<v Speaker 1>Today, June seventeenth, twenty twenty six, you are listening to

<v Speaker 1>the Daily Dose Sports podcast and I am your host,

<v Speaker 1>Clint Daily, coming to you for the my high seat

<v Speaker 1>here in Denver, Colorado, and we are back for another

<v Speaker 1>week of talking sports with a dose of common sense. Hey,

<v Speaker 1>Happy Wednesday to you. I hope your week is going well.

<v Speaker 1>Don't look now, but you are halfway to another weekend.

<v Speaker 1>That is always a good thing. And I hope that you,

<v Speaker 1>your family, your friends, everyone in your world is staying

<v Speaker 1>strong and staying.

<v Speaker 2>Healthy right now.

<v Speaker 1>And of course, the big story this week in the

<v Speaker 1>world of sports is that the New York Knickerbockers have

<v Speaker 1>won their first NBA title since nineteen seventy three.

<v Speaker 2>Yeah.

<v Speaker 1>After scraping past the Atlanta Hawks in the opening series,

<v Speaker 1>the Knicks got hot. They swept both the Philadelphia seventy

<v Speaker 1>six ers and the Cleveland Cavaliers and then went on

<v Speaker 1>to the NBA Finals and eliminated those San Antonio Spurs

<v Speaker 1>in just five games.

<v Speaker 2>Now, was this an all time great NBA team? No?

<v Speaker 2>Probably not.

<v Speaker 1>You have a point guard in Jalen Brunson that you

<v Speaker 1>will remember was kind of discarded by the Dallas Mavericks

<v Speaker 1>when they allowed him to leave via free agency a

<v Speaker 1>few years ago. And Brunson was named the Finals MVP

<v Speaker 1>after averaging thirty two points, six points per game and

<v Speaker 1>four assists every game. And then he dropped that forty

<v Speaker 1>five point gym in the deciding Game five.

<v Speaker 2>And I'll give him this.

<v Speaker 1>I don't know that he's the best player in the league,

<v Speaker 1>but he has been the most clutch player in the

<v Speaker 1>league over the last season or two. But it wasn't

<v Speaker 1>just Brunson, Carl Anthony Towns, who has long been considered

<v Speaker 1>too soft to truly anchor a front court.

<v Speaker 3>I mean, he.

<v Speaker 1>Probably played the best basketball of his care rear over

<v Speaker 1>this past season. And then we get to head coach

<v Speaker 1>Mike Brown. Remember that the Knicks look to be on

<v Speaker 1>the edge of maybe winning something over the past few

<v Speaker 1>seasons under head coach Tom Thibodeau. But then last year,

<v Speaker 1>when they came up short yet again, they decided to

<v Speaker 1>fire Tibbs and they hired Mike Brown to take over.

<v Speaker 2>Hey. Brown changed the offense.

<v Speaker 1>He trusted his depth, which we are seeing take place

<v Speaker 1>in the NBA more. We are seeing teams follow that

<v Speaker 1>Oklahoma City model and play eight nine guys, and somehow

<v Speaker 1>Mike Brown pulled this group together, and he also kind

<v Speaker 1>of destroyed the narrative that Lebron James has never played

<v Speaker 1>for a quality coach in his career because Brown made

<v Speaker 1>all the right moves in these playoffs. Now, will the

<v Speaker 1>Knicks be the favorite to win it all again next year?

<v Speaker 2>No? Probably not, But I mean, what the favorite this

<v Speaker 2>year either?

<v Speaker 1>Meanwhile, it's really easy to look at those young San

<v Speaker 1>Antonio Spurs as an automatic NBA Finals contender for next year. Hey,

<v Speaker 1>they're young, They're gonna be good for a long time

<v Speaker 1>to come. Maybe, But they also showed some serious flaws

<v Speaker 1>in this series. Remember, they led every game in the

<v Speaker 1>NBA Final Series, but they came up short in for

<v Speaker 1>those games. Young superstar Victor Webbin Yama, he seemed to

<v Speaker 1>will a little bit when subjected to the physicality of

<v Speaker 1>what the Knicks were doing to him defensively, point Guardier

<v Speaker 1>and Fox. That guy just repeatedly makes place that leaves

<v Speaker 1>everyone in the arena scratching their head and wondering what

<v Speaker 1>in the world he was thinking.

<v Speaker 2>And head coach ms Johnson doesn't seem to understand when

<v Speaker 2>to call timeouts. Very odd.

<v Speaker 1>Hey, congrats to the New York Knicks and to so

<v Speaker 1>many of their true long suffering fans for just their

<v Speaker 1>third championship in franchise history and their first in over

<v Speaker 1>fifty years. With two caveats. No congrats to Jerk owner

<v Speaker 1>Jimmy Dolan, and no congrats to the scumbag Nick fans

<v Speaker 1>who couldn't have shown less class in these playoffs, being

<v Speaker 1>destructive and being obnoxious at every single opportunity that they had.

<v Speaker 1>I don't wish them any congratulations. The long suffering fans

<v Speaker 1>that actually acted right, yeah, I'll congratulate them.

<v Speaker 2>The others, eh, But it wasn't just the nixt that

<v Speaker 2>won a title.

<v Speaker 1>This past week, the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Las Vegas

<v Speaker 1>Golden Knights in six games in a crazy series, well

<v Speaker 1>a crazy series at least early on. It ended up

<v Speaker 1>being a little bit boring down the stretch, but the

<v Speaker 1>Carolina Hurricanes win their second Stanley Cup in franchise history.

