Jay Bilas: There are Not Guys Like Cooper Flagg Who Play That Way At 18 Very Often

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Visit chevy.com to learn more. College Basketball Analyst Jay Billis. Actor Ryan Philippi. Plus, latest news. Overreaction Monday and more. And now, it's Rich Eisen. Here on this Monday, we were talking about Mark Jones and the broadcast on ESPN of the NBA playoffs, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Denver Nuggets, and a line that made me laugh.

I found it. Russell Westbrook ties up somebody from Oklahoma City and Mark Jones says he was in his chest like bronchitis. But yeah, there was another where Joker did one and the ball spun around. He said he made like a spin in the block.

I got to remember what he said, but yeah. He's a wordsmith. Hey, Jay. How are you, sir? I'm doing great, Rich.

How you doing, brother? I'm really enjoying you and Mark Jones, man. It's a lot of fun. Is he cracking you up with some of the things that he just comes off the dome?

Yes, quite a bit, especially when a guy's crossing over and he talks about playing with his food. I don't have any comeback for some of these things. It's great. And so, what is your take of what you're seeing between such a talented young roster trying to get to the finals after a 68-win season, if not win at all? And then an old warhorse of a team in the Nuggets with an interim head coach. It's just a fascinating 2-2 series so far, Jay. Yeah, I think it's really depth and amazing defense versus the star power of Nicola Jokic and Jamal Murray and I would throw Aaron Gordon in there. I think the one problem Denver has is they're not healthy.

They're not deep to begin with. So, contributions off the bench outside of Russell Westbrook are pretty sparse. But with Michael Porter Jr. with that injured shoulder, he had a great Game 3. Scored over 20 points. He rebounded well. He's diving on the floor defending. But in basically a 36-hour turnaround, David Alamo is telling us that it's hard for him to get both of his arms above his head. And it's a left shoulder injury and he's gutting it out. I'm actually really impressed and have a lot of respect for Michael Porter Jr. going through this because a lot of players would just shut it down.

But this is the time of year where you give a little bit extra. But without that threat, it's harder for Denver to spread the floor so Oklahoma City can really show a lot of bodies to Jokic. And it's shown. I mean, he's turned it over a lot. At least going into yesterday.

I didn't look at all the numbers after yesterday. But going into yesterday, he had more turnovers than assists. And he's got a lot of assists. I think he had 21 turnovers in three games. Games one through three and 18 assists. And you put two on the ball with him and try to double him.

He's got to find open people. But if they're not shooters, Aaron Gordon can knock shots down this year. He's really improved his shooting.

But if Michael Porter Jr. is not shooting it, they have a hard time stretching the floor against Oklahoma City and they can close out to those things. And then the fascinating thing for me watching this series, Jay, is seeing the huddles and how demonstrative Jokic has been on occasion. The overtime the other night. Russell Westbrook looked like the head coach of the Denver Nuggets.

What's going on there that you can lend some insight to? You know, it's funny. Right after the Final Four, I was flying. After the championship game, I flew to Sacramento to do Nuggets-Kings. Three games left in the regular season before the playoffs started. And while I was on the plane, I got the notification that Michael Malone had been fired. He and Calvin Booth, the GM, had been fired.

I'm like, holy cow. And David Adamo has taken over as interim. I remember doing some Nuggets games during the year and Michael Malone was saying that it was great to have Russell Westbrook because he was really vocal and brought a great energy into practices and games. It's a largely quiet team. And I think since the coaching change was made, and this is not about Michael Malone, David Adelman, whatever, it seems like the players are trying to take more ownership of what's going on. And Jokic has been way more vocal to my eye in the playoffs than he was before. And look, I mean, I think they realized they got a window here and they have a chance.

They're good enough. But it's going to take all hands on deck to do it. And it's been pretty impressive to watch. Coaches always say that you would rather have a player-led team than a coach-led team.

And you would rather have the players in the driver's seat with the coach as the driving instructor. And it looks like the Nuggets are trying to do that right now. It's just every game in that series has been so different.

