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The FAN Morning Show

Matthews’ Hart Trophy Case + Broadcasting Legend Mike Francesa!

On Hour 3 of The FAN Morning Show, Ben and Brent are joined by Luke Gazdic, former NHL forward and Sportsnet analyst, to discuss the NHL Hart Trophy race, why he’s bullish on the Leafs’ chances against Boston, how frequently players are scoreboard-watching throughout the course of a game, and the Oilers’ form heading into the playoffs. Afterwards, Mike Francesa, host of "The Mike Francesa Podcast", stops by to chat about the current landscape of New York sports, Jalen Brunson’s ascent to stardom, Yankee fans’ adoration for Juan Soto, the growing love affair with Anthony Volpe, and his legendary radio partnership with Chris “Mad Dog” Russo (23:52).

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

Duration:
52m
Broadcast on:
17 Apr 2024
Audio Format:
mp3

On Hour 3 of The FAN Morning Show, Ben and Brent are joined by Luke Gazdic, former NHL forward and Sportsnet analyst, to discuss the NHL Hart Trophy race, why he’s bullish on the Leafs’ chances against Boston, how frequently players are scoreboard-watching throughout the course of a game, and the Oilers’ form heading into the playoffs. Afterwards, Mike Francesa, host of The Mike Francesa Podcast, stops by to chat about the current landscape of New York sports, Jalen Brunson’s ascent to stardom, Yankee fans’ adoration for Juan Soto, the growing love affair with Anthony Volpe, and his legendary radio partnership with Chris “Mad Dog” Russo (23:52).

 

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

[MUSIC PLAYING] Fan Morning Show Sports at 5.9, the fan Ben and his friend Gunning, that the social media war commands between the Leafs and the Bruins. Bruins send out their hype video with all their glorious moments against the Leafs. Feels like a one-sided war. I don't really feel like the Leafs can pull up. Like, they can do a hype video. We will see that. But it can't exactly be involving any of the Bruins players. Like, what would it be? Just a-- I got to be honest. So they put this out. I'd watch it. I'd like it. I might even retweet it. What's it going to be just off a minute straight loop of Jake McCabe, cross-checking Brad Mersch on in the chest? John, honestly, if the Leafs did that, or how much I would love that, they won't. I was going to say, like, loops of the Panthers, Game 7, overtime, wintering round one last year. But that would be kind of like-- I mean, stole the lap in literal stolen valor. Like, taking a thing another team did and making it your own. All right, let's talk to our insider, who was brought to you today by Don Valley, North Lexus, where you can expect excellence online and in the showroom. Visit donvalleynorthlexus.com. It is the great Luke Gazdick, former NHL forward. Current sports and analyst, and host of the Mitzoff podcast. How's it going, Luke? Good, boys. Always weird when I'm referred to as an insider. All right. I'll take it, though. Oh, my god. What are you talking about? On your phone, you literally have Connor McDavid's contact. Right now, you feel like-- Wake up. You once lived inside Connor McDavid's house. You're literally inside. Like, you're an inside man, Luke. Yeah. How dare you, anyways. You know what, speaking of which, let's get this out of the way. And, listen, I'll be listening to all of your hits across all of the sports that don't be given us one answer here and another answer somewhere else. Yeah, you're so uniquely qualified as a Toronto man, but also your Euler's connections that you have the heartstrings pulled. But I'm going to make you choose a heart trophy winner. OK, I'll say this. Damn. You know what? [LAUGHTER] You know what I'm thinking about? I love Nate. Nate is probably my number one. I've lost my thoughts on Cooch, just, I don't know, all the power play merchant stuff and the empty net points and everything that adds up when you go that way, I'm leaning Nate what Connor's done in Edmonton is pretty special. But I'm leaning Nate. But I'll tell you, I am really coming around on Austin. And all the stuff that's kind of coming out about is-- I'm not just coming out, obviously, if you look for the numbers, they add up. It's all of his defensive metrics. And you add in-- I don't even care if he gets to 70, whether he stays at 69. I'm starting to make a real case in my head for Austin Matthews. But I will say it's probably Nate for me right now. That was the obvious route he was going to go to. That's exactly what he was going to do either of them. That's also exactly-- but that's the right answer, because that's where I reside as well. Like, I do think it's McKinnon. And I think Matthews is-- I have been-- I'm like you. I kind of-- I think I had Matthews kind of trailing behind. And it was, OK, let's see how close to 70 he gets. And now we're here. And you might very well get it tonight. And then, yeah, you know, defense also does matter. So we have to take that into account. But I think McKinnon is just kind of the-- you know, there's no-- I think the thing I keep hearing and I mostly agree with is that there's no one argument. Like, you can't say he leads the league in goals. He leads the league in points. But he is the kind of next best option in just about everything. Well, that sounds the matter, too. I also think a lot of people tend to just look at the numbers, look at player cards, look at guy stats. They're plus minus. And try to figure it out from that standpoint. If you watch the games, if you physically sit down and you watch all four, I'll get all four of these players play, Nate is the guy that I think affects the game the most when you watch him play. When you turn on the abs, you are going to see him play. There's nights that you could watch Tampa, for example. And Coach will have two assists. And I'm not kidding you. You will not notice him. You won't even-- I mean, yeah, he'll make some nice plays. And you'll say, wow, that was a nice pass this or that. But he doesn't affect and dominate a game like Nate can. And I think that's the biggest thing. If people look to stats, and I know you have to, but watch the games, like physically watch the games, and then you'll have a good sense of it. And if you watch the abs play enough this year, I mean, it's special what he's doing over there. Yeah, it's probably the right goal, probably the easiest. But yeah, I do feel like Austin Matthews's season has been given short shrift. And we've just decided because he doesn't have the quadrillion points that everybody else does because he doesn't have any secondary assists that, yeah, we forget about how insane, not just 69 goals or 70 goals is, but like the separation between him and the second place finisher and the rocket and the defensive side of things. But yeah, I guess I might vote him second. I