EP 1,218 - CONCRETE vs. CORNFIELDS: THE RIVALRY OF KNICKS vs. PACERS/BEATING BOSTON IS PLEASURE/MISSING MY SHOW BUT SEEING GAME 6
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Visit Jewel Osco dot com for more details. And then there was 1995, which was a painful, painful, painful, painful series. Seven games, 1995 Eastern Conference Finals. The window had opened up. Michael Jordan retired. Patrick Ewing gets the ball. Top of the key. One step, two step.

Finger roll. It rolls around. It rolls around. It rolls around. It rolls around. And then it bounces off. And I'll tell you something. When the Knicks lost to the Indiana Pacers in 1995 at the Garden, Game 7, a little piece of my Knicks fandom died. I was re-watching highlights from that game and remembering the horror.

The horror of that layup not going in by our guy, our warrior, Patrick Ewing, it rolling out. And this is before cell phones. This is before the internet.

But it played on a loop around New York, New York One, ESPN, in my head, in my heart, in my head. We were discussing it. We were talking about it. How could that lay up, that finger roll by Patrick Ewan not going, why didn't you dunk it, Patrick? We don't blame Patrick. Boom, have no fear. The I Am Rap Report Stereo Podcast is here. Biggity boom, have no fear. The I Am Rap Report Stereo Podcast is in the place to be.

On today's high-flying, brand-new, banging I Am Rappaport Stereo Podcast, how did I miss a flight? How did I miss a flight and miss a show in Albany? I didn't know you could drive to Albany from money-making Manhattan. Plus, Boston Celtic star Jalen Brown talks about what it really feels like to lose in a series to the New York Knicks. And now it's time to bring on Reggie Miller.

Dale Davis, Antonio Davis, Rick Smits, Mark Jackson, Bobby Knight, Steve Alford, and the miserable, much-hated Indiana Pacers. Oh yeah, the Knicks, the Indiana Pacers are in the Eastern Conference Final. I'm talking about it all on a high-flying, brand-new, banging Iron Rapport Stereo Podcast coming up right now. Miles Jordan, a.k.a. the Bleach Brothers, a.k.a. the Dust Brothers, start this pub with some real ice. ♪

Start this play with something real loud, but most importantly, start this banging I Am Rappaport Stereo Podcast off with something real funky. It's I Am Rappaport Stereo Podcast. Let's go. Boom, have no fear. The I Am Rappaport Stereo Podcast is here. Biggity boom, have no fear. The I Am Rappaport Stereo Podcast is in the place to be. Welcome to the Iron Dome of disruption. Welcome to the ziggity zone of disruption. The name is Michael Rappaport, a.k.a. the inflamed Ashkenazi, a.k.a. the Sultan of Sniff, a.k.a. the Gringo Man Dingo.

AKA the Raging Bullshitter. Hope everybody's feeling real good. Hope everybody's feeling real safe. Hope everybody is feeling really sane. I'm Rap Poor Stereo Pockets coming live and direct from New York City. Oh yeah. Nueva York, eh? The home of the Eastern Conference Finals, which is going down this week. I'm going to get to that soon.

New York City, greatest city in the world, especially this time of the year. The weather's fantastic. The leaves are coming in. The cherry blossoms are cherry. I don't know. There's some kind of cherry something. It's a box tree, something. I was in Central Park this morning on one of my, I need to start doing tours, walk and talk tours with me, Michael Rapport, through Central Park. Beautiful time of year. I walked at a high pace this morning. I wanted to just walk and do anything for you.

I jogged for about four to five minutes, but mostly was walking. I broke a sweat. Does walking really do anything for you? You see these studies, walking does this, walking does that. If you do it at this pace, if you do it at that sort of a clip,

Walking with joy does something for me. I felt fantastic walking through Central Park today. Anyway, I'm Ramport Stereo Podcast. I want to give a shout out to the people that came to see me perform this weekend in Albany and in Connecticut. I was in Connecticut, had a great show in Manchester, Connecticut, and then I had...

