transcript

Speaker 1:
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Speaker 2:
[00:30] On this episode, The Oklahoma Breakdown with Ikard and Lehman presented by Riverwind Casino. We hand out some OU Spring Ball Superlatives. Then we talk some Thunder and FGTB. And of course, we give you our winners and losers of the week. Please download and subscribe to the podcast. Rate it five stars and rise to good review. Follow the show on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube. Also, please visit our website, okbreakdown.com. All right, our man, Michael Hasfi, will kick this thing off. It's time for the Oklahoma Breakdown. It's a beautiful Thursday, April 23rd, and you're listening to the Oklahoma Breakdown with Ikard and Lehman, presented by Riverwind Casino. Riverwind is Oklahoma City's premier casino experience, and there are so many reasons why Riverwind has consistently voted OKC's number one casino, but it all starts with their amazing variety of gaming thrills and excitement. Riverwind's beautiful award-winning environment plays host to more than 2,800 of the latest electronic games, with a huge selection of table games, including Blackjack, Blackjack Match Roulette, and Teddy's favorite, Co-Raps. No matter what your game, Riverwind has it in spades and hearts. And to learn more about their gaming promotions and entertainment options, all you got to do is visit riverwind.com. Riverwind Casino, always a good time. And I have survived Disneyland, Ted.

Speaker 3:
[02:30] And that is, that's quite the feat. It's quite the feat. You made it out alive.

Speaker 2:
[02:38] My wife is a crazy person. Best person ever. Love her dearly. But we left for Disneyland right after Thunder Suns Game 1. We came home right before it. Not both games. Disneyland trip sandwiched in between.

Speaker 3:
[02:55] Woo! I bet sleeping in the old bed felt good last night. And I don't know, are you, do you have Disneyland hangover today?

Speaker 2:
[03:06] I am OK. OK, I'm OK. The my my kids had a great time. Those three hundred dollar lunches, man, those are painful, brother. Those are I'll tell you this, though. That buffet, your boy got his money's worth. They lost money on me. I know that they may have made money on everyone else, but they lost money on me.

Speaker 3:
[03:26] OK, I told you that you Disneyland, the weather this time of year, so much better. We went in like June to Florida and I as much as painful as it was, I couldn't wait to fork over five or six hundred dollars for a meal for me, my wife and my son, just so I could sit down in the air conditioning out of the sun. I was like take my money, just willingly pouring it over.

Speaker 2:
[03:56] The weather was perfect, so that made it nice. We had a great time.

Speaker 3:
[04:00] It was so much better there.

Speaker 2:
[04:01] We had a great time. My wife had it. We were dialed in, man. Everything was organized. She had a plan. I didn't have to do much thinking at all. I just, a lot of walking and a lot of carrying my kids. That's it. You know, that's Disneyland. It was great. It was great. I have very limited complaints.

Speaker 3:
[04:21] Did you do the water ride?

Speaker 2:
[04:23] No, there was no water action. We stuck to pretty much Cars Land and Disneyland. And my oldest isn't even five yet. So pretty limited on what you can do from a thrill-seeking factor with the ride. So pretty simple operation for me, OK?

Speaker 3:
[04:44] The last time I went to Disneyland was 2002, I guess maybe it was January 2003, when we went to the Rose Bowl and the captains and Coach Stoops rode the water ride where you got the big tube and you sit around in a circle. That's my last trip to Disneyland.

Speaker 2:
[05:09] Well, from what I can gather, I've never been to World. From what I can gather, it's a little more manageable than what's going on in Florida.

Speaker 3:
[05:18] Seems like it.

Speaker 2:
[05:20] Had a great time, but yeah, it's been a busy couple of days, man. That's just all I'm going to say. I'm not complaining. It's just been a busy couple of days.

Speaker 3:
[05:31] Two-hour time change sandwiched in there, no big deal.

Speaker 2:
[05:34] A couple of late nights because there was a like a glow in the dark parade that they put on at 8:30 PM Pacific time. So we caught that both times. Kids loved it. So hey, there you go. Very few complaints. Great time. I didn't have to do much. It was fantastic. But that's why we didn't have a podcast yesterday like we normally do because my wife would have killed me if I would have been recording the podcast while we were at Disneyland. You know, you choose your battles. Am I right?

Speaker 3:
[06:13] You know, and I just I got to say like as miserable as that would have been for you worrying about the Wi-Fi and everything, it would have been fun from my end. OK, my gosh, sit there like a in a corner of a of a coffee shop with people walk around in the back. That would have been amazing.

Speaker 2:
[06:32] Oh, I'm so glad we didn't try to do that NFL draft is tonight.

Speaker 3:
[06:37] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[06:39] Our Mason Thomas, really the only Sooner with the chance to have his name called tonight. And did I can't wait to see if it happens either way, even if our Mason doesn't get taken in the first round, I don't think he's going to be waiting very long tomorrow to hear his name. It seems like the general consensus on where he's going to go is into the first or the first 10 picks or so of the second round. So we'll see if a team really loves him at the end of the first round and wants to use that pick on him. But either way, very excited to see where all of these former Sooners go in the draft. But certainly we're all going to be watching intently at the end of the first round tonight to see if R. Mason has his name called.

Speaker 3:
[07:28] Yeah, no, I agree. It's, you know, it's weird how there's like trends. And I know it's the people in that industry get good information from GMs and scouts and coaches and stuff. But you know, there was a time when R. Mason was a mocked draft to late in the first to Kansas City or Dallas, I think, in the back half of the first round. And it seems like those aren't as common anymore. And he's he's thought to be maybe an early second round pick, but you never know.

Speaker 2:
[08:00] Yeah, we'll see. And we'll break that all down on Sunday's episode. Excited to see where all these guys land and we'll kind of break down the fit and just our general excitement for them. I will say there's going to be some guys that don't get drafted and boys. It'll be OK. It'll all work out. It'll be OK. You may want to cry into a pillow just briefly briefly like I did. That's OK. You can do that. That's OK. Just find a quiet private place. Just have yourself a nice little cry. Regather yourself and then onward boys onward.

Speaker 3:
[08:41] Take a break from the friends and family to go take a nap.

Speaker 2:
[08:44] Just you need a moment. Just tell them you need a second. You need a second just and go collect yourself. Do what you got to do. Scream into the pillow, cry, break something if you have to. Don't break something expensive though. You're going undrafted.

Speaker 3:
[08:58] You don't get a lot of money when you go undrafted. Have you seen those? That's like the new thing is the rage room where you can go and break a bunch of stuff. Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[09:06] Go hit some stuff with a baseball bat or something. I don't know. But just get your opportunity. Go make the most of it. It'll all be OK, gentlemen. It'll all be OK. OK, you ready to hand out some OU spring ball superlatives?

Speaker 3:
[09:20] Am I ever?

Speaker 2:
[09:21] I don't know if this is a great idea or a stupid idea, but I thought it'd be kind of fun. So we're going to do it. Sound good?

Speaker 3:
[09:27] I think it's good.

Speaker 2:
[09:28] First superlative we're handing out. This is after what we saw at practice. And of course, you add what we saw in the spring game onto it. But we're going to hand out some superlatives. And the first one, most surprising player for the Oklahoma Sooners.

Speaker 3:
[09:48] We do an offense, defense, we're doing overall.

Speaker 2:
[09:52] Let's do one of each. Let's do one guy on offense, one guy on defense. The most surprising player in spring ball. Ted will let you start. Who's your guy on offense?

Speaker 3:
[10:04] On offense, I'm going to go with the Zephan Walker. True freshman coming in and he's looked good in practice. Sometimes in practice, it's kind of hard when they're not, I know they do some tackling to the ground periods, but I wasn't able to see a whole lot of those. Most of that action I saw from him was in the spring game. But even in practice early on, we say this a lot, if you don't know anything about the team and you just walk out there on the field, you don't think that 28 is a true freshman in his first handful of practices. He's got the physical build. He and Hatton both looked really good, and I think that they're just a little bit different. He seems to be a little more sudden with a little bit more change of direction, more likely to cut things all the way back against the grain. As a defensive player, you never know where it's going to hit, and he's just got what I think is the perfect build for this conference. He's thick, he's low to the ground, and like I said, just kind of the quick twitch, the cut ability. We saw him in pass pro in the spring game, step up and make a big pop. He was breaking tackles out there. He's got homerun capability. For a true freshman, I mean, I was really surprised with how good he looked right out of the gate.

Speaker 2:
[11:41] It kind of goes all the way back to when, and this is something we said it at the time, hey, let's file this away. Dylan McCollough said he was really good in pass protection.

Speaker 3:
[11:54] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[11:55] And that was before we had seen him in person, really.

Speaker 3:
[11:58] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[11:58] And it was one of those things like, huh, interesting.

Speaker 3:
[12:02] Yeah, because, I mean, it's kind of a, it's a bold take that early on and, you know, he just kind of got on campus and, you know, I don't know how much he's, did he say that before they were really even in pads, right?

Speaker 2:
[12:17] So yeah, that's what it felt like. I think it was at that, you know, the newcomer media availability.

Speaker 3:
[12:23] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[12:24] So that stood out to us then and then going out to practice and just seeing his physical build, seeing his short area quickness. And the thing that stands out to me is like, it seems like he's just got a really natural feel for where things open up, like the vision, whatever you want to call it.

Speaker 3:
[12:42] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[12:42] The instincts of playing the running back position. He seems to have a good feel about how things kind of open up with this running game. And it certainly feels like he's going to be a factor. I don't know if Xavier Robinson and Torrey Blalock are fully healthy. Like, is Dezephan Walker one of the first two running backs in the rotation? I don't know. We'll see.

Speaker 3:
[13:08] There's no big competition.

Speaker 2:
[13:11] He's looked like a starting level running back to me when I've been out to practice and watched him. He certainly looked that way in the spring game. And when you talk about giving out the superlative of most surprising player, remember, he wasn't the super highly recruited back in this class. That was Jonathan Hatton. We also are very high on Jonathan Hatton. I think we should make that clear. Yes. But this is most surprising player. The guy that was kind of the lesser ranked recruit at the running back position, even though I will say, I did at one point say I like to better than Hatton. I'm just saying. But it is it's just really encouraging. It's really encouraging to see him go out as a true freshman and put this type of spring together. It just it makes you feel better about the running back position as a whole.

