East Meets West Sports with Rick Garcia and Corey Nathan

NBA Conference Finals, the Rodgers Drama, and a Dodger's Dirty Secret w/ Rick Garcia & Corey Nathan

Rick Garcia and Corey Nathan dig into a loaded NBA conference finals landscape, survey the mid-May MLB standings, weigh in on a Dodger pitcher's (yes, that former Met who's now a Dodger) cockfighting controversy, and ask what's taking Aaron Rodgers so long. Pop That Culture closes it out with a Miracle on Ice ring, a Shea Stadium seat, and a photo with Muhammad Ali.
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Key Takeaways
Spurs vs. Thunder: The Kids Are More Than Alright
Knicks: Smoke, Mirrors, or the Real Deal?
MLB Mid-May Check-In
Edwin Diaz and the Cockfighting Question
Aaron Rodgers: Still a Flake, Now a Steeler
Pop That Culture: The Miracle on Ice Ring, Shea Stadium Seats, and a Snapshot with Ali
The conference finals are here. The arguments are just getting started.

Win the Quarter: Knicks Flip the Switch, Mets Hit Rock Bottom, and the Gambling Trap \\ w/ Rick Garcia & Corey Nathan

Rick Garcia and Corey Nathan break down a wild NBA playoff landscape headlined by a Knicks team that's somehow playing like the best team in basketball, wade through the wreckage of a Mets season that's barely six weeks old, sound the alarm on athlete gambling culture, and close with a Pop That Culture debate on fan access — and why it's hard to hate somebody up close.
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Follow Rick Garcia: @RickGarciaNews on X (Twitter)
Follow Corey Nathan: @coreysnathan on Substack, Threads, Instagram, X & more
Key Takeaways
1. NBA Playoffs: Knicks Are Built Different Right Now
New York swept Philly and hasn't broken a sweat since game four of the Atlanta series — seven wins averaging 26 points, four of them by 29-plus, and a franchise-record 144-point game.
The shift happened in game two against Atlanta: the Knicks stopped waiting for a momentum run and started winning every quarter. 7-7-7 quarter margins, relentless defense, nine and ten guys contributing.
OKC is the likely Finals opponent and the only team that plays the same way — suffocating defense, no bad shots allowed.
Rick's concern: too much rest. Corey's counter: Detroit or Cleveland isn't scary enough to matter.
2. LeBron, the Lakers, and the GOAT Debate
The Lakers are out, but LeBron's legacy isn't going anywhere — he led the series in scoring at 41 years old, a first in playoff history.
Both hosts resist the direct MJ comparison but agree LeBron maps better onto Magic: size, court vision, ability to play all five positions.
What LeBron never had: the dagger. The ice-in-his-veins shot when everything's on the line.
Off-season questions loom: Austin Reaves's contract, a potential Giannis trade, and whether they bring LeBron back at a number that makes sense.
3. Mets: Worst Record in Baseball and Out of Excuses
The Mets sit at the bottom of baseball, and Corey's patience with David Stearns is officially running out.
Core argument: analytics can't manage a game. You need actual baseball people in the front office AND the dugout. The Dodgers have Dave Roberts. The Astros didn't win (without cheating) until Dusty Baker got there.
Tyrone Taylor playing regularly despite being a weak hitter against lefties is the symptom. No baseball instincts in the decision-making chain is the disease.
The silver lining: they're playing .500 ball the last few weeks, the NL East is genuinely weak, and arms like Jonah Tong are on the way. Three and a half games back of three other below-.500 teams is not a death sentence. Yet.
4. Sports Gambling: A Toxic Mix With No Easy Fix
Texas Tech QB Brenden Sorsby's gambling investigation is the latest in a growing list — and Rick says it's the worst thing an athlete can do, short of violence.
The combo of NIL money, free housing, legal mobile gambling, and 19-year-old brains is a recipe for disaster.
The same competitive gene that makes great athletes also makes them susceptible to gambling addiction — they want to win, they want a scoreboard, they think they can beat it.
The integrity risk: it only takes one missed free throw or a feigned injury to change a game. Once that door opens, it doesn't close.
5. Pop That Culture: Embiid, Ticket Access, and "It's Hard to Hate Somebody Up Close"
Joel Embiid asked Sixers fans not to sell playoff tickets to Knicks fans. Rick and Corey say no thanks.
Season ticket holders should absolutely have first right of refusal. But once it's an open market, zip-code discrimination is un-American.
Corey's experience: wearing a Mets hat at a Cardinals game feels like America working. Wearing a New York hat in certain LA settings felt like something else entirely.
The closer you get to actual fans from the other side, the harder it is to stay hostile. That's not a sports argument. That's just a human one.
The playoffs are in full swing, the Mets are in free fall, and somebody needs to take their athlete's phone away. See you next week.