said yesterday I'd vote him first. So yeah, Austin Matthews still number one for me. Hold on, yeah, sit on that. You can't tell Luke he's not allowed to change his mind on other hits and change your mind on this show. I'm saying Austin Matthews is one for me. No, it's number one for me. I will say that the way the last couple of games have played out for the Leafs, I called it untoward. The way that Sheldon Keef is trying to force this thing when he said he wasn't going to force this thing and that it didn't matter to him at all. And it was all about the postseason, played him 24 minutes against the Red Wings on Saturday, including a three and a half minute shift. And then yesterday they're down three goals with a minute left, pulls the goalie, six on four. It's Austin Matthews trying to get set up for number 70. Obviously he wants it. Obviously the Leafs players want it. I mean, is there anything icky about how the Leafs are going about this? - No, I don't think so. I mean, I understand what Sheldon's doing there. Just trying to get it done before the last game. And I know he has that in the back of his mind that he might not want to play him tonight was probably looking at this road trip before it started, has probably looked at it weeks before and thought of this scenario and is it going to boil down to this? I don't think it's been icky at all. I will say that I did agree with Sheldon that Saturday was probably the first time that I really, like noticeably saw them forcing it. And you could kind of see it in the games building up. I love what Naxdome has done. I think he's grabbed, I know he didn't play last night, but he's grabbed that opportunity when he played with, when he's played with Austin and safe to say understands the assignment. I just, I see guys start trying to force it to him. And listen, that's understandable though. I like, if he's a guy on my team, I'm not playing first line, but I'd be doing everything in my power to be, you know, doing everything to allow him to get there. But Sheldon was right. Saturday was the first time I saw it. And no, I don't blame him yesterday and good on Florida to be honest. They just did not want that to happen in their building and they did not want that to happen to him. But I don't think it's been too icky. I think they just really, really wanted to get it done last night. So they didn't have to be forced with a decision for tonight. - Yeah, it is funny. I was looking and not that these teams have, have guys with like, well, maybe they do. And I just haven't been paying attention, but it's certainly not a milestone as important as 70. But I was looking at, you know, there's a race still for third in the Pacific with the Kings and the Golden Knights there. And they have the Ducks and the Blackhawks, respectively, the last two games. It's like, I feel like those teams and maybe be a little less dying to not allow the 70th goal than teams that are potentially going to have to play Matthews in a playoff series. I did get that vibe last night that it was the Panthers, you know, this possible first round matchup, obviously not going to be the case anymore, but where you could not let him get it against you just because of the like kind of mental edge or anything along the lines with the series kind of flipping last night. And now it's going to be Boston for the Leafs. Do you have a thought on if Panthers or Boston would have been a better match up for the Leafs? We know it'll be Bruins now, but do you think Toronto kind of stacks up better against one of those teams than the other? Hey, I'm not going to lie. I like Boston better. And I'm not just pandering. I'm not saying that just because obviously I'm on the fan doing this hit. Damian Cox didn't really seem to give him a chance. [LAUGHTER] I mean, I didn't like the Florida matchup, and I never really have. They step, you know, first and foremost, probably have the mental edge from last year and beating them already. They're a team that likes to intimidate, likes to bully, and has no trouble scoring goals. They have two capable goal tenders. This sounds very much like Boston. But if there's any year that they could beat the Bruins, I mean, I look up and down their line up and I try not to do one of those things where you recognize guys by names. And they play a heck of a team game, hard team system. They give you nothing on the ice. But man for man, this is about as close for the Leafs as I've liked them. I don't want Boston to be core. I think that's a huge flaw in their game. They have 12 capable forwards at work. And like I said, they have two capable goal tenders that have done it all year. But they absolutely blew up into playoffs last year. So I don't see any reason why the Leafs couldn't win this series. And I'm not just saying that because I grew up here and I'd love to see them finally, you know, exercise the demons. But that was going to be a very tough physical series for them versus Florida. And I just don't think it's going to be as taxing for them on the body as it is against Boston. They will play physical, but in no stratospheric close to the Panthers. Yeah, all that makes sense logically. I don't know if you can apply logic to what the Leafs have done the near last decade. But yeah, that makes a whole lot of sense. I mean, as a player, going into a game like the Bruins did yesterday, or like the Panthers did yesterday, are you at all thinking about the implications match up wise and not saying that the Bruins tanked into this matchup or that the Panthers very much wanted to avoid the Maple Leafs? But like, does it enter your thinking at all? Like, is there any conscious thought about what the winning or losing of a game like that might actually mean as far as your opposition? Maybe it's as simple as like, hey, Leafs win that game. They get to stay in Florida. Does any of that enter the mind of a player playing in a game like the Leafs, the Panthers, or the Bruins did yesterday? Maybe a little bit. I think they obviously all know the situation going in. I actually thought Boston early in the game. I was literally tired. I was talking to all my buddies that I think they're throwing this one. But they came on strong at the end. They ended up with, I think, got 23 shots in the third period. And it's one of those things where you can go in with a mindset like that, where you're like, yeah, we're not going to throw this. But we're also not too mad if we don't come out on top. But the competitive nature comes out. And after 40 minutes, if you're going to beat by the Ottawa Senators, I mean, there's going to be a little bit of competitive juice that comes out. And they really turned it on in the third. Obviously didn't get it done. But I talked to Jim all mayors about this yesterday before the show, too, because we were going to kind of lean on it