[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:03] Speaker B: The following program is brought to you in living color on elliot gazette.com or wherever you get your podcast.
The Gazette News Group presents the Parting Shots Podcast.
[00:00:15] Speaker C: Now here's your host and shot.
[00:00:18] Speaker B: Thank you Scott Kesey and welcome to the Parting Shots Podcast, available wherever you get your podcast. Subscribe today. Thanks for joining me from the Parting Shots Podcast studio in Schenectady, New York for the 485th edition of of the podcast. We're 15 away from 500. Can't believe that we might get there before the end of the year. We'll see. Obviously we're doing two podcasts a week now during the union hockey season.
Gets me closer to that the milestone of 500. Who would have thought that we'll do some celebrating with that hopefully when we get to that 500 mark.
In case you listen to the opening, a little bit of an edit there.
It's been a change here at the Gazette as far as sports department is concerned. Will Springstead, who's been a valuable member of this department as first as reporting on an associate sports editor. He was promoted to executive sports editor and I'm now the sports desk editor of the of the paper. So I get to put out the paper. I've been doing that now at least mostly five days a week when I'm not covering union hockey.
So congratulations to Will. He's a hard worker and he'll help improve this department and we'll move on from there. So so let's talk about the podcast. Come up with another great one here for you on this edition of the podcast, number 485.
We'll talk union hockey, men's and women's as we usually do every Thursday.
We'll talk men's preview with the Clarkson St. Lawrence coming in this weekend to M and T Bank Center. Clarkson will be here Friday at 7 o' clock and St. Lawrence will be here Saturday at 7 o'. Clock. Yes, that's a 7 o' clock Saturday start. We'll explain why in just a bit.
We'll well talking the men's side with Carter Rose, defenseman for the Garden Chargers, a former member of Clarkson. So we'll get to see his former Golden Knights teammates on Friday. Also Brandon Burr, another former Clarkson player who's been through the situation with facing his former team a couple of years ago for the first time and Nick Young, the team captain. So they'll be here on the podcast. The women on a five game losing streak. Their first really bit of adversity this year. They they'll be playing RPI on Friday at Houston field House at 3 o' clock and then Saturday at 3 o' clock at MT Bank Center. That's why the men's game is at 7 o'. Clock. I will talk with the defenseman Stephanie Bourque and goaltender Emma Rayom.
We'll see on the Union B with football Will Springstead the aforementioned Will Springstead. We're here to talk about the Garner Chargers win over Hilbert and as they barrel toward a potential Liberty League title championship game against RPI in a couple weeks. First they got to play at Rochester on Saturday. So we'll look back at the Hilbert game and look ahead to the Rochester game. Gazette high school writer Drew Wemple stops by to Talk the Section 2 semifinals in high school football as get set for that this weekend. And then Tim Reynolds, the Indian Lake native, the New York State Basketball hall of Famer, covers the NBA for the Associated Press down there in Miami.
We talked Tuesday at length. He has a new book out about the Miami Heat and we talked about some of the things going on in the NBA and we lament it on our Philadelphia Phillies and what went wrong there in the postseason. So that'll be Tim Reynolds coming up toward the end of the podcast. So coming up, let's talk Union men's and women's hockey. So you're listening to the Parting Shots podcast.
Are you an enthusiastic sports fan? Want to have fun and get in on the action?
[00:03:48] Speaker D: Heck yes.
[00:03:49] Speaker B: That'd be awesome. Have great attention to detail. Want to stay active. Definitely want to give back to the student athletes in your community?
[00:03:57] Speaker D: Obviously, yes.
[00:03:59] Speaker B: Then you'd make an excellent high school sports official.
We need more officials in New York because with no high school officials there are no high school sports. Sign up today at high school officials.com welcome back to the podcast. The Union College men's hockey team back in action this weekend for ECAC hockey play as Clarkson and St. Lawrence come to town. Clarkson will be here Friday night at 7 o' clock and then St. Lawrence takes on the Garner Chargers at 7 o' clock on Saturday. Union coming off a split of their weekend series last weekend against capital region rival RPI. The Garner Charger dropped a 5:2 decision at MNC Bank center, giving up three shorthanded goals, two of them coming on empty netters. Late in that game.
Just a rough game there Friday night the Union out shooting rpi, but just the five minute major power play that Union had in that second period. They scored it at a minute in but after that they got two pass happy that Goal by Ante Unlessar tied the game with two and Union could use that momentum to really generate more goals and maybe put the game away.
Instead.
Dalla Dunbar unfortunately lost his edge in the Union zone as he was trying to get the puck and and that led to Ethan Bono scoring a shorthanded goal and made it 3:2 RPI and then just and Union got another power play in the third period and got pass happy again.
Didn't get any shots on goal. They got a late power play after ended up with the 6 on 4 situation with goaltender Cameron Korpi pulled for an extra attacker. But everything backfired and Josh Algae talking with him after that Friday game was not happy. You could see it in his face. It seemed like his face was a bit red.
We talked about the game on Wednesday's podcast, which you can listen on your favorite podcast platforms.
So and then of course Saturday the rematch over at Houston Field. Allison a much different Union team there dominated the game. A 3 nothing victory was 1 nothing in the first period on a Alex Lorenzo goal and then stay 1 nothing. Cameron Corby made a big save on a Dovar tindling one timer off a turnover midway through the second period. But other than that Union dominated gave to me. It felt like even though it was one nothing it seemed like a tight game. It wasn't. Union was just complete control of that game. They they held RPI to 12 shots, four in each period.
There was a moment late in the in the second period RPI was on the power play in the final 10 seconds they were in the Union zone. They couldn't even generate a shot and the RPI fans were incense. They were booing even Eric language the head coach and engineers noticed and he said they had every right to boo. So kind of like that honestly from Eric Lang. But a three nothing great three split the season series, the conference games. Union retaining the Capital Skates trophy. Sort of like the Ryder cup. If you were in possession of it and you had the tie, you still keep it. So now Union gets ready for a couple of important games against the north country teams. Of course you heard from Josh Hauge yesterday.
Big news out of this one. The Carter Rose, the junior defenseman transfer from Clarkson. So I'll get to see his former team on Friday night then of course this is not the first time the Union person has faced his former team in Clarkson. Of course Josh Howji was associate head coach.
He faced Clarkson in his up there at Cheel arena in the 202223 season. Won the game Brandon Burr, another transfer. His first game was at Clarkson when the teams meet met for the first time the following season and then. But this time Rose got this faces team here at MNT Bank Center. So I asked him about that and also spoke with Brandon Burr about it and we also. I also talked with Nick Young during Tuesday's media availability at MNT Bank Center. So here's what they had to say.
Guys, back in ECA play this weekend with Clarkson and St. Lawrence. Nick, we'll start with you. Your thoughts. Thoughts are getting ready to face these guys and Clarkson's been pretty good. Got to the ECAC hockey tournament final last year. St. Lawrence is struggling.
[00:08:18] Speaker E: Yeah, I mean, no matter what team, it is like they're going to be good. It's ecac.
I think that it's always been a really important weekend for us in years past and it is again. So we're just looking to, you know, take one game at a time, focus on Clarkson and take care of them first.
[00:08:33] Speaker B: Brandon.
[00:08:33] Speaker C: Yeah, I'd agree with that.
[00:08:34] Speaker E: It's one game at a time. Focus on Clarkson for Friday and then once that game's over with, then we'll look at St. Lawrence.
[00:08:39] Speaker B: Carter.
[00:08:40] Speaker E: Yeah. Anytime you get to play a strong team, especially in the ecac, it's a big one. So I think Friday and Saturday would be no different.
[00:08:46] Speaker B: Carter for you is going to be a little different. You're going to face your old team on Friday night. What are your thoughts as you head into this one?
[00:08:52] Speaker E: Yeah, I have nothing but good things to say about them. I had a great time there. A lot of good teammates, coaches, friends. So it'll be a little different. But I'm excited to see what our team can do against them for sure.
[00:09:02] Speaker B: How important will it be to try to just focus on the team's game? Not worried about, oh, there's my teammate, my ex teammate. My ex teammate.