Fire Everyone: NBA Playoffs, the NFL Draft & a Mets Meltdown w/ Rick Garcia and Corey Nathan

Rick Garcia and Corey Nathan dig into an NBA playoffs that's already serving up some genuine surprises, break down an NFL Draft that had the Rams pulling off organizational-level misdirection, rage through a Mets/Phillies collapse that somehow has both teams at 9-19, and close out with the Savannah Bananas, Russell Wilson, and a very vocal cameo from Bentley the dog.
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Follow Rick Garcia: @RickGarciaNews on X (Twitter)
Follow Corey Nathan: @coreysnathan on Substack, Threads, Instagram, X & more
Key Takeaways
1. NBA Playoffs: Surprises, But the Chalk Is Mostly Holding
OKC swept Phoenix and is waiting on whoever survives the West. The Lakers are nearly done with Houston despite being shorthanded. Boston's up 3-1 on Philly. The real eyebrow-raisers: Minnesota leading Denver without key pieces, and Orlando looking like a well-oiled machine against Detroit — 20 steals in one game, beautiful offensive movement. Corey is rooting hard for Orlando in the East.
2. Knicks-Hawks Tied 2-2 and Corey Is Nervous
He never expected a sweep, but this is closer than comfortable. Game four was encouraging: the Knicks went up 7 after one, 14 at half, 21 after three — consistent effort for 48 minutes. KAT needs to stop complaining and start playing. Bridges and Hart were basically invisible offensively in game three. They can't carry two starters not producing. Game five is a must-win in tone, even if not in math.
3. NFL Draft: Giants Build the Trenches, Rams Play 4D Chess
New York went defense (Arvell Reese, #5 overall, Ohio State) and offense (CC Mauigoa, #10, right guard, Miami) — both trench picks to protect Jaxson Dart. Corey's happy with it, though the Caleb Downs debate is real. Rick's Rams took Ty Simpson at 13, and the internet collectively lost its mind. Turns out McVay and Simpson had been meeting secretly for weeks; the "upset McVay" at the draft presser was deliberate misdirection. Corey says check back in five years. Also: sixth-round WR CJ Daniels out of Miami has OBJ-level one-handed grab potential.
4. Mets and Phillies Are Both 9-19 and Everyone Is Suffering
The Phillies fired Rob Thomson. The Mets are being managed by a ghost. Corey was already calling for change before they got swept by a team that lost 119 games last year. He's now in full scorched-earth mode — fire everyone from the manager up to David Stearns. Rick's theory: it's fine if the hot streak comes in May or June. His warning: just don't let it come in November. The one flicker of light is a true center-field prospect getting promoted from AA to AAA, and the trade-deadline pieces if May and June don't go the right way.
5. Pop That Culture: The Savannah Bananas, Russell Wilson, and Bentley
The Savannah Bananas drew 40,000 to Yankee Stadium. Russell Wilson stepped in to play a game with them and got thrown out at first. Rick asks: is it time to hang it up? Corey says yes — his Pittsburgh and New York years said everything that needed to be said. Rick counters that quarterbacks are so protected now, Wilson could theoretically come off the couch in a pinch. Corey prefers Tom Brady's chances of a comeback, mostly because of the chin dimple. Also: Bentley the dog had opinions and we kept it in.
The playoffs are heating up, the draft is in the books, and the Mets are somehow making the Phillies feel better about themselves. See you next week.

