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“The Six Pack” Book Special With Brad Balukjian


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⁠Brad Balukjian⁠ stops by to discuss his fascinating, thought-provoking and important new book, The Six Pack: On the Open Road in Search of WrestleMania. In Balukjian’s continuation of the series – The Wax Pack was his debut book in 2020 – the sports writer and scientist continues his travels across the country in an effort to disentangle fact from fiction, myth from reality, work from shoot while reconciling or at least shedding more light on some notable and a few not-so-notable wrestling and “real human” identities.

Here are some highlights –

5:29-5:49: “The book really is about the line, the border between fiction and fact or myth and reality and work and shoot in Kayfabe terms. … to really find out where myth blends into reality and where that line is.”

9:34-10:09: “I was trained on more of that participatory journalism style, which you don’t see as much of anymore, but I was reading Gay Talese and Hunter S. Thompson and Tom Wolfe and all these practitioners in the ‘60s of kind of first-person narrative journalism. And that was what I always wanted to do ‘cuz I just think that if you can do it well you put the reader in your shoes, and they can kind of experience things as you experience them.”

25:25-25:54: “I’ve always been more of a process than destination person. So I always knew that even if I didn’t get every person to talk to me, what I could always tell is my own story and the story of trying to get someone to talk to you. And I think if you’re honest and you bring the reader in and you show them what you’re going through, you give them a chance to root for you.” Continue reading

Jason Gallagher: Dallas “Has an Identity” Around Doncic Again

Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and players, like newcomer Derrick Jones Jr., starring in their roles, have the Mavericks rolling thus far (@DallasMavs/X).

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On the heels of the Dallas Mavericks’ 9-3 start, Jason Gallagher returns, and you bet the head of production at The Old Man and the Three (and ThreeFourTwo Productions more broadly) comes ready with analysis of the Mavericks’ scalding start as Luka Doncic has led the way with 30.7 points per game, the second-most converted treys after Stephen Curry, and the lowest usage rate of his career other than his rookie season. Jason touches upon the improved fit between Doncic and Kyrie Irving now that they’ve had adequate time to jell, teen center Dereck Lively II’s instant success, Grant Williams and Derrick Jones Jr. starring in their respective roles, Tim Hardaway Jr.’s sixth-man brilliance, ultimate team expectations and so much more.

5:05-6:08: “The second pleasant surprise and the second I said was that Dereck Lively needs to become the second coming of Tyson Chandler. Again, he’s not Tyson Chandler. However, he looks incredible. He looks so good that you actually see some of the deficiencies of not having more support in the big area. … But when Lively is healthy and when he’s in and when he’s not in foul trouble, they look pretty awesome. And then the third and sort of final one is some of these role players, they look incredible too. Grant Williams has been Steady Eddie for us, and he’s not only a good vibes guy on the bench, which every team needs; he is amazing from the 3-point line. He’s just a little bit more versatile than role players we’ve had in the past and same with Derrick Jones Jr. Derrick Jones Jr., who is an NBA journeyman, I can’t recall him looking this good, really ever.”

8:28-8:47: “If they’re playing a team, say the Wolves or someone like that, [they have] the ability to be able to speed up but then also grind the game to a halt and make it a half-court contest. I think Dallas has the versatility, offensively, to play both ways.” Continue reading

Alex Kennedy Winds Through the West

Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards is primed for a breakout season, according to Alex (@Timberwolves/X).

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Alex Kennedy, Chief Content Officer at BasketballNews.com and host of Running Up the Score, a biweekly live sports show airing every Tuesday and Friday night, stops by to wind through the Western Conference just as the league readies for tipoff. The Nuggets are Alex’s leading squad but far from the conference’s only contenders. Oh, and he has firmly taken a seat aboard the Wemby Train. Who’s coming with him?

2:44-4:03: “This is a [Nuggets] team that has been together, this core has been together for years, and they have so much chemistry. And I think that’s one of the most undervalued things in sports. We tend to get excited about these big, blockbuster moves and player movement, but chemistry and continuity really, really help and go a long way when you’re trying to contend for a championship. … There are a handful of contenders: Denver, Phoenix, the Lakers, and then, I think, to a lesser extent you go and look at Sacramento, Memphis, Golden State, Clippers.”

