The T-Wolves’ Huge LaMelo Gamble With Jon Krawczynski, Plus Keegan Bradley Is Back!

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Ryen Russillo Show

Episode: The T-Wolves’ Huge LaMelo Gamble With Jon Krawczynski, Plus Keegan Bradley Is Back!
Air Date: June 25, 2026
Host: Ryen Russillo (now at Barstool Sports)
Guests: Jon Krawczynski (The Athletic), Keegan Bradley (golfer), with contributions from the Life Advice crew (Kyle and Ceruti)

Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the Minnesota Timberwolves' surprising trade for LaMelo Ball, examining both sides of the gamble with Timberwolves beat writer Jon Krawczynski. The pod then shifts gears to golf, with former Ryder Cup captain and defending Travelers Champion Keegan Bradley discussing life on tour, the aftermath of the U.S. Open, and the nuances of aging as an athlete. The back half includes the ever-popular Life Advice segment, featuring spirited takes on Airbnb disasters and driving range etiquette.

---

Main Segment: The Timberwolves’ LaMelo Ball Gamble (02:39–34:19)

The Trade Breakdown (02:39)

• Details:
  Minnesota receives LaMelo Ball and Josh Green; sends out Nas Reid, a 2033 unprotected first, three second-rounders, and first-round pick swaps in 2028, 2029, and 2030.
• Russillo’s opening take:
  “I hate this fucking deal for Minnesota.” (03:26)
  He doesn’t think LaMelo is worth the price, questions his fit, and is suspicious of why Charlotte would move a young, under-contract star coming off their best season in a decade.

Key Quotes:

• “Why is he available after they just had their best season in 10 years, after all this momentum that Charlotte had?” (05:36, Russillo)
• “Are they selling high, LaMelo? Are they just selling stable on somebody who’s hurt a lot of the time and probably struggles in some of those areas that I think are always really important when evaluating a player?” (05:47, Russillo)

Deep Dive with Jon Krawczynski (12:25–34:19)

Minnesota’s Motivations & Internal Calculus

• This is “the typical Timberwolves big swing.” (12:41, Krawczynski)

• Timberwolves’ brass (Chris Finch, Tim Connelly) have coveted LaMelo for two years, banking on his passing and size as the perfect backcourt complement to Anthony Edwards (Ant).

• Team believes LaMelo will thrive away from the spotlight in Ant’s shadow and in a more mature culture.

  • “The big question…is does he have the mentality to win at a high level in the playoffs?” (13:32, Krawczynski)
  • “This is someone…Chris Finch and Tim Connolly have really coveted him for a long time…” (13:56, Krawczynski)

The LaMelo Doubt

• Host pushes on the concern that Charlotte, a team trending up, dumped LaMelo before even going all-in.
• “Is it arrogance or is it real…[that] we’re gonna kind of change the way this guy sees the game and fixes those in-between moments?” (15:37, Russillo)
• Krawczynski: “Whether it’s arrogance or not, I’m not sure. But it’s real that the Timberwolves believe they have a culture in place…” (15:43)

Anthony Edwards Factor

• Wolves focused on keeping Ant happy and committed.
• Team believes showing proactive attempts to stay competitive is crucial before he can even consider becoming unhappy, especially with looming supermax eligibility.
• “Everything we do is going to be part and parcel of going forward [with Ant].” (17:56, Krawczynski)

Context of Big Swings

• Timberwolves pursued Jalen Brown, Kyrie Irving, and even Giannis before LaMelo. Minnesota has been “big game hunting” but often missed or been priced out. (21:50)
• Pricing for LaMelo was “reasonable,” especially compared to other stars, as it only cost Nas Reid, picks, and swaps.

The Shadow of Departed Wolves

• Local pressure adds weight: ex-Wolves (Garnett, Love, Wiggins, now Kat) have all won titles elsewhere, which adds to front office urgency and fanbase neurosis.
• “You look at this organization: Andrew Wiggins left and won a title…Kevin Garnett left and won a title…Kat left and won a title.” (29:06, Krawczynski)
• “That’s a huge thing…and there was even more motivation for the Timberwolves to make another deal…” (29:48, Krawczynski)

Accountability for LaMelo

• Russillo worries (32:30) how coach Finch will respond if LaMelo checks out on defense or launches a bad shot late in a tight game.
• Krawczynski: “There will be a challenge…to hold Lamelo accountable. I think…when Lamelo does that, Finch will do some of that talking, but…the person who’s going to do it is Ant…It’s going to be the players on the floor.” (33:48, Krawczynski)

---

Key Takeaways and Insightful Moments

• Russillo is the lone “hater” on the deal, citing skepticism that is often vindicated by eventual NBA trades.
• Wolves' brains trust believes both that LaMelo will be reformed by their culture and that the price was right.
• The move is as much about optics to Anthony Edwards as it is about on-court fit.
• Emotional undercurrent: Minnesota’s history of stars achieving elsewhere weighs heavily on leadership decision-making.

---

Golf Segment: Keegan Bradley Talks Travelers, U.S. Open, and Ryder Cup (35:29–54:27)

Homecoming Vibes and Major Hangover (35:29)

• Bradley reflects on how returning to Travelers after the US Open feels like a homecoming and is “a nice break…of just, you know, basically hanging on for dear life for a week.” (36:04, Bradley)
• “It does [feel like a home game]…This is the first event I ever came to as a kid.” (36:13, Bradley)

U.S. Open and The Shadow of Ryder Cup (37:03)

• “I played as good as I played a US Open tee to green. ...I really played nice golf the whole week, every day. Just didn’t putt my best.” (37:05)
• Shares how losses at the Ryder Cup still haunt him, but he longs to make another U.S. team and finish on a higher note.
• “Becoming the Ryder Cup captain...you’re going to either have the glory or the–not the glory. And you have to deal with both sides of this.” (39:39, Bradley)
• Bradley notes he has been more open about the psychological fallout of a losing Ryder Cup than most. “It’s a life altering experience...when you lose, you don’t get that [chapter closed], and you’re haunted by decisions or things that you could have done differently.” (44:32, Bradley)

Aging, Family, and Elite Competition

• Bradley talks about balancing family with the grind of the PGA Tour, feeling more comfortable under pressure now versus his 20s, and the stark difference in today's young players.
• “I used to be able to dunk. Easy. Now I can’t.” (46:13, Bradley, joking about aging)
• “Very comfortable in high pressure times…now, like, I…sometimes feel more comfortable, more at ease when I’m in contention.” (47:33, Bradley)

On Scottie Scheffler vs. Prime Tiger

• “When Scottie is at his peak, he does some things better…But Tiger was such a great putter…When Scottie’s at his best, how could anybody be…higher? But Tiger…in 2000…stats say it.” (49:49, Bradley)
• Inside tour perspective: “He [Scheffler] might be the best chipper of the ball out here…I think that gets really lost with really great players.” (50:58, Bradley)

---

Life Advice & Banter (54:57–89:30)

Airbnb Disaster Stories

• Listeners recount being abruptly kicked out of an Airbnb for minor rule violations. Hosts sympathize, critique the rental logic, and argue that hotels seem easier now.
• “I don't know, I feel like half of my [Airbnb] experiences have been terrible…” (73:33, Russillo)

Golf Driving Range Etiquette

• Listener story about a “range bully” stealing someone’s bucket of balls. Panel agrees it’s a “mind your business” moment unless you witness the theft, noting how range regulars can get away with anything.

Random Banter

• Reflections on local fan pain, odd naming conventions (Türkiye vs. Turkey), pronunciation police at ESPN, and the lifecycle of streaming platforms.
• Russillo’s own golfing journey and playful ribbing among the crew.

---

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “Why is he available now? This young team, dudes are under contract…Are they just selling stable on somebody who’s hurt a lot of the time?” (05:42, Russillo)
• “Locally too, people have to understand it is not just the Timberwolves who have failed. It’s the Vikings, it’s the Twins, it’s the Wild. They have not had a men's championship since 1991.” (31:28, Krawczynski)
• “My biggest fear is that my [Ryder Cup] players are going to feel bad, and I don’t want them to feel bad…It’s a life altering experience.” (44:32, Bradley)
• “He’s a range bully. And I’m surprised the Aussie didn’t give him the what for on this. Or a little bit more verbal…he basically admitted to it.” (85:16, Russillo)

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 02:39 – LaMelo trade breakdown & Russillo’s initial take
• 12:25 – Jon Krawczynski joins to discuss Wolves’ motivations
• 21:50 – Timberwolves’ failed star pursuits and deal context
• 29:06 – The local “ex-Timberwolf wins ring” psychosis
• 32:30 – Accountability concerns for LaMelo on defense/effort
• 35:29 – Keegan Bradley joins, discusses Travelers/US Open
• 39:39 – Ryder Cup aftermath and being captain
• 49:49 – Comparing Scottie Scheffler’s run to prime Tiger
• 54:57 – Life Advice begins: Airbnb, golf etiquette, range bullies

---

Conclusion

This episode exemplifies the new Barstool home for Russillo: deeply analytical, brimming with skeptical wit, and laced with both local context and personal experience. The LaMelo Ball trade is dissected from every angle, wrestling with both on-court fit, Minnesota’s long-simmering anxieties, and the reality of modern NBA franchise-building. Keegan Bradley’s segment offers an unexpectedly honest look at athletic aging and emotional scars, refreshing in its candor. The Life Advice proves, as always, equal parts comic relief and communal therapy.

Best for:
NBA die-hards, Wolves or Hornets fans, anyone interested in pro sports team building, golf lovers, and fans of candid conversation.

---

Transcript

[A]

Hey Priscilla listeners, you can find every episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify prime members can listen ad free on Amazon Music.

[B]

You grind all year. Early mornings, late nights, fantasy drafts, hustle mode on. But when summer hits, it's time to chill and Chevy Silverado makes that possible. We're talking towing the boat to the lake, off roading into the woods like a legend and still having room for the squad and all your gear. Inside, Silverado is comfy like a recliner. Outside built like a linebacker. Chevy Silverado work hard, chill harder. Football guy approved. Head to chevy.com to check out more about the Chevy Silverado.

[A]

The Ryan Marcillo show is presented by DraftKings loaded show for you headline Lamelo Ball 2 Minnesota I don't like the deal. Can John Krasinski convinced me to like the deal? The answer is also no. But we'll break it down.

[C]

I've got 10 minutes on it. We've got another 20 with John Keegan

[A]

Bradley, one of the travelers last year

[C]

when he came on the show.

[A]

He's coming on the show again this year. We're going to talk travelers.

[C]

We're going to talk coming out of the US Open.

[A]

Also some just good age golf stuff

[C]

which I think is kind of fun. Then also realizing he's still a decade

[A]

younger than I am and we have

[C]

a really long life advice that goes all over the place, but I think you'll like it.

[A]

This summer, the cup is taking over the US and only DraftKings has you covered every step of the way. The DraftKings sports app is now available in all 50 states and includes all markets, bringing the game straight to your fingertips. Wherever you are, from Florida to Texas to California, you're in on the excitement at the speed of sports. Follow every group stage upset, every knockout round thriller, every stoppage time moment that flips the whole tournament. Sweat all the matches you love in real time with a seamless experience built for the world's biggest stage. No matter where you're watching, you're always connected in in the game with one app. New DraftKings customer sign up with the code Ryan. Spend five bucks to get 200 in rewards within 21 days. That's code Ryan. R Y E N in partnership with DraftKings the crown is yours.

