Hi, everyone. Joe for Jasper's casebreaks.com. Happy holidays coming at you with 2022 Bowman Draft Baseball Jumbo Edition. Eight bucks. Pick your team number four. Full case right here.   No filler. I appreciate that. Mark grabbing last spot mojo, getting the Yankees. Hopefully everyone's being, uh, stay warm, stay safe out there. I know there's a lot of blizzardy conditions happening for a good chunk of the country. So, hey, hang, hang in there. Stay safe. The case over there. Some of the boxes back over here. All right. So the jumbos, of course, three autos per box. We got Elijah Green, Jackson Holiday on the box. Just off to the side here. I've got my phone on a phone stand watching a little, uh, watching a little Thursday night full. Who does everyone have? I wasn't really able to talk about this. I know it's a baseball break, but we'll have plenty of time to talk about baseball, but who has, uh, who does everyone have in this game? The Jaguars were the slight road dog, even though they're a cat team. They were, they were plus what, two, two and a half. They're in New York. Jets are up three, nothing. Game just started. Not too, not too deep into the first quarter, 1137 left in the first quarter. I'm personally on, for what it's worth, on the Jaguars, on the money line, plus 115 or something like that. I was thinking about taking them, taking the points, but then I was just like, well, what's the point? At that point, I'm to such a weird number. I was like, at that point I'm just saying, I'm saying they're going to win, so I might as well just take the money line. Sorry, Adam Cupperman, if you're listening and other Jets fans. The Jaguars have been playing some hot football lately. I think Trevor Lawrence looking like, looking like the QB that we thought and hoped he could be. So that's, it's good for the hobby. All right, first box and obviously we'll do an autograph recap at the end and all-card chip. Three autos a box. The main guys we're looking for, Jackson Holiday, Tamar Johnson and Elijah Greenham. Those are the three main dudes. Got Owen Murphy. Those ones are not numbered. Kevin Alcantara and then our autograph. Drew Gilbert, 234 out of 499. Refractor autograph for the Astros, Donald with the first auto of the break. So Darren Darin thinking, Zach Wilson is who we thought he was and we let him off the look. Kevin Alcantara, Aqua Lava is to 199. That will be for the Cubbies. That'll be for Matthew. I want to say that these two teams are, are, teams that are trending in opposite directions. I want to say that the Jets had, had, had been having a good season and then I think they've gone like, they've lost like, I think they've gone like two and five or something like that in the last handful of games. Whereas the Jaguars have gone five and two or something like that. Classic, classic, a coach quote. RIP, Danny Green. The Bears are who we thought they were. I might let him off the hook. There's Averson Arteaga to 250. Purple Chrome for the Giants. That'll be for Ross. Tamar Johnson, Pirates. Jackson Holiday, Holiday. Jackson, all these Jackson holidays are going to go to Jack. Got the Orioles straight up. Chad to Benny with the Pirates. Get all these Tamar Johnson's. Have we stumbled across the Tamar Johnson autograph? I don't, I don't think so. Wow, Ben's shots fired. Did the Giants cards go to the Mets? Got him. There's Benny Montgomery, gold paper, 35 out of 50. What a, what a crazy turn of events there. There's Reggie Crawford, Giants. Tamar is a redemption. Okay, so we'll look out for those. Here's Ross with the Giants. I mean, I don't know if this will ever come out, but you know, not, not, not at least officially, but, but I wonder if it'll ever come out. What the medical issue was that spooked the Giants or if the Giants just kind of were dragging their feet and were just trying to be like, Hey, can we do more tests? Can we do this? Can we do that? Maybe that was part of it. I don't know. I'm dragging their feet a little bit and Scott Boris got impatient. Subrex looks like Jaguar setting for a fuel goal. Oh, you think that's what it was? The medical issue was just the Giants getting cold feet. Got Averson Arteaga again, 181 out of 199 paper this time. Nickelplant. What's going on, Nick? How are you? Oh, redemption. Zero degrees. Yeah. Hang in there. I know a lot of, a lot of people in the, in a lot of the country, top half of the country, dealing with wild blizzard conditions. We got a class of 2022 autograph gold refractor parallel. Those are usually around out of 50 of D Detroit. It's only one D city, right? Detroit Tigers, Jase Young, Josh's brother. That's going to go to Allen B and the Tigers. There you go, Allen. It's pretty nice. Draft box. Well, let's get into it. This is the big baseball news of the day. Trevor Bauer suspension reduced 194 games. Hey, what's going on, Matt? No, that is not an option. We'll be shipping that to you sealed. So then you can sit there and think about whether you want to sell it or open it yourself. But congrats. So Trevor Bauer suspension reduced 194 games. Bauer reinstated effective immediately. Major League Baseball announced Thursday night tonight that the 324 games suspension imposed on Bauer has reduced 194 games on appeal. He's already served the entirety of the band. Therefore, he will be reinstated effective immediately. The whole statement, the whole league statement, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. This is all according to MLBTradeRumors.com. This was following the civil action suit against Trevor Bauer assaulting her during sex and Major League Baseball placed him on an administrative leave, blah, blah, blah, two other women coming forth, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. No criminal charges, but it could be a violation of that joint domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy that was appealed, just kind of skimming through here. It's just like a hit parade box, a regular hit parade box, Matt, just one card per box. And it's a Sapphire edition, $600. So it could be something really nice in there. Autograph possibilities or just a regular nice card or something like that could be load numbered. I would search, I would go to our video page or YouTube page and search hit parade Sapphire. And that might give you an idea of the hit parade level there. So now Bauer has been on the restricted list. Yeah, congrats, Matt. It's really awesome. I know that sold out last night, but I was in the middle of all this draft. I appreciate your patience waiting until today. Bauer has been on the restricted list and hasn't counted against a Dodger 40-man roster since first landing on administrative leave. Bill Shakin of the LA Times tweets the team will have until January 6th to reinstate him or to the roster or release him. Bob Nightingale saying the Dodgers are expected to release Bauer, though the team has yet to comment on the matter. Even if the Dodgers cut Bauer loose, it's a meaningful development for the organization from a financial perspective. Los Angeles will owe him his 2023 salary, whether they keep him on the roster or not. They won't have to pay him for the first 50 games of the season, but they'll be on the hook for the remainder of the $32 million salary, about $22 million. Perhaps more meaningfully that money now goes back on the Dodgers' luxury tax ledger for the 2023 campaign. And they're just a million dollars below the tax threshold. Reporting in recent weeks that suggested the Dodgers were reluctant to spend aggressively this winter in part due to the desire to maintain flexibility under the collective bargaining agreement. Threshold in or the CVT tax ledger, blah, blah, blah. With that coming into play, they'll have virtually no financial breathing room without shedding salary unless they're willing to pay the luxury tax for the third straight season. Alright, she's interesting. So we'll see what happens there. We were talking a little bit earlier. I wonder what the front off is talking about. I'm sure they're talking to players. I'm sure they're talking to Trevor, Trevor Bauer. You know, we don't know how the locker room feels about him. Is he going to continue to be a distraction or I don't know what the case is going to be.  Then you can't really make any moves because, you know, they're just not that far under the luxury tax. You know, you might try to want to find a way to get something out of him. There's Gabriel Hughes. Either, I mean, can they trade him? This article doesn't doesn't state whether he can be traded or not. I guess we'll find out by January 6th. It's Gabriel Hughes, Colorado Rockies EA. It's in the game. And Jared McKenzie, Aqua Lava for Billy and the Nets, 38 out of 199. Orange or just that's just the color team trim. Yeah.  So maybe they'll maybe they'll find a trade partner. They'll reinstate him, find a trade partner. Does anyone trade for Trevor Bauer? I would imagine someone's going to want to some teams got to think about taking a flyer on it. We've got Ignacio Alvarez, Braves. I think the Dodgers could, I don't know if that's a thing in Major League Baseball. The Dodgers can benefit from the tried to trade, couldn't trade mojo. Ignacio Alvarez for the brave Timothy Carr with the Bravos. And we've got a Jackson Holiday chrome card holiday. Here's the Dodgers front office and the team something to think about over the holidays. There we go. There's Jackson Jobe, paper to 499. Speaking of the holidays, anyone have anything fun going on the holidays? I feel like top half of the country, right? Snowed in. So I don't know.  Has that affected anybody? Anyone stuck in an airport listening to Jaspies right now? I don't know. A lot of flights got canceled. There's Marco Luciano. Everyone stay warm. Stay safe. For the Giants, it's for Ross. Another holiday speaking of the holidays for Baltimore. It's all for Jack. Oh, you know what? Since Mike Towers here, Mike, I know you were asking about holiday schedule. This should be crooks the third. If you go to the break schedule, that nightbot just dropped. If you click that link and you scroll down a little bit, we've got a full break schedule for you and everybody. Kevin Alcantara to 50 and Jared McKenzie to 499. And if you go to our Twitter, ladies and gentlemen, at Jaspies Rakes, we also reposted the break hours when we're breaking or we're not breaking over the holidays. And we also posted, if you're local, we've got store hours posted there, too. Why don't we take a look at that right now? All right. So today is Thursday, December 22nd, and we're in the middle of Jumbo Picker Team 4, Boomgraph Baseball. So Jaspies Retail Store hours. Jaspies Retail Store hours. Is Jaspies staff staying local or traveling on holidays? Trying to case the joint, Mike Towers? No. I think most everybody is staying local, actually. I don't know if anybody's really doing it. Jason and Vanessa are out of town, but they'll be back next week. I was talking to her. I think everyone just, most people are local. I think they're just hanging around the Hermosa Beach, South Bay area. I'm going to be out of town for a while. After tonight, I won't be back until January 8th or back to work until January. I'll be back in town before then, but I'll be back in front of the camera until the 8th, Sunday the 8th. So today's Thursday, 22nd, tomorrow, Friday the 23rd, normal retail store hours. 