The Chris Rawle Show

A memorable PGA Championship is in the books and Phil Mickelson is the oldest major champion in history. The Kiawah Island Ocean Course was a perfect setting for golf expressed as an art form, finding the spiritual balance between mental grind and physical demand. The tournament, the sport, and Phil's journey are perfectly summarized by the words of Zora Neale Hurston: "there are years that ask questions and years that answer."

The Utah Jazz lost to the Memphis Grizzlies in the opening game of the NBA playoffs, 112-109. For Utah, the refinement process begins as old familiar playoff questions pop up. What does it mean for this team to have homecourt advantage, especially in a Covid year? What does it mean to structure your offense around the 3-point shot? What is the difference between Rudy Gobert's defense in the regular season vs the playoffs? And what is going on with Donovan Mitchell?

Every sport presents challenges both physical and mental, and every athlete is continually searching for the perfect blend of body and mind. Whether you're an amateur golfer or professional hockey player like Auston Matthews, the process of refining your physical tools and mental abilities is constant. And when blended at the highest level, it's awe-inspiring.

Conventional wisdom of the NBA Playoffs says defense wins championships and last night's Warriors-Lakers battle was a good reminder. However, the league is playing offense at a higher level than ever before: this season alone, seven different teams set an all-time record for offensive efficiency per 100 possessions. Leading the charge is the Brooklyn Nets, a combination of isolation scoring the league has never seen. A question looms: will this offensive explosion carry over into the playoffs, or will history hold true and defense (as it has before) reign supreme?

Lebron James and Steph Curry square off tonight in a much anticipated play-in game. They are two of the brightest stars of all-time. There hasn't been an NBA Finals without at least one of them since 2010. Curry, the ultimate agent of chaos, is coming off his greatest offensive season. Lebron is coming off a long injury layoff and attempting to morph into Playoff Lebron. What will happen?

In 2018, the Supreme Court struck down federal controls on sports gambling and turned the decision over to each individual state. Since then, 22 states have legalized sports gambling with 5 soon to follow. Utah is dragging its feet because on a governmental level, the state has a strange relationship with perceived vices and what is (or is not) acceptable.

Every sport is in a constant state of change, attempting to strike a balance between the soulful nostalgia of the past and the bright-eyed optimism of the future. In a week where the NHL/NBA playoffs are hitting their stride and the PGA Championship is taking place, Major League Baseball is quietly slipping to the back burner. Is it impossible for baseball to find middle ground between the past and future?

There is plenty of warped analysis when it comes to postseason success, or lack thereof. What does it mean when a player misses the playoffs? Why do we hold postseason losses against a player, especially if they happen in the Finals? How can opinions change drastically over the course of years for a player who is performing at the same level? All of these questions are examined through the careers of Jordan, Lebron, Brees, Manning, Rodgers, Zion, Shaq, Barkley, and Devin Booker.

At their best, sports are the blend of known and unknown, measurable and unmeasurable, the tug-of-war between analytics and gut instinct. Even experts have different opinions on what information matters and how to interpret it.

The Utah Jazz have never won an NBA championship. This season, the Jazz have their best team in over two decades, begging a simple yet complex question: is this the year Utah's hopes and dreams of a championship are realized?