Coronavirus is the commissioner of sports right now
An update on the return of each sport as different commissioners rule in different styles from the laser focused like the NBA’s Adam Silver to the Incompetent like MLB’s Rob Manfred.
A busy week in Scandal City — the guys breakdown Roger Goodell’s comments on Colin Kaepernick, Oklahoma State Head Coach Mike Gundy’s OAN shirt and the crazy rules of the NBA in Orlando.
Finally, a classic game of “Guess that Tweet” on the Pro Bowl moving to Las Vegas.
Thanks for downloading The Sports Hangover podcast, the flagship show of Popline Media!
Transcript of the pod:
I'm J. Dawg. That's Mike. It is June 17th. How are you living? Um, well, it's It's June 17th. I'm still alive. So that's good. My hair is growing out really long. Uh, we're That's what you had to say to me. Really? Yeah. You had a roommate. But your head? Yeah. It's like I just asking Open ended question. It could be anything on planet Earth and you go to the hair.
I'm getting a lot of comments on it. Actually, just turned my beer. People like while your beards really thinking your hair's really long is like, Yeah, I'm just grown it out, like were in quarantine. What do you expect? Him? Everybody got a haircut last week when it opened up, and then everybody spiked and got Corona virus. So who knows? The spike is back. Get your hair cuts. Now. Get your travel on now because it might not have much time. So I set you up on that June 17th Mike 1994.
We were I was six years old, you were 12 or 13. I was like, what, seven. Maybe I have no idea. Actually, it was a crazy day. I just wanted to remind you what happened on June 17 1994. What happened June 17 2014 years ago today? Just getting 26 years ago today. Is this really from like a passage like 16 years ago today? On June 17 1994? Uh, Game five of the 94 n b A Finals. Ah, the Knicks and the someone else. It was the Ranger Stanley Cup parade. The New York Rangers were champions. Ken Griffey Jr tied the most home runs hit before June 30th.
The U S hosts its first ever World Cup. Arnold Palmer played in his final usopen ever. And last, but certainly not least the O. J Simpson Police Chase Mike that broke in to the N B. A finals game. All happened on one day. There was a great 30 for 30 on it recently, 26 years ago today going crazy in Ah, GM is putting out Ford Bronco. Whatever it is like the Bronco on Oh, jeez, birthday next month. Did you know that. Yes, you will be like, monetizing off of that.
I don't know. Is it? 26 years have passed, so it's OK, I don't know. I mean, we all know he's a murderer, but he's out and about, so I have no clue what crazy thing. Um, well, there's a lot to talk about. I feel like a lot has actually progressed in all the sports in this last week. So I don't know where you want to start. Have a lot of questions about baseball for you, I thought, Let's let's talk about baseball. Let's let's do it. And you know what?
Baseball's kind of putting us through some things right now. So let's let's call it bullshitter believe Okay, I believe I believe I should believe What do you think? Baseball is bullshit right now What's happening? So I have a have a game to play with you, but I want you. Don't you start me out with your questions. Well, my question is, Well, it is a weird one. I saw MLB letter till the Yankees alleged sign stealing in 2017. It's gonna be unsealed. What is that about? When did this happen?
Why didn't I know about it? Was this something where they actually stealing signs? Back in 2017 the Yankees were using technology. They were the white collar criminals. They were actually using some cell phone signal. Some kind of technology, some kind of tracker. Apple Watch. I don't know the full story. I wasn't prepared for this. But that's the story with the Yankees. Uh, next one. Why do I see so many reports conflicting each other, saying, Ah, 68 MLB owners don't want toe, you know, don't want 2020 season be played. But then the commissioner comes out and he's like, in full support of the of the owners.
But the owners then say we do want to play, and then the baseball players say, Well, we don't want to play. We want to get paid more and then some say, Just pick a date and will play what all the players were saying when and where right now. So let's dive into it that the commissioner is paid by the owners so he is loyal to the owners. But then you wonder, Is that how the system should be set up? Should the commissioner, the only beholden to the owners or should it be to the players as well?
That's a question fair task in our fantasy football league. What if the commissioner Onley cited with half of the people involved and not the other half? It would be real fair. I used to. So that's why I'm no longer commissioner. So you are a commissioner of what? Of our over fantasy football league. I just don't think of you as a commissioner. I was the commissioner. I was in charge. I just, you know, I pulled the strings. It's a thankless job, and the MLB really go after it as well.
