From My Perspective

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March Madness is rolling into the Sweet 16 and we’re picking apart what actually decided the first two rounds, from press breaking to coaching adjustments and bracket strategy in the NIL era. Then we jump from the UNC firing and the coaching carousel to women’s hoops, WNBA pay finally rising, and a quick tour through the UFL and MLB storylines. 
• reactions to the Round of 64 and Round of 32 results 
• why some teams collapse against full-court pressure 
• Sweet 16 matchups we’re most excited to watch 
• why the tournament feels light on Cinderella runs 
• how NIL and the transfer portal may be changing upsets 
• Gonzaga’s conference resume problem and the Pac-12 move 
• UNC firing Hubert Davis and what a blue-blood should do next 
• short list of coaching candidates and what fits UNC 
• Kansas versus UNC as the ultimate job choice 
• LSU bringing back Will Wade and the NC State fallout 
• debate over limiting player transfers versus coach movement 
• women’s tournament takeaways and UConn’s dominance 
• WNBA CBA details and what higher salaries change 
• UFL Louisville team hype and what we’ll watch 
• MLB Opening Day, Dodgers favoritism, and lockout expectations 
Please like, please subscribe, hit that link in that bio if you want some merch 
Leave a comment section on who you think will win the men’s national championship game 


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Welcome And Bracket Contest Plug

SPEAKER_01

Welcome, welcome, welcome back to another episode of From My Perspective. I'm your boy Dion coming to you with another episode, and I'm so happy to join you guys again. But you guys know I'm joined by the man in the myth, the legend, Captain Hater himself. Q, how you doing?

SPEAKER_00

Man, the bass. It's your boy, Mr. Bear. AKAK say your name up on this pod. Might not, it should have ma. What's up, Dion?

Round Of 64 Surprises And Near Collapses

SPEAKER_01

Ain't nothing much. You know, lots of college basketball. That's what we're gonna get into it. But guys, remember, please like, please subscribe, hit that link in that bio if you want some merch. Uh optimal brackets. Right now, you're in the first place to possibly get you some free merch, but it's just a suite 16. But before we talk about what's going on in the Sweet 16, we gotta talk about what happened in a round of 64 and a round of 32. Anything shock you? Anything you know were surprised about? You know, do they struggled in their first game? And uh obviously UNC lost. We'll talk a little bit more about that. Um high point, they got a victory. Me and you, I believe we both called that one. It wasn't crazy upsets, went a lot of crazy upsets, but there was a good amount of upsets. I enjoyed the first two rounds, but we kind of got you know some heavy hitters in Swiss 16 besides a few teams. But what how you feeling about the first how do you feel how the first two rounds went?

SPEAKER_00

So, first, uh let me speak on Sienna. Sienna put on Sienna, Sienna, I'm on Ivan Island. No disrespect to y'all, but they put on a good game. I feel like the coach, he played his starters the entire game. We we talked about Jeff Walsh, he does that with the Louvre Women's Randolph, and we talk about they lose their legs after a while. That's one player. He played his whole starting five the entire game. You gotta give your player some rest so they can still be fresh. The time, I get it, it's longer timeouts in the NCAA tournament, and the halftime is 20 minutes compared to it being shorter during the regular season. But I still think you gotta give your players opportunity to rest. But of course, um, he took the job at Syracuse now, so he's no longer there. He might he, you know what I'm saying. Um think of this man's name. Um I'll figure it out in a minute. I gotta look it up here in a minute. But um I gotta talk about um the first round game. How you gonna have to, you know, get out of the press? Are you Dion? At some point, as the head coach, you gotta realize you your team is turning the ball over and over and over and over again. Are you gonna do something different? Maybe set a pick in the set of a pick in the bat, have a center in the middle of the floor, and have the guards run past them. Come up with some type of play that helps your team out because you don't have an actual true point guard on the court. There was no there was no adjustment, there was no change. How you up by 23 points and then barely won this game.

Coaching Adjustments Against The Press

SPEAKER_01

That press, that press ain' alive. And and we'll talk about more with the second game, but I think it and it hurt us the first game, the first time we played Duke with Ryan Conwell. He was cooking them. Ryan Conwell didn't have a great game against USF, he didn't have a great game against Michigan State as well. But I feel like teams, both USF and Michigan State, they basically made it a priority not to get the ball out of Ryan Conwell, though. He struggled because they was blitzing him and he turned the ball over a lot. I felt like he was probably pressing, trying to do a little bit too much. And we really ain't got no other ball handlers like it that can handle it. The one that we do have, he had a back injury on the sideline. So I mean that was that was the issue. That's what happens when we only got one premium ball handler that can break presses, they can't do it all by themselves. So that was the issue.

SPEAKER_00

Um the first round matchup, Miami and Missouri was a good game. Um, Missouri did have the home court, but Miami did, you know, uh pour that out, whatever the case may be. I'm trying to think, was there UK had that shot, but you know.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I'm gonna bring it up. I mean, that team in blue. I watched that game, you know. I was uh fresh off of work, I went straight to a pizza pizza place to watch the game. I'm watching there was a couple UK fans in there. I'm over not trying to get too excited because I mean I'm just hoping they lose. They hit that shot. I was like, ooh, then he he shot that shot and it went in. I was like, damn. Yeah. But they didn't say Mark Pope's job though. Because he probably would have got fired if they lost that game.

SPEAKER_00

Disagree. I don't think he was gonna get fired. You don't think if they lost that game? No. I don't think they're gonna get fired after one year. They're gonna give him two years. It's his second year, it's his second year. I mean, shoot, that's right. It is his second year. Him and uh Kelsey came back together came in together. I still don't think they was gonna fire him because the roster underperformed.