[00:09:08] Speaker E: Yeah, that's definitely a thing I'm trying to, trying to focus on, especially throughout the week. Just trying to keep my, my focus dialed in. So it'll, it'll be big. But again, I'll have a lot of family here and you know, it'll be big for them as well. So I'm excited.
[00:09:21] Speaker B: Well, Josh recruited you to Clarkson and then when you entered the transfer portal, he kind of got you and contacted you again to get coming here. What was that whole process like?
[00:09:29] Speaker E: Yeah, it was definitely a different process. Especially just like college hockey, the landscape's changing. So I like, I like you said I had a long time relationship with him, so it was pretty easy when he reached out to kind of narrowing my focus here at Union, and I'm glad I ended up here.
[00:09:44] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, was it, as you said, was it an easy decision to come here? Was there. Were there anybody. You don't have to mention if you want. Don't want to, but were there any schools you maybe you were looking at?
[00:09:52] Speaker E: No, it was an easy decision. Like, if you look at our rank and how the program trajectory is. It was an easy decision for me, for sure.
[00:10:00] Speaker B: Is it better to be facing Clarkson for the first time here as opposed to up there? I mean, would there be more pressure, more, you know, family, because you're from that area? Is it better that this first game's here?
[00:10:12] Speaker E: Yeah, you could say that. I was talking to Coach yesterday, and he kind of went through the same thing when he went back to Clarkson. He said, it's a little harder in the old ring because you start remembering, you know, I did my warm up here and everything. So I think it is nice that the first one's in this ring.
[00:10:26] Speaker B: Brandon, the same thing for you. You and you transfer. Your first game was up there. What advice would you have give Carter to get ready for Friday's game with the old. Maybe, you know, facing his old team.
[00:10:36] Speaker E: It'S just another game. That's best advice I give.
[00:10:39] Speaker D: Don't think about it.
[00:10:41] Speaker B: Were you when coach. The coach ever talked to you about reaching out to Carter when he came here?
[00:10:46] Speaker E: Not really. He told me that they're interested in him, and obviously I was there training with him one summer, and I liked him a lot. So I was full green light.
[00:10:53] Speaker B: Just Nick, just getting back to the weekend here a little bit.
You know, how important was it, that RPI game to bounce back the way you guys did after what happened Friday?
[00:11:01] Speaker E: I mean, that's extremely important. It's something that we're trying to identify as a culture is, you know, not to get our heads jumbled up in adversity, to kind of get back to our game plan and trust everyone in the locker room. And that's what we did. So I was happy with that.
[00:11:16] Speaker B: Now let's talk Union College women's hockey. The Garner Chargers in a bit of an adversity situation right now, having dropped five straight games after opening the season undefeated.
They lost to Quinnipiac Friday, 61 and down in Hampton, Connecticut, in the first unofficial M and T Bank cup game I'm awarding. Until M and T Bank marketing comes up with the plan, I'm damn well sure they better credit me for that. Of course, Quinnipiac hockey plays in the M and T Bank arena down there in Hampden, Connecticut. And then last Saturday a Union lost 52 at Princeton. So Union right now 04 in ECAC hockey play. Not the way they wanted to start. And now they get to say see their Capital Region rival RPI for a pair of games this weekend. Friday's game will be at Houston Field, Allison Troy at 3 o' clock and then the rematch is Saturday at 3 at MT Bank Center. I'll be there for that game.
Union last year swept the three games they faced against rpi. The two regular season games. I don't know if the Union women and RPI women have a version of the Capital Skate Trophy. Maybe they should, but it'd be nice to see then Union won its second Mayors cup title last January.
So it's critical games for coming up for the Garner Chargers. They want to get back on the winning ways because next week they'll actually they're off. Next week they'll get a week off and then when they come back they'll Mose Cornell and Colgate, two tough teams in ECAC hockey.
Bit of news for Union goaltender Ammonia Wagner will not be here this weekend.
She is with team Switzerland.
She's playing in the Lytle hockey games. It's the second tournament of the Women's Euro Hockey Tour. The games are taking place.
It started Wednesday, November 5th and it will conclude on Saturday, November 8th, being played in Sweden. So good luck, Demonia. That means freshman Emma Rayon will probably get the starts this weekend. She started Saturday's game against Princeton. Wagner was pulled from the Quinnipiac game after giving up four goals. So this could be a chance for Rayum to prove herself and maybe try to get some more playing time. I spoke to her about that along with Union College defenseman Stephanie Bourque, the team captain who seems to be a regular every week that we request because she's well spoken and we enjoy talking with her and she gives some great insights on the team. So let's hear from Stephanie Bourquet and Emma Rayom.
Well, guys, this is really the first bit of adversity this team has faced right now, losing five straight. As you head into this rivalry weekend with rpi, Stephanie, what do you got to do to break out of this slump?
[00:14:09] Speaker F: I think it's really just focusing on the details, harping on the details. I know Tony's been telling us to do so, so I think that's going to be really important this week and I think if we play Our game, keep things simple, play a hole 60 minute. I think we'll be okay against RPI and obviously it's our rival, so it's, it's a little bit more interesting.
[00:14:28] Speaker B: Emma, for you, what is, what do you think?
[00:14:30] Speaker F: Well, I mean, I think pretty much the same thing. Just work hard and I think we'll get through this situation.
[00:14:36] Speaker B: This is your first taste of the union RPI rivalry. What that. What have you heard about it?
[00:14:41] Speaker F: I've heard a couple people talking about it. Not much. We'll see.
I mean, we're just going to have fun.
[00:14:48] Speaker B: Stephanie, for you, what's this rivalry mean to you?
[00:14:50] Speaker F: Yeah, I mean obviously it's just another game, but it's, it's a little, it means a little bit more just because, you know, like we want to win this for a school, even just like for Schenectady compared it's always, it's always going to be a rough game against rpi and we definitely do want to win.
[00:15:03] Speaker B: So how much if the last year taken all three games, does that mean anything going into this weekend?
[00:15:09] Speaker F: I mean, I think that's good for our confidence to look at it that way, but I definitely do think that was last year year and we're trying to put last year in the past a little bit and just try to really focus on this year and definitely make some noise this year. And I think this weekend will be a good test for us.
[00:15:23] Speaker B: Emma, for you, with Monyo away this weekend for the, with the Swiss national team, you'll most likely get both starts in the games. What is this?
How important are these games for you? Maybe prove that you can be a top notch goaltender for this team.
[00:15:37] Speaker F: I mean, they're important. My job is to stop the puck and I'll do that.
I'll try to do that. So I mean, no matter who's the team in front of me, that's my job.
[00:15:47] Speaker B: How do you feel your play has been so far?
[00:15:51] Speaker F: It's been okay. I mean, I can do better. I know I can do better and I want to do better. So I'll work hard and I'll be prepared for this weekend.
[00:15:58] Speaker B: Stephanie, how important is it for the team to be ready to help out? Emma?
[00:16:02] Speaker F: Yeah, I mean, I think she's being a little too hard on herself. I mean, she, she faced some tough teams. I mean, Princeton's not an easy team, obviously. I think we need to do a better job of blocking shots and putting up goals in front of her. She was standing on her head for us. So we just need to do a better job of returning the favor to her for sure.
[00:16:20] Speaker B: Coming up, we're talking college football with Union college football beat writer and executive sports editor of the Daily Gazette, Will Springstead. We'll look back at their victory over Hilbert last Saturday and preview the Rochester game on Saturday in Rochester as Union looks down, try to get victory and liver league title at stake. Maybe next week when they face RPI in the Dutchman's shoes. You're listening to the Parting Shots podcast.
[00:16:59] Speaker F: Speed, Skill, physicality.
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[00:17:29] Speaker C: Foreign.
[00:17:36] Speaker B: Back to the podcast. The Union college football team is on a roll. They won the sixth straight game last Saturday, beating Hilbert. And to talk about that is the executive Sports center and Union college football beat writer for the Daily Gazette, Will McSpring said. First of all, Will, congratulations on your promotion. How's it feel to be the in charge of this place?
[00:17:54] Speaker A: Well, I think it means that I now get executive sized headaches.
