ED/BC Podcast
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ED/BC Podcast
Mike Vaccaro on the Knicks and “The Bosses of the Bronx.”
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Famed New York Post sports columnist Mike Vaccaro joins Erik and Brian from San Antonio after the Knicks’ comeback win in game one of The NBA Finals. He also discusses his latest book, “The Bosses of the Bronx: The Endless Drama of the Yankees Under the House of Steinbrenner.”
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The ED/BC Podcast. You think you hate it now, but wait until you listen to it.
We're coming to you after day uh game one of the NBA Finals. And and Brian, I gotta tell you, man, uh another great night of basketball. If you're a fan of the New York Knicks, that game took you for a ride last night. Uh we're gonna have a great guest, Mike Vicaro from the uh New York Post, who's down in San Antonio, gonna join us in a couple minutes. But I'll tell you what, Brian, if you're a fan of the Knicks, what a thrill last night's game one was. Victory.
SPEAKER_02Well, I'm uh I'm quoting the monkeys here. I'm a believer. It took a little, I mean, I'm like a lot of people. Uh, you know, I'm not a Knicks fan, but I really appreciate what they've been doing and all that. But you know, I'm like a lot of people. I thought, okay, the Knicks have had a hell of a run. But the Western Conference was the heavyweight fight. That was your main course. This is a little uh dessert that you hope you'll enjoy. But the real champion is probably coming out of the West. And it's one game, and we see this a lot. You can't jump too far ahead in a seven-game series after just one game. But that was a really impressive win um by the Knicks last night. I know the Knicks were rested, and San Antonio didn't have sort of a short layoff. I don't care. You're playing in their building. That place was rock. It's at least on T sound like it was rocking. And, you know, they got down a few times, and they could have that you could have been like, okay, here we go. Here comes the San Antonio run. We'll see you Friday night. Maybe the Knicks can steal one. Nope, the Knicks, you know, it's cliche, but they show like the heart of the champions, man. They don't quit.
SPEAKER_03See, listen, Brian, they're down 14 in the third quarter, and you're kind of thinking to yourself, all right, maybe the genie's out of the bottle a little bit. Is it the deep end of the pool? Is this gonna turn into a 115-92 loss? And then what? But man, they stuck with it. Uh, I thought Mike Brown did a great job using his bench last night. I thought uh when Wemby went out of the game, the Knicks and Fox. I thought Towns was terrific last night. Josh Hart scored three points, but had a huge impact on the game. 15 points. I think he had six assists, four steals. I mean, just a workmanlike performance. And Brian, again, you said you're a believer of the monkeys, man. Like uh, I just I'm so thrilled to watch this team, Brian. That's the best way I can describe it. Unselfish. There's no me. It's, I mean, listen, Brunson took 30 shots last night. End of the game, he's getting the ball. That's how they're built. I get it. But during the course of that game, everyone had their hand in that win last night. It's gonna make you feel good going forward, Brian.
SPEAKER_02I was surprised. I really like San Antonio said, we're not letting Jalen Jalen Brunson beat us last night. I don't know if they if there's an adjustment coming from the Spurs, but in terms of last night, whether they tried to or not, it wasn't happening. Brunson was gonna be the guy at the end of that game. Um, and again, from a more of an impartial observer, I'm looking forward to getting game two fascinates to me because I don't think we saw the best of Wemby. I want a game where Wemby is playing at his best, like we saw in, I think, like the one, you know, a couple of the games against Oklahoma City. I want that game and Brunson at his best. I want to see these two guys uh, you know, I I think it's just fascinating. And I do think this is gonna be a long series still. I I I'll, you know, a week from now, maybe we'll talk about next week and they'll get ready for a parade. But I think this is uh gonna be this is a gonna be this is gonna be a great series.
