Hustle hard in Michigan's restaurant scene and sports talk updates

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Hear that? That's the sound of busy. To a restaurant, all that shouting and banging might as well be a symphony. It means the long days and longer nights are paying off. Sure, it's noisy, but there's a worse sound. This, not busy. Busy means business, which is why Toast gives restaurants the tools and tech they need to help them perform under pressure. Sounds pretty good, right? Toast built for busy. Time for Michigan's [music] newest sports talk show, Mitten Madness. And here he goes. Defense win championship. Michigan Sports [music] Talk from here in Battle Creek. The latest stories, the biggest games all across the [music] Mitten State. That's not something to play with. Streaming live and on demand [music] on the 95.3 WBCK app. It's your host, [music] Dejon Hughes. Welcome back into MidMadness. I'm your host, Dejon Hughes, and good morning [music] on this Saturday morning. We're about to dive into an hours long's worth of what's happening inside of the Mitten [music] State in the sports realm. We have tons to get into this week. Michigan, Michigan State, more of their schedule release as [music] kickoff times have now started to be released for some of that schedule. So, we'll be able to dive into that, take a closer look at some of those games to begin things off. Then, we'll touch in on our Detroit Tigers and what things are looking like for them as uh it has not looked good for them in the recent times and if maybe they're able to change things around here soon. You know, Scooball is still on the outs and he says it hurts to watch them play. We'll get into all of that later on as well. And then we have the NBA draft and some miscellaneous things to touch on as well if time permits in that uh third segment. Then of course we're going to end things out with our picks like we always do. I'm feeling great. Had a by-week from pro lacrosse last week, but we did have college lacrosse championships. Lots of big things happened. Northwestern won the championship on their home field for women's over in Evston, right outside of Chicago. So that was cool to see on the women's side. Princeton took down Notre Dame in the championship game for the men's division one realm. So they won again. Tampa won in overtime against Adelfi. Got revenge from last year's championship game, which that was a rematch that also went into overtime last year. Adelfi won on the hand of Kyle Lewis. Uh so that was really uh fantastic to see. RIIT um got demolished by Tus. Tus ran away with that game and it was clear in day why they were the better team. Uh, so it was really a lot of fun to see all that lacrosse go down last weekend. Some good basketball went down. Unfortunately, obviously our Pistons were on the outside looking in and they got embarrassed because the Cavs went out and got swept. Who would have thought the Cavs were going to get swept because uh they beat the Pistons who definitely would not have gotten swept by the Knicks. Let me tell you that. They would not have gotten swept by the Knicks because the Pistons wanted the Knicks. They were hungry for the Knicks after everything that happened with them last year in the playoffs and all the smack that they talked afterward at the bounce in the Pistons. The Pistons were ready to take them down. They they showed it in the regular season. They just didn't get a chance to do so in the playoffs and it's and partially their fault. You have to go out and win the games that are in front of you first. Um so it's really a bummer. But on the other side, uh the Spurs and the Thunder were in the thick of it, which we'll kind of touch on that later on in the show when we get into our picks. But now that we've gotten through the obligatory beginning of things, uh, we were able to get some game time releases for kickoffs for some of the games. I'm going to be looking on Twitter first. Uh, because as I look at the schedule, it says NBC for um, Western. Let me see if it's gonna tell us. Oh, yes. When I click into the game, it does tell us. So, September 5th, 7:30 p.m. NBC Western Michigan will be at Michigan Stadium and Ann Arbor against the Wolverines. So, that will be the kickoff of the season for both Western and Michigan as that will be um during week one for both of those teams. And then week two, Michigan will be taking on Oklahoma, also at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. That game will be at noon. So, most likely will be the big uh big noon game for Fox uh on September 12th. And then there's one more game that has been released so far, and that is their game against UTEP, which will also be at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. It will be at 3:30 p.m. on BTN September 19th as the Miners will be traveling to take on the Wolverines. I mean, so they get a night game to start things off against the Broncos, which I'm sure will be popping as people from all over the state. Uh, Western fans and alum, Michigan fans and alum will be in attendance and it will be popping. I'm sure there'll be a sellout to open things up, especially with it being a night kickoff, night show, the light show. Uh it's a great time there. Uh so I I expect that game to be uh basically a sellout over 100,000 people there. Oklahoma noon game. I mean it's going to be a big time program. So you know the arena is going to be packed. People are going to be left and right squeezed together shouldertoshoulder within that stadium trying to be as loud as they can to will the Wolverines to victory over the Sooners, especially after uh the Wolverines dropped that game last year on the road uh down in Norman, Oklahoma. So, that's going to be a pretty big deal. Uh, and then UTP, I mean, I'm not sure how that game will turn out fan-wise. I think a lot of people have just gotten used to going to Michigan games and having a good time there. So, they pretty much sell out and get over 100,000 people at every game. But, if there was a game that wouldn't quite get the same notoriety as the others on the schedule, it would be this UTEP game. Uh, so there's a possibility the crowd's just a little bit smaller for this game uh than some of the others, but a 3:30 start right in the middle of things. when a lot of teams aren't playing, when a lot of teams are uh and a lot of fans are looking for another game to watch before they watch the late time game, maybe they'll decide to