Sweet 16 Matchups And Early Takes

SPEAKER_01

I don't necessarily think it was a fault for they did have some injury issues, but we still won. So I care about. But um, yeah, the first round was pretty, pretty exciting, just usual. But let's go ahead and talk about the Swiss 16. The teams that have made it to the Swiss 16. Give me one second. I'm pulling up. Uh Duke versus St. John's. That game has not happened yet. Michigan State versus Yukon, Iowa versus Nebraska. It was a great game. Iowa ends up winning because of blunder with the last minute. Nebraska had only four men on the court. I don't see how that, what kind of coaching that that shouldn't happen. Never in a million years. Not the Sweet 16. You can't let that happen to Sweet 16. So Iowa advances to the uh Elite. Illinois. Illinois versus Houston is happening now. Arizona versus Arkansas is also happening now. We're gonna talk a little bit more about Arizona's head coach, Tommy Lloyd, in a few moments. Texas versus Purdue happened. Purdue ended up winning that game. You said you watched that one. That was a thriller of a game. Michigan versus Alabama and Tennessee versus Iowa State. So we already have two teams in the Elite Eight. How you seeing these Sweet 16 games playing out?

Where Did The Cinderella Run Go

SPEAKER_00

Uh, real quick, Gary McNamara. I couldn't think I couldn't think of his name. The head coach was seeing it now in the head coach circuit. Play with uh Melo had all those good shots. Congratulations, by the way. Yeah, I couldn't think I couldn't think of his dagger name. Uh how I mean the game that everybody wants to watch is the St. John's game. Yep. That's the game that everybody wanted, everybody wants to watch. Uh Texas and Texas and Alball, like I said, by the time y'all hearing this, y'all already know the outcome. Monk said, we we just finished watching it. Um I wanted Texas to win, which is hard to say because I can't believe I'm rooting for Texas. But it's the story of the 11 C beating the 2C, going to making it to the Switch 16, in the play, in the play in game. I wanted to I wanted Texas to continue on that path. That's the um so I'm I'm kind of I'm upset. I'm upset about that one. Um I think like I said, Duke is vulnerable because all the injuries and whatever and whatnot. I'm gonna be honest, right? Does it feel like the Sweet 16 is missing something? We know what the something is, it's the Cinderella. Yeah, because even like Ruby for Texas, the legacy to play in.

SPEAKER_01

It's still a big brand, it's still Texas.

SPEAKER_00

Nebraska never have won a uh ECAA March Madness game. They won two of them now. But at the time, it's that was like the story. That was the best like underdog you could think of. And we know Nebraska's history in college football. When I heard that they had won a March Madness game, I was kind of shy. Like, how was y'all that good at football? Y'all couldn't pass none of that money over to get away. Could they get one win? Couldn't he couldn't get one win? And let's be real. I know people are gonna be like, no, they weren't they was paying the players then too. Let's let's not pretend, it's just legal now. They was playing a Nebraska was playing players back then. Y'all couldn't pay a couple of players just to get on get a basketball win. A basketball, I didn't even say a championship, I ain't saying a final four run. It's a win. Y'all couldn't get a win, and it ain't like y'all been in the Big Ten that entire time. Y'all was in the yeah, I'm saying y'all was in the Big 12, big eight, whatever, you know what I mean? Like, so but March Manners is still is missing something. It's missing that Cinderella. It wasn't a lot of it was a couple upsets in the first round, including the second round, but it's usually like that, especially the last couple years.

SPEAKER_01

It's usually like that word though. You get to Cinderella's first two rounds. About the time you get to a sweet sixteen in Elite Eight, it's usually mostly name res. There might be one Cinderella every now and then, but we haven't had a real Cinderella since NIL really started to cook. That's what I was gonna say though.

SPEAKER_00

You we used to have, they used to make it to like the Elite Eight. Now they don't even make they don't even make it to the second realm. Yeah, bro.

SPEAKER_01

We'll get a Wichita State or a Butler every now and then, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

And even now, that but especially at this point, Butler's a household, household name. Because of that, yep. So it's not like half point half point one, but then they come out in the second game and they lose. You know what I'm saying? Even if um Saint uh not St. Mary's St. Mary's and Gonzaga, y'all had horrible showings in this tournament, but we're gonna move Santa Clara. If even Santa Clara had to beat UK, do you really think they was gonna make it to the 316? Because I don't. No, no, no.

SPEAKER_01

I feel like that's the even with Sienna. Even with Sienna, they probably wouldn't have won the second. By the way, Sienna, uh, that coach, I don't know your name.

SPEAKER_00

That's Gary, uh, Gary McNamara. That's the one that's Syracuse up.

SPEAKER_01

Gary McMahon. I understand. Congratulations on getting your job. You made a I don't know what you was thinking, playing your whole starting five that whole game, bro. Y'all they ran out of gas. I was watching that game, they ran out of gas.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, no, you you was got you cooked. Your legs died. You cooked. There's nothing else you could do.