[00:17:58] Speaker B: Yeah, I had executive sized headaches without the executive title.
[00:18:03] Speaker A: Right, right. There you go. But I, I thank you, Ken, and thank you because it's been a pleasure working with you all on and learning from you. And now we, with that, we'll talk some football.
[00:18:16] Speaker B: Yes.
Rather easy victory for the Garner Chargers.
34 13. I'm surprised he only scored 34 points but I guess the Stars were out of the game early enough.
[00:18:28] Speaker A: They were, the starters were all out by halftime.
But you also have a valid point in that you were surprised it was not more it was 24 to nothing at the half and I'll tell you, it could have been 31 or more because the irony of being up 24 nothing was that this was not Union's crispest first half performance by the starters. There were balls thrown over shoulders that they weren't looking at. There were drop passes.
As easy as it was, it could have been better.
And when coach John Drake addressed, you know, there are some things we need to clean up. I, I'm going to guess that he needs his starters a wee bit more focused.
[00:19:10] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean obviously the opponent was not, not a great one. Obviously they gave us 69 points to RPI a couple weeks ago.
So, so I was looking at maybe Union's going to get, you know, at least 60, maybe even 70.
So I saw, like I said when I saw 34, 3 and 13, my first thoughts. Well, Hilbert covered the spread.
[00:19:33] Speaker A: Exactly. And, and you know the funny thing was this isn't a bad. I'm.
It's a subpar team to be sure but it's not bad team. But they, I will say Ken, they had a couple of head scratching moments. The, the biggest one coming on Union's last touchdown in before the half where Gil Rivera got the easiest 1 yard pass for a touchdown or reception you'll ever see because they came out of a timeout lined up. Gil trotted over to the right sideline right in front of the Hilbert bench and darned if Hilbert didn't stack all 11 in the box.
And we all I looked at and I sit right near the parents and there was a palpable buzz like he's not covered. He's not covered. He's still not covered. Hut, hut, hike. And the easiest one yard pass you'll ever see for a touchdown in your life. So I mean they had some bad moments and they also had some success running the ball on the option to the, to the outside that they didn't go to enough. They were very intent on running the ball up the middle which was going nowhere. And every time they try the pitch they gain some yards but they didn't do it enough.
So Hilbert also and you can see why they're winless they sort of shot themselves. So that combined with Union not being so crisp.
I think Coach Drock's got some, some things to go over this week and he's going to need to because this U of R team is sneaky, dangerous.
[00:21:09] Speaker B: Yeah. Especially on the line right now. RPI winning last week at St. Lawrence in convincing fashion. Both teams tied for first. Of course there could be a lot of scoreboard watching on Saturday because the RPI goes to Ithaca.
So we're still you know, in line for that showdown next Saturday at the Dutchman Shoes for a possible Liberty League title on the line. Me it could be either way if a, you know, either team loses or you know they're both tied going in. So how focus, how focused must John get this Coach Rock must get this team on Saturday against Rochester because they can't overlook this game. They want to at least have be able to control their own destiny going into next week's game against rpi.
[00:21:55] Speaker A: Exactly. And as I said, you've got the combination of you have said and it's obvious you want the league title. Well, you're not going to get the league title without some help and tiebreakers if you don't beat U of R.
So, so that's, that's the big thing is that it's okay to keep your end going in your mind during this game on which you must be focused because this is not only a trap game for Union in a sense, but it's a trap game because of what U of R does well and looking up the things on Rochester, they are second in defense in the Liberty League. They lead the league in interceptions noticeably by a lot. They have 11 RPI is second in the league with 7 good running game, good time of possession, just below Union in both those categories. They are the least penalized team in the league and to top it all off, they're coming off a 28:21 overtime loss to their rival Hobart last week. So they're angry.
Yeah, and they're angry and they've got that noon home game for readers. I grew up in Geneva, New York with Hobart, Western New York and Rochester over the years has always had those noon Saturday games where they catch teams who are maybe a little used to the 1pm start time. And U of R has success at that. And so there, there are a lot of reasons Union has to be focused and ready.
[00:23:40] Speaker B: What will be the key for Union on Saturday against Rochester?
[00:23:45] Speaker A: I think it's going to be ball possession.
As I said, U of our offense, numbers wise is just below Unions in categories. They will pass the ball, they're decent at running the ball.
But between being the least penalized team and decent in interceptions, I think this is going to need to be a ball control game and you're going to need your running game in it. Which is why I think it was good that with starting running backs D.J. wright and excuse me, DiNardo, Michael DiNardo out last week. It was good the Union showed some depth and diversity on that running game because they're going to need to.
[00:24:34] Speaker B: Yeah, I was going to ask that. How beneficial was it for many of the stars to be sit out that second half and get some in effect at rest?
[00:24:43] Speaker A: Exactly.
It was very crucial.
As Coach Strock said afterward, he got to play every single player, which is good because at some point, as we know, you'll be be the next man up and Coach Drock needs to know what he can expect reasonably from that person.
And Calvin Williams, whom we've not seen much of in the backfield this year, had a very good game. Justin Singh had a super game running the ball for Union and one never knows. So it's good to know that if called upon they can deliver. And again we also saw, we only saw one drive of reserve quarterback Cole Brisson but he continues to impress. He's got a good arm, he's happy to run the ball and runs it well.
So I think Coach Struck's got to feel good about his personnel.
[00:25:37] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean I, I was, like I said this was a type of game where you, I, I would have been more comfortable seeing, you know put up at least 40, 45 points at halftime. That way there's no worry about Hilbert coming back 24. Nothing. Yeah, may have some doubts in there but just judging by the Hilbert program, obviously first year in the Liberty League and it's probably going to take some time for them to get, get on track in this league. So they'll probably be a pushover the next couple years but I guess they're winning the fourth quarter 13:3 on Sunday. I guess A moral victory.
[00:26:14] Speaker A: A moral victory, exactly. Their first touchdown came when Union's third string quarterback threw an ill advised pass to the flank that you know needed to be 4 yards wider and higher and it wasn't and so the defensive back had nothing but green in front of him when he picked it off for the touchdown. And then the final touchdown came against the guys who have not seen action this year essentially. So it's not the end of the world for Union. But again if, if you're Hilbert you, you need to, you need to hang your hat on something.
[00:26:57] Speaker B: How critical, I mean that's, I'm looking ahead to the NCAA tournament. I mean how critical of this? I know Union has two losses right now, both came in non conference games. So how critical is this game for Unions hopes if they don't win the W League at least getting that large bid?
[00:27:16] Speaker A: I think so that's just it. You've lost to Cortland is still ranked. I'm not sure if Susquehanna still is but they're obviously still a very talented program. You've got two losses that don't nick you too badly in the standings as far as strength of the strength and schedule and overall quality. So you can't lose to the U of R which is okay, yeah it's 2 and 3 in the Liberty League, 5 and 3 overall but they've lost.
They lost RPI somewhat significantly only lost it 10 to 6 and so but they're not that good. So you again you, you want to, you want to make your case for even if ultimately you play RPI for the Liberty League title and lose that you are still worthy of an NCAA at large bid.
[00:28:17] Speaker B: Yeah. I would think that the win over if it's got to carry some weight, especially, especially on their own field.
[00:28:24] Speaker A: Exactly right. So that, that, that will carry some weight.
[00:28:28] Speaker B: By the way, were there any repercussions of what happened at the end of that game at Ithaca with them stopping on the logo?
[00:28:34] Speaker A: None that I noticed. But when I did do the preview for the Hilbert game and spoke with Owen Corrigan, he said we should not have done that. We emotions got the better of us and we'd have been better off just lining up and shaking hands. So that message had obviously gotten through to the troops.
[00:28:55] Speaker B: Well, because, you know, if it comes here next year and if they win, they might, they might seek revenge that way.
[00:29:02] Speaker A: So you, you don't want to be the referee assigned to next year's union ethic, let's put it that way.
[00:29:08] Speaker B: Yeah. So I will appreciate a few minutes and we'll catch your coverage of the game. Obviously Rochester on the road. So you'll be watching it on the stream there and you'll keep us informed what's going on.
