Why Sports Podcast 04022024- Most Wonderful time of the Year, March Madness, Wrestleman

The speaker is excited about the month of April because it's a great time for sports and for their podcast. They express gratitude to listeners and announce that they will be celebrating their one-year anniversary by starting a YouTube channel. They talk about the exciting events happening in sports, such as March Madness, opening day in baseball, WrestleMania, NBA and NHL playoffs, and the upcoming NFL draft. They then discuss the men's and women's Final Four in college basketball, highlighting the dominance of the UConn women's team and the impressive performances of players like Kaitlyn Clark. They express their appreciation for the growth and popularity of women's basketball. I couldn't find a better way to introduce the month of April with a Christmas album because man it might as well be Christmas in April. This is indeed the most wonderful time of the year as a sports fan and quite frankly for our podcast as well. I just want to jump right into it. We are turning one y'all. We have done this for one year and so first and foremost just want to say thank you all for those who have listened, those who have taken the time to do this, to just join me in this journey, provided me feedback. Just wanted to say thank you all so much and how are we going to celebrate our one-year anniversary? Well we are going to go on social media. We're going to go on Instagram and we're going to go on YouTube. We're going to provide more details in the upcoming days and weeks to come but this is a new adventure for us because we're actually going to start doing our podcast now on our YouTube page. We've been doing it so long from audio.com and we want to thank the fine folks at Audio for being able to host our website and host our podcast all this time but we're going to do something new. We're going to try something a little bit more exciting and we're going to go on to YouTube but we're going to start. We're setting up that now so look for some announcements on that in the upcoming days and weeks but we're so excited about this and just as our gift for turning one this year, we'll provide some extra details. I'm working on some things right now but it's just so much fun and just cannot wait to share all of the good news with you as the details come through but like we mentioned this is the most wonderful time of the year not just for this podcast but for sports. I mean you are, we are now here on April the 2nd and just look what's happening all around us. The March Madness for both men and women's basketball have been absolutely amazing. LSU Iowa set a standard last night with the most watched college women's college basketball game ever and I've got some fun stats to share with you on that as well as far as how many people watch that in comparison to other sports. It's been absolutely amazing. We got an opening day in baseball that has taken place. Baltimore Orioles according to some media outlets are the favorites to win the World Series. I don't think as an Orioles fan I have been this excited and this eager for a season to start. Gosh since maybe 96, 97 when we had Roberto Alomar, Brady Anderson, Cal Ripken and that loaded team. This is such a fun time to be an Orioles fan right now and to actually have a season of expectations. It's absolutely incredible and then on top of all of this is WrestleMania week y'all and again you know we do our separate wrestling podcast as well and so I'm gonna share this now. We will be back on the air tomorrow and we will be doing our my favorite top 10 WrestleMania matches of all time and then that'll take us to Thursday as we will preview both nights of WrestleMania 40, WrestleMania XL. I cannot wait to share that and provide my predictions. It'll be so it'll be so much fun and again that's all happening this week culminating with night one on Saturday as well as night two on Sunday. We got the NBA and the NHL seasons are winding down. I love the NBA and the NHL playoffs. They are all so much fun and usually the season ends around the April 14th, 15th time frame and it just gets you excited about the playoffs that are going to be happening and then we got the NFL draft later on this month. This month along with October the only month where we have all four sports being involved in one way shape or form. May it be the draft, may it be the regular season of the Major League Baseball, it may be the postseason of the NHL hockey season. This is just a wonderful, wonderful time of the year and if you are a sports fan then man I can't wait to talk to you and get your thoughts on what is an exciting moment. But let's just jump right into it. Let's talk about the Benz Final Four probably also known as the UConn Invitational. UConn has looked so dominant with wins over 20 plus over each of their four opponents so far. They are the defending national champions and they are playing like a team on a mission. Man they play Alabama next and Alabama they have been an amazing story this year but I cannot see anybody knocking off UConn. I just can't. I think Hurley's got those boys ready and they they've been absolutely amazing. They're on their way to possibly winning their sixth national championship. They have been amazing and shout out to the Lady Huskies who too are in the Final Four and we'll talk about the women's Final Four in a minute. We also have Purdue and NC State. Zach Eady versus DJ Burns and for Zach Eady he's been the national college player of the year. Last year he probably may be in line to win it again this year. Everything's in front of him now to win the national championship. Unfortunately UConn is also standing as well but for him an opportunity to finally achieve a destiny that I think a lot of people in the press have had for quite some time for about the Purdue Boilermakers and can they make it happen. But I also want to send some love to NC State star DJ Burns who quite frankly has been the star of this tournament. He has this he's a big boy if you ever see them he's just and he's got a smile that goes ear to ear but brother he will box you out in a heartbeat man. I cannot wait to see