SPEAKER_03Though the um again, as a Nick fan, obviously I'm thrilled with last night. The one thing, if I was a Spurs fan that might concern me a touch is this is probably the most basketball that Wemby has ever played in his life. Brian, 22 years old, 38 minutes again last night, six of 21 from the field, two for nine from three. The idea that he's seven foot four and hoisting three pointers, I I someone's gonna have to explain that to me. Uh 26 points, 12 rebounds, two assists. He did turn the ball over six times. That's the other thing, Brian. When you're that, when you're seven foot four and your hand on the ball at the three-point line, you're gonna be prone to the turnover. So I'm I'm thinking that if I'm San Antonio, you got to get him down low, Brian. I mean, that's just but I don't understand this. Maybe it's just again, get off my lawn, old day, old time basketball. But uh you listen, Patrick Ewing was a great jump shooting center, and people used to criticize him for not going down low enough. So uh maybe I'm overreacting, but I think that's gotta be one of the Spurs make it.
SPEAKER_02I 100% agree with you. I thought the exact same thing. And I I understood like, and to the next credit, anytime you have a big man like that, um, who can draw go out to the perimeter, I always think, well, maybe they're trying to bring Towns out there. That's not where Towns really he doesn't thrive as a defensive perimeter. He's not a great defensive perimeter player, Eric. I don't know if you know this about KT, about Kat, but he's not. So I thought maybe they bring him out there, that opens up the offense for other guys down low, or maybe draw they try and draw Pat and uh Carl Anthony Towns in some foul trouble. The Mnicks were very disciplined. They quite frankly, there's a few quite a few times where they gave him those shots. And last night he didn't burn them because, as you mentioned, he's two for nine. And I see what you're saying about that, but also he's a um um he's a he's a pretty good. I can't believe I'm saying this for a three-point uh seven foot-four guy. He's a decent three-point shooter for being seven foot four. So it worked out last night.
SPEAKER_03Well, listen, we uh we're gonna get into it here with Mike Feccaro. Mike Ficaro from the New York Post wrote a book called The Bosses of the Bronx. Brian, we've both read it. It's terrific. Father's Day is coming up. I don't even know when it is this year. So it's usually the third week or so of the 21st or something of uh June. It's June 4th. You got time, folks. You got time to do some shopping. Go to Amazon, go to your local bookstore, RJ Julia down in Madison, our friends, anybody, the bosses of the Bronx. So Mike Ficaro is down in San Antonio covering the Knicks for the New York Post, and he was kind enough to join us to talk about not only the Knicks, but his new book called The Bosses of the Bronx. Joining us now from the New York Post with Mr. Mike Ficaro, a longtime columnist who's in San Antonio. He has a great book, The Bosses of the Bronx. I have Brian and I both have a copy. Uh but we want to talk about the Knicks. Uh, Mike, your column today hit it right on the head. This was supposed to be a mirage. The Knicks were supposed to go away under these bright lights of the finals. That didn't happen, though, Mike.
SPEAKER_00No, it didn't happen, uh Eric. And the thing of it is, it's just uh it's this remarkable story that just keeps you know, just has legs. I mean, you know, it was they they they came back against the Hawks. I was pretty impressed with that. I mean, they took four off the Sixers and barely broke a sweat, and that seemed like, okay, that's different. And took four more off the Cavs. And, you know, it's hilarious because if you watch the games every day, I mean it really didn't matter who they were playing, they were gonna they were gonna, you know, just just stomp them. Even the game they they they trailed by 22 in the fourth quarter game one against Cleveland. I mean, you know, they actually did end the game on a 44 to 11 run, which kind of mirrors what they've done the rest of the stretch. You know, last night they're down 14 and they wound up winning by 10. And even more impressive, they blow a late eight-point lead, you know, they're they're trailing by one, and they end the game on an 11 to nothing run. I mean, it's just i it's it's really remarkable. I saw a stat this morning that the Knicks are six and six since 2024 in games where they've trailed by 14 points and more in the second half. The rest of the NBA in that time is 10 and 100. And that that that really summarizes it to me. And nobody seems to want to believe it because you know, you know, why why was this team so you know okay, very good, but not certainly it didn't seem to be special during the regular season or for the first three games against the Hawks for that matter, which suddenly they're on this different plane. That doesn't that's not supposed to happen in basketball. But I got news for you. It's happened. You know, it's it's it just keeps getting more and more and better and better. And that's not to say they wrapped up the series last night, but you know, there were a lot of people I think who thought the Spurs are just gonna come in and make a statement yesterday. And they did. There wasn't the one that they were looking for.