There's not been any momentum. And it makes you wonder if momentum exists in a seven-game series because what happened in one game is, I mean, it's totally out the window for the next game. Well, the next game is on TruTV and Turner Networks as well.

That's for our colleagues there. That's game five coming up on Tuesday night. Let's talk about the doubleheader that's on ESPN tonight, starting with the back end. What is Steve Kerr thinking right now, do you think, Jay? I think Steve's taken a lot of time to think about what combinations they can use that can be effective. With Steph Curry, if he's not able to play, it doesn't sound like he's going to be able to play with this hamstring thing, the grade one hamstring. That puts a lot of pressure on everybody else. So Buddy Heald, when Steph's out there, he can be a catch-and-shoot threat to really spread the floor. But he's a primary threat with Curry out and he's going to face a lot more defensive attention.

Obviously, that's more difficult. Now, early in the season, he handled it really well. Buddy Heald averaged well over 20 points a game early in the season, but that productivity kind of went down as the season went along. He's had a really good end of season in playoffs.

I think since the Jimmy Butler trade, Golden State's been the best defensive team since Jimmy Butler put on a Warriors uniform. But I think he lifted up a number of players also on the offensive end, and Buddy Heald's one of them. But you've got an asymmetrical threat on the floor when Curry's out there. He can shoot from anywhere. He's running off screens. Rich, I don't think I've ever seen a player that's more dangerous when he gives the ball up than Steph Curry is. So he gives the ball up, not in his hands anymore, and he can move to an area.

He must run two and a half, three miles a game and hurt you once he gives the ball up. Without that threat out there, they become much easier to guard. Minnesota's really good. They're deep and they've got length and athleticism and a ton of versatility. And they've really gotten used to the Julius Randle, Dante DiVincenzo dynamic since the trade. Trades usually take some time to figure out, and they seem to have really figured that out. Jay, you and I have known each other for quite some time, so you know I don't usually traffic in the, let me tell you what I said earlier on my program, and you agree with me type of question, but I'm about to jump in that way, Jay.

I said earlier, game four is a must-win for the Knicks up 2-1. Would you agree? Yes, I would. And we have known each other a long time. We both had hair when we first started working together. And we are now president. No, let me finish that sentence.

No, I want to help. Let me finish the sentence. We're now more handsome.

You're welcome. That's not true. I am. You're not.

Let's not use, unless you're using the royal we with regard to me. I appreciate that, but you agree. You agree with me. I do.

I do. And I thought it was like, I don't know. People, reasonable minds can differ on this. People have different views, but I always laugh when people say live by the three, die by the three. Because nobody ever says, well, live by the post up, die by the post up. Live by the double team, die by the double team.

Live by the mid-range shot, die by, you know, that makes any sense. Like Boston could shoot it from like eight different guys could make threes. And the way they spread the floor, they're incredibly good. And they're scoring one hundred twenty points a game doing it that way. They're a prolific three point shooting team. They have a couple of games where they don't shoot it well. They kind of, I thought they gave two of those games away.

At least one was a giveaway. And so I didn't think the series was over by any stretch. And if this year has taught us anything, home court in the NBA, in the playoffs is not what it used to be. You know, 20 years ago or when, you know, when Bird and Magic were playing, you know, you got game seven at your home court. You're like, it's over. You know, Boston's going to win all this stuff.

That's not the case anymore. I mean, the road teams are winning more often. I think in the conference semifinals, I think this is still true that the road teams have a winning record.

And that's hard to fathom, really, over the course of four different series. So I don't not only count Boston out, I think they're the favorite in the series. OK. That said, are the Pacers playing the best basketball of anybody in the playoffs right now, Jay? They're playing really well. You know, Rick Carlisle is such a great coach and one of those guys that probably doesn't get the credit he deserves.

And now he's at the all time winning his playoff coach and Pacers history. But, you know, I had them a few times during the regular season. I thought, man, this is these guys are really good. You just kind of wonder, do they have the do they have the go to ability at the end of a game?

Like in whose hands do they put it? And it's Tyrese Halliburton. I mean, that that dude, whoever voted him overrated.