See Ball. Hit Ball. (And Other Things the Mets Have Forgotten) w/ Rick Garcia and Corey Nathan

Rick Garcia and Corey Nathan dig into an NBA playoffs already full of surprises, break down a Mets losing streak that's historic in the worst possible way, preview an NFL Draft with the Giants holding two top-10 picks, and close out with canceled TV shows, The Pitt, and Santa Clarita's most famous cannibals.
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Follow Rick Garcia: @RickGarciaNews on X (Twitter)
Follow Corey Nathan: @coreysnathan on Substack, Threads, Instagram, X & more
Key Takeaways
1. NBA Playoffs: OKC and Boston Are Still the Pick
A few games in and neither host is changing their finals prediction: Thunder vs. Celtics. Cleveland won't get past Boston. The Knicks took game one by a mile, then sleepwalked through game two. Corey's concern isn't the record — it's KAT on defense, Mikal Bridges taking the wrong shots at the wrong moments, and a dangerous tendency to stop playing until it's almost too late.
2. The Lakers Are More Interesting Without Their Stars
Luka and Austin Reaves both shelved, and Rick is making the case that the Lakers are actually leaning into it. LeBron operating as facilitator with Kennard and Hachimura stepping up is working, at least for now. Corey isn't counting them out, even if OKC looms in round two. The bigger concern is the hamstring — the one injury that doesn't heal on anyone's schedule.
3. The Mets' 11-Game Skid Is Historic, Not Terminal
They haven't lost this many in a row in over 20 years. But Corey's not panicking, and he's got receipts: this same team was 11 games under .500 around Memorial Day 2024 and pushed the Dodgers to six games in the NLCS. The bats are cold across the board, which is actually a more encouraging sign than one or two guys being broken — when everyone's slumping at once, the correction can come fast. Soto's return should help. Carlos Mendoza may not be around to see it.
4. The Mets' Real Problem Is a Brainiac Coaching Staff
Corey's theory: over-coaching is strangling the offense. A room full of 30-year-old analytics guys telling hitters about launch angles and hot zones doesn't work in the batter's box. You need a grizzled vet — a Girardi, a Beltran — who's been through a slump and can say I tied my shoe the other way and it worked. Rick agrees the application is the issue, not the data itself. But Mendoza can't be the skipper.
5. NFL Draft: Giants Sitting Pretty at Five and Ten
Trading Dexter Lawrence to Cincinnati for the number 10 pick was a win for both teams, but the edge goes to New York. Dexy had half a sack in 2025, he's 28, and the Giants aren't building for this year. Corey would love to see Jeremiyah Love at five — a running back who's as dangerous as a receiver and could make Jaxson Dart's life a lot easier. Also worth noting: no Alabama players in the top 20 of most draft boards, possibly for the first time in 25 years.
6. The Pitt Is the Best Show on TV and It's Not Close
The pop culture segment starts with a wave of network cancellations — Colbert, Watson, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, Access Hollywood — and ends up as a full-on appreciation of The Pitt. Both hosts love it. Both also cover part of the screen during the rough scenes. Rick can watch Michael Myers all day and flinches here. That's how real it is.
The playoffs are just getting started. So is the Mets' season — one way or another.

NBA Playoff Picks + Cheating Scandals From the Court to the Lake | w/ Rick Garcia and Corey Nathan

