money (Tua, Kyler, Geno Smith, Kirk Cousins, Justin Fields) could be cut and relegated to playing for the minimum elsewhere. Bomani’s take:
    • “Apparently nobody in the NFL has ever heard the song ‘It’s Cheaper to Keep Her.'” (23:15)
    • Keeping a high-paid QB is financially locked-in—not like “going out to eat when you got food at home.” (23:46)

Kyler Murray's Perceived Decline

• Kyler Murray Compared to Other QBs:
  • Bomani questions why society treats Kyler as washed: “When did Kyler Murray become terrible? Because I don’t really see that.” (24:59)
  • Ryan brings up the infamous “video game clause” and reputation for poor soft skills—Bomani agrees it’s a valid knock but insists “the talent is still there.” (25:28)
  • Fun hypothetical game: Which QBs would GMs rather have than Kyler?
    • “If Kyler Murray were the quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles, we’d have a happy A.J. Brown brother.” (32:34)
    • “Kyler should come find you, stand on a phone book, and slap you in the face for saying [he’s like Sam Darnold].” (29:00)

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3. Rapid-Fire News: Betting on Geopolitics, 'Magic City Night', and AI Takes (38:12–48:11)

Betting on War

• Americans Betting on US-Iran Conflict:
  • Disturbing trends in bet markets on regime change:
    • “I can't believe this is life, right? …Imagine you being the person at the meeting where they're talking about all of these things.” (39:03)
  • Bomani recalls the impact of the Ayatollah and surprising indifference towards today’s leaders.
  • On attempts to overthrow governments: “Everybody want to overthrow the government…But once you overthrow the government, you are also responsible for the government.” (43:06)

Magic City Night – Mainstreaming the Club

• Atlanta Hawks Holding “Magic City Monday” at State Farm Arena:
  • Wings served, TI performing—but Bomani’s skeptical:
    • “Maybe I'm just becoming a bit more prudish in my old age, but we don't need to mainstream the strip club that far. We know where it's at.” (44:22)
    • “The wings ain’t that good…If you do, you're doing it really wrong.” (44:49)

AI Colin Cowherd & The Potential for AI Bomani

• Fox Sports Debuts AI Cowherd:
  • Ryan asks AI Cowherd if Bomani should have an AI app. The take sounds robotic and pro-Bomani, but Bomani is not here for it:
    • “It would revolutionize how my fans get their sports content by cutting me out.” (47:04)
    • “When it comes to AI versions of me…It was really racist, guys. Not offensively racist, but it wasn’t, like, flattering racist.” (47:47)

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4. Listener Voicemails & Bomani’s Takes (48:15–57:05)

Suits on the Sideline (48:15–52:17)

• Pat Riley’s advocacy for NBA coaches dressing up:
  • Bomani: “I am 100% in agreement with Pat Riley on this because it's part of the show.” (49:48)
  • Suits signal importance: “Why should anybody listen to you? You out here wearing a pullover?” (50:13)
  • Coaches are part of the product: “They are part of the tapestry, the mosaic.” (51:17)

“Can’t Go Back” All-Stars—Young NBA Players (52:20–54:24)

• Shaq from OP asks for a new generation of “Can’t Go Back” (to their home country/poverty) players:
  • Anthony Edwards and Jonathan Kuminga highlighted; Kuminga for emigrating from DR Congo.
  • Jokic noted for his former circumstances: “He believes that he can’t go back.” (54:09)

The Decline of R&B (54:26–57:05)

• John from Charlotte laments the fall of R&B.
  • Bomani muses on why contemporary R&B doesn’t “pop” like before, noting Adele and Bruno Mars are still mega-successful singing in that tradition.
  • “If you go to that point, the end of the aughts, there’s still R&B…but you just looked up one day and it was out here…” (55:20)
  • Ryan: “Are we just almost too cynical, almost not sincere enough for that sort of music?” (56:24)

Lighthearted Closer: The Dan/Daenerys Revelation (57:08–57:27)

• Matt from New Orleans shares a humorous story about a friend whose real name turned out to be “Daenerys.”
• Bomani: “He hung up that phone like Larry Bird at the three-point contest.” (57:27)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Jokic’s presence:
  “He just run up and down the floor, play basketball, be excellent…But every now and then, he need to remind you that, like, y’all want these problems.” (06:04)
• On tanking teams and fan experience:
  “Being a fan of basketball is not just simply about the positioning of your team for down the line in championship and everything else. No, I want to enjoy some games.” (11:55)
• On Kyler Murray: “Kyler Murray should come find you, stand on a phone book, and slap you in the face for saying that…He has never been where Sam Darnold was.” (29:00)
• On the spectacle of the Combine:
  “Your greatest testament that the league is full of dudes who just don’t feel like hanging out with their wives.” (20:50)
• On AI podcasters:
  “It would revolutionize how my fans get their sports content by cutting me out.” (47:04)
• On mainstreaming strip clubs:
  “We don’t need to mainstream the strip club that far. We know where it’s at.” (44:22)
• On the NBA playoffs:
  “The conference semifinals this year are going to feel like…the divisional round in the NFL.” (16:48)
• On old school coaches:
  “The suit…is a signal of seriousness. Right? Like, you are the guy in the suit. Why should anybody listen to you? You out here wearing a pullover?” (50:13)

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• 00:59–17:30: NBA regular season observations, playoff races, player spotlights, MVP debate
• 17:38–29:08: Absurdity of the NFL Combine and QB contract business
• 38:12–44:49: Betting on war, Magic City Night, AI sports punditry
• 48:15–57:05: Listener questions—NBA sideline style, “Can’t Go Back” All-Stars, and the state of R&B
• 57:08–57:27: Lighthearted listener story

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Summary

This episode mixed insightful NBA analysis with trademark Bomani humor, taking stock of how meaningful, entertaining, and dramatic the NBA regular season has become—even if the broader sports world is slow to notice. The NFL combine is lampooned as both a weird TV product and a cultural quirk, and the revolving door at quarterback is dissected, with special focus on the league’s odd perceptions of Kyler Murray.

Elsewhere, Bomani skewers attempts to mainstream strip club culture, weighs in on whether AI personalities should replace real ones, and responds to thoughtful (and funny) listener questions about sports, culture, and the evolution of music and style.

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For New Listeners:
If you missed the episode, you’ll leave this recap understanding why this part of the NBA season is suddenly must-watch, what makes the NFL's offseason drama so baffling, and why Bomani stands up for both tradition and innovation in sports (as long as AI isn’t taking his job).