flip over to btn and watch Michigan pound on UTP a little later on in the season. So, those are the three that we know from the Wolverines. Um, and I like those game times. I think the Western night game's going to be a slapper and then the noon game. So, that's your prime time. Everybody's looking uh and you're you're Fox's main game. Uh I think that's what you expect with Oklahoma and we know what Fox does with the Big 10. They want the biggest game possible to be their big noon game. Uh so they're going to do what they can to make that happen. That's why you see Oklahoma and Michigan playing so early in the day. Although I would love for that game to be a 7:30 game uh and be later on in the day. That would be fantastic. On the other side up in East Lancing, the Michigan State Spartans will be taking on the Toledo Rockets first in the season. This game will be at Spartan Stadium in East Lancing at 8:00 PM kickoff on FS1 September 4th, my birthday. The Spartans are getting things kicked off uh for the season against the Rockets, which hopefully they're going to be coming out with a victory. They did open up the year last year with a win over MAC opponent uh the Broncos from Western Michigan. So, it's normally the formula for them, but that does not mean they will have continued success in doing so. Then they will take on another uh MAC opponent and the Eagles from Eastern Michigan. This game will also be at Spartan Stadium, uh East Lancing. It will be September 12th, 3:30 p.m. on BTN as the Spartans will play be playing host there yet again to a team from the MAC Conference. And then their third game, which has also been announced as of now, will be September 19th. It will be the Spartans first road game of the year. They'll be traveling just over the border down to Indiana where they'll be in South Bend/ what they call Notre Dame, Indiana at Notre Dame Stadium to take on the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame will play host 7:30 p.m. on NBC September 19th to the Spartans. So, uh, the Spartans schedule a little bit different. Um, their games are are honestly around the same times. you know, they get the late start against the max school to start things off and they have a little bit of an earlier start the next week in the 3:30 against another max school. Uh, but then they bounce right back to the prime time in the 7:30 slot against Notre Dame. But I mean, what do you expect? When does Notre Dame not playing in the prime time, right? Like they always grab in that 7:30 spot on NBC. It's like it's permanently theirs or something. Like they got a game. It's 7:30 NBC. Like that's where you're going to catch them uh, you know, being being played. It it's kind of fascinating, but um I think Spartan fans will love this. I think a lot of fans like watching games later in the day. They like unwinding at the end of the day and relaxing and and having that cap off their day. Okay, I had errands to run on this Saturday. Boom. I got them all done. Might have watched a game or two uh some other team and maybe hate watched Michigan as a Michigan State fan. And now, yes, perfect. 7:30 rolls around. And I can click on over to NBC and now I can sit and watch my Spartans play Notre Dame. I mean, I can sit and watch my Spartans lose to Notre Dame. I mean, I can sit and watch my Spartans get smacked by I mean, I'm sorry y'all. Y'all know what I'm saying. You know, you can sit and enjoy uh, you know, seeing the Spartans play on television late at night. You get the same thing to start things up with Toledo, too. Opening the year with a late night game, I think, is awesome. Uh, continues to build that anticipation, right? We've been waiting since the end of last season for college football to be back and now you have to wait basically all day before your team comes on. It's a burner. It hurts when you feel like you have to wait all day long and not even feel like it. You legitimately have to wait all day long when you got the prime time game at the end of the night. Spartans are on that twice this year uh early on in the season. So, um, a lot of anticipation builds up when you have to wait for that game, but it's also really exciting to sit and see those late games. The lights are on. It seems like everybody plays a little bit better. Uh, some people are spooked by the bright lights, but it really brings out the best of the best when you got those late night games. It feels like everybody is watching the the helmets and the jerseys shine a little bit more and it's just a different feeling when it's a night game. So, I think Spartan fans and Spartan players will enjoy that. I think the 3:30 game against Eastern Michigan will be a weird feel for them in between because it's not like you're starting with that or ending with that in this three-game stretch. It's right in the middle. You play 7, you play 8:00 p.m. in your first game, then you're 3:30 p.m. and then 7:30 p.m. Uh, so I'd rather like have some consistency there if I'm the Spartans, especially with them having so much turnover. New coach, new players, new schemes, new AD, new this, new that. It's crazy how much new is happening over in East Lancing. and to have some consistency somewhere to kind of help you ease into that transition as a team, as a coach, as an organization, as a institution, a fan base, it would be great and helpful, beneficial, you know, but I don't think the Spartans are going to be able to do that obviously because their schedule looks the way it does. Um, so I think you have to go out and win that Toledo game. you have to go out and win that Eastern Michigan game and then maybe you're able to pull off a crazy one against Notre Dame because you're feeling good after the first two. Maybe Notre Dame is on a slump and they're still trying to figure out some things after they have some moving pieces over there as well, graduating some seniors and such. So, it it will be excuse me interesting to see how this plays out over the next couple of years. Uh, and really, you know, then this season for no for the Spartans is it's it's a lot of change that's coming in and you got to go in and play in a tough conference with a tough schedule. Notre Dame being on your schedule. Nebraska, Wisconsin, Michigan, Oregon, that's a tough schedule. Not to mention Washington. Northwestern's going to come up. It It's going to be rough. Uh, but the Spartans, if they're gonna do it, they have to run in full speed a as if the wall is attacking them and and, you know, just barrel it down. Uh, but I do like the start of the season for them if they can manage the different kickoff times. There's a possibility that, uh, things will favor for them. But Michigan's in the same boat. Their kickoff times are all over the place. 