I think they're probably feeling bad about it now and hope they don't get out it with the votes become public. But, you know, they defend really well. They're they're a solid transition team, but they've got a bunch of really, really good players. And, you know, I think Halliburton is a great player, but they're they're really good in most every spot.

And they're tough. Like they play with an edge. And even though, like, you know, you don't like seeing Benedict Matheran get thrown out and all that stuff.

And we have to be adults and say, hey, shouldn't do that. But I kind of like the way they play with that that edge right now. And they've been doing it through the latter part of the season. Early on the season, they kind of struggle. I don't want to say struggle, but it was tough for them out of the gate. You know, they weren't winning at the same clip as they were at the end, but they're they're legit. And one of the great things like I'm not sure that that the results that we're getting are the best thing for ratings today. You know, like I know that the media companies probably would like to have the Lakers, Golden State advancing and all that stuff. But Minnesota and OKC, I mean, these guys are the future and get used to watching them because they're not going anywhere. And we'll see who gets better tonight.

J. Bill is here on the Rich Eisen Show before we get to the American Century Championship tournament in Tahoe. And we'll have a fun discussion there. I want to talk about the draft lottery tonight. And I guess the backdrop of the draft lottery tonight, I'd imagine, is the fact that Giannis is also saying, hey, I'm interested in seeing what is out there other than Milwaukee, according to Shams Sharania of ESPN. And I'm just wondering if somebody gets a high draft choice, high lottery draft choice or even Cooper flag. Would that be something that somebody would even consider flipping for Giannis? Certainly, if it's a team that somehow looks into getting flag and having already a terrific roster.

I'm wondering what you think of this, Jay, for tonight. I mean, if somebody looks into it, that's got a roster where he is the cherry on top. I could see that if you're building, though, like I just can't imagine being, you know, Charlotte or Washington and Utah, whatever, and giving up Cooper flag. He's 18 years old and there are not guys that play that way at 18 very often. And he's as complete a player like you and I've talked about, like he's the best freshman Dukes ever had.

And that's saying something. They've had some amazing players and amazing freshmen. Now, I'm not projecting out saying, OK, he's going to be the best player Dukes ever had. I still think that's Grant Hill, but you put Kyrie Irving in there and Jason Tatum and all that stuff. But he's the real deal. And his level of competitiveness, especially at that age, is kind of hard to fathom.

And he impacts the game on both events. Like he's not only a two way player, he's a great player on each end of the floor. Notice I don't say both sides of the ball. I don't know how that crept into basketball.

I hate that. There aren't two sides of their two sides of the floor, not two sides of the ball. That's football.

But he plays both ends of the floor really well. And and I just can't imagine like he's the he's the prize, the real prize in this one. There are going to be other guys that are going to be great values and I'm sure we'll have great careers. But there's no other player that's going to go number one. It's it's one of the one of these are there's a no brainer year as far as number one's concerned.

Yeah, I guess throw one bunyama out of the mix. Give me give me the last time there was such a no brainer. Like this is where we name the lottery after somebody. Oh, there have been there have been a lot of no brainers in a particular year. But, you know, after after flag this year, like it's it's kind of an interesting time in the draft process, Rich, because because players in college can get paid now, it's kind of eliminated the sophomore and junior leaving early to go pro, go into the NBA because they they can wait until they're truly ready because they're making legit money in college now. So you still have the one and done's and you've got the guy who's exhausted their eligibility and some internationals. But you don't have the same kind of depth of players because some of the guys that stayed to be sophomores stayed to be juniors. They're not bailing out because they don't need to just yet.

They're making really good money and having a good experience in college. That's helping the college game. I happen to think that helps the NBA doesn't help the draft night. It's not a you know, they're going to be some spots in the draft.

You're going to go, wait a minute. Wouldn't you rather have this guy or that guy? He's not available. He's not the draft. So maybe it's not going to help draft ratings.

But having players stay in school longer, ultimately, I do think helps the NBA because they get players that are more prepared to contribute when they get there. All right, Jay Bilas, let's talk about the 36th American Century Championship tournament over Lakefront at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course in the middle of July. It's going to be shown on NBC. How many years have you played in this one? I think it's like six, something like that. And I hear you're playing this year. This is true. I can confirm that, Jay. When was the last time I played, Chris? You looked this up the last time I played.

