12-31-24 After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Michael Duarte
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So it's after hours with Amy Lawrence, our phone number 855-212-4227. Love to work in some phone calls in these next three hours since I'm taking off New Year's Eve. But you all are going to have to wait because our friend Michael Duarte of NBC LA is jumping on as our final guest of 2024. What do you think about that, Mike?

I am so excited to be joining you on the, I guess, the ultimate, the final show before 2025. So it is very exciting, and I think it's a fitting way to end the 2024 year based on the 2024 year just you and I have had in sports and with each other. So I'm very excited to join you. And I know you're fresh off an L.A. media party. What was that like?

It was open bar for the first few hours, so I'm glad that I had some time to recover before jumping on with you. But it was a nice way to ring in the air. I mean, you know this more than anyone, Amy, especially when we get together during Super Bowl weekend. It just seems like the entire media landscape is...

all collides wherever the Super Bowl location is on Radio Row or whatever convention center in whatever United States city we happen to be at. So L.A. media is big. Obviously the second largest market outside of New York where you are.

But it's actually really small when you get into it. It's the same people you see at stadiums and arenas and fields throughout the year. So to kind of, you know, give each other hugs and toasts and cheers and say goodbye to that following year that we just all spent together covering all these sports and getting ready to bring in the new year, it's very exciting to do that. And that's what this was all about tonight.

Wow. What a cool concept. I don't think I have ever heard of something like that in another media market. So that's awesome where you guys all compete during the course of a year for different stories, different highlights, different scoops. And yet you come together and can toast to a job well done. So that's pretty cool. When you think about this year that was in sports, what will you remember about it? What will you take away?

Well, it's funny because I saw your question for the best place you traveled to or the best experience for 2024. And so I'm going to answer your question by also answering that question, which you essentially asked your audience out there. So for all your listeners out there, Michael Duarte here in L.A., the answer to the best place I traveled, the best experience I had for 2024 was being in New York City with Mello in studio with you.

to not only get the chance to spend some time with you in your element, which I love, in your comfort space, doing what you do best, doing what you're most talented at, doing what God's gifted you to do, but being able to let you see Mello and experience Mello and just how, I guess...

friendly, calm, cool, collected, cute, adorable, insert adjective here, mellow is, and to get to the experience, that was my favorite. Now, I would be reminisced to also add the fact that we were there because the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium last

to win the World Series, no more asterisks, no more COVID, no more bubble, no more talks of a Mickey Mouse championship. That was also a good part of it because this is a team I've been covering for the last decade. They've never won in a full 162-game season until this year. So to be able to culminate all of that with you and with Mello, of course, my baby, my child, to then have you bring a new addition to your family to kind of get to experience that love as well for you, especially with Mello,

the hard year you've been through with Penny and everything. That to me was my favorite trip, my favorite experience. Followed secondly, to Mello and I going to Machu Picchu earlier in the year. What? If you've never been there, to be able to go with Mello is just... I shouldn't be saying this on air because the people who run Machu Picchu Park told me not to let anyone know that Mello got in there. But that part aside...

To go to Machu Picchu with the history there, it's a magical place. I can't tell you the energy there. The vibe is just totally different. So getting to experience that with Mello is a close second to being in New York City with you to watch the Dodgers beat the Yankees in the World Series at Yankee Stadium. Oh, I love that. Michael Duarte, NBC LA, sharing some of his 2024 memories. Yes, we adore Mello, which means I need to ask how she's doing as we wrap 2024.

So she was right next to me. I don't know where she just went. She was just sitting next to me. She's doing amazing. We just got back from San Diego where I'll say me and Mello trying to keep up with a two-year-old. My niece is two years old. Her name is Piper Rose. We had to keep up with her all Christmas break. And then my sister went to go work at the Rose Parade. I don't know if you guys know in Los Angeles we have the Rose Parade every year on New Year's Day. So her company, the San Diego Zoo, has a float this year.

And so she went to go volunteer to work on that float for two days. And you have to be 12 or older to work on the float. So I had to babysit a two-year-old for the last two days with Mello. We are exhausted. We are spent. Like we cannot keep up with a two-year-old. I don't know how these two-year-olds do it. They're like Energizer bunnies. They don't stop. So yeah, Mello and I are a little exhausted from that over the last two days, but otherwise we're really good and we're excited for 2025 and

what adventures and fun times and memories and experiences that will bring.