7:30, noon, and 3:30. I mean, you play in every possible time slot that you could play there. Um, and there's no consistency. So they may also have some issues with a lot of new happening down in Ann Arbor as well. But that's all we got for this first segment talking about what's happening in college football. When we get back from the break, we'll be talking about our Detroit Tigers over in Kame Park with more mid madness here on 95.3. The when you fly with Hawaiian Airlines, the whole family enjoys free access to Starlink, the fastest Wi-Fi in the sky, thanks to T-Mobile. Stream, scroll, message, and game while sipping [clears throat] a passion orange guava juice. Everyone stays entertained and your vacation gets a head start. Enjoy every moment of your trip, even before you land. Hawaii starts here. There are two types of business owners. Those who are busy and those who want to be busy. Toast is designed for both. 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[music] Carter Ora here for the Council for Responsible Energy. I want to share a few quick, simple, and inexpensive [music] tips that will not only reduce your home's energy use, but will also save you money on your utility bills. As you switch [music] from heating to cooling, why not opt for a new programmable thermostat that will virtually [music] pay for itself? This is one of the easiest things you can do to really see some significant savings. You can save about [music] $180 a year by properly setting a programmable thermostat. Weather stripping [music] can also significantly lower your bills. You just peel the backing off and seal up [music] any leaks in drafty doors and windows. It only takes a few minutes, but you definitely notice a difference in both the temperature in the house and also your bills. And my last [music] tip, check your home's insulation. Proper insulation in your attic, ceilings, [music] floors, crawl spaces, exterior, and basement walls can save you 30% [music] on home energy bills. It's a little bit more work for you, but your wallet will definitely thank [music] you. A message from the Council for Responsible Energy. [music] [music] Welcome back into Mid Madness here on 95.3 The ticket. It's time for us to take a walk, a hop, a skip, [music] a jump, a jog, a bike ride, a a people mover, whatever you want to do [music] to get on over to Kame Park so we can talk about our Detroit Tigers. It does hurt to say that we even have to because quite frankly, I would like to just uh give them a chance to breathe and move on without anyone talking about what's happening over there. But of course, in the sports world, that is never ever ever ever how these things go. So, we'll start where we always start with our Detroit Tigers. Over in the standings, they are still at the bottom of the AL Central. They're currently behind the Royals by half a game. They're behind the league or the division leading Cleveland Guardians 10 and a half games. The Detroit Tigers are 22 and 35. The Cleveland Guardians are 33 and 25. Chicago White Socks who are three games back in second place are 29 and 27. In third place are the Twins 27 and 35 and a half. And then those Royals who are 10 games back are 22 and 34. When we look at the American League overall, the Tigers are firmly at the bottom as they are 14 games behind the league leading Tampa Bay Rays. They are tied technically with the Los Angeles Angels who are 22 and 35. But I'll tell you why the Tigers sit below them after the tiebreaker series that just went down earlier this week that the Tigers absolutely embarrassed themselves in. Uh but I'll dive into that a little bit deeper uh later on. The Yankees are second in the AL at 34 and 22 a game and a half back. Then those Guardians are in third place. Those White Socks are in fourth place. And in fifth place are the Mariners at 28 and 29 eight games back. White Socks are 6 and a half games back. Guardians three and a half games back. Over in the National League, the Braves still a top 38 and 19. The Dodgers are a game and a half back at 36 and 20. The Brewers are in third place three games back at 33 and 20. The Diamondbacks and the Padres's are both six games back, tied for fourth at 31 and 24. And then the Cubs are right behind them, 31-26, seven games back. Looking overall, the Braves are a top of the entire MLB. The Dodgers are in second. Rays are in third. Brewers in fourth, Yankees in fifth, and then those Guardians sitting not far behind in sixth place. So, it's a tough run for the Tigers right now. Looking at the leaders that are trying to help this team figure it out and put it together. Riley Green leads the team in batting average with a 304 and OBP of 398. A slugging percentage of 436. Leading the team in home run jacks, you got Dylan Dingler. He's got 10 home runs. He averages point his batting average is 231. He also leads the team in RBI's, which he has 32 of those as well. On the pitching side, Frra Valdez leads in the ERA department at 4.28. He's got two wins on the year and 50 strikeouts. Brandt Herder, four wins. His ERA is 2.84. He's got 18 strikeouts. And then Jack Flity leads the team in strikeouts with 64. Still searching for his first win on the year, but his ERA a staggering 5.81. So, seriously some struggles in the pitching department. As a team, they have 218 runs on the year. That's 24th in the league. Their batting average at a 2.33 or sorry, excuse me, a 233 is 22nd in the league. Their on base percentage of 316 is 18th and their sledding percentage of 370 is good for 27th. On the pitching side earned run average, the erra sits at a 4.03 good for 16th in the league. Quality starts of 21 is tied for ninth in the MLB. Their whip of 1.2 29 is good for 16th and then their opponent batting average of 238 is 13th in the league. So pitching doing okay, but not as good as they're going to need to do if the bats are going to be sitting in the 20s. Like it you're not doing well if you're in the bottom third of the league in most metrics. And that's where the Tigers are right now. So sitting at 22 and 35, it's more than just an uphill battle for them. as we dive into what happened this past week for their schedule. Last weekend they took on Baltimore. One