in the show with all the matchups and scenarios. And he had said that his year when he was in Chicago won the cup that they went through a similar thing. And they weren't thinking about it at all. It was just all on them. And I think that's maybe a cliche thing that you'll hear players say. But I really do believe it when it's just like who cares. But we might have to be both them anyway. Let's just go for it. Is it possible at all? And I know there were staggered starts. But yeah, the Bruins started off, I think it had four shots in that opening period against the Senators. And the Panthers were down to nothing after the opening period against the Maple Leafs. That the Bruins saw the Panthers come back with that second period. And they're like, oh, oh, man, we do actually need to win this game. And then they came on strong and it wasn't enough in the end. But like, is it possible that they got like a heads up on what was happening on the out of town scoreboard and it impacted the play? Maybe it both teams? That's so funny. So we were doing a Monday night hockey game. And Montreal, Detroit. And we were asked kind of the same thing. And Justin Williams started laughing about it because we both looked at each other. And it was always, if yes, unequivocally, yes, every time. And it always happens in the training room or the GM. So as soon as you get off the ice here, have your little routine. Mine was just my top half off. So Jersey shoulder pads, obviously, helmet gloves. Then you go for a little walk and get the legs going. And it's always like trading stuff, like equipment. You're just like, hey, what's going on over there? And they know everything. I would say that there's some guys that absolutely don't want to know. But there's guys that do at the same time. And it just starts floating around. I would tell you that, period by period to a player, they know everything that's going on, everything. Whether they want to or not, that stuff's hard to keep quiet and secret in an NHL locker room. That is awesome to hear. I think people always expect that. And yeah, that's just like, that's really nice insight to be able to get that. That's why you're an insider. See, you were questioning yourself. And look at that from inside the locker room and trainers giving you the insight there. You know, something we've been kind of talking about from last night's game is just the physical nature of it. You know, I was pinpointing that I don't know that the Leafs have at least in this kind of vintage. And man, we can maybe take it all the way back to 2013. Apparently Joel Edmondson, I don't know what he did to allow him to get the card that Florida Panther players have, where they're just allowed to give out as many cross checks as they want. And you don't get called for it. But you just see the physical nature of that game. Edmondson leaning on people. We know what McCabe can do in that regard. Ben Walling, how important do you think it is that the Leafs have some kind of meat and potatoes and just some jerks on the back end heading into a series against Boston? - No, I did a big thing on this in last week's Leafs game. And I just really, truly believe it's different than in times past. And not just having Ryan Reeves, but I did a thing on the hits per game. Toronto's third behind Boston and Florida in total hits on the year and hits per game. And if you look at the top three games this year with total combined hits, Toronto's a factor in all three of them. Vancouver, Philly and Florida, and they came out on the winning side of that twice. And that tells me that if a team wants to ramp up their physicality and play that way, that they're not rolling over, like they're not intimidated anymore. If you add up, just like you said, Ben Wall, Labushkin, Edmondson, Stuart Reeves, like these things matter. And it's not just, you know, scrums, like even yesterday, which great. If they want to get in a little scrum battle, it's not one versus five anymore. It's not two versus five anymore. It's all five guys coming in and at least being involved. And I just think that's something you haven't seen years past. I think the MO for a long time, a lot on the core four, I would say, but on the team as a whole was that they were too soft and they were weak against these more physical teams and could get rolled over. And I just don't think that's the case anymore. I think this is a team that, I mean, I played this way. I love to play that way. So I have a really high standard of what I set for speaking like this about teams. And this is a team that I truly can get behind in that sense. I just think it's been a really, really refreshing attitude. I think that's come around this team and man, if you even want to factor in bird and don't me up on the top line, they've thrown down a couple of times and not afraid. It's truly a leaf team that I can get behind. And some haven't been able to say for a while. - No, it's been a while since. Yeah, you've seen this type of physicality maybe ever in this generation of Leafs team. So the playoff fields are set in both the East and the West and in the East, all the matchups are set. You still have something to decide in the Western Conference. And it's still possible that the Oilers end up in a matchup against the Kings. There's only one point separates the Golden Knights and the Kings. Brent mentioned it that there's a couple of soft opponents for both teams, but in your conversations with people in Edmonton, how aware are they and how much are they rooting? They're rooting against the Golden Knights and four. The Kings like, this is a great matchup, but like there's a better one. Like, clearly, let's not mince words here. It's the Kings. - Yeah, and I think everyone thought it was gonna be LA and there was a ton of preview and prep being done on that in the last couple of weeks, looking like, you know, round three of these two teams in the first round again. And they just kind of just backdoored their way into this thing. I was very much on the side that, oh, and I will say that the Edmonton faithful does not want Vegas in round one. But I was very much on the side that, you know, bring them on. You're gonna have to play them sometime. You're gonna have to beat them sometime. This is probably, and don't take this literally, the worst version of the Golden Knights that you're gonna see 'cause they're only gonna get better as time goes on. They're a little banged up right now. You've inserted hurdle and stone in that are still getting used to the system. That's a really, really good hockey team and a cup still runs through them. But if you're gonna play them, why not get it out of the way early with home ice where Edmonton has played outstanding in the back half of the year, pretty much on the year as a whole. But it was my coworker, David Amber, that was