NBA Playoffs Are Here. Someone Stuffed a Fish.
Rick Garcia and Corey Nathan open the second season with a full NBA playoff bracket breakdown — East and West — then pivot to a Mets reality check 16 games in, defend baseball's new ABS challenge system, debate whether to trade Puka Nacua, and close with a fishing tournament felony (...yeah, you read that right. A FISHING FELONY.) that somehow became a referendum on cheating in sports.
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Follow Rick Garcia: @RickGarciaNews on X (Twitter)
Follow Corey Nathan: @coreysnathan on Substack, Threads, Instagram, X & more
Key Takeaways
1. OKC and San Antonio Are the Teams to Beat
Both hosts agree Oklahoma City is the Western Conference favorite, with San Antonio right behind them. Rick wants OKC-San Antonio in the conference finals. Corey's got the Celtics winning it all; Rick's going OKC. Same finals, different winner.
2. Lakers-Rockets: More Interesting Than It Looks
Luka's hamstring and Austin Reaves' oblique have the Lakers limping in, but Corey's not writing them off. His case: LeBron elevates teammates in ways KD simply doesn't, and if Deandre Ayton shows up, Houston doesn't have the size to stop him. Rick gives the edge to Houston, but only barely.
3. The East Comes Down to Knicks and Celtics
Detroit gets respect as a one seed but neither host is fully buying them. The real second-round series to watch is Boston-New York, with Rick predicting a sweep and Corey pushing back. The underlying thread: Brunson is excellent, but Mikal Bridges has to show up every night, and KAT is still KAT.
4. Mets in Last Place, But Corey Isn't Panicking Yet
Seven and ten through 16 games, swept by the Dodgers, and the bats are cold. Corey's not calling the fire department yet, but Memorial Day is the deadline. If they're still playing .400 ball by then, expect managerial names to start surfacing. Dark horse offered: Martin Maldonado.
5. The ABS Challenge System Is Actually Making Umpires Look Good
Balls moving 18 inches at 98 miles an hour, called correctly with the naked eye. Both hosts came away impressed. The overturned calls are within fractions of an inch, and that's an argument for the umps, not against them.
6. Don't Trade Puka Nacua
Off-field concerns have dinged his market value, but Corey's argument is simple: buy low, don't sell low. He's 24, hasn't peaked, and the Rams shouldn't move him now of all times. As a Giants fan, though? He'd take that call immediately.
7. Pop That Culture: If You Ain't Cheating...
A Texas fishing tournament, some suspiciously heavy bass, and a felony charge got the guys debating the spectrum of cheating in sports. Deflate-gate, stolen signs, scuffed balls, and steroids all got their day in court. The verdict: strategery is fine, stuffing fish with weights is not.
The playoffs are here. The fish are being weighed. And somewhere in Texas, a man is regretting his tackle box.

March Madness Ends, the Lakers Unravel, and Dexter Lawrence Can Take a Hike | w/ Rick Garcia + Corey Nathan

Rick Garcia and Corey Nathan close out the NCAA tournament, assess a Lakers roster in crisis, argue over Dexter Lawrence's future with the Giants, and land in Pop That Culture with a blindfold, a missed shot, and a Donald Sterling flashback.
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Follow Rick Garcia: @RickGarciaNews on X (Twitter)
Follow Corey Nathan: @coreysnathan on Substack, Threads, Instagram, X & more
Key Takeaways
1. Michigan Beats UConn: The Best Team Won
Michigan claims the men's title behind a coach with real Bobby Knight DNA, while UConn bows out respectably — holding the Wolverines under 70 when no other team came close. Rick and Corey agree the right two teams were in the final.
2. UCLA Runs Away With the Women's Crown
Lauren Betts and the Bruins make it look easy. Geno Auriemma, still stewing over a pregame handshake dispute with Dawn Staley, apparently forgot to coach. South Carolina won in a rout in the semis.
3. Lakers in Trouble: Luka and Reeves Are Both Out
Luka's hamstring and Reaves out four to six weeks have Rick ready to call it. Corey's more measured but not optimistic. The real question is whether the Dodgers analytics crew now influencing the franchise can build real depth around the stars — the OKC model is staring them in the face.
4. Dexter Lawrence Wants Out. Corey Says Good Riddance.
Half a sack and a bad attitude don't earn a sympathy tour. Corey trusts Harbaugh to either get more out of Lawrence or flip him for picks. Rick enjoys watching the blood pressure spike.
5. Pop That Culture: Wizards Pull an April Fools Prank, Then Apologize for It
Blindfolded fan, $10K shot, the whole staff cheering... and he missed. Rick and Corey both think the Wizards' apology was the real mistake. Cue a fond trip back to the Donald Sterling Clippers era, Smitty's legendary Philly cheesesteak stand, and a young Rick Garcia getting summoned to Sterling's Beverly Hills penthouse.
The tournament's over. The NBA's getting messy. And somewhere, Donald Sterling is still alive at 91 and wondering why nobody called.