him and this Final Four after that. Hopefully I hope they make it to the championship game. I want to see this guy's profile and who knows the way he is he may be going to the NFL. There's apparently some reports out that NFL executives are looking at him to my guess would be to possibly play a tight end or maybe a lineman but he's just so quick for his size that it's going to work so well in basketball and I think he'd be an amazing football player. I'm not sure if he's had any experience with that but he has been a true gem. I had not really seen him before the NCAA tournament but again that's the beauty about the NCAA tournament. You get you get to see stars that you really didn't get a chance to follow throughout the season and just be like wow these guys are so good and they've got this national stage to truly highlight their greatness so looking forward to it. The Final Four for the men's side starts on Friday I'm sorry starts on Saturday and it'll be in Phoenix, Arizona. Cannot wait to see them again. Our prediction here we believe UConn they're going to beat Alabama. We're going to have to call for the upset NC State being Purdue and then UConn will be on its way to winning its sixth national championship. We just don't think anybody can beat them. That takes us to the women's Final Four and this has been so enjoyable so I'm like if you allow me I'm going to drop in a wide sports moment because again when we thought about this podcast last year we just wanted to talk about the love of sports and what it can do for people. I want to give a shout out to my amazing wife Kashea Spain because she has been so enthralled with the women's Final Four the women's March Madness. She has been so excited to watch every game. Now anybody who knows my wife she's she's more of a football fan but she's you know being around me as long as she has she started to like sports a little bit and I gotta tell stories about the Ravens that Ravens watching her watch the Ravens was just hilarious but her watching the women's college basketball March Madness tournament has been amazing. She has really been locked in and she like everybody else apparently 12.3 million of y'all watch the Kaitlyn Carr Angel Reese LSU and Iowa matchup most watched women's basketball game of all time most watched game on any of the ESPN platforms it it just goes to show how much the women's game has so much evolved over the years and Kaitlyn Clark is an absolute star but I I almost and I understand that a lot of love is going to go to Kaitlyn but man Angel Reese was Angel Reese is just as prolific as anybody else her swagger her confidence her style it was a big reason why a lot of people watch that game last year as well and when you look at how well the women's game is starting to finally catch on and be something that people want to watch and hang on to I think about these two great women but I think about all the legends that have come through before the late great past summit when she would lead her Tennessee volunteers Cheryl Swooves was an absolute beast at Texas Tech you got Cheryl Miller out at USC Lisa Leslie at USC I mean you got players that were ball and you look at these legendary players in that I really wish that people got a chance to watch them in their game in their prime and truly see how special they are so I'm so glad it's catching up now where the Angel Reese is the Carmela Cardoza's the Juju Watkins the Paige Buckers the Angel Reese the Flau'jae Johnson's of the world are getting their love and getting their respect it is an absolutely great time for women's basketball and I cannot wait to see the rest of the final four and again we got caught up in the LSU Iowa matchup and what a rivalry what a two-year excuse me a two-year run for those two great teams playing each other and have really brought the attention of college basketball women's college basketball to the forefront here it's a rivalry that we haven't seen quite frankly since the Tennessee Connecticut days it is so it is so special right now to watch that and again just watching Kaitlyn Clark yesterday that's a bad woman she a bad you know Stephen A. Spence who I love so much he's called Aaron Rodgers Aaron Rodgers he a bad man he a bad man Kaitlyn Clark is a bad woman she I mean she had 40 points last night shooting three like she was Steph Curry man she was she is phenomenal I look at her run now and it takes me it back a lot to what I saw in Carmelo Anthony in his 2003 national championship run with Syracuse and how he was just so dumb and it was literally he showed and nobody could stop him for six games and I feel like that's what's happening with Kaitlyn Clark now she's got two games to go and that includes an undefeated South Carolina but she feels like she's that is the one player that I feel like can go against South Carolina as great of a team as they are and beat them and beat them because she is on another level right now she's been absolutely amazing this year and again we highlighted Juju Watkins and USC they had a tough loss against UConn yesterday they're just just amazing they're just she just watching her play and she's only a freshman man she's got a couple of more years to go she's gonna be she's gonna be amazing I can't wait to watch her and I think when you see the polls coming out next year USC is gonna be a top five women's basketball team and then you get Angel Reese and Flau'jae Johnson I love their I love the one-two combo of them at LSU they remind me so much of Shaq and Penny they remind me so much of just watching just seeing them play and feed off each other and you know when they lost yesterday and watching Flau'jae supporting Angel throughout the and during that post post conference it was just I love watching that I love seeing teammates bond like that and just seeing them and watch them really over the year really watching them as they you know as they won the national championship and just seeing them may have been commercials may have been social media they have been so tight and it'll be interesting to see what happens next with LSU should Angel Reese decide to stay or bet LSU and try to go back one more time or should she go