So he said a few days ago, he's 100% confident that there's going to be a baseball season. And then three days later, he came out and said, I'm not confident at all. It's gonna be a baseball. So first of all, your leadership is trash and you're a shitty leader. That's the first leaders lead in times of crisis. We see it all over the place right now. Our president can't do it. The MLB commissioner can't do it. We're seeing a time after time. In addition to that, the negotiations between the owners and the players just make everyone looked like rich assholes.
The owners, these six owners that you're talking about who don't want a season, apparently there. Six teams that could lose money on a season this year so they don't want to have a season at all, and they won't lose anything. We'll just break even. Hello? What business in America is not losing money in 2020? Just because you're a business owner does not mean that you have the right to make money every year that you're in business or else everyone would just be a business on. Well, I did see something with, like, the TV deals and everything that they had actually recouped all their losses if they went to the playoffs.
But Mr Anthony Fauci, who a lot of people forget is involved in the task force. He's trying to solve some things. Here is no water, no, we need to get back on TV because things were going up and he says October is no good and baseball should end their season before October, which kind of put me into a tailspin last night might cause if if we're just now coming out of this. And we only have a few months Octobers with, like, a little span. Football is not gonna make it.
And no baseball playoffs. I don't know. I don't know if I'm gonna make it, man. It's been It's weird. It feels like we've time traveled to this period. And I don't even remember what normal life was like. Like right after this podcast. I'm putting on a mask and I'm gonna go sit a German beer house down the street. I need a pretzel and beer. I just needed to get out. I need to just It is about time for you guys 3 30 in the West. Yeah, we very, very early.
But I guess the issue is everybody wants to make money, but no one wants actually commit to it. I don't think baseball is gonna happen. And this is basically what I said last week. I think I think I said it. This is the downfall of baseball. If baseball doesn't happen this year, how is it going to come back next year? There's gonna be, like, an uproar of like, Well, we lost all this money we want This are are they gonna make it even longer? They're gonna make it 500 games a year.
I don't know. I don't think anyone can do that. So I wanted to play this game a bullshitter. Believe with you, because and they'll be is clearly losing out on this opportune that could be coming back. They could be back right now. They could be back before basketball and hockey, and they're clearly not going to be. So. No MLB will be less popular than these sports. After this is over, bullshitter believe MLB will be less popular than soccer. Major League Soccer, after this is over less popular than Major League Soccer's.
So, God, soccer's got a long way. They come because you got to be on T. It's got to be on, like the right channel What USA teams were playing. Uh, I'm going to say bullshit. I'm not. I think Emma be still bigger than soccer, I believe. Actually, I think it is growing. You know, it's gonna replace football, um, in the NFL, at least 20 years, maybe down to 15 s, I believe. How about this one? MLB will be less popular than NASCAR after this is over. bullshitter believe I feel like NASCAR has got a pretty big following. I would believe that one, because people are all excited about the recent NASCAR thing going on. I don't get it. But good for them, I believe, to. NASCAR came back, and they're getting like six million viewers on Sunday afternoons, which golf can't even do. Baseball certainly can't do like World Series games. Get a few more than that. So I believe. And that is that because the simple minded people like NASCAR, I'm not gonna make it political. But a lot of listen to the show. Do you think?
Oh yeah, you don't think so? We're big in the Bible Belt. We could be, I'm sure. Look at the stats. Couple religious folks like us should be big. Hair's another one. MLB will be less popular than tennis after this is a Ah, I actually have a book right here about the inner game of tennis. Uh, I'm gonna say believe I think tennis could be a big hit. Its international baseballs really slow. Tennis is quick. I could see why not. Tennis is a great sports. Good. You're playing tennis. What?
I actually put this question so I could brag about how tennis I am getting so good at tennis like my velocity is up. My accuracy is up. My stamina is up. I've been getting in shape during this quarantine time. I dominated this dude the other night. I put him in a body bag on this tennis court and it was it was fun to Do you play random? No, During Cove it I'm not gonna touch. There was weird the way you said it. You're like I put a body bag on this dude's like some random, as do is my friend.
I play with them again. He's not dead. Dead. He's just dead. Um e don't think professional tennis is ever gonna be that popular is it's kind of like golf where there's only like, a few majors that people care about in the other tournaments. People don't have as much. I guess we can put golf in there and will be will be less popular than golf after this. How to know they're both slow. How say bullshit on that one. I just don't see golf overtaking, and I think there is something about a team sport that people like because it's like the camaraderie when you're out there golfing by yourself, not exciting and it's quiet.
