Jon Anik Recaps UFC Freedom 250 at the White House, Plus Former UConn Center & NBA Draft Prospect Tarris Reed

The Rhymer Solar Show is presented by draft Kings.

Two guests for you today.

“John Annett, who called UFC Freedom 250 the all-time or one of the best fights I've ever seen,”

just to gauge his win against the Portia. So we'll talk about that and then everything that went into calling a UFC card from the White House and also some thoughts on a colleague of ours that passed in Boston. Terracery from UConn, get ready for the draft. I'm telling you, you are going to love this kit.

He was awesome in this interview. We usually don't do a ton of these with younger players. He was great. He talks about transferring, thinking he wouldn't be a pro. We talk about his best opponents, a lot of fun.

Great personality, you're going to love it. And life advice and maybe a fitness update. This summer, the cup is taking over the US. And only draft Kings has you covered every step of the way. The draft Kings Sports App is now available.

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And in the game with one app, new draft Kings customers sign up with code Ryan spent five bucks to get 200 in rewards within 21 days. That's code Ryan RYEN in partnership with draft Kings. The crown is yours. Fresh off his call of the UFC freedom 250 card.

It is the voice of the UFC. John Anick. Good morning, sir. How are you? Oh, the pleasure is all here.

You know, not that fresh. It's amazing when you sit for eight hours in this case, six hours at almost 50 is opposed to almost 40. Get an absolute different. You know, I didn't get up for a long time and feeling my age, but always good to be with.

Give me the back story here. Maybe the first time the UFC talked to you about it, first time Dana talked to you about it. The whole idea of pulling off this big event from the White House. You may not be surprised to hear that oftentimes I find out when the masses do.

“So I think it was August of 2025 was when this thing sort of sprung into reality.”

And certainly as someone who's worked for Dana White since 2011 can attest like this guy just wants to do what seemingly can't be done. And I feel like spear and I think you might have seen a lot of events inside spear perhaps not. But I think for anyone who's been inside there, they know that pulling off any concert is

an undertaking, never mind doing a live event inside spear.

So the fact that our team was able to execute that, I think, was a grand vision. And this was that times a thousand. You know, there were so many inner workings of this show. It was such a massive undertaking in terms of coordinating all of the band elements and the fireworks and cooperation with whether so many different arms of the UFC.

I'm just so thankful to have been a part of it. But I don't know that you could have executed it as well as the team did if you had a second shot. The buildup that day, what was the day like? Yeah.

I mean, I guess I would admit to some nerves that don't usually accompany my pre-fight routine. I don't even know why, you know, I'm doing seven fights instead of 14, right? I got half as many athletes and know UFC newcomers. I knew all of these athletes backwards and forwards. But yeah, I mean, it was a lot of just moving parts and a lot of American history that

I probably should have paid attention to when I was in school. But it was tense, you know, just thinking about the magnitude of this sporting event. It's not even so much eyeballs on it, right? Because oftentimes, even if I'm calling a comment on my Gregor fight, I'm looking at a camera.

I don't feel much of anything there, but in this instance, I'm surrounded by troops. They're just a lot of different deliverables. And yeah, I guess I felt suppressure, but what a, what a nightmare. I'm trying not to cuss every other fucking word, you know. It really delivered, man.

And I, a bunch of us were invited, I wasn't invited to go, but, you know, it wasn't going to happen.

“And then we were supposed to have, I think, Zach Brown on.”

And then, I don't know if he can do that. Why did he not go with all respect as I'm just learning this now? You don't have to answer it on live radio. Just, you know, my libertarian values, I think. Yeah, I get it.

No, NBA finals. Oh, yeah, priorities. No, I understand. The NBA finals, I'm like, this isn't happening, there's just, there's no way. And then I think, yeah, I forget what happened with Zach Brown thing.

I don't know if he can't, so because he didn't know the pot is doing well, but I felt like, and it sucks too, because I had about 20 minutes or the almonds brother's questions for him. So, we were going to talk some almonds, but didn't work out.

Yeah. Yeah. Like everything. Yeah.

“And then you're like, you know what, if we got a bunch of eagles graphics and a lot”

of guitars, that's kind of America, too.

You know, so watching that part of it was, was pretty incredible.

And then watching the walkouts through the oval office, I'm like, some of these guys, if they don't have good cardio, they may get tired out before they even get in there. That walk is taken forever. So no, it wasn't, it wasn't like anything politically any reason I wasn't able to go. But I was jealous.

I was jealous on Sunday night, like I get done taping and then I'm watching all of it. I'm like, man, they really pulled this off. Just to get his walk was just an absolute thing of beauty, but you're wise to acknowledge all the elapsed time, right for him. And then he waits for Ilya Topodia to come to the octagon, but just the whole magnitude

of the event, like, when I'm crafting my open to begin the show, like, I normally do that on my own. This time I did ask for some opinion from Craig Borsari and Zach and he don't everybody gone down and Craig didn't want Ilya Topodia in there, it's sort of like, you know, USA, UFC and how do you tie that together?

I guess for me, and I would throw this back to you as a guy who I have so much respect for, like if you are celebrating the United States of America, or pro sports and the athletes not such a part of the fabric of this country that it's not crazy to think you would do a live sporting event if you could actually pull it off, like it makes sense in a USA celebration. I know a lot of people say, you know, I want my government to, you know, protect me and

not entertain me, but I felt, you know, it was really well executed and well thought. Yeah, I'd look, I didn't get this point, it just depends on which side you root for and it doesn't matter. You know, it just doesn't matter. It's like, okay, well now this thing that maybe I even like, I'm going to pretend

that I'm really mad about it, because it's traditionally not something that's supposed to happen. Look, I've seen some arguments that I was like, okay, maybe I wasn't thinking about that.

But ultimately, look, I enjoyed it.

I thought it was a home run in the car was an all timer and let's start with Gachy because

“here's the thing is that I remember eight years ago, could be seven years ago, but right”

around that time, I had you on the show and I said, just give me the toughest guy. Give me who the toughest guy is that you've ever come across and you said, just to Gachy. And it just was like, okay, he had some losses. He's now in the three fight win streak. And when he's getting just mopped with these liver shots and he's an underdog, anyway,

and I'm thinking like, all right, you know, I'm rooting for him, but this isn't going to happen. And he puts together one of the most bad ass performance. That's one of the best fights I've ever seen. Yeah, it is in total.

Do you want to the best fights? I think a lot of people have ever seen and you've got a keen eye for this. You've watched it for a long time. I think singularly, it's one of the biggest wins in UFC history. If for me, it isn't on paper, this massive upset because, you know, he's a lightweight

and I think it'll get to body as five, six, and there are a lot of different angles into all of that.

“But Justin Gachy is the most exciting fighter in MMA history.”

If you do peel back, the curtain on his entire career, you'd be hard pressed to find a 30 second span of any fight that wasn't really entertaining. And high level mixed martial arts at that. And he had a couple of so many things like Ryan, he defended a major world title five times successfully before he even got to the UFC in 2017 and nobody was watching.

And then he got here and he won the interim championship in a global pandemic. He fucking threw the belt on the ground because it wasn't the real thing. The real thing was, could be your mogul bet, obviously fought him later that year and lost. And then became the interim champion again. And then seemingly had this Herkulant challenge on his hands and whatever you feel about

Ilya Toporia, this was a huge ask for Justin Gachy to fight a prime Ilya Toporia at this stage of Gachy's career. Not to suggest Gachy isn't prime. His current form was quite good coming in. But you can't cheat age in the fight game, and Gachy would be the first to tell you.

He has less than two fights left in any equation. So just so much respect for this American badass, put the ultimate capstone on his career of the sweat.

Is there anything to be said about Toporia never having, I'm not going to try to say his

name as well as you do. Like not having to go the distance other than the what was it one fight that made it the distance. Like were you wondering were you sitting there with DC and Rogan go and, hey, I mean granted, his face was fucking hamburger.