SPEAKER_01

So, but yeah, I'm looking through it and like, no, there was some blowouts, but no, I thought McNeese State could make a beat Vanderbilt. They didn't. VCU, I figured they could do. I I was thinking VCU could make a run. That was my team that I had going to the Sweet 16, but they Illinois packed them up pretty badly. I had Penn beat in Illinois. That didn't work out for me. So, I mean, I'm looking through the bride because I mean there was nothing. High point was the biggest one. They won by one point. They gave Arkansas a little run for their money. I will say they did. They did give Arkansas a little run for his money, but Darius A. Cuff, he showed out. I would give him that. We'll talk a little bit more about him in another podcast. I think he's a top three pick. But yeah, I'm looking through it. I mean, Texas, that was the that was the only hope.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, that was the hope. Because like Michigan, one seed versus Alabama, four seed. Our state's a two seed. Tennessee is a sixth seed, but I mean, it's Tennessee. You get what I'm saying? Arizona and Arkansas, which we're excited about, is going on while we're recording. I think besides St. John's and Duke, that's the best matchup because even Illinois's a Houston. Does Illinois still got the same name? As the same oops as they once had that make you excited to, you know, want to watch that game?

SPEAKER_01

It's not 05 Illinois. Yeah, Illinois. I mean, it's still they still a brand. I'm not gonna say name brand. They not know no Duke. They not know they not a blue blood, they not a kind of blue blood, like that next to they. They tier, they tier three, tier four. Okay.

Gonzaga’s Conference Problem And Future

SPEAKER_00

That's right. Tier three is but I I I did a quick mention on Gonzaga, and they lost in the second round. And you know, I listen to Tony Cornhouse, and he talks about how Gonzaga, they you can't, you don't even consider them a real team. Um, not a real team, a real contender, because of simple fact of the conference that they play in. They are going to the new Pac-12, which is, I mean. It's basically mid-major plus. I was gonna say it's just it's just a mount, the best team from the former Mount West.

SPEAKER_01

You're just gonna get your new little new little patch on your jersey.

SPEAKER_00

And honestly, for to be really, because this is my thoughts real quick from my perspective, for that basketball league to even be considered a mid-major plus in basketball, they need to get St. Mary's too. Like, you can't just have Gonzaga because the rest of the the rest of that conference. Yeah, no. So, but do you what do you think? Is do you think this conference move will help Gonzaga in the tournament, or is it still gonna be kind of the same thing? What Tony said was as a word. Uh he's playing nobody.

SPEAKER_01

Gonzalez Coach's name is escaping me, but uh Mark Field. Mark, he's he's brought, bruh, that team has been consistent. Like you see Gonzaga on your March Madness bracket, you will assume they're probably gonna make it to a Swiss 16. They're a consistent team. They just never have crossed out. People forget it is hard to win a national championship. It is hard. But he's had a lot of opportunities. I don't know that I heard some room, some smoke about firing him. I don't think you do it. Because if you do do it, you you already you're in the mid-major conference. If you fire him, you're gonna go, you could go to the you could go to being one of those teams that you ain't making it if you don't win your conference. Right now, Gonzaga is probably the one mid-major, you know, with St. Mary's. They could not win their conference and still get in.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, because Gonzaga plays all those non-conference horror games at the beginning of the year. Versus your blue bloods and they win some of those games.

SPEAKER_01

So but yeah, I don't think you fire him. You don't want to go back to men-major purgatory where you have to win your conference or else.

SPEAKER_00

They better not fire them. They know what I know, because then you ain't you ain't gonna matter.

SPEAKER_01

Yep, so uh, we'll see. But uh also with the Sweet 16, no, uh on the C your champion is still in. Who did you pick? Arizona. You picked Arizona, your champion's still in, my champ still in. How are you feeling about your championship pick?

SPEAKER_00

Honestly, I feel good.

SPEAKER_01

Like especially now that they're uh beating Arkansas.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I mean, I I I felt I felt good going in. I did question if I had maybe should have picked Michigan.

SPEAKER_02

Okay.

SPEAKER_00

I did question that at one point uh on the first weekend. But no, I still I feel confident that my breakfast is gonna turn out pretty, you know, turn out good as far as my victory. Um I'm sitting there like an 86%ile, so it ain't like I did that good. You know what I mean? Me, boy, I'm 21%. I I went on, I did too many upsets, and like you said, since NIL, we don't have those upsets no more. I'm still thinking this is old school March Madness. I messed up, I messed up the bag right there. I ain't gonna hold you. I messed up the bag.

Bracket Regrets And Title Picks

UNC Fires Hubert Davis After Collapse

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, but I'm still feeling good about my championship pick, but you know, as I look at the score, they need to they need to get figure it out because they they're struggling against Illinois right now. But they need to figure it out. But I still feel confident in Houston, but we got to move on over to coaching carousel in college basketball because it has already started hot and heavy. And one of the premier jobs has opened up as Hubert Davis uh was fired by the North Carolina Tarios after an embarrassing loss to VCU as they lost, they gave up a 19-point lead. So they let him go. They waited basically a week before they let him go, but they let him go. Obviously, there was some issue he was there five years. They made it to the national championship game in year one. It has it hasn't been very consistent, but they let him go. Do you feel like it was the right move for them to let go, Mr. Davis?

SPEAKER_00

Be honest. It was reminded me of this Kentucky hire three years ago, right? We gotta we me and you, we it just our run has come to an end, so we gotta let you go. But we don't know who we're gonna hire next. And I think North Carolina's going through the same situation of we don't know, they don't know who they're gonna hire next. They just knew they they didn't want Hubert Hubert Davis back. Who? When you're that level of program, I mean you have talked about this with many coach friends. When you're that level of a program, you should know who your next hire is going to be.

SPEAKER_01

You should have a list of the top three or you're gonna call first one up, and your one of the one of the three should say yes.

