Details for your weekend listening (NBA) pleasure ... and some Joel Embiid discussion
Passing along two important updates about the next edition of my Saturday radio show on 97.1 FM The Freak in Dallas ... one involving Philadelphia's in-demand center
Two newsy declarations to share on this Friday regarding Saturday's live radio show on 97.1 FM The Freak in Dallas:
1. As we complete our first full month of shows, we are making a name change.
Saturday Sportsworld with Marc Stein is now The Saturday Stein Line.
The show name should have included the name of this Substack from the start. Our program director Dominic Zaccagnini made that suggestion himself and the stubborn host, for some reason, didn't heed the advice.
I have quickly deduced, one month in, that it was a mistake not to listen then. The Saturday Stein Line has such a nice, easy flow and, as Bill Simmons always advises about podcasts, wisely includes the host’s name.
Mr. Zaccagnini assured me it's not too late to make the switch, so we're doing it, well, now: Saturday's hourlong episode at noon CT is the first that will be officially known as The Saturday Stein Line.
All of this changes nothing, however, about all the places you can find the podcast for the show. The same show feeds via Apple Podcasts, Spotify Podcasts, Google Podcasts, etc., remain otherwise untouched:
And you can always listen online here or via the @iHeart app if you're not driving around Dallas when we're on live.
2. Saturday's guest is USA Basketball managing director Grant Hill.
The first 12-man roster of players that Hill has assembled as Jerry Colangelo's successor and alongside longtime USAB executive Sean Ford will convene in Las Vegas next week for four days' worth of practices and an exhibition game against Puerto Rico at T-Mobile Arena on Aug. 7. It’s the Steve Kerr-coached Americans’ first step in preparations for the FIBA World Cup, which runs from Aug. 25 through Sept. 10 in Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines.
I taped the interview with Hill on Thursday and finally had the chance to ask him directly about the story I've been tracking since last October: Does USAB still have a shot at convincing Philadelphia's Joel Embiid to play for the United States at the 2024 Olympics in Paris?
The Cameroon-born Embiid, according to Hill, is still evaluating his options amid interest from both the United States and France.
"I’ll just say this: I’ve had some discussion with him and he knows our desire to have him a part of our program,” Hill said. “So we’ll see sort of where that goes.”
Join us Saturday at noon CT for the full interview and here are my last two pieces on the subject of Embiid’s international future:
France vs. USA for Joel Embiid
Joel Embiid gained French citizenship in July. Embiid also recently revealed that he was sworn in as a United States citizen in September. Fun conversation I've been having this week with various NBA executives as an entire league was simultaneously infected with Victor Wembanyama Fever:
Philly has to be the focus, Embiid says
HOUSTON — Joel Embiid, James Harden and Tyrese Maxey have played together in six of the Philadelphia 76ers' first 24 games this season … and none since October. The Sixers, not coincidentally, were off to a middling 12-12 start entering Friday’s play.
Flexibility is key now and days, which makes me think why to add the “Saturday”? Simply the Stein Line, the Stein Line Live! Or the Stein Line Radio Show will prevent having to change the name if you have to change days or venues in the future...