So there was also that for you to analyze and factor in it where the fight was going. But did you start to feel like, hey, this is just a different level for him. Despite people thinking pound to pound, he might be the best fighter in the UFC. Well, I kind of felt that way going in, I hate to be the, I told you so type guy, but I host a podcast with Kenny Floreen, a fought for UFC title three times.

And he said in the lead up to the fight that Ilia Toporia was the greatest MMA fighter that he had ever seen. And I challenged him on that Toporia had gone 25 minutes with Josh Emmett and featherweight.

It was one way traffic.

He beat the hell out of him.

“You know, my son was actually there left early because he beat him so badly.”

You know, so that was the championship length experience for Ilia Toporia. But very short on lightweight experience in this weight class. You know, Justin Gachy acknowledged his genetics in the postfight interview, talking about that his German skin should be studied, his bone density. These are real things, right?

Like weight classes exist for a reason. And not to suggest that Ilia Toporia can't become the honest beauty lightweight champion. Again, I mean, skill for skill. He truly is as good as any fighter the risen, the roster. But yes, on proven as a lightweight, he had fought Jai Herbert early in his UFC career.

There was a moment of adversity there. And then when he beat Charles Oliverra, the fight was two minutes and 27 seconds. So I thought intangibly there were advantages for Justin Gachy going in the goddamn White House behind him and other things, the Americanism Gachy is a huge patriot. And yeah, Gachy's just a great athlete, the naturally bigger man and only Tom will tell.

But I was surprised that more of my contemporaries didn't give Justin Gachy more of a chance to make it. The other thing about Gachy that I'd loved is even after the poorly lost, and it's like why didn't you wrestle more? Is it Gachy could have, is it, but it's boring?

I don't like to wrestle. I want to fight. I mean, this is a guy with an incredible wrestling resume and he is just decided throughout his career like nobody pays those guys, nobody watches those guys. I'm just not going to be one of those guys, even though it would have cost or saved him

maybe a loss or two. Yeah. No, it's fair. Certainly a loss or two.

Although he always says as well, is that it's tiring.

And Ilya Toporia initially is a mixed martial artist was a submission guy first, ruled up a bunch of submissions before he got to the UFC, but wrestling and grappling is tiring. So part of the reason why Gachy doesn't do it in certain matchups is because you might pay the price later. And you can even argue in this fight as Toporia tried to finish the fight.

He wasn't credited with a true submission attempt, but maybe some of that led to the fatigue. But just buckets of respect for Gachy and getting this win. I just think it's sort of interesting, you know, how people quantify it because, you know, the betting line was wide, depending on where you shopped, you know, you could have made a life-changing wage or this weekend.

I just thought there was so much value on just in Gachy. Just as a totally proven lightweight against a guy who, well, skillful and pound for pound elite, not proven at 55 at all. Did you get any more clarity on Toporia when the doctor came over and called the fight based on his lack of vision?

And then it was, you know, because I know a lot of people are calling Trump to soccer president. And I was thinking with the CD, let's go to the distance president as well. Yeah, so I think I know how to do it.

“I mean, I think Mark Goddard, the referee deserves a lot of credit, right?”

Because the ringside physician, I think, was, I don't know if excitables the right adjective, but he sort of twice tried to stop the fight and, you know, I think he sort of seemed like you know, rushed to stop the fight. So I do think it was wise that we got an extra round there, you know, there was a little bit of an issue with some elapsed time and Toporia may be getting an extra minute, even

if he didn't have his team there. The right was a massive factor because I mean, he looked shot at the end of three and then because he got all that extra time, he came out of the freshest he had looked and, you know, probably 10 like real minutes. Yeah, I mean, the protocol was handled correctly, but anyway, you slice it, you can't avoid

some of that elapsed time. And even if Toporia's corner didn't stop it. And by the way, it was his brother who did stop the fight, something got lost in translation. You know, I thought he was saying, we're going to finish the fight and he was saying we're finished, you know, so I think God would have stopped it anyway.

We are told not to get medical on the broadcast, right? That's why you don't hear me at least, as I try to stay in my lane, you know, talk about broken orbitals, but right, like you see the dude's bone popping out of his cheek. That's hard at the moment to not be like, his face is broken, the referee was going to stop the fight after four.

So quit on stool is an interesting reference.

“And I think he hated, I hate it for that fight or allowed to say it is gauge, okay?”

Or, you know, some of the fellow fighters, but that is not at all what happened here. So, yeah. Good. I'm glad you said it. Gagey said he wasn't going to make an announcement on retirement.

You said he feels like he has two more fights in him, so I mean, these guys never, I don't

think he should fight again. And I'm never in the business of retiring fighters, but he has financial freedom. After Max Holloway knocked him out at UFC 300, he played golf 300 of the next 305 days. He could go semi-pro whatever he wants to do, what is that what's the upside, you know? And let's he really wants, you know, 10 or 15 million for one more payday, why?

For what? And Sarah Gionne, who'd be a big underdog, I just, I don't see the risk in terms of protecting your brain, Gagey shouldn't fight again. I'm just telling you that if he does, it'll be less than two more fights and you're right. It sounds like he doesn't want to re-match it with your support.

a great point of just going, like, I know it was a casual fan, you're like, oh, Cyril Gionne's fighting. Yeah, yeah. And we know in this matchup with Prairie, you're like, I, you know, like, he's not going to beat him, even though we're talking about Prairie moving up and weight significantly,

“even though I still thought he carried it well, I think you guys breaking down his ass was”

valuable during the broadcast because you were like, look at his ass and I was like, yeah, look at his ass. I need to pay more attention to it.

The elephant in the room finally Joe addressed it, you know, I mean, and honestly, there's

like, some, a real conversation here in terms of, like, Cyril Gionne a true heavyweight from head to toe and a to maybe not being one. Right. So give me, give me the feeling on that one afterwards because it, I don't know if it's like a, a Cyril Gionne, I'm trying to, like, compare Cyril Gionne to, like, other, other

big fighters. Like, oh, that guy's fighting and like none of us get excited because it's not one of the headline guys. And yeah, watch how crisp and fluid and dominant he is against an all-time opponent and you're like, well, maybe, maybe it is us, maybe like, I think Alisters probably

like a good comp, so I'm like, yeah, I, you know, like, Alisters fighting, all right, whatever. And then it's like, man, you know, he's actually pretty fucking good.

And yeah, and you never like accepted as, like, this is an exciting guy to have in the

ring. Yeah. So I'll say two things. Number one, all the sharps love Cyril Gionne going in, they made a lot of money on Cyril Gionne this weekend.

“I think part of that was just that he was the tried and tested heavyweight and the other”

thing I'll say, Cyril Gionne might be the greatest heavyweight in UFC history, right? He's, oh, one, no, listen to this, right? No, all right. I'm having fun. Okay.

With a no contest in his three undisputed heavyweight title fights, right? So he's now a two time UFC interim heavyweight champion in a rebel, meaning the undisputed champ can't go. So let's not take too much away from him. Oh, and two with a no contest in his three undisputed heavyweight title fights.

But skill for skill Ryan, right? Steep and me and Chitchew, Bitcoinously regarded as the greatest MMA heavyweight of all time. Right? I mean, Cyril Gionne, bro, I'm telling you, like he could be favored in a rematch with

aspirin, all of he was able to add that prize to everything he's done. His entire UFC career space had been title fights. I'm just saying man, like Cyril Gionne is his best days might be ahead of him. And when all is said and done, he is going to be remembered as one of the best to ever do it.

And yet he's never been the guy.

That feels like a reach. Yeah. And right, I said twice what his record was. So I'm, you know, he was my Francis and Gionne, who he got be quickly by John Jones and

“a fight that had it gone a little bit longer, who knows, right?”

But yeah, man, and then the no contest against Tom Asperon, which he was sort of tune in the guy up, you know, I'm just saying, this is a huge singular win as I think we're trying to acknowledge. And there's no easy division in which to beat Alex Potato, even if he's probably better as a light heavyweight and, you know, there's a lot of pressure in these moments.

And God just eats it, you know, he's always sharp on the feet. He's never been bad, at least when the fight has gone long enough for him to show up. I would look, I don't think it takes Teddy Atlas to figure out here. I probably shouldn't have used Teddy Atlas, but Cyril's movement and skill, like when you think of that against steppe, and it's like, yeah, except steppe is just a fucking mutant.