Opening Day Vibes, Duke's Collapse, and What MJ Was Really Like w/ Rick Garcia and Corey Nathan

Rick Garcia and Corey Nathan kick off the new baseball season with first impressions from Opening Weekend, weigh in on the ABS challenge system that's changing the game one half-inch at a time, mourn Duke's Final Four exit (one of them more dramatically than the other), debate Luka Doncic's technical foul problem, and close out with a Pop That Culture segment that gets surprisingly personal — from Michael Jordan's generosity with ball boys to a hundred-dollar bill from Ed McMahon in the back of a limo.
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Key Takeaways
1. Early Returns: Mets, Dodgers, and the Annual Illusion of Hope
Four games in and the usual suspects are already looking the part. The Mets are checking early boxes, the Dodgers have their lineup firing, and the Yankees are off to a solid start. Rick invokes Tommy Lasorda's classic "We were gonna go 162 and 0?" wisdom on keeping perspective, while Corey is, predictably, wearing the Mets socks and firing on all cylinders. Even the feel-good teams like Pittsburgh and Kansas City get their annual moment in the sun before the standings start sorting themselves out.
2. The Booing of Bichette and New York's Love Language
Bo Bichette's rocky start at Citi Field — including a stretch of 10+ strikeouts in three games — gets the full treatment. Rick makes the case for a probationary period; Corey will not hear of it. Both agree, though, that Bichette handled it exactly right: owned the slump, got back to work, and turned in a strong game in St. Louis immediately after. The consensus is he'll be fine, particularly once the fans see him grinding at third base and putting up the kind of two-out RBI numbers he's shown throughout his career.
3. The ABS Challenge System Is Good for Baseball
MLB's new automated ball-strike challenge rule has both hosts genuinely excited. Each team gets two challenges per game, and you keep them if you're right. Rick loves the strategy angle; Corey loves the drama it's already creating — citing a sequence where Salvador Perez of the Royals correctly challenged three calls in a row against the same umpire, essentially sending a very polite message. The system also raises accountability questions for umpires whose misses run well beyond the half-inch gray area.
4. Duke's Collapse and the Final Four
Corey unloads. Duke led for most of the game, UConn was 1-for-17 from three at one point, and then... Cayden Boozer. Just had to hold the ball. He didn't hold the ball. Rick compares UConn's grinding, swarming, adjustment-by-adjustment comeback to the best-coached teams in any sport. Both agree the Final Four — UConn vs. Illinois, Arizona vs. Michigan — is genuinely compelling, and the conversation opens into a broader discussion about coaches like Danny Hurley who may simply be built for the college game, recruiting and all.
5. Luka, Technicals, and the Case for Playing with Your Elbows Up
Luka Doncic's 16th technical foul triggered an automatic suspension, and the guys debate whether that's the league protecting its refs or punishing exactly the competitive fire that makes Luka great. Rick draws the Kurt Rambis/Dennis Rodman line: physical play earns some grace; jawing at the referee while the other team's running a fastbreak does not. Karl Anthony Towns gets a cameo here too — someone apparently got in his ear around January, and his second-half numbers suggest it worked.
6. Pop That Culture: What the Greats Were Really Like Behind the Scenes
A former Knicks ball boy's appearance on the Mark Jackson Show sets off a genuinely warm segment. The ball boy named Michael Jordan as the most generous player he encountered — more than Isaiah Thomas, more than Dominique Wilkins, more than anyone. Rick pushes back with the Barkley-Shaq "MJ was cheap with his rich friends" counterpunch, which both hosts find completely reasonable. From there: Wayne Gretzky at a poker party, Rick handing Larry Holmes a $5 tip at a Vegas limo arrival in 1986, Eddie Murray tossing Rick his leather jacket in Montreal because it was cold. And Corey's own story — driving Ed McMahon as a young limo driver in LA, airport run, 15 minutes, $100 bill every time. The best people, it turns out, show up the same way whether the cameras are on or not.
Baseball's back. The arguments, as always, are just getting started.

