Pride, Pressure & Playoff Underdogs | NBA Finals, Stanley Cup & Holy Hot Take

dan: Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, welcome to the Sports Reverends Podcast. My name is Dan, and I'm joined with my wonderful co-host. We got Drew Martin all the way from Carmen, Manitoba. Pastor Reverend there. He does it all. And we got another legend with us. His name's The Coach. You know him as my big bro. Not only a coach on the basketball court, but court, but also a coach on the in the stock markets as well. So before we dive into everything, why don't you guys tell us how you guys have been last couple of weeks? We had two weeks off here. The Coach: I'll go first. I'll go first. ⁓ week's been good. Let's see. Work's been good. Spurs are in the finals. been ⁓ basketball all week. It's been great. It's been great. So World Cup's coming up around the corner. And the sun finally came out. So it's it's hot. It's hot and we love it. Drew: Yeah, we've been ⁓ burning in the heat out here. Now that we're done complaining about the winter, we're complaining about the summer. We miss spring altogether, but we're having a good time. dan: Good, good. Yeah, it's ⁓ it's definitely exciting here in Toronto. World Cup fever is on on high right now. They are covering up those nasty looking bleachers. If you've seen those, you might have seen those on social media. They're covering covering them up in these nice ⁓ FIFA World Cup themed. I don't know, I don't know what it's called, but it's being covered up and it looks good. Yeah, and then lots of stuff around the city too. So it's gonna be a lot of fun, including our church is hosting a watch party. So that's gonna be a lot of fun. The Coach: A rap. It's a rap. dan: for the for the downtown course. So we'll have lots of fun that way. Our podcast is exciting. We up unapologetic about our faith and we love sports and sports has played a huge role in helping us grow and we want to share that with you guys today. Coach, why don't you just give us a rundown of what our show looks like. The Coach: Yeah, we got a fun game today. We got Dan with the holy hot take, a couple of fun ⁓ topics, PTI style, and the best part of the show, we are looking at the real talk section. The trophy won't heal you. So stay tuned for that. ⁓ let's get rolling with this game. dan: All right, we got the same kind of game as last time. We are hoping for some improvement this week. I got three tiers. We're gonna see how we do. And I think it gets starts out easiest, gets a little more difficult as we go. But let's get into it. You guys answer this question together as a team. Name 10 NBA players with a color in their name. Drew: Jalen Brown. dan: Whoa one. Drew: Jillin' dan: Jalen Brown. The Coach: Shailen Brown, ⁓ D Brown. dan: D brown, too. Drew: Is this all time or current? dan: All time. Another one on the Celtics. Who? Jeff Green, Colby White. That's four. Drew: Jeff Green. The Coach: Colby White. Danny Green. Drew: Derek White Derek White. dan: Danny Green, five. What would you say, Drew? Derek White? You said one before that, I thought. Drew: Derrick White? The Coach: No, no, we're at six. We're at six. dan: Come on, you guys, four more. Golden State Warriors. The Coach: Cream on green. Thank you. That's a good one. Drew: Draymond Green. dan: Seven. The Coach: was going to say Grady, but that's different thing. Drew: Yeah. dan: but he had a picture with someone on Orlando. The Coach: Yeah, I know. I'm trying to of the guy's name. I know it ends in black, but ⁓ No, not cold black. That doesn't make sense. dan: Yeah. So what's that guy's last name? The one that you just said, Cole. From the box. No, you just said his last name. This no, no, you just said his first name, but it's this person's last name. The Coach: Black? Cool. Yeah, I'm trying to think of who it is. Green? dan: Cool, what? No, from the bugs. The Coach: I try to think the bucks were so bad this year. Coal. Drew: I'm tapped out on my MBA knowledge. dan: Used to play for the magic as well. The Coach: Yeah, I don't know. dan: All right, keep it going. The Coach: Cole, Cole Brown, Cole White. dan: W injury po who's injury prone and plays on now the Wizards, who used to play for the Mavericks and Lakers? The Coach: Okay. Anthony Davis. dan: Okay, Anthony Davis. So The Coach: Cole Anthony, thank you. dan: Okay, so Cole Anthony. So that there you go, Anthony Black. Jeez, Louise. ⁓ I didn't want to give it away. I can't I didn't want to just give it. Eight! We need two more colors! The Coach: Anthony black. There we go. You really walked us into that one. Drew: We had to go through three stages of ⁓ to get to that answer. The Coach: Hahaha This is Drew: I kept thinking Cole Anthony, I'm like, that's not a color. The Coach: we are so bad at this game. I'm trying to think. dan: you're