Agreed. That's the neat thing about a new year. But it's also fun to stop and look back, which we're doing with Michael Duarte in L.A. And Mello, if you missed it, first of all, she was awesome. Second of all, there are a ton of pictures out there on our social media and her facial expressions. She knew exactly what was happening and that she was the star of the show, which is why it was so much fun to have her. And yes, Michael is I was just looking back at our text chain yesterday.

and realizing that I had sent you photos of multiple dogs over the past couple months that we, one that we even fostered, a couple different dogs that we were trying. Flower turns out to be from a Texas kill shelter, and so we're honored to give her a home. And boy, she's already got a ton of personality. So maybe, just maybe, Mello and Flower will have a chance to meet at some point in

But yeah, dog's a definite theme from 24. And also getting older, right? Because you talk about chasing a two-year-old around. It's not easy. That definitely comes into play the older you get. And that is a perfect segue to LeBron James celebrating his 40th birthday. Michael, when you think about LeBron and the...

The personality that he is. I know he didn't start his career in L.A., very much ingrained there now, though, over a few years of covering him. What's that like?

It's been very interesting, Amy. You know, I was fortunate enough and blessed, and when you get to the end of a year like this, and it's right before the new year, you do kind of reflect back on things. And I am so grateful for the job I have, the life I live, and part of that was getting to cover Kobe Bryant at the tail end of his career and seeing kind of what true greatness is like, especially at the end of the year where Kobe went out of his career

mamba mentality. I'm going to just be honest, he was a little bit of a jerk early in his career with the media, but to become more of the elder statesman, the storyteller, where he was able to kind of sit and let media in and talk to them and share some of his experiences and stories. And I got to be at that part of it, and I got to have some deep heart-to-heart conversations with Kobe. So get to experience that and

and then transition to LeBron James, who arguably is maybe more in the GOAT conversation to Michael Jordan than Kobe Bryant was, to get to see him now at the tail end of his career. And it's a little different. I mean, LeBron and I have a good relationship. We have good conversations, especially when it comes to wine. But to get to watch him now...

play with his son, right? Which nobody in NBA history has ever done. Not only that first game a few months ago when they opened the season against the Minnesota Timberwolves and they checked in at the same time in the second quarter to watch that and then watch all of the other players in the league. I know a lot of people want to hate on the nepotism here, but any athlete who has its child, who has a son, and look,

As someone who doesn't have a child, a human child, as you understand, Amy, to be able to go through the last week or so with my two-year-old niece, in fact, the last 48 hours, I have so much more respect for anyone who's had a child and gone through these terrible twos and through the infancy phases, just how much work and effort and care and caution and time and patience it takes. I have a newfound respect for that. So anyone who's had a son or a child who's an athlete,

who would tell you they would not relish the opportunity to get to play the sport and take the court or the field with their son in this case, it would be lying to you if they said that's not something they would love to do and think about. So the fact that LeBron James is now able to do that here at age 40, even when Bronny doesn't check into a game, they're there, they're celebrating, they have their handshake together, they go through practices together, they go to work together. Those things just to me would just be so special. And so to see LeBron in this year,

get to see that. It's like seeing a different side of him, right? I can tell in talking to him, he knows the end is near. I'm talking about the end of his career. He knows it's on the horizon. He's not as obsessed with having to win championships or do whatever it takes to get there. I'm sure he would love to end his career that way and love to win another title. I think he's doing a little bit more of...

what we call proverbially smelling the roses as he goes soaking it all in taking it all in whether it's this year and next year uh... the ended night for for lebron james and he definitely taking it into the other experience it from him and be in the l_a_ market uh... from

a guy who traded away all the young guys to get Anthony Davis to go win a championship in the bubble, which they did, to see that quest, that competition, to try to get back to the mountaintop, the pinnacle of the NBA, and that's to win a title, to now see him at this year try to soak it all in and spend time and be able to spend time doing what he does best with his son has just been kind of exciting and special to see and witness live.

So Jack is back in our control room and we've got a LeBron cut from earlier on Monday. We want to play for the audience but also for you, Mike, because he was asked about his future and how much longer he might be in the NBA now that he's reached the ripe old age, haha, of 40. I don't know because I'm not really giving myself an opportunity to kind of look at it in retrospect. He's been living in the moment and

Very grateful for the opportunity to still play the game that I love and that I've saved my career. And, you know, still be able to commit to this franchise, come up to my teammates and go out there and just play the game that I love and play. So, you know, it's still been very fun to go out there, you know, even at this point in my career. Thank you.

A bit of what you were talking about, living in the moment, smelling the roses. Now, he did go on to say he could play for five to seven more years. Not that he will. Hey, football fans, it's Andrew Filippone, host of the First in Pod podcast. Join me and my co-host, three-time All-Pro Patrick Peterson, as we break down every game every week. New episodes drop on Monday and Friday mornings. Be sure to subscribe on the Odyssey app wherever you get your podcasts. Well, but that he could...

I'm sure he gets asked the question at least once a day, if not more than that. I don't know. What do you think as a guy who covers him?

