00:00All right, so we're going to get John Walton here,
00:02voice of the Caps, in just a second.
00:04However, tonight's game, Belgium-U.S.,
00:08is going to absolutely shatter viewership records in the United States.
00:14This is clearly the best team we've had
00:17and our best shot that we have had to get into the final eight.
00:22And it's being played in a city, Seattle, that loves soccer,
00:26has a great soccer fan base, great stadium,
00:30very much looking forward to it.
00:32Is it wrong of me, though, B-Mitch,
00:34to say that I am every bit a fan of not just the team,
00:39but the use of AI to create fake video memes
00:43based on the Trump card over the red card?
00:47Because people are now creating these things
00:49and they look really realistic.
00:51I'm looking at one right here of Trump just taking the red card
00:55out of the ref's hands and then ripping it in half
00:58as Balogun goes crazy and the fans are like,
01:01yeah!
01:03Like, some are better than others, right?
01:05Some memes are better than others,
01:07but I know people say, oh, it's AI slop.
01:10Yeah, some slop is more delicious than other slop.
01:13I say keep it coming.
01:15And let's hope that they win this match tonight.
01:17Yeah, because I don't want the fun ride to be over.
01:20Yeah.
01:20It's a hell of a fun team.
01:21And it would be great if Antonio's son, Alex,
01:25gets another score.
01:26I would love it.
01:27You're sweet.
01:28Okay.
01:28Do we have John with us?
01:29No?
01:30Still getting him?
01:31Okay.
01:31Very good.
01:33I wanted to get to a couple of things while we're working on this here.
01:37The All-Star game.
01:40Is it still relevant in the way that it used to be in baseball?
01:46This used to be the crown jewel of all All-Star games
01:49because, you know, unlike others, you kind of tried.
01:53I mean, Pete Rose once busted up Ray Fossey's shoulder
01:56diving into home plate.
01:58And when you're up there on the mound or at the plate,
02:02you can't just half-ass it.
02:03You have to try in a baseball sense as hard as you always do.
02:08So it played the All-Star game for baseball as realistically as a real game.
02:15But then they started with the more substitutions.
02:18Starters would only go one inning.
02:20They would make sure to get guys in.
02:21Some guys would leave before the game is over
02:24because they wanted to catch their private jet back home.
02:26So I just don't know if it's as relevant as it once was.
02:30It's too bad.
02:31Don't they feel the winner?
02:33No.
02:34Don't they mix it up now, too?
02:35They tried to do the winner gets home field.
02:38They did that for a while, and it didn't really provide the juice,
02:41and people thought it was stupid
02:42because you're kind of penalizing the team that has the best record sometimes
02:46if they don't win the All-Star game.
02:48This thing now is a little...
02:53I don't...
02:55Yeah.
02:57No, I was going to say.
02:58No, I didn't say he's ready.
02:59Okay.
03:00I didn't want to cut you off mid-sext.
03:01No, no, no.
03:02I was just giving the big nod to say I saw you that John is ready.
03:05John Walton joins us now, voice of the Capitals right here on B, Mitch, and Finley.
03:09Hello, John.
03:10How you doing?
03:10What up, Jay?
03:11Hello, fellas.
03:12I like the All-Star game better when they wore their actual unis, too.
03:15I don't know if you guys covered that before I jumped on here.
03:17A thousand percent, yes.
03:20That was great.
03:21That was great.
03:21But, you know, they couldn't make money like that, John.
03:23They had to make everybody wear the same thing so they could sell everybody.
03:26I know.
03:26But you know what?
03:27That was the coolest thing.
03:28Like, when I was 12, 13 years old, like, you know, the guys come out.
03:32You know, you didn't get to see the Seattle Mariners a whole lot,
03:34but it was like, okay, here's Alvin Davis, whoever.
03:36Okay, come out, and you're in the cool...
03:38Hey, that's a Seattle uniform.
03:40Like, you know, when it wasn't all on TV, it was always really cool.
03:43I just wish they'd get back to that.
03:45Find a way to sell something else.
03:47That would get it for me.
03:48That'd get some juice.
03:49The best All-Star game going.
03:51We already saw it this year, John.
03:52That is called the Olympic Ice Hockey Tournament with Professionals.
03:57That right there is the most rock'em, sock'em.
04:01It's got the best players in the world,
04:03and they are playing full out for pride and country.
04:06Am I right?
04:08Oh, yeah.
04:09Yeah.
04:09I mean, that was without a doubt.
04:12And you know what?
04:13I mean, just even the Four Nations in the offseason,
04:15we've got the World Cup coming up as well.
04:17So there's going to be more of that.
04:19You know, all you have to do is tell hockey guys that they're playing for their country.
04:24I mean, they could be playing Uno.
04:25They don't care.
04:26Like, they're going to get fired up.
04:28So, yeah.
04:29I'm like, the next few years, it's...
04:31I mean, nothing's better than the Olympics,
04:33but the World Cup is going to be a pretty close second.
04:36Yeah.
04:36And the Four Nations just last year was pretty good, too.
04:39That was awesome.
04:40Have they set another Four Nations yet,
04:43or is that still a little bit in limbo?
04:47They're going to do what I'll call a regular All-Star game this year,
04:51which I don't think will have as much juice,
04:53but hopefully the commissioner is not listening when I said that.
04:55And then the World Cup is what's next.
04:58So they're going to have a little bit more participation.
05:00It's going to be a little bit bigger than Four Nations.
05:03What is the World Cup?
05:04This is new to me.
05:06So they're going to have all the teams that are in it
05:08and a couple more where they're going to, in February,
05:12and I'm not sure exactly the timing.
05:14I don't think they've announced it yet,
05:15but they are looking to expand on Four Nations, essentially.
