[MUSIC PLAYING] Bad morning, Cho. Bright gunning, Dan Yellie, Francesca here. Shout out to-- we won't reveal how much, but just an old man behind the glass in Josh Santos, cooking up a little shot clear for me in the morning. So I'm very, very happy about that. Well, that's what this is. That's what this is. Yeah, I'm all, I'm all, I'm all. No clue. This is like a 1999, much music classic right here. Cancon, we love a little Cancon in the morning. It just hit me as I was listening to that. And both these guys are employed. So I don't know how a job trade works and when it's across sports. But would John Schneider not be the perfect manager for Canada soccer? Oh, no. He comes out every day, talks about how great the other team is, but when you're playing Leo Messi, it's actually kind of true. And I don't need to get mad at you tipping your cap to some team's fourth starter. So as the second I heard that clip, that was all I could think of is, oh my god, I found Schneider's calling in life is to-- now, you can't just manage any football club. You can't do that. Canada soccer is truly the perfect one. Because you got, oh, you got to tip their cap. You got to talk about your own good players that don't do anything either. It truly would be just an apples to apples because it's a pretty [BLEEP] win. Yeah, well, you wouldn't get to say that. You wouldn't be able to say that. That's only probably, we wouldn't get to say that very often. Yeah, this was a great bleep and drop. Yeah, yeah. Over assault. No, no. What a result. Yes. Well done. No, that is-- I really like that comparison. It's all like a beautiful cross-work comparison there. Yeah, you're 100%, right? He'd fit in perfectly, talking about tipping caps every five minutes. I guess they don't have caps to tip. No, they don't. Like giving thumbs up or something. Yeah, a plot. Yeah, you're going to applaud, right? You have to give them the flowers. You have to put on a fake English accent for it. Sorry, I don't make the rules, apparently. That's how it works. Herdman, now we got this Marsh character, yeah. Oh, this Marsh character. Well, I'm winning a game, OK? Yeah, but you're OK. No, no, no, I'm in chess. Come on, we know. Yeah, we know. But now be Peru. I will say, be Peru, please. Here's the rule. Here's where there's other parallels involved is I have the whole Raptor season. I made it. Coach Darko, OK? There's professionals. Maybe the guy who normally sits in this chair who goes like, coach Rakovich for the Raptor, I go, OK, coach Darko. And he said, when are you going to-- and I forgot what the goal it was, but there's some record better than what they had last season. Like, when I get to 46 wins or whatever the number was, I'm like, then he becomes coach Rakovich. Never happened. So Jesse Marsh, go win a game, and you become coach or manager Marsh or whatever he wants to be called instead of this Marsh guy. OK, so that's my rules. That's my rules. But no, last night, you couldn't have expected any more. I tuned in because it was my duty as a patriot and for this job. I'm just like, cards on the table. I'm being honest, OK? I would have loved to have gone, had dinner somewhere, maybe. But that wasn't happening. We had to lock in on Canada soccer. And I was happy to do so early on in that match. It was exciting. Things were happening. We had chances. We had possession. We had looks at goal. And then, you know what happened? And I am shocked that I have enough information on this to say that soccer happened. The other team was just like, guys, what are we doing here? We should probably get one. And then the game completely changes. That is exactly what happened, at least from my view. I don't begrudge-cade to soccer one bit. There were tons of moments, especially early on in that half, where they could have had every right to say, I don't know if soccer has a deserved to win-o-meter. But I know what it would look like. I love it, eh? Oh, it's huge. OK, well, I would have liked to have seen it after the 45th bit. I've seen my Facebook group chat, so this last week or so, we're talking all about euros. I can only imagine. It's all about, man, that Slovenia deserved that one. A lot of it. Oh, God, I would fit right in. Yeah, you would. I would. All right, we're working on me. But that was the thing I take out of last night's game, honestly, is that's defending World Cup champs. And that's Leo Messi. And, you know, let me put it this way. For even a layman, I recognize a lot of those names. Like, OK, Diemario, Alvarez. Like, these are guys, the keeper they had. Same guy from doing the great celebration from the World Cup, by the way. So same keeper there. This is obviously a world-class opponent. And Canada, forget looking in place in the game. They looked like the better team for big stretches that first half. It was remarkable. It was. I do think the context, which you laid out, is really important. It's Canada's first time ever in this tournament, right? The last couple, I don't even say a couple of years, the last several years now, dating back to, I guess, really 2020, maybe just prior, when they went on this journey of qualifying for the World Cup, appearing at the World Cup, scoring the first World Cup goal, right? Now in their first Copa America, it's been a lot of firsts that have unfolded and that we collectively, as a nation, as a country, will never mind those players and the personnel attached to that program. All of us have collectively experienced this for the first time. So in saying that, part of the growth is understanding that it is a series of firsts and that there is now, hopefully, you hope, more to come. Argentina, they've won this tournament 15 times. It was good. They've won it 15 times. They are, as you said, the defending World Cup champs. They are the defending Copa America champs. They are the number one ranked team in the world by virtue of the fact, by proxy of winning the last two major international tournaments that they have participated in. And so as such, I think in analyzing sort of the game, I felt like the first 10, 15 minutes or so. Not that Canada looked out of place, but I felt like it took them those 10, 15 minutes to settle in and really have an understanding and come to the realization that they do belong. They belong. And there's an intimidation factor of looking across from you and seeing number 10. And seeing all these guys that had just hoisted a World Cup trophy and have won plenty of trophies collectively throughout their careers together. So once that sort of that, I don't want to, I don't know if intimidation is the right word, but I guess that were. Once that aura faded a little bit, then from that point on, it was like Canada very much was in a position where if they just had a little more finish, they're right there. They're right there. And I hate moral victories when it comes to sports. And I hate it in particular with soccer. And especially