like, do you not wanna see them cross over the central so they can avoid them 'til the conference final? And then, you know, the way it would work out is probably Edmonton takes LA. They take the winner of Vancouver Nashville. And then they don't have to see him for a while, but I don't know. They're gonna have to play them eventually. It would be an absolute nightmare of a series that early. And I just think how taxing it would be on them. But man, I will tell you that the Edmonton faithful would way much rather have LA as would I. - Yeah, it would be entertaining as hell though. So I don't know. I'd be fine with it. The Golden Knights and Oilers. Luke, well done. Appreciate it, man. Enjoy the playoffs. - Thanks guys. You guys are awesome. Have a good day. Luke Gasek, former NHL forward current, sports net analyst, host of the Mitzoff podcast and our insider, brought to you by Don Valley, North Lexus, where you can expect excellence online and in the showroom, visit Don Valley, northlexus.com. - Well, that would just be unfair to the Oilers to have to face such a good team in the first round of the playoffs after not winning their division. Like it'd just be like, it'd just be unjust, honestly. - I know what you're doing. - Yeah, yeah, exactly. - Boo-hoo. And I know Luke's not doing that, but like eat it. Somebody else can have a tough first round playoff match-up when you have a superstar-laden team. - Here's somebody else allowed to do it once in a while. - There's nobody that's like head and shoulders above anybody else. There's no super team in the NHL. There's a lot of good teams. Like who are the teams that you're like, man, wish you could match up against them. I guess you, in the east, you would say the Islanders and the Capitals. - Yup, 100%. - In the west, I guess it's the Kings. And they're the only ones. And yeah, I mean, you don't think they could put it together for a seven game series. It's one team though. - No, I think the Preds, you would be- - I mean, the Preds came on so strong. - They did, but I think that it's gonna be a clap. And hey, the Canucks, I am not super bullish on either. So this- But no, no, I think the Canucks are a good team. You include them in that, but I think- - No, you're right. No, I think that's actually a good point. - The Preds are among that group, for sure. - And the Canucks, I think you're right also. - Well, they came on, like, if we do standings from January onward, where would they be? I mean, look at where they, they were running away with the president's trophy at one point. And they like barely got 200 boys out the year. Like, so I think you look at the Canucks, is there a team that they're far from perfect? They're in the kind of classic where the Leafs were two, three years ago spot. It's like, yeah, nice team, got some talent. What have you done? - Yeah, I mean, I guess the difference would be, and maybe this is not true. Like, that Leafs team from a couple of years ago, I assume you're talking about the first one. The Austin Matthews rookie season. - Well, there's no apples to apples. I just mean like, where's the pressure on that group? I feel like there's a, you know, in the division, you have that type of season, there's pressure on you if you're a Canucks player. - I don't mean going all the way back to infancy of Austin Matthews, but I'm saying that they're closer to that group, not in terms of pressure, but just where they are in terms of not proving anything. Like, Patterson, he hasn't had the chance to do it yet. Miller, you know, everything's happened there. I think Canucks are a fine team, but they're at the, I think they're at the lower end of the good team spectrum. - How young we were when the Maple Leafs had limited pressure on them in an opening round series. That's another part of it too that we didn't discuss in talking about the 2019 Bruins of it all. How about the head coach? - Yeah. - You know, how did a different deal there? - Very different. - Yeah, and I'm not saying it's better or worse than the other guy, you know, he did have a Stanley Cup ring. It's part of the reason why he got paid all the money. - Yeah. - That and other things. - Yeah, that there's, I mean, not only is the roster completely overhauled and so many significant parts. - Yeah. - So many significant parts of that Leafs team no longer on the roster. But yeah, the guy that is orchestrating the whole deal, although it should be said has only one postseason victory on his resume. But yeah, he's a different dude as well. - Well, just from a coaching perspective, I mean, like we're gonna pick and poke at the series a million ways for the next two days. And then however long it goes on. But like so much riding for those two guys specifically, like Montgomery and Keith, I mean, you see the season Montgomery had last year and they bring him back rightfully so. But if it's another first round exit, I don't know how secure he should be in his job there, quite honestly. - Yeah. And if I didn't do a good job of selling you on the Bruins also having ghosts going into this series, if the Bruins lose to the Toronto Maple Leafs in a first round series. - Yeah. Oh, it's big time on. - Yes, it is. - Next season. - You're right. - Then the ghosts are very real. - Yeah, you lose to the Panthers in the manner that they did in the point separation during the regular season that they did. And then you as the big, bad Bruins, also as a team that frittered away a division lead in the final game of the regular season. And then you lose to the Leafs, who have won postseason victory over the last decade to speak of. - Yeah, then I think the ghost thing is one for sure next year. - It is funny that it's like, there's only pressure on the Leafs here. Everywhere else, it's like, coin flip series, Boston was a better team all year. Like really here is where the pressure resides on the Leafs. To your point, everywhere else, I think looks at it as, okay, Boston, go take care of the Leafs. But here, there's obviously tons of pressure. - That's the nature of it. - Yep. - It's also the nature of New York sports, where we will go next to talk to the great Mike Francesas, the pole broadcasting legend, hosted the Mike Francesas podcast next. As the fan morning show continues, Ben Annis Brent Gunning, Sportsnet 5.90, the fan. - Diving deep into leaps, rafters, J's and NFL. The J.D. Bunk is podcast. Subscribe and download the show on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. - Fan morning show, Sportsnet 5.90, the fan, Annis Brent Gunning, the Blue J securing themselves of a series victory over the vaunted formerly best team in Major League Baseball, New York Yankees, going for the sweep this afternoon down at Rogers Center. Very happy to be joined out by sports broadcasting legend, hosted the Mike Francesas podcast. It is available via the Bette