Speaker 3:
[14:08] Yeah. Like I said, it's going to be competitive. And, you know, right now, it feels like we've got five guys that could play for us. And like you have to you have to give the benefit of the doubt to the guys coming back from a year ago, you know, to say that maybe it's theirs to lose or however you want to phrase that. But we were incredibly thin last year. I mean, you go back to training camp and Blaylock took pretty much every rep through training camp because we were so banged up at running back. And then, you know, it even happened throughout the season. So, I mean, I feel pretty comfortable saying, like, with where we stand today, we're in a we're in a much better spot than we were a year ago, which, you know, it's about all you can ask for.

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Speaker 2:
[16:27] My most surprising player on offense goes to Mackenzie Alleyne. Seems like they call him Mack, by the way, OK, which I can get on board with that Mack. Nice, nice, sturdy, you know, shortened name. I appreciate that as a Gabriel that goes by Gabe, I appreciate a Mackenzie that goes by Mack, you know, efficiency. Yes, absolutely. And speaking of efficiency, this dude's been really good. Yeah. And when we when he signed out of the portal, we went and watched everything we could find on him. And it was it was encouraging. It was like, hey, this guy plays really hard. He mixes it up as a blocker. You know, he did some really good things for them in their bowl game. But this was a guy that had four catches for 72 yards and one touchdown last year. Yeah, three of those catches came in the bowl game, and the touchdown was in the bowl game.

Speaker 3:
[17:27] And, you know, he was also just kind of lost in the shuffle of the big name portal acquisitions, you know? Right. Parker Livingston, Trayl Harris, you know, the tied in stuff, just kind of lost in the mix. And he has he's established himself for him to have.

Speaker 2:
[17:48] Let's be real, essentially no production at all at Washington State last season. And to come in and to have the type of spring that he's had to wear, at the very least, he's going to be a part of the rotation, if not a starter. That it doesn't get much more surprising than that, dude. No.

Speaker 3:
[18:10] And I think the spring worked out well, because we went through a little phrase there at one point, where we had a bunch of wide receivers out and gave him opportunity to get away more reps and step in and get noticed.

Speaker 2:
[18:27] I've been really impressed with him. Good speed, good suddenness, has made some really, really nice competitive catches every time we've been out to practice. And one thing I really like about it, the dude just seems super competitive, like every rep. And it just, it feels like he's going to be a big factor for this team. When, when you land him out of the portal, you're like, OK, hey, you need enough bodies to practice. You talk about changing everyone's opinion of you quickly. I don't think anyone has changed the opinion of them more than Mackenzie Alleyne. Excuse me, Mack. Sorry, Mack. But all I know is this dude has made place all spring. And it seems like, and you always got to be thinking about this with how the sport is working out, Ted. It feels like an incredible value find from Venables and this staff and Jim Nagy and this front office. And you got to give Arbuckle and Meteor credit too, with their previous relationship with him at Washington State. But man, to go get a guy that had no production that might be a starter for you, who's been making plays, like really impressive plays all spring. That's a big deal, man.

Speaker 3:
[20:00] It is. It's massive. And it's great for the football team. It's great for the offense, you know, to find pieces that you feel like can have some big production for you. But man, it's a huge win in roster building. When you can go out and find guys that you don't have to drop mega money on, and I don't know how much he's getting paid, and maybe he is getting paid a lot. But to find those diamonds in the rough, that's how you beat people. Let everyone else go and drop tons of money on big name guys. If you can get close to matching that production at just a small percentage of the payday, that's a huge win.

Speaker 2:
[20:48] Most surprising player for you in spring ball on defense?

Speaker 3:
[20:58] I've got a couple of guys, and I think for me, it's a couple of freshmen. It's between Tank Carrington and Crail.

Speaker 2:
[21:10] I picked Carrington, so we're on the same page there.

Speaker 3:
[21:13] Yeah, and it's probably more fair with Carrington because he was kind of a totally off-the-radar guy that I thought, OK, good recruit, some really good positive things there, probably going to be a year or two of development, and he flashed right out of the gate. Again, another guy that was a beneficiary of Stone and Lane Jackson being out to where there's a lot more opportunity for reps, and he picked things up really well, physical, big motor. You know, Crail's a little bit different for me, because I had seen how legit he was as a pass rusher and all the tools that he had. But my feeling was, I've seen this before and I don't know how it's going to translate. And I feel like it's translated really well. And there's still some things like, can he hold up against the run in the SEC? I mean, that's going to take some time. But I think that the tools that he brought with him with the pass rush, I think he's going to be a factor. And I think he's going to play this year. He's going to be more of a situational guy. But I've really been impressed. Again, motor, effort, high energy guy. And the tools that he's brought from high school to his first spring session here, he's gotten a lot of use out of those. And it's translated pretty well for him.

Speaker 2:
[22:56] Probably be like the least surprising player on the roster for me. Yeah, he's exactly what we thought he was. You know what I mean? Yeah, very technically sound, great effort. Just now I get what you're saying about holding up in the run game. And that part has he's done a nice job in that area. But as far as what we've seen from him in practice and in the spring game, I don't know, man, it's pretty on the nose for what we anticipated, right?

Speaker 3:
[23:27] It's well, it's on the nose of what...

Speaker 2:
[23:29] I'm telling you, your pick is terrible. It's terrible. It's the least surprising, not the most surprising.

Speaker 3:
[23:35] Fair. Well, I guess it's probably just... It's more on my end that I just I was not sure that it would translate as well as it has. I mean, that's just kind of where it is.

Speaker 2:
[23:48] You just looked at... He's got really good physical tools, but he doesn't have like elite length for an edge guy or anything like that. It's like, OK, how's this going to translate? It's translated pretty well.

Speaker 3:
[24:03] Pretty well.

Speaker 2:
[24:04] But yeah, mine was Carrington and you nailed it, Ted. Just the guy has completely taken full advantage of his opportunity. And one of the things I like and one of the reasons I have him as my most surprising is just the splash plays he makes. You got to have those guys. Yes, you need interior defensive linemen that are super, super consistent down in and down out. You got to have those guys. Of course. That's what great defenses are built on. But you also have to have a guy that can kind of play outside of the framework in the interior and swim adieu to the line of scrimmage and go make a play in the backfield. And we've seen Carrington do that quite a bit. Yeah. And he's got a little more to him as a pass rusher than I anticipated him having at this point in his career. And you need that as well on the interior. So I think he's going to be, he'll probably be 300 pounds by the time that we kick this thing off in the fall. I was impressed that he got up to 290. Like that tells me it means something to him already. And if you play with that energy, that effort, you make some of those splash plays, and it means a lot to you. Like usually that's a great formula to be a good player. And I just think that we've been impressed with what we've seen from him. And it's important to remember, this is going to be the worst version of Tank Carrington we've seen. And that's an encouraging thought. So Todd Bates has proved he will play freshman defensive lineman. That has been proven. So I think Carrington is... I don't know how big of a percentage of the snaps he's going to get, but the guy's going to play. And important to remind everyone, the fact that he's doing this in number 58 as a defensive lineman, it can't go unnoticed. That may be the most impressive part. That is a trash detackle number, and he's out there just making plays in that trash number.

Speaker 3:
[26:18] When you walk onto the field as a true freshman in a loose-fitting 58 jersey that they had to dig out of a bin somewhere, you already are a front-runner for the surprise. If you could do anything, you're going to show up on the finalist of the surprise list.

Speaker 2:
[26:40] I think it was his high school number, so the fact that I'm guessing he loves it, that only makes me more excited about it. The guy's clearly a psycho.

Speaker 3:
[26:50] Here's what you do. Everyone wants the low-hanging fruit with the numbers, but a lot of those numbers have a long list of really good players that have worn it. If you want to stamp your flag legacy-wise, you've got to be the best 58 ever.

Speaker 2:
[27:12] The opportunity is there, Tank Carrington.

Speaker 3:
[27:14] There you go.

Speaker 2:
[27:15] Do you want to be the best 58 ever? All right, let's head out to our next superlative, most improved player. What I was thinking on this one, Ted, was like a guy that maybe he was a factor a season ago, maybe not quite so much, but a guy that has clearly made a jump as a player. Let's start on the offensive side of the ball. Who are you giving the most improved player superlative to?

Speaker 3:
[27:45] For me, it's got to be Manny Choice. You know, last year, as a true freshman, he's had the size, but he looks way better right now than he did a year ago. He's had the big frame, the tall frame, but he's matured into his body. And I mean, he burst on the scene, and I said it right out of the gate. He's one of the first guys that stood out. When I went to the very first practice, I had to say, who the heck is Zero? I think that he has really stepped up to the plate, big time production throughout the spring. He's worked himself into the rotation. I like what he does after the catch. The height that he has, it's almost, it kind of creeps up on you until you kind of get close to him, stand next to him. It's a big dude, runs really well. I think he made a large jump from last year to this year. Like with where we sit right now, I'd be surprised if he doesn't factor in in a pretty decent way throughout the fall.

Speaker 2:
[28:58] I really like what we've seen from him. He's making a bunch of competitive plays out there. The one thing, he just, he looks way more fluid than he did a year ago. I don't know if it's because he's leaned out a little bit. I just, his route running, his speed, everything just looks better. Last year when we went out, you and I kind of looked at each other and we were like, is that guy going to be a tight end? Like it just looked a little clunky.

Speaker 3:
[29:27] Yeah. I think, and I mentioned this right out of the gate. A year ago, he looked kind of mechanical with how he was running routes. It's almost like, all right, I got my base down and he's got a style to the way he runs routes now that's unique to him. I think it fits his body type better. I don't know what he changed necessarily, but he looks fluid and smooth and there's like a unique style and pace to how he runs his routes that fits the taller frame really nicely.

Speaker 2:
[30:07] At the very least, he should be a guy that moves the chains quite a bit from you and has a big red zone threat. At the very least, I'm not even entirely sure what his ceiling is as a player.

Speaker 3:
[30:23] I agree.

Speaker 2:
[30:24] Because the jump between last season, what we watched in this season, what we watched up to this point, he's made a big jump, man.

Speaker 3:
[30:36] He kind of feels like he's one of those guys that, whatever game it is, if he just kind of gets hot, like really may take off through the rest of the season.

Speaker 2:
[30:49] That's a really good point. We're watching him do all this without any proven production. How will it affect him mentally, in a positive way, if he goes out early in the season, like is racking up some catches in some yards and a couple of touchdowns, you know, like that could be, that could be like strapping rocket boosters to this kid.

