The Late Night Happy Hour with Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

They're the hosts of a new hoops pod, and one well worth finding in a crowded basketball podcast space. They're Jordan Ligons and Haley O'Shaughnessy, of the Spinsters. We welcome them on, talking... -How Jordan's great aunt went from a Lakers fan to a Celtics fan... in the 80's! Like, really, how does that happen? -Jordan is a die hard Lakers fan, Haley a huge LeBron fan. Are either of them enjoying the amount of work he's having to do right now to keep the Lakers afloat without Anthony Davis? -There is a tremendous amount of focus on the number of minority head coaches, more specifically Black head coaches, in the NBA. Much less attention, however, goes to the WNBA, where there is only one Black female head coach. This in a league where more than 4/5ths of the players are Black women. Why doesn't this get more attention? -Finally, we play a game: What if teams could trade titles like draft picks? What would you want for LA's '09 title? Is '10 off the table? Should OKC trade that one random title from Seattle? What would you get for it?

Michael Lee of the Washington Post is one of the best sportswriters in the business. He joins the Happy Hour (after Andy and Brian spend some time on LeBron James, the Brooklyn Nets and Meyers Leonard) and goes deep down memory lane for some great stories around his childhood fandom, what came later with supporting Eddie Jones, sharing a great story about Kobe and Magic and more. -Is LeBron James tired in a way that matters in playoffs? -Is Brooklyn solving its defense problem with some defense, and more offense? -So... you buying what Meyers Leonard (Here, Michael joins and weighs on on why he believes a locker room would welcome him back. -Thursday was the anniversary of the Lakers trading Eddie Jones to Charlotte... and not coincidentally was the day Michael gave up being a Lakers fan. Why? -Micheal explains is background in art. -On his first interaction with Kobe, someone Lee disliked back from being such a big Eddie Jones fan. -Michael remembers his close friend Sekou Smith, who died recently from COVID.

It's among the most unique podcasts out there. Lour After Hours, a gathering of huge Dan LeBatard Show fans, has grown organically into a huge community of podcasters and guests, with all kinds of interesting characters. So how did this all happen? What brought the crew together, and how has it grown into something with this big a life? That's where we start when joined by five members of the Lour crew (Jeff, Jeanette, Art, Lou and @BeepCount). Which Lour folks have taken on the personalities of the show crew? From there, we talk action heroes and coked out bears. Elizabeth Banks is set to direct a film - true story! - about a bear that finds, then eats, a massive amount of coke, then dies of an OD. Which action hero character is best suited to take on this sort of challenge, were an action hero deemed necessary? Then, we play a game around the best films of 1998. If you had to build a poker hand of cinematic dominance, which movies would you include? Then how would you create a hand out of Meryl Streep films? Finally, we get hats!!!

One of the things making LA special is its extensive mural culture. Across every neighborhood in the city, people can find a variety of public art chronicling the LA's history, culture, citizenry and more. Robert Vargas is a big part of that, responsible for a diverse group of murals across Los Angeles. We start on his upbringing in Boyle Heights, a hub of mural culture in the city. When did he find art? What type of support did he get from his family? Why did he turn to murals as an expression of his talent? Why is mural culture so important to L.A.? Is it a different process with different objectives when completing one in Boyle Heights vs. the Valley vs. the Westside? We talk about his Kobe murals, the newest at the Zambezi off Jefferson in Santa Monica. What inspired him? What kind of images did he choose, and why? We move from Kobe, one of the most visible people this city has ever seen, to his inclusion of a member of its most invisible community. For a mural downtown, he started by painting a homeless man named Craig. Why is it so important to have representation of people like that, who so few people ever really see? Finally, on Friday we had 710 ESPN's Steve Mason on the show, who showed us two oil paintings from his oil painting phase. We have Robert review them. Finally, we discuss Meyers Leonard and the anti-Semitic slur he used Tuesday. What could/should the fallout be?

So what's it like to be permanently banned from Twitter? How do you get yourself back on? And what does a person have to do to get kicked off in the first place? Comedian Mike Mulloy of FadedComedy.com joins, and that's where we start. Good news, it wasn't for leading an insurrection! After, we talk about the challenge of comedy in the pandemic, when for him very little has seemed funny, and his crew at FadedComedyLA had their legs cut out from under them by COVID. Few parts of the universe have been more badly damaged over the last year than the universe of standup. How has all of this impacted his ability to enjoy the NBA? Well, for starters he feels bad for even watching. Especially since his Celtics are underperforming. Finally, what would you do if you found 68 lbs of cocaine, worth $1.5 million bucks?

Steve Mason has been a mainstay of LA radio for multiple decades. We've known him for almost two... and on Friday's Late Night Happy Hour learned all kinds of new stuff about the guy. We start on vaccinations. He got one, hanging out at the local Rite-Aid. Turns out, they had some spares. So what's he going to do with his newfound freedom, once he and his partner get the other half of the vax? From there, we turn to his oil painting days, something he revealed this week promoting his show. Turns out, painting was a phase, one of many, and arguably the most normal. After, it's on to the Dodgers and the Rams. How excited is he for returning to the stadiums? Are the Dodgers going to be pushed by the Padres? Will the Rams be able to navigate some important personnel losses this offseason? Has any shine worn off Sean McVay? We discuss Steve's "Culture Pop" podcast which has pulled in some great guests of late. Just how close was he to landing a career in musical theater? What about pandemic TV? Why have certain shows hit and others not? Is Better Call Saul better than Breaking Bad? How will popular shows like Succession handle the pandemic? All of that and more on Friday's Late Night Happy Hour!

He's all sorts of busy, doing NBA coverage for The Athletic, hosting shows (Like BOMM) for the Count the Dings Network, and a regular job at Wieden/Kennedy. Tavonne Edwards joins the Happy Hour. After breaking down his extremely judgmental mattress, we stumble into a Knicks conversation. They're as good as they've been in years, but does that actually make them good? We discuss. What about the Western Conference? The Lakers are banged up, the Clippers have had Covid-19 protocol issues, the Jazz have lost three of four... who's the best squad? According to Travonne, it was the Lakers before, it's the Lakers now. Why? Superstars. The Lakers have super-elite ones, other teams don't. There's a difference he says between franchise players and All Stars. What about the All Star Game? Why is it happening? Is the league garnering any goodwill with players by focusing so much on HBCUs, Black owned brands, Black artists and more? Not as much as they'd like, Travonne says. Finally, we wrap talking about his shows on the BOMM Podcast series, and the new series, "Soul of a Nation."