so close. The Coach: Gerald Green? dan: Gerald Green, more. Bucks, think Milwaukee Bucks. History. The Coach: and more. dan: Shooter. Drew: Ray Allen. not a color. ⁓ The Coach: No. ⁓ dan: Close Lefty. The Coach: He's a left off. Give me the first name. Give us the first name. dan: what? Michael Drew: Michael Beasley. ⁓ The Coach: Michael Red, Michael Red. dan: Rykel Red. man. Okay. All right. Let's keep going. ⁓ guys pass. ⁓ this one might not be. ⁓ it's debatable. Okay. Yes, we are gonna get off basketball, name every NFL team. There's only four with an ⁓ ⁓ their logo. An ⁓ in their logo. There's only four. Correct. The Coach: these should be amazing. Amazing. Drew: And they're gonna get harder? They're gonna get harder enough. We get off basketball. The Coach: Ooh, and their logo. 49ers. dan: One hint is that they're think of like their name is the logo. In the logo. The Coach: Not the Steelers. Oh, I thought it was just the dots. That's fine. That's fine. Take it. We take it. That's true. You got to step up here. All right. dan: Steelers. ⁓ should I give that to you? Oops. Stealers. Ooh. Drew: I could make an argument that they all have it in them. Like I know, but it depends what logo you're looking at. dan: No in their logo. In the physical logo. The Coach: What else drew not the Packers not the Lions the Bucks no dan: AFC Drew: Trying to think of logos with the name The Coach: Yeah, I'm in them. dan: Green. The Coach: The Jets. dan: Yes, The Coach: That's an NFC team, but okay. No, AFC had to get back. Drew: No, it is Dolphins? dan: Nope. This come on. Just go through the go through the divisions. Drew: Raiders. dan: Raiders! Boom! That's all four, boys. That's good. He did pretty good. Pretty good. This one, I think I don't know. You can see if it's harder or not. Name the only sports team. Last one. Okay, out of the four major sports. Name the only sports team. There's only one answer that has a V in their logo. The Coach: Hey, there you go. That was better. That was better. Drew: Vegas Golden Knights. dan: Boom, just like that. Knocked it out. Way to go, fellas. Way to go. The Coach: Boom. We definitely went from hardest to easiest. dan: Okay, there we go. There we go. All right, coach, handle some business. Drew: Well, we we treated them like they were hard scene. The Coach: Yeah. All right, let's handle some business. As Dan mentioned in the open monologue, I am a coach in the financial world. If you are looking to find a second source of income, if you have your retirement plans and you have no idea what an RESP are versus an RRSP versus a TFSA is, or if you just want to figure out how I'm going to pay for my kids tuition or our wedding down the line, check us out at www.trainthenumber2invest.com. We're an education company that teaches you how to invest in the stock market. It's just like going back to school, we're going to teach you a whole new skill set. And it's for everybody who's interested in trying to learn. So check us out at www dot train the number to invest.com. Download our free ebook, get in contact with us, and we will help you find your goals and how to achieve them. Let's go. dan: All right, it's time for the holy hot take. And it's kind of sad that this has to be a hot take, but we're in June, so let's go. You know, everyone has seen that viral clip where the guy says, Why are you gay? And honestly, it's become one of the biggest jokes on the internet. People quote it, they remix it, they laugh at it. It's everywhere. You know, I saw it this week. It actually made me think about something deeper. The Coach: Let's hear it. ⁓ dan: Especially as a Christ follower, especially in the month of June, what is the Christ followers response to pride? Not just one group of people, not just one cultural moment, but pride itself. You know, our culture has turned pride into a virtue. It says, celebrate yourself or define yourself or follow your desires, live your truth. And but biblical pride has never been something God celebrates. Pride is the posture that says, God, I know better than you. And scripture doesn't call that freedom. What scripture calls it, what scripture calls us to is surrender. So here's a holy hot take. Pride is not something to celebrate, pride is something Jesus came to save us from. And before anyone can try to twist this, this is not about hating people or of that. Christians are called to love and we're called to show compassion, grace, patience, and truth. But biblical love doesn't mean affirming what God calls sin. You know, Jesus didn't die so we can celebrate our sin. He died so we can be free from it. The gospel is not be true to yourself. The gospel is deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Jesus. So we don't celebrate pride, we celebrate grace. We don't bow to culture, we surrender to