05:20So it's going to be cool when it happens.
05:22Not this year, but I'm pretty sure it's next year.
05:24This is the Men's FIH Hockey World Cup?
05:28Yeah, that would work, right?
05:30No.
05:31I've never heard of FIH as an organization.
05:35I just quickly went to Wikipedia.
05:37So this is what it's called, the FIH Hockey World Cup?
05:42I'm not sure what FIH is.
05:44No, that's field hockey.
05:46Yeah.
05:47All right, so the World Cup of Hockey,
05:49ice hockey tournament, inaugurated in 96,
05:53successor to the Canada Cup,
05:55was held with six teams every three to five years
06:00from 76 to 91,
06:02and then they expanded it from there.
06:04Okay, so I'm just kind of getting up to speed on this.
06:07I love all these international tournaments
06:10in which guys play hard.
06:11Last year, the Four Nations kind of snuck up on a lot of us, John.
06:14We're like, what is this?
06:15And you're like, holy crap, these guys are playing hard.
06:17One of the Kachuk boys blew up his hip playing in it.
06:19This is amazing.
06:21Yeah, it was awesome.
06:22All right, what did you take away from the OB presser today, John?
06:26I don't know that I thought anything that I wasn't expecting.
06:30I did like hearing just that little door
06:34that just cracked open at one year or two, in his words.
06:40So I think it's going to be just touch and go from here,
06:45and we'll see what he decides come next summer.
06:49I mean, it's a one-year deal,
06:50so you're going to be kind of in the same place 12 months from now
06:53that we were here.
06:54But you know what?
06:55I mean, in watching, he looks great.
06:58He seems like he's going to be fired up and ready to go,
07:01excited about the signings like we all are.
07:04It's going to be great.
07:05I mean, you know, we get 22 seasons of this,
07:08and most of them I've had a chance to see,
07:10and I just can't believe that we get another one at age 41,
07:15and he'll be 41 in September.
07:18But, you know, I think the one thing that I was listening for
07:22in terms of usage, and I think Chris Patrick was asked by Tom Golitty
07:27about, you know, playing within the lineup,
07:30within the new guys that have been brought in.
07:31And Chris even said, you know, it could be up the lineup,
07:34could be down the lineup, and that's going to be up to Spencer Carberry.
07:37But he's got a lot more weapons, especially on that right side,
07:42once opening night goes.
07:44And, you know, how Ovi gets used, I mean, look, he's going to be 41.
07:47Nobody's expecting 50 goals here.
07:49But whatever it is, to be able to have that in the room,
07:53to have the kids like Cole Hudson and Elia Protus get a full season of this
07:57instead of just a few games of being able to carry that forward.
08:01Hey, I played with Alex Ovechkin.
08:02When these guys are 15 years down the line and veterans themselves,
08:07that's a really cool thing.
08:08I'm glad that's happening.
08:10I think, like, you know, people look at the two years,
08:12I think this year is it, to be honest with you,
08:15because I feel like he's coming back because he feels I can go one more time.
08:20And also the team was like, hey, he gives us a chance to thank you.
08:24They're not promising nothing to people, but the fans, this is what they wanted.
08:27So why do you say two, then?
08:28I don't, you know, because you don't want to have people think there's just one.
08:32You make them think it's another possibility.
08:35Father Time will decide that.
08:36Is that athlete mindset right there?
08:38Totally, totally.
08:39Like, when I'm ready to go, for the most part, you don't say I'm leaving this year.
08:43You know, my last year, I didn't say I was leaving.
08:46I was trying to, look, those checks are billing any job you're going to get.
08:51So you want to keep getting those checks as long as you can.
08:53Right.
08:54Okay.
08:54I get it.
08:55Like, because you don't want to say this is it,
08:57and then immediately you're wondering, do I start looking at my watch?
09:00Like, when is this thing going to go?
09:02My thing is, if he scores 40 goals, I'm a hypothetical people, for people, I'll be missing it.
09:08If he scores 40 goals, he may think about a second year.
09:12Oh, if he scores 40, we won't lock the door.
09:17Yeah, hell yeah.
09:17We won't let him leave.
09:22I was going to say, Beamich handled that with way more authority than I ever could, being who Beamich is.
09:28So I think all of that is pretty good, yeah.
09:30So, John, do you think the organization and the team is comfortable in the uncertainty of another year of this?
09:38Does it affect them in any way?
09:41I don't think it does at all, Dave, and I would tell you the reason why is, I mean, this
09:46was built.
09:46I mean, all of the moves that were made, he could have come back and said, nah, I'm good, and
09:52stay home.
09:53And the team would have been relatively the same, right?
09:56I mean, you would have done the moves to enhance the right side.
09:59You would have added 60 goals to your lineup.
10:01You would have fortified the defense by bringing in Vinny DeHarnay at 6'7", 225.
10:07You know, I think a lot of it was going to happen regardless, but now it's, I don't want to
10:12say it's a bonus because he's the greatest goal scorer of all time,
10:15but you didn't know, and now you know, and the answer's yes.
10:18So you're moving forward with the idea that he's going to be there, but even if he hadn't been, even
10:24if he had chosen differently,
10:25I don't think it would have changed anything that they did in the offseason.
10:29I think right now, you look at the left side here with Alexey Protus and Alex Ovechkin, and I'm going
10:36to assume Ryan Leonard, that may change.
10:39I mean, Boone Jenner, play over there, he's played the wing on the left side in the past,
10:43and Spencer Carberry, even over the weekend talking with us, didn't really hesitate.
10:48And, you know, maybe even Jordan Kyra or Alex Tuck might see time over there.
10:51So I think there's going to be a lot of different things they look at in the four games during
10:55the preseason,
10:56but having Alex in there certainly makes the mix pretty cool.
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