If you frequent The Ringer, you know his work, either written for their NBA and MLB departments or as part of the production team on the popular "Binge Mode" podcast Zach Kram joins the Late Night Happy Hour, and we start with the NBA game of the night, with Utah and Philly, two teams vying for seeding and respect. Philly wins, behind a monster game for Joel Embiid. Is this the year where the huge talent and big numbers translate into something bigger? What's different about Embiid this year? And what's different about hoops? What does the next generation look like? Kram makes a great point about how this is the first generation of kids who grew up watching shooters like Steph Curry or Damian Lillard, and bigs who regularly shoot - and make - 3's like Karl Anthony Towns. The game is only going to evolve more into a pace/space/skill direction. We talk All Star controversies. Why is Mike Conley not heading to Atlanta (at least not yet)? What should the NBA be doing to make the game better, and get more worthy players involved? What about the league's refereeing problem? What might fix it? We then dive into "nerd tv," specifically around Star Wars and Marvel. Why do these projects seem to translate so much better to TV, especially when looking at Star Wars? Because, dirty little secret, most of the movies kind of suck. Finally, we look at Fernando Tatis, Jr., and why he's arguably the most important player in baseball, even if he's not the best.

Anthony Slater, who covers the Warriors and the NBA for The Athletic, joins to talk Western Conference contenders, refereeing, the state of Golden State and more. We start by maybe, just maybe, encouraging Lakers fans to slow their roll on Damian Jones. He's looked good in his first two games in purple and gold - hasn't missed a shot! - but there's a reason the center has been let go by three teams over the course of a very short career. But is there a role he can fill? Can the Lakers expect the buyout market to yield... anything? Next, it's the Phoenix Suns, who beat an undermanned Lakers team Tuesday night. How good are they? Can they challenge the perceived elites in the West? Why has Chris Paul been able to resurrect his career in ways people may not have seen coming? (Plants!... in part.) Does the NBA have a referee problem? The game Tuesday, a marquee matchup on national TV, was undercut by the quick-trigger ejection of Suns star Devin Booker. What can the NBA do about that, and what appears to be a crazy number of reviews, particularly in late game situations? Why has Steph Curry been able to rebound so well this year, after an injury plagued 2020? What has made this year unique, relative to others in his career. And do the Warriors regret taking James Wiseman over LaMelo Ball?

He's the host of Food Network's "Spring Baking Championships," and five seasons of "Cheap Eats" on Discovery+. He's been featured on "The Best Thing I Ever Ate," and more. He joins the Late Night Happy Hour. -We start on the mechanics of shooting food TV shows in the midst of a pandemic. What changes? How much does he actually get to each? Does Duff Goldman share food? -What will "normal" look like, when it comes to food and eating after the pandemic? What habits have people developed that they'll keep? What snaps back? How will restaurants that have managed to survive while changing menus and making new offerings respond? Will they go back to what they were doing before, or is how we eat out destined to change long term? -Everyone knows there's a secret menu at In'N'Out.But not everyone knows how to maximize its potential. He brings you the ingredients of "The Ali," a massive and incredibly delicious looking off-the-menu option for your fast food jones. -And speaking of fast food jones, he also provides a McRib hack that not only improves the sandwich, but also provides a blueprint on how to spruce up virtually any sandwich. -Finally, we debate the merits of ground turkey. It's flavorless compared to good ground beef... but sometimes that can be a good thing.

Friend of the show Dave Schilling, who writes about sports, culture and style joins, talking about his work on "Black Renaissance: The Art and Soul of Our Stories," which premiered on YouTube, Friday. What makes the celebration of the arts and Black culture so critical? He talks about the genesis of the idea, and what it was like working with so many talented comedians and musicians in the midst of a pandemic. From there, it's Damian Lillard and what makes him so much fun to watch (though not as fun as Steph Curry, Schilling contends) and the much ballyhooed sweater game of Lakers star Anthony Davis. Also, are shoulder pads back? And who should be wearing them? And where are we on Coming 2 America? Is it a good thing Eddie Murphy is playing 183 characters in a movie again?

Spring Training kind of snuck up on us, but now that we know it's here, we have questions. And to answer them, we hit up Jorge Castillo, who does outstanding work covering the Dodgers for the LA Times. We start with atmosphere. It's no a normal Spring Training, whether talking about the players or the media covering them. What's the atmosphere like? How are the Dodgers responding to being champs... but in the weirdest possible season? Is there any chip on their shoulder, or a need to prove last year was legit by winning again over 162 games? The projections for the Dodgers this year are insane. As high as 107 wins, according to simulations from ESPN. Who else could come close? If you have to pick nits with this team, where do you start? Castillo points to the back end of the pen, but even that's not a big problem in the spring, and may not become one in October. What about Trevor Bauer? Any fear he could upset what has been some excellent chemistry over the last year-plus? How does the Bauer deal reflect the current economics of baseball? And what might be coming as the league and the Player's Association get closer to negotiating a new CBA? Hint: It could get very ugly, very fast, he says. Finally, we have a long conversation about language in clubhouses. Castillo, whose family is from Puerto Rico, writes in both English and Spanish for the Times. He talks about what is lost when media can't communicate with Spanish-native players in their first language, and how too often Spanish speaking players are treated as a monolith, when culturally there are huge differences.

The Jazz thumped the Lakers on Wednesday. No big surprise given the current state of the champs, who are still down Anthony Davis and Dennis Schroder. And also because the Jazz are routinely kicking the crap out of any team they play. So at this point, with the best record in the league by a pretty good margin, with a run of dominance few teams have matched in recent years, we ask the official question of The Late Night Happy Hour... "Are the Jazz for real?" Sabreena is a believer. There's a lot to like about this team, and many reasons to believe what they're doing is sustainable. That said, they're not without vulnerabilities. And in the playoffs, will some of the advantages they currently have over the competition go away? We all know why the Lakers are losing right now, but should fans be genuinely concerned about the shooting? After a moment to wonder whether Alex Caruso's new "Manscaped" ad is the greatest commercial a Laker has ever made, or just the best commercial anyone has ever made, we look at the Clippers. Why is it working this year, with Ty Lue? Is their incredibly good work from beyond the arc sustainable? What will be different this year in the playoffs? Why does this year's team make more sense? She calls them the best team in basketball. Finally, Sabreena, who was once a contestant on Jeopardy! gives her review of how Ken Jennings performed in his guest hosting capacity.