Lakers, Brackets, and the Puck That Started a Fight | Rick Garcia & Corey Nathan

Rick Garcia and Corey Nathan break down the NBA stretch run with Lakers-Pistons, react to a wide-open Sweet 16, debate flag football's Olympic future, settle the Jack Hughes puck dispute, and close with a Pop That Culture tribute to Chuck Norris.
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Follow Rick Garcia: @RickGarciaNews on X (Twitter)
Follow Corey Nathan: @coreysnathan on Substack, Threads, Instagram, X & more
Key Takeaways
1. Lakers Lose Nine-Game Streak, But Corey Isn't Worried
Detroit snapped LA's winning streak in a game that actually left Corey more confident in the Lakers. Coming back from 16 down in the third, leaning on a new-look LeBron operating more from the post, and getting role players like Luke Kennard to step up was encouraging. Rick's bigger concern: the bench goes about four deep, and that's a problem in a playoff series. The consensus is that depth could be the Achilles heel — same issue that hurt the Knicks last year.
2. Sweet 16: Duke and St. John's Are the Game to Watch
Both hosts are high on Duke but hedging. Cam Boozer had a quieter first half in round two, which means he can be corralled — at least temporarily. The Duke-St. John's matchup is the one to circle, with Zuby Ejiofor as the counter to the Boozers and Dylan Darling as the kind of player you watch even when the ball isn't near him. Rick's dream final: Duke vs. Michigan. Corey's coaching tell: watch the stretch from eight minutes to three minutes in each half to see which team is truly built for March.
3. Flag Football: Entertaining, But Are You Actually Sold?
The Fanatics Flag Football Classic was fun in spots — Brady to Diggs is always watchable. But Rick and Corey land in the same place: it's a different sport, it requires a different body type and skillset, and the real worry is NFL players risking their careers in an exhibition. Put a red jersey on the QBs, or better yet, just keep Jaxson Dart off that field. They'll watch it during the Olympics. They're not ready to be fans yet.
4. Give Jack Hughes the Puck
The Hockey Hall of Fame kept the puck from Jack Hughes' gold-medal goal, and Corey's verdict is simple: give it back. The Hall of Fame is the Hockey Hall of Fame, not an NHL institution, so the claim is murky. The puck was Olympics property to begin with. Hughes donated his time without pay. And the best argument he made — his dad kept records on all three NHL sons — almost convinced Corey to flip back to the other side. Almost. Rick sees the other view: something that significant belongs to the world. But Jack should get the puck.
5. Pop That Culture: Remembering Chuck Norris
Rick's personal tribute to the martial artist, actor, and US National Karate Champion, who passed away at 86 shortly after posting a birthday video that showed him still sparring. Rick trained briefly at a Chuck Norris studio in Sherman Oaks and later raced alongside Norris at the Mint 400 in Las Vegas — where Chuck answered a competitor's rollover by slapping Rick's knee and flooring it. The takeaway: one of the genuinely nicest people in the room, deeply competitive, and gone far too suddenly for a guy who looked like he had more rounds left.
The bracket's busted. The playoffs are coming. Keep watching.

Gary Apple Joins the Double Team: Mets, Madness, and War Stories w/ Rick Garcia and Corey Nathan