<v Speaker 1>You know, after going down two to one, the Hurricanes

<v Speaker 1>made a change. They pulled their goaltender. They replaced Frederick

<v Speaker 1>Anderson as a healthy scratch and put in Brandon Bussy,

<v Speaker 1>and the Canes rolled off three straight wins. With Bussy

<v Speaker 1>between the pipes, they clinch the title and take home

<v Speaker 1>their second Stanley Cup. And then on Sunday night, we

<v Speaker 1>got the over the top experience that was UFC Freedom

<v Speaker 1>two fifty taking place on the White House lawn. It

<v Speaker 1>had all of the decorum and atmosphere of like a

<v Speaker 1>state fair, complete with motorcycle stunts and I think funnel cakes.

<v Speaker 2>Pretty sure Kid Rock was there.

<v Speaker 1>But while you might not have liked the optics of

<v Speaker 1>this event, hey, you can't argue with the show itself.

<v Speaker 1>We got seven wins by knockout our TKO, including heavy

<v Speaker 1>underdog and a guy with Colorado ties. I might add

<v Speaker 1>Justin Gagey pulled off a monster upset by just absolutely

<v Speaker 1>beating the face off of previously unbeaten Iliot Tapuria to

<v Speaker 1>finish the night in wild fashion. And it was just

<v Speaker 1>a completely insane night in general. But I have to

<v Speaker 1>admit it was highly entertaining. And I know, I know

<v Speaker 1>there's a certain part of the population that thinks this,

<v Speaker 1>I don't know, somehow defiled the sanctity of the White House.

<v Speaker 1>I'm not sure I follow that logic. The White House

<v Speaker 1>has never been like a holy place, has it. I mean,

<v Speaker 1>I remember pretty recently them finding bags of cocaine, and

<v Speaker 1>I think there was a certain cigar that had to

<v Speaker 1>have counseling for PTSD.

<v Speaker 2>So let's slow down on defiling in the White House.

<v Speaker 2>But it was a wild.

<v Speaker 1>Scene at the White House over but we can hey today, imds,

<v Speaker 1>Like I said, the NBA Finals are now complete, the

<v Speaker 1>Stanley Cup Final is now complete. That wild scene at

<v Speaker 1>the White House is now complete. But we have something

<v Speaker 1>underway that is going to have the attention of not

<v Speaker 1>just the United States, oh no, but the entire sports world.

<v Speaker 1>In fact, we have so much to get to we've

<v Speaker 1>got to jump into that right now. Joining us this

<v Speaker 1>week on the Daily Dos. We had to bring in

<v Speaker 1>an expert this week. The twenty twenty six World Cup

<v Speaker 1>kicked off. Was it late last week Thursday Friday? And

<v Speaker 1>we will now have more than one hundred matches over

<v Speaker 1>the next month or so. But look, I don't watch

<v Speaker 1>enough soccer to know what's going on. I don't know

<v Speaker 1>which countries are the countries we should be watching. I

<v Speaker 1>don't know the best players. Fortunately we have someone that

<v Speaker 1>does know these things, because Big Rob is a former

<v Speaker 1>D one soccer star. Yeah, I just said it. NFL expert,

<v Speaker 1>College football expert, NBA expert. Oh and by the way,

<v Speaker 1>he also follows soccer closely. Rob, Welcome back to the dose.

<v Speaker 1>Even though it is not even football season. It's a

<v Speaker 1>different kind of football season.

<v Speaker 3>Yes, yes, still football, just a different form like you said.

<v Speaker 3>But glad to be back. And I glad this is

<v Speaker 3>going on right now to save us until real football starts. See.

<v Speaker 1>And that's the thing, because the NBA Finals and Stanley

<v Speaker 1>Cups and then we have a long long gap with

<v Speaker 1>nothing to do, and the World Cup is gonna save us,

<v Speaker 1>isn't it.

<v Speaker 3>It is. It is like you said, baseball is going on,

<v Speaker 3>but you can't can't get into that until the playoffs starts.

<v Speaker 3>So I think this is gonna be the perfect carryover

<v Speaker 3>to get us through the summer.

<v Speaker 1>Rob, before we jump into World Cup. The NBA Finals

<v Speaker 1>just ended. The Knicks won themselves a title they hadn't

<v Speaker 1>won one in fifty some years. Are we happy for them?

<v Speaker 1>Are we annoyed at their fan base? Do we just

<v Speaker 1>hate Jimmy Dolan even more?

<v Speaker 3>Like?

<v Speaker 2>What how do we feeling about the Knicks winning the title?

<v Speaker 3>Yeah, we're We're definitely annoyed with the fan base. We

<v Speaker 3>were interested to see the city. I think the city

<v Speaker 3>is still burning down, So that is that was probably

<v Speaker 3>the most exciting out of everything.

<v Speaker 2>See that was me.

<v Speaker 1>And it's funny because like the base of that team,

<v Speaker 1>you know, with the with but Nova kids and that,

<v Speaker 1>like I kind of like it. They're tough, they're gritty.

<v Speaker 1>I don't know that honestly, they're even that talented. They're

<v Speaker 1>just kind of tough and they get it done. I

<v Speaker 1>give Mike Brown a ton of credit for what he

<v Speaker 1>did with that group.

<v Speaker 2>That's the upside.

<v Speaker 1>The downside is that moronic fan base and that idiot owner.

<v Speaker 1>I can't stand any of them. That part has been

<v Speaker 1>painful for me.