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday Christmas Eve, we are closed. Christmas Day Sunday. We're usually closed on Sunday, so the only difference is Saturday Christmas Eve are closed. Monday the 26th, Boxing Day for some of you, closed. And then from the 27th through the 30th, Tuesday through Friday, normal hours, normal retail store hours. 11 to 6, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, 11 to 8, or maybe we won't do that after the holiday. At least six, the normal hours. Saturday, abbreviated day, New Year's Eve, the 31st, Saturday the 31st. Retail store open, 11 to 4 p.m. I'm closing a couple hours early. Allow our team to join their family and friends for the New Year's Eve holiday. Then the first, Sunday the first, we're closed anyway, but happy New Year. So that's the in-store hour. I'll go through the breaking hours after this in the next box. Stay tuned for that. Maybe we'll do a separate video for that too. Tamara Johnson going to the Pirates. That'll be for Chad to Benny. We've got Victor Acosta, 220 out of 4.99. That'll be for the Reds. That's going to go to Eric. We've got Elijah Green back here for the Nats. That'll be for Billy. And we've got Mason Barnett and Jack Branigan, 37 out of 99. Green Chrome Auto for the Buckos. Chad. There's Mason Barnett, 25 out of 50 for the Royals. Mark the set. That's true. Yeah, we have been working on our acts though, so beware. A lot of our team live nearby, so drive by the place often. We've got Jayce Young, 24 out of 99. Green paper for Alan and the Tigers. We've got Jonathan Cannon and Ivan Melendez, 40 out of 99. I'm a man, I'm 40. Goes to the Porterhouse steak and the Snakes. By the way, these Sky Blue parallels, not numbered, so that's why I'm breezing by these. All-Cardship, of course. Lipscomb, those speckles also not numbered. Jackson Holiday Chrome. And we've got Josh Kosevich, Toronto Blue Jays. That'll be for Adam and the Bluebirds. Pirates. Tamar Johnson, Chrome. Donald. I remember if we pulled our third auto, yeah. That might have been our third auto. Oh, no, there's our third auto. It's Chandler Simpson. 59 out of 75. Tampa Bay Rays. Patrick with Tampa Bay. You know, second round pick. Yeah, that was the guy Ryan Harold was looking for. He snoozed on this one. Sorry, Ryan. But congrats to, congrats to Patrick. All right, so we discussed our store hours for the holidays. Now, more importantly for you watching on YouTube, what are our breaking hours going to be? I think this is for both YouTube and Instagram. So tomorrow, Friday the 23rd, today's the 22nd. Friday the 23rd, Friday and Saturday are my usual weekends, weekend days, but Chris Jaspie will be filling in for me tomorrow. Friday the 23rd on the YouTube. And he's going to start off the day with Eminence Soccer. And Ryan, if you were out here, we might have recruited you. Saturday, though, no show. Christmas Eve, we're off. No Instagram, no YouTube. 25th Christmas, no Instagram, no YouTube. 26th Boxing Day, no Instagram, no YouTube. Store is closed, too. So 24, 25, 26 will be dark. Tuesday the 27th, through Saturday the 31st, we're back in action. Although the 31st, because it's New Year's Eve, just like the store hours, we may have abbreviated breaking hours on New Year's Eve, but we'll still be on for a little bit. Then Sunday will be dark, New Year's Day, recovering, nursing hangovers. And then Monday, January 2nd, back to our normal schedule. So only four days over the next couple of weeks. So through the Christmas and New Year holiday, we're only dark four days. This weekend, Saturday the 24th, Sunday the 25th, Monday the 26th, and then New Year's Day. And I'll be starting my, there's the odd, I'll be starting my winter break today and I'll be back in the New Year on Sunday the 8th, at least back in camera Sunday the 8th. There's Cade, 305 out of 499, that's going to go to Adam and the Blue Jays. Drew Thorpe, 163 out of 199. Yankees, that's for Mark. And for the Dodgers, purple paper, 167 out of 250, Dalton Rushing. And it'll be for Peter and the Dodgers. Mike Tower is asking the group, what's the best sports-related Christmas present you've ever received? Sports-related Christmas present. Yeah, I think it's tickets for me too. My sister got last year, last Christmas, last Christmas, last year my sister got Raiders Broncos tickets for us at Allegiant in Las Vegas. And we saw, we saw a Raiders win. It's for Chad and the Pirates. And that was my, that was my, well, that was my first NFL game. Sorry, me and my sister's first NFL game that we've ever been to. Remember LA was without the NFL for a long time. And yeah, my first time obviously at that stadium. I had not been there for any other event. Yeah, so that, that, in recent memory, that must have been one of my best sports-related, what about you, Mike? Ryan got a, got Subway World Series tickets carried over to the Fall on Christmas, so the next Christmas was Bear. Stop, Justin. A putter. Nice. You got a putter for Christmas when you were eight or nine. And I wish my parents put a putter in my hands at eight or nine. I might be on the PGA tour right now. Mark saying, Mark got a Vince Young action figure when he was a rookie for the Titans. Not worth much, but meant the world to you. Yeah, that's, doesn't have to be much. Just the sentimental value alone could be far more than the monetary value. It's Christmas, you know. Ah, tickets to the Lion's Cowboys game with the fam. That's pretty nice, Mike. Holiday and Elijah Green, Jason Dominguez. Do you still have it, Mark? You still have it. Nice, of course, is every time I say, say what? Think of the wedding singer was, you're talking about Holiday? By Madonna? Is that in the wedding singer? Holiday. I forgot. I haven't watched that in a minute or two. There's Chase Meadroth, 21 out of 150 blue wave autograph for Boston, Mark, for the Red Sox. Hey, he's from Torrance. Chase Meadroth? Meadroth? He ended up being a fourth round pick. For Mark, favorite get Larry Bird Christmas ornament in the front part of the tree every year. Nice. There's Alexis Hernandez to 150 for the Cubs. Nice little color match. Matthew. Now for those of you who do the Christmas tree thing, are we going artificial tree or are we doing a fresh cut tree every year? I think when I was a kid, my parents did a, we did fresh cut trees for a couple of years or so that I remember. And then after the mess, there's Judd Fabian for the Orioles, Jack Vane with the O's. Never again, we went artificial tree decades after that. Ryan Harrell has a Hanukkah bush, but it's artificial. You're allergic to the standard tree. Nice Judd Fabian, by the way, who's a second round pick. Nice. TJ is going with a Festivus pole. Nice. All right. We are halfway through this break. Got about another 30, 40 minutes to go. Good luck, everybody. That's right. Happy Festivus Eve, everybody. Mark saying best present has to be the Death Star play set full of action figures, circa 80s. Do you still have that? Or has that been played with? You can't retire on that? Top five Star Wars toys that you can retire on. If you have number four in your closet, you can retire today. All right. Good luck. Another box. You would be retired. They're with your original Carolina Air Jordans in a dump somewhere. Oh no. Does anyone have any, anyone have any fun holiday traditions? Any fun that you and your family or friends do every year? I don't. It used to be, I guess the tradition for me was my sister works in the hotel business. So she would always be, she was always able to get Thanksgiving off and we would do that in my parents' house. And then since she was stuck working Christmas, I would go visit her for Christmas just so we can hang out for Christmas. But now that my parents retired and moved to Las Vegas, now it's just, it's all, I don't know if that's tradition anymore. It's Drew Gilbert, Astros, that's going to be for Donald. And Logan Tanner Blue, that'll be for Eric and the Reds. 45 out of 150. And then Jackson Holiday, Chrome Holiday. And Elijah Green for Billy. Tray Lipscomb reveals a Roderick Arias Aqua Lava 20 out of 199. It'll be Mark and the Yankees. Oh, I missed the, scored the Jaguars touchdown. Jaguars up 10-3. I'm on the Jaguars money line. I'm feeling good about it. Oh, it was Trevor with a one-yard run. I had a little, I had a little prompt going. Trevor Lawrence rushing or receiving touchdown. 92 out of 99. We've got Jason Morabelle for Texas. That's going to go to Rick T. And Cole Phillips. 32 out of 250. Purple-chrome autograph for Tim and the Braves. From San Diego. I also have the same prop for Zach Wilson. I can get both. And the Jaguar of Money Line. A nice, nice Thursday for me. Now that the World Cup is over, I can now put my attention back to investing in NFL teams. It's Christian Vicaro, purple paper. 160 out of 250 for the Nationals, Billy. And we've got a Walter Ford, our third autograph for the M's. That'll be for Peter in Seattle. All right, another box coming up. Let's get a super fractor out of here. I haven't seen a one-of-one in a minute or two. Peter, what's going on? We got a, we got a ways to go, Pete. Hey, good night, Michael. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. Happy New Year and all that. Have a good, have a good weekend. Thank you. I'll try to find some hitters for you. We've got to look hitter-ish here. Well, there'll be more draft breaks posted. Yes. There's a good shot that Pick Your Team Five is down to six teams left. There's really good shot that we'll get that done tonight. And as soon as Pick Your Team Six sells out, we'll post, we'll post another case. Thanks, Peter. Yeah, we'll do, we'll, I'll do a recap. So once this video is posted, you can scroll right to the end and hopefully we'll find some hitters for you. We've got a couple teams, right? You've got Dodgers and Twins and Mariners. All right, all right. Good luck. Thanks for getting in. Did I say six? Yes. I meant Pick Your Team Five with six teams left. And then we'll post Pick Your Team Six. Too many numbers. Now, Jason Curio to 499, Paper, Cleveland, Mark. There's Cooper, Jerpey, and Brenner Cox, 170 out of 199, B. Cox. This Cox going to Billy and the Nationals. Aqua, Lava, Parallel, really nice. And the Jerpey, Purple Chrome to 250 for the Cardinals. Matthew, 215 out of 250. And another Jackson Holiday, Chrome this time for the O's. We've got Alexis Hernandez, Blue, Paper, 13 out of 150 for the Cubs. Matthew with the Cubbies. There's Zack Neato. That's out of five. Yeah, it looked like, looked different. Nice. Air parent insert. It's a Neato hit. Going to Nicholas and the Angels. There you go, Nicholas. Happy Holidays. And all aboard the Big Hit Express. You out? Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays. Happy Hanukkah. Thank you, sir. Have a great trip. Thanks, man. Can you leave the gate open, please? Should have some stuff arriving for me to nom on. Billy with the Nationals. And Landon Sims. 93 out of 499. Refractor, Autograph for the Snakes. Dee Porter, the Porter House Steak with the Snake. These are cold-hearted snakes. Looking through his eyes. Tamara Johnson for Chad and the Pirates. Johnson. And we've got a Hunter Paterson. 50 out of 71 for Kansas City. Mark with the Royals. Fifth rounder. Speckle. Box seven of eight. We're getting there. And we're going to take a little break after this and we'll come back. We'll go through some orders and we'll see what people want to get into. Now, there's plenty of stuff we can do tonight. So there's also an exciting new release date tomorrow. We've got top five star baseball is going to be our big new release tomorrow, so I'm sure we'll do a lot of those. Pre-order your teams now before they end up in, I'm assuming they'll end up in a filler at some point after I go off air tonight or maybe tomorrow. Also, looks like that Jaspie's hit parade break sold out. So what I'm going to do is I'm actually going to add 10 spots back in. We're going to cancel a filler. So that filler you see on the site is going to be the last filler. It's in the football section, which I think should make people happy, because it's one less thing, one less hurdle that we have to go through. Last filler, I gave you the breaks, but the very next day you broke it away. All right, so that's definitely something we can run back multiple times tonight, if you'd like. We've got an Ezekiel Tovar, paper to $4.99, Rockies, EA, Pedro Paneta, got a Jackson Kurio, blue, and a Douglas Hodo, the third. Jack has the Orioles, six-rounder, and Frank with the brew crew, 61 out of 150. Supposed to be really good, Jackson. And his brother, Jason Kurio too. We've got Yoanski Noel, Aqua, Lava, 33 out of 199. And we've got Alex Freeland, 408 out of 499, Refractor Autograph for Peter and the Dodgers. There you go, Peter. We've got a hitter here, Shortstop, Alex Freeland, Elijah Green for Billy and the Nationals, Tamar Johnson, and you went to the Avatar. Way, I just saw a commercial for it on the Amazon Prime game here. I have not. I don't know if I have too much interest in it. I don't think I was really into the first Avatar. I'm not entirely sure, or I wasn't entirely sure what the big deal about this Avatar was, but apparently, technology-wise, they kind of revolutionized how to film stuff underwater. So I guess they figured out new camera techniques and lighting techniques to perform action sequences underwater. So apparently, it's really amazing, visually, in terms of seeing all these water effects. There's an autograph coming up, and it's for the White Sox. Jordan Sprinkles, Sprinkles! That's going to go to TJ and the White Sox. There you go, TJ on the board with the fourth round pick. Sprinkles! And we've got Angel Martinez, blue paper, 1, 2, 3 out of 150. That's for Cleveland. That's for Mark. All right, final box coming up. It's coming out like a fly. It's like rain in New York, according to the TV broadcast, but no snow. Oh, man. I think our friend Adam Koperman is at this game. I wonder where he's sitting. A lot of people in those plastic ponchos out there. Oh, inside the winds pushing that rain around. It's almost falling at a 45-degree angle. That's the one, TJ. Sprinkles! What a great commercial. There's Jackson Holiday, a little bit of a dent on the bottom left and on the bottom right. There's plenty of others. That still goes to Jack, all-card ship, last box, last three autos, and then a recap. Good luck, everybody. Thanks for getting in. We've got another full case picker team. That is down two. That's holding at six teams left. I don't think we're going to have a filler for that. So get into that if you want to do another one of these tonight. There's purple paper, Brandon Berea, 156 out of 250 for the Blue Jays. There's the number right there. And that's Adam with the Blue Birds. I'm a Blue Bird, I'm a Blue Bird, I'm a Blue Bird, I'm a Blue Bird, I'm a Blue Bird, I'm a Blue Bird, I'm a Blue Bird, I'm a Blue Bird, I'm a Blue Bird. Tamar Johnson, Kevin Pratt is out of 250, and Deandre Smith, 232. Oh, I'm out of penny six. Deandre Smith, 232 out of 250. Purple Chrome, autograph. And who has the Metropolitan that's going to be Mark? Mark B, fifth overall pick from from Santiago. Also, I get this one too. Kevin Pratt, a draft day insert. George Valera to 150. Blue Chrome, Mark and Cleveland. Just Sean McLean to 499. Peter and the Dodgers. Oh, there's a Jace Young, that's one out of every 60 packs, a short print insert. That's going to be for Allen and the Tigers. Nice. Tiger uppercut. It's a good picture of him too. And a redemption coming up. And he guesses on that redemption for bragging rights. And we've got a Jackson Holiday blue paper, 287 out of 499. Jack with the O's. Holiday. Oh, you can just drop that off right there. Awesome. Thank you. Very Christmas. Perfect timing. TJ's just going to guess Coloss. No clue if he's a redemption or not, but why not? An Oscar Coloss would be pretty nice. Oh, I thought I saw a plate. Wow, look at that. Plate auto. Zach Maxwell. Reds. Nice. Eric Christensen with Cincinnati. All aboard the Big Head Express. And we saw the redemption. The redemption is going to be, I'm going to put this behind this card right here. White redemption card. Congratulations. You are due to receive a Franchise Futures dual autograph? Uh-oh. Is this a one happy person, one sad person scenario? Or are they both the same team? Oh, actually the team should be on here, so we'll find out. Well, of looks like same team. That looks like the city name right there. New York Mets or Yankees? New York Mets. Wow. That's Kevin Parada and Jet Williams. Jet. That's going to go to Mark Bissette and the New York Mets. Happy Christmas. Happy Holidays, Mark. Nice dual auto going your way. Great finish, ladies and gentlemen. Plate auto, dual auto. Some Jackson Holiday, Jace Youngs. A lot of color in these autographs. A lot of nice parallels. Thanks, everybody, for getting into all of the action on jaspyscasewrakes.com. I appreciate it. There's the Jace Young Tigers Auto and that out of five, Zack Nito, era parent insert. Nice case, ladies and gentlemen. We've got more in the store at jaspyscasewrakes.com. I'm Joe. Happy Holidays. We'll see you next time for the next one. Bye-bye.


Okay, we're back. It's only a few more days to pass over. We should talk about pass over with Rabbi Itchel Krasnijansky. And guess what, Rabbi? Today is Rabbi Schneersen's birthday. Am I right? Yes, you're right, Jay. First of all, thanks for having me on again. Yes, today's a very special day. It is the Rebbe's birthday. In the Hebrew calendar, the 11th day of the month of Nisan is the Rebbe's birthday. The Rebbe was born in 1902. And it is commemorated and celebrated throughout the world by many thousands and thousands of Abad followers, as well as in the wider Jewish community. It really made a very, very huge contribution to the Jewish world and to the world at large. And in fact, in the 1980s, and I'm not sure exactly when, both the House and Senate passed a resolution calling it Education Day USA to coincide with the Rebbe's birthday. Because the Rebbe was a very, very great advocate for education. And as education as being the foundation of moral society, not just education so that one can learn a skill in how to earn a living, but education in how to form a mensch, the Yiddish word for being a good person, an upright good person with good morals and good values. And someone whose goals and aspirations are greater than oneself. So they instituted this day of US day of education, Education Day USA. And every year they they they they sponsor it. And it's probably one of the few bipartisan legislation. And even here, in every single state, all 50 states in the US, the governors, including Hawaii have recognized this day in honor of the Rebbe as Education Day USA. I've been to some of the Education Day programs in the state capital, for example. Yeah. So Rabbi Schneerzen was huge, larger than life. And he even now decades after he died, he's a leading light, at least for Chabad and maybe others who are, you know, in the Hasidic movement. But but question, you know, will there be a successor? Will another rabbi ultimately step up and take that role? The answer is yes. And we in the Jewish world, we call that person the Messiah. Okay. But you're right, the rabbi was a great, great light and perhaps the most important Jewish leader of our century. Our generation. But it wasn't just for the Chabad followers. It was a leader of world Jewry, because the rabbi emphasized, and perhaps the most important revolutionary idea that the rabbi had was that we're all Jewish people, we're all one. And irrespective of our affiliation or lack of affiliation or background, or we're all part of the Jewish people, and inherently, we're all, we'll have a part of God within us, and we're all connected. And the rabbi's message was not just the Jewish people, but just the world at large, too, that, you know, God, God, you know, endowed us with the tools we need to be able to live full lives and moral lives and lives that we can contribute to society. And there we would stress how education in the earliest ages is really the stepping stone and what makes it possible to develop into a functioning positive. Did you know him, Rabbi? Yes. I grew up in the area in Brooklyn where the rabbi was. I was born in 1960, where he passed away in 1992. I would attend the rabbi's public talks, which was every Sabbath, as well as the holidays, or other occasions. And the rabbi's talks were usually attended by thousands of people. And they were very, very uplifting and inspiring talks. The rabbi actually inspired thousands of people to go out into the world, to open Chabad houses, places where Jews can feel at home, irrespective of connection or not, and partake in the teachings of Judaism and the message of Judaism. I know that's the message from Chabad. I actually knew that even before I met you, even before I saw a Chabad of Hawaii, you know, doing its activities here. I ran into Chabad in New York City. And it's always that same welcoming message. So speaking of which, Passover's coming up. And you have a public Passover. Is that a fair way to say it? Yeah, we have a public Passover. Can you talk about it? Yeah, sure. I just want to conclude in talking about the rabbi. It was a rabbi. There is a rabbi. He used to be the chief rabbi of England. His name is Rabbi Dr. Jonathan Sacks. He once wrote an article about the rabbi. And he surmised that the rabbi's life's mission, he explained, was in the context of the Second World War, the world from which the rabbi came. The rabbi narrowly escaped the Nazis and survived