SPEAKER_00

What exactly? You should have three, you should have like we play in Spain. I got three in a possible. Yeah, one of my three says say yes, but I know I'm gonna get that. I I that possible should walk. Yeah, you know what I mean? But it's like they fired them, they don't have a clue who they're gonna get. As a word, LSU, we'll get we're gonna get to them. They hire their coach before they fired. They hired their coach before they fired their current coach. That's what North Carolina should. If you know you're gonna let him go, have somebody in position that's ready to take over.

SPEAKER_01

Especially North Carolina, yeah, especially since this wasn't a like immediate firing after the VCU loss. They waited, it was a week. It was basically a week. They was trying to figure out should we fire him, should we not fire him for a week. If you're thinking about should I fire him, your next question is if I do fire him, who would I get?

SPEAKER_00

And they if I do fire them, who come here? They ain't had nobody.

SPEAKER_01

But it is one of the premium jobs in college basketball, and they not say they got the pick of the litter, but they can get the pick of the litter, especially we'll talk about another job that possibly could open before that opens up.

SPEAKER_00

But they have I don't know if they got the pick of the litter though, because it depends on how they want to do this higher. Do they want to do this the traditional North Carolina way, where we pick somebody in-house that has if they have a history, or they go look outside a house?

SPEAKER_01

I think they uh they get out the family. They go they're gonna get somebody out the family from my perspective. They did that North Carolina has always hired within the family all of the 60s from Dean Smith, Roy Williams, or some coaches in between that, and uh Hubert Davis. They've always been in the family. I think they're coming out of the family this time. But here's a here's a list of some of the coaches I've seen. Uh Billy Donovan, the current coach for the Chicago Bulls. He used to coach for uh Florida Gators, believe he got uh back-to-back national championship.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, he got two, he got two of them things.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, so uh apparently he was the reason why he left college to begin with, he wasn't a big fan of recruiting, but he's been with the Chicago Bulls for a while, which means he's been in the playing purgatory for a while as well. So maybe he's tired of being the playing purgatory.

Who Should Get The UNC Job

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, he coached uh Wade Any coach, what OKC at one point any coach, uh was it Orlando? He was the magic or was just OKC. I think he coached Orlando, but go ahead with the I don't think he did.

SPEAKER_01

I know it, I know it was OKC. I know, yeah, you might be right.

SPEAKER_00

Maybe I'm tripping.

SPEAKER_01

Uh it's Nate Nate O's, current head coach for the Alabama Crimson Todd. Tommy Lloyd, current coach for the Arizona Wildcats. I don't know why I'm gonna say Red Devils because of Arizona State, but Tommy Lloyd for the Arizona Wildcats and Dusty May, the current coach for the Michigan Warings. That's just some of the names. Any of those names uh fit your fancy.

SPEAKER_00

There's a couple other names too, but um why would you why would you have Nados if every other tournament somebody gonna somebody going to jail? Let's be real. Every other year, Alabama gotta play or going to jail. I don't think Nados is the guy I want to come hire. If I'm gonna go outside the family, that ain't the guy I wanna hire. So Nados is a no. Um Dusty May, would you really leave Michigan and go to North Carolina? North Carolina, Michigan. I know North Carolina got the history, but Michigan got the band. I know North Carolina got Georgia and they got people that got money too. But Michigan they got a different band. Michigan and Ohio State got different bands. I don't know if I wanna leave Michigan to go to North Carolina. I'm just being honest.

SPEAKER_01

Uh and uh Tommy Lloyd.

SPEAKER_00

If you win a national championship, you can't leave. If you make it to the final four, I don't think you leave it. And I get North Carolina's here, but we talked like you talked about. North Carolina's in that A tier. Arizona's in that B tier. Yeah, they're in that B t tier.

SPEAKER_01

They did make that B tier. I said it I said it during the bracket, the bracket uh podcast. They're the last team on the West Coast to win the national championship.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. So now I don't, I mean, I would, but okay, a couple other names.

SPEAKER_01

TJ, I'm a mispronounce your name, I'm sorry. Uh, but Iowa State's head coach, TJ Oxenberger.

SPEAKER_00

Now him, I would take that job.

SPEAKER_01

Um Mark Byington, he is the current head coach for the Vender Bill Commodores.

SPEAKER_02

Hmm.

SPEAKER_01

Hmm.

SPEAKER_00

That's a good that would be a good island for North Carolina.

SPEAKER_01

And then we got Grant McCastlin. He is the current head coach of the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Now, speaking of bags, like Michigan, Texas Tech, they got a bag. They've been using a lot of it for football, but they've definitely been using some for basketball as well.

SPEAKER_00

I was gonna say, how much of that bag is gonna come over to the basketball side? Because that might make you want to it might make you want to consider taking the North Carolina job. If I know all that money is going to football.

SPEAKER_01

Another name, it's a Lord of the list. It's another one. Like, would you leave? The current head coach for the Florida Gators, Ty Golden.

SPEAKER_00

No, I'm not leaving.

Kansas Versus UNC As A Dream Job

SPEAKER_01

Not leaving. All right. Well, yeah, I I am interested to see USC gets. Um I I do like right now I say they do got the pick of the litter. Not necessarily, but they got first picks because there's really no other big job openings right now. That's why I really say they got the pick of the litter. But there's potentially another job that could be opening up. And as head coach, Bill Self is contemplating retirement. There were some rumors that he said he was retired. He he basically nicks that. But it's not officious if he's gonna retire or if he's gonna come back. He's he's 63 years old. He's a young coach, technically, because we got a couple 70-year-olds in the tournament right now. But different with Bill Self, he's had some health issues. If Bill Self does step down, my question for you, Q, is which job is the career job? Because both Kansas and North Carolina are tier A's. If you are a top head coach candidate and both of them jobs is open and both of them ADs call your phone, which one would you go to?