<v Speaker 3>I agree, and it ended up being good games. But

<v Speaker 3>I think the stat was, was it seventy two percent?

<v Speaker 3>The Spurs led in that series, So you know, you

<v Speaker 3>kind of got a question, you know, to your point,

<v Speaker 3>like how good is that team really? Did they really

<v Speaker 3>win it? Or you know how much of that was

<v Speaker 3>the Spurs you know, kind of just choking it away.

<v Speaker 3>But at least we got you know, good games though,

<v Speaker 3>so can't complain too much.

<v Speaker 1>We did get entertaining games. I was trying to think

<v Speaker 1>back out of the five NBA Finals games. Did the

<v Speaker 1>Knicks play good in any of them? I'd give him

<v Speaker 1>like a C on all of them.

<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I would say the same every game. Uh, Spurs

<v Speaker 3>were up, I think double digits in every game, and

<v Speaker 3>like I said, seventy two percent of the serious they

<v Speaker 3>were in front, and it just you know, fell apart,

<v Speaker 3>you know, down the stretch. You know most of that

<v Speaker 3>probably just well not probably just a young team first

<v Speaker 3>time there, just you know, under the pressure, couldn't handle it.

<v Speaker 2>And it felt a little bit like Wimby.

<v Speaker 1>The longer the series went, the more physical they were

<v Speaker 1>with him, it felt like they were just giving him

<v Speaker 1>body blow after body bull, and you could just see

<v Speaker 1>him kind of shrinking and getting smaller and getting softer

<v Speaker 1>and not quite wanting to go down and bang. I'd

<v Speaker 1>rather shoot the three. No, I'm sure you would, because

<v Speaker 1>you're getting beat up a little bit inside. And I

<v Speaker 1>wondered if they just kind of wore out late in

<v Speaker 1>that game five, Wimby didn't even look like he wanted

<v Speaker 1>to be on the floor, to be quite honest.

<v Speaker 2>That was just kind of rough one, all right. Rob.

<v Speaker 1>The twenty twenty six World Cup tournament began this past Thursday.

<v Speaker 1>Can you kind of explain the format of the World

<v Speaker 1>Cup for those that don't pay attention whatsoever.

<v Speaker 3>Yeah, so this year it's expanded. First year, so forty

<v Speaker 3>eight teams total, expanded from thirty two and then the

<v Speaker 3>way four teams in each group. So you're gonna play,

<v Speaker 3>you know, everyone in your group. Once the top two

<v Speaker 3>teams from each group automatically advanced to the next round

<v Speaker 3>and then you get the next best third place. The

<v Speaker 3>top eight third place teams after that also advance into

<v Speaker 3>the round of thirty two.

<v Speaker 1>So you are gonna get a few groups that are

<v Speaker 1>gonna get three out of their four in the others

<v Speaker 1>will just get the two. Okay, Rob, I'm gonna ask

<v Speaker 1>you a very very difficult question. Is a tough one.

<v Speaker 1>There are forty eight teams in the tournament. If you

<v Speaker 1>were gonna say, hey, this team is kind of must see,

<v Speaker 1>like who are the biggest who are the big big

<v Speaker 1>dogs out there?

<v Speaker 3>Well, I'll start with the top two of the favorite

<v Speaker 3>It's Spain in France. I'm gonna say Spain first, you know,

<v Speaker 3>coming off a European championship. Just a complete team, you know,

<v Speaker 3>passing midfield, offense, there's really not a hole in that team.

<v Speaker 3>And I think something we'll mention too. You know, going

<v Speaker 3>forward with this tournament being here, you're gonna have a

<v Speaker 3>lot of the heat is gonna be a factor. So

<v Speaker 3>I think with the added games, this is a team

<v Speaker 3>that likes to keep possession, so in those later rounds,

<v Speaker 3>you know, that's something to keep an eye on. And

<v Speaker 3>then France is the other favorite to start this tournament. Also,

<v Speaker 3>they're loaded to again midfield, offense is all great, the

<v Speaker 3>defense is solid. They're trying to reach their third straight finals,

<v Speaker 3>which hasn't been done since Brazil back in the fifties.

<v Speaker 3>But again, this is a team, you know, riddled with

<v Speaker 3>talent all over the board. And that's another team you know,

<v Speaker 3>I definitely keep an eye on moving forward.

<v Speaker 1>Okay, so Spain and France to you are kind of

<v Speaker 1>the big dogs out there. I'm gonna ask you one

<v Speaker 1>then this might be even tougher. Who are the players

<v Speaker 1>that you're like, hey, if they're playing, I kind of

<v Speaker 1>have to tune in, I kind of have to watch them.

<v Speaker 1>Who are the players that are kind of must CTV.

<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I'll give you two more from those teams that

<v Speaker 3>I mentioned. Michael Elise from France. This is gonna be

<v Speaker 3>kind of your playmaker plays his club ball with Bayern

<v Speaker 3>Munich twenty two goals and thirty one assist in fifty

<v Speaker 3>two appearances last season. And this is the team France

<v Speaker 3>and BAP up front dimble from PSG that just won

<v Speaker 3>Champions League. So just a lot of talent like I mentioned,

<v Speaker 3>all around, and I think Olise is kind of the

<v Speaker 3>guy that can string all that together. So my, you know,

<v Speaker 3>possibly player of the tournament. And then going to Spain,

<v Speaker 3>that same guy for Spain as Pedri played for Barcelona

<v Speaker 3>and kind of the same kind of player. This is

<v Speaker 3>your midfielder that's gonna, you know, link up between the

<v Speaker 3>defense and the offense, and both of them actually have

<v Speaker 3>the ability to score. But again, those are kind of

<v Speaker 3>the engines on those two teams that are going to

<v Speaker 3>kind of keep everything running.