[00:29:20] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:29:21] Speaker B: Thank you. As we get set for the showdown next Saturday with RPI at Frank Bailiff Will Spring said appreciate a few minutes. We'll talk soon.
[00:29:29] Speaker A: All right.
[00:29:30] Speaker B: All right. That's Will Springs. That coming up, we're going to talk high school football with Drew Ripple as we get set for the Section 2 football semifinals. You're listening to the Parting Shots podcast.
[00:29:48] Speaker C: Explore the benefits of sub subscribing to.
[00:29:51] Speaker B: The Daily Gazette like our convenient E.
[00:29:53] Speaker C: Edition app, personalized newsletters and unique reader rewards. When you join, start your membership today. Offers redeemable at www.dailygazette.com.
[00:30:15] Speaker B: Welcome back to the podcast. It's playoff football time once again in high school Section two here in the Capital Region and everybody's playing playoff games this weekend and Drew Wemple's here to break down that for us from the Daily Gazette. Drew, welcome back. How are things going?
[00:30:29] Speaker D: It's going well.
[00:30:30] Speaker B: Did you get, did you get any response to your appearance on your maiden voyage on the podcast?
[00:30:35] Speaker D: Oh, yeah, I had some friends and family listen and I hope everybody else that tuned in as they normally do got some good information.
[00:30:41] Speaker B: All right, we're going to break down these games. Let's start with Class A Friday night. That's number one, CBA hosting Colony and number two, Shen taking on Saratoga. I mean, does Colony. I'll answer a simple question. Does Colony have any chance of being cba?
[00:30:58] Speaker D: Well, if you look at last week's result, you'd say yes, that was a slop fest in the rain. Colony lost 12 nothing. Obviously they were trying to get into that three way tiebreaker scenario which they won to get in on quarter points. CBA didn't have a lot to play for last week other than just another undefeated regular league season in league play. So I'm curious to see if they showed him everything in that game and how Colony will adjust, of course.
[00:31:24] Speaker B: Shen Saratoga rematch of a classic game a couple weeks ago where Shen rallied to win against Saratoga on their home field back at Shen again on Friday night, 7 o'. Clock.
Can Saratoga get the revenge?
[00:31:36] Speaker D: Yeah, that's what they're going to have on their mind. I think the big stat for me in that one, other than the 27 unanswered points by Shen to win, was they held the state's leading rusher Ben corrier to just 26 yards in that second half of his 175 yard performance. So they kind of shut him down. They'll probably look to repeat that formula again with strong defensive line play.
[00:31:58] Speaker B: Of course you'll be at that game on Friday night for us. And where can people follow you by the way, just to make sure they know where to follow you on what they used to call Twitter's now X.
[00:32:08] Speaker D: Yeah, follow me at Drew Wemple. That's capital D, capital W on X. I love posting highlights at the games. I've always got my video.
[00:32:16] Speaker B: Yeah, I, I appreciate that's the last. That's a lot of great videos you have when you post. I've you know, noticed that.
[00:32:21] Speaker D: So that's me when I go back to write the game.
[00:32:23] Speaker B: That's the one thing about when when I post on Union hockey. I don't shoot video during the game. It's a little tougher to do but you know, if I need to go back on a game store note, I tweeted and it's there now. I don't write anything down anymore because it's, it's right there on, on your X profile, which is great. So that's the one thing I, I do love about X. The other thing, I don't like it when they try to shut me down while I'm coming here. But that's another subject for another time.
Class A semifinals we have Niskia hosting Niska, number one seed hosting Baltim Spot in Queensbury taking on Troy at Queensbury on Friday at 7 o' clock at start the NISKI Boston Spot game.
Any chance Boston Spot has a Stopping this unit, if they do, it's going.
[00:33:08] Speaker D: To have to be on the defensive side of the ball. Both of these teams are red hot. They proved that again last week with lopsided quarterfinal wins. Boston Spas won four in a row and they're holding opponents to under eight points a game during that stretch.
After starting the season one and two, they've really turned it around because of that defense and letting the offense play off that defense. So that's where it's going to have to start for them. And the defense is going to have to focus on Cam Grasso. Yeah, that's going to be three touchdowns this season.
[00:33:36] Speaker B: Yeah, I was going to say. I mean, that's the ultimate weapon that NISQ has in Cam Grasso. How do you stop him?
[00:33:42] Speaker D: Well, the problem is, is that he does it in all three phases. Special teams, defense, offense. So if he's not scoring on offense, he might just take one to the house on a return or on an interception on defense. So you've just got to know where he is on the field.
[00:33:56] Speaker B: Well, I know he's noticed sometimes when those results come in from Nescuna, there's some, I think at least two nights I've noticed where he opened the game with a kickoff return for a touchdown. That really sets the tone for Nescuna.
[00:34:08] Speaker D: And they've got guys around him that just such a good supporting cast. They're looking for their third title in their last four years and I don't see why they shouldn't have it now.
[00:34:18] Speaker B: With the other side of the brackets, Queensbury and Troy and what, what about Queensborough and what likely their chances of advancing to the championship game next, next Friday.
[00:34:27] Speaker D: They kind of got a bit of a surprise last week. They played four seeded Columbia and barely won that game. 16 13.
On the other side, Troy just keeps it rolling. They've now won four in a row and they're doing it behind two rushers in Kayakar and Voulan Ford, both almost at 1,000 yards this season. So Queensbury's got to stop them, make Troy have to throw the football. But Troy has shown that they can just win games.
[00:34:55] Speaker B: Could the lower seed in Troy pull off the upset here?
[00:34:58] Speaker D: Well, I like to think that there's a chance. This is one of those games where I think this is the biggest possibility for an upset this weekend. These sides last met in the playoffs in the 2019 Super Bowl. Queensbury won that game 17:13. That was their last sectional title. The programs have kind of gone in different directions and now it kind of comes full circle again this year.
[00:35:20] Speaker B: Let's look at Class B now and Clenns Falls will host Chaumont on Friday. Cleanse falls the number one seed in Class B. That'll be 7 o' clock on Friday. And the other matchup, Ravina Quayman Selkirk hosting Avery park at seven o' clock on Friday.
I mean, can anybody stop Glens Falls?
[00:35:38] Speaker D: Well, this is a rematch of week one when Shama and Glens Falls played and that was actually Glens Falls closest margin of victory this season. They won that game 27, 8, 19 points. It's still a three possession game, but nobody got closer to the reigning sectional champions than that this season. Clinton Falls just has its seventh undefeated season of the last 10 years. They've won four sectional titles during that span. I think there's a really strong chance they've to get back there. They've had this time of year circled on their calendar and now it's their chance.
[00:36:11] Speaker B: What about the other semifinal with Ravine and April Park?
[00:36:14] Speaker D: Yeah, this is another one where we're going to look back at their previous game back in Week 2. Ravina won that game 14:13 thanks to a mixed extra point from Averill park and then a late touchdown pass. If you go to the Facebook page of Ravine of Coinman's Selkirk football, you're see, you'll see some senior profiles. Almost all their seniors say that that game was one of their favorites for their RCS career. So they get it again.
[00:36:38] Speaker B: Well, Class C Fonda Fultonville hosting granville Whitehall at 7 o' clock on Friday. In the other matchup, Schuylerville hosting Hoosick Falls Tamarack at seven. I think we're heading toward another showdown of Fonda against Schuylerville in the championship game.
[00:36:52] Speaker D: Yeah, and but to do that, Fonda's first got to get through Granville Whitehall and I think this has arguably two of the best single season totals for players on either side. Chad Monte this season he's got 26 touchdowns. He had five touchdowns last week in the quarterfinals. And then for Fonda, Colin Pickering, he's got 28 already. With the school record, it's going to come down to which defense can stop the other guy.
[00:37:17] Speaker B: How about the Skylarville who's a Falls Samrack matchup?
[00:37:20] Speaker D: Yeah, Hoosick Falls Tamarack advanced on an upset last week. Week they beat COBLESKILL Richmondville the 2 seed. They beat them 27 10. So pretty handily on the road. They played Skylerville earlier, lost 44, 8. Schuylerville obviously the defending state champs, they want to get back to the super bowl but they've got to go through an upset. Hungry, maybe Cinderella. Who's it? Falls Tamarack.
