100 days until 2026 World Cup, Kyler Murray to be released, Chris Richards joins, King of the Hill

Hi from New York, it's a show that is counting down to the World Cup. We are 100 days away and Nick has World Cup fever, man. To the point that he was yelling at us about all the research that he was doing last night, he just because he did several solo segments that he demanded. I'll do it. I'm like, all right, you chime in. I said, that's fine. I am excited. I can't wait. For 100 days to World Cup, we've got Chris Richards coming up on the show. We have got highlights. We're counting down 100 to greatest plays. Bru, are you excited for the World Cup? I'm hyped up. I got it. Okay, hold on to that. Bru, one second. We also have the mascot of the World Cup. Maple the Moose representing Canada. Maple the Moose. I can't believe they can do it. Say you're the Jaguar. And clutch the ball of eagle, representing the United States. Wow. clutch welcome. I got you. Come on up. Hey, look, this is just side issues. Fantastic. This is going to be great. These folks look fantastic. This is going to be wonderful. Oh, man. How many days? 100 days for the World Cup. Bam. Wow. Just excellent. Oh, I got to move a little bit. Triple, triple banner. It's hot. And I, I will say this, Kate, I'll be right. This is my favorite sporting event. Now, part of that is because it is special on its every four years. Yeah. But the fact that only eight countries have ever won this thing, the fact that this is the world's more people play this sport than any other and more people care about it than any other, it is. I can't really put the words because obviously soccer on a day to day basis is not my favorite sport. But this is my favorite sporting event. And the fact that Fox has it, that it's in the US, that maybe our boss is sitting there, maybe we go to a few games. Yeah. We do the show. There's one. I know exactly. We want a jury world. The final. I mean, it's great. Kansas City's hosting Argentina. I don't know. I'm just saying. Francis and Gillette, wait, we got the six. We'll see them. Bob Bay. Yeah, it's pretty good. I know. First hour, first things, first coverage over the full three hours here. Today, US men's national team player, the year, Chris Richards joins the show. He talks about our group stage. He had members had some choice comments for Paraguay. He's feisty. Oh, I love him. Meanwhile, why did one head coach laugh at the Eagles when they talked about AJ Brown? We discussed whether AJ Brown should still be on the Eagles when the season starts. And finally, the latest edition of King of the Hill. Is that the J.A. going to be a change? There was a lot going on on King of the Hill. Friendly segment in all sports alongside Chris Bussard. I don't know. I'm moved. Nick, too much movement on King of the Hill. So here's the deal. King of the Hill coming up in a little under 90 minutes. I made an executive decision. Because unlike the tiers where there's a committee or a Holmes mountain where there is a rich history of precedent, I decided that King of the Hill needed to be more, fluid story than rich tapestry. Playing a little bit of a little, a little more player of the week than Holmes mountain is. Because, or best player in the league in the NBA is something somebody just sometimes holds for four years. It's just the guy. And so if I was just held to Yoke it your Shay has to be number one. Ever it loses a little bit of the player. Got to move. So and I open myself up. It is a new person at number one. Someone who's never been at number one. But has the pedigree of someone who could be atop the mountain. So I get yeah, Joker lost a spot. Everybody okay. Joker lost a spot. I didn't love the flopping around yesterday. Didn't help. You'll beat the jazz by three. You're out. Just one of the rules. Yeah, exactly. All right. First are our first things first coming your way. We are of course starting with the countdown to the World Cup. We are 100 days away. Starting on June 11th. It runs to July 19th. The final across the river. 40, 18, 104 matches all on Fox and FS 140 in prime time. Here's what team USA is looking at. Group stage schedule. June 12th against Paraguay in LA. June 19th against the Aussies in Seattle. Then June 25th will be in LA. But we are still waiting to see who our opponent is going to be. We've got there's another tournament you're coming up. So we'll figure out. One of those sports in the locker. Coast of Ode Turkey A or Romania. Nick to see a lot of a lot to gain here. A lot of legacies for entire countries. To see who has the most to gain. You made a countries most to gain. Right. So when we were in Miami when I while you're out from the World Cup. Is why we were there. We did the players with the most again. Right. That list is mostly unchanged. So I didn't want to just run it back the same as before. So instead. And these were the players. You have maybe the best player in the world. You're all the two all time legends. You know, mess. Trying to go back to back. We're not trying to get as first. America's guy. And then four guys from the best player. Arguably on four teams that absolutely could win. And so that's what it was. But now when Alexi was jumping on you. That is exactly right. That's when Alexi Laos was jumping on me. He didn't. I don't know what one of these he took the most issue with. But he took some issue and we were all sweating through our suits. We are now in an air conditioned studio. The eight countries with the most to gain with maybe a little historical update for any folks that are parachuting into the World Cup about why these teams have what they have to gain. Number eight. The country I grew up rooting for in this tournament. Italy. But they got to make the tournament first. So this is on. So they are one of the teams that is fighting to get in like Turkey. A that we showed. So they have to beat Northern Ireland and then beat the winner of Wales. Bosnia just to get in. They have won this tournament four times. My life growing up. It was Brazil, Germany and Italy as the teams for this tournament. But now they've missed two cups in a row. They're on the cusp of missing another one. And so they have a ton to gain just by getting back in the World Cup for the first time in more than a decade. Number seven. Portugal. Now Ronaldo, Cristiano Ronaldo is banged up. But we expect him to play and that would be his sixth World Cup. They co-host this event in 2030. They have made the semis twice in the nation's history. They've never won it and pre-Cristiano Ronaldo. They were never really a threat to win it. This is almost a surely his final tournament. See how Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal can do. Number six. Germany, which you know previously West Germany. They have been to eight World Cup finals. Post World War II until 2014. There were 16 World Cups played. They made the semis meaning the final four or better in 12 of the 16. They made the final in eight of the 16. They won four of the 16 from again 1954 until 2014. Since then though, they have failed to get out of the group stage the last two tournaments. They are once again one of the favorites. But after being the defining European team of this tournament, the last two World Cups massive disappointment. Try to bounce back this time. A very similar story to Germany except on the Western Hemisphere side. Brazil. This is to me the soccer nation in the world. From 1958 until 2002, there were 12 World Cups. They won five of them. They had a stretch from 1940 to 2001. First, second, first. But since 2002, they have only gotten out of the quarters, meaning the final eight one time. And that actually led to a humiliating home defeat 7-1 to Germany and the semi-finals. So after being the dominant team brew for basically 50 years from Pele, the original Ronaldo everybody, the last 25 years, it's been disappointment. Do you have an opinion on the decline, if you will? I don't because it would be such Monday morning quarterbacking by me. Because if you checked either my betting history or my take history dating back to my college radio show, I think I pick Brazil every single World Cup. Yeah, I know. Every year I'm like, well, obviously. Like they just always feel like they have the most talent. And again, my whole life growing up, that was Brazil versus the field. Brazil was basically the smart bet. And again, it's not like they're in situation Germany's in where they're not getting out of the group stage, but they are just getting knocked out early. And then the one time they won on Deep Run was when they hosted the World Cup and Germany was up, I think, six, nothing at halftime. It was just horrifying. All right, number four, Spain. They are the favorite. They have the best player. Along with Portugal, they host the next World Cup. The last time there was this much optimism surrounding a Spanish team in the World Cup. They were the defending champs. It was the final tournament for their Golden Generation in 2014. And they lost in more to fine fashion in the group stage to not get out. This Spanish team should win. They are the Vegas favorite and deserving Vegas favorite. But again, the last time they were in that position, they did not even make it to the knockout round. They're at number four. Number three, the defending champ Argentina. The only back-to-back champions in this tournament's history is Italy, pre-World War II, and Brazil with Pala. They would officially, in my opinion, if they were to win it, take the mantle from Brazil of the Western hemisphere's soccer nation. North America, South America. Well, I mean, they would have two with Maradona, two with Messi. Yeah. Brazil is in this downstretched, like they would have that real validity and going back-to-back in this tournament, like I said. I mean, it hasn't been done in 60 years. I mean, Messi would increase his goat lead. Oh. Like you wouldn't believe. No, it would be, I think it would. Here's a take on the fly. Take on the fly. I think there's an argument that to this day, the world's most famous athlete is Michael Jordan living. Like, I think there's a take that he is still the, I think that if they were to do this, that he would, Messi would undeniably become the most famous athlete in the world. That is a take. The, no, I'm not saying, I'm not setting up most eludes. Think that what is being set up right now. This is all, I'm not. Absolutely. We know what's going to happen in the ring. No, three in a row now. Oh, I got the world top. Number two. England. So nothing but disappointment in major tournaments, aside from the 1966 World Cup. This is a, their World Cup history is just tattered with gut-wrenching heart-breaking losses for a team that multiple times has had enough talent to win it, but you could argue this is their most talented team. They are friends at Draftkings having with you the second or the third best odds to win the entire tournament. They have the second most again, but no one has more to gain. And I don't mean to be a homer. Then the United States of America and what that win would mean for soccer. Forget the fact that if within six months we peel off a gold medal and hockey in the World Cup leg, which are not either one of our main sports. But since World War II, we have only, we've gotten out of the group stage just five times. We've only made the quarter finals one time. However, there is no greater, and this applies to Mexico and Canada as well in this tournament. There is no greater home field advantage than home field in the World Cup. There have been 22 World Cups held. 13 times the host nation has made at least the semis. Six times the host nation has won the entire thing. England's only win ever. They were hosting Sweden's only final ever. They were hosting Chile and South Korea's only semi final ever. They were hosting Switzerland, Mexico and Russia's best finish ever. They were hosting. There is a real edge and the US for a time its best finish ever was when it was hosting in 94. They then trumped it no two. There is a real edge. I don't know if it's the crowd. I don't know if it's officiating. I don't know what it is to being the host nation. The US while it's sharing it, obviously the final and the final games are in the United States and what it would mean for World Wide Soccer and soccer in the US if they were to win. They have the most to game. Great most to game. Well done. I love the energy. I love the excitement man. It would be like for the finals if he's like to SGA could be the best effort. Four times 30 points of games. All right, so but that was good Nick. And look, we're not expected to win it. But once upon a time there was the miracle on ice. I won't go with what we just did. Nockie because we weren't as big of underdogs as our soccer team. But we'll see. Maybe we can get it done. All right, I'm going to start off with a question for you because you've got the top six, almost all the top six or 17s in the world in there except France. So why isn't France so I so I thought about that. And they were probably the team that could have replaced Italy. I felt like Italy just like not making the tournament is so jarring. France has one two in the last 30 years with two different generations if you will of players. Like they had the Zinedine's and Anne team with the famous headbutt. They obviously had emboppé's run a few you know a couple world cup of two world cups ago. So it doesn't feel like it would be like they are in a drought and it also doesn't feel like this would be dynastic so to speak. And so that's now maybe it could be I mean they and by the way they definitively can win it. And they are one of the you know they are they have a legitimate claim that they this century have been Europe's premier team. Since Germany as you know as I described fallen off a bit Croatia oddly has been very good in this tournament but it's not up to that level in England. It's never done one with tournament. It's probably Denver Spain. But go ahead. My addition is synagogue. Wow. All right I have a soft spot in my heart for synagogues. It's some time over there working on a story about basketball over there a couple decades ago. So um but Nick they I mean they're obviously a long shot right there. 