And he's a lot to deal with. So like what actually is more important, um, aspirin all is, I feel like every time I'm watching a fight, it's like, and what's up with Asperon, like what, what is up with him? Is he, is he a frustrating character in this heavyweight story? So I try to not gossip, monger, and stand my land, and I get myself in trouble anyway, you know?

But here I am interviewing Tyson Fury, you know, and the undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champion Tommy Asperon knows where to be found. So as you probably know, he's now managed by Eddie Hurn, and to whatever degree that throws a wedge into the relationship with the UFC, I don't know, but he is under contract, even if, you know, his management suggests he's not happy with it.

And, uh, they need to fight, right? Like, seattle gum was wise to say, like, all right, let's unify these belts and septemper in Paris, your move. Paris, yeah, right? It's so, uh, and Tom's got to be like, you got to be kidding me. But yeah, I mean, Tom is on the mend, and as soon as Tom gets cleared, hopefully that's

the fight that they make, because, um, you know, we can't have Josh ho, ho, get getting a champion. There's a opportunity just yet.

he didn't read the moment. I, I don't know, anybody that thought that was fucking cool. Terrible. Absolutely terrible. That was the darkest moment of the night that he would take that shot at Michelle Obama.

You know, um, and I would like to apologize to first lady Melania Trump, I call her

Ivanka on the way out. I know it's Melania. I just screwed up. But there was a lot of Trump's in the house, man. And when they were in the ring, after the fact like, one of them grabbed, I don't

“think it was a Trump, but I was like, what's happening right now? Are they multiplying?”

And then gate cheese in there, and then somebody grabbed gate cheese arm as he was walking away and older guy. So I don't think it was like one of the Trump clan. And I'm like, can you imagine grabbing gate cheese arm when he doesn't know as he's walking away from you?

Yeah. But I think it was to pose for a picture with Melania. And so gate cheese was like, all right, you know, at that point, like profiteers, usually it's just like, I'm probably safe. I'm probably, but I'm like, who's this person grabbing is fucking arm?

Yeah. And I'm sure it is somebody of significance, but it wasn't any of the evil twins. So I don't know. Yeah. I don't know who it was.

But yeah, that was a forgettable moment for Josh Hoke, you know, but like, we need this heavyweight division to move along after what Ciro gone did, you know what I mean? So hopefully Tom gets healthy and they do that fight. But yeah, I don't know the Ciro gone.

He was a underdog for sure in that first meeting.

There's a good chance he ends up either betting favor to get stop. I don't really imagine. Wow. Was it weird for you as an Elizabeth Warren guy to just talk like, dude, I mean, I am so

“that ignorant idiot when it comes to politics, right?”

I wrote a senior thesis how the media undermines American democracy and I couldn't tell you anything that was in those. Where are you at in your time? Pot induced 40 pages, right? So, yeah, but yeah, I think C plus we try to see plus our way through college.

We cheated on our biology final otherwise we were pretty clean, you know? 40 pages is under taking. Yeah, just trying to put it all together, it was, it was pretty forgettable. I just want to say one thing to you about genetics and, okay, when it comes to like Italy, it's a podium just engaged, right?

Because it is a real part of this, like Anderson Silva's face was built. Like Teflon, you know, when Chale son and was like mangling him and their title fight, he wouldn't cut open, you know? And just engaged, he didn't cut open, despite Toporia landing a lot of strikes. And when you have an athlete after the factors, the naturally bigger man, you're talking

five, eleven to five, six, right? Is anybody including this in their fucking pre-fight handicap, right? And then Gati saying after the fact that's my Mexican-American mother, my fucking host,

“German dad, study my skin, not just my brain, right?”

Like genetics, weight classes, right? Can't wait to see how Italy at Toporia spins this thing forward, right? Because Kenny Florian, a lot of people are on the record, right? This guy's the greatest of all time, skill wise, right? Can't wait to see how he spins it forward.

But, you know, there are a lot of big lightweight who would be more than willing to see how Toporia fares against that. Wow, sounds like maybe not as much of a toporia guys as others. I'm star-shocked by him, and he walks into a room. He is so calm, collected, poised, he's so thoughtful and too languages.

And yes, Gati alluded in around one situation or a ten minute fight, yeah, he's probably the best guy on the roster, you know? But, before the fight people are talking about him fighting Islamahasha, maybe at Welterway. And can we slow our role, just Google, Michael Morales, and you'll see, size matters in

fighting. And I just think that Toporia, great chance to become a two-time lightweight champion, but it's going to be a clown. I feel like there's a mandatory John Jones dot dot dot question.

I don't know how much longer that happens, but Connor was always kind of that mandatory

thing, but we actually have a fight on the horizon. Fauts. So, Connor McGregor and Max Holloway fought for the first time in 2013. And now they will fight with Connor McGregor, Gregor having this five-year layoff. So, when Connor McGregor broke his legs five years, five years, the story of, yeah.

So, but when he broke his leg in 2010, so he was getting in an active competition cycle in 2021 when he broke his leg, he fought two times that year, and given his bank role, the reason to come back is for competitive desire, for legacy. It's not for money for Connor McGregor. So, my expectation, which does not dovetail with the opinion of most of my contemporaries,

is that he is going to perform very well, and maybe better than the betting line indicated to this particularly wide right now, and the layoff plays a huge role in that. But I think in a striking matchup against Max Holloway, if Connor McGregor has been putting

Like a lot of coaches would say to you, like, we're not seeing it, right?

Like, normally on social media, you're seeing the work, you're seeing the training camp, you're seeing it from Connor. He's putting that on display for the world to see, and maybe that would be more encouraging

“to them for his chances, but I think he's going to perform well, and, you know, we'll”

see what Max Holloway has to say about that. Before I let you go, I wanted to sped a few moments talking about somebody we work with, who's an icon in the business that we do, and that's the passing of Eddie Antoman yesterday. We work with Eddie at the zone, you know, there's a lot of people that get credit in certain industries, like, hey, without this guy, you know, that kind of stuff.

And you can't really overstate his presence and his influence on sports radio, you know, just sports talk radio, going back decades and decades and Boston. So, you know, we get to know Eddie, our offices were next to him, his show was before the show that we did, and obviously it's sad and it's, you know, thoughts to his family, his sons that we got to meet a bunch of different times, but look, Eddie was, Eddie was an

“icon, and I think once you got there with him, it was a cool relationship.”

I know personally for me, like it started in the place where I was like, oh, I guess this is a kind of a bunch of a thing, and then once he kind of came around on you, you couldn't help, but just kind of get a kick out of who the guy was, and so, just sad news yesterday. Yeah, you put it better than I could, you know, he really does deserve a lot of credit for just the talking head industry, and oftentimes, I'll say, you know, the fact that

I've been able to support my kids with mixed martial arts, Connor McGregor, and some part deserves credit because of what he has done to build the sport. And Eddie, gentlemen, is the godfather of sports talk radio, not just in Boston, but he really deserves that distinction, and certainly, it was interesting for me to see you as the prodigy at that radio station and the guy with all this talent and momentum, and, you

know, hosting a show alongside him, and me watching the dynamic between the two of you, and then doing sports flashes on his show and getting the chance to meet the boys, yeah, I mean, certainly you had to work hard to sort of, you know, earn his trust, but, you know, the most valuable honor thing he ever taught me was a lot of hosts will say, all right, listen, and it's like, dude, we're fucking listening, like, and Eddie would say, like,

don't ever say to listen to your listeners, and it's nothing more than a verbal

crutch of which I have many, but that was the thing I really took away from him, never

condescending your listeners by saying, well, listen, you know, it's like, dude, they're fucking, they tuned in, they're here, they're listening, love you, Eddie. I remember he did a rant against DO Epstein, I got upset, and it was like when I was still so young, so I think I was only like 27, and I was in the car, like, driving back to the studio after one of our interns refused to pick up lunch, but I, you know, I just was like, I completely

disagree, so like, I ran in, I ran in to the studio behind the glass, and I went, like, hey, I need to go on right now, like I can't believe what he's saying, and so they, like, the producer, it's like, all right, and he was in there with Billy Fairweather, and so I was like, just line by line, and like, I can't believe, like, you're wrong about this, no, it's different stuff, and so then I leave, and Eddie's like laughing at me, because he can't believe how personal I'm taking it,