Christ. We don't find freedom in self-expression. We find freedom in Jesus. Pride is something Jesus came to save us from. That's my holy hot take. The Coach: Love it. Nailed it. Drew: Yeah, I think it's so important. I think it's important in especially in this month to just know that what the world is trying to feed us is opposite of what the Bible is telling us to do. ⁓ shouldn't be surprised when the world does that, but when it's comes into the church and there's ⁓ some churches who are leaning towards this, it it becomes really sad because what they say sounds it almost sounds virtuous. dan: Yeah, is that any risk? The Coach: Did you want us to respond? Drew: What they're saying, like love is love and all that kind of stuff. But yeah, being loving towards someone isn't holding their hand on their way to hell. It's ⁓ being loving to someone is saying, Hey, this ⁓ ⁓ the Bible teaches us, the way we're supposed to live. And we're all sinners and we've all sinned, but we're called to repentance to actually turn away from that sin. So it's important in a month like this to call people to repentance rather than To lean into their sin. The Coach: Yeah, I think you're also seeing it from different perspective is people are tired of it almost. You're seeing like the Pride Parade Toronto is again underfunded. And they're not seeing the same amount of money going into that. Because it's become such a spectacle. It's become such a if you don't agree with my way, you're you're you're automatically a bigot, you're automatically insensitive, intolerant, when the fact is, you know, if you ask a Muslim person to celebrate pride, you're not going to get any sort of acceptance. Right? As Christians, you guys have talked about you've touched on this already. It's about showing love, but also holding your ground. That's the whole point of having a belief system is that you believe in something. Right? And it's not and again, we're not saying you're going to go out there and hate anything or burning anything down. But the whole the whole concept of pride is, is overblown because let's let's be frank, it's not a big deal in terms of how people view somebody somebody's gay or not. Right? It used to be like, oh, a huge storm. And now people are just more accepting of it. I don't understand why we need to have a whole month for this. Like, no one's really persecuting the gays in all reality. And from a Christian perspective, I think you have to be able to say, I disagree with your lifestyle. I disagree with your choices the same way you would if somebody was cheating on their spouse, or if they were lying, or if they were committing fraud, or if they're murdering somebody, you would still say, Hey, I disagree with this. I'm going to show you the love of Christ. But there are, you know, this is what I believe in. And these are the consequences of what I believe. So you know, it's, you're seeing the fatigue outside in the world as well. dan: All right. Sounds good, boys. I think, coach, you're up next for the holy hot take. It's been a fun segment for us. It's now time to get into our sports talk. We'll ⁓ let's rotate these questions. I'll start us off here. Here we go. Full court press. NBA finals starts tomorrow for you guys who are listening. It's the it's today, Wednesday. Which which player is under the most pressure? The Coach: Okay, I can go first with this one. I can say Drew during the headlights there. So I got it. I'm say Jalen Brunson. I think ⁓ the the way the Spurs shut down not shut down, but made life difficult for Shay was ⁓ going to the same recipe they're going to use on Jalen Brunson. Now can he find an outlet in ⁓ cat? You know, the New York Knicks have used Jalen Morris. dan: Woo! The Coach: off the ball as well. But if he doesn't perform the whole the rest of the team doesn't perform. I don't care. You know, OJ's og has had a great playoffs. Kat has started to come around and come alive. No one's really pressured cat at all in any of these series. But the Knicks run on Brunson and if if the Spurs are able to slow him down, get him in foul trouble, move the ball out of his hands. I think it's going to be it's gonna be a tough time for the Knicks. Drew: I think it's Victor Wemanyama just because everyone expects the Spurs to win. so I the pressure has to be on the best player, ⁓ on people perceive to be the best team. As young as he is, I think he will rise to the occasion, but I think the pressure has to sit on him the most. dan: I definitely see both of your perspectives. I don't disagree with them either, but I'll just throw in another name there. I think Carl Anthony Towns, the guy who has received the most amount of pressure from the Knicks throughout his whole career there. He's been hated on. He's been really just been taken for granted, but he's