12th in the country in the latest in the world. I'm sorry in the latest FIFA rankings and they just Morocco finish 4th in 2022. They just beat Morocco in the African cup of nations tournament. So they they are like for any of the long shots and you throwing the United States in that. If they win it obviously they they got a ton of gain. But I feel like synagogue because again right 12 coming off the big win up against Morocco and they've been in the last three world cups. They've only been in four but they're in last three one so it's sockers on the uptick there. I feel like they I wouldn't say have a great chance to win it. They're they're in France and Norway is in their group so that's going to be tough. But I think they got more of a chance than most of the long shot. So I think synagogue would have this. This this what kind of dovetails into mine and I think it's hard for us to maybe wrap our heads around it because we have been trained on the Vincelambardi. Winning isn't you know everything it's everything it's the only thing. Well we've been trained on it we remember we've been trying to try to get it up. It's been drilled in. No I can't. What is it again? If France wins and England gets close that's still a win for England. Oh I guess absolutely. My disagree on it. No but I would say yes but it may well take if it's Norway gets sure. The semi finals that's an amazing run. There's there's wins in here. Yes yes. Little a lot of like Chicago Bears types teams in here. Hey you didn't get to the final like a lot of times if you get to the finals and lose all of a sudden your season didn't even matter. I am uh no hold on can I say something I've been going before? Oh yeah go. I just want to add to Bruce Point. So Ghana was kind of carrying the torches the best African nation in this tournament. Well just African nation in general I would argue like that. Yeah because Ghana had that real success and you know they had surpassed Egypt or Saudi Arabia or any of the other countries that made the tournament in the past. Senegal and African nation winning this tournament I think would have a similar effect as the United States winning it as far as what it would mean for a shake of who can win it. You know what I mean because this has this this understandably has been a term in it tournament that Europe and South America take turns in winning because those are the two continents where the best soccer players have come from forever to the most historic soccer nations but we see now a ton of the best players in Europe. Yes. Our African born who are you know a naturalized you know in to European teams European countries. So I think an African nation winning it in Senegal is got as good of a shot as anybody would be huge. Go ahead. Before I give my answer yeah I just want to put some stakes in the ground. Oh my. Because I know there's going to be a bit of a land grab here as we go through the World Cup. Oh this is my team this is my guy. I'm not stealing your team. I'm just saying. Oh my team is. I don't know your team. Okay. Well my steal is it France? Yes. Well he does even scream to set it. It's in the document. I put France. You didn't have France. I put France in there as my pick. Go ahead. I liked him ballet and I like him boppe a lot but I will give you the nod to France since they are also sponsored by Jordan and you have a relationship. And who's art is a French name? Yeah everybody knows. Okay that's. It's like Smith's. It's like Sarah's in France. Right. Okay so I need a new powerhouse team. I'm going to go with Spain then. Well I'm very smart. You're going to be going out. A young, great guy. It's a powerhouse team. Yes. But this is my underdog. Oh I was going to say I assume you're doing your powerhouse team here. No not doing my powerhouse. I'm doing my underdog team. If you remember a weird and wonderful back in November and I said you know what? This is my squad. Oh you're a sour. Wow. Oh yeah. That's right. And again, you're a sour was not going to win. No but you're making it out of the group stage would be unreal. It just went if they can win two games it would be marvelous. They're in group E with Germany top ranked 10th. This curacao ivory coast is ranked 37th. Ecuador is ranked 23rd. They're ranked 81. Yes. Tough spot. Here's their profile. They are the smallest country ever to reach the World Cup by population and land there. I like that one. I like that one. They did go unbeaten in ConquerCalf. They had some big victories and they're playing in their first ever World Cup. So if curacao can get a few wins if you're looking to root for an underdog. That'd be huge. Join me. Join teachers. And let me just add one other note. Also I can get there quickly you know. Yeah and get out of the group stage this year is different because you mentioned Brew I think for Senegal how it has two very good teams in its group. But some third place teams will make it out this year. Because there's 12 groups of 4-48 teams and 32 make it. So top two in every group plus the best third place teams from every group are eight of the best third place teams will make it. So you could come in third and still make it out. I'm sure so. So there will be some Cinderella's that make it to the knockout. All right. You can't have a rainbow without a little bit of rain. It's time now unfortunately for the most to lose. But again it's all countries. So Michael Jordan. Is it? It is. I handed it out. It's all countries. You're going to see. I said before like they got to make the tournament. They don't make it. If they don't make the tournament. They say you miss it. Italy misses three straight world cups and this field is 48. Like you just said no just wrecked a Kiersel. Kiersel. The world. Yeah. Time to focus on the world baseball class. Yeah. Yeah. You know the manager. What? Pissata. Oh really? I didn't know that. Number four. Us. Not at a minimum must make the knockout round. You're hosting. Yes. You got a great draw as far as your group with no team ranked in the top 25 other than you and your group. Yeah. Minimum threshold is making out of the group stage. Number three. My squad. Brazil. Another disappointing world cup. And starting to feel a little cowboysie. Great brand. What's up all the time? The dominant force. People like me. It's like I grew up rooting for her. Brazil. You know, had you been there? No. No, but Ronaldo had the sickest Nike commercial ever and I love them. And then Ronaldinho. Now don't reveal it. Because Bruce is going to think he knows because number two almost to lose always is always same guy. But it's always countries. This is countries. Yeah. The country with the second most to lose. Jordan. There. Listen, everyone is rooting for you. You are a huge underdog. You're an Argentinian group and one of the toughest draws imaginable. Just don't get embarrassed. Just don't get beat up, Jordan. You have second most to lose. And number one. Spank. Because you're hosting next year. You're the favorite. The last time you were the favorite, you got mortified in the group stage. You have a stacked roster. Even though you won in 2010, people thought of that Spanish kind of era of soccer, a little underachieving, golden generation. You had all the, at least underachieving in the world couple, only winning the one. And now you're the favorites. You have you, mall. You got, I feel like it is semi-final or bust for Spain. And anything short of that is going to be a massive disappointment. That's the most delicious. Excellent job. See Jordan. Yeah, I told you. I'm going to be a lawyer. I don't know. 100 days to the world cup. We've got highlights coming up. We've got the mascots. We've got an interview with a defenseman Chris Richards. Yes. The top of the hour. 100 days to the world cup. This is great. And more first things first. On FS1 and the Fox Sports Show on serious sex atmosphere. I got you. Oh, I'm a feather. I'm a feather. I'm a gentleman. Yeah. Check out our podcast. Gianna just told me we have the best podcast in the world. Now, I don't know if that was statistical based or just her opinion. I'm just unbelievable. Also our YouTube channel has a billion views total. And right now we're on the path to what do you see? We're almost at 2 billion, Gianna said. We're not almost. But we're more than halfway there. Exactly. I would consider that. I've learned on this show. You can literally say anything. True. Afternoon headlocking. What happens? What happens? Sponsored by Hilton Garden in Hilton for the stay. Al Harrington here. Thanks for joining us again now. Giannis returned after he missed five weeks with his cap injury. Tatum was out. Jaylen Brown was out. Quake. Cato was out. Salted to swim by 27. Giannis had 19 and 11 in 25 minutes here he was after the game. Right now, I'm just happy that I'm out there. Now I've dealt with three injuries this year. And I'm just happy that I'm doing what I love. Obviously, I think we got 24 games left. It's 20, 24 finals. We just got to take it the game at a time. Bro, I'm almost scared to ask. What did you make of Giannis' return? Well, look, I believe what Giannis said. Like, there is an element of just loving the play. He knows their teams not going to do anything. They might make the play in maybe. Probably won't make the playoffs. But I think he really is sincere about just, I'm out there having fun doing what I love to do. So I think that was sincere. I also want to applaud him because a lot of people are saying, why is he even coming back? I think I know. Far more cost. No, because look, we can't sit on here as media and rip guys for low managing or not playing right when they're healthy. This guy is healthy. There it looked. The fans still paid their money. They still go to the game even though they know their team is going to be anything in the postseason. And so I do think if a player is healthy, he should play. And so I applaud Giannis for going out there and playing. I also think, look, we know a few months ago we had the issue with the fans. He kind of booed them when they were booing him. We know how much he loves the fans in Milwaukee, how much he loves the franchise. I hope this should be kind of his swine song to those fans. I'm going to give it my all for the next month or two, whatever is left in the regular season. And this should be his last run in Milwaukee though. For them too. For that like he should want to go somewhere else to play in meaningful games, the rest of his career. And the bucks is time to move on. They have arguably the best player in the world and they're still not any good. And so they should trade him for a young star, some draft picks and move on. So this should be kind of his last run there in Milwaukee. I applaud him. Obviously you hope he doesn't get injured. But I'm with Giannis on this. Yeah, I agree, man. I think that he has been a unbelievable global ambassador for the game of basketball, not just the NBA. And to the point of like, he has never adapted to the whole old management thing. Whenever he's available, he's out there playing. He's laying it all out on the line, giving everything for his organization, his team, the fans and even for his family. So with that being said, I was not shocked and I'm not shocked that he decided to come back. But I am a little shocked about his team kind of responded. With him coming back and you know, this might be the last hurrah and this might be the last time you play with a level at that level of talent, you would think that they would have played just a little bit better. And no, Jalen Brown. Yeah, to lose to Boston with that best player out and lose by that many points. I think it just kind of shows that there's a probably a lot of wear and tear on that team. You know, I think they've been through a lot with him being in and out of the lineup. Probably all the trade talk different things like that. It looks a little bit like a team that's probably maybe checked out a little bit. And so I think that's a great day. I'd rate them move on. Yeah, they're ready to move on. Or maybe that the other players on the roster are not as you know, just dead set on fighting our way into the play and that it feels like it's a lost dead season. And the shame of it for Milwaukee is if this is the swan song in the end. A week ago, they were right there for the 10. A week ago. Yeah, the hornets. You know what, the hornets have been so good for two months now. I'm putting them almost in a different category. I know they're 10. But a week ago, Atlanta hadn't started its three game winning streak and Milwaukee hadn't started its three game losing streak. And right now, there are four losses, three losses back of it, Lann, I think. And if they could and Milwaukee had a couple grizzly losses right before Yannis came back, when everyone knew he was coming back. And then to Owl's point, I totally agree that credit to Joe Mizzoula, credit to what they built in Boston, which almost seems to be star player impervious. Like, no, Jason Tate over the Tuesday. No jail in Brown. We win by 30. You know, the eight. They're next to one without a right. And they hit 23s last night. They're going to do that. So maybe you were going to lose no matter what when Boston shoots that way. But I do, I don't think it is a fate of compley that Yannis is going. I think he should be. I think what's best for Milwaukee is that he leave. And I think what's best for Yannis is that he leave. But Milwaukee is not going to pull the trigger without Yannis demanding it. I don't think I don't think they will. And Yannis has shown a lot, given us real evidence, he might not flat out demand it. I don't think he's going to go on this. And so, right, I would think he's not. And so the reason I mentioned that is, I do think these last two dozen games are important. Because I think that if Yannis is anywhere on the fence and they show up wholesome, if they were to fight their way into the play. Again, Bruce, I think it might be foolish for him to stay. But that might be enough for him to be like, ah, I'll give it another year. But if they look like this the rest of the way out, I think that Yannis's hand will almost be forced. Like, there's no way for me to compete here. I think it's something to be said, you know, for him like playing with one organization this whole career. That's what he clearly is. That means something to him. You know what I'm saying? There's like a level of loyalty in him that is like showing through during this time, right? Because most stars would have been kicking and screaming saying, get me out of here. Especially, I mean, as soon as they made the damn Lillard tree, you know what I'm saying, I would have been the first time you would have probably heard something. But I think for him, like, he kind of trusted this organization. I think he really loves this city. He won a championship. I think his family is obviously very comfortable there because you know, we think most guys we try to get the heck out of Milwaukee at a drop of a hat if they had the opportunity. But for him, it seems like he wants to be there. So to your point, I think that if they can kind of corral and put together some games and get into that playing game, maybe win a game, you know, maybe it will go a long way and maybe to your point, keep him kind of down and maybe see what moves they can make there something. If he stays there, you can't kill him. Because obviously it's just like, hey, he's loyal. Like you said, to his franchise, a small market franchise at that. Okay. But it would be a huge mistake. It reminds me of Kevin Garnett. Yes. Remember, he didn't want to leave Minnesota. Right. Like, he loved Minnesota. They had Paul Pierce, you know, ready and Ray Allen got there and he still was apprehensive about going to Boston. He goes there obviously was a championship. And he's now has said, you know, many times he wishes he had been in that situation earlier. So Yannis is what, 31. He's 32, mate. I know he's played 13 years, right? He played a long time. But guys are playing longer today. He looks like he's got many great years left. He should be playing in meaningful games. And I bet if he goes to a Houston, you know, some team where they can compete for the championship every year, he's not going to regret it. He's going to be the only difference is that he won a championship. That's