“yeah, and it was just like the best way to just defend your points, like you, you morunk, like,”

like, why do you care about the UFC in this much? And so then I go back to my office, and there was two parts of it that are funny, because Billy Fairweather, like, shows up because, hey, huge mistake, yeah, John, you might be John in this industry, I don't know what, yeah, he's like, I don't know what that was, and I was like, all right, thanks, and then Eddie saw me like, as I was getting in, and he thought it was the funniest thing ever, here's like, that was funny,

that was really funny, because, like, again, it was early on, I had a really hard time understanding that this is all entertainment, it's just entertainment, and he understood that very early, and I, you know, look, I have my style and my style has been my style now for

25 years, but there are always these moments of other people that were incredibly successful,

where I envied how not serious they took it, and it may not be for everyone, but I think that actually speaks to like a broader audience, and it was really funny, because I went from me being, like, oh, I can't believe he would say anything. Now, I guess I get to challenge him, because my shows right after his show, and like, this is totally normal talk radio stuff, and then it was

and yet Eddie was just like, that was good, like, you know, he just thought it was funny, because he couldn't believe that I was taking it so seriously, all of his critiques at the UFC. Well, but even though you have changed in terms of maybe taking it that seriously,

“and a lot of respect, you haven't, and that's why you sort of barred into the studio, just”

yourself, belief, and you're not going to sort of be denied, right? Like, I never would have

had the stones to even ask on the air, and you practically walked into the studio without even asking the produce. Yeah, because even if I'm for you, which producer would have been, I probably was still walking in there anyway. Fucking stepping all over. I'm going to cross. We love Rob to Zay. We were big Rob to Zay, guys. I, Billy going, yeah, Jan. Oh, you do. Yeah, Jan. You said, all right. You're the man, great night, great night. Say hi to the gang for us

over here, and we'll talk again soon. We're a week away from the NBA draft. It's my favorite time of the year. I'm excited. And a guy I really enjoyed watching play from UConn, getting ready to hear his name called on draft night, territory, morning man. Good to see you. Good morning, Ryan. How are we doing? I got to ask. I love your game. We don't see a lot of these postguys any more. The footwork, left hand, right hand. You've got all the old school stuff. Where did you learn

to play basketball? She's, I mean, I got started my pops. Ever since the young young kid, I mean, me, my dad and my two younger brothers, Trevor and Tristan, I mean, we started going at each other really in a driveway, and I've been blessed to have just younger, younger, train, or gender coaches, really buy into me in the process. And yeah, I was just a kid. I really fell in love with the game. I couldn't my dad for, like, forcing me to work, dial as a kid, and then as he kept force,

me to go to workout, forced me to really buy into the process. I started loving them on my own, and I really started enjoying and really seeing myself grow. So, that's all of my dad and I want with he a post player, though, because this is, you have the game of someone who prioritized post play in a way that we just don't see a lot anymore. Yeah, uh, he actually didn't play any

sports. My mom dad did not play any sports. And I was always the biggest growing up. So,

in the city, so I'm from St. Louis. So, in the city, we'll go down play in the city. I'm the biggest person that I'm playing the big band. But we used to go to camps in the city where everybody no matter what you were working on in ball handling. So, I lived in the in the suburbs. So, I go out to the suburbs, but from my school team, and I'm running the point guard. So, I couldn't do that a lot of being comfortable handling the ball. And, yeah. So, when you've been meeting with teams,

you know, one of the concerns I always have was somebody who plays the game, you play as they could. They just don't use post play. Yeah. That much anymore. And you can prioritize it. And we saw your tournament run where it really like, oh my god, like this guy's a load. He's tough to deal with. How have teams talked to you about how they want to use you as a pro? Yeah. The biggest thing is being able to like impact the game without scoring. And I have to really realize that.

And you realize that's my uh, the end of this year was how can I impact the game from my session

“of ball? Because that's why I was not happening at that level. And so, it's rebounded, it's defense,”

it's setting hard screen, it's rolling hard. It's doing all the things that I'm pretty good at. I could take to even another level to the next level in. Like I said, a lot of players don't want to do. So, you know, to hang my hat on the defensive end and rebound, and I feel like I take every lot of things. In Hurley's offense, what you're asked to do, that's one of the least concerning things that NBA teams should have about you. Because you have to stay engaged the entire position,

even though the ball isn't yours. So, tell me more about like how it's not that it's difficult, but there's just a lot to it. It's complex in where you have to be and how you have to kind of

focus on every single cut in this offense. Yeah. I mean, speaking from my defensive side first,

that was the biggest thing I struggled with was like the multiple efforts part. I remember in the summer workouts, Coach Company used to threaten me on just having to go up. I had to call the ball screen defense. I got to play ball screen defense. I had to contain the shooter, contain the guard, keep the boy him in front of me, keep the roller in front of me. I have to box out, rebound on

“block the side, remember I didn't do it all over again and again and again. And it really is a skill.”

It really is. It was tough for me to at first, but once I really grasped and got to understand like what I have to do, like this is a non-negotiable. If I weren't a win, if I weren't be the best player, I wouldn't become. I had to do these things every possession. And then offensively, it's me, I mean, it was hard to, like, it was a lot hard to wear and go into that, that hurtly,

a lot during the five out, like I said, in post-duction, or they're going to trap, and

they just trust in my passing. I feel like that was the biggest thing. I showed a lot of people after really passed. Yeah, you had to pass the Caribbean in the tournament on the cut where you're underneath the basket, and it looks like you're, I mean, they're sending so much help to you was the tournament kept going and Caribbean cuts to your left, and you make this pass. And it

“it is true. Like, I think a lot of people would have said, I don't know if he's much of a passer,”

and this year, I think that's the biggest improvement that I've seen from you. Yeah, 100% agree. And actually, before I make that same pass the Caribbean in the Georgetown game. So, it was, I don't know what me and him just had that, that connection. It wasn't expecting, you know, it's one of those things where, you know, when I watch you, and this is where I think it might be easier for you in the NBA, because in the NBA, they're not going to be sending

as much help to you when you're down low. If you thought about that at all, yeah, and definitely play with different players, like, whatever it's in my go to, like, everyone have a superstar, you know, and my job is to get them open. My job is to set hard streets for them. My job is a roll hard, make that life as he's possibly rebound, defend the rim. So, believe me, in that selfless, selfless, act selfless role in, embracing it. You know, like, this is what I'm here for,

this is what I pray for, this is what I want to come to the NBA. I mean, this is what I'm going to give me, plan time, keep you on a court, tell them what to do and I'll do it.

“Did you have to ever realize like how big you were? I mean, obviously, you know how big you are,”

but when I, when I saw you start to go like, oh, I can just put my hips into this guy, I can get clear with, like, a shoulder dip and then it now, now the relief, like, when did that click for you as an offensive player? I'm not gonna lie, play it pretty late. I mean, I was like,

I said, I was always the biggest kid around, and it was a little bit inconsistent, but I feel like

this past year, like, in January, what we played. So, actually, it was a day, we lost the somebody. The next day in the wait room, close to gathering all the coaches were like, "Yo, we're gonna play this march on on this," because I don't know what you're seeing. It was like, he was in the area, he was like, "I got to do over and over and over and over and over again." Like, he just went through and that face, and I was like, I had to sit on the floor that I'm like,

"I'm this big, like, I can just do whatever I want out there." Like, who's going to stop me posting up? Who's going to like, "Boccare, I'm off as a rebound." And then I started doing in the game all the, you know, just physically and pulled my wheel, each and every, like, nobody wants to do this every day. Like, if I was them, I would not want to have the guard me and box me out and protect me. They know from around just every possession and doing that,

leaning on people, making this difficult possible. And you do a great job doing your work before,

“too. You're an awesome target as an entry pass. That I think is not a common thing with younger”

pigs. You make yourself a great target. Yeah. And you do your work early. And then it's funny, too, because I can see sometimes like in a defensive scramble where the non-center is on you, you will just, you're almost offended. They think they're going to hang with you in the post, you'll chuck them out of the way before you can start. Yeah. There's no question there. So I'm, I'm just, so I was talking to a front office last night about you. And I said, you know,

what do you think? And it was really cool because it was different. It's not all the things that we're covering here. The first one was he can show defensively on a smaller player. A key can get out and clog up your ball handler, which is one of the main things that you're asking for a five that can stay on the floor. Was that something, you know, you've talked about the practices and drilling because, you know, sometimes you guys are asked to do so much. You're asked to get

out there, contain the guard and then also get back and recover. It's really, really hard. How do you figure that out? How do you figure out a way to do the number one thing? And then also make sure you're like original defensive responsibility is something you're going to be able to recover, too.