Speaker 3:
[31:16] All right, those skill positions, I mean, confidence is big no matter what position you play, but if you start getting the ball and you make some plays, you start producing, there's just a, you carry yourself a little bit different and, you know, yeah, he's an interesting guy. Like if we're sitting here at the end of next year, and we're saying that, you know, he had, you know, big production numbers and maybe we'll be looking at him as maybe being the front runner for wide receiver one heading into the following year, that would not be a surprise to me at all.

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Speaker 2:
[32:26] I'm going with Jake Michael. Most improved.

Speaker 3:
[32:30] That fits. A lot of people have said that.

Speaker 2:
[32:34] He just looks way better than he did last season, especially at the end of the year when he had lost all the weight from the infection and all that. It was one of those things where you were. I was just glad he was OK from that scary situation. But it was one of those words like, man, I mean, he can't even play in the playoff game. So I, I really, I think the run game changes the new philosophy of how they're handling all of that. I think it's been a huge, huge positive for Jake. And because remember a season ago, every time I came on here and recapped his performances, like he was great in pass protection, not much movement in the run game. That's just kind of what he is. We started to produce some more movement in the run game because of what they're doing with this mid zone and outside zone stuff. And I think that fits his skill set. It fits his frame better than a lot of what they did a season ago, where he's kind of just wrestling with guys in place at the line of scrimmage. So I think those run game changes have had a huge positive effect for him. And it just allows him to showcase his athleticism and his movement skills more. And that's been huge for him. I think that has led to some more confidence for him. And like a more of a swagger out there on the practice field, because he knows he's doing some good things. And when you start piling those days up, right, you start stacking those positive days, you start feeling really good about yourself as a player. And I've just talked to multiple members of the staff that anytime I bring or anytime I post a question like, who's had a great spring, his name comes up every single time with every single one of them. So it's just he continues to be fantastic in pass pro. The weight, the strength, everything is better there as well. So I just he went from a guy that I think, you know, was a solid center to a guy that I think could be really, really good this season if he continues to build on what he did in the spring.

Speaker 3:
[34:47] Yeah, and I don't know. I'd like to hear your opinion on it. But it seems to me that if you walk on the field every day and you feel like our offensive life starting offensive line group, we're good, right? And you've stacked some good practices and you're trusting the guys around you a little bit more. Like it's a totally different mindset as whenever you take the field. It's way easier to make big gains than every meeting is a beat down. By every conversation outside of the program is about, this group has to get better. This group's holding us back like all those things like I imagine that they start there feels like that group's kind of getting over the hump and pass that to agree where it feels like they're going to be a big asset for the team that that's probably you just approach practice a little bit different every day. I think I.

Speaker 2:
[35:51] There's just no doubt. All right, most improved defensive player for you.

Speaker 3:
[36:00] Most improved defensive player. I maybe this is just the low hanging fruit, but it's Danny Akoye. You know, we we've known that the talent is there. He's you know, since he got here, there's been flashes of that explosiveness, the get off, the athleticism. But he has tied all of that in with vastly improved technical ability. And you know, just listen, talking with him some and you know, seeing some of his quotes with the media, like it feels like he's put it all together on and off the field, just like mindset and how he's approaching it. And you know, knowing what he needs to do, not feeling like he's arrived. There's always improvement there. And you've seen it. I mean, he can beat guys with speed. He can run through people. You know, his athleticism on the movement stuff is superb. The motor is there. The trash talking and the energy that he brings to the defense is evident. Like he's gone from a guy that you say, hey, someday he's going to be good to like, he's a big part of this defense right now. And I think that to me, he's clearly the most improved.

Speaker 2:
[37:38] I love what we've seen from him in the spring. Now it's just time for him to go do it once the season starts. And I'm of the belief that he's going to go do it. He's the most talented guy we have on the line of scrimmage, which is saying something. We got some pretty good players along the defensive front. Now is he the most consistent? No, he has not proven to be the most consistent. Can he prove to be the most consistent this fall? Of course. But the bottom line for me is, with what we've seen in the spring, he should be our most disruptive player.

Speaker 3:
[38:24] Yeah, that's what I was going to say is like, I don't know that he'll ever be the most consistent.

Speaker 2:
[38:28] But that's OK.

Speaker 3:
[38:30] That's it. He's going to be like, Taylor Wine is going to be locked in, responsibility driven, PJ, responsibility driven. Okoye is going to be the guy that goes and makes a play for you. And he may swing and miss at times. But even those situations where he swings and miss, it's going to create chaos. And often, you know, you're still going to be able to cover that at the second level with the linebacker play, being able to rally to the football. And he's going to cut a lot of things off and turn a lot of plays into broken plays. And we've been pretty good in that area. So, yeah.

Speaker 2:
[39:15] We, he clearly needs to have a great summer, have a great training camp. But I just, I cannot wait to see him play in Ann Arbor.

Speaker 3:
[39:27] He's another dude, like, like we were saying with Manny Choice, like, don't let him get going early. Don't let him make some plays early in a football game or early in the season, because I have the feeling that it's going to be a snowball rolling downhill.

Speaker 2:
[39:44] That's exactly what we need to happen. We need him to take all of these physical gifts, all that energy, like that attitude, the proper amount of crazy. And we need him to make some plays early in the year and just maximize what he can do. That's a fun thing to think about. Needs to happen, Ted. But there's no doubt. He's had a really good spring. He's taken a jump. We're going to find out how big that jump has been. If it's like, oh, that's a solid jumper, like, oh my goodness, what a massive leap he's taken.

Speaker 3:
[40:27] Like, his ceiling is like, he could be the best pass rusher edge guy in the SEC next year and it wouldn't be a surprise. Like, that's the ceiling.

Speaker 2:
[40:37] Dylan Stewart would like to have a word, but I...

Speaker 3:
[40:40] Well, yeah, I forgot about him.

Speaker 2:
[40:42] Yeah, I just...

Speaker 3:
[40:44] He's like a different animal. He's on a different planet.

Speaker 2:
[40:48] But he's also, I mean, he's a little more muscled up than Stewart, you know? So, and that's the thing, is not only do I think Okoye can be a very disruptive pass rusher, but with his strength and his build, he's almost 260 pounds, man. Like, he should also be very good against the run.

Speaker 3:
[41:12] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[41:14] So I expect him to be really, really good.

Speaker 3:
[41:18] Yep.

Speaker 2:
[41:18] He should be one of the talks of the SEC midway through the season, where people turn the film on and they go, Oh my God, have you, you remember this kid when he played like three snaps last year? Look at him now. Oh my gosh. Like that's, that's what the conversation should be for these staffs that, oh, you has to play against.

Speaker 3:
[41:38] No doubt.

Speaker 2:
[41:39] I've got Nigel Smith as my most improved.

Speaker 3:
[41:43] That's yes.

Speaker 2:
[41:44] I just the, we saw the physical transformation start to take place last season. When we'd see him on the sideline and on the away trips. But the guy's like a full on defensive tackle now, wide back, almost up to 300 pounds. He has, and I respect it as someone that did it, like he has embraced the position change and taking it very seriously. And I just, I think that he's done a really nice job. The surprising part to me, what stood out to me is that he's done a really nice job holding up in the run game. When you think about an edge guy moving in the defensive tackle, you think, OK, what's he gonna bring? It's a pass rusher. I, really what he's done, like holding up against double teams, being disruptive against the run, that's the part that stood out to me, Ted. Not necessarily like what he's adding as an interior pass rusher. I think that'll come as he gets more and more comfortable with converting, you know, from, hey, I'm playing running. No, no, no, I got to convert. I got to rush the passer now. I think that will come. I think that process like flipping that switch will continue to get better for him. I think things will happen quicker as he gets more and more reps. But it's just kind of a different world in there, man. And I think he's adjusted to it pretty well. The physical development has clearly been a huge, huge part of it. But with how different playing in the interior is to playing on the edge, I think he's made the adjustment well. And it seems like he's got the right mentality going with all of this as well. So I've been really impressed with what we've seen from Nigel Smith. And if he can continue to improve, that would be, that'd be very big for the depth of this interior defensive line. But so far so good. He's, he, he did some really good things in the spring.

Speaker 3:
[43:47] Yeah, he's, he's made big leaps and it doesn't feel like he's tapped out where he's going to be. No, he's got, you know, what, if you look at our defensive line, Stone and Jaden Jackson, you know, throw, throw Trent Wilson in there, throw Carrington if you want. Like he's a little bit different, but like he's got more length than a lot of those guys. And I think he's got, you know, pad levels always a problem for those guys. And if he continues to technically get better and better, he's going to be a really nice change up to some of the other body types that we have.

Speaker 2:
[44:31] Just got to continue to add a little more weight, add more strength. And he should be at the very least, right? A nice rotational piece for this interior defensive line.

Speaker 3:
[44:43] And honestly, that's been one of the biggest questions coming into the spring. And maybe one of the more promising developments is, okay, who's going to play behind David Stone and Jaden Jackson? I mean, you've got a handful of guys that have performed really well, and I expect that level of play to continue to get better. Trent Wilson, Tank Carrington, Nigel Smith, Bishop Thomas. I mean, that group has done pretty well, and I expect them to continue to get better.

Speaker 2:
[45:16] Yeah, I'm with you. All right, next is Peralative. And we really didn't have many defensive transfers, so let's just pick one for this one, the most impressive transfer with what we've seen in spring ball.

Speaker 3:
[45:32] I'm going to go Hayden Hansen if we're just going one overall. I mean, he to me has the like maybe since like we've been, other than quarterback, we've had great players in the transfer portal, but I can't remember a player that has been such a big part of like transforming one side of the ball. And Hayden Hansen is kind of the anchor that is allowing us to really do some of these things that we're doing in the run game. Like you just can't afford to do it if you've got a, you know, you don't have that tied in spot locked down. And, you know, just physically we've taught we beat that to death with the size, 270 pounds, the length, you know, just the experience, the technical ability that he's brought. And I still think that there's improvement to be made there. I think that Jason Whitten is going to get even more out of him than what we've seen on film from, you know, the last couple of years, which has been really solid. Just shirring up that part of the offense, you know, already you can see what it's done for us, but I think it could end up really just totally opening up the rest of the offense with what he brings to the table. Run blocking, pass protection, you know, even though I wouldn't like his strength to me is blocking, but that doesn't mean that he's not a threat in the pass game. He is. He's a red zone target with the size and the length. He runs well. He's just so good in so many facets that it does really have a chance to transform what we do offensively.