Rick Garcia and Corey Nathan open with a World Baseball Classic check-in and bracket talk before bringing in the big guest: SNY veteran Gary Apple, who joins the Double Team to break down the 2026 Mets, reflect on 20 years at the network, and trade war stories about Bill Parcells, Kareem, and the late-night legends of KMOX Radio. The Pop That Culture segment closes things out with a tour of sports records so outrageous they make Bam Bam's 83-point night look modest.
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Follow Rick Garcia: @RickGarciaNews on X (Twitter)
Follow Corey Nathan: @coreysnathan on Substack, Threads, Instagram, X & more
Key Takeaways
1. WBC: Good for the Game, Nerve-Wracking for Mets Fans
The US punched through to the championship game against Venezuela, and Mets pitching phenom Nolan McLean is set to start the title game. Rick and Corey agree on the WBC's appeal for growing baseball internationally, but Corey can barely enjoy it. With McLean already throwing a tick harder than he was at the end of last season, the last thing Mets Nation needs is a dead-arm period hitting him in June. Corey floats an idea that actually makes a lot of sense: move the WBC to an extended mid-season break, replacing the All-Star Game the way the NHL runs the Four Nations tournament. Less ramp-up risk. More stakes. Less Edwin Diaz-style heartbreak.
2. March Madness Preview: Duke, Michigan, and the Bracket Nobody Can Predict
Corey is all in on Duke as the overall No. 1 seed, even though they had a rough stretch down the stretch missing two key starters including their star center. Rick thinks Michigan and Duke are the two teams to watch, but notes that a shorthanded UCLA squad lost players in their conference tournament, which opens up a broader debate: do conference tournaments even serve a purpose? The short answer from both hosts is: not really. The Cinderella conversation is alive and well, and everyone's bracket will be busted by Sunday.
3. Double Team: Gary Apple on 20 Years at SNY, the Mets, and Being "Center Me Up" Ready
Gary Apple has been part of SNY since the network launched on March 16, 2006, and the Double Team segment marks his 20th anniversary on the air almost to the day. He joins Rick and Corey to share what it was like to be the first voice on a brand new network, what he's learned from working alongside Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez, Ron Darling, and Howie Rose, and why information is king no matter how long you've been doing this. On the Mets, Gary is cautiously bullish:
The rotation looks deeper than it has in years. Freddie Peralta leads the way, McLean has star potential, and Kodai Senga has had a strong spring. The one concern: Sean Manaea's velocity is down, sitting around 89 mph. They have the depth to cover it, but it's worth watching.
The lineup loses Pete Alonso's power, but gains a more aggressive offensive approach with Bo Bichette, Jorge Polanco, and the continued evolution of Juan Soto, who figures to see far fewer steal-friendly situations with this lineup construction.
Carson Benge, the two-way Oklahoma State product, has done everything asked of him in camp and Gary sees no reason not to hand him the right field job.
The bullpen has the pieces. Devin Williams (the Air Bender) is the key. If he's the Milwaukee version of himself and not the 2025 Yankees version, this pen can hold late leads. Gary also floated "The Dreamweaver" as a nickname for Luke Weaver's changeup, and we're choosing to endorse this.
The bottom line: David Stearns runs a long-game operation. The real benchmarks are Memorial Day and the trade deadline. Get to October healthy, and anything can happen.
4. Who's the Team to Beat? (The Dodgers. It's Still the Dodgers.)
Rick asks the question. Gary gives the honest answer without flinching: the Dodgers have won back-to-back World Series titles, they're built correctly from top to bottom, and they do everything right. That said, both World Series went deep. Gary thinks the Mets are a legitimate National League contender. Corey agrees, #LFGM.
5. Women's Sports Then and Now
Rick and Gary get into how far women's sports has come since their early days scrambling for camera time in local TV newsrooms. Gary's niece is a goalkeeper committed to play soccer at Georgia. His daughter went to UCLA during the rise of Cori Close's program. The WNBA is drawing real audiences. Caitlin Clark is a must-watch. Rick's family watches every US Women's National Team match. The consensus is that the ascent is real, it's long overdue, and the one note of caution is the WNBA not overplaying its hand in the current CBA situation.
6. War Stories: Parcells Yells at the Wrong Guy, Kareem Goes Off in Phoenix
Rapid-fire closing segment delivers two gems. Gary Apple got an earful from Bill Parcells in the bowels of Giants Stadium over a prediction he didn't even make (that was Warner Wolf's call, Bill). Rick got confronted by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in Phoenix for the crime of showing up with a camera while Kareem was mid-interview with the newspaper guys. Both men survived, both have told these stories at every dinner party since.
And of course: the story of Gary asking for a tie while Rick was having a cardiac event in the newsroom. "Should I get my tie?" remains one of the great moments in Los Angeles sports media history.
7. Pop That Culture: Sports Records That Won't Fall (Probably)
Bam Bam's 83-point game against Washington was the jumping-off point, but the real conversation was about records that feel untouchable. The shortlist:
Wilt Chamberlain, 100 points and 25 rebounds in a single game. Still standing. Almost certainly permanent.
Shohei Ohtani's Game 4 in the 2025 World Series: 10 strikeouts, three home runs. A two-way performance that may genuinely never be matched.
Norm Van Brocklin, 554 passing yards in 1951: Remarkable for any era, and he did it for the Los Angeles Rams.
Flipper Anderson, 336 receiving yards, one touchdown: All those yards and somehow only one score.
Adrian Peterson, 296 rushing yards in a single game: He nearly became the first player in NFL history to break 300.
Darryl Sittler, 10 points in one game in 1976: Six goals, four assists. Gretzky matched the single-game assists record three times. As Corey noted, the lead was buried: Wayne Gretzky tied the record. Three times.
The season is still on paper. The arguments are about to get real.