Saturday night. I was supposed to be there Friday night. I had two great shows Saturday night. I had a big, big mistake. Big mistake. Me, Mr. New York, does not know the geographical makeup of the state of New York. I was performing in Albany, which I learned is only two and a half hours away from New York City by car. Albany is two and a half hours from Manhattan by car. Three if you're in traffic. Obviously, traffic could do anything, but

Two hours, 35, 40 minutes. My dumb ass decided, for some reason without checking, to book a flight to Albany. So Friday morning, I get to LaGuardia. And despite the fact that it's just a flight to Albany, I always wind up getting to the airport early. I believe my flight was at 11.40. I got to the airport at 10. So I'm sitting around. I'm getting my coffee. I'm on my computer. I'm lollygagging. I'm chilling. I'm hanging out at the airport.

About half an hour before the flight, they go, oh, your flight's pushed to 110. I go, all right, that's not bad. It sucks, but it's not bad. So I get up, I move around, I do this, I do that, get an Arnold Palmer, have a little salad, say I'm going to eat early instead of eating in Albany. Then they go, oh, your flight's been pushed to three something. I go, okay, this is a pain in the ass, but things could be worse.

Things could be worse. At this point, I've been at the airport for about three hours. But things can be worse. Even my wife said, you're handling this pretty good. I go, yeah. Things could actually be a lot, a lot worse. I'm in the airport. I'm walking around. I'll tell you something. People in the airport, when you see a big celebrity like me and you sneak a photo of me, this happened three times in three hours at LaGuardia in the Delta airport.

In the Delta Gates. Three times. People picking up their phone and sneaking pictures of me. I'm like, yo, you might as well just ask. I see you. Because now you got a picture of me looking into your phone like, what the fuck are you taking the picture of? I see you sneak taking the picture. Just ask for the picture. I'll smile. I'll look directly into the camera. And it's always dudes. Like, just say what's up, Mike Rapp.

Just say what's up, my crap, so I can give you a handsome, smiley picture. We chit-chat and we talk about whatever. I don't understand why people, when they see a big star like myself, they try to sneak-pick pictures of me. Anyway...

At this point, like I said, I've been in the airport three hours. Then my flight gets pushed again to 540. And I'm like, all right, well, now we're pushing it because my show was starting early. But I look, they say, if you get in at 640, you can make it. You know, I could probably make it to the club, you know, 715, ba-ba-ba-ba-ba. Maybe the show starts a little late, ba-ba-ba-ba-ba. I'm sitting around getting a little nervous. I call my agent, start to call the club in Albany, the Funny Bone in Albany. Great club, great people, all right.

Hate being late. Do not like being late for anything. Certainly won't don't want to be late for a show that people have paid their hard earned money to come see me perform at in Albany. Next thing you know, they go, boom, your flights at six 40. I go, Oh motherfucker, motherfucker. So now I'm like, I'm going to miss my show. I'm going to miss my show.

So I call the club. I go, this is what happened. I was at the airport. Dot, dot, dot, dot, dot. They're a little slow to get back to me. I call my agent. I'm at the airport. Dot, dot, dot, dot, dot. I'm scurrying around. I never even think to check in the weeks leading up to my show in Albany or the day of. Maybe I just drive up there or maybe I take a train or a bus. It didn't even cross my mind. Anyway, I'm

At around 5 o'clock, I go, I'm just going to go home. I have to cancel my fucking show and I'm going to go home. So I get in the cab, go home, tell the club, I'm so sorry. The flight was canceled. It was delayed. It was da-da-da-da-da. It was this, I'm not going to make it. And they're like, you could just drive. And I go, what do you mean? So I look on Waze. It goes, it's only three hours and 33 minutes away.

But at this point, I'm all the way in Queens. I'm at LaGuardia. I won't make it there till 830. The show starts at seven. I'm just like, this is fucked and it's my fault and I have to eat it. And I go, there's no way. And there's Ubers and I start checking Ubers and no Ubers will take me to Albany and whatever.