Speaker 2:
[47:36] It's hard to disagree with any of that. He's been fantastic.

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Speaker 7:
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Speaker 2:
[48:40] I'm going to take Amarion Harris just to come in and essentially just take that right tackle job and everyone to look around and go, yep, it's his. He's just been really consistent. He's practiced at a high level. I've been impressed. He's a little more athletic than I thought he was.

Speaker 3:
[49:03] I was going to say that it kind of felt like we've got a guy that we think can be a starter for us and it feels like he's exceeded those expectations just from being a guy that kind of plugs the hole to like, this is an asset for us. He's better than we expected.

Speaker 2:
[49:25] He has, in my opinion, and I know that they're not playing games yet, but he has performed better than what his film at Arkansas showed.

Speaker 3:
[49:34] Right.

Speaker 2:
[49:35] And he deserves credit for that. Bill Beaton, Bill Beaton Bow deserves credit for that. The other guys on that line kind of pushing him and holding him accountable. They deserve some credit for that. I think he came to Oklahoma to take his game to another level, to get the most out of himself, and I think that's what's happening. I really do. And for a guy to come in and I guarantee you, he was not promised anything by anyone. You think Bill Beaton Bow went, Yeah, man, you're going to come here. I guarantee you're going to be a starter. No chance. But to Harris' credit, he's come in, he's put the work in, he's practiced at a very high level, he's been very consistent, he's been good in the run game, like better in the run game than I thought he would be. He's been really solid as a pass protector and has just stacked good practice after good practice after good practice. And I don't think he was one of those guys where you went and you, you know, you broke the bank to get him out of the portal. But I think they feel really good about the value they're getting out of him. So I just, anytime you can come in and get a guy that is like undoubtedly going to be a starting offensive tackle, like that feels like a very important thing. And that's why I think he's, for me, he's been the most impressive transfer because I, I wasn't quite sure just how good he was, but he's been, I mean, from day one, he took that right tackle spot and he's not letting it go, man. That's, that's pretty impressive.

Speaker 3:
[51:21] Yeah. Since we didn't take a defensive one, I'll give Cole Sullivan an honorable mention.

Speaker 2:
[51:26] Of course. He just had to work in a defensive guy. Of course he, he would be mine as well. It's not, there's not a ton of options, right? But he, there's not, undoubtedly would be mine.

Speaker 3:
[51:35] I'll tell you that, you know, from the very beginning I thought, okay, solid piece. And when I first saw him in the spring, I said, you know, I think he can be good. There's, there's some work to be done. But the more I've watched him, the more I like him. And I think that, you know, from where he started beginning of the spring to, like, maybe not game one, game two, game three. But by the end of the year, it won't surprise me if he's a standout. It really won't. I think that he's going to continue to mature. He's a, he looks bigger every time I see him. He's, he's impressed me.

Speaker 2:
[52:19] He's, he's only going to have a big season if he loses the arm sleeves and lets those babies breathe. Come on. We'll try. Come on, Cole. Do the right thing. Give the people what they want. Never saw, you never saw an arm sleeve on Teddy Lehman at Oklahoma. Never.

Speaker 3:
[52:35] When he goes to training camp in late July and August, I think he'll be like, OK, yeah, these sleeves are done, never coming back.

Speaker 2:
[52:43] We'll let him know. I'll just pop into a training camp, practice with him. Hey, man, the arm sleeves just come on. You got to let those arms breathe.

Speaker 3:
[52:55] We got to see the veins.

Speaker 2:
[52:56] You've got to get some sunlight on them, too, remember?

Speaker 3:
[52:59] That's right.

Speaker 2:
[53:00] We got to get a little tan on our guy, Cole, if that's possible for him. But no, he's been really good. And the Taylor Heim injury, all of a sudden, he becomes even more important. Our original thinking was, hey, this guy's going to be challenging for a starting spot at the inside backer position. Like he'll be pushing Heinecke, he'll be pushing Kip Lewis. He'll be battling Nesta. And now all of a sudden, it feels like he's going to become this versatile piece for this defense. It's going to be critically important to the success of it.

Speaker 3:
[53:36] Yeah, I agree.

Speaker 2:
[53:39] Should we give out a most outstanding player? Yeah. We can make this quick. Offense, most outstanding player. Like, I think the best way to frame this is to walk out and go, okay, who looks like the best player on the football team?

Speaker 3:
[53:53] Vsousi.

Speaker 2:
[53:54] No doubt. Dude looks fantastic.

Speaker 3:
[53:57] And I'm telling you, I don't have the eye for offensive line like you do.

Speaker 2:
[54:04] Sure you do, Ted. Come on.

Speaker 3:
[54:06] Me, I could say what looks good, like sometimes a guy is locking someone down, but technically he's all over the place and I really don't have the eye for it. But spring practice number one, I was like, okay, I was hoping Vsousi was going to be improved in a different dude, and it took about 10 seconds to see it. I mean, it's clear.

Speaker 2:
[54:25] It will be absolutely shocking if he does not have an all SEC caliber season. He looks fantastic physically, techniques better, hand usage, feet, everything. Only if I'm going to nitpick, I still think his stance is a little too upright for my liking, but that's about the only negative thing I could say about the guy. And the most impressive part about him, and I know I've mentioned it several times now, is like his mentality and practice tells you everything you need to know about the guy. No one on the football team practices harder than Michael Vsousi. And that's how you become great. So, I've been impressed with the technical improvements. I think he looks great physically, but nothing has impressed me more than his work ethic and what he's bringing in practice day in and day out on the practice field. So, I just, I love everything I've seen from this guy. And I think if you walk out, like you said, Ted, it takes you about 10, maybe 15 minutes to go. 56 is the best one you got.

Speaker 3:
[55:29] Yep. And that's, that's the position where you want to be able to say that.

Speaker 2:
[55:35] I think the defense, like who's been the most outstanding player through spring ball. Defense, it's a more interesting conversation.

Speaker 3:
[55:42] Well, I had mine and I just glanced over at the notes and I'm kind of surprised we have the same guy.

Speaker 2:
[55:51] Payton Bowen. It just feels like everything, like back half of the season last year, everything started to come together for him. And we'd pointed out here like, hey man, he's starting to really see things well from that safety spot. He's really fitting the run well. He's tackling at a high level. He's clearly got fantastic coverage skills and ball skills. Like it felt like honestly, he was becoming the player that we all thought he was going to be with how highly recruited he was and like his reputation coming out of high school. He was healthy, maybe the most important thing of all.

Speaker 3:
[56:30] That's the biggest factor. He's been battling that ankle stuff or whatever it is. And it's there and it's been there. Like one of the things about safety is sometimes you just don't necessarily notice how real how great it is, especially last year as good as the front seven was and as many plays as those guys made. They soaked up most of the production on the defense and you just kind of forget how good it is on the back end. But I mean this spring he's made some loud plays on the back and he's so smart. He knows when to take risks kind of reminds me of Billy Bowman a little bit. Like Billy knew everything about the defense was incredibly smart. But whenever he needed to go outside of the framework to make something happen, he did it and batted a thousand. You're starting to see that same type of stuff from Peyton Bowen. He is a luxury that we don't talk enough about to have him on the back end capping off your defense.

Speaker 2:
[57:41] He's also, I mean, he's flying around, fit in the run.

Speaker 3:
[57:45] Yep.

Speaker 2:
[57:46] It just seems like he's always where he's supposed to be now, whether it's fit in the run or in coverage. And then his ability to play the football in the air.

Speaker 3:
[57:57] Incredible.

Speaker 2:
[57:57] He's really, really good at going and getting it. So I've been very pleased with how Peyton Bowen has looked through spring ball.

Speaker 3:
[58:08] Yep. But you're right, though, there's been, there's options. There's options. I could go Cortland Guillory. I could go Taylor Wine. You know, there's a bunch of spots that you can.

Speaker 2:
[58:22] There's also, let's be real, there's days you go out to practice and you're like, Danny Okoye is the best player we got. Yeah. I mean, with the amount of disruption, the amount of splash plays, the amount of things he can do, whether that's against the run or as a pass rusher where you just go. Dang, dude. He's had some days where I've got, I'm not so sure 16 ate the best of what we got. Yep. So it's good to have to think about it for a little bit.

Speaker 3:
[58:52] Competition.

Speaker 2:
[58:53] I think Bowen is the right answer. And I just have to assume that Courtland Guillory is going to hear this at some point, and you just know he's going to be furious we didn't pick him.

Speaker 3:
[59:04] Well, I know.

Speaker 2:
[59:06] It's a personal attack on Courtland Guillory.

Speaker 3:
[59:08] He would also be furious if we did pick him for not picking him sooner. You know what I'm saying?

Speaker 2:
[59:15] For thinking about it, for debating it.

Speaker 3:
[59:17] For debating it, for throwing any other names in the hat, which I absolutely love.

Speaker 2:
[59:26] We're the biggest Guillory fans you're going to find. But he is, yes, he will take this as a personal attack that we pick Bowen instead of him. There's no doubt about it. You got to pick, he's going to put a picture of you on a dartboard somewhere, Ted, and just throw darts at you.

Speaker 3:
[59:41] Hey, that's whatever he needs. I think he's throwing darts at everyone.

Speaker 2:
[59:46] Dude, he looks great.

Speaker 3:
[59:48] Great.

Speaker 2:
[59:49] He looks great right now. All right, let's get into some thunder, man. It's playoff time. All right. And Oklahoma right now. But we got up 2-0. But Ted, we've got some concerns, man. We've got some concerns. But first, download the updated Loves app, your guide to savings and points with the new Loves Rewards program. Save on fuel with 10 cents off gas and up to 25 cents off auto diesel while earning points on every gallon and dollar you spend in store. Unlock mobile deals and redeem points on snacks, drinks, loves, freshly made meals and more. Plus, plan your next road trip with a map and route planner. Download the Loves app today and earn 100 bonus points on your first in-store scan through September 1st. All from Loves, the heart of the highway.

