#1 - It's All Relative

Joe Malkin 
Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen and welcome to Episode One of the Sunday Night Sports Wrap the flagship show of the SNSN Network with Rayshawn Buchanan, David Clarke, Bob Kelly, Mike Marcangelo, the best producer in the game, Craig D'Alessandro. I am Joe Malkin. And again, welcome to the Sunday Night Sports Wrap. We're doing this a little bit more for real this time around guys. You know, just to give everybody kind of a rundown of where this started a couple months ago. We did a show in June, when we all came back together. And we decided to start doing it monthly. And once we did our show in July, we said we're going to do this for real. So over the next two hours, we're going to give you rundown wants to come on the Sunday Night Sports Wrap the SNSW Network and kind of give you a little bit of history of where we came from and why we're here and now we'll be answering questions responding to your comments. Don't be shy. Let us know whether it's during the show or after the show. You can reach out to us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, we also have a YouTube where all of our episodes will be uploaded to afterwards. And you can find us wherever you listen to your podcasts including Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and I heart on Twitter we are @nightwrap. On Instagram we are @nightwrapSNSW We're Sunday Night Sports Wrap on Facebook, the SNSW Podcast on YouTube. So if you need to find any of those, the links will be in the descriptions below. And on our buzzsprout page at SNSW.buzzsprout.com buzzsprout. Say that five times fast Before we get into the show, we have a lot to talk about today. From the Bruins to the Celtics to the Red Sox to the NFL, and we're going to try and get to everything we can. But before we get started, I would like to wish Rayshawn a happy 30th birthday Rayshawn turn 30 on Friday, you know, I think he's I think he might be the youngest one here. You're the baby of the show, Ray.

Rayshawn Buchanan 
Yeah, appreciate it, man. And heck of a birthday gift. Yeah.

Joe Malkin 
Glad we could provide it for you. So really quick, I do want to go around the room again. You know, we've we've come a long way here guys. And I'll actually I'll start with Rayshawn cuz we're gonna go alphabetically, except for Craig, who will get to go last before me. But right give us give us a few words here, man as we open up.

Rayshawn Buchanan 
Yeah, no, just like, you know, excited to do this. I remember joining guys back in, I think 2010 or 2011. And you know, Do we have some big journeys back then that we accomplished a lot of great things then. So I'm happy to bring this back. I'm happy to start the journey with you guys. Um, just for those who are listening out there, you know, you can expect a lot of hot takes, but with sound reason, so we're gonna we're going to bring it and like I said, Just two more to shoot. Listen, I just hope that you guys you know, subscribe and you know, like what you're hearing and you know, being smart.

Joe Malkin 
DK, Dave Clarke.

Dave Clarke 
What's up everybody? What's up, fellas? Joe, as you know, nothing makes me happier than hanging out with the five of you guys. Even if it is digital. I'm all the way out in sunny california. It's about a billion degrees out but I've got my Massachusetts home sick candle burning, ready to get the smells.

Joe Malkin 
What's that smell like?

Dave Clarke 
Smells like home smells like rage and dunkin donuts. And I think that I think it's really getting me in the mood. You know to talk about some new england sports and national sports with five of the biggest sports for now. I know and I just want to get into it. I'm ready.

Joe Malkin 
Bob Kelly.

Rob Kelly 
I mean, I just couldn't be more excited at this point, you know, and I know we've been talking about this for years. I'm just happy it's actually finally happening. I couldn't think of a better five people to be here with and at this point, just like DK I'm ready to let ready to get it going, guys, I'm ready.

Joe Malkin 
Mike Marcngelo.

Michael Marcangelo 
Yeah, I mean, I just want to echo everyone else's sentiments we've been hearing for so long, like you guys are actually pretty good. And like, we've also noticed that we were kind of ahead of the curve, a few other a few articles and a few opinions that come out. So it's, it's our time to prove it and our time to really shine and I'm just so stoked to be here with all of you guys and I'm ready to go.

Joe Malkin 
producer and the man who we literally could not do this without Craig D'Alessandro.

Craig D'Alessandro 
In this time of plague and sadness in this world. I would say the one glimmer of hope is that for the first time in about 10 years, I am charge of all your butts again.

Joe Malkin 
He feels the control. So and I don't have too much to echo there. I'm just I'm just so happy to be back with you guys. During all of this, I think we've all found this a little tough and that's kind of where this came out of was I think Bob kind of brought this up a about three months ago and said, Hey, guys, let's let's do something. And and originally, Dave was not even a part of this group. It was just, you know, the five of us and, and Bobby said, Hey, I invited Dave and and honestly, I mean, I know I said we couldn't do without Craig. But there's a lot of things that literally would not have been possible without Dave so we I know we're kind of kissing each other's butts here right now. But you know, we're back and this is something that started 13 years ago. 2007. And Mike was one of the founding members of Well, we're just going to call you you found the whole thing, it was just you Mike was the founder of the Sunday night sports wrap started at Dean College in Franklin when we were all students there. And we really worked hard for a long time to get that show not only from an hour long, but to two hours long. And Mike, you said it best, you know, a lot of people said, Hey, you guys are pretty good. And we developed a pretty good following. And now 10 years after the run of the show ended, Bobby comes to us and says, hey, let's talk sports again. And here we are. Now with a little bit of everything. You know, we're all over social media. We have a website. With blogs, we're gonna do a podcast and to kind of get into that a little bit and let everybody know what we're going to do. We're going to do this Sunday night sports wrap to stay true to the name once a week. I'm sorry, once a month on a Sunday evening. It sounds like it's going to be the second Sunday of every month. And every other week of the month we're going to have an hour long show that comes out on Thursdays. If you can't stay for this whole show or you miss some of it It will be available on wherever you get your podcasts. Again, Apple podcasts, Google, Spotify, Stitcher I heart. You can find the links on buzzsprout SNSW.Buzzsprout calm, and you'll be able to listen to everything that you miss. And we're going to be up on YouTube too. So we're really going to cover everything. We have some some extension podcasts that we've already come up that we're going to come out with over the next two weeks. The first one is Armchairs Ask Athletes where we sit down with an athlete and basically have an hour long conversation and we'll get into more of that in just a second. And then the other one that we're going to do is the New England championship rewrap which was the the really Bobby I mean came up with this and Dave came up with the Armchairs ask Athletes and two great podcasts that you're really going to want to listen to and the championship. rewrap is basically us going through the 12 championships won by the Patriots, the Red Sox, the Celtics and the Bruins over the last 20 years, and we'll get into that a little bit later on in the show. But let's start with armchairs ask athletes because this was the first thing we recorded as a team and one of the first things we came up with. And what was great about it is Dave came in and said, Hey, I have this MMA fighter. And I don't think honestly, the five of you are probably bigger MMA fans than I am combined. But because of this interview, I have become a bigger MMA fan and cannot wait to not only watch her fight Tuesday, but just in general even last night, so armchairs ask athletes, we sit down with an athlete, once a month, generally is when we're going to do it. release schedule will be updated based on the athlete and when we can release it. The first episode of this is going to come out tomorrow morning. And Dave and Mike sat down with MMA fighter should say local to the Boston area. She's from Norfolk mass. And she, she sat down with Mike and Dave, last week and that's going to come out tomorrow. She has a fight on Tuesday night. But guys, you spoke to Hilarie Rose MMA fighter who's fighting in the contender series tomorrow night looking for her to punch her ticket to the UFC and tell us what that was like for you guys Dave.

Dave Clarke 
I mean, for me it was a great experience. You know, we put we've been putting a ton of work into this live show a ton of work into the pre recorded podcast and setting up this network and Mike and I, you know, put put a lot of logs a lot of man hours in setting this thing up, but you don't know what's going to happen because it's kind of dependent on your guest. And when Hilarie came on, it was right from the jump such a pleasant surprise too, because neither of us know her in real life. You know, we reached out. We know she's fighting on Dana White's contender series, which has produced a ton of UFC superstars, including, you know, Sugar Sean O'Malley, who fought last night who's like, you know, a rising star in the sport. And we just wanted to see if she come out and do it. And she was so gracious with their time. But what the biggest thing was she came on and she was just such a pleasure to talk to you. She's so charismatic, so incredibly warm and friendly and so knowledgeable about the sport sport that she's been working her butt off at since she was 14 years old. Mike, I think you had had the same reaction.

Michael Marcangelo 
Yeah, I mean, I I share the exact same like sentiment, like when you have someone booked, you're you're often like wondering, what are they going to be like, and within 30 seconds of talking to her, like I said this, you know, 1000 times she made us feel so much more comfortable than we actually were because DK and I can take myself I was nervous. I know DK probably was too because he was doing all the heavy lifting on that on that podcast and I'm really asking all the great questions, but Hilarie just did such a great job opening up. And I think for someone if you're not a huge MMA fan, like, like, like DK, that maybe you're just a, you're just a casual fan or maybe you have no interest at all. This podcast has something for every single person. Right? There's, there's stuff about the UFC, there's stuff about, there's stuff about, like her background, but then there's like real a real life story that can affect anybody that that we know or that we've ever come across. I think that was for me, that was the most gripping part of it. So I think for I know that we're probably gonna play just a small small clip of it. I think, for you. Are we gonna play? Are we gonna play clip, Craig? Yes, yeah, great. But don't give it a look. I think you guys will all know. Once you hear it. You're gonna you're gonna fall in love with her voice. I was listening to our podcast in the car the other day. That's the true test is hearing yourself on the radio speakers in the car. And the entire time I was like, Okay, this is this is real and it's because of her. It was because of Dave Kelly. So I'm really excited for you guys to Dave Clark. So I'm really happy for you guys listen to this for one.

Hilarie Rose 
I have a friend and a teammate Shane he was dating a girl in high school and he showed her like a triangle choke from the ground. And she went to college like that following year and called him and said I was getting sexually assaulted. And I put the guy in the move that you showed me. You put him to sleep Did I kill him and like she was able to get away. But it shows it like she was just dating this girl for fun and like showed her this. You triangle, but her instincts kicked in and she was able to do that I put him to sleep. So, you know, if a girl comes to five to jitsu classes and you learn just a few things, I mean, it could really help any girl even I know, little kids, it doesn't matter. 

Joe Malkin 
And so you hear that clip from her and you can hear just, again the passion just telling that story and she was like that for the whole interview. So you know, tomorrow morning, really check out armchairs ask athletes and listen to this, this whole podcast because she's phenomenal. She fights again Tuesday night August 18. In Dana White's contender series and you know, I know we're all going to be watching it it's on ESPN plus, so we'll all be be watching it and and looking for her to get her big start. You know, guys, I really can't say enough about this. And she's, she was just a great guest for us to get and DK you know, couldn't have done it without you and really excited for people to listen to this thing. Cuz I think it's, I think it's gold.

