All The Smoke

Matt Barnes & Nick Swisher sit down with legendary broadcaster and two-time All-Star Harold Reynolds live from MLB All-Star Weekend in Philly. Harold takes us all the way back to Corvallis, Oregon, where he grew up one of eight kids, snuck into the gym to watch Pistol Pete Maravich shoot around, and helped Dick Fosbury perfect the Fosbury Flop before it won Olympic gold. From there he breaks down what it was really like stepping into an 80s MLB clubhouse as a rookie, and the vets — Julio Cruz, Maury Wills, Frank White, Reggie Jackson, Jim Palmer — who took him under their wing and passed down lessons that don't show up in any box score. The crew gets into the biggest shifts in the game: why Harold thinks the eye test still matters more than the analytics era wants to admit, how kids are getting priced out of baseball before they ever get a shot, and why coaching today looks nothing like it did when a manager like Dick Williams could put the fear of God in you. Harold also shares what it was like coming up alongside Ken Griffey Jr. and his dad in Seattle, watching Randy Johnson turn into a monster after one lunch with Nolan Ryan, and breaking Rickey Henderson's stolen base streak. There's no shortage of Bo Jackson lore either, from throwing out Harold at home from the wall, hitting bombs from both sides of the plate, benching 400 pounds in street clothes just to prove a point. Cal Ripken Jr.'s streak, Kevin Mitchell showing up to games on his own terms, and Harold's jump from the field to Baseball Tonight and co-founding MLB Network round out one of the deepest baseball history conversations the show has done.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony joins ATS Unplugged for an in-depth conversation on basketball’s new era. Melo breaks down why Victor Wembanyama is unlike anything the NBA has ever seen, why the New York Knicks have a real shot at the Finals, and what it was like watching Kiyan battle through a tough freshman season at Syracuse University. He also opens up on: Kobe Bryant and the 2009 Western Conference Finals Why today’s players don’t master the mid-range anymore The NBA stars he’d love to train Wemby’s mentality and mindset NIL chaos and the future of college basketball What separates elite scorers from everybody elseSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Matt sits down with one of baseball's most remarkable figures — Dusty Baker. A 19-year career as a player, one of the greatest managerial runs in the sport's history, and a front-row seat to some of the most defining moments in baseball history. Dusty opens up about breaking into professional baseball in the Deep South in 1968, navigating sundown laws as a young Black man in the minor leagues, and what it was really like to come of age during one of the most turbulent eras in American history. He shares what it meant to be taken under the wing of legends, like Hank Aaron and Satchel Paige, and how those early experiences shaped the way he led clubhouses for decades. He also gets into managing Barry Bonds through one of the greatest offensive seasons in baseball history,, the infamous Bartman game in Chicago, inheriting the Houston Astros in the middle of a scandal, and finally winning it all at 73 years old — becoming the oldest manager in history to win a World Series.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.