Transcript

[Bomani Jones]

Martha listens to her favorite band all the time. In the car, gym, even sleeping. So when they finally went on tour, Martha bundled her flight and hotel on Expedia to see them live. She saved so much she got her seat close enough to actually see and hear them. Sort of. You were made to scream from the front row. We were made to quietly save you more Expedia made to travel Savings vary and subject to availability. Flight inclusive packages are atoll protected. Get in the game with the college branded Venmo debit card. Rep your team with every tap and earn up to 5% cash back with Venmo Stash a new rewards program from Venmo. No monthly fee, no minimum balance, just school pride and spending power. Get in the game and sign up for the Venmo debit [e-mail] collegecard the Venmo MasterCard is issued by the Bancorp Bank. NA Select Schools available Venmo Stash terms and exclusions apply at venmo me stashterms max $100 cash back per month Foreign. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Right Time A Wave original My name is Bomani 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. I got some kind of sort of combine thoughts. I usually don't do that, but you know, you got to meet people where they at, you know what I'm saying? Got some of that, you know, weirdo stories at the end of the show, but. All right, I gotta tell you something, you know, and I. I've talk about this just about every year. I don't have much of a problem admitting this that we get so overrun by football from September to February that like I dip my toe into the NBA before football season's over and then now is the time to like really, really, really get in there. Like every now and then you get to watching the game and Ryan, I don't know if this happens to you, but it's more and more because I don't follow college basketball like I used to. Boy, you can sneak a motherfucker in there I ain't never heard of. Real smooth Minnesota got some African dude that's new, but he seems to be very good. Yeah, yeah, like, like this is that time of year, especially if you like, used to play for a handful of teams. For example, that Gafford dude that the Mavericks got that year they went to the finals I had never heard of him and I could not understand how that was possible. And then they told me that he played for the Wizards. That'll do it in his protection.

[Ryan Brumley]

Especially this year when like it's almost two thirds of the league.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah.

[Ryan Brumley]

Who are just, you know.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. There's. There's a lot of teams that I don't need to check. Like Sacramento. That's also witness protection, where you can go over there. Except for that one year. Right. You go over Sacramento, like I get to play in the immaculate grid, man. I don't know what to do. But. And they like, they around and put Sacramento in Orlando and it's like, damn, this could be who I got to like, really start working my way through some old three way trades. But anyway, now's the time to like really get this going with the NBA. Like you see more of the Knicks because we live here and stuff like that. And I also watch the Knicks play against the Spurs. They put the hurt on.

[Ryan Brumley]

Oh, yeah.

[Bomani Jones]

I. I was a little surprised. Now granted, I do think the Knicks and the Lakers both have this one and I guess the Clippers too, but they mess around and play a team in that early Sunday slot or whatever. Early is for local. Y' all should win. Right, Right.

[Ryan Brumley]

Like people had fun.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, right. It's the spurs one time pulling up y'. All. If y' all get to play them on Sunday, y' all should win. Right. But no good. I mean, Carl Towns played well. Like it was a. It was a strong game. But I also watched three other games this weekend. I watched Detroit, Cleveland, I watched Oklahoma City and the Nuggets. And then I watched the Nuggets again against Minnesota Nuggets. Not a great weekend. I feel like they need to be glad to. Mike Malone is doing TV and not being the coach because I bet he would be miserable to be around after the weekend that they had. But I mentioned those games because those games were good. Right. And they were good for, I'd say, an interesting range of reasons. Detroit and Cleveland was the sort of game that I ordinarily would have wanted to watch and then found out that Donovan Mitchell was not playing. I think James Harden was also out of that game. I would find out that those two guys were not playing in that game and then I would not watch that game anymore. Right. I don't know. Like Ryan, I feel like it was a good game, but I don't know if the way I'm putting this is going to make this seem. But you know, the Pistons didn't quite bring it as they should have. Right? That's. That's. That's. That's. There we go. Okay. But at the same time, that was Jared Allen, Evan Mobley, okay? Those are NBA players Dennis Schroeder, Sam Merrill and Jalen Tyson. And a dude named Naquan was the first man off the bench. A series of gentlemen that I'm not very familiar with came off the bench for sure. And it was a game, right? Like. Like, it was an intense. Like, I mean, look, Detroit, they're back, right? The city is clearly back into it. I realized this especially since it's been a while since they moved out to palace, but I ain't had a whole lot of watch the Pistons since they left the palace situations, right? It still feels weird when I watch a game there.

[Ryan Brumley]

It's gonna. It's been a long 15 years.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, it has been. It has been like last year. You know, we got in and checked

[Ryan Brumley]

out a little bit.

[Bomani Jones]

But. But honestly, it was a really, really good game, even with Cunningham filing out late. Everything else. Y' all know, Jared Allen also fouled out in that one. But it was an intense, really hard play game, followed by Oklahoma City and Denver. And that one was serious, right? Everybody was there for. Right. Two best players in the NBA playing in that game, right? Chad's back playing in that. That game went hard. Lou Dort. Lou Dort had a moment in that game that seems to happen somewhat often with these cats in the NBA, where somehow they forget the. Jokic is real big.

[Ryan Brumley]

Big and. And scary and intense.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's. He's. He's. You know what Yogic got? Yogic's got a lot of. I ain't no sucky in him, right? Because he's just kind of a. He just run up and down the floor, play basketball, be excellent. Right? But every now and then, he need to remind you that, like, y' all want these problems. Lou Dort, you know like what? The thing Lou Dort did wasn't, like, the biggest cheap shot we've ever seen, right? But once Jokic ran up on him, I mean, for you to be Lou Dort, baby, you. You can't. You gotta either be full troll, or if you're gonna play the way he plays, you gotta be ready to fight, too, right? Like, you gotta full.

[Ryan Brumley]

Patrick Beverly, you gotta be.

[Bomani Jones]

But. But he. At his size, you gotta be a defenseman, right?

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah.

[Bomani Jones]

Big football playing joker, like, that's what it's gotta be. Jokic ran up on him and he was like, Ooh, I.

[Ryan Brumley]

No thanks.

[Bomani Jones]

Properly do the math on this situation. Then we had this Minnesota Denver game, which I'd say wasn't a great game in terms of the margin. YIC played a really good game. Not enough dudes showed up. But Minnesota dude, Evie Edwards, the legend killer. I don't know what, I don't know what Minnesota is going to do in the playoffs. I would not want to play Minnesota in the playoffs because I've watched the playoffs for the last two years. Right. Like, Minnesota is such a weird team in the sense that they have been to the Western Conference finals two years in a row and. And not a single one of us is looking at them like, don't you think it's time to take the next step? Which is typically how we view it. If you make it to the Western Conference finals two years in a row, that is, I guess, a byproduct of this era of parody. Me and Goff talked about this last week. I grew up with dynasty sagas. I kind of prefer dynasty sagas. But we do have. We got a Western Conference where I don't know if there are six teams that can win. In fact, I know they're not six teams that can win the west because Houston cannot. But there are, I'd say five teams that I think could make it to the conference finals. And I'm again removing Houston from this. And it's a structure. It's the structural point guard issue. I just don't think that that roster can pull that off.

[Ryan Brumley]

Do you count the Lakers in those?

[Bomani Jones]

Hell, hell no.