with Canadian soccer. But I will say, there's a part of me that does need to admit and acknowledge they played all right. They actually hung in a lot better than I think I thought of going into that match. And I'm sure a lot of the soccer community felt they would fare in that situation. - It's funny, you know what was going through my head as you talk about the, and whatever the right word is, 'cause I, you're right, I don't think it's quite intimidation. That's not fair, but it's just, you know, like we all recognize people in any, whatever industry you're in, like you're, you're a pipe fitter. I don't know what makes a guy better or not better. - But I think I have one. - Okay, go for it. - I think I have this. I don't know if this parallel is gonna work. - Hit me. - I think the word I would use maybe the mystique. - Yeah, that is good. - And I think of, weirdly, it was to come to mind, and Joshua liked this one. The undertaker. - I knew this was the best. - The mystique of the undertaker. - I'm more certain that some wrestling was about to enter the show. - But that's sort of what it is, right? It's like, even for the performers in the ring, when they would have a match with the undertaker, you know the guy, but then when the music hits and the guy starts walking down the aisle, right? It's like, oh, geez, oh no, he might really come to take my soul. - He might. - He might. We're just on the off chance. This might actually happen. And I think in this instance with Canada. - Yeah. - Well, yeah, the two exhibition games against France and Netherlands certainly helped in a big way. And it's part of what we've been clamoring for. Play real teams. Like, we got to see you now. You're past the point of beating up on, or trying to beat Panama or Honduras. You got to play these teams now, right? And I think the mystique wore off, because for them, they're playing for 70,000 people in this massive stadium against a team that is a juggernaut. - You know, eventually it took them a bit. But what's the mystique wore off? I think that's the appropriate term. - No, I do like it. The moment that was kind of ringing to my head and thinking about that was the Shohei Otani speech to his Japanese team before the final of the World Baseball Classic. Like, you almost needed Alfonso Davies to do the like, "Hey, it's just Argentina, guys." But it's pretty hard when it's... Now, the difference is that, you know, like, I mean, Japan was in the final of the World Baseball Classic. They had certainly proven they belonged at that point in time. Canada still has a lot of proving to do, but that's honestly the thing that kind of jumped out in my mind is don't, yes, respect them and honor them. But, like, let's go kick their ass. Would that be so bad to do as well? And you'd love to kind of see it. Another thing that jumped out to me, and again, like I think there's a lot of people who... I actually think there's kind of three camps in this. I think there are people who are legitimately informed. They are aware of who Jesse Marsh is and what his teams play like. Then I'm just gonna put some cards on the table. There's a lot of interlopers out there who like to talk like they know what Jesse Marsh's laid teams were like or whatever. And then there's me. Guy who hand up does not know what Jesse Marsh's laid teams play like, but I watched that last night, and what I heard heading in was, they want to play attacking football. They want to go, go, go. Now, I'm not gonna sit here and tell you, based on personnel, if that's the right way to go about it, I will tell you, based on wanting me to watch the game, and I certainly hope to put the teams together with something else in mind, other than my enjoyment. But if that's the way they're putting it together, I thoroughly enjoyed that. I felt like Fonzie was making runs again. I mean, ton of chances last night, a stock you had his moments, David had his looks. Oh, did he ever go? Oh my God, that header, that... Unmarked in the box. Unreal, I could not believe it. Oh my goodness. That's a tough one. Okay, but that's fair. To that point, I say, that intrigues me. Not, I am, I would always care about the results more than anything else, especially in this sport, where I'm gonna come in and watch 90 minutes for three times in a week and a half, and then maybe there's more, maybe there's less. I'll always take the results over it. But that was just a compelling match early on. Again, once Argentina got the goal, the tenor of the game certainly shifted a little bit, and that's par for the sport in that sport. But that was something that jumped out to me as well, was just that was an intriguing attack in team, and you wanna see that. Stylistically, the player very fun, engaging, intriguing brand of soccer. That's, that's, that was, it's very cool and very appealing, very aesthetically pleasing for fans to watch, then play that style. Is it sustainable? I think this is what Jesse Marsh has already learned. They were at halftime against Netherlands, is very first match with Canada. It's nil-nil, they go through 45, it's nil-nil-nil. The golfing was Sam McKee while it was happening, and he informed me of such. Yeah, yeah, I know, Sam, he's right on top of it all. Hey, we're tied with that. Can you believe it? Oh my God, that's all, we're tied with this notch. Guess what I said to him? Oh my God, a soccer game is zero, zero, I am four. Here's what I said. Instead of being like, wow, that's pretty incredible. No, I said both, I said, say that's good for us, but I'm shocked, I am, oh gee, what would the odds have been that it was zero, zero and half? So, that game's nil-nil. They come out in the second half, and they look like a shell of the team that they were. They looked battered and bruised and fatigued, and in that match, they were ultra-aggressive, high-pressing, trying to be the team on the front foot consistently. Didn't work for them, and I think a lot of that is an understanding now that personnel-wise, they're not there, right? They're not at that level, right? They can't do what Spain did to Italy yesterday in terms of really dictating the entire play, like the terms of engagement, owning that the entire way through. Canada can't do that, even if stylistically, that's why Jesse Marsh would like to play. But what he can do is encourage them to be more aggressive and forward-thinking, and trying to have that mindset of wanting to take every opportunity to push the pace and to score goals. And I think you saw a lot of positive signs in that regard. I think the questions I have, like the back line, clearly because they lack so much quality in terms of the talent, the back line defensively is horrendous, like it's tough. I don't know how many times on set-pieces, Gunners. Yeah, pieces, you know, how can you allow guys to just run free unmarked? How does that happen? There was literally back-to-back free kicks at one point in the second