[D]

Bet with DK Sportsbook gambling problem call 1-800- gambler-1-800- my reset, New York call 8778-HOPE-AND why or text hope and why Connecticut. Call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org on behalf of Boothill Casino in Kansas Vet text pass through May apply in Illinois 21 and over void in Ontario event contract trading with DraftKings predictions involves risk of loss Sportsbook bonus bets expire in 7 days $50 in predictions dollars issued weekly for 3 weeks expire in 1 year. Redeem one non withdrawable reward availability offer void in New York ends June 28. Terms at DKNG Co Audio

[A]

all right, Lamelo ball is on the move. He's a part of the Minnesota Timberwolves future. The deal is this. It happened this morning. So we're getting you a pot immediately. Lamelo and Josh Green who I kind of like goes to Minnesota. Nas Reed on the way out. A 2033 unprotected first for Minnesota, three second rounders and then the first round pick swaps in 28, 29 and 30. So kind of interesting structure here. It could be one first round pick in seven years. You're like, all right, what's the problem here, Rossillo? Or it could be four first round picks. Probably not with all the swaps, but who knows? I mean, you know, there's so many of these deals where you're like, is it four, is it five picks?

[C]

And you're like, is it actually two?

[A]

This case it could be one, it could be four. I'll just say this. I hate this fucking deal for Minnesota.

[E]

All right.

[A]

I don't like Lamelo Ball. If you're new here. That's my stance on Lamello ball. If you want to tell me that Minnesota was going to try to get in front of like any ant discussions of him going like, I don't really know, like, you know, let's go through it like we gave up a lot for Rudy and the Rudy part of it depending on like the day. I know Minnesota fans are like emphatic about this. The Rudy trade is like the biggest.

[C]

Krasinski is going to join us later. He's going to tell me I'm wrong about the Rudy trade all over again.

[A]

I just think there's like some swings with that trade that I totally get it. Western Conference finals and has more to do with that than Rudy does. But it was just a loss as far as the, the resource, the amount that you paid for him. Which also then meant the cat deal, which again, I wasn't super upset about the cat deal because I wasn't the biggest cat guy. But then that cat deal turns into a Randall deal. Now he's gone and divincenzo, look, he's just hurt. So it's unfortunate. So was Minnesota trying to do something here where it was like, hey, let's be different. You know, all those times of watching Ant get double team, facing the OKC wall with three players looking at him in the playoffs and hoping somebody else could step up.

[F]

Can we.

[A]

With IO and Lamelo, and I think Jaden McDaniels having a really nice stretch in that Denver series. You know, even some San Antonio possessions where, like, he was tasked with just, hey, can you be the number one option for some of these stretches? And I feel even better about his offense than I ever have before. All around. Rudy, is there something there? Is there something there where we're just a little different, more dynamic? And if you're doubling Ant throwing it to Lamelo as opposed to throwing it to Julius Randle, who was supposed to initiate more of this offense off of all the attention on Cat, is this just so much better with Lamelo there? All right, that's a totally fair thing because I think people like this trade today far more than I do. I might be the most negative guy on it. That's fine. My question is, why would Charlotte make him available? Why is this guy available after they just had their best season in 10 years, after all this momentum that Charlotte had after a struggle to start the season right? And, yeah, there were some injuries and all that kind of stuff, but, I mean, they just tore it up the

[C]

rest of the way.

[A]

Why is he available now? This young team, you know, dudes are under contract.

[C]

I know you want to bring Kobe White back, but I thought it was a good year.

[A]

Are they selling high, Lamelo? Are they just selling stable on somebody who's hurt a lot of the time and probably struggles in some of those areas that I think are always really important when evaluating a player. And the funny thing for Minnesota here, the irony of all this, at least for me, is that Kat fell into that bucket of like, yeah, I know he's kind of good at this, and I know the stats are pretty good. He's got a couple all star teams

[C]

in there, but,

[A]

yeah, no, no, thank you. And there's a bunch of these players. I mean, there's a long list of players. For me, Trey's on this list. How he ended up getting four years, 212 million, by the way. I was waiting for the numbers to come out. I'm like, something. There has to be something else in this deal. It's all guaranteed.

[C]

He's 30% max. First two years in this deal, 212 million.

[A]

I wonder if the Wizards were like, we'll pay you 212, to not play

[C]

like you did in Atlanta. All right, you good?

[A]

So good luck with all that.

[C]

You know, Westbrook was always somebody.

[A]

He was on eight teams, seven years.

[C]

We'll see which the next one is.

[A]

And Lamelo's always been one of these players for me. And I'm going to tell you right now, of all the stuff you get wrong when you're in the opinion business,

[C]

when you have to do this every

[A]

single day, I am the best when it comes to. Oh, yeah, that guy you guys all love. Yeah. I don't. I don't like him. I don't think he's the guy. And then the local fan base gets,

[C]

in my case for a couple years. They tell me I'm fucking stupid.

[A]

I'm fat, I'm bald. No one will ever love me. And then that player gets traded, like, every time. Just a reminder, when I'm dead, they'd be like, you know, some good, some bad. But he was really good on, like, these NBA guys that he was just like, I don't see it.

[C]

I wouldn't want that guy on my team.

[A]

That guy always gets traded. And Lamelo is now on the list. So, you know, you could argue Minnesota has not really gone all in because it could be just the one first. So, like, is he so talented that

[C]

it's kind of stupid to think, like, you know, this isn't really that big of a deal. Isn't even close to the Rudy Price.

[A]

So what's the problem? His passing is incredible. It really is his vision on the court.

[C]

He does some shit that a lot of other people can't do.

[A]

And if he's at, like, 37% from 3, then.

[C]

Then what's the issue?

[A]

I always liked it. You know, when he was at 20, 20 plus shots a game, you're like,

[C]

this is not going to work.

[A]

He went down to, like, 17 shots a game. I'd always like him to be kind of under 15 shots a game for Minnesota. He might actually have to shoot it

[C]

17, 18 times because there was actually

[A]

a lot of nice scoring options there for Charlotte this year.

[C]

And I still think he took a few too many shots.

[A]

But when I was making draft calls,

[C]

just around the stuff.

[A]

I'm not a reporter.

[C]

Don't want to be one.

[A]

When I'd heard Lamelo was available a

[C]

couple weeks ago, I was like, oh, that's interesting. At least for me.

[A]

I was like, well, I think that's probably smart. And I was like, why? Why would he be available? It's like, this is a serious group. This is a real ownership.

[C]

This is an awesome front office, coaching staff, the whole thing. They want a serious franchise. And then it was just left for me to figure out, interpret what they're in. Again, that's not coming from Charlotte. That's coming from just somebody else about Lamelo's availability. So the draft happens, trade doesn't happen. Obviously, we still had a lot of time before free agency even starts here in another week.

[A]

So I'm not. I'm not shocked by this, but I'm just warning anybody that thinks this is an absolute home run for Minnesota. It's like, why was this guy available with this young group? He's under contract, by the way. Can we stop when guys have three fucking years left on their contract, talk about how they're eligible for an extension July 6th, who gives a shit? He's owed 100 plus million for the next three years guaranteed. Can we give it a year before we start extending guys with three years left? It's the same as the Jaylen Brown thing. Like, if you're not locked into what the yearly numbers are, you're going like, oh, he's doing extension already. You're like, well, technically he's eligible for one. But we keep presenting it as if it's some certainty and something a team has to do each and every summer. When these guys have this much time left, that's a little bit of a

[C]

rant on the side for you.

[A]

They just had their best win total in 10 years. It's their best. It's the most momentum they've had. They've had all these young guys together, the knipple things. A home run. Miller looked even better. Clearly, they need to figure out another

[C]

version of the big, which is what

[A]

I think they were trying to do in the draft. Here. They keep Kobe white. If I just. If the argument is internally, which I don't know that Minnesota can ever share, if they're saying, hey, we needed to

[C]

get in front of this, like, we

[A]

just saw how bad the Giannis thing went for Milwaukee. You know, we were at the 25 combine.

[C]

Every single person was talking about Giannis being available.

[A]

And it was totally like the messaging back in May of 25 was, Giannis

[C]

is going to control this. The agent is going to control this. Milwaukee's not going to control this.

[A]

Well, they still had a chance of some control that summer of 25 or

[C]

the trade deadline before February 26th. And then the reason they did so badly, it's like, this is the only place I'm going to go. This is the only place I'm going to sign the extension, which may not

[A]

even have been true, but it completely depresses the market. So when you start getting into one of those things, which again, this may all be completely overblown. It may be way too early, but I'd rather wait for my star to get mad than feel like my solution is LaMelo Ball coming off the one like, Hey, I kind of feel better about this guy than say, his rookie year and the other four seasons where

[C]

you're like, you can't keep him there

[A]

and Charlotte still moved on from him. That should be concerning. What if you could add an AI assistant to your work without leaving your workflow built into Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook? Copilot works where you work, helping you do more in the apps you already use in Word. Copilot helps turn scattered notes into a first draft, and it also turns your first drafts into a much better second draft. Trust me on this one. They're here to help. Let them help you. Don't fear that guy off to the side anymore. The apps you know go further with Copilot. Learn [e-mail] work I just spent 10 minutes on this trade and we're bringing in our guy.

[C]

John Krasinski of the Athletic covers the Timberwolves and also covers the rest of the NBA as well. But that's where he's, he's broken bread for all these years. I hate the deal. The floor is yours.

[G]

This is the typical Timberwolves big swing. Like they looked at this and they believe that LaMelo Ball has been is the perfect guy to sit next to Ant and They've tried for two years to trade for LaMelo Ball and they think that is passing, that his size and that his ability to stretch the floor is going to be exactly what Anthony Edwards needs to get off of the ball to avoid some of the double teams that were coming at him. The big question, obviously Ryan is does he have the mentality to win at a high level in the playoffs? In this league, Ant has been deep into the playoffs. Lamello hasn't even touched them yet. And so they're going to lean on their institutional kind of competitiveness to try and bring more of that out of Lamelo. But in the end, this is, this is someone who I was a little surprised by Ryan, but like Chris Finch, Tim Connolly have really coveted him for a long time and, and so for them, for them to be able to get him, they're really, really excited about

[B]

it

[A]

trying to get him for two years. I guess I could understand wanting to get him after this season.

[G]

Yeah, I know, I know.

[A]

Why. Why was it two years ago? They're like, we got to get in the Lamelo business. And this is. Look, it's not the three point shooting.

[C]

It's. It's not the playmaking because like, that stuff is real.

[A]

But there's a reason, like when I interviewed Charles Lee, I was talking about

[C]

a substitution pattern with Lamelo where he was basically making a point and benching him in this Brooklyn game where there was just a few minutes left. It was a tight game and he made nine substitutions and he didn't bring Lamelo back in. And that was one of those regular season nights where I'm going like, okay, well, Charles Lee's trying to send a message.

[A]

I think Borrego, again, this is years

[C]

ago when he was a younger player, but Borrego was very clever in the way he would kind of like sort of bench him in the fourth quarter, but not make it look like he was being benched in the fourth quarter. And he would bring him back like so late in the fourth quarter that it was like a really convenient way of being like, yeah, you're closing with

[A]

all the five guys.

[C]

But it was like, we actually just played like a bunch of real minutes

[A]

without you because we're so scared of like the highs and lows. Even the first playing game this year,

[C]

you know, Van Gundy's on the call

[A]

and he's hitting threes and he's injecting

[C]

a three into the vein.

[A]

And you're like, okay, but you're not

[C]

getting back on defense in a. Basically a fucking playoff game.

[A]

So when I know you have more reporting to do on this, is it arrogance or is it real that it's like, hey, you get in here with Finch, you get in here with Ant, you get in here with Jaden and Rudy and all this stuff that like, you were kind of in charge of Charlotte, so there wasn't like, Con Knippel probably wasn't going to pull you aside. Brandon Miller probably wasn't going to pull you aside. Diabody's worried about his NBA life. Kalkbrenner's a rookie, Sion's a rookie. You know, maybe Bridges is that guy to talk to him. But is there a. Is it a real thing or is it a bit of an arrogance?