[Ryan Brumley]

Okay, who were the five?

[Bomani Jones]

Oh, so I mean, four. Sorry, got my count wrong. Yeah. And I know that I got my count wrong by you being like, wait a minute, are you talking about the Lakers?

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah.

[Bomani Jones]

No, I am talking about Minnesota, Denver for San Antonio and Oklahoma City. Right, right. I forgot it. Houston is the five in that one.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah.

[Bomani Jones]

I can see any of those four going. Right. And we just, we just talked about games, but, you know, basically just, you know, with three of them. Here's why I bring up those games. Why I want to talk about this off the top or. Ryan, I'm curious what you think about this. I talked about last week, I think on this Monday show was just the idea that the NBA regular season, I don't know what it takes, I don't know what has to happen in the regular season in the NBA to break through, to like really matter. The spurs were just on a 12 game winning streak. And I knew that because you told me. Right, right. I did not realize that now, of course they are no longer on a 12 game winning streak, but that should be the big. There's nothing else going on. Right, right. Like Victor win by Yama is living up to the hype and expectation that was there. They are two games out of first in the West. I do think it's going to like those seatings are actually going to tiebreaker

[Ryan Brumley]

against Oklahoma City already.

[Bomani Jones]

Right, right. Like we got if this were baseball back in the days, we call it a Pitt race. Like we have a very interesting race in the west and we saw it bear out, like I say, in the way that some of these games look like Minnesota came in, they were playing to win that game. Right, right. Like Denver was. Nobody was just out here like oh, one of 82, right? No, no, no, no. They was out there to win that game. That Detroit Cleveland game on Friday night, they was out to win that one. We have a very interesting thing going on in the east where. And I think it's kind of similar in the West. I would pick San Antonio to win the west, except the small problem is they've never won anything. This particular people group of people in San Antonio, just to be clear, they've never won anything. The same thing with Detroit. The only reason to not pick them is that they have not done this before. And by this we mean win a series in the first round or in the case of San Antonio, go like actually play in the playoffs. Right. Even with losing to the Knicks. Dude, the no fly zone, that happens. I mean I watch Victor guard the ball, the pass and the weak side on the same like right at the same time. Oh, like, like what? What? It doesn't even seem real. It looks like he's playing against three year olds. Right. Like all right, everybody against dad. Right. Like it like it doesn't even seem possible. But I talked about the regular season and the idea of the regular season doesn't matter or is treated like it doesn't matter. I think it's very important for me to make a distinction because it's easy to lose sight of this, particularly when talking about the NBA because people have a predisposition to think about the worst. The regular season seems to clearly matter to those guys. Okay. Now there are some teams that have clearly mailed it in on this season and I have a problem with the fact that they have mailed it in on the season. And a big part of why I have a problem with the fact that they mailed it in on the season is that they still charge people money for the tickets. Right. Like you're still a chunk of the cable bill. You're selling us this. Being a fan of basketball is not just simply about the positioning of your team for down the line in championship and everything else. No, I want to enjoy some games. Right. Like these games are right here. There are teams that have absolutely given up on that and I have a giant problem with it. Okay. But there are also situations where we get, you know, we got a problem with the low management and everything else. And this has been sold as a superstar league. But I watched that Cleveland team without their two best players and, and it was a game, it was a game worth watching. It was an entertaining game. We got a lot of teams left with a lot to play for. And if we be perfectly honest, them teams that are not giving it, they all. You wasn't watching them anyway. Like it is at a front to the local fans for what they're doing. But if you're talking about it as a, like overhead, like a 3,000 foot view, whatever that phrase is, looking down on the league, you wouldn't go watch them anyway. But the teams that you going to watch. Oh, there's so much to watch right now. Right. I, I, I think I lost track of my thought earlier, but I didn't even get to bring it up. The fact that Jason Tatum apparently is going to try to come back and play.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah. In the next two weeks.

[Bomani Jones]

Yep. That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Right. I, I mean, I can only assume that is medically cleared. Right? Yeah, I can't, I can't.

[Ryan Brumley]

By his doctors and the teams.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's the only way. I can't assume that anybody, like, look, I mean, look, Derrick Rose would not have been playing this season. Right. You understand what I'm saying? Like, like. And by the way, wouldn't be hearing nothing from me about that. Of course, also, also, the Bulls would have been leaking. You know, he actually could have played two and a half months ago, you know, if that would have come down. But do you realize how crazy that is? Like first of all, the fact that the Celtics have been as good as they have been, that Jaylen Brown, who could not dribble with his left hand not too long ago is in the

[Ryan Brumley]

top five of MVP conversations.

[Bomani Jones]

I mean, he has an argument for being the mvp. If you wanted to make it right. Hey man, it matters. These cats are out here. Right. There's a lot of discussion about that 65 game rule. And I, look, if you don't play 65 games. History has said you're not the MVP twice. Yeah, well, it was the Bill Walton, right? It was the year Bill Walton got hurt. That's basically the only one out of a full 82 game season. I think there's been like one more or something like that. But typically that was all that was always a disqualifying factor. The reason they put that rule in was not about the mvp. They put that rule in so that cats who were trying to make all NBA and thereby maybe get they supermax on would not be out here mailing in games. That's what they were going for. But the mvp, this has always been a self regulating sort of situation. And the guys that are playing games, K Cunningham's playing those games, Jalen Brown playing those games, those are the guys that I think we should be talking about for mvp. If Shay Gildas Alexander gets up around that, that total of games, then yeah, we'll talk about it. Y miss how much time you don't win the MVP when you do that? You, you just, you, you just don't. That has nothing.

[Ryan Brumley]

There's only one person who can win it, right? Only one person who can be the best.

[Bomani Jones]

That's correct. By the way. That has nothing to do with what I was just talking about. But I did realize I wanted to talk about that and make that point. So the point's been made. The point that I'm here to make is the regular season of basketball can matter as much as we want it to matter because there is basketball that matters that's on right now. And guess what? We got another like month and change of the regular season. Right? Like this is about to be a run to the end in the West. Who you wind up playing is so important. I think everybody would like to get themselves positioned against Houston. They're teams that don't want to play each other. The teams are close enough such that the idea of having home court is something like Minnesota beat them under these circumstances two years ago. But I personally would not want to play a game seven in Denver if Oklahoma City were not playing Denver Game seven in their house. Do they win that one last year? I don't think they did with Aaron

[Ryan Brumley]

Gordon hopping around on one leg.