Speaker 3:
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Speaker 2:
[61:10] And we are brought to you by Oklahoma Owned Simple Modern. The Oklahoma Sooners official drinkwear partner. All right, guys, Mother's Day is coming up. Don't wait until the last minute to get the women who keep your life and something they'll actually love. If you're looking for a Mother's Day gift that won't get tucked away in a drawer, Simple Modern's Mesa Loop Water Bottle is one she'll reach for every single day. It's true. I use mine every single day. And like everything Simple Modern makes, it delivers serious quality at a price that makes sense. And with 10% of profits going to charity, many right here in Oklahoma, every step supports Oklahomans. Simple Modern, good everywhere. All right, time for some football guys talking basketball. And Ted, we don't need to waste any time on game one. Absolute Bloodbath, 1984. Just Thunder's defense is ridiculous. Phoenix looked about as uncomfortable as you can look in a playoff basketball game. And it was just a thorough, thorough beat down. And then we had game two. Little more competitive. Thunder went at 120, 107. Got a little interesting late in the four. Suns cut it to 10. Thunder did what they do, respond accordingly. Win by double digits. Hey, we're all happy. You're up 2-0 in a series that you're playing a team that you're just, let's be real, way better than. But Jalen Williams leads the game in the third quarter with a hamstring. Now, the good news, I think it's good news, is it is not the hamstring that he hurt twice earlier this season. It's the other hamstring. It's his left hamstring this time. But clearly, not good, man. Not good. He looked incredible in game one. And looked even better in game two. He was moving at a different speed than like everyone else on the court. He looked like a guy that didn't play a ton this season and had very fresh legs. That's how he looked. I mean, would he have like 19 points in 24 minutes? Explosive, just fantastic on defense. And then misses the transition layup and grabs the hammy.

Speaker 3:
[63:30] I, the most concerning thing about it for me, he grabbed high.

Speaker 2:
[63:37] Round the boat, round the booty.

Speaker 3:
[63:39] Grabbed high on that hamstring. You know, I, it didn't look like, I mean, it looked like a tweak. But, you know, I, and from a guy that's recovered from it, you're sensitive to the, those feelings, right? And like that, I guess that's my hope, is that there was just a tiny something there. And he felt it immediately. And just didn't want to, didn't want to push it anymore. But you never know with, you never know what the hamstrings, man. You just, I don't know.

Speaker 2:
[64:22] It's just such a bummer. He was looking so good and just, it's clearly a massive, massive deal for the Thunder. And let's be real, like it, it changes the way that the playoffs look for the NBA. Now, maybe it's nothing serious. Maybe it's not a big deal at all. Maybe he just doesn't play the rest of the series and he's ready to go in the next round, whether it's the Lakers or the Rockets. But I don't know, man. It, I looked it up Western Conference Finals are scheduled to start May 20th. So he's got a month.

Speaker 3:
[65:03] That feels close.

Speaker 2:
[65:04] It, it feels like the Thunder can get through the next round without him. It's not going to be easy. But we, we know what this team looks like without Jalen Williams. They were the best team in basketball without Jalen Williams. For the vast majority of the season, right? So we know what they're capable of. And people want to say, hey, the playoffs are different. I totally get that. That's true. But we know they're capable of winning playoff series without him. You just, you get in a series with Denver or San Antonio, and you start to go, I don't know, man. Like you kind of need your all NBA caliber guard. Yeah. Because especially with what he brings on the defensive end of the floor, like that size, that wingspan, like he just, he causes people a lot of problems on that end. And then of course, the scoring. So I, I'm not panicking. But I'd be lying if I said, I'm not having some internal anxiety about it. OK?

Speaker 3:
[66:14] Yeah. Well, you know, not knowing how bad it is. A hamstring is also something that you can play with. You know, like if you absolutely have to, I don't think that they're going to be at that point with him. But, you know, there's some injuries that you just can't play with, right? And you're you're totally you're you're done until you're you're healed 100 percent or close to 100 percent. You can grind through a hamstring if it's, you know, if it's in a spot or you don't have a massive tear there or I don't I don't know, like his his mechanics. And it would make you feel like maybe he's not one of those guys because of how much time he missed with the other one. But man, I've seen guys I saw a guy play an entire season in the NFL with the purple hamstring on the back of his leg. I don't know how the hell he did it. But you know, because I'm a guy that if I have any type of divot at all in my hamstring and I move on it, it'll just totally disintegrate. So there's, I don't know, there's different body mechanics out there. I don't know if he's a guy that could push through something like that or not.

Speaker 2:
[67:38] I'm just sad for him. Been a long season for that dude, man. With the wrist and then the hammy and then the hammy again. And now the other hammy, it just brutal.

Speaker 3:
[67:52] Yeah. You know, these things are not uncommon whenever, if you have a bad injury on one leg and you limp around for three months, you, the other leg takes damage. I mean, not necessarily damage, but it gets overuse and it's just like your, your gait and everything is thrown off a little bit and you're prone to tweaks on the opposite leg whenever you come back. So again, hopefully it's, it's just that and not something bad.

Speaker 2:
[68:25] I think that would be the concern now, right? Is he's tweaked the left one, the right one's been an issue all season long? Or maybe it just balances him out. He can't overcompensate on either.

Speaker 3:
[68:38] He's back to square one.

Speaker 2:
[68:40] He's back to balance. There's the theory. This hammy tweak on the left side actually gets him back to balanced. But no, I just, I think that would be the big concern. If you're the Thunder's medical staff is, okay, we know we've had this issue with the right one. Now we've got issues with the left one. If he overcompensates on the right one, that's been an issue. Like could something catastrophic happen on that leg? So that, I'm sure that's part of the conversation that they're having. But I, I would assume we'll know kind of what the timetable looks like here in the next day or two. But it's not good. I know that now.

Speaker 3:
[69:21] It's not good. But like, if this is like one of those things where, because of the, the compensating factor, if it's one of those things that was inevitable, this is the time for it to happen, I guess. You know?

Speaker 2:
[69:37] Yeah, I know. We're in a first round series where you've got some time. Your, your opponent will be lucky to get a game off you.

Speaker 3:
[69:45] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[69:47] If it's going to happen, that's it. Look at you, Mr. Optimistic. It's going to happen. Now, I guess you could have said if it was going to happen, it would have been nice to happen in game one. But other than that it, I better choose to be optimistic with you. Yes. If it was going to happen, it happened at the proper time. But I just, I don't know what the timetable is going to look like. And J-Dub's injury kind of takes, takes the headlines away from what was a fantastic Shae game. What, 37-5 and nine assists?

Speaker 3:
[70:27] Crazy good.

Speaker 2:
[70:29] Point to Dylan Brooks, laughing at him, which I could not have enjoyed, enjoyed any more than I did. Oh, that just, that hit me right. Just right. It just made my soul happy. When he did that to Dylan Brooks, even though heck of a game from Dylan Brooks, like he made that game interesting in the fourth quarter. Good for you, Dylan Brooks.

Speaker 3:
[70:50] He put, I mean, that was a high effort performance by him. I'm just like, it's a fascinating thing. And I know the NBA players all shoot really well, but whenever I'm just shocked, when Shai takes a shot that doesn't go in, it's like, what is that? What happened? That's strange. It's just so smooth. I know it's kind of the same thing, but it's still impressive whenever you see it. At night in, night out, you're still walking away saying, that dude's different.

Speaker 2:
[71:27] There's no doubt about it. Our man Scott Van Pelt had a clip going around. He did enjoy watching what Shai did in game one. He's like, it's not fun. I can only imagine what his mentions are like. Because Shai, I mean, he had 29 through three quarters and it only shot five free throws. I'm like, you have fun watching this or what, bud?

Speaker 3:
[71:50] Five free throws and one of them was a tech, right?

Speaker 2:
[71:53] Our man SVP, he's a ball knower. He'll make it right. He'll, he will, he'll, he's good with words. He'll on their next podcast, Stanford Steve, our guy, Stanford Steve will get him right. Don't worry. But that was, I mean, that was, he was in complete control of the game and he had the kind of scary, weird situation with the left hand where he like went to the ground. You're like, oh no, what's going on here? But it seemed like everything was fine. I think I did. I won't lie. I got some, I had some John Mattier PTSD last night as I got in bed. I was like, oh, his hand's fine. I was like, I thought Mattier's hand was fine too.

Speaker 3:
[72:36] Yeah, but I don't know. He seemed, he seemed to get over it fairly well. And, you know, by the end of the game, it looked like it was not much of a factor for him.

Speaker 2:
[72:50] The only other thing, just being at the game, like it is wild, wild how much Phoenix is just focused on the officiating. They are constantly complaining. Everyone, like at one point, I had to tell Colin Gillespie, I was like, Colin, you are not good enough to complain this much. And he looked at me like I had said the most offensive thing in the world to him. I mean, he's like turning to officials and clapping at him. Like, hey, I'm like, dude, you're not that good. You can't do that. Dylan Brooks is just, I mean, he's insufferable. Booker complains, every possession. It is, they are hyper focused on it. It's like, so they're so concerned about it. It's distracting them from like how they're playing the game. Jordan Knott, their head coach, Dylan Brooks got a foul for like knocking Shai over a little bit. Shai, I don't know, it might have been a flop, whatever. But Jordan Knott goes up to the ref and like reenacts it. He elbows the ref in the stomach a little bit. And the ref is like, dude, what are you doing? It was one of those where I was like, they just can't get over it. They can't get over it. It's distracting them from playing basketball at a high level. It's wild to witness. And meanwhile, Shai doesn't say a word. Best player in the league doesn't say a word to the official all game long. Not a word, not one conversation. Meanwhile, Phoenix, I mean, you got Devin Booker calling refs out by name after the game. And I'm just like, guys, maybe just worry about the basketball and not the officiating. You guys shot the same amount of free throws if you wouldn't have gotten some intentionals and a technical foul. It just, I don't know. It's like the narrative that was around the Thunder all season long, like this thing that people have tried to build up is like, it's consumed the Phoenix Suns. They can't shake it, Ted.

Speaker 3:
[74:58] It's not just the Phoenix Suns, it's consumed everyone. It's consumed anyone that covers the sport. It's consumed obviously the guys on the court. Whenever you hear it constantly in the media with people complaining about it, it gets planted in everyone's mind on the court. It turns out to be a huge edge for Oklahoma City. I mean, they can't wrap their mind around the way they play defense and the way they play offense. And it's the funniest thing to me because I've watched for years, and maybe I was even one of those guys that just hated that there was no defense being played in the NBA, right? It's just wide open shot after wide open shot. It was frustrating. And now you've got a team that has built their identity around the way that they play defense. And everyone hates the way that they play defense. It's fascinating to me. It was like the biggest gripe around the league by the casual fan for years. Well, here you've got an elite defensive team and everyone claims to hate it when it's what you've been asking for.