half where the ball gets swung into the area, and there isn't a Canadian player within five feet of the guy, that they got to be better in that area. You mentioned Davies had his moments. I think it's interesting the deployment of him because he's starting games as a traditional left-back, which has always been his more traditional position. Playing professionally, playing in Europe, he's always been a defender, quote-unquote. Then, under Herman, they wanted to utilize him more as an attacking player because he's the most talented guy on the pitch, kind of makes sense. So you're seeing more versatility and diversity here without Jesse Marsh is choosing to deploy him because there was a substitution made where they brought on Richie LaReya, and I think he was the 70th minute or so, and that pushes Davies up. So I think you're gonna see that a lot. It's like mixing and matching and trying to be versatile in terms of how they can get him up the pitch a little bit more and being more offensive-minded at times. Yeah, you talk about the back line and it's struggling. The two centre backs that ended that game, one plays for Colorado and the other plays in Sweden. So you're just talking about the Argentinian national team. Like, yeah, that's where the quality is just going to show up in different ways. And it's like, hey, teams with lesser talents have won games in this sport before. That's the beauty of it, so I'm told anyways. But the, so that doesn't, you don't say that to say, and it has no chance, what do you want? But at a certain point in time, like the rubber does meet the road and there's just a quality difference there. I feel so vindicated looking at, I don't, I never know what this stat is called, but like, you know how they just give every guy like a number and soccer for their match rating or their form, okay? I feel so vindicated because I was watching that game the whole time and I'm like, I feel like this Miller guy keeps gumming up Davey's runs. I feel like he's trying to give him passes and trying to just wasn't working. Lowest match rating on the team. I feel so vindicated in that, him and, yeah. - No, no, no, you're 100%. - I just, even my layman self went, can you get out of the way? I have been there as the like, gunking it up, left winger on a team and you got a skillful defense being trying to break it out or snap, break out, pass it your way. You're just gumming it up and I've been there, okay? So I feel for you, but also clean it up. - I did want to acknowledge one player in particular, give him his flowers. Jacob Schaffelberg, he subbed on in the second half and he did not start the game. Man, he was the most threatening player on the pitch for Canada. That includes Davey's and David. That guy was creating and he was playing up the right flank and he had the one in the second half that was the non-call at the edge of the area. Which, man, oh man, I was so frustrated by that. You want to know why? Because first and foremost and even, you know, the commentary crew and in the court of public opinion, it's a foul. It was a foul, clear as day. They go to VAR, right? Which, again, I think VAR is good. I think it's positive for the sport. You know, my biggest grape with VAR? They, unlike other sports where, if there is a review, there's a level of communication between the officials and the crowd and the audience, there's zero. We're just like, box. Oh, they're looking at a box, okay? And then they just point. And you're like, where are they pointing? What are we doing? And then you're waiting for some clarity because the players are moving or celebrating or whatever. That's my biggest gripe. But in terms of that play, tough break there because beautiful effort from Jacob Schaffelberg. And also, if they go to VAR and the determination, I believe, was that it was a foul. It's just that the foul didn't occur in the area. I think, could be mistaken on this. Does that not so mean he's gonna get, he should've got a free kick outside the box? I would certainly say. Like, I'm pretty sure that's sort of what was at least established is that, oh, they were like, the foul didn't occur in the area. That I actually did feel that felt very familiar to me 'cause it was, it felt to me as though the refs were saying, well, you already got one. You already got your free kick right outside the box in the first half. So you can't have two. You can't have two. Yeah, yes you can. Yes, yes you can. That's the only good to the goat, Leonardo Messi. But I just did wanna make sure we acknowledge Schaffelberg 'cause I thought he was particularly good. And, you know, I'm not gonna be overly critical about any of Canada's performances or players in particular because, as I said, and I laid out to hear already, and I hinted at, they're just not at that level. Like, they're not. And you know what? Anybody that believes to the contrary, they should be going out and winning games. No, no, no, no. No, man, they're not there. It's great you're in this conversation. You're sharing a group with the likes of Argentina, Chile, and Peru. Now, mind you, like Peru, you could probably, you hopefully can be Peru. You know, you're not in the same ballpark as those other countries. That said, Jonathan David, all we hear about this guy. Is he not supposed to be an elite striker? Is that not the book on him? I've heard. Right, Gunner, like he's- He's leading the French league and goals. He's supposed to be this league. Yeah, exactly. He's supposed to be this rising star in international soccer, in the European soccer scene, as a guy that can finish. Yep. Buddy, can you at least give me one? That's right. How many times do you need to have beauty? Like, we can't say all, but he's got nobody providing him service. No, there's plenty of beautiful service that is taking place. Guys are giving him opportunities. Finish! Nope, whole heart of the degree. Finish! You gotta be better. We need better for him. The unmarked header in the box, that's one that he has to finish there. And it's just, you're not gonna get- This is the other part of it. It is like, I sometimes think to your point, there's the lack of services stuff can be, it's a fair point to bring up, but it's also okay, then take advantage of the opportunities you have. And that's the thing. That's part of being a world-class striker. You don't get 10, 15 looks a game. You're lucky if you get that over the course of- Like a calendar year, quite honestly. Sometimes it is remarkable. All right, I want to- We're gonna do more of this. Gonna talk to Malanaro at 7.30. But I'd like to keep the soccer self-contained as much as we can here. We've got other sports in the world after all people. The Blue Jays, God, we'll talk about them. I know the good times keep rolling. Would you like to complain, commiserate about the Azurid? Oh, you're gonna give me the- Of course, man, of course. Wow, yes. I noticed you tried to shoehorning him in, and it's actually just a reward for you being good, not really shoehorning him in earlier. So go ahead, I will not lead the witness. Natalia, go. Gunnar, that was immensely frustrating. I saw a bit of it. Wow. Yeah, I was at the gym. Okay. Oh, that's why. 