ELISSA NADWORNY, HOST:
And now it is time for sports.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
NADWORNY: The Knicks are just one win away from an NBA title, and the city of New York is electric. Will the San Antonio Spurs spoil things? And in college football, what will the NCAA do with Brendan Sorsby? Joining us now to answer these questions is sports writer Howard Bryant. Good morning.
HOWARD BRYANT: Good morning. How are you?
NADWORNY: I am good after last night's win, which we have to talk about. World Cup match - the U.S. scored four goals - four...
BRYANT: Four.
NADWORNY: ...In its opening match over Paraguay. Wow. I mean, nobody expected much from this American team. Did you think that last night's results are going to change your mind?
BRYANT: No.
NADWORNY: (Laughter).
BRYANT: Maybe not. I mean, it's fun. I mean...
NADWORNY: Yeah.
BRYANT: ...I think that - well, I mean, I think that when you think about soccer and the World Cup in the United States, obviously, it begins with the women. And that is the - they're always going to be the standard because of their dominance.
NADWORNY: So good.
BRYANT: So the men, on the other hand - you don't have any expectations for them to score four goals. They had never scored four goals before. You don't go into this expecting that sort of excitement. However, as a host nation, there is a sort of added level of adrenaline that's going to come with it. And I think that there is a sort of feeling that, you know, maybe one of these days, there'll be a great run that American soccer fans on the men's side will be able to sort of enjoy. But I think that it's hard to have a better debut than that...
NADWORNY: Right.
BRYANT: ...With all the turmoil that men's soccer's had. So have fun with it.
NADWORNY: So - yeah.
BRYANT: Enjoy it.
NADWORNY: Yep (laughter).
BRYANT: Exactly. And see what they do against Australia.
NADWORNY: OK. The New York Knicks and their fans have been waiting 53 years for a title. It could happen tonight...
BRYANT: It could.
NADWORNY: ...In San Antonio. Do you think the Spurs are going to force a Game 6 in New York? What's going to happen?
BRYANT: It's been a crazy series. I think that the Knicks have been the best team this postseason. They've only lost three games. They have been, by far, the more poised team. They are on the cusp of a championship. They should win tonight. And if they don't win, then they should win probably the next game in New York. And it really feels inevitable. This team reminds me - I know New Yorkers are going to hate it, but I'm going to say it anyway. They have 2004 Red Sox feel to them, this feel of inevitability, that they - everything they do works for them.
You know, the Red Sox fired their manager in 2003, and then they bring in Terry Francona, and he takes them to the championship. The Knicks fired Tom Thibodeau last year, and then this new team - which is actually, in a lot of ways, the same team - they come back, and they're on the cusp of a championship. This team has been down by 20 points twice in the playoffs in the fourth quarter and has won. There is this feeling of inevitability. They should win. On the other hand, San Antonio has had the lead in the final 2 minutes of all the games.
NADWORNY: (Laughter).
BRYANT: And so, you know, Victor Wembanyama has come back, and he said, hey, we can win the next three games. And they can. But I think, after 53 years, I think that...
NADWORNY: (Laughter).
BRYANT: ...City has been waiting to explode, and I think they're going to get their chance.
NADWORNY: Amazing. Going to be a great game. OK. So finally, in college football, Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby was banned for life by the NCAA for betting on his own team. That has been basically an unbreakable...
BRYANT: Forty times, by the way.
NADWORNY: ...Rule. Oh, goodness. That's a lot.
BRYANT: Forty times.
NADWORNY: OK. So that's kind of like a no-no, I mean, going back over a century. But this week a Texas judge granted Sorsby an injunction, allowing him to play this season before his trial in February. I mean, what's your take on this? A lot of people condemned it.
BRYANT: Well, my feeling on it is it's total corruption in a lot of ways...
NADWORNY: Really.
BRYANT: ...And that's the thing. The hard part of all of this is that this is what they've all asked for. And it's what the sports have asked for when - in 2018, when the barring of sports betting was lifted by the Supreme Court. It's exactly what we knew was going to happen. You know, we talk about gambling addiction and the whole thing. But it's the teams. It's the league. I don't see Texas Tech saying, hey, for our integrity, we shouldn't have this player.
NADWORNY: (Laughter).
BRYANT: They want him, too, because he's a great player.
NADWORNY: Right.
BRYANT: And so this is what has happened. This is what you knew was going to happen. And one of the things that - one of the more difficult pieces of this is that so much of media, as well, is underwritten by gambling. as well. So it's not surprising. But this is just another step to - we don't trust the games, anyway. It's going to get even worse.
NADWORNY: (Laughter) Yeah. That's sports writer Howard Bryant. Thank you.
BRYANT: Oh, my pleasure. Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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