actually playing really well and he plays well against the Spurs. So ⁓ I'm gonna put it on the he's the one who's gonna have to, you know, hold down that monster of of Wimbin Yama. So good luck to him. I think he's under a lot of pressure. The Coach: Mmm. Hmm. dan: And ⁓ that's my choice. All right. Drew, you next. The Coach: Awesome. Drew: Alright, the Stanley Cup finals this finals more about the hurricane system or Vegas' star power? The Coach: that's a good one. ⁓ I think I want to say Vegas is star power Vegas has been a consistent threat for the last since the playoffs era and they have just done it by cycling guys through I think Carolina you know maybe up and coming team for a while but with the quote unquote system. But think it's just in the reality of the playoffs. The more stars you have on the ice. the more points you're put out. dan: Yeah, I think it was cool to see Vegas take down the Avalanche. I think the Avalanche were all our picks to to go to the to to to win the Stanley Cup. But ⁓ Carolina and the the the Canes system has been their their bread and butter that's failed over the last few years overall. But ⁓ it seems like they've taken another step. And ⁓ so I'm gonna go it's more important for the canes system over Vegas' Star Power. Drew: Yeah, I I think that it's ⁓ I think when I think it's the Kane system. you see the way they play from top to bottom. Even their best players are willing to hit and take hits. And what it takes in the Stanley Cup finals. you need all your players playing physical and rising to the I think it it's gonna be a good series and Maybe we just haven't seen Carolina tested yet. They've had a pretty easy walk through the whole playoffs, only losing one game. but yeah, I th I'm excited to see these two teams face off against each other. dan: All right. Well, I'll jump into number three here. World Cup. Will Team Canada? I know this is our our we're we're so well versed in our ⁓ soccer knowledge. Will Team Canada make it past the group stage? Drew, you answer first, I'll go second. We'll let coach go third if he gets back. Drew: Well, did we get confirmation on how many teams get through? Is it two or three? dan: I'm pretty certain it's two. Drew: Yeah. I don't know. I I'd like to see them get past it. I'd I'm not gonna lie to you and say I know who's even in their group, but Canada seems to be up and coming in soccer and getting better. It's becoming more popular. but yeah, it'd be fun to see them go forward. The World Cup's always fun. dan: Definitely. I think the World Cup for sure is always the most exciting and the the highest pinnacle of soccer that people are locked into. It is crazy to see how the city's transformed and there's so many watch parties and and fan festivals and all that's going on here. It's pretty wild. ⁓ ⁓ yes, Canada will make it past the group stage. This is the best team they've ever put forward. ⁓ it's the most excitement for it. They have had a lot of injuries along the way. But ⁓ they're still very hopeful. They had a nice friendly against Uzbekistan last night. And they there's an Edmonton and it was almost snowy there. It was rainy and cold in Edmonton and they did well and and were able to win that friendly. And I think they will make it through the group stage. And and hopefully our watch party at church in the city will be the the kind of historic moment for us to to go into the group stage. in fact, Canada's never won a game yet. So We are we're hope we we're very hopeful for the World Cup. Coach, we're just talking World Cup. Will Team Canada make it past the group stage? The Coach: Yes, yes. Yeah, so we have Bosnian Hez Herzegogov. I don't know how to say the last country's name. Herz Garvonia, sure. Qatar and Switzerland in the group. So they beat up one Qatar, and all they need to do is win one of those two matches, ⁓ and should make it through. unfortunately, I would say Team Canada is suffering through a bunch of injuries. ⁓ so that is a challenge. So You know, that could also be something that brings Team Canada down. you toss in like the the the pressure as well, right? So ⁓ know we got 48 teams, you got the top three go into it. sorry, yeah, plus the eight sorry, not. dan: So yeah. ⁓ there's eight teams that ⁓ according to point differential will go move forward. So they still have a chance if they make it to the third, but I'm I'm a s I think they're gonna finish in the top two. All right. Sounds good, coach. Really good. Drew: I think his answer was yes. dan: Yes. All right, Joe Drew, why don't you read the next one? Drew: Miles Garrett is reportedly being traded to the Rams. Are the Rams now the team to beat? dan: I think the Rams are absolutely nasty now. Of course, they've mortgaged some of their future. ⁓ they the trade was completed. Jared Verse, a first round