the war. Millions of Jews didn't survive. The whole Jewish world was devastated and annihilated. It was annihilation. And the question is, how do you heal from such a profound black hole, a profound devastation like that? So while the Nazis, may the names be erased, hunted down Jews in hate to kill and annihilate them, the rabbi went the other extreme to reach out to Jews and to people at large, in the larger community, in love and acceptance. And in that way, the rabbi, you know, built from the ashes of World War II. And the Jewish world and Jewish life today is thriving, perhaps more than ever in our history, all throughout the world. And in large part, it's due to people like the rabbi, the leadership of the rabbi, that was really a global reach. It wasn't just the rabbi of a congregation or of a community, but it was a rabbi had a global vision for the world. I'm glad you raised that, because I was telling you before, I do think about that, especially in the context of Passover, which is a celebration of freedom and being, you know, liberated from bondage in Egypt. But, you know, we're still working through the Holocaust. We're not done thinking about it. It still leaves scars. The wounds are so profoundly deep that neither we nor our children's children's children will ever forget what happened. And what is really chilling is that there are people who deny the Holocaust an incredible anti-Semitic statement to make. And there are people who are reliving anti-Semitism now. Just as you say, Judaism is thriving in its own way around the world. So is anti-Semitism expanding around the world, especially in this country and also in Europe. And I just wonder what Rabbi Schneersen would say about that, where he alive today. Well, the rabbi would say, I think, as he said on many occasions, that in the Zohar, there's a saying in the Zohar, which is the main book of Jewish mysticism. And over there it says translated in English would be a little light that spells a lot of darkness. That the only way to rid the world of the darkness of hatred and anti-Semitism and all of these issues is only through positive, positive education, light, by example, by teachings. And anti-Semitism specifically is, you know, has been around forever, unfortunately, in the times of the first Jew Abraham, to read how he was thrown into a fire for his beliefs. His beliefs of monotheism, that is a one God who lords over the world. And, you know, I think it's really an expanded view of the view that he expressed while he was alive.  And that's worthy. And I just hope I'm outside that world, although I identified Jewish. And I just hope that's a solution going forward because this dynamic here, it isn't static. There's dynamic. We say on Passover night, we read the Haggadah. The Haggadah tells the story of our exit from Egypt and that which our rabbis added and which we say it at the Seder table. The Seder in Hebrew is a word for order because there's an order as a definite order to the whole evening. But there's one passage there which is very, very apropos to what you're saying and it's also very chilling. And that is that in every generation, they rise up to hurt us, to kill us. And it is only but for God's protection that we have survived. So, you know, that's true, Rabbi. I mean, I've been going to Seder's for, oh, gosh, more than 60 years, you know, pretty much every year. And that language is there every year in the Haggadah, right in the middle of the Haggadah, in every generation. The paragraph begins in every generation. The people who would annihilate Jews rise up.  It's an old statement. It's a statement that's been going on for a long time since Egypt. And I think we have to read the Haggadah fresh every year. We can't let it be an old statement. We have to make it relevant today. You know, there are many versions of the Haggadah printed in many, well, in every language you can think of. And it always rotates between Hebrew on the, what, the right side of the page and the other language English say on the left side of the page. And people read it in an alternating verse, you know, around the table, which is always a way to invest people in exactly what it is saying. But what I like most about it is the commentary, depending on the version you look at, the commentary that makes it relevant today. And certainly there's a lot of commentary about the Holocaust in World War II in any addition of the Haggadah, because it is, it runs a parallel track of what happened in Egypt, or worse. But I think it's also relevant what's happening right now. I don't think the Haggadah should be carved in stone. The prayers, you know, the Hebrew, the songs, the rituals, yes. But the references have to be very, very relevant every year. Very relevant and contemporary. And you're right. And actually, that's the, that's the main purpose of the whole tradition, not just to recall what happened in the past, but by so doing to reflect on the present and build towards a better future. And that's really, that's the optimism that comes out of reading the Haggadah. That we were in a bind.  God saved us. We're here. We give thanks to God. And we continue. And that's the story of the Jewish people, the survival of the Jewish people. Yeah, the story in Egypt is, I don't know, I think it's a special story, but it resonates with all the other stories that you hear about somebody rising up and trying to kill the Jews. And the one in Egypt is maybe best remembered in the sense that it's, it's repeated every year. It's part of the ritual. It's part of the national memory of the Jewish nation. And you go through it. You actually go through it. The Haggadah is a very rich statement of that story and the prayers that go with that story, the lessons that come out of that story, and the engagement of everybody at the table no matter what age or inclination about that story. It's an attempt to bring everybody at the table together and remember it. Right. And what's remarkable is we see it at the Stater Night, the Stater Table, but it's also true in every other Jewish tradition is the is the inspiration and the optimism.  Although there were very serious somber moments, and I remember Anima, I mean, you know, that song about I believe we still believe walking to the gas chamber, we still believe. That's there. But that I agree with you that that doesn't dominate the stater. Just point of reference. What dominates the stater in terms of the liturgy is uplifting. The songs are happy. They're fun. They're memorable. They're good music. Creative lyrics, all that. It's their rebirth, really, that's emphasized the renaissance. And that's true about Judaism in general, even though we have in our history so much suffering. There is, you're mentioning about the many different Haggadahs. I saw a Haggadah once. That's the book from which you read. In Hebrew, Haggadah means to tell the story. This whole narrative tells the story. And this particular Haggadah had a fold out of about 10 pages that went through the different hagrams that the Jewish people suffered in the 15th, 16th, and 17th century. This is even before the Holocaust. It's like this date, this year, this community, this day that pages and pages long of what our ancestors suffer. So Judaism, our history is one of long suffering, but we don't we don't elevate suffering, you know, and make it, you know, something special and holy. On the contrary, we're loving, you know, we love joy and happiness. And that's the emphasis in Judaism. And you think about it's very remarkable how how we Jews were able to keep our heads held high and joyous and happy, in spite of all the history. That somehow is a commentary on Jewish humor. Yeah, also, when you have tragedy, then humor has a place. I also want to mention here in Hawaii, Abad will be having, like you mentioned before, public satyrs where everyone is invited and welcome. They can call our office, which is<PHONE_NUMBER> or go online, khabadofawai.com. And we not only have daydors here in Honolulu, we also have an all the outer islands as well. There's khabad houses, khabad rabbis on the outer islands, the Big Island, Kauai, and Maui. They'll be having public satyrs as well. And it's a very, very meaningful experience and a joyous experience and encourage everyone who doesn't have a place to go, to lift up the phone and call khabad, and you'll be happy. I can vouch for that. I was at your satyr last year. Wow, it was a lot of people came. A lot of them didn't know each other. I mean, some of them were tourists, some visitors. I sat at a table with a woman who was an Israeli military person. She was really very military. She was really smart and focused and all that. She was a very interesting person to meet. I hadn't met anybody like that before. And Alinda Lingle was there too last year. And there were a lot of people who made friends that night. Since they're coming together, it's a family kind of thing. And at your table, you tend to meet them. And you have some fundamental familiarity with them because of the satyr, which always brings people together. It was very nice, very impressive. And the food was out of this world. Really good. Please come in this year. The Rebbetson has something to do with that. So, what is the track of a satyr? As I recall, and should recall in more detail, as I recall, there's a lot of prayers in the Chabad would be a lot of prayers in Hebrew or Yiddish. Yeah, you can say it in any language. We say it in Hebrew and in English. You can follow in English or in Hebrew. And it basically tells the story, but it tells the story not from the exile and the bondage and the slavery in Egypt, but it goes to the very beginning of our history with Abraham. And then how, and God, when he revealed himself to Abraham and entered into a covenant with Abraham and his children, God prophesied that your children will be in a strange land. The exile was prophesied from the beginning. And this is very interesting in the mystical teachings of the Torah. It's explained, you know, we understand exile to be something negative, a punishment of sorts. And that's true on a certain level, but on a deeper level. The exile, today what we call the diaspora, is actually part of God's plan for the Jewish people. And specifically, it is the means and the way to which we, the Jewish people, are able to get the message to the entire world. The exile was directly related to that because, you know, we were slaves in Egypt. That was the Jewish people. That was the, you know, Israel, so to speak. And when we left with our unleavened bread, walk in the desert across the Red Sea, walk in the desert, that was the beginning of the diaspora, wasn't it? That was it. That was when it started. Yes, yes. The first diaspora was in Egypt. That's why I passed over this. By the way, something very, very fascinating for all those that doubt the literal truth of the Bible. I was reading, and you can see it on the YouTube video, that there's some archaeologists in Egypt, actually an Egyptian archaeologist, recently made a finding at the bottom of the Red Sea. And they found remains of many, many people with remains of what they describe as chariots, these wheels and parts of wheels. Basically, everything that we read in the Bible about the miracle, the crossing of the Red Sea and then how the Egyptians came chasing the Jewish people and they drowned. This archaeologist claims to have found evidence. This is the way he says, the way their bones were remains were were found in clusters of many people together. He confirms from his findings that what the Bible says has actually happened. So interesting, you know, there's an archaeologist from UH who's working on a dig right now, Robert Whitman, I know in Egypt. But what strikes me, though, is this and I don't I don't remember if a lot is different from other satyrs I've been at in this regard. But my favorite satyrs have been where the people at the table would make commentary. In other words, so you're reading a particular passage and somebody says, you know, did you know what happened with archaeology in Egypt? How they have confirmed, you know, these, you know, these, these stories in the Bible and everybody says, wow, they move on. And so and so my favorite satyrs have been where people had the opportunity to be that different satyrs, different strokes for different folks.  