He's a die hard fan, so on a personal level the struggles of the Boston Celtics this season are hitting NY Times NBA writer Sopan Deb particularly hard. But they have a simple explanation, at the root: The C's let an All-Star caliber player in Gordon Hayward go to Charlotte, and replaced him with... nothing. So add in a banged up Kemba Walker and an injured Marcus Smart, and what did people think was going to happen? That they'd be better than last year? Meanwhile, there's actual cause for optimism in New York, where Julius Randle has made the All Star team for the first time in his career. Deb profiled Randle for the Times, and we talk about the former first round pick's growth from Los Angeles through New Orleans and now for two years with the Knicks. What has helped him grow so much this year? It starts with stability, which is a weird thing to say about that franchise, but it seems they might have some. Finally, it's some music talk. Nobody stans for the Dave Matthews Band like Sopan, and he/they recently received quite an honor, one Deb feels he may have helped bring about. And what's the deal with the "dad" vibe Springsteen is putting out these days?

It's not always easy to be a sports fan today, especially if you're a member of a community that hasn't traditionally been valued by the sports establishment - think women and LGBTQ people, for example - or simply enthusiastic fans whose team loyalties are exploited by greedy/apathetic/lousy team owners or large entities like the IOC and FIFA that suck cash out of communities in exchange for hosing mega-events. So what do fans do about it? How do they hold their teams, leagues and athletes responsible without walking away? What can sports do to improve from within? Complicated questions for people who love sports, and in their new book "Loving Sports When They Don't Love You Back," Kavitha Davidson and Jessica Luther explore these and more. After a quick update on Monday's fatigue-fueled loss to Washington for the Lakers, we dive into the interview. Who traditionally hasn't been "loved back" by sports? Who has, and how interested are they in being loved in a different way? Why are sports a place where fans are so willing to compartmentalize? What is it about sports loyalties that makes it hard to draw hard lines in the sand for people (even those in the groups sports tends to ignore -- Davidson and Luther, for example, are both massive sports fans)? How should people talk about trans athletes? Is there really a "problem" with trans women competing and hurting women's sports? Why are sports so often used as proxies for larger cultural battles? Why are Luther and Davidson ultimately optimistic? Finally, we close with a conversation about Ted Lasso, one of the great shows about the spirit of sports ever made.

You know him from 710 ESPN Radio in LA, and basically every television show ESPN has. But Friday on the Late Night Happy Hour, Jorge Sedano takes on his toughest task -- Explaining the state of Florida. It's not a job for everyone, but this Florida native is willing to try. But first, some other stuff, starting with Pat Riley. Is he ever going to retire? What would that even look like? What will LeBron James do once he actually gets to Atlanta for the All Star Game? He obviously would prefer not to have to go, but will he put on a show, anyway? Jorge says yes, and explains why. Then we remember how exactly we got to this point in a very weird season, part of an even weirder year.... before getting to the evening's main course (about 30 minutes in...) SEDANO EXPLAINS FLORIDA!!! We give Jorge a bunch of stories, and he rates each of them on a 1-5 Gator scale of Floridaness. 5 being Super Florida, 1 being "Could have happened anywhere!" We've got monkey's biting children at chain restaurants! Sisters stabbing each other with Epi-Pens! Urine in the microwave! So what says Jorge?

He's the guy at the center of one of the best new basketball websites out there. Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) of BasketballNews.com joins the Late Night Happy Hour, breaking down a huge range of topics over the course of an hour. We start with the Lakers, who won their first game Tuesday without Anthony Davis. Looking ahead, what do these games without him mean? What can the Lakers accomplish? How does the absence of Davis impact the MVP campaign of LeBron James? If he carries the team could LeBron win the award, but hurt his chances at another title? What about the rest of the league? Is Utah for real? Just how bad are the Nets defensively, and how good is "good enough," given their star power? We debate. Finally, the NBA and its players have enjoyed an excellent relationship over the last few years. How much of that is jeopardized by the league staging an All Star Game this year?

He covers the Sacramento Kings for The Athletic, but Jason Jones is also an L.A. dude, and joins the Happy Hour to talk Western Conference basketball and his beloved Dodgers as Spring Training kicks off. We start on the Brooklyn Nets, who are the opponent for the Lakers in Thursday's big marquee national TV matchup. They can't stop anyone, really, but how good do they need to be on that side of the ball to be successful? It worked out well enough Tuesday against the Suns, as Brooklyn got enough stops to complete a big fourth quarter comeback with both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant in street clothes. Just how bad on defense is good enough? What do the Lakers lose without Anthony Davis in the lineup? How can the team benefit, even knowing anything they do now with him out of the lineup won't stay "as is" once he returns? Jones notes why these games could ultimately benefit the Lakers. From there, we dive into the Kings, and the future of former Lakers head coach Luke Walton. Is he doing good work up there? How good should the Kings be? Will Walton survive this season and make it into next? Next, was Draymond Green on to something when he teed off on media and fans for the double standard he believes players are held to when it comes to trades and professionalism? Was he creating straw men? Complaining too much? Finally... Jason Jones loves his Dodgers. And with Spring Training basically here, he's ready to crown them again.

She's the host of the Dimes and Dozens podcast, and a musician (check out her work @tinydeaths). Tonight, Claire de Lune joins the Late Night Happy Hour talking NBA, music and more. We start with... movers! She recently swapped apartments, smack in the middle of the pandemic. And while the experience sucked, the movers did not. So that's a plus. From there, we talk decorating, which means Ikea. And the vastly different experience you have as a single, childless person vs. how you look at it as a parent of small children, when you need activity/food hacks at a low, low price. Then, it's on to basketball. The Lakers continue playing bad first quarters. The shooting has gone downhill. So is there any reason to worry? What's the appropriate amount? 5% concern? 10%? Which flaws might actually come back to haunt them? And who else in the league is best suited to beat them? A viewer asks us to name three teams, which ultimately leads to a debate about the Nets. Can they get good enough defensively to support a potentially unstoppable offense? What about the All Star Game? How big a mistake is it to stage the game, not just because of the pandemic -- it's reasonable to think the league can stage the game safely -- but because the players really, really don't want to do it? Should the stars rule the day? We wrap talking a little music. What makes something timeless? What artists of today could have real staying power? And why?

He's created a cult following online designed around the unique appeal of sports and pop culture from the 70s and 80s. Ricky Cobb of @Super70sSports joins the Late Night Happy Hour, talking the origin story of his site, why baseball players with glasses seem to be such a fertile ground for excellent Twitter comedy, the reason nostalgia plays so well online, and much more. He's a sociology professor by trade, so Cobb understands how these sort of communal experiences -- things like Gatorgum! -- can bring people together in ways you wouldn't expect. Fun conversation with a guy who has carved out a unique space in the online sports moment we're in. And it's a pretty big space, too.