It just was a mess. Anyway, I had to cancel my Friday night show because Mr. New York does not know the geographical nature of the state of New York. I do now. I do now because the next day after I had to cancel my Friday night show, and again, if there's anybody watching, listen to the Iron Ramp Poor Stereo Podcast, I sincerely apologize about having to cancel my Friday night show in Albany, but I did make it up there bright and early Saturday for my two shows.

kick-ass great shows in Albany. I have a couple of shows coming up in Baltimore. I'll be in Baltimore June 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th at the Port. Michael Rapaport at the Port in Baltimore. Michael Rapaport at the Port in Baltimore. Tickets are available at michaelrapaportcomedy.com. The only good thing about me missing my show Friday night in Albany is

And I mean this sincerely because, again, I don't scoff at missing work. I don't scoff at being late. I don't play around with people's times, people's money. The only good thing is that I was able to make it back to my apartment and watch game six. Game six, right. Knicks and six. It didn't go to game seven, Boston. I was able to watch game six of the Knicks versus the Boston Celtics in my apartment alone. My wife wasn't there.

And I watched the Knicks decimate the Boston Celtics. And it felt really good. Watching the Knicks decimate the Boston Celtics. And I don't care that the great Jason Tatum. And we wish you a speedy recovery. I don't care that he wasn't there for game six. We had won game five before his terrible injury. And again, we want him to be back. I never wish injury on any opponents. The Knicks beat the shit out of him.

I mean, they beat the dog doo-doo out of the Boston Celtics in game six and ruined them. And it was glorious.

And I said before, the Knicks and the Celtics, this is not a long-term rivalry. It is more about Boston, New York. It's more about the Red Sox, the Yankees, the Red Sox, the Mets, the Bruins, the Rangers, the Bruins, the Islanders. I'll even go the Bruins and the New Jersey Devils. It's more about Peyton Manning. It's more about Bill Belichick, Tom Brady, the Patriots, and the Giants. It's about Boston. It's about New York.

But Jalen Brown, the star, the star of the Boston Celtics, who played very, very well, especially in game five. But it wasn't enough, was it, Jalen Brown? I say that with all due respect. I like you. Heard this guy's like a borderline genius. He's like an astrophysicist.

and all that stuff, great player, competitive, smart. He said after the game, and this is a well-thought-out young man, this is Jalen Brown. This is a smart, well-thought-out, well-spoken genius. This guy's a genius. They said he's literally like an astrophysicist. He could be flying rocket ships or doing computers and all that stuff. He said, and I quote, "'Losing to the New York Knicks feels like a death.'"

And I'm glad you said that, Jalen Brown. I'm glad you said that losing to the New York Knicks feels like a death. It should feel like a death. It should feel horrible that the Knicks beat you. It should feel horrible. Anytime New York beats any Boston team, it is like a death.

Whether you want to admit it or not, it's not like a thousand cuts. It's not like a punch in the face. It's not like a gut punch. It's a death. The Knicks beat the Celtics. We beat the shit out of you. And I'm glad you had the courage and the cojones and the basketballs to admit what it felt like. Jalen Brown, you said it. Not my words. You said losing to the Knicks feels like a death.

It didn't feel like a death to me. It didn't feel like a death to New York Knicks fans. It felt good. It felt really good. Your pain, Jalen Brown, and I say this with all due respect, was our pleasure. Your pain, Peyton Pritchard, six man of the year, was our pleasure. Al Horford, Joe Mazzulla, Derek White, Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Danny Ainge, Robert Parrish, the late great Red Orrback.

and the rest of you. It felt fantastic to us, but I hope it stung you, boss, and I hope it stung you, Mark Wahlberg. I hope it stung you, Donnie Wahlberg. I hope it stung you, Ronnie, Bobby, Ricky, and Mike, Johnny Gill, and all in new edition. I hope it hurt, and it still hurts. It didn't hurt us. It felt good. It felt real good. Oh, yeah.

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New York knickerbockers, who I affectionately call the New York nerderbockers, because they are nerds, hard-nosed, tough nerds.

basketball nerds. They stick together. They play together. They appreciate, they understand what it means to put on a New York, Nick Jersey. And I'm sure some of you haters are going, what does it mean? Mike? They haven't won a championship since 1973. I know that we all know that.

but it's beyond championships. It is the city game. New York, Madison Square Garden, it is the Mecca. I didn't make it up. I wasn't the person who said Madison Square Garden is the Mecca, but it is in fact the Mecca. You can argue, you can debate all you want, but all you got to do is Google, Wikipedia, the Mecca. Madison Square Garden will show up whether you like it or not. But this is deep, deep-seated debate.

