award-winning journalists new york times bestsellers no topic out of bounds no opinions left unsaid an institution for sports talk and information this is the sports reporters here's mike lupica mitch album and bob ryan hi i'm mitch album of the detroit free press I'm Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe and ESPN.

I am Mike Lupick at MLB.com in the New York Daily News.

And welcome to the Monday morning and Bob Ryan birthday edition of the Sports

Reporter's podcast.

Mr. Ryan celebrated a big birthday yesterday and from what I see and just from my own

Twitter feed and got an overwhelmingly wonderful response. So just from me, happy birthday

today to my big brother in this business and one of the greatest sports columnists

who ever lived. Well, thank you very much mike and i really appreciate it

and it was very flattering uh the response and your treat was certainly heartwarming i must say thank

you yeah it was a nice day had a good day and it was really gratifying to see uh you know and mitch

bob here's the thing mitch today we'll try to carry Bob through an NBA discussion.

Okay, Bob, just try.

The age is clearly affecting his ability to analyze the NBA.

Yeah, but Mitch, Bob, if Mitch, if you find Mitch and I are going too fast for you

or if there's something about the sport that you don't understand,

you don't be a shame to just say, please stop and go back.

Okay, Bob?

I won't be too proud.

Okay, forget that.

Ryan, this has been, we're not at the halfway point, okay?

But we're also not at the point where we're looking at early season aberrations in your sport.

Okay.

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