SPEAKER_00

My ass got big because I once you start talking about Kansas, I said, damn, you gonna ask me which job would I rather have? And I honestly do not have a great answer. Oh okay, let me think about it. I'm leaning towards saying North Carolina.

SPEAKER_01

Only thing that I feel like North Carolina got on the kids is Jordan.

NC State Opens As LSU Rehires Wade

SPEAKER_00

I was getting right to say they got Jordan, but I don't, they both so storied, they both got a strong history. And I'm gonna go to North Carolina, and this is the reason when when it comes to coaching, if I'm a coach. I don't want to be the guy that replaces the guy. I want to be the guy that comes after that guy. So in this situation, if Bill Self steps down, you're replacing the guy compared to when you go to North Carolina, you um Roy Williams had already stepped down. There's a coach in between you and him, and Hubert Davis. Mind you, Hubert do got a Hubert got a rank. Hubert won one. And he beat uh Coach K on Coach K's last game. He didn't win. He made his name. Oh, he made championship game, yeah. My bad. But he did, he did spoil Coach K's game. He he made he wanted to he made the championship game, thank you. And he spoiled Coach K's last uh last game. So yeah, and it was a real awkward, you know, real awkward postgame. They honoring Coach K and Coach K getting on the players because he just lost the North Carolina. So yeah. So yeah, nah, I would I would rather take the North Carolina job for that reason.

SPEAKER_01

All right, coy. So I got your Hubert Davis. We're we're uh transitioning over to the next big coaching carousel news, but I want to ask you this. Your Hubert Davis, there was a job that just opened up right in North Carolina.

SPEAKER_00

Yep.

SPEAKER_01

You taking it?

SPEAKER_00

Yep. I'm petty as hell, and I'm calling. I said, I'm taking this job if y'all gonna give me the NLL money, NIL money, so that I can beat them. As much as, let's be real, Duke, North Carolina's main rival is Duke. And then they would think it would be North Carolina State, but I don't think it is. I think they uh, you know, they look at your Kentuckys and your Kansases as their other real rivals. So if you get a head coach that got some spite in him that wants to beat North Carolina as bad as y'all want to beat North Carolina, and y'all gonna give him the bag to do it? Not the in the sense of him the bag, but the bag to go out there and get the players. Oh, yeah. This is the coaching hire that could get y'all the respect that y'all want when it comes to North Carolina.

SPEAKER_01

I I love it. If I'm the AD, I'm I'm I'm calling this agent. What you doing? You good? You want you still want to coach? You good? How how how's that whistle? I'm still I'm still I'm calling. But um, if yes, you did hear right the NC State job is opened up, and you're probably wondering like, wasn't Will Wade the coach? He was a coach, he was there for one year, but LSU came calling, you know, they wanted to call their ext. They missed they they missed that old thing. But the thing about it, they was calling their ex while they was in the bed with their current girl, which is crazy. But so LSU current coach Mac Mc McMahon, he wasn't doing a great job. He had he had four years there. I don't think he went to the tournament not a single time. So they they they was frustrated with him. But the last time LSU went to the tournament, and technically he didn't coach in it, we'll get to that in a second, was when Will Wade was the coach. But he went to the tournament twice, one of them he got suspended for. The second one, he basically got fired. The only reason why LSU fired Will Wade is because they they they they caught him on wiretaps, basically talking about I'm paying a player. They caught him on wire. So he he got he got caught, but that was pre-NIO. He went to McNey State, marked his way to NC State. Now he's back at LSU, which is crazy though, because LSU, again, they was flirting with him while they had their current head coach. And uh before I let you go, NC State AD was not happy. Bob Kirgin on Will Way said Tuesday night. We talked about everything in the program. I asked him what we needed to be competitive from there. As far as the recognization, it was an email that we received. As far as his recognizes is as far as him resigning, it was just in an email that they received from his agent. So he so he he wasn't very happy with the way Will Wade left him. But Will Wade has been not the most no pleasant guy in the world of college basketball, per se. But no, he's back at LSU now. You excited for him to be back at LSU where he probably belongs?

Transfer Limits And Coach Loyalty Debate

SPEAKER_00

Let me say it like this. Let me tell you his coaching career. Because I looked this up earlier when I was telling my mother about the story. He spent two years at Chattanooga before he took the VCU job. He spent two years at VCU. Then he took he went to LSU. Was there for five years? You you detailed the story about him getting let go. Cool. Then he went to Meek Me State for two years. Then he went to North Carolina State for one year. If you North Carolina State, AD, no shade. Did you really think he was gonna be there for a long term? Look at his track record. The next the next big job that came open, that came available, he was gonna be gone. That's what real way do. We got they going uh it was presented uh a bill to Congress that they should that we gonna cut down the transfers for the players. You're gonna be able to try it's gonna go basically the bill reads as the lad, the pre as how it used to be. You could transfer, you get you can only transfer one time and you're gonna have to sit out for a year or whatever the case might be. And I looked at that and I was the old man, I was like, man, they really do need to cut down the amount of transfers. It's dudes that have played at five schools in five years, or four schools in four years. But then you get his, then you look at coaches like this. We would get to move whenever he wants to. He was there for a year and he's already gone. A year. He probably was telling his players two days before about how excited he is to be there, and then to negotiate to be negotiating a contract or negotiating a job when you still know there's a head coach there is the ultimate sign of disrespect. I went I couldn't trust Will Wade to I couldn't trust my child to go play for Will Wade. He's gonna be gone for two years, he's gonna be gone to two years. Maybe not now because he got back to where he wanted to be. Y'all belong together. If if you do all of that and can't commit to nowhere, and y'all can't even tell y'all current head coach that y'all want to let him go before y'all start talking to Will Wade, both of y'all belong together.