into the WNBA and I tell you what and no no not to the WNBA because I'd love the WNBA but right now the best visibility and the best thing for Angel may be to stay at LSU for one more year I mean she's making NIL money like crazy I mean the visibility she gets at LSU is probably quite better than anything she's getting that you can get at the WNBA level but it's gonna be up to her and her brand she's gonna she's gonna be a star I think wherever she decides to stay if she decides to stay at LSU I think they may go in as the favorites on next year if she decides to go into the WNBA she's gonna make a franchise very happy she's gonna have a lot of swagger I hope she finds a way to Washington she grew up in Baltimore I hope she finds a way to being a Washington Mystic I think that would just be awesome our predictions for the final four we do South Carolina NC State that is one matchup Iowa and Connecticut is the other South Carolina is unbeaten we expect them to stay that way that we think they will knock out NC State Iowa and Connecticut this feels like such a huge game Kaitlyn Clark versus Paige Buckers Paige who was out all last year was a torn ACL she is reminding the world why she is one of the best players in the world and when I look at this matchup it's so it feels so historic you got the best player in the game right now Kaitlyn Clark you have the best program in the history of women's basketball in the Connecticut women Lady Huskies and it just feels like for Kaitlyn Clark to finish this story she would have to knock out the UConn Huskies in the South Carolina Gamecocks and we you know one thing we love about Hilo-Weiss was we love playoffs and it's not even so much the domination of the past but the path it took itself to win your championship if you're telling me that Kaitlyn Clark has a knockouts LSU had a knockout South Carolina in the championship game and UConn and the final four to become a national champion I don't think you can write a better story for Kaitlyn Clark and I think she would submit herself as a true college basketball legend and it is for that we think that Iowa does raise the banner and we do think they're going to knock out the national knock out the undefeated South Carolina Gamecocks in the championship game put that one in South Carolina but if there's anybody who can knock out Kaitlyn Clark it is the best coach in the game right now and that's Dawn Staley and her Gamecocks they look absolutely amazing can't wait to see it the women's final four starts on Friday it ends on Sunday they such beautiful timing it is right there before night 2 of WrestleMania we watched it last year watch that legendary game of Iowa and LSU right before night 2 of WrestleMania so I'm looking forward to doing it again this year so that takes us into opening day of baseball my Orioles right now they're 3-2 they just lost to Kansas City earlier today but I got like I talked about at the top of the show there's so much excitement for both quite frankly excitement that I haven't really felt in nearly 30 years in this franchise and I know they won divisional championships and I know they've come and kind of surprised people but this is a year of expectations they've got such a great team they got the number one prospect in Jackson Holiday this year I hope I cannot wait to go to Camden Yards this year and watch them play and feel that atmosphere as this is a team that's looking to become repeat division champions in the American League East they look they look exciting can't wait to see them play the Texas Rangers of course they're the defending World Series champions they were dominant they were at they absolutely blew by everybody last year they have such a great pitching rotation I expect them to come back and continue if not even more this year they'll still have to deal with a very tough division including the Houston Astros who's just they are just there every year Shohei Otani he'll be another big story obviously he's got the gambling issues going on but before that he did become the highest paid free agent in the history of sports going to the Los Angeles Dodgers there's a lot of expectation in LA they have built this amazingly expensive team and anything short of a World Series they are the favorites according to CBS Sports to win the World Series but they just seem to find a way to come up short every year they had they did win the championship in the COVID year 2020 but it is going to be an interesting year to see if they can finally put those pieces together because it is so tough in a baseball playoff because you know you go every year you go play those games every day and then you get that time off during the playoffs and everything just comes so abrupt and where baseball is usually a game of time and everything else like that the playoffs are truly a sprint and it's a it's a hard thing to get through each year because you're gonna be a great team in the regular season you get caught up in one time one team it's over before you blink so it's gonna be interesting to see if the Dodgers can find a way to get past that and find their way back to the World Series again we also talked about it's WrestleMania week we got our we're gonna do our preview on Thursday we're gonna do our most we're gonna do our top 10 WrestleMania matches tomorrow and these are just simply my favorite 10 Russell top 10 WrestleMania matches maybe next year we'll actually go through and actually analyze the best WrestleMania matches of all time I'd like to do my promo I'd like to rate my matches from promo to bail how well did you get me into the building how well did you get me talking about you after we leave the building that's how I want to that's how we rate a great match and everything else like that so I cannot wait to do that we'll go through that starting tomorrow we'll do our my favorite top 10 matches and then on Thursday we'll do a preview for WrestleMania we'll preview both nights other big things that come out of WrestleMania week are the other shows that come about for me the main show I'm looking forward to is the Ring of Honor show that'll come out that'll come on Friday and the big thing about that is can