He made all archaeologists atheists. So they find everything it says in the Bible, but they're atheists. And then they become religious. Well, and then at the end of the satyr, there's so much singing. And you have to drink so many glasses of wine and how many glasses? Four cups of wine. Four cups of wine. And each time you drink a cup of wine, it's like a milestone in the liturgy. Then at the end, you're you're singing is better next year in Jerusalem. That's how we conclude next year in Jerusalem. What does that mean?  What is there is? And this is perhaps one of the most foundational ideas of Judaism. And that is that at the end, all going to work out. That what's, you know, what's good and godly will triumph. And the world will be transformed to its fullest potential, which is the messianic era coming of the Messiah as the prophets prophesized. So next year in Jerusalem is that, yes, we're not there yet. Next year, our hope and our faith in the redemption in that it's at the end, it's going to work out. Not that the end is doom, gloom, as unfortunately some people feel. But Judaism teaches us now that it's all going to work out. The good will triumph over evil. And that God will through the Messiah will will will transform the whole world. And evil will be removed from this world. And what about the on the face of that language? What about that language is signifying a call? You know, Israel, you know, Jerusalem is the center of Israel, at least for the Bible. And now for this country, Israel is our ultimate home. We've been there or aspiring to be there since since the since we left Egypt. And and so we every year at the end of the Seder, we remind ourselves that next year, maybe next year, we'll finally get back there. It's something to aspire to. It's something it's on your bucket list. Something you need to do in this life is reconnect with Jerusalem and Israel. Right. And we're talking about on the highest levels, you know, not just, you know, a flight to Israel for a week and come back. We're talking about all of the prophecies in the Bible about Israel and Jerusalem and all the good and the light that will come from Zion and Jerusalem. That's what, you know, that's what the aspiration is for. I called my brother this morning and I said, you know, can you talk? He said, I can't talk. I'm negotiating. I said, what are you negotiating about? He says, well, I made my search for roommates in the house. That's leaven bread. And then I put it in a bag and I'm selling it now because that's the tradition.  You sell it. And he was in the process of negotiating a sale for the leaven bread to get it out of the house and do the right thing. And the house will be purified, sanctified for Passover. And so, you know, I don't do that, but I know about it. Do a lot of people do that. And and what's what's a pound of homemade's worth in the market, Rabbi? Well, first of all, yes, many Jews, traditional and observe the laws of Passover. Biblically, the Jewish people on Passover were not allowed to eat any comets, any leaven bread. But leaven bread is not just bread. Bread, cakes and almost any product you buy in the supermarket. Because, you know, one of some of the ingredients, perhaps are leavened and they wouldn't render it like like leaven bread. Not only are you not allowed to eat it, but you're not allowed to possess it. You're not allowed to own it. And henceforth, the custom is for Passover, we sell all our comets and interestingly, according to Jewish law, it's not just the food, but also the pots and pans that have absorbed, you know, while cooking this food. So, you know, that's why in traditional Jewish homes, there's a separate set of dishes for Passover and the rest of the year. And you wash out all the shelves where the food used to be. They clean everything. Clean everything up. I wonder what would happen if I went down to Fuland or Safeway with my bag of leaven bread and I asked them, would you take this leaven bread and how much would you pay? By the way, the way it's done is you sell it to a non-Jewish person and then you immediately buy it back after Passover. Oh, is that right? Yeah. It's a storage range. It's a real sale and a real repurchase. That's wonderful. I didn't know that until now, Rabbi. There's much to learn about Passover and every time you go to a Seder, you'll learn more and every time they go through the Haggadah, you'll learn more and every time you look at the prayers and the recitations and the implications, every time you sing the songs, you'll learn more. Right. And just one more last thought in that is essential part of the whole Haggadah is the children, you know, the four sons in the Haggadah and the children are like the center of the purpose of the whole Seder because the purpose of the Seder and Passover Eve is to pass it on to your children. You'll teach it to your children, pass it on to the next generation. And that's why many things are done just to arouse the interest and the curiosity of the children. I know there are a lot of, you know, good songs in the Haggadah and some serious songs. But the one and of course, the four questions stick in my mind, I think we're a long time, you know, I favored myself. I'm singing that. OK, I really, I really enjoyed that. Even now, it's supposed to be the youngest person in the room, you know, makes the four questions. But, you know, older people can do it, too. And then am I right about the holidays here? It was one only kid. Yes. Haggadah. Haggadah. So why don't we sing that you and me together? Can we do that now? I don't have the words here, but we can just sing it. Haggadah. Haggadah. Desolving. Abobbi. Jesus. Haggadah. Thank you, Rabbi. Wonderful to have you on the show. Jay is always wonderful. I wish everyone a happy Passover and enjoy your status. And everyone is invited to come join us. Thank you, Rabbi.


Welcome to another episode of in the zone. You're really gonna enjoy this one. We have Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler right here in studio Tremendous interview, you know, this is the guy everybody blames the Portland Trailblazers for for not drafting Michael Jordan Because they had Clyde Drexler so they went with a big man Sam Bowie, but Drexler tells us a great story of how he actually wanted them pleaded for them to draft Michael Jordan So he could play with Jordan. He thinks they would have revolutionized the NBA Tremendous story from Clyde and many more about his battles with Jordan about the dream team in 92 about this year's Houston Rockets He gave us some tremendous stuff. You don't want to miss it. Stay tuned and check it out It is my pleasure and honor to welcome the great Clyde Drexler into the zone. Thanks for coming Delighted to be here with you. Oh man. I uh You know, I don't want to make you feel old, but I remember watching you with five slamma jamma I was in high school. So that's not that much of a difference. I'm high school. You were college. So that's not that bad But it was y'all were legendary, you know, and I have to ask you this With the NCAA tournament just last week What does that that loss to NC State? Do you how often do you think about that? Does that still eat at you? Never only when people ask But it was a great moment in time some of the best basketball ever Early 80s was a golden era. Yeah, some of the best players ever played the game came out during that time And and that game the one you're referring to North Carolina State Yeah, University of Houston five-slamma jamma Well, it was legendary because you know, the best team did not win. Yeah, Jimmy Valvano won he went on to do a lot of things for cancer research raised a ton of money and The Wolfpack won that game. But if they didn't win that game, we wouldn't know who he was No, no question. Right. So in the grass game, it really worked out It was because they were fortunate to even get in the tournament They won about three or four games the exact same way They beat us they be Virginia twice with Sam with Samson with Samson the exact same way. Wow Now, did you guys take them lightly? No, not at all. Okay, cuz you had beat Louisville, I believe in the semifinal great team. Yeah Yeah, Louisville was a really good team doctors of dunk. Yep, Rodney McCrae scooter McCrae Denny Crumb and those guys were the big the big cheese Yeah, and that was supposed to be the clash of the Titans and so the Saturday game was a big big game We ended up winning but the Monday game. I mean, we were ready. We wanted to win the whole thing We had been to the final four the year before Getting there was not enough. We wanted to win the whole thing. Yeah, so we did not take them lightly Well, I have to ask you before we get started your jersey. We only have a few jerseys in the zone That it was I'm guessing this is not your favorite looking jersey of your career. That was one year After we won the NBA finals in 95 they came up with the New Jersey and it's got a beautiful little rocket on it They changed a lot of uniforms back then that was before the retro fits the throwbacks So that was the beginning of it. Yeah And so, you know Houston with NASA the space program and the rocket so it worked out. Yeah, wouldn't do it again Well, what what was it like? I want to go back to Houston just for University of Houston for a little bit What was it like to see a young Hakeem? I came at that point. I came Elijah wine Playing at Houston the development must have been incredible. That's a good question. He was 611-195 when he first got to the University of Houston and from that point on he just continued to work work work Adwait work work work, but he had guys