[Bomani Jones]

Right. And that, and that still is the thing with, with Denver, right, is if Aaron Gordon winds up coming back. But San Antonio, with a team that young, where they play these games, all of this stuff is going to matter. It's about to be on fire to the finish, the Knicks, because all the pressure around Them still remains. And they're a. They're a soap opera over there. Ryan. Like, I don't think people quite pick up on the fact that the guys don't seem to like the coach that much. They fired the coach that got them to the conference finals, which means going to the NBA finals is kind of sort of the expectation. Like, we got three really interesting teams right in the East. We've got four really interesting teams in the West. It's a thing going on, guys. It is. And I will be very curious to see if every. All of us around this are going to treat this like it's a thing, because this could be a whole hell of a lot of fun before the season's over. And then after that, we get two months of playoff basketball where this conference, the conference semifinals this year are going to feel like. My buddy Nick always makes the point that the best weekend of the season in the NFL, and he's right, is the division round. That is the best one. That is what the conference semifinals are going to feel like this year. Like, we're going to have two games a night of great basketball. I cannot wait. Let us get our minds in that. Like, we pass All Star. We pass that little, you know, withdrawal time we have from after football, so nothing's good enough for us. So we just shit on the league. We now we take a week and you look around and be like, oh, no, baby, it is popping. And after all that, Ryan, we just going to talk about hypothetical football?

[Ryan Brumley]

Yep.

[Bomani Jones]

That's just. It's. It's the combine.

[Ryan Brumley]

It's March.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, it's the combine. You think Mar. Sanchez came to the combine?

[Ryan Brumley]

I think he is going to be avoiding Indianapolis in all of its.

[Bomani Jones]

I mean, he can only avoid it, but so much. I'm sure he got some court dates.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah, I think he's going to be just in that courtroom.

[Bomani Jones]

How crazy would it be if Mark Sanchez had a court date during the combine and he's just like, on his flight or at the airport awaiting that baggage claim and everybody's like, surprised to see you here. You got a court date or something? And he's like, yeah, I do, actually.

[Ryan Brumley]

I. It's funny you mentioned that because I think some other information about this dropped. It turns out Mark Sanchez, and this isn't exactly news, accusing Sanchez of being under the influence of cocaine, fentanyl, marijuana and alcohol under the time of the altercation.

[Bomani Jones]

That's right. However, not included on the list, not even in others receiving votes. Was that dust. I still. Yo, let me Tell you that. What you just read off that list of things that. That they say Mar Sanchez was on, and he. And it made him act like he was on that dust. That is one hell of a commercial for that dust. You. You take. You take a. He took. He.

[Ryan Brumley]

I think it's the exact. I think it's a bit of a warning label for that dust.

[Bomani Jones]

Well, also, two things could be true at one time, but he.

[Ryan Brumley]

He.

[Bomani Jones]

He had like, a Long island iced tea of dope. Just everything you got. Just throw it in. Throw it in and shake it.

[Ryan Brumley]

You're not. Put a little bit of cocoa with vices.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, yeah, he shook it all up. They put a little bit of coke on top, and there you go. Like that. That. That was. Whoo, man. Man, he's going to. He's got to go to jail for that. Okay, sorry. That what we talk about the Combine, I don't think. Nothing greedier than the NFL turning the combine into, like, a thing that people watch on tv, right? Like, I do believe that. That once you really start, like, okay, you. You get a clip of somebody doing a vert or running to 40 or whatever it is, okay, that's fine. But you be, like, watching, you know, and you don't work in the biz. You just sit up there and you watching. I mean, that's a little weird, right? That's all I'm saying. Like, that's a little. That. That. That. That's. That's. That's like. You know how it is. It's weird how they got. It's illegal for you to be at the playground if you ain't got no kids. This isn't exactly that, obviously, but it ain't exactly.

[Ryan Brumley]

Not that.

[Bomani Jones]

Right. But anyway, one of the interesting elements of the combine is everybody be up there, right? Like, I can only be convinced you

[Ryan Brumley]

just compared NFL, super NFL fans to sex offenders.

[Bomani Jones]

No, I compared them to the people who sit by the playground who are not necessarily sex offenders, but acknowledged to be weirdos.

[Ryan Brumley]

Fair enough.

[Bomani Jones]

There we go. So, anyway, the combine, which I'm convinced, your greatest testament, that the league is full of dudes who just don't feel like hanging out with their wives. Like, the season.

[Ryan Brumley]

Let's all go to Indianapolis in the end of February.

[Bomani Jones]

The season just ended, right? Like, it's not like. It's not like it's been all summer long or something like that.

[Ryan Brumley]

The super bowl was three weeks ago.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, they were all there, too.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah, they were all there. We just had a big industry party

[Bomani Jones]

for a week in a Much better location.

[Ryan Brumley]

And so now it's been three weeks. We haven't been able to work for 50 hours a week. Let's all go to St. Elmo's in Indianapolis.

[Bomani Jones]

But you know what? But you know what? I think part of it is though. I do think that part of it is the. That for the COBIDE, the tier 2 people, the people that do not get the super. Get the super bowl play, right. This is. This is their party.

[Ryan Brumley]

This is their VIP event.

[Bomani Jones]

This is Old Navy Super Bowl. Got it of the super bowl hierarchy, right? But anyway, they're there seeing a lot

[Ryan Brumley]

of men's warehouse at these events.

[Bomani Jones]

There we go, right? And that's where everybody gets together and they get to talking and like the groundwork for the personnel moves down the line start happening. And Ryan sent me something and granted it's from an aggregator account, but it is still worthwhile and it makes this point. I'm going to read it. Was it Ari Murlov? If that's a person, I have no idea. Anyway, this was worth this. There is a potential scenario this off season where up to five veteran quarterbacks with guaranteed money already in 2026 could be released. And as a result, their next contract with the new team could be for the minimum. Tuatanga Vailoa, 54 million guaranteed. Kyler Murray, 36.8 million guaranteed. Geno Smith, 18.5 million guaranteed. Kirk Cousins, 10 million guaranteed. Justin Fields, 10 million guaranteed. Okay, I have two thoughts on this. Number one, apparently nobody in the NFL has ever heard the song it's cheaper to Keeper now. You know, I know Tua would be offended if he heard that I was calling him or her, but it's a metaphor, young man. Okay, the whole point of these guarantees and the way they do this is we go work this out, right? Like. Like there's some security in the idea this didn't work. Go. Okay. All right. Well, look, we go, we go. We kind of stuck with each other. We going to have to work this out. We can't afford to quit this. We going to work this out. I don't care what we've been saying about to it and everything else. We are paying him 54. We already got. We already got quarterback in the refrigerator. We not going out to eat when we got food at food that's been paid. Not a little bit, by the way, right? Like we have steak at the house. There is a porter house that I have taken out of the freezer. Like I. That's your quarterback, right?

[Ryan Brumley]

Doesn't look like It.

[Bomani Jones]

I mean. Oh, okay. That's all I got. You're not really trying to win. You can't be. You got $54 million capoe on. Okay.