all right. He does have that. You can't ever take that from him. And I agree with you. Like best option one, stay in Milwaukee forever, contend for championships there. That's not going to happen. Best option too, I think, goes somewhere else, contend for championships there. But the worst option, I believe, is go somewhere else, bad luck, bad injuries, bad whatever, and still not contend for championships. So that is the, which is the happy, which is the happy, he's had injuries, teammates can have injuries. So like that is the, you know, it is not the ideal. But if, if Yannis isn't the only place where he can play and not win a championship the rest of the way and it not feel like that part of his career was, you know, wasted is Milwaukee. Yeah. If he leaves and seven years from now, it's like, oh, he only won the one title. That, that feels less. Yeah. This is something than if he just stays in Milwaukee for a long time. Atlanta, Utah, Orlando and Phoenix all at home for the bucks coming up. The win over the bucks means the Celtics have won seven of their last eight currently in second place, five behind the pistons. All without Tatum will release a new YouTube video about his journey back from his Achilles tear. Take a listen. Catholic's fantastic. He's strong. His position is great. His tension is good. He's good as anyone has ever been. So six weeks, I'm counting a year ago back and being here today and the way I won before. The young guy, the Catholic spirit. Come back and be on the road playing dog. Okay. Uh, chances Tatum's return, if he returns, hurts the Celtics chemistry is the official question. Also, your reaction to the role player comment. Let me do it in reverse order, if I may. Because I think if people just read this and they don't know the timing of it, it could be disarming. Or they die. If they think Jason Tatum said that recently, I ain't coming back to being a role player. That could be like, oh, is he not going to be okay with the fact that when he comes back, you know, he's not going to be 100% yet. That's not how I read this at all. This is very fresh after the surgery saying, we need to do everything we can do. So whenever I am 100%, I am the same player I was before the injury. I like having to rant. And I think that's totally reasonable and exactly how you should feel. To answer your question, chance Tatum's return hurt Celtics chemistry. I think it might and I do not think that matters at all. Right. Right now, you know, we've become something about motor racing show. Oh, yeah, they're big in the tona, the ND 500. The Celtics right now to me are a car near the front of the pack. It's called the Daytona 500. And the pit cruise radio, the driver, and he's like, hey, that right front tire is going to blow. And he's like, well, if I pit, I'm not going to be at the front of the pack anymore. It's like, got it. But if you don't, you have no chance of winning the race. So you got to pit, let us fix it, and then see if you can make up the ground. That's Tatum coming. The Celtics as presently constituted are a very good, are a good team that is overachieving. I'm not going to call them a team like you. But they have no chance of winning the champion. So the rocky stuff that might come with the first few weeks with Tatum back is the tax on giving yourself a chance to win the championship. And I do think the Celtics are a championship's only organization. So I don't really care for a few weeks. They play 500 basketball while Tatum's getting acclimated. It gives them a chance to be in the mix to actually win the title. Yeah, I mean, listen, he is an overall player. Let's just start there, right? He's obviously a superb talent, you know, generational kind of talent. What's unique about their team is that they've been able to survive all this time with two number ones. And what I'm so happy about is that the fact that Jaylen is being able to show the world that he is a number. Right. And he should be in every discussion for MVP talk. I don't care who we're we at in the country of the world. He's been playing at that level, right? This team is really unique from the standpoint that their role players have been playing like above average, right? Yeah. And that's maybe cute, right? But that's what makes them like special this year. Bringing Tatum back will allow those guys to kind of almost settle back in their role a little bit. But then if Tatum is lagging, coach can put him on a bench, sit them down, tell them with those guys can get back out there and continue to play at the level that they've been playing at. You understand what I'm saying? So I feel like if he comes back, he doesn't hurt the chemistry. He just gives them an opportunity to maybe make a special run in these playoffs. But he will not be himself. It's just not enough games, you know, I don't whenever you come back from major injuries, I came back from ACL back surgeries, different things like that. It takes about a year to get your confidence back. And I can imagine off of the killies when that's how you, you know, you're driving and every move comes off of that Achilles, it's going to take him some time. You know, those workouts I'm watching his YouTube stuff and that stuff is like maybe 60, 70% speed. He's not going all out. So that's going to take him some time to get back. So he'll need that time anyway. And I feel like these role players will allow him to do that because they're playing at such a high level. Now that's an interesting perspective. Um, look, I agree with both of you are saying they have nothing to lose. They've won a championship. They've been to two of the last three finals. They've been as he's been the sixth conference championships at least like when you've done that, it's championship or bus. So going to the conference finals without Tatum, oh, that's a nice story, but that's not going to satisfy people in Boston. So bringing him back just gives you a legitimate chance, we think, of maybe winning the championship, which you have known without him. Unfortunately for him, when he comes back, if, uh, so many comes back this year, the expectations are going to go to championship. They're already the favorites in the East based on people think he's coming back. So it's going to put pressure on him. That's probably not fair. Because most people aren't going to look at it like you're looking at it out like at most, you can only expect it to be 75% or whatever. They're going to look at it, Jason Tatum's back. And if they don't get to the finals or maybe the conference finals, people are going, maybe be critical of him again. Unfortunately, I think it'll be unfair. But here's where like if you look at the selfie, their system is the same. The players are different. So that's no out, horror for their drew holidays gone, persingus is gone. So he's got to, they got it all to just each other. But the system's the same. Then your butt off and shoot three is five out for the most part. So that'll be, he's used to that. But here's the thing, like you said, everybody's moved up, including Jaylin. Jaylin will be fine. His points will come down a little. That'll be, he'll average 25, 26, whatever instead of 29. Look, Derek White and we all have respect for him and how good he is. He is moved into that second guys, their second leading score. He's shooting 39%. That's a career low. He's never, he's 44 for his career. He's shooting 33% from three. That's his worst in years. That's better. Right. So he, he's had to go up and he's not fully equipped to be a number two guy. So now he moves back into his comfortable role. Pritchard, they smartly, a few weeks ago, they put him on the bench now. So I don't think it really will affect him as much because assume Tatum's going to start, Pritchard can stay doing what he does. So I think that was smart to move him. I don't know if they were thinking about Tatum or that. But yeah, it makes sense. And so I think they'll be able to adjust after maybe a few rocky hands. Also happy birthday, Jason Tannum, today's birthday. Industry leaders are transforming business with AWS AI. From Phillips advancing patient care to smarter auto design and gains the default in real time. The best thing to say is how innovation happens every day. All right. Thirty five most interesting rumors heard of the Combine. Matthew Barry said one team that definitely needs a wide receiver is Buffalo. Issues their cab space. So it depends on cost. But two names I heard from them. We're either Rashid Shaheed or Mike Evans. That's from Matthew Barry verbatim. And this made Wild's cry. It didn't mean to cry. The other way around the library. Put the camera on him. He's crying right now. I should Josh feel about this. Josh Allen. That is great. I mean, unless they're gonna get a better receiver out there, but if he, Josh Allen should be telling them privately, you know what I'm upset, your receivers, get me a number one. Get me a number one. And Mike Evans obviously is a number one. Unless you think Evans at 32, I think is, is not gonna be the same guy, but I think he'd be great in Buffalo. I think he's just with the doctor ordered there. Shaheed is not a number one. No, that's the thing. He would be good there. I think he's probably a slightly better, maybe version of Lin Shakir, Khalil Shakir. Obviously brings the punt, the kick return aspect of it. Receivers, I think they're probably the same level. But they're very number one. They're just different in that right. Shaheed does almost all his damage on deep passes. And so he care does most of it on, you know, passes caught apple in his room in the chapter. So they could be a decent tandem, but I would rather Evans, I think that's perfect for them, but what's not to like about that? I'll go very quickly so that Wiles can go. I don't think there's any bigger Rashid Shaheed fan in the media than me. I love the trade for Seattle. I think he's awesome. He is also not what Buffalo needs. Like he would help in easy. He would help, he's not. Buffalo needs is a possession receiver. What they haven't had since digs left to be totally honest. And so I do think Mike Evans is a great fit there. A guy that you can, you can, you can, you can, a keen an Allen type. You know what I mean? That you can rely on on third and seven. That he's going to run the right route and get open. Shaheed is more of an explosive big play guy. But Kevin Wilde's, who's the guy that we have to thank for free agency? Who? Baseball player. Kurt Flodd. Of course. Kevin Wilde's can't stand, wishes there was no free agency. No, I love free agency. But as you know, I have my finger on the pulse of everything that's going on in media. Yeah. And Mike Evans agent said, you know what? We're looking at all 32 teams. I like you are. Really? You're going to, you're going to, you're looking at what the saints are up to. Mike Evans agent. You're looking to see what the Raiders are going to look like with Mendoza. I think this whole thing. And then later on it was reported like, oh, you know what we're looking for? A championship, a great coach, a great quarterback, a team to win. OK. So you went from all 32. So now we got the list whittled down. If Mike Evans leaves Tampa Bay, I will cook this into a doughnut and eat it. Wow. The scripting, there's no chance. There is zero chance. There is zero chance that Mike Evans, who loves the box, who want a championship with the box, who is going to be a, have a statue outside the stadiums if the box do statue, that he leaves the box. It's all this kind of posturing. If you say you're leaving, you're looking at all 32 teams. You think it's just posturing for money? I want the box. I'd better give up the box. If the box don't give up the box, he could go to a championship. Yes. The box should compensate Mike Evans for all of his work in a little bonus, a little bit of that. I was reading legend bonus. I was going to say, but now I want to make this into a doughnut. How would you want to see him in Buffalo, with Josh? I think that'd be fast enough. I think it would be horrible. I don't even like the box. I'm alive in New York, it's a show that is celebrating 100 days until the World Cup. It's the second hour of first things first today. We're making our World Cup picks, even though Brew is picking France, and I wanted to pick France. Too late. It'll be in a tough spot. Meanwhile, who's the new King of the Hill? A lot of action in the NBA. A lot of movement. Too late action from my tank. Well, you may have over corrected a little bit. A little bit. Little bit. It was in. It was in. But right now, bags under my eyes going up. What's that for? Most to gain in King of the Hill, right in the state poker. To late night. Well, that too. Joining us now live from London. He's the US men's national player. The year star defenseman, Chris Richards. Chris, thanks for joining us. We're 100 days out from the World Cup. This is sort of a silly question. How do you prepare 100 days out? Are you just locked in on Crystal Palace? Or are there sort of benchmarks for you to do as you prepare for your first game? Yeah, you know, you kind of try to take it one game at a time. You know, I still have the rest of my season here at Crystal Palace. And I'm still a lot to play for it. But I think, you know, everybody's North Star is this World Cup is coming up in a few days. You know, so I'm super excited for it. But right now, I'm just trying to take it one game at a time, one training at a time. So I, one of the cool things about the World Cup or the Olympics is sports that people, you know, a lot of you at the Watchar Show, maybe they're favorite as the NFL or the NBA, but they get to know athletes, whether it's the US men's national hockey team or soccer team this time of year in their stories. So I want to, I want you to kind of tell us a little bit about yourself in this regard. So you're a kid from Alabama whose dad was a pro basketball player, you know, throughout Europe, I think, and you're also a bit, you know, you're a big guy. So I would imagine growing up, a lot of people assumed you might play from Birmingham. You might play football, American football, you might play basketball. How did you go from, you know, a kid born in Birmingham to Germany and now to Crystal Palace in England as a professional soccer player? What was that journey? Yeah, I mean, I played every sport growing up, but I primarily played basketball and soccer and saw as about 16 years old. And, you know, I was, I believe I know I was always kind of a smaller kid, you know, I didn't really hit my growth spurt until the year I moved away from home. So the year I quit basketball that summer, I grew like seven inches. Wow. And so my, yeah, so my dad came to see me and he was like, oh, like, you sure you a trade on a cheap basketball? But my decision was already made, but I went to Hoover High School, you know, so it's very much, you know, football, football is a powerhouse. And so some reason I decided to not play, but I love going to high school football, I love watching college football, you know, I'm an Alabama fan, real tied. But, you know, I just, you know, I had a unique journey, you know, not many people from Birmingham make it to, make it to where I am right now. So I'm really, I'm really glad and I'm really thankful