'Cause it was on, yeah. It was like, it's that or CP24. Okay, okay. So I was cautiously optimistic going into that match yesterday with the implicit sort of underlying belief and understanding that Spain is probably the better team. They looked great in their first match. They always do. They always do. No, no, but you know what? They're a different confluence of, it's a different contingent this time for Spain. Like, there are a lot of young players. Oh yeah, no, no. Most evidently, like, you know, they're two best attacking players. This guy, Nico Williams. No, it sounds super Spanish, honestly. Wow. No, he doesn't look Spanish. No, I don't. I don't care. Like, it's like, obviously, this is international soccer. It's not the first of the last time, but it's just, if I gave you a list of 30 guys, Nico Williams would not be the one you're putting on the Spanish team. That's true. Anyway, this guy, Electric. I don't know, he's 21 years old, by the way. I mean, it's gotta be only a matter of time before he goes to, like, a massive show, because he is unbelievable. He was by far the best player on the pitch. So they've got him on one side. Okay. Offensively, playing the left. On the right side, they got the 16-year-old. He's got 16 done. Okay. 16 years old, 16 years old, excuse me. Lameen Yumal. A Wonder Kid, if you will. Literally, a Wonder Kid. Look at me. A plate of beef in my day, okay? He's outrageous. Like, both of those two guys, 16 and 21, outrageous. They were the best offensive players on the pitch. And this is what, like, you know, we talked about the Canada match. At least Canada had chances, okay? Canada had chances. In fact, I think the possession numbers for Canada, Argentina, we're a little bit deceiving, 'cause Canada was out-possessed, 65, 35 in that game. Italy, it felt like barely touched a ball. Spain out-possessed them 58, 42 in terms of percentages. And yet, I literally felt like they never touched a ball. You wanna know one other stat? This is the one that tells the whole story. Yeah, give it to me. Spain had 20 shot attempts, nine on target. Italy had four shot attempts for the entire game. Four, if they would have stolen a draw, it would have been an absolute heist. A heist, the heist of the century, if they would have stolen a draw, because the only guy that actually showed up and performed reasonably well, not reasonably well, actually exceedingly well, was John Luigi Darnaruma, the goaltender who is world-class, unbelievable. Super Italian. You're darn right, he is. I'm like Nico Williams. That guy sounds super Italian. Yeah, there's the names also. Oh, I know. Oh, it's my favorite. It is my favorite Euro or football joke or whatever you wanna call it of other countries singing the National Anthem. And it's like, you know, some guys are getting into it a little, and some guys are singing it, some guys are standing there stoically, and then cut to the Italian team. And there, you guys are threatening me with your National Anthem. Yes. It's my favorite joke. I was standing and my hands were moving. I was gonna say, okay, you said the hand thing. Now, I am a hand talker. I have actually just developed this tech. I've been noticing while I do the show that I've been, when I get particularly worked up about a point, I've been referring to it as "Grapesing", where I do the piano on the desk. I have been doing that. It's like, I'm a hand talker, no shots. But it's remarkable how we had a whole conversation about Canada's soccer, and your hands were relatively, like you didn't have any questions about what to do with them. They were just there, they were hanging out. They were just on a desk or on your computer, or whatever a normal hand thing is. The second I asked you about the Missouri, you went immediately to the hands class prayer emoji is the one you immediately went to. I think most people would have thought like the fingers and the Italian thing, but that was wonderful. Just the hand gestures just came flying out of you the second I asked you about it. So what's next, you got two more or one more? - So yeah, well, they're playing, so they've got Croatia. Essentially, this is how we're expaying as a ready, secure top spot in the group, right? - Yeah, with their, 'cause they went two and a half. - 'Cause they have a 16 year old, so obviously that would make sense, right? - A hundred percent. So, I mean, if Italy would have won yesterday, it would have been the same for them. Now, they are still in a fairly decent position, reason being they won a match already. They, there is a pathway to get through with a draw. - Okay. - But winning, winning they're in, essentially. - Winning they're in. - Winning they're in, draw, there's a good chance. Obviously, you can't afford to lose, 'cause if they lose, that opens the door for Croatia to jump in there and steal that second spot in the group. They gotta be a lot better. They were just, they were just complete. They look like, you know, that match was sort of billed as like one of the preeminent sort of marquee attractions of the group stage, right? Like it's Italy, Spain, it's a huge deal. They played each other in the semifinals of the last Euro. Big deal, always fun, and there's always good tradition in history there. And yet, it looked like those teams were on a completely different planet. Spain was just that much better, vastly better. And if not for the goaltending, they would have beat Italy four or five nil, honestly. Like, Donoruma bailed them out on so many different occasions. The one-nil score line is not reflective of how the game unfolded at all. - And when is Italy, Croatia? - On Tuesday. - Oh, okay. - All right, you have a safe weekend out there. We don't have to worry about ornery Italians everywhere. That's good to know. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, I mean, just don't go to Bonner Woodburn show. - Like a normal level. I'm an ornery guy, okay? And I'm not saying that as a shot, just, you know, you can be happy about things or worked up. It's really no in between, at least, at least in my world. All right, Lakers got their man, Shams was right. Maybe we'll talk about that on the other side. And also, never change Barry Buns. I'll tell you what I'm talking about on the other side of it. The fan board show continues with Gutting and Dan Yellie on sports net five, nine of the fan. - Covering the Blue Jays from an analytical perspective. Jay's Talk Plus with Blake Murphy. Be sure to subscribe and download Jay's Talk on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. - Mentioned it on the other side of things, Barry Buns just continues to be exactly who we thought he was. And there have been times where that's been said as an insult, but I say it is with nothing but love. I'm so happy he acted exactly the way he would. We'll talk about that in a couple of minutes here. But the bigger news of yesterday, the Lakers get their man. JJ Redick, first question to you is not about the basketball of it all. It's about the thing I truly care about in that sport is, does this mean Shams was right? - No. - No, I don't think so, right? No. - No, I think he's wrong. - Yeah. - Okay. - Seems pretty clearly they wanted dead Hurley. - Yeah, and he said. - Yes, you know, you said they got their man. - Yeah. - What did they? - Yeah. - Right? - They got a man. - They got exactly. Quite frankly, I mean, this whole thing is a first to begin with, but in terms of who was right and who was wrong in the battle of insiders, I think Woj was just presenting the information that he received and as it happened. And the reality is based on just, even as an outsider, if you sat back and observed how this unfolded, you'd be hard pressed to not say, well, geez, they made a full court press and offered a bunch of money to Dan Hurley. Clearly, he was priority A1 for them, not JJ Redick, whom did they speak to him first? Yes, but if they were so enamored with JJ Redick, they would have offered him the job and they would never would have went to Dan Hurley route. They never would have walked down that aisle and trying to figure out, how can we pry this guy away from Yukon, which was a glorious moment, by the way. Yukon basketball, winning, beating the LA Lakers. Are you kidding me? - Yes. - Unbelievable moment for college basketball, terrific moment for the sport. - I just have too much scar tissue of Jim Calhoun and Jean O'Rium of being angry with the media at large for me to take up too hard for Yukon, but guess what? The Lakers, also bad guys. So there's no sacred cow in this conversation. - But yeah, in the battle, I'm sorry. That was always my interpretation. Literally was, if they were so in love with JJ, they would have did it a month ago. - The way I looked at it is, I don't know, maybe I'm just like, I don't know, I've been getting like a lot of, been thinking about college sports a lot, but this feels to me- - My influence. - This feels to me like a non-commitable offer that JJ Redick got. They've like touched base with them. They're like, hey, man, you are the fifth quarterback in your class, we think you're doing great. We would love you to come to USC. And he's like, buddy, I want to come to USC. Can I come? And they're like, here's the thing. There's like two other quarterbacks in the class, and we're gonna see what they say. But if they say no, we'd love to come. And here we are, here we are. How do you think this is gonna go? I mean, obviously, I think where everybody's first mine goes is the LeBron, JJ Redick, chemistry, or understanding of how things work. I think that's going to work itself out if it hasn't already. But just your opinion on Redick as a coach, getting that big a job for the first one, how do you think this is gonna go? - Well, him getting the job, I absolutely hate it. I hate it, I despise it. - You want me to go earn her in his stripes on the bench. - Because it's an insult. It's disgraceful to the thousands upon thousands of professional coaches that guys that maybe had a fairly high background as a player as well, included in that group, so it's not just like, I'm talking about guys that haven't necessarily, that never excelled as a player as an athlete, and just happen to be good coaches, 'cause there are plenty of those out there. But he is, if objectively, how is he qualified? How is he qualified for this job? Outside of having his name, BJJ Redick. Like outside of that, how is he qualified? - If I'm gonna answer that, I would say that part of coaching in the NBA, and specifically part of coaching a team in LeBron's orbit, has precious little to do with the coaching aspect. It's relationships, it's people management, and I'm not gonna pretend to know how good or bad JJ Redick is at that. But if you made me guess, I'd say he's very good at it, 'cause there's no way somebody climbs that ladder that quickly in the world, like, Daniel, he's calling NBA finals games in his, what, second season or first season as a minor? - No, no, of course there is. And hey, you don't think I have a ton of credit for the analyst that's been grinding it out, and they weren't the golden boy at Duke, and all I completely understand where you're coming from, but I also have to live in a world of realism, and that is such a part of it, is that for whatever reason, I'm not gonna say I'm totally blind to it, I understand some of it, but JJ Redick has this cache of, I mean, honestly, it does feel very similar to when he was at Duke. It's like, hey, he's just as smart as he gets at the most, trust us, okay? And if the players do trust him on that, that is a massive thing that can't be overstated. - No, that's true. I think the key for them in terms of actual basketball success, whether this is a successor or failure. A lot of it's gonna have to do with my estimation with the staff that's around him. Like, he's going to need experienced coaches around him, potentially guys, one guy or multiple guys with previous head coaching experience that can sit at the front of the bench with him, because, you know, like, look, at least here's the one positive I can give you. He had the, he, unlike other guys, and I'm gonna, I have examples that I'm gonna get into, but unlike some others, he has at least coached organized basketball. - Oh, he's just kidding, he's getting the great scores, yeah. - And you know what, I mean, heck, I've been in gyms, you know, the great scores, they can get a look, the peck, you know, if they're good, you know, things go, and it's still at least, honestly, and this might sound stupid, but even in that setting, at the very least, you have the ability to comprehend how to manage a bench, how to subbing kids in and out of games, dealing with refs, dealing with parents, which is not a factor in the NBA. - Yeah, they're just called Asians, that's all. - Exactly. - And like you said, never know. - Yeah, you never know. But yeah, you might have a parent on the team. - Sort of all the logistics surrounding what the game entails from a coaching perspective, you get a better sense of things, so he's gonna at least have some perspective, unlike other guys, and here are the other guys. - Hit me. - Hit me. - I generally hate when you have a player that goes from either a media retirement or maybe he's one or a couple years removed from the game to jumping straight into a coaching role, well, in particular, head coaching. The ones that came to mind and come to mind for me immediately, Steve Nash, you never fit to be a head coach, absolutely, a full-on disgrace that he ever got a head coaching opportunity, because of why, because it was one, two