and a second round. I think it's a pretty good steal to I I think the Browns got some good capital there, but I think they could have got more in my opinion. But the the Rams, they are deadly. They added, they've added a top three corner in the the the kid from Kansas City. And now they have Miles Garrett there. They're they're gonna be nasty. So yes, they are the team to beat in the NFC. Drew: I think I think they were the team to beat before the trade. I like I think this just puts them over the top. I think the Rams are always in there. They've got a great coach. Matthew Stafford's playing some of the best football he's played in his career, which is crazy to say. yeah, I think they're for sure the team to beat. This is just crazy. Like the Browns are the worst organization ever. 'Cause you do this trade hoping to get Miles Garrett and They've got him. It's it's the same way I felt when ⁓ the Raiders traded away Khalil Mack. It looks like you're trading him away and hoping to get the same thing. And Khalil Mack was even younger than Miles Garrett was. dan: Mm. The Coach: Yeah. dan: Miles Garrett. The Coach: He Miles Garrett, that ⁓ when I saw that trade, ⁓ dan: All right, we got the best GM in the NBA. We got these two teams that look like they have a very bright future ahead of them, almost a rivalry sparking. Is Brian Wright the GM for the Spurs or Sam Presse, GM for the Thunder, the best GM in the NBA? Drew: I think it's Sam Prestey. just simply because anybody would have taken Victor Webanyama and changed their franchise with him. ⁓ I think what Presty's done is is is It's it's ⁓ there's more to it. There ⁓ th there was room for failure in there with ⁓ some of the trades he's made with the picks and yeah, I think better. dan: Yeah, I think you're absolutely right. I think Brian Wright for the Spurs, he had a lot of luck play into it. ⁓ they had a very small chance to get Wenbenyama. They Wenbenyama, but then they were also bad for the following two years, where they got Stefan Castle, who would have been who who's turned out to be the number one of that draft. And then they also got Dylan Harper. If if Cooper Flag wasn't around, he would be the the number one. So they really hit on those picks on the years they did bad as well. so I think the Spurs obviously GM is is a good GM, but Presty with that, especially with the trade for SGA, that might be the greatest trade of all time over any sport. It's still reaping benefits ⁓ for them. So ⁓ they have lots of capital moving forward. Sorry, go ahead. Drew: Or the worst trade of all time. Or the worst trade of all time, depending on which side you're looking at. dan: Yeah, exactly. And there's lots of capital going ahead for them. I think they should just keep pushing those draft picks back and ⁓ slowly building the team, but maybe they want to make a move for for Giannis or something because they see a Wembin Yama for the next decade at least in front of them. So they need to address that as well. Coach, who's the best GM in the NBA? The Coach: I'm going to s say neither one of these two. And I'm I'm going to say Brad Brad Stevens of the Celtics. He has done and a phenomenal job shedding salaries as well as giving the team to contention. I think Sam Presty, he's gonna have a lot of work to do because OKC is gonna be at that second apron in next year and they're gonna have not a lot of room. They're gonna be paying $200 million in tax. dan: Wow. The Coach: Will a small market team like OKC be able to do that? I don't think so. You're gonna have to move like move off of one of your quote unquote young stars and somehow shed salary. So it's gonna be a huge problem for Sam Prestey. Brian Wright, he's still got a bunch of those kids on that ⁓ rookie deals. So he's got some time, but ⁓ he'll s he'll he'll face the same pressure Sam Presti's gonna face in a couple of years. And then we'll see if they can really maneuver and get things done. 'Cause Like Brad Stevens, he cut Persingis, he traded away a bunch of different guys, and the Celtics were right there. dan: Well, in the season. Not in the playoffs. Not in the playoffs. The Coach: They were close. In this season, yeah. Playoffs, different story. Yeah. Playoffs, whatever. But they they surprised a lot of people even just getting that far, right? So that's that's what I would say for the best GM this year. dan: All right, lead the next question, coach. The Coach: All right, Mitch Martner. Ooh, this is a tough one for Leafs fans. If he wins a Stanley Cup away from Toronto, does that say more about Mitch Marner or more about the Leafs? Drew: I'm I'm gonna pull a coke share and give you a third option. I think this says more about Vegas. ⁓ I think I think the system that Vegas has allows you to plug in whoever you want in there they would ⁓ succeed more than