for how I got there. You may not know the answer to this, but has your success and fame as a soccer player? Has that led to any more popularity of soccer in Birmingham or maybe more young kids playing it? Yeah, I mean, selfishly, I want to say, yeah, I don't know if it's, if it's just me, but, you know, I think now that I guess soccer is becoming a lot more mainstream back home, especially with the World Cup coming. You know, it's really important for me that I also continue to grow the game. You know, I think one of my kind of matches I would advise, you know, like aspire to inspire. So, I want to be the reason why I kid know from Birmingham or anywhere around the world, but I guess specifically in Birmingham picks up a soccer ball. And so, you know, for me, it's nice to go back home and now see more kids playing soccer, more people speaking about soccer. So if you want to attribute it to me, then so be it, but I think you just kind of the culture that we're living. All right. So, so you guys open up with Paraguay on June 12th. All right. Last time you played them in a friendly, it ended in a bench clearing bra, all right. And then you got, you got Australia a week later and we know when you played them in October, it got Chibi. You actually said they're lucky it was a friendly. So like this is their bad blood between you guys and these nations or, you know, what should we expect when in these matchups? Yeah, I'm glad you didn't get the full code on that. I was going to say the full quote. I had the full quote. I had the full quote, bro. I'm ready to go on the spot. It was worse, but it was. Oh, yeah. That's the thing though. You know, like this is something I'm passionate about and you know, I think it makes it even more passionate whenever you have a USA on your on your chest. So for me, you know, you can call it bad blood, but every team we got there and play against we want to we want to be, we want to be badly. So, you know, if they want to bring a fight to us, so be it. But I think that's one of the things that makes us American is that we're not afraid of any fights. So, again, that's kind of the mentality that we've adopted over the last few years and especially now playing on home soil. I feel like we have a lot more to play for. So again, you know, it's just, you can call it bad blood, but I think every team we play as a rivalry, we want to be every team and we want to know we're going to make a statement while doing it. So, let's go. I like it. I like it. I like it. Yes. Chris, is there any carryover strategically from playing Australia and Paraguay? Now that they're also in the group stage, you're like, oh, they did this, or is it too much change? Is there anything you can take away from those friendlies? It's kind of hard because, you know, and friendlies sometimes, you know, teams might not want to show their full face. So, you know, you tend not to think too much about the players, but you tend to think about kind of how they play and the style that they play. And, you know, again, the World Cup, everything's even more elevated. So, you know, I guess, tensions are going to be higher. Pressure is going to be higher. So, you know, you tend not to think too much on the friendlies, but it does give us some sort of comfortability, knowing that we have played them within the last six or so months. So, again, I think once you get to World Cup, it's a bit different, but overall, I think it gives us, like I said, a bit of comfort knowing that we play these teams. I'm interested in something you alluded to in your first answer, which is, it's such a, because you're in the EPL and so many of the best players in the English Premier League are on their nation's World Cup rosters. You know, the, and it is a very unique, it happens every four years, but thing in sports where there is, it's the toughest league in the world, winning that championship is somewhat argue the most prestigious regular season, you know, title across all sports in the world. But all the best players in the league know that here in a couple months something far greater and bigger is taking place, and it's not like it's only a couple of you guys going to the World Cup. It's the vast majority of the best players. So I know this is your first experience being, you know, involved in both in the league and the tournament, the World Cup, but how do, how does that impact these next couple months of EPL play where guys, nobody wants to get dinged up right before they're playing for their country, but also your team is paying you. Like how does it, it's such a unique thing to your sport. How does that work? Yeah, like you said, it's unique, you know, and it's something that I think I'll quickly find out, you know, I think like you said, nobody wants to get hurt, especially going into a World Cup that's right when a season ends, but no, like I said, there is still a lot to play for. I think it's fine that medium, you know, I think it's, I think it's almost when you don't go hard, that's when injury start to happen. So me personally, I plan on going into the wheels fall off and then going a little bit more, because like I said, this could be a career defining year for me, and you know, not just that, but I think it could also be a nation defining year, you know, hopefully winning a World Cup on home soil would be a beautiful thing, and that's what I plan on doing, and that's what I know our group of guys wants to do as well. So you mentioned the home soil. I don't know how much you're familiar with like the, you know, nitty gritty history of the World Cup, but 13 of the 22 host nations have made at least the semis. There are eight countries where their best finish ever was the year they hosted the World Cup. So what would you attribute that to? Is it a legitimate home field advantage of the crowd of the energy? Is it the added, I don't know, pressure and a good way of this is our, we're hosting, this is our moment. Like why do you think it has been such a decided home field advantage for host nations? I think pride, you know, I think, you know, you can talk about, you know, fans and this and that, but I think the day is the World Cup and there's going to be fans from every country in the world there. So, and it's going to be a majority split. So I think knowing that you're playing in front of the country that, that, you know, who's flag you're wearing, knowing that, you're playing for more than just yourself, I think it has to be pride. That's the only thing I can, I can think of. I mean, I think, again, you can speak about quality of players, you can speak of fans, you can speak of, no, eight through Z, but I think just knowing that you're playing at home, knowing that, you know, everybody's going to be watching you knowing that, you know, your family's going to be there supporting you knowing that the whole nation has your back. I think that's what it is. So you're going to likely be playing against some of your crystal palace teammates. And obviously, as we saw earlier, you're not afraid to talk trash. So has the trash talking already started in the locker room? Man, it has to. It has to. As soon as everybody saw the draws, you know, we were texting. So, you know, it's going to be a lot of fun, you know, I think, you know, one of my, one of our assistant coaches at palace, he's, he's used to play for Australia. So I've given them a little bit since the draw came out, but, you know, regardless, you know, it's, it's all fun and games until we get to the World Cup. And then there's no teammates. So, you know, it's right now, you know, I'm enjoying, I'm enjoying all the bands there, all the jokes, this and that. But like I said, once summer comes around and we're playing for our countries, then we know it's, it's time to go. I don't want to gloss over what we have in the bottom left hand corner of the screen. You were our nation's team player of the year. What was your reaction when you heard that? And who was the first person you called to tell you and want it? I was kind of stunned to be fair. Now, I feel like some people saw my reaction and I think that I didn't think too much about it, but I think I was more stunned than anything. No, I feel like I had a good year, but, you know, I feel like I still have another level to go. I'm not content, I guess, with the year ahead, I was always going to keep doing more. So, you know, for, for everybody to have voted for me to be a player of the year, it had been a lot, especially with the group of names that was on there before me. It really was really special to me. I remember calling my mom and, you know, my family, they were all nearby, so I told them all at once. You know, it was just, it was great. You know, it was amazing because, again, like you said, not many people think of Birmingham as this kind of soccer hotbed and, you know, I guess with all the adversity with all the no stigmas, I think being able to come from Birmingham and being the first one from Birmingham to it, to have won this award and you can go out. And thanks for your time, Chris. Best of luck. You're going to, we'll see you on the friendly March 28 against Belgium, right? You're going to play that one. Excellent. Definitely. All right. Well, we're all rooting for you, the entire country. So, best of luck and go beat Tottenham for Crystal Palace. Thanks, Chris. Thank you, Tom. Thank you. Thanks, Chris. Thank you. 100 days to the World Cup. Our coverage continues right here on FS1. The stage is set. The desert double on Saturday. The red explode just keeps on winning everything. So, he's going to try to win Phoenix here Saturday at 3. And then it's NASCAR. Where Tyler Greta is trying to win four in a row, bro. Holy cow. I think New Garden could get a win here sometime. One of my guys. I think it's special. What about stingray, Rob? I'm kind of mad. Stingray. Stingray Rob has seen some finished ricks. OK. Time now for the friendliest segment in all sports. While Harrington is back, Yanis is back. The Lakers are winning. Shingoon at 32 last night to see a good news. So let's find out who has it best in this week's edition of King of the Hill. Thank you for the introduction, Tomas. Before we get to the hill, I'm going to break the fourth wall. Awesome. Tray Hendrix in News. No, that's the Tray Hendrix in, by the way, did bid farewell to the Bangles VIG. So we'll keep you updated on that story as your nation's number one capital for Tray Hendrix in News. However, I'm more important. I'm more important first things first news. So these butterflies on the screen, and the friendliest segment in sports TV, I've hated that branding since the moment Wilds did it. I've tried to have him get rid of it. And he has claimed it's good. He's claimed he likes it. It's bad for him. And then all of a sudden, we have 16 year MBA veteran Al Harrington out here. And Kevin Wilds feels the need to be like, hey Al, I just want to explain. Here's why we do the Butterfly. Don't judge us for it. Like, here's the old background. Al's totally confused. He doesn't know because KW deep down knows it's dumb. I mean, the snow makes sense for him all of the time. Yeah, that's what I've always said. The Butterfly, once you have to explain it to someone. Exactly. That's what I said. I thought you were going to go bad, boy. Yeah, once upon a time, he also during this segment put on a leather jacket and a lighter helmet and tried to pretend it's weird. Doesn't matter. Top 28 players in the league. Here's the fluid list. Fluid list is not. This is even more confusing. Is fluid just a way of saying, what? Have you ever seen the loose high water? I wore a award since the last time we were on the air. I mean, the last time we did it, a week ago. Bottom of it. We need more volatility in the segment. Exactly. We got some rather too. What's up, Dust? Oh, in the valley. Sorry. Step off the mountain. Off the hill. He's been out so long. He'll be back. He's getting re-evaluated again. He can come back. Ten days. Halliburton, AD, Jimmy Butler, Kyrie, not coming back this year. You might notice, however, someone not injured and eligible who was a week ago, who might be showing up on King of the Hill. Oh, Yannis? No. Yannis was on it last week. You'll see. You must not have noticed through because you were too busy ripping my mountain. Seven throw. Seven throw. Another guy who's bordering on becoming injured and eligible, Dinyabdia. You miss another week of games. You're off the mountain. The Hill, Diny. Carly Anthony Towns. Just not a great, efficient week even though the team's been winning. He drops a bit. Bam says where he is. Chat. KW's guy. The defense is unimpeachable. The offense hasn't really gotten there. He's a good, he's a, he's doing fine. He's a good player on a really good team. Evan Mobley pops up first Hornet on the Hill. We made it. Brandon Miller. Charlotte, we're on. I think he's the best player on that team. I think Conn Canippell might have the highest upside, maybe. His upside's pretty high. I think Brandon Miller is better than Lamello Ball and the most reliable player on that team. And the Hornets have been a legit, very good team for 60s. I think so. You knocked that draft of him, though. You didn't like the draft. Hold on a second. Was that Jordan? I think that was Jordan's last. Hold on a second here. I didn't mock the draft. This is, a guy has, oh, a guy has Jordan's last draft. That was Jordan. That was Jordan. Jordan has basically on the Hill. Henderson take. And all of a sudden. Was that the scoop draft? Yes, yes. It was the scoop draft. I did like scoop a lot. I'm not closing the book on scoop. I totally agree. And Paulo made the Hill after we set him, he missed it last week. He scored 36 against the Lakers. Yeah, like 24 against the normal team. He makes the Hill. Sixth row. Devin Booker. That's a goal. Another guy, you know, he almost got off because of injury, but I read this morning they expect him back, I think, tonight. Nice. So he should be back. Do I want to be? Yeah. Is shot. He got banged up. He's going to miss a little bit of time. A little bleak injury. He's been awesome, bro. He's been awesome. He's still scores with the best. He's still scores and the team. It's amazing. He could take time off like that and come back. Oh, yes. He's the best shooting. I mean, his jump shot. So that's a unique thing. We have right now active in their primes. The best passing big ever and the best shooting big ever. Which is pretty undeniably, right? If you call it, just call it. I'm not going to beat. Catching. He winters. True centers. Yeah, you take like, you know, Durant. And Durant out. Yeah, Durant out. Yeah, Durant out. Okay. Keep going. Brought in Harden. Harden broke his hand, but he's fine. Jin-gu, and I moved him up. Thank you. You demanded that I moved him up. Jalen Durant. Oh, he's good. Really, really good player. Really, really good player. Really good player. He's going to replace. No, and he gets yours 20 points and toughness and defense and rebounding. All right, top 15. Donovan Mitchell. Again, the missing time. It's tough for these guys. Jalen Brown. It's totally unfair. I had him third in MVP a week ago. I see the Celtics won by 30 without you. I move you down. That's not a steal here. I was telling you. I was telling you. I was telling there six of one without you. That's not a big part of my Jalen Brown. I'm helping his impotty. I'm helping his impotty. I'm helping my Jalen Brown argument is he is carrying this team. And then he's not there in their pocket. Maybe, yeah. What are you sitting against the bad team? I get it. I'm just saying it. It's just what happened. I'm just telling you the truth. A lot of volatility. A lot of volatility. Kawaii Leonard stays where he is. Jamal Murray. How did he have last night? 