Real resentment. Disdain. I don't even want to use the word. It's a disdain. The New York Knicks and the Boston Celtics, that's not a basketball rivalry. Boston and New York is a sports rivalry. The New York Knicks and the Indiana Pacers, that is a basketball rivalry. It's a long, long, heated rivalry.

Much discussed. There has been documentaries made about it. There has been books written about it. There's memes made. There's good guys. There's bad guys. There's history. There's Reggie Miller. There's Spike Lee. But even before that, Indiana thinks they invented basketball. The state of Indiana loves basketball. It's like the way Texas thinks about high school football.

And college football and professional football, that's what Indiana thinks about basketball. Hoosiers, Gene Hackman, the late, great Gene Hackman, Steve Alford, Larry Joe Bird, Oscar Robertson, John Wooden, Coach John Wooden, the great Bobby Knight, Indiana State, the hick from French Lick.

The pass, the jump shot. They're like, oh, we play the right way. We make the pass. We play fundamentals. We play the right way. We're Indiana basketball. Yay, Hoosiers. This ain't a movie. This is reality. This ain't a movie. This is reality. Okay? Barnes and bounce passes versus concrete. Concrete versus the cornfields.

No blood, no foul. You shoot jump shots, we wiggle, wiggle, wiggle. New York City is the home, the origins of the point God. Damon Bailey, Pearl Washington, Larry Jo Bird, Bernard King. When you see Larry Jo Bird, ask him about Bernard King. Dr. J, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar from New York.

Indiana is a great basketball state, but it ain't New York. But in the 90s, when you think about the rivalry, the Knicks and the Pacers, and like I said, there's been, yo, go to ESPN. Watch this documentary called Winning Time. Get yourself focused. Get yourself prepared. It's one of the first 30 for 30s, Winning Time. It's all about the Knicks and the Pacers, the Pacers and the Knicks, and we duked it out.

93, we duked it out. Knicks, first to Pacers, first round, the Knicks won 3-1. 94, conference finals, the Knicks won four games, two, three. Things got murky after that. Things got real murky after that. And then there was 1995.

which was a painful, painful, painful, painful series. Seven games, 1995 Eastern Conference Finals. The window had opened up. Michael Jordan retired. Patrick Ewing gets the ball. Top of the key. One step, two step.

Finger roll. It rolls around. It rolls around. It rolls around. It rolls around. And then it bounces off. And I'll tell you something. When the Knicks lost to the Indiana Pacers in 1995 at the Garden, Game 7, a little piece of my Knicks fandom died. I was re-watching highlights from that game and remembering the horror of

The horror of that layup not going in by our guy, our warrior, Patrick Ewing, it rolling out. And this is before cell phones. This is before the internet.

But it played on a loop around New York, New York 1, ESPN, in my head, in my heart, in my head. We were discussing it. We were talking about it. How could that lay up, that finger roll by Patrick Ewan not going, why didn't you dunk it, Patrick? We don't blame Patrick. But I will say when I was thinking about the Knicks versus the Pacers in 1995, Game 7, after that loss, I

I went from being a young fan who grew up watching Ray Williams, Bill Cartwright, Marvin Webster, Michael Ray Richardson, a.k.a. Sugar Ray Richardson, Trent Tucker, Larry Orr, Ken Bannister,

And so forth and so on to when we got John Starks, Charles Oakley, of course, Patrick Ewing and so forth and so on. But that loss in 1995 took me from being a young fan with, you know, hope and aspirations of the Knicks winning the championship. It took me into reality.

Man fanhood. My youth was stripped away. I lost something that night when the Knicks lost in game seven in 1995. It was painful. It was a really, really painful thing because as good as the Knicks did going forward and the Knicks won the Eastern Conference Finals in 99, of course, we never got over the hump. We lost in the finals again. I just knew that

The Knicks were not going to win a championship. I just knew that the Patrick Ewing Knicks were not going to win a championship in 1995 when Patrick missed that finger roll. And again, I don't blame Patrick. I just, I was like, it's just not going to happen. I couldn't deal with the pain. We had been so close yet so far, but the Knicks and the Indiana Pacers and those Indiana Pacers teams with Reggie fucking Miller,

Snaggletooth Reggie Miller. Funny-faced, funny-looking Reggie Miller. Vern Fleming. And then, of course, they got them Davis boys, Antonio and Dale, Derek McKee, Rick Smits, and then they acquired Mark Jackson, our guy. The Indiana Pacers, you made me hate my guy, Mark Jackson. I hated Mark Jackson when he was on the Pacers. All of New York did. That's our guy. Mark Jackson is our guy.