Rivers Network on YouTube, Spotify, and everywhere you can download your podcast. It is the great Mike Francesasa. Thanks for doing this, Mike. How's it going? - Guys, good morning. So who owns New York sports right now? Because we see Juan Soto an incredible start to his Yankees career, obviously not a great series, but who owns New York sports at the moment? - The Knicks, everyone's been waiting a long time for this. The Knicks, when they win, have a really special hold at Madison Square Garden is electric, to have playoff games again, to be active in April and May. Obviously, they expect a lot out of the ranges this year also, but the Knicks are the story right now. Soto's gotten off on the right foot. He's hit the ground running. The Yankee fans already love him. He's blowing kisses to the Yankee fans. So they have a happy early marriage. That could change radically, very quickly, which you better understand. But I think right now, more than anything else, the Knicks, because there's great anticipation after the way they finished, the way Brunson has played, and they have fallen in love with this team. They really have. And the Garden will be rocking when they're there on Saturday. I mean, rocking. And nothing rocks like the Garden when it's really a big playoff series. And this team, they believe in this team. So this is real, and it hasn't been real for very, very long time. So I say the Knicks right now. - Yeah, from the outside looking in, it certainly does seem that way. I mean, you know, Jalen Brunson as beloved a figure I'd imagine as there is right now. And you know, I feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. But I think part of why he's so beloved there is that, look, he's a superstar. He's an all-star. He should be on Team USA for the Olympics. But he's also not LeBron James. He's not Kevin Durant. He's not these guys that the Knicks had been chasing for so long. And I think the fact that that allows him to kind of play with a little bit of house money from an expectation standpoint, like he's an undersized guy. How much of all of that goes into how beloved he and the Knicks are right now? - I think it was just a gift they didn't expect. As a matter of fact, a lot of people didn't like the move when they made it, just to give you an example. Here's a kid who came from scoring 10 points to scoring 12 points to scoring 18 points to now scoring 30 points a game since Randall's gone out. He has become an all-league player. He has gone from being a good player to a star player to now an elite player all in a very short amount of time. So this has captivated the fans. Plus, he's very low-key. He's not out and about. He's not a very showy guy. He's very quiet. So right now, he is the bell of the ball. There's no question. He is the star. And he has played so well. I mean, I don't even think the league has given him credit for how well he's played. I mean, he has been a top five player in this league for the last two months. That's how good he's been. Now, whether he can do that at a playoffs when they're going to direct the defense towards him and try to take away what he does and whether or not they have a legitimate second scorer now. And there's a lot of questions they have to answer. So they are anything but a given as a team, but I think he's a given as a star. I think he has become a legitimate NBA star. He'll be all league this year. He'll be probably second team all NBA, which is a great achievement. He really has just blossomed into a very big star. - It has been a fun story to watch. From the outside looking in the Eastern Conference feels like it's about one team and that's the Boston Celtics. And unless I guess the box figure it out, which they haven't under Doc Rivers. And I guess Joel Embiid is back. But I mean, to that point, it's either the Sixers or the Heat that the Knicks are getting in the first round. Like, is this anything more than a fun story? Or is this a team that the New Yorkers truly believe have a deep championship type run in them? - I think the fans believe that this team has a big run of them. I myself am a little worried about the playoffs. I think that there's some things that I need answered that I haven't seen yet. And the playoffs are very different than the regular season. It's a whole different ball game. The defense is different. The way they dedicate game plans is different. The strategy that goes into each game is different. So it is a completely different thing. And they to me have some questions to ask. But the average fan right now is absolutely believing that they could make a very big run in the playoffs this year. - Yeah, and I think there's a reason to believe that. And again, it's kind of the, they're in the kind of perfect spot for it right now. Like, no one on the team's going to say this. No next fan is going to say this. But a championship would be great. It'd be pie in the sky. But that's not actually like expected right now. There is some, there is a kind of needle you can thread of having a successful season that doesn't end in that. I want to switch gears, talk to you about the Yankees there. You mentioned Soto, the start he's got off to, how much is it just feel like a return to the Yankees of old? They go out, they see, okay, maybe not the sexiest toy. I would show Hayo Tani, but the next sexiest thing and they say, just give me that. I mean, I'm not going to sit here and pretend to tell you I love it, but this is a return to what the Yankees are supposed to be. - A partial return, not a complete return. - That's right. - Because they didn't complete the picture and go get the picture. The Yankees have a budget. In Georgia's they didn't have the budget. How is the antithesis of George both in practice and in theory? He's both the antithesis. George, when he wanted something, went and got it, he didn't care what it costs. But remember, they've put in things now that limit the Yankees. In the old days, they weren't limited. Now they are limited. And it does give them some pause. Now, you can have enough money, the Mets do, to overspend anything. We'll see what they do in the next couple of years. They went after the two big pieces, didn't get it this year, either one. So they put the money back in their pocket and they're waiting. They will go after Soto, hard after the season. I don't think there's any question. And that'll be a question that the Yankees have to answer after the season. What the Yankees did this year was, they went back to a common sense. They went back to left handed power. They went back to a balanced lineup, which they've been really all right handed in recent years, which made no sense to anybody. They now have left these, not just Soto, but Red Hugo. Makes a big difference in the lineup. They have some length in the lineup. Their shortstop is growing up. He's