45? 45? He's not saying they barely beat you told more than them later. And that's who's new to the mountain, bro. Jason Tatum. That's a big time. He not even played. I... KW's buddy. Bill Simmons just said as an aside Sunday night. I think Tatum's coming back Friday. I feel like Bill's pretty plugged into the Celtics. So I have penciled him in that I think by this time next week, Jason Tatum likely could be back. This for sure. And you got him awfully high. Well, I had a little respect for what the man's accomplished. Maybe he maybe once comes back when we see him, he drops a bit. But if I'm going to put him on the mountain, I feel like he deserves to be alongside his teammate, Jalen Brown. Top 10. Janis back, but going to be a see if he was, you know, back a little rusty. That's fine. Wimby. So here's the thing. Well, you know what? I'm going to save it. I'm going to save my Wimby discussion because I think it's going to talk Wimby. Wimby drops a bit after I saw him in person at MSG, one minor concern that I will bring up in a bit. Seven to rant. No, not two seconds. So tall. He's making them two tall and two skinny. Kevin Durant, who I think since our last mountain has scored 125 points. And listen, is the guy a leader probably not? Does he have questionable texting and tweeting? Have a different seat. Is he just a bucket in every situation, no matter what? Absolutely. And Max, he's just great. He's great, maybe he's too of a touch strong. He's very, very, very good. And so much, I don't know how many people are watching the Sixers. He's so much fun because he just, every game, it's like, well, he's the fastest guy on the court every time, no matter what. No matter how many minutes he plays. Third row, I dropped Luca almost as a PR. Like, you know what, the last week was so bad for him from a public relations standpoint. You drop him. And I'm mostly blame JJ for that interaction, but it wasn't great. And the Lakers, nobody thinking that they can win, that they have any shot at winning a championship, even though they have Lukin's prime, not great. I still believe he is clearly one of the five best players in the sport, but you want to five best players in the sport, there's about where you should be. Ant stays where he is, he's awesome. Jalen Brunson and the Knicks on this red hot tear, he moves up, row two. Joker moves down just to touch. That team is 17 and 18 the last 35. He's awesome. He's the best player in the league, but where he's not just going to stay at top of the mountain. Shay stays where he's at. You know what, Rich Tapestry, fluid movement, a team that's on a nice winning streak. He's the best player on the team by a lot, or I'm sorry, is on a nice run, not a nice winning streak. Kade Cunningham, a top of the mountain. Number one pick, MVP candidate. Yeah, legitimate MVP candidate. The piston's have the best record is what I've been to say. Pistons have the best record in the whole league. He's the only certified superstar on the team. And prior to Dern, he was the only old star on the team. He's the top of the mountain. This is a great change up. Thank you, Kade. I think it was great. Otherwise, we just sit there with Joker, like he's going to do the same king of the Elf for five years. That's exactly how I feel. That's the thing he's going to tell me why I'm wrong. Well, now I have to hear your explanations. You know, maybe I might... No, it's okay. You can grip me. I won't be as aggressive. No, he is aggressive as you want, Alas. I'll be right now. But I mean, listen, come on, man. Joker, like Joker is the king of the Elf period. I don't care if there's another five years, six, seven years. Like, listen, three-time MVP, I think he's leading the league in rebound and an assist. Yeah. It was the first time, first person ever if he completes the scene. Like, this guy is just like... He's unbelievable. You know what I'm saying? So he's the king of my hill. Okay. Right. After that, I would probably go SGA. And the reason why I like SGA, man, like, have you ever seen that guy sweat? Right. I mean, guys, have you ever seen him sweat? So what I... Yeah, that usually doesn't weigh into my... No, but he does. He does. He's old. Oh, well, you can't speed him up. Yeah. Like, this kid dictates the game he does what he wants to do. He gets what he wants to go. He does what he does. Like, it's just his game out there. What I want to do want to give SGA a shout out for is this, because it went totally under the radar. He broke, broke, a Wilk Chamberlain record, which those records, it's usually like the Wilk Chamberlain record book and then everything right. It's what? It's a consecutive game scoring 20. Wilk had had that record for 60 years, and SGA just broke it. So I, you know, credit to him for that. Yeah, so SGA, another one, all world talent, and then you got to go look him. So I... Here's the thing. I agree those are the three best players in the world. And this is a little unfair to Al, because historically, that's exactly how we did King of the Hill. Yeah, okay. So, if you ever decided, it's kind of a, what, you know, what do you call that? Universal Decision? Executive Decision, pardon me. That we wanted to have a little more diversity atop the hill. And let me just ask this hypothetical, okay? If the Detroit Pistons win the championship, can Cade Cunningham say... Sorry, sorry. Can Cade Cunningham say... Why am I not the best player in the world? If they win the championship? He can say it, but I don't know how many other people will say this. I was the number one pick of the draft. I'm the only superstar on the team. I'm the only go-to offensive option on the team. He would hold the belt. But Haliburton had they won that game last year, game seven. You wouldn't say he's the best player. As great as he is. No, but... You wouldn't say he's the best player in the world. No, but had the Celtics win the title. If Tatum was awesome in that finals, I think he could have said it. I think he could... They all can say... Once you win it, you can... You can legitimately say it. You get the summer. Exactly. You get the summer. You get the summer. You get the ground for the summer. Out, here's the thing. I need more consistency. That's fair. Yeah, because you're right. And it's interesting now that King of the Hill is too... It's always yoke. It is. We have to switch it off a little bit. That's never been a problem with my homes. Well, it's named after a guy. I mean, it's named after a guy. My homes is number one for like... Years. Yes, years. It has never been a problem. I get killed for it. And I get heckled in the street. And where's the integrity of my homes bound? So I adjust and I get attacked anyway. That's a problem. People get fatigued with dirt and rainplanes. Exactly. They get fatigued. I don't know what the criteria is. I don't know if this is player of the week, player of the two weeks, whatever it is. But no matter what the criteria is, with all due respect to the great Jaylin Brunson. There's never believed in Brunson. No, I do. But you can't have him ahead of Victor Wimbanyama under no circumstance. What did he have played? He had played. Wimbanyama, I get it. He had two back-to-back 12-point games. Yeah. And then got beat. And then got beat. Because he's so good defensively that he can score 12 points and still have a phenomenal game. He was impacting on it. Yes. In those two, those three games where he was subpar offensively, he had 11 blocks. That game you went to Nick where you're about to rip him the strands for being skinny. He had 25 points, 13 rebounds, and four rebounds. And seven turnovers. Okay, the seven turnovers. Now, his game, the thing about Wimbi, he does have a lot of room to grow. Yeah. I would love to see him play more inside or closer to the basket, not quite as much perimeter stuff. Even though he's very good at the perimeter. That's a classic. You got to quack. You're right. But still. And here in all seriousness, Nick, his defense is right. Well, he's still a very, he's obviously a very good offensive player too. But I think with Brunson, I'll chime in after Nick and tell me if you agree with this. Brunson is great. And I get it. He's a scoring point guard. But I'll just say this. He is the point guard. Okay. Sometimes I think like Carl Anthony Towns as the point guard, I think is somewhat your responsibility. As well as Mike Brown, to get him involved, we see Cat Faden sometimes doesn't get enough shots. Five shots against was a Detroit recently. Yeah. That's a good call. The point guard, I get you know, you're a score first, but still get your big man some touches, right? Like make sure he's involved, keep him engaged and all that. So because Cat was low on the mountain, that actually should drag. That's actually James Ball. I just think overall that's something Mike Brown and Jaylin could do a better job. I agree with you. I mean point guard is, you know, is there responsibility to like, you know, manage the entire guess, right? And I think that he has that in his game, right? Because when he was at Villanova, he wasn't like a scoring guard like this. It's like when he got to New York, he's got so locked in on scoring that that's like kind of all that he kind of focuses on. But I agree with you. Like if he can try to figure out how to pull guys along the way, you know, I'm saying early in the game, right? Get Cat a couple touches inside. They can feel good about itself. You understand what I'm saying? That'll go a long way, you know, in a game and it probably helped them win some more games and make him feel a part of it. Because they Alvarado does do that for the record. No doubt. He actually has. So let me, let me do that. So did you guys did the Bronson part? Let me talk Wimby for a moment. Sure. Who is the guy offensively that Wimby seems to have modeled his game actor? I thought it was Durant. Durant Durant Durant. I handled in Durant by him. I did. So Al, you might not know this since you're new. But there are a few things in Bruce sports watching career that are just seared into his memory. But he can't get over. And one of them, Bruno, is what I'm about to say. And one of them for Kevin Durant is one playoff series against the Boston Celtics, where they roughed him up, where the Jalen Brown and Jason Tatum, the physical basketball, and all of a sudden he was inefficient and whatever it is. And I'm just telling you, sitting there at MSG Sunday and watching O.G. and O.B. and Carl Anthony Towns and a lot of Mitchell Robinson, Roth Wimby up. Yeah, he got his 25 with the seven turnovers. I was like, this might be my Kevin Durant against the Celtics, for Wimby, for Brut. I need to see Wimby excel when guys are trying to beat him up. And until then, it's just a minor concern for an obviously great player. That's what we're going to see. Is it that a fairer? That's fairer. He's obviously a great player and he might win MVP this year. But that is, if I, what we know is whoever they play in the playoffs, they're going to try to do that. Yes. They're going to see if that gets to him. Okay, W. First of all, yeah, about the Wimby, Brunson over Wimby. This is exactly what King of the Hill needs. What? That when two guys play and one guy plays better than the other guy, he moves up the mountain, the other guy moves down. That's what we play better. In that game. The game was not close. I'll tell you when Wimby was inefficient, when the mix run, like a 2062 run. Lock some of those shots. 2042. I like. That Brandon Miller finally made the mountain. That being said, I wanted to just add Brandon Miller in friends. Because I don't think, I don't think Lamello or Con deserve to be on the mountain. But it's a little bit club superstar adjacent. Like I got two guys. You got two guys. You got two with you? Yeah, two guys? You're kidding on. Ugly top. Sorry. That's all good. That never works. The club's all gone. It works fine. All right. Hornets this season. I also want to stake my claim to the Hornets. Which is all a sudden contested ground. The Hornets! The Hornets! Great! Hold it. Just go ahead. Just keep going. Hornets! Cognonjam is been awesome. Lamello is 1999. Hornets are even better than that. He doesn't play every game. Miller, since the All-Star Break 23.2 points, thank you Troy for that point too. I appreciate that. And Con said the NBA rookie record. Also probably can make it our remake. Con is best three-point shooter in the league right now. A little early on that year. He might be a rookie in the year too. Yeah, he's now the favorite cuz of Cooper. Yeah, Cooper likes injury so. That was my horn. It's fandom fault. Yeah, I apologize. So that's it. I like that Brandon Miller's there. Just want to throw the Hornets on there. When the Hornets are playing team and I think that's a compelling case. It would have been more compelling if about 90 minutes for the show. I didn't hear you say gosh darn it. I didn't well. There is a Hornet on the hell. I didn't realize that. He didn't really. He was gonna do the whole this whole thing because he assumed there were no Hornets on there. But then Brandon Miller's on there. That's fine. I will believe that the Hornets are more than a cute team. If and when I hear Lamello's use some of his max contract to hire a driver. You would think you can solve the fancy car. You can ride shotgun. You can't make fun of. Coming up next. Kyler bids a due to the car knows and we play who you got. World Cup edition. Next. We are 100 days away. The biggest tournament on the planet comes to America and you can see it all right here on Fox. Get ready for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. All kicks off on June 11th on Fox and right here on FS1. You don't need to change your channel. You should flip during the Fox games. During the Fox game you should flip over. Yeah. You know what's not big anymore. Picture and picture. No, it's not. I think that's gonna be the new thing. I would law it's multi screen. I got to buy another television. No, that's no. 100 days away from the world cup. Let's take a look at the odds. Spain at number one. England. We're going deep on the top two. France and Brazil tied at three at three. Argentina, Portugal, Germany, the Netherlands at eight. Norway. They're in up in July. I might go see that game. Belgium. Belgium and Italy. Italy's not even. Italy's got to make it. We don't know, but that means it. So I'm just telling you right now, if you didn't get at least going to win its little the little tournament it's in. They've got to beat Northern Ireland in the winner of Wales or Bosnia. 