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SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Four Nations, one champion. What a week in hockey. And a rising basketball superstar is sidelined. Howard Bryant of Meadowlark Media joins us. Howard, thanks so much for being with us.
HOWARD BRYANT: Good morning, Scott. How are you?
SIMON: I'm fine, thanks. NHL did away with the all-star game this year, and instead came up with the 4 Nations Face-off - U.S. Canada, Sweden and Finland. Boy, it was electric. Canada defeated the U.S. in overtime, 3 to 2, claimed the title - once they stopped fighting and were able to play hockey. Was this a great idea?
BRYANT: It was a terrific idea. It was a great idea. It was - really injected some life into the tournament. People were excited about it, and hockey got a boost. Obviously, if you are an owner of one of the NHL teams and during this exhibition one of your star players got hurt, such as Matthew Tkachuk of the Florida Panthers, who happened to be the Stanley defending champions, and also Charlie McAvoy of the Boston Bruins, you don't love this tournament that much. But in terms of what they produced on the ice, people were excited. It was a great, great tournament. And what an alternative from an all-star game that had gotten stale.
SIMON: Well, and what does that say about the current state of all-star games? Because, you know, the NFL pro ball isn't even a game anymore. The NBA All-Star Game isn't very competitive. American and National League teams play each other all the time now. They don't need an all-star game. Is the NHL onto something here?
BRYANT: Well, I think they are because the sport has changed. All sports have changed so much. In the old days, there were multiple reasons to play in these - in the all-star game. One, it was an honor. It was an absolute honor to be recognized as one of the best players in your sport. People - the players took that seriously. The other reason was money. Most players had an incentive. If you made the all-star game, you made extra money. And money was tight back then. And, you know, even when guys were making, like, real money to the rest of us, it wasn't a huge amount, so you needed those incentives. And today when you're making 30, 40, $50 million, you know, playing in the tournament, some of the guys would rather have the rest. And I think that you're seeing it across all the sports. You look at the basketball all-star game, and the NBA people just laugh at it. It's not competitive at all. They're not even trying.
SIMON: Yeah.
BRYANT: And I think technology had a lot to do with it in baseball. Like, when I was growing up in Boston as a kid, it was a one-team market. So you never got to see the National League. Now you have interleague every single day. So the question has really been, has sort of time and technology and progress taken away the importance of the all-star game? What people really, really want is they want to see you trying and competing. And so the sports have really tried to figure out, OK, how do we get these guys come out, you know, to get them come out and to compete and to give the fans an actual battle? And I think 4 Nations was a great way to do it, to really put some stakes into it.
SIMON: Yeah.
BRYANT: And it was fantastic, of course. Three fights in the first 9 seconds...
SIMON: Yes.
BRYANT: ...Between the USA and Canada makes us really look forward to the Olympics, as well.
SIMON: Oh. Oh, gosh. Victor Wembanyama, the great...
BRYANT: Oh, goodness.
SIMON: ...French superstar of the San Antonio Spurs, is out for the rest of the season. Doctors discovered a blood clot in his right shoulder. It's a little scary, isn't it?
BRYANT: Very scary, especially because, you know, when he's 21 years old, and he is a superstar, but you get a blood clot, that - those things are very serious. It is - whether you want to call it or not, it is life threatening. They travel throughout, you know, your bloodstream. They can get into your heart, your brain, wherever. And so it's a really, really scary moment for somebody who in his second year is 24 points, 11 rebounds, blocks. He's the - you know, he is the - you know, he's the future face of the franchise...
SIMON: Yeah.
BRYANT: ...Of the sport. But this is not something that you want to take lightly. So serious move, but a smart move by the San Antonio Spurs.
SIMON: And finally, this just in, the New York Yankees say, OK, well-groomed beards, we'll allow them.
BRYANT: For the first time in 50 years. Yankee traditions, since George Steinbrenner bought the team in 1973, no facial hair. Then in - starting in...
SIMON: Yeah.
BRYANT: ...1975, it was...
SIMON: Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris didn't have beards.
BRYANT: Exactly. Then it was no facial hair below the lip. And now they have finally, 50 years later, relented. I called a Yankee friend of mine, and they said, what's next? Names on the back of the jerseys? Horrors. Tradition. Tradition.
SIMON: Well, Howard Bryant of Meadowlark Media, thanks so much for being with us.
BRYANT: Thank you, Scott.
SIMON: Talk to you soon, my friend.
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