[Ryan Brumley]

I think he. I think. I think two is combined dead money cap numbers. $99 million.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, come on, man, what are we talking about here? Right? Like get. If. If you see a quarterback worth drafting, go ahead and do it, but your options are. And you tell me if I'm wrong here. Tua Tongue of Aloha, Malik Willis or another quarterback whose previous team felt the same way about them as you feel about the one that you about to get rid of. I don't know, man. That sounds like Tua to me. It could be. Right? Kyler Murray, $37 million guarantee. Let me ask. I'm just gonna throw this out here. Okay. I've looked at the stats. When did Kyler Murray become terrible? Because I don't really see that.

[Ryan Brumley]

Like he said two. He's had a few very good years.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah.

[Ryan Brumley]

He's had. He tore the ACL a few years ago.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah.

[Ryan Brumley]

And last year he just had this mysterious mystery injury.

[Bomani Jones]

Yes. And they decided they didn't want to play him anymore.

[Ryan Brumley]

Correct.

[Bomani Jones]

That I. Look, man, we have seen evidence of this and lots of us have been told this. His soft skills are poor.

[Ryan Brumley]

Clearly.

[Bomani Jones]

What I mean by that for those don't understand is people don't like him. Okay. He comported himself in such a way that the team felt like they had to put a video game clause in his contract base, basically. Okay. I still think the team was wrong for that and they set themselves up for unnecessary scrutiny because ultimately you were still going to sign them, so it didn't really matter. But the truth is it did happen and they didn't just pull that out of the air. And his side didn't feel like they could get it out of the deal. Right. Okay. He does not play well with others, but I'm looking at him on a list with like Kirk cousins who got one leg and is 30, 38, 9 years old and is just as likely

[Ryan Brumley]

to be in the B.O. a booth next year.

[Bomani Jones]

Ye.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah, he looks.

[Bomani Jones]

Which it looks like he'll be pretty good at.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yes. Better than he is at cubing.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah. Just in Justin Fields and you know, we all thought it would. We all thought it would go different. Right. It just. It just hasn't. They're gonna go there. Gino Smith, I don't really know what to do with. Because he was on a terrible team and just Felt like it was YOLO time. Whatever. Any. Any little blip. I saw him on the Red zone channel. It was him just saying it.

[Ryan Brumley]

The combo of Pete Carroll, Chip Kelly and Pete Carroll's son as the offensive line coach.

[Bomani Jones]

Yes.

[Ryan Brumley]

Seem to have really broken gy.

[Bomani Jones]

It was bad news. But, I mean, I'm looking. But all of this combined, all these guys we're looking at. To me, Kyler Murray is like a different player than any of these guys that we talked about here. Like, if you're Minnesota and the Steelers. In fact, that's what they need to do up there. And is sausage party now an inappropriate term?

[Ryan Brumley]

I think you get one. I would.

[Bomani Jones]

Okay, so last week, sausage party was my limit on.

[Ryan Brumley]

I would say the one 30 seconds ago was your one, but.

[Bomani Jones]

Wow. I didn't know I had already done it. Okay. Anyway, if you have.

[Ryan Brumley]

We're all friends here.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah. But if you ever been to a sausage party. The kind of thing you never know with a. An impromptu wrestling match might break out, right? Just like two dudes who decide to. Hey, it's just a bunch of dudes around here who wants to wrestle, right? You know, like in a dorm or something like that. You know what I mean? Like that.

[Ryan Brumley]

Is that a two America situation or a one America situation?

[Bomani Jones]

No, no, no, no. I think it's a one America situation. Like, I don't mean in this case. I don't mean, like, it's a sausage party. Like, you get there, and the ladies ain't showed up yet. Right. Where they're supposed to be. Ladies free before 11, but apparently nobody told them. And then you just look around his. But, you know, the ratio was all off. I don't mean that kind. I mean, this more like is a bunch of dudes in a dorm or at a sleepaway camp or something like that.

[Ryan Brumley]

Or Vegas for the first week in the va. Yeah. Yeah.

[Bomani Jones]

And so invariably, some rough housing comes up when. When you have this sort of thing happen. Anyway, I bring that up to say, I don't know who the new general manager is in Minnesota, but whoever it is, shouldn't him and Omar. Omar Khan have to, like, Wrestlemania at some bar? And the winner gets Kyler Murray.

[Ryan Brumley]

That would be more interesting to watch than the actual combine.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah. Oh, I mean, let's be clear. I had watch that. Yeah, just.

[Ryan Brumley]

Just GM fights. Yeah.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah. If you're. If you're telling me that you just watch the combine in case the GM fight breaks out. Hey, okay, I see you. But no, like, if. If you're one of These teams that needs a quarterback. That's. That would be. And you're telling me he's available? Like, I would get an Arizona. Like, what are you gonna do? Are they gonna bring Brissette back again?

[Ryan Brumley]

I mean, Brushette drafting someone? They might. They seem to be.

[Bomani Jones]

Who they. Who they gonna draft? Well, I don't even know if we got one quarterback in this draft.

[Ryan Brumley]

This is my favorite part of the combine, too, is people convincing themselves they like mediocre quarterbacks.

[Bomani Jones]

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

[Ryan Brumley]

We're there.

[Bomani Jones]

He did a great job throwing against the Ghost Man. Like, you a see the Ghost Man. The Ghost man had his hand right there, and he just dropped it right over the Ghost man. And he made the catch. No, like, I'm just. I mean, I'm looking at every scenario here, and it blows my mind that we're talking about Kyler Murray. Like, he has been put in the. Maybe he could have a Sam Dardo, like, resurrection. Kyler Murray should come find you, stand on a phone book, and slap you in the face for saying that. Like this. Never. He's in a completely. He. He has never been where Sam Darnold was.

[Ryan Brumley]

Not. No, not even close.

[Bomani Jones]

Not even close. But I feel like that's the way we talk about him. The talent is still there. He's 28. He'll. He'll only be, like Speedy Gonzalez. Fast, a road runner at, you know, but for so long. Right. Like, we recognize that, but. And of course, there's the size part. I'm not saying there are no negatives. And for Minnesota, I understand the real issue is y' all gotta have at least one quarterback somebody likes. Like, can you imagine what it would be like to be Kevin OConnell, who clearly can't stand JJ McCrack?

[Ryan Brumley]

He's clearly not the only one.

[Bomani Jones]

Right. But then you also give him Kyler Murray.

[Ryan Brumley]

Look, if you're the quarterback whisperer, whisper. You know.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah. I mean, figure it out. Let me ask you this. Well, it's more rhetorical, but for anybody, I would assume right now that people think that Sam Darnold is a better quarterback than Kyler Murray. By how much and why exactly? You know what I mean? Like. Like two years ago, you wouldn't have dreamed of saying that. I just don't see this Kyler Murray has fallen off completely thing.

[Ryan Brumley]

Would you rather have Kyler Murray or Baker Mayfield?

[Bomani Jones]

Ooh, that is interesting, because they're both. They're both starting quarterbacks.

[Ryan Brumley]

Would you rather have Kyler Murray or Bryce Young?

[Bomani Jones]

Kyler Murray. Not even close.