SPEAKER_02What do you think, Michael? What type of adjustments do you think that San Antonio would make in game two? And do you think the Knicks really would need to do anything different from last night? I mean, Wemby had sort of, I think, sort of an off-night for Wemby, but I'm wondering if they need to do anything, like if you think you the Knicks are gonna do anything different from game one or just uh think of they they have they do you think they've already found a winning formula?
SPEAKER_00Well, you know what, Brian? I think the best thing that happened in the Knicks last night is they didn't have to employ their secret weapon on on Wembyama, which is OG Ananobi. You know, Carl Anthony Towns did such a terrific job on him. I think it was two for twelve when the shots he took when when Kat was guarding him, Mitch did a good job against him. Um we all know that OG is there waiting in the wings for when they need to go to a you know, could go to a different look, but they didn't need that last night. So um, you know, I I think one of the things the Spurs are gonna want to do is, you know, a real key to for them to beat the Knicks, I think, is to make Kat unavailable. And the easiest way to do that is to try and draw him in the stupid fouls which Pat's been known to collect. But you know, last night he had one foul in the first half. Um I mean he was never in any foul trouble. Um as long as he's available, it's gonna be harder for the Spurs is because he's a guy they have they they they they have trouble answering to. I mean, even if you want to say that him and Wemby, you know, cancel each other out, the Knicks will take that trade off. I think they'll be they'll they'll be confident they can figure it out the rest of the way, up and down the rest of the lineup. And you know, kudos to Mike Brown. I mean, you know, during the champagne just destroyed them in the first half and was literally invisible in the second. And you know, when that's when that stuff happens, you credit the coach for identifying a problem and doing something to rectify it.
SPEAKER_03Can you can you compare in all your years of covering you know even New York sports, some have we seen anything like this before? This this is a team, Mike, that I mean, they've won 12 straight playoff games, seven in a row on the road. And can you compare this to anything else you've seen over the years?
SPEAKER_00You know, I was talking to somebody this morning about this. I mean, the the the the notion that there weren't a lot of Knicks fans who were panicking when they were down 14 in the third quarter. And it's you know, sometimes you don't have to worry about the players, but it's the fans you have to worry about because they've seen it before, because the Knicks have done it before. You know, this this really kind of reminds me of what the Yankees were like in 99 and 2000. I mean and uh uh as someone who wasn't a Yankee fan or isn't a Yankees fan, I have to figure that's what it was like in those years as a Yankee fan. You just kind of knew you know, as bad as things might look in a game or a series, uh they'd found a way to figure it out, which they did, you know. I I I kind of likened you know Brunson in the fourth quarter yesterday to Derek Jeter hitting the leadoff home run in game four against the Mets in the World Series. Right? All of a sudden it's like, well no, are the antics in trouble? And like literally 11 seconds into the game, no, they're not. And you know, I I made the comparison between Jeter and Brunson before, and I and I hold to it. They're just they're they're they're so similar in demeanor and what they mean to the team and how they elevate their play during the playoffs, and how just everything kind of goes through them, even if they're not necessarily the most gifted player on the floor.
SPEAKER_02Well, that's a great, you know, that brought brings me to my next question. I was thinking about it last night. We've seen some really some great players, imports I call them, that come to New York and you know, elevate teams. Mark Messi is an easy one to think about this time of year. Where do you think Jalen Brunson is on that level of just a guy? He's not a homegrown Nick, but sort of where is he gonna be? Is he already among this is a near early debate. Do you think he's already among the great sort in that area, or does he have to win three more games to sort of have legendary stuff?
SPEAKER_00Oh no, he's already on the rush more, I think. I mean, you know, if we if we if we can agree that Clyde and Patrick are in whatever order you choose, one and two, uh, I think he's already three. I think I think he surpassed Willis week. People will find that sacrilegious because of what Willis meant to those to those teams, but uh I I I have no problem putting him there. Okay, if you want to put Willis ahead of him, then he's still on the rush more because he's still number four. And I don't think there's a good argument for anybody else. Um in my personal rush more, he would have knocked Bernard King off there, which breaks my heart because Bernard was my guy when I was a kid. But uh look, I mean, uh what he's done and and what he does in the playoffs, um, you know, you never want to anoint prematurely. Um but if they do finish this off, then all of a sudden, I mean, it's fair to have the conversation where he ranks one, you know, one two, even with Patrick and even with Clyde. And I think both those guys would probably tell you that. Maybe you need to give Patrick some truth serum, but Clyde is more than happy to tell you how great a how great Jalen is and how much he enjoys watching him and and just what it's like to watch him play as a guy who knew what it was like to play in that position at that level for that team for so long.