<v Speaker 2>Okay, let's go past the top two big dogs.

<v Speaker 1>Is there kind of a next tier that you're looking

<v Speaker 1>at of like teams that you might want to keep

<v Speaker 1>an eye on.

<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I've got two more teams I'll give you to watch,

<v Speaker 3>and then I've got some couple of dark horses we

<v Speaker 3>can probably get into as well. But after France and

<v Speaker 3>Spain the next two I'm gonna give you. Still we're

<v Speaker 3>still top heavy here, England and Brazil. I think England obviously,

<v Speaker 3>well not obviously, but I follow English Premier League. I

<v Speaker 3>know you do as well, and so you're you know,

<v Speaker 3>riddled with Premier League players all over the top. But

<v Speaker 3>the thing with England is there was a lot of

<v Speaker 3>controversy about the lineups that they ended up pick, the

<v Speaker 3>players that they took, the players that they left home.

<v Speaker 3>The coach kind of unique here, so they're already getting

<v Speaker 3>a lot of heat from the press traditionally. You know,

<v Speaker 3>England has crashed out in World Clubs before as well,

<v Speaker 3>so there's already kind of like a little pressure building.

<v Speaker 3>So that's something to keep an eye on. Again. Plenty

<v Speaker 3>of talent there, Harry Kine obviously, great goal scorer right now,

<v Speaker 3>super informed. So the talent is there. But if this

<v Speaker 3>doesn't come together, you know, you're gonna get a lot

<v Speaker 3>of a lot of complaints from that country. They're not

<v Speaker 3>going to be happy. Like I said, the pressure is

<v Speaker 3>already building. And then Brazil is another team. I'll give you,

<v Speaker 3>this is a team, great talent. I think the reason

<v Speaker 3>to watch them here is Angelati is their coach, which

<v Speaker 3>might be the best coach in the tournament. He used

<v Speaker 3>to dealing with star players, kind of like a Phil Jackson.

<v Speaker 3>I would say, I don't make a basketball reference, but

<v Speaker 3>he's won Europe's top five leagues. This is his first

<v Speaker 3>international stint and Brazil good players all around. We'll see

<v Speaker 3>if it comes together. So the talent's here, but I

<v Speaker 3>think that's what makes this interesting. They're in a bit

<v Speaker 3>of a twenty year drive as well, But like I said,

<v Speaker 3>just kind of to watch that. If he can kind

<v Speaker 3>of fit those pieces together, I think is a reason

<v Speaker 3>to keep an eye on.

<v Speaker 1>Okay, you know, we've already seen the first couple of

<v Speaker 1>rounds taking place. A couple of the groups are already

<v Speaker 1>under where they've played their first round games. Is this

<v Speaker 1>similar to like the NBA playoffs? Should we overreact to

<v Speaker 1>what we see in these first round of games or

<v Speaker 1>is it such a long tournament that hey, we saw

<v Speaker 1>one team.

<v Speaker 2>We saw Brazil for instance.

<v Speaker 1>I don't want to say they stumbled, but maybe didn't

<v Speaker 1>play as well as they hope too over the weekend.

<v Speaker 1>Is that an overreaction to look at them as start

<v Speaker 1>to be concerned or is it Hey, it's one game.

<v Speaker 2>It's a long tournament. We've got a long way to go.

<v Speaker 3>Yeah, one game, long tournament. One thing I will say

<v Speaker 3>with the extension, I think the numbers are if you

<v Speaker 3>can just win one game in your group, you've got

<v Speaker 3>a sixty like slight like sixty two percent chance of advancing,

<v Speaker 3>you know, with the added teams. So I think that's

<v Speaker 3>something that we'll kind of have to see how that

<v Speaker 3>shakes out. But because of that, I think, especially early on,

<v Speaker 3>you might see teams playing more conservative, especially you know,

<v Speaker 3>against that second team in your group, that the two

<v Speaker 3>best teams in the group, for example, like when they

<v Speaker 3>play each other, I think you might see them sit

<v Speaker 3>back a little, we're okay with the tie because we

<v Speaker 3>know we'll beat up on, you know, the bottom feeder

<v Speaker 3>in this group. So I think that is a dynamic

<v Speaker 3>that we'll see kind of play out here, especially in

<v Speaker 3>the third game too. So like if you've got a

<v Speaker 3>team they've won their first two games, again with the

<v Speaker 3>tournament being so long, the weather being a factor, that

<v Speaker 3>third game we don't care about. We're gonna you know,

<v Speaker 3>rotate our squad out. And again on the flip side,

<v Speaker 3>like I said, you can see in some of these

<v Speaker 3>early games, Okay, you're just conservative. We're okay, if we

<v Speaker 3>can get out of here or tie, that's fine, because

<v Speaker 3>we want to make sure we beat this team, and

<v Speaker 3>that's gonna give us a pretty good chance to advance

<v Speaker 3>out the group.

<v Speaker 1>Okay, And that makes a lot of sense because watching

<v Speaker 1>some of the games over the weekend, I was noticing

<v Speaker 1>that exact thing. I was noticing a lot of teams going, Hey,

<v Speaker 1>we're gonna play conservative. We're gonna sit back, We're gonna

<v Speaker 1>not let anything you know, kind of bad happen. But

<v Speaker 1>we're not gonna be super aggressive at the offensive end.