Rob Kelly 
And just you could tell us since you put on that podcast how, how comfortable she really made you to feel, you know, as soon as she got on, you can tell what an amazing guest she was just because, you know any nervousness that you could hear in any voices for the beginning of that went away within two minutes. So I really implore everyone out there to listen to this because this is one of the, you know, it may be our first interview, but this is honestly one of the best guests. I've seen the interview in quite some time, just the way she was open. You can hear from that clip right there. That story's not just a regular story about MMA, that's a personal story that she shared from her life. You know, you don't see that much in most podcasts, most radio clips. So like the personal connection you guys have is definitely something good to hear. From the moment that

Dave Clarke 
we even we even talked briefly sorry, Joe. We even talked briefly inside the pod about what brings Are you into mixed martial arts and what gets you into it? And for a lot of people, you know, it's an athlete. It's a fighter like for me, guy from my hometown, Conor McGregor brought a lot of people into that sport. You know what I mean? Got me super excited about it. Now I'm a fan of the sport. If you're looking for something to get you in, and you listen to this podcast, it might be Hillary because like, I'm such a fan of hers after listening to it. And I know all the guys. And you know, I know Mike is I know, all the guys that listen to the pod afterwards immediately became a fan of hers. So if you're looking for access, if you're looking for a way in, if you're looking for something new to watch every week, did I think I really think she can really bring you along, you know,

Joe Malkin 
and now everybody's wondering, man, wait, Conor McGregor is from his hometown. Where is he from? Well, they're from Cleveland, if you and one more thing on that you guys talked about this in the podcast, and it was one of my favorite parts of the podcast. Steve, where you asked the question of, was there any other sport that that puts men and women on the same level? Other than UFC mixed martial arts, fighting And you use the example of tennis. And it's really interesting and really just listen to the interview, even if it's for that part, because she gives a really good good insight on that. And it is true. And that's kind of what makes me want to watch it more. Especially the featherweight stuff, the quick moving fighters, I've watched some heavyweight fights in the past and those just get boring, but regardless, so Dave Dave's from Cleveland, and so again armchairs, ask athletes tomorrow morning, check that out wherever you listen to your podcasts. If you want to find out where our podcasts are available, go to sn sw buzzsprout comm You can also find them on Apple podcast, Google podcast, Spotify, Stitcher, and I heart and the interview will also be on YouTube uploaded tomorrow morning and that might be news to Craig. So let's move on from armchairs ask athletes and let's go into something That's happening up in Toronto right now. And let's let's talk about the hockey bubble. And this Bruins hurricane series. The Bruins lead that series two to one, as we're talking about it here this afternoon at 518 on Sunday, August 16. But they play tonight at 8pm in game four and continue commanding three to one lead. And there's a few few big points here. And I think we found out what our biggest point was on Saturday morning. And I know we all have some pretty strong feelings about this, but it was announced yesterday morning, or Saturday morning. That Tuukka Rask was opting out of the rest of the season. The starting goaltender for for the Boston Bruins, who has been around since 2011, has a stack of Stanley Cup, you know ring basically he's got a championship ring from from that series in 2011. And he's been around ever since they signed him to a big contract $7 million a year and now he opts out Saturday morning before game three of this series and you know, I know Bob and DK have kind of been the most outspoken about this one. I want to I want to start with with Dave on this and it partially because I think I'm starting to share the same opinion he has. But Dave, I want to start you know what do you what do you what do you think about Tuukka opting out of the season before game three yesterday

Dave Clarke 
it's it's funny that I get to start this off in defense to grass because I know that there's going to be some some Tommy guns coming his way after I go. But I like I have to say, you know, like, it's been a weird time for everybody. You know, it's it's, it's a there's a pandemic and the guy's got a newborn at home, you know, with anything in sports in life when you apply context to a situation. You understand more about it. And yeah, it was my initial reaction when I heard that Tuukka opted out of the rest of the season, like you know, come playoff time when it's when we need them the most. And he's obviously bottled talent, our most talented goaltender are at the club but, you know, he wants to go home and he wants to take care of his family. Like after a few minutes of reflection and thinking about it. It's like, some things are more important than hockey. You know, he said it himself. I don't know what you guys think.

Joe Malkin 
I'm sorry. I see. I just did it to Mike. So you're okay. I just made them one person.

Rob Kelly 
So as much as I completely agree with you on the pandemic, Mike, I know you, you have the same exact sentiments as me. I completely agree with pandemic keeping your family safe. Listen, I was I was putting on masks before before it was even warranted or before it was mandated. But this man lost every sense of benefit of doubt. For the past five years when it comes to what we've seen at it, and I completely understand opting out for the safety of your family, but when it comes down to it to opt out a couple hours before games Three of the Eastern Conference divisional finals like it just it comes down to a point where, where it's just not, it's not something that you give them the benefit of the doubt anymore. I mean, Mike, like, I know you have the same exact thing.

Michael Marcangelo 
Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, my first thought right was to just go at Tuukka for being as soft as saucer ice cream, you know, because that's what he is. But but I'm not going to say that for because he left because he we don't really know what's going on in his home life, right. I don't know, the state of his family. So like, but I just can't think of any other Boston sports athlete during a playoff series, saying things like we're just here to have fun. I don't want to stress too much about the results. And it's just August hockey. So if you separate him leaving, you know, to go take care of business or be with his family, to when he was there, what he how he act and how he how he portrayed himself. This is Tuukka This is what he is It always has been. And if that doesn't irritate you as a hockey fan or as a Boston sports fan, I don't know what was because this guy when he was here was not here.

Joe Malkin 
There's a couple of takes you can have on this right so he's done this before. In the middle of the season he up and left and went back to Finland. It was a family emergency and we don't really know what it was. He bails out in the middle of a playoff series. I've always thought he was pretty soft and kind of a bum. I mean, is Is he a world class goaltender? Absolutely what that's that's, um, you can't even argue it. He is. He's one of the best in the world. I mean, he has started for the Finland national team. He does have a Stanley Cup. He's one of the highest paid goaltenders in the league. But why opt out hours before game three and this is kind of the interesting thing about sports isn't it? You know, Dave kind of going along with what you said is if if any of us or anybody out there listening to told their boss they had a family emergency had to leave work. Generally most of the time I know we there's some bosses out there some managers that wouldn't, you know, care. But for the most part, they're gonna let us go. But what's the big difference between Tuukka rask and Joe Malkin is that I'm not a world class athlete. And everything I do isn't in the media, because obviously they had to release a press a press release about it

Rob Kelly 
So I completely get what you're saying there but when it comes down to it is if it's not your first defense doing that or having that extreme emergency circumstance. then guess what is no longer valid. If you remember three, four years ago, it came down to the last game where the Bruins all they had to do was was all they had to do was win. And Tuukka last game of the season, decided he had a bellyache and had to set out that last game of the season because he had a stomachache. It wasn't it wasn't something that you know was a family related. He he just was a little sick so it's when in man there is no no circumstances in there if you're a professional athlete winning in that you can't play that game especially if you're the goalie that's the most important position on the ice

Joe Malkin 
Sure now everybody's different, right? Like where Jordan plays with the flu and Tuukka can't play with a with a bellyache, and I get that side of it. But the point of saying, you know, we're not going to be in the public eye. So at the same time, who are we to say and again, I can't disagree the soft I've always thought he was soft. I always thought he was a bum. Whatever reason he went home to Finland is his is his business. The first time not this time, but sitting out with a with a bellyache is tough and I always think about that when I go, when you go to work and you have a stomach ache, you need to figure it out. I mean, unless it's putting you in bed, you probably should just figure it out, but everybody is different at the same time. And if they didn't release anything, I mean, what if? What if this is a big one? If but what if he really just didn't want to play? What if he's done and didn't want to be around? And why can't you go to your team? You can you go to your GM, you go to you know, you go to Don Sweeney or you go to Cassidy and say, Hey, I just, I'm not feeling it. I just don't, I don't want to do this. And then at that point, they can say, Alright, sit on the bench, Yarrow. We'll start if we need you, we'll go to your stick around at the end of the season, or the end of the series, even. We'll figure it out. That's the that's the part that made it worse was that it was in the middle of the series. Mike, go ahead. 

Michael Marcangelo 
So I have a couple of points on that. And again, I just want to stress like I don't none of us know exactly what's going on. In at home, right. So I'm less irritated about that. He left more irritated about the way he conducted himself while he was there. If his heart wasn't into it, Listen, don't go opt out before the season before For the boat, the mobile starts. And listen, we could say nothing about that you want to stay home because you know, family should be first you have a newborn. All those things that apply to him now applied to him a month and a half ago. And he chose to come here. And he chose to act. So laxa days ago and nonchalant about actually being here and trying to win, you know, when a cup, they were the President's Trophy winner, they were the best team in the Eastern Conference, the best team and that now that the fourth seed, it's because it's not all his fault, but he wasn't great. He would have like an 899 same percentage in the bubble. It was letting up three goals a game, he did not want to be there.

Rayshawn Buchanan 
Right. So, so you're leaning right to what I thought about. So, unfortunately, he was already practicing safe, social distancing. before he left, um, those that come again, left and right. Um, and I think I think that that's hydrotest personality, right? I you know, it's August hockey. I'm telling, you know, if we win, great if we lose, you know, overwhelmed Always next year. You're in Boston. Oh, me. It does. It doesn't work like that. Right? We're here to win. So I said, well, there's you know, Riley Esposito, or, you know, Ray Borg, whoever, you're going to be messing with those names. You come you come here to win on and I said, you're getting paid $7 million a year. There is no oh, well, you know what? I've got, like I said, we qualify, I don't want to I could care less about the qualifying status. We get that. Yes. You want to be with your family. Cool. But like you said, make that decision before you come out here. Don't don't have a stake in that we got all our troops coming into the war, so to speak, and then two games and you're like, well, I'm cool. Because now I'm looking at you silos of your teammates. But now I'm thinking okay, well, I think we had a legit chance. And now it's like, Well, okay, and like you said, they were the best team in the East all year. And now we get we get there and they don't play there. They don't play well during the new round robin tournament, and now they dropped Yeah. So it's just like, you know, it's disappointing to see but, you know, hopefully they can still find a way to, you know, to make some plays and, and go through one tonight.

Dave Clarke 
You know, Boston sports fans are so funny, you know, and it's one of them, you know, for and I know I'm away. I'm weird because I'm not a pats fan, but I'm a Celtics fan of a Bruins fan. But I've always said, you know, depending on the team, you could be the same person and you could treat it completely differently. We all know in the 80s everybody was all Celtics all the time, right. The way Celtics fan culture grew from that means that the way people watch the Celtics now the way our dads taught us to watch the Celtics, and everybody taught you know, we were it was passed down to watch the Celtics. We watch it differently than we watched the Bruins, and I just I do find it so funny to listen to you guys talking about rask and, and the Bruins right now because I thought in my head listening to patriots fans all these years, I thought we were results oriented in this culture. And here we are with tourists dropping out. We're playing better. You know, they look great. On Friday, if there was somebody out of a locker room that was clearly dragging everybody down now, do I want to hear him say that stuff during the round? Robin? No. But did I care that much about the round robin? Um, not so much if it was the playoffs? It's a different story and was he doing to get in the playoffs? Sure, but now he's gone. You know if that was if that was Bill Belichick and the Pats, pats fans will be done talking about him that day. It'll be over but now because it's the Bruins they're held to a weirdly different standard because he's a goalie it's held to a weirdly different standard because he's the goalie the follow up Tim Thomas, who despite being a little bit of a crazy person would was diet was dying for the Bruins he I mean, he was laying out for the Bruins every single time. He raskt followed him up so he's held to a little bit of a different standard. It's a good thing that he's gone yet like maybe it would have been good that he was gone a little bit sooner sure. But we're up in that series guys. You know, it's time times are good.

Rayshawn Buchanan 
So why give him that deal, though.

Dave Clarke 
But so the deals the deal, you know, the deal is the deal like that's that he's here now. It is what it is. We're talking pragmatic But magically

Rayshawn Buchanan 
I would trade him.

Rob Kelly 
So if you think about what a goalie is, though in on a hockey on a hockey in a hockey rink in a hockey game, they set that tone every single time a goalie is the most important person on the ice regardless of of how good you have on defense, how good your center is how good your right wing, it doesn't matter. If your goalie isn't up to par or your goalie isn't fired up for that game, then guess what you're going home. And I think that that was so clear for those first four games. Seeing the fight in the Bruins in those first four games was not the same team I watched all year. And the reason for that was because they knew that their goalie wasn't in it, period. You saw that last game. That was the fight and what we're looking for the Bruins this entire playoffs these last five games, that's what we're looking for. And I think the moment that did it in that game for me, where I realized that we're better off honestly, once he did leave was that first, that first power replay where HELOC just absolutely stood on his head. And you could see the entire team you could see everyone on their team, their shoulders just went up. And it was just a different game from that one they skated harder. They they hit harder than I've seen them hit from the beginning of this playoffs. It's a different team. As soon as you get a goalie there that actually cares about what's happening.

Michael Marcangelo 
So, to your point, DK, I think like, the reason why we're hard on Tuukka is because if you look at the people that he shared a locker room with over the last 10 years. Zdeno Chara had had his jaw wired shut and still skate of last year, we had Patrice Bergeron, who had a collapse long still played, we had a player who had a shattered femur and still skated their shift. But this guy, time in and time out, will not do or go the extra mile to be there for his team. So that's kind of why we're a little harder on him

Dave Clarke 
but his team knows that, Mike you can see it, it's clear as day you know what I mean? It was clear as day on Friday, when they went out there on the ice. I mean, obviously they're not going to come out and make things worse, you know? These guys are pros chara's has been there for long enough and and is a leader on the team enough that he knows he's not going to come out in the media and make things worse and throw gas on the flames but there's no way that a guy that's escaped with his jaw wired shut isn't having the same reaction as you guys when Rask is going home because of a tummy ache or whatever it was, you know we're not are not lacing them up because of a tummyache at the end of the day, it improved the team when he left you know what I mean? He's gone. And to your point, Bobby, in hockey, the most freakish thing that I've ever seen happen is a goalie that no one's ever heard of standing on his head for an entire playoffs. And oh, yeah, exactly. So what you can have happen and what you can have happen in hockey, is because here's what I actually think happened and like I'm gonna put my conspiracy Dave hat on for a second, but I really do think what happened is they said, hey, you're benched. Okay, you're you're playing you're playing your plays terrible. 