guys of Katie being the main driver forced there and saying, "Okay, sure, I'll take Steve," even though nobody in the right mind in the national basketball system. Oh, it was an unmitigated disaster. Jason Kidd's another one. Jason Kidd's turned out to be a somewhat decent coach, although if you watch the NBA finals, you might think differently, to be honest with you, I'm being very transparent about that. But he went straight from, literally retired from the New York Knicks at the tail end of his career, retires, got a job, like two months later, being the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks. When we know that ended, he had some success there, helped mold the honest a little bit, couldn't get them to where they needed to go. Boom, next comes in Mike Boonholz with the rest of his history. Those are the two that really come to mind initially, and I think that I have another one here. Those two were the main ones I thought of, and I do want to make this point, okay? So, we talked about qualified candidates. - Yep. - James Perego is sitting right there, man. - Yeah. - Like James Perego has actually done the thing. He's done the job. He's been a head coach in the league before. He has a track record, and dare I say, a somewhat proven track record of going and taking a bad team in the Charlotte Hornets, and making them into a playing team. And then he got fired, and guess what happened with Charlotte ever since? They've sucked, they've been deplorable, awful, since his departure. And on top of that, we're talking about a guy that paid his dues and had been an NBA assistant for a decade before actually getting his first true opportunity as a head coach. I'm sorry, I like those stories, and I understand relationships are part of this, but I do like the aura and the process of having somebody who can really appreciate that job, what it means, the level of responsibility it bears, and then can use their knowledge, partly that into coaching a team. JJ, is he a coach or is he a supervisor? - Yeah. - I don't know. Like that's what it is. You don't, and maybe this last point, how many? - Yeah, go for it, yeah. - You don't as Haslam, if you recall, I don't know if you remember this. A few months, it was maybe a couple months ago, had a comment where he said, what are the, like, you know, LeBron and JJ, obviously they started this podcast series together. I find it quite good, to be honest. I know a lot of people think it's very self-indulgent, it's a serving. - Yeah, super pithy, yeah, yeah. - I don't mind it. I think there's some good stuff there from a nuts and bolts, X is an old standpoint. You don as Haslam had a comment on ESPN where he said, they know players in that locker room are gonna have this implicit understanding. That a lot of JJ Redick's presence, he's primarily there because of LeBron James. How does that make you feel? How does it make the other players feel? If they know this guy's gonna go walk out the room after practice and record a podcast with LeBron. - I think that's a really important point. I think it's a really important point to bring up, but I think that even if, like, let's say it was Barrego who got the job and he certainly isn't doing pods with LeBron after games, does anybody think he got that job without the blessing of LeBron? Is there any world where that person is not looked at? At least, 'cause I do think there's a difference between being rubber stamped by LeBron and being LeBron's chosen guy. I think there's a difference, but I also think they kind of carry a similar, not weight 'cause one matter certainly more than the other, but there's gonna be the feel that, yeah, okay, LeBron gave us say so on this regardless. You mentioned Haslam and the story that actually jumps out to mind to me is, I'm trying to remember who it would have been who was telling the story, but it was on one of the, I don't know, Gilbert Arenas or some ilk of that podcast. They were talking about early in the heat, Spodeys, and it was Pat Riley would sit and watch and he had, and I think it was Haslam who told the story, so he referred to it as the big whistle, and it was like, yeah, Spodeys, like Spodeys out there and he's doing his thing, but if Pat gave it three quick, then everything came to a stop. And he said there were three, four, five times early on in that season where he had to blow practice dead, practice from an executive walked down there and say, hey, he's not going anywhere, okay? But that's Pat Riley, there's kind of, sorry, now that Jerry West has gone, there's kind of only one of him. I'm not saying you can't find some other figure to be the president, but I'm sorry, it ain't Planka, okay? - No, it's not Rob, no, no. - And I'm not even putting that on him. That's not supposed to be his job, he's just supposed to be some agent who came in to be the GM, okay? Like, that's not, he's not supposed to-- - It was supposed to magic. - Right, well, exactly, right? But guess what, magic ain't doing that, okay? Magic's like, he's all gonna work out, hit him with one of these, and then he's like, I gotta go open 50 more movie theaters 'cause I'm a cajillionaire. But Pat Riley had that weight in the gravitas to tell LeBron James, Chris Bosch, and Dwayne Wade, he has more power, or at least the exact same amount as you here, and you're all gonna make it work together or you're all gonna go 'cause he's not going anywhere. And there's just, there are so precious few figures in the league that could say that. And honestly, say in that little LeBron, then, I know this is insane to say 'cause it felt like he never had more power than decision LeBron. That's one thing to say up to a 27-year-old kid who's trying to win his first title versus a 40-year-old man whose son is about to come into the league, and he knows he's gonna be owning one of these teams in a decade. So that's the other, I think that's the part of this that I don't look at it as LeBron's fault. Obviously, it's pretty, he had to accomplish some pretty great things to get to this place, but he's just such a singular one-of-one. We had these conversations at the tail end of team building with Tom Brady in the box. It's just different. This is the greatest living, you know, and I'm not trying to turn this into an MJ debate, but this is at worst the second-greatest living person you have ever seen do this thing. They just carry a weight that is immense around them, and especially in that sport, or like football with a quarterback where that guy just demands so much outsized pressure. And that's why I almost, obviously, Berego would say, no, no, you're wrong, I would like that job. I think it's almost better for him that he doesn't have it. Obviously with the presumption that, you know, he's able to land one somewhere else at some time. Yeah, I wish he's in the mix for a bunch of them, which is good. Him and Mike Enore, who, by the way, that guy, unbelievable, unbelievable