they were in their previous spot. Just look at Jack Eichel. Jack Eichel came from Buffalo, who where he was underperforming as a superstar. they never made the playoffs, but yeah, you can just see underperforming. dan: Ooh. The Coach: Yeah. Drew: Mitch Marner was he disappeared in the playoffs for the Leafs. and now he's having one of the best playoffs definitely of this year. I think he's definitely one of the leading candidates for the Conn Smythe trophy. yeah, I think it says more about Vegas though and their system and how anybody can fit into that system and and and play well. The Coach: Yeah. dan: I've given you guys a a a box to work with in and keep going out of it and giving great answers. No, it's good. I think those are good, ⁓ the really good responses. And and I I do think it also, as what you're saying also speaks to the Leafs too though, as they need to figure out how to ⁓ an identity and find what was going to work and and not ⁓ just have to ⁓ throw everything away and then start again over and over and over. It's been a long time since they've found that real. recipe for success and and this kind of just is salt in the wound for them. And and that's what all the show radio hosts that are on on Radio, they just they are they don't know an answer why Mitch Marner is so much better today than he was in the in the Leafs playoff runs. The Coach: Yeah, I think from my perspective, I agree. It's it's a Toronto team building that's been a problem. you it's not like you can just play a ⁓ game, stack your lines, the top six, just expect things to roll well. Right? ⁓ hockey teams have strength down the middle. They've got a a good core of defense, like the top four are really strong, and they have great goaltending. That's you know, in the playoffs, you you can tell Goaltending is such an elevated importance because it makes or breaks games. you know, if you're gonna build a team, you have to build a balanced team because there's there's gonna be, you know, a period of time where your offense goes quiet. And if you can't defend, you can't keep pucks out the net, you won't be able to win those one-nothing, two-one kind of games. but you need to get the points. it not only in the regular season but in the playoffs as well. So I think ⁓ hopefully Matt Sundean can bring some insight and some ⁓ thought, some better thought into how this roster should be built. And you know, I and I I get there's this whole media hype about hey Toronto Leafs, they have so much pressure from the from the media. Yeah, I think I think lots of teams have pressure from their local media. And it's a bit of a bit of a myth that, you know, these guys face more pressure than anything else because you know champions are all over the place. And ⁓ I don't think Mitch Marner suddenly got better. He just got put into a more a better built team. dan: All right, let's roll through these last two here, guys. The underdogs, which finalists have the best chance to win the championship? Is it the Knicks in the NBA or the Golden Knights in the NHL? The Coach: just because the Knicks are dad's team, I'm going with the Vegas Golden Knights. I need them to win. I need the Spurs to win and everything will be okay. Drew: I think I think the the Golden Knights are definitely have the best chance. I wouldn't even ⁓ so far as calling them underdogs. Like they just came off beating arguably the best team in the playoffs, and ⁓ hasn't played anyone that great the whole playoffs. So I think Vegas for sure is the best chance of winning a championship. dan: Which is kind of similar to the NBA. Knicks haven't played in great competition and the the Spurs have already ⁓ beat the best team going into the playoffs. But I am gonna choose the Knicks. I think they match up very well with the Spurs. I think people are really underrating the the guards of Bridges O Ananobi. I I don't think they'll get bullied like the Thunder Guards did ⁓ by Vassell and and and Ste Castle and and Dylan Harper. I think they're bigger and they're They're able able to hold their own. So I'm going to take the Knicks. I'm going to take a lot riding here on Carl Anthony Towns. Last one here, Drew. You read it. Drew: ⁓ pick your champions the NHL, the NBA and the World Cup. dan: Coach. Let's go. World Cup is going in England. Okay, NBA, I'm going the New York Knicks. the NHL, I'm going the Carolina Hurricanes. And for the World Cup, I am also picking with my heart, which is the England. Drew: Yeah, and I'm gonna go ⁓ Vegas, ⁓ Total Shot in the Dark. Let's go Germany. Are they still good at soccer? dan: Team English. Germany. Yeah, they're still good. They're still good. I don't think they're favorite to win in anyway, but now they're yeah, I think ⁓ I think they're still good. So, guys, thanks for listening to all our sports talk here.