30 to one is good value because if they win it they will immediately go to 25. Columbia, Morocco. Then it's the USA and Uruguay. Number 16 Mexico. You're right. One the first world cup ever. One other set. I mean, I guess what Packers are still good. Who do you? Who he swore is pretty good. He's a contender. I'm just saying I don't think Uruguay has a manner of why. Okay, well they certainly have a chance. I'm not saying they don't have a chance. I think you should be able to pick first because seniority. Not on the show, but who you got this saying in pan chest tentos down. Give me France. Well, we also have USA is just in general. Yeah, I love. USA. We all love this different. Yeah, but it's but France is what you're going to write. France is who I think will win the cup. Yes. All right. Last time 2022, they finished second tough match with Argentina. Obviously, they got all great. Obviously, arguably the best player in the world in Embape. And Nick, I think you forgot this or just didn't fail. It didn't register with you. You didn't think it was as big of a deal. The head coach, kind of French soccer legend, Didier Dishon, announced before, you know, a while ago, this will be his last year. That's a good one. So I wonder will I would imagine that the players are going to be like, oh, let's send them out on top. They obviously came close last time. So I think they're going to have even even more motivation to send them out on top. So I like France. And obviously, their team is stacked. Yeah. So they got a great chance because KW also loves France. Uh, go ahead. You go. I was just going to I want you to go ahead and the, um, he probably did know what I will just add to it is. One of the evidence of how stacked France is in Bope might be the best player in the world. He might also might not be the best player on his own team. That's what I was going to say. Well, that's like the belly guy. Yeah, I know. Yeah. So, but unfortunately, you can't pick them. I don't think that's true necessarily. Go ahead. Are you picking? I didn't know that you were taking France. And I think it would be good for the camaraderie of the show. If you and I were together, like how we believe in due dates, that's really brought us closer together. Yes. That's fine. You can have France and you can have a side team. Thank you. Because he does outside of care. So France as well. So that's fine outside of care. So, yes. Okay. And not one of the big dogs that you will take France and Spain. Okay. We're going out on a list. Yes. I am taking the youngest dynamic player in the tournament. Can we let that go though? He needs a way. You took, I get it if you're taking France and Carousel or Spain and the United States and Mexico. Yeah. A lot of them. Because there's a great chance either France or Spain. I will now see a France. I will now see France and just become a young all guy. That's okay. So now he's just Spain, but he also is kind of room for France. This is easy for me. And we're going to hear us out on the first. I am. We get four. The ninth consecutive World Cup picking Brazil. If you guys remember, I talked about on the show, but I've talked about probably a little more in the podcast. The last time the World Cup came around, I bet probably certainly at the time and maybe, yeah, an irresponsible money on Brazil to win it and then told my wife, we are going to Brazil with the winnings. A great trip to Rio with the winnings from them winning the World Cup right after they win it. Like we'll be in Brazil during the celebration. It will be sick. Brazil then didn't win it. Their rival Argentina won it and my wife was still like, it's trip to Rio on the docket and we win. So it cost me twice. It was great trip. By the way, beautiful country, amazing people. I loved it. So in for what is it in for a penny in for a pass? We're running that sucker back. She wants to go back. It's a big country. You only went to Rio. There's São Paulo. There's so many great places. So I get plus 750. Oh, why? They do seven trips. So I feel like you should also have a free roll. I know it's weird on Argentina just from the LeBron. I just see factor. Well, I older guy making a run. I just listen. I do. I do love the kind of South American style of play, which is what the Brazil was always great when I was a kid. And I thought it was so cool that Ronaldo was the best player in the world. Then a guy named Ronaldo Dino was the best player in the world and the Nike ads were great. And Messi obviously has kind of taken that mantle. But no, I will I will I believe Brazil can win obviously. And they are my pick. So France, Spain, thank you. So Mexico and the United States. Okay, well, we're going to do a whole draft of all the teams. You get one pick and I'm rocking with Brazil. France, England just out there. England's not winning the World Cup, bro. You know how I know? Because it's a major soccer tournament. England's not winning. They don't win big tournaments. They don't. Sorry. Live from New York, it's first things first over time. News out Arizona. Kyler Murray says goodbye. Where does he go next? Meanwhile, special edition of Top 10 Tuesday, Danny's Top 10 NBA team. I regret to report what happened right with issues. Oh, perfect. Top 10. I feel like, yeah, it was a right. You thought his NFL list was quite. I love it. I loved it. I was going to be. I, yeah, they ripped King of the Hill so much. I've got a. I saw that. It all float. I got I got to I got to get back at someone. And finally, we are 100 days away from the World Cup. I heard we are counting down and Danny, are you going to make a World Cup pick? Oh, happy to. Are you going to do it right now or later on? Give us a teaser. Chris Bussard, Kevin Wiles, Nick Wright, Danny Parkins, maybe the coolest fan atmosphere, fierce sporting event I have attended. Spain, Germany, World Cup, 1994 in Chicago with my dad. Oh, nice. Spain hat. Then was in Spain living with a family in high school when Real Madrid signed David Beckham, sick. So I don't want I don't want to interrupt you. But earlier in the show, Ruiz, friends, I actually had Spain. So despite the great one, despite me actually having a top Spanish soccer, despite the I also have been to one Real Madrid game. It's not quite doing a semester over there in high school. I've been to his Spain World Cup also hold on. I've known you for almost 25 years. Yeah, Spain. Your high school was so fancy. You did semester abroad in high school. Summer program. Summer abroad in high school. My. That is awesome. I didn't know that was a thing. Certainly not in the 90s. I was selling high school. I had to Arizona where the Cardinals are going to release Kyler Murray, not totally unexpected, but all of a sudden kind of sad. Here's what Kyler wrote on social media. Is everyone that supported me and showed kindness to my family and I during my time in Arizona from the bottom of my heart? Thank you. I wanted nothing more and to be the one to end the 77 year drought. 77 year drought for the organization. Long. Long gravel around. I'm sorry. I failed us. I wish this community and my brothers nothing but the best he goes on. He says he's prepared for the world. Next he trusting God in my work. I think I truly believe my best balls in front of me and I look forward to proving it. God's speed. God from Kyler Murray. What really touched you? I just thought it was like if I got released, I'd be like, dooses. I'm out of here. But I thought this was really sweet. I thought it was a great letter, but I think it's what most people do. Yeah, but I say I'm sorry for not being able to deliver a second. That's a sign of kind of humility and understanding. Okay. I blowing it might be a little too strong, but you know, look, I'm not making the most of my career. Then I love it. That wherever he goes, next he's going to be like, okay, I didn't do the right things in Arizona. I wasn't as studious as I need to be. I've learned my lesson. I love it. If that's I mean, I don't I don't think blowing it is too strong. Like yes, yes, he's a number one pick. He got a second contract. So in that sense, he's been a success, but I mean, he got heard and then they just didn't bring him back this year. Like I mean, they're like, oh, Jacobi percent. Kyler Murray will go with Jacobi percent. Like it ended very poorly for him. And it's just before we get to like the main just to add to that, I do think it is very a profound experience in anyone's life. The first time they actually failed. And Kyler Murray's never failed. No, like I know you guys joke, you gave me a hard time yesterday, but he is regarded as the greatest player in the history of Texas high school football. He then went to college, was unbelievable and won the Isman trophy. He then was the number one pick. And very early in his Cardinals career was that best year they had. And he was a first round pick in baseball. So he's like, he's one of the best athletes that want to play baseball on Kyler Murray's thinking, I don't play professional baseball because I choose not to. Yeah, he's one of the best athletes. And so to your like so and then early in his career that we started rollball. Right. They started nine and all. That was the year when they had JJ Watten, DeAndre early on there. He got that huge deal. And then basically everything since the ever since this isn't why, but the moment the story came out that they put the study clause in the contract, call a duty clause. Yeah, it has been a different arc in his career that led to this, which is his first sports failure that I'm aware of in any regard. But go ahead. So here's my question for you, Danny. With the specter of Sam Darnold's Super Bowl championship looming over really every quarterbacks career outside the great quarterbacks. How much of Kyler Murray's failure is on Kyler Murray and how much of it is just on, amen, you're drafted by the Cardinals. That's how this organization rolls. Yeah, I think while he is not like Sam Darnold in terms of he does not have that size. Everything else about Kyler does kind of scream Sam Darnold bad franchise. Couple different offensive coordinators relative stability at head coach. He's only had a couple. But like if you said, he's mobile, he's fast. He is a cannon for an arm and he's still as young and in his athletic prime. I absolutely think that a franchise could talk themselves into we can turn Kyler Murray into a Super Bowl winning quarterback. I absolutely believe that. And so to answer that question anyway, like I'll tell you the team, I don't want to see him go to because it would be in the Bears division and it's Minnesota. Like, and so if I was Kyler, I would be trying to go there, even if it meant there was the spectacle of a competition at least at the beginning with JJ McCarthy would be I don't I'm not a big Kyler Murray guy. He would beat out JJ McCurray. I know, I know, but there, but if he wants to be a competition, right, if he wants to the jets, there is no competition. If he goes to the Steelers and Will Howard, there is no competition. Like, but if I were him, I would say well, Kevin O'Connell had Kirk Cousins have monster years. He had Sam Darnold have a monster year. I'm in a dome with a great play caller with arguably the best receiver in football and a lot of other talent on offense and in elite defense that at the end of the year was shutting down the lions was shutting down the Packers like Kyler Murray ends up in Arizona. They are in Minnesota in Minnesota. Excuse me. They are a playoff contender immediately and we will talk about him through the Sam Darnold prison before you go, bro. Can I like that? How much of everything you just said there also applies to Atlanta? A lot of it like a lot of competition with Penex. You're in a dome. You know, you have I think Staphansky is a pretty good offensive, you know, mind as well. You have talent like so that I think a lot certainly an easier division easier division the pierce legal stuff. More defensive questions in Atlanta than I would say Minnesota, but yeah, I would absolutely apply Atlanta. Atlanta is same type of I think that makes sense. I think look I do think Atlanta. Maybe a little more in on Penex. Like I think they want him to play, but he's injury prone just like JJ. So that's a question, but I was looking more look I would if I'm him I'm crossing out the jets Cleveland. I don't know that you know they still got Watson. They got should do. I don't know if that they'll go after him Miami. If I'm him, I'm probably not really high on going there. Pittsburgh could make some sense because he they can it really be the same thing is Justin fields for them. Like, okay, this is a guy got he has probably more talent than Justin, but I'm saying they're like, oh, let's take a shot on him and see if he's our guy in the future. But I agree with Danny Minnesota makes all the sense in the world and you're right. It would be a competition. He should be out JJ McCarthy and I mean they won nine games with a bismal quarterback play. If he really has is really soul searching and saying, okay, I'm really going to lock into the things that can make me a good quarterback, which are the studying and maybe attitude things like that. We know he has the physical ability. And so I would love to see him in Minnesota is a tough division. He could play well there and they could not make the playoffs, but he could play well there and they could go deep into the playoffs. So yeah, I think Minnesota makes all the sense in the world. Can I hold on because I go ahead. I'm going to throw a total wild card out there. So if you want to ask a follow up first, go ahead. I was wondering because I agree with Brew if I was with a organization that was not a plus, let's just say I'm crossing off the other organizations that are either rebuilding or might be a little bit funky. If I'm Mike McCarthy, I don't know if I'm like waiting on Aaron Rogers any longer. Oh, I'm like, you know what Kevin O'Connell, like God bless him up in Minnesota. I can coach an offense too. I've got a better playoff record than you do. We might not have Justin Jefferson, but we got DK Meccaf where our division is also tough. No, I think I think the NFC North is tougher than the AFC North. I agree. There's even though there's not a little more in that table Vikings are, you know, fire their GM, but a very considerate state. And I like Mike McCarthy. I like Kyle. I think it's interesting in Pittsburgh. So I, all right. So here's the wild card. Because I wrote down Pittsburgh slash Cleveland as ones that I knew people bring up Minnesota and Atlanta because those are, he is probably going to one of those four teams. I understand that because Kyler Murray, probably right now is like, no, I want to start next. Oh, yeah, absolutely. I don't know if he should. I, if, if, if my number one job was in sure Kyler Murray has the best chance at reaching his full potential and his next stop be his last stop. And he actually be excellent one day. I would tell him, go to the Rams. I knew you were going to say that. But don't play. You know you won't play this year. And what you're going to do is the study habits you didn't learn. You're going to learn that sitting at the, you know, learning from Sean McVey and Matt Stafford. You are going to, you know, kind of quietly rebuild, you know, your confidence, whatever it is. And it will be a direct handoff from Matt Stafford to you in a year. And by the way, you might play this year because I know Stafford was healthy this year, but going into