game was postponed, so they did have to do a double header. Uh Friday night they lost 7 to4. Basset picked up the win. Flity picked up yet another loss. And then on Sunday the Tigers lost five to three. Ends picked up a win. Jansen picked up another loss. He's one and three on the year for the Tigers. And then on Sunday, the double header, Tigers pick up a W, four to one. Melton picked up the W there. Rogers or yeah, Rogers picked up a loss. That was the first win and since May 16th, which ended a one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eightame losing streak. And then immediately after that loss, they got to go home and rest for just a bit. Um, you know, they had Monday off, but then they welcomed in the Los Angeles Angels and took America Park for a series that was basically going to determine who was at the bottom of the American League and who was going to be one step ahead holding that tiebreaker to not be the worst team in the league. Game one did not go well for our Tiger. Well, it started well. The Tigers started this game so well. In fact, we're going to take a a closer look at at how this game went down. So, at the end of two, the Tigers are up one to nothing. Um, and then here come the Angels a little bit, right? They strike back in the third. They're up 2-1 at the end of the third. Then they pour on two more in the top of the fourth. Tigers strike back and get one. So, it's 4-2 at the end of four. And then at the end of five in the bottom half of the fifth, the Tigers go nuclear. They pick up three runs. Massive for the Tigers, right? They're up 5-4 now. They're in the lead. They're holding on to it. They're looking good. They they blank him again in the top of the six and then they pick up another run in the bottom of the six. Now they're up two. They're up 6-4 at the end of six, right? You got three more innings to hang on and grab yourself a dub here at home and it's a great start to the series. If you pick up another, you win the series and now you're in a comfortable place, at least not at the bottom of the American League. Right. Right. Right. Wrong. Wrong. Couldn't be more wrong. Both goal blinked in the seventh inning. After the seventh inning stretch, uh here come the Angels. They were nice and loose again and they took off. Five runs in the top of the eighth. Five runs in the top of the eighth. Blows this game back open. That puts them ahead um nine to six and then they were able to cash in another at the top of the ninth. Put them up 10-6 and the Tigers weren't able to do anything else from that point forward. Uh so the Tigers squash a lead in game one. They lose that game 10 to six and then they bounce back game two. They win four to zero. Anderson picks up a huge W in this game. Uh they they had control of this game the entire time. They picked up a run right away in the bottom of the first, another in the bottom of the second. Everybody was blanked in the third and fourth. They pick up another run in the bottom of the fifth. They're blanked in the sixth. They pick up another run in the seventh. And then everybody's blanked for the remaining um inning and a half. Tigers had 10 hits in this game. picked up four runs, only gave up two hits, no errors, and the Angels had an error. Tokelson home uh homerred in this game. We had five pitchers combined for a two-h hitter in that Tigers win, snapping that sevengame home losing streak and eightgame losing streak overall. So, you figure maybe the Tigers have it figured out, right, and they'll be able to take care of the the last game against the Angels on Thursday and come home away with a uh 2-1 series lead, right? No. Every time I say right, it ain't it ain't what you think, huh? I know. I'm sorry. I'm trying to get better at it, but the Tigers need to get better at playing baseball at this point. You know, obviously I know there's injuries which are really making this a little bit tougher on them, but at this point it's starting to hurt a little bit, right? The Angels do come away with the third game victory in this series, 7 to one. Tigers did strike first in this game at the bottom of the second and then they everybody was held scoreless until the top of the fifth and that's when the Angels erupted for three runs. Everybody scoreless again until the top of the eighth. The Angels punch in two more and then they punch in another two at the top of the ninth. Tigers never get back on the board. Angels had 11 hits. Tigers only had three. And I mean, when the bats aren't going, it's almost impossible to win a game. You can't win a game on three hits unless everybody's out there throwing no hitters, right? Even though one of your hits was a home run. That's the only reason you got on the board. You left eight runners on base. I'm sure there were some in scoring position. You only had seven total bases on the day though. Like you you got to be able to get the ball in play and you got to be able to bat those those uh runs in. Once they're on the base and you get them to second and third, you got to bring them around to home plate, especially if you know that you're struggling at times to even get on base. So, you got to make it count when you get there. Tigers not quite able to do that without their ace and without a couple of other very key players. It's only getting tougher for them. Uh but it does not mean that the season's over. does not mean they should give up. It does not mean that they won't be able to have some success. Granted, the weekend series for them this weekend is against the White Socks on the road at that terrible dump of a field, guaranteed rate. So, I'm not sure that's going to help the Tigers at all having to play at Ratefield over in Chicago. But then you got Tampa Bay on the road. Oh yikes. The American League leading Tampa Bay Rays. those Tampa Bay Rays, the ones that are second in the or third in the entire MLB Tampa Bay Rays, the ones that the the Tigers are trailing by 14 games Tampa Bay Rays. Bruh, threeame series on the road where the Tigers are also struggling to play on the road. Bruh, I don't know how this one going to work out for the Tigers, but I I'm not feeling good about that. Then they welcome Seattle in who's also I believe I said top five in the league right now maybe a little bit further outside of that but still it's a very tough series before they have two uh two more interdivisional series backto back against the Minnesota Twins than the Cleveland Guardians. So it's only getting