 Hi, guys. Welcome to another edition of Yes, We're Here. With me is Michael Grady, Nest's reporter extraordinaire. Hello, my friend. How are you today? Good to be on with you, Nancy. Miss you for sure. It's good to be on with you. Right back at you. We're all a beautiful, big Yes family, and we're all thankful for that. That's for sure. We're going to jump into your basketball career, and, okay, we all know you're from Indiana. You grew up there, and you're a big Pacers fan. That's stuff we know. But what people may not know is, may not know, rather, is that you're a big Michael Jordan fan. How does that drive? Yeah, you know, it's just one of those things. I think it's funny. Over time, especially as you get older, Nancy, the people that you grew up watching, you just kind of put them on this pedestal. And as these younger guys come up, and these great athletes come up, you know, right after Jordan, it was the Kobe fans who were saying he was as good as Jordan. And all of a sudden, I felt this loyalty to my generation and who I grew up in. So it was, no, no, no. It's not Kobe. It's Jordan. And I had to see him a lot, you know, in that division. The Pacers would see the Bulls really often. And of course, Jordan was just, I mean, I mean, he's the code. There's just nobody else on that level. And so even as the LeBrons and other guys who come along got still very loyal to that generation and that radio background, I've had a lot of opportunities to argue with, too, Nancy. Yeah, I can just imagine because when I first heard that you were an MJ fan, I thought, Michael, you must have taken a lot of grief for that. No, you know, I didn't mention it. You know, I wouldn't mention it, like, publicly or in school or anything. I wanted the Pacers to be down the bull. Yeah. Like, every single time. It's just my respect for Jordan as a, his determination, his will to win, his commitment to excellence, all those things that we've been talking about, you know, Kobe immediately following his passing. You know, Kobe got that blueprint from MJ and it just set him apart from everybody else. That was a classic generation with a bunch of huge names. And none of them really got an opportunity other than to keep Elijah on in those that couple year gap where Jordan retired and then came back. There were a lot of great players during that generation couldn't get a championship simply because of number 23. So even though I hated him for stress, Nancy, I couldn't help but expect it. And so all that considered, where do you stand on the LeBron versus MJ debate? Well, I look at it in the same way I look at, you know, boxing. You know, there are going to be other guys that come along who may have a better skill in this area, a better skill in that area. LeBron, great passer, can score with the best of them, has been consistent over the course of his career. 6-8, 250. So the relationship that I put up in it with boxing is pound for pound. You put Jordan 6-8, 250. You put Jordan at 6-8, 250. My goodness. What would that comparison be? And then you get into intangibles and that's where I get back to the whole determination, will to win, all those types of things that, again, LeBron is unbelievable. To say that LeBron is number two all time, that's a heck of a compliment. That's a heck of a compliment. All the guys that have played the game say that one guy's number two all time is a heck of an accomplishment, but I can't put them ahead of Jordan because there are too many killer instincts, whatever you want to call it, intangibles that really separates them. That era, how physical it was, I'm sure LeBron would have adapted, but from Mike at his frame, to go through the bad boy pistons, even those Nick's teams as physical as they were, so many different teams that he had to go through and never saw a game 7 in the finals. You know, never lost to game 7. He went to the end with Pacers at a game 7. There's just so many different things, so many classic moments that came in the postseason. I just can't put anyone in that class with MJ, but I put LeBron at a solid number two. I totally get that, and you also get the feeling that LeBron himself is probably pretty comfortable with that as well, which is pretty cool. And I want to ask you, have to, where does Reggie Miller stand in your consciousness? Well, I had three guys and, you know, superheroes for me growing up, guys who I thought could almost walk on water a little bit. One was Michael Jackson, I must be honest, and I remember the time video I thought he really did turn into the same. Michael Jordan was another one, and then Reggie Miller was another. And it's the clutch moments from Reggie, and we know those great moments against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. That's why I think it's