He was a member of the '94-'95 national championship team at UCLA and played professionally overseas. Kris Johnson joins the Late Night Happy Hour, and we cover all kinds of ground. First, it's all about the Lakers, who are a little stuck in the mud about a third of the way through the season, working through fatigue, injury, poor shooting and more, but are still managing to win. Any reason for concern? Next, Johnson was a star at Crenshaw High in Los Angeles, playing with and around other pros. What was the high school scene like at that point? Why has LA been so good at churning out pros? What skill set does an LA player have, compared to what you see out of New York or Chicago? We talk UCLA hoops. How thin are the margins for winning? People tend to forget the iconic Tyus Edney end-to-end run to beat Missouri was in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. If that doesn't happen, the entire arc of history around Bruins basketball changes. And Johnson notes the rest of the teams he played on in Westwood were really good... but not championship level. It's a very fine line. From there, he talks about the hard truths around college sports, and whether it can ever again reach the heights and significance it once had in the American sports landscape. Finally, he goes through some amazing stories of his time playing overseas, including being caught in a literal war zone as a pro in Lebanon. Also, eating Applebee's in places you wouldn't expect to find it.

The Late Night Happy Hour turns 100 (in episodes, at least, as an independent entity) and as we do with all our historic shows, we turn to Ben Lyons as a guest. He was guest #1 in the original version, then guest #50. He was our first guest on the indie show, and now is our 100th. On a slow night in the NBA, we get deep into Hollywood, and what might be coming with awards season. This is, without question, the most unusual year for movies in decades, and maybe ever. Very few people have seen any of the films that will be nominated. How does that impact the way people will vote, whether for films or the acting/directing awards that come with them? Does the genie ever go back in the bottle, when it comes to streaming services getting their due as producers of Oscar/Emmy/etc. winning films? Ben used to review movies, and took a lot of heat. What's that process like? What approach is the right one for the people in charge of shaping perceptions of a film? And how about those Knicks!?!?! For the first time in a long time, the Knicks are actually entertaining and interesting, but not in a car crash kind of way. Not necessarily good, but the process of the regular season is a lot more interesting in some ways than what Lakers fans are going through, where so much of it is about just hoping nobody gets hurt.

He does great work as an NBA writer at The Athletic, where he also hosts the recently launched video series The Restricted Area, with Wosny Lambre. But Zach Harper is also a movie guy, hosting the incredibly fun Cinephobe podcast for the Count the Dings network, and that's where we keep things on the Late Night Happy Hour. We start, as they tend to on Cinephobe, with a deep dive into Nicolas Cage, who might as well be the patron saint of that show, appearing 10 times in 71 total episodes. That's a lot. So how did this guy, who has legit acting chops, end up a cartoon character? Does he deserve all the crap his movies get these days? Can he ever re-legitimize himself, or is he too far gone? What makes a "good" bad movie? Is Rotten Tomatoes too influential? Why is Deep Blue Sea amazing, while so many movies like it totally suck? Finally, we cap things off with a hilarious exploration of John Travolta's career via his Rotten Tomatoes score, and it elicits some extreme emotions in Zach.

He's the host of the Locked on Lakers podcast, one of the best ones out there. Anthony Irwin joins the Late Night Happy Hour, talking Lakers, LeBron James, the NBA and more... More in this case being his beloved Los Angeles Dodgers signing Cy Young winner Trevor Bauer. He's excellent at baseball. He's also a well-documented jerk who has harassed women online. We start, though, with a conversation about what it's like to cover a team that you grew up rooting for as a fan. Where are the boundaries? When can you, ostensibly a journalist trying to provide honest commentary to a group of listeners or readers, use "we" in reference to the team, as "regular" fans might? LeBron James has made it very, VERY clear he doesn't like the idea of the NBA staging an All Star Game. It's rare for James to be that vocally out of step with the league, so what happens now? For starters, he's given cover for a lot of other players to echo his sentiment. Any shot the league caves, given the amount of revenue the game could generate? Do the league's rank-and-file even want that? How about the Lakers on Thursday? What did they prove to the rest of the league by stomping the Denver Nuggets as badly as they did over the second half? Was the gear they hit something other teams can match? From there, we turn to Trevor Bauer. How does a Dodgers fan who wants to take seriously questions of bad behavior, particularly bad behavior towards women, look at the signing? How does this fit into the general trend of compartmentalizing that sports fans have -- or choose -- to do?

CJ Toledano has worked as a comedian, a comedy writer, and a creator/producer of online, socially driven content with Bleacher Report (House of Highlights) and more. Now, he's launched Follow Through, an independent content studio geared towards sports. The guy knows social media backwards and he joins the Late Night Happy Hour to talk about the tremendous impact social media has had on sports, how its consumed and how leagues and players have reacted. How aware are the big players of this universe of alternatives people engage with? From there, we turn to comedy. Toledano was born in Iowa and moved to Erie, PA as a kid. Not exactly centers of diversity for a young Asian kid. How that experience laid the foundation for his entry into comedy. Finally, it's a look at some of the most random sports memorabilia a person can buy... and the person who bought it is CJ Toledano.

Two guests! We start with Jake Brennan, host of Disgraceland, which enters its seventh season on a new home at Amazon Music. What makes this true crime/music mashup so much fun? Brennan talks about the characters that emerge in rock and roll that tell these stories, and what it's like to bring them to life. From there, it's onto the gridiron, where the Rams have been very, very busy. We connect with Lindsey Thiry of ESPN to break down the trade of Jared Goff to Detroit for Matthew Stafford, and discuss where the Rams go next.

He's an NBA champion, beloved in Los Angeles and just about everywhere else, and Monday he joined the Late Night Happy Hour with the Kamenetzky Brothers. Metta World Peace has launched a new basketball app, called X vs. X Sports (@xvsxsports), which is designed to bring basketball players together to find games at a common skill level, from rec players to pro prospects. After a quick recap of the Lakers road trip and rotation changes before Metta joins (at about the 25 minute mark), we talk about what motivated him to develop the app, and what he hopes it becomes. It reflects something fundamental about pickup hoops culture, and why it matters so much to the sport. What's unique about growing up playing ball in the parks of New York vs. LA vs. Chicago? How does it form a player's game? How can XvsX help keep players in the game who might otherwise fall through the cracks? In that way, his newest venture is an extension of the mental health and community work Metta has engaged in over his career, and after. What helped him speak out so openly about mental health at a time when the stigma, particularly for athletes and men more generally, was still very intense? How does it feel now to see players so much more comfortable talking about mental health? It's just past the 10 year anniversary of his legendary post-Game 7 press conference, after the Lakers beat the Celtics. We cue it up, and watch it with him. Some of his commentary was surprising (including a desire to be traded early in his first Lakers season that was, at least to us, news). And the stories he told after about the night that followed? Fun, to say the least. In between, Metta reveals where he'd like to coach, and why that school may not want to hire him, and a lot more. So much fun, with a fantastic human being. Make sure to check out xvsxsports...