tougher for the Tigers and they're looking to get those players and that those aces back as soon as possible to try and turn this ship around. I do want to send my commends out, you know, to the the coaching staff, the manager, and the players that are still putting in the effort at this moment to keep this team afloat, try and keep them close cuz I mean, anything can happen post break. Anything can happen when these guys come back. If you're able to catch heat, you can run. And it's all about runs. If you can put together a couple quality runs, eight, nine, 10 games in a row, you'll fix things around for yourself very quick and be able to push yourself, maybe even into a wild card. But that's enough for the Tigers. We'll be back after the break to talk about the NBA draft with more men madness here on 95.3 the ticket. Today on the pod we're talking [music] to Megan, trapeze artist and scratchers enthusiast. So Megan, what do you like about playing scratchers? Well, they're easy to play when I'm hanging around. Oh, okay. Like when you're relaxing? No, like when I'm hanging on the trapeze. I swing upside down, then do a quadruple somersault all while playing a scratchers. Watch this. Ta. Unbelievable. I know, right? Scratchers from the California [music] Lottery. A little play can make your day. Please play responsibly. Must be 18 years or older to purchase player claim. Hear that? That's the sound of busy. To a restaurant, all that shouting and banging might as well be a symphony. It means the long days and longer nights are paying off. Sure, it's noisy, but there's a worse sound. This, not busy. Busy means business, which is why Toast gives restaurants the tools and tech they need to help them perform under pressure. Sounds pretty good, right? Toast, built for busy. [music] Mike Row on the skills gap and how a student organization known as Skills USA is trying to fill [music] it. So, the thing about Skills USA that's so cool and the reason that my foundation has [music] supported it for years is that it's deliberately and intentionally focused [music] on celebrating a skill. 3 million jobs right now [music] exist in the trades, in transportation, in commerce. The skills gap is real. Training kids and [music] getting them excited to do the jobs that exist ought to be job one. Skills USA does that in a big way. It's about excellence [music] and competition and being good at what you do and eventually through all of that learning who you are. Skills USA is working. [music] USA. [music] Learn more at microworks.com and skillsusa.org. Dear John, I was hoping it wouldn't come to this, but you've left me no choice. I'm leaving. Uncontrolled high blood pressure is really serious, and lately you seem to really not care. I've been there for you since day one, and I know you think I'm going to keep ticking. But no, my friend, I can quit whenever I want. Why can't we get back to the good times when we were more active and ate more healthy foods, and you checked on me every once in a while? Is that too much to ask? I don't want to leave, but unless you stop ignoring me, what else am I supposed to do? Remember, when I quit, you quit. Sincerely, your heart. Listen to your heart. Don't let it quit on you. Doing the minimum to control your high blood pressure isn't doing enough. High blood pressure can lead to a stroke, heart attack, or death. Get your blood pressure to a healthy range before it's too late. Find out how at heart.org/b blood pressure. Check. Change control. A message from the American Heart Association. the American Stroke Association and the Ad Council. [music] [music] [music] Welcome back into Mid Madness here on 95.3 The Ticket. I'm your host, Dejan Hughes. Time for us [music] to talk a little bit about the NBA draft as we have a little bit of extra time here to kill the 2026 NBA draft will be June 23rd and 24th. An opportunity for dozens of young stars to try and get their pick in the NBA and see if they have what it takes. The 2026 NBA draft class is full of ready talent, including top prospects like Darren Peterson, Cameron Boozer, Caleb Wilson, Yakel Landenborg, Katon Waggler, Kingston Flemings, and many more. But first, the lottery on May 10th determined the complete order with the Washington Wizards winning the top pick. Then the combine happened. So, we are going to talk about the complete draft order here for just a second. Here we go. So, for the first round, the Wizards, then the Jazz, Grizzlies, Bulls, the Clippers via Indiana Pacers, uh, then the Nets, the Sacramento Kings, the Hawks via the New Orleans Pelicans, Dallas Mavericks, Bucks, Warriors, Thunder Heat, Hornets. Hornets grab the last and final lottery spot. The Bulls at 15 via the Portland Trailblazers. Grizzlies at 16 via the Phoenix Suns. Oklahoma City Thunder via the Philadelphia 76ers at 17. Charlotte Horn Hornets via Orlando Magic. Toronto Raptors. San Antonio Spurs via the Atlanta Hawks. Detroit Pistons via the Minnesota Timberwolves. 76ers via the Houston Rockets. Atlanta Hawks via the Cleveland Cavaliers. Then the New York Knicks at 24. Lakers Nuggets, Celtics, the Timberwolves via Detroit, the Cavaliers via San Antonio, and then the Dallas Mavericks via Oklahoma City Thunder at the 30 spot. Then in the second round, Knicks via the Washington Wizards, the Grizzlies via the Indiana Pacers, then the Nets, the Kings, the Spurs via the Utah Jazz, the Clippers via Memphis Grizzlies, Oklahoma City Thunder via Dallas Mavericks, Chicago Bulls via the New Orleans Pelicans, Houston Rockets via the Chicago Bulls, Boston Celtics via the Milwaukee Bucks, Miami Heat via the Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs via the Portland Trailblazers, Brooklyn Nets, via the Los Angeles Clippers. San Antonio Spurs via the Miami Heats. Sacramento Kings via the Charlotte Hornets. Then the or Orlando Magic at 46. The Phoenix Suns via the Philadelphia 76ers. Dallas Mavericks via the Phoenix Suns. Denver Nuggets via the Atlanta Hawks. Then the Raptors at 50. The Wizards via the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Clippers via the Cleveland Cavaliers. Then the Houston Rockets. The Golden State Warriors via the Los Angeles Lakers. the Knicks at 55, the Bulls via Denver uh Nuggets, the Atlanta Hawks via the Boston Celtics, New Orleans Pelicans via the Detroit Pistons, Minnesota Timberwolves via the San Antonio Spurs, and coming in at 60 with the Mr. Irelevant pick is the Washington Wizards via the Oklahoma City Thunder. So, that