[C]

It's like, hey, after six years, we're

[A]

going to kind of change the way this guy sees the game and fixes

[C]

those in between moments.

[G]

Yeah. I mean, whether it's arrogance or not, I'm not sure. But it's, it's real that the Timberwolves believe that they have a culture in place and they have leaders in place that will help a player like Lamelo who has not always been strong with decision making and, and doesn't give the best effort on defense that he will, that he will, they will bring more out of him. I don't know if that's going to happen, but it definitely is what the Timberwolves believe. They think that he will be coming now to a franchise where everyone knows that Anthony Edwards is the one who leads this thing. This is his show. Lamelo will be here to play with him, but the spotlight won't be quite as hot on him because Ant will absorb a lot of that. Jada McDaniels is going into his seventh year too, and that he is. He's already set a standard for what is expected. Rudy Gobert, for whatever faults he has offensively, he is a stabilizer and a just consistent day in and day out, defensive minded guy who is going to tell Lamelo what is required of him. And so there is a lot of pressure on the Wolves to be able to kind of tap into something in Lamelo that he has not shown yet. And I guess we will find out if that is there and that is available or if he just doesn't have it at all. But I will say, Ryan, it's been striking. I mean, talking to people at the highest levels of this organization like they could not be more excited about the player that they think that they are getting, the what they believe that Lamelo Ball is going to do for this group and how much pressure he's going to take off of Ant and how much he's going to help Jaden take another step offensively and all of these things. And to hear them talk about Lamelo, it is entirely different when you than to hear kind of a lot of what national folks think of him and even you know what, what people up close who have played with them have thought of him.

[A]

Was there anything to this deal about trying? Like, was there anything about worrying about

[C]

Ant and how he was going to feel about the roster around him?

[G]

Yeah, I mean, I think that a lot of what was going forward and Tim Connolly said it on Tuesday night, he said everything we do and is going to be part and parcel of going forward. And so even though he does have three years left on his contract and even though Ant has always said I want to be here I love my guys like he, I think he really likes that he can move around in Minnesota without being bothered and has an easy way of life. And he's won a lot here for a young player. There's still a recognition of, after taking a step back this year after losing in the second round of the playoffs, that they had to make significant changes to go forward for this team competitively. But also next summer, Ant will be likely eligible for a supermax extension. And you want to make sure that you are showing him that you're doing everything you can to surround him with a team that can win in the west. And so, you know, sending Julius Randle to Brooklyn, bringing in a real point guard that can take some of the ball handling duties away from Ant. All of that is designed to show Anthony Edwards that they are always going to be aggressive, that they're always going to be going for winning, and that they, they did talk to Ant about this move and Ant like slamelo, he likes his game. And, and so they would not have done the deal if Ant was. Was not for it.

[A]

Okay, that's one way. And maybe I, I'm trying to, like, get further into. Was there any concern of, like, Ant

[C]

getting pissed at the organization like that?

[A]

It doesn't feel like we were even close to that yet.

[G]

No, no. Yeah, he was not. There was not a point yet where he had any meetings or conversations with ownership or with the front office and said, hey, you better do this or I'm out of here. Like, it. It was never there. Ant has typically tried to avoid that because he really likes Jaden McDaniels, Nasrid Rudy. He likes, he likes all these guys and he doesn't want anyone to be thinking he's working behind their back to get out of, you know, to get them out of here to, like, manipulate the puppet strings. And so there, there was no overt messaging from Ant. Do something now or you're going to have to trade me at all. He was expressing confidence that Tim Connolly could do something and he was sort of waiting to see what was going to happen. But I mean, I think kind of to your point, Ryan, like, when you have a star caliber, a player the caliber of Anthony Edwards, your organization is always on the clock. Like, you cannot take it for granted. You cannot say, oh, he's always going to be here. The, the Steph Currys and the Dirk Nabiskies are very few and far between. And so I do think that they felt motivation to make some moves to say, we are showing you, Ant, that you can be here for a long time and we will do what it takes to make sure that you're happy, but also to make sure we have a team that is really competitive.

[A]

It's a really hard job. I say it all the time. And you wanted to come off of

[C]

this season and do exactly what you're talking about. Like, hey, we're showing you that we're

[A]

going to be proactive, that we're not

[C]

going to sit around and then it's like, okay, I mean, you can even argue, hey, we didn't get.

[A]

It's not like we gave up four

[C]

first, like a Desmond Bain deal. This isn't the Rudy deal. It's not even close to the same pricing because you factor in Kessler on top of everything else. It's like, you know, although, what was it this year? Swap didn't happen. Right. So that was. That was part of it where it was like, okay, because, you know, I

[A]

always am keeping track of all these

[C]

things and going like, what's it going to look like?

[A]

And a lot of these deals, it

[C]

feels like it's going to look like,

[A]

yeah, three players, you don't care that was drafted. Maybe one player you'd like to have.

[C]

And it's really not that big of a deal. Especially if you want to get back on the first lap. It's not that big of a deal.

[G]

Well, the other thing, Ryan, sorry, quickly on that.

[C]

No, go ahead, please.

[G]

They were. The Wolves were also in on Jaylen Brown and they were having conversations with Boston about it. Now talking to people about it. The price tag for Jalen was going to be way, way higher. It was going to be, you know, Rudy, Nas, young players, picks, like a lot of. A lot of stuff going out. And I think they looked at, you know, what Jalen does and, you know, even though he's a much better player than Lamelo, they needed a point guard more and they could pay a lot less for Lamelo. So that even if it wasn't going to be Lamelo, they were going to make some sort of a move to really kind of reconfigure this roster. And, you know, Jalen was one that they were heavily in on. They tried on Kyrie Irving earlier and were told no, but ultimately it came down to only having to give up Nasrid, who's beloved here. Like, people are in mourning that he's leaving right now. But Nas Reed, one first round pick and then some swaps and some seconds they felt was reasonable for the impact that they think Lamelo is going to make.

[A]

Yeah, look, on the pricing thing, you're right. Like, we agree on that. And I'm glad you brought up Jalen

[C]

Brown because I'm glad you brought up

[A]

Kyrie, because these are some of the

[C]

lesser known things because they're a lot newer. But there was also the Giannis pursuit, but it didn't seem like he wanted to go to Minnesota. That because he wanted Miami and maybe to a lesser extent, he was willing to concede to Boston. Then Minnesota just wasn't going to be

[A]

that ownership group that front office was

[C]

going to be scared off on.

[A]

Like, all right, fine, you can go

[C]

ahead and do it, but I don't want to come here to try to dictate terms. Durant going back to, before the Houston deal, there was a deal in place,

[A]

it sounds like from your reporting and everything.

[C]

I had heard that it was kind of done. It was up to Durant and he was like, no, thank you.

[A]

So this is really important context to kind of understand how we arrived here is that they've been super proactive about

[C]

finding that person and then it hasn't happened. And then they look at the price here and they look at his height, his playmaking and the shot making of the last year and all the times Ant has just had to stare at this wall of defense in these playoff games. And you're like, okay, because it wasn't

[A]

part of the Randall discussion. I brought it up in the open, but part of the hope was like to go from Cat to Randall was

[C]

to have another initiator with the ball because of Randle's handle and his passing ability. And that would alleviate some of the stuff that happened with Ant. And that was basically, I wouldn't even say a coin toss in the playoffs. That was maybe like a once every three games thing that you would hope would happen. Is that fair?

[G]

Yeah, 100%. Like, I mean, you know, Julius was terrific in last year's playoffs against the warriors and Lakers in the first two rounds and played really, really well. But then against Oklahoma City and against San Antonio, two really big, strong, nasty defenses, he really struggled. And by as the San Antonio series went on, you could see that the spurs were like, we do not have to worry about Julius Randle behind the three point line. And so we are just going to load up on Anthony Edwards and we are going to make it his life a living hell. And that's exactly what happened. And so at the end of, you know, the season, they looked at it and said, we have to figure out a way to find more shot creation to find more ball handling, to find other players that have to. That the defense has to respect. And so get, you know, getting lamelo ball they believe fits more of that bill of a guy who can have the ball in his hands that you are going to have a harder time doubling ant that is going to create more shots for anti and that stretches the floor in a way that Julius doesn't do. And so. And then you look at, man, you look at some of his advanced stuff, you know, I'm cleaning the glass and plus 11.1 offensively and plus 9.9 net and. And it's pretty stark. And the wolves look at that and say if he can do that for Charlotte in the regular season, we can figure out a way to make him do that for a more talented team and go into the playoffs. And that's. That's what they believe right now.

[A]

How much of this is impacted? I mean, look, they've been big game hunting here for a while, right?

[C]

So in the sense of like a star, depending on where you have lamelo ranked. I mean he's an incredibly popular player. He's got a couple all star. Is it two? Yeah, I think it's two. Right?

[G]

One or two?

[C]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I think it's two. I think I said two earlier today. I'll look it up while we're doing this.

[H]

But

[A]

is there anything to like the timing of the cat deal where to be fair, Minnesota here, like, that has been a cycle of hey, who's winning the cat trade. There are multiple times this year where it's like the Knicks had lost it. I think there's a lot of rounding

[C]

up historically on like cat was what he was and what he wasn't in the NBA finals and what he wasn't is going to be forgotten to time because of game two and all the other times he was in foul trouble. He wasn't out there.

[A]

Is there anything to be like, hey, the Rudy trade impacts the Kat financing,

[C]

which means we got to move on

[A]

from Kat even though if they loved Kat, maybe they found a different move.

[C]

So clearly they were kind of like,

[A]

okay, moving on with cat.

[C]

I agreed with him at the time. And then it's like, all right, we're

[A]

dumping Randall now at the other end of this, Divincenzo's hurt like, and the Dillingham pick really burns them because like I understood what they saw. Just somebody off the ball could create super fast. Whether it's off of ant best case

[C]

scenario or just run the second unit and all these possessions are Yours, and it wasn't even close.

[A]

They salvage it somewhat in the IO deal, but you can make an argument there's like a timeline of things being like, hey, the talent's getting kind of collectively worse.

[C]

And like, are you going to do anything about this?

[A]

Do you think that was a motivating

[C]

factor to make something happen here in June?

[G]

1,000%, Ryan. There's definitely some results based evaluation of everything that's happened, and I won't get too far into the weeds, but they make the Rudy deal, and then the collective bargaining agreement landscape changes completely after that deal. And so they're kind of up against it in a way that they would not have been had they known the rules. I don't know that they would have made the Rudy Gobert deal initially, but they did. And so that put them up against the second apron or over the second apron and all those things. And then they have to move off of Kat, who had a bad series in the Dallas Mavericks Western Conference finals, and so they move off of Cat. Everyone around here in Timberwolves land is at least understanding of it, if not happy that they got off of Cat and then he goes and wins a championship and plays very, very well in those playoffs. And I can tell you that Anthony Edwards did see that part of it and said, you know, God damn, Cat is winning a championship now, and this is what we gave up and, and that sort of thing. And that, that.

[A]

How could he not? Right?

[G]

Exactly, exactly. And. And, you know, he looked at Cat as a floor spacing big, who rebounds and, and played really, really good defense for most of the playoffs and said, that's what we need. And we, we had this and we gave it up. And, and so, yeah, I do think that there was even more motivation for the Timberwolves to make another deal to reshuffle the roster. And unfortunately, too, some of that Cat trade gets evaluated unfairly because Dante got hurt. Dante was a great, great player for this team for most of the season. And because he wasn't out there on the floor against San Antonio, then you say, well, all you did was get Julius Randall. No, they got Dante. They got Joanne Baron, Jay, who they really, really like. But it. None of that matters. Kat was on the stage in New York City with the Larry o' Brien Trophy singing Jay Z's public service announcement. And like, that's a, That's a huge thing. And then you look at this organization and Andrew Wiggins left and won a title. Kevin Love left and won a title. Kevin Garnett left and won a Title. Cat left and won a title. Like, you're fighting against all of that history, and it all piles up. And maybe it's not all fair, but that's where they were. And so there was absolute motivation increasing, I guess, because the guy that they let go climbed the mountaintop like, they were not able to. And now they've got to do something drastic to see if they can get closer to that going forward here.