like Moses Malone Helping him. He had guys like Guy Lewis. It was one of the best Big man teachers in the college game. Okay. He was the kind of he went to the right coach Guy Lewis thought if you're 610 611 7 feet I can teach you to become a dominant post player and he thought that about every big guy So if you give me a big guy, I can show him and so Hakeem got lucky that he had that type of coach So you think some coaches may not have been as patient if he had gone to a guard oriented coach It would probably would have been a different Wow. Wow So, you know God is good. Yeah. Yeah, but he because I remember his first year, you know just Within a year he turned into this all-american player because first year you struggled a little bit first year He red shirted. Okay, and then the first year he actually played He was a good defender good rebounder, but he struggled offensively traveled a lot Couldn't really throw it to him and then the next year, which was my junior year, which is when we lost to NC State That's when his game began to blossom. Okay, and he started making jumpers started learning the footwork with Moses Malone Coach Guy Lewis. Yeah, all of that stuff started to kick in through three years of Intensely hard work. What was it like for you to reunite with him with the Houston Rockets? It was phenomenal because he's my brother. I mean we had college history. We were good friends in college and then to get back I tell you in Portland I'm in Portland. I'll give you a quick story. You know 1984 draft. I'm in Portland Michael Jordan Hakeem Elijah on Sam Boyle Portland has a right to flip for the first pick with the Rockets So they get the call heads of tail you get the call heads of tail You're Portland they lose the flip so you don't get Hakeem Elijah. Yeah, who's supposed to be you know The obvious number one pick so now they say well, we need a big guy because at two guard. We got Jim Paxson John Paxson, excuse me, who's a who's a pretty good player all NBA second team Yeah, and they had drafted me the was he second time all NBA in 1982. Really? Yeah Wow, and then they drafted me what you and but you were were you the two or the three? I mean obviously one two and they looked at me as a two guard Okay, and then they had Jeff Lam who's the number one pick three years before that So they have a lot three guys at the two and so they had no big man had Michael Thompson Who's a number one pick in 78 and so they thought they needed that seven footer to complete that team back then Because this is Jack Ramsey. Yeah one with who Bill Walton. Yeah, Maurice Lucas So he had to have those big guys and so that was their thinking back then they didn't think about Dominating with six seven guys. Did you feel like at the time? It was a mistake to draft buoy over Jordan Michael Thompson, and I put an added. I'm an article in the paper If Michael Thompson who was way ahead of his time He says that if Portland drafts Michael Jordan He said him and Clyde will dominate this league for the next 15 years Really, and I think the team called them in and and threatened the fine And if he continued with that rhetoric Wow So that's that's how And you felt the same way. Absolutely. Well, how could you not pick it now? How did you did you know Jordan you played against him? I did not know I played against him in 82 semifinal Okay, North Carolina versus Houston. That's when was he was he was a freshman. I was a freshman the year they went Okay, okay, so I knew he was pretty good player and then you know if I stayed in college I would have been a senior the 84 Olympic team Bobby Knight sent me a letter saying I want you and Jordan to head my Olympic team in 84, okay, but I ended up going to the NBA and so we knew Jordan was a great player There was no doubt and so Michael Thompson and I were saying you got to pick this guy regardless of Positions or who you have you need good players. Yeah What I'm just gonna ask you to indulge us If Jordan if they do pick Jordan, what do you think history is looking like right? Well, if they pick Jordan things are a little bit different But in Sam Bowie's Defense he was a very very talented big guy just couldn't get healthy. He could play Yeah, it wasn't like he was a lemon the guy could play. Yeah, it just couldn't get healthy You and Jordan were the two best wing players at that era What was it like to compete against him?  You're so psyched the moment I wake up I'm ready.  You know are good. I mean, that's what you live for So it was a treat that that 90 was it 92 when you guys played them in the finals We played the Bulls in 92. I think that was my 10th ninth or 10th year in the league Yeah, and it was a good final both had a really good team. I think they ended up winning like three years in a row Yeah, yeah, yeah, the storyline became that Jordan was going at you What did you finish ahead of him in MVP? It was something it was a battle for MVP voting that year and Who wanted that year? He wanted Yeah, it was close very close Did you take it as was it a personal matchup where you enjoy not just that finals But in general when you guys met each other but because you were the two best at your position Did you feel like it was personal battle every time you faced him the well, of course, you know when you're a competitor I mean we weren't Enemies I know he's gonna come at me and guess what he knows. I'm coming at him Yeah, I'm gonna play my game if you get in my way. I'm gonna knock your nose off Yeah, same way with him. We're gonna compete, but really it comes down to your teammates How good it how good is your team? Yeah, you know and and and I love playing against Michael I mean he was the nicest guy, but he's a great competitor. Now. He talked a lot of trash on the court, right? He didn't never say anything to you. Okay. How's your family? How are you doing? Okay? Lot a lot of mutual respect.  Never. Okay Now matter of fact, it's hard to be a trash talker when guys are coming up to you saying, hey, man My parents are watching I got family in town. Don't embarrass me It's hard to talk trash to that guy Um 1990 I always felt there are several finals I look back and say I thought the team that didn't win should have won One of them was you mentioned Jack Ramsey with Portland. I felt Philadelphia with Dr. J was a better team I thought you guys were better than the bad boys in 90 I felt like at the end of games you guys kind of didn't make the they made the plays and you guys didn't What was your thought on that series? Well, it's it's all about execution. You got two Hall of Fame point guards Two guards Joe and Isaiah, but they're big guys Lambeer, Mahon, Sally, Rogman. I thought they made the difference They wore us down. They got a lot of offensive buckets. They executed better down the stretch as a group. Yeah, and It just didn't you know, they were just a better team. Chuck Daley was a great coach Our guys are good Buck Williams Kevin Duckworth really good players And and you know just to make it to the NBA finals, you know what that's like You know, we had a three-year run where we were one of the best teams in the league Winning almost 60 games a year. And so when you put yourself in that position, you're pretty good And everyone in the league knows that so it's all about can you get it done when it counts or are you going to come up short? Yeah, now now you play in those years in Portland. You face magic In his in his best. What what was that like playing against him? Let me just tell you when you got four number one five number one picks on your team Who are the best in the game? How you going to beat them? Yeah, I mean think about it. I should tell magic You got James Worthy six nine in all all world Kareem, uh, you got Byron Scott one of the best pure sharp shooters in the world A.C. Green, Kurt Rambus, Cupchak, McAdoo, Michael Thompson Michael Cooper, I can keep naming them all on your team I'm coming to play you from Portland and we got three guys on a 10 day contract And we got old Maurice Lucas. We got old Carwell Jones How are we gonna beat these guys? Yeah, and so they were always uniquely talented and people talk about these super teams today Yeah, well, they were a super team. Oh, so were the Celtics and every other team that won back then were super teams That's not a new phenomenon. I guess the the thing people If they don't like it today, they feel like it's player generated now versus You know general manager. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. What's your feel on that? Because a lot of old players don't like these guys, you know going to play with their And I thought I kind of side with the older players, you know, chris if you beat me in the finals and And and and and and you're a really good player I'm not gonna say if I'm a free agent. I'm going to play with chris.  That's kind of our mentality. I don't want to join your team We want to beat you. That's what competition is all about. Yeah, but every now things have changed Things have changed. I think the decision to rant made was a good one Okay, as a matter of fact, as you get older, you want to make the game easier Great decision. I think he's very smart. I know he's never felt so at home at home in his whole life You know, he can score 30 or he can score 15 and they're gonna win You know what it's it also though I'm looking at it. I'm saying, you know what you can't manufacture a dynasty Because like when lebron went to miami, they won two titles. They were great But not what they thought right not four not five not six two is good. Two is good But they were in the finals 24 years in a row. Yeah, that's a dynasty. You think it was a dynasty whether they win or lose That's okay. Okay in the buffalo bills. They were a dynasty. You got okay You got a little lighter definition, but I I'll go with it. It's a team sport. It's not individual So you can get 50 points 40 rebounds 12 steals If I miss the two free throws at the end of the game, we don't win. Are you not a champion? That it's unfortunate because people look at it that way. You're right. You're very right Well, that's one reason people look at jordan as the goat the greatest of all time because he won They say six is six for six and all that What who do you think is the greatest of all time? Well, you know, I I don't want to take anything away from anybody But it's obvious when you average 50 points 25 rebounds won't chamberlain Who's ever done that and every year you had will guess what you had a chance for championship I mean, michael's phenomenal and you know, he did really You know one of the best players I've ever played against but who was ever better than kareem or or Or chamberlain or jeweler serving or a bird or magic who was better than those guys. It's hard to say somebody's better Yeah, you know, I I just I'm never bought into that Matter of fact, we're all competitors. You put me on the floor.  