Yeah. Truths, everything's about first and then you're always, I love, I love what's in

love guarding guards. As when you see me, my player build, the way I built, doing it, expecting me to be able to move my feet really well and be able to hang in front of guards and really proud of myself or take care of my body and being able to take care and just carding on the perimeter. So the biggest thing is like player personnel for us, you know, scobbing, scobbing is a huge thing. Coach was always saying, like, how's the game going? How's the

player plan and really just switched cultures from there? So the biggest thing we did was a show. And that's me calling out the ball handler, and I'm like, we call it a fish or like a blitz, where I'm just, I'm attacking the ball handler and I'm pushing the back to the half court and I'm getting back to mine. So in some scenarios, I might have switched from a guard and stand front. So I feel like that's a big thing. I want to show that I can do it the next level

And that's what's going to make you muddy, right? That's that's going to be the difference

“between, I'm playing 30 minutes again versus I'm a backup in this league. So we didn't get to see”

that at UConn. And I know everybody in the drives like, oh, we can do more. We can do more in the cell job of your skills. But where are you now with your perimeter shooting? Yeah, that's definitely

something I've been working on. You know, I always have that in my back pocket. I've been shooting

and always, I always wasn't shooting, but I always had shooting that was in my ability of playing basketball in high school. But the biggest thing for me now is I keeping the main thing, the main thing, whatever is going to keep you on the floor and the NBA team will be a system in there from their growth. And I feel like eventually down the road, I can start utilizing that and add that to my game or the court. But like the first thing is take care of like the easy,

simple basic things that I do really well. And then for bearers start to expand. Do you think you'll

“get to a point where the finishing with both hands and all the hooks. But it seems like you can”

extend that out. You know, where it's almost a floater in a way. Like, yeah, I know it's like a hook shot. But yeah, did you become more comfortable like getting further away, realizing like with your hands that, hey, this is this is something that's going to throw off a defense because I don't need to get deep every time. Yeah, I say a hard time in York. It's so good. It's really good at it. I mean,

it's always in that we call this a short ride. That short roll window. And I said, with the defense,

it's trying to protect the rim. It's like that little area between the arc and the freaked out line where if you're good at it, and you can hit that shot consistently. It's a really good shot for the offense. So feel like I hit it pretty good amount this year. But I definitely want to make that more consistent because that will keep the defense honest. And if I can hit that consistently in the short roll, that can really change how if they offensively. Did you feel bad for Furman at any point during

that game? Because they were trying to beat us. They came out with so much like, and it was crazy because we're playing, it really felt like we were guarding ourselves. Like we were watching the scout and we were watching like something and you posted, they watch a lot of new concepts. But man, it really felt like we were in practice. And it felt like we were guarding ourselves. It was a crazy thing ever. Yeah, I mean, look, that was the start of a really nice run. Have you been able to

watch the Michigan game? Yeah. What stands out when you rewatch the title game? First off was me,

man. I thought I could attack more a lot more, man. It just like go through his chest. I mean, there was a couple of good looks. I missed early on. And I went away from it because I went like one for three or four hooks, but they were good. Really good shots. I just didn't go in. And I went away from my little bit and I tried to come back to it. And by that time, there's a little lady about my shot a couple of times, but feel like just finished chest, man. I feel like

that would have changed a lot of the game. But we then were reposted. We made the game really slow. We made it ugly. We made it physical. We really tended to a biggie's game. You know, they went to play fast. And we knew our office is elite. So he just slowed his game down. But that's my possession. We're going to give ourselves a chance to win. And we did just that. What do you think of Mara's approach? He's got his, his size. He got past. He could shoot a little bit. And he had to be a good

room protector. For like, yeah, his passing and his room protection is basically good. It felt like

“when you went quick, you were better. And if you waited, it was more of a challenge. Yeah, is that fair?”

Yeah, he was in my body and just explained up. You know, Kaka get to any shot. I wanted to want him. It's just the fact that if I waited, he's seven, three, would have nine nine. You know, like a crazy standard reach. That's going to be tough to score with. If I'm waiting, I'm two, three, and it's short than who's the best player you think you went up against all year? Probably Booge. I like Booge is the way he competed. He was he was the competitor. I respected that. And especially

that young age and like you took him once away. I like that answer. I guess I want a little more. Like what stands out? What is it about him that you're like damn? Uh, I don't know. He's just, if you get that feeling when you play it, when you play it, get certain guys like guys that compete, that just go hard every possession. And I just want to win. I don't know. You're just going to feel for it. I don't know. It's hard to explain. It's just

when you vote when you like your matchup or you with a person you're going up against, like, got both going any status? Oh, sure. You know what? Maybe is a better question though. Is that, because people try to debate like who's going to go number one here, right? Like we get why a

like Peterson. But then you think of Boozer and all the advanced stuff is off the charts. And yeah, maybe he's not as athletic and maybe he doesn't feel like he stretches the defense with the printer shooting, but what is it like to play against somebody who I felt like when I watch him is like,

“oh, so he just makes the right decision and free single side. You know, and that's what they”

are. It's quite the part of like, you know, you keep the game simple. It will always, you know,

with the area, everyone wants to flash. They're pretty the stead bag, you know, twin twin has you crossed. He gets straight in our drive, pumping, pumping, pumping, pumping, fitness, everyone in one. And then he wins like all these accolades and college basketballs like, oh, well, if it's so easy, how can everybody else not do it? You know, that's what we're expected by like he just keeps it simple. What was your favorite interview so far? Like,

it doesn't have to be the team you most want to go to. I know you got to play the game here, keeping it open with everybody, but is there an experience throughout this pre-draft process that you, you just enjoyed a lot? My favorite interview is probably, I think the first one, first

two I had, first two I had was, I fear I had, my first one was Amanda, my said one was okay see,

and they're in my first two interviews, you know, I'm, I'm a little bit nervous, but I'm fed of talking, you know, like I should go and be real and end up you in. They're pretty, they're pretty fun and yeah, they really set the tone for the whole week at the compound. What was it about the okay C1 that you like? They showed me a video about just like what it means like to be in a program, like the support staff, everyone's connected, and I don't know, we were just laughing, cracking jokes

in there, talking to, just talking about everything, it was just fun to feel like it didn't feel like I needed to feel like a open conversation, but I got to do those guys for a while, so it's pretty fun. This moment, you know, that's a week away, was there ever a time from your high school, the college basketball journey, Michigan to UCON, where you didn't think this was going to happen? And yeah, last year. My dream, man, like, I almost, I, I, I see the straight now. It's like,

after my dream, yeah, I want to leave you, Comber. I, I wanted to head out of there. It was, it was tough for me. I wanted to head out, and then I end up when you know, staying, because I just knew, I couldn't live with myself about love and just the development I had, and I remember Coach

“Bird, he pulled me inside. I never forget that she pulled me inside. It's like after I told the”