The Late Night Happy Hour welcomes Nekias Duncan (BasketballNews.com, The Dunker Spot podcast) to the show, and he's bringing all kinds of insight. We start with the Lakers. They've lost two straight - not a big deal - but every team has weaknesses, however relative. Has Nekias seen anything in these games that worry him? (Spoiler... no, not really.) In fact, he wonders if the Lakers haven't been playing with measured effort, meaning they have a lot of upside left to explore. We dive into Dennis Schroder and Montrezl Harrell. What do they need from each guy? Does it really matter if Harrell can't be a force in the playoffs? Meanwhile, the Clippers are winning games and shooting the lights out behind Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Is it sustainable? Have they solved their point guard problem? What about Lou Williams, who has not performed well this season. Could he be a candidate for trading later in the season? From there, we look at Anthony Davis, and whether fatigue from a short offseason might be impacting him more than expected, and use that as a jumping off point to explore Nekias' great feature story on the growth of Miami's Bam Adebayo. Is AD a good template for Bam, in terms of potential growth and upside, working with a varied (though admittedly different) skill set? How realistic is it that Adebayo becomes a top 10 player in the league? Could he go higher? Joel Embiid appears to have made a leap this year. Does that make Philly a legit contender in the Eastern Conference? Is anyone in the West going to challenge the LA teams, when push comes to shove. Great info, great insight from one of the best young basketball writers out there.

The Late Night Happy Hour welcomes Andy Liu and Sam Esfandiari of the Light Years podcast to the show. Is Steve Kerr's ego holding this year's Warriors back? Certainly these guys are unimpressed with the work he's done to this point of the season. But how good are they supposed to be, anyway? What would they give up in a potential trade for Washington's Bradley Beal? The answer depends a lot on a) how good you think Beal actually is, and b) how much shelf life Steph Curry and Draymond Green still have, and that's before you get to Klay Thompson's health. One big obstacle? The Lakers and LeBron James, who seems wholly uninterested in any type of decline. That makes big decisions for teams like the Warriors a lot more complex. You can get real good, but still not get over the hill James currently occupies. So alternatively, how good might James Wiseman become? What about that pick they have from Minnesota? Do they have the player development chops in house to make sure these young players pan out? Is there any chance they'd let Curry go in free agency after next season, and go full rebuild? If any of these problems sound familiar to Lakers fans, it's because it seems like everything the Warriors have experienced over the last few seasons mirrors some aspect of where the Lakers have been. Excellent for a stretch, then awful (though for far less time in GSW than in LA) and then in a weird spot where there are significant questions about the future. No wonder the fan bases often seem to sound alike. From there, we talk GameStop, Hilaria Baldwin and Jimmy G's 49ers. It was a VERY packed show, and tons of fun.

On the Late Night Happy Hour, Andy and Brian welcome "You're The Worst" creator Stephen Falk and star Chris Geere to talk about TV, pushing boundaries with comedy, Hollywood in (and after) the COVID era, and YTW's cast reuniting for a Zoom script read to benefit Feeding America. We open talking about the benefit, and how excited the cast is to get back together. (And we'd encourage everyone to buy tickets! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sunday-funday-a-youre-the-worst-reunion-tickets-135245712567 The five seasons of "You're the Worst" on FX were among the best in TV comedy we've seen in a very, very long time. So what made it that way? We talked about it with Falk and Geere. Talent obviously matters, and the cast had plenty of it, but they also mention some incredible chemistry and personalities that blended well - and quickly - off camera. It was helpful given the horrible things characters often did to each other on-screen. What are the challenges in pushing barriers in comedy? In creating characters that are watchable and funny, even when they're pretty awful humans? Is it easier to make a show for networks or cable? How might these characters have behaved during the pandemic. Would they be mask wearers? Virus deniers? What will happen to TV and production when the pandemic ends? How might content change? Will people's appetite for dark or cynical material go down in the wake of 2020? Finally, what would they want people to take away from the series?

He's the author of "Thinking Basketball," the host of the "Thinking Basketball" Podcast, and the producer of the excellent "Greatest Peaks" series on his "Thinking Basketball" YouTube page. Hoops analytics guru Ben Taylor (@ElGee35) joins the Late Night Happy Hour, talking NBA greatness. What was the inspiration for the series? How does he hone in on a player's peak? Which players had the most impressive ones? We break down icons like Kobe Bryant, whose work off the ball and subtle movement with it helped free up his offense in surprising ways, and Shaquille O'Neal, who had far more nuance in his game than many people remember. How would Shaq translate to a truly modern game, spreading all the way to the 3-point line and beyond? What would that look like? What about Larry Bird? What made him so great, and were he to enter the time machine to play today, would he be as dominant? Would his shooting ability, which wasn't fully exploited in the 80s, make him that much more unstoppable? Same with his passing on a floor that's much more open than his era... but then again, what about defense? If there's a tough player to measure, it's LeBron James. We ask Ben a hard question: Just how do you pick a "peak" for LeBron? And how far off that place is he now? He has an answer for both. Finally we wrap with a discussion of Anthony Davis, who in Ben's mind has reached all-time great in one very interesting category. Really interesting stuff, particularly for basketball history lovers and data wonks.

The Late Night Happy Hour welcomes The Athletic's Law Murray (@LawMurrayTheNU), who covers the Clippers, to the show for a look at the COVID protocols hitting the LAC, the changing roles for Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, Ty Lue's impact, and much, much more. But we start with coronavirus putting the Clippers' stars on the sidelines for at least a few games as they've been placed in the NBA's contact tracing protocol. Is this a reality that's coming for every team, even those managing to avoid problems so far? Law thinks so. He wrote a story about Paul George, who spoke at length about the fun he's having with point-forward, offense orchestrating responsibilities given to him by Lue. Are the Clips really enjoying themselves? Or is it a matter of trying to project a fun vibe, given the discord and turmoil of last season? And what about Kawhi as a leader? How has the dynamic shifted with the Clippers? Do they need a "public face," so to speak? Nic Batum! What an impact he's made. From there, we get into NBA culture. Law goes back to the old TrueHoop days, and has seen the evolution in NBA media. It's a different deal than other sports... how has it impacted the game? He makes a some great points about the influence of star culture on the game, and the way we talk about it, including the creation of heels and heroes, putting real people in roles they may not be comfortable with. Finally, Law is an expert on Saturday Night Live. Historian levels of knowledge. We break down some of the bigger questions around the show. How does it survive in a post-Trump world? What does it mean for the show to be more about social media consumption than TV ratings? What are his favorite sketches and musical acts? An awesome 80 minutes.