SPEAKER_01

Well, LSU has been in some messy coaching searches and carousels. This bad they got Lane Kiffin and Will Wade. Interesting to see how that gonna how's gonna go.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, that's crazy.

Women’s Tournament And UConn Dominance

SPEAKER_01

The two most hated coaches in their prospective sports, Will Wade and Lane Kiffin. Very hilarious. No, Lane Kiffin was caught trolling Carson Beck a couple weeks ago. We didn't talk about that because we just thought it was silly. But Will Wade is from that same call. He is. So, but it it's it's crazy. But uh, we will be talking about any other coaching moves, and also we're gonna be talking about the Elite Eight in the Final Four. Uh we'll see what happens during the championship game as well. We might have the special episode for you guys. But again, I want to give a shout out to Optimal Brackets right now in first place. Let's see if you can hold off everybody else. But we got to switch gears, they'll stay in the basketball world. But actually, let's talk quickly about the uh women's tournament. First two rounds, Lou was a little shaky in both games. I'm just saying, they were they were shaky. Duke out here, not Duke, UConn out here blowing teams out, making it like, why am I why are they even on the same court together? So outside of the no, I know you want to talk about Lou and probably don't want to talk about Yukon, but I definitely want to hear your thoughts on that atrocious of the game. How you feeling about the women's tournament?

SPEAKER_00

You you mean the Yukon invitational?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

That's it. That's what you mean. The Yukon invitational. How I feel about that. Yeah, I feel it's it's been a lot of good that's why I'm being played. Uh I'm I heard, I mean, I I picked Murray State for the upset, and I know, you know, we're it's especially on the women's side, upset upsets never happen, right? Don't get you might have some nines and some eights. You might, you know what I'm saying, get a 10 and a seven. But for the other than that, for the most part, women's upsets really don't happen. But I went ahead and picked Murray State. It was a South Carolina game that was atrocious.

SPEAKER_01

I knew you caught was doing bad, doing some teens bad, but that's South Carolina, first South Carolina game. Good God.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, like the women on the women's side, you don't have those upsets. You go, you have those white because the talent gap is so much, it's so much wider, wider. But it is all it has always been like that. It's always been the have and the have nots over there. And it's really the upper etch a line of teams. The teams that the teams that's in this, you know, I'm saying most of the teams that's in the Sweet 16 are teams who are consistently there. They might not be there every year, but they are consistently there. So it doesn't the the field doesn't really surprise me that much. I want to, I don't know. I I thought Texas had a lot, Texas women, I thought they had lost five games, but they only lost three. But they they play good, they do have a good game, they have a big matchup versus UK. Um, I can't believe I picked that team. I think it was just because the opportunity for being UK U of L game in the lead day, I think that's really why I picked UK because I really don't see them beating Texas, if I'm being honest. Texas probably beat them by third. But the UConn invitational, every game I have watched, even other teams that's not named UConn, I'm looking at it like, oh damn, UConn's still gonna win it. And like you said, South Carolina blew their team out. LSU balled hard.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, South Carolina, but you can just tell when South Carolina's Southern was just so much inferior than South Carolina. 103 to 34, embarrassing. But UConn blowing out Syracuse. That's a name brand team. 98 to 45. Bro, I was watching that game. It I forgot exactly what it was after the second quarter, but it was ridiculous.

SPEAKER_00

The coach said, I'm tired of being, she said, I'm tired of being in this in the UConn bracket. Why every time we get to the tournament, we gotta be in the Yukon bracket? Then they broke down how they done y'all they done lost to Yukon all of these damn shit. It's Yukon, man.

SPEAKER_01

What you I mean, what you like you said, it's the Yukon invitation. We are at the Sweet 16. Yukon versus North Carolina, Nova versus Vanderbilt, South Carolina versus Oklahoma, TCU versus Virginia, UCLA, Minnesota, Duke versus LSU, Texas, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan. Um give me a reason why Yukon's not gonna win a queue. Yeah, why do you want me to lie to these people? I was just asking. Uh so I mean, since we we we just so confident you can win, I will want to bring up one thing. Uh USC gonna be much watch TV next year.

SPEAKER_00

Oh, for sure.

SPEAKER_01

Jazz, she's a freshman, showed out. Um, that game, that first round game against Clemson, great game. It looked like that USC lost. You just see Jazzy, she had them tears in her eyes. Once they seen, once they called that bucket off, she wiped them tears out of her eyes and started going to work. USC about to be much watched TV. Not the South Carolina, but Southern California. They're gonna be much watched TV.

SPEAKER_00

Okay. I will give you a team or two that could potentially beat Uh.

SPEAKER_01

Just South Carolina for me.

SPEAKER_00

I will also give you UCLA the opportunity. Okay. They they they have a talented roster just like South Carolina. I think they could withstand some of the the body blows Uh's gonna throw. Because Uh's gonna throw some body blows. And and some fake fake uh punches to the face, too. But I give UCLA a 5% chance, just like I give South Carolina a 5% chance.

WNBA CBA Raises Salaries Dramatically

SPEAKER_01

Well, I just want to give a crack and congratulations to the teams in the tournament still and the team and the players is getting ready to get drafted. I know y'all rubbing your hands like bird, man, because that new WNBA CBA has been negotiated. And this is what they get. The salary cap nail starts at$7 million, up from 1.5. The supermax begins at$1.4 million. The average salary is in range of 60K with a minimum around$300K, which is way up from what it was, and they get an average revenue share of almost 20%. It finally they finally came down. And shout out to all the agents of the WNBA players out there. They knew what they was doing because it's like half the league, if not more, is free agents right now. And like I said, I know them women is coming out into this year's draft, they're rubbing their hands like bird, man, because they about to start getting paid.