becoming a very good offensive player. They do have some age on him. You worry about Stanton, you worry about Rizzo, you worry about Lemayu. But they have some dynamic players who are not far away. They have two really, and I don't promote youngsters. I never do that. But they have two can't miss guys in Dominguez and Jones. And I don't think they'll give them away for any reason. And they are both gonna be big time players. I don't think there's any question. We've already seen it from Dominguez, he's hurt. We see it sort from Jones and spring training. These guys are big time players that are on the come. They're gonna be at least a year away. But this team is not complete. I worry about the pitching. I worry about the bullpen. I'm not locked in as homes as a closer that I really trust. He got a little lucky early in the season. I would have had a couple of blown saves in Houston. The Yankees bailed them out twice in that series. And the Yankees got off to a fast start, which is very atypical for them. But they're not as good as the thought they got off to. They are a playoff team. They are not an automatic championship team. Yeah, and the Blue Jays break it on back down to Earth a little bit with the first two games. So the series looking for the sweep this afternoon. Yeah, Anthony Volpe won. Absolutely. Yeah, and listen, it hasn't been a domination by any stretch of the imagination. They've gotten some great starting pitching in these first two games. Anthony Volpe, yeah, one of those young players. And they mentioned him at the top of the lineup right now. He had a pretty good debut season a year ago. He hit a bunch of home runs and he's changed his offensive profile this year. And it seems to be working in spades. I mean, how important is it for him that there's been some separation between Derek Jeter and he playing the most iconic position and maybe all of pro sports? I think there was enough separation that it's okay. So I don't think that it was a problem in any way. I think Volpe can handle everything. I think he has a very good way of going about things. I think he's got to be more patient at the plate. He has been that. He hadn't struck out a lot until last night. He has walked more than we thought he even would this year. He is a guy who's going to get 25 doubles. He's going to get 25 homers. He's going to get 25 steals. And he plays a good shortstop. He's not a great shortstop. I didn't think he deserved the goal glove, but he is a solid shortstop and he is going to be a very good offensive player. Yeah, I think that's a and he needed the separation to exist in that space without being Jeter, right? If he's right off the heels. I never sensed that. I never sensed that that was a big deal. I think there was enough separation. I didn't think that was a big deal. I really didn't. And the Yankees are used to having stars. The one thing is they cultivate stars very well. And they did not put a lot of pressure on him. They really didn't for him to carry anything. And in this team with two of the top five players in the sport right behind them, he doesn't have a lot of pressure on him here. So he can go about his business. The fans already love him. He's a local kid. He's going to be fine. And he's already handled with fine. I think he's already over that patch. I just think he has to just nuance his game, use the whole field, cut down the strikeouts, and walk a little more. And then he'll be what he's supposed to be, which is a 280 hitter who can bat lead off and score 100 runs. Yeah, sounds pretty useful, quite honestly. Not Derek Jeter, but pretty useful. Oh, he's not Derek Jeter. And he doesn't have to be Derek. Well, and that's what I was going to say to you. Nobody is Derek Jeter. Has there been anybody, and I'm not talking Yankees-wise, I'm talking New York sports scene as a whole, that has come remotely close to kind of even not touching, but just like sniffing that pinnacle of being the king of New York, the way Jeter was. I mean, I'd imagine Judge had a minute there when he's swatting 62, but you need the team's success to follow it. Has anybody, and I'm not talking just Yankees. This could be a Nick. This could be, you know, a giant or, well, probably not a jet, but you do what you want with this question, Mike. But has anybody come even close to that stratosphere of Jeter in terms of owning the city since he retired in 14? You see, you got to understand the Yankees had two stars on that same level. The Yankees had plenty of stars, and they had a lot of Bernie Williams was beloved in this town. Paul O'Neill was beloved in this town. Don Manningley, if you go back, was beloved in this town. But you got to realize there was Jeter, but there was also Mariano, and Mariano was treated the same way. Mariano was deified. Mariano was treated unbelievably, and although he wasn't the outgoing star in terms of commercials and everything that Derek Jeter did, and the national star that Jeter was, in this town, he was beloved. And people, if you ask them who was the reason more than anybody else, Mariano would have been considered the reason for all those teams, more than anybody else. And you can tell, by the way, he went into the Hall of Fame, how he was regarded as the best ever, not one of the best, the best ever at his position. He's the best player who's ever been a relief pitcher. That's the guy we had during those years, the best reliever in the history of baseball. Yeah, how close was Mark Messier to that in '94, leading the Rangers to their first cup in 54 years? That was a very unique and special situation. Remember, this town has a lot of stars. It always has a lot of stars. It cultivates its stars. It puts a lot of pressure on its stars. But Messier came in and guaranteed it, answered the call, made it happen, game seven devils, finals, and then delivered the cup. So from that standpoint, his place, although he was only here for a few years, his place is etched in stone in the city. There's no question about that. Yeah, it was 54 years between cups for the Rangers in '94. We're looking at year number 57 between cups for the Toronto Maple Leafs. When did Rangers fans start to believe it could happen? Are there signs we need to look out for? I don't think they ever believed it could happen, to be honest with you. And I can tell you this, I've been to every big sporting event, I think, except the Indianapolis 500. I think that's the only one I've missed. I've been to every finals, every championship, every everything. And the most pressurized game I ever felt in my life was game seven between the Devils and the Rangers that year. As we awaited the third period, I never felt a building more intense than that building that night, and I've said that many times. And that includes being a Yankee stadium for every World Series game, and being at