St. John's, Rookie of the Year from a New York Knick. And then somehow, someway, you acquired him in Indiana. He shaved his head. He started shimmying. Mark Jackson started shimmying. And he made me sick. Those teams made me sick. Austin Krosher, all those teams made me sick. Those 1990s.

Indiana Pacers teams made me sick. And we went three and three. Three series to the Pacers, three series to the Knicks. And Reggie pushed us, and we pushed him. And he put on a show in the garden. He taunted and haunted John Starks. But Reggie Miller, John Starks, Charles Oakley, Derek Harper, Glenn Doc Rivers, Anthony Mason, the late great Anthony Mason,

We haunted and taunted you too, Reggie Miller. You had some great nights in New York, but we also had some great nights in Indiana, and we had some great nights at your expense, and you never got over the hump. We never got over the hump either, Reggie Miller. The Knicks never got over the hump, and neither did you. And I recently saw Reggie Miller on an interview talking about

What it was like going against the Knicks and then going against the Bulls and then going against the Lakers and Kobe and Shaq. And he said he replays the games over and over and over and over and over. And they said, do you have to watch them? He goes, I don't have to watch them. I replay them over and over and over and over and over and over. Reggie Miller is haunted. And I love it. I realized when I was watching the last dance, when it came on during the pandemic, which seems like so long ago,

Man, the pandemic seems like so long ago. But when that last dance came on, along with Tiger King, there was a few other ski pole moments of TV and popular culture during the pandemic. But when the last dance came on and Reggie Miller was talking about his duels with Michael Jordan, and he was not scared of Michael Jordan, and he brought it to Michael Jordan. But you also never got over that hump, did you? Michael Jordan owned you, Reggie Miller.

And you pushed him. You had some great moments. You physically pushed him. You made some great shots, but you never got over that hump. And I'm glad. I wouldn't have it any other way, Reggie Miller. Reggie Miller, your pain is my pleasure. Your pain is New York's pleasure. Huh? Huh?

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Go to square.com slash go slash iHeart to learn more. Games aren't won on sheer will alone. If they were, everybody would get a trophy, wouldn't they? Trust is a game changer for any team. It doesn't matter who or what you're up against. And when you trust the people around you, anything's possible. The coach trusts the players. The players trust each other. It's the same for insurance.

You should have a team that works hard to earn your trust every day, and that's the Hartford. With 215 years in the game, they help protect millions of customers with their business and personal insurance and employee benefits. The Hartford is showing up day in and day out for the people who count on them when the game is on the line. A small business getting ready to open, a driver taking on the road, an employee growing their family, and that's just scratching the surface. The Hartford puts in the work.

to do right by their customers. It's why people trust them and you want the Hartford on your team. Check out the Hartford.com to learn more. Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. I don't know if you knew this, but anyone can get the same premium wireless for $15 a month plan that I've been enjoying. It's not just for celebrities. So do like I did and have one of your assistants assistants switch you to Mint Mobile today. I'm

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Again, jeansight.com for more information and to move forward on your journey to mental wellness. I realized watching the last dance 30 years later, 20 something years later, 20 something years later after the Knicks and the Pacers were duking it out.

In those great games during the 90s, those great series during the 90s. I realized during the last sense when Reggie Miller's snaggletooth face popped up on the screen that Reggie Miller is my single least favorite athlete of all time. Nothing personal. It's not personal. I'm sure Reggie Miller is a great guy personally. I don't want to get to know him personally because I enjoy him.

Hating Reggie Miller as an Indiana Pacer. I enjoy hating Reggie Miller as an antagonist in the NBA. And I saw Reggie Miller. I told you this story before. I saw Reggie Miller a couple years after he retired in New York in a restaurant. Can't remember where. Or at a party or at a pre-party at a restaurant or something. And he said to me, you done talking shit? And I said, yeah. Yeah, I am.