SPEAKER_03This Nook fan base, we've seen it in Atlanta, we've seen it in Philadelphia, we saw it in Cleveland. Uh, you're there. It looked like a pretty good representation of Knicks fans traveling south.
SPEAKER_00I would say 15% of the building, which for game one of the finals is astonishing. Um, I know I you know, I I I I flew in yesterday, and my flight from Houston, my connecting flight from Houston to San Antonio was 95% Knicks fans, and I think the other five percent, you know, were just people you know coming home from a business trip um or leaving on a business trip and just did you know didn't didn't have a horse in the race. A lot of orange and blue on that plane. I got to my hotel, it was the same thing. I mean, it's just extraordinary. I don't know how these folks got get their tickets. I don't know how they find the scratch to pay for these tickets, and I get it. It's not like it's not like buying a ticket at Madison Square Garden, but you still gotta get on the plane, and I can assure you that plane wasn't cheap. And uh, you know, I guess you know it's a pretty good hotel city here, so you can probably find accommodation, but that's some that's some serious commitment there, I'll tell you that.
SPEAKER_03Like, you got a great book, The Bosses of the Bronx, and I'm sure you're gathering material for a potential neck book, correct? I mean, you're gonna have lots of stuff to lots of stuff to write about. Uh The Bosses of the Bronx came out a couple months ago. We got Father's Day coming up. Um, a great gift for any dad, any baseball fan, any Yankee fan. Um, just first of all, tell us there've been a lot written about George Steinberger, but you managed to find new stories, your perspective. Uh, tell me about the process of hey, I'm gonna write a book about George.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, look, I thought it was a really fertile ground because I think enough time had passed since George had passed away in 2010. You know, there were a lot of a lot of Yankee fans who just are too young to remember George at all. And if they have any memory at all, it's just this kindly old man who would walk in the Yankee Stadium and be cheered and chanted. And even, you know, Yankee fans of my generation, of our generation, um, you know, I think they choose to remember a certain version of George and kind of you know conveniently forget what it was like when he was just an everyday part of the news cycle in the 70s and the eighties. Not always for the best either. And so I thought it was a good time to kind of revisit just this full picture of who this guy was. So many facets to him, some good, some bad, a lot of in-between, a lot of unbelievable stories. I mean, you thought things around the Yankees were crazy on a Tuesday, and then you show up in the press box on Wednesday, and you'd be like, What? And that was life around George. And you know, to me, that's exactly the kind of character you look for when you're looking to preserve someone's time between the pages of a book, you know, and it's it's not a strict bio of George. There have been a bunch of good ones written about him. Um it's it's just it's it's a slice of what the Yankees were like from 1973 on. And uh that's really what was my inspiration for writing the book.