Joe Malkin 
Halak wasn't playing great until yesterday either, though, right?

Dave Clarke 
True, but they I think they benched. rask i think i think they went to them and they said, Listen, the guys it's not working in the locker room. It's not working on the Nice, we're sitting you Okay, maybe in the next series, maybe in a couple games, hell, you know, maybe when maybe when we put our backups in, we might have to pull them in the game and you might get back in but for now you're sitting. I think that was the last straw for him and I think that's why he said I'm gonna go home and it was a mutual consent thing.

Joe Malkin 
Well, a slightly different to go back to what what Bobby just said, Actually what you just said about a unknown guy standing on their heads and, and being great boys. I mean, for a long time. One of the greatest things in hockey and it's it's not in any other sport, is that every team has an emergency goalie. And generally, that emergency goalie is a state police officer. Like they are with the Bruins when they're at least home. Yeah, the Zamboni driver right. So you know, this is one of the greatest parts of hockey so that was one of my one of my first questions. When this came out yesterday was great. Yarrow is now our goalie. It's probably better but what are they Do stick Chara in there if he gets hurt. So this is this is where my mind goes of what's going to happen if Halak if something happens Halak. But going off of what Dave said and kind of what Bobby's in I think I think we're all saying the same thing. It's a good thing that Rask is gone. And I think Dave has just resigned himself to the fact of good that done like, let's get it over with and I think Rayshawn's in the same boat of you know, trade them, get rid of them. And then you look at Mike and Bobby where it's more like this guy's a bum. Yeah, All righty. Soft and soft serve ice cream. He's a bum. He always has been. And I look back at 2011 and Craig brought this up in our group chat of of saying, you know, we always wanted Rask to be Tim Thomas. And now he is Congratulations, Boston. Well, Craig's onto something there because as Dave said, and as we all know, Tim Thomas is some nutbag. He and but I respect him because he never quit on his guys. He never quit on this team. Tuco rask has done that time and time again throughout his entire career, whether he's playing or not whether he's home with a stomach bug or he's in Finland, he has done this time in and time out over the last 10 seasons. And he's a below average playoff goalie and I think signing a lock because for so many years I mean sure they had serviceable goalies, Anton khudobin McCarthy, we won't even mention Soobin because he was awful. But, you know, they had to bring in somebody like HELOC who was going to be able to pick up the pieces if something like this happened. And I honestly do think they were looking into the future when they brought HELOC in last season.

Michael Marcangelo 
Well, I think I think what I don't want to speak for Bobby or for anyone else really but like what really irritates me Is he is so good. Like he is a he makes hard saves looks so easy. But then he makes the Easy saves. Actually sorry, he doesn't make these he saves at all. It was a five hole like instantly, and we could build a team around him. We've tried they have tried he should be the focal point because of his of his God given ability. It's his lack of mental fortitude, that keeps holding him back.

Rob Kelly 
And that's that's what's the most frustrating part about everything is this isn't a new development. You know what I mean? This isn't something that we just learned yesterday about this dude, he he got benched because he blew a three zero series lead against the flyers. He was the goalie in that series. It wasn't Tim Thomas. It was to cuirassed and that's when Tim Thomas came in. We won the cup the next year. And this has just been an ongoing thing for his entire career. You know, I know when it comes to like we always said, you know, employment, you call in once you call in twice your second family emergency, that's fine. But when it's something that happens for a consistent five straight years, that every time one of these situations comes up. This is what happened. That's that's just a dunk case for me if if I was his boss, and something like this happened again, regardless if he's a professional athlete, he gets paid millions. He's gone. If this is time six times seven like Listen, man, we can't rely on you. Period

Dave Clarke 
But he is gone Bobby. There's no way you're ever going to see him in a Bruins jersey ever? 

Joe Malkin 
No,I don't think so. Either. I'm along with Rachel. I don't mean to cut you off there. But that was gonna be my next point is he's he's done. I mean, he's done, whether they release them, whether they trade them whether whatever they're going to do, whether they buy him out, I don't know what they're going to do and how I don't even know totally how the hockey contracts work. But there's no way you see him in a Bruins jersey next season. If he doesn't come back this year. And now your backup goalie is Dan flatter. So I mean, that's

Rob Kelly 
him. Right.

Joe Malkin 
Right. He's never played an NHL game. I actually just pulled his stats up. Actually, no, he did. He went 12-12 and four for Chicago in the 2015 2016 season.

Rayshawn Buchanan 
wonderful.

Joe Malkin 
Yeah

Dave Clarke 
Yeah, but you also talk about value you know, I mean it's Yeah, I actually do agree with you Ray I would trade him too but it's what do you what are you gonna get for him at this point you know it's fat contract and he just embarrassed himself on TV so like I just wonder like, I mean I'm sure there's certain Yeah, there's certain people you could convince there's certain gems you could convince because like any sports gems that are very good at their job to take a guy like that into their locker room but you know, I mean for right now his value is just plummeted.

Joe Malkin 
It is and I mean a $7 million contract and what's what's the most interesting part of all of this is there still the President's cup Trophy winners this year they were still the four seed going into the playoffs because they lost their three round robin games to the flyers the lightning in the capitals, but now they're up to two one in this series. HELOC did not play well prior to yesterday's game. And now now they're they have a chance to go through one in these this series. Again, they play an APM tonight, August 16. So you know, I want to shift gears on this topic, staying with the Bruins real quick for a few more minutes here, but, you know something else that's been an issue with this team since the pause ended was players being deemed unfit to play. And two of the biggest names that have been on that list the whole time are Kasha, and Pasternak. And my question to you guys is does this change now that that for lack of better term cancer in the locker room of of two carassius gone? Is that going to change? Or are we still going to have that problem with these two guys?

Rob Kelly 
Well with so with Pasta, I know he heard himself celebrating on that on the end the double overtime winner the other night, so I mean, I don't know if that's gonna change. I think that's just a matter of him being 22 years old and not realizing that he's just played three straight hours of hockey and probably shouldn't jump up in the air for exertion when they when I mean,

Joe Malkin 
yeah, sure, don't Martine grammatica that thing I understand. But the thing is, is he was doing that prior to them even getting to Toronto. He was doing that when they were skating at warrior. I mean, he, he, they those two guys were not in shape. But like you said, I mean, and I, I mean, we were all 22 ones. Is it fair to say? No, maybe he was 22. But at the same time we were in the middle of a pandemic. So if if you weren't skating Well, we know you weren't out doing some of the other things that you probably could be doing. So I just find it very interesting that those are the two guys and they've been deemed unfit and it has nothing to do with COVID It has nothing to do with anything else. It's just don't rate escape.

Rob Kelly 
me with that is I think, without Pasta Casa is even bigger. And if you don't have Pasta, you need Case, you need him and there's no getting around that you absolutely he has to be on the ice. So it has to be one of the other in my opinion.

Michael Marcangelo 
I wouldn't say I think the Bruins have kind of proven themselves that they can make a deep run to the playoffs without passion. I know he wasn't really prevalent last year when they needed him the most. I want obviously, you want him on the ice. And I think that, you know, the sub, the injuring yourself celebrating is it's just it's just bad luck, right? I mean, I don't think I don't hold that against him. Hopefully he's back on the ice soon. Because, as Bobby pointed out, if you if you can't have pasta on there, you can't have both of those guys off. I mean, that that's crushing to the team.

Rayshawn Buchanan 
Yeah. And hopefully he um, he does come back because when you when you score at the rapita score, I don't remember his numbers nine, I know that he can, you can definitely put the puck in the net. Um, and he goes as he did this year, the 40 over 40 I'm sure but, you know, he's a heart trophy finalist I think as well. So it's like you You don't you don't always replace those type of guys. Um, so hopefully I say I tell you it was it was a boneheaded mistake, but hopefully he's able to come back because but you He's too talented and he got this one obviously

Joe Malkin 
48 goals 47 assists yeah

Rayshawn Buchanan 
so yeah come on so if I want you kidding me

Joe Malkin 
so the hitting so to kind of wrap up our Bruins talk here they again they go into game for tonight against Hang on a second Carolina slow yeah i know i was there but the computer's a little slow Here they go into game four against Carolina they have a two one lead they won the first game double overtime four to two after being delayed because of the five overtime came the night before they lost three to two and then they won three one yesterday.

I'm thinking they're going to take this in five I think they win the next two especially now with with two good gun as Dave said I think this is going to propel them to the next level and they take this and

Michael Marcangelo 
I got the Bruins in six I think I just think Carolina is is tough, they're fast. They have a lot of a lot of things that they do well, the Bruins can really cover up when they don't have a full you know a full team. But I do think the Bruins are going to take this and six I think they are the better team out there. But this has been a it's been a great series to watch so far. But I just I wouldn't feel comfortable saying that the Bruins are going to go on a run here and win two games in a row.

Dave Clarke 
Hockey playoffs like we talked about, it's all about momentum. And I think that the one most positive thing that we've seen is that we've at least started to build some momentum and even at the end of game two and I'm sure all you guys watched at the end of game two with a little bit more accurate shooting you know, we at least take it to OT and I think the you know the kids kind of held on by the skin of their teeth in that game and I think they knew that I think the Bruins knew that and that started to build the momentum now. The fact that they answered after two grass leaves with positivity and not you know putting their heads down now that's I'm sure down to the leaders we have on the team which Mike already talked about, but I think a little bit of momentum has started to build are what do we have the most momentum in hockey right now? No, but we know we have to talent and we started to at least build it. So I agree with you my Bruins in six and we'll see what happens after that.

Joe Malkin 
So we now have another playoff series to talk about that starts tomorrow. Down in Orlando. So we go from the great white north to Florida. Sorry, sorry, Ray. I know you're live there and teach there for a little while but you know, it is still Florida. So we're going to head down to Orlando and we have the Bruins in five or six. I got them in five you guys got them in six. But let's I got him. You're five two. You got him in five. All right, perfect. Well, that's the end of the show. Have a good night. So now we talked about the the Boston Celtics who opened up a series against the 76's tomorrow night, the 17th of August that I believe that's 630 start for the sell. Me sixers. Bruins are eight o'clock tonight Celtics 630 tomorrow against the 76's guys, Brad Stevens who's been here since 2013. I can't believe he's been here that long. Brad Stevens just signed a new contract a contract extension. And I know we have some some good opinions on this one Ray, I'm gonna I'm going to start with you first on on our God, I don't even what is it a five year extension?

Rayshawn Buchanan 
So I didn't I didn't. I don't think numbers have been released yet. If they did, I didn't see him. Um, but I'll go I'll go back into time capisle to 2013. Um, my initial hot take was that I was not a fan of the signing on. Yes, I saw what happened at Butler. But to me, he was what I call a horseshoe coach, which is you know, it was almost, you know, he almost won this. He almost won that. And it's like, wait a minute, you're coming from the Atlantic 10 to the lending division. You're not going to do much and that first season I've approved right on They were 25 and 57. But at the same time I said, Well, okay, like, they want some games, they get addition of one arm. Like I remember Jeff Green hitting that game winner in Miami Actually, I was at that game down there because, um, I was like, well, they're gonna get beat by 20 but then of winning, um, but I mean, you know, Brad, Brad eventually has kind of won me over. Um, you know, some things he does shows you I still kind of, you know, burns my soul. But, um, you know, he overall he is a good coach. I just want to see them at least get to the finals while he's here. And he's one time and hopefully when I'll be

Rob Kelly 
Yeah, I, from the moment we hired Brad Stevens, I knew that this man was was the solid basketball mind that we needed here in Boston, especially following up one of the most successful 10 years that we've had in a very long time. I knew the man that replaced Doc Rivers had to be someone that not only could reach that level of motivation in basketball intelligence, but in my personal opinion is above Doc Rivers when it comes to that kind of basketball level. And you know what, what just stands out to me is the teams that Brad Stevens has been able to not only lead to success but have actual runs into the playoffs. You think of that 2014 Celtics team, whose best player Evan Turner and Jared Salinger, this man just man led that team to the playoffs. You know what I mean? Like when you think about what Brad Stevens really is, he's a basketball mind that can take any team and lead them to basketball success. Mike, I know you have the same sentiments.