Yeah, LeBron James is all about legacy. He wants to leave the biggest impact on the NBA. He wants to leave it to the next generation. I heard what he had to say today, and yes, I've noticed that before you and I even talked about it. I've noticed that he's been relishing the moment, living in the moment, trying to enjoy everything here as we head into this final year. He didn't want to miss any games, but he realized

You know, at his age, to be able to carry it on 40 minutes a game, 82 games in a season, it's just not realistic to be able to play at your best. And so being able to take days in between or a day here or a day there, he was able to get a week earlier off when the NBA Cup was going on, which the Lakers weren't –

fortunate enough to advance to like they were last year where they won it to be able to give that extra time to keep his body fresh and be able to play at his best, which is really hard to do at this league, especially at an elite level as LeBron is still able to do in year 21 at the age of 40 is just absolutely remarkable. But yes, I think his point is physically, um,

He's playing at such a high level that if he wanted to play another four, five, six, seven years, he could. And he could just absolutely stun everybody as far as what he's able to do at that age. But the biggest question for him is why, right? What is the motivation to put your body through that, to put your body through the recovery, the rehab that you have to do, everything that you have to do to play at your best?

and he has every single record in the NBA. When he's all said and done, he might literally be at the top of every single record list. He just recently passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for minutes played for field goals. I mean, there's no record that he doesn't currently have or isn't going to have

So that is just why. I could see maybe if there's a possibility that he could play with Bryce also and become the only player in NBA history to play with not only one son but two sons. Now, I'm not saying Bryce would end up on the Lakers either, but that's maybe something that he might want to be interested in doing to see if he can stick around to play with Bryce as well, just being the father that he is. Whoa.

proud he has for his son. Bryce isn't too far behind. I think maybe two more years he'd have to do that. I'm just not sure, right? So right now for LeBron, it's being able to enjoy this moment, playing with Bronny, seeing if they can win a championship. Obviously, it's made a major trade, trading away D'Angelo Russell and Maxwell Lewis to bring in Dorian Finney-Smith from Brooklyn. I think that's a precursor to maybe some more moves. The Lakers, I think, are currently like in seventh right now in a tie. They're just like

two games in the win column out of four. So, you know, they're there in the hunt. I don't know if they're as good as the Boston Celtics, who's everyone's favorite to repeat this year, but if they're in the championship conversation and they consider themselves a championship contender, then he's there to chase titles. But outside of that, I don't know what else LeBron has to prove or has to play for. So it's just going to be looking for that motivation to him, his own motivation to want to continue to play and take the court. And that's when he doesn't have that motivation anymore. And,

the mental side of things, not the physical, I think that's when he decided to hang it up. Because I think from that quote you just played, that clip, he's saying physically he could go five, six, seven more years, but mentally how long is he going to be able to do it or even more so have the motivation to do it?

Interesting, because we heard something similar from, say, a Tom Brady or even from an Aaron Rodgers. Now, I think people would dispute that, but he talked about how he could play until he's 60, right, with his arm. It's just about whether or not the rest of him can keep that up. And Tom Brady talks, too, about when he was still in shape, he could still go out there and sling it. You'll hear that from a lot of different athletes who are at the top of their games, and yet...

It's not just the desire, but the ability to go through the mental grind of a season that takes pretty much everything you've got. I mean, we as media cover the NFL, and it's a six-month process. Well, it's really a year-long sport now, but it's all consuming. I can't imagine being a player, an athlete, a coach,

And you put so much more time and energy into it, not to mention the physical exertion. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence, Michael Duarte of NBCLA. Fresh off the L.A. media party to join us for a couple of minutes, our final guest of 2024. We're going to pivot. I know that Matthew Stafford is not 40 years old, but he is one of the elder statesmen in the NFL at his position. He'll be 37 this year.

on Super Bowl Sunday. I didn't realize that until a little while ago. But yeah, he'll turn 37. No, no, it's Super Bowl weekend. Excuse me. Super Bowl weekend. He'll turn 37. And so he's one of those guys that kind of represents a different generation in the NFL. And yet you can see the production that he has with younger weapons on his offense. And here they are as NFC West winners again this season. And

What stands out about their accomplishment in getting back to the top of the division, Michael? A lot stands out, Amy. First of all, the Rams have been hotter than a Dura Flame over the last 11 or 12 weeks. Winners of five straight, nine of 11. What does stand out to me is...

They are the only team, I believe, in NFL history to be below .500 during their bye week in the last two seasons and then go on to make the playoffs. This year, as you mentioned, winning the division the first time since 2021 when they did go on to win the Super Bowl. So to go from that 1-4 start...