SPEAKER_00

Every, like you said, every female in WNBA that was that who is not on a rookie contract is a free agent.

SPEAKER_01

Um before it like I said, the minimum is now 300k, it was 66k, which is ridiculous. Cause I know I know people afford to make more than that.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, no, I'm before taxes. I made that.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

You you telling me I deserve the same, I deserve to make the same amount as Kelsey Plum. Like what and I I say Kelsey Plum because Kelsey Plum's like a top 20 player. Yeah, I ain't even talking about the top of the top. You telling me I deserve to make this what are we talking about? They brand should have been, they brand should have been so much higher. But I'm glad that the I'm glad that they worked the CBAA out. I guess I'm gonna watch it someone because I was like, dang, I might have to watch baseball every day for real. They think WNA was gonna get it done. But I am glad the WNBA got it done. I d I do wish like you said the highest is 1.4 million, right? Go ahead, go ahead, get ready, Asia, because that's coming to your front step. And that's that's the point that's the point I was gonna already make. You don't think Asia Wilson's worth more than 1.4? Oh, she just definitely deserved 1.4, but dang, that's that's the max. That's why I'm like, they should have a super max somewhere in this. It's for people like for Asia Wilson, because how you you got all them MVPs bowling like that? Uh I don't know, man. I I don't wanna count nobody else's pockets, but I think Asia Wilson's worth more than 1.4 million dollars to to the Las Vegas aces.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, uh I agree, but uh yeah, so I'm I'm excited. Um congratulations to those ladies for finally um getting a finally getting the CBA and then we're gonna have women's basketball. They said that the schedule for the schedule to get impacted, they needed a deadline. They didn't hit that deadline, so I don't know if the schedule is gonna get impacted that much, if at all. I feel like they can work it out, but obviously, you know, as soon as the women's get done with their tournament run, they gotta get started getting ready for the uh WNBA draft.

SPEAKER_00

But I think they're gonna be close to the same start date, I believe. Don't quote me on that. Uh preseason starts April 25th. And uh the draft gotta be like the draft is two weeks from now. Yes. I'm being I'm being funny, but I think it really is like because today's a Thursday. The championship game, I think, is on a Tuesday. Yeah, it's really like two weeks from now.

UFL Louisville Team And Fan Hype

SPEAKER_01

That's crazy. But oh yeah, so that is hilarious. But hey, shout out to the ladies, y'all. Y'all earned it. Um, y'all gotta give a big thanks to um the rookie, the rookie class, because they they brought a lot of recognition to the WNBA. Now y'all can keep that momentum going. Uh take my hats off to you, ladies. But we gotta talk about a couple other things. Uh, first off, we can we can talk about this quickly. The UFL, the start up is this weekend of the Louisville Kings. They have a game against the Birmingham Stallions, if I'm not mistaken. Uh I won't be there for the first game. That game is actually tomorrow or today, depending on when you're listening to it, or it was yesterday, depending on when you listen to it. But I definitely will be checking them out this year. The UFL. How much UFL you plan on watching this year? A lot.

SPEAKER_00

I'm watching every UFL, every UFL, every Louisville game.

SPEAKER_01

I will be watching every UFO game as well. Uh, the Louisville Kings uh definitely will be going to a game or two. Uh apparently the first game is sold out. Shout out to them. What's even crazy is the field, the field that they're playing on was made for Lou City and uh racing two soccer teams. Neither one of them have sold out that stadium, which no football is king. That's what I saw. That's the stat I saw. That's the stat I saw. Was the stat wrong?

SPEAKER_00

They sold out the it's the stand-in seats that they they haven't sold out. The actual seats from my understanding. They have sold out, from my understanding.

SPEAKER_01

So it's semantics, semantics.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, semantics, yes. Gotcha, gotcha.

MLB Opening Day And Dodgers As Favorites

SPEAKER_01

Uh, but yeah, uh I'm looking forward to it. Uh, we'll see. It's not gonna be NFL. Well, it's not gonna compete with the NFL. But hey, I'm basically a monitor league to the NFL. I'm all for it. But let's go ahead and uh talk about opening day MLB. It was yesterday, the Giants versus the Yankees. The Yankees won seven and nothing. Aaron Judge was awful. He went 0 for 4. So I'm excited for baseball. I'm going to be watching a good amount of baseball this year. But before we dive into it, because pretty much it's kind of like women's the women's tournament, the UConn invitational. It's kind of like the Dodgers invitational. Mm-hmm. Like Dodgers are the field, Q. How you how we feeling? Oh, I'm going with the Dodge. I'm going with the Dodgers. Well, speaking since you're going with the Dodgers, the big reason why the Dodgers are the period favorite, they spend a lot of bread on their players. And the C their CBA is coming up after this year. And a lot of people are assuming that there is going to be a lockout because baseball, the owners, they want a salary cap because they want to stop what the Dodgers is doing. But they not only not only do they want to stop what the Dodgers are doing, they want to stop what other teams are doing, such as the Pittsburgh Pirates are doing, and they're not spending money. So they want a salary cap floor, which is estimated, this is an early estimate that estimate is 140 million or to 160 million and a cap of 260 million to 280 million. The lockout coming. Because the players don't want no salary cap because they don't want to give away no, give back no bread. Because if there's a salary cap, that means less money they're going to get. And I just don't see it how I think they're going to bitch have to give in because there's no way. There's no way. So how you feel about this lockout that I just know is coming.