Are the Knicks for Real? Mets Optimism & NBA Contenders with Rick Garcia and Corey Nathan

Rick Garcia and Corey Nathan kick off with some NBA back-and-forth before wading into the World Baseball Classic, NFL free agency chaos, and a genuinely fun NHL jersey swap story involving a mascot, a Rolex, and a bread-themed nickname.
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Follow Rick Garcia: @RickGarciaNews on X (Twitter)
Follow Corey Nathan: @coreysnathan on Substack, Threads, Instagram, X & more
Key Takeaways
1. Knicks-Lakers: Great Game, or Fool's Gold? The Knicks took the L in LA this time, but neither host is convinced either team is built for a deep playoff run. Mikal Bridges went scoreless. LeBron sat out. The real question hanging over the Lakers isn't whether they can beat the Knicks; it's whether LeBron James can accept a reduced role before the playoffs start. Rick floats the idea of starting him but pulling him early. Corey wonders if the team is actually better without him. Neither man is ready to answer that question out loud.
2. The East Belongs to Boston (Probably) With Jayson Tatum back and looking sharp after a brief rust-off period, both hosts land on the same conclusion: Boston is the team to beat in the East. The Knicks sit third, Cleveland lurks behind them, and Detroit is the mild surprise nobody fully trusts yet. Rick and Corey agree the NBA Finals most likely comes down to Celtics vs. Oklahoma City, with San Antonio as an underdog to shock everyone.
3. World Baseball Classic: Patriotic, But at What Cost? Rick pulls out a WBC shirt from his sportscaster days. Corey remains skeptical of the whole enterprise, not because the baseball isn't good, but because the timing is brutal. The Edwin Diaz knee injury in the 2023 WBC cost the Mets a closer for over a year. Now Nolan McLean is out there hitting 97-98 mph for Team USA when Corey wants him saving bullets for a full Mets season. Rick agrees the season is already too long, floats the pitch clock as one of baseball's genuinely smart recent fixes, and both hosts wonder if there's a smarter calendar solution nobody in ownership will ever accept.
4. NFL Free Agency: Giants, Rams, and the Quarterback Carousel The Giants land Isaiah Likely from Baltimore and linebacker Tremaine Edmonds — two smart, targeted additions that give Jaxson Dart a security blanket and new head coach John Harbaugh a linebacker who fits the defense. Meanwhile, the Rams go all-in on their secondary, trading for Trent McDuffie and signing Jalen Watson, shoring up the exact weakness that cost them a Super Bowl trip. Rick's main concern: they gave up a lot of draft capital. The bigger league-wide conversation centers on quarterbacks — Malik Willis in Miami, Minshew in Arizona, Daniel Jones clinging to a transition tag in Indianapolis, and whether a good system can unlock a quarterback that a bad one buried.
5. Panarin, Perry, and the Mascot's Rolex Artemi Panarin gets traded to the Kings and tries to reclaim his number 10, only to find it belongs to Corey Perry. His fallback, number 72, belongs to Bailey the mascot. Panarin's solution: gift the mascot a Rolex. The whole arrangement became moot when Perry was dealt to Tampa Bay, freeing up 10 anyway. No word on whether Bailey had to return the watch.
Spring training has begun. Hope is undefeated. For now.