the year, guy was hanging out in the A mortal chamber. Yeah. We're worried about his back. And that to me, what the Rams, because the, the Rams don't have as no team really does a path after Stafford. They shouldn't worry about a path after Stafford. They're trying to win Superls right now. But that would be, I think the best thing for him because I am, I, I am, I think Kevin O'Connell's a really good coach. A lot of that has to do with good offenses, but the, I know Sean McPhaser, great coach. I know the Rams have great talent. I know that's an excellent organization. And I know that it's really important for Kyler that the next stop work. Because if the next stop doesn't work, it's a couple years before you get another shot. You know what it is? Then all of a sudden you're all on. It feels like the Justin Fields path though. It doesn't feel like exactly like to say, I'm Darnell Path. Everybody talks about Darnell Path. Yeah, but Darnell didn't have an opportunity to start, right? So he went, right? He was like, I'm going to go to the best coach and learn Wushanahan and then Brock Purti-Hand. So you're trying to avoid the Carolina pits. Correct. I don't think it's a bad idea. I'm trying to go to the Rams than the Jets, but I would rather go to the Vikings and start than the Rams and back up. But so the, I, I understand that, but I also would need, if I, if I am, let's just say the Rams are an option, then any place I choose over them, they need to tell me, this is not a comp. I'm not running the risk of all of sudden being the backup here. No, because I suffer. I pull on the hammer. The Jets, you can lose the competition as you get out played or you can lose the competition because you're tweaking your hamstring in the second day of training camp and you're out three weeks. Like I need to be, I need to be told beyond a shadow of a doubt, you're the starter or else I don't know. I don't know, and maybe I'm just, it's too much Sean McVeigh-Pixie dust, but I just, McVeigh had Baker for two weeks. Literally, like that one day of the game, you're right. Quickly can put you on the spot here. How's the money work? So I think his contract has offsets. Do you know the answer? I'm pretty sure he can, he can sign for the minimum because he has his own his plan. He's going to be 35 million from here. And so now, by the way, some guys don't even though they're not going to pocket any extra money, some guys don't want to do that because you need an investment from the team. Of the right, because you want the team to show their invested or the ego hit of it. But it is, most of these contracts, if Arizona was on 35 and the next team pays them five, then Arizona was on 30. The next team pays them 15, then Arizona was on 20. I'm not 100% certain if his contract had it. But if he agreed to study habits clause, I think he probably agreed to offset clause. Really interesting. All right, we'll have more on that all week in between our tray Hendrix and News, but right now. tray Hendrix and why didn't we get his farewell letter? Why do you got to do top 10, I'm fortunate. Our honest is back. I don't think the bucks are making the top 10, but we'll see where the Celtics fair. They held the bucks to 79 without Yannis 81 with Yannis because they are a great defense. Where did the Celtics fall on top 10 to say let's find out? We'll get to the Celtics in just a little bit. Yannis would be top 10 player, but the bucks not a top 10 team. I will say, though, coming in at number 10, the Los Angeles Lakers. I don't think they can win, but in the sixth game since the All Star break when Luca, LeBron and Reeves have all been starting, those guys are averaging 67 points again, the three of them. Their goal is to outscore everybody since the All Star break. It's been working. They pounded the Kings. They pounded the Kings. Coming in at number nine, the Rockets. The Rockets are a little too similar to last year's version of the Rockets for my liking, which is weird even though they added Kevin to rent. Like, Shengoon's amazing. A big who does everything and is efficient. They're the best rebounding team in basketball by far, but they still don't seem versatile enough to me. I think they easily could lose in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs, but they are the three seed right now, so they come in at number nine. Coming at number eight, the New York Knicks. My skepticism of this team is what they're doing recently on the defensive end real. Or is it just Mike Brown has some buy-in from a team that is playing hard in the regular season and getting them to overachieve on that end? I'm skeptical, but if their defense is real, they can win because when they hold teams to under 100 points, they're one of two teams in the NBA that's undefeated. So like when the defense shows up, their offense is good enough to beat basically anybody. I just have my skepticism that that will actually continue in May and into June. Coming at number seven, the Trihard Pistons. They're young, they're fun. I love Cade Cunningham. We just have seen so many teams in the NBA that they play the regular season like it's the playoffs. And then when everyone else is playing the playoffs like it's the playoffs, the gap closes. Brew you always talk about how Cade Cunningham, they don't have a true second score. They also don't really have a second playmaker. Cade Cunningham accounts for 33% of their assists, which is the highest percentage of any one player in the NBA. At number six, Wilds, your Boston Celtics. They're going to get taken back. We don't know when, but since the end of January, since January 31st, across the board, best team in the NBA. It's kind of wild and that opponent points for game. I know people are talking about, I know they're talking about the chemistry. When Tatum comes back, they've dealt with that before with Jaylen Brown being the finals MVP. They'll figure that out. I'd be worried about what Tatum coming back does to the defense for Boston if he's anything less after the attack. Wilds is wildly distracted by the little note line. Second best. It wasn't us. It wasn't Hornets. He's wondering if they're about to show up in your top ball. I just got in there. 11 Hornets. You should take it. Right on the bubble. Coming in at number five, the Minnesota Timberwolves. I give them a ton of credit for what they've done in the playoffs the last couple of years. Back-to-back Western Conference Finals is obviously impressive. They just beat the Nuggets. They've been playing for 17-108 on Sunday. It's a team that plays its best basketball late in the season. Even if they're going to go in as a road team in Round 1 in the West, I still think they can end up coming out of the conference. Coming in at number four, Mike Cleveland Cavaliers. Right now without Donovan Mitchell, they've won in two in the last couple of games without him. But Jared Allen's been playing great since Hardin's been there. Hardin coming back and battling through the broken thumb. I think they actually have the ability, like we've talked about, to be a great offensive and defensive team going into the playoffs. Great defensive front court. Coming in at number three, the San Antonio Spurs. Question for them down the stretch. Can they get the one seed? They are too back of the thunder in the West right now. But they have the thunder of the third toughest schedule the rest of the way. Spurs are middle of the pack. So we talk about a young team. They've never won a playoff series. If imagine if we got a Spurs thunder series and Game 7 was in San Antonio when they've had all that success. So San Antonio is playing for a lot, obviously in the playoffs. They also are probably playing for the one seed in the Western conference, the rest of the way. Coming in at number two, the Denver Nuggets. Best player in the sport. Best offense in the sport. And quietly, and I know you guys were talking about Jamal Murray came up earlier in the King of the Hill conversation. Jamal Murray is having the best season of his career. Finally came into the year in shape. Amazing what a love. But he's taking the most shots and he is producing at the highest level. And we've already seen him obviously be the second best player on a title team. If this is the version of Jamal Murray that they're going to get the whole year, which has been the case, that is a very scary team of the best offense in the sport. But coming in at number one, it's the thunder. So many ways to point out that they're the best team, point differential, historic point differential, best offense, best defense, all those things. But SGA right now, we put this up. He's averaging over 31 points a game with a three, a better than three to one assist to turnover ratio. It's never happened in NBA history. I mean, we've been tracking it since the early 80s. Because normally when you have that volume of scoring, you're going to have more turnover. So the ability to be that efficient, not turn it over and score at that clip, he would be the only player ever to clear those thresholds. So he probably, he's got a shot at MVP because of the 65 game thing. But he's having a remarkable running a little short on time. I know you have 10 takes. I'll cut the bonus takes. I'm going to say Detroit should be higher. I would switch Detroit and Cleveland. Detroit is seven and one against the other three top four seeds in the East. I think they're physical brand about the Nix looked physical against the Spurs and finesse against Detroit. Detroit, that's playoff basketball too. And everybody's, they beaten the Nix six straight times in the regular season. Everybody talks about the Nix beating them in the playoffs. That was a really tough series. I don't know the Nix one is six games, but a couple of those games could have went either way and Detroit might have won. So I think Detroit's going to do some damage in the playoffs. So I will put them in the top five. So, OG one. No, no, no, no, go ahead. I know for sure. I understand because I have been, I have this affinity as well to look at Nikola Yokitch and be like, oh, his team's got to be one of the best teams. Look at what a great season he's having. Look at what a great player is, especially when his wingman is having to your point the best season of his career. The NBA season is 82 games long. In the last 35, the Nuggets are 17 and 18. And they almost lost last night to the jazz. They have the same number of losses this year as the 10th ranked Lakers. And their defense is right now bottom 10 in the league. So I understand the idea that once they get paid and want to back, once they get Aaron Gordon back, their championship tested, they took the Thunder 7 games last year that they have upside. But there is just to me no argument that right now there are top two team in the league. I just think that they have not earned that. I think there's a number of teams on your list that right now have a better resume than Denver. Well, definitely listen, the Thunder thing in the playoffs definitely sticks with me. That series was remarkable. It took him to the break. Where are the Pacers on the... Well, come on. The Nuggets this season, even with all that, they lead the league in points per game, assist the turnover ratio, 3.0 percentage, and offensive rating. Just being the best offensive team in the sport with the best player, that matters. Hard ceiling. You think it's a hard... Oh, so you're out on your none. I'm not out. You just said hard ceiling. But I'm... I asked my wife where the coats are. Let's just say that. Not out. Or thinking about leaving. Oh, that's your right. Yeah. I'm glad you explained that. Yeah, it's quite a nice moment. I got it. Wilders of the game. Go to a party. You go through your coats somewhere. I mean, I get it now. No, it's your explained it. The best, the best quips just out of nowhere. That's my fault. How many things are you saying I'm slow? No, do you pile up the coats in like a spare bedroom? Uh, a policy. 100 days to work out. He's not going to be on the show, but I wish he was. Maybe not. I mean, I'm not going to be on the show. I'm not going to be on the show. I'm not going to be on the show. I'm not going to be on the show. I'm not going to be on the show. I'm not going to be on the show. I'm not going to be on the show. I'm not going to be on the show. I'm not going to be on the show. I'm not going to be on the show. I'm not going to be on the show. I'm not going to be on the show. I'm not going to be on the show. I'm not going to be on the show. I'm not going to be on the show. I'm not going to be on the show. I'm not going to be on the show. I'm not going to be on the show. I'm not going to be on the show. I'm not going to be on the show. I'm not going to be on the show. I'm not going to be on the show. 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I'm not going to be on the show. I'm not going to be on the show. I'm not going to be on the show. I'm not going to be on the show. I'm not going to be on the show. I'm not going to be on the show. I'm not going to be on the show. I'm not going to be on the show. He'll lead his team in the right direction. He'll lead his team in the right direction. I want to ask you about one of his teammates, It's Western McKinnie. He blew out his team in the right direction. He blew out his team in the right direction. He blew out his team in the right direction. He blew out his team in the right direction. He blew out his team in the right direction. He blew out his team in the right direction. He blew out his team in the right direction. He blew out his team in the right direction. He blew out his team in the right direction. He blew out his team in the right direction. He blew out his team in the right direction. He blew out his team in the right direction. They're playing in like five, six different positions. So, Swiss Army knife, what type of role do you see him having for this World Cup team? I love Western, honestly. I've loved Western since he's been part of this national team because the kid just brings this kind of balance to the team. The team has a different kind of feeling and a different kind of balance when he's on the pitch. And part of it is because he's just a good player overall. Yeah, he can play various positions, and that's not easy, but he's adaptable, and he's always a key contributor to this team. Honestly, when I look at the form of these players on this group of players currently, if you were to ask me today, I think Western has the potential to be the standout player when this tournament's set in done for the US team. I think he could be the most impactful because of like you mentioned, his versatility. But there's also this kind of passion and energy that he brings, this motivation where he can pick up his teammates. You know what I said, I bring the best out of them and going back to the conversation earlier about chipping this and buying. He's got all that. So I think Western's gonna play a key role for this team come summertime. Mo, there was a lot of pressure on USA's head coach, Mauricio Puccino, to get this team into the World Cup. They've arrived. What can we expect for him? And what does he need to do to make sure this team has success? Yeah, I would say that the tough part early on for Puccino was