Coach staff, I wanted to leave. He pulled me inside and he talked for like, that's the minute, he was like, "Yo, I don't know about everybody else. Tell me where I'm going to shoot you straight. I feel like you can be a pro. I feel like you can be a first-time technician if you stand in this system, and I really can truly believe you." And at the time, it's like, yeah, Coach, I got to tell you, I didn't even really believe in it, but just throughout the whole years,

you know how much it was, relationship, how much he poured at me, like, "Look at that, each, every game, like, good or bad, like, we're calling each other. He's talking about the game that we should think out there. That's what's going to be more awesome." Yeah, Coach Murray really pulled me inside and I spoke this until existence. And now, like a year later, I'm going to hold a shoe of Coach. We really had a conversation like, "Most will talk about this,

and now I'm living it right now." So it's got to be hard, man. Like, you what were your four stars St. Louis? And so, you know, look, you're going to Michigan. You're obviously a big deal. And now with the portal element of the last few years, like, I'm sure recruiting is tough enough with everybody in your ear, but then you're involved in the re-recruitment every single year, of other big-time programs being like, "Hey, do you want to leave?" How hard is that for you

as a young guy being like, "Who can I actually listen to right now?" It was, especially when you're

“here and what other teams are offering, it's like, "Oh, shoot." I thought, "What the NIL?" That's why”

it's like a good cop-back-cop situation. It's like the people that really do with NIL and take advantage of it and use that for, like, the code and, you know, they take care of my dad and that's their money. They make their, I feel like that's a good thing. Then you have, of course, you're going to have players from the transfer each and every year to the highest bidder. You know,

like, there's always going to be the cop-back-cop, but for, like, me being in that position,

I really needed on my faith and my faith and that was the hardest thing. And sometimes, like, I'm older, like, you got to make the best sitting for yourself and, yeah, that was one of the decision I could make. It was hurly part of the reason. It was the early, early practices where you're, like, maybe I should have just stayed in an armor. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, really, Coach really, he knows how to get the, he knows how to get the most out of each and every player. And you could

question, you could question it sometimes, but looking back, I was, I love the, it's crazy. I don't know.

thing. Like, each and every day, Coach really is the exact same. Like, I cannot, I could not remember one day where he was low energy. You know, and you was like, you're going to have at least a day or two where the coach, you know, had coaches a little bit low energy, a little bit tired. He'll come in from my programming business or like two hours of sleep. He held in the next day, everything. So that's the one thing I do respect about Coach really. He was a spray shooter

from the beginning to the end. I know you're out here in L.A. Lakers got the 25th pick. How much you like in Los Angeles? That's pretty nice out here. I'm not going

to lie. It's really my first time out here trying to explore, but yeah, I'm not wherever I go. I'm,

yeah, today I'm probably going to walk around. I was in Santa Monica yesterday, but I was going to walk around Manhattan Beach today, and then a couple of days ago, I went to like a nice little, uh, wish me probably. Mall, like a nice little mall. I mean, I'm trying to really explore L.A. You know, trying to see see what more life has to offer. Well, good for you. Um, I can't imagine what it feels like to be a week away from this. No one

is going to happen. A dream going through. So I'm sure a bunch of old people tell you to enjoy it. And I know you will, man. So good luck next week. All right. So appreciate it.

“You want details? Bye. I drove a Ferrari. 355 KBLA. What's up?”

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and in outlook it cuts through the noise to get you up to speed faster. The apps you know go further with Copilot. Learn more at m365copilot.com/work. Got a personal trainer now. Yeah, yeah. And uh just felt like you needed it. Need the extra boost? Yeah, I did. I did. I needed I needed something different. It's something I've been thinking about for a little while. There's just a lot of like if you're an older guy and you've done all the traditional

bro's split stuff, but you didn't do a lot of the other like complimentary muscles. You're just going to start breaking down. So there's complimentary muscles that are just a touch behind. You could say 20 years behind. It's a complimentary muscle. I don't know. I'm all in familiar with it. The ones that hurt all the time. Okay. I'm just going to leave them in some joints. Yeah, but yeah, pretty much. How do you shop for personal trainer? Was there a guy like you had in mind if you'd ever like

“you ever crossed that threshold or do you like I mean you must have to respect him enough to be like,”

yeah, this is the guy I'm going to look up to like how do you how do you get in that headspace? Are you just like driving around a neighborhood like if that ever house goes for sale like I'll poke around or like it's a big decision for you. I have to imagine. It wasn't a big decision, but I absolutely love where your head is at. I love your head. That was weird. Wow. I love where your head is at. So she said, yep, phrasing. The ethical job, sirty on it. Are we still saying that?

I love the the idea of like I am walking around the gym being like, um, sign me up for some of that. I don't know. There's a smoke show that gave me a number when I tore my calf and she's like

if you need to do any rehab stuff. And I was like never times this number. Okay, my calf feels better

but good sushi. What what. I just often think another we're on this topic. I often think about this with you like you've got the mass you're a big dude. You know, we've seen we've had several shirts off instances. We had the the picture of you in the basketball court. We had the um, the uh,

“the revolve read if you haven't seen that. You have to watch that on Netflix. I think it's an”

or Instagram story, too. What are your goals? Like, what are we trying to do at this point? Oh, I don't know what else there is to do. Like, that's a great question, Steve. I just want, I feel like I like to joke around when people are just kind of like, oh, I mean, I'll just go like, I don't even think I fit my peak yet. I don't know if you're like that mindset. Yeah, I like that mindset where somebody would be like, I'm old that I feel like this, right?

Like, yeah, I don't even think I'm, I don't even think I've been the best version of myself yet. And so whatever that means, um, I just keep telling myself that all the time. And I know like deep

that I've been eyeing for a bit. My guy Paul. He's like a west side barbell guy or something. So I was like, okay, that checks a lot of boxes. But I was like, you know, I'd kind of like to find a way to be, I may do a before and after picture. We'll see how it goes. But there may not be as many sessions as maybe I originally thought. So yesterday's Monday, I'm off after the late Sunday taping. I'm thinking that I just unlegs on Saturday. I saw him on Saturday. I was doing legs on Saturday.

And then I show up in shorts. No knee brace for the MCL. And he just text me because it was like, all right, nine a.m. Day off. I mean, I had other stuff to do later in the afternoon. But let's go. And then I of course running a little behind huge 15 minutes stretch before every single time. Now,

“guy, that's what I do. And so I was like, all right, I gotta get there. Make sure you really,”

really stretch for this, like, be ready to go. And of course, I got there like seven of nine. And he sees me standing by the squat rack with a full set of toys out. And I went, what the fuck is this? So I'm like, look, there's like specific things I need to do to like get my back to crack open. I need to stretch it out. I need to spine to deep like, I have to go through all of these things, or it's just like sound like popcorn for fucking 10 minutes. So I'm like rushing through that.

And I was like, all right, what are we doing? And he's like, first thing. There's a 45 pound bumper

plate on the ground. And he's like slide it between your feet back and forth for 30 seconds, like your shut flight, like side to side. But you have to slide the plate. And I was like, oh, yeah, because I've had a lot of these like growing Nether region things from striking that of her. So I was like, I don't, I was like, I might be tapped out 30 seconds. Like, if I do this to the wrong

“angle, he's like, just go that right into a plank with a plate on my back right into a box squat,”

which I haven't done like traditional squat rack. I've been doing a lot of kettle bill stuff. And then, not really the fun stuff, right? And then lunches 12 each with 30 pound dumbbells in my hands elevated. That's one round. I did four rounds of it. I was sweating so bad. Again, it's your central nervous system. Like, we're just going to see what happens. And I was like, you know, I did legs two days ago. He's like, not really. And I went hand. I was like, fuck,

it was so hard. It was so hard. I almost threw up twice. And there was one thing at the end where I don't really make a lot of noise in the gym. But we were doing this last thing where he was like holding up the weight, basically, to failure. So he was like, just give me two more reps. And there was no more reps other than he was going to lift it for me. And my legs were going to

extend out. Some like extension stuff we were doing with this extra brace that I had never even seen.