[Ryan Brumley]

Would you rather have Kyler Murray or Jalen Hurts?

[Bomani Jones]

I would rather have Kyler Murray.

[Ryan Brumley]

Would you rather have Kyler Murray or Brock Purdy?

[Bomani Jones]

Ooh, okay. I would rather have Kyler Murray, comma, but I can't confidently say he's better than Brock Purdy. And that's because this Brock, even if I can acknowledge he's better than I ever thought he would be, that'll be an.

[Ryan Brumley]

Would you rather have Kyler Murray or Bo Nicks?

[Bomani Jones]

Kyler Murray. You know what? I think the way the play this game is, where it gets fun, is if we. If we plugged Kyler Murray into some of those situations that we're talking about. For example, if Kyler Murray were the quarterback of the Seattle Seahawks, how much different do you think the results would be? If Kyler Murray were the quarterback of the Denver Broncos, how much different would the results be?

[Ryan Brumley]

I think if Kyler Murray were the quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles, we'd have a happy A.J.

[Bomani Jones]

brown brother. I think that you and I have been working together a little too long because I was about to jump you. Oh, no, no, no. I love the fact that you had it. I was going to say the exact same thing, that I bet you AJ Brown wishes Kyler Murray was the quarterback of the Eagles. Yeah, I bet he badly wishes that that was the case. Ooh, what do we do with C.J. stroud? I was just about to.

[Ryan Brumley]

C.J. stroud's a hard one.

[Bomani Jones]

The Kyler Murray game is fun. Like now that we're here playing it, this is.

[Ryan Brumley]

Do you think they have a similar situation? Do you think they'd be just as good if you flip flopped? Dak Prescott, Kyler Murray.

[Bomani Jones]

No, I think Dak Prescott is better than him. I think that. I think, yes. I think that Dak Prescott is better.

[Ryan Brumley]

Better than I do too. I think. I think that is like my exact. Like once you get past like 12, anything's possible. Anything's possible.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah. And that this is. If he's available, I think the league is going to jump on. I think all we've been talking is about to whittle away and go away. Because if you're telling me that if I don't get Kyler Murray, I gotta go get Tua or 35 year old Gino if he's 35, or the corpse of Aaron Rodgers or $30 million a year to Malik Willis, and by the way, somebody's going to do it. And I think there's a good chance it could work out. We're far. We are far removed from watching Malik Willis be abject for sure. We're, we're, we are way past that. Um, I just don't, I wouldn't, I would not want it to be my $30 million but I will be happy for when he receives. 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 21 plus and

[Ryan Brumley]

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[Bomani Jones]

is 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. It's 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 you need the best people on your team. The place to find them. ZipRecruiter and now you can try it for free at ZipRecruiter.com Bomani ZipRecruiter's 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.comBOMANI that's ZipRecruiter.com BOMANI Meet your match on ZipRecruiter. Monster Energy everybody knows White Monster, Zero Ultra.

[Ryan Brumley]

That's the OG.

[Bomani Jones]

It kicked off this whole Zero Sugar

[Ryan Brumley]

Energy drink thing, but Ultra is a whole lineup now.

[Bomani Jones]

You've got Strawberry Dreams, Blue Hawaiian Sunrise and Vice Guava. And they all bring the Monster Energy punch. So if you've been living in the White can branch out. Ultra's got a flavor for every vibe and every Single one is zero sugar. Tap the banner to learn more. It's a season two playoff race with TGL presented by SoFi Sunday at 9pm Eastern Jupiter Lynx versus Boston Common Golf Club Monday at 7pm Eastern Los Angeles Golf Club versus New York Golf Club Tuesday at 9pm Eastern the Bay Golf Club versus Jupiter Links. Keep up. It's Golf Watch on ESPN, ESPN2 and the ESPN app. We know you can't be on top of all the news and information of the day. No need for the social media feeds. We got you now.

[Ryan Brumley]

If you haven't heard, all right, if you haven't heard, there's a war. US has bombed Iran and people started betting on it on pod market. At least $200 million was staked on four wagers relating to the US stakes in Iran. Kalshee had to put out this tweet. The odds that the Ayatollah is out at the Supreme Leader has surged to 68%. Reminder, Cal does not offer markets that settle on death. But what was your reaction to this?

[Bomani Jones]

Hey man, there is somebody who works there that's like, I can't keep doing this, right? Imagine you being the person at the meeting where they're talking about all of these things that are happening.

[Ryan Brumley]

This or you have to ra. Your person raised your hand. So what's our. What's our rule if he dies?

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So what? How exactly? I can't believe this is life, right? Like this is. This sounds like parody or satire in that, right? I will say this. I don't feel like getting into the real nitty gritty of the war. And I guess if there's an even count as war, I don't know what all was. I don't. I don't know where to go. Okay, I will make.

[Ryan Brumley]

I think people in Congress are going to be debating that this coming week.

[Bomani Jones]

So I'm going to make two points or just Two observations that I have that we could all deal with right now. Number one, I remember the first Ayatollah, first Ayatollah, for those of you who are too young, was a really big deal. Like, whenever it was that it was time, like back in the day, we talked about dictators a lot more. You know what I mean? But he was a tier one bad person. We talked about him all the time. And then he died. And I don't know why. But the next Ayatollah, we don't really. He just gotta. We never really bring him up very much, in spite of the fact that apparently he's so evil that. That you got to smoke his ass. And all his partners. Right where. Like, right where they staying. You know what I'm saying?

[Ryan Brumley]

Are you saying we used to be a proper country because we knew who our dictators were?

[Bomani Jones]

No, I'm trying to figure out how it is that this Ayatollah never caught on.

[Ryan Brumley]

It's like the new Kim Jong doesn't really catch on like that.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, no, but that's what I'm saying. We've known all the Kims, right? All as that has gone on. But with this right here, I'm just very surprised that we. We this. It. It's been the same one for 37 years, and people don't know his name or nothing like that. I didn't even try.

[Ryan Brumley]

Attempt to pronounce it.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah. And it just bit. And it just bit. Iran. We never. We never got to the particulars of it. I don't. I just. I just personally don't understand how that happened or why. Number two, I cannot imagine that I finally. If you were the type of person who would want to do this, and I'm not. You finally stacked up your bread, you got on that plane and you took your vacation to Dubai and your hotel is getting bombed.

[Ryan Brumley]

Private flights are going for six figures out of there. $325,000.

[Bomani Jones]

It's one thing to go somewhere in its hurricane season, right? Like, oh, damn. They are bombing Dubai to airport. They're like, nah, man. Y', all. Y', all, you can't be serious right now. No, but they are. This is what happened. I can't think of anything where one thing happened. And then the other team was like, all right, everybody getting it? Yeah, every. Every. Anybody. Anybody that's stand with you that's close to us, they gonna get it. And this, this. This. It's only been a couple of days. It is. It is. It is only been. I think that was the Other part, oh, but Trump is like, hey, man, so here's what we go do. We go bomb them, and then y' all could go take over your country. Which on paper may not sound like the worst idea in application. The probability of chaos is very, very high.