SPEAKER_02Uh, you know, Mike, you you talk about in the book, so but just to give people a taste, can you talk a little bit about just you had some group, it seems to have some really good personal interaction interactions with with George. What sort of well, how would you define describe your relationship with him, especially when in your younger years of covering covering?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it was very cordial, Brian. I mean, like I missed the the crazy George years of the 70s and the 80s. Uh to my to my regret. You know, I think maybe sometimes I was born a little too late. Uh it's one of the few times I feel that way, actually, these days. Um, but uh look, I mean I got to know George a little bit when I was working with the New York Star Ledger. Uh you know, the Yankees kind of partnered with the with the Devils and the Nets for a couple of years. So he was around and had very opinionated, and so I was around a lot of times when he would show up and you know that kind of thing. But you know, as I related in the opening pages of the book, my first interaction with George uh was when I was covering the uh Raiders Buccaneers Super Bowl in San Diego, and my cell phone went off at like I think I think 3 27 a.m. was the was the exact was the exact time. And you know, he he was back in Tampa, so he didn't he didn't know from West Coast that uh West Coast time zones. Uh and it was extraordinary. It was unique, it was a 40-minute chat where we're covering a thousand different things. And it was about you know the USOC, which he was he which he was heavily involved in, and about Al Davis, who was a close friend of his, which is the reason why I actually called him in the first place. You know, and from there for the next couple of years, you know, George was still very vibrant, very very alive, very involved, and invariably whenever I would write about him, a couple of days later I'd get, you know, in my in my my in my mailbox, I'd get a handwritten note acknowledging uh the power, even if it wasn't kind, and I wasn't always kind to the things that I wrote about George because it was impossible to be because he just was all over the map. Um but lucky he was like the kid who shows up in the local penny saver and saves it for his lifetime. He loved seeing his name in the paper, he loved being a guy people talked about, he loved being the subject of stories. And uh so as a result, you know, people say, What do you think, George, you think about the book? Honestly, I think he'd like it because it's fair. It goes through all of the good and all of the bad, but it but but but it gives equal convention of both. Um and I think it really kind of just reminds people what his legacy is uh around the Yankees, you know, and you know, some people extend that to a conversation about whether he belongs in the Hall of Fame or not, and it's certainly a fair question. But it was an this was an impactful guy. And uh, you know, from being being honest about it, he rescued the Yankees as a New York perennial, you know. I mean, the Yankees had one put out one foot out the door when he when he arrived, and they're still in New York, and he had a large uh a lot to do with that.
SPEAKER_02I think a lot of people forget, yeah, he could have been, they could, they were very close to going to New Jersey, which is I sort of forgot about.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, or even New Orleans guys. I mean, that's how bad things were. I mean, the Mets owned the town, they outdrew the Yankees two and a half to one in 1972, and and by 73 they they were the dominant team in town. Um, I think people just assumed the Yankees were gonna follow the Giants out the door, you know, heading west. And uh he you know that that's part of the reason why he got the team in the first place. Um you know, CBS chairman William Paley, the legendary chairman of CBS, already knew that you know part of his legacy had been damaged because he'd been he'd allowed the the Yankees to crumble under CBS ownership. He did not want part of his obituary to be that he was a man who let the Yankees leave town. And so even though Lehman Brothers had offered significantly more money in their bid for the team, uh Steinbrenner's willingness to commit his group to keeping the Yankees around in New York uh was really what's what would carry the day with Paley and ultimately got him the team.
SPEAKER_03Same time, Mike. I'm of the age, uh, you know, as a Yankee fan growing up, there were plenty of times in the 80s where I wish George Steinbrenner wasn't the owner of the Yankees. I mean people forget that. I can go through the litany of trades. If you're a Seinfeld fan, you've heard them all. Um, but we lived through those. I mean, they they won the most games in the 80s, but had no championships. So, like, there was a time where I it's his his life is almost like a book. Got championships in the 70s, in the 80s, it was dysfunction with Dave Winfield, et cetera. And the Yankees rebuilt their team a couple different times while he wasn't around, Mike. You get into that a little bit if you could.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, sure. I mean, that's the that is the great irony. Look, I mean, George's impact for the Yankees was was huge and it was eternal, but the fact is, it's on the record, the Yankees' two championship eras in his tenure were built when he was suspended from the game in 74 and 75 for some illegal campaign contributions. Gabe Paul was was left alone to basically build the bones of that championship team. And later on, when he was suspended for the Howie Spear incident with Dave Whitfield, uh Stick Michael did the same thing. And you know, it's funny because you know, I I'm certainly I'm I'm certain you guys hear from the same uh uh uh uh faction of Yankees fans, whenever they start losing four or five games in a row, you hear about what would George do? They want to rip Hal because he's too patient, he won't fire anybody. And what I remind people is, yeah, the Yankees, you know, drought might be 16 years right now. But when George was doing George things, which is what people seem to want Hal to do, they once won 18 years without a championship. So, you know, which one would you prefer?
SPEAKER_02You know, one of my favorite things there's some about that, like what would George do in this situation? Uh, as a fan of the team on the other side of town, I'm always wondering if uh a Steve Cohen, a guy like that, who's not not afraid, not shy of the cameras, but is you know, not as uh boisterous as George was, but also has all the money in the world to spend, how would George have reacted to the Mets having, I guess, the equal playing field?