On Friday's Late Night Happy Hour, the Kamenetzky Brothers remember Hank Aaron, who died Friday at the age of 86. Plus, it's the 15th anniversary of Kobe Bryant's 81 point game, and a feud (of sorts) has broken out between Shaq and Donovan Mitchell, thanks to a very, very awkward postgame interview. Well, it's not really a feud, but it was a moment pointing to a common criticism of NBA broadcasts. We start with Hank Aaron, whose significance as a Black athlete breaking the home run record of a revered white man, and the work he did during and after his career, made him an icon of both sports and civil rights. But in that process, it's easy to forget just how dominant he was, and for how long. Not just good, not just a Hall of Famer, but truly one of the greatest few to ever play the game. Aaron's greatness is a natural transition to the greatness of Kobe. January 22nd marked the 15th anniversary of his 81-point game against Toronto at Staples Center, coming just four days before the first anniversary of his death. It creates a real sense of mixed emotions in Los Angeles, and across the basketball world. We remember that night, talk about the season that surrounded that game, and the MVP vote that came later. Finally... It's Shaq vs. Mitchell. What was Shaq doing? And why does he always have to punch down?

The Kamenetzky Brothers welcome ESPN's social media and uniform guru Grant Goldberg (who also happens to be a fixture on Lakers social media) to the show, talking meme culture, NBA, great threads and more. We start with Thursday's big win for the Lakers in Milwaukee. It was a great night for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who is without question a leader for most popular player inside his own locker room. His teammates love him, and when he plays well it gives everyone a boost. But broadly, is this the least unlikable Lakers team of all time? Even for non-Lakers fans? How was Thursday's game an indication of why Kyle Kuzma's contract extension matters? We talk about his jersey re-designs for the Lakers. How does he decide what deserves a tweak? And why is he so right that the black side panels on the purple Lakers jerseys are an abomination? From there, it's a conversation about NBA social media. How did it develop? Why is it so much more a presence than other sports? What makes the game, and the community, so well suited to the type of social media influence it has? And what makes for a good meme, anyway? Why does an image - this week, it's Sitting Bernie Sanders - go viral? Finally, we finish with a gold-themed game.

The Late Night Happy Hour welcomes Jourdan Rodrigue and Rich Hammond of The Athletic. They cover the Rams, and host the "11 Personnel" podcast. And they were kind enough to go in for a deep dive into the 2020 season, and what's coming this offseason and beyond. We start with a review of the loss in Green Bay. How much of the damage done by Green Bay to what had been a dominant defense was tied directly to Aaron Donald's health? How much was the brilliance of Aaron Rodgers? What needed to happen for the Rams to win that game? It wasn't a great ending for Brandon Staley, but nonetheless it was a tremendous season... which is why he's now coaching the Chargers. So what changes next year with (presumably) Raheem Morris as defensive coordinator? He is, notes Rodrigue, an excellent coach. But he's different than Staley, and that means new personnel and a new system for the third straight season. Back to the offense, and that means questions about Jared Goff. Is there any real chance he's not the starting QB next year? Does Sean McVay really believe in John Wolford as an option going forward? Would they sit a QB making eleventybillion dollars? Because releasing him is a VERY tough pill to swallow from a salary cap standpoint. But it leads to a great question from a viewer -- Does McVay think Goff is holding him and his offense back? From there, it's a look at free agency. The Rams are in a tough spot, with important players poised to leave and limited ability to fill those spots through the Draft and free agency. So is this going to be a doomsday summer? Can Cam Akers be a truly special, transformative running back? Finally, as is always the case when Jourdan comes on the show... it's bird talk! Tonight, we play a round of Rate That Bird.

Nate Duncan, of the Dunc'd on Podcast Network, NBA TV and the Hollinger and Duncan pod, joins, talking Lakers vs. Everyone, the Clippers, Eastern Conference contenders and more. Among the topics... -Where are the relative weaknesses in the Lakers, relative as they might be? -Have the Clippers made real improvements under Ty Lue? Is he a better fit as a head coach? -What's up with the West? Are any of the teams bunched up in the middle of the pack poised to make a move to challenge the Lakers and Clippers? Is Phoenix for real? What's wrong with Denver? -What about the East? Is Philly for real? How is Brooklyn going to make it work? Great insight from a great NBA voice.

The Lakers rolled the Pelicans on Friday night, running their record to 11-3. With about 20% of the season gone already, things are looking pretty good. To talk about that, and much, much more, Aaron Larsuel, host of The Official Lakers Podcast, joins. We start, though, on Aaron's grotesque, surgically repaired (sort of repaired, at least) right hand. It's really gross, and doesn't work properly. That leads to questions about what is the bare minimum score a grown man should be able to achieve bowling? And is bowling a better first date option than mini-golf? From there, we get to the Lakers, and LeBron James, who is essentially playing basketball like a Jedi. So much control, with incredible returns for every ounce of energy he's putting out on the floor. 18 years in, his ability to control a game is still unmatched. How does that impact the team around him? Especially since that control is paired with a great deal of contentedness and joy? It's a huge factor in the Lakers constructing the type of team chemistry they've displayed over the last year-plus. Especially now, in NBA seasons where chemistry has never been more important, thanks to COVID-related NBA protocols. We ask an interesting hypothetical -- How would 2010 Kobe have handled the bubble? As a player? As a leader? And as the discussion turns to comparing eras in the NBA, Aaron puts out some takes on Larry Bird that might even get die-hard Lakers fans to actually defend a Celtic.

Few people in LA radio have had a career as long or as diverse as Matt "Money" Smith, starting with his days at KROQ and now at AM 570. He's been a Lakers pre- and postgame voice, the voice of the Chargers and more. He joins the Happy Hour for what became a great discussion of the evolution of radio, whether around sports or music. We start with old tales of fun feuds with Joel Meyers, former Lakers broadcaster, now with the New Orleans Pelicans, and that morphs into a discussion of guys like Chris "Mad Dog" Russo and old school sports radio locals like Lee Hamilton. When did radio go from the omniscient oracle sports voice to a show like "Petros and Money," where guys have the freedom to just kinda do what they want? Where sports isn't necessarily the focus? Why did it move in that direction? (For anyone out there who loves Lakers great/broadcaster Mychal Thompson, you'll appreciate some of these stories as well...) From there, it's a long discussion about music, and radio's influence over what became popular in the 90s and early 2000's. It was the last era of radio truly driving tastes in rock. What was it like to be in the center of it, working at KROQ? What made that station such an influencer of music culture during that time? When did radio stations lose that ability to influence? It leads to an interesting segue - What's the difference between music that's cool, and music that's popular? Finally... Prince. Who was both.