is what the list will look like this year. The combine has happened and NBA teams are looking closer to the prospects. The draft is going to be at the Barclay Center in Brooklyn. Both days airing on ESPN. Looking at some of the mock drafts. Here's one from the post combine, which is probably the best one to look at at this moment. They have AJ Debons going one to the Wizards. Darren Peterson from Kansas going two to the Jazz. Cameron Boozer from Duke going three to the Grizzlies. Caleb Wilson from North Carolina going four to the Bulls. Katon Waggler to the Clippers. Darius Akuff Jr. to the Nets. Kingston Flemings to the Kings. Ad Mara from Michigan to the Hawks at eight. That's the highest we've seen a Michigan player this year. Mike Brown Jr. going [snorts] to the Mavericks. Nate Ament going to the Bucks at 10. Braden Burries to the Warriors. Yakel Landenborg bumped up to 12 out of Michigan going to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Leberon Phylon Jr. going to the Heat. Kareem Lopez going to the Hornets. Cameron Carr going to the Bulls. Christian Anderson to the Grizzlies. MZ Johnson Jr. also to the Thunder at 17 from Michigan. Hans Han Steinbach going to the Hornets. Bennett Stur going to the Raptors. Jaden Quinnets going to the Spurs. Isaiah Evans out of Duke projected to go to the Pistons right now. The sophomore is uh 6'5 1/2, 186 lbs, 8 1/2 standing reach, and anywhere from uh oh, and a 6' 8 and 3/4 wingspan. and his standing reach is eight and 8' 8 and 1/2 in. So, uh, the guy's long and he can play defense, but he also can shoot the ball. Evans said at the combine that he was planning to stay in the draft and an unsurprising decision with Duke holding a commitment from Wisconsin transfer. John Blackwell to fill a sim similar role. Evans measured solidly for a wing, but weighed in at only 186 pounds and didn't test especially well, but projects as a movement shooter and floor spacer with a positional size and long-term upside as he hones that skill set. Though his range is somewhat wide at the moment, he's probably off the board in the back half of the first round. Detroit has a clear need for adding shooting around Kate Cunningham and should consider addressing that through the draft. Evans would give them an injection of offense, a need that was apparent throughout the Pistons playoff run. Alan Graves going to the 76ers. Ubeca Okori going to the Hawks. Chris Sonak Jr. going to the H uh Knicks. Henry Vesser going to North Carolina. Dalon Swain going to Texas. Ka Pete going to the Celtics. Malik Thomas going to the Timberwolves. Zubie going to the Cavaliers. Joshua Jefferson going to this uh Mavericks. Then in the second round they have the Knicks taking Cariban, the Grizzlies taking Amari Allen, the Nets taking Matt Ael, the Kings taking toundi Yasfu, the Spurs taking Tyler Tanner, the Clippers taking Malachi Moreno, the Thunder takinger Reed Jr., The Bulls taking Milan Mcclinovich. The Rockets taking Luigi Sujo. The Celtics taking Jack Kyle. The Heat taking Baba Miller. The Spurs taking Florie Badanga. The Nets taking Sergio Dearia. The Spurs taking Ryan Conwell. The Kings taking the Magic taking Braden Smith. The Suns taking Jeremy Fierce Jr. who was pulled out of the draft as of now. Uh Ruben Chen uh Chen Yolu at 48, Felix Akara to the Nuggets, Andre Stroyakovich to the Raptors, the uh Jaden Bradley to the Wizards, Richie Saunders to the Clippers, Billy Richmond III to the Rockets, Jacobe Gpsy to the Warriors, Isaiah Nelson to the Knicks, Chicago Bulls will take Emanuel Sharp. The Hawks will take Nick Martellini, Martinelli, excuse me. Uh, the New Orleans Pelicans will take Kylin Boswell, Bruce Thornton to the Minnesota Timberwolves, and then Uganu Anesso to the Wizards with the last pick of the draft. As of right now, it's the most recent mock draft we have. As we know, a lot has changed since guys have pulled out of the draft since then. Most notably, Jeremy Fierce Jr. and I think there might have even been a couple other names that have pulled out that I said there. But, I think a lot of those picks are great. I think um it's really interesting to see a day Mara shoot all the way up to the eight spot. Uh I think it's really interesting to see the Thunder in that mock draft. Took Yako at 12, then turned around and took Morz at 17 and then in the second round they're going to take Terence Reed Jr. as well. Like that's a lot of bigs. Uh which granted they don't really have like bigs on that roster right now. I mean Cadet is the closest thing they have to a big but he ain't really playing like a big. He's more like a wing. And and it's okay. Like we know that it's a lot more positionless basketball now and it's normal but eventually you need some size especially when you're playing against guys like Wimby Jaylen Duran Paulo Beno uh Julius Rando Rudy Gobear those are big guys. Joic and and Chad's not always going to be able to battle against a bigger like that. But keeping Chad around is great because then you can have a big bruiser guy that can take care of the big body down low. But then you can also have Chad be a guy on the perimeter that's able to take care of and stretch out uh on the perimeter and and handle guys defensively there. So you have great options there. But interesting picks. That's all we got there for the NBA draft. When we come back from the break, we'll be doing our picks as always with more men madness here on 95.3 the ticket. There are two types of business owners. Those who are busy and those who want to be busy. Toast is designed for both. With tools to keep you humming and help turn grind into growth. That's how you turn busy into business. Toast built for busy. Today [music] on the pod, we're talking to Joan, a method actor and scratchers enthusiast. So Joan, what do you like about playing scratchers? Well, as a method actor, it's about becoming the ticket. Scratching up, down, stage left, stage right. So So what's your motivation? Because your performance feels so real. Oh, I was just tapping into my inner scratchers. Incredible. Yes, bravo me. Scratchers [music] from the California Lottery. A little play can make your day. Please play responsibly. Must be 18 years or older to purchase player claim. [music] Welcome back into Mid Madness here on 95.3 The ticket. I'm your host Dejan Hughes and it's time to get into my favorite part of the show, my picks. [music] You know how it always is. Picks are always fun trying to see who knows something