The Morning Roast
The Morning Roast: 6/25/17
The NBA draft is over, still no football, but there’s plenty to talk about
11:45 AMWe’re full on in the thick of summer radio, which means that the topics are thin on sports but fun on life. Christian Yates was away on holiday, so talk of The Bachelorette stayed pretty serious, as that particular program has taken a turn for the super cynical.
As far as guests, we chopped it up with Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune and Chris Herring of FiveThirtyEight.com. Obviously, there was a lot of basketball chatter on the heels of the NBA draft too.
Hour 1
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The NBA draft gave us some fun moments. There wasn’t a whole lot of suspense, as the picks were pretty much chalk, but the devil is in the details. Markelle Fultz unsurprisingly went to the 76ers and was wearing quite a bit of TV makeup that was rather noticeable. Of course the Ball family was in the building, making a tremendous scene, and LaVar’s vision came to fruition. Sidebar: LaVar might be in the WWE soon. LaMelo, though, was the best-dressed one there.
Of course, the Timberwolves traded for Jimmy Butler, which was the big deal of the day in Brooklyn at the Barclays Center. Who knows what the Bulls were thinking, unloading their best player for a couple of dudes who few like and one of whom has a torn ACL. Then they sold a pick to the Warriors. It should also be noted that Butler was in Paris when he got the news that he was traded.
We did find time for the NFL as well. With Colin Kaepernick’s tweets prompting awful takes from many writers, we had to clear a couple of things up.
Hour 2
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The New York Knicks are a mess right now. Their best player, Kristaps Porzingis, bailed on the squad before exit interviews when the season ended, and their owner was playing a rock gig the night of the draft. Thankfully, team president Phil Jackson didn’t trade the Latvian away, to the delight of fans, for once. We broke down what they can do next to make them an important franchise to the NBA again. Let’s also not forget that Charles Oakley’s court case for nearly beating up owner James Dolan is still looming.
Speaking of NYC, Kentucky head coach John Calipari showed up to the NBA draft, which is where he does a large part of his recruiting. He’s blatantly there to show face for the Wildcats, which is fine. Also, the fashion factor is a big part of the draft, so we got into that as well.
Of course, the Derek Carr $125M deal with the Oakland Raiders was big news in the NFL world. Mina and Domonique broke down how that’s not really a super significant figure overall, even though it makes him the highest-paid player in the NFL. Basically, he should be. Until the next guy comes along. Which will probably be this week.
Lastly, for Top 5, I took a look at what some of the most hateable fan bases in America are. If you’re wondering, no, New York, Dallas and Philadelphia are not on the list.
Hour 3
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Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune joined us to talk about the Timberwolves and how they look as a squad since their big acquisition of Butler. They’ve moved up from a League Pass alert team to someone that’s probably going to get a whole lot more television time. But they haven’t made the playoffs in 13 years, so we got into how this franchise is going to move forward.
In the second segment, we talked about the story of Ryan O’Callaghan, whom some of you may remember from his time with the Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots. He recently was profiled at OutSports.com with a harrowing story about how he was talked down from suicide, which he’d planned for a long time after his NFL career ended. Domonique told a great story about a teammate he played with who later came out and that he regrets not being more respectful to during their time at the University of Maryland.
I saved the best for last, however. As you all know, The Bachelorette is a big topic of discussion on this program. Since I happened to be doing this show from home, I had a surprise for the gang. After informing everyone that Christian was out of the country, I stepped away from the Skype fam for a second and returned in costume, ready for the segment. Sure, it’s not a visual medium, but the bit was worth it.
Enjoy!
Daily Dose
Daily Dose: 6/23/17
Bill Cosby is taking his show on the road
11:19 AMIt’s officially summer. That means you’ll have a lot more people randomly taking Fridays off. And for that reason, I’m filling in on The Dan Le Batard Show today with Ryan Hollins. Should be a fun one.
LAVAR JUST RENAMED OUR SI KIDS REPORTER LAMAX pic.twitter.com/om1i8Ja1PG
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) June 23, 2017
Johnny Depp needs to chill. Thursday at the Glastonbury Festival in England, he intimated that he might want to assassinate President Donald Trump. Not only is this not cool at all from an obvious human standpoint, but this can also turn out to be a pretty awful career move. Just ask Kathy Griffin. Of course, Depp is rich beyond belief, but he apparently also has issues handling money, so he might want to be able to continue to work for a while. This is not going to end well for Depp.
Bill Cosby has no shame. The man who openly admitted to drugging women to have sex with them, managed to get a hung jury in a sexual assault trial, then had his handlers openly brag about his restored power is really craven. He’s planning public speaking arrangements about how to avoid sexual assault accusations. The plan is to focus on speaking to young athletes and married men. They’re going to have to pay people to show up to these things. Simple lesson: Assault is the problem. Not the accusations.