[Ryan Brumley]

If we've learned anything for the last 60 years, it's a little bit harder on paper than it is in real life than it is on paper.

[Bomani Jones]

Particularly there.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yes.

[Bomani Jones]

And that's 70 years almost, but yes, particularly there. Have you seen Argo?

[Ryan Brumley]

Yes.

[Bomani Jones]

Argo made me rethink something. By the way, I watched Argo on a plane, and that was a shockingly emotional experience. Altitude does that, right? But when they was trying to get through the airport at the end. I have never been more on edge in my life. But that scene made me think about something that nobody talks about when it comes to overthrowing the government. Everybody want to overthrow the government so they can, like, do all the top line stuff. But once you overthrow the government, you are also responsible for the government. And so in Argo, the bureaucracy of the government. Yeah, yeah. So in Argo, it was watching who the dudes were that are looking at passports. They're just dudes in camouflage with guns. They didn't get into this to be looking at your fucking passport. Nobody wants to do that. Right? And so they're like, hey, we're gonna overthrow the government. Okay, then you overthrow the government. This. Somebody's got to run it. And it's like, all right, so who's gonna work the airport? What do you mean, I don't want to work the airport? Like, there's not one person associated with that revolution that's like, yo. And once I get this, tell me

[Ryan Brumley]

I want to be tsa.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, School lunches. I'll be in charge of that. No, no. Yeah. So we did this for you. Now you can overthrow the government. There's a whole lot of cats that was like, hey, man, we ain't like him, but we wasn't trying to, like, do his job. You know what I'm saying? Like, there's a. There's a reason why we didn't do this ourselves. And this is an awful man. Just to be clear.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah, Not a fan.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, yeah. But I'm just saying we. We. We killed your leader so that you could take over. I mean, thanks.

[Ryan Brumley]

All right. Speaking of headlines that don't sound real, the Atlanta Hawks will host a magic city Monday.

[Bomani Jones]

Women.

[Ryan Brumley]

Pepper Wings will be on the menu. TI Is going to perform. This will happen in the next few weeks of Course. Magic City, famous Atlanta strip club. Bo, what was your reaction when you heard this news?

[Bomani Jones]

Okay, so, number one, maybe I'm just becoming a bit more prudish in my old age, but we don't need to mainstream the strip club that far. We know where it's at. You know what I'm saying? Like, we don't. We don't need to. I don't know. But number two, I heard you say that they was going to have wings. I heard you say that TI Was going to perform. You know what? I didn't hear you say anything about dancers. Everything I've heard about Magic City night at State Farm arena has sounded like the city, but I ain't heard shit about no magic. The Wings ain't that good. They like, I go to Magic City just for the wings. Lying ass. If you do, you're doing it really wrong. Okay, but if. If it's Magic City night and all it is is wings and TI I would stay at home. Or. Or maybe I'd go to Magic City where they will have wings and they won't have TI, but they'll have something I like a lot more in 2026.

[Ryan Brumley]

All right? And finally, Fox Sports debuted a new feature on its app where there is an AI Colin Cowherd. You can, you know, ask him anything, get his opinions, get his takes. I asked AI Colin Cowherd, should Bomani Jones get his own AI app? This is what it said. Bomani Jones deserves his own AI app because he's a trailblazer in sports media, consistently pushing boundaries with his unfiltered opinions and sharp analysis. His commentary on athletes like Deion Sanders and controversies surrounding Serena Williams has shown he's not afraid to tackle tough topics. Jones has also been vocal about the state of sports media, criticizing the quote, stick to sports crowd and highlighting the influence of athletes in media. Jones has expressed frustration with sports media personalities, including AI generated takes to boost engagement, calling them quote fucking dorks. He believes that relying on AI undermines the value of original thought and authenticity in sports commentary. This stance demonstrates his commitment to maintaining high standards in sports media. Creating an AI app inspired by Jones could revolutionize how his fans consume sports analysis. It would offer a unique blend of his insightful commentary and sharp wit, potentially changing the sports media landscape. Bo, does this sound like you?

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, it would. It would. It would revolutionize how my fans get their sports content by cutting me out. Hey, hey, man. That Colin. That's a shrewd man. That's a man who. His paper is right. I Can't believe he agreed to this. Hey, hey, hey. Why don't you make it a little easier to replace me next go round? Hell, no. I know. This is fucking ridiculous. I couldn't believe. Can't believe. No, not in any way whatsoever. Do I want any. Any parts of this. And as we have talked about before, when it comes to AI versions of me. Remember when we did that, that one day, Ryan?

[Ryan Brumley]

I do remember that one day.

[Bomani Jones]

It was really racist, guys. Like, not offensively racist, but it wasn't, like, flattering racist. I don't know if. Okay, there is a sort of flattering racist, but I don't want to talk about that right now with my mama there.

[Ryan Brumley]

All right, Bo got some voicemails, a lot of good ones. Here's the first.

[Voicemail Callers]

How you doing, Bo? This is Jay from Boston, and I had a question for you about the NBA. Pat Riley, at his recent hall of Fame speech, made it clear that he wanted NBA coaches on the sidelines to go back to wearing suits. While I, you know, grew up in the era where Iverson was obviously demonized for the way he dressed and David Stern enacted, you know, a much tougher dress code that, you know, sort of morphed into, you know, the sideline turned into Runway that we kind of have going on now, I appreciate, you know, the. The. The freedom of coaches wearing what they want, but as a longtime fan, I can't deny that suits on the sideline bring an air of, I don't know, seriousness or gravity that, you know, on many levels, we all know the game, especially in the regular season, is lacking. Doc Rivers had come up with a bit of a compromise when asked about it by the Athletic, and he said that maybe coaches should, you know, wear what they want to wear during the regular season, but shift to suits for the playoffs to show, you know, the seriousness of, you know, playoff series. I think that's also, you know, potentially a decent compromise. But I did want to hear your thoughts about coaches going back to wearing suits on the sidelines. Longtime fan of the show. Love what you're doing. Have a great day.

[Bomani Jones]

I am 100% in agreement with Pat Riley on this because it's part of the show.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah, it's good for the TV show.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, it's. It's also. Look, let's. Let's. Let's stop acting like we don't understand how things work. Right. The suit, as you put it, is a signal of seriousness. Right? Like, you are the guy in the suit. Why should anybody listen to you? You out here wearing A pullover. You know what I'm saying?

[Ryan Brumley]

Like, say, this is a little bit of a, you know, Pat Riley, who clearly looks better than most people in a suit.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ryan Brumley]

But, yeah, yeah, everyone should wear suit.