<v Speaker 1>There's no reason to be. But hey, if you get

<v Speaker 1>your one point for your tie, you're in decent shape.

<v Speaker 1>So that makes a lot more sense. All right, Rob,

<v Speaker 1>give me that next tier of teams that you're looking at, going, hey,

<v Speaker 1>they might not be the biggest of dogs, but they

<v Speaker 1>might be a team to keep an eye on.

<v Speaker 3>Yeah. Two more here. I'm gonna start with Argentina trying

<v Speaker 3>to go back to back again. This is something else

<v Speaker 3>that hasn't been done since Brazil back in the fifties.

<v Speaker 3>I don't think it's gonna happen just because they've gotten

<v Speaker 3>a lot older now. I think part of last year

<v Speaker 3>was just that Messi's last ride, kind of you know,

<v Speaker 3>emotional bump that they got, and I don't think they

<v Speaker 3>have that now. They've had a couple injury problems, so

<v Speaker 3>I don't think they'll make it through. But I think

<v Speaker 3>that is a team, you know, just to kind of,

<v Speaker 3>you know, keep an eye on. And then another one

<v Speaker 3>I'll give you is Portugal, and this is a team

<v Speaker 3>again pretty pretty solid top to bottom, and this is

<v Speaker 3>kind of Ronaldo's last ride, so maybe we get those

<v Speaker 3>messy vibes from last World Cup where they kind of,

<v Speaker 3>you know, rally around him. And I think the difference

<v Speaker 3>this year is in past years, you know, they've really

<v Speaker 3>relied on him to score, but they do have more

<v Speaker 3>offensive talent. I think the midfield is a lot better

<v Speaker 3>than previous years. So that's a team I'm pretty interested

<v Speaker 3>to watch as well.

<v Speaker 2>Rob. I hate to get excited.

<v Speaker 1>I hate to we know, this is not our thing,

<v Speaker 1>this is not our place, this is not where we Rob.

<v Speaker 1>I watched Team USA beat A the Paraguay team that

<v Speaker 1>is looking like they were going into the tournament maybe

<v Speaker 1>kind of in that next tier of being a pretty

<v Speaker 1>decent contender, and Team USA completely dominated them.

<v Speaker 2>I mean four to one.

<v Speaker 1>I don't know if we've scored four goals combined in

<v Speaker 1>the last twenty years. We put four up on that team. Okay,

<v Speaker 1>talk me out of this. That was a pluke, right,

<v Speaker 1>we know that was a pluke, right, No?

<v Speaker 3>No, I think we'll be okay. I think our offense,

<v Speaker 3>I've got faith in our offense that we can get

<v Speaker 3>one on the board. Between the midfield and our forwards,

<v Speaker 3>we'll be able to put one on the board. I

<v Speaker 3>think the defense is where I'm concerned about. I've got

<v Speaker 3>us winn in the group and winning one more. I

<v Speaker 3>think we'll crash out in the round of sixteen. But

<v Speaker 3>I said, yeah, I think the offense is legit. I

<v Speaker 3>think we've got enough firepower and speed to put one

<v Speaker 3>on the board. But I think, like I said, our

<v Speaker 3>defense is going to be that wink link. So I

<v Speaker 3>think a two to one crash out is coming. I

<v Speaker 3>think we'll definitely advance. Like I said, through the group,

<v Speaker 3>I got to win and get one more in and then,

<v Speaker 3>like I said, I think we got a two one

<v Speaker 3>defeat coming.

<v Speaker 1>Rob you bring up a really good point because I'm

<v Speaker 1>watching that team on Friday night and I am so

<v Speaker 1>used to the and we don't play soccer. It's not

<v Speaker 1>what we do. This is not what our country does.

<v Speaker 1>We've got a couple of long, tall athletes from New

<v Speaker 1>York on that front line, and I'm going, holy cow,

<v Speaker 1>they're dangerous. They like you said, they can go out

<v Speaker 1>and at least put a thread out there that they

<v Speaker 1>just might score. And if they do, this is just

<v Speaker 1>shocking to me. I wasn't expecting anything. Now they're actually

<v Speaker 1>I don't know, you're playing, for the most part in

<v Speaker 1>front of your own fans. If you go out there

<v Speaker 1>and do anything, you're gonna have that home crowd behind you.

<v Speaker 1>I don't know that that would be really really fun.

<v Speaker 1>That would actually be amazing. We know you don't have

<v Speaker 1>any history, but that would be amazing.

<v Speaker 3>Yeah, and the crowd makes a factor. I mean we

<v Speaker 3>saw it with Mexico and Canada in their games as well.

<v Speaker 3>And like I said, it's an exciting brand. It's gonna

<v Speaker 3>be up and down. Like I said, I'm a little

<v Speaker 3>worried if we get those teams that you know, park

<v Speaker 3>the bus, sit back and kind of really make us play.

<v Speaker 3>But yeah, any kind of you know, transition, fast moving,

<v Speaker 3>that's what we want. Well, that's the good and the bad,

<v Speaker 3>because that's what we want. That's when we're at our

<v Speaker 3>best offensively. But again I'm worried about you know, let's

<v Speaker 3>getting it back on on the defensive side. But again

<v Speaker 3>makes for exciting play, you know with the crowd there.

<v Speaker 3>So yeah, yeah, we've got a decent chance.