When I was a teenager, I skated a lot. Not like, let me go to the skate park and learn tricks, but more of a “I need a faster and more fun way to get around town” type. So I never really got good enough to do anything that would impress anyone, but I could ollie well enough to hop a curb from the street if I needed to. Whether I can still actually do that or not, I have no idea. But I will be covering the X Games later this summer, so maybe we’ll see. Anyway, one reporter tried to pick up skating as a grown-up and, well, it wasn’t quite what she expected.
The White House is affecting the New York Jets. If owner Woody Johnson is confirmed as U.S. ambassador to the U.K., that means his kid brother Chris is going to have to take over daily operations of the team. I love the idea of the Jets falling apart because of the owner’s excessive political aspirations. Woody Johnson screaming about some butt fumble situation with a cup of tea on the table is an image I won’t get out of my mind anytime soon. I really hope the U.S. Embassy in London is lame enough to fly a Jets flag too.
Free Food
Coffee Break: I admitted to myself the one thing in life I know I’ll regret is not being able to be around when the numbers game simply changes in the U.S. That will be when there are just too many people of color to allow unfair practices to rule our land. Here’s a great story on how interracial love is saving the nation.
Snack Time: Keep telling yourself that everything is fair in America, kiddos. Check out these two photos and you’ll get a real good look at how we are treated versus everyone else.
A white kid in America illegally selling lemonade VS black kids in America illegally selling water. Who can spot the difference ? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/GUH2qwydZP
— Allie Jay (@AllieJayBabyy) June 22, 2017
Dessert: Vince Staples’ new album is out. It’s got many sounds and is perfect for a party to run all the way.
Daily Dose
Daily Dose: 6/22/17
Milwaukee is the latest city to protest the verdict in a police shooting
1:40 PMI’m back from New York, and it was a whirlwind week. I did my best to create a complete radio show for the podcast, so I hope you like it. The whole thing has been a work in progress, but I think we’re getting closer to what we want.
Octavia Butler would have been 70 today.
— playboi canti (@itskindred) June 22, 2017
It feels like every day of summer is going to deliver another terrible verdict. This time it comes from Milwaukee, where an officer killed a man after a chase. The victim in this case appeared to have gotten rid of a firearm during the pursuit, which was a critical point for the verdict in the end. It might be worth noting that the officer was black, but that doesn’t change the fact that another man lost his life at the hands of law enforcement, which is such a troubling trend that it’s hard to keep up. There will be protests in Wisconsin today, for sure.
We now have a new proposed health care bill. Nobody’s seen it, few lawmakers have any idea what it actually is, but Senate Republicans drafted it behind closed doors and refused to reveal any details about it until it was time to vote. As far as legislative shenanigans go, this definitely qualifies as doing the most. Democrats have been going all over the country asking constituents what they think of repealing the Affordable Care Act, but no one knows what’s in it. Now, we have what they’re calling a “discussion draft,” which is rather underwhelming.
The doctor’s office is stressful. There’s just no way around that. Whether it’s the wait time, the paperwork, the cost or the obvious situation of learning about one’s health, in general it causes major anxiety. So if you walk into a medical facility with a strong bent of racism on your mind, things are not going to go well. That’s exactly what happened in Canada recently when a woman decided she was going to start yelling at people in order for her kid to see a white physician. Then, she claimed she was being discriminated against. Can’t make this up.
Yasiel Puig is my favorite L.A. Dodgers player. He has been so ever since he joined the team and brought his Cuban flavor to the diamond, hotdogging and bat flipping his way all over the big leagues. Of course, because MLB is full of curmudgeons who don’t like fun, this was not well-received. This time, he upset the New York Mets because he took too long to get around the bags after a home run. Now, everyone’s saying he doesn’t have respect for the game, which is absurd. This charade from big leaguers only gets more annoying with each passing pitch. Get over it.
Free Food
Coffee Break: Speaking of baseball, some people go to incredible lengths to be able to play. For example, if you have only one hand, it’s not easy to do. But in the mold of Jim Abbott, the legendary one-handed pitcher who once threw a no-hitter, there’s a catcher doing the same thing. Check this kid out, he’s awesome.
14-year-old Luke Terry may have one arm, but that doesn't stop him from gunning down baserunners. (via @orioles) pic.twitter.com/WX96xkqlQy
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) June 22, 2017
Snack Time: George Clooney’s won the life lottery in so many ways. Aside from being exactly the type of guy whom Hollywood casts for everything, he apparently also just falls into money when he isn’t even trying. What a life.
Dessert: DeMario Jackson is back on Bachelor In Paradise. This franchise is totally out of control.
All Day Podcast
All Day Podcast: 6/22/17
A trip around New York City, with a twist
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Remember back when I mentioned that the All Day Podcast was going to become a lot more personal? Well, that day has come. This week, I traveled up to New York to talk to a couple of people about their connection to the basketball and sports world, with the NBA draft set to go down Thursday night in Brooklyn at the Barclays Center.
Basically, I grabbed my recording equipment and hit the streets, hoping to capture some stories and give you an idea of what interests me beyond the obvious stick and ball sports that we cover so regularly here. It was a fun ride, and I hope after listening you’ll get a better idea of exactly what makes me tick.