[A]

That's really good, John. I'm serious. Like, there's times where I think the local perspective is so skewed and it's so myopic that it doesn't factor in

[C]

all of these other things that are happening in other cities. Like, I don't blame fan bases for not knowing everything else that happened.

[A]

And I remember working in local radio, and I used to still like to

[C]

watch other games, and we'd take calls all day long, and they'd be like,

[A]

when's the last time it was.

[C]

Like, it happened two nights ago in a different game that you didn't watch.

[A]

So this isn't just happening to you.

[C]

People get, like, really possessive of pain and suffering.

[A]

But the way you just outlined that

[C]

thing specific to the Timberwolves, that's something

[A]

where the natural guy loses that perspective

[C]

and doesn't understand that. Like, sure, there's other franchises that we

[A]

can maybe run through a timeline where it feels similar, but that's something we

[C]

think about, and it's something that it's easy for the rest of us that aren't in it every day to not even realize. Because when you laid it out that way, I wouldn't want to run a

[A]

team and go, yeah, well, because Garnett won1 in 2008.

[C]

I'm fighting this history of guys leaving, and now I have to do things differently in July of 2026.

[G]

Well, and Ryan.

[A]

But it's real. But it's real. So I'm glad you said it.

[G]

And locally, too, people have to understand it is not just the Timberwolves who have failed. It's the Vikings, it's the Twins, it's the Wild. They have not had a men's Championship since 1991. And so there is this collateral damage that. This heartbreak, frustration.

[A]

I don't know that they made the Lamelo trade because Darnold just won one with the Seahawks. I mean, this is. This is kind of rough.

[G]

As we keep talking about it more and more, it's an absolute psychosis that is in the Timbros fan base, and it really does frustrate the Tim Connollys. And Chris Finches of the world, the Kevin o' Connells of the world, like, I had nothing to do with those past failures. Why do I have to operate that way? But that's in the fan psyche and it is embedded and ingrained here at such a deep level. And it can't help but affect things in some ways that way.

[C]

One All Star team for Lamelo in a second. Okay,

[A]

what is Finch going to do when it's January and Lamelo, like, lets one fly from the corner? Probably not. The read he said after the Orlando plan, he's like, I wish we had run less plays.

[C]

And I just did my thing, okay,

[A]

in the corner. And he turns around to look at Juan Baron J and it's a brick.

[C]

And he doesn't get off. He doesn't get back on defense. And maybe it's just a fourth.

[A]

It's a big fourth quarter possession.

[F]

What.

[A]

How is Finch going to handle that?

[G]

I'll tell you how he's going to handle it. He's going to look at Jalen Clark at the end of the bench and yell at him for some reason, like, that's sometimes the way that it goes with star players. Because, like, there were a lot of times in this season that people were pulling their hair out about Julius Randle. Something that happened, not rotating on defense, not getting back, not putting out the effort. And Finch stuck by Julius Randle because he believed in aggregate that what he would get in return for standing by him was going to be more positive than what he would have done for, like, lighting him up, you know, publicly or by.

[A]

It kind of happens to everybody. I just think it happens with Lamelo way too much.

[C]

Way too much for sure.

[G]

So there will be a challenge for Chris Finch, though, and this entire coaching staff and this entire organization to hold Lamelo accountable some. And I think that there's a hope that when Lamelo does that, that Finch will do some of that talking, but that the person that's going to do it is ant and say, like, come on, man, what are you doing? Like, let's go hold him. It's going to be the players on the floor that can hold him accountable in a way that maybe the players in Charlotte could not.

[C]

Great visiting with you.

[A]

I can't wait to read more on your reporting of this.

[C]

I know you had to kind of just get the formal one out there this morning.

[E]

So.

[C]

John Krasinski, the Athletic, make sure you check it out.

[A]

Sure.

[C]

We'll talk to you again, man. Thank you.

[A]

What if you can add an AI assistant to your work without leaving your workflow built into Microsoft Word, Excel, and Outlook. Copilot works where you work, helping you do more in the apps you already use in Excel. It generates insights from your data. Working on a budget, trying to figure out what you're writing off for taxes this year.

[F]

Do you.

[A]

Can you actually afford. Can you afford to go to Cuba for nine days? I don't know. Doesn't look good. Maybe Excel will surprise you. Maybe there's stuff you're not even thinking about, because that's the thing they think about. The things we aren't thinking about, they are the program. Listen to them, the apps, you know, go further with Copilot. Learn [e-mail] Work. I'm not surprised this guy said yes to doing it. A year later, Keegan Bradley joins us as we get ready for the travelers out in Connecticut. Place I know pretty well, and we were lucky enough to have you, and you won it last year, so thanks for doing this.

[E]

Yeah, anytime. Let's keep it going.

[A]

Yeah, let's keep it going. What is it about going into, like, this tournament after a major, you know, kind of like feeling like you're probably at least a little bit more tuned up.

[E]

Yeah, it is definitely a different vibe here, too. It's nice after a major to come to a tournament like this where we've treated so well that the pressure's taken a little bit out of the, you know, the. The air a little bit, and you're able to sort of take a deep breath. For me, at least, you know, coming back home to New England, playing here, and of course, that I played well at. It's something that I look forward to every year.

[H]

And it's.

[E]

It's a nice break after the US Open of just, you know, basically hanging on for dear life for. For a week.

[A]

Does it feel like a home game for you?

[E]

It does. It does, because this is as far north as we go. So, you know, like, this is. This. We don't. We used to play tbc, Boston. We used to play, you know, so US Opens at the country club, but this is it. This is the only event in the Northeast. So, you know, and this is the first event I ever came to as a kid. So for me, yes, it is. It's. It's a ways from where I grew up. But, you know, us New Englanders, you're from New England. You're. You're a New England.

[A]

Yeah, I mean, it's not. It's not that kind of. That's Right. I just. I guess I never really realized. So technically, it's further north than any place. Well, wait a minute. Unless there's a major in Boston or something, right.

[E]

With Brookline, which is like once every 50 years, basically.

[A]

You've got me there.

[E]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

How did you feel about the US

[C]

Open this past week?

[E]

I played. I played. That's as good as I played a US Open tee to green. It's a disappointing finish in that I played. That's. I really played nice golf the whole week, every day. I played in a lot of really tough conditions. Wind really putted. Did put my best. And that's what's so tough about this game, is like, you could do everything right at a US Open that I felt like I had done, and, you know, you don't have much to show for it, and that's just part of the game. And, you know, if I had putted halfway decent, it would have been, you know, way, way higher up on the board.

[A]

Yeah, that was. It was just tough. I mean, you. When you're playing a course like that and you go, I have to be

[C]

so perfect with the approach shots.

[A]

I mean, do you decide at any point to be like, hey, as long as I can just kind of keep it on and be fighting for pars here instead of those huge mistakes, that's a better strategy? Or do you feel like, all right, screw it, if everybody's rolling off the

[C]

green here, I'm just going to. I'm just going to play the same way as they are.

[E]

Yeah. I mean, I just felt like even if I hit a shot in there close and missed it made par. I thought, you're gaining shots on the field just by making pars in each hole. But, you know, you. Like, I was talking to my caddy today. It's the toughest chipping course I've ever been to. Because you're hitting your second shots. Yeah, they run off, but you can hit your chips now where they run off as well, instead of there and two, you're there in three. So, like, you know, there's. There was never a moment of relaxation at Shinnecock. Even like these two, two and a half, three footers down these hills, the greens were really bumpy. They, they. They're just brutal and, you know, so it's a taxing. It's a taxing week.

[A]

Is Shinnecock like that when you guys aren't playing there?

[E]

Yeah. I mean, the greens, they're poa. So, you know, they're. And they did a good. The USG it's the best job I've ever seen the USG do as a course setup because if they were any firmer or any faster the first two days, I don't think we would have played because of how windy it was. But in turn, you know, the greens aren't going to be rolled as tight, you know, so they were a little bumpy. Like, we get it, pebble. That POA stuff can be tough. And, you know, I think they did an unbelievable job of setting a golf course up. It was difficult, but also very fair.

[A]

There seemed to be. I don't know if it was because it's in New York and there's like a Ryder cup hangover there where I was reading stuff where people like, wanted

[C]

to make some sort of connection. Did you?

[A]

I mean, I'm sure you sensed it

[C]

because it was questions you were being asked.

[A]

Is that fair that it seemed to be kind of like a year later follow up type of thing where they'd want to talk to you about Beth

[C]

Page just because there was somewhat of a convenience of location?

[E]

Well, yeah, I mean, I still every. Everywhere I go, I'm get. I'll get a ride. A cup question. That's part of the gig. You know, I was very prepared for some carnage for me at Shinnecock with the crowd, and I was ready for it and sort of felt like I, maybe I deserved it. Like I, I wasn't going to be upset about it and the fans were. I didn't get one comment towards me from the fans of being negative, you know, giving me some crap about Beth Page. And I'm really grateful for that. But, you know, I. Part of the deal of becoming the Ryder cup captain is you're going to do. You're going to either have the glory or the. Not the glory. And you have to, you know that going in that you're going to have to deal with both sides of this. And so that's part of the job.

[A]

Yeah, I, I guess maybe I'm thinking you might not give yourself enough credit for how likable you've been on the tour and that. That's why, like going into it, like, it sounded like you were going, I wonder if I'm going to start getting shit from people.

[C]

And then it was like, I don't know.

[A]

I don't. I think after it was all said and done, the most complaints that I'd heard about you, they're just mad that you weren't playing.

[C]

So it was like, yeah, it's a little different.

[E]

I appreciate that. As A. As a person, like, that's not how I think. I think that, like, everyone hates me, you know, so, you know, you read one comment, and the. You know, that the negative sticks out, but I really appreciate that, and I. I really have felt that from the fans. I. I know some captains that have gone through some pretty difficult times after the Ryder cup in terms of the fans, and, you know, just knowing what I went through personally after the Ryder cup and still going through, I couldn't imagine having to deal with that. That would. That would be really, really tough. And so, you know, I'm. I'm really grateful for how the people have treat. Treated me. And, you know, it's still. It's such a weird experience because it's just such an amazing thing for me to have, but it's also got this such negative ending. So it's a. It's a bizarre, bizarre feeling.

[A]

Yeah, you. I mean, the stuff that I've read and, you know, I listened to you on something else where it was like, all right, I. I feel like 27. We. We know that it's going to be Fury as the captain, but how badly do you want to get back onto that squad?

[E]

Yeah, so I've got. I had a little chat with myself recently, actually, because, like, I. After Rome, I put so much into it and didn't get on the team, and it took. It just killed. It crushed me. It crushed my family, my wife. Like, it was weird. Like, it really took a lot out of us. And I. I told myself I wasn't gonna put myself in that position again. I was gonna try to make every team, and I wanted to be. But, like, I was gonna try to take a step back and focus on, you know, my job as a tour player, and then that'll take care of everything. But, you know, recently I've been like, I really gotta. I really gotta make that team. Like, I really want to get on that team. I really want to play. What a story would be for me to. To play on a team after I've captained, you know, so I'm trying to give myself a little kick there because my Ryder cup life has been horrible. Like, you know. Yeah, you have this, like, amazing event that I love dearly, and every time I play, I've played or been in it, it's been like a nightmare. So, like, I would love to finish this off a little better than that. So, you know, hopefully that can happen.