And I was yelling, fuck you during the reps, looking at him. I got to be like, you sound giddy. Like, you sound like it's awesome. I don't. So then, yes, it was so tough. I luckily I did like compression stuff with the Therobody jet boots. And I was in and out of the cold tub twice. I just got in at this morning before we did the show. So I'm giddy about the challenge. But now I know that I've signed up for something else that I'm going to tread all of the days. Like, if that's

I imagine chest day can't be that on fun. Right? I wouldn't know. I mean, I want to get back to though, you're saying that you haven't peaked. Is that you're, you're just not going to like physically, like, because I would say like, you basketball wise. If you, you would have been the basketball wise. You probably would be a peaked, right? Like, you, you've been the best version of your basketball self at some point. And I only asked that because I've been, I'm my pick-up league

picked up again. And it's just like, hey, man, I'm just not going to be just not, I don't have it. I just don't have it to kids, whatever. I could knock sounds, jump shots, play a defense fit in. But I'm just not going to be like, God, with the ball on his hands, with the end of the game. So like, I would, like, hey, I probably peaked. So you're just saying, like, you think lifting

“wise, you could still, you still got another gear to go. I don't know. I think it's all on the table.”

You're not putting a cap on anything in life. Why, why put a salary cap on your life? Yeah, parentheses basketball. Like, are you kidding? You're right. But it's right in close. Yeah, intellectually, though, it's in like there's a bunch of gear in there. Yeah, I've changed some things driving two contacts as opposed to away from it. You know, this leukoth thing that

finally realized after a couple of years, I was like, wait a minute, maybe I can incorporate

some of that in. It's like, hey, you know, it's not awesome to pick up. This is when the guy's Lucas shouldering you on a fat 11 A.m. lunch hoops. And then I'm like, yeah, I'm slower now. I drive two contact. I'm sorry, but you're moving. Like, nobody likes that. So that wasn't a great era. That wasn't, wasn't appreciated. I look, I don't, I don't know what to tell you. I think that it's just a better way to go about things, even if I, I don't know what method I'm lying to myself,

too. Like, my dad's like, circular retirement. My dad's circling retirement. And I'm like,

what are you going to do? Are you going to golf all the time? And he's like, I don't think so. He's like, I actually kind of kicking around the idea of maybe just working part-time at Home Depot. It doesn't need the money. Like, solid 401k guy, you know, but he's just like, I might just show up at Home

“Depot a couple of times a week and see if I love it. It's good to have a thing to do. I think, yeah,”

I liked that idea. If he does it, I want to talk with him about it. Yeah, you know, one day a week, operating from a position of FU. Like, I actually don't need this job. I like being here. Like, that sounds pretty cool. So he liked the kind of guy to that, like, my dad's like this, like, the contractor will come over and he's kind of like, tell him the contractor. Like,

actually do it this way. Yes, behind him. I was actually messing with that a couple of years ago.

I was wondering why he's, you know, we had a tile guy just a tile at the, at our old house. And my dad did, I was like, what do you think? I was like, yeah, I think it was fine. I didn't know nothing about tile. I don't know. My dad comes over. It looks sad. He's like, no, it's not going to the floor. He's coming back. And I was like, well, do you want to call him? I'm home. I'm home. I'm home. I'm tired. I'm going to tell him where it's going. And he did, he did it for me. So people are going to

go, I bait it out. Maybe I did, but it's like, hey, man. What was wrong? So, you know, like, there was a shot. It was the, the shower tile. And he didn't do it to the floor. He just did it to like the edge of the tub. And I don't, I didn't know that was like a thing you were supposed to do. And he's my dad's like, absolutely fucking out. Scott's coming back. So he had to rip out the existing when he just put in on the sides and put new ones in. So, yeah, well, your dad must have been a thousand percent right if you

got the. I think he got that. And he was, yeah, he must have been like unequivocally right undisputed. Yeah, the tub will obviously wasn't in, right? No, it was. He had to take the tub out. No, no, no,

“he just, you just, you know, you just do the tile around the tub, but like you have to cut it to,”

you know, the 90 degree. Oh, go to the, go to the floor. That's the huge thing in the ass though. It definitely was. I don't think he was pumped back. I made sure. Yep, for the homeowner was like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I made sure to stay out of the house for those two days he came. Oh, yeah, I don't claim before. And all right, let's, let's get to some emails here. Am I cheating on my wife, the email address? Well, not specifically just for these, but in general,

life's advice are our Gmail.com. Hey, guys, he wants us to say his name and where he's from. This seems like, let her fall out, baby. Well, he's international. Okay. So was the pod, though? Hey, yeah, two foreigners were huge right now, woke up. I'm, on our pod, I think we're going to do a power ranking. I'm just like, which nations are just the best, I don't know, party. Have you seen? Yeah, like, did we got like, you know, the Brit's going to crack a barrel for the

first time and having some biscuits and gravy and losing their minds and the Koreans are drinking with the Mexicans and the Scotts are taking over Fenway parks. I was like, I went on.

“I'll admit the border time wasn't my favorite time because I was like, who's this more again?”

But then I saw like a super right wing guy when one of the like online foreigners visiting

who was saying, like, I never want to leave and then they were like, well, as long as you do it legally,

I was like, all right, Jesus Christ, like, if I just had chicken and waffles, like, can we not turn this into anyway? All right. So, you know what, our man here, we're going to we're going to be a little vague about it because you never know. You never know. 36 years old, 1.72 meters tall, 76 kilograms, no impressive gym stats, but I am getting better at running. Just ran my second half marathon in one hour, 44 minutes. Happily married 10 plus years, we have a

three-year-old daughter, healthy financial life, not rich, but we can enjoy stuff without compromising our savings. Me and my wife just spent a very romantic weekend, left our daughters with a grandma. It was great, exclamation point. Sounds good, man. Now my question, I work in a bank and we have once a week massage service in the office once a week. Damn. Now, based on where he said he was from, this is way less surprising if I told you where he was from. I feel like you can look at it, slip, no.

He's in Rio. Okay. Yes, so I guess if you work if you're a bank-teller in Rio, DeGenero, it's just like, all right, time for your massage. Honestly, I not surprise based on some Instagram research from certain parts of Brazil. It's one hour long. God, are you kidding me? And it's relatively cheap, so a lot of it's due it for me. It's really helpful for relaxing during the stressful work hours and to have a recovery session for all my running around

or, excuse me, all my running training. About two months ago, we had a change for the

our new lawyer. Yes, you probably guessed it. The new masseuse is very good with her hands.

And when I'm facing up on the table, things get a little tense. And first, nothing happened.

Only me feeling ashamed of the situation and the massage was normal. But two weeks ago, I had the blindfolds on. And she was massaging my belly when she asked, oh, I'm going to leave out the rest. I wanted to do this one blind. This can't be real. I got two and up on a massage table when you want to know. Yeah, what now? So my cheating on my wife or should I stop and just tell

“the masseuse to stick to the regular massage. Yeah, I mean, I think that's probably, I'll tell you”

who who thinks it's cheating every woman ever. And it's a workplace thing now. This is, yeah, we're crossing beams here. That's like, I didn't know where we were getting emails like that. For God Brazil's on fire right now. And this I wanted to use this name. What it was, not unbelievable. This isn't real. There's the way this one's real. If it is, you might have a lawsuit on your hands. Dude, I don't know how much do you like your job. Him or, yeah.

Yeah, you know what, why don't we just go back and edit out his name? That would be awesome if you started doing that, sending us emails so that then they could sue me. Right. Yeah, maybe I just gave it a really great idea. And I shouldn't have said that. All right. That's a weird one. That one did get a little weird. Did get a little weird. All right. What else do we got? What else is new?

There could be a whole other show that the judge Kyle showed that we're doing, where people just keep

“asking us to settle debates. But it's not really, it's not really life advice, you know?”