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Speaker 2:
[77:56] The Thunder get away with murder on the defensive end. I just... It's interesting to watch. Like, if you go to the... Maybe Phoenix comes back for a game five. I'm not sure. Jada being out brings that into play. I did not think we were gonna see the Phoenix Suns again. If he wouldn't have tweaked the hammy. But if they do play in Oklahoma City again, just... If you're at the game, just watch how much they complain. It's crazy. They've got coaches standing up, all complaining to the officials. Meanwhile, you look at the Thunder bench. Really nothing. Dagnall's the only one standing. Meanwhile, at some points, I've lost track of who the head coach of the Phoenix Suns is because there's so many guys up moving around and arguing with the officials. I'm like, wait, which one is I? Oh, there he is. He's the one that the other two guys are standing in front to yell at the official. It's crazy, man.

Speaker 3:
[79:00] It is a massive advantage, dude. That is a like whenever you come into a game or a series, and because of the narrative, like you've already got a huge part of your focus on how the game is going to be officiated and then it happens throughout the game. It's just a it's a focus drainer. It's an energy drainer. It's a massive advantage for the Thunder.

Speaker 2:
[79:30] That all being said, the tech they gave Devin Booker for saving the ball as he was going out of bounds, like throwing it back in bounds and it just happened to hit J. Will. That's one of the worst technical fouls I've ever seen.

Speaker 3:
[79:43] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[79:45] It was awful.

Speaker 3:
[79:46] It was terrible. I was surprised by it. I guess I can understand to some degree, especially when a guy has been in your face, bitching and moaning for the last hour and a half, because you whistle the foul. And then like he frustratingly runs after the ball and grabs it. And what was, did he throw it behind his back?

Speaker 2:
[80:12] Yeah, he threw it, but he's like looking into the crowd when he throws it. Like it's not, Caruso talked the refs into TNM up, which is that is the power of Alex Caruso. That's, that's a straight up vet move right there. Look at the power of the veteran.

Speaker 3:
[80:29] Well, yeah, and I mean, to that point, the frustration boils over and he gets that, the foul late where they reviewed to see if it was a flagrant. I mean, that's just a frustration foul. You know what I'm saying? Like he's flailing and flying and elbowing, running down the court. It's just a, it's a frustration foul.

Speaker 2:
[80:53] The Phoenix Suns are too focused on the officiating. 100%. Talking about it after the game. Everyone's going to get fined. Like they're just, that it, people talk about Shai and the types of calls he's get, and he gets quite a bit, right? That's a huge topic of conversation right now. And Shai Gilgeous-Alexander gets calls because he's excellent. Tremendous footwork. He's got all these different shots, he's got all these different tricks to get guys off balance, and then to use that against them to get fouled. He's got everything in the book to get to the free throw line. But I am of the belief he gets the benefit of the doubt from the officials more often than not because he leaves him alone. He never talks to him. He never complains. He never shows him up. When he's asked about it after the game, he's always complimentary. He never questions the officiating publicly ever. Ever. And meanwhile, you got guys on the Phoenix Suns like role players that are undressing the officials. I mean, what do these guys think they're doing, man? It's just, Shai gets the benefit of the doubt because he respects these guys. That matters. I firmly believe that plays a huge role in some of the calls that he gets. The fact that he shows them respect and lets them do their job and leaves them alone. Now, it also is very helpful that he's incredible at basketball. You know, well, but it's I, I really believe the way that the Thunder treat the officials and it all starts with Shai. The best player leaves them alone. A lot of the other guys fall in line because of that. I, that works to their benefit. There is no doubt in my mind. I, I'm of the firm belief that if you are constantly berating these guys, it does not help you.

Speaker 3:
[83:05] No, no. And I mean, it's an incredibly difficult game to officiate at that level because everyone on the floor is, is trying to draw fouls. I mean, it's a part of the game for every single player offensively is, you know, go to, go to the hole, try to, try to draw a foul, pump fake. You know, see a guy reach in, you, you know, pull the ball that way to get a reach in foul. I mean, it's constant every game that guys are trying to work the officials and work the defender to get them to foul you. So it's hard to, it's a hard game to call. It's just funny that, like a guy like Booker is so furious at the officials. But I see plays where, you know, he goes a million miles an hour out of control, buries his shoulder into the middle of guys, go into the rim and gets foul calls on stuff like that. It's, you know, like to me, it's, it's just a, I mean, we could talk about it forever, but it's the same thing. Like you get mad on one end, but go and do the same thing and get the call on the other end. But you're still mad, like, it just doesn't marry up for me.

Speaker 2:
[84:34] I was at the game, so I did not hear the call, but it appears that Thunder fans are mad at Doris Burke again, Ted.

Speaker 3:
[84:44] You know, it's just, yeah, I don't know. I apparently, you know, Shai is an embellisher whenever, you know, like I just said, you see the exact same thing on both sides of the floor in every single NBA game you watch. And apparently, Doris Burke has never seen another player in the NBA embellish in contact to get a foul in, I don't know, as long as I've been watching the sport, it's what happens in the NBA without question in every single game with every single team at every point in the year, nonstop. It's what they do in the NBA on the offensive side. Everyone embellished. That's it. Everyone does it. But they constantly talk about it with Shai.

Speaker 2:
[85:49] I, there was a quote from Dylan Brooks after the game. And he was basically be like, I thought this was the playoffs. Like I watched Michael Jordan, I watched a younger Braun in the playoffs. Like this is supposed to be physical basketball. And I just had to giggle because everyone that remembers that era of LeBron. Like at one point his nickname was Leflop. Like that was like one of the main narratives around him was how much he embellished contact and like getting fouled to get to the free throw line. It's just, I'm guessing Dylan Brooks doesn't remember that piece of NBA history.

Speaker 3:
[86:28] Dude, LeBron James is like 6'8, 275 pounds.

Speaker 2:
[86:34] And he was back then, like he was just an absolute unit.

Speaker 3:
[86:38] Like, you know, whatever, a slight amount of contact. And it's a freaking yard sale. And he'll go sliding on like 15 feet on the floor. It's like, really? I've never, I mean, I've been watching football my whole life, and I've never seen someone get hit hard enough to where they go sliding 15 feet. But LeBron does it on a nightly basis. So, yeah, it's, you know, what a, again, it's a massive advantage for the Thunder. When everyone focuses on that, and it takes the attention off of the game, and you've got two, you've got two opponents out there. You've got the officials and the Thunder, and the Thunder are already too much to deal with.

Speaker 2:
[87:27] Devin Booker shot more free throws than Shai, by the way.

Speaker 3:
[87:32] Which is a very common thing. I mean, the stats don't lie.

Speaker 2:
[87:37] He shot ten, Shai shot nine, and a couple of those were late, you know? Just saying. But it's some giant conspiracy against the rest of the league, the way that the Thunder are officiated. It is consuming the Phoenix Suns, and it is actually very entertaining to watch them unravel because of it. We'll see if they can get a game. This is what they get for making that TikTok, making fun of how flat Oklahoma City is. I don't know if you saw that.

Speaker 3:
[88:11] Oh, yeah. Yeah, that's the other thing. It's this big grand conspiracy by the NBA for the for the mega media site of Oklahoma City, right? The market size like this is clearly the NBA wants the Oklahoma City Thunder to to thrive.

Speaker 2:
[88:32] Clearly, clearly. All right, let's finish up with our winners and losers of the week.

Speaker 3:
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Speaker 2:
[90:12] As always, Ted, kick us off. Who do you have as your winner of the week?

Speaker 3:
[90:16] I got to go with OU Diamond Sports. Baseball gets the midweek win over ORU. Softball gets the win over Arkansas. Pine Bluff first baseball started off poorly. Another bad first inning. Give up a grand slam in the first. You know, we end up going down 6-3. But, buddy, they got hot and a little 2-out rally in the bottom of the 6th. And Jackson Willets hits a grand slam, go-ahead home run. And that was enough to finish off ORU. They finished the rest of the game, get that win. That was a fun moment. Blast to right center. And just a really cool moment to regain the lead in that game. And, you know, it was pretty electric leading up to that moment. And I think it was first pitch, if I remember right, that he got. That was really cool. And then, which, by the way, big one this week against Auburn. On the road, big series against Auburn. Need to go take 2 or 3 out of that one, being a good spot. And then softball, now, Arkansas Pine Bluff, not a big threat, obviously, but kind of historic. Ty, the single season team, home run record. I think we had 3 home runs in the game. It's the 161st of the season. And they got plenty of time to shatter their own record, the 21-team set, and again, still tied for Kendall Wells with Jocelyn Alos. So we got records that will be going down soon, but that was a fun game.

Speaker 2:
[92:08] And they got Georgia coming to town for a series. Which I think they're number 11 in one poll and number 15 in the other. So really quality Georgia team coming to town. We had not, we re-recorded last Sunday for the rubber match between them and Arkansas. They handled business there.

Speaker 3:
[92:32] Handled business. Yeah, they stomped them.

Speaker 2:
[92:35] 11 to one, pretty good. But yeah, it does seem like, seems like it's gonna be a really entertaining next couple months on the diamond for OU. At some point we're gonna have to dust off the old football guys talking diamond sports, Ted.

Speaker 3:
[92:54] I know. And I'll be on my game.

Speaker 2:
[92:56] We could just keep it in winners and losers, depending on how the Thunder's playoff run goes. We can just keep FGTB and, you know, keep bringing diamond sports up in winners and losers. But it does.

Speaker 3:
[93:06] I've been dialed. I even watched the OSU Texas game last night before the Thunder game. Oklahoma State going down to Austin and beating Texas. That was pretty fun to watch. But yeah, I'll be dialed for diamond sports for sure. Men are looking good. Baseball, the latest I saw had them a, I saw one that had them a two seed at West Virginia. And then another one that had them a, where were they? They were two seed somewhere else, a little closer to home. So they're trending in a really good spot for the postseason, still have an opportunity to host perhaps.