[A]

Yeah, maybe I'm losing sight. You know what I mean? Because it's you having to think about it. All the time. And I'm like, man, he's had an awesome career. He's put together some wins. You know, he just came off, what, 32nd, the US Open. And I feel like people are very understanding of what happened with the past Ryder Cup. And then you're starting to convince me that you're haunted by it. And now I'm starting to feel bad, and I would, like, want to move on. But this is still so interesting. It's just so interesting how much it matters to you, which I guess makes sense.

[E]

It does. And I've had to really be careful because I've gotten. I don't know if in trouble is the right word, but like I said, people are. I'm a little too honest sometimes with my answers. And then I also, My biggest fear is that my, the players on the team are going to feel bad, and I don't want them to feel bad. I think I've been a little bit more honest as a captain, a losing captain, than others have been because, you know, I've talked to, I've spoken to losing captains in private, and they talk to me just like I talk now that it's taken years to get over a loss. And I think maybe I've just been a little bit more forthcoming in interviews than other people have. But this is a, this is it, as being a captain that you, you, you think, you know, as a player, you think that you know what goes into it. You think you know what the toll it takes. You think you know all this stuff and you just don't. You have no idea. And, you know, it's a, you know, it's a life altering experience. And only a few Americans have gotten to feel what it's like to win one of these and have a chapter closed. And when you lose, you don't, you don't get that. And you're haunted by decisions or things that you could have done differently. And I think I've just been a little bit more honest about those feelings than other guys have been.

[A]

Yeah, you have been.

[C]

And that's something that I think we appreciate. I think that's why the response was better than maybe you anticipated at the U.S. open.

[A]

All right, help us understand, being an older golfer, what are the things that you can do now that you can do before?

[C]

What are the things that show you you have to make up for in your game?

[E]

I think now especially is I have a family and, like, I miss them terribly all the time. So, like, you know, I used to be able to go play 3, 4, 5 events in a row and like get on a roll or if I, you know, this has been sort of a down year for me where, you know, I would just add events and keep playing. But now I gotta, I have to see my family and see my kids. So that's a, that's a difficult portion of it which is the true for everybody that works. Like, I get that. But I also have to be a lot more smart with my time. And on off leaks, I drop the kids off at school, I practice while they're at school, I pick them up. That's basically my day. And you know, when I'm at the golf course now if this is my, you know, second or third week in a row, I got to be saved my energy a little bit more because these little frigate guys that are coming out are so good now. I gotta, I gotta be at my best to beat these guys, so. But I still can.

[H]

All right.

[A]

What, what can you no longer do that? You did really well then.

[E]

I've never been asked that question. I used to be able to dunk. Yeah, I used to be able to dunk easy. Now I can't dunk. I even tell my 8 year old that I could dunk. He doesn't believe, he doesn't believe you. No, I used to, yeah.

[A]

You might be able to get that back.

[E]

You think?

[A]

I think so. I mean, I've stood near you. You're not a small guy.

[E]

I remember I, I, when I was at St. John's I used to play pickup games and I used to like go and go to like proper, proper games with real players. And I was this one day I was in there like easily dunking, like almost flat footed dunking and I rolled my ankle so bad. This is in the winter, we weren't playing and ever since then I haven't been able to dunk like I used to be able to. So that's not a very good golf answer.

[A]

But no, but I'm okay staying on

[C]

this because I just love the idea

[A]

of you going back to your private

[C]

trainer just saying like, hey, just even

[A]

though we're gearing up here for a

[C]

heavier season, I'd like to dunk again.

[E]

So the sad part is, is it's sticky. True. Okay. I would love to show my 8 year old like watch this because he doesn't think I can. But as a golfer, I'll tell you, this is a sort of a terrible answer to your question, but the opposite of I really feel like I can handle big moments really well. So this is an the opposite of what you asked.

[C]

But this is good.

[A]

This is better.

[C]

I like this.

[E]

I feel like very comfortable in high pressure times where as a, as when I was younger, I didn't, and I think that's natural. But like now, like, I, I actually, in a weird way, sometimes feel more comfortable, more at ease when I'm in contention of a tournament or I've got a big pairing I'm playing with. You know, back when Tiger was playing or playing with Scheffler, Rory, it's almost like I'm feel like this is where I'm supposed to be almost. And I actually feel a little bit better than I normally do.

[C]

That's a great answer.

[A]

Because another thing, this is probably what's

[C]

frustrating for anyone who's actually good, which again, I don't feel like you're in the category of good. You're above whatever good is because you actually do this for a living.

[A]

But when you guys are so good, I imagine it takes a long time

[C]

for you to understand.

[A]

Just because I can likely fix it with some amazing shot, maybe I'm better

[C]

off playing it safe.

[A]

It must take great young golfers forever

[C]

to learn how to just play it safe. Or unless there's just no older person around that convinces of them to go that way.

[E]

Definitely. Especially when you're these younger guys that come out, they're so much more polished than we were when we came out to the Tour. I was just talking with Julian Edelman was here. I did a thing with him today and I was talking about just how good these young players are and just how much better the players are, even my 16th year on tour, and how much better everyone is now than they were then. And so, like, it's easy for these guys to hit those shots, knowing I can hit this 50 yard hook over this tree 260 yards to cover the water. But that's when a good caddy comes into play. I feel like the one thing that I feel like the younger players miss out on is a lot of them bring out a friend to caddy for them initially or somebody that they know. And back in the day, back, back in my day, you used to, you used to get a, like a veteran guy would come out. You need the veteran caddy to, to hold your hand a little bit. And I think you find with the younger players, the guys that do that, they, they do a little better.

[A]

Is this version of Scheffler, like the scariest thing that you've seen or is

[C]

it still early 2000?

[E]

Tiger, I mean, so I didn't play in early 2000, Tiger, but I played with Tiger when he was number one in the world. I played with him in the final group at Akron. He won by 10. And like, he. This was in like probably 12 or 13. So he was. He wasn't 2000s tiger, but he was Tiger. Then they had the red and black on, and it was like, serious. I think when Scotty is at his peak, he does some things better. I think he. He drives it as good or better. I think Tiger was such a great putter that, like that. That that's what might separate them. But when Scotty, We. We have these talks all the time, and Scotty's at his best. How could. How could anybody be, you know, higher? But Tiger would. Vooda Ben in 2000. His stats say it. You know, I don't. I don't even know how you would compare the two, but it's. I never. I never thought we would see a guy like Scotty come along the way as fast as he did.

[A]

What is it about like, that you see that you guys see that are

[C]

on tour that we may not see when you watch him just swing a club?

[E]

Well, I think one of the things people don't realize about Scotty is he might be the best chipper of the ball out here. It's like one of the best in the world. And I think that gets really lost with really, really great players because they always talk about how great he hits it, how great he drives it. The guy is a magician around the grids. Like, he's as good as anybody that I've ever seen. And what I found in my years out here of the best players, they're all incredible chippers of the ball and, you know, so when they do have an off day, you know, they chip it great. They still shoot the same score. But also Scotty is. The thing that people don't know about Scotty is he's a vicious competitor. Like, he kind of comes across as this, like, easygoing, great guy, which he totally is, but inside the ropes, he's an animal. Like, he's a, you know, he wants to beat you. He's really polite, really nice. I don't. Not meaning it like that, but, like, inside the ropes, he's a. He's a competitor. He's, like, wanting to beat everybody. And I think people, they think that's the difference between him and Tiger when I think they actually have a very similar mentality.

[A]

What's it feel like to be the defending champ coming back, playing again a

[C]

home game we've talked about that means so much to the people that are close to you.

[E]

It's really cool because, you know, this place does mean a lot to me. Travelers means a lot to me. I came here as a 13 year old kid, you know, I watched Dave Duvall play here. I watched him the whole day. I watched him warm up. And I still, like today when I was playing a practice round, I remember watching him on the 14th hole and the shot that he hit, like, I vividly remember being in the crowd watching it and. And, you know, I would have just killed to play in this tournament one time in my life, you know, and growing up in Vermont, it wasn't like really realistic goal, but like, that's what I wanted to do. And then to be able to win it here and then win it again and in dramatic fashion with my family around, like, not a lot of people get to experience that in their life in the golf world. I'm grateful for that.

[A]

I'm pumped for you. I think the cool thing about Travelers as well is that it's. I think there's other cities that have

[C]

events and there's so many different events, but, like, especially a place like Connecticut loses the Whalers.

[A]

Like, I think they take such great pride in this because there's just not

[C]

as many, like, major sporting events on the schedule for them.

[A]

Yeah, that's not an argument for the

[C]

Whale to come back, which I would like to have happen, but I.

[A]

There's just something. I mean, look, I lived there a long time, too.

[C]

I went to that tournament when I was junior high.

[A]

It means a lot to these people

[C]

that don't have so many other options, I think is pretty obvious.

[E]

Yeah. I think growing up in New England, like, we. We really appreciate stuff like this, like coming to. Seeing golfers up here. It's. It's. I think it's a shame that we don't play. We should play four or five events up here. I think, you know, we go to Boston, you know, New York, you know, anywhere. I think that people really appreciate great sports up here. I think, you know, I'm biased, but I think it's the best sports area in the world and, or in the country. And, you know, they love seeing this sort of. I mean, you look at, you know, the crowds here, they're as good as anywhere we go. They're very proud of their tournament, and they should be.

[A]

You can see Keegan in the entire field this weekend for the Travelers Championship

[C]

starting up this week. Obviously, the reigning champions you mentioned, and it's the last signature event on the PGA Tour schedule. You can watch on NBC.

[A]

Thanks so much again for the time

[C]

and let's hope we go back to back here.

[A]

All right, thank you, brother. What if you can add an AI assistant to your work without leaving your workflow built into Microsoft Word, Excel, and Outlook? Copilot works where you work, helping you do more in the apps you already use in Outlook. It cuts through the noise to get you up to speed faster. Copilot has helped every single we have Life Advice emails where sometimes I'm like I shouldn't even read what Copilot says because then they're going to replace me on the show. Granted, we go a little bit longer

[C]

than Copilot does, but let them help

[A]

you write the email that you may not get to on the first few tries. The apps you know go further with Copilot. Learn [e-mail] Work.

[C]

You want details?

[B]

Fine. I drive a Ferrari 355 Cabriolet.

[A]

What's up?

[B]

I have a ridiculous house in the South Fork. I have every toy you can possibly imagine. And best of all kids, I am liquid.

[F]

So now you know what's possible.

[C]

Let me tell you what's required.

[A]

Today's life advice is presented by Shell. I don't usually get excited about loyalty programs.

[C]

You know me, they promise big rewards and it's like you actually have to

[A]

eat 50 sandwiches to get one free. Who's that for?

[C]

I don't have time for that.

[A]

But here's the thing. The Shell Fuel Rewards program is actually super practical. You're already getting gas, you're already grabbing takeout, you're already buying snacks you definitely didn't need but obviously deserve. With Shell Fuel Rewards you just get rewarded for that and not in a fake point you'll never use way it's actual savings on gas and the saving stack. So it's not like one sad little discount. It's you fill up, you eat, you shop and it all piles up in a real savings at the pump. Joining takes less than three minutes in the Shell app and you'll save on every fill after that. Literally every single one. Join the Shell Fuel Rewards program and save Life Advice.

[C]

Our email address lifeadvicerrgmail.com Guys can come in hot summer you know Travel coming up

[H]

Nick's Kyle today oh yeah.

[F]

You like this? Not official merch but I got to

[H]

see it was that I oh I didn't realize an Iheart New York

[C]

I

[F]

got a buddy who makes T shirts and Ordered an extra one for my wife. It showed up. Totally forgot about them. I was like, oh, my God. Scored a million points in the husband department yesterday. So really nice. Hers is white, but it's sort of matchy. So, you know, maybe one day I'll get the stones to wear it out next to her. I don't usually like that, but these are nice, good material.