You feel like Let me tell you something. What I feel like is I can compete with anybody. I mean, obviously that speaks for itself, but It's all about Performance, you know, the difference is if you're taking 35 shots and I'm taking 20 you're gonna have more points Bottom line, but I'm gonna make you work and you can't guard me But you know, so you look at it from a perspective, I still can do with everything I do No matter who's on me. What can I stop you from doing? Well, I can't stop you from getting 35 points because you're gonna get a lot of temps But I can make you shoot a worse percentage. Yeah, make you work for it And so that's the way you think you're gonna make him earn everything If a lot of people look at his when he retired for that year and a half and you guys won Or houston won the tent championship you there for one of them um Do you think you guys would have beat the bulls? Is he it's if jordan had played I think um Jordan played in well, he came back. Yeah, he came back. And I think Orlando swept him. Yeah. Yeah, and then we swept So there's your answer And not taking nothing away from it. They were phenomenal, but I should talk about what happened now What could have happened? Okay? That's that's fair. That's fair. You got to look at it in terms of absolute Things that are absolutely. This is what happened. What was it like that dream team? That dream team was phenomenal. I mean some of the best players ever played. Yeah And and and guys got along so well And and just made it a great experience What were I I read and heard the practices were just incredible scrimmages you guys had Yeah, some of the practices are very competitive And they should have been because you got all these great players But a lot of times we had guys who were injured. Okay, magical injured bird was injured stockton was injured And so you didn't have a full complement of players the whole time I was injured had a right knee That needed surgery since march that I kept putting off until like september So during that time I wasn't looking to go hard in practice. I'm trying to survive the experience And so when I hear guys talking about our hard the practices were I don't think I thought that way I was trying to survive it but you just compete always no matter if it's practice the games or Whenever you hit that floor you come to play What was was there something about that experience that stood out to you? What's a great story from that experience that people don't know? Uh Well just back then you know guys really didn't like you if you're in a different team Yeah, because we're competitors. We're not supposed to like you. We're trying to beat you And so we really were not good friends. And so some of the guys from the east I didn't know at all like bird and patrick and scottie and michael I mean and so from the west you're on the all-star team at least once a year with him So you get to know carmelone david roverson john stockton chris mullen, but I tell you what magic but but the guys from the east I really didn't know that well, okay That matter of fact, we didn't have much conversation because you're trying not to get to know them because I might like him Now I won't play as hard against him. Okay. So that's the way we thought Yeah, so we kind of stayed in our own little lane, okay Yeah, give guys their space and uh, it's because we gotta compete. It's all about production. Yeah, we're not trying to be friends We're trying to win now you guys in practice never play west against east Um, that would have been interesting.  Yeah, and they're chirping now magic is getting michael all hyped up and guess who's got to go with michael And I used to go you guys Because I did read I read that that uh, jack mccollum wrote a book about the dream team Yeah, and he was saying magic was talking all this stuff to michael They were chirping the whole time and it was fun to watch. Yeah, he said though. That's when michael Basically let magic in them had to admit. Okay. This guy is is better at this point. Well, michael was Magic didn't even play that year. Yeah So what kind of admission is that? He shouldn't have been talking He was he had no chance And as good as he was in the 80s and in the early 90s, I mean at 92 He was an older player. Yeah, and michael was a cheese. So that's not a that's an obvious statement I gotta admit he's better. Oh really? Captain obvious Um, we've seen several dream teams now I think people were comparing 08 with lebron coby and and 12 to you guys Which one would you think is better? Who I'm biased obviously 92 aside. That's the best the only the first Never to be duplicated. Yeah, nobody could beat that team But after that team, I think the uh, 96 team was pretty good with shack a lot. Yeah, that's true And we're still winning by 42. I mean they had some really good players. Yeah. Yeah What do you um You talked about super teams you guys in houston when you had barkley It was you barkley and akim And how you guys obviously didn't get to the championship How hard is what was that season like was it did you think it would be easier than it ended up being? Or better, I guess the three of us at that time were closer to the twilight of our career We were not like in the prime. Yeah, I mean I only played Two years with Charles and it was the last two years. I played okay year 14 and 15 And he was probably a year behind me. Yeah. Yeah, and large one was with him. Yeah, so these were not our prime years, but With our roles decreased. We were still very good. And so we could do a lot of stuff I've got to the conference finance 157 58 games or and and and it was easy We had guys like kevin willis mariolli eddie johnson on our team just a good group of veterans Um, just couldn't quite get over the hump Utah beat us. They had a very good year.  It was fun playing with Guys like mariolli Matt maloney Yeah, he was y'all point guard for a little while Akim allows you an officer. That's my brother. So, you know, I had so much success Was it how hard though is it to maybe because you were older you guys were older It was easier. But is it people I don't think people understand how difficult It is to get three guys who are used to being the first option to come together and play as teammates It is very difficult and then people today don't you know, but I always I have this thing We're talking about chris paul james harden playing together My thing is you get those good players you put them on a team. They'll find a way to make it happen That's the reason they're good Well, I understand their intelligence. Yeah sets them apart I'm gonna jump ahead then and because I want to get to this rocket team that you you're the broadcaster the home games you broadcast for um There's talk. LeBron's gonna be a free agent And there's talk about him going to the rockets and I have wondered now I was wondering about chris and james working out together But I've wondered man, I don't know how that will work with three guys that like the ball You don't think it would be a problem if lebron went there. I think it would be awesome They'd be the best team because lebron would be like ad. You don't have to work that hard now You got other teammates that can get it done So now it's about having fun and enjoying the game as opposed to playing 45 minutes and you got to score 40 20 and 20 to have a chance to win. That's a hard deal So it could work. It would work It'll be great and lebron will be better off because of it. It'll extend his career. Okay. Okay Now let's get to these rockets. Um, they look great They they the best record in the league Um Are they your favorite right now to win it off? I think the rockets with their record and the way they play They are the favorites if chris and james are completely healthy because those guys get along so well Their chemistry is great. They have a good mix of complementary players guys like trevoriza By mootate pj tucker clink appella ryan anderson Joe green off the bench. Joe johnson off the bench. I mean they've got a lot of talent Eric gordon is phenomenal along with chris and james and so you got a lot of guys who can get it done Now the game they played the other night against the spurs. Yeah spurs slowed them down They scored 83 points and the first beat them by like 17 Now that's that's what you don't want to see happen With a high-powered offense you can't slow they got to play at their pace every single night Now so you golden state healthy or not you got you think they're better than golden state I think it's going to be a great series and it's all are going to be about who's making shots But golden state's got some of the greatest shooters to ever play the game And those guys know how to get it done because they've been there the rockets on the other hand are hungry They should be more motivated so that extra motivation forces you to play a little bit harder You got to want it and I think they do james and chris Are probably as motivated as any two guys i've ever seen Mike dan tony has been a good coach for a long time, but he's never had playoff success Another motivated person so you got all these people super motivated to prove they can get it done I think that's a recipe for success Do you worry because harden has I love james hard i voted for him for mvp in 2015 Last year. He would have wanted if russ didn't have the triple double Um, but he's had his bad moments in these clutch games Last year game six against the spurs Golden state game five a few years.  I gotta tell you the beard when you're talking about james harden. You're talking about a real ball This guy loves the game. He competes. He beats teams by himself on a nightly basis. This guy is incredibly talented He's very smart. He's deceptively athletic and and he can really shoot And so here's a guy who has all those skills, but knows how to use it christ paul the same way So james, I thought he should have been mvp in 2015 I thought he should have been mvp last year and he should be obviously mvp this year That's all much. I think of james harden. He's the best player in the game Today, you think he's the best player in the game right now to this year this year Because offensively he is just a joggernaut. It's hard to three or four guys stack up to guard him every single night Which leaves those shooters wide open And when he's not on the floor, let me just tell you something them guys don't get the same shot Yeah, yeah, so you got to look at his overall impact The way he makes his teammates better the way he plays Kind of consistently he scores 30 plus points eight seven rebounds six seven assists every single night So this guy's the real deal best player in the world. I love lebron. Okay. I mean Who's the best player in the world right now? Well, lebron could be the best player every year Kind of like jack and cobra when they were playing they could have been the best players every year But lebron is the same way but james. I think is having just a superior season when you win 63 64 65 games. I mean you you are getting it done. Yeah now He's he's been incredible. But think about this if steff curry or durant had one less option And he had more more field goal attempts. They would always be in the uh running for mvp Yeah, so you got a lot of great players playing at a very high level But the one thing I look at is efficiency You know, you can't beat mvp shooting five or 25 every night with seven turnovers. You can't do that I don't care what it'll be mvp is that So you got to look at efficiency What how good is your team? How do you how good do you make your teammates around you? Yeah? No, I agree. I agree. What um When you look at the game today, especially the rockets, they're like the extreme I mean they shoot 43 more than 43 is a game What do you what I mean comparing that to when you play is so it's almost a different game It's very much a different game. So until the uh the late 80s the early 90s We didn't really shoot that many trees coaches would take you out and say that's a bad shot It's inefficient. It's too long. Let's get in closer We want to be productive. We're trying to win. Yeah, and then in the 90s It became like an opportunistic shot if you got an offensive rebound kick it out and shoot the three so But it wasn't a big part of our offense Now the rockets and the warriors really Are responsible because they got guys that can not only shoot the three but make the three That's the key. Yeah, you got to you got to coach to your level of talent. Them guys can all shoot Clay Thompson, Steph Curry Probably the best shooting backcourt ever in the history of the NBA and then you bring the rant Come on.  