To begin with, I sat down with Porter Braswell and Ryan Williams, the co-creators of Jopwell. It’s a firm that places minority candidates in tech jobs, started by two black men who met while working in finance on Wall Street. I met them at their downtown offices in Manhattan to talk about what prompted them to leave the money world and try to help others in a field that neither of them had much experience in.
Braswell, who played basketball at Yale, talked about what it was like to bring his athletic persona into the corporate world once he was done with hoops and how it helped shape his business strategy. Williams pointed out this was not a popular career decision in his household, but it certainly has paid off at this point in terms of what he’s getting out of it. Then, I got crushed at pingpong.
Later that afternoon, I made my way to midtown to check out the unveiling of Nike’s new REACT technology, featured on the Hyperdunk and Jordan Super.Fly 2017s. The event was held at a place called Terminal 23, which holds invite-only open runs for people in the business and youth players looking for more than the average gym experience. I played horribly, but I did get to talk to three Nike execs who were responsible for creating the new shoes, one of which Golden State Warriors center Draymond Green wore in the NBA Finals. He was there, too.
Lastly, I took a trip to Queens to decompress after hearing the news of the death of Mobb Deep’s Prodigy. He was only 42 years old, making him the latest in a long line of hip-hop greats who have died before 50, which is just really sad. He was a force on the rap scene since “Shook Ones Pt. II,” and his presence in the game as a ’90s artist will never be forgotten.
I talked with K-Sise, a lifelong friend and family member as far as I’m concerned, about what his impact meant to the borough. K is a semiretired recording artist who grew up in Queens, so I thought his input on this subject would be valuable. We sat down at his place and talked about the crazy day that was and how it affected us as fans of the culture, never mind him as a Queens native and New Yorker. I think you’ll find it interesting.
Overall, it was a pretty exhausting Tuesday, but I did my best to make it sound good. With any luck, you’ll get an idea of where this show is looking to go, because although this episode isn’t perfect — none are — it’s as close as I’ve gotten to something that best represents what this blog is really about.
Enjoy.
Daily Dose
Daily Dose: 6/21/16
The justice system isn’t equipped to convict officers
12:14 PMTuesday was a heck of a day. Three interviews with three entirely different types of people, all in New York. This week’s All Day podcast is going to be a look at how I navigated a wild trip around NYC. Coming Thursday.
why…why are all the new Ken dolls youtubers pic.twitter.com/x7DDeJf9bN
— Erin Burr, sir (@erinscafe) June 21, 2017
Our judicial system is not designed to consider police officers as criminals. It just isn’t. On a systemic level, this is not really news. But on a visceral one, it’s a difficult reality to come to grips with when you’re faced with things like video evidence. The fact is, for most Americans, a black person is a threat simply by existing. So even if they are law-abiding and, say, in possession of a handgun, they are still scary to many. Including officers who are trained to handle threats. The video of how Philando Castile was killed in Minnesota is truly horrifying.
The concept of streetwear is fascinating to me. For us from a certain generation, those were just known as “clothes.” But over the years, the concept of garments for people who don’t have to wear suits or dress like they are at a country club has evolved from a niche to a lifestyle. It’s not uncommon to see people who outfit their whole lives in streetwear. Bobby Kim is one of the guys who created The Hundreds, and he’s got a new documentary out about how all this came to be in his life.
Here’s the definition of terrorism: The unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims. And when a guy decided he wanted to shoot up a baseball practice with lawmakers before the Congressional Baseball Game last week, after specifically making the point of targeting them, you’d think that fit the bill. But no — and we’re guessing this has something to do with what the man who shot Rep. Steve Scalise looks like — the FBI says it’s not terrorism. I guess that precedent would be too much to set.
I just became Dwyane Wade’s new biggest fan. In an era in which people are steadily hating on athletes for doing anything they can and want to do to succeed as human beings, the Bulls guard just pulled a high-quality flex on people who act like pros should put their teams above themselves — as if the teams would ever do that for them. When asked about why Wade chose to pick his player option for next year, which would pay him $24M, he said straight up “24 million reasons.”
Free Food
Coffee Break: It’s the first day of summer, which means you are officially allowed to indulge in debauchery and act idiotic in the name of the season. Personally, I plan on being heavy in the tank tops and headbands streets, myself. But if you need a playlist to kick off your rose-splashed garden parties, here you go.
Snack Time: Wednesday is Go Skateboarding Day. Which means that if you have a chance, grab a skateboard and go do it. I’ll be at the X Games this summer, too, so that should be fun. Here, watch this video to get yourself in the mood.
Happy #GoSkateboardingDay from @VANS_66 & @VANS_Europe's @nassimguammaz. Hit up your local skateshop to see where the GSD fun is at today. pic.twitter.com/MEEEJnjuWn
— Vans Skate Team (@vansskate) June 21, 2017
Dessert: Look at the NHL making news during the summer. Good for you, guys.
All 31 NHL/Adidas home jerseys. (h/t @brinkeguthrie) pic.twitter.com/0OymURPqC2
— Paul Lukas (@UniWatch) June 21, 2017