This week we had the honor to interview again Dr. Ron Dick, associate professor of sports marketing at Duquesne University in the school of business. Ron also worked for 20 years in sports, including 15 years in the NBA with the Sixers and the Nets, and then five years in the NCAA.
📝Show Notes: Through this interview, we touched on Penguins and their 3 stars who have been together for 18 years which is more than the Yankees Trio. We also touched on the NBA season (Spurs, 76ers..), Wemby, and the James Harden trade to the Clippers. We also discussed the NFL, the favorites, and the Patriots now valued at $7B. We also talked about the MLS playoffs, David Beckham, and Messi. We also touched on the 2023 World Rugby Cup with the Springboks lifting the trophy for the 4th time. We also discussed Rafael Nadal who is now confirmed to come back on the tour at the 2024 Australian open tennis.
🚀Best Quotes: Here’s some of the key discussion points and best quotes from our conversation with Ron:
On the MLB and the 2023 World Series:
“Going back to the Philly series with the Diamondbacks, the price of tickets in Philadelphia were $350-$400, so it was hard to get a good seat. So it's just a different dynamics now as far as the city and the city interest. Those same seats were going for $20 in Arizona”.
“And then it was disappointingly to see in the first round of the world series for the first game of the world series. They had one of the lowest viewed television ratings in the history of the MLB”.
On the Penguins (NHL) trio (Sidney Crosby, Gino Malcolm, and Chris Letang) who has been playing for 18 years together:
“The Penguins have had three guys. And everybody knows Crosby, Gino Malcolm, and Chris Letang, and probably all three will make the NHL Hall of Fame. But when they dropped the puck for their first regular season game, they're the first trio in the four major sports to have played a total of 18 years together”.
“What a longevity that is. And they had a great year last year, believe it or not. They passed Mariano Rivera, Jeter and Posada with the Yankees. Those guys had played 17 major league baseball seasons together”.
On Wemby’s debut in the NBA so far:
“You are a Frenchman, so this is your fellow Frenchman there, Wemby. He's a teenager and still the upside is unbelievable. His height. He almost looks like a slightly heavier version of Manute Bol. Manute Bol was seven foot six, but he obviously is much more skilled offensive player, his skills. with the ball are extremely impressive for a person his age”.
“Wemby is going to make the NBA Hall of Fame. How many championships will he win with the Spurs? I don't know. And I look over at the bench and and I'm like, wow, this will get you a little more excited to stick around a few more years to have a player like that. He deserves to be the first pick in the draft. And everything's going to be fine”.
On the James Harden’s trade to the LA Clippers:
“Regarding James Harden, in Philadelphia, you know that that type of attitude where they had Simmons too, saying “ I'm not going to play even though I'm healthy” And then you come up with all these excuses, that's never going to sit well, and it's definitely not going to sit well in Philadelphia”.
“So I think the feeling there is good riddance. And I love the package that the Sixers got back for James Harden. I can't believe it. They threw PJ Tucker in this package. I also love all the draft picks. They got some unprotected first round picks. They got some protected first round picks. (…) So it was a deal you had to pull and they don't have to eat any of the heart and money to my knowledge”.
“I don't see why anybody would want James Harden at this time in his career. He's running on fumes. So they're going for it obviously right now, the Clippers, they're going for this year. So let's see what happens. But they checked with George. Everybody signed off on it, I'm sure. Look, we got a one year deal with this guy. Does this energize you? Does this make you want to play? Does this make you excited? And they probably said, Yeah, it does”.
On the Bucks with the Damian Lillard - Giannis Antetokounmpo duo":
“The good news is that Damian likes to take the last shot and historically with a player of Giannis' ability most of the time their ego gets involved and they will not defer to Lillard, they'll want to take the shot because there's a lot attached to that in this case”.
“Giannis is the most humble superstar I've ever seen. And then there's a 3rd player there too, Middleton, who is really important. And he's injured right now, but he's coming back. So how's this going to affect his minutes as they say? We'll have to see what happens there, but I definitely think the Bucks could come out of the East. There's no question”.
“The Celtics are going to be there. The Heat will be around. And there's always another team that comes from nowhere. So, yeah the NBA is alive and well, and it's alive and well in the Eastern Conference for sure”.
On the fact that Inter Miami fc and Messi did not make the MLS Playoffs:
“I am sure that the MLS office and the commissioner's office were very disappointed that Miami didn't make the playoffs, but we saw the power of a superstar (Messi) and how that can affect the whole league and how it can affect the whole city like it did”.
On the fact that Rafael Nadal wants to play at the 2024 Australian Open Tennis and the 2024 Paris Olympics next year:
“I remember really vividly the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona with Team USA basketball where we had Barkley, Jordan, Pippen, Ewing, Stockton and Malone and all those guys, they got to play together. David Robinson, they all said the same thing. So it was a special moment and we knew it was a one time thing”.
“Because four years later in 1996, some of us would have been too old to play in the Olympics. So it's a very cool event and a real pride in your country and Nadal should definitely hang on to do that. That's not that far away for sure. It's gonna be fun”.
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🔥Upside Chat: Dr Ron Dick, Duquesne University, Ex NBA/NCAA Exec on the Penguins, Beckham, Rafael Nadal, the Springboks & the World Rugby Cup, the MLS Playoffs, James Harden, and NFL & MLB Season.