Changing gears, it's time to talk some wrestling! Bill Hanstock, author of the great and comprehensive history of WWE, "We Promised You a Great Main Event," which published in October and can be found wherever you get your books. (If you can, pick a local spot!) We start with a look at Vince McMahon, the WWE and how it has maintained staying power despite some legitimately sordid events in its history. What accounts for the staying power? What has made McMahon so successful? From there, we get into some of the characters. What has made certain people - Hulk Hogan, The Rock and so on - pop? Why are they so appealing? Hanstock unpacks the infamous "Montreal Screwjob," in which McMahon undercut Bret "The Hitman" Hart, which led to his departure from WWF. We move on to viewer questions, including Bill's opinion on the most influential wrestler of the last 50 years, and the worst gimmick of all time.

The Rams pulled off the upset Saturday in Seattle. Can they do it again this week in Green Bay? Joining the show to break it all down is Kirk Morrison (@kirkmorrison), pre- and postgame host for Rams broadcasts on 710 ESPN, NFL host for Sirius XM and all around football oracle. We start with coaching, and why it's so critical to the NFL game, more than in other sports. From there, it's on to the topic of the week - what do the Rams do at quarterback? Is it Jared Goff or John Wolford? What does having to ask the question say about where Goff is in his career development? Can the Rams defense clamp down on a Green Bay offense that has scored fewer than 30 points only one time in the last seven weeks? Can the Packers slow down Aaron Donald? Can Jalen Ramsey slow down Davante Adams? Finally, Kirk shares a great story about securing some sweet Kobe-related cleats back in 2007, we get game predictions. Few guys break down the game as well as Kirk, and this hour is no exception. It's only Wednesday, but Saturday is right around the corner. Get prepared!

Time is a flat circle these days, so it's easy to forget that normally the winter is filled with important offseason baseball happenings. This year, not so much, so you're forgiven for forgetting we're in the midst of Hot Stove season. It's just not all that hot. Baseball teams aren't spending any money, fearing continued COVID-related revenue losses. One team that has been active? The San Diego Padres, who have made some power moves to try and close the gap between themselves and the Dodgers in the National League. Greg Bergman of 710 ESPN joins the show to discuss their progress. How good has San Diego's offseason been? How much have they shaved off of L.A.'s advantage? Are the Dodgers still the favorites in the National League? (Spoiler alert... yes) Could they actually be better this year than last? What about Justin Turner? Is his career in L.A. over? Will Gavin Lux finally break through? What if Cody Bellinger's shoulder still isn't quite right? Those are just some of the questions we cover. After, Greg explains what Tommy Lasorda meant to born-and-bred Dodgers fans, before we finish with a Lasorda-inspired game in his honor.

The Rams and Seahawks will meet for the third time this season, but this time it's for the right to advance in the NFC playoffs. Saturday's game in Seattle is expected to be a defensive battle, but will it play out that way? Ted Nguyen, who covers the NFL for The Athletic, joins the show to preview the game. Will Jared Goff start if he's healthy? Does that mean John Wolford won't play? What kind of Wolford-centric wrinkles might LA have ready? What other matchups will be key? Can Pete Carroll figure out how to get DK Metcalf loose against Jalen Ramsey? Can they stop Aaron Donald? And who is gonna win, when it's all said and done? From there, we look at other games around the league. Buffalo looks like the second best team in the AFC, behind Kansas City. But is the gap closer than it appears? Ted believes it might be. And don't sleep on the Steelers, he says. Not to make the Super Bowl, but potentially upset a team that is favored to get there. He explains why. Which game does he believe could be the best of the weekend? Try Baltimore at Tennessee. And which NFC teams have a real shot to make it all the way through? Finally, it's a round of starting QB trivia, in which you learn how many people a year are killed by hippos. Trust us, there's a connection.

He's one of the best reporters in the NBA, and a great guy to boot. Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN joins the show. After talking about the weirdness of covering games in arenas this season - and what we miss and don't miss about the days when we were all doing our jobs in the normal way - we talk about a Lakers team that after nine games is 6-3, but clearly isn't playing with the same intensity and cohesion of last year's group. Anything to worry about? Ohm says... no and explains why. From there, the topic turns to James Harden. Would a team like Denver pull the trigger, given some of the maturity questions growing a little louder around young (potential) star Michael Porter Jr.? If not the Nuggets, what team would talk themselves into it? Are teams making a mistake in talking themselves out of a deal? What stars make sense for Harden to play with? We dive into COVID, arguably the single most important determining factor of who eventually wins the title, or at the very least, how teams are arranged going into the playoffs. The Lakers have been COVID free to this point, but can they stay that way? The Sixers, after all, are suddenly dealing with a positive test to Seth Curry, and more could be coming. Finally - at least on the basketball side - Ohm makes a great point about LeBron. Not only is he playing well, he's just in a fantastic spot mentally, and as a person. It's rare for an athlete's athletic prime to line up with his prime as a person in the way LeBron's seems to be doing. And it shows. From there, it's a look at Ohm's shoe collection, Tupac trivia, and a discussion of The Mandalorian. He's a fan, to say the least. And are movie theaters really dead?

ESPN's Clinton Yates, a Washington, D.C. native, joins the show to discuss a truly historic 24-hour stretch in America. It started Tuesday with the decision not to prosecute the police officer who shot Jacob Blake in Wisconsin, followed by a pair of wins for Democratic candidates in the Georgia Senate runoff election and capped Wednesday by rioters, encouraged by the President, storming the Capitol. We begin with his reaction as a DC native to the events of the day. What is the experience of seeing events unfold when you know the city, know the buildings, and most importantly, know people in your community who work in those spaces? What were his thoughts, not just as a Washingtonian, but a Black man who grew up there? Clinton discusses the need for white people to believe Black people when they share the realities of life experience. Looking at Tuesday's events, Clinton highlights the role of WNBA players in the push for social justice and meaningful change. They've been doing the work for a long time, laying the foundation for action in the NBA, NFL and beyond. We highlight the work of former Minnesota Lynx star Maya Moore, who literally walked away from her Hall of Fame career to devote her life to criminal justice reform. She is remarkable, he says, but the sacrifices Moore made are indicative of sacrifices Black women make every day.

