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The number one pediatrician recommended brand. Live from the play show, yet not overly ostentatious, studios of the Infinity Sports Network. This is a Tuesday edition of the Zach Gelb shows. We broadcast to you live from our 345 Hudson Street studios.
Centered on top of the 10th floor. Ready to have another great day and a great week of shows right here on the Infinity Sports Network across all of our great local affiliates. Stay at Sirius XM channel 158 the free Odyssey app and of course streaming live on YouTube 855 212 42 27 is the number to jump on in 855 212 42 27.
You can always get at me on Instagram where I'm straight flexing or via the good old cesspool of Twitter X at Zach Gelb. That's Z A C H G E L B got Ryan Botcher got Stuart Kovacs rocking and rolling with me all the way up until 6 p.m. Eastern 3 p.m. Pacific time. John Rothstein CBS Sports College basketball insider is going to join us 40 minutes from now. He'll preview the NBA draft with round one coming your way tomorrow and you have round two on Thursday outside of the Brawny James factor.
Does anybody give a rat's ass about round two? But obviously some intrigue on who's going to be the number one overall pick in the NBA draft. We'll see where Donovan Clingan go.
Can you pair maybe with Victor one? Yeah, so some things Bruin with the NBA draft will bring on John Rothstein 40 minutes from now. We'll go to Detroit at 4 20 p.m. Eastern time 1 20 p.m. Pacific and we'll talk to Willie Mack the third a professional golfer.
He's did tee it up a few weeks ago and did tee off in the U.S. Open and now he'll be participating in the rocket mortgage classic that gets underway on Thursday. And then in the final hour of the show will be joined by Liam McHugh NHL on TNT studio host as we will recap the Stanley Cup final. That's where we'll start to show off today. It was a very good game last night.
It's everything that you could ask for outside of I would have liked to have seen overtime. But you had a great storyline and multiple storylines going in with the Edmonton Oilers on the verge of completing this great historical comeback. And then the Florida Panthers were on the verge of joining a community that no one wants to be a part of and that's the chokers club. Because that's what the Florida Panthers are very close to doing after being up 3 0 and then seeing that lead vanish and having a game 7 in their building last night.
Well, let's be honest. No one thought no one thought the Florida Panthers were going to win that game. Like could they have won the game.
Yeah, obviously they could have won the game. But with the way momentum shifted. And how Edmonton found a way to win not only game four but game five and game six. And the big question was what Sergei Babrowski would show up. It felt like this was Connor McDavid's time and it felt like Connor McDavid was about to join the likes of David Ortiz with the 2004 Red Sox.
Tom Brady when he had the 28 to 3 comeback against the Atlanta Falcons LeBron James with that title team that he had in Cleveland coming back from down 3 1 with the Golden State Warriors going up against the Golden State Warriors. That's what it seemed like it was going to happen. And if that was the case the Florida Panthers would have joined that community with the Warriors with the Falcons and the New York Yankees. Like that's where they were going.
But even though they were looking at being part of that infamous chokers list. They found a way when they needed to to be the team that we've seen from them most of the year. The more physical the more the team that controls and possesses the puck better. And also you got the better part of Sergei Babrowski in a game seven and that game last night. It was a very good game. I would have loved to have seen it get to overtime. It was a tremendous first period. You know Florida scores quickly they needed to get that first goal then to a little over two minutes later you get the Oilers they answer back. But in that second period it was very big and it showed and in these game sevens especially in hockey puck luck is a huge term. And it looked like Edmonton was about to cash in. They don't get the bounce to go their way and then they come down the other way and Reinhardt gets the goal.
And let's be real. Skinner's got to make that save. That's a soft goal to end up being the game winning goal.
Panthers fans congratulations you're elated you love it. But Skinner's got to make that save and that was a big thing going into the series even though Skinner was playing better. And he obviously started to do a better job in this series when they started to win games. It was a clear goalie advantage in favor of the Florida Panthers and you saw that last night. But that second period was enormous not only because you saw the Panthers take the 2 1 lead. Because that building I don't know if it was the way that ESPN produces the games because their crowd noise has been a little funky all throughout the playoffs. It has been and they don't do a great job producing these games like the camera angles were insufferable.
Absolutely. When they did that that aerial shot last night. I'm like can we just get back to shooting hockey like we normally shoot hockey. I'll give credit to McDonough and Ferraro. They've been criticized a lot. They did a good job. But in that second period it seemed like for the first half of the second period that Edmonton was the better team. But on the scoreboard it was 1 1. And you could tell that building it was alive.
It was jumping. There was a lot of Oilers fans there. And obviously a ton of Panthers fans. The war between the national anthems before the game was fun. It was good energy in the first period. But then when it was 1 1 in those hockey crowds obviously there's nervous energy. Especially when it's an elimination game and you have a game 7 and it's win or you're done. You win the game. You win the Stanley Cup.
You lose. You either are part of the biggest choke job or maybe the biggest choke job in sports history. Or one of the greatest comebacks in sports history. Like that was on the line last night. But in that second period for the Panthers to go into the third with the one goal lead. Not that the game was over.
I thought it was enormous because even though it kind of evened out at the end of the period. I did think the Oilers were the better team in that second period. And if Edmonton got a lead in that game.
I don't think they're losing the game. But then basically what the third period turned into. It was the Panthers just being physical and just clearing the puck. And you knew you were going to see McDavid for basically like the entirety of the period.
I didn't think it would be literally the entirety of the period but that's what it felt like. And when they pulled the goalie they just had no gas left in the tank because they had their big dogs out there for the entirety of the third period trying to get a goal. And Bobrovsky was really good.
The defense in front of him was outstanding. There was a lot of times the puck didn't even get to Bobrovsky. But the two moments that stand out to me. Or really three. Edmonton not capitalizing on that penalty that they got early in the third.
That's number one. Then with seven minutes to go. About roughly seven minutes to go.
It may have been like 7-13, 7-14 something like that. McDavid's in front and Hyman he gets hooked. But let's be real I don't think they're calling that with seven minutes left.
And they didn't. Like that was keep the whistles out of it for the most part. And that was let the game be decided on the ice.
You could definitely say that Hyman was hooked. I would not disagree with it but I wasn't expecting the call to happen. But with that moment with seven minutes to go. It was almost like the Oilers were dragged to thinking okay we're gonna do this. And then right as they were about to come back from down 3-0 in the series.
And get that fourth win. They just hit that brick wall. And when that mental game is so big. And I'll give credit to Brian Boucher who said this yesterday with us on the show. Where Boucher was saying he actually thought there was more pressure on Edmonton going into the game last night.
Than there were Florida and everyone including yours truly disagreed. But that moment with seven minutes to go. When they didn't put the puck in.
It was like oh my goodness gracious I can't believe they didn't score. And then I want to say it was it was under three minutes to go. Bobrovsky loses his stick.
And it may be the most underrated part about the game and people aren't going to talk about it because it was an icing. But how quickly when Bobrovsky loses his stick. That the Panthers fire that puck down the other end just to get an icing. So you could stop the play and then Bobrovsky get his stick back was enormous.
Because they had to sit there for a minute. And Edmonton that was really their last chance. I know they pulled the goalie to have some chance at the end. But they were never able to control the puck. And let's be real how they got to this comeback was because of their speed. And they were just gassed at the end of that game.
They had nothing left in the tank. But if they were able to get a few shots off. With Bobrovsky not having his stick. Maybe Florida would have blocked them all and they wouldn't even got to Bobrovsky.
But that icing was enormous in the game. So that's how I kind of process game seven. And it's on one side Florida avoids this epic choke job. But now they're in the Champions Club and it's well deserved. They're the best team in hockey even though the record may not have showed it.
Throughout the entirety of the year. Team was in the cup final a year ago. They were injured up against the Vegas Golden Knights. Next year you knew it was truly Stanley Cup or bust which can't be said for every team in the NHL. And it was Edmonton close.
But yet so far. Like they dangled the carrot right in front of you. Take a bite out of the apple.
Take a bite out of the carrot. Whatever you want to say it. Of being a part of one of the most memorable comebacks in sports history. And then it vanished right at the end. You know it's like that commercial where they had the dollar on the fishing rod.
Oh you almost get it. And then nope not so much. That's what it was like for the Edmonton Oilers. And you look back. That moment where they didn't score seven minutes ago is going to be memorable. And then also.
You can't dance around the obvious. Leon Draisaitl I don't know if he was hurt. I don't know you see that all the time. In playoff hockey.
Where the run ends and you find out that this guy's dealing with like 9000 injuries. It's also what Florida does. You take away the best players.
That's what Florida does. We saw it all throughout their run. Obviously McDavid had his great run. Where he had the most points in a cup final history in a two game stretch. When he had those eight points. But Leon Draisaitl not scoring a single goal. Not a single goal. In seven games in the Stanley Cup final.
That's alarming. So that's how I kind of process game seven last night. Congratulations to Vinny Viola. Congratulations to the Florida Panthers.
They deserve to win the Stanley Cup. And I think the biggest reason why was in game seven. That Sergei Bobrovsky stood on his head.
And did a really good job. And what was a fun game. You know obviously I wanted overtime. We didn't get it. But it was a very fun good game. I could say a little bit of anti-climatic. Third period. Right? You're expecting some goal. Either if it was Florida.
Putting it away. Going up 3-1. Or Edmonton tying it and sending that baby into overtime. But there's really not much more outside of overtime. That you could really ask for. And also.
Yesterday. Like I don't think that this is like. A crazy take. I don't think you needed a PhD in hockey to figure this one out. But did anyone actually think that McDavid wasn't going to get the Khan Smythe. I know Subban.
And the great Marc Messier. Both didn't think. Like they say oh we understand if he gets it. But they thought if the Panthers won the game it should have gone. To someone on the Florida Panthers. Whether that was Barkov or Bobrovsky.
But you look at the Khan Smythe. I know a lot of people shoot in for the Stanley Cup final. I know a lot of people shoot in for the Stanley Cup playoffs. It's not the award who's the most valuable player in the Cup final. It's for the entirety of the playoffs.
Now. If you don't get to the Cup final. You're not going to win the award.
You're not. But we have seen before. You know Stu knows that being a Devils fan. And I don't think you care when you win the Cup. But in 2003.
John Sebastian Jaguar. He won it as the goalie. And McDavid becomes the second skater. You know second non goalie. To win the Khan Smythe. It's happened six times. Win the Khan Smythe. And be on the losing team.
So it was pretty obvious. When you have the fourth most points. In the history of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
In an individual run. That McDavid was going to win it. And also now when you have the most assists that any players ever had. Passing Wayne Gretzky in an individual run. In a Stanley Cup playoff.
But let's not like dancer at it as well. He doesn't want to win that trophy. There's a reason why he didn't go on the ice to accept it. Nor should he.
Cause let's be real. You're the captain of the team. He did what captains do. You do the handshake line. You wait for every player to walk off the ice. And then you go be with your team. And you know. Hey Florida Panthers fans. They want to boo him.
They want to Bobrovski to get it. That's fine. But the voting process for the Khan Smythe. And you know what. I know it's on a Thursday. So I probably don't need to do a Zach Gelb show PSA.
But I'm going to do a PSA anyway. It's amazing to me how they vote for these awards. Before the game actually ends. Or before the series ends.
I think for the Khan Smythe. You got to submit your ballot. With like 10 minutes left in the third period. We didn't even know who was going to win.
So McDavid got. Every first place vote. There's 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17. There's 17.
You guys just learned that count. There's 17 voters. 16 out of the 17 first place votes. Went to Connor McDavid. The one first place vote that didn't go to Connor McDavid. Was to Sergei Bobrovski.
But then think about this. So if one voter has Bobrovski as the first. And everyone else has McDavid. You would have thought Bobrovski would have dominated the second place. He didn't receive a single second place vote.
So in the breakdown. It was basically all of Barkov. Besides one person that voted for Hyman in second place. And then Ryan S. Clark of ESPN voted for Bobrovski for first. Voted McDavid for second. So out of all these 17 ballots. Sergei Bobrovski only got 7 points.
And the way the point system works. It's 5 points for first place. 3 for second. And 1 for third. I'm not a math major.
But I'll give you the math. He only got 3 total votes. To win the con smite. Only 3. He got a first place vote. Which is 5 points. And then he got 2 third place votes.
Batcher you're smarter than me. 5 plus 1 plus 1 equals? 7. 7. So he actually finished 4th Bobrovski.
In the con smite. McDavid won with 83 points. Barkov second with 46.
Gustav Forsling had 8. And he ended up finishing 3rd and Bobrovski finished 4th. So when I was sitting there. And I think I tweeted out with 10 minutes to go or something like that.
Hey we talked about it on the show. Win or lose. It's gonna be McDavid. But if it's not McDavid. I would have thought it was Bobrovski. And I have no problem with McDavid winning the con smite. If I was voting I'd probably vote him 1. But the one argument that Panthers fans have.
And hey. They had 3 Panthers players. Or 2 Panthers players. Barkov, Forsling and then you had McDavid in front of Bobrovski. Is if Connor McDavid can register 0 points in game 6 and game 7.
Right? That's what he did. Then why can't Bobrovski not win the con smite. Even though his game got away from him. After blowing a 3-0 lead. But then he was able to steal it back.
After. In game 7. Cause if that series would have ended in 5. If that series even would have ended in 6. I think Bobrovski would have won the con smite.
That's how I would have thought it would happen. But once it got to a game 7. And you understand that McDavid has the 4th most points. In the history of a Stanley Cup playoff run.
Right? In an individual run. Has the most assists. In an individual Stanley Cup playoff run.
You knew that Connor McDavid was going to win. But. If you're a Panthers fan. If that's your biggest gripe. Oh. We didn't win the con smite.
I don't think you care. Cause the only trophy that really matters. Is who wins the Stanley Cup final. And who wins Lord Stanley Cup.
And that's the Florida Panthers for this year. And it's well deserved. So do you have a problem with Connor McDavid winning the con smite?
I don't. But I am shocked that Sergei Bobrovski didn't finish 2nd. And he finished in 4th.
For the con smite. 8-5-5, 2-1-2, 42-27. 8-5-5, 2-1-2, 42-27. We'll take a break when we come on back. Klay Thompson and the Golden State Warriors have reached a stalemate in their negotiations.
Is Klay Thompson about to leave the Bay Area? We'll discuss. Also John Rothstein going to join us coming up in 23 minutes from now. Right here. On the Zach Gelb Show.
Off and running on a very busy Tuesday on the Infinity Sports. You're listening to the Zach Gelb Show. So I'm reading an article from ESPN's Kendra Andrews. And it's basically the Golden State Warriors view of Klay Thompson.
And they make it clear that they want him back. And the headline is Warriors strategize a way to keep Thompson. And it goes on in this article and it talks about how ultimately the decision is in the hands of Klay Thompson.
The choice will ultimately be Thompson's. But he plans to test for agency before a decision is made, sources told ESPN. Stu, I understand that this article is kind of the Warriors spin.
Hey, there's some difficult things. There's not been a lot of communication right now. We've made it clear that we want him back. Heck, Mike Dunleavy Jr., the general manager of the Warriors, reiterated his stance on the 12-year guard telling Kendra Andrews, we want him back. It's one thing, though, to say you want him back.
And then it's, can you guys agree on the right price? Like, the Warriors should want him back at a significant discount. And they can't afford to do what they just did a year ago where they elected to say, oh, we had this player who was great for us in Draymond Green.
He probably doesn't have that many good years left. We think Draymond's really important to us, but we're basically giving him a four-year $100 million deal based off what he did in the past, not what we project him to do in the future. The Warriors will deny that. The Warriors will tell you how, oh, they still need Draymond Green to win a championship?
Baloney. They should blow this thing up, and they should get more help around Steph Curry for guys that could actually go win a championship in 2024, then next year, 2025. Draymond Green is not essential to go win a championship for the Golden State Warriors. So they already paid Draymond Green, and now it's like you got Klay.
What's Klay looking for? And I don't know if Klay is actually mad or if this is just the games that people play now, but it's so petulant. And I know Draymond does his podcast, and he basically laughs at it. But you're an all-time great Golden State Warrior. You're part of an incredible dynamic duo that won so many championships together. And Klay Thompson, no one could say a bad word about the guy. I once covered Klay Thompson in a game that he played in Philadelphia, and he's doing a press conference afterwards, housing a slice of pizza while talking to the media, and eating a cheesesteak. Like, this is a man's man.
This is a guy that a lot of people love. But for him to take down all the photos of the Golden State Warriors and to scrub his social media, like, okay, you're playing games, but is this really necessary? Like, you're above those games, Klay Thompson. You're going to be a Hall of Famer.
You've won four championships with the Warriors. Can't we just do these negotiations without the drama? And I'm sure his preference is to stay in the Bay Area, but he also wants to get one somewhat last big contract. And the Warriors would be crazy, and I don't know what the numbers are going to be, but the Warriors would be crazy to go above and beyond to keep Klay Thompson.
Unfortunately, this guy's latter part of his careers were just derailed because of injuries, because his leg kept on getting torn up. And it's unfortunate. It sucks. But it's almost like Klay would be better off going somewhere else for a team that's maybe young, up and coming, and they need a championship kind of player. You get more money that way, and you try to go win somewhere else. Like, if that's Orlando with the Magic, or if it's Oklahoma City Thunder, like, whoever it may be, a younger team. You know, that would be better off for Klay. Like, I get it. Klay wants to stay with the Warriors.
He's got one uniform. But that's not reality. That doesn't always happen. So the way that I look at it is that I think the Warriors don't have it in them to say no. Now, can the two sides meet in the middle on the price we shall see? But, Stu, this article that was released yesterday, yesterday evening, it's clearly the Warriors' version of this. And of course the Warriors are going to say, oh, the decision is in the hands of Klay Thompson, but is it really?
Like, what are you offering? Yeah, it definitely is the Warriors, and I'm kind of with you. Like, they should have broken this, you know, aside from Steph, obviously. I think they should have built around him differently, especially the last few years, and that started with Draymond, and it's just kind of crazy that they decided to hold on to Draymond. Try the Chris Paul experiment?
Yeah, which was a, ugh, god, that is a total failure. So, yeah, they're kind of in that complete mess, and I know we've talked about this in the past, especially when the Warriors had their exit earlier in the postseason. I think that window's done for Steph, unless they pull off some magic trick, which I don't really see happening.
Who are they going to get to pair with Steph? Maybe if somehow they convinced LeBron to join? That would be ideal. That would be great. It would be fun to see those two greats end their careers together.
That's probably their best case scenario, but I mean, it's bad. You know what, the Warriors and the Lakers kind of need to have a baby. Yeah, get together and birth another championship.
Yeah, the Allspring, if they had a baby, would probably deliver a championship. Because, like, LeBron has AD, and Steph really has no one anymore, so Steph could use AD, and LeBron could use Steph. Now, I get it, it would just be LeBron and Steph, you wouldn't get AD into that equation. Unless you trade Steph to the Lakers, now you're talking.
Oh, look at you, you rat. Then all of a sudden, you'll be having your pom-poms up in the air saying, go Lakers again. Go J.J. Reddick, love this guy. And rooting for J.J. Reddick?
That's right. Oh, jeez, jeez, Louise, that would be something. But let's go around the room here, because I do think it's best for both parties to split, but there are human emotions involved in this, and it's not easy to say goodbye. You could do what Bob Myers did, hey, just go join TV, and then you don't have to make that decision. That's why Bob Myers is on TV right now. He didn't have the heart, he didn't have it in his heart to tell Draymond Green, we don't want to pay anymore. And he knew that the decision with Klay Thompson was looming as well.
That's why Bob Myers is doing TV right now. But let's say Klay goes somewhere else, or if Klay stays, who is an athlete that's been in one uniform that is active, that it would be bizarre out of the four major sports seeing that athlete go to another place and play in another uniform? And I started off, mine's Patrick Mahomes, and it's crazy how quickly, we all know how Mahomes is the best player in the sport now with Brady no longer a part of it being retired. But you see what Patrick Mahomes has been able to do with the three championships, they're already winning a bunch of MVPs.
He is the fabric of Kansas City. Kansas City was like, oh, when are we going to win another title again? Patrick Mahomes walks in, he gets him to four Super Bowls, and he's won three championships. And it's like now they're in the AFC championship game each and every year. It's kind of like the New England Patriots, they still have a long ways to go.
But each and every year, you know, death, taxes, and bare minimum, the Patriots will be waking up in the AFC championship game. And you're going to eventually see a different version of Mahomes. And I know we've seen Brady leave New England and Rogers leave Green Bay recently, and we saw Montana, right, leave the 49ers and go to Kansas City. So it's not like, hey, Brett Favre played with the Jets and the Vikings too. So it's not crazy to see a great quarterback, a Hall of Fame quarterback, Peyton Manning going from the Colts to the Broncos to go somewhere else at the end of his career. But it would be bizarre seeing Patrick Mahomes at this point in another uniform. But there will be a different chapter in Mahomes' career, and that's down the road whenever that is, whenever Andy Reid retires, whenever Travis Kelce retires. And we know that's his organization, but then who else do they add to him to continue on what has been a dynasty so far with them winning back-to-back Super Bowls and three championships that they've already run?
So my answer would be Patrick Mahomes, it would be bizarre at this point, out of active players to see him in a different uniform. Who's yours, Stu? So mine is somebody that I think actually should, probably a few years ago, should have been on a different team.
It should have left. What sport? Baseball.
Oh, okay, I know who you're talking about. And I just can't picture, I just can't picture him in another uniform, and that's Mike Trout. Yeah. Like he should be in another uniform, but if I think like, do I picture him as a Dodger? No.
Do I picture him as a Yankee? No. Met? No.
Giant? No. Philly? No. Maybe Philly's just because of the hometown connection.
Right. But even like, I don't know, I just see him as an angel and I don't see that changing. I don't see him as somebody on a different team, but I just, I can't envision it.
I don't think he wants to be. Like there are stars who don't like the spotlight. Mike Trout is a star who kind of wants to live in obscurity. You know, the most you kind of ever see Mike Trout is when he's at an Eagles game, for crying out loud, and he's sitting in the end zone in his comfy season tickets. Like that's the most personality you ever see out of Mike Trout. Now maybe with the injuries, losing Otani, this pushes him to finally request that trade. But if it hasn't happened now, I'm not holding my breath thinking that it's going to be different and he's finally going to force his way out of the Angels, but he should. Because it stinks for the sport that we've only seen one of the greatest players, right?
The best player in the last 10 years of Major League Baseball make the postseason once, and he quickly got swept out of the postseason. Botcher, who is yours? An active player that's been in one uniform that it would be bizarre if you saw him go somewhere else. It's kind of funny to say this because they're a match made in dysfunction heaven. Dak Prescott.
Huh. How much he's been under contract negotiations I feel like every single year for the last five years. That's the drama Dallas show.
I just the way they like it. I just don't think he'll go anywhere else. They're perfect for each other.
Just dysfunctional. If he wants to, he can because he has a no tag clause so he could hit free agency this year. And I think there's a chance of that happening. But if you say Zach gun to your head is Dak Prescott back with the Cowboys next year?
I'm saying yes. Do you know the answer is though, and I know I gave my homes is Steph Curry. I know we talked about it with Klay Thompson. And even stew and I were joking about either getting stuff to LA or having LeBron join him with the Golden State Warriors, but it would be weird seeing Steph somewhere else but with him, and how awesome he is at shooting three point shots like even when he starts to decline.
He could go somewhere and be like a six man or seven that should be like a three point specialty go play for a lot longer than the average pro would be able to play. Because if it gets down to I know it's all awesome how Steph maneuvers around the court and then hits these ridiculous three point shots. But if his legs eventually slow down, he can literally just sit in the corner and jack up a bunch of threes per game, you know, kind of like ray out. Ray Allen was one of the greatest three point shooters I've ever seen.
Right. And Ray Allen at the end of his career, he always bounced around. But in Miami, he was just Hey, stick right in the in the corner. And you know, Ray Allen's gonna hit a bunch of threes. All right, this is Zach Gelb show on the Infinity Sports Network, who's going to be the number one pick of the NBA draft tomorrow evening?
When is Bronnie James gonna go? How about Zach Edie will connect with CBS Sports College basketball insider the always entertaining john rostein when we return update time first though, here's the AC man rich Ackerman start your summer road trip at Midas and get up to $30 off your next repair service. Plus get a free closer look vehicle check to make sure your road trip ready. So if you need to break service and alignment check or tune up, hit up Midas for up to $30 off. For more details, request your appointment at Midas calm, plug in a Hyundai EV and the extraordinary happens. It's not just the ultra fast charging capability and long range in the ionic five and ionic six or the adventure seeking spirit of the Kona electric or the groundbreaking 601 horsepower ionic five and and it's not just the comfort and knowing that every Hyundai EV is backed by a 10 year 100,000 mile limited electric battery warranty. Hyundai's EVs transform a low hum into a loud adventure. They bring color to your journey and turn energy into main character energy. So forget everything you thought you knew about EVs and turn the extraordinary electrifying. There's joy in every journey. EPA estimated three to three mile driving range for 24 and five se se limited real wheel drive and 361 mile driving range for 2024 ionic six se long range real wheel drive with fully charged battery.
The estimated range varies for other models and trims and depends on battery capacity temperature options and other factors limited battery warranty covers defects materials for 10 years or 100,000 miles whichever occurs first see owner's manual for complete warranty details and limitations visit hondausa.com or call 562-314-4603 for more details. Tune in is the audio platform with something for everyone news in order to secure convictions in a court of law is essential that we conclusively sports clock at four Doncic step back three music and even podcasts whatever you love hear it right here on tune in go to tune in.com or download the tune in app to start listening. You're listening to the Zach Gelb show. All right, it is the infinity sports network and it is the Zach Gelb show we gear up for the NBA draft that comes your way tomorrow. Remember this is now a two-day event.
So round one will be on Wednesday and then you have round two on Thursday. You can give me a follow on Instagram and Twitter at Zach Gelb ZCH GLB. I'm actually going to the NBA draft this year. The last time I was at the NBA draft it was when I had that viral moment with Kobe white with the Oh Cam Johnson, you know, just went 11 that he was like, wow, wow, wow, wow.
That's crazy, bro. And it was like the most memorable moment from that draft. You know, I did go to the press conference last year the pre-draft press conference for Victor when been Yama, but I will actually be in attendance at the NBA draft coming up tomorrow evening and we don't know who's going to be the first overall pick because I was reading that Alex are he did not work out. He elected to not work out with the Atlanta Hawks. So there's some feelings that Atlanta is going to pass on him with the first overall pick and maybe he'll go second with Washington.
So this is not like last year where it's Victor run, but yeah, I'm Victor woman. We knew that he was going to go one and then the draft really started with the second overall pick. But let's welcome in from CBS sports also with draft Kings, the great John Ross Dean college basketball's hungriest insider. He's kind enough to join us once again on the Zach Gelb show, John, always a pleasure.
Thanks so much for doing this. How you been my man? Great Zach, but whoever gave you that reader, I got to correct them. It is fan duel, not draft Kings. Sorry. My apologies. Yes.
Okay. On, on behalf of a fan duel here with us, let me start you off. Cause I follow you on Twitter and I know that you are against NCAA expansion for the tournament and I'm a hundred percent with you in college football. I can't stand that they went from four to 12 as well. We know in the NCAA tournament, they're at 68. It seems like though it's inevitable. This is going to go to 72 or 76. I mean, it might be inevitable by what, you know, is really kind of going through social media, but I think if you look right now at the NCAA tournament, the NCAA tournament is far and away the best post-season event that there is in all of sports.
So tinkering with that does not make in my opinion, any sense at all. And I think if you look at one of the things that I've been very, very opinionated about, if there was one thing that I would like to see altered with the NCAA tournament in its current form, which features 68 teams, I think it would be better for the tournament. If the first four in Dayton featured the last eight at-large teams and any team that earned an automatic qualifier was then granted an opportunity to start the NCAA tournament in the round of 64, if you win your conference tournament, but you think about expanding the NCAA tournament or even the people who have that discussion, you are then saying that you are going to minimize what goes on during the regular season and Zach, you know this as well as anybody else. One of the things that really brings people into college basketball from the periphery and even general sports fans for that matter is early as the early days of January is the bubble. Who is the first four teams out? Who is the last four teams in? It's really part of the vernacular of our country from really the end of the Super Bowl until selection Sunday.
And if you expand that, you're going to take that away. Now I know that there's a lot of people who were extremely frustrated that their team or program didn't get into the NCAA tournament last year. The Big East had three teams that you could have made a case for to get to the NCAA tournament. Seton Hall, St. Johns, and Providence were all left out of the field. Pitt was also playing great basketball at the end of the year out of the ACC. But part of the greatness of March Madness is the fact that the postseason truly begins during championship week because every single team that's a part of its conference tournament can play its way in to the NCAA tournament. And a perfect example of that is NC State. NC State was down three points to Virginia in the ACC tournament semifinals.
The Wolfpack were nowhere near an at-large bid. Isaac McNeely, an excellent free throw shooter for Virginia, is at the free throw line to ice the game. He misses the free throw. Michael O'Connell gets the ball for NC State. Tony Bennett opts not to foul a three.
Michael O'Connell does a double clutch, banks in a three. NC State beats Virginia, gets the automatic qualifier the next night against North Carolina, and then goes on one of the most improbable runs to the Final Four that we've seen. So the person who may make a case for expansion would say, well that just reiterates why we should expand the field because NC State was good enough to get to the Final Four. I say nonsense because part of the greatness of March Madness is the fact that that entire chain of events and that one play for Michael O'Connell changed an entire season. The NCAA tournament does not need to expand today, tomorrow, or ever. The only change that I would make would be to make the First Four the final eight at-large teams in the bracket, and then obviously have any automatic qualifier in the round of 64. This is not a participation trophy getting to the NCAA tournament.
It's an exclusive club, and we need to stop the talk for expanding the field. John Rothstein here with us on behalf of FanDuel also does a great job, CBS Sports, College Basketball Insider. Let me briefly get your thoughts on Danny Hurley before we talk about the draft. I thought the Lakers could have offered him a lot more money. It was a six-year deal reportedly, $70 million. Did you ever think they were very close to seeing Hurley leaving Connecticut, UConn, and going out to Los Angeles?
If it would have been extravagant money like you were referencing right there, and it was in a Godfather-type offer, I could have seen- Like $90 to $100 million, right? Yes, if Danny Hurley was going to be offered $15 million a year to coach the Los Angeles Lakers, I think it could obviously have been a little bit different. I also think that if we would have seen the Boston Celtics or the New York Knicks offer Danny Hurley the job, if that was the job that he was being courted for, we might have a different result because that job was in the Northeast. Danny Hurley is somebody who has now carved out space as the best coach in college basketball.
He is on a two-year run that is really unprecedented in the modern era. When you think about his NCAA tournament dominance, Zach, when I think back to the teams that have won back-to-back national championships, really since I've been covering college basketball and really been alive, it's been Duke in 91 and 92. It's been Florida in 06 and 07. I think back to those teams, Florida played a very, very good Ohio State team in the 2007 national championship game. It was a competitive game, Greg Oden, Mike Conley, all those guys, Florida won by nine points. Duke, obviously, in its trip to get to back-to-back national titles in 91 and 92, needed the buzzer beater from Christian Laitner to beat Kentucky in the regional final, and then was actually losing by five points to Indiana in the final four and came back to beat Indiana by three points.
I believe it was 81-78 in the 1992 final four. UConn under Dan Hurley has won 12 NCAA tournament games in the last two years by an average of 21.7 points per game. This is really unfathomable when you think about UConn's dominance in the postseason. I think when you look next year in the college basketball season, that's going to be five filled with interesting storylines, UConn's quest to win a third national championship will be at the top. And I think if you look at UConn's roster on paper, you might say that the ranking is based more on what this program has accomplished the last two years versus maybe what people think this team can be.
But then you remember who's cooking the meal in the kitchen, and if it's Dan Hurley cooking that meal, the sauce is probably going to taste just right when it's done to eat. John Rothstein here with us. I kind of feel like Bronny James is going to get drafted by the Lakers in the second round, but how do you view him as a prospect? About a year ago I was at a USC practice and I was watching their team work out and I watched Bronny James very closely and I said, this guy's got a chance to be a really good multi-year college player.
He's got a chance, I think, to be an exceptional perimeter defender. He's an underrated passer, but unfortunately delayed gratification was never in the cards for Bronny James. You know, he wouldn't be even in the discussion to be drafted if he wasn't the son of LeBron James. Where do you think, like, obviously you think then he should have stayed in college.
Yes. How much of a consideration was that actually, because there was a little talk that maybe go transfer to Duquesne and play for Drew Joyce, who obviously played a high school ball with LeBron. You know, everything that I read from obviously people who cover the NBA every day, you know, made it pretty clear that one of the goals and the dreams for LeBron James before he retires is to play for his son.
And I think that's the way this narrative right now in the storyline is going to unfold. Obviously, you know, his agent, Rich Paul came out last week and said that Bronny James only worked out for two teams, the Suns and the Lakers. The Lakers, as you mentioned and referenced are on the board of 55. I think that's where we expect Bronny James to land. You know, if he is going to be drafted coming up tomorrow or the following day in the 2024 NBA draft. I saw it was talked about today by Landry Fields that the Hawks got rejected by SAR with the workout. They have the number one overall pick. So I'll ask you a two part question. Who do you think is going to go number one overall tomorrow evening?
And then also because it could be a different answer. Who do you think is the best player in this draft? I would trade the number one pick if I had the number one pick and I was an NBA executive because the narrative surrounding this NBA draft is obviously that it's a very weak draft. It's weak at the top in the sense that I don't see a ton of franchise caliber players at the professional level in the NBA draft. But I do think as you get further on down the line, there's a number of good players who could have productive careers in a certain role in the NBA for a long time. But I think if you're an executive right now with one of the top draft picks, you want to be thinking really heavily about trying to move down because this is the type of NBA draft where you can get the same player down the line at nine or 10 that you could get a three or four. Who do you think though is the best player in the draft?
There's so many different foreign prospects that you know, I don't want to obviously act like you know, I have you know, seeing these foreign prospects as much as I've seen, you know, obviously the college prospects and another thing too. We saw in college basketball last year a number of programs take chances on foreign prospects who were projected to be first round picks or lottery picks and that didn't come to fruition two programs that took a number of foreign prospects over UCLA and Xavier. I think now considering the way he's developing and considering how much he can change the game defensively. I think you would have to think long and hard about Donovan Klingon being such a game changer and being able to do so many different things defensively in the NBA is something that you would take number one, you know in the 2024 NBA draft the face of game is improving. We saw elements of that offensively later in the season and the one thing that I've always liked about Donovan Klingon, especially when talking about his defense. It's not so much the shots that he blocks. It's the shots that he alters and I think you saw that in that dominant run that you can't had 30 to 0 against Illinois in the Elite Eight. I only got 30 seconds left. Imagine if you get one bin yama and clinging on the same team in San Antonio with them picking for that would sell some tickets for sure.
I don't know if it's Duncan and Robinson, but they could really could run it back for sure. John Rothstein does tremendous job College basketball's hungries insider for CBS Sports and also does a great job contributing to FanDuel kind enough to join us right now on the Zach Gelb show John appreciate it. Thank you. Thanks Zach always great rapping with you, man. Likewise.
Thanks so much. There he is John Rothstein yet. Could you imagine that you get when be and clinging down low for for the Spurs? I know when be plays all over the place, but just with how many incredible, you know shot blocks that you've just seen from clinging and then obviously when bin yama could have been the defensive player of the year this year in the NBA.
That's how awesome he was that would be really damn cool. So appreciate Jr. John Rothstein join us for a few minutes and I agree with them. They don't need to expand the NCAA tournament whatsoever. It would it would just be I don't need to see more teams, you know, it's worse for College football. It devalues the regular season more but it just seems so unnecessary 68.
They've already expanded a few years ago. I think that's a good enough number. All right, he will take a time out Connor McDavid didn't win it all last night.
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