And I think they had something like a 4% chance to make the playoffs after starting the season one and four to winning the NFC West in a division that had the Superbowl

nfc representative in the forty niners uh... and improved the octane improved cardinal team is really remarkable at the testament not just a matthew stafford and the durability that he's been able to show throughout the course of his career playing hurt getting knocked down over the time but also the sean mcveigh because you could have easily seen when they have to that one in four star cooper cup was hurt to connect to a was hurt half of the offensive line was hurt their starting safety was hurt you could be

a situation where you just kind of throw in the towel and try to get through it if you look at teams like the new york giant the new york jet the dallas cowboys even you can see how easy it is to give up land your faith with adversity like that and and it's just so daunting and hard to come back but there was a meeting a few weeks ago i'm trying to remember where

when exactly it was after which week but uh... i think it was right before the five-game winning streak to be honest with you probably after they lost the filter that philadelphia eagles uh... at home on tonight for both of my stadium in chong mcveigh had a meeting with his entire team at the facility

And he put up a sign that said, I think it was like 38 days. And it was like, this is how much time we have left in the season. 38 days. And he challenged every single player, all 55 men on that roster, and said, can you give me every single thing you've got for the next 38 days? Because that's all that matters. That's all the time we have left together.

And they rose to that challenge, especially you can see from watching it on the defensive end of the ball where they're a very, very young team. They are much improved on that side of the ball. And that, to me, if you go all the way down to this last win against the Arizona Cardinals when they had back-to-back interceptions and with less than three minutes left to win that game, it just shows that

the defense has matured along the way over the course, holding the 49ers on Thursday night football to six points, holding the Jets to nine points and the Cardinals to nine points outside of that 42-point allowance to Buffalo. And again, they won, I might add. The defense has played absolutely spectacular here over this recent run. And so I really think that they've grown and matured over the years. I think their confidence is super high heading into the postseason. And so I think it was that challenge by Sean McVay

to tell everybody give me everything you got for the next thirty eight thirty nine days and see what we can do and they've won off five straight since then uh... and now we're looking at a situation where they're going to be hosting unlike last season where they stuck as a wild card they're going to be hosting a first round playoff game whether that is detroit minnesota washington or green bay they're going to be hosting and whether it is a rematch with detroit

I don't know. I like that matchup maybe with the Rams this time, especially how beat up Detroit is with some of the injuries they have. If it's Washington, I wasn't convinced by that overtime victory. Congratulations to Washington and Jaden Daniels, who I think is the rookie of the year this year. But I think the Rams might be able to beat Washington at home. Now, if it's Green Bay or Minnesota, I'm not as sure, but...

Regardless, you hold your fate in your hands, and everybody has to come into this whole chant at SoFi Stadium. Whose house? Rams' house. So whatever team comes in, Amy, they're coming into the Rams' house for a first-round playoff game. And I wouldn't bet against this team the way they're playing, the way Sean McVay has coached this year, and to your point, at 37 years old, Matthew Stafford, who, you know, the last two seasons, Amy, everyone's been saying it's time for the Rams to trade Matthew Stafford and move on. Stop it. But he keeps proving all the doubters wrong.

And what we've seen this year is when you give him his full complement of weapons, when you give him a capable running back in Kyron Williams that can eat up yards and set up the pass, when you have a healthy Cooper Cup, a healthy Puka Nakua, a Demarcus Robinson, they just got Tyler Higbee back, who's been a helpful weapon for Matthew Stafford as well. When you do that and you give him an offensive line that can actually keep him upright, then Matthew Stafford is showing you what he can do in this last stretch of

11 games since the bye week where they've won nine of 11. And I wouldn't bet against the guy, especially because you said he's one of those older guys in this league and he's still be able to do it at a high level. Well, and I love the fact that we've got some older guys still at that position, but others too, where they've seen and experienced pretty much everything there is. And that applies to Matthew Stafford because he is a Superbowl champion. He understands as he shares that perspective with the locker room, this is what we need from you. This is all we've got left.

If you put it in perspective like that, it maybe becomes easier to navigate when you're mentally and physically worn down. What a great story. Thanks so much for sharing that perspective.

I don't think it's any surprise as people listen to us, Mike, that we could easily do four hours. And we did that a couple of times over the course of the fall, which was no problem whatsoever. All right. So we'll do it again early in 2025. But thank you for being not just our final guest of 24, but one of our favorites and bringing our first ever canine guest into studio with Sweet Mellow.

Absolutely. And hopefully you will get to bring in your new member of the family in the studio here in 2025 soon. I'm looking forward to that show. And hopefully we'll all get to see each other soon, whether it's, I don't know, at the Super Bowl or beyond. I'm looking forward to that. So have a great show and a happy new year to you and your family and your new addition. Thank you so much, Michael. Happy new year to you and Mello. Don't forget our girl Mello. You too. Bye bye.