<v Speaker 1>All right, Well we're a fast breaking team that doesn't

<v Speaker 1>you know, play good defense. That sounds vaguely familiar. We

<v Speaker 1>have some experience with those kind of teams. We've seen

<v Speaker 1>that before. All right, Rob, is there a team out there?

<v Speaker 1>And I'm going to put you on a spot here.

<v Speaker 1>Is there a team out there? Nobody's talking about a

<v Speaker 1>team out there that is going to maybe surprise some

<v Speaker 1>people that you can say you knew it before, because Rob,

<v Speaker 1>let you know, there was a team out there that

<v Speaker 1>was just a little bit sneaky enough that was under

<v Speaker 1>everybody's radar that you could put in there and say, hey,

<v Speaker 1>you might want to keep an eye on them.

<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I give you a couple. First. One I'm gonna

<v Speaker 3>start with is Norway and again I'm gonna go back

<v Speaker 3>to English Premier League, Holland, top goal scorer in the

<v Speaker 3>Premier League. Just probably the best forward out either Ham

<v Speaker 3>or Harry Kane right now, best striker in the game.

<v Speaker 3>He's got Martin Odegard, midfielder for Arsenal that just won

<v Speaker 3>Premier League as well, so a setup man. So again,

<v Speaker 3>this is a guy. Again, when you've got the best,

<v Speaker 3>you know, striker in the game, you got a guy

<v Speaker 3>that can set him up. The team kind of focuses

<v Speaker 3>in on him, maybe not enough to make a full run,

<v Speaker 3>but I think this is a team that could be

<v Speaker 3>dangerous because if he's getting service, you know, he only

<v Speaker 3>needs two or three kansas, two or three touches in

<v Speaker 3>the game and you know he can definitely put it

<v Speaker 3>in the back of the net. So that's a team yeah,

<v Speaker 3>that maybe, you know, if things fall right, could could

<v Speaker 3>could make a little bit of a run.

<v Speaker 2>Okay, I like that pick.

<v Speaker 3>And another one I'll give you is Belgium. This is

<v Speaker 3>a team that kind of people have written off, like

<v Speaker 3>their golden era. They says seem to have passed, but

<v Speaker 3>I don't think so. They still got a couple left over.

<v Speaker 3>Lukaku up front, Kevin de Bruyne used to play for

<v Speaker 3>Man City in the midfield, and then they got young

<v Speaker 3>guys Tielman Stressard. Again, these are mostly English Premier League

<v Speaker 3>player but are really good. So they've got a nice

<v Speaker 3>mix of old and young right now, Again, no one's

<v Speaker 3>talking to him because you know, they feel like, you know,

<v Speaker 3>because they're in that kind of transitional phase. But I

<v Speaker 3>think they have like a good mix of old and young.

<v Speaker 3>That again, if everything comes together, I think Belgium is

<v Speaker 3>a team that you might see make a little bit

<v Speaker 3>of a deep run.

<v Speaker 1>Very interesting, good stuff here, Rob, all right, I've got

<v Speaker 1>just a couple more for you because I know nothing,

<v Speaker 1>so we're going to just rely on Rob for everything.

<v Speaker 2>I don't know the answer to this, so you're gonna

<v Speaker 2>have to help me out.

<v Speaker 1>We get in the baseball playoffs and you get that

<v Speaker 1>picture that is just hot. You get that guy that

<v Speaker 1>is just shutting everybody down. He's dominating the game and

<v Speaker 1>even you know, people getting scoring position doesn't matter. You

<v Speaker 1>get in hockey, you have that goaltender that's just standing

<v Speaker 1>on his head. He's just red hot. They can't get

<v Speaker 1>one by him. Is it the same in soccer? Can

<v Speaker 1>you get a hot goaltender that can kind of carry

<v Speaker 1>a team. That is that a possibility? And if so,

<v Speaker 1>is there a goalie out there you're looking at and saying, hey,

<v Speaker 1>this might be the guy that.

<v Speaker 2>Could be that could be the difference.

<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I would say it's a little bit more I

<v Speaker 3>find offensively than defense and a hot goaltender, like to

<v Speaker 3>compare it to hockey, but there is because you know,

<v Speaker 3>when you move to the knockout rounds, like we said,

<v Speaker 3>we're talking about the heat. So I think we'll see

<v Speaker 3>like a lot of teams, you know, try to slow

<v Speaker 3>it down. We could see in those knockout games again

<v Speaker 3>people sitting back and you know, all right, we're gonna

<v Speaker 3>wait it out here and play for it. Ecuador is

<v Speaker 3>a team that I would mention. They con seeded five

<v Speaker 3>goals in eighteen fixtures in qualifying and this is coming

<v Speaker 3>up through South America. So that's Argentina, Brazil, Columbia. I

<v Speaker 3>know in their first round game they did, you know,

<v Speaker 3>lose one to zero. But that is a team, you know,

<v Speaker 3>when you mentioned defense, possibly one of the best defenses

<v Speaker 3>in the league. And then like I said, going through

<v Speaker 3>in the qualifying, I think you can see teams again, Okay,

<v Speaker 3>we're gonna sit back. We'll try to get something on

<v Speaker 3>the counter if we can. But again, if we you know,

<v Speaker 3>trusting our goalie, trusting our keeper, we're fine playing this

<v Speaker 3>out to a tie and you know, taking it to

<v Speaker 3>pe case.