Michael Marcangelo 
So I think that Brad Stevens is the best coach of the Celtics in our generation. And I'm gonna tell you a little bit about why rayshawn before you jumped at me, Doc Rivers left because he did not want to rebuild Brad reds, read took one year before they made the playoffs again. You've been a to Eastern Conference Finals he has cultivated a group of players that went from like Isaiah Thomas to Jared Salinger to I mean, Kyrie Irving who did not work out but I'm telling you, the reason that doc left is because he did not want to be part of rebuild he thought he earned the right to to have elite talent handed to him like he did in Boston and go wherever he wanted to go to do that. Brad Stevens should be the coach for the next 10 years as far as I'm concerned and I think they're probably going to win two championships under with him as opposed to the one that we did with with doc

Dave Clarke 
Mike, you've got such a nack for putting me in a position to do like attack or defend things I don't really want to attack or defend you know. I love Brad Stevens. I I totally echo the sentiments that you guys have had. I wasn't even as unsure about him as Ray was when he first came in like to me a young coach should coach a young team. A young coach should be there for a rebuild. And when you're rebuilding, you're gambling no matter what. I think it was a good idea. It was it's a six year contract, by the way for 22 million if anyone's curious, and I think he deserves every every penny and every and every day of it. But to say that he's better than talk rivers is is mind boggling, because he hasn't proven that yet. I mean, yes. Has he achieved going to the playoffs with with teams that maybe didn't deserve? That? Totally. Has he overachieved in certain seasons? Yes. Is he one of the best play callers I've ever seen in the NBA from from a timeout? Absolutely. Doc Rivers has a championship in Boston. And his story, he has a championship now Brad, does it. He's proven that he can get to the playoffs every year. But last time I checked, we're here in Boston, that's not good enough. When you're here in Boston, Massachusetts, and you have a sports team for that for a franchise here. You got to win. You know, you got to go win. We know that. So at the end of the day, unless Brad can either mold or or convince or make superstars out of what he already has, and have them go when he's not on Doc's level. Doc took four, definitely three, maybe four big personalities and had them all reading off the same hymn sheet, all singing off the same songbook and going and having an insane start to the regular season and then we all know the story from there. Well, I don't wanna get bogged down in how great the Celtics season was, but until Brad had Kyrie Irving on his team, and I don't think it's Brad's fault what happened with Kyrie Irving but he didn't calm him down. He didn't stop him from saying the things he was saying in the media. He didn't get the rest of the team playing around him now. Like I said, Mike, you get me you get me in these positions where I'm leveling criticisms that people I don't really want to but if that's Doc Rivers Does, does does carry Pipe down a little.

Joe Malkin 
It was so so that's where they're different. And that's where I want to jump in because you kind of have defending both of your points here, which I'm always So good at is the fact that it Kyrie Irving. You want to sit here and compare Stevens and rivers and that's kind of like apples and oranges but you also want to throw Kyrie into the conversation and who would Kyrie have been closest to on the old Celtics? Probably a gardener, very outspoken person. I don't want to say Kevin guard that's probably an insult to Kevin Garnett to say he's anything like Kyrie ,

Rayshawn Buchanan 
Rondo?

Joe Malkin 
sure but not at that point necessarily, because Rondo in 08, he was still young. And he It was probably a great thing and also a bad thing that he was learning from Garnett, Allen and Peirce, because then that kind of developed. I mean, his personality was his personality. But I think that also developed who he became in the NBA where he had that that extra thing we're talking about here that Kyrie sort of mentality and way to put it Yeah, thank you, when you're talking about rivers and And Stevens switch the roles put Stevens at his age now, with the team and all wait, they don't win a championship. They just don't i don't think they do or they didn't take Doc Rivers and put him in today right now. You think they're probably not as good kind of going to what well hang on kind of going to what Dave said of doc didn't want a young team but Brad does doc got the the veteran ready to win now guys that were hungry that that hadn't had it and and one where Brad gets the guys that he can build and elevate to a point where hopefully they do go on to win something. The biggest issue is Mike and you said it, you know, he turned it around. He rebuilt one year back in the playoffs, and they've consistently been there and they've consistently gone to the playoffs. But they haven't. They haven't gotten to that level that doc got them to but again, just Just to kind of to mix it up maybe one or the other doesn't get them there if they're in those situations, you know what I mean? Right? What do you think?

Rayshawn Buchanan 
So, no cuz I this No, I'm now I'm going back to Mike because I knew Mike was gonna go here with this. So okay, so he joins there 2045 right. They go 45 to 37 winning or losing division losing the first round to the Indiana Pacers on next year they go 3349 The next year, they go 2458 then they traded number five picnic every Island then they get kg later on this summer and the rest is history. Um, if you had two seasons like that, would you go with 33 or 49? And it's 2458 Why the hell would you want to continue to rebuild after you've won the championship? If you've been to enough the final? I don't I don't get that. Um, he did earn the cache. You go to the finals. Oh wait. You went 62 games to us. In our case you got hurt after 40 games. You take a team that really was lifting to the finals in 2010. There's no way they should have got there as a 14, but they found a way to get there. They were another 50 games in 2010. I think in 2010 2011 on like he, they studied built like once once they had the talent there, they got the job done, or they were contenders every year on the difference where Brad is. He's built young talent. But when he's gotten the superstar like Kyrie they weren't able to get it done. And I believe that 2017 2018 team, I believe in that group was the coach of that particular team. They absolutely would have got to the finals, they

Joe Malkin 
would have got Kyrie would have been

Rayshawn Buchanan 
Kyrie would have would have felt a lot in my opinion. Now, to bras credit, that team did win 16 games in a row that year. On carbons first shared there that team was clicking, it seemed like the chemistry was there and then at the academy got hurt. Unfortunately that's kind of kind of went away but just to say like To me, I said when you earn the cash sales and you want to rent to a finals, I just think to me he or he earned that chance to get on another team I was gonna be able to compete.

Michael Marcangelo 
I'm gonna make I'm gonna be really quick here so make it really quick. So if I do believe that if you put three Hall of Famers on a team with Brad Stevens as a coach, he'll win a championship Erik Spoelstra did it doesn't take that much.

Joe Malkin 
and Stevens is a better coach than Spoelstra

Michael Marcangelo 
Correct, correct. I also I also think that, you know, Doc Rivers had had the ability to have one maybe off person in that room and it was Rondo but he was a young basketball player around three pretty centered people and he had to fall in line. When you bring in a Kyrie Irving and he's the one that's mentoring the young talent there. That is a diseased locker room and it doesn't matter who your coaches, they're not winning anything. Brad Stevens got the most out of that team minus Kyrie Irving and I don't think that doc would have put as much work or effort into molding that young talent.

Joe Malkin 
Dave is itching, but I gotta go to Bob 30 seconds. So we're gonna move on

Rob Kelly 
Yeah, I just want to agree with Mike sentiments there when it comes to Brad Stevens I think buy in with him is the most important thing to his system. So I think coming into that that kg Ray Allen Paul pure season that they were going to buy in to any great coach that you put them because all they wanted was a championship. And in my opinion, I think that team would have been better with Brad Stevens because they would have bought in to a better system a better coach and better motivation than when doc gives. Listen, I'm not saying Doc's are great, but he he's shown time and time again. He does need those Hall of Famers, he couldn't win an LA with Paul and Griffin. As all I'm saying.

Rayshawn Buchanan 
Well, just one final word. So doc rubbers while he was in Boston 4416 for 1600 Yeah, for 600 305. That's a 570 600 percentage. Yeah, Brad, why he's been here so far. 318 and 246 563 winning percentage.

Michael Marcangelo 
So about five out of those nine years you three Hall of Famers there. So that's all I'm going to say to that. So

Joe Malkin 
hang on final question. Are we buying an on Brad Stevens for the next six years? Yes or no?

Dave Clarke 
Yes, of course we are. Because Because like I said, Mike loves to make us as Boston sports fans defend or what he does. That's what he does. But he does the best. That's why we have him here. But I will say this, Mike Mark Angeles such a such an intelligent guy that he actually just a second ago got away with calling Kevin Garnett, a centered person. I don't know if anybody missed that. Oh, no, I got that. The least centered individual I think I've ever seen. But, you know, here we are.

Joe Malkin 
But he was centered to during that and

Dave Clarke 
when he played the five maybe but not a personality was

Joe Malkin 
sure. But but that's all that matters, right is if you can set them on the court. And that was the problem that no one could center Kyrie because he allowed off court personality to take over on court personality and vice versa. So real real quickly, I actually we're gonna get back to the Celtics. But as we get close to six o'clock here, I want to do a couple things and the first thing is, is tell you where you can find us on social Media and where you can find our podcasts. So, we're on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and wherever you find your podcasts. We are @nightwrap on Twitter. We are @nightWrapSNSW on Instagram, Sunday night sports wrap on Facebook, the SNSW podcast on YouTube. We are wherever you listen to your podcasts including Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and I heart links will be in the description below. But you can also find all this information on our buzzsprout page at SMS w.buzzsprout.com. And just a quick thing is that our our first thing here that's going to come out tomorrow on our podcast is the armchairs, ask athletes and this will be uploaded as well to YouTube and to our podcasts. So if you miss anything of this, but definitely check out the armchairs ask athletes podcast where Dave and Mike sat down with MMA fighter Hilarie Rose. It's an incredible interview and and we said it earlier in the show if you're not a huge UFC fan, you will be after you listen to this podcast and his interview with Hilarie Rose. And one another podcast I want to plug is the New England championships. rewrap, which the first episode of that is going to come out next Tuesday. And basically what that is, is we walked through every single championship that the Patriots Red Sox, Bruins or Celtics have won in the last 20 seasons. And we start with the 2001 New England Patriots, who as Bobby says in the open of it is probably one of the most improbable championships by a Boston sports team in the last 20 years. And I say, and I think we all echo it during the podcast is that without that championship, we may not have the other championships by the Patriots or any of the other teams just based on how everything was elevated. And one thing can change the past and the future. But, Bobby, this was so much fun to do. Talk about it was so much fun to be a part of with you guys and you know it really just it brought me back and if you want to hear me get emotional listen listen to it this is actually going to come out in two parts I should mention that too. This is going to come out in two parts because it took us three hours to record this. And in part one is the regular season plus the divisional round against the Raiders. And the second half of this podcast is the AFC Championship game against the Steelers and Super Bowl 36 against the Rams and if you want to hear me get emotional, listen to part two in two weeks but listen to the whole thing. This really brought us back and and Bobby I'm gonna I'm gonna go to you first as the host of this podcast. Go ahead.

Rob Kelly 
So So exactly what Joe is just saying is the exact reason why why I had this idea and why you guys loved it so much is because of the emotion and the memories that do go behind all these championships that we've experienced. Especially with this one Joe, I have to say just you talking about it. I'm not even like I had might be able to. I got goosebumps over here. I'm not even kidding. That one championship is definitely the most special to me. It was the first one I've ever experienced. And I think everyone will experience that and feel that when we're talking about it during that pod. I'm really excited for people to hear this and the series just because I really feel like a everyone that is a boss as for Sarah and even just a sports fan in general, when you hear the that will actually have what these championship stories and the things that go behind it, whether it be following regular season, following the magic of that moment where you realize like, Oh my God, we might actually win a championship here is something that is in undescribable in sports that I like I can't even think of the words for right now. But I just think if you like sports you like championships you like you like hearing Talk. This is definitely a podcast that you're gonna want to listen to. I mean, a, what other opportunity you're gonna ever hear to have Joe mountain cry? I mean, it happens more than once on the same podcast. And that's, that just shows you right there. Say, oh god,

Joe Malkin 
I was just gonna echo what you were saying here and just say, you know you the biggest point is, we all get caught up in everything going on now and we never really think back to what it was and how we got to where we are now. And the 2001 patriots team, the Super Bowl 36 everything that happens you'll hear it in the podcast, but it's why we all love sports man. And that's, that's really what you have to take into listening to that is that there was life there was a time where the Patriots didn't have six Super Bowl rings. There was a time and not just staying with this episode, but there was a time when Red Sox fans had waited at Six years to win a championship. There was a time where the Celtics had waited 22 years to win. And we're talking about Boston. Dave said it before. This is Boston man, you got to win. And Dave is somebody who wasn't there to record this podcast as you were not on the first championship. rewrap kind of

Dave Clarke 
give us your feelings. I mean, yeah, I was actually I felt sort of lucky to not be on it because I got to sit back as an audience member and really enjoyed the product. You know, as you can see from my Brian Urlacher, Jersey, I'm not a Patriots fan, but in 2001, I was they went in there as the underdog. You know, the greatest show on turf was meeting them in the Super Bowl. And that Rams team looks completely unbeatable to anyone that had been paying attention. And it's one of the biggest Cinderella stories in the history of sports. It was a long time ago and like, like Joe was just saying it's hard to imagine the New England Patriots in football as an underdog. It seems like the most foreign thing in the world. 19 years old. But, but it was it was the case and I remember being a young kid and and, you know, my team the bears weren't in there but I was cheering for the underdog. You know, that's what you do when your team is on there you go for the underdog and, and man did that to that passion really come through and I and I have to say that anybody that wants to relive it if they were there, if you're young and you were never there and you've heard some stuff about it, you'll get all the information you possibly need because this transported me personally right back to 2001 you know, where I was sitting in my living room in Chicago, watching a team that I didn't know I was going to have to spend the next 19 years here and about just watching watching this team. Just just complete in a completely unlikely fashion. Be the best offense I have ever seen. And honestly one of the best offenses I've ever seen. And making me fall in love with football even more than I already was as a little kid and I can hear that that even though you guys are patriots fans, that again Exact Same thing happened to all of you, you know, and then the style. And the passion just shows completely through on this pod. So if you if you have the desire and if you want to go back to that and you want to relive it, I really do recommend checking this out when it comes out in a week's time.