trying to figure out one, who are the players that he can trust? Who is his best group of players? And then the fact that this team didn't have to go through World Cup qualifying, all they were gonna play was friendly in the lead up to the World Cup. So it was a tricky moment, but I think, especially the second half of 2025, this team has really come together in the right way. And part of it is because of something that he did, he changed the tactics. He changed the formation a little bit. And now he got his best players on the pitch. He's able to get them in positions that are more suitable for, I guess the cohesion of this group. And so now when you lead up to the World Cup, there's four more games, four more friendly, where he's gotta identify who is starting to live in art. But more importantly, on June 12th, when that first whistle blows, he's gotta have this team in the right mindset. Playing on home soil can be such an advantage, but it can also be pressure. So he needs to make sure that these players view all that support that they're gonna have, all that comfortable nature of being in your home country as an advantage and not a deteriorating factor, which I'm sure they will be and I'm sure he'll have this team ready to go. So we're doing the 100 day countdown, but before the official opening match against Paraguay, there are four friendlies still to come. Beginning at the end of March, there's a lot to accomplish, including setting the official roster, but what are the goals? What does success look like in those friendlies? Ha, ha, ha. Success, I would say, I mean, of course you wanna win. We're playing against them really strong opponents. So to round out these set of friendlies and go into the World Cup, continuing this moment that they built towards the end of 2025, where they went five games unbeaten. So you look at the opponents we're playing. We're playing Belgium. We're playing Portugal, Christian Ronaldo and Portugal. Set a goal, one of the top African nations, they just won African cup of nations as well, and Germany who's always the powerhouse. So four really good games that'll set the tone for what we should expect this summer. So success for me looks like we walk away from these four games, hopefully we'll add a few wins in the bag, but more importantly, we're confident that this team is ready to compete. Everything that we talked about, the rate of scrap, the rate of fight, but beyond that, there's the chemistry, there's the cohesion, and we have a group of players that we can believe are gonna go and inspire this nation, galvanize this nation, and give us something to really celebrate and cherish when July 19th rolls around. Moe, it's 100 days. We'll see you at the World Cup, man. Thank you so much. We're counting it down. Yes, sir, I appreciate you guys. I'm looking forward to seeing you having some games as well. Hey, love that. From your mouth to the con's ears. We hope to be there. That's Moe Deux. 100 days until the FIFA World Cup, kicking off on Fox and FS1. Welcome back to the OT. We got Willie Cologne and Al Harrington hanging out now. So let's talk some hoops, play a little game of contenders or pretenders. Pretty self-explanatory. Who we got up first? Are the calves contenders or pretenders? Contenders. I feel like I'm on an island on this one. And I understand James Hardin's postseason struggles. And I understand that the calves have disappointed also. But they have had terrible injuries, including Darius Garland, who they just traded away. James Hardin has played 44 more games the last three years than Darius Garland. Say a lot of things about James Hardin. He laces him up. Yeah. He shows him. And he does not have to be the number one scorer on this team, because Donovan Mitchell's there. And Evan Mowbally and Jared Allen are there. He just has to do with James Hardin's doing this year, which is great. And I think in a wide open Eastern conference, they can come out of it. How they're a contender. I mean, I say pretenders. OK. I'm just, I just need to see it. You know, I think Donovan, you know, he's at the point where like, we need you to get over that hump. And obviously, Adam James Hardin, a prolific score like that, definitely gives him a better chance. You know, they have a great back court with the two big guys you just mentioned. And Jaylin Tyson coming on as a elite defender for them. So, you know, they have what they have the players there, but I'm just not confident they're going to get it done. Yeah, I'm with you. I think that their pretenders are 100%. And that's because they're fragile. We talk about Donovan Mitchell now dealing with the growing. People aren't mentioning that James Hardin's dealing with a thumb injury right now. You also got to realize, you know, they play there too big. But that's because they have no help in the wings. Matt Scherowski's been out with a Jones fracture, right? So because of that, they're forced to play there too big and they're weak on the wings. I don't see how that sustainable going to distance into the playoffs. Valet, they're playing really well as it right now. But nevertheless, I don't see them as a contender. OK. Don't say I didn't tell you, sir. All right. Let's see. Although I am the exact guy, Zach. I am that exact type of guy. Usually have a costume to tell you. Yes, exactly. Well, maybe I get to James Hardin Beard. That'd be excellent. All right. What's up next? Are the NICs contenders or pretenders? I'm glad Willie is on that side of the table here because I believe that the NICs are pretenders. Wow. I just don't believe that a team with Jalen Brunson and Carl Anthony Towns is going to be a top five defensive team. I know their defensive rating for the last month is top five. I know Mike Brown is a great defensive coach. And I know they have other really good defensive pieces around those two guys. But I have just seen them too often in the postseason. Both of them get targeted. And you can't take them off the floor. So until I see it in the postseason, Carl Anthony Towns, be a plus defensive player. Because I'll give him credit. He's been playing better. He's been giving more effort with higher stretches of time anyway. They've been calling him out because of that. Yeah. And I'm watching. And so I admit that this year it has been better. But until I see that in the postseason, I am just skeptical that your two best players can be defensive liabilities. I say pretenders. Well, they're contenders to me, man. I think that obviously they had a little bit of heartache. They losing last year and conference finals. But I think they learned a lot. I feel like they really get a lot of energy from the city. You know what I'm saying? When that's spring coming around, the weather gets nice. Everybody gets the outside and everything. But you know, Kat is to me. He's going to be the X factor. If he can be consistent, play smart, not getting foul trouble, I think Jalen can help him out by feeding the big fellow a little bit, making him feel good about it. So I think when he's feeling good offensively, then he usually does play defensively. Realize that he needs to stay in the game in order for the mix to be able to win some of these series. Yeah, let's try to take a non-biased approach. I know you, I'm a nix fan, die hard, throwing through. But I have to believe that they're starting to jail at the right time. And that was crucial. I recognize they've been in consistent. I don't take that away from you. And I know it's one of their biggest critiques. Never the last man, they have been better defensively. They can make their own shot. And when they play in rhythm, and when they're at home, they're damn hard team to beat. And so when I look at the New York Knicks right now, momentum's on that side. They've played better. I even think that loss to the pistons helped them. It made them fire in their heart and they're primed. Because they got called out. People are crossing the country. It's like, how can you believe the nicks if you get in walk by the pistons? The pistons are pretty damn good. And now they're looking at the self-thicks, the calves, and the pistons saying, hey, man, I'll go to the witness thing. We brought Mike Brown in here to be the difference. Well, right now, we're not playing like that. I thought the loss to the pistons is getting the kick in the butt, necessary for this time of year. I believe Big Cat. He's going to pull around. I'm worried about Josh's heart. Josh Hart slump. I feel like he's going to figure that out. But nevertheless, man, I think the nicks are pretenders. Get to you, Smith, ride back for the playoffs. I think that would help. I'll just say, TIBS is also a great defensive coach. And they weren't great defensively in the playoffs with him. Like, you know the problem with TIBS. He burnt them out, man. We didn't have legs. You need legs in the playoffs. The nicks did not have. We got more talent this year. It's way more talent on that roster. You know what I'm saying? I think they can go deeper into the bench. And I think because of that, they'll get over the hump and get to the finals. And Mike Brown's not a, it's not a further changes rotation. Well, like, he'll mix it up. He doesn't stay stagnant. All right. Well, again, let's go to an x-can. Any talent, you pay. I'm saying you pay. I'm saying you pay. We'll be cologne. You got nicks hookups. All right, what's the next one? I contender or pretender? Are the spurs contenders or pretenders? So I am going to say contender. And I am an NBA historian. I know that normally you got a crawl and then walk and then run. And these guys are really young. And they haven't one of the postseason. And Michael Jordan had to get there and lose before he could break through. And LeBron had to get there and lose before he could break through. I know my history. But I've at least opened the possibility that that doesn't apply to a seven foot seven alien. It might just be completely different and standard at NBA rules don't apply to this guy. It's going to be different for him. And the playoffs, the game slows down a lot. It's going to get way more physical to wrestle out. You know, pull and tug and bump into that frame. Is that frame going to be able to last four series to get to win it all? And then this team is young. Those guys are inexperienced. They're going to have to be able to shoot the three a lot better right now. I think they're a really good three point shooting team. So I think that they're going to have some challenges that they still have to overcome. And I just can't see this being the year for them. Yeah, I say pretenders. I'm not wild by the spurs. I think the biggest problem right now, they don't shoot the ball well behind the three point mark. Right? The problem for me, outside of, you know, they don't get a lot from the air or a fox. They don't get a lot from stuff on cast. And when the ironsley is one of their best shooters, which is a problem for me? Because I'm a traditional, I'm a traditional. You know how I am. If you're over seven feet, you belong in the paint. I don't like seeing a seven six guy jibble the air out the basketball. He takes way too many threes for me. If you're a wimpy, if you want this team to have a shot and a playoffs, you've got to get down in the box, big fellow. You got to make Hay and the paint. I think sometimes if he's not cooking, they fall flat. And when they go against a team that can shoot the rock and they can't, that's going to be the edge right now. So for me, the youth I agree with, but they pretenders. I don't know. They're fun to watch. Yeah, of course. Very exciting to watch. But I don't, in the playoffs, I just can't see and put into pulling it together. I just don't need to see wimpy look like magic Johnson at seven. Like the game has changed. Like, you know, that's how we get that. We're old school, right? And this is, and this is a graphic right here to prove that. Like, like, this is against the nicks. Like one for seven. I don't need that. Right. Like, and I don't want to sound like the old man. They were losing. So he was trying to bring them back. But I also know they were a little bit, that was on the road. He had a little fatigue. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But nevertheless, man, I just need to be better, man. It doesn't do anything. They're two back in the lost column of the Thunder. They've whooped the Thunder this year. They seem to beat all of the good teams that they play. They seem to put out their best against the best team. They're amazing defensively, especially him. Like, he's going to be defensive player of the year. The problem with me right now, if you're going to be the lead guy for that team, you got to show up on offensively. Regular teams are different from the postseason. That's all I'm going to say. Yeah, it definitely is. The totally different season. But he is seven seven. Yeah. So it might be like it. It might be that it might be that it might be that it's dunkin' to come down. So, I'm going to grab this and come talk to him. Man, give him, you know, give him. That would be incredible. Yeah, that's what you mean. Have you seen pictures of him next to the David Robinson team dunkin'? He's towers over. They look like guards. We are officially 100 days away from the World Cup kicking off on Fox and FS1. We could not be more excited. So to celebrate, we teamed up with our Fox Sports Digital Friends to count down the best all-time World Cup moments. Starting today with number 100, you may have heard of him. Messi's 2018 goal against Nigeria. Watch it and take a listen. This first touch from Messi is insane. And it saved Argentina's 2018 World Cup. Elimination was looming for the Argentines. Stalled by Iceland, crushed by Croatia, even rumors swirled of some polity getting sacked. They had to beat Nigeria. 14 minutes in, Banega drops a perfect ball into space. Messi cushions it with his left. Takes one touch to settle the chaos and fires right footed rocket into the far corner. Pure control, pure class, pure Messi. Messi opens the door. Roho slams its shut. Argentina advances. Pretty remarkable moment, obviously, for arguably the greatest of all time. Will he put this in the context here? Messi will turn 39 during this World Cup. He's the captain of Argentina, the defending champs. You retired at 32. Yes. He's about to play in his sixth World Cup, which is a record at age 39. Pretty remarkable. And he looks like you can keep going. The problem is I stumbled down the stairs, right? At this end. But I think we're watching somebody right now. I was like, there's a guy who loved FIFA Soca. Yeah, I mean, forget about it. He was the cheat coach. He was the cheat coach. So this is awesome to see. It's a pretty remarkable resume, obviously. But this goal, then the stretcher goals that he had, then winning it last time as the captain, it's adding to the goat legacy and all that. But I mean, if he's the captain of a team that wins back to back and he goes out like that, it's just the perfect send-off to the all-time career. Yeah, you get a tattoo of his face on your back. I mean, I think it's the thing is. He's so famous and so popular. He might be the most tattooed athlete. You don't even like more people have a Messi tattoo. Wow. 100 days. We're coming to town.