[A]

It is pretty crazy. You're back in the Empire State and

[C]

you weren't even there 12 months and you got a title.

[H]

Yeah.

[F]

Three Johnny's drafted. I feel great. Who knows what's next?

[C]

I know that's true. 3. Johnny's drafted. We didn't even see my guy in the first round.

[F]

I got tune day coming up, so, you know, I picked him out of the lineup at McDonald's. All American. I'm like, that's my guy. And then a year later, look, we're both in New York.

[C]

Probably should link up. Yeah.

[F]

I don't want to derail his awesome career, so I'm going to stay away from.

[A]

There is something to be said about

[C]

this, though, because remember when we've done my timeline of where I lived in all the championships, of every place that I've stepped foot in, and then as soon as I moved to la, just championships like crazy. I go back to Boston for two months, they win an NBA title. I lived there for two months, they won a title, came back to la, more titles.

[A]

I was in Chicago for one day. They were fourth in the lottery drawing. Who knows if I'd been there for a week. They probably win the lottery.

[F]

You still haven't seen a Warriors win, huh? Every game you go. Isn't that the streak? What's your streak? It's like something you go. Every game you show up to, they lose.

[A]

It's so bad that I didn't really

[C]

want to say it because I didn't want anyone of the warriors to know how bad it is.

[A]

But I think at one point I

[C]

was 0 for 4 in finals games.

[A]

So I got a four Golden State

[C]

warriors finals games, and they were over four.

[H]

Were they all in?

[A]

Three were in

[C]

San Francisco. Well, Oakland, Yeah, I guess, originally. And then. And then one was in Boston.

[F]

And then they lost that Sixers game, too, that we went to.

[C]

Right.

[A]

Well, that doesn't count. I'm like, it doesn't count to think of the warriors run. You're going to go to kind of get four finals.

[H]

No Embiid. Although there's no. Yeah, no Steph Embiid, anyway.

[A]

Yeah, but I've seen Steph win in

[C]

LA a couple times. Okay.

[H]

Okay.

[C]

Like, I usually make a point when Steph's here because, like, when it's over, it's. We're going to miss this. We're going to miss it. And I know we're still a couple years away from that, but I don't.

[A]

I try to never take Steph for granted.

[C]

And if he's 20, 30 minutes away from me, I'll be like, go see Steph tonight.

[F]

Dude, you imagine if the warriors traded for Melo?

[C]

My God, would you still have taken him? In hindsight,

[H]

all I'm hearing, by the way, well, there's rumors that you're going to be at the US Game tonight as well, so.

[C]

Yes, against Turkey. A.

[H]

Now, that game doesn't mean anything, but it's a good. It'll be a good test of this. And then, Kyle, the final is at MetLife, so it's right in your backyard. Ish. Kind of too. So, like, I just feel like I've

[F]

been in New York City a lot. I feel like I just need.

[H]

I'm just saying, if you're feeling patriotic, we want to keep the winning streak going. Maybe we have to get you there.

[F]

Yeah, maybe.

[A]

I'm not worried about what tonight means

[C]

because I watch regular season basketball, like, well, there's nothing really on the line. And be like, ty, that's like 12% of my life.

[H]

Yeah. Well, the good thing for you tonight, though, is that there's going to be a lot of us players who haven't played who are looking to prove a point. And then Turkey has been just straight up embarrassed in this tournament, so they're probably going to try hard, which, you know, you know, who knows? Turkey's actually pretty talented team, so it still could be a good game. It just doesn't mean anything.

[F]

Okay, do we have two seconds on the Turkey thing? Why? Why?

[A]

I like to. Yeah, we do. I just like that Ceru thinks I'm

[C]

going to enjoy it a little bit more because I'm going to understand our depth better once we get to the knockout round. So full report on Monday.

[F]

He's not bringing the notepad tonight.

[H]

I want to. Full breakdown.

[A]

Yeah, Fifth episode tomorrow.

[H]

Hey, we're going. It's just soccer. It's going live tonight after the game, Midnight Eastern.

[F]

Yeah, I don't want to step on that.

[H]

Dude, if you want to hop on, go right ahead.

[C]

I can do that.

[A]

Sarah Walsh bought me a jersey, and

[C]

then I was like, just give it to Matt. And you have a son who plays soccer. And then she still left it here, so I don't know if that means she wants to sleep with me, but I don't think it does.

[H]

Probably not, no. I do want to do the turkey thing. Can we do the turkey a thing? Kyle, go.

[F]

I don't know. Why? I mean, aren't you still spelling it turkey? Is it just. Is it the. Is that how they say it over there?

[A]

That's not what I'm seeing. Is it a differently?

[H]

It's spelled T, U, R, K, I, Y, E. Is that what it is? Yeah.

[F]

Right. But why. Why the rebrand?

[G]

Well, I think it's because that's what

[H]

they want to be called.

[A]

Been to an Abercrombie lately?

[H]

It's actually kind of bullshit because they call us abd, they don't call us usa. So, like, if we. If they don't even call us what we want to be called, why do we have to call them what they want to be called?

[F]

Yeah, it's Italy to me. It's not Italia. Right.

[A]

So maybe this is just.

[F]

Maybe this is just the international community just throwing them a bone. But. Okay, I was just wondering, what did they call us?

[H]

Abd?

[C]

That doesn't sound very good.

[H]

America. Berlisk Deverelel Levy.

[C]

Sure.

[H]

It translates to the United States of America, but again, okay.

[F]

All right. Hey, listen, I'll call you what you want to be called. I just was wondered if there was a reason.

[H]

I feel like it needs to be reciprocated, though. If we're going to call you what you want to be called, then you call us what we want to be called.

[C]

That's how it works.

[F]

All right. It's a bit of a mess, though. It's kind of all over the place. Some people on TV are going turkey, and some people are giving it the little flare at the end, so. All right.

[A]

I never know what to do in that situation.

[C]

I remember early, early ESPN days. There's the Olympics, and there was another guy that I was with. And of course, when I was that young, I couldn't let anything go. He was like. And in the 100, I didn't know if this was actually her event. She's like, making. Well, he. It was a man almost doing it. Because if I say it was a woman host and everybody can figure out who I'm talking about even 20 years

[A]

later, but he would be like. And Dora Torres and I just went, what are we doing?

[C]

Yeah, what are you doing? And he goes, wouldn't you want to

[A]

be called by your right?

[C]

I'm like, I'm Called by my wrong name every single day. Like, I don't even think about it. And he goes, well, that's the correct pronunciation.

[A]

And he was being a little, like, precious about it.

[H]

Yeah.

[A]

And I just went, well, yeah, but, like, I don't know that we can do that with every single person. Because if we started doing that with, like, we've got 20 baseball highlights.

[C]

Because we were still talking baseball. Oh, yeah. Actually reading, like, yeah, June.

[A]

Hey, guess the Cardinals are able to pull it out. Four, three, ten minutes for you. If we did that. If we did every, like, Latin pronunciation

[C]

of all these names, like, that's kind of what we would want to do.

[A]

I think you're just doing it because

[C]

it's swimming and you feel like an elitist right now.

[E]

Right.

[C]

And that's what you're going for.

[A]

And I was like. I was like, do you call Germany Deutschland? Like, what. What are you supposed to do with this? So obviously that guy thought I was a dick, and he wasn't entirely wrong. But I never. I just think when you talk for a living, you make some concessions.

[H]

Yeah.

[A]

Like, when you make that commitment to some of it and you're not Latin, because he wasn't. It's just like, if that's the standard you want, then you have to now do it for all the other stuff,

[C]

which you're not going to do. You're just doing it for this one, because it's the only.

[F]

It takes a little while, right. You put up enough points, and then, you know, you're not Luka Donkic anymore, you're Luka Doncic. So, like, I don't know. I think you score enough goals and people will say it, right. But I guess this is turkey, and they're definitely not scored goals.

[A]

Dirk was 20 years.

[C]

People still don't know how to say his name.

[B]

That kind of.

[H]

I would say that. That the person you described, though, Ryan, that's like. That's big. Like, you know, you go to the Mexican restaurant, start rolling your R's and stuff, and. Yeah, that's what it was.

[C]

That's what I was calling out.

[F]

Yeah. Should we have some Filipino food tonight?

[H]

Yeah.

[A]

Went to Costa Rica for a hike for nine days. Oh, you brought your water jug back with you, right?

[C]

Yeah.

[H]

Oh, you came back to the States saying, gracias. Great, great, awesome.

[C]

Yeah.

[F]

Oh, man. All right, cool.

[C]

I think we cover a lot of stuff there.

[F]

Anybody need advice from these three geniuses?

[A]

How about a Friday feedback for soccer?

[H]

Okay.

[C]

Oh, no.

[H]

A lot of these. Yeah.

[G]

Ooh.

[C]

Just. Everybody loves it's. Just soccer. Let's see if it keeps happening. Morning Ryan, Steve and Kyle constantly getting back to the weight room and I've been the flake at my pickup games for the last year and a half. The guys miss my picks and bricks. All right, so you know, whatever you're aware of what you're not doing. That's for split first stage of it all.

[A]

I'm 100% Team Ceruti. So this isn't Shade.

[C]

Oh no.

[A]

I listen to every single minute of It's Just Soccer Pod. Frustratingly, I can't seem to find it on Amazon.

[C]

Am I really reading this email right now?

[A]

And it doesn't seem like user error? The absence of production value on the pod surprises me. Sneak attack ad breaks, abrupt endings.

[C]

Hey, learned it by watching me.

[A]

No theme music.

[C]

I don't need bells and whistles, but it feels like it's produced in a

[A]

basement instead of barstool. Is this a World cup only temporary

[C]

pod or are you guys hoping to

[A]

talk soccer Past July Committed IJ as the OG listener. So I'm giving my unvarnished feedback. What is going on over there?

[F]

You guys need some help?

[H]

I didn't know some of these are live are live streams that are just put up as a pod for the record. So they're just kind of like put up, I think automatically. But I mean, listen, we'll get it on that. Our guy Manoli, our producer, I'll have to listen. I'm just going to send this to him, be like, what's going on, dude?

[F]

Also Amazon, I mean, shout out, it's everywhere else. That's one thing I would say. It's everywhere else. I do know some of these. Being a Toyota guy myself, I know that there is an Amazon music section built in, so if you don't feel like messing around in your actual phone. But it's literally everywhere else, I think. So to that I would say just type in the search.

[H]

I'm leave that one alone. But I agree with you. That's all I'll say.

[A]

Yeah, I mean, who listens to anything or watches anything and has one way of getting there? And then if they don't, it'd be like, I'm out.

[H]

Yeah. Hey, if you're not coming to me, I'm out.

[A]

Yeah, Drake dropped. Well, it could be audio, but it isn't.

[H]

Well, damn.

[A]

Guess I'll miss this one.

[H]

Yeah. Didn't somebody do that though? Didn't Jay Z do that? Didn't he have like a. What was it? Title.

[A]

Yeah, title.

[C]

Yeah, yeah, we found a way around that.

[H]

I did not.

[C]

I was all the way in. I was like, the compression's so much less.

[F]

We're saying shit like that. Weren't they?

[C]

Yeah. Dudes were like, oh, my God, you're listening on Apple Music. Do you know how much. Do you know how much you're losing?

[F]

What do you do on title now? Audiobooks or like, what are they?

[A]

I haven't logged in in a while,

[C]

to be honest with.

[B]

Happen.

[A]

Yeah, probably.

[C]

It's like my Garmin thing. I just gave up. I gladly give them the 15 bucks every month. I'm like, all right, Garmin, you win.