<v Speaker 1>Okay, excellent, Josh, Rob, all right, we're gonna we're gonna

<v Speaker 1>ask the million dollar question. We're gonna put him on

<v Speaker 1>the spot. This is we're a month out, we got

<v Speaker 1>a long way to go. We gotta see how everything

<v Speaker 1>shakes out. We think we know where Rob's gonna go,

<v Speaker 1>but we're gonna put him on the spot and we're

<v Speaker 1>gonna ask him.

<v Speaker 2>Who are the two teams going to be? Who is

<v Speaker 2>going to be meeting up in that final, and who

<v Speaker 2>is going to be coming out on top.

<v Speaker 3>Yeah, two teams I mentioned before. I'm gonna start with

<v Speaker 3>France again. Like I said, they're loaded midfield, offense, defense.

<v Speaker 3>Like I said, I think they've got enough to get

<v Speaker 3>back there. Again, the coach to the champs, someone been

<v Speaker 3>through the tournament. So this is definitely somebody that I

<v Speaker 3>could see that third round game. Although they aren't in

<v Speaker 3>a tough group, but that's someone that doesn't have a

<v Speaker 3>problem rotating their players, that's looking at the whole thing,

<v Speaker 3>you know, not game by game. You know, we're already qualified.

<v Speaker 3>We don't care who we play, winning the group or not.

<v Speaker 3>So that's a team. Yeah. I think they make history there,

<v Speaker 3>third finals in a row, France, and they're gonna be

<v Speaker 3>playing Portugal in this okay, kind of like an I

<v Speaker 3>think the Rinaldo's last ride vibes, kind of like we

<v Speaker 3>saw with Argentina last World Cup. And again the differences

<v Speaker 3>this year being we're not relying solely on you know,

<v Speaker 3>Ronaldo for our goals. We've got a midfielders Bruno Fernandez

<v Speaker 3>again Premier League reference but led broke the assist record

<v Speaker 3>in the Premier League last year. They have other forwards

<v Speaker 3>as well, again midfield and so I think they've got

<v Speaker 3>enough good mix of here old and young Rinaldo vibes,

<v Speaker 3>and they make it to the final as well, Portugal

<v Speaker 3>and France.

<v Speaker 2>All Right, who's here's the big one? Who's coming out?

<v Speaker 2>Who's winning it?

<v Speaker 3>Long shot? Here, we're gonna stay away from France, We're

<v Speaker 3>gonna go Portugal. Okay, here's the whole thing.

<v Speaker 1>Yes, wow, can you imagine if Ronaldo actually went out

<v Speaker 1>like that?

<v Speaker 3>Yeah? Again, I think we because obviously we have the

<v Speaker 3>comparisons forever, Messi first Ronaldo. There is a chance that

<v Speaker 3>they'll end up meeting too, just you know, brackets a

<v Speaker 3>ligne right before. I think in the quarters they can

<v Speaker 3>end up meeting up if I'm not mistaken, you know,

<v Speaker 3>depending on if they win their group and whatnot. But yeah,

<v Speaker 3>I think that'll Yeah, just further add to the discussion

<v Speaker 3>between the two right now, you would say Messi has

<v Speaker 3>the leg up because he does have the World Cup.

<v Speaker 3>Like I said, Ronaldo has run some European Cups. But

<v Speaker 3>just to keep that, you know, debate on going. Yeah,

<v Speaker 3>Portugal wins, Ronaldo has his World Cup, and the debate

<v Speaker 3>goes on who's the best of this generation? Messi or Ronaldo?

<v Speaker 1>You got you gotta pick. Who's your pick? Who would

<v Speaker 1>you pick if you had to? If you had to say,

<v Speaker 1>who would you if you had to? We're picking up teams.

<v Speaker 1>You've got first pook who you taken.

<v Speaker 3>I would say Messi just because midfield kind of strings

<v Speaker 3>more together where Ronaldo primarily a striker, I mean out

<v Speaker 3>obviously outstanding striker, but yeah, starting a team, just like

<v Speaker 3>said Messi in that midfield linking up between the defense,

<v Speaker 3>also has the ability to score. So I'll give a

<v Speaker 3>slight nudge to MESSI.

<v Speaker 2>I understand completely, Rob.

<v Speaker 1>We're in that time of year where usually we're sitting here,

<v Speaker 1>going and now, what are we going to do for

<v Speaker 1>the next month and a half or whatever, until you know,

<v Speaker 1>we're really starting to get some things coming out of

<v Speaker 1>the NFL, we really start to see some battles in

<v Speaker 1>college and that kind of thing. I feel like the

<v Speaker 1>World Cup is going to tide us over at least

<v Speaker 1>it's going to give us something to watch over the

<v Speaker 1>next month, and then we can start talking football, because

<v Speaker 1>right now we are in the dreaded time of football

<v Speaker 1>season that you just hope your team isn't in the news.

<v Speaker 1>If there's a headline, you don't want to be in it.

<v Speaker 1>I know my Denver Broncos right now are dealing with

<v Speaker 1>a pass rusher who seems to have lost his mind,

<v Speaker 1>and I don't my goodness, Rob, Is it too early

<v Speaker 1>to start looking forward to the NFL?

<v Speaker 3>Yes? Too early? Focus, I'm gonna say, focus, focus on

<v Speaker 3>the World Cup here, and yeah, one thing I did

<v Speaker 3>want to mention too. Again, we've talked about extension a

<v Speaker 3>little bit. I think if you know We've seen that

<v Speaker 3>a lot across the board. Right March Madness did it,

<v Speaker 3>which I'm terrible. For the record, I tain't that they did.