Joe Malkin 
It'll Come out Tuesday, the 25th sorry, Ray, I'll get right either. But I just wanted to play off of what Dave just said, Episode One of this will come out Tuesday, August 25. Episode Two will come out Tuesday, September 1. And again, you know, listen to the whole thing. We really do run through the whole episode, through the whole season, the playoffs and everything. And Bobby even makes mention of it because I say it about 15 times in the first 10 minutes. But I was there, season ticket holder ended up at the Super Bowl, some great stories from all of us, really. And you know, the perspective of it, Dave, I think is really interesting. Because Mike and I have two very different perspectives on the season, even though we both lived it miles away from each other, which is really, really a cool factor into this entire story. Ready Go ahead.

Rayshawn Buchanan 
Yeah, um, now for me I think this probably will be the favorite my most favorite type of show that we do. Because obviously we have 11 more to get into with that but man, it was just so awesome to see the passion there for us to share the memories that we had on there. And I said so hopefully even though some of us didn't stay patriots fans after that didn't happen, you know? But you know, but ya know, it was a really good experience, but I hope you guys love it.

Joe Malkin 
And you know, that was again we have to mention when we say all these podcasts because he is the best producer that we could find I mean in the world, and this is produced by by Craig D'Alessandro and he produces the the triple A the armchairs, ask athletes podcast and we can't give Craig enough credit and Dave and Bob have worked really hard on both of those podcasts. So, again, check out armchairs, ask athletes Tomorrow morning, Monday, August 17, and check out the first episode of The New England championship rewrap on Tuesday, August 25. And episode two will come out on Tuesday, September 1. So let's get back.

Craig D'Alessandro 
I produced just about everything.

Joe Malkin 
He's producing this right now if you can believe it. So, real quick, I

Craig D'Alessandro 
get this over putting it right on there. It's a lot of work but I hope you all like it.

Joe Malkin 
It's Craig patting himself on the back again. So real quick, I want to get back into the Celtics just for a few minutes as we do have a couple minutes here. So I there's two notes I have here but I just kind of want to run through it again. The Celtic series against the 70 sixers begins tomorrow night in Orlando. The Celtics won five and three in the bubble and it was really interesting. They had a four game run where they scored 149 points and absolutely blew the Nets out of the water. And then in the next three games, they scored 122 points in each Have the games and won them all. It was just it's really weird that that would happen in any sport honestly that they would score the same amount of points in three games. So another thing I want to mention is Marcus smarts performance in the bubble. And, Bobby, you've been very adamant about the Celtics bubble play, and the play of Marcus smart. So I want to start with you on your thoughts.

Rob Kelly 
Yeah. And so I know DK you have the same same exact thoughts when it comes to mark smart on this. But Marcus smart to me is the life and blood of this basketball team. I know that he may be one of the most frustrating basketball players to ever watch. But what he does is beyond what you see, and this goes back to I believe, 2002 his rookie season so that first Brad Stevens year, Marcus smart to me has been the standout basketball player since and he's honestly been the only he's been the exact one, the only one who's been here. into that first Brad Stevens year, and DK. I know you think the exact same thing when it comes to what he brings. Is that intangible and what he does on the court you could see it as soon as you stepped on the court.

Dave Clarke 
Yeah, I think so. I mean, I'm so happy I'm not happy about our place in the East but I'm happy that we're playing 270 sixers first you know, the kind of mental smallness of the Philadelphia 76 years has just completely shone through over the past few years of the playoffs when we play them like we live absolutely rent free in their head and a lot of the reason for that is because they don't have a guy like Marcus smart they don't have a culture that that Boston has they don't have a an intangibles guy like you said Bobby like Marcus smart like he comes in there. He plays the kind of tough gritty hustle play defense that photo for you just can't take you know, and now with Ben Simmons hurt and gone even though he was he started to shoot kind of well, which was making me a little bit nervous because I I'm pretty sure I've had actual nightmares about Ben Simmons learning to shoot the three ball. But with him gone, it's Joellen beat, you know, wait until he has one bad game and he is just going to completely switch off. It's going to be all over market sports gonna be all over the way for the moment and I promise you this will happen. We're a tiny market to In comparison, tiny market smart, insists on guarding Joellen bead in a completely absurd situation and somehow takes the ball off, you know, to goes the other way. And yeah, he's probably going to jack up a three shot that he probably shouldn't take but like whatever he earned that shot. You know, we argue about this. We have our own group chat that the six of us on the side and we argue about this all the time. Like, I can't believe Marcus took that shot. It's like, well, he earned the shot. I mean, like he's the one who went played man, oh man defense had fast hands had a hustle, play and they got back. So it's like, whatever it's bonus, go ahead and take it you know, 

Michael Marcangelo 
I think we watched a string of those shots and I was like DK, I've seen five. He's missed all five. And he sold them all together to get that possession. But like I think so for those of you listening or watching like this is not gonna happen often so get ready. I think I was wrong and I think you all right about him.

Joe Malkin 
And that's the end of the Sunday night sports wrap

Michael Marcangelo 
I don't think you can quantify what he brings to that team. In terms of like, heart gut grit. I just think he's willing to do the things on the court that most others aren't see if that earns him the right to to jack up 15 threes and only make six of them that's great, but I do think because we have him we are better. We are better off with him without him for sure.

Joe Malkin 
Right What do you think Celtics series predictions Give me something?

Rayshawn Buchanan 
Yeah, um, so I do think that we'd be filling a five like At first I thought six because I felt that I just before sentencing and down but once you McDonald's is like what it should be what it was two years ago and face them on. I feel like their team dysfunction meaning fillers. This function is very similar to what the Sultan's had last year. Um, and they're trying to like understand Like always not that big of a deal. But as we've learned with the Celtics, it really can be a big deal and interpret to be the detriment. So a team so I think they I think they've been in there five games and I just think there's a game that will be is going to get by 30 and like a team and he's just going to dominate but his biggest issue with that he just he doesn't want to dominate. Everyone night and for for what reason? I don't know because he's a phenomenal talent but something's a deeper something's a more cohesive and I said they just they just more talented and they're they're a better team so they should win if I get

Michael Marcangelo 
rayshawn Is there any sense of like, you know, one of those because the Sixers have their star player hurt, right? Like, is there any sense for us as a true basketball, like encyclopedia and fan, that maybe this is where the Sixers like rally rally for each other and they they put on a great series like it can that happen with them?

Rayshawn Buchanan 
So it's I mean, obviously, anything's possible in that regard, but

Joe Malkin 
somebody said that once.

Rayshawn Buchanan 
Yeah, you know, we'll get to that on a later episode. But I think that it can happen but with with this team, I just don't see it happening. I don't see I don't see them rallying around sort of like how we did and we kind of we brought him down a couple years ago, when I said those rosier brown those guys played out of their minds, but, um, there's a lot of things that are gonna have to go right from the click. So, there Ricky mateesah tibo, who actually just helped draft the trailer for the Carson ever spec. He's actually a really, really good defender arm but kemba Walker is going to cook him if he's on him all night. It's a wrap. They don't have anyone that can guard gentleman like you if the Celtics have four guys that can get you 25 at any given time. And Ben Simmons is the most versatile defender. So without him it's gonna be hard to guard. But I mean, I said they can rally around a game maybe two but I just don't want to playing Aspire basketball. The whole series is going to get them performance.

Rob Kelly 
So if you if you remember back to right going off same point a first. I was so disappointed when the Celtics traded that mentai stable.

Rayshawn Buchanan 
Yeah, he's nice. He's nice but you know, oh well

Rob Kelly 
want from a young player because he plays defense he's got the intangibles always you got to do is work on that shot. And I think a shot honestly, to me is the easiest thing to fix in a basketball player. And secondly, I also completely agree, I think with the Celtics, all you got to do is work and beat every single minute he's on the floor. You got to make him do as much as he possibly needs to do because he's the most attache basketball player in the NBA. And if you make him actually work and do things on defense, make him go out to the three point line. Make them actually be that stretch five that he is. He's only going to give you a solid 25 minutes a game so I think it's five, maybe even four without Simmons. I think that's a huge blow to the sexes. Huge

Dave Clarke 
Yeah, he's the best thing that we use the best thing that we offer as a team I think is that our winning play is unmatched you know we have so many different guys that can in versatile sure in offense but amazing on the switch and defense and what we do to be you know not to get too technical but we always do to impede as we start to pick them up high. Like you said, Bobby, he's so he can really beat him up and he gets really tired really fast. I think he's a phenomenal basketball player personally, but because he gets so tired and he gets in his head Tatum even though he's a little bit undersized he can he will start off the series picking them up really high in the frontcourt and and he'll beat them up a little bit switching off to jail in jail is so underrated I think and it's such an athletic specimen that when he gets off on you like feel his strength, and he's just going to be tired by the fourth quarter I totally agree with you right like I really do think that he'll go off one game you know, and I almost think we might let him you know, like I think it might be a let the rest of the guys beat us night and I but I, what I, the way I disagree with you is I think he will go off for 38 points and they'll still lose. You know, it's it's 76 years have that kind of they're kind of that sort of team you know what I mean? And I think I think the thing I'm looking most forward to is Joellen beats comments after the game, you know, because he's always so honest in how badly we beat them up and and I just can't wait to hear it, you know?

Rayshawn Buchanan 
Yeah, well, I mean, that's because he knows us out of our wishes. He said himself but um, I don't trust Tobias Harris. Like I mean, my thing is, do you signed a five year deal? $480 million. Like you're getting $36 million dollars a year and you make no impact? Not like yeah, you regret coming out of Tennessee. Okay, great, but nothing really should have been the leak. You just appeared and LA. You disappeared in Orlando. You just disappearing. Get it together, you get paid to us money to not make an impact. Now if he if he plays well, and like I said, Josh Richardson and said boats and those guys kind of do something. Maybe we have a series But there's too many variables that have to work in order for them to do well. So either way, bosses got this and you know, see the SR sec around Toronto.

Joe Malkin 
So I know we have a lot to say on the Celtics and I know we actually have an NBA point here that Bobby's been itching to get to. And we're not going to get to it right now.