[00:37:42] Speaker B: How does Skyler avoid overlooking this game?
[00:37:45] Speaker D: Yeah, I don't think John Bowen ever lets his team overlook anything that goes for for the regular season.
They knew what they were going to have to do after losing the guys they did last year to get back to these moments. They've done that. So I think they could just keep it rolling.
[00:37:59] Speaker B: And then in class d the matchups, 7 o' clock Friday, top seeded Greenwich takes on number four seed Canajohari for plane. And the one Saturday game, one o' clock at Salem High School will be Cambridge Salem against Stillwater Saratoga Catholic.
[00:38:15] Speaker A: What?
[00:38:15] Speaker B: How do we look at this D match these D matchups.
[00:38:18] Speaker D: Yeah. So starting with that 14 game. I think what's interesting here is that Greenwich hasn't played a game in two weeks. Their regular season finale got canceled with who's Hudson Falls Ford Edward and then they elected not to play in any crossover last weekend. So they're coming off a two week break coming into this game against Canjo. They beat them earlier in the season 44 to nothing. I mean they've, they kind of did that to almost a lot of every team in class D this season. So it's just a matter of how much that rest affects them, helps them, hurts them. We'll see. And then in that two, three game, Stillwater secc. We know what they're capable of this time of year. And same goes to Cambridge Salem who's been to four of the last six sectional Super Bowls.
Spa Catholic and Stillwater. They won five of six to end the season. They're coming in red hot into this matchup. These two teams played earlier in the year. Cambridge Salem won that game 33 7. They were up 20 to nothing at half. Yakubek had 200 passing yards, two touchdowns and another two rushing touchdowns. So can still water stop him is the question.
[00:39:25] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, looking forward to all the coverage this weekend, Julio. I know you'll be busy and we'll do this again next week as we preview all the Super Bowls next handout titles. That's right. It's always that great time of year, Drew. Thanks, appreciate it. That's Drew Wemple coming up. We're going to talk with Tim Reynolds, the Indian Lake native and New York State basketball Hall of Famer. He has a new book out about the Miami Heat. We'll talk about NBA news and we'll discuss Our Philadelphia Phillies, unfortunately, and their demise in the National League Division Series against the eventual World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Pains me to say that you're listening to the Parting Shots podcast to every referee, umpire and judge in high school sports. We want to say we see you.
We see everything you do for us that goes un noticed. We see the positive role models that you are.
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[email protected] welcome back to the podcast. My next guest is a Hall of Famer in the New York State Basketball hall of Fame. He covers the NBA for the Associated Press, of course, from the capital region, and he's now an author. He has a new book out called the Miami Heat and illustrated timeline. Let's talk to our good friend Tim Reynolds from the Associated Press. Tim, how's it going?
[00:41:43] Speaker C: Hello, Ken, how are you, my guy?
[00:41:45] Speaker B: I'm doing great. He's pulled over here to do the interview in my car. And so what the ways of doing a podcast.
[00:41:53] Speaker C: I, I can't. I. I remember once we did one, I did one with Mark Kestersher with you, and I got caught somewhere in my car and like, the phone charger wasn't working and I'm running out of percent. And we, as you know, we tend to go on and on and on, especially with Kessie. Not that I'm blaming Kathy for that.
Oh, the things we do for pods.
[00:42:16] Speaker B: Yeah, it's amazing. So talk about this book. What led you to. What inspired you to write this book?
[00:42:22] Speaker C: It's so I was not inspired to write it. And that's the funny part of it.
I got an email just about 12 months ago, I got an email from a person that runs a company called reedy Press in St. Louis.
And they're like, hey, we do these illustrated timeline books.
We want to get into the NBA space.
I do not know who told them, email me.
But he was like, hey, this is what we do. Would you be interested? And we had a deal done within a week.
It's basically a bunch of vignettes. I think there's about 150, 160, something like that in the book that. Take that. Take us through chronologically from when the Heat were just an idea up until now. And you know, obviously there's a lot of the. A lot of the stuff about the big three in there. There's, you know, tons of stuff about Schenectady's finest. Patrick, James, Riley, of course. But the fun part for me was I've only covered the team since 2003.
So having to go back and really relearn everything that happened from its inception in the mid-80s started start of playing 88 those first 15 seasons that I wasn't around, that was a fun exercise for me to go learn that. And then, you know, there's so many things that happen with a team. You could.
There were hundreds of vignettes that we couldn't get in.
Then the other fun part is, you know, obviously it's really photo driven, so we had to match it with certain photos that were available.
And it was, it was a fun exercise. Frustrating at times as books are, but a really fun exercise and glad I did it. People seem to like it. And we're actually doing a signing at the NBA store in New York next week on 14th. And I, I'm. I just keep asking myself, is this real life? Like, to do a book. To do a book signing in Manhattan at the NBA store? I'm like, I'm from Indian Lake, man. Like, this just makes no sense to me. So it was a. It's. It was fun to do. It was a lot of work, but it was fun to do it. It was a lot of fun.
[00:44:49] Speaker B: Well, remember, when you sign it, you had to also add NYS hof.
[00:44:56] Speaker C: I have not added the monogram to the. To the signature, but it's been a crazy year. It's been a fun year. And you know, going into. To the state hall, you know, our friend. Our friend Rennie LaRue was very kind to, you know, make that happen. And, and you know, we got Koesti going in next year, which is great. I'm really happy for Mark. He should have gone in long before I did.
There's no question about that.
And I actually went into the. To the North Country Community College hall of Fame in September up in Saranac Lake. And that was.
That was a hoot. That was a. That was a big surprise getting that phone call. So two. Two halls of fame and a book in 2025. And there's still two months left. So I'll.
It's been a Pretty good year.
[00:45:49] Speaker B: Yeah.
What did you learn about the early years of the heat? Because obviously 88 you said, and they played at Miami Arena, I think at the time, early 90s, actually, the more popular team might have been the Florida Panthers in 1996, I think just in their third year of existence. They got to the Stanley Cup Final.
[00:46:07] Speaker C: Yeah, the Heat had a pretty big following right away because people understood basketball.
It wasn't football. I mean, there were still a million miles behind football.
You know, the Dolphins were good, the Hurricanes were, were perpetually competing for, for national championships. And high school football down here is, you know, an absolute monster, as everybody probably knows. I mean, it's, it's, it's got enormous followings everywhere, so.
But the Heat quickly carved out its space in the South Florida fandom, if you will.
And then when the Panthers started playing in 93, you saw all the teams start to really have to compete for attention.
It wasn't just automatic that, it was football. I mean, it was also around that time that the Marlins were coming into play. People Forget, you know, Major League Baseball didn't play come to South Florida until 93.
So it was. Things changed in this market really rapidly. Went from just a football town to a four pro sport town in the span of about five years. And you know, the Heat, it was, it was unintentional that it went this way, but it was unintentional that it worked out this way.
But right around the time that all these teams are getting good, that's when the Heat went and got that light and, and that just obviously gave the seat a bit of a, you know, just.
It changed everything for the Heat and that's when they really started their trajectory to where they are now, which is, you know, I would say it's close to even with the Dolphins. This is still a football town, but you know, it is a basketball town when the Heat are good.
It's definitely been a hockey town the last couple of years for obvious reasons, with the Panthers winning back to back cups and somehow in a heavily Latin city with tons of Spanish speakers, tons of Latin influence, tons of people from Cuba and Venezuela, but Dominican Republic, in places where baseball is king, you just can't get fans to go to Marlins games because people don't believe in the franchise. So it's.
But to see all that take shape in those early years is one of the things that I really was a bit surprised to see how it all played out.
[00:48:43] Speaker B: What did you learn about the Heat, pre Pat Riley? What were they like?
[00:48:49] Speaker C: You know, they People talk about the culture, you know, that culture word that Pat Riley brought in. But, you know, there was a culture before Pat got here. I mean, this.
Those first three Heat teams, you know, they. They were not good. They were 15 and 67 their first year. I think they won 18 and I think they went 22 and 60 or something. Got the third year and, you know, they had Ronnie cycle, Syracuse kind of as one of their, you know, the first big star of the franchise, if you will.