You just sit there like Okay, he's going up to the but okay, there. It's funny you say that cause golf came back this week that a PGA Tour event in Texas. I was talking about that on the show last week. There were no fans there to me and most viewers no one noticed like it wasn't a big deal. It wasn't like other sports where it's gonna be clearly Oh my God, no one cheered. It's like Alright, someone made a putt. No one cheered. Well, do they always cheer anyways, there?
Most of the time you're playing golf is without an audience. Unless you're a professional and you do those TVs right. The select for this must feel normal legal practices. Hey, speaking of bragging, Mike, I recently shot 82 on the golf course, which was tied my lowest round ever, only nine over parts. I just want to brag. Quarantine is really, don't you? Well, I would not sit eso basically baseballs in a lot trouble. It's a bunch of bullshit and my last question to you on this subject, we can move on to the juicy scandals on our plate.
Um, what is with baseball? How all these little leaguers, basically, everyone played baseball as a kid. Maybe you even did like a year to a Little league. Well, you should have. Most people did. Why do they all stopped playing baseball on move on other sports? What is it that just loses theater tension span of it? I think you just get bored. And I think there's an excitement right, Like I like once you play baseball because it's easy. It's like you don't really have to do much. You can stand out in the field like I say, it's not a very athletic sport.
So movie over to soccer, football, hockey, lacrosse, literally anything where you're running around doing something is much better than baseball, I would think, or God and you go play golf. That's that's exciting, like a one on one challenge. But based off is the perfect we might take off is a sponsor. The show. Golf is a perfect sport to come out of isolation during Cove it, you don't touch anything. You don't speak close to people. You're outside fresh air walking, hitting, chasing tug Ah, you want to do Scandal City?
I got like a slightly scandal headline we can talk about. Yeah, the dirtiest stories around the sports world in this week's Scandal City. Okay, the N B A might be on pause. Kyrie Irving said he's willing to give up everything for social reform, which is great. He wants to, like, make a movement, make a stand. Ah, he says, Plane Orlando is gonna become a distraction from the issues the country is facing, which is agreeable. That is true, then it. I think it takes it one step further.
If they don't play this season, coaches think there's gonna be lockout for the 2021 season, which means there could be no basketball for two seasons if they don't restart in Orlando. Which, by the way, I saw the layout of like how Orlando is gonna be laid out. Looks great. There's a it's a lot of things. It's like 100 30 pages of plans that recon dive into. But we'll stay on Kyrie for a second here. So he's saying that exports will return less coverage of the racial issues going on America which is true.
I think so Much of what we've seen in the last few weeks is because there is no sports and there's nothing. There's no outlet for people, right. It's like there's nothing to do anyway. So let's go take on this issue, whereas if life was a little bit busier, it would have gotten as much attention. Supporters Hess. That could be a good thing to get all this attention and support, but he did phrase something as it's not a good look for all of the black players to play basketball and put themselves at risk for white owners, That's a little bit more.
That's more on the sport of basketball. If that's how you want to look at things, that's not like a cove it issue. That's not like a current issue that's on the sport and the the kind of this system that they have set up in their own right. Well, it also sounds weird because I feel like LeBron and everybody had a discussion and I think it was like an open venue, like come chat, let's talk about it. LeBron's on board and then Kyrie, all of a sudden decided to do this side thing and talkto Dwight Howard of all people and like, have a discussion and say, Look, I don't think we want to play So the one part of me is like, it's a goddamn conspiracy theory because Kyrie is not gonna be playing much at all of in anything.
They're not gonna go very far into the playoffs. So it's lavender and and walking through that door right now? No, not at all. So he's like, Oh, let's just throw this season away. That was a conspiracy side of me Then it was like, Well, then do they pull apart like I read something else about Kyrie talking about like we're moving themselves from the N B A. And like starting their own league or something like that? I think sometimes Sky reads a little cuckoo like we've seen a lot of things that he thought the Earth was flat.
All this stuff, um, I get it, but they already had a discussion. So it's like if me and you agreed on something and we said, All right, everybody, let's come talk about it And everybody came to talk about We all agreed, and then three days later. Something like, You know what? I'm not with it. We're not doing it anymore. It's something triggered him, and I don't know what it is because he had an opportunity. That's what he is. A little bit on an island, right? So, like you said Dwight Howard's with um, like Dwight Howard is not the voice of reason.