Rob Kelly 
 Can I just have so I think that that makes so I think that's why Ben Simmons is so important to the 70 sixers team is because he lets Joe and bead not work that hard. He lets him do BB Joe and B to not have to exert all that energy to be the basketball player that he possibly can be. That's what Ben Simmons is you may not shoot, but he's a great point guard and he's a phenomenal basketball player. He does all the all the little things right. And that's why Giambi can be out of shape. So that's why I think when Simmons is out of there, it really exposes that entire team and I can't Believe that Al Horford has not come up once in this entire discussion

Dave Clarke 
he didn't come up

Rayshawn Buchanan 
but that's but that's that's the thing though. If there's a time he's gonna come up that you know what's the playoffs, but because he's been so Miss utilized in Philadelphia like that and that's what it was. Well, we're not talking about him. We're not saying that he's a bad player, because I said playoff out as Tatum's affectionately call him. He always showed up in the past while he was here in Boston, and I'm sure he'll do the same thing but because they don't let him be his strength as a playmaker he's one of the best passing big mistakes ever seen ever so not just in this era that ever seen and they don't do a lot of high low actually like significant technical like they've said but if they don't have him run stuff at the top of the key to maybe throw something over the top 10 bead or to have somebody run offers like a curl spinner rubber like that he's not effective like that, not to save his career. So

Dave Clarke 
let me ask you this Ray. Let me ask you this because like what I what I was so worried about when we traded horse Especially to the 76s was that they were going to learn to play fast basketball when when we had Horford and Morris on the floor at the same time God did we stopped the ball you know and it mean like any kind of smooth motion play moving the ball quickly like those two guys are ball stoppers like I like Mike Marcus Morris last season I really did. But he holds on to the ball sodas Horford. Like you said he's a playmaker from the top so it's like but what the way that they under they underutilized him is that I really do think that that what they should be trying to do is getting the ball up to him quickly like we used to try to do and have him start to make plays but what they're trying to do is use them as this sort of like off off big man the ball right yeah off the bobbing man to to and beat and stuff and it's like that's just not how he plays now. Maybe they were saving it for the playoffs like maybe it'll click like, do you think if Horford was used correctly, and and used to move the ball inside? We are so susceptible to an athletic big playmaking big man. You know, that's the worst thing that the Celtics have. So do you think that that might catch us up

Rayshawn Buchanan 
Yeah, I mean it's possible um, but like I just don't think I don't trust Brett brown enough to put him in positions to have multiple actions in a quarter to say okay you know what, how we're going to run this through you where you're going to you're going to dive to the basket and then kick out to to a corner three or you're going to draw to dump it out saying be get get it in one arm. They don't let him coach in Philadelphia. I don't think he's a terrible coach but they don't have coach so because they don't let him coach. That's why they're going to be going home early and he's probably going to lose a job before Christmas.

Rob Kelly 
And I don't think we ever had any doubts about coming into they signed Horford and remember seeing the sour they signed Horford and B that they were going to miss utilize them you knew that the structure that team wasn't going to fit into what al Horford did best. And I think that that speaks to exactly what the Sixers are Is there a team of names rather than a system or an actual successful basketball pro? And and that's why I think that with this with this core that they have, even even with an added Jimmy Butler, they couldn't even get to the finals. The Celtics have an easy cakewalk on this one for sure.

Rayshawn Buchanan 
Yeah, that Yeah, Philadelphia didn't need Horford. He didn't need him to be in Boston.

Joe Malkin 
So with that, you know, we could probably go on about the Celtics forever. And I know we have the Giannis Antetokounmpo incident that Bob wanted to get to. So we'll try and I know we'll try and get to that later on. But I want to move on to a sport that doesn't have a bubble. And that's the NFL. You know, we talked about the NHL, we talked about the NBA. But the NFL is going to take a different route to all of this. They're going to play in their normal 32 host cities, kind of what major life baseball is doing with the exception of the buffalo Blue Jays. And the teams are basically Well, they have as of 10 days ago allowed as many players as they want to opt out. 66 players in the NFL have opted out for the 2020 season, including eight of them on the New England Patriots, including Marcus cannon who if you are a Patriots fan, you follow close enough Marcus cannon did have cancer A few years ago, and probably a pretty good reason as to why he is not playing in the 2020 season. Patrick Chung Donta Hightower are two of the other players for the New England Patriots who have decided to opt out for the season. It's an interesting situation with the NFL. You know, you look at it from an NCAA standpoint and what they have deemed possible to play and what they have deemed not possible to play. But the NFL is is going to move forward as of now with their season. And what I have seen is that the the NFL is allowing players that have a medical reason for opting out will be paid $300,000 for this season, and that money will it'll roll their contract to next year. And that money that they get this year will come out of their contract. That's the way that I understand it. players like Patrick Chung and Donta Hightower who are not opting out, because of a medical reason, they will get $100,000. Same thing. It'll come out of their contract next year. And this year is basically a wash for those guys. My first question to you guys is and I'm gonna go to Mike on this one, because I've asked this question already. And he's answered it already. Mike. Does the NFL play in 2020?

Michael Marcangelo 
Yes, yeah, I think they do. I think I think it may look different. I don't know how you're going to have some teams having hope. fans and some teams not by No, like jerry jones as say it has said that they're going to have fans in the stands there. I mean, it's 100,000 seat stadium if you have 25,000 people in there, like socially distant, let's find you can do it right. Um, but I just I think the NFL is too big to fail and I don't think they're gonna I don't think they're gonna wait. I just if the MLB can play with what they're pandemic that's going that's ripping all their teams apart. How is the NFL not gonna do it?

Joe Malkin 
Yeah, and that's one thing I look at what the league is. You say they're too big to fail. We know that Major League Baseball if it went away honestly. We may not notice we may not notice the NBA and the NHL, we probably would. It's much easier for an arena type sport to do a bubble than it is for a large stadium sport. I mean, even the MLS figured it out and that's because they have smaller crowds. But you even go internationally and look at the the English Premier League who they're getting 40 To 100,000 fans on an in a normal year, depending on which stadium you're talking about, but the NFL kind of see what your point there, Mike I mean 68,000 in Gillette Stadium, but over 100,000 at the spaceship in Arlington, and they, how many fans you really going to get? are you actually going to do it? So that's another question of will they have fans this season at all in any place and personally, I don't think so. I think they are going to play. But Mike, unlike and to everybody else in the room, unlike Major League Baseball, we're not talking about three or four game series two game series, you can play double headers, you can make them up on off days, the NFL plays once a week. So if in week two, there's an issue with a team and they can't play and you now have to wait 14 days ish. And now we're talking about two, possibly three games have a 16 game season. What what are they going to do the Major League Baseball isn't? or What what? What can they do that Major League Baseball can do more easily than they can?

Michael Marcangelo 
Well, before you kick it to Craig or to Bob, I just want to say like, I think that I think because of the financial aspect of football, I just think that they're going to have state of the art testing. And I think they're going to have all the top notch procedures that will reduce the the factor of players or teams testing positive. If that's the case, I think, you know, if, if your whole if, you know, let's say like 30 players on your team test positive, you probably should forfeit that week. You know what I mean? Like it's, it's just that's what you might have to do in order to complete the season at the time that they're looking for. 

Craig D'Alessandro 
unless they absolutely go into a bubble. I don't understand how it's going to work because this is, you know, we're preaching social distancing during this entire thing. During this entire pandemic for the last six months, and now you're going to get into my opinion one of the most intimate sports in all of sports. Before the play, you have to huddle you have to be literally inches away snapped to play. You're literally on some guys, but to stop the play, you're right on a play tackling the guy. I don't see how this is not going to end and not a disaster. 

Michael Marcangelo 
Well, they're going to be tested every day. I bet I bet that they're tested every day up until up until game day, even on game day. And I just think, I think Joe, you mentioned it I'm sorry if I'm talking too much in this one, but like I just think you have the ability to to test the players and to do all the medical procedures better when you only play once a week as opposed to 162 games or or that you did the constant bubble season that they have in the NBA and the NHL.

Joe Malkin 
So to that end in the NFL and Under Armour have developed a basically a mouth shield that would like a visor go in front of the mouth of each player. Some players have tested this out from my understanding and said it's kind of strange. It's kind of odd. And it doesn't necessarily allow for the same pattern of breathing during a play because it's so close to the face. It's one way you can do it. I mean, Craig, you're absolutely right. But one thing that the NFL, I mean, the NFL is king. And the one thing that the NFL has, as Mike said, more than any other sport is the money to do it. I mean, you're telling me jerry jones can't test 53 players and all of his staff every day to see at least every other day. From what I understand the test is $140. I know that's a lot of money to some of us to go get tested. I mean, if we can't do it for free, that is, and if they're paying that amount for that many tests it to them, it's still going to be peanuts. So I mean, so Mike, Mike, you said and I kind of want to go around the room with this one. It's a 16 game season. Okay, so like in baseball, a nine inning game is Complete after five innings four and a half of the home team is leaving. At what point is the season complete for the NFL? And would they either stop the season and crown a champion, for lack of better term? Or go straight to a playoff type format? At what point does that happen? Or do they just scrap the whole thing?

Michael Marcangelo 
So I think they have to go, you know, I think they have to go at least nine or 10 games, like if we're operating under the assumption that that the season could be cut short, but I just don't think it's going to be I don't see a world where the NFL is not on our televisions from September through February. I just don't think that I don't think that even if it was the safest thing for the players that they're going to do it and I just don't, there'll be there but again 10 games, then maybe you have like a plane or something but they're gonna play 16 

Joe Malkin 
makes you wonder why only 66 out of you know how many players in the NFL have opted out. Now granted, there was a patriots, but only, you know, 58 other players around the entire league opted out of this season. So you're getting the majority of guys under contract to come in and play in and do this thing. And, you know, there has to be that unspoken thing kind of, like we talked about in the open with tuukka rask. Like, there's obviously details we don't know, same thing here. We don't know the details. And that's fine. We don't necessarily have to know the details. It's not going to affect us, especially if there's no fans in the stands. But there's definitely something going on there that these guys know that we don't that's making them feel safer to go play football or, or and I think Mike, you're about to do this. These guys. This is their livelihood, and they know that they need to do it and they don't want to lose a year of age because the NFL unlike a baseball or a hockey, you're not playing into your late 30s or early 40s.

Michael Marcangelo 
Also $350,000 relative to what they get paid every year is nothing I mean, so they don't want to let the some of them can't live off that right and and some of them Their contracts like you just said aren't fully guaranteed they only have a, the average NFL career is way shorter than I would say the average baseball career right and that all that money's guaranteed. So they have to get in there. They have to play and they have to make some tough choices to make sure they get they get their money.

Rob Kelly 
I think I think two more things go into that too is I think the level of power that the NFL owners have over the NFLPA also has a lot to do with it. If you look at the people in the MLB that tested positive for the coronavirus, not one of them has been released. Some of the NF someone in the NFL snuck a girl into his locker room and was waived the next day. So I think a lot of that does have to do with the power that that NFL players know that the owners and and you know anyone in charge does have over their livelihood over what the MLB has. And also I think the NFL has a realistic outlook on they know people are going to test positive. It's just a matter of handling once they do. I think download That's that's been the worst case scenario for them is like once someone tests positive they haven't had those those protocols in place to get that positive person away from the team so then it spreads throughout that entire team so rapidly that all sudden you have four teams by the time you realize what happened I don't see that happening when the with the NFL just like the NBA I think they're just a better run organization. So I'm with you got football this year is happening.

Joe Malkin 
So take more of a New England approach to all this the New England Patriots lost three starters on defense. We all know that they've signed Cam Newton last week they signed running back Lamar Miller should they play this season? And they they do get into this thing and everything goes relatively to plan. Looking at the team as currently constituted with no preseason football. How does this team this New England Patriots team do this season?

Michael Marcangelo 
I mean, I still think they're gonna go 11 and five, at worst, maybe maybe like 10 and six. I think one thing that patriots And, you know, all of us are gonna have to think about is like our crutch was the defense. I think that that might be removed now. I think that you're going to see not as great of a defensive showcase as you thought you were going to see when coming into the season. But I just think that I the Patriots own that division. I don't think the bills are going to take it from them this year. So I guess I'm thinking 11 and five.

Dave Clarke 
You know, it's funny, we started talking about the difference between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the New England Patriots, obviously for the obvious narrative of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. But like we've seen with basketball like sure, Jerry Jones, you can say there's going to be fans in the stands. Great. Jerry Jones says a lot of things Jerry Jones says we're going to win a Super Bowl this year every year they don't sorry, Bobby, but he says a lot of things and that's absolutely not going to happen. It's just not so yeah, we can argue all day over where whether we're going to have an NFL season and I completely agree with you Mike it's they're too big to fail. There's too much money involved. It safety is just not going to come first. You know if they can make it safe to avoid the bad press sure but like it's just not but as far as the Patriots go just like basketball, bubble football maybe it'll be that or fanless football or whatever it is that's going to change things you know that's just going to change the landscape there's going to be a couple of teams that are playing unexpectedly well there's going to be players that that that apparently we who knew we're just feeding off the crowd in a way that that you know they're not going to be able to do once they're playing in front of nobody you know when a guy like Bella check though he can see into players souls in that way. You know, he's going to be able to see guys on the practice squad that he's going to be able to put them on the field and go oh, I don't even need to worry about his mentality. Like he he's just a great practice squad player. I've been waiting to bring him up. I just know that he's not like quite there mentally he kind of he chokes on game day game B is going to be a different prospects. So yeah, I back to Bill Belichick, as I always do. In these situations like I, I think they're going to 11 to five like maybe even higher. 