Midrange. He's the best Well, that's the one mid-range guy. That's what he got him. Yeah, and so they they have a good blend of mid-range Uh, the post-up is their high picking rose with cappella going over the top I would consider that their post up because he's good at that But james harden. I mean he just creates so many problems for the defense other guys are going to have shots They wouldn't normally get yeah, and so that's a team that's going to be hard to stop Do you have a problem? I kind of do i'm a i'm a little old school in this regard I miss I think the game is better with a mix of threes mid-range and posts not all one or all the other So I think they need to I just don't like the lack of great big men or post players in today's game What what's your options of the good post players as a guard who posted a lot? I don't even understand it. How do you not go to the most efficient shot on the floor the closer you get the Easier to shot right? Yeah, obviously Some guys can't get to that point and so they have to make other other arrangements on how to score for me I truly you know the notion that our philosophy is to get all the way to the basket or shoot a three I don't know nothing about that My philosophy is a score by any means Any way I can I don't care if I got to get on my knees and throw it up I want to score But but the fact that someone can have a philosophy is amazing to me in the game of basketball That's what that's what you gotta be opportunistic and take whatever you can get. Yeah. Yeah Um, all right, I'm gonna hit you with a few things. I want to hold you to I want you to give me an answer, please I'm pleased Jordan or LeBron Everybody debates that who you got you can't go wrong. Give it. Give me both Please I'm begging. I love them both because you know, they're some of the greatest players to ever play the game And so you can't go wrong different errors. I hate comparing errors But uh two phenomenally gifted guys who are great guys.  Isaiah Thomas or John Stockton? Whoo, that's a tough one. Isaiah 11 years 11 all-stars Stockton One of you know toughest minded players Healthy always competed But if you had to pick one in their prime Isaiah because I'm gonna give Isaiah the nod because he got two championships. Yeah, even though it's a team game I think Isaiah was the engine that ran the pistons Yeah, he had a lot more talent to work with than than John because John had called and very little else But uh, I'm gonna give the edge slightly to Isaiah. Okay, uh, Charles Barkley or Carl Malone Oh, no, that's You know, two really good players. I'm gonna give the edge to Carl for for longevity Um productivity and uh, just just you know, when guys played against Carl, they were psyched out Power forwards had a bad day They had Carl Maloneitis and so even though Charles was a nightmare Uh, he didn't he didn't give him that kind of he didn't have that kind of aura like Carl Malone. Okay.  I mean they kind of I grew up watching them. So there there the two guys that kind of patterned some of my game after So I love them both. It's it I could never pick that. I love them both. Okay That's like saying which one of your kids you love the most I know you're probably biased in this one, but uh, Ikeem or tim duncan Oh I love timmy, but Ikeem was the man that that's my brother, but Ikeem Defensively he could take over game defensively Guys would be scared to death to drive to the basket and if they drove the ball I just used to go with the free throw line and wait the ball would always come back and start a fast break That's how reliable he was I mean he's one of the best defensive players I've ever played with So forget about the offense and the dream shake and all that he could just beat you defensively And and timmy as good as he was I love him. Mr. fundamental Excellence, uh tim. I liked everything he stood for the way he played the game the professionalism His his character. I got nothing but great things to say about timmy, but I'm gonna go with Elijah one. All right. All right Um, you're commissioner of the big three Um, what what led you to want to do that? Commissioner of the big three. I was a coach last summer And ice cube and jeff quantonist. Yep Great guys their vision of the big three is phenomenal. Uh, it's it's the most fun I've had Being a part of a basketball league since I left the mba. Really? Yeah, I love it And and uh, you know to be a part of that three on three action Which is the fundamentals of where we all came from And to see it live in a professional setting is brilliant. I think uh ice cubes vision He beat the mba to the punch. Yeah, it's very popular people love it all over the world It's broadcast this year in 54 countries. Really? Wow. It's growing each and every day We we got about 90 players uh x mba players fighting for about Only 19 spots. Really? So guys are dying to get in this. Exactly. Would you have played in a big three? Absolutely I would have loved it because I you know the one on one. Yeah. Yeah and and the team the three on three That's that half court.  Are you kidding? It's like the mba games These guys are the friends off the court, but when they hit that court When they hit the court, I mean, I've never seen guys stretching and doing yoga with physios and Getting prepared for each and every game. I mean, this is serious business. It's competitive All right, are there things you want to add to you know Enhance the league like what things if you if there aren't any at this point. Well, you know, it's commissioner of the big three Uh, you know, my job is simply to just continue to kind of work on the fan And and and the player experience to make it a good one. They kind of work on a few strategic corporate partnerships Uh to kind of enhance and grow help grow the game But but but cube's vision is phenomenal. This is a great league with great rules And uh good people working. I mean great leadership. We got some of the best People on staff and and coaching in the big three. It's just been a pleasure to be there. All right. I enjoy it tremendously I look forward to each and every day. Great great last question Do you remember the lyrics to bust the bucket? Bust the bucket bust the bucket. What was that the rockets? Blazers blazers. Oh my goodness. Was that off bust the ball? Sorry, you're going way Were you rapping? I was it was Terry Porter. Terry Porter was The wrong currency and Terry Porter. I don't think I had nothing to do with that. I got no skills Would cry it was great talking with you Yeah, I took you back. I took you way back. But uh, good luck with the big three Thank you, and I'm looking forward to this year last year was great I'm really looking forward to this year because the games will be live now games alive You got guys like amar stardomire drew goodon Carlos boozer Nate Robinson all these big players along with the guys we had last season coming back And so this is this is a lot of fun a lot of competition To play in the big three you got to bring your game This is not a this is not a bunch of old guys These are guys that can still compete at a very high level Well, you know what was interesting last year some of the best players were guys that only had a quote-unquote cup of coffee in the NBA So they were still kind of young, you know, like early 30s mid 30s. The shard McCann. Yeah. Oh, Harrington I mean those guys are phenomenal. Yeah, so Stevenson, how do how do the older like Like guys who were legends, okay, but they're a little older And they're playing against these young guys. They weren't that good in the NBA, but they're younger So they might be better at this point. How did the the legendary guys? How do they look at that? Well, they know they got a lot of pride and they don't want these young guys is to kind of show them up Yeah, and so it's that's what makes them play harder But you know, we got some of the greatest coaches when I talk to Julia serving or George Gervin or Rick Barry or Gary Peyton. I mean, that's what we talk about Yeah, these guys come to play. They don't care who you were in the NBA. They care who you are now in the big three So you got to bring your game. All right. Let me ask you to see you coach last year I mean, it's three on three. How much strategy is there really? In there's a lot of strategy The high picking roles you got to make sure you got a shooter on the weak side Otherwise they're going to collapse because we'd have no illegal defense. Okay. You got a 14 second shot clock And and it's moving first one in 25. It's halftime. Yeah game is 50 You got a win by two So the games go quickly and if you got three point shooters and even four point shooters Which really makes our game stand out for many one else We got the four point shot and we got guys that could make that shot So you got to extend your defense way out Which leads a lot of room to go to work Now last year there were some guys Terrell Owens. Well, I think I think ice cubes set it up And Jeff to the point where you had to be an x NBA player. So you had to have pro pedigree But but I don't know if they'll open it up for tryouts if a guy's that good He's really really that good. You may want to think about it, but that's going to be up to them Wow, because you know, Terrell Owens a good athlete. Yeah They say it was pretty good basketball Yeah at this age, maybe but not obviously not when they're younger, you know, but yeah, it'll be interesting All right, I know you got a role. Thank you