[H]

All right.

[A]

An email here. Kicked out of an Airbnb hello. 32 years old, no impressive gym stats after having two hip surgeries in college.

[C]

God damn, man.

[A]

Some casual lifting and Stairmaster. Hips hurt too much to run long distance anymore. I'm sure there's been a million people

[C]

telling you there are ways to fix your hips through exercise, but maybe if you've had two hip surgeries, it's not going to happen for you. So I don't want to insult you and act like I'm the first person that's ever suggested some of these stuff. Some of the stuff that I see that has helped me quite a bit.

[F]

Get in the water maybe, right?

[C]

I didn't have two hip surgeries. All right.

[A]

College friends and I rented an Airbnb 32 years old.

[C]

Just want to repeat that.

[A]

I think that's important because they came in at 24.

[C]

I was just going to say all of you are wrong and move on.

[A]

Rent out an Airbnb a weekend each year we decided to rent the same house as last year.

[C]

All right, so prior relationship, you get re up the next year.

[A]

Great big yard, above ground pool, hot

[C]

tub, plenty of beds to sleep in. Last year the house worked out great. The hosts were nice. No complaints from either party.

[A]

However, this year, on the second day,

[C]

a few extra people showed up. Nothing excessive. This was not Project X.

[A]

There were a few people not planning

[C]

on staying the night.

[A]

Girlfriends, wives, children.

[C]

At the time, we did not think anything of it. Went out of nowhere, my friend who booked the house got a text stating the host had canceled the rest of our stay. At first, we believed this to be potential spam, but after some investigating, found out this was real and had a

[A]

little over an hour to vacate the premises.

[C]

So the police were showing up.

[A]

Am I justified in wanting to go Karen on the host of this house

[C]

and make a comment at them for canceling our state Yeah, I mean, so far, this seems a little your only recourse.

[A]

They did not reach out to us prior to ask, what is going on and why are there more people?

[C]

Also, the house has allowed 20 people. We probably had 25 at the absolute most.

[G]

Host.

[A]

Should I sign their house up?

[C]

Or phone numbers to be contacted by Scientologists? Jehovah Witness people? Open. Any ideas?

[A]

My buddy who rented the place is

[C]

hesitant on leaving a review. Since he gets a review from the host, he does not want to jeopardize future bookings on Airbnb. Now, the review game.

[A]

Dueling reviews.

[F]

I gotta say, I'm in my 30s now, and I'm still super uncomfortable in Airbnbs. The rules are all in. You know, I think it's probably. It's a shot in the dark who you get. But, I mean, if we're talking percentages, I'd say 70% of the Airbnbs I have have this really scary laminated sheet, you know, and there's like, there's six beds here. There better not be more than eight people ever at one time. And I don't know, it just seems like, you know, you pay the cleaning fee, and then they're like, make sure you take everything off and throw it in this one room. It's like, I don't know. I understand it's not a hotel, but it just seems way different. I'm supposed to feel more comfortable, but I'm like, is this costing me money? Did I move.

[A]

Why am I changing your cat litter?

[F]

Did I move that chair? Like, how dare you move. You move the chair and didn't put it back.

[C]

It's just like, yeah, moving the chairs.

[F]

I mean. And then I've now seen, like, the Instagram. It's in my algorithm. Just people like, here's a life as an Airbnb host, and let's see what these people did. And they come in there, and there's like, a water bottle on the kitchen table, and they're like, oh, my God, this is disgusting. So maybe that's just for, you know, maybe that's for engagement purposes or whatever, but I just. As a guest in Airbnb, I'm way less comfortable than I've ever been in a hotel. And there's always that big caps, no parties on every one of those little laminated sheets. So if you technically broke the rules by capacity, like, you just don't have much recourse here, I don't think it's unfortunate.

[H]

Yeah, it sounds like, by the letter of the law, like, you're obviously in the wrong. But by just, like, common sense, it's probably fine.

[F]

I mean, in your contract that you signed, that totally favors them in every way that they could kick you out at any moment if you do something wrong. Too much cellophane usage, you're out.

[G]

Yeah.

[H]

Recent Airbnb usage, we had one where, like, I'm walking around just, like, in my socks, and I'm like, why are my socks filthy? Like, is this floor just not paid 200 cleaning fee? Yeah, I was just like, what the heck is going on? It's like, you literally couldn't walk barefoot in this house because your feet would just be brown with dirt everywhere. And it's like, okay, because you just used a dirty mop to mop this floor. You didn't clean anything. But it's like, do we trash them? Because, yeah, it's kind of real. I didn't. I don't use. This would be like, probably my wife that would write the review. I think she did end up writing the review because it is kind of insane. But I think the fear here is if you do kind of call them out on it, they have a leg up on you. Be like, these people throw a huge party in our house, and then you're probably going to get red flagged and not be able to use Airbnb again. There are other places. I was going to say there are other places you could use. And, hey, maybe you could just go back and just go with Kyle and be a hotel guy, because I'm kind of there, too. It just seems, like, kind of cleaner now. Like, Airbnb, like, that renting a house thing. I think it's great for certain situations, and it got, like, really popular, and now I feel like it's swinging back towards, like, hotels are just probably cheaper, easier again. So I don't know. I guess it's just like, what's your risk tolerance of basically being, like, blackballed from this platform? But just. Just so you know, you are probably in the right here. I don't. It doesn't seem like you did much wrong. These are just hardos who want to kick you out.

[F]

But technically, yeah, you are. So that's tough.

[C]

Unfortunately, suck.

[F]

Imagine especially like, everyone's. Maybe it's midday and everyone's, like, a little too buzzed to drive, and they're like, you got an hour. You're like, wait, what? So the cops will be here for me to get into this car and sit outside until I'm good to go?

[H]

Or I wonder if taking a chance today has Just like, you know, maybe the history. The Airbnb owners, like, know that, like, people just throw rages at this house, and they're just tired of it. So they have a zero tolerance. Sounds like that doesn't really concern you because it doesn't seem like it was that bad, but they're just like, hey, we're not taking any bullshit. First sign of anybody throwing a party, we're done. We're calling the cops.

[F]

Which means they're basically checking the backyard cameras and counting heads. And it's like, that's. That's shitty, too.

[H]

That feels like it should be illegal.

[C]

There should be camera.

[H]

Yeah, I get cameras in active house that you're renting. Feels quite uncomfortable, but I feel like

[C]

half of my experiences have been terrible. Like, I rented. I really went for it on this one rental once. It was, like, overlooking ski chalet, penthouse, deal. And the whole thing. And I was like, okay, this isn't cheap, but this is exactly what I want. I want something sick for four days, and then I book it, and it's like, oh, so every room is a penthouse on this floor? Like, that's not how penthouses work. There can't be 20.

[H]

It's all penthouses.

[C]

Yeah, that's what they called the penthouse

[A]

because they had a deck.

[C]

Oh, my God.

[A]

Like, I'm talking, like, that's creative chair debt.

[F]

That's creative copy overlooking.

[C]

It was like, penthouse loft.

[A]

And then I'm like, why is mine

[C]

on the same floor? I'm like, that's a room. That's a room. That's a room. That's a room. And then I went to the realtor office. They were like, we don't manage that property. But they're like, this is 100%. They should not have said penthouse. I was like, yeah, I'm not losing my mind, right? They're like, no, this.

[F]

This has me a little nervous because I just sent the money for our Scottsdale 18 dudes. They finally found a house that could accommodate. And they were like. They were asking, like, does anybody want to get Airbnb? Airbnb points? I was like, no fucking way am I putting this thing. Eighteen dudes in Scottsdale. They're probably. They probably got, like, motion detectors, and they're probably recording us.

[H]

Yeah, you're going to be one.

[F]

One code word that's going to send the SWAT team here to kick us out. So I'm already nervous.

[H]

Yeah, you'll be the guy who's, like, trying to ask his friends for Sheetrock money. Like, our last emailer you could be in Scottsdale painting a wall.

[A]

My with 18 dudes in Scottsdale. That thing has seen some shit, I think.

[C]

So they know what they're running out of. They're doing the weekends.

[A]

The getting kicked out thing reminds me

[C]

of a story in Montreal. This is a million years ago, but we used to have an annual staff party for the bar in Montreal. And again, this is. The owners were in their twenties, never mind the rest of us. So roll up. Probably 20 deep.

[A]

Yeah, 20 deep. We had this, like, reciprocating.

[C]

It was almost like a sister bar where their staff would come to ours and then we would go up to theirs, and it was like, all pretty dialed in. They'd do some sort of fancy dinner and then see what happens. And then, of course, you get back to the rooms and nobody goes to bed because you're all so young and it's Montreal and you're excited. And it wasn't exactly the Four Seasons we were staying at either, but all the rooms are paid for by the guys. It was really nice what these. These owners would do and spend this amount of money to take care of the staff and have, like, this big thing every year. And I remember, of course, there were,

[A]

like, however many rooms there were.

[C]

If there were. If there were 10 rooms, like, nobody was getting singles, right? But if there were 10 rooms and 20 people or something like that, I

[A]

think eight of the rooms were all

[C]

together on one floor, and then two or like two floors amongst the families, right?

[A]

So I was in the two up.

[C]

And then we were with another guy that was like, an owner of another place that used to come with us. And we're like, on the balcony having beers. And then we watch all of the coworkers just being escorted out by security with police waiting for them outside, because

[A]

they were just loud, and they were Americans, and they were loud Americans.

[C]

And the hotel's like, we're not doing this again. And you guys are like, eight rooms deep.

[A]

So it sucked because, like, one guy I remember in particular going, I'm hammered. I've been drinking all night. Like, right now, where do I go? No? He's like, get in your car and get out of here. Like, go back to the border. He's like, that's insane. Like, this is an hour 45. Or like, this is wrong. I should not be driving.

[F]

He's like an Internet incident, man.

[H]

That's like the old Ron White. I don't want to be drunk outside. I want to be drunk in there, in the bar. They threw him out.

[A]

Yeah.

[F]

Ron White's the best.

[C]

Yeah, that's a good call.

[A]

And then we were on the balcony watching.

[C]

Like, one of the guys we were with is just the worst when it comes to these things.

[A]

Like, oh, dudes, you guys are leaving. You know, he's gonna get a beer going. Like, oh, you guys are headed out early. All right, well, we were gonna get breakfast. Should we. And then they're screaming up like, you.

[C]

Yeah, because he just.

[A]

He was older and he could get

[C]

away with anything and just was going,

[A]

like, why are you guys leaving? Like, what's.

[C]

What's the.

[A]

And it was just 4am Right? Like, a caravan of, like, the four cars.

[C]

And we're sitting there looking at each other being like, oh, my God. Like, we don't have to leave

[A]

Casano.

[C]

All right, Another email shout out to the apps this year, though, huh? What a season. St. Louis, exceeding all expectations.

[H]

Is Montreal really that cool? I've never been.

[C]

Yeah, it's even cooler if that's your. Is it really that cool? It will be even cooler. You should go with your wife for a long weekend. I think it's one of the coolest places I've ever visited.

[H]

Like, cool is, like, just to get hammered cool. Or like, no, like, everyone's hammered.

[B]

You.

[A]

You can do that, obviously. But then when you start to explore

[C]

out old Montreal, you know, get some water activities in. I think it's. I think it's an awesome city. I actually want to go back. I want to go back this summer. All right, let's get this one out of the way. This one's all over the place. But sometimes this happens in the last episode of the week.

[A]

62185, 35 years old, player comp. Sage McCollum.

[C]

Same age. Great comp. Same height. Build maybe, too. Is this.

[A]

Is this CJ McCollum?

[C]

I don't think so. All right.

[A]

I'm reaching out about something that happened

[C]

at the driving range last week that's been stuck in my head. Okay. I'm down with this. A story ruling.