Joe Malkin 
It's going to be an interesting season with no preseason football. I mean, they're obviously going to have to cut down to a 53 man roster and eight guys in camp with the Patriots are seven now that they've signed Lamar Miller are going to get an opportunity to make that 53 man roster and like Dave just said, you're going to see that around. A lot of teams his teams are going to do well and guys are going to fight for some spots because we've seen it already in baseball with a lot of minor league guys that are getting called up when major league players get hurt or whatever else I mean, these rosters are look very different this year. We've already seen that from minor league guys and baseball. And I think you're going to see something very similar in football. All right, so Wow, great. All right, we should have stuck with the NBA guys. That's what I'm thinking. So here's what we're gonna do. We're going to change gears back to the NBA, because our next topic was going to be the depressing Red Sox, which I think we can spend about five minutes on but go ahead Mike,

Michael Marcangelo 
but before We move I did just want to say I think we all just look for like really good stories. And I think the best story out of the NFL right now is Alex Smith has been cleared to play. Yep. I think having what, 17 surgeries over the last almost two years. Yeah. The guy almost died. He almost lost his leg. And he's probably going to be the starting quarterback for the Washington football team this year. So like, that's a great story.

Joe Malkin 
Yeah. And I mean, Washington just got their starting quarterback back. And I mean, I think we can all agree, Alex Smith coming out of Utah so many years ago. He really did do a great job for the 40. Niners. He's done a good job in Washington. For for the football team. And he's he's it's just nice to see him and Mike, you brought up the video that he posted online of when he came out of his house and Dave took the words right out of my mouth. He doesn't look like he's in football shape yet. He still looked a little ginger on that leg and I don't blame him. I mean, 17 surgeries, you have your legs shattered We all remember Joe Theismann back in the 80s, which is still one of the worst hits in football history. I have to fast forward through that part of the blindside, which is an awesome movie, in my opinion. But you have to fast forward through that part because I cannot watch that Lawrence Taylor hit on Joe Theismann. And that that hit right there. And if you don't know what it is go look up. Lawrence Taylor hits Joe Theismann. That was when that was when you you knew that that Lawrence Taylor actually had some humanism, cuz that guy is just an absolute animal. But he was the first one calling over the medical team and he knew that it was bad the moment he hit him and Alex Smith's injury was very similar to thousands actually, it probably was worse. And thank God it happened now and not back in the 80s we don't want it to have happened at all. But thank goodness it happened now back in the 80s. Cuz like Mike said, I mean that's a career and possibly a life over but it's Great news for Washington is probably literally the best news that the Washington football team has had this entire offseason. Because they also had to release a player two weeks ago for some issues. So, you know, we're gonna be looking we gotta be looking for these positive stories, especially in the NFL. I know we've all been watching the NHL and the NBA. Major League Baseball has been so depressing. And I think because football is king, we all want to see the NFL do well this year. We've already seen that college football from the highest of divisions to the lowest of divisions in the NAIA and NCAA Division Three have canceled or postponed seasons. I can't say cancel. I just did it but I shouldn't. They've postponed their seasons. And I'd really hate to see the NFL do that as well. But I want one pressing topic. I do want to go back so we're kind of rewinding into the NBA. Because I know this is a topic that especially Bob, Rayshawn and Dave wanted to touch on but it was the Giannis Antetokounmpo incident that happened last week. Bobby kind of give us a run through of this incident and give us your feelings on it.

Rob Kelly 
Oh, I'm not exactly sure what exact day it was to be honest it was sometime I believe it was in one of the last second to last bubble game for the Bucks Giannis got a little heated in did end up a Head betting if I'm being honest, I don't remember exactly who it was. But what ended up out was the NBA did end up suspending Giannis for one this now if you watch the clip it obviously is something that is an intentional head but he obviously got he got he got in that heated argument. He got to that point where where he did feel it was time to retaliate and did so I just think in my opinion, and DK I don't know if you have the same sentiments but I think this is the most contradicting thing that I've seen from the NBA season of them being honest I just think if this is Lebron, if this is Zion, if this is anyone else, the NBA comes down hard and not only that, but so does the national media. I don't think I think to this day we'd still be talking about it. I think it was still painted top news story, if LeBron had butted anyone, that's the top news story, but because it's Giannis, it's not and that's something to me that I'll just never get. I don't know. I mean,

Dave Clarke 
look, I think I agree with you in that sense. Like I think like it would be made a bigger deal of if it was somebody else. Should it be? No, like, honestly, that even the fact that we're calling to the head, but it wasn't like he came in hot, he was annoyed. He put his head down to get in his face and the guy flopped a little bit you know, as as the only real like week to week. I watch every single game soccer fan here. Let me tell you, I it wasn't it wasn't new to me. You know, I think it was. I think he got a little hard Did he get um did he get special treatment maybe but like it was like what two seasons ago in the playoffs for Marcus smart like through a guy across the court because I forget I think it was against the Sixers ironically enough where somebody hit somebody hit someone going up which is like the worst most scumbag move you can do in basketball if somebody is off their feet and they're going up to the to the hoop and you hit them they have no center of gravity and they you know they they just go to the ground but somebody did that Marcus smart ran up shove the guy quit sports you know what I mean? Like it happens people get mad and it's it is what it is I don't think it's a big deal. What are they going to do like at the end of the day? Yes, it is special treatment but what the blind get the same treatment similar you know, you don't show your best product Yanis is that is the guy going into the playoffs that they're advertising right now like it's just a bad business move. They suspend him tomorrow.

Rayshawn Buchanan 
Especially let me go God.

Joe Malkin 
I was gonna say especially right now on the bubble and in where they are at this point in the season they need as many eyes on them as possible. This is part of the reason why the NFL is still going to play in something we didn't touch on, which I kind of feel naive that we didn't, is TV money. And that's the reason why the MLB is trying to do everything they can to play their season. Now, the NHL and the NBA have done everything they can because the money is not necessarily as high as the MLB in the NFL. But there is still money in that we talked about the English Premier League, Dave. I mean, there's money in that to this TV money from NBC in the Premier League. And they need to find a way to get those ratings up. And right now the NBA and the NHL are front and center. Two leagues that run simultaneously with each other. And this is something that they're already talking about changing in the NBA to have the NBA go longer so they have their own playoffs. And Dave brought this up. You know, last week in our meeting that the NBA is looking to push that ahead and right now in the bubble in Orlando, they cannot they cannot suspend their they're probably I mean he's top three in league right? I mean, what do you think about the NBA right now? Well, I still think LeBron Dave, I know you're holding up that number one, but it's I think it's LeBron and then jianna. So, I mean, I could also depend on what coast you're on to because I mean, which is weird because you say that LeBron is not number one. And you you literally live in LA. So it's, that's why, right? Yeah, probably. You're probably just tired of hearing it and seeing the billboards. So rayshawn Go ahead. I kind of stepped on either.

Rayshawn Buchanan 
Yeah, no. Um, so that dad incident was interesting, for a couple of reasons. So I'm one I mean, yeah, you're right. Like I like Bob. I like if had had been LeBron, yes. SportsCenter. Fox, whatever would have been leading that had been a leading story. They would have broken it down to the psychology of it. Is this the robot brawn? You know, it just it would have been nazy getting to say the least. But I want to go a different direction here. So the next game We're going to be able to play the Memphis Grizzlies and the head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies was an assistant coach on Milwaukee last year so thrown to have a second conspiracy theory for the night I think that they through that game so that Memphis they get help methods get into the into the into the content they want you to play in game for the AC and it's crazy to me weren't technically but important ends up being them so it didn't really work. Um, but cuz I was gonna say yeah, I said

Rob Kelly 
which worked out for the Celtics we get

Rayshawn Buchanan 
it worked out for the Celtics, thankfully, just we you know, we're at least gonna have the 14th pick. In the well we have two first rounders so 1426 and then, and 30 But yeah, I definitely think today and I'm throwing that game because my president likes a kitchen spending more than one game I maybe would suspend him to or whatever it may be suspended and fined him or whatever. Um, because whether it was a real head but not like that that can't happen. I think someone who brought up was the guy for France back and he hasn't is not Yeah, so it was just like, you know, I remember when it happened. I'm like, I'm like 

Joe Malkin 
that's a real head. But

Rayshawn Buchanan 
that was a soft Yeah,

Dave Clarke 
that was soft, too. He should, you know, should have hit him in the face if he was getting the red card Anyway, you might as well take the other guy with you. 

Rayshawn Buchanan 
Yeah, that's true. But it's just like, yeah, so I just think that's what it was. But, you know, like, it was unfortunate to see but like I said, in the grand scheme of things like It Wasn't that deep. And like I said, you know, product above everything else is key. So he's a part of the product. He is one of the main events, so to speak, so to speak. So, yeah, that says, we'll see what happens going forward.

Joe Malkin 
I mean, we've seen it so many times in sports, and it begins at dawn Genesis Kupo. I mean, we've seen it so many times where People get a little worked up and like Dave said, it's emotion man and I mean, we get we get worked up during the day and, you know, we we kind of lose our cool at times and it's gonna happen and again, kind of going back to the whole to grass thing, the biggest difference is that they're going to get called out, you know on national media for it. And we're not so I mean wouldn't have been a bigger story if it was LeBron a 100% would have been a different story if we weren't in the middle of a bubble play pandemic, probably. But right now, no league can afford to lose their best player and if Mike Trump did something in LA, you will actually see MLB they probably suspend him.

Michael Marcangelo 
If Marcus smart did that. What would his knowledge about it? Yep,

Rayshawn Buchanan 
yeah. Oh, oh, wait, what ESPN would have ripped him apart. Oh, he has a reputation for this. Remember what he did back Oklahoma State and when he went and talked to a fan, you're not a fan. provoke But we're not going to go there. Like it's just like so that the narrative always switches depending on the player and it's unfortunate but that's just what it is.

Joe Malkin 
But this isn't this a whole podcast in itself where we could sit here and talk about how media and fan influence influences commissioners these days. Yeah, right. Stay tuned. Exactly. I mean, think about the the uproar for if mark you know, when exactly when Marcus smart went into the stands on the the fight at the palace in Detroit back in night, what was it 1996 or 2000 40404? The 90s What's the difference? But the point being is if there's more uproar, the the suspension or the punishment is higher. Think about Joe Kelly, Joe Kelly gets caught on TV. You know, I mean, we we, I think we all love Joe Kelly. I mean he kind of got soft here. As a pitcher at the end, but in LA, he's been great. And he is great for the game of baseball guys like that are phenomenal for the game of baseball that are struggling in my opinion. But because it was really the only show in town, and everybody saw it and everybody watched it, Manfred felt that his that the Major League Baseball office had to do something about it. Were just not as many people saw it. So it comes down to that to what kind of uproar is there? And does that affect media and fan perception of the game and the league? And I think that that's something we really should touch on in a later podcast because it my feelings are is the punishment has to fit the crime. And when you are in sports, and you are in front of a camera, yes, you're supposed to be more composed. But

I don't even really know how to finish that thought. So Speaking of composed, Dave Clark joins us all the way from Los Angeles, even when times are different for him, and he's probably still at work and we just don't know it. He's sending messages to the group chat when it's 4am here and he's still up drinking his wine at 1am in Los Angeles. But we have to we have to go to Dave Clark for what was always one of the best segments on the Sunday night sports wrap. And that's the state of the sizzle. So Dave, the floor is yours.