And he shook my hand, gave me five, dapped it up, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But I realized, Reggie Miller, that was fake. At the time, it felt real, but it was fake. Because as the dust and the time goes on, and I think about the Pacers, the Knicks, the Knicks, the Pacers, and the rivalry, and the dirtiness, and the taunting, and the head-butting, and the provoking, and the antagonizing you did,

To the New York Knicks, I don't have to like you. I respect you. I don't have to like you. And I know that so many New York fans of my age, because the younger ones that are out there in the garden, and they're great screaming and yelling, climbing up things, climbing to the tops of buildings, tick-tocking, dancing, doing it. The great young Knick fans, they can't appreciate how much

Their fathers and the older Knicks fans in New York really don't like you, Rick Smith. You made me hate Chris Mullen, Byron Scott, Larry Bird was coach, and Isaiah Thomas. I couldn't stand you. The Roy Hibbert era of the Indiana Pacers, the Paul George era of the Indiana Pacers, and now we got Ty Ty Halliburton. Fly Ty Halliburton.

And you beat us last year in Game 7 because we fell apart. OG had a hammy. I mean, I was at Game 7 last year when the Knicks literally...

I almost went on the court and said, you guys need a fresh body out there? Because we fell apart at the seams. The New York Knicks fell apart at the seams. And of course, the Pacers won game seven in the Garden. And it was hard to swallow. It was hard to swallow. It's hard watching the Knicks lose. It's hard watching the Knicks lose game seven. It's hard watching the Knicks lose game seven at the Garden. But it was even harder watching.

that it was first the Indiana Pacers, the disgusting, much-hated Indiana Pacers, and their fans hate us too, and they're nasty. I was there, 1999, conference finals. I was at a game in Indiana. I was with Spike Lee. I'm surprised I made it out alive. These are sick, rabid, crazy fans in Indiana.

Scary people. I was at that game. I think it was game three in Indiana. We flew in and we flew out. You couldn't get a hotel room. Who knows what we'd still be missing in action if we got hotel rooms in Indiana. They were mean. They were nasty, screaming, yelling, evil little fuckers out there in Indiana.

But this is what it's all about, NBA basketball. And it's going to be great. It's going to be a great series. It's going to be about matchups. It's going to be about Tyrese. It's going to be about Josh Hart. It's going to be about the point guards. Again, you got Tyrese Halliburton, Ty Ty Halliburton versus Jalen Brunson, the clutch player of the year. Earned. Earned that.

The best player in the playoffs consistently this year earned that. Yeah, I said it. Sorry, SGA. Sorry, Ant-Man. Sorry, Jokic. And the tempo. The Pacers like to push, push, push, push, push. We need Big Cat, Big Bodega, Carl Anthony Towns with all his many accents. Carl Anthony Towns on a different day, different night. His voice changes. His accent changes. We need him to go hard.

and play hard, and dominate. We need them to have a big dominant series. And the bench contributions. Listen, their bench is a little deeper. We only got two. We got Mitch and we got Deuce. Mitch and Deuce. Deuce and Mitch. And that's all we need. It's a seven-man rotation for the most part. I'm predicting right now that the New York Knicks take down the miserable, nasty...

Unlikable. They're not likable. Nobody likes the Indiana Pacers except for Indiana Pacer fans. Nobody likes the Indiana Pacers and Tyrese Halliburton except for Indiana Pacer fans. I'm predicting right now on wax. Oh yeah, I'm on wax. I'm predicting right now that the New York Knicks decimate

and dominate. Close, hard-fought five games. I got the Knicks in five, baby. I got the Knicks in five going to the NBA Finals in 2025. The Knicks in five going to the NBA Finals in 2025. You heard it first from me, Mr. New York, Michael Rappaport, a.k.a. the Gringo Man Dingo. There, I said it.

I feel a lot better now. Nixon 5. Mark it down. Put it in your calendar that I said that on today's brand new banging. I am Rappaport Stereo Podcast. Tell a friend to tell a friend to subscribe, rate, and review. Tell a friend to tell a friend to subscribe, rate, and review. Miles Jordan, a.k.a. the Bleach Brothers, a.k.a. the Dust Brothers. Take me at it with something real nice.

end this I Am Rap Poor Stereo podcast with something real loud, but most importantly, end this I Am Rap Poor Stereo podcast off with something real funky. It's the I Am Rap Poor Stereo podcast. The Knicks in five, baby.

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