Neither Patrick Beverley nor his podcast are good enough for him to act like this much of a jerk to anyone

This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.

Gooood morning, Winners! Happy Friday! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thank you so much for rocking with us today.

We all know what sore losing looks like, right? There’s always that one person in your life who just never handles it well. I’m talking about the type of person who turns the PlayStation off instead of taking that L in NBA 2K. The person who flips the Monopoly board over instead of going to jail.

But there’s sore losing, and then there’s Patrick Beverley.

Beverley decided to go beyond being just a sore loser after the Bucks got bounced out of the playoffs. He decided to spend what will undoubtedly be his final moments as a Milwaukee Buck by punching down.

Somehow, the moment he was caught firing the ball back at a fan wasn’t his worst of the night. Shortly after that, in the Bucks locker room, he decided he wasn’t going to talk to an ESPN producer who was just quite literally doing her job. And, in good faith, she expected him to do his because that’s what adults do.

Instead, Beverley acted like a petulant child. He asked her if she subscribed to his podcast. She said no, she doesn’t. He told her she couldn’t talk to him if she wasn’t a subscriber and then he shoved her mic out of the scrum.

Patrick Beverley: "You subscribed to my pod?"

Reporter: "I do not."

Pat Bev: "You can't interview me then. No disrespect."

*A moment later to the reporter*

Pat: "Can you move that mic please or just get out the circle please?"

(via @AlexGoldenNBA)pic.twitter.com/5pnLF7i0cE

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 3, 2024

Look, man. If you don’t want to talk to the media? Cool. I’m not the type to hem and haw over players skipping out on their availability. Good journalists get the job done anyway, as I’m sure the producer there did.

But to single someone out like this? To attempt to embarrass her simply for not subscribing to a silly podcast? That’s rude. It’s completely out of line. There’s no other way to put it.

And, to be quite frank, who does Patrick Beverley think he is? First of all, that little podcast ain’t even good enough for him to demand someone be subscribed before talking to him. If this is a strategy to drive up subscriptions? Whew, buddy. That reeks of desperation. You might as well beg.

Second, is Patrick Beverley even good enough at his job to pull this off? Look. I’m not trying to disrespect an NBA player. Beverley is good enough to be in that league, which is an accomplishment on its own.

But his peers don’t even take him seriously. I’m actually unsure if his teammates do. Russell Westbrook told us years ago that his game wasn’t that serious. That’s been his rep for years now. I don’t mean to be harsh, but this is the dude demanding that you actively subscribe to a podcast before speaking with him. The math is not math-ing on this one. Sorry.

Sore losing is one thing. This is another. It’s just Patrick Beverley being a complete jerk to someone who doesn’t deserve it. I hope he realizes that and apologizes.

Considering the fact that this isn’t the first time he’s done this to people in Milwaukee, though, I won’t hold my breath.

We deserved one more game

Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a 2-seed vs. 7-seed matchup as good as the Pacers-Knicks series was. It was basically nip-and-tuck all the way through. It’s remarkable how close this series was.

I mean that literally. According to ESPN’s Zach Lowe, the final scoring margin of this six-game series was just a single point, folks. One. That’s it. That’s all.

Final combined scoring margin over 6 games: Knicks by 1.

— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) May 3, 2024

The Sixers were better than a No. 7 seed. With Embiid healthy, they were clearly one of the best three teams in the East. This was more like a No. 2 vs. No. 3 seed matchup than anything. It’s a shame we got this series so early in the playoffs.

I’m grateful for it, though. We’ll never forget this one. I just wish we could’ve gotten one more game. Speaking of one more game …

Toronto survives

Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

The Maple Leafs just barely eked out a 2-1 win over the Bruins to force a decisive Game 7.

I know how stressful this must be for both Bruins fans and Leafs fans. But, I’m sorry, this is incredibly entertaining for the rest of us. The stakes are so high with this one!

Both of these teams are fighting demons right now.

• The Bruins are coming off an embarrassing playoff loss last year where the team blew a 3-1 lead to the Panthers last year.
• Meanwhile, Toronto is playing a Game 7 in Boston for the fourth time in 11 years. They’ve lost the previous three.

Something has to give here, obviously. I’m sure the Bruins would love nothing more than to advance here and see the Panthers again to avenge last year’s embarrassment. But the pressure will be on.

Photo Friday: We got a poster!

(Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)

Joel Embiid, meet OG Anunoby. OG Anunoby, meet the rim. What a dunk.

Quick hits: The most fascinating NFL prospects … Another terrible ump job … and more

— Here’s Cory Woodroof with the 10 most fascinating picks of the NFL Draft

— Andrew Joseph has more on an umpire incorrectly allowing Pete Crow-Armstrong to stay on base with his helmet

— Jayson Werth has a horse in the Kentucky Derby? That’s interesting. Charles Curtis has more.

— Here’s Christian D’Andrea with his latest beer of the week column.

— Bettors don’t seem to believe in Jayden Daniels at all. Here’s Ben Fawkes with more.

— And here’s Christian again with the best (most ridiculous) Kentucky Derby horse names to ever win.

That’s a wrap, folks! Thanks so much for reading today. Let’s chat again on Monday. Until then! Peace.

-Sykes