SPEAKER_00Uh yeah, that's a great question because look, I mean, when when the Mets you know took the town back from the Yankees in the 80s, it wasn't because they were outspending George. In fact, those Mets teams didn't have hardly any free agents at all. It was all done through the draft and through smart trades. And I don't like the Knicks this year, by the way. Um but you know, it it's funny because when George was coming of age as the Yankees owner, you know, he was going up against Linda DuValey at the Mets, and you know, famously she would would ask the uh her workers why they couldn't retrieve foul balls, wash them off, and use them again tomorrow. Uh George D so so you know Steve Cohen may have some flaws as an owner, but he's not gonna do that. And so that's that's a huge difference between what Hal you know has is going up against and what George is going up against. But I do think that George, the competitor in George would probably be very engaged. Um and you know, not always to the best. I'm not so sure that he would have allowed the Yankees to lose out on Ju Soto. And I'm not so sure they would be better off if they got Juto instead of the the Multiple players are yacht instead. So it's a it's it's a fascinating question.
SPEAKER_03George would handle social media, Mike. He uh was the king of the facts to Mike and the Mad Dog, et cetera, in the nineties. Uh would would George be uh, you know, yelling and screaming? You tell a great story about Hal and you know, throwing the shoe against the TV, but how would George handle handle social media?
SPEAKER_00Oh, he would be on his phone constantly. There's no question about that. That would be a given. Um and yeah, that's the thing that Hal says. The difference between him and his father is that he yells at the TV and throws his shoe at the TV when the Yankees lose a tough game. Uh his father would do the exact same thing, only when he was done, he'd call the New York Post and New York Daily News and say, guess what I just did? I just did my shoe at the TV, and that would be a headline for three days. So you're never gonna see Hal do that. Different folks for different strokes and different generations, I guess. But uh, you know, it wouldn't even occur to Hal to behave that way.
SPEAKER_03Well, listen, Mike, it's a great book, The Bosses of the Bronx. It's a great read for folks who are gonna hit the beach this summer. Uh, Father's Day is coming up. Uh and you told me once already that you actually left a lot on the cutting room floor, so I'm looking forward to a part two down the road.
SPEAKER_00You never know. Maybe the director's got coming out soon.
SPEAKER_03You're gonna get that paperback edition, gonna add that new chapter. Exactly.
SPEAKER_00Exactly.
SPEAKER_03Uh, we'll be reading you in the in the post about the Knicks. Enjoy the ride. Hopefully, it goes on for uh a couple weeks longer here with the Knicks and they bring home a championship, and then you'll be writing about a trip down the canyon of the heroes. And how much fun would that be to write about, Mike? Garden will be fun next week.
SPEAKER_00Garden will be fun. Yep. Thanks, guys. I appreciate the time.
SPEAKER_03All right, take care, be safe. Uh Mike Ficaro from the New York Post again. Brian, uh, we've had him on in the past, and I think he told me previously the book. Let me look at it here. I think it's what, 400 pages, 350 pages, something like that. Yeah. 350 pages, 351. And I think he originally wrote 600. That's a lot. It is, but as a sports fan, I gotta tell you, Brian, uh, as someone who read Bill Clinton's book about 20 years ago, there was 900 pages at the beach. Took me host the summer. Good good stories are good stories. So I'm I'm always fascinated when they they tell you the editor tells you you need to cut a third of the book.
SPEAKER_02I mean, I remember reading the the the Harry, the Harry Truman biography, which is about three feet, three feet thick at one took me about four months. Uh, and this isn't that, but I I I I told we I said I mentioned to it tomorrow when we talked to him, hey, you know, second edition, second printing, add a new a new chapter in there. Folks will eat it up. It was great stuff.
SPEAKER_03And it is uh it is ironic. He mentioned it when we asked him about it. Like, people forget, man. It's you know, when people die, they become saints. You know, that's the old saying that uh the warts kind of forget about the warts, you think about the good things. And obviously, George did a lot of great things. We didn't even get into the charity, all the all the funerals he paid for for New York City police officers and firefighters, uh 9-11.