championships for the Giants many times, and Super Bowls, and everything else. I've never felt a building more intense than I did for that year and that game. That game was one of the most remarkable games I ever went through, experienced in my life. And that championship that year was so special. It was remarkable, the reaction. I did a show at the Garden that night after game seven in the play-by-play. I used to do a show after Nick and Ranger Games, and I did a show that night, and there must have been 1500 people flowing into that place where I did the show from, including the players, including the Cup and everything else. And they were in the streets until morning. I mean, it was one of the more remarkable things. That whole spring, because we had the Nixon Rangers, both go to the final game of the final series, one won, one lost. But we had 49 playoff games between the Nixon and the Rangers. And I don't think we've had 49 playoff games since then. Oh man, that's incredible to hear. We work with a guy here, Nick Caprios, who was on that team. He's telling us stories about 94 all the time. How special? Amazing. Yeah, how special it was. And yeah, it's the thing I always point out. You would know it as well as anywhere. It's like there's something about winning in places that matter. And look, you win a championship. Those people there will love you forever. But I'm sorry. There's just something about doing it in a big East Coast sports market, where it's cold all the time. We got nothing better to do for all of our winters. Like, what do you make of that of what it means? And, you know, I'm not going to say anything or anything is New York. But I mean, if somebody, if the lease were ever to win a cup here, I mean, it would be manna from heaven. It's just, what do you think it is about these East Coast? Is it just the weather? Is it just like we're cooped up inside and cold all winter? So we got nothing better to do. I just have this feeling like you could never possibly care as much if you're living in San Diego or somewhere else. Well, you know, interestingly, New York is an amazingly big place. What people don't realize, it's eight times the size of Boston, okay? Boston is a small town compared to New York. Philly is a small town compared to New York. New York is so big that there's more than one thing going on at once. Nothing captures this whole city ever, ever 100%. Because there's too many things that go on in this city. But the bottom line is, when we get behind a team, it becomes so big and it seems like everybody who isn't a fan becomes a fan for a couple of weeks. So you can feel it everywhere you go. And when that happens in the city, it's very unique. Now, there's pressure playing here. There's no question because this town will demand a lot of its stars. But I don't think any more than Boston. I don't think any more than Philly. I'm sure Toronto is the same way in hockey. And the idea is here, we ask you to perform. We don't mind you getting paid. We will always give you the adulation. But there is a check for that. You are going to get a check and that means deliver. And if you don't deliver, you are going to hear it. And I mean really hear it. And this town can ride people right out of town. This town is not for every player. And if a player can play here, it's a very unique individual. There's a lot of guys can't play here. I mean, I've seen it through the years. Great players who just could not play here. It happens. And listen, Boston, I've been around that town plenty. It's rough on its baseball players. Philly is the same thing. It's really tough on its players, including its football players. I mean, so these towns can be tough. And I think it's the way that the Easterners are built. I just think it's the way we think and the way they're, you know, it isn't about, you know, vacationing or what you're going to do on the weekend or the beaches or the ski resorts or anything else. It's about the daily grind. And everything's a grind. Everything is a hustle. Everybody's always in a hurry. And you're right, this town is always in a hurry. If you go to New York, everybody's in a hurry. Everybody's pushing and shoving. And we push and shoving as a way of living. I mean, that's just the way we exist. And we expect our athletes to have that same temperament. Yeah. And I think a lot of people think Canadians are super friendly. There's a lot of pushing and shoving in Toronto here as well. I'd be remiss, Mike. And this has been great. I'd be remiss if I didn't ask you an industry question. Of course, you spent almost 19 years with Chris Russo, Brian, Brent and I. Not in 19 years, almost 20 years. OK, almost 20 years. Um, I host a show with a partner as well. What is the most important thing in trying to maintain a radio partnership? How many years are you guys into it? Not even one. Not even one. Yeah. New marriage here. Not even one. You haven't even started yet. Well, you see, here's the way I would explain our relationship. And to give you an example, with John Sterling retiring, we all did some stuff on John because we've known John forever. And, you know, we've been, John's been a part of our show going way back. And I went on dogs show yesterday, his baseball show. And he called me up and asked me to go on. So I actually visited with him yesterday, but it's funny. We didn't always get along. We fought sometimes and fought sometimes for long periods of time. The way I would explain it was, and I don't know if you guys fit this dynamic, we always believed we were better individual performance. But when we came together, we had a chemistry that clicked immediately. We didn't have to work in it. It was there. We understood how to work alone. We understood how to work together. And we were very good at the roles we decided to deal with and play. And we had a very, very planned out way of doing things. So it wasn't just throw it together and go. We had a plan about how we were going to do things, about who was going to handle what, who was in charge or what. And it worked. And we didn't go against that. But we also were always competing with each other. So it was a very unusual dynamic. We had a tremendous amount of success together. When we put us together, we were both diametrically opposed to it. It was true. Neither one of us wanted it. They put us together. We didn't get along the first couple of months. But when the first rating book came out, we had shot from like 11th to 3rd. The second rating book, we were first by a mile. And then we knew we were stuck together. We knew that there was no way we were going anyway. We weren't going to fight it. We were going to shut up and make a whole bunch of money together. And that we did. But we did fight often. I could tell you this. And this is a true story. And you guys could understand this. We