But they prided themselves on doing the work. You know, they.
They were physical. They. They were fighters. They.
They would get after you defensively.
Some of that relates to what Pat brought in it. Pat brought it to a different level.
But I think Heat fans who were here before Pat already understood that.
You know, in many ways, people have this impression of Miami as palm trees and great weather and big houses and Lamborghinis, Ferraris and all this stuff. And yeah, on the weather front, it's true that, you know, the waterfront, yes, we have, you know, gorgeous beaches and we live in a paradise, but it's still a very blue collar city.
You know, not everybody here, present company included, is. Is wealthy. It's not. It's not. Doesn't work like that there. The. The vast majority of people in this city or this area are blue collar.
And the Heat, even before Papa, played a blue collar brand of basketball.
And that's one of the things that made them relatable to fans in those early years. They weren't winning a lot, but they were tough, they played rugged, they took pride in it.
And that's things that Pat brought to the next level. But you could see how those things existed before Pat got here on some level. And I think that's what problem.
And that's definitely one of the things I was not aware of until I really dove in and studied how those teams operate.
[00:51:10] Speaker B: Of course, they eventually won a championship then. And then I think a lot of things changed with the decision LeBron James leaving Cleveland to go join the Heat. How much to the next level did that take?
[00:51:23] Speaker C: The franchise changed everything because all of a sudden they went to from. I mean, even when they got Shaquille in 2004, here's something that I did not know.
When they got Shaquille in 2004, you know, the late Dr. Jerry Buss, the owner of the Lakers at the time, approached Pat Riley with another trade in mind.
He wanted to trade for Pat Riley. Wow.
He wanted to bring Pat Riley back to the Lakers.
And that was actually talked about, you know, the Laker ties with. With the Heat go back to when there was an agreement to not take Careem in the expansion draft back in 88. Kareem was unprotected by the Lakers that year, so.
So it was all these weird ties with Pat, and then they get Shaquille. They win the first title in 2006.
You know, Dwyane Wade becomes D. Wade, and Flash, basically, he goes from this rookie out of Marquette to within three years, superstar and a champion and all those things. But to your question, the decision.
The decision made the Heat revered here and reviled almost everywhere else.
And there's always. Miami is one of those cities with a chip on its shoulder.
It does not sound like a lot of other places. You hear me, Spanish is the dominant language in this city.
Just because I. I don't know the percentages, I'm making it up. But we're probably at least two thirds people from Latin America, Mexico, places like that.
It's just a different vibe in this city than a lot of other places.
And Miami has always felt like, I think a lot of people in Miami, and I'm generalizing, which is always dangerous, but a lot of people in Miami feel like other parts of the country tend to look down on Miami because of the language and the difference in cultural styles. And even the food's different. And, you know, you know, the main thoroughfare running through Little Havana.
It's. A lot of cities have a multicultural place, but Miami just feels like it gets looked down on a lot.
So when the rest of the nation sees LeBron and Chris Bosh come to Miami and they form the super team and everybody around, not so many people around the NBA are really pissed off as to how it happened.
Man, did Miami love that? Miami absolutely loved that 29 other NBA cities were root for them to fall on their face.
And that brought the fandom to a whole new level because it has always been very much been a vibe of Miami versus everybody.
When it just comes to the cultural differences that you see in this city as compared to a lot of other places in the United States.
Well, now you want to make it Miami versus everybody, fine. We got LeBron and Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade and Matt Riley and Eric Smolster and Alonzo Mourning.
We'll take you on. And that, that just brought the fandom here to a whole new level.
[00:54:54] Speaker B: What's it like dealing with Pat Riley? I mean, obviously, the association, both you guys, capital region guys. Does that make your relationship or working relationship with him easier?
[00:55:07] Speaker C: Yeah, I.
I mean, there's just, I just have the utmost respect for Pat and always have and you know, look, I, I don't talk to him every day, but the fact that I'm from the part of the country where he's from I think is a bond that we share. Pat's just been so kind to me over the years, so supportive.
He doesn't talk to the press much anymore, but if I need something, you know, we get it.
And Pat's still very much Pat's soup. What Like I am. Pat's super proud of where he's from.
I'm, you know, I go back to the night I think it was last year when we got the news that Judge Kramer, Barry Kramer had passed away.
[00:56:07] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:56:08] Speaker C: And, and Pat was devastated to learn that like he was just, and I remember getting, getting the quote for, you know, that was used in the Gazette and, and it was, Pat was, he's very proud of where he's from and he knows that I'm proud of where I'm from and I think that's one of the bonds. I mean he's just been, it's, it's still nerve wracking to talk to him. I mean, don't get me wrong, the man's 80 and his handshake will still bring you to your knees. He's still in phenomenal shape.
He still, he's still larger than life and he walks into a room and all eyes are on him.
It doesn't matter who else is in the room. He's still, he's still this hurricane size force and I don't know how much longer he's going to be, be running the Heat.
But if he told me he's going to retire tomorrow, I wouldn't be surprised. If you told me he's going to retire five years from, I wouldn't be surprised.
He, he still as is as driven as he was at 70 and 60. It just, it's, it's amazing to watch how competition is this guy's rival flavor.
He just, he just, it's a nutrient and he just, there's no slowing down and it's really kind of inspiring.
[00:57:37] Speaker B: Yep. Well, let me ask you of NBA questions here. Obviously the season is just getting underway.
The day after the season opens, we have this gambling scandal. What is going on? Can you explain what's going on with this situation?
[00:57:50] Speaker C: Well, so in short, this has been going on for a couple of years and you know, there were a number of arrests and it's very confusing how they did the arrests.
There were two Indictments involving you know, some NBA players or NBA coaches as well.
One was an indictment about some mafia backed and this is all alleged by the government. We don't know any of this is true of course nobody's, nobody's been, nobody's been proven guilty, nobody has pled guilty but there's an indictment one about what the you know the government says it's mafia backed poker games that Portland Coats Chauncey Billups is alleged to have been part of a scheme to defraud players by using high tech equipment and X ray machines and special glasses that can detect which card is what all the I mean it feels very much like the plot to Ocean's 14. It just feels very, very Hollywood.
The other indictment that he guard Terry Rozier and I should point out that all of this is alleged to have happened when he was a member of the Charlotte Hornets and this is something that has scared the league for a long time something that's already led to the banning of one two way player who played for Toronto.
These prop bets are very problematic for the league and the prop bet for people that might not know is basically if Ken Shot is playing in the game tonight. DraftKings and other sports books will say will ken shot score 11 1/2 points tonight? Will he grab 4 1/2 rebounds? Will he grab, will he hand out four and a half assists? And you can bet the over or under.
[00:59:39] Speaker B: It's tough to do that for you on the bench.
[00:59:42] Speaker C: It's tough to do that you're sitting on the bench. So but, but if you were in the rotation, you know it lends itself to the possibility of the athlete can manipulate and in this one particular game on March 23, 2023 on that night Terry Rozier played 10 minutes in the game and took himself out with a foot injury.
So most if not all of Terry's props that night paid the under and there were tons of bets, an extraordinary amount of bets on the under the NBA.
So with betting now legal in 35 different states and soon will be 38 plus the district, 37 states and the District of Columbia before long so betting is legal now on your phone in most of the country all the bets are tracked and tracked in real time.
So a fanduel A BetMGM A DraftKings whatever it is if they see that people are betting huge amounts of money or making big, big just huge numbers of wagers on this random players props like I'm just making up numbers here. Let's say the average night for Terry Rozier there would be 50 bets placed on him.
If 10 times those bet. If 10 times that number of bets come in the sportsbooks immediately flag it to each other and to the NBA and say, hey, something weird's going on here. So they actually took Terry Rozier's props down that day and then they found. Okay, then they put them back up and I'm confused as to why they put them back up and the bets ended up paying out. So if the question becomes, did Terry Rozier tell people, hey, I'm only playing 10 minutes tonight and then I'm gonna pull myself out and then I'm done for the year. Because the Hornets were tanking. We all know that.