kind of funny and a little bit poetic that I grew up not necessarily liking the Knicks growing up, Pacers, Knicks, and those playoff rivalries. And then as an adult, I joined the next organization with Yes Network, and it's still okay to not really like the Knicks. So I like that my journey is somewhat gone there, but Reggie's moments in Madison Square Garden, those classic moments and moments against the Bulls, all those types of things. Just, it was like pulling a rabbit out of a hat. That classic game five between the Knicks and the Pacers back in 2002, where Reggie hit that one crazy shot that wouldn't have countered if we had replay today, but that crazy shot sent to overtime. He dunked on four Nets players in that overtime period. It was just a classic game. So those were guys that were superheroes to me. Jordan, clearly the better player, but Reggie just had this feeling in dramatic moments that you just felt like he was just gonna take things over. And I really loved that growing up as a kid. You know, and flashing through my brain is a little fix of poor Patrick Ewing. No love from MJ. No love from you. Right. Exactly. And you know what? As I got older, I appreciate, you know, it's, you know, ripped the Knicks and stuff like that, but I really appreciate that generation and seeing how physical those playoff series were. So the Charles Oakley, you know, my guy Ewing, you know, rooted 40s doing at Georgetown. John Starks, I couldn't stand him, but I just have an appreciation for that generation now. It's just funny how time kind of changes those feelings. So funny. Well, maybe not so funny, but it is interesting because a lot of Jordan fans, et cetera, totally necessary love, Mr. Sparks. Oh, no. Not at all. In this area, in our New York area. Yeah. Okay. I've got one for you, Nancy. Okay. Who's your favorite athlete? Who got you into baseball? That's such an easy one. I had a dad that, you know, my mom wasn't fond of this, but hey, he took me out of school sometimes to take me to sporting events. Okay. So that's how it went. I was the oldest. I have a little baby sister. She was with my mom. Where's daddy's girl? This way it goes. So long story short, I have a photo of myself. I couldn't get out. It's probably at my mom's house, but I have, I'm wearing a Don Mattingly t-shirt and I'm in the bleachers and at Yankee Stadium. And then there's another time where I'm in the upper deck behind home plate. Of course, it's the old Yankee Stadium. I didn't go anywhere without my Mattingly gear. That's just the way it was. Okay. Posters in the room, the whole business. You can imagine it all cut to the early 2000s. He's the bench coach, right? For the Yankees. And I'm ready for it. You know, I'm ready for it. I've interviewed tons of guys. You know how it goes. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Came around the corner. I wasn't, I wasn't expecting it. I'm inside the clubhouse. I was, I knew I was to interview him that day, but I hadn't seen him enter the room and I turned around and he was right there. And I just stopped for a second and he said, hi, I'm Don Mattingly. Yeah. Okay. All right. I'll just get it out of the way right now. You're my favorite guy. You're my guy. You're the reason I love baseball. All right. Let's get down to business. That's a mystery. I love those moments where you, where you get to have a conversation with people that you, that you grew up watching, grew up appreciating. And it's just, it just, you know, a reminder of how cool of a gig this is. And the opportunities that we get to, and I know that with all that's going on in the world, sports can seem somewhat insignificant in some respects, but it also, what we're going through speaks to the significance and to the escapism and how much fun and that camaraderie and people coming together and cheering on a team or cheering against the team or whatever it may be. I know a lot of folks missed it and I know we can't wait to get back, but moments like that, that's one of the reasons I love what we do next. So true. And there's so many lessons in all of it. You pursue what you love and you meet people that you really look up to like Don Mattingly. And not only do they not just support, but they surpass everything you could have ever hoped that they would be and they teach you things. And when you're young, you don't even realize that lessons are being bestowed, but later you get it. Michael, great to visit with you. Love to the family. Hope everyone's doing well. Right? Yes. Yes. And same to you as well. Same to you as well. Thank you so much. And I share your sentiments. We all do. We can't wait to get back to our new normal and we look forward to it. Michael, really good to see you. Take care. See you soon, my friend. Thank you, Nancy.