Mark Briscoe become the Ring of Honor world champion 11 years to the day his brother Jay the late great Jay Briscoe became Ring of Honor world champion at the Super Card of Honor I've been a Briscoe fan for a very long time Mark Briscoe's going against Eddie Kingston the current Ring of Honor world champion I don't know if you guys are too familiar with that but I think anything that's not WrestleMania related that's the matchup I cannot wait to see the most I want to see if Mark Briscoe can finish this story you know we talked about Cody can he finish this story Mark Briscoe's been trying to get this world championship for a couple of months and he's always wanted to do it to honor his brother Jay and I think Philadelphia would go insane if he found a way to win the world championship there the other big match I'm looking forward to that is not WrestleMania related but it is NXT related and that is Stand and Deliver I cannot wait to see Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes have their match one-on-one probably the best storytelling from NXT since the days of Gargano and Ciampa and watch it and it was so interesting if you haven't had a chance NXT has this promo I think it's called Prime Target you can watch it on the YouTube channel and they take it's like it is nine minutes of it reminds you why the WWE at its best there's nothing better I when if you have never heard of these two and never knew their story watch this nine minute clip and then you're gonna try to find a way to get the peacock so you can watch this match I'll just heard it today it is going to main event Stand and Deliver which is on Saturday I cannot wait to see it it's going to be so much fun to see that match and rivalry and I hope it's the start of something really big I know both of them can probably get called up to the main roster any day now but it is truly been a an amazing rivalry and amazing storyteller by NXT so all praise to go to Shawn Michaels he has done an amazing job with NXT 2.0 and a lot of love to NXT because when they went away from the black and gold brand and they went through this multicolored and they changed everything else it did not get received initially very well by the fans and I'm as guilty as anybody but ever since they had that revamp ever since they did that refresh a couple years ago they have just turned out great superstar after great superstar when you look at people like Tiffany Stratton who I think is going to be a megastar coming on the main main roster and you just see the type of talent they continue to develop and they get still brought up great matches on their own stand-alone shows and pay per views they are premium live events excuse me they've done such a phenomenal job so can't wait to see Stand and Deliver it is going to be a wonderful time so we're going to close out our show today and on a very special note and this is again this is my second live sports moment of the day um and I want to shout out a miss Kyla Presley for those who may not know um she is an outstanding a volleyball player she's actually an Under Armour all-american she is an amazing young woman who amazing young player who is just an even better young woman um I've known Kyla since 20 wow 2013 I had a chance to live next door to her and her mom and Kyla was such a great kid and she would always play with me and my daughter and I would take them up to the park and she would just she is the most athletic kid I had ever seen then and she had ran track for the longest time but then God willed her to volleyball and another reason why you know the Lord don't make no mistakes because she is been absolutely killing it there she committed to Arizona State last week and she graduates this year class of 2024 um a what you know when we talk about sports when we talk about why sports when we talk about this podcast we talk about the investment that we have in and people in sports and just seeing them at doing the most amazing things and I've had a privilege of seeing this young lady since she was eight nine years old and to think now she is about to go to Arizona State and just rip though just rip the cover off and I cannot wait to see her there so we are going to be rocking some Arizona State gear for for Kyla Presley yes I it's just you know when you get to see somebody for so young and you get to see where they're going and what that next step truly does look like and you can just just to be a small part of it it's just an absolute honor and I cannot wait to see what this young woman can do her mom Kishwar want to send a lot of love to you as well you an amazing mother and you have done an amazing job with Kyla so Kyla Presley congratulations if you haven't already check her out she's one of the best one of the best bikers in the game in volleyball you'll get to see her very soon in Arizona State University just an absolute just an absolute wonderful young woman proud of you Kyla well that is it for us here in the wide sports podcast today it just feels so good to be back with y'all and again we get to do this again tomorrow when we talk about our my favorite WrestleMania matches of all time I have I cannot I this is almost why I wanted to do this podcast because I've always wanted to share that my love of wrestling and to actually go through 40 years of matches and picking out my favorite 10 it's going to be so much fun to do that and then listen to us again on Thursday on when we are going to drop our preview of WrestleMania 40 we will do both nights that night so cannot wait for you guys to listen and again don't forget to check us out very soon on Instagram and on YouTube continue to show your love continue to show you your your support on the wide sports podcast because as small as we are now we wouldn't even be anything without you great people listening to us today so thank you all so much for listening to the wide sports podcast it's been your boy Alvin Spain it's been a pleasure welcome back and what and when we when they ask you why sports you just answer simply because it's the most wonderful time of the year holler back we'll holler at you soon enjoy the week everybody it's WrestleMania time bye bye