about ball and who doesn't. I always like to tell you guys that you can jump in and have fun with the picks as well. You can play right along with us every single week using the chat feature in the 95.3 the ticket app. All you have to do is first off listen to what games are going to be on the docket for the week. It might be matches, might be contests, whatever the sport may be, it could be on the list. There's normally six, but there may be more sometimes. You'll hear me give my deliberation, my thoughts, my research, and all the reasons why I know ball and I'm so good and everything that I'm saying out of my mouth is right. and I'm going to pick everything to be correct. And then you get to do something really cool. You get to take your time after writing down the the selections, go and do your own research, do your own deliberation, think about your own thoughts, your own trends, your own patterns, and then compile all that yourself. And then you get to tell me why you are going to be right, why I am wrong, and why you know ball better than I do. and then you can submit those picks using the chat feature in the 95.3 the ticket app. And then if you're able to beat me in a selection of picks, then we'll have something special for you. Now, I do want to remind you in all my seasons of picks, I have had competition three times. I have not lost in any of those three times. Jacob did his best, but he could not get the better of me. He was able to tie me just one time, but I was able to be victorious twice. So, keep that in mind when you want to think about challenging me. But seriously, get in on the fun, get in on the action. Submit those pics using the chat feature 95.3 the ticket app. See if you can win yourself something cool. We got lots of cool options to give away. Gift cards, swag, maybe even some tickets to an event, something like that. Donuts, all kinds of cool things. But the main point is you got to get in on the fun. Use that chat feature. Jump in and tell us why you know picks better than I do. With that being said, there were picks that went down last week and I did okay last week right down the middle 500 3 and three as the Spurs did win game four of that series against the Thunder. Uh but now that that series is going to seven which we'll talk about in just a moment. Uh so that tells you how crazy that series has been. Uh the Minnesota Links did take down um the Chicago Sky and the Louisville Kings beat the Dallas Renegades over in the UFFL, but also the Los Angeles Sparks took down the Aces, so I picked up a loss there. The Portland Fire beat the Toronto Tempo, so I picked up another loss there. And then the Knicks took down the Cavs in game three and also game four as they swept them in the Eastern Conference Finals. No competition for them over there. So, I picked up three losses. That 3 and3 record of last week bumps me up to an overall record of 4742 and one. I'm really hoping that a football season can get here already so I can stay above 500 and not have my first losing season of picks ever. But now it's time to dive into this week's set of picks. First game, the Spurs versus the Thunder. It's going to be game seven that we're taking a look at here. The series is tied at 3. It's going to be later today, 8:00 p.m. NBC and Peacock. The game is at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. They're giving the Thunder a 60.2% chance to win, a 39.8% chance for the Spurs. The Thunder a 3 and a half point favorites. They're negative 155 on the money line. Spurs uh plus 130. Then you got 212 on the overunder. I don't have to tell you anything about these teams because you should already know. They've been at the top of the league basically all season long. They've been battling against each other all season long. You look at the regular season, the Spurs won it 4-1, 111 109, 130 110 117 102. All wins for the Spurs. A 1198 victory for OKC. Then a 116 106 victory for the Spurs to end out their regular season. But then here in this Western Conference Finals, different story. Spurs 122 115. Thunder 122113. 123 108. Spurs 10382. Thunder 12714. Spurs 11891. This is going to be an absolute battle. It's going to come down to everything that they have. And it's going to come down to who is able to get the game to swing in their direction however they're able to do it. I hate to say that because that you know what I'm hitting at. The Thunder are good at the foul baiting and the unethical basketball that they play, which is the main reason why I don't want them to win and why I'm going to pick against them. I want the Spurs, but also at the same time, the Spurs have a guy by the name of Victor Webbyama. Nobody else has a Victor Webbyama on their team. We is what we call an alien, and he's going to do alien things in this game. So, I'm going to take the Spurs to come out victorious in game seven and move on to the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks. Moving on to the WNBA, the Seattle Storm will take on the Toronto Temple. This will be a 100 p.m. game a little bit later today. So, almost as soon as we're done here. Toronto Temple a 61.2% chance, a 38.8% chance for the Storm. Storm are 3-2 coming in to this game. 1-2 on the road. Tempo are 4-4 and 1-2 at home. A lot of injuries for both of these teams as the early season is still going on. The Tempo are three and two in their last five. The Storm are two and three. They've lost to they split with the Mystics, split with Connecticut and lost to the Fever. Meanwhile, Tempo have beat the Sky, lost to Portland and Minnesota, but also beat Phoenix and LA. This one, I like what Tempo has, the fire they've been playing with, um, and just the energy that they have. They play at a nice tempo, all pun intended. And when you're led by, you know, um, Britney Sykes, Naara Sabali, and and, uh, Marina Mabberry, you're bound to have success. Also, Toronto took down Seattle earlier this year on the 13th, 8673. So, I'm going to take the tempo to keep their winning ways against the Seattle Storm going and grab another victory uh, on this beautiful Saturday. Then later on today, CBS and Paramount Plus, the Indiana Fever are taking on the Portland Fire. The Fever are 4-3, 1-1 on the road. The Fire 5 and3, 3-2 at home. They're giving the Fever a 75.2% chance to win. They're giving the Fire a 24.8% chance to win this game at home. Sarah Ashley Barker is a game time decision in this game with a foot injury, so that's a big deal. possibly out with