talker. Mike Enore, who's an associate head coach for the Timber Wolves and all the times that he was terrific. Anyway, okay, so I'm very glad you ended on that point, because I got to think, to some degree, that exact train of thought is maybe what factored in or contributed to Dan Hurley's decision in the end. Totally. Right? Like, he's sitting there and thinking, do I want to be in a position where I have complete, full autonomy of what I'm doing on a daily basis, where I can coach these young men, help them get to the point where they're going to be pros, but I still have a level of authority and autonomy that they respect and trust me. I am, you know, I hate using this term, but I'm a god here at UConn. Like, I can do no wrong, everything I touch turns to gold, and/or do I trade that in to go literally represent the purple and gold. Right. But I am not, I am almost a shell of what I was and want to be, because I can't be obnoxiously loud and aggressive and animated. I have to be this more button-up version of myself, to appease the NBA, to appease LeBron, to appease Anthony Davis, to appease this organization. Yeah. And I can't help but think that whether it was 5%, 10%, 20%, maybe larger than that. Yeah. That, I think, has to be part of the thought process and not leaving college to go for that job in particular. I think it has to be. I think another big part of it is just the timing of it all. Like, if this was scorched earth Lakers following Kobe and Powell and everything, I think it's very different where they do look at him and say, hey, whatever, whatever keys to the city you have in you come, whatever car keys you have, he has like the janitors keys that open everything there. Okay. He could have had that in LA, and I think that would have been very appealing to him if it was a truly build a program up, but it's not. It is a, honestly, you're not building a program up. You're a firefighter. If you're the, if you're the Lakers head coach, it's just putting out every, every third loss is a crisis. Every single time is a referendum on how many more chances you're going to have with LeBron. It's just completely different, quite, quite frankly. And, you know, I, there's always going to be regret, second thought, whatever, with anything you do in life, I'm pretty confident Hurley's going to feel pretty happy about that one. I went. I think so too. Yeah, I do. Having said that, I just, I need to live in a world where you take a guy making $80 million in the NBA, give him some baseball batting gloves or football gloves. I don't know which ones that he's used and said, we're going to just do some around the way. He just hand-to-hand stuff. I, that, I knew, I do need to see that. I didn't need to see that just for my own volition. I'm going to talk to Rome Barrett later on in the show. Candid basketball, we got our, we got our training camp roster. Wiggan's is there. I mean, there's other things we could talk about. I'm sure that's where everybody's head immediately goes. Just switch your excitement level first blush thought. Candid basketball were less than a month away from the, the first two in up gaming in states. Yeah, the, the roster is impressive. Um, encouraging group of athletes that are going to be, uh, starting training camp here in Toronto next Friday. And, and even you and I, we, we talked to Jordy Fernandez last week. I think based on that discussion, we kind of came away thinking, "Ah, there's probably a good shot. Andrew's going to be that." Certainly, sadly. Right? It felt, it felt like a guy that, especially when he, you know, when you get, after doing this for a little bit, you get a sense of like, when guys are, are very much, uh, definitively against something, or where there's areas of gray. And that was a complete area of gray when he answered the question. So I thought right away, I was like, there's probably a chance to show it on. To me, the more I thought about it, the fact that he put it on the leadership group was proof positive. Cause why would you want it to sit like, I don't, I don't, this is part of the growing as a coach stuff. Like, I don't know that Jordy Fernandez would have put together the three-dimensional chess that not say I'm so much part of the name, but I just think about ways to stir up crap for, for lack of better term, quite honestly, is that why would you want to put that on Shay on Dylan Brooks, on Jamal Murray, on any of these guys that they didn't want Wiggins, or maybe there was some infighting there. So that, that actually, the more I think about it in hindsight, when he put it on the leadership group, it's, oh, yeah, he's going to go. Yeah, I think also in looking at the roster there, the, the group that's been selected to, or at least does accept the invitations. Sure. You can kind of pare it down pretty easy in terms of what the main group is going to end up looking like. Yep. I know Corey Joseph had some pointed comments earlier this week with the range. Yeah, before man. And it's, it's, it's really unfortunate. And I feel like he's got a legitimate point, like easily a legitimate point. There are other guys who also have a fair argument as to being excluded for some other reason that were, you know, willing and able and open to accepting that invite to not even like make the team, but like just have the opportunity to compete for a spot on the team. But obviously, yeah, Wiggins's inclusion is, is the most notable. I'm very excited selfishly to see Nemhard there and present. He's going to heal beyond the team. And, and I think he's actually going to factor in more prominently than most people would imagine right away because they love the way he plays. And his game is the most conducive to international basketball. He's a guy that is traditionally very sound, takes care of the basketball a lot and can run an offense very, very well. So I think you'll see him a fair bit. But yeah, outside of the United States, it's got to be the next most talented team. Like it's, they're, they're, they're really at a point now where, you know, the United States, and I had this thought and I'm, I was thinking of, you know, maybe even posing this as a question to Rowan. But the United States has so many good players that what they do, anytime there's a big tournament, whether it's a World Cup or, or an Olympics, for training camp, they have their main team and they have a select team. Yes. And literally, you'll have everybody from like Kyrie Irving to Anthony Edwards now who's on the main roster. All these guys have one team have been on the select team. And so Canada has now reached a point where you're, this is why Shading Sharp and Benedict Matheryn, they're going to be present for the camp. They're going to be there attending it. But I think they've almost gotten to a point now, Canada, where you could legitimately almost assemble two squads of players that are able to then help each other prepare