It's always a good time when Victoria Jacobi (@CountOnVic) joins the Happy Hour, and Tuesday was no different. We covered all sorts of ground, starting with a surprisingly good start for the New York Knicks before moving on to her work with "Behind the Lens," which features NBA players like Carmelo Anthony breaking down the secrets of their craft. (Think Master Class for hoops...) That leads to a discussion about the athlete empowerment era, and what it means for players to be able to bypass traditional media to deliver their own messages and build their own business profiles outside the game. What's the impact of social media? How do different players take advantage of opportunities? What comes next? All that, and a lot more on a fun, loose hour of basketball talk.

To kick off 2021 - after a quick breakdown of LA's weekend win over the Cardinals, pushing the Rams into the playoffs even while the QB situation is fluid - we welcome the great Lang Whitaker to the show. Formerly of Slam, NBA.com and GQ, Lang now serves as coach and GM of Grizz Gaming, joins the show. We start talking Marc Gasol, someone he got to know while Gasol was in Memphis and what having him means not just on the floor, but to a franchise and a city. Not surprisingly, the review is positive. From there, we get into Ja Morant - how well-equipped is Memphis' young star to handle the burden of elevating a small market team to excellence? And how's that giraffe the zoo named after him doing? We talk cooking with Lang (who hosts a segment on the Grizzlies media site called Cooking With Lang), and finish things off with a dive into NBA culture in the social media age. Tuesday: @CountOnVic

The NBA has its first COVID-19 interruption of the 2020-21 season, and it's not James Harden's fault! Well, it's sort of his fault, but not for the reasons some might think. On a night where the Rockets/Thunder game was postponed, we welcome Rohan Nadkarni, NBA writer at Sports Illustrated, to the show. We start on Harden's mess, the Rockets' mess, and what might soon spill into the NBA's mess if players across the league don't stay vigilant about protecting themselves. Meanwhile, how is Harden's violation of league protocols and general thumbing of his nose at Houston's management is making it harder for him to actually get what he wants? Then, it's on to the Opening Night Battle of LA... won by the Clippers. It's the first game, but what might have been instructive, insofar as matchups later in the season are concerned? Were there any clues on how a playoff series between these teams could go? From there, it's on to Rohan's outstanding feature story on Davis. How did Kobe play a role in his development? What about Lakers assistant coach Mike Penberthy? We talk Jimmy Butler (based on another excellent story from Rohan) and why so many people missed the mark with him. Finally, a game of Rob Pelinka Trivia, in honor of Rob Pelinka's birthday.

So apparently, the Lakers know a winning formula when they see it. Losing to the Clippers in the opener worked out last season, so Tuesday night, as the NBA kicked off the 2020-21 season, they tried it again. The LAC beat the Lakers 116-109. But before that, we got another example of just how good the Lakers are at stagecraft, as they turned what could have been a sad and underwhelming ring ceremony, staged in an empty arena with rigid social distancing guidelines, into something really fantastic. First, they had frontline health workers from UCLA Health "present" rings to team staff. Then for Frank Vogel, Rob Pelinka and the players, their families delivered messages of congratulations and love. It was awesome, and clearly moving for the players. And by the way, it's another thing that helps attract players to the franchise. It leads to a conversation about what "Lakers Exceptionalism" actually is -- a form of extreme competence that allows the team to win. That's how it was when Dr. Buss was around, and they're back in a similar place now. Then, it's on to the game. How did the new guys look? What went wrong? Anything to worry about? As for the last question, no, but it's certainly possible the Lakers could look a little more like a work in progress than last year's team did over its first 20 games. Vogel has already noted how the Lakers will need to be careful with LeBron and Davis, minding their workloads. They won't be the only ones. Rotations will need to be tweaked, and changes in personnel - the center position has much less shot-blocking, for example - will require more adjustments. They'll likely win a lot more than they lose, either way, but how much of a work-in-progress will the Lakers be? Finally, a look at the Clips. Oh, by the way, they won this game, and they're really good, even if you'd still pick the Lakers to win the conference.

The NBA season starts Tuesday, and Monday provided plenty of action, as the last set of rookie contract extensions dominated the news. Of course, the Lakers took care of that on Sunday, with Kyle Kuzma re-upping for three years and $40 million. We start the show talking about the deal, and why it was supremely sensible for all parties involved. Everyone wins, here. Next, SI's Michael Pina, who did some of the best writing around the action in the playoff bubble, joins to talk about Anthony Davis and expectations for him this season. Is an MVP a realistic possibility? How about the Clippers? Are they a real challenger to the Lakers? He thinks so, and also makes a compelling argument for Kawhi Leonard as the best player in the NBA, entering a season tailored to him winning an MVP. Finally, we cap off that conversation with speculation on where James Harden might land. Andy and Brian wrap the show reacting to Michael's choice of the Clippers to win a title. If it's not the Lakers, they're one of two teams (Milwaukee being the other) with what seems to be the best shot as we kick things off this year.

The NBA is about ready to kick into high gear, and with that in mind, we welcome Clare de Lune (@ClaireMPLS), host of the "Dimes and Dozens" podcast to get ready. We start with how good the Lakers look, given how far ahead they were at the end of last season. Meanwhile, the Clippers are being accused of criminality centered around Jerry West and the luring of Kawhi Leonard to LA. What might it mean for The Logo if this stuff turns out to be true? Meanwhile, Claire has adopted the Lakers as her team, since moving to LA. One big reason? She was a huge LeBron fan, and they arrived at the same time. So will Lakers fans accept her as one of their own? Or is she a bandwagoner. It gets into one of the more unique things about the NBA - that fans follow players as much as teams. Along those lines, are people undervaluing James Harden, beacuse they don't like him? Finally, we dive into Claire's new single "The Jump," which she records under her project, Tiny Deaths. https://www.tinydeaths.com/music

Good times? No. Fascinating times? Absolutely. Bryan Curtis (bryancurtis), editor-at-large and host of The Press Box podcast at The Ringer, joins the show talking about the current and future state of media. We start by asking a question that may sound simple, but isn't. When people talk about "the media," what are they referring to? What exactly is "the media?" From there, it's a peek at ESPN, which (not surprisingly) remains the epicenter of sports media, and by extension has a massive impact on how the rest of the industry operates. What does the departure of Dan LeBatard say about the direction ESPN is heading? Who are the audiences for institutional staples like sports radio or pregame NFL shows? What happens after COVID? Fans and media may be allowed back into buildings, but that doesn't mean sports media will go back to operating the way it did before the pandemic. Both in terms of finances, but also how people do their jobs. What about the intersection of politics and sports? With Donald Trump on his way out, will the tension between these worlds drop back to pre-Trump levels? Will Trump's exit create a news vacuum across the media landscape? What exactly will fill the void if the next administration is conventionally boring? Finally, they're bringing back Little House on the Prairie. We have a game in the show's honor.