No, but, you know, maybe something we do. I don't know, one's a week, mix it up, not anytime. Six foot, 185, no NBA Comps, Soccer Comps for Sir Rudy Hugo Lores. Lores. Okay. Lores. Sorry. Sorry. France. Yeah. Well, he used, yeah. He doesn't play for France anymore, but he did. Good shot stop or liability with balled my feet. Okay. Yeah. Hey, guys, seeking advice, uh, if you're not only myself, but also hopefully for others who have been or will

be in the situation in the future. Recently an old friend of mine called me to ask me to be a groomsman is upcoming wedding. It's incredibly kind, but the fact of the matter is we've not and have not been close in the last eight years. In fact, I take a step further. I feel like we haven't even been friends in that time period. I haven't seen him since before COVID. I talked to him maybe once every 18 to 24 months to put this into perspective. I got engaged recently. It was not even

planning to invite this guy to my wedding of 150 to 175. It wasn't even a borderline guy. If I'm being honest, we were very good friends. We were younger, but living several states away meant

we naturally grew apart, never any flights, just gradual distancing. So this leads to my question

for the group. Is there any way to get out of this? Most of my intention is selfish here. I don't want to travel to his bachelor party or to this wedding, since I will basically have no friends there, including the groom himself. I may be this would be good for him too. Like you can prioritize an actual better friend, cousin, or maybe given up and coming friend to call up to the majors. I know this latter point is me trying to find a reason to get out of this, but that's exactly

why I'm here. Can I lie and say I'm already in a wedding that weekend? Do I just burn the bridge and say no, I don't want to? What a powerful move. Hi, I don't want to. Yeah, respect. Yeah,

“I need to climb. I can't lean on the broke argument. I think you would see through that.”

Open it any and all that is to save me two burned weekends and two flights to undesirable locations. Oh, man. This is a tough one. It's like somebody who's like, you guys are just on fundamentally different planes. You know, and I understand that friendship where it's like dude, we used to sleep over each other's house and we used to like stay up all night and beat the PS2 game together and then it's been 10 years. And doesn't mean I want you to give it a fucking speech. Right. Right.

And I remember they're a sea card together. There is a certain type of friendship like formative years where it's just like inseparable and then it's like, oh, we actually went to different school districts and everything kind of separated. But I thought everyone kind of was on the same program. But I guess I guess some dudes kind of aren't. That's that strange. And it's like a very vulnerable ask. Would you be in my wedding? That's a tough one.

I'm wondering if maybe his wife has a huge bridal party and he's like got to fill out the numbers. And it's actually not a serious think. It's just like we can throw Connor there.

First of all, even eight, eight, you know. Yeah. I think you get respectful. I think you

just say, hey, man, like I got a lot going on. I can't commit to being in a wedding right now. I think you have to probably. You could even maybe get out of the faster party too with that.

though, unless you just want to really go like for him towards scorched earth. Like, I don't care. But I already have to do it. And like, hey, we did the wedding thing. And now we will not hang out to rest of our lives. Yeah. Mission accomplished. Right. But there's plenty of people that I invited to my wedding that I will not hang out with the rest of my life for my life. And that's okay. Like just how life works. Like on a friend level. Yeah. Yeah. Like there's some old co-workers

that I really like. And I would like to hang out with them. Or just life goes on. You just don't really talk at them anymore. And that's just how it works. You know what you should do that. There should be some sort of challenge where all of us, whoever loses the challenge, has to text somebody they haven't talked to in like four years and just go, hey, how are things? Yeah. I thought about it. That would make me really uncomfortable. I thought about doing it for myself and I'm just like, yeah,

I don't think so. We were trying to do it. I would say like 10 years out of college, where we were kind of come up with challenges like we'd be hanging out. I'd be like, all right, loser has to text this girl from college and be like, hey, do you still think of me, even though

they never dated Jesus. Right. And then the guys would be like, no, and then I'd like half the guys

love the idea and the other guys were like, I can't possibly do that. Right until it's

“your card. Like I think she's on kid number two like, hey, do you ever still think about me?”

Oh, man. Like this is terrible. Yeah. Then we would just go off. So anyway, I don't know why you're going. Here's my guess is the guy who emailed this cool. He's like a cool guy. And this guy below him is in his cool. And he's always kind of, what you think I'm wrong here. I think exactly what's happening. I know we always veer into the rankings of like where you are among dudes here. But I think it's simpler than that. But yeah, I hear you say. Yeah, I think he just wants you what is

wedding because it's like, that's kind of cool. So you're stressed about it. I think you could pull plug on all this. And it's like, what are you supposed to do? Have to prove it? Like, hey, I'm super busy. I can't do it. I can't make it your wedding. And then he goes, all right, well, that's totally fine. But if I can see confirmation of some reservations somewhere. So, you know, I know that it would

be great to come up with like some incredible excuse and maybe you get there. But you don't want to go.

Or maybe you go to the wedding and you don't go to the bachelor party. That's what you don't know.

“I need his friends. Or would you rather go to the bachelor party and then not go to the wedding?”

I think I probably rather do that. Like, can't, unless you're so cool that you can't be seeing you with like his core guys. And I was like, you want to know. Do you think you're not going to have a fun, though? Like, I mean, I think you would have fun at a bachelor party in a scenario that you didn't want to go to. And you're not even in front of the guy anymore. Or you just be like, I'm just going to get hammered and then see if it's a risk. But like, I don't know if they're just like normal to you.

It's a good chance. There's not even one guy there that he can post up with. Aside from, you know, the crew, which at the wedding, which at the wedding, you get like five minutes tops, right? And then at the bachelor party, I don't know. Isn't it a little bit like a tug of war for all these different people that are coming from different walks of this guy's life? And like, I could see like being totally not into it. And if you're like a dude with responsibilities and like, you know,

you know, trying to schedule a golf thing once every two weeks. And you got to throw this on the calendar. I could see why he doesn't want to do any of it. You know, if it's like, this is not how I

“want to spend any of this precious free time that I have. So I think we all agree. Like, it's you can”

you can claim the busy thing, the busy card. And that's actually pretty fair and be vague about it. You guys are saying pick one of the other things. And what do you do about your wedding? So you're just saying you just cold, don't invite him. Correct. Yeah. He was going to invite him in the first place. You could just cry, call small wedding first. Yeah. Yeah. Easy. I think it's treaty.

But you're never talking to sky again after this, too, because you haven't talked to him.

It's few years. It's not like you're going to be bumping into him all the time being like, amen. Sorry about not inviting you to the wedding. That's yeah. To me, this would be like a declarative statement where it's like, it is over. Yeah. Rides not going to any of these things. Maybe I would maybe I'd feel bad and go to the wedding after I said, I can't be in the wedding. That's just seems a little messy, too. I love the

wash. I think you'll say that. Yeah. I'm not comfortable being in the wedding. But I'll be there. Or you can even just say, like, I'm actually that month is super crazy. I would, I don't think I should commit to being in your party. I think Steve said something like this a little earlier. I don't think I commit to being a part of this thing. But I'd love to go. I'm just not going to, I'm not sure yet. You know, soft yes, but like, I don't want to mess anything up for you,

guys logistically. So I'll, you know, I'll answer the time RSVPs need to be answered, but don't count me up for a Tuxedo stand it up there with you. I have turned down a Vassaparty in wedding and like, but I wasn't in the wedding. Yeah. That's as a different ball game. It was just like, hey, I can't pull that. I can't swing it. I've got a family. I did actually have a family thing for one of them that I just like, I don't really want to go with the weddings. I don't

I don't know. I don't know anybody. I don't know you. It's fine. It was honestly kind of a fringe friend

that. Like, I don't approve that. I'm just saying something from there. So I'm about to go off.

“I don't go off. I'm holding my tongue. Come on here. Yeah. Honestly, that marriage is outdated”

for partnership. A lot of it had to do with grain and trade and dowries and all this kind of stuff.

And, you know, I just think it's completely outdated. 100 years before you're going to be doing

“this anymore. So I'm going to get in front of it. 18 months later, he sees your wedding photos”

and it's like, wait, what? Like, I saw God, man. Change your heart. Found the one. All right. That'll do it for the show today. Thank you to everybody that was on the show.

“Make sure you subscribe. We're going to have a Wednesday night kind of Thursday release. We're going”

to do this NBA dress spectacular. We're like, I'd say I'm a senior and K O C's first appearance on

the pod and mom is back. That's right. 12, and we're going to world cup it up here. So the content doesn't mean. Don't worry about it. Bride or solo show. Part of school sports.