for big tournaments. Yeah. And I think the United States does it better than a lot of nations. I helps when you have all those talented players. But I think Canada isn't that good now where think about the guys that aren't there. Like you've got, and young guys too, Gunnar, Delano Benton, who were familiar here in Toronto, Olivier Maxson's Prosper, who was drafted last year in the first round, who am I missing? Oh, I even had a list of all these guys that I had on my, and heck, this is where like even Corey Joseph comes in. Yeah, totally. Tristan Thompson comes in to play Brandon Clark. I mean, if he ever chooses to want to have a desire, Chris Boucher, go through the list. There are so many of them. Okay. Maybe Canada's basketball mileage on this would vary. But God, how fun would the story be of Corey Joseph and the select team beating Canada's like main team at camp? Oh, he's woofing about, oh, you can't talk to Pickering about this. Don't come to Pickering with this garbage, all God, I would love it. And I, I said this before when the grain story came out. It's the right decision to make. Like I don't have a problem with it, but I feel gutted for, for Kojo. That's a guy who showed up so many times. I mean, seeing him win a title with the Spurs was a very, and you know, not that Canadians hadn't won NBA titles before, but it had been a while before him and you just saw it. And it was a real like, wow, Canadians can do this moment. I mean, I remember seeing pictures of him bringing the Larry O'Brien trophy back. And it's so funny to think about that now. Pickering. Yeah, with the Raptors having won, right? And it's like we've had much more of a connection to it here, but he's a guy I felt awful with. I want to sneak this in before I get done, or I could have time to do it anywhere else. So Major League Baseball yesterday played a wonderful game at Rickwood Field. Ended up being basically a memoriam of Willie Mays. But in a night where all the greats of the sport are sitting there just talking in hush, reverends tones. And this is always my favorite thing about the Negro leagues is like, we hear these fables. Like, man, satchel Paige threw a fastball from St. Louis and beat the train to Philly. Like, it's the best. It's the best, okay? And you hear these guys like, so it's it's Jeter. It's Ortiz. It's A rod. It's bonds. It is luminaries of our era. And they're all just up there like, oh, I'm lucky in my day. I didn't have to face that. And you know, this is what you say about the greats. It's also probably true. Unless you're Barry Bonds. And then Barry Bonds is still Barry Bonds. And here's what he had to say yesterday. Conversation earlier, we were talking about the players that you would want to play with that played against the Negro leagues. Now, playing against both of you, you two were probably two of the most confident players I ever played against. Tell me right now on the spot, what would you do against Satchel Paige? Me? Yeah, you. Gone. Lost your mind. Simple. Gone. Read about it on ESPN. Oh my God, that's amazing. That's really good. I just, I'm upset he didn't give him a next question because it was stupid when he went, you gone? Yeah, me gone. I'm Barry Bonds. Read about it, God. It just, sometimes athletes, you know, like people soften in their later years. And that's great. Like, I think it's wonderful. People keep telling me like one day you won't be so angry all the time. You know, we'll see. Maybe the least will want to come. We'll see. Probably connected. Yeah, maybe when Barry gets in the hall, if he ever gets in the hall. Maybe then his tune will change. I don't want Barry Bonds tuned to ever change. I want him to be a hundred years old showing up to opening day somewhere. God, man, these guys suck. You can be a bat. Let me get in there. I love it. This is why the best of the best. He said there was like, you have to believe in yourself. And even in a moment where everyone else is getting out of the jeter. Oh, I drag one. Yeah, yeah. Mr. 3000 hits. Mr. Yang. He hits a homer for his 3000th at Yankee. Just Mr. Magic Moment left, right and center. Even he is like, oh, no, I, there's nothing I could do. Not Barry Bonds. He is who he is. And quite frankly, like, I love him for that. That's very cool stuff. I don't love him, but I love him for that. Yeah, no, that was really cool. That's a cool moment. Yeah. And, you know, you and I will quickly mention this here. We talked about it as these games. Sometimes they feel like they have a massive build up to them. This work would one quite frankly, you know, maybe test, test gone be. But it felt like a really kind of went under the radar. I mean, the field of dreams game felt like such a big thing. And, you know, I know they're different properties, obviously. And one has a connection to like a famous movie. But that should have been, it should have felt like a bigger build up to me, quite honestly, because I genuinely thought just cards on the table. They did that game. They quickly planned to do it in honor of Willie Mays, which in hindsight is ridiculous the way animal bee games are scheduled. Those logistics bind at all, but they, that's an awesome idea to do that. It just, yeah, there's never a winter classic that we don't know about 15 months in advance. There's 3000 commercials for it left, right and center. Certainly didn't feel that way about that game. Didn't, you know, I think this is also when it comes to these sort of standalone, more events that it's, it's essentially, it's a lot of it is regionalized though, right? Like I'd be curious to know what the level of anticipation was like there versus some Cardinals fans, very upset with me for saying. No, no, I'm just, I would be genuinely curious because I think that plays a part in it. I've actually had that discussion as it pertains to some of the NHL outdoor events that have occurred over the years and how it's sort of been diluted. Yeah, definitely. At the same time, because there was a point where it felt massive. Feel the dreams one felt huge. Oh my God. There was so much excitement and anticipation. A sneaky, good White Sox team. Yeah, I know, right? God, what was the last time we said that? But also, yeah, like the uniforms were fantastic for this team, this game too, by the way. Both teams looked outstanding, really cool thought and in a weird way. It was the timing ends up being very appropriate because they can use that as a platform and an opportunity to pay homage to a guy that was a transcendent figure in the sport. There's never a good time for a person to go, but it was certainly a good time to have that game as a real good field and it's always a good time for a Barry Bonds to speak his mind, especially if I get to hear it. Somebody else who spoke their mind. Linus. All mark. Does he want to come to Toronto? I'll tell you. Next. Pay a morning show. We're gutting it, Francesca. Sportsnet 590. The game.