They had a bunch of guys hurt. They were out of the playoffs. What NBA is what NBA teams do at that point in the season.
Right or wrong is what they do.
Did he tell people, hey, I'm, I'm not playing. Just to tell them, hey, I'm not playing? Or did he tell them, hey, I'm not playing.
Go ahead and bet all the unders. I'm not scoring 20 points tonight.
And, and we don't know which one. Now, obviously the federal government thinks it was the latter. They think, they think that's what he did.
They think he threw his numbers, not the game. They think he threw his numbers and it's a damning charge.
He's on leave from the, from the league.
He's not, he's not receiving his paychecks. They're in a separate account, an interest bearing account where the. He'd have to put the money. But it's not going to Terry.
And this is going to go on for a long time and it's anyone's guess right now if he's ever going to play again.
You know, it's the cardinal sin in the NBA and there is precedent for Adam Silver to ban a player who's found to have done this. Terry has not been found to do anything. The Chauncey Billups thing, he's alleged to have been part of these poker games, but he's also very close. Clearly listed in the other indictment as co conspirator 8 because the federal government believes that he. Without naming him. But it's obvious who they're talking about.
They believe that he told people, hey, we're not going to play a bunch of guys in this game either.
In another game, in a separate game.
So there's the prop betting thing. Right now is the most damning thing that the NBA has dealt with probably since Tim Donahue and It might even be bigger than that.
[01:03:49] Speaker B: Wow.
[01:03:49] Speaker C: It's. It's a problem. And the investigations are ongoing.
There's already been one guy banned.
Now you've got the terrible. I mean, Chauncey Billups is the love. Chauncey Bills is a hall of Famer, hall of Fame player.
This is a very scary time for the NBA. And it takes a five minute answer to explain it all, unfortunately, because.
And it's. And honestly, Ken, that's just the tip of the iceberg, really. So it's.
The prop betting crisis right now is very much a crisis. And keep in mind, this isn't just the NBA, it's other sports. Tennis has been dealing with this for a long time.
It's tough to manipulate soccer props. I don't know if they exist. It's tough to manipulate baseball props.
It's very tough.
Experts tell us it's pretty easy in a sport like basketball.
So here we are.
[01:04:42] Speaker A: Yeah.
[01:04:43] Speaker B: Speaking of, let's talk on court question here. The Eastern Conference, how wide open is it this year with a number of significant injuries that happened late last season?
[01:04:52] Speaker C: Yeah, it's pretty wide open. You see, you know, Kevin Herder, Chicago Bulls are off to a pretty good start.
The Heater scoring a million points, which nobody saw coming.
[01:05:05] Speaker B: My Sixers are off to a good start.
[01:05:07] Speaker C: Shockingly, Sixers are off to a great start.
A great start for the Sixers. And they're, you know, these teams that can get out and run and can score a bunch of points. I mean, the Sixers are scoring as we sit here. I think like 125 points a game.
That's crazy.
[01:05:24] Speaker A: Yeah.
[01:05:25] Speaker C: I mean, and it's.
And the funny part is it's like the whale looks and we're only.
We're not even 10% through the season yet.
But the way some of these teams are doing this, it kind of looks sustainable.
So these teams that can get out and go are just ahead of the teams that are relying more on the three. It's weird. Like, they're still that. The three point club affair in the NBA is still strong as ever, but teams are getting to the rim a lot more. Teams are getting to the foul line a lot more this season so far than they have in a lot of previous years. Layups and dunks and free throws. Those are, those are free points. They really are. So you're seeing scoring go up. The teams that are aggressive are being rewarded. Philly's a very aggressive team. Chicago, like we said, by the way, Kevin's off to a great start. Very Much not starting and I don't think, I don't think anybody should care about that. He's playing big minutes. He's become a lockdown defender. Kevin's off to a flying start which we're all really excited about.
You know, Milwaukee is obviously very good.
The Knicks will be fine assuming they can figure out this Josh Hart situation.
It's tough to play with, with an injured finger. It's. It's much more tough to play when it's nerve damage.
The Josh Hart situation for the Knicks is very concerning.
You know, Boston is not the same as it was. Indiana is obviously a shell of what it was, you know, five months ago in the NBA Finals.
But there's a lot of teams. Orlando is struggling out of the gate. They'll figure it out. They'll be good.
Atlanta won't have Trae Young for at least a month. That's going to hurt their chances of being one of those teams that jumps.
There's just so many teams that have. We haven't even mentioned Cleveland yet. I mean they probably have to be thought of as the favorite again in the east just because they have Donovan Mitchell and a team that won 64 games last year.
It is wide open. And this is, and I think the west, it's still the Thunders conference to say the Thunders league.
They are the clear favorite out west. They're the clear favorite to go back to back and win it.
But we all know the west playoffs and we could say this with 65 or 75 games to go for everybody we know the west playoffs are going to be bloody. There's just, there's so many good teams in the west.
The east playoffs this year. I think you can. The way it looks right now, you can probably throw a dart.
It wouldn't shock me if a seventh seed gets to the NBA Finals out of the East. I think it's going to be really tough to do that out of the West. I think you have to be.
You have to try to give yourself a much easier path to get out of the west because you have to deal with the Thunder at some point. So.
But this is what the league wants. They want parity. They want a lot of teams feeling like they have realistic chances.
It's good for fans, it's good for teams. It minimizes tanking. It's great for viewers. In the first year of this 76 billion dollar TV deal, the numbers on Amazon have been great. The numbers at Peacock have been great. The NBC stuff I think has been. NBC's production has been fantastic, you know, through these first, first couple of weeks.
There's a lot to like about the NBA right now. But to go back to your last point, it's tough to really enjoy any of this when you've got a huge gambling scandal looming. So it's, you know, the NBA. The timing of this is just really bad because the NBA should be giving, getting even more of a boost right now. And, and just because of the way so make. So many teams are good.
It's. The new broadcast deal is working out in a lot of different ways.
And yet we have this bomb, you know, looming, like what's coming around the corner. And there's a lot of scared people right now in the league.
[01:09:30] Speaker B: Speaking of broadcasting, I gotta ask you this.
Did ESPN do Daris Burke wrong by taking her off the A team?
[01:09:42] Speaker C: I'm going to step out of my journalist hat for a second and disclose the, you know, Doris, and this is, I mean, this is publicly known, so I'm not going to share anything that's too private.
Doris is from Manasquan, New Jersey.
My wife's family is from Manasquan, New Jersey.
Doris and I have developed a really close friendship over the years because of our ties to Manasquan, which we found out accidentally by the way. We did not know each other 20 years ago.
And, and now she's somebody who I absolutely love. And, and it's.
She's a friend. She's a dear friend. It's not, she's not just somebody who I know from the league.
So I am biased as hell when it comes to Doris Burke.
I, I, in my heart, I believe the answer to your question is absolutely yes.
I think she's elite at understanding the game.
I think her respect, the respect that she gets from coaches and players within this league, I believe is second to none.
I don't think she's a respected woman in the league. I think she's just a respected part of the week.
Guys, guys in this league know that she knows ball.
And I'm really disappointed in how it shook out. I'm upset for her.
You know, we've talked privately about it.
I all, all I can really say is Doris is, Doris is doing well. Doris is great.
But I, and I know people on Twitter, they're. What they say, what they want, and I get that. Yeah.
[01:11:33] Speaker B: Yeah.
[01:11:33] Speaker C: I think sometimes she's, she might be too honest for Twitter. I understand it.
I think she's the best at what she does.
And I'm not disparaging anyone. I mean, look Everybody. I mean, Richard Jefferson's great. Tim Lego is great.
Mike Breen's great. I mean, when you get to that level, you obviously know what you're doing.
But to me, Doris is still her.
And I would have much preferred.
I'll put it this way, Ken. I think she earned the right to dictate how the final years of her broadcasting career are going to go. And they took that from her. And that really. That's upsetting to me.
[01:12:22] Speaker B: My final question to you as a Philadelphia Phillies fan like me, still bitter over what happened?
[01:12:30] Speaker C: Just sad.
I'm just sad about it. I mean, I know it was just one call, but we were out of the seventh inning of Game 4. Yep, that's a big strike call to miss.