[A]

I started playing golf about a year ago. I walked nine holes at sunrise once a week.

[C]

Okay.

[F]

He is head over heels in love with golf.

[C]

Then.

[H]

There you go.

[C]

Once a week.

[H]

If I was an early riser, though, that's a great. Like, a sunrise golf. Maybe by yourself.

[F]

Dude, it's like a cheat code for life.

[H]

Yeah, I just can't wake up that early.

[C]

I know. I'm kind of starting to think about it right now. Do I do it tomorrow? Little sunrise golf? I don't know. I gotta I gotta scout Turkey A tonight.

[A]

All right, Play with friends every couple weeks. I used to be a huge basketball guy, but I had a herniated disc.

[C]

Ended that four years ago. Golf has made me feel alive again. This guy's going to be an awesome golfer.

[A]

So I'm at my usual range, about

[C]

30 minutes into one of those sessions where I'm topping irons and sending my driver every zip code except the fairway. Then I notice this guy walking his way toward me. He's probably in his 50s, absolutely Jack, dressed head to toe in what is definitely expensive golf gear, carrying a large bucket of balls in one hand and a small bucket in the other. He sets up next to me, quickly dumps both buckets together, and starts warming up. He's clearly a regular because he's saying hi to everyone, joking around, acting like he owns the place. Five minutes later, this older Australian guy walks, and Erdie, sounding annoyed, asks, do I do an Australian accent or do I?

[F]

Hell, yeah, you're qualified.

[C]

I don't think I can do it.

[A]

Excuse me, did you happen to take

[C]

a small bucket of balls? The Jack guy says, nope. The Aussie starts to walk away, and then the guy adds, quote, I mean, I didn't take a bucket of balls. The Australian stops, turns around and asks, well, what did you take? The guy goes, there were just some

[A]

balls on the floor next to a mat.

[C]

Nobody was there, so I took them.

[A]

The Aussie responds, well, somebody told me a guy in a blue shirt took my balls. I look over, sure enough, the Jack

[C]

guy's wearing a blue shirt. That wasn't you. Small head shake? No. The Australian just throws his hands up and goes, unbelievable.

[A]

Who does that loud enough for half the range of here?

[C]

Walks away.

[A]

The guy in blue looks around, shrugs,

[C]

and goes back to hitting balls.

[A]

About 10 minutes later, one of the

[C]

range ambassadors drives by in a car. The guy clearly knows him and says,

[A]

can you believe that guy thought I stole his balls? So he definitely stole his balls, right?

[C]

Question from the emailer.

[A]

Isn't that an insane interaction? Also, should I have said something, told the ambassador, or is this just one

[C]

of those mind your business golf etiquette situations?

[A]

It's been bothering me ever since.

[C]

I need a ruling.

[A]

That is kind of wild.

[C]

He did just basically admit that. Yeah, I don't like the way you asked the question, but you're right, but fuck off. Is that what happened?

[H]

Yes.

[F]

Yeah. If you didn't see him take the balls, I. I think inserting yourself, being like, he did come over here with a small bucket Even though, you know, two and two does equal four, that's a, that's a mind your business moment for me. Um, if I watched him do it, maybe that's different. But, like, for all the information, I've gotten this. No, I'm just working on that seven iron.

[C]

That's what I'm doing.

[H]

Yeah, this is a head down situation, unfortunately. Like, this sucks too, because it's like, okay, cool. Like you're gonna. You know, the ugly American, the Australian comes over here is like, that's still. Guys are stealing my golf balls. Like, fuck this place. But yeah, there's no. Unless. I like, actually saw it. And this guy wasn't jacked. He seems like a huge tool. So you'd like to kind of like get him in trouble a little bit. But I don't know, man, I'm not, I'm not stepping in that. I think you just gotta. Unfortunately, the Aussie has to take the L. Super disappointing.

[F]

When someone's like giving you another. Given that, you know, not you, but giving that guy another chance. Like, somebody actually said they saw a guy just like, you grab these balls

[C]

and you're like, nope.

[F]

Like, it was like, that was your last out, man. You would have. You had to look stupid and say, yeah, I did. And I lied because you're not supposed to do that.

[H]

Like, you like, cool. You just see a bucket of piles that are an empty station. No, no.

[F]

The question is how long?

[H]

I think the limit doesn't exist. Like, unless, you know, some guys get

[F]

frustrated out there and just fucking bounce. It's true. It is true. Usually they find another guy and be like, hey, do you want these balls? But I mean, it's not, it's not insane. I don't know, man, that there are like balls at a station somewhere.

[H]

But it's like six bucks for a small bucket.

[A]

Yeah, well, it's just a nasty move though because, like, I've left balls where I go, all right, get out of here. Like, sometimes I'll buy like two buckets.

[C]

Especially if I'm going to do like, feel.

[A]

No, no, do the real warm up stuff. Like, don't just grab your driver after

[C]

three balls and be like, all right, let's see what we can do today.

[A]

We'll go, yeah, drop the hands, skim the rock.

[H]

Nice.

[C]

You know, everybody talks about that left arm. It's really the right arm. All right, where are your feet again? How come you're doing that? Why are you pretending that the four irons are dry?

[A]

So all the dumb little shit that you should do if you're trying to get better.

[C]

I'm actually probably going today. Now I'm thinking about it. This guy's got me excited about golf. I'm going today. I'm sending. There's been some Max Homa interaction.

[F]

Oh. Working our way back to each other.

[A]

Oh, no.

[C]

I mean, he just was on PMT again, so I probably shouldn't even share that. I probably shouldn't have said anything because.

[F]

Yeah, you were supposed to play it way cooler. Think of all the dudes we know. Just slow your role, man.

[C]

Let me just. I just that up. I'm gonna be back. It's gonna be. The stand is gonna be 12 games out again tomorrow.

[H]

We got Keegan now anyway.

[F]

Well, that's awesome.

[A]

Major.

[C]

And goes on with part of my take, so.

[A]

Although, I don't know, the Vermont connection,

[C]

the St. John's connection with Keegan. You'd like to think we're in a good spot there.

[A]

Yeah. So I don't know.

[C]

I shouldn't even talk about Homa anymore. Just other than there's been some correspondence the last couple days.

[F]

Okay.

[C]

I haven't sent him the new swing video, which I know is probably send anyone that video. Well, I sent it to Ceruti.

[F]

Thanks.

[H]

Yeah. And the pga. The USGA guy saw it too, so.

[C]

The USGA guy said, what about the swing?

[H]

They were surprisingly impressed.

[C]

I think blown away is what I.

[H]

Blown away is not. I think, Yeah. I mean, yeah. Not quite, but.

[G]

No.

[H]

Good. It was good. I even said that to you.

[A]

Jeff Bridges.

[C]

Blown away. That's what I heard. But I don't.

[H]

I don't know.

[C]

Maybe we're talking to different people.

[A]

Here's the thing. Sometimes I go, get out of here. It's falling apart.

[C]

You're too tired. You've hit too many balls. This whole thing, it's stupid or whatever.

[A]

The idea that somebody else would, like, immediately go over and claim them before they know what my deal is. This guy's a bully.

[C]

He's a range bully. And I'm surprised the Aussie didn't give him the what for on this. Or a little bit more verbal. Like, he basically admitted to it.

[A]

But, yeah, I think the ruling. Maybe if you were better, if you were three years into golf, just stinging four irons left and right all over the place. Do you think, like, then you'd go,

[C]

hey, now it's my time to.

[A]

But if you didn't, I think, look, we spent too much time on it. Kyle was right immediately. If you didn't actually see him, do It.

[C]

Even though all evidence points did this is exactly what this guy did. You're always better off just being like, all right, not. I gotta. I gotta work on other things. I gotta get my chest to the target. Chest to the target.

[F]

Yeah. Especially if the staff's riding around and he's like making the Aussie the asshole. You know the purpose. The perp is talking to the. The guy driving around picking up balls.

[A]

Like, can you believe that?

[F]

And if they're like, if they've got this, you know, something like, you see this with bars a lot. Like they got problem customers for new guys. But you know, he comes in every day and he spends and he tips well. And like, if there is some sort of weird interaction they're going to have, that asshole's back. So, you know, not saying that's exactly what happened, but the signs point to

[A]

that also that the Ambassador, can you believe this Aussie?

[C]

He stole his balls and he had an issue with it.

[A]

Yeah, because it is true. It's like, how long could that guy have been gone? That had to be a fairly small window.

[F]

Forgot his glove.

[A]

I've got my brand new bucket. Oh, look, 12 free ones.

[H]

This tells me that this, this is not the first time this guy's done this either. This is. He's a. He's an opportunistic bucket counting.

[A]

Yeah, I'm up 12. I'm up 12 free range balls today. See, if we get a taco out

[C]

of this by 4, that's the end of the show. That is, by the way, we gotta shut our.

[H]

We gotta shout out Michael Kim too. He finished. He did. He had a good. Another. Another golfer. Friday the show had a good US Open showing. So shout out Michael Kim.

[F]

Yeah, we got a roster. We got the Max.

[H]

Yeah, we got the golf.

[F]

What you got, buddy?

[C]

We don't even need Max anymore. I don't like that that was said out loud.

[A]

No, I don't.

[C]

I'm not going to text him today though, because he texted me late last night.

[F]

Was like, give it a yeah, yeah,

[A]

no, I'm not gonna wait.

[H]

He texted you and you didn't text him back?

[A]

It initially started with a very specific

[C]

text for me to Homa. That was worth it. It was good content. And then it was like, all right, let's see how this goes. And then we had some commentary discussion, if you will, between two consenting adults. And then, then it was like a late night one I got back from him. I remember waking up at like 4am lately. So this has been fucking awesome. This Week. And so I was a nice golfer.

[A]

Yeah. I think I'm just getting my body right.

[F]

All right, here's what you do. You pop that jersey on, big smile in the picture tonight at. Was it SoFi? Los Angeles Stadium. That'll do numbers and. Yeah.

[C]

He'll notice, you think? Homeowner notice. He'll notice, you think? He watches my stories, I think. Yeah.

[F]

And I make it a good one. See who's in that box, wherever you are. I don't know.

[C]

I'll be in a suite. I don't know where the ticket is. It couldn't go any worse than the opener, though. A story that we have not told probably won't. Okay, that is the end of the show because I'd like to be done. And I want everyone's weekend to start. So we'll be back. I guess we're just going to be, what, next week?

[F]

Monday.

[H]

I think we're going to be Monday, Thursday.

[F]

Oh, don't play with me, boys. Oh, that's what I like to hear.

[A]

That's right.

[C]

I think we're switching to two days.

[A]

But you know what? Emergency trades, emergency transactions.

[C]

We could be five days a week. We're not. We know the time doesn't stop for us. Draft doesn't mean shit. That's just another day for this show.

[H]

Who's the worst player we would do an emergency trade pod for?

[F]

No, we can't do this now.

[H]

All right, fine. Think about it. That's gonna be Monday's open.

[A]

I love that so much. What's the what? Who's the player? Where you go? Yeah, we gotta do it. And then the player right after that. Where you go?

[C]

We're good. We'll talk about it Thursday.

[F]

Food for thought.

[C]

Second open.

[A]

He's a no emergency pod trade player.

[G]

I think it's.

[H]

Is it. Does Denny odd be at the line? Maybe. I don't know. I gotta think about it.

[A]

That's how we should be doing the tears.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

Where are you right now?

[C]

You have to tape in five minutes to.

[A]

All right, let's get everybody booted up here.

[C]

We're gonna do it this afternoon to. We can do it on tomorrow's show, too. You're good with your day. That's how he should be doing tears. Okay, that is the end of the show. Thanks to everybody. Goodbye, Ryan Marcillo.