Never has been, and we don't respect his own. He's our eat candy every single day. What's wrong with that? A lot of kids, you just had a goddamn tooth removed. That's what's wrong. Was a root canal Mike, Not a tooth removed. Bullets into fell out. Um, I think it's hard to get all hundreds of N B A players on the same page and carry feel differently. All the players are on board except Kyrie and Dwight. It's gonna happen whether country wants me. They're not. Credits Adam Silver, N B. A. Commissioner. We can go through some of the logistics here, but this is a big scandal city. I want to go through some of the logistics, but I want to start with this main point that really stood out to me, the N B A says quote the occurrence of a small or otherwise expected number of cove in 19 cases will not require a decision to suspend or cancel the resumption of the season. That is great news, because I was worried. 01 cove it. We all go down. The whole Orlando operation is busted cause we're seeing sky high cases in early in the right guy.
So with flying, Yeah, you're coming in for MBA season. Actually, I'm just I'm looking forward to this because it's not gonna stop for one or five or 10 covert cases. E I don't I don't know what's going on anymore. This this year is just insane, like so much crap has been happening. So who knows? I would love for then be season come back. But if they boycott and say, you know what? We're not going to do this good for them making a stand, but and there's gonna be a lockout next year.
I don't know what's going on. Do you want to talk about football? It also stand in the first round. So we see they're gonna be spread out of three different hotel resorts. The top eight teams in the next day, the next day, and the idea is to keep the hotels like fresh. So, like the worst teams are eliminated. That hotel goes back to the guests cause Disney is gonna open while the MBA is here in early July. I'm right around the same time. Actually, that's not open right now, so that was interesting.
The entertainment is interesting. They're not allowed to go outside of the bars and restaurants like they're not allowed to leave the Disney property at all. But they're also not going to stop you. If you do, there's a hotline set up like there's a hotline that people like me can call. If I see Kyrie at the strip club, I can call him in and say, Yo, your boys guys facing some titties, you can't you can't let him. Did you see that? They're gonna be able to let them gamble.
Like, Are they building them a casino on? Does the island somewhere? Because I know you can't gamble at Disney World. That would no, certainly not. That would be fake. A fake casino. Maybe if Adam Silver puts in 50,000 maybe they set up some blackjack, but that's that's not real life. That's Vegas. Did you see that? There's, like, gonna have video games. Gambling? Yeah. I don't understand. I don't think Israel Maybe it's for chips or some for prizes. You redeem like you're at the arcade. Uh, like, I like that the players are gonna be able to watch the games to they're gonna be able to be the jobs. There might also be major like soccer players watching their games because MLS is also a Disney at the same time than it's fun in the MLS invited MBA players to their game. So you know, there's not gonna be any there s So that was when the entertainment also includes concerts that are brought in outs, outdoor concerts that someone run into Disney. There's going to be games like cornhole, which is sounds like my weekends lately. Eso it's just really interested this old school approach. It's like you think of all this technology we have in places to go and things to do, and they're gonna be locked in this bubble.
I would love to be embedded inside of it, but so far not can break in. You haven't got credentials yet? All right, um, you want to talk about the NFL in Kaepernick for a second, and this is it feels like a flashback to 2013 or 14 or something. When when did you leave the league? I didn't even know it. No idea. Way it was later than that was 15 or 16. So what's the latest on Capitol? Well, the Chargers head coach forgot his name. He said He's like, Yeah, we definitely want to try him out.
So it seems like he's gonna go out there and work out for the Chargers. I don't know if he can still play, and I think that's the biggest question around it. But where? Where do you see Kaepernick fitting in? If he does come back and do you think it will be? First of all, there's a lot of questions. Will the NFL even come back because of the MBA doesn't come back. I don't know how the NFL is going to come back. Yeah, my boy Fauci is not optimistic about it.
I think it will come back us. I think they'll start training camp in August and play two preseason games, end of August and try to start in September. It might only be four games in October hits and we're all screwed. It's not good, and Zeke just got Corona virus one second on Kaepernick. I think it's weird, the it's delicate, but the evolution of people on him, all these people who did not support Kaepernick like I don't know if the entire enough, the entire NFL And now they all do.
And I understand the idea of evolving your thoughts. I think we've all had some evolution and how we consider things in last few weeks and months. Sure, this quote from Roger Goodell, he said, quote, I encourage a team to sign Colin Kaepernick, Bro, Where have you been? Because if you said that years ago, there's a solid chance were not in the situation we are today. And Roger Goodell was part of the problem the NFL was part of the problem remains to be seen if they still are.
But for him to come out that forcefully to support Kaepernick now the 1 80 is is a little disturbing to me and this is not saying that you can't be open minded to changing your views. I'm not saying that it's just a little disturbing how it just feels fake. It just feels like public pressure is causing this and there's no sincerity behind. I agree. And I think the main issue with the false what apology or whatever he's trying to do is that it's almost like, Okay, sure, like Sinem.