first time I ever went on @LeBatardShow I absolutely lost my s**t over a Larry Bird joke. Laughed (as I've done my whole life) like a hyena on the edge of a nervous breakdown. Immediately regretted it, for fear that it would sound unpolished at best and grating at worst....

but Dan and @Stugotz790 loved it and leaned into it, encouraging me to be my weirdest/most hyena-like self. Which is something the show has done for so many of us: Showed us that there isn't a *right* way to talk about sports, or behave on TV or radio.

this has obviously been meaningful for a lot of folks, but I can't stress how much it's meant for those of us who didn't always feel like we belonged in this industry. They've been our biggest cheerleaders and truest friends, and I'm eternally grateful.

And here's the joke: