WEBVTT

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and be prepared. Room for error is much slimmer

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in basketball. You lose one player and it changes

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your entire team. It's not like that in football.

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It's just not. It's not. Interesting guests.

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Kelly Graves, Mike Parker, Coach Mark Waskowski,

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Noah Eagle, Melissa Lombardi, Kenyon Barnard,

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Jonathan Stewart. Sharp opinions. Dana Altman

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probably earned a pass for a down year after

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almost 20 years. of what he's done for Oregon

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basketball. And some smiles. Guys, I was stuck

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in a car wash. Sounds like an R. Kelly song.

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It's not an R. Kelly song. It's Danny Havel.

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I can't remember, and I've been doing this for

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longer than you've been alive. which is really

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horrible that I have to say that, but it's the

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truth. Justin Grossweiner. It's like the saying

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in Alaska that you don't have to be faster than

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the bear. The berries have to be faster than

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your friend. Danny and Justin starts now on Fox

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Sports Eugene and Fox Sports Newport. Hello.

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And welcome, high top of the Delta Triad, the

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Crystal Palace, the Fox Sports, Eugene, Fox Sports,

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Newport Studios. Live from our Bigfoot Beverages

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studios, this is the Danny and Justin radio program.

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Like a rocket ship, we're taking off again with

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the fastest 60 minutes. You can follow us on

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Twitter and Blue Sky, Danny and Justin. You can

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also listen to the podcast wherever you consume

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your quantities. Whatever platform you're using,

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just look up Danny and Justin. Like, subscribe,

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save it. And then after the show's over with,

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we're going to have this show on Memorex for

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you. Thanks for tuning in, friends. Just a little

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bit after 2 o 'clock here on a Wednesday. It's

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home day on the Danny and Justin radio program.

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The mayor of Rip City, Travis Demers, is going

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to join us about 20 after the hour. He is in

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Chi -Town as the Blazers will be taking on doubles

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next. Tough game against Minnesota. At home last

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night. We're going to talk to him about that

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because there was some controversy in the game

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last night. Our dear friend Travis got a little

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hot under the collar. We'll have our word of

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the week from Justin. We're going to talk a lot

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of basketball today, both for Oregon and Oregon

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State. And as we peek around the corner, baseball

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and softball coming up this weekend. One on the

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road, one at home. We'll discuss that as well.

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But first, with intern Blaze producing and directing

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the program. Right over to my right is Justin

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Grossweiner. Call him Baby J. Well, as Blaze

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said as he came in today, it's a beautiful day

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today. I was burning up a little bit, but luckily

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for me, I have a little less hair on the top

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of my head to heat myself up as we were discussing

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before the show. Do we want to keep continuing

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this conversation that you guys were having off

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the air? Man, you were throwing haymakers at

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Blaze. I was. I came in hot a little bit. Actually,

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when Blaze came in, I went in hot at him. It

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was like a light switch with you. You know, sometimes

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you just got to give it a little bit. I can take

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it. For those that are follically challenged,

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when you're discussing the mains of other folks,

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it can get a little testy. All I'm going to say

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is if you have it, enjoy it. You never know when

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it's going to be your last day to have hair.

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Which is what the soliloquy was from Baby J to

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Intern Blaze. So, welcome to the program, friends.

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The Oregon Man Clinics Hotline at 541 -343 -5673.

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as we will move through this pretty quickly.

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A lot of round ball today as the seasons are

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starting to wind down, the regular seasons. In

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fact, tonight on the MKA floor, I believe it's

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the last home game for the men. I think it's,

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is it? No. Senior night? Not yet. No, not yet.

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Let me look at the schedule. Washington will

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be the last home game, which will be the last

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regular season game Saturday the 7th. So a little

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over a week from now. So this is the second to

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last home game. As Blaze was nodding now in agreement

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as he was shaking his head to me to say, Danny,

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don't say that. It's not right. Like the Blazers,

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the Ducks are going to take a Illinois road trip

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to Northwestern and Illinois. And right now,

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the women are on the road looking for their 20th

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win of the season and get one game closer to

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.500 in the Big Ten. They should get this one.

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Purdue. On the road, 12 and 15 are the Boilermakers,

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4 and 12 in the Big Ten. Ducks are 19 and 10

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overall, 7 and 9 in the Big Ten. And we'll break

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down some of the numbers. The women come back.

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They will have their senior night on the 1st.

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Now, remember, women's basketball will end a

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week earlier than the men do. And we'll have

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the Big Ten tournament for the women starting

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the 4th and then running through the 8th. and

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we don't know who the opponent's going to be

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yet, but they'll definitely be playing in that

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tournament. So only two games left for the women

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in the regular season. So, again. Two opportunities

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to get to your favorite number of 20 wins. I

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like that number, and I think you can take a

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look at the history of the teams that make it

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into the NCAA tournament coming out of a power

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conference, which the Big Ten certainly would

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be. Now, not as powerful as the Pac -12 was,

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but it's still. a strong conference, you get

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to 20 wins playing in a conference schedule like

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that. Now, it doesn't help that if you have a

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losing record in conference play. So if you're

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the Ducks, you'd love to at least get back to

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500 in conference play as well. But that would

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then give you 21 wins. It would look pretty.

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It would look pretty to have 21 wins. It would

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look prettier. Yeah. The prettiest, obviously.

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You want to be in the green in conference. But

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you could be, what is it in between of the green

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and the red, if you're even? Is there a name

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for that? Green and red on a traffic light is

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yellow. So if you're even, you're in the yellow.

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Caution! Danger, Will Robinson! Danger! You want

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to get to 500 in conference. I agree. But it's

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been an interesting team. They've, I feel like,

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been just outside of the top 25 all season long.

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And I don't know if they've actually gotten any

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receiving votes. But it feels like they're, like,

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whatever that outside of receiving votes is,

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they're, like, right there. So I think they're

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a surefire tournament team. Their net hasn't

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gone down as well. It stayed in the high 20s.

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So that is the other. You take a look at a lot

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of factors, but I think you're checking a lot

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of boxes if you're Kelly Graves. Do you say you're

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a lock for the NCAA tournament? I think you could

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almost say you're a lock for the NCAA tournament.

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I think so. Now it's all about seeding. Right,

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exactly. has come down to is the conference that

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you're talking about. A lot of the games that

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they're playing in conference, it's been helping

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out their net. Even a team like Minnesota, when

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they played Minnesota, wasn't a team that was

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ranked super high, but their net was really good.

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So the Big Ten has been a good enough conference

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where Oregon hasn't had this spectacular winning

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record or anything like that, and they're at

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best going to be 500 in the conference, but I

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think we can say pretty safely that they're going

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to be in the NCAA tournament. So let's just stay,

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I mean, since we're already talking about women's

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basketball, let's just stay there as the Oregon

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women, by the way, I like that also it's fresh

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in their memory how they played probably one

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of their worst toe -to -toe games against Washington

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a couple of weeks ago, and then they get Washington

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at home on, it'll be senior afternoon because

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it's technically a 2 p .m. tip on Sunday, the

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1st of March. They get them when it's still fresh

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in their minds. In their craw. That's what you

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want to say. And that would – thank you. That's

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a great use of that word. You can't really use

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that word in a lot of different sentences. But

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you know what? Before – well, no, I'll say that

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later. So last time out, 27 .17 rebounds from

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Heese Etute. But Oregon was not able to climb

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back after another double -digit deficit. And

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they lost to Indiana on Sunday, 72 -65. So this

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is a long road trip for them. They left Saturday,

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and they played on Sunday. Now they've been sitting

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in the Midwest since Sunday. So that's three

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days now, which is nice to have a break but not

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being around home. You know, sleeping in hotels,

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eating that buffet breakfast that Kelly Graves

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loves. I say this totally tongue -in -cheek.

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Sure. You're in Indiana. You have nothing better

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to do than work on your basketball game. Man.

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Especially in West Lafayette, which is not easy

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to get to. No. So that'll be interesting. So

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they tip off at 4 p .m. You can hear Chris Clayton

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on the call if you want. You know what I want

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to see? Sure. Tell me. I want to see a fast start.

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I've told you this as well. We've discussed this.

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We have. Is that it would be nice. for Oregon

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to not have to crawl back. But it almost seems

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like with this team, and we're going to effort

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Kelly, Coach Graves, on the program, good friend

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of the program, before that Washington game,

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and kind of get his sense. Can we get him on?

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We might be able to get him on Friday if we really

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work hard. This Friday? Yeah. We'll see if we

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can get him on this Friday before the Sunday

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game and ask him. What is this deal with your

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team? Because it seems to be a pattern of getting

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down by 7, 8, 10, 12 points, and they dig themselves

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out of it a lot of times. But that just takes

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so much energy. Energy, exactly. 100%. But it's

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almost like the light switch has to go on for

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them to kind of bear down. Yeah, you should go

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into the game pretending you're down by 10. And

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then when they're up, like they were in the Illinois

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game, what was the margin in that game? A lot.

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I don't remember. It was like 20 -something points.

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It was like 21 points. And then they have to

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end up holding it off at the end. Would have

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been a horrible loss. That would have been a

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devastating loss. Would have been a bad loss.

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But those are some of the best wins, though.

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Yeah. Oregon has double -digit steals in 19 games

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this season. It is the most in the Big Ten and

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the most under Coach Kelly Graves. 19 times they've

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had double -digit steals. That's pretty remarkable.

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Sophomore, Ahisa Tute. is number one in the Big

00:10:01.440 --> 00:10:04.039
Ten, third in the nation with an offensive rebounding

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rate of 19 .7%. Sophomore Katie Fiso is already

00:10:10.720 --> 00:10:15.080
in sixth place in the University of Oregon's

00:10:15.080 --> 00:10:18.860
single -season assist list. She's got 192 this

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season. Again, these are some of the numbers

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you, when you start rattling them off, you go,

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wow. And again, when I talk about Katie Fiso,

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Did you hear what I first said? Same thing with

00:10:30.279 --> 00:10:34.419
the Tute. They're both sophomores or sophomores,

00:10:34.460 --> 00:10:37.700
as one of my English teachers would tell me in

00:10:37.700 --> 00:10:41.820
high school. So there's a lot of room for growth.

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And a lot in the cupboard still as well. Estera

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Tahina, her last game in the loss to Indiana

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had kind of a breakout game. And I've been plugging

00:10:52.700 --> 00:10:54.769
her a little bit during the season. It's been

00:10:54.769 --> 00:10:56.830
inconsistent. I think she's been battling some

00:10:56.830 --> 00:10:59.149
nagging injuries as well. Of course, Oregon doesn't

00:10:59.149 --> 00:11:02.129
release a lot of that stuff regardless. But I

00:11:02.129 --> 00:11:05.009
think that's another thing to spell Katie Fiso

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and enable them to have that energy near the

00:11:07.750 --> 00:11:09.409
end of the games is going to be crucial down

00:11:09.409 --> 00:11:11.389
the stretch into the tournament and beyond. Well,

00:11:11.429 --> 00:11:13.490
they have to have another player besides Katie

00:11:13.490 --> 00:11:17.029
Fiso be that engine. at times and it feels like

00:11:17.029 --> 00:11:19.210
katie can get her own shot she can get shots

00:11:19.210 --> 00:11:21.269
for others she's i think at her best when she's

00:11:21.269 --> 00:11:23.590
getting shots for others and estera has been

00:11:23.590 --> 00:11:25.840
that other player that Off the bench, you need

00:11:25.840 --> 00:11:29.080
to handle the ball. And I think that Coach Graves

00:11:29.080 --> 00:11:30.659
would probably say he wants probably at least

00:11:30.659 --> 00:11:33.639
one more player like that next year. You probably

00:11:33.639 --> 00:11:35.360
want at least three, right? You don't want to

00:11:35.360 --> 00:11:38.320
have two players, especially one on your starting

00:11:38.320 --> 00:11:39.700
lineup, one on your bench. You're going to have

00:11:39.700 --> 00:11:41.639
to alternate them. You can't have them on the

00:11:41.639 --> 00:11:43.419
floor at the same time. You want to have multiple

00:11:43.419 --> 00:11:45.139
ball hangers on the floor at the same time. So

00:11:45.139 --> 00:11:47.059
it's been at least a good addition to have her

00:11:47.059 --> 00:11:50.980
break out a little bit off the bench. It's certainly

00:11:50.980 --> 00:11:53.620
been not a weakness for this team because they

00:11:53.620 --> 00:11:56.080
have Katie, but it's been something that I think

00:11:56.080 --> 00:11:58.559
holds them back a little bit. Coach Kelly Graves

00:11:58.559 --> 00:12:02.799
is looking for his 643rd victory in his career

00:12:02.799 --> 00:12:06.120
Division I coaching record. He's got 260 wins

00:12:06.120 --> 00:12:11.580
in his Oregon record. By the way, Purdue is coming

00:12:11.580 --> 00:12:14.080
off of two straight losses. They've lost six

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of their last seven. The only time these two

00:12:16.639 --> 00:12:19.419
teams have ever met were last year before tonight.

00:12:20.259 --> 00:12:24.220
with a 69 -53 win by Oregon at MKA last year.

00:12:24.320 --> 00:12:27.440
So, again, with this Big Ten schedule, you play

00:12:27.440 --> 00:12:30.759
the Washington schools, UCLA, USC twice. No,

00:12:30.840 --> 00:12:32.679
actually, they only played UCLA once. They got

00:12:32.679 --> 00:12:36.399
that out of the way early. They did. You basically

00:12:36.399 --> 00:12:40.120
play Washington is the only team, I believe,

00:12:40.220 --> 00:12:42.059
that they've played twice or are going to play

00:12:42.059 --> 00:12:46.200
twice because even USC was just a single game.

00:12:46.700 --> 00:12:48.539
I think that's correct. In the regular season.

00:12:48.740 --> 00:12:50.460
Yeah, I think that's correct. You go all the

00:12:50.460 --> 00:12:53.519
way around one time. So one time means that sometimes

00:12:53.519 --> 00:12:57.159
you're away. And Oregon, they played Michigan

00:12:57.159 --> 00:12:59.059
at home, Northwestern at home, Michigan State,

00:12:59.220 --> 00:13:01.500
Minnesota, Penn State, Ohio State, and then Nebraska,

00:13:01.820 --> 00:13:03.259
and then they'll finish off with Washington.

00:13:03.379 --> 00:13:06.620
So 4 p .m. tip. We'll keep our eyes on that for

00:13:06.620 --> 00:13:10.139
Oregon women's basketball. Go ahead. Do you think

00:13:10.139 --> 00:13:12.360
that they're going to still be in that 8 -9 range?

00:13:12.519 --> 00:13:16.879
I think the latest bracketology has them. Let's

00:13:16.879 --> 00:13:18.500
see here. I'm trying to pull it up right now.

00:13:18.500 --> 00:13:20.139
I thought they had them at 10. They have them

00:13:20.139 --> 00:13:22.340
at 10. That's better. I know that sounds weird.

00:13:22.360 --> 00:13:24.820
Take a look at the bracketology now. It's weird

00:13:24.820 --> 00:13:27.240
because it's fluctuated a bit. They have them

00:13:27.240 --> 00:13:30.759
at 8 right now. That's the worst. The worst possible.

00:13:30.840 --> 00:13:33.539
8 or 9. You either want 7 or 10. They'd be playing

00:13:33.539 --> 00:13:36.419
Villanova, and their second game would be against

00:13:36.419 --> 00:13:39.399
number one South Carolina. Well, I think they're

00:13:39.399 --> 00:13:40.779
number two technically. And that would probably

00:13:40.779 --> 00:13:43.500
be in a region where you will have Gamecock fans

00:13:43.500 --> 00:13:48.460
to the rafters. Oh, yes. So, and Dawn Staley's

00:13:48.460 --> 00:13:51.259
team, she's still the head coach, right? They're

00:13:51.259 --> 00:13:53.659
a perennial. Yes. No, you don't want to play

00:13:53.659 --> 00:13:57.139
South Carolina in round two. They will not be

00:13:57.139 --> 00:13:59.340
sleeping on that, for sure. But it's so weird,

00:13:59.360 --> 00:14:02.500
though, because for Oregon, it feels like this

00:14:02.500 --> 00:14:04.960
is what, to the tournament stuff, I don't want

00:14:04.960 --> 00:14:06.879
to say it doesn't make sense to me, but it almost

00:14:06.879 --> 00:14:08.279
feels like for Oregon, it'd be better to lose

00:14:08.279 --> 00:14:09.860
the next two games. But then if you do that,

00:14:09.919 --> 00:14:11.500
then you're almost risking making the tournament.

00:14:11.720 --> 00:14:13.379
So how is it the fact that you're either going

00:14:13.379 --> 00:14:15.879
to be an 8 or 9? or you're going to really worry

00:14:15.879 --> 00:14:17.620
about making the tournament. Does that make sense?

00:14:18.059 --> 00:14:20.179
Well, I'll flip that around. If they're eight

00:14:20.179 --> 00:14:22.139
right now, they win these last two games, especially

00:14:22.139 --> 00:14:24.820
knocking off a ranked Washington team, because

00:14:24.820 --> 00:14:26.500
I believe Washington's still hanging in at 25

00:14:26.500 --> 00:14:29.460
in the latest poll. Your net's going to go up,

00:14:29.519 --> 00:14:32.980
and you probably can launch yourself into that

00:14:32.980 --> 00:14:37.159
seven seed, which is, again, for us. Looking

00:14:37.159 --> 00:14:39.600
at it from the sideline, then you avoid South

00:14:39.600 --> 00:14:41.980
Carolina or somebody else. Maybe you don't even

00:14:41.980 --> 00:14:43.980
get put that far out in the region. But last

00:14:43.980 --> 00:14:46.379
year, Oregon was a 10, and they had to travel

00:14:46.379 --> 00:14:49.039
all the way across the country. So just looking

00:14:49.039 --> 00:14:52.019
at a resume of someone that they have as a 7

00:14:52.019 --> 00:14:55.580
seed, just to say that. USC. So USC is 9 -7 in

00:14:55.580 --> 00:14:59.879
conference, and they're 17 -10 overall. Oregon

00:14:59.879 --> 00:15:02.700
is 19 -10 overall and 7 -9 in conference. So

00:15:02.700 --> 00:15:04.539
they're just slightly worse in conference, but...

00:15:05.200 --> 00:15:09.320
They did beat USC. 71 -66. On the road, by the

00:15:09.320 --> 00:15:11.899
way. I think that they're at least in that range,

00:15:11.899 --> 00:15:13.259
right? That's what I'm saying. They win these

00:15:13.259 --> 00:15:16.759
last two games, and especially I think they're

00:15:16.759 --> 00:15:18.240
going to have blood in their eye against Washington.

00:15:18.460 --> 00:15:20.419
I think so, too. So they can't let the game at

00:15:20.419 --> 00:15:22.759
Purdue slip away. I agree. And I think that by

00:15:22.759 --> 00:15:25.379
losing to Indiana, which is another game I was

00:15:25.379 --> 00:15:27.740
expecting them to win, I think that you hope

00:15:27.740 --> 00:15:29.899
that they come back against Purdue. Like you

00:15:29.899 --> 00:15:31.909
said, I think this is— Not the most important

00:15:31.909 --> 00:15:34.230
one in terms of the Washington game. I think

00:15:34.230 --> 00:15:35.970
it's obviously going to be the most important

00:15:35.970 --> 00:15:38.350
game they have left. But you want to get this

00:15:38.350 --> 00:15:40.350
one out of the way so you can just focus on the

00:15:40.350 --> 00:15:43.230
Washington game. And then the next level, the

00:15:43.230 --> 00:15:46.970
next step, if we can talk about it, Coach Graves

00:15:46.970 --> 00:15:48.509
isn't going to talk about it because all he'll

00:15:48.509 --> 00:15:50.389
be concerned about when he talks to us next is

00:15:50.389 --> 00:15:53.190
going to be Washington, is get yourself into

00:15:53.190 --> 00:15:55.870
at least the final four of the Big Ten tournament.

00:15:56.509 --> 00:15:58.750
That would be then the next stepping stone. At

00:15:58.750 --> 00:16:00.929
least win one or two games. I think it's possible.

00:16:01.509 --> 00:16:03.370
I definitely think it's possible they can make

00:16:03.370 --> 00:16:04.409
a run. Can you pull up the standings in the Big

00:16:04.409 --> 00:16:05.370
Ten right now? Yeah, I have them right here.

00:16:05.529 --> 00:16:08.149
Okay. So where's Oregon right now as a seed going

00:16:08.149 --> 00:16:11.809
into, and maybe we project. So here's the thing

00:16:11.809 --> 00:16:15.649
is. 11. It'll be interesting to find out. And,

00:16:15.730 --> 00:16:17.389
of course, it'll all depend on what Washington

00:16:17.389 --> 00:16:21.049
does today or tomorrow before the Oregon game

00:16:21.049 --> 00:16:26.000
because the season split. between Oregon and

00:16:26.000 --> 00:16:29.500
Washington. Right. If Oregon wins the game on

00:16:29.500 --> 00:16:32.299
Sunday, they would each have one win, so then

00:16:32.299 --> 00:16:33.960
it starts coming down to tie breaks in terms

00:16:33.960 --> 00:16:35.820
of seeding. What seed is Washington right now,

00:16:35.879 --> 00:16:38.120
eight? They're 10, actually, so they're right

00:16:38.120 --> 00:16:40.320
above Oregon. And what's interesting is Washington

00:16:40.320 --> 00:16:42.899
only has one game left, and it is against the

00:16:42.899 --> 00:16:44.600
Ducks. Oh, so they're sitting waiting right now.

00:16:44.600 --> 00:16:46.580
They're sitting and waiting at 9 -8 in conference.

00:16:46.700 --> 00:16:49.100
Oregon is 7 -9. I don't know what the tiebreaker

00:16:49.100 --> 00:16:51.019
should be if Oregon won the next two, then they

00:16:51.019 --> 00:16:53.299
can split. Normally, it's either head -to -head

00:16:53.299 --> 00:16:55.360
starts, okay? That's the first one, but that

00:16:55.360 --> 00:16:58.139
one wouldn't be tied. And then normally in conference

00:16:58.139 --> 00:17:01.399
play like this, it would be who is the next highest

00:17:01.399 --> 00:17:05.349
team that you beat. So then you start going up

00:17:05.349 --> 00:17:08.369
who's above you, and you say everyone played

00:17:08.369 --> 00:17:10.490
everybody at least once. So then it's going to

00:17:10.490 --> 00:17:12.970
be as high up as you can go. You start with the

00:17:12.970 --> 00:17:14.450
number one. Okay, did you beat the number one

00:17:14.450 --> 00:17:16.150
team in the conference? No. Go to number two.

00:17:16.190 --> 00:17:18.910
Did you both beat number two? But then did you

00:17:18.910 --> 00:17:20.390
lose to number three and the other team beat

00:17:20.390 --> 00:17:22.329
number three? That's the way it gets. The problem

00:17:22.329 --> 00:17:24.839
with Oregon. is that they have, you look at,

00:17:24.880 --> 00:17:26.240
okay, you start with the number one. Okay, they

00:17:26.240 --> 00:17:29.079
lost to UCLA pretty handily. You go to the number

00:17:29.079 --> 00:17:32.180
two, Iowa, that was a close loss. And you go

00:17:32.180 --> 00:17:34.420
to the number three, Michigan, another close

00:17:34.420 --> 00:17:37.099
loss. Ohio State wasn't super -duper close. What's

00:17:37.099 --> 00:17:40.440
their best win in Big Ten play right now? Minnesota,

00:17:40.519 --> 00:17:41.940
I guess. Or no, sorry, they lost to Minnesota

00:17:41.940 --> 00:17:44.660
as well. Wouldn't that be who's dinging? I was

00:17:44.660 --> 00:17:48.009
dinging. So I apologize about that. I think their

00:17:48.009 --> 00:17:51.289
best win is probably USC or Maryland. Maryland.

00:17:51.309 --> 00:17:52.609
I would say Maryland would probably be their

00:17:52.609 --> 00:17:55.170
best win because Maryland at the time was number

00:17:55.170 --> 00:17:57.130
16, and that was on the road. And they will give

00:17:57.130 --> 00:18:01.269
extra points, extra credit, as it were, for ranked

00:18:01.269 --> 00:18:05.930
wins on the road. So it's a stronger, you know,

00:18:05.930 --> 00:18:09.009
collie ranking or whatever they do with it. I'm

00:18:09.009 --> 00:18:12.250
not a math whiz, kids. You know, I got through

00:18:12.250 --> 00:18:14.930
it. stats was horrible when i was in college

00:18:14.930 --> 00:18:18.109
and blaze you're shaking your head stat did you

00:18:18.109 --> 00:18:20.009
you you're a senior so have you already you've

00:18:20.009 --> 00:18:22.049
already gone through the brutality of stats haven't

00:18:22.049 --> 00:18:24.069
you i finished it last year but it was awful

00:18:24.069 --> 00:18:26.329
for me i thought i wanted to be a stats major

00:18:26.329 --> 00:18:29.309
too going into college and quickly realized that

00:18:29.309 --> 00:18:32.650
it would not be for me not a math guy i used

00:18:32.650 --> 00:18:35.089
to love math but uh and i love numbers when it

00:18:35.089 --> 00:18:38.250
comes to sports but not Not what I thought it

00:18:38.250 --> 00:18:40.269
used to be. Okay. All right, so we're going to

00:18:40.269 --> 00:18:41.690
take our first break now. When we come back,

00:18:41.690 --> 00:18:46.720
we'll talk Oregon men's basketball. Oregon. That's

00:18:46.720 --> 00:18:48.799
fine. He's turned down just a little bit. Blasting

00:18:48.799 --> 00:18:50.660
my ear out there, Blaze. You got all excited

00:18:50.660 --> 00:18:52.680
about talking about stats and you got through

00:18:52.680 --> 00:18:56.059
it. We'll talk to Travis Demers, the mayor of

00:18:56.059 --> 00:18:59.059
Rip City, in the last segment. He is transferring

00:18:59.059 --> 00:19:01.440
buses. It'll be planes, trains, and automobiles

00:19:01.440 --> 00:19:03.259
for Travis Demers as he's trying to get to the

00:19:03.259 --> 00:19:06.339
hotel before the Blazers take on Chicago tomorrow.

00:19:06.700 --> 00:19:08.960
And after that sting of the loss against Minnesota

00:19:08.960 --> 00:19:11.759
at home, the long plane ride to O 'Hare. So we'll

00:19:11.759 --> 00:19:13.839
catch up with Travis Demers around 440. So let's

00:19:13.839 --> 00:19:17.700
take our break. as we will head off into the

00:19:17.700 --> 00:19:20.599
sunset. There we go. And when we come back, we'll

00:19:20.599 --> 00:19:24.200
talk Oregon men's basketball, Oregon State men's

00:19:24.200 --> 00:19:25.819
and women's basketball as they're getting ready

00:19:25.819 --> 00:19:29.180
for their senior nights as we continue here on

00:19:29.180 --> 00:19:30.920
the Danny and Justin radio program. Also stay

00:19:30.920 --> 00:19:32.799
tuned. We're going to do word of the week in

00:19:32.799 --> 00:19:38.339
the next segment as well. A happy 38th birthday

00:19:38.339 --> 00:19:44.920
to my eldest, Tyler Daniel Havel, TD. Has my

00:19:44.920 --> 00:19:47.380
first name as his middle name. The ongoing tradition

00:19:47.380 --> 00:19:51.259
in the Havel family. My middle name is after

00:19:51.259 --> 00:19:54.700
my dad. Even though I was the second boy. My

00:19:54.700 --> 00:19:58.640
middle name is after my aunt. And remind everybody

00:19:58.640 --> 00:20:00.079
of what your middle name is. My middle name is

00:20:00.079 --> 00:20:06.259
Alexander. And your mom was... Was it sister?

00:20:06.500 --> 00:20:10.460
My mom's sister. Was Alex? No. Was Alexandria?

00:20:11.059 --> 00:20:14.109
I am... In the moment, forgetting her name because

00:20:14.109 --> 00:20:18.730
the pressure of her name is... Wow, this is going

00:20:18.730 --> 00:20:21.750
to be on the archives now. Oh, I can just hear

00:20:21.750 --> 00:20:24.069
your mom all the way. Is she in Chicago right

00:20:24.069 --> 00:20:28.529
now? Yes. No, she's still in Virginia. Oh, Virginia

00:20:28.529 --> 00:20:30.569
with your sister. Allie, everything went well?

00:20:30.890 --> 00:20:32.829
Yes, yes. I was going to give a shout out to

00:20:32.829 --> 00:20:37.640
my sister. She had her adrenalectomy. That's

00:20:37.640 --> 00:20:39.180
what the surgery was. It wasn't on her head.

00:20:39.200 --> 00:20:40.099
That's a mouthful. She already had that one.

00:20:40.180 --> 00:20:41.460
That's not your word of the week. Adrenaline

00:20:41.460 --> 00:20:44.920
is not my word of the week. Well, you better

00:20:44.920 --> 00:20:47.420
settle and practice. Word of the week coming

00:20:47.420 --> 00:20:49.119
up. I know. I have it already. Blaze, what is

00:20:49.119 --> 00:20:53.160
your middle name? My middle name is Richard after

00:20:53.160 --> 00:20:56.539
my grandpa. Oh, not Richard III? No. Not that

00:20:56.539 --> 00:20:59.339
I know of. Fun fact. I was Hastings in Richard

00:20:59.339 --> 00:21:02.900
III. Love that play. You see how he hijacks that?

00:21:02.900 --> 00:21:05.000
That was my first Shakespeare play. Sorry. No,

00:21:05.039 --> 00:21:08.569
it's fine. The Danny and Justin Radio Pro, Richard,

00:21:08.769 --> 00:21:12.190
Daniel, and Alexander. That could be a law firm.

00:21:13.569 --> 00:21:16.329
It really could be. Daniel's a last name as well,

00:21:16.410 --> 00:21:19.009
as you well know. I think that Travis's sons

00:21:19.009 --> 00:21:21.049
could be a law firm, Lincoln and Lawson. Oh,

00:21:21.049 --> 00:21:24.009
yeah, absolutely. Every time he says that, I

00:21:24.009 --> 00:21:26.890
always think of that. In fact, we'll have Travis

00:21:26.890 --> 00:21:29.009
on here. You were expecting him at 20 after?

00:21:29.130 --> 00:21:33.289
No, he's traveling, so it'll be at 40. I've got

00:21:33.289 --> 00:21:34.589
to ask him what he's watching right now because

00:21:34.589 --> 00:21:37.160
I know he's not watching Hijack. And a new episode

00:21:37.160 --> 00:21:40.059
of the second season of Hijack with Idris Elba

00:21:40.059 --> 00:21:43.980
is now every Wednesday. But I gave him a couple

00:21:43.980 --> 00:21:46.059
more shows. We'll see. We like catching up with

00:21:46.059 --> 00:21:48.680
the mayor. And by the way, I had a fan say, you

00:21:48.680 --> 00:21:51.539
know, Bill Shonley is the only mayor of Rip City.

00:21:51.680 --> 00:21:54.759
And that was Bill's moniker that was given to

00:21:54.759 --> 00:21:56.859
him many, many years ago. But what I say is that

00:21:56.859 --> 00:21:58.859
whoever is the voice of the Blazers at the moment

00:21:58.859 --> 00:22:01.759
is the mayor. Because they're the conduit to

00:22:01.759 --> 00:22:04.059
the fan base. It's no disrespect to Bill Shonley.

00:22:05.009 --> 00:22:07.849
Because I love Bill, and I was very fortunate

00:22:07.849 --> 00:22:10.250
to get to meet him and talk to him one -on -one

00:22:10.250 --> 00:22:13.769
many times. And he'll always be a mayor, but

00:22:13.769 --> 00:22:16.230
that's just my little aside. And I appreciate

00:22:16.230 --> 00:22:18.410
the fans listening and giving me the input. Go

00:22:18.410 --> 00:22:19.990
ahead. I'm going to completely embarrass myself.

00:22:20.329 --> 00:22:23.930
Sure. I finally remembered my aunt's name. We

00:22:23.930 --> 00:22:25.369
are going to get to sports, by the way. It wasn't

00:22:25.369 --> 00:22:26.910
because of my middle name. The reason was because

00:22:26.910 --> 00:22:28.609
I was thinking, okay, Alexander. Actually, it's

00:22:28.609 --> 00:22:31.009
my first name. My aunt's name was Jane. Okay.

00:22:31.029 --> 00:22:35.750
And so I was named Justin after Jane. Are you

00:22:35.750 --> 00:22:38.390
following that, Blaze? The J? Come on. Oh, just

00:22:38.390 --> 00:22:40.849
the J? Yeah. So you could have been Jeremy for

00:22:40.849 --> 00:22:43.089
all that matters then. Yeah. Okay. All right.

00:22:43.930 --> 00:22:46.609
Is everybody good now? Everybody's clear now.

00:22:46.609 --> 00:22:47.730
Everybody's great? Everybody remembers their

00:22:47.730 --> 00:22:51.089
relatives' names. That's fantastic. So we talked

00:22:51.089 --> 00:22:55.410
about the Duck women who are taking on Purdue

00:22:55.410 --> 00:22:59.670
at 4 p .m. Duck men are home tonight to take

00:22:59.670 --> 00:23:03.539
on the Badgers of Wisconsin. 8 p .m. Wisconsin

00:23:03.539 --> 00:23:06.140
leads the all -time series six games to four.

00:23:06.180 --> 00:23:08.680
It'll be on Big Ten Network. Late start, so you

00:23:08.680 --> 00:23:10.660
have no excuse not to get to MKA tonight. Just

00:23:10.660 --> 00:23:12.960
call in a little bit later tomorrow morning.

00:23:12.960 --> 00:23:15.200
No excuse, but it's also 8 o 'clock. It is. It's

00:23:15.200 --> 00:23:17.859
a brutal time. The Big Ten schedule in basketball,

00:23:18.160 --> 00:23:21.619
can I just say, it's not amenable to those on

00:23:21.619 --> 00:23:25.289
the West Coast. There is a distinct disadvantage.

00:23:25.670 --> 00:23:27.470
Well, even thinking about it from Wisconsin's

00:23:27.470 --> 00:23:28.930
perspective. They'd be playing at 10 o 'clock

00:23:28.930 --> 00:23:30.609
at night. 10 o 'clock, and they just came from

00:23:30.609 --> 00:23:34.789
a home game a couple of days ago. That was on

00:23:34.789 --> 00:23:36.809
the 22nd, so three days ago, so on the weekend.

00:23:37.009 --> 00:23:38.809
So, I mean, yeah, they're going to be adjusted

00:23:38.809 --> 00:23:40.549
to Midwest time and all of a sudden playing at

00:23:40.549 --> 00:23:43.130
10 p .m. When's the last time you went to a gym

00:23:43.130 --> 00:23:45.230
at 10 p .m. to play basketball? You'd be the

00:23:45.230 --> 00:23:46.289
one that would be doing something like that.

00:23:46.289 --> 00:23:47.849
And I don't even do that. That's a little too

00:23:47.849 --> 00:23:52.009
late for me. Maybe eight. They're athletes. They'll

00:23:52.009 --> 00:23:54.309
overcome. Wisconsin leads the all -time series

00:23:54.309 --> 00:23:57.170
six games to four. Oregon defeated then number

00:23:57.170 --> 00:24:01.410
11 -ranked Wisconsin 77 -73 in overtime last

00:24:01.410 --> 00:24:04.170
season in Madison. Nate Biddle led all scores

00:24:04.170 --> 00:24:07.109
in that game, 23 .6 rebounds, three blocks. KJ

00:24:07.109 --> 00:24:09.450
added 10 points, nine rebounds off the bench

00:24:09.450 --> 00:24:13.029
last year. Oregon coming off that 71 -70 win.

00:24:13.660 --> 00:24:17.359
Over loss over USC in Los Angeles, California.

00:24:17.880 --> 00:24:20.000
Extending their road winning streak to the Trojans

00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:22.339
to four games. I didn't have that little nugget

00:24:22.339 --> 00:24:24.900
before. Kwame scored 21 points, eight rebounds.

00:24:25.079 --> 00:24:27.819
Nate had his third double -double of the season,

00:24:27.880 --> 00:24:30.039
14 points, 11 rebounds. He also tacked on four

00:24:30.039 --> 00:24:34.619
steals. So hear me out. Yes. Lay it on me. If

00:24:34.619 --> 00:24:37.539
Oregon can steal this game, I think they've got

00:24:37.539 --> 00:24:40.920
a decent shot against Northwestern. Okay, just

00:24:40.920 --> 00:24:42.759
hear me out. I'm going to play best case scenario

00:24:42.759 --> 00:24:44.779
right here. I'm going to let you go. Say Wisconsin

00:24:44.779 --> 00:24:47.960
just is tired tonight. They're coming in. They've

00:24:47.960 --> 00:24:49.519
probably been here for a couple days, but it's

00:24:49.519 --> 00:24:52.079
a 10 p .m. game in Wisconsin right now in Madison.

00:24:52.559 --> 00:24:54.700
Okay, so say Oregon can sneak away with this

00:24:54.700 --> 00:24:56.680
one. I like their chances against Northwestern.

00:24:57.099 --> 00:24:59.799
Against Illinois, it's probably not going to

00:24:59.799 --> 00:25:02.180
happen. But then they play a rivalry game at

00:25:02.180 --> 00:25:04.640
home against Washington. What if there's a world

00:25:04.640 --> 00:25:07.059
where Oregon wins three out of the last four

00:25:07.059 --> 00:25:09.849
games, and then that would make it? I think five

00:25:09.849 --> 00:25:12.170
out of the last seven. Right. At that point,

00:25:12.190 --> 00:25:14.089
you're going into the tournament, five out of

00:25:14.089 --> 00:25:15.849
the last seven. I mean, is there a chance that

00:25:15.849 --> 00:25:18.170
they could win a couple games in the Big Ten

00:25:18.170 --> 00:25:20.849
tournament? Maybe. I love that you're Captain

00:25:20.849 --> 00:25:22.710
Optimism right now. I'm usually not. Because

00:25:22.710 --> 00:25:24.690
normally you are on the opposite side of that

00:25:24.690 --> 00:25:26.950
spectrum. But if you look at the schedule, I

00:25:26.950 --> 00:25:29.670
could see three out of four here. To me, I'll

00:25:29.670 --> 00:25:33.250
just say it this way. And as for as many years

00:25:33.250 --> 00:25:35.529
as I've been following teams, I will never say

00:25:35.529 --> 00:25:37.630
never about anything until there are zeros on

00:25:37.630 --> 00:25:40.869
the clock. I learned that lesson very early on.

00:25:40.970 --> 00:25:43.230
So everything's wide open and a possibility.

00:25:43.470 --> 00:25:46.009
And if you're not willing to lay everything out

00:25:46.009 --> 00:25:48.329
on the line or think in any game that you go

00:25:48.329 --> 00:25:49.710
into that you're not going to win, then why are

00:25:49.710 --> 00:25:51.829
you out on the floor? I mean, if you're just

00:25:51.829 --> 00:25:53.470
going to go into a game going, yeah, we're going

00:25:53.470 --> 00:25:55.309
to lose this one, then you will. That'll be a

00:25:55.309 --> 00:25:57.589
self -fulfilling prophecy. Right. So I think

00:25:57.589 --> 00:26:00.670
every athlete, every coach, especially still

00:26:00.670 --> 00:26:02.170
with the Ducks, and that's kind of why I thought.

00:26:02.559 --> 00:26:04.420
And I know you didn't like me using the word

00:26:04.420 --> 00:26:06.579
huge, but that's why I thought the USD game was

00:26:06.579 --> 00:26:09.920
huge for confidence and for momentum coming into

00:26:09.920 --> 00:26:11.839
the last three games of the regular season. Four.

00:26:12.279 --> 00:26:14.539
Well, four, sorry. See, you corrected me there.

00:26:14.579 --> 00:26:18.420
And then the Big Ten tournament. So, yeah, everything's

00:26:18.420 --> 00:26:19.599
out there. And listen, this would be a great

00:26:19.599 --> 00:26:22.559
win against a Badgers team that's 19 -8 over

00:26:22.559 --> 00:26:25.759
looking for their Magic 20 win and 11 -5 in conference

00:26:25.759 --> 00:26:29.940
play under head coach Greg Gard. This has been

00:26:29.940 --> 00:26:34.079
his first NCAA Division I coaching stop, and

00:26:34.079 --> 00:26:37.960
he's got 232 wins in 11 years at Wisconsin. Dana,

00:26:38.099 --> 00:26:43.759
by the way, looking for his 791st victory as

00:26:43.759 --> 00:26:47.119
a head coach in his 36th year, his 381st as a

00:26:47.119 --> 00:26:50.339
Duck. The issue for the Ducks is this is a legitimately

00:26:50.339 --> 00:26:54.180
very good Wisconsin team, and it's not the Wisconsin

00:26:54.180 --> 00:26:56.980
days of old where they're going to have Bo Ryan

00:26:56.980 --> 00:26:59.740
and they're going to score 55 points and they're

00:26:59.740 --> 00:27:02.160
going to take 30 seconds off the shot clock and

00:27:02.160 --> 00:27:03.960
shoot it up with five seconds left. No, this

00:27:03.960 --> 00:27:05.940
is a team that can score points. They've got...

00:27:06.349 --> 00:27:08.390
A player, Nick Boyd, who's averaging over 20.

00:27:08.630 --> 00:27:10.589
John Blackwell is averaging close to that at

00:27:10.589 --> 00:27:12.470
18 and a half games. Nolan Winter is a nice big

00:27:12.470 --> 00:27:14.589
for them. So they have some size too. That's

00:27:14.589 --> 00:27:15.710
kind of the first thing I look for for these

00:27:15.710 --> 00:27:18.109
college teams is, hey, Oregon has Nate Biddle.

00:27:18.269 --> 00:27:19.910
They're going to have to, if a team's facing

00:27:19.910 --> 00:27:21.029
them, they're going to have to have a team with

00:27:21.029 --> 00:27:24.009
some size. Wisconsin does. So I think roster

00:27:24.009 --> 00:27:26.549
wise, Wisconsin clearly has an edge here. But

00:27:26.549 --> 00:27:28.670
hey, maybe Oregon, they get a nice win against

00:27:28.670 --> 00:27:31.009
USC. They're playing at home. One of their last

00:27:31.009 --> 00:27:34.049
home games. Like I could see it. So Oregon, by

00:27:34.049 --> 00:27:38.019
the way, Nate Biddle's Oregon. career high with

00:27:38.019 --> 00:27:41.539
four steals against usc oh see if you can eclipse

00:27:41.539 --> 00:27:44.880
that when i saw nate biddle at thurston high

00:27:44.880 --> 00:27:47.640
school in his i think it was his junior or senior

00:27:47.640 --> 00:27:51.440
season that guy probably had a five by five which

00:27:51.440 --> 00:27:54.799
you learned that term the other day you remember

00:27:54.799 --> 00:27:59.720
what that means um blaze intern blaze you know

00:27:59.720 --> 00:28:01.660
what a five by five is right doubles in what

00:28:01.660 --> 00:28:04.210
yeah doubles in all All the main categories.

00:28:04.210 --> 00:28:05.930
It doesn't mean doubles. It means five. It means

00:28:05.930 --> 00:28:07.890
five. At least five in all five categories. Five

00:28:07.890 --> 00:28:10.529
in each one. Nick Middle in high school. That

00:28:10.529 --> 00:28:13.910
guy was unbelievable. I mean, he was a legit

00:28:13.910 --> 00:28:16.250
seven -footer. Played for Crater High. Playing

00:28:16.250 --> 00:28:18.509
for Crater. He was a ball handler for that team.

00:28:18.569 --> 00:28:20.549
He probably had a five -by -five in that game.

00:28:20.650 --> 00:28:22.309
And by the way, they probably would have won

00:28:22.309 --> 00:28:26.309
a state championship in his senior year at Crater,

00:28:26.309 --> 00:28:30.019
except for COVID. I was at Gill Coliseum calling

00:28:30.019 --> 00:28:32.180
the games for the OSAA radio network when they

00:28:32.180 --> 00:28:34.859
shut everything down. Literally, they lowered

00:28:34.859 --> 00:28:36.980
the standards because the Pac -12 were shutting

00:28:36.980 --> 00:28:39.359
down all their campuses. And since the state

00:28:39.359 --> 00:28:43.319
tournament was at a Pac -12 collegiate site,

00:28:43.480 --> 00:28:45.220
they had to shut the tournament down. That was

00:28:45.220 --> 00:28:47.700
probably top to bottom, actually, one of the

00:28:47.700 --> 00:28:50.599
best fields in high school basketball back in

00:28:50.599 --> 00:28:53.259
what would have been 2020, right? Yeah. That

00:28:53.259 --> 00:28:56.750
had ever been. in the final eight. Like, there

00:28:56.750 --> 00:28:59.849
were four legit teams that any one of them, you

00:28:59.849 --> 00:29:02.029
flip a coin, they could have won the state championship.

00:29:02.410 --> 00:29:04.829
That was just sad. It's just a sad thing. And

00:29:04.829 --> 00:29:06.910
when you went back to the hotel room, the tears

00:29:06.910 --> 00:29:10.150
that were being shed by those seniors that knew

00:29:10.150 --> 00:29:12.430
they had a great team and they could not finish

00:29:12.430 --> 00:29:14.589
out the season. That was just heart -wrenching.

00:29:14.609 --> 00:29:16.509
Sorry to throw that out there. But that's my

00:29:16.509 --> 00:29:18.309
experience with Nate Biddle, who was a man -child.

00:29:18.529 --> 00:29:20.349
Absolutely. Lot thinner in high school. He was.

00:29:20.490 --> 00:29:23.450
Lot thinner. He was wiry. But I think that maybe

00:29:23.450 --> 00:29:25.380
something that... we haven't focused on this

00:29:25.380 --> 00:29:27.579
season because it's been such an up -and -down

00:29:27.579 --> 00:29:30.200
season and mostly down, and Nate was injured.

00:29:31.130 --> 00:29:33.009
Man, that guy has been a really great Oregon

00:29:33.009 --> 00:29:35.910
Duck, and he's going to go on. I really believe

00:29:35.910 --> 00:29:38.170
he's going to be a solid NBA player, and we're

00:29:38.170 --> 00:29:40.569
going to see him playing in the league for a

00:29:40.569 --> 00:29:42.589
good amount of time. He's a seven -footer that

00:29:42.589 --> 00:29:44.490
can shoot. He can protect the rim. I think there's

00:29:44.490 --> 00:29:47.890
value in that. So I think that we, as people

00:29:47.890 --> 00:29:50.589
that follow the Ducks and Duck fans, need to

00:29:50.589 --> 00:29:52.569
appreciate Nate Biddle and everything he's done

00:29:52.569 --> 00:29:54.789
for this team over the last, what has it been,

00:29:54.869 --> 00:29:59.230
since 2020, 2021, I guess? 2021. For him, it's

00:29:59.230 --> 00:30:00.740
been a little bit up and down. We've watched

00:30:00.740 --> 00:30:03.099
a lot of growth for him, and it's been really

00:30:03.099 --> 00:30:04.819
fun watching him play. I've always really enjoyed

00:30:04.819 --> 00:30:07.460
his game. So you can circle the Washington game

00:30:07.460 --> 00:30:10.500
on your calendar when the Ducks will have their

00:30:10.500 --> 00:30:14.970
senior. Tonight, because it will be, an 8 p .m.

00:30:14.970 --> 00:30:17.829
tip on March the 7th. But head on out tonight

00:30:17.829 --> 00:30:21.630
to MKA, 8 p .m. again tonight as Wisconsin comes

00:30:21.630 --> 00:30:23.490
to town. All right, let's hit some music, and

00:30:23.490 --> 00:30:26.009
I'm going to introduce the young man over here

00:30:26.009 --> 00:30:27.529
because we have a new feature on our program,

00:30:27.690 --> 00:30:29.950
introducing the Archbishop of Alliteration, the

00:30:29.950 --> 00:30:32.450
Prince of Proverbs, the Viceroy of Verbs, the

00:30:32.450 --> 00:30:35.049
Wizard of Word, the King of Consonants. It's

00:30:35.049 --> 00:30:40.390
Justin's Wednesday Word of the Week. All right.

00:30:40.430 --> 00:30:42.470
Your word of the week today. We're all going

00:30:42.470 --> 00:30:45.089
to get smarter here. Everybody sit down. Is proliferate.

00:30:45.910 --> 00:30:49.170
You heard of that word before? It means to increase

00:30:49.170 --> 00:30:53.509
and rapidly and excessively. So usually it would

00:30:53.509 --> 00:30:57.130
be more for a proliferation of problems would

00:30:57.130 --> 00:31:00.049
start when something happens. Nuclear proliferation

00:31:00.049 --> 00:31:04.190
is the phrase. Proliferation. It's a little bit

00:31:04.190 --> 00:31:06.390
of a tongue twister, but I thought it was a good

00:31:06.390 --> 00:31:08.670
word today. All right, kids. Use it in a sentence

00:31:08.670 --> 00:31:10.980
tonight. If you can, around the dinner table

00:31:10.980 --> 00:31:13.960
and amaze all of your friends and family. To

00:31:13.960 --> 00:31:17.440
increase rapidly and excessively. Nice. Okay.

00:31:17.819 --> 00:31:21.039
That's beautiful. Oregon State, as we finish

00:31:21.039 --> 00:31:25.319
up our roundabout in basketball, Oregon State

00:31:25.319 --> 00:31:28.759
is hosting their senior day tonight against San

00:31:28.759 --> 00:31:33.019
Diego. They're honoring seniors Jorge Diaz -Graham,

00:31:33.160 --> 00:31:36.059
Malcolm Christie during their pregame. Maybe

00:31:36.059 --> 00:31:39.089
they'll start. Oregon. State is 5 -1 all -time

00:31:39.089 --> 00:31:42.009
against San Diego, 3 -0 in games played at Gil

00:31:42.009 --> 00:31:45.470
Coliseum. So that will be tonight, Gil Coliseum,

00:31:45.509 --> 00:31:51.369
which means the ladies are on the road, and they

00:31:51.369 --> 00:31:54.450
are looking to have their senior day Saturday.

00:31:55.430 --> 00:31:59.769
But right now, they are in San Diego, and they're

00:31:59.769 --> 00:32:03.609
taking on San Diego at 6 p .m. tonight. Well,

00:32:03.630 --> 00:32:06.279
actually, tomorrow night, 6 p .m. And then Saturday,

00:32:06.400 --> 00:32:09.660
1 p .m., they'll start their senior days at Gill

00:32:09.660 --> 00:32:13.400
Coliseum taking on LMU before they've got their

00:32:13.400 --> 00:32:15.339
tournament coming up, the WCC tournament, fighting

00:32:15.339 --> 00:32:17.599
for positioning. And I think they still – do

00:32:17.599 --> 00:32:19.980
they still have a shot at being number one conference

00:32:19.980 --> 00:32:21.519
in the regular season? They do, but they're going

00:32:21.519 --> 00:32:23.480
to have to win out and get a little help. Because

00:32:23.480 --> 00:32:25.619
Gonzaga, right? They need Gonzaga to lose. They

00:32:25.619 --> 00:32:29.039
go 2 -0 this week, the women now at Oregon State.

00:32:29.579 --> 00:32:32.599
They could finish anywhere between first and

00:32:32.599 --> 00:32:36.460
third, depending on – other games in the league.

00:32:36.960 --> 00:32:39.319
It's not bad. No, it's not. It's been a nice

00:32:39.319 --> 00:32:42.160
season for them. So the gap between OSU and number

00:32:42.160 --> 00:32:44.220
two is larger than the gap between number two

00:32:44.220 --> 00:32:51.180
and number last in the WCC. Number last. Well,

00:32:51.279 --> 00:32:54.799
the next one down. So, yeah, that's – it'll be

00:32:54.799 --> 00:32:56.500
interesting. Scott Rueck's got his team, you

00:32:56.500 --> 00:32:57.859
know, playing pretty well. They've been in the

00:32:57.859 --> 00:33:00.180
hunt most of the season. So, all right, we'll

00:33:00.180 --> 00:33:03.319
take our next break. When we come back. Travis

00:33:03.319 --> 00:33:05.640
Demers, the mayor of Rip City. He is in Chi -Town.

00:33:06.319 --> 00:33:08.259
We'll find out what's on the menu tonight. It

00:33:08.259 --> 00:33:10.940
should be Portillo's. It better be. Close. We've

00:33:10.940 --> 00:33:12.259
got to find out where he's staying, what room

00:33:12.259 --> 00:33:15.740
number he's in, and we'll send him about 40 Portillo's

00:33:15.740 --> 00:33:19.480
sandwiches. I literally would. Back with the

00:33:19.480 --> 00:33:21.019
mayor of Rip City next on the Danny and Justin

00:33:21.019 --> 00:33:22.900
Radio Program. Fox Sports Eugene, Fox Sports

00:33:22.900 --> 00:33:28.559
Newport. Blazers were pumping up the jam against

00:33:28.559 --> 00:33:31.200
Minnesota, and they were punching up as well,

00:33:31.220 --> 00:33:34.450
but end up. Losing a close game at home, 124

00:33:34.450 --> 00:33:38.329
-121 to the Timberwolves. Portland now 28 -31

00:33:38.329 --> 00:33:40.630
on the season, 16 -15 at home. They are back

00:33:40.630 --> 00:33:43.890
on the road and in Chicago. Let's head on over

00:33:43.890 --> 00:33:46.069
to the Oregon Man Clinics hotline at 541 -343

00:33:46.069 --> 00:33:48.210
-5673 and welcome in our good friend, the mayor

00:33:48.210 --> 00:33:51.150
of Rip City, Travis Demers. Travis, how was the

00:33:51.150 --> 00:33:53.829
flight? It was fine. I got plenty of work done.

00:33:54.670 --> 00:33:57.130
Now I'm just waiting to get my bag and go to

00:33:57.130 --> 00:33:59.529
my room and get some more work done. The cycle

00:33:59.529 --> 00:34:02.490
never ends. What's for dinner tonight? It's a

00:34:02.490 --> 00:34:05.150
great question. I have no idea. Okay. Oh, God.

00:34:05.210 --> 00:34:08.650
Well, here we go. So where are you staying? At

00:34:08.650 --> 00:34:10.710
a hotel, yes. I don't think I'm technically allowed

00:34:10.710 --> 00:34:14.050
to tell you. Okay. All right. It's near the,

00:34:14.150 --> 00:34:17.349
what do they call this, the Willis Tower now?

00:34:17.489 --> 00:34:19.610
Like I'm probably standing 100 yards from it.

00:34:19.690 --> 00:34:21.789
Yeah, that's fine. I don't need to know your

00:34:21.789 --> 00:34:24.030
hotel room number, although I can find that out

00:34:24.030 --> 00:34:25.409
and I can send you something. You want me to

00:34:25.409 --> 00:34:30.260
send you a key? Yeah. What do we got to do? Do

00:34:30.260 --> 00:34:31.780
I need to send you some money? What do I got

00:34:31.780 --> 00:34:33.280
to do to get you to try some Portillo's? He's

00:34:33.280 --> 00:34:35.460
going to Venmo you something. So I have this

00:34:35.460 --> 00:34:37.460
list of different places in different cities,

00:34:37.519 --> 00:34:39.360
and that's on the list. I know it is. That's

00:34:39.360 --> 00:34:41.510
the stuff. I'm waiting to see if there's anything

00:34:41.510 --> 00:34:43.769
going on with any of the other folks on the broadcast

00:34:43.769 --> 00:34:45.630
crew, if not. And I can always go there for lunch

00:34:45.630 --> 00:34:47.610
tomorrow, too. Absolutely. It's on the list.

00:34:47.650 --> 00:34:49.550
It will happen today or tomorrow. Okay, fantastic.

00:34:49.829 --> 00:34:52.050
That's all I care about. Now, Justin is much

00:34:52.050 --> 00:34:55.590
more at ease now. So, last night, I was listening.

00:34:55.650 --> 00:34:57.650
I was texting back and forth with you. Although,

00:34:57.690 --> 00:34:59.690
you know, I know you love reading texts while

00:34:59.690 --> 00:35:01.170
you're trying to concentrate on doing a game,

00:35:01.210 --> 00:35:03.590
but I can't help myself sometimes. Anthony Edwards

00:35:03.590 --> 00:35:06.349
scores 34 points, made five threes, and he was

00:35:06.349 --> 00:35:08.889
kind of a one -man wrecking crew. Jaden McDaniels

00:35:08.889 --> 00:35:12.329
adds 27. six rebounds, three assists. And Drew

00:35:12.329 --> 00:35:14.369
Holiday comes through, 22 points. Jeremy Grant

00:35:14.369 --> 00:35:17.070
had 18. Donovan Klingin had a double -double,

00:35:17.110 --> 00:35:20.650
11 points, 15 boards. Scoot had 19 points. More

00:35:20.650 --> 00:35:23.909
bad injury news for the Blazers. But there was

00:35:23.909 --> 00:35:28.110
some controversy last night, wasn't there? Were

00:35:28.110 --> 00:35:30.389
you talking about some of the officiating concerns?

00:35:30.949 --> 00:35:33.969
Yes, and I know you're going to skate the line

00:35:33.969 --> 00:35:38.150
of not getting fined. Well, I don't think I've

00:35:38.150 --> 00:35:39.429
ever been fined, and trust me, there's nothing

00:35:39.429 --> 00:35:41.429
worse that I can say to you right now that I

00:35:41.429 --> 00:35:43.269
haven't said on the air before. Good. Lay it

00:35:43.269 --> 00:35:46.730
out for the fans. The Blazers got the benefit

00:35:46.730 --> 00:35:48.349
of a lot of calls last night. They absolutely

00:35:48.349 --> 00:35:51.349
did. But the one place where it really did change

00:35:51.349 --> 00:35:53.610
the game was allowing Rudy Gobert to set some

00:35:53.610 --> 00:35:59.089
offensive screens in a way that gave him... more

00:35:59.089 --> 00:36:01.349
rope than you would usually get in that situation.

00:36:01.670 --> 00:36:03.369
There were a couple of really bad ones late.

00:36:03.510 --> 00:36:06.630
There was one where he stuck his elbow out on

00:36:06.630 --> 00:36:08.869
a pretty clear offensive foul that wasn't called,

00:36:08.969 --> 00:36:11.329
led to a three, and then the Blazers, I think,

00:36:11.369 --> 00:36:12.650
were trying to figure it out on the other end,

00:36:12.710 --> 00:36:14.809
and that's when they turned it over and Jaden

00:36:14.809 --> 00:36:16.750
McDaniels had that run -out dunk where he bounced

00:36:16.750 --> 00:36:19.500
it to himself. that's five points right there

00:36:19.500 --> 00:36:21.239
what was a one possession game and all of a sudden

00:36:21.239 --> 00:36:23.159
now it's seven points now it's nine points and

00:36:23.159 --> 00:36:24.940
you know there's a minute plus left and you're

00:36:24.940 --> 00:36:27.260
not coming back from that so that's not the reason

00:36:27.260 --> 00:36:30.380
that they lost it just it it's frustrating to

00:36:30.380 --> 00:36:32.079
me we've seen it a few times this year where

00:36:32.079 --> 00:36:34.460
the blazers have made a great effort against

00:36:34.460 --> 00:36:36.639
a good team and then late in the game there's

00:36:36.639 --> 00:36:39.579
something pretty blatant that prevents them from

00:36:39.579 --> 00:36:42.360
having a chance late so is that why they lost

00:36:42.360 --> 00:36:45.440
no but it It was frustrating, and I made sure

00:36:45.440 --> 00:36:47.840
that my opinion was voiced. Oh, yes, you were

00:36:47.840 --> 00:36:50.239
near apoplectic when you were describing that.

00:36:50.320 --> 00:36:53.159
Your voice went to another octave level, which

00:36:53.159 --> 00:36:57.420
was absolutely wonderful to hear because you're

00:36:57.420 --> 00:36:59.340
the vessel, man. If I'm not watching the game,

00:36:59.460 --> 00:37:01.500
I've got to get the description, and you aptly

00:37:01.500 --> 00:37:05.539
described it, so good on you. I've toned it down

00:37:05.539 --> 00:37:06.980
a bit from earlier in the year when I was getting

00:37:06.980 --> 00:37:10.039
really frustrated about things, but it is what

00:37:10.039 --> 00:37:12.980
it is. Your anger proliferated, which was, by

00:37:12.980 --> 00:37:14.920
the way, our word of the week this week. So I

00:37:14.920 --> 00:37:16.440
had to use it in a sentence. I like it. I like

00:37:16.440 --> 00:37:18.099
it. Thank you. Thank you. So interesting. You

00:37:18.099 --> 00:37:21.219
brought up Rudy Gobert, who definitely, his impact,

00:37:21.400 --> 00:37:23.199
I think, is funny because Danny and I had a really

00:37:23.199 --> 00:37:25.480
bad experience watching Rudy Gobert against the

00:37:25.480 --> 00:37:27.500
Rockets. So he's like one of those guys where,

00:37:27.599 --> 00:37:29.840
depending on the matchup, he can either be really,

00:37:29.900 --> 00:37:32.380
really good or really, really bad. And he was

00:37:32.380 --> 00:37:33.860
really, really good at the end of that game last

00:37:33.860 --> 00:37:35.599
night. Had a couple of huge offensive rebounds

00:37:35.599 --> 00:37:37.940
leading to dunks. And it's interesting because...

00:37:38.280 --> 00:37:39.619
You know who he kind of reminds me of a little

00:37:39.619 --> 00:37:41.960
bit, and maybe he's a little bit less of a modern

00:37:41.960 --> 00:37:44.519
version, is Donovan Klingin. I mean, I don't

00:37:44.519 --> 00:37:45.960
know what it is, but there's something about

00:37:45.960 --> 00:37:47.920
those two guys that kind of remind me of each

00:37:47.920 --> 00:37:50.179
other, except for the fact that Donovan can shoot

00:37:50.179 --> 00:37:52.519
the three. Yeah. Do you think that I'm kind of

00:37:52.519 --> 00:37:54.900
right in that comparison at all? In terms of

00:37:54.900 --> 00:37:56.539
the rebounding, I do think you're right. I mean,

00:37:56.559 --> 00:37:57.940
they're both obviously monsters on the glass.

00:37:58.039 --> 00:38:00.679
They are really good defensively in the paint.

00:38:00.739 --> 00:38:03.360
They can block shots. They can alter shots. They're

00:38:03.360 --> 00:38:05.539
both incredible offensive rebounders. They're

00:38:05.539 --> 00:38:07.019
one and three in the league in second -chance

00:38:07.019 --> 00:38:09.039
points. Yeah, to your point, Donovan Kling is

00:38:09.039 --> 00:38:10.599
a better shooter. He's a better offensive player.

00:38:10.900 --> 00:38:13.199
He obviously can step out and shoot the three.

00:38:13.440 --> 00:38:15.619
And I think the other similarity that you didn't

00:38:15.619 --> 00:38:17.980
mention is they both have difficulty defending

00:38:17.980 --> 00:38:20.360
the perimeter, especially in drop coverage. And

00:38:20.360 --> 00:38:22.559
with bigs who can get out and shoot the three,

00:38:22.599 --> 00:38:24.329
that's where they're at. They struggle, and that's

00:38:24.329 --> 00:38:25.809
where it's helpful for the Blazers to have somebody

00:38:25.809 --> 00:38:28.210
like Robert Williams III when you can kind of

00:38:28.210 --> 00:38:30.269
have those two guys together. Willie wasn't a

00:38:30.269 --> 00:38:33.130
factor last night, but they didn't have Robert

00:38:33.130 --> 00:38:34.789
Williams III anyway. But to your point, yeah,

00:38:34.869 --> 00:38:36.869
I think there are a lot of similarities there.

00:38:37.170 --> 00:38:39.670
One of the differences being that Donovan is

00:38:39.670 --> 00:38:42.030
a significantly better three -point shooter,

00:38:42.150 --> 00:38:44.269
and he will take them. Well, and another thing

00:38:44.269 --> 00:38:46.510
I think was happening last night was that I think

00:38:46.510 --> 00:38:48.389
Donovan's in this. I'd love your opinion on this.

00:38:48.449 --> 00:38:49.949
I think he's a better offensive rebounder than

00:38:49.949 --> 00:38:51.429
the defensive rebounder, because I think that

00:38:51.429 --> 00:38:52.889
was getting to be kind of an issue. And the way

00:38:52.889 --> 00:38:54.869
that their coverage was, he was on some of those

00:38:54.869 --> 00:38:56.889
shots contesting the perimeter while Rudy was

00:38:56.889 --> 00:38:58.570
underneath the paint. And so he was able to get

00:38:58.570 --> 00:39:02.269
some of those boards. But how much importance

00:39:02.269 --> 00:39:04.510
do you think there is for the Blazers to have

00:39:04.510 --> 00:39:06.929
another rebounder on the floor? Because I think

00:39:06.929 --> 00:39:08.409
the other best guy on the floor probably at the

00:39:08.409 --> 00:39:11.369
time was maybe Jeremy or Tumani. But they have

00:39:11.369 --> 00:39:13.909
guys like Denny's probably. I guess probably

00:39:13.909 --> 00:39:15.670
in terms of stats, their second -leading rebounder,

00:39:15.690 --> 00:39:17.750
Robert Williams, was out. How important do you

00:39:17.750 --> 00:39:19.590
think it is, depending on the matchup, for the

00:39:19.590 --> 00:39:22.030
Blazers to have another rebounder out there with

00:39:22.030 --> 00:39:24.750
Donovan? Well, I think rebounding on this team

00:39:24.750 --> 00:39:26.769
is huge, right, for a lot of reasons. You look

00:39:26.769 --> 00:39:28.230
at guys who can do different things. Scoot's

00:39:28.230 --> 00:39:29.989
a very good rebounding guard. He's not Josh Hart

00:39:29.989 --> 00:39:31.590
in that fashion, but he's a very good rebounding

00:39:31.590 --> 00:39:34.340
guard. Tumani Kamara, very good rebounder. Chris

00:39:34.340 --> 00:39:36.460
Murray is a very good rebounder, especially on

00:39:36.460 --> 00:39:38.199
the offensive glass. So you see the things that

00:39:38.199 --> 00:39:40.559
those guys can do. And a lot of that helps on

00:39:40.559 --> 00:39:42.320
the offensive glass, right? Especially when you

00:39:42.320 --> 00:39:43.840
take and miss a lot of threes, you're going to

00:39:43.840 --> 00:39:45.920
have a lot of, you know, long rebounds and things

00:39:45.920 --> 00:39:47.559
like that. And the Blazers are as good as anybody

00:39:47.559 --> 00:39:50.559
else in the league getting to those spots. They're

00:39:50.559 --> 00:39:52.280
one of the top two teams in the league in terms

00:39:52.280 --> 00:39:54.320
of offensive rebound rate, one of the bottom

00:39:54.320 --> 00:39:55.880
two teams in the league in terms of defensive

00:39:55.880 --> 00:39:57.940
rebound rate. That was a problem for this team

00:39:57.940 --> 00:40:00.679
last year. They knew it coming into camp. Because

00:40:00.679 --> 00:40:03.059
when you play really good defense, and we saw

00:40:03.059 --> 00:40:04.780
it last night, we've seen it a number of times

00:40:04.780 --> 00:40:07.739
this year, where you defend a really good player

00:40:07.739 --> 00:40:10.409
and you get a stop. but then they get the rebound

00:40:10.409 --> 00:40:12.650
and they get to try again the 14 seconds and

00:40:12.650 --> 00:40:15.650
sometimes a third or fourth time. It is really

00:40:15.650 --> 00:40:18.630
demoralizing as a defense. So you look at those

00:40:18.630 --> 00:40:21.070
possessions, and now they're getting four cracks

00:40:21.070 --> 00:40:22.969
at it instead of one, and the Blazers have been

00:40:22.969 --> 00:40:24.449
one of the worst teams in the league this year

00:40:24.449 --> 00:40:27.230
in defensive rebounding. And to your point about,

00:40:27.329 --> 00:40:29.710
you know, is Donovan Kling a better offensive

00:40:29.710 --> 00:40:32.409
rebounder than defensive rebounder? I mean, he

00:40:32.409 --> 00:40:34.090
leads the league in that category, right? He's

00:40:34.090 --> 00:40:36.750
averaging, what, 4 .6, 4 .7 offensive rebounds

00:40:36.750 --> 00:40:40.170
a game. but he's averaging seven defensive rebounds

00:40:40.170 --> 00:40:44.170
a game. So I don't think that those things are...

00:40:44.170 --> 00:40:48.590
Mutually exclusive? Yeah, yeah, exactly. I mean,

00:40:48.610 --> 00:40:50.969
he is a good defensive rebounder. He's an excellent

00:40:50.969 --> 00:40:53.469
offensive rebounder. But I also think, to your

00:40:53.469 --> 00:40:55.510
point, about having other rebounders on the floor

00:40:55.510 --> 00:40:58.030
and him being the guy who has to get to those

00:40:58.030 --> 00:41:00.750
sometimes, but when he's also altering shots

00:41:00.750 --> 00:41:03.349
or blocking shots or in drop coverage, having

00:41:03.349 --> 00:41:05.960
to step out on the perimeter. Sometimes it leaves

00:41:05.960 --> 00:41:07.980
things open, and when you don't have another

00:41:07.980 --> 00:41:10.340
guy out there on the floor that can consistently

00:41:10.340 --> 00:41:13.659
get those rebounds, that's when your team rebounding

00:41:13.659 --> 00:41:17.010
suffers for it. At an undisclosed location in

00:41:17.010 --> 00:41:19.170
the Chicagoland area, it's the voice of the Blazers.

00:41:19.289 --> 00:41:21.110
Travis Demers joining us. We call him the mayor

00:41:21.110 --> 00:41:22.849
of Rip City. Well, I only bring that up because

00:41:22.849 --> 00:41:24.710
I got in trouble once for saying what hotel we

00:41:24.710 --> 00:41:27.349
were staying at. No, I'm fine. I'm not going

00:41:27.349 --> 00:41:29.630
to broadcast your location. I mean, I'll just

00:41:29.630 --> 00:41:31.630
put it on Twitter if I can pin you. That's all.

00:41:31.769 --> 00:41:34.590
But you won't reveal it. I will. 23 games left

00:41:34.590 --> 00:41:37.090
in the season, Travis. And the Blazers start

00:41:37.090 --> 00:41:40.070
counting things down. And I got a couple of questions,

00:41:40.110 --> 00:41:42.989
but I'm going to kind of center on just. The

00:41:42.989 --> 00:41:44.869
Phoenix Suns, the Golden State Warriors, ahead

00:41:44.869 --> 00:41:48.429
of the Blazers 7 and 8, respectively. The Clippers

00:41:48.429 --> 00:41:50.829
are tied with the Blazers, you know, basically

00:41:50.829 --> 00:41:54.510
in the standings as well at 9 and 10. Memphis

00:41:54.510 --> 00:41:56.670
is five and a half games back out of the 10th

00:41:56.670 --> 00:41:59.610
spot. Tanking. And the Lakers are seven games

00:41:59.610 --> 00:42:02.849
clear in the sixth spot. So with 23 games left,

00:42:02.909 --> 00:42:04.769
the schedule is a little bit easier. Where do

00:42:04.769 --> 00:42:07.750
you want to see the Blazers at? Does 15 wins

00:42:07.750 --> 00:42:13.019
get them a lock into the postseason? Oh, I think

00:42:13.019 --> 00:42:15.679
at this point there is basically no chance they

00:42:15.679 --> 00:42:17.760
won't be in the play -in. I mean, they're what,

00:42:17.900 --> 00:42:19.579
five games clear of Memphis? Five and a half.

00:42:19.579 --> 00:42:24.800
Five and a half. They'll play one more time on

00:42:24.800 --> 00:42:28.119
this road trip here. But, you know, if you think

00:42:28.119 --> 00:42:30.260
about that with 23 games left to play, let's

00:42:30.260 --> 00:42:34.000
say the Blazers go 500. So let's say 12 and 11

00:42:34.000 --> 00:42:36.760
in those 23, that means Memphis has to win 17

00:42:36.760 --> 00:42:39.079
or 18 games to pass that. That's not happening.

00:42:39.260 --> 00:42:41.440
Got it. So even if they finish two games under

00:42:41.440 --> 00:42:43.739
.500, Memphis still has to win 15 or 16 games.

00:42:43.840 --> 00:42:46.380
That's not happening. So from what I see, there's

00:42:46.380 --> 00:42:48.380
basically no chance the Blazers don't at the

00:42:48.380 --> 00:42:50.519
very least make the play in. And to your point

00:42:50.519 --> 00:42:52.960
about where the standings shape up, eighth, ninth,

00:42:53.019 --> 00:42:54.500
or tenth, it would be great to see them jump

00:42:54.500 --> 00:42:56.639
up to eighth. And if they lose that first game,

00:42:56.679 --> 00:42:58.500
then get a home game against the Clippers or

00:42:58.500 --> 00:43:02.139
the Warriors. But they will be in the play -in.

00:43:02.159 --> 00:43:04.000
It's just a matter of is it 8, 9, or 10, what

00:43:04.000 --> 00:43:05.539
happens to the Golden State with their injuries.

00:43:06.389 --> 00:43:08.510
And with the Blazers, like you said, having the

00:43:08.510 --> 00:43:10.309
easiest schedule left in the league, and you

00:43:10.309 --> 00:43:12.429
look at this trip, with the exception of Houston,

00:43:12.590 --> 00:43:15.329
nobody else is in the top six of their conferences.

00:43:15.650 --> 00:43:17.829
I mean, Charlotte's played better, but they're

00:43:17.829 --> 00:43:20.250
in, what, ninth right now. Atlanta's in that

00:43:20.250 --> 00:43:24.030
same ballpark. The Bulls have lost nine in a

00:43:24.030 --> 00:43:28.170
row. Memphis is struggling. This is a road trip

00:43:28.170 --> 00:43:29.949
that they'll be favored in four of the five games,

00:43:30.050 --> 00:43:31.769
and they will hopefully win at least three of

00:43:31.769 --> 00:43:33.559
them. And they had success against the Warriors

00:43:33.559 --> 00:43:35.579
earlier in the season. They just beat the Suns.

00:43:35.579 --> 00:43:37.719
So, I mean, like, got to like their chances in

00:43:37.719 --> 00:43:39.840
the play -in. It does seem like this season at

00:43:39.840 --> 00:43:42.420
this point has been a step forward. But I think

00:43:42.420 --> 00:43:43.539
that something we've been talking about all year

00:43:43.539 --> 00:43:46.059
long has been, man, the injuries. And it's not

00:43:46.059 --> 00:43:47.699
just the fact that they've had injuries. It's

00:43:47.699 --> 00:43:49.039
that every single time it feels like they get

00:43:49.039 --> 00:43:51.679
healthy, somebody new gets injured. So I guess

00:43:51.679 --> 00:43:54.840
my question is. Do you think, despite the fact

00:43:54.840 --> 00:43:56.500
that it seems like there's been a rotation of

00:43:56.500 --> 00:43:58.820
literally almost everyone being injured, that

00:43:58.820 --> 00:44:01.559
they've had enough time to piece together some

00:44:01.559 --> 00:44:05.360
evaluations to see what they want to do? Are

00:44:05.360 --> 00:44:07.440
you thinking about in terms of the offseason?

00:44:07.739 --> 00:44:10.619
Yeah. Yeah, no, I think they've got a very good

00:44:10.619 --> 00:44:12.119
idea of what they want to do. I mean, coming

00:44:12.119 --> 00:44:14.119
into this season, you wanted to, yes, you signed

00:44:14.119 --> 00:44:15.579
Jaden Sharp, but you want to see what you have

00:44:15.579 --> 00:44:18.260
in him. And while he is going to be out for a

00:44:18.260 --> 00:44:20.460
while and has missed a chunk of the season, I

00:44:20.460 --> 00:44:21.780
think you've got a pretty good idea of where

00:44:21.780 --> 00:44:23.980
he is and where he can still grow and what that's

00:44:23.980 --> 00:44:25.840
going to look like. And there is market improvement

00:44:25.840 --> 00:44:28.000
from last year to this year with him. Scoot Henderson,

00:44:28.360 --> 00:44:31.059
if he did not play again the rest of the season,

00:44:31.159 --> 00:44:32.860
I still think you know exactly what you have

00:44:32.860 --> 00:44:35.480
in him. And I have been, you know, the number

00:44:35.480 --> 00:44:38.480
one flag waver for Scoot for a long time. And

00:44:38.480 --> 00:44:40.519
I think he's been great. And I think he is exactly

00:44:40.519 --> 00:44:42.659
where he's supposed to be. You know, Donovan

00:44:42.659 --> 00:44:44.539
Klingin, same thing. You know, Young Hansen was

00:44:44.539 --> 00:44:45.880
a guy that we knew was going to be a project.

00:44:45.940 --> 00:44:49.139
And he's still. Working on that. Benny has exceeded

00:44:49.139 --> 00:44:52.380
everybody's expectations. So I think in terms

00:44:52.380 --> 00:44:55.599
of individual player evaluation, yeah, I think

00:44:55.599 --> 00:44:58.380
they have a very good idea of who can do what.

00:44:58.519 --> 00:45:01.559
The problem is because, to your point about so

00:45:01.559 --> 00:45:03.820
many guys coming out of the lineup, they don't

00:45:03.820 --> 00:45:06.119
know what combinations work best together. And

00:45:06.119 --> 00:45:08.019
that's a challenge they're facing right now.

00:45:08.179 --> 00:45:09.820
And I think that led to some of the issues against

00:45:09.820 --> 00:45:13.679
Denver because you don't know who plays well

00:45:13.679 --> 00:45:17.340
with who and what lineups work. And I saw some

00:45:17.340 --> 00:45:19.659
fans last night, you know, why is Scoot not on

00:45:19.659 --> 00:45:21.280
the starting lineup? Why is Chris Murray? Well,

00:45:21.340 --> 00:45:23.500
Chris had a great game, but you're also looking

00:45:23.500 --> 00:45:25.420
at Scoot now coming off the bench and look at

00:45:25.420 --> 00:45:28.059
what he did to Bones Island against another second

00:45:28.059 --> 00:45:30.760
unit guy on the team. He's going to abuse those

00:45:30.760 --> 00:45:32.860
guys every night, and that will help build his

00:45:32.860 --> 00:45:35.420
confidence and his skill set. And he'll eventually

00:45:35.420 --> 00:45:37.280
be in the starting lineup, but he doesn't need

00:45:37.280 --> 00:45:39.219
to be right now. Right now, I think him being

00:45:39.219 --> 00:45:41.139
a sixth man is the absolute perfect spot for

00:45:41.139 --> 00:45:44.320
him. All right, Mayor, last question for you.

00:45:44.360 --> 00:45:49.699
And with the Blazers at 28 -31, I want to move

00:45:49.699 --> 00:45:52.880
towards the bench. How good of a job, in your

00:45:52.880 --> 00:45:56.139
estimation, has Tiago Splitter done with this

00:45:56.139 --> 00:45:59.260
team? With all of the way that they could have

00:45:59.260 --> 00:46:01.300
distractions, with all the injuries, the off

00:46:01.300 --> 00:46:03.300
-court stuff that the season started off with,

00:46:03.420 --> 00:46:07.239
and on and on and on and on. You say, yeah, 28

00:46:07.239 --> 00:46:09.639
-31, one of the toughest schedules in the first

00:46:09.639 --> 00:46:11.969
half of the season. And I just think he's done

00:46:11.969 --> 00:46:13.829
a masterful job trying to move all the pieces

00:46:13.829 --> 00:46:17.809
around. Yeah, I completely agree with you. I

00:46:17.809 --> 00:46:20.550
think he's done a brilliant job managing this

00:46:20.550 --> 00:46:23.510
team. Coaching this team, I really don't know

00:46:23.510 --> 00:46:26.030
because there has been nothing consistent about

00:46:26.030 --> 00:46:29.030
this team this year from, you know, players to

00:46:29.030 --> 00:46:32.369
schedules, things like that. It's been a big

00:46:32.369 --> 00:46:35.510
challenge. And to keep this team afloat the way

00:46:35.510 --> 00:46:37.530
they have been right around 500, and I think

00:46:37.530 --> 00:46:39.090
they're going to finish above 500 this year.

00:46:39.599 --> 00:46:41.679
with all the things that you talked about, schedule,

00:46:41.860 --> 00:46:45.679
injuries, figuring out what rotations are. For

00:46:45.679 --> 00:46:49.099
a team that I think most people outside of Portland

00:46:49.099 --> 00:46:51.920
picked to be under .500 this season, I think

00:46:51.920 --> 00:46:53.099
a lot of people around Portland picked them to

00:46:53.099 --> 00:46:55.639
be around .500. Considering that they've had

00:46:55.639 --> 00:46:58.719
an average of five -plus rotation players out

00:46:58.719 --> 00:47:02.380
per game this season to still be a .500 team,

00:47:02.480 --> 00:47:05.760
I think it's an absolutely remarkable job. and

00:47:05.760 --> 00:47:07.760
to see the growth as well from the individual

00:47:07.760 --> 00:47:09.760
players. The growth has absolutely been there.

00:47:09.840 --> 00:47:12.099
So what does that mean, big picture? I don't

00:47:12.099 --> 00:47:14.219
know what it means in terms of how they're going

00:47:14.219 --> 00:47:16.679
to structure the coaching staff next year, but

00:47:16.679 --> 00:47:20.480
I would love to see this group of coaches, and

00:47:20.480 --> 00:47:22.260
not just Thiago Splitter, the assistant coaches

00:47:22.260 --> 00:47:24.139
on this team are phenomenal. I would love to

00:47:24.139 --> 00:47:27.159
see them be able to continue what they have done

00:47:27.159 --> 00:47:29.960
and see where it can go. All right, Mayor, 5

00:47:29.960 --> 00:47:32.579
p .m. tip here on the left coast, 7 o 'clock

00:47:32.579 --> 00:47:35.639
local time. Bulls and Blazers tomorrow night.

00:47:35.760 --> 00:47:39.900
Have fun in Chicago. No snow to shovel, I would

00:47:39.900 --> 00:47:42.260
imagine. Enjoy your pertillos. Enjoy your pertillos.

00:47:42.320 --> 00:47:45.139
Yes, that is the plan. All right, appreciate

00:47:45.139 --> 00:47:46.699
you, Mayor. See you. There he goes, the great

00:47:46.699 --> 00:47:50.079
Travis Demers, the mayor of Rip City, as it will

00:47:50.079 --> 00:47:51.800
be the Blazers right here on Fox Sports. Eugene,

00:47:51.900 --> 00:47:56.550
tomorrow, 5 p .m. first tip. And then Saturday

00:47:56.550 --> 00:47:59.929
against Charlotte. Early game on Saturday, 10

00:47:59.929 --> 00:48:03.369
a .m. start. And then Sunday, the 1st of March,

00:48:03.489 --> 00:48:05.849
the Ides of March in Atlanta. The Ides of March

00:48:05.849 --> 00:48:08.869
was the 15th because that was my birthday. Sorry.

00:48:09.230 --> 00:48:12.829
It's upcoming. Let's do dad jokes. Oh, a joke.

00:48:13.710 --> 00:48:16.050
I got fired from the bank today. A woman asked

00:48:16.050 --> 00:48:17.989
me to check her balance. So I pushed her. Dad

00:48:17.989 --> 00:48:20.510
jokes! Just for clarification, I wasn't saying

00:48:20.510 --> 00:48:23.550
March 1st was the Ides of March. Okay, okay.

00:48:23.550 --> 00:48:25.469
Whenever you get into March, I think about the

00:48:25.469 --> 00:48:28.289
Ides of March. Okay. I do, too. What kind of

00:48:28.289 --> 00:48:32.369
ship does Dracula have? What kind of ship does

00:48:32.369 --> 00:48:34.429
Dracula have? I don't know. I don't know what

00:48:34.429 --> 00:48:35.750
I'm talking about. Blaze is looking at the ceiling.

00:48:35.829 --> 00:48:38.230
He's shaking his head no. Well, it's a blood

00:48:38.230 --> 00:48:44.110
vessel. God. All right, kids. Here we go. Calm

00:48:44.110 --> 00:48:47.590
down. Everybody's fine. Everybody kept their

00:48:47.590 --> 00:48:51.409
hands and legs inside the vehicle. Thanks for

00:48:51.409 --> 00:48:53.309
tuning in to the Danny and Justin Radio Program.

00:48:53.429 --> 00:48:56.929
If you missed any of this frivolity and fun stuff,

00:48:57.050 --> 00:48:58.809
go back, listen to the pod. Danny and Justin.

00:48:58.909 --> 00:49:01.889
Like up, sign, subscribe, do all that good stuff.

00:49:02.210 --> 00:49:03.869
Put a smile on your face. Someone else, they

00:49:03.869 --> 00:49:05.989
deserve it. So do you. For Intern Blaze, who's

00:49:05.989 --> 00:49:08.289
producing this program. For Baby J, I'm Doc.

00:49:08.789 --> 00:49:12.309
We'll be back in about 23 hours from now. Take

00:49:12.309 --> 00:49:12.550
care.