9:52-13:19: “We haven’t seen a player like [Victor Wembanyama], ever. … LeBron James said he’s an alien. He was like, ‘I don’t want to use the word ‘unicorn.’ That gets thrown around too often. He’s an alien.’ Giannis said he could be the best player in the NBA. I mean, these are superstar players that are raving about him and talking about him coming in and just dominating the league. Giannis even said, he was like, ‘I need to start winning some championships now because Victor Wembanyama’s coming.’ … It was interesting; in the first preseason game that Victor Wembanyama played, we saw [Chet] Holmgren and Wembanyama match up against each other, and it almost feels like the future of the NBA a little bit – these huge guys with crazy length that are kind of position-less that can do a little bit of everything and are super-skilled.” Continue reading

Jake Fischer Explores the East

Along with the Boston Celtics, the Milwaukee Bucks are one of the favorites to win the East after trading for Damian Lillard this offseason (@Bucks/X).

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Jake Fischer, Yahoo! Sports senior NBA reporter and the author of Built to Lose, makes his fourth appearance to break down the Eastern Conference’s biggest storylines as the season approaches. Tune in to hear why he regards the Celtics as favorites, his thoughts on Evan Mobley’s next leap, rookies you should keep an eye on, Jake’s dark-horse team out East and so much more.

4:16-6:30: “I am pretty bullish on the Bucks. … but I think that Boston is the favorite. I’m not so certain that Milwaukee got so much better as opposed to how much better Boston got by adding Jrue Holiday to what they had. … I just think the Celtics’ top six is way better and stronger, and that’s kinda how I like to look at things, from a playoff standpoint. … The fact that Boston has its same core four basically of Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, Al Horford, you throw in Kristaps Porzingis and then Jrue Holiday, that’s a pretty strong, switchable, malleable group.”

10:18-10:58: “The Clippers haven’t put Terance Mann in any deal, and the draft capital that they’ve been able to figure out they could potentially send to Philadelphia in addition to the original offer of a first-round pick and a pick swap just hasn’t gotten there to close that gap for the Sixers, so I don’t think it will. The last call I had about this, before we were recording, was like 30 minutes ago, and my impression following that call is that [from] the Sixers’ side of things at least, they don’t seem to think much will change from a negotiation standpoint between now and the start of the regular season. So, if something were to happen, it would definitely be something out of left field.” Continue reading

Andy Liu on Warriors’ 2023-24: “This Thing Is Tenuous”

Golden State acquired the 38-year-old point guard in a deal that sent Jordan Poole, draft picks and a couple others to the Wizards (@Warriors/X).

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Creator and co-host of the Light Years podcast Andy Liu is back yet again, and for a record ninth time, no less. His task this time? Helping Aaron preview the Golden State Warriors as they attempt to bounce back from a 44-38 campaign, which saw them finish just six games ahead of the 11th-place Jazz and ultimately fall to the Lakers in the second round. Andy and Aaron discuss last season’s challenges, summer acquisition Chris Paul’s fit, Draymond Green’s leadership, Andrew Wiggins’ value and Klay Thompson’s future, among other timely topics.

7:31-8:39: “They tried to downplay it. They tried to make it seem like they would get through it. But that was the punch that ruined the season. It ruined Draymond Green’s standing as a leader. Nobody respected him or wanted to listen to him after that. … It wasn’t 100% Draymond Green’s fault, but any time something happens that’s like that, you end up not having the same voice you did if you’re Draymond Green. And I don’t think he’s had the same voice for a while now. … I think it just makes things very, very difficult for him to be that guy for this team. I think it works if you’re Steph and Klay. It doesn’t work if you’re Jordan Poole and Jonathan Kuminga and some of these younger guys who don’t necessarily want to hear it from him.”

17:35-17:47: “Steve’s Kerr biggest job this season is to find a way to get Chris Paul to buy in on coming off the bench. Because if Steve Kerr can’t do that…this team is cooked.” Continue reading

“Freedom to Win” Book Special With Ethan Scheiner


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Ethan Scheiner, professor of Political Science at the University of California-Davis, stops by to discuss his fascinating, important and timely new book, Freedom to Win.

Here are some highlights –

3:23-6:23: “The thing that is so incredible about this story is that it is an unbelievable marriage of politics and sports. That really is the thing that jumps right out. … This communist country, Czechoslovakia, which had started to become free, suddenly got invaded by the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union said, ‘We’re not gonna allow this country to become free,’ and so all of a sudden the people of this little country were crushed. And they found that there was only one way they could fight back. … So they turned their whole world into supporting their team to try to fight back against the Soviets on the ice, and I just sat there going, ‘This is actually politics and sports completely overlapping. I think this is the greatest story I’ve ever heard.’”

14:08-15:36: “It took me a little while to realize that I actually had to tell the story from a more personal angle. At first, I just thought the history of hockey in Czechoslovakia was so amazing, that it was this country where hockey was so central to fighting the Soviets. … I thought that was enough. Continue reading

Sean Highkin: Portland Is “the Perfect Spot” for Jerami Grant

When healthy, Damian Lillard has proven that he is a worthy All-Star for the Blazers this season (@Trailblazers/Instagram).


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In a tightly packed Western Conference, where only a handful of games separate the first- and thirteenth-place teams, Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report is encouraged by the Portland Trail Blazers’ start. Specifically, the Blazers have gotten All-Star-caliber, not to mention career-best, contributions from Jerami Grant and Anfernee Simons. Such stellar play from Portland’s secondary stars has enabled it to weather a difficult early schedule played about half of the time without franchise cornerstone Damian Lillard. Here are some Highkin highlights on how Portland was able to stay afloat, lottery pick Shaedon Sharpe’s early flashes, what’s ahead for the Blazers and much more:

6:15-7:07: “I don’t think they’re a title contender, and I don’t think they think they’re a title contender either; that’s the other part about it. Joe Cronin, the general manager, went into the season saying that he doesn’t think this roster is complete and he doesn’t think it’s good enough right now to contend and that it’s still kind of a work in progress. … Going into the season…I said they would probably make the playoffs as a 7 or 8 seed out of the play-in. At this point, I’m pretty comfortable saying that I think they’re gonna be Top-6 just because they’re currently in the middle of the toughest part of their schedule. They’ve had a ton of road games.”

13:03-13:45: “Every single one of their rotation players has missed at least one game at some point this season. … Between the injuries and just how hard their schedule has been – between how many good teams they’ve played and how many games they’ve played on the road – it is kinda hard to get a read on how good they are or are not, which is why I said at the beginning of the season if they could get through this stretch and get to Christmas at .500, they’re fine, and I still think that, and I still think they’re in a good position to do that.” Continue reading

Jason Gallagher: “Right Now, The Pieces Don’t Fit” for Mavericks

Luka Doncic presently stands as one of a few MVP frontrunners, but will his supporting cast be able to provide more help (@DallasMavs/Instagram)?


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On the heels of a 2022 Western Conference finals berth, the 9-10 Dallas Mavericks are mired in mediocrity despite receiving historically brilliant contributions from superstar point guard Luka Doncic. Emmy Award-winning director Jason Gallagher, now head of production at The Old Man and the Three, triumphantly returns to shed light on what exactly isn’t computing.

4:38-5:14: “I believe that the shooting will improve, but I believe that the Kemba [Walker] move is a result of not having a second playmaker. Spencer is just not that. He is about as good as an X-Factor could possibly be, and that’s what you want. That’s where he thrived last year. But as a reliable sort of playmaking second option, I think that we’re coming to find that he’s just not the decision-maker that Jalen Brunson was. He didn’t have the steadying sort of temperament that Jalen Brunson had.”

12:23-14:02: “You kind of come to this conclusion of ‘Why does this feel more frustrating than before? Why does this feel like a weird stretch?’ Tim Cato tweeted that this is as about as down as he’s seen Mavs twitter in a while, and I think the reason is obviously making the Western Conference finals increases your expectations, but I also think that there’s a level of, you have a generational superstar and, as importantly, you have a core that you’ve invested a lot of time and a lot of resources to developing that still feels like a work in progress. … And I think that that is why fans probably feel frustrated. Continue reading

Justin Rowan: Donovan Mitchell Provides “Massive Boost for the Cavs”

Present MVP candidate Donovan Mitchell is converting shots at career-best levels in Year 1 in Cleveland (@Cavs/Instagram).