Dave Clarke 
Well, fellas, it's been a great show. As expected. Here we are at the first state of the sizzle in over a decade. Much like a State of the Union speech I used to start off by letting you and our adoring listening public know how I and perhaps more importantly, the sports watching nation was doing as a whole. So Here goes, the state of the sizzle is dope as hell. Back in March, you may have noticed a health crisis that was sweeping the globe started to tighten its grip on the United States. Rolling lockdowns began and for me at least the moment the fact that we were in some serious trouble was when this damn virus started to take away sports. Watching the look on Mark Cuban's face as he seemed to read the news on his iPhone that Adam Silver had suspended the NBA that look of complete shock through Me a little. It seemed like a guy known for his business acumen, his ability to predict markets and trends had absolutely no idea how serious this thing has gotten Adam Silver as a smart guy to perhaps the commissioner sports. If he was shutting down the National Basketball Association, during one of the most interesting seasons in its storied history. Something was really wrong here. Sure, we probably should have already known if I had a little bit more bandwidth available for health data International news. I may have been on top of it but then who would my family come to for Brian Urhlacher's impressive rookie season numbers 124 tackles and eight sacks franchise rookie records despite not starting until week three, I can't move out valuable information like that in order to stay on top of a pandemic. You know what I mean? The point is, for many of us, sports are a constant, maybe in some cases, our only constant. I can't tell you the pleasure I get when I'm coming home from work. Know when I have a Celtics game to watch or it's Monday Night Football. I knew I loved sports, but I didn't realize how much until they were all taken away all at once. That totemic and rolling nature of these great athletic competitions are what some relationships are built on. fathers and sons maybe sometimes completely different people have completely different values. But if they can sit next to each other once a week and cheer for the same team, they have themselves a platform to build something to see one another in a way they may not have been able to otherwise sports are important. back. I'll be it in a little bit of a different way. But they're back, I can't tell you how much of a return to normalcy that was for me waking up every day for months to more bad news, more dumb tweets, different information, old information is this person, okay? Make sure they're staying inside. They had pneumonia once when they were 12, constantly. We're still in that fight. Don't get me wrong, but at least I can forget about it now for an hour or two and watch a game. Which brings me to this show, and to us. We all met in college 10 years ago, and our college had a radio station. We were all fairly carefree and similar people, college kids that got together on Sundays to chat about our favorite teams. Over time, our circumstances and responsibilities have changed drastically, which is natural. I moved to California to chase a career in the movies and 18 hours a day on movie sets makes you a little bit of a different person after a while I can tell you that. Joe is domestic as hell. Sorry, Joe domestic has heck. He's got a house and a wife and some real cute kids, plus What seems to be his dream job, no biggie. Rayshawn survived what many don't. I moved to Florida and back. And now he's molding future minds as an educator and a profession we all may start finally start to appreciate more because of all this. The world's best producer is just that because out of all of us, he actually pursued and succeeded at a career in radio. And he's the reason we're able to put the SNSW network together for you. Mike lost an entire person's worth of weight and donated a kidney to a family member. We knew he was an impressive guy, but he showed us all up a little bit with that one. Bobby seems to have been all over the place and his general demeanor is a racket has served him well. And somehow, even as a Cowboys fan, remains the most positive and optimistic of us all these changes all these gross, it can't be summarized in one state of the sizzle with any kind of accuracy. We've all had our ups and I'm sure our downs that have changed us who we are and all grow and grow up as people. The reason we're here with you again, is that one thing has remained the same for all of us. You guessed it and unbridled love affair with sports, we lost sports for a while. And it wasn't the most serious thing that happened in this pandemic. Not even close. But it's not the most serious thing you do or watch in a day either. It's not supposed to be. It's supposed to distract you to entertain you. Leave it to obsessives like us to take it far too seriously and dedicate chunks of our lives to bringing you a podcast network about all things sports. You folks listening at home. Just enjoy. I'm so happy to be back with you fellas. I said it at the start that the state of the sizzle is dope as hell and the reason sports are back. And so are we.

Joe Malkin 
Oh, well. Yeah, I think what I really took out of that is Rayshawn survived Florida.

Dave Great. So the state of the sizzle kind of the history of that is you haven't missed a beat in over 10 years, man. I mean that that's awesome, dude. I mean, this is exactly why we do this show. We have people out there that love listening to us, which is great for me to hear because my wife's tired of me. But I'm just kidding. It's we've been dating for 10 years as of today, though, which is absolutely incredible. I don't know how married? Well, I don't know how she has dealt with me that long. And Craig can attest to that. But Dave, great job. That was very well written very well said. And guys, I mean, we we have been together through it all. I mean, I know we all kind of went our separate directions, in some cases, even when we lived in the same town as Craig and I do and, you know, but we've all stuck together through all of this. And now we're even we're even closer then than we probably ever have been, even when we were on the show together back in college. I kind of felt like, you know, we all had six different directions and we came together for two hours on a Sunday. And over the last month, you know, I know we started this back in this conversation back in late May. early June. But we've all really come together more now than we ever were before. And it never would have happened without this pandemic. So, so much bad has come out of this thing. So much negativity. And really, if there is a positive just to kind of go off of what Dave just said, for the last five minutes, it's that, you know, we we came closer as a group of people, because of everything going on. And it definitely helps. I mean, it helps to be able to come and talk sports or politics or whatever the hell you want with anybody with the people that you enjoy talking about those things with. So, you know, guys, I think, real quickly again, let's go over what we have for the people going forward. I mean, again, this two hour live show on Sunday nights is going to be the the second Sunday of every month. We're going to be here talking to you and we want to hear what you want to talk about. You know, If If there's something you want us to talk about, or a topic that you think we should touch on whether it's Boston related or I mean, hell, we'll talk about Korean baseball because that's a great product. I've also woken up at five o'clock in the morning when my kids woken me up and I've gone and watched Australian league football. So there's, there's a lot of there's a lot of things we can talk about. And we want to hear from you because there's plenty going on in the world of sports that we can come up with and build a narrative around. But we want to we have so many different people in our lives. We want to know what you want to talk about. If this is your first time listening to us or you're not subscribed to our channels, whether it be you know, on Google podcasts, Apple podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, I heart, you can find all of our channels on buzzsprout SNSW.buzzsprout. com. We are all over social media rayshawn write some awesome recaps and previews of Boston sports Bobby posted up a nice little opinion piece on the Red Sox the other day which we never touched on tonight but it's probably good we didn't cuz my head probably would have exploded. But we're all over social media Twitter we are @nightwrap Instagram we are @nightwrap s and SW Sunday night sports rap on Facebook, the SMS w podcast on YouTube, where you can find the monthly to our show. armchairs ask athletes, which comes out on Monday the 17th of August tomorrow morning. Again, Dave and Mike sit down with MMA fighter Hilarie rose, who will be fighting in Dana White's contender series on Tuesday night August 18. Again, we're all going to be watching this girl is phenomenal. If you like what you hear she's 4-1 one in her career. One thing we didn't touch on. She is 4-1 in her career and Sham buys who she's fighting on Tuesday is also foreign one There's a big fight for both of these women. And man, I'm so pumped to watch this fight but listen to the conversation that Dave and Mike have with her and you're gonna love her too. She is phenomenal. As we mentioned, also, we have the New England championship rewrap. That's coming out on August 25, for part one of the 2001 New England Patriots season. And then part two will come out September 1, which will have the Super Bowl 36 in it great content. I mean, we you guys did phenomenal. I cry. We have some good stories. I like to mention it because people are gonna be like, hell yeah, I want to hear Joe cry. And I like stop and then raisons crinkling a bag of popcorn. It's phenomenal. So sorry, Ray. So I had I have to drop it because it's, it's hilarious when it happens. So if you like what you're hearing on our on this podcast and all of our podcasts, we really want you to tell us what You how you feel. Leave us a comment, a rating a review. Tell us what you like about the episode what you don't like about the episode. We love constructive criticism. We give it to each other all the time. You know, we want to know what you want to hear about more in the future. I mentioned raisons blogs and everybody's blogs, and I tell you that they're going to be up on Twitter. But Sunday night sports rap.wordpress.com is where you can get to that website. That's the first time I've dropped that tonight. So make sure you head over there as well and check everything out. But certainly follow along if you've enjoyed everything you've heard tonight. Guys, I know we're running a little over here, but I want to give each just a second or two to kind of maybe with the exception of Dave because I don't think we can do it any more beautifully than Dave. But I want to hear from Craig first, Greg, you know, you've you've put so much of this together and helped us along the way and really given us some direction. You know, we got to hear from you too, man. I'm

Craig D'Alessandro 
I'm gonna actually keep a little bit more local towards the high school towards High School athletics. I know it's not something we talked about or we'll talk about that often. But I it just crossed my mind that, you know, I haven't heard as much from the fall athletic people about football about when baseball was canceled now they're all in their upper right now I heard nothing from these people when baseball was starting to get canceled and on all those spring sports to starting in canceled, now football is going to cancel this the biggest somewhere in the world. But I

Joe Malkin 
to play off that I think baseball is one of those sports even at the collegiate level. I've had this conversation with a number of people baseball is easy to play baseball and softball are two very easy sports that you should be able to play. I mean, I think we've all seen some sort of baseball this summer, whether it's been MLB. I mean, I've been out recruiting a little bit as well. So you know, things can happen there. But I'm with you, Craig. I mean, there was no uproar but now because it's football Football is king, as Mike has said before. So with that good transition, Craig, Thank you, Mike, what do you have to say to get us out here?

Michael Marcangelo 
Yeah, so my final thought is hasn't really to do about sports. It's kind of about us. I think, you know, Joe, you mentioned like, or one of you mentioned in college, like, we were just six people who came together for two hours and talked about sports. Now, like we talk every day, so I think like, it's just been awesome out of this entire thing. Like just to get like a good group of six friends that you did not have before that, that, you know, you can just go to and just purposely piss off like you did earlier. And like, everything's gonna be cool. So I'm just super excited about this entire process. And I thank you guys all for your hard work.

Joe Malkin 
Right, go ahead.

Rayshawn Buchanan 
So we're not calling okay.

Joe Malkin 
And that's the end of the Sunday night. No, yeah,

Rayshawn Buchanan 
no. It's been an amazing experience. Just to get back to this. I'm like, I'm at a loss for words that we're even doing this right now. So beyond this, you know, I said I was just someone that kind of stumbled upon this meeting you guys and now, you know, I'm a part of history. And we're a part of history so it's like that's super exciting super dope for me. And as I'll just end with this as I'll most likely end every show until it happens of us the cops that code we want to tailor my guest today and it needs to happen immediately. So

Joe Malkin 
absolutely, yes, sir. Bobby Kelly.

Rob Kelly 
Follow that up with Ray. Completely agree with that rescue cops kill Briana tower. Honestly, one of the best things I've done in a very long time is comment on a random Facebook post from 10 years ago that brought us all here together today. It's honestly one of the best random Facebook comments I've made in my entire life. I couldn't be happier to be here at this very moment. And the last thing I'll say is that the Toronto Raptors are really good basketball teams.

Joe Malkin 
To close this thing out, oh jesus

Dave's leaving Dave's gonna go out into the hundred degree weather in Los Angeles right now. 

Rob Kelly 
Wink face in that group chat for this has been planned.

Joe Malkin 
Of course, we should have known we should have known the moment you hacked the Twitter that with the Cowboys content that you were going to talk about the Raptors.

so

ridiculous Bobby, just to finish this thing off. Thank you everyone for joining us. One of the biggest things we want to do through all of this we've always wanted to do it is to share our takes on sports with you. Share sports with with your friends and family. If you love sports, if you're watching, we assume you like sports, but if there's something else, share it with friends and family, because we all need something to share with each other right now with so much going on. And as important as things are in the world no matter what what year it is no matter what time it is. We all need a distraction at some point. It's okay to be distracted even for a little while. So guys, thank you so much for joining us this evening I we saw so many people come in and out of the Facebook Live, so many people that we hold so near and dear to our hearts. So for rayshawn Buchanan, David Clark, Bob Kelly, Mike Marcangelo, the best producer in the world. Craig D'Alessandro. I am Joe Malkin. Thank you for joining us for Episode One of the Sunday night sports wrap. Make sure to follow us on Twitter @nightwrap on Instagram @nightwrapSNSW on Facebook Sunday night sports wrap the SNSW podcast on YouTube and wherever you listen to your podcasts including Apple podcast, Google podcast, Spotify, Stitcher, and I heart go to our buzzsprout page. SNSW.buzzsprout.com tell us how you feel about everything. And for the guys we will see you in a month for our live show. But really listen to the armchairs and Ask athletes tomorrow morning and be on the lookout for the championship. rewrap. Our next show will be on the 27th of August. We will have which is a Thursday we will have a pre recorded one hour podcast for you where we will fit in everything we can in an hour's time even though this didn't take us too. So guys, thank you very much Craig. Why don't you Why don't you shut this thing down and we can let Dave go eat some dinner. Have a good night, guys. Thank you.