[01:12:50] Speaker B: Well, tell you what. Next year, that won't happen.
[01:12:53] Speaker C: No, it won't, but.
And look, it doesn't guarantee anything.
Ohtani was waiting in game five. Like, I get it. I get it. And the Phillies, it's like the Kings. Everyone's upset about the Miami Hurricanes right now because of the game at SMU and a million calls that went against them.
And the cardinal rule is don't leave it in the hands of the officials or the umpires in this case.
Concerned. I'm concerned that we're wasting Bryce Harper. I'm concerned that Kyle Schwarber won't be a Philly.
I'm very worried that the window closes and things change so fast right now in professional sports that you can go from great to mediocre or mediocre to great or bad to good or good to terrible in the blink of an eye.
And I'm just worried that the window has closed. So I'm sad. The Dodgers are amazing. We just saw an incredible Game seven. I wanted the J so bad. Not because of the. Not because I didn't want the Dodgers. I wanted it for the city of Toronto, one of my favorite places on the planet.
Incredible fans in Toronto. Just worldclass fans in Toronto. I would have loved for them to do it. And, yeah, that meant I had to suffer through all these Joe Carter highlights for the last. The last couple of weeks.
[01:14:26] Speaker B: Tell me about it. Tell me about it.
[01:14:28] Speaker C: It was brutal. It was brutal. And. But we didn't lose. We didn't lose in a game six. We lost in a game three of that series. And people forget that Game four.
[01:14:35] Speaker B: You mean game four. You mean that Game four?
[01:14:38] Speaker C: Yes, yes, yes.
I'm.
Obviously, I will.
By. By the last week of March, I'll be fully believing that the team's going to go 149 and 13 and win the world Series. But right now I'm sad because I, I think, I think we missed the window. And I don't like any of this Harper's stuff. I don't like even the notion that Bryce Harper isn't 100% happy or that the Phillies aren't 100% happy with him. I mean, there are few guys in the world who can absolutely wear the title of heart and soul of a franchise. And Bryce Harper is not from Philadelphia. Bryce Harper's from Las Vegas.
But Mo, I think more people think he's from Philly than people think Rocky was from Philly. Yeah, I mean he has just become ours.
And he wants, he wants Broad street and what that scene would mean so badly.
He wants that parade so badly.
I, I hope they spend a trillion dollars this winter and just get everybody he wants and let's go all in and do this. And by the way, I do believe in Topper.
[01:16:02] Speaker B: I do too.
[01:16:03] Speaker C: I believe in Topper.
[01:16:05] Speaker B: I mean, I see people criticizing him and you know, some people want a Dallas Green type manager. Dallas Green type manager is not going to make it in this day and age of baseball. These guys are making too much money. They're going to tune you out in a heartbeat. You know, back when Dallas Green got at the Phillies 80, all the players hated them. They reunited that and they ended up winning a championship together. But Topper, I mean, here's the thing. Topper doesn't swing the bat. The offense has been inconsistent for years. They gotta figure out a way to get some consistency. And Bryce Harper has to stay healthy. He can't be missing half the season.
[01:16:45] Speaker C: Agreed on all counts.
But you know that if there's any human way for Bryce Harper to play, he plays. And, and that is not a trait we see often in pro sports right now because he's going to make a kajillion dollars whether he plays or doesn't play.
But he, he shows up. I, I, I, I, I don't care what it costs. I want Kyle Schwerber. I want him back.
Yeah, I.
[01:17:17] Speaker B: I want Suarez back.
[01:17:19] Speaker C: I'm, I'm. See, that's the one I'm sort of stuck on. Like how much do you pay?
It's, you're right there.
And by the way, the defeat, I mean, the Braves just hired what was hired Brian Sticker as manager. Basically Academy Walt Weiss was Brian Snicker. Yeah, the Braves have a, the Braves are going to be better next. I mean that lineup is frightening. I cannot understand why they were so bad this year. I know they were banged up and all that, but the Braves have some absolute studs. I think on paper the Braves are still better than that.
I truly believe that.
I don't think Steve Cohen is going to spend the way he has spent to make the Mets better. I don't think, I don't, I don't know what there is for the Mets, so.
And the Marlins are okay. The Nationals are what they are.
So the division is still very much there for the taking. So the Phil, unless the Phillies absolutely screw this up, you've won the division. And you should go into 2026 believing if you're going to win the division, you're going to the playoffs.
But now you have to understand what it takes for October.
And you're right, they don't swing the bat well. They don't swing the bat consistently.
It's time for some guys to go. I get it. But you have the best fans in baseball, the best atmosphere in baseball.
I, I, I hope they wanted as much as, as guys like me and you wanted for. Yeah, I'm not talking about the players. I'm talking about the people making the decisions.
Understand that this window, if it's still open, it ain't open by much.
So it's time.
All in.
Sell your soul.
If this team go, if this team is 65 and 97 three years from now.
Give me that.
If it leads to a parade down Broad street in 2026, all in. All in. Sell my soul and go to the bottom of the standings for one more World Series parade.
[01:19:39] Speaker B: I'm for that, man. I'm for that. The book is the Miami Heat and Illustrated Timeline. Go to your favorite bookstore or your favorite place on the web to purchase the book. Tim, always a pleasure. And let's book you and we'll talk to Kessie for the our roundtable round of the All Star break.
[01:19:57] Speaker C: I'll be doing that one from Italy, but I'll be happy to do it.
[01:20:00] Speaker B: Oh, wow. That's right, the Olympics. You're missing the All Star Game. That's right. That's right.
[01:20:03] Speaker C: You're going to miss the All Star Game.
[01:20:05] Speaker B: Well, we had to figure out a time earlier times for you because obviously normally when we tape it'll be 6 o', clock, 7 o', clock, but it'll be midnight at that point, probably out.
All right, Tim, appreciate it. Thanks again.
That's Tim Ralls. Be back to wrap up the podcast. The latest winner in the Daily Cadets. You pick a football contest and the final winner on the VIP standings in the auto Racing contest in just a moment.
Stay informed with the delagazettes E Edition. Download our app, sign up to receive our newsletters and enjoy exclusive reader rewards when you join our growing community today. Head over to www.dailygazette.com to check out our membership plans. And remember, when credibility matters, trust the Daily Gazette back to wrap up the podcast the Week 9 winner in the Daily Gazette's U Pick a Football contest was Claudi Banarusk of Scotia with a 12. 2 record. Claudia wins a $100 price Chopper Market 32 gift card. Congratulations Claudia. The VIP winner was Nick Platel Grand Premier tires with a 104 record. I went 95 to improve to 88 46. 1. Gazette executive sports editor Will Springstead was 8 6. He is 8153 1.
I'll announce the U Pick A Football contest winner's name and that winner's name will appear in Thursday's Daily Gazette. To play, go to dailygazette.com and click on the U Pick' Em Football banner.
The week 37 and final winner in the Daily Gazette's auto racing contest was Amy Zu Zemkin of Gloversville with 40 points. Amy Su wins a $50 gift card. Congratulations Amy Su. The VIP winner was Scott Lucher of CapitaLand GMC with 10 points and Scott won the VIP standings with 680 points. Jerry Peel of Frank Sons was second with 645. Dwayne Leach of All Season Equipment was third with 520. I was fourth three hundred and ninety five points. Nick Playtel of Grand Premier Tires was next at 390 and Matt Margiotta of SG Roofing had 185 points.
Thanks for playing and we'll be back again in 2026.
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That wraps up another edition of the Parting Shots podcast. I want to thank Nick Young, Carter Rose, Brandon Burr, Stephanie Bourque, Emma Ryumi, Will Springstead, Drew Lempel and Tim Reynolds for being a part of the show.
If you have questions or comments about the podcast, email to me at shots. That's s c h o dash t tillygazette.com follow me on experts and bluesky the views expressed on the Parting Shots podcast are not necessarily those of the Gazette newsroom. The Parting Shots podcast is a production of the Gazette News Group. I'm Ken Schottz. Thanks for listening and I'll catch you next time on the Parting Shots Podcast studio in Skenecting, York. But then, good sports.