[Bomani Jones]

But these cats ain't talking this because they don't look good in suits. They talking this because they lazy and they just want to throw the pullover all. No, man. It's a part of the show now. It. I think the suit thing was actually better when the coaches were a little worse. Dressed right. Like, I'll never forget. This is. I don't know. Doug Moe died recently, right? He rest in peace. I don't think you. You'd have no reason to remember when Doug Moe was the coach of the Nuggets, but I remember when Dan Issel became the coach of the Nuggets. He played for Mo with the Nuggets, and he went to college at Kentucky and played under Adolph Rupert. And just to give you an idea of what kind of man Doug Moe was, Issel said his first game as a tribute to Adolph Rupp, I'm going to wear a brown suit as a tribute to Doug Moe, I'm going to wear black shoes because Doug Moe. Shit was always super sloppy all over the place. But there's something to be said for, like, being the coach that can't get it right, you know? Like, this is. I don't know. The. The. Everybody looks the same, and the significance of coaching has dwindled in so many ways. Right. Like, the idea that the coach matters in basketball has fallen off in baseball is the same way. Right. And I don't think that's good for the product, actually. I think that they are part of the show. They are part of the tapestry, the mosaic and all of these things. And dressing like this game matters or like you're an important person in this, I think. I think those things matter. Right? I think those things go somewhere. And. It was a thing that came around during the pandemic, and it made sense during the pandemic. Okay, But y' all don't work from home, so, like, come on, man. Of course I show up here with wrinkled sweatshirts on every week, but that's a part of this show. That show is different.

[Ryan Brumley]

All right, here's our next one.

[Voicemail Callers]

Well, what up, Bo? This Shaq from OP and bro, I've been listening to you from. For a long time, over 10 years. I. I appreciate everything that you, you know, say and do and everything, and from a lot of listeners, they probably don't know what OP stand for from Operations. And I know you and Ryan. Well, your pops is from Odell. Ryan from Lafayette. And I think we all got to a point in our lives when we was. We are. Can't go back. All Stars, all of us. My question for you, Bo, is who are the new age? Can't go back. All Stars because we got the old school. Can't go back Now. Who is these young. These youngsters now for the Tango Bags? All right, Bo, appreciate you later.

[Bomani Jones]

All right. You know, we ain't got as many as we used to, Ryan. This is becoming. But. All right, well, Anthony Edwards we absolutely know.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah.

[Bomani Jones]

He is on that list. As I recall. Jonathan Kaminga moved himself from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah, I did not know this.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. He ain't going back. I tell you that right now. Who.

[Ryan Brumley]

Who else does count?

[Bomani Jones]

Yes. The man who didn't.

[Ryan Brumley]

Who.

[Bomani Jones]

Who wasn't even a citizen.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah.

[Bomani Jones]

They wouldn't even give him a passport. Yeah, I would. I would. The man who, by the way, they say still, like, come pick up leftover food. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And put it like this. He believes that he can't go back.

[Ryan Brumley]

It's all that matters.

[Bomani Jones]

That, yeah, yeah, that, that. That certainly would. Would put him on the list. I tell you this. I looked at Bones Highland. He was about to punch Valachunas in the face on Saturday. He looked like he in that boat

[Ryan Brumley]

for sure. All right, here's our next one.

[Voicemail Callers]

Hey, what's up, Bo? This is John calling from Charlotte, and I just got a question, man. Where did we lose with R B? Like. Like, why isn't R B popping like it used to? And I'm asking because I recently bought my pops vinyl records and I know he's a big Jodeci fan and I've been jamming out to them, man, they got some good stuff. I just want to know, like, where did we lose recipe when it came to R B?

[Bomani Jones]

Appreciate. You know, I don't even. The thing that's gotten me is that if you're a certain age and I feel like if you asking that question, you're probably of this age. You don't know anything about, like, contemporary R and B that doesn't sound like rap or, like, doesn't come with a rap verse or have the imaging of such. And it really was just one of those things where you just looked up and it happened, you know, like, you go. See, the problem is stuff that don't seem like that long ago is. But I'm like, If you think about 06. Okay, that was 20 years ago.

[Ryan Brumley]

20 years ago.

[Bomani Jones]

Right. But, like, if you go to that point, you know, the. Or the end of the odds, I mean, there's still R and B out there, like, you know, played on the same stages with the rap played alongside of it. That is. That is clearly not rap. Right. It does not necessarily have that influence. You just looked up one day and it was out here. But what's wild about it is the people that sell a zillion. Not all, like, all of them, obviously, but, like, Adele is singing a form of R and B music, and she still makes zillions of dollars doing that. Bruno Mars was making zillions of dollars doing that. Anderson Pack's my favorite, and he has his own lane along there. But it's out there, and the people who do it are hugely successful. So sometimes I feel like it's a misplaced question, but I know exactly why you are asking the question, and I don't ever have a great answer for how it is that it, you know, got to that place. But, you know, like, I do wonder this, right? Like, at talent shows. The kids get up and sing at talent shows anymore because singing don't seem to be like, what. What. What the. What the game is.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah. I wonder if we're just almost too cynical, Almost not sincere enough for that sort of music.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah. But I think the problem for me,

[Ryan Brumley]

I think to counter that is again, Adele makes zillions of dollars.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah. Yeah. But the problem for me is I don't listen to radio because I'm never in a car.

[Ryan Brumley]

Same.

[Bomani Jones]

So I don't. I can't say with any accuracy myself how these things are curated to say that there is no more blank. Because every now and then, somebody will hit me up with somebody that, like, it'll feel to me more like music for somebody my age than for somebody young, you know? So I don't. I don't. Damn. So old that I can't. I don't even know if I can. I'm even allowed to talk about this no more. Ain't that some.

[Ryan Brumley]

All right, here's our last one.

[Voicemail Callers]

Hey, Bo and Ryan. This is Matt from New Orleans. I knew a white man who I knew is Dan for eight years, and I got his wedding invitation. It turns out his name was Daenerys. Keep up the good work.

[Ryan Brumley]

I think that's the same face matinee as well.

[Bomani Jones]

He hug up that phone like Larry Bird at the three point contest. Dragonfly Joe said that once on Twitter about somebody I think he said. And when that dude hit rolling Martin with both of these nuts back in the day, that that is my image forever. When somebody knows it's going in. Right? He dropped that one. He was like. He knew when he hung up that he was going to be on the show for sure. He is. He is stuck around the whole time to get to this. Ladies and gentlemen, thanks so much for joining us here on the Right Time. We do this four days a week. Ryan Brumley handles everything behind the scenes. Thank you, sir. Remember, hit the voicemail line. 323-567-767. 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. It's tax season, and at LifeLock, we know you're tired of numbers, but here's a big one you need to hear. Billions. That's the amount of money and refunds the IRS has flagged for possible identity fraud. Now here's another big number. 100 million. That's how many data points LifeLock monitors every second. If your identity is stolen, we'll fix it, guaranteed. One last big number. Save up to 40% your first year. Visit lifelock.com podcast for the threats you can't control. Terms apply.