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After an 8-1 start to the season that had some prognosticators pegging them as dark-horse title contenders, the Cleveland Cavaliers have been hit with the On the NBA Beat curse and have lost their last four games. To help us get into the ins-and-outs of this enigmatic team, we’ve brought on Cavaliers expert and longtime friend of the show Justin Rowan, host of The Chase Down Podcast. Justin takes us through what the offseason trade for Donovan Mitchell unlocks for Cleveland, the growth trajectory of young stars Darius Garland and Evan Mobley and how he projects the Cavs to compare to the other members of the Eastern Conference elite this season and beyond.

4:45-5:39: “I think the floor of what you’re hoping for is to avoid the play-in tournament. But I think they have more than enough talent to get home court in the first round, and that should be the goal. If you’re talking about translating that to the postseason, I’m always going to give the benefit of the doubt to the teams that have been there. Experience matters so much … so I’m going to give the edge to teams like Milwaukee and Boston when it comes to the playoffs, but in the regular season I do think they are up in that tier.”

7:11-7:56: “The biggest difference from Donovan Mitchell and what the Cavs probably would have been pre-Mitchell trade is Mitchell kind of combines a lot of what you were looking for from multiple players. Collin Sexton is a good scorer. He’s a very good scorer, and I think his passing maybe was a little underrated, but it’s not at the same level as Mitchell. A lot of the actions that they were probably planning on running for Ochai Agbaji, like pin-downs and all that kind of stuff, you can run for Mitchell, but you also have the added benefit of his playmaking, the volume 3-point shooting, the improvement on defense, which I think was one of the things they were banking on prior to that trade. The fact that he brings all of those elements into one player is a massive boost for the Cavs.”

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Molly Morrison: “It’s a New World for Grizzlies Fans”

Ja Morant’s exciting play has been a major reason why the Memphis Grizzlies have solidified their position among the NBA’s upper echelon (@memgrizz/Instagram).

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Last season’s Memphis Grizzlies announced their arrival by earning the second seed in the Western Conference. And with the league’s fifth-youngest roster and proven success building through the draft and player development, there’s no reason to believe their upward trajectory shouldn’t continue into this season. To discuss how this up-and-coming team can continue to bolster its franchise’s history, we’ve brought on special guest Molly Morrison, formerly of MadeInMemphis1, the most followed Grizzlies’ fan account in Memphis. She takes us through the growth that led to Ja Morant winning the Most Improved Player Award and Zach Kleiman winning Executive of the Year and where the team can go from here.

4:06-4:55: “Ja Morant obviously is just the pivotal reason as to why you’re sitting here saying, ‘They’re not even an up-and-coming team. They’re kind of already there.’ So much of that does have to do with Ja’s ability to attack the basket, along of course with his other skill-sets: the block I posted, his incredible court vision, the way he is able to create for his teammates, and just all the areas he’s willing and working to improve in. … Just some of the things he does, I truly believe that I am excited to watch every single Grizzlies game in the regular season, which is not something I could always say because there will be some sort of highlight that just doesn’t look like something a natural person would do.”

8:48-9:08: “Desmond Bane is only going to keep getting scarier, be as scary as he’s been. His impact on the offense is as good as anyone. He and Ja are becoming one of my favorite backcourts in the league, just seeing them play together and their impact on the offense.”

11:24-11:57: “They’ve been shooting better on a higher volume, which is extremely hard to do, to shoot more 3s and shoot a higher percentage on 3s, and the whole team has done that. That really goes back to what I mentioned earlier with coach Taylor Jenkins realizing, ‘OK, guys. Our defense is going to struggle. We don’t have Jaren Jackson Jr. now. We traded away two great defensive players in [De’Anthony] Melton and [Kyle] Anderson. We need to stop shooting as many midrange shots. We need to either attack the basket or shoot from deep.’ And I think you’ve really seen that pay off with the Grizzlies.”

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