an illness, but you still have Caitlyn Clark and Aaliyah Boston. You have Carla Lady and this game is going to be fun. The Fever did win the first game of this matchup 90 to 73 in Indiana on the 20th and I think that plays a factor. They're 4 and3. They're starting to pick things up here. Caitlyn's finding her groove again. Uh Aaliyah Boston obviously does Aaliyah Boston things. They also have Kelsey Mitchell. So, the Fever are a very good squad and they're going to continue to be a very good squad. I think I have to lean on the side of the Fever um knowing that they've already won one of the games in this series for the regular season. So, I yeah, I I think I like the Indiana Fever. Also, Kaitlin Clark is sometimes hard to pick against. Then tomorrow, our last game in the WNBA for the weekend, 3:30 p.m. on NBC and Peacock. The Las Vegas Aces, who are 4 and3 and 4-1 on the road, will take on the Golden State Valkyries, who are 5-2 and 3 and one at home. Aza Wilson and Chelsea Gray obviously lead the Aces who have a 51.3% chance to win this game and the Valkyries a 48.7% chance this game at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California. Um no man major injuries for either of these teams. Veronica Burton leads the Valkyries in in the points department and the assist department. Kayla Char uh Charles um holding things down in the paint for the Valkyries. The Valkyries are three and two in their last five, but so are the Aces. The Aces have two wins over the Sun, a win over the Dream, but back-to-back losses to the Sparks and the Wings. Meanwhile, over here, the Valkyries have split with the Fever recently. Beat the Sun, beat the Liberty, and then lost to the Chicago Sky. There's something about this home game for the Valkyries. They really do like playing at home. You can even look at their last couple of seasons. when they play home games, they play well and they have success there. Even when they invite a good team like the Aces in, especially when the Aces have only won on the road so far this year, but they also have a loss on the road as well. And then then they have two losses at home. So, it's not that they're unbeatable on the road, but they're surely more comfortable on the road. And although I like AA Wilson, Chelsea Gray, and what the Aces have to offer, it's something about this home game screaming at me about the Chase Center for the Valkyries. So, I'm taking the Valkyries to take down the Aces this weekend. And that may come back to bite me. And I may be upset about that one. But hey, there's not much I can say about that because now that I've already made my pick, it's time to move on to the UFFL. Couple of games going on as they get into their final week of the regular season. It is week 10. The Gamblers from Houston are three-6 going into the week. The Stallions are four- five. Now, that's key because only one of these teams is eligible for the playoffs. That's the Stallions who are four and five. They need to win this game to go ahead and move on or at least try and move on. They still need some help in other departments to see if they can squeeze into that last playoff spot. The Gamblers have already been defeated. They're 3-6 on the year. They're 163 points for 223. They've given up a negative 60 and they're on a one-ame losing streak. The Stallions are on a one-ame losing streak as well. They're only negative - 26 in the differential department. They've put up 177 points. They've only given up 203. And with them knowing that they have to win this game, I think that that adds a layer for them. Although it's pressure, it's a little bit of a different pressure than Houston who kind of has that pressure to be the team to end things out for the Gamblers or for the Stallions on the season and kind of end their season, which is always fun to do, but it is hard knowing that that other team is fighting as hard as they are. So, I'm taking the Stallions to try and squeeze themselves in the playoffs, although it may not happen. They're going to need some help from the Kings to lose their game um in order for that to happen. And then they're also going to need a blowout over there as well to kind of help with the score differential differences there. But another game happening within the UFFL between two teams who are firmly in the playoffs. The DC Defenders are 5-4, 258 point. 195 against plus 63 in the score differential. They're the best team in that department, but they are on a three-game losing streak. Meanwhile, the best team in the league at record-wise anyway. The Orlando Storm are 7-2, 203 points, four, 163 given up, which is the lowest in the league. They're plus 40 on the score differential, and they're on a three-game win streak, which ties the best in the league with the Louisville Kings. This is a tough game to pick because I know how good the defenders can be. We've seen them go on an absolute tear in a run earlier in this season to get them to where they are now, but the Storm have been consistent. There's a reason they only have two losses. There's a reason they've given up the least amount of points this year. and they're scoring at a good rate as well. I'm going to take the Storm to win the last game of the year, firmly lock themselves as the one seed in the playoffs and try and make a run. That gives me the Spurs, the Tempo, the Fever, the Valkyries, the Stallions, and the Storm for this week. Don't forget to continue to check out 95.3, the ticket for your Tigers action over the weekend. But we'll be back next week to continue to talk more about what's happening across the state of Michigan in the sports realm with Mormon Madness with me, Dejon Hughes here on 95.3, the ticket. Join Dejon Hughes [music] every Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m. for Mitten Madness on 95.3 WBC. Miss the show or want to [music] run it back? Stream Mitten Madness on demand on the WBCK app, sponsored by airwaycashforjunkcars.com. [music] Picture the two of you sitting side by side, a mighty in your hands and the sounds of Hawaii around you. You almost forget you're on a plane. And that's the point. Because when you fly with Hawaiian Airlines, it's hard to tell where your flight ends and vacation begins. Hawaii starts here. There are two types of business owners. Those who are busy and those who want to be busy. Toast is designed for both. With tools to keep you humming and help turn grind into growth. That's how you turn busy into business. Toast. Built for busy.