had one year. I'd say it was 99 into 2000. I think that was the year where we didn't speak off the air or during a commercial for nine months to each other. And we worked together every day, five and a half hours in the same room and traveled and did remote together. And until vacation where we each used to, I don't know how you guys do. When you guys go on vacation, do you go together or do you go separately? No, we haven't. We haven't. Well, you mean like I'd taken the time off? One guy's saying the other guy leaves. You know what we've we've had crossover before. But yeah, when you first said that, I was like, no, we're both. We're not both in a command somewhere. We know, no, we both like one of us. We liked our time in the summer where we worked along. So one of us was always there. We never worked together all summer. So we always had our separate time where I would work and he'd be on vacation. He would work and I would be on vacation. So we never vacationed together. So the show never shut down at 12 months a year. It never shut down because that we one of us was always there. But and that kept the individual part of our plus. We each worked a separate show on Saturday and Sunday alone, our whole careers. So we always were these individual performers who came together to work, had all the success, but always thought we were better individually. And that was a very weird dynamic that worked for us for 20 years. Wow. Well, you know what? We can come together tomorrow and do a show and it'll be seamless. Oh, I know. Because it's just it's just the way we are. And you guys hang around with each other off the air or no? Yeah, not particularly. Yeah, we played golf a couple of times. But yeah, it's and you know what? We live in very close proximity to each other. With how close we live together. No, we do not. Let me ask you this. Let me ask you this. Who leads who sits in the power chair? I guess that's me. Like I'm doing the ins and the outs. Yeah. You do the ins and the outs. Yeah. Okay. I sat in the power chair, but dog did the ins and the outs. Oh, interesting. Maybe I'm sitting in the power chair. Yeah. So then how do you decide that was the power chair? Because you were sitting in it? No, because there's one chair that faces the room that is the power chair. That faces the video. Oh, okay. He's checking all the boxes. He faces the producer. I sat in the power chair and I was in charge of what we were going to do each day, but dog ran the show in terms of saying hello to everybody, bringing everybody in saying goodbye. I never opened the clothes to show with dog in 20 years, not once. Wow. Okay. I never said hello. I never said goodbye. I let dog open the show. I let dog close the show. We had a division of labor that worked and we planned it that way. We did it for specific reasons that way. So we didn't each do each job. I would not recommend that. I would recommend division of power that you understand why you do each thing. I got to stop being so lazy is what I'm hearing here. Yeah. I got to pick up my chores here. When you guys got together, did you want to work together or were you against working together? We weren't against working together. No. It was very much a surprise to be thrown together. I will say the exact same thing of like, hey, you know, Ben, you're going to work with them? Oh, okay. Yeah. No, we both been here for a long time and we'd never worked together before. So what did the program director use as an example, Mike and the bad boy? I wish. Yeah. Yeah. No, they were like, maybe you guys could get half as good as that one day. Half, yeah. That would be, that would be nice. No, thank you. All right. Listen, I wish you luck and I'll tell you something. Heat brings entertainment. Yes. So, but the heat's got to be real. Yes. 100%. We thought it can't be fake. There has to be real arguments in the relationship. And there has to be real disagreements on the air. We had disagreements sometimes that were so vehement. We would fight right through the commercial, like the top of the alley and keep going. It's amazing. Mike. No, and they were real. And we both believed in what we were arguing. And it was real. But also, dog understood how to play his role. And I understood how to play mine. And they were very different roles. And that's why it really worked. Let's talk again in 20 years. Yep. Okay. Hey, I hope I'm here in 20 years. All of us. That's the idea. It's the thing in 20 more years. Okay. Well, listen, I wish you luck. How many rating books have you had? Yeah, we've had a couple. And how would they do it? Tremendous. Obviously, it's a bad thing. Obviously. Are you ascending upward? Oh, yeah. Yeah, obviously. Yeah, because we started at zero. So, yeah, we're, yeah, it's definitely ascending. There's no question. Now, let me ask you something. Do you each have different agents? Yeah, yeah, because they're ourselves. So, yes, we are different people. Different stratosphere that you're working at. And you don't negotiate as one, right? Oh, no, definitely not. No, definitely not. No, I don't even know what he's making. No, I can guess. Okay. Let me give you one bit of advice. Okay. On your advice. Yes, yeah. If you guys can handle it. And work together, the best thing this station ever did was keep dog and I apart and keep us on different years because they never gave us the leverage we would have had if we ever got together. But we could never get together and we cost each other. We made a lot of money, but we could have made a lot more. Okay. If we had been one unit, we were never one unit as an economic force. We were never one unit. Okay. I hope our boss is implicit. We always negotiated separately. We always had separate agents. We always negotiated separately. And we were always on different years. So they always had one of us on the contract that they could use against the other one. Yeah. It's great advice, Mike. Again, this was an absolute pleasure. Thanks so much for doing this. Good luck to you guys. Thank you. And I hope to make these go is until they meet the ranges and, you know, the electric. No more. That would be great. Now, listen, now, let me get you this, because I'm not the biggest hockey guy during the regular season. Okay. I like the playoffs. Well, let me say this. Is your guy going for the 70? Or is he going to sit out? No, he's going tonight and he's getting it tonight. Yep. Oh, so he's going to play good. I'm glad he is. Because you know what? That would be a shame if he didn't. Yep. Agreed. See you, Mike. Thanks so much. Bye, guys. Mike Francisa. Don't legend. All right. We've gone way too long. JD has to do his shows. Been the fan morning show. Sports at 5.9 in the fan bed. And it's Frank Gunning. Sports at 5.9 in the fan. Good morning. [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] (dramatic music)