SPEAKER_00

I mean, lockout's coming. We already know that. Me, we have discussed that countless times on the spot. We know what the situation is going to be because the players is never going to agree to a salary count. Because it's never been, they never had one in the history of baseball. Now, with their um their union, their union of the union president stepping down, you know, he had a little situation, and they bringing in the new guy, which was they are negotiating through the no negotiation. So thus far, I'm interested to see if their negotiation tactics might change or they because everybody used to say the strongest union is the baseball union. I'm wondering if that's still going to be the case because of the change in leadership. But like I said, they said this guy was here through all of those conversations. So we we might we'll see what that's going to happen. Um as far as like the actual season, like you said, you say you're gonna watch a lot of baseball. I do I'm uh I am gonna make a more of an effort to watch more baseball this summer. I watched a lot of WNBA last year, so I ain't really get around to the baseball. I am going to make an effort to watch more baseball this year, especially our Cincinnati Reds, even though every notification I get about them in spring tournament was a loss.

MLB Lockout Forecast And Salary Cap Fight

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, we lost today too. I was I was salty. I was keeping up with that one. Every attuned to the Real Socks.

SPEAKER_00

Every. Every notification I got was a loss. So I'm um I thought we was, you know, might make a wild course by I am going into the season now. I realize that is not a strong possibility. So, but I'm still gonna watch. I am gonna make more of an effort to watch uh the Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Reds. Like you said, I am I do want to make a Cincinnati game this year, of course, some little bad games or whatever, what the case may be.

SPEAKER_01

Yep, and uh we gotta we gotta talk about the man, the myth, and also legend like yourself, Shoei Otani, who's came out and said he has a goal of to have five 50 home runs and 200 strikes in the same season. I'm not gonna put it past him because the man can do everything. Wouldn't be surprised if the man can walk on water. He's that great. Do you do you see him hitting that mark? 50 home runs and 200 strikeouts.

SPEAKER_00

No, I don't because not the it's the 50 home run part, it's gonna be the easy part. It's the 200 strikeouts. They don't they let him pitch often, but they also have him rest some days. Uh I don't think he's gonna get the 200 strikeouts. So no, I don't think he's going to get it.

SPEAKER_01

All right. Well, um, he is also in the running for the MVP just like it's the Dodgers of the field with the MVP, it's him with the field. Uh you got any other guy out there that you think could challenge him to be the MVP.

SPEAKER_00

If the Yankees win dependent and Aaron Judge has a monstrous year, I don't I'm not saying he gotta break the record again, but have a monstrous year, but they also gotta win the pendant, yes, I think. But hell, that's the uh that's the ALN well. Yeah, I'm gonna go with Aaron Judge. Aaron Judge has a possibility.

SPEAKER_01

Aaron Judge, uh, I'm looking up the odds now.

Ohtani Goals Plus MVP And World Series Odds

SPEAKER_00

Because I'm trying to think, I don't really have I can't think of nobody else that I have confidence in. Or the it's also the thing with MVPs is the narrative. You kind of like Shay this year. Is it Shay in the NBA? Is he deserving of the MVP? Yes. But what's gonna help him win the MVP is the narrative because he won it last year. And it's the narrative of the team when they started out so hot, they cooled down, but then they got right back high, and then they had a bunch of injuries. It's always gonna be about the narrative. I'm trying, of course, the season's gonna play out, but I don't feel like there's a narrative right now besides anybody but Aaron Judge.

SPEAKER_01

So yeah, I'm looking at the awards now. American League, well, there's an American League in the National League. Aaron Judge is the favorite in the American League. He has Bobby Witt Jr. behind him. Cal, the guy with the most home runs last year for the Seattle Mariners. He's third. National League is Shohei Atani, and way, way, way under him is Juan Soto. So it sure is gonna win the National League. American League, it'll probably be Aaron Judge, like you said. So, and then looking at who's gonna win the World Series, just had it up. You know, these phones be slow.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, technology don't always be your friend. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01

Uh they got World Series winners, it's the Dodgers, and second place is the Yankees, third place is the Murders, but the Dodgers are plus 210, and the Yankees is plus 1,000 behind them. So the Dodgers is just that much of a favorite. And I I don't you don't unless a bunch of injuries happen, I don't see why they wouldn't win.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, no, I don't. I I it's it's the Dodgers. Like we talked about, it's the UConn Invitational. It's is it's the Dodgers series. Yeah, like you know what I mean? So yeah.

Final Thoughts And Listener Prompt

SPEAKER_01

Well, but yeah, that'll do it for another episode from our perspective. Glad to have another episode again. Please like, please subscribe. Again, once again, optimal brackets, you're in here right now. Can you get the free from our perspective gear or just mixed vibe media's gear in general? We'll see what you get. I'm looking forward to it. Uh, my bracket is in the toilet, so don't even look go, don't even go down there and look at my bracket. It's not good. I don't know. I suck this year. Q did a little bit better than me this year. I don't know what happened. I'm sorry, guys. I apologize. But once again, I'm your boy Dion. Thanks for listening. Please like, please subscribe. Leave a comment section on uh who you think will win the men's national championship game. I see we see our brackets, but it's a sweet 16. It's basically a whole new tournament. But Q, go ahead and take us home.

SPEAKER_00

Man, you already know the bats. It's your boy, Mr. Bell. AKAK say your name up on the spot. Might not with you to mind. Wait up.