<v Speaker 3>College football has done it. I think we're okay where

<v Speaker 3>we're at now. But the whispers of the twenty four

<v Speaker 3>teams is an all your idea as well. But for

<v Speaker 3>the World Cup, I'm okay with it. Again, We'll see

<v Speaker 3>how it how it plays out. But I just think

<v Speaker 3>it's almost like the Olympics in a sense where you

<v Speaker 3>just get those countries that have, you know, first time

<v Speaker 3>making it, or like the Scotland's haven't made it in

<v Speaker 3>like twenty thirty years, seeing the fans in the stands,

<v Speaker 3>you know, just cheering on their country for the first time,

<v Speaker 3>even if they ain't doing you know, even if they're

<v Speaker 3>not doing great. So you like say, you kind of

<v Speaker 3>get those Olympic you know, that Olympic style vibe and

<v Speaker 3>you get a true world champion. You know, we mentioned

<v Speaker 3>before the Knicks are world champions. But again with this

<v Speaker 3>for you know, actually it is the you know, the

<v Speaker 3>whole world, so you know, you really get that you

<v Speaker 3>know as well, that vibe too. So again, if anything,

<v Speaker 3>like I said, I'm pretty much against all extensions at

<v Speaker 3>this point. But like I said, if one gets a pass,

<v Speaker 3>I think World Cups just because you get those, you know,

<v Speaker 3>kind of human country interest stories.

<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I would agree with you one hundred percent because

<v Speaker 1>I do think the college basketball and college football are

<v Speaker 1>both making big mistakes. You're gonna add games, You're gonna

<v Speaker 1>add more potential for injury, You're gonna add more, let's

<v Speaker 1>be honest, bad games. If we're being you know, one

<v Speaker 1>hundred percent on this, and that isn't the feeling here, Rob,

<v Speaker 1>I'm go.

<v Speaker 2>I didn't have one final question for you. We'll let

<v Speaker 2>you go.

<v Speaker 1>We appreciate you coming in during the summer, during the

<v Speaker 1>heat of the summer. But I've got the most important

<v Speaker 1>question for you still coming of the talent in the stands,

<v Speaker 1>what country is bringing the most?

<v Speaker 2>Because Rob, I'm seeing things.

<v Speaker 4>I'm seeing things up in the stands, and I gotta

<v Speaker 4>be honest, it's impressive, it's impressive.

<v Speaker 2>It's it's every bit as good as what's on the field.

<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I see those as well. I want to say

<v Speaker 3>the Latin American countries, those always seem to catch my eye.

<v Speaker 4>Mexico is bringing it. I'm with you one hundred percent.

<v Speaker 4>I was watching a little bit of Ecuadora and they

<v Speaker 4>and they're showing this. I don't know student section. I'm

<v Speaker 4>going only cow what is going on up there? This

<v Speaker 4>isn't like college football here, this is this is an upgrade.

<v Speaker 4>If you don't like World Cut, I just gave you

<v Speaker 4>a reason to watch World Cup. I'm telling you you're

<v Speaker 4>going to be impressed.

<v Speaker 2>Rob.

<v Speaker 1>As usual, I want to thank you for coming into

<v Speaker 1>the Dose. Rob was actually available for us to He

<v Speaker 1>got us some inside information if you miss it. Just

<v Speaker 1>a few weeks ago, the Daily Dose it team broke

<v Speaker 1>down a little bit of some NFL inside information. We

<v Speaker 1>know they're putting some new slogans in the end zone.

<v Speaker 1>They were actually able to tell us some of the

<v Speaker 1>slogans that got skipped. Hey, you don't get that information

<v Speaker 1>anywhere else. Big Rob from the Daily Dose idem he

<v Speaker 1>finds the stories no one else can.

<v Speaker 2>Fine.

<v Speaker 1>We always appreciate what you bring to the Dose every week.

<v Speaker 3>Absolutely, it's a pleasure. Yeah, nice to make a summer appearance.

<v Speaker 3>And yeah, countdown is already on for football season.

<v Speaker 2>All right, we'll see you in a few weeks because

<v Speaker 2>it won't be long. Pay next week on the Dose.

<v Speaker 1>You know, we just might have to take a peek

<v Speaker 1>at what's going to take place in that NBA Draft

<v Speaker 1>that begins next week. And you know we'll be keeping

<v Speaker 1>up to date on all that is going on in

<v Speaker 1>the sports as only we can.

<v Speaker 2>So be sure you check out the Dose and be

<v Speaker 2>sure you let a friend know to the same.

<v Speaker 1>Hey, I want to say thank you so much for

<v Speaker 1>all the contributions that Big Rob makes the Daily Dose.

<v Speaker 1>We couldn't do any of this without you, and I

<v Speaker 1>want to thank each and every one of you for

<v Speaker 1>listening to the Daily Dose every week. Thank you for

<v Speaker 1>the emails, thank you the text, thank for the tweets,

<v Speaker 1>But more than anything, thank you for sharing the show,

<v Speaker 1>for sharing the videos, and for sharing.

<v Speaker 2>The articles with someone that you know. We absolutely love

<v Speaker 2>it when you do that. That's so thank you.

<v Speaker 1>To Jesse P.

<v Speaker 2>Could not do any of this without you. I will

<v Speaker 2>see you on next Wednesday.

<v Speaker 1>Have a great week, everybody, Rod Flodity