Speaker 2:
[93:47] I've got a question for you about the softball game against Arkansas Pine Bluff. Now, we used three different pitchers, I believe. But I think they technically threw a no hitter.

Speaker 3:
[94:01] Right. OK.

Speaker 2:
[94:04] But they only played five innings.

Speaker 3:
[94:05] If I remember correctly, and people may correct this, because I'm not, I'm winging it here. But I feel like for it to officially go down as a no hitter, it has to be seven innings. But I could be wrong with that. But that's how I remember it for whatever reason.

Speaker 2:
[94:27] I feel like if you are in that situation as a team, if you've got a no hitter going, you should be able to apply the mercy rule or not. Like, Patty Gasso should get the choice. Like, hey, we want to see, we want to play the last two innings. We want to see if we can complete this no hitter. I feel like you should get the choice as the team that's got the no hitter going, whether or not you want to play the rest of the game.

Speaker 3:
[95:05] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[95:07] It would certainly feel different if it was just one pitcher. You know, like you had one woman working on a no hitter. I think that's an even more serious conversation, but I don't know. I feel like you should get the option because you never know. The team may go, yeah, yeah, let's try to finish this no hitter out.

Speaker 3:
[95:27] It's true. I don't know. I would feel like Patti would say, let's go home. Yes, agreed. But I think it probably also depends on the situation and the opponent too. A midweek, let's tidy this thing up and get out of here, get home and start building for the weekend. But Sunday of a series sweep and you've got someone in a no hitter situation, a big time opponent maybe, I'm with you. Opt in.

Speaker 2:
[96:07] I think the Sooners' current strategy of hitting as many home runs as possible is a good one, by the way, for the softball team.

Speaker 3:
[96:15] Just keep cleaning up.

Speaker 2:
[96:18] I'm excited for Kendall Wells to break the record. It's coming. That's going to be fun.

Speaker 3:
[96:23] It's coming. It's going to happen. I know they've talked about this before, Jocelyn Aloe, Lauren Chamberlain, that whenever you get to that moment and all of a sudden, it becomes a thing. There's a pressure that builds up. But she's marched right through that for most of the season. But, yeah, it feels inevitable. And I wonder, like, what can she take it to? You know, if she does get it, like if she's able to get it, get the record early, maybe the next game, if she gets the record and kind of that pressure of that thing is off her shoulders, not thinking about it anymore, where could she take it?

Speaker 2:
[97:11] Forties?

Speaker 3:
[97:14] Forties right now feels inevitable, right? So we'll see.

Speaker 2:
[97:20] Who do you have as your loser of the weekend? Week. Week.

Speaker 3:
[97:25] I didn't really know what direction to go with this thing with the Indiana defensive coordinator Bryant Haines and the Alabama guys on the podcast. Because kind of it's like the Alabama guys are the loser because they tried to compliment someone and it did not get taken as a compliment. And then on the other side, I kind of think of it like, what are we doing? Like, I get it, chip on your shoulder, but can you not recognize a compliment whenever it's given to you? I don't know. For those that don't know, the Alabama players were on a podcast. They were talking about the Indiana game. And Ty Simpson was saying that they don't do a whole lot defensively. They do kind of the same stuff every down. So he said, when I got the ball and knew exactly what was going to happen, they just didn't mess up, bro. They were in the exact same spot they were supposed to be. They were so well-coached. It was so much different than the SEC and the SEC, they'll play man, they'll do unorthodox coverages. That's kind of how it is. So this game was crazy to me. We couldn't run the ball, didn't really throw. It was just crazy how it happened. Then the Indiana defensive coordinator says, adorable. We also saw everything they were doing on every single snap. It's just that we exploited those cues and didn't get frozen and crushed by them.

Speaker 2:
[99:08] I don't think he liked Ty Simpson saying they do the same thing every snap and that it wasn't a... because he basically said like, they're playing a grade school defense over there. We just couldn't attack it the right way. And the guy that is the architect of that defense, I can see him being offended by that.

Speaker 3:
[99:28] Yeah, I mean, I guess he says, they're so well coached. And, you know, I've said this before. The best defenses I've played on do the least. A handful of coverages, a handful of blitzes, and that's it. All right. The better you get, the less you have to do. You don't have to cover things up. You don't have to get exotic. You don't have to take crazy risks. You just sit back, force them to throw underneath, rally and tackle, make all the plays you're supposed to be, be where you're supposed to be, force them to make the mistake. It's just funny that whenever people say that they have a basic defense, and if the defense is really good, I view that as a compliment. They don't have to do very much because they're so good, so well-coached, and such good players. But I guess the Alabama fan base has all been out of shape about it. He said, the, Bryant Haines, the DC said, that's all it took to break your entire fan base? Wow. Maybe I should have just said, boo, no apologies, no compliments. Grow up, folks. He had a bad take, and I said the painful truth, bounce back better.

Speaker 2:
[100:49] What world are we in where Indiana's coaching staff is talking trash to Alabama? I mean, how did we get here? How are we here? What world is this?

Speaker 3:
[101:00] Just to kind of build on that narrative. Cignetti says that it's by far the best spring the defense has had in the three years they've been there. They're better. They're deeper. So maybe big 10 offenses are the loser of the week.

Speaker 2:
[101:20] Did you see when Indiana is having its spring game?

Speaker 3:
[101:23] No.

Speaker 2:
[101:25] Tonight?

Speaker 3:
[101:26] Huh. Interesting.

Speaker 2:
[101:31] Me thinks it may have something with the fact that their quarterback is about to go number one overall tonight.

Speaker 3:
[101:37] Ah, get all the attention all at one time. That's actually kind of smart.

Speaker 2:
[101:43] Which, what do you think? They just like throw it up on the Jumbotron and everyone gets to celebrate it at the same time? That's kind of sick, dude.

Speaker 3:
[101:49] And you'll know they'll be at the combine. You know that they'll flash into the crowd and show what's going on there too.

Speaker 2:
[101:58] Smart. No one's ever done this. Cignati playing chess, man.

Speaker 3:
[102:05] They'll start doing it.

Speaker 2:
[102:07] No kidding. It's like, you know, your guys go with number one overall. You know what? Let's make sure we invite all the recruits. We can share this moment together tonight.

Speaker 3:
[102:17] I don't know if they've got the rings, but like get your rings at the spring game and just a reminder to everyone who won the championship. It's nice move.

Speaker 2:
[102:28] Now I read that on Twitter. It could be fake, but I'm pretty sure it's real. Right. But I genius. Signetti keeps winning, man. And even though it was fueled by compliments, now he's got an even more motivated defensive coordinator. Apparently, I don't know.

Speaker 3:
[102:46] By the way, I mean, he won the Broyles Award last year, so he's on the come up.

Speaker 2:
[102:53] And somehow he's still there. People, we got to start. We got to start picking off these Indiana assistants.

Speaker 3:
[103:00] Come on, yeah, we can't we can't be saying these days.

Speaker 2:
[103:04] We cannot let Signetti keep getting away with this. He's not about just retaining all of his people.

Speaker 3:
[103:11] Everyone, all the other teams need to pull, start pulling money and be like, we don't care where you go. We're all just paying you to go somewhere else.

Speaker 2:
[103:20] You think Ty Simpson's like, wait, I like said so many good things about him. Like, how did how did this happen? Why is he? Why is he so mad?

Speaker 3:
[103:30] I think he probably said it was a compliment, bro.

Speaker 2:
[103:35] Come on, bro. Chill out, bro. I said nice things, bro. It was funny though. Hey, that College Football's entertainment, man. Thank you, Bryant Haines.

Speaker 3:
[103:47] I love it. Entertainment value for sure. And it is nice to see Alabama get tweaked a little bit, you know, especially from Indiana of all places.

Speaker 2:
[103:58] You know, Alabama fans have to just be, they gave DeBoer that big extension, like he's their guy.

Speaker 3:
[104:06] I was kind of surprised by that.

Speaker 2:
[104:08] Who are they bidding against?

Speaker 3:
[104:11] I mean, I think he's a good, I guess I'm like, I'm not surprised in the sense that I think he's a really good coach and like the situation he has is not the situation that Nick Saban had, right?

Speaker 2:
[104:25] So different world.

Speaker 3:
[104:27] You can understand that from the outside, but I guess I'm just surprised from the inside that it felt like they weren't happy, you know? So I don't know. And it kind of felt like he wasn't happy.

Speaker 2:
[104:41] I know their fans aren't happy with Indiana's defensive coordinator talking trash to him. I know that they're like, fix it, Kailin. We got Indiana talking trash to us. We're Alabama. Fix it now.

Speaker 3:
[104:54] I'm waiting on his next tweet, talking about, don't be mad at me. You know, I got your head coach to pay raise, you know, by stomping them in the second round of the playoffs.

Speaker 2:
[105:07] Oh, that's good. It's entertainment, people. It's great. College football is the best. All right, let's get to my winner and loser. But first, for all of us Sooners, there comes a time when we need help. We need someone to fight for us. And that Sooner is Jeff Marr at the Marr Law Firm. If you're a battling cancer or any other life-threatening condition and your insurance carrier is either slow-playing or outright denying your treatment, use the law to get the medical care you need. Marr Law Firm believes you shouldn't have to fight your insurance company while also fighting for your life. Go to see Jeff Marr at the Marr Law Firm. They turn victims of insurance bad faith into champions.

Speaker 3:
[105:43] The Norman Napa Auto Parts Store at 811 24th Avenue Southwest is having a tool sale on May 7th and 8th. The featured brands are Milwaukee, Carlyle, Porticole, Rotary and Robbinaire. They will also be providing lunch for customers 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on May 8th. So stop in at the Norman Auto Parts Store at 811 24th Avenue Southwest on May 7th and 8th for a fantastic tool sale and for a chance to win door prizes and raffle items, including OU football tickets.

Speaker 2:
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Speaker 3:
[108:39] LeBron James, still one of, some people would argue the greatest ever, and he could turn it on. Still, at this age, he could turn it on and in some, like your playoffs kind of suit the schedule a little bit better for him. You know, you got some extended rest between and still a force.

Speaker 2:
[109:03] He's also doing this like old man at the YMCA, just like back to the basket game. Hitting them with like just hook shots and fadeaways and all these different moves on the block. And I just, I don't know, I'm getting some serious joy out of watching it. And it's a great game. We'll see what ends up happening in this series. But I mean, the odds of flip, like the Lakers are the favorites to win this series now. So clearly it's a, it's something I'm keeping a close eye on because Thunder play the winner of the series. But maybe the Rockets didn't expect Marcus Smart to turn into Steph Curry. There's also that.

