Some sports moments you remember watching. Others you remember hearing about. And then there’s waking up to find out the Mavericks traded Luka Doncic to the Lakers.

Casey Kiernan of AM Hoops joins me to relive the trade that had everyone checking whether Shams had been hacked. We revisit the shock, the search for an explanation, and why Dallas getting Anthony Davis and one first-round pick back still feels so hard to comprehend.

Was this a basketball decision or something more personal? Could Cooper Flagg ever make Mavericks fans whole? And did Dallas break something bigger than its roster when it traded the player its fans expected to keep for life?

Then we play a game: What trade would have been MORE shocking? Steph Curry, Allen Iverson, Scottie Pippen, Kobe Bryant, and one Jalen Brunson hypothetical I immediately regret putting into the universe.

00:00 Intro
00:57 Waking up to the Luka Doncic trade
01:54 Meet Casey Kiernan of AM Hoops
02:42 How AM Hoops got its name
04:04 Simply Irresistible: When did Shams break the news?
06:38 The sports news you never forget hearing
08:20 How AM Hoops covered the Luka trade
10:55 From checking his phone to chasing answers
13:37 How could THIS be the return for Luka?
15:38 Nico Harrison, Rob Pelinka, and the Lakers connection
17:43 Could Cooper Flagg possibly make up for it?
19:10 Was Dallas’s Finals run a fluke?
21:17 A generational mistake meets generational luck
21:44 Did the Mavericks betray their fans?
23:51 Was the trade good or bad for basketball?
25:08 The Game: What trade would be MORE shocking?
25:13 Steph Curry and Allen Iverson
27:42 Scottie Pippen for Shawn Kemp
29:31 Kobe Bryant to the Pistons
32:16 The Jalen Brunson hypothetical I already regret
34:20 What if Dallas traded Cooper Flagg?
34:44 Would Mark Cuban have traded Luka?
35:07 Casey’s REAL DEAL gift and final thoughts

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Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer’s late-season chase up the all-time strikeout list got me thinking: Are some of baseball’s most meaningful numbers going extinct?

TJ Mathewson and Lyle Goldstein of @BullpenBanterBaseball join me to revisit that chase and figure out which pitching milestones still have a future. Another 300-game winner? A 300-strikeout season? Twenty strikeouts in one game? We rank the achievements we’re least likely to see again. Some feel impossible. Others might surprise you.

Then, what does a Hall of Fame pitcher look like when the old benchmarks are slipping out of reach? We get into Félix Hernández, Jacob deGrom, peak greatness versus longevity, and why one number can never tell the whole story.

Plus, a Simply Irresistible trivia question that leaves my jaw on the floor, a trip through Mariners history, and a game of “The Last to Do It.”

Which pitching milestone do you think we’ll never see again? Let me know in the comments.

Welcome to Episode 027 of REAL DEAL! I’m Tony Reali, and I’m so happy you’re here.

00:00 Verlander, Scherzer and baseball’s disappearing numbers

01:10 Bullpen Banter joins REAL DEAL

02:16 The strikeout chase that started this conversation

04:37 Could today’s pitchers ever catch them?

07:00 Tony’s Félix Hernández argument with Kornheiser and Wilbon

08:20 Simply Irresistible: Matching two legends’ strikeout totals

11:02 Bullpen Banter nails the answer

12:21 Naming the season’s 200-strikeout pitchers

13:27 Does 3,000 strikeouts still mean immortality?

15:05 How the baseball trivia obsession began

15:55 The Mariners teams Tony envied

18:18 Ranking the pitching milestones we may never see again

19:26 Could one pitcher strike out 20 in a game?

20:29 Will we ever see another 300-game winner?

21:03 Complete games and the end of the 300-inning season

23:22 Félix Hernández and the changing Hall of Fame standard

24:24 Peak greatness versus longevity

25:36 Jacob deGrom’s Hall of Fame case

26:12 Who gets in after Verlander, Scherzer and Kershaw?

28:20 The Last to Do It: Pitching trivia

32:28 Bullpen Banter’s REAL DEAL gifts

33:29 Tony’s final thought: Why the numbers matter

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One second. A 57-yard field goal. And Chris Davis, waiting for his moment.

Spencer Hall of The Shutdown Fullcast joins REAL DEAL to relive the Kick Six, Auburn’s unbelievable finish against Alabama in the 2013 Iron Bowl. We rewind past the return to everything that made it possible: the game-tying touchdown, the second put back on the clock, and the decision that left Nick Saban’s team chasing a man nobody on the field could catch.

Was it an Auburn miracle or an Alabama mistake? Spencer and I revisit Saban’s call, the timeout that helped set up the return, and the little details that make this ending even better every time you watch it. There’s also Spencer’s Alabama-fan father, whose reaction pretty much says it all.

Then, we put the Kick Six up against college football’s wildest finishes. Trouble with the Snap. The Bluegrass Miracle. The band on the field. Which ending is the most improbable, and which one best explains why we love this ridiculous sport?

Because even the greatest coach of all time can prepare for almost everything. Almost.

Welcome to Episode 026 of REAL DEAL! I’m Tony Reali, and I’m so happy you’re here.

00:00 The Kick Six: How did this happen to Nick Saban?

01:16 Spencer Hall and the story behind “Bum Chillups”

03:05 Why the Kick Six can never be duplicated

04:29 Watching with an Alabama fan: Spencer’s dad

06:19 Tony watched the Iron Bowl on a plane

07:35 Simply Irresistible: How long did the Kick Six actually take?

10:00 The broadcast silence that made the moment

11:35 Rewatching Auburn’s game-tying touchdown

15:32 The miracle before the miracle

16:49 Alabama’s dynasty meets Auburn’s chaos

19:40 Setting up the final second

20:57 Should college football use a more precise clock?

23:37 Chris Davis made BOTH plays

24:18 Rewatching the Kick Six

25:32 The timeout, the holder and the big fellas

28:05 Did Nick Saban make the wrong decision?

29:06 Auburn miracle or Alabama mistake?

31:31 The Auburn band’s incredible reaction

33:13 Peak Twitter and Spencer’s dad’s perfect response

34:44 Imagining how Nick Saban felt

36:26 Ranking college football’s most improbable endings

40:13 The Kick Six vs. the band on the field

40:55 Spencer Hall’s REAL DEAL gift

41:34 Tony’s final thought: Preparing for the improbable

Subscribe for new episodes of REAL DEAL every Tuesday and Friday. You can also listen on the iHeart app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.