SPEAKER_02The way he stepped up after Thurman Munson, which was unbelievable.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, he he was really they used to tease him on Mike and the Mad Dog that he was the uh father Flanagan role. He, you know, with with Daryl Strawberry, Doc Gooden. He always had a soft spot for guys, Steve Howe, people that had gone through some tough times, not just former Mets, obviously, but um, you know, obviously he wanted to win, so there wasn't motivation for the reason he was signing these guys. They weren't bums off the street, obviously, but um he did a lot of charitable work, did a lot of things, but at the same time, he had some he had some faults. You know what I mean? He was yeah, a couple, yeah. Couple, a couple things that got him in trouble with the law and et cetera. And you know, he had some pardons along the way. But Mike didn't mention it this time, but I talked to him another time and he made a great point. Trump is a lot like Steinbrenner when it comes to social media. You could see George putting these long tweets out, and then at the end going, Thank you for your attention to this matter, George Steinbrenner, owner of the Yankee. You know, you can't.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, like two o'clock, these two a.m. tweets, you wake up and we're like, What? George was tweeting at 3 o'clock this morning.
SPEAKER_03And I'm just mad because all the content we're missing, Brian. I mean, geez, come on, George, stay with us a little longer next time.
SPEAKER_02I don't think uh we didn't ask Mike about this, but I don't think like the writers these days, I don't think in New York. I'd like to see some of the Yankee beat writers go talk to the guys that were on the beat 40, 50 years ago. Because he'd be like, you guys have no idea what how much you missed out on.
SPEAKER_03And the Bill Maddens of the world, people who were around the team back then. Bill's still a little active, does some radio stuff. I don't know if he does zooms. I don't really see him on Zooms, but he's a guy you think of. I mean, Peter Gammon. So, I mean, listen, we love Peter for the Boston Globe. He was around those Steinbrenner teams of the 70s with the Red Sox, all those great rivalries. So, anyway, great book. The bosses of the Bronx. The Knicks ride will continue, Brian. I'm looking forward to it. Game two is uh Friday night, so enjoy it, Knicks fans. Hopefully it lasts uh a little longer. And uh listen, I said the Knicks in six, Brian. I'll stick with that. Let's just hope there's a championship in New York. It's long overdue.
SPEAKER_02Uh, next week in New York, when the series comes back to the Apple and comes back to the garden, it's gonna be freaking insane. We've already heard about some of the people on the guest list, or there might be an attendance. It's gonna be what's the place gonna be crazy.
SPEAKER_03Be kind of fun to be there, but it's including the president, Brian.
SPEAKER_02Well, that's kind of what I was alluding to, yeah. As of this recording, he that he says he's going, so we'll see. And uh that'll be nuts in and of itself. Because I don't remember the last time a president went to like game three of the NBA finals. I don't know.
SPEAKER_03I don't think he's gonna be sitting down with Timmy Chalamet and uh, you know, uh, what's his name from um uh Ben Stiller or Spike per se, probably up in Dolan. But Dolan sits on the baseline behind the basket, so that would be funny to you know, to see a president sitting in the front row courtside would be something interesting, to tell you the least.
SPEAKER_02So I don't think we ever saw I don't think Nixon was courtside during the 73 finals. I could be wrong.
SPEAKER_03No, I know. And there'll definitely be some mixed reviews at the Garden Brian.
SPEAKER_02Let's just leave it at that. So absolutely, but hey, listen, it's gonna be fun. And listen, as I get it as some my team went through it a few years ago, and I say that to the Knicks fans, I I man, you earn this because you bought guys put up with a lot the last 50 years, enjoy it, just savor every minute of this.
SPEAKER_03On social media, there's been stuff of just you forget all the coaches that have the turnstile, the the Jeff Hornetsecks of the world. Oh my god. The Isaiah Thomas error. Oh, error, I should call it. But oh, good lord. So hey, much like Steinbrenner, maybe there'll be a book about Dolan, the bosses of uh the garden coming out in the next couple years. Who knows? So, anyway, yep. All right, that'll do it for this edition of the EDBC podcast. I'm Eric Keys Brian. Until the next time, Brian. Say goodbye. See ya.