Speaker 3:
[109:46] Yeah. I was going to ask you, the Rockets, the vibes, not looking good. Is it a KD thing? Because it kind of feels like the bad vibes. It's a, it's something that you see pretty much everywhere he's been. It's not been good vibes.

Speaker 2:
[110:10] Well, ever since the burner thing happened at the All-Star Break, it's felt awkward. Let's be real.

Speaker 3:
[110:17] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[110:18] And they've never really, I'm sure they've addressed it behind closed doors, right? And ultimately, that's what matters. The guys in that locker room and you know, if they're good, then it's good. But that's just kind of lingered, unaddressed for a while. And I don't know, man, it's just that something has felt off with them basically all season to me. You. Ultimately, it comes down to, hey, do you play basketball well together? You don't have to like everyone you play with. We all know that, but it just. I don't know, it feels off, feels. Feels a little awkward. Yeah, and yes, Durant's right in the middle of it. Shocker, shocker, but he was. Durant was fantastic in the first half and then just kind of disappeared in the second half. Also turned it over a ton, had like nine turnovers. But I saw I heard this stat from our guy Tim McMahon. This is now the 25th time LeBron James has been up 2-0 in a playoff series. The 25th time. He is 24-0 so far in those. He has never lost a playoff series that he's been up 2-0.

Speaker 3:
[111:47] You know what's crazy is, I mean, the stat is crazy, but there's probably not a super long list of guys that have played in 25 playoff series. And he's been up 2-0 in 25 playoff series. That's crazy, dude.

Speaker 2:
[112:06] 24-0.

Speaker 3:
[112:08] Wow.

Speaker 2:
[112:08] We'll see if he can make it 25. Now, I think this is going to be a long series. I think Houston is going to get them both in Houston. It's going to come back to LA 2-2. I'm hoping both of these teams, I know I've said it before, but get nice and tired, guys. Especially if we're not going to have Jalen Williams. We need these teams to get nice and worn down before that second round series starts in Oklahoma City. Nice and worn down.

Speaker 3:
[112:31] I'm with you.

Speaker 2:
[112:33] And then we'll see. There's just kind of this unknown lingering over the Lakers with Luka Donchich and Austin Reeves. So we'll see if anything happens late in this series with either of those guys. But I've really enjoyed watching the Lakers. I feel like this is how JJ Reddick wants to play basketball. Movement, cutting, screening, like all these things, sharing the basketball. I just, I feel like this is red extreme. Luke Kennard just, Luke Kennard got MVP chance at the free throw line in the fourth quarter of this game. MVP chance. That's how good the guy is playing. But I think it's going to be a long one. Get nice and tired, nice and tired. My loser of the week, San Antonio Spurs, man. So you lose game two to the Trail Blazers, 106-103. Not good, not good. You blow a 14 point fourth quarter lead. Really not good, not ideal. But it's all about Victor Wembanyama and his status moving forward. That's clearly the big story coming out of that series. Ted, last time I checked, never good. When your head just bounces off the maple hardwood like that, especially when you're getting jaw first on the bounce. Not good. That was a scary moment, man. And who knows with concussions? People are talking about, hey, is he going to play in game three? Like, let's just hope that those symptoms don't linger for him. And I know that the NBA has got a similar return to play protocol as the NFL. You got to pass all the benchmarks. You got to be asymptomatic. Like there's a bunch of stuff he's going to have to do to get back on the court for the series, and that is not what you wanted if you're the San Antonio Spurs. My goodness.

Speaker 3:
[114:42] No, and like his head on the end of his body is like a long whip, right? That goes a long way.

Speaker 2:
[114:52] Long fall, dude.

Speaker 3:
[114:54] The long fall. Yeah, and I mean, you never know with those, right? And you never know, I mean, those things don't happen a lot, but it's not all that uncommon. I get my point is, like even if he is able to come back, it's still something that you have to watch, you know, like that can that can pop up again throughout a playoff run or throughout a career.

Speaker 2:
[115:23] The nightmare scenario is he comes back. Let's say he misses game three, comes back for games for game four, and then takes another shot to the head. And then you go away to second. This is two concussions in a very small window.

Speaker 3:
[115:36] Exactly.

Speaker 2:
[115:37] And that's when that's when the true panic sets in. If something like that happens now, well, hopefully nothing like that happens. I want to watch Victor Wembanyama play in the playoffs. And there's just there's no one else like him. But just very, very concerning situation if you're the Spurs. And it's not as concerning as Wembanyama status, but Scoot Henderson has arrived, apparently. He's here. Yep. The guy that a lot of people thought he was gonna be when he was one of the first couple picks in the draft. He is showing up 31 points of five of nine from three and some just big time shots late. But if Wembay doesn't hit his head on the court, maybe the Spurs win the game. The game could have unfolded very differently, clearly. But Wembanyama in the concussion, that's distracting from the Scoot Henderson game. He was unbelievable, dude. If they get that version of him, this series is going to last a while.

Speaker 3:
[116:53] Well, that's what I was about to say. Let's say Wemby misses a week, and what they're about to go out to Portland now, what's the percentage chance that Portland really makes this thing super interesting?

Speaker 2:
[117:12] I am anticipating the series going back to San Antonio tied at 2-2. OK, Game 3 is tomorrow. Also, the Trail Blazers just tweeted out a video of Damian Lillard burying a bunch of shots, like a minute long video. I don't know what it means, but I know it doesn't mean nothing. That was a lot of negatives. Doesn't mean nothing.

Speaker 3:
[117:40] How far out is he? Like, what's the timing from that?

Speaker 2:
[117:44] That was late in the season last year.

Speaker 3:
[117:46] Yeah, right, is what it was.

Speaker 2:
[117:48] If, yeah, if he's, I mean, it's no different than what Jason Tatum did.

Speaker 3:
[117:52] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[117:55] Now, I know Lillard's older than Tatum, but I. They didn't tweet that video for no reason, right?

Speaker 3:
[118:02] Fascinating. So you sprinkled that into this series, and it crazy at home for the homecoming, right? That'd be, that'd be wild.

Speaker 2:
[118:12] And the Blazers are doing all this while basically the talk of the league is how cheap their owner is.

Speaker 3:
[118:19] That's so funny, dude.

Speaker 2:
[118:21] I've read so many of these articles, man. And do you see Bill Simmons nicknamed him El Chippo on his podcast? That's going to stick. There's no, there's no way it doesn't. But it's like. And he's trying to cut costs. I get it. Tried to be. No, I would say trying to be more efficient with what they do as an organization. But you're making guys check out of the hotel at 1230. Like he's not paying the late checkout fees.

Speaker 3:
[118:49] What are you? What are you doing the rest of the day?

Speaker 2:
[118:51] I don't know. Do they just walk around the city like what? What did they do in San Antonio? River Walk. It had to be the River Walk, right? It's like you're not getting the team to sue the hotel room to work on the guys. Like all these things, take it away. Free tickets from staffers for playoff games. No free t-shirts like all this stuff is just I mean everything that you want to be said about about you as an owner like this guy's like, nope, don't care. I don't care at all. I'm doing all this stuff and this is the way we're going to do it. I suppose part of me respects that, but it doesn't seem like the best way to operate as a brand new owner in the NBA. Yeah.

Speaker 3:
[119:40] Winning or losing, does it really, how much of effect does it have? Probably none.

Speaker 1:
[119:48] But there's a lot of way to cut cost, but player comfort on the road, and that seems like one of the last things on the chopping block, you would imagine. There's probably a million ways to cut waste and bad spending throughout. It's fascinating that that seems to be the low-hanging fruit.

Speaker 2:
[120:13] You'd think that he was just like, see, we win Gabe too. What we're doing is working guys.

Speaker 1:
[120:18] What now?

Speaker 2:
[120:20] Yeah. What are you going to say? What are you going to say now? OK, some of the reports like Tiago Splitter. Remember, he took over as the coach after the Chauncey Billups thing happened. Like this bomb gets dropped and Tiago Splitter is taking over. It has done a tremendous job with this team. And I guess this new owner offered him like $12 to be the coach. And I mean, he is openly interviewing. He's talked to more than like 20 candidates. And Tiago Splitter is just like, I'm just trying to be a pro at this. I'm just trying to, trying to just focus on basketball. And just, this dude is pissing everyone off. It's very, it's very interesting.

Speaker 1:
[121:02] It's crazy. Well, hey, it's almost like, listen guys, let's perform well, but we can't win the series. And like, if we continue to play well, we're going to lock in all of these cuts. We can't do it. We've got to make a sacrifice here.

Speaker 2:
[121:23] It's, it is certainly interesting. Birthday shout outs. Welcome to the world. Let's go to Kallen Scott-Brooking.

Speaker 1:
[121:33] Happy 5th birthday to the Exterminator Kiko Powell from Moose Pirate Banjo and Kanoli Joe.

Speaker 2:
[121:44] Kanoli Joe.

Speaker 1:
[121:45] Yeah. I like that one. That was good.

Speaker 2:
[121:50] Happy 8th birthday to Alaina Beegley.

Speaker 1:
[121:54] Happy 11th birthday to Carter Beegley.

Speaker 2:
[121:57] Happy 31st birthday to Dusty Morrow.

Speaker 1:
[122:03] Attention, Kristen and Kelly. Baby Stein is a drum roll, please. A little girl. Congratulations.

Speaker 2:
[122:14] I think I maybe carried the drum roll too long. Let's do that again.

Speaker 1:
[122:20] A little girl. Congratulations.

Speaker 2:
[122:23] A little girl. Well, there you go, Kristen and Kelly. We've had a couple of general reveals now.

Speaker 1:
[122:30] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[122:30] I like those. Those are great.

Speaker 1:
[122:32] Congrats, guys.

Speaker 2:
[122:33] Congrats. On that note, episode 625 in the books, we'll have a new podcast that will drop on Sunday. Just a reminder, please subscribe to the podcast wherever you listen to podcasts and please subscribe to our YouTube channel. Hope you all have a great rest of your week. Have an awesome weekend. Until next time, we appreciate all for listening. Do what you always do, Oklahoma. Take care of each other.