Yes, we looked it up, Rich. You last played in 2004. Oh, my God. That has been a long time. Yeah, and you were not good. Maybe that's why I haven't been invited back, Jay. How does this work? Because Edgewood looked like I'd taken a shovel to it.

They're like, we can't have him back. Is that how it works? No, I think you dropped off the celebrity list. You dropped below the line of celebrity, and now you've jumped back up. I'm proud of you, Rich. You've done really well. You can be called a celebrity again.

Thank you. It's a tough line. That Mendoza line for celebrity, it's disappointing when you drop below it. But you know how great this tournament is, and it's the best week of the year for me and my wife. Golf is great, and it's great to play with so many great people and hang out with one of my best friends, Mike Caddy, a guy named Harlan Prater. I have to remind Harlan that, hey, you're Mike Caddy. Quit walking with the other players and spending time with the other guys.

You're supposed to be helping me out. But the American Century people are so nice and so welcoming, and you kind of feel like you're part of the family. But it is every year when you get the invite, you are kind of sitting on pins and needles that, geez, I wonder if I've overstayed my welcome.

So when you get that, it's kind of like an invitation to Augusta National, frankly. It's that important. OK, so has it changed at all in the last, what is it now, 21 years? It's been a while for you. Oh, my God. Has it changed at all?

So what do I do? You play all day and then you hang out? No, it's awesome. Because so many American Century people are there and they're clients, they have unbelievable events at night.

It's right there on the water at the Edgewood Resort. It's a beautiful setting, whether it's food or they have a karaoke night where all the... It's shocking how good some of these football players and other athletes and celebrities, how good a singer they are.

It's kind of intimidating. Hold on a second, Jay. So now, hold on a minute. Is there a competition for karaoke? Yes. Oh, yeah. It's a money competition and it's incredible.

It's really cool. Now, where did I finish in 2004, Chris? Oh, Rich, you were terrible. You finished 75th. See, that's terrible. Out of 79.

Out of 79? Yeah. Jay, I will finish top five in karaoke. That is...

I don't know. When you hear Brent Baer do rap songs, that is tough to overcome. No, no, no. Jay, there's a difference between performing properly and train wreck just because you're seeing Mr. Fox News rap. Come on, now. Well, what are you going to sing?

Are you going to go like old Sinatra lounge act? Jay knows you well. Jay knows you well. Excuse me. Excuse me.

By the way, I have range, Jay. All right. Yes.

Sinatra. 100%. That is the starter. That's what's going to get me to the top of the leaderboard like clubhouse leader.

And then I do yacht rock and then it's next level. And it's over. It's over. Seriously. I would think about that.

I would think about that because that might be another 21 year hiatus. Okay. All right.

Listen, I just only know one speed, Jay, and I'm just going to show up in that respect. But I'm excited about it. I am 100% excited about it. American century century championship dot com.

More information can be found there. And I do look forward. There's no way I'm going to be in your group. Not a chance. No, we'll play together. I mean, we can we can put in our press and be great. I mean, no, I know. I don't want to. It'll be a nice, quiet round because, you know, two non celebrities. They'll be watching like Steph Curry and Marty Fish and all these big shots and Aaron Rodgers.

And it's a nice way to anonymously go through a week. How did you who'd you play with last year? Who is it? Who you paired up with last year? I played with a bunch of great guys, playing Mike Vrabel and Ryan Fitzpatrick on day one. And I am deathly afraid of Mike Vrabel. I thought he was going to kick my ass literally and figuratively throughout the entire round. But he's a great guy.

I just had a blast. Played with Chandler Parsons and Bobby Flay. Played with Bobby Flay, which was great. And that poor guy, he had he had everybody chanting, beat Bobby Flay out of the whole time. It was.

But he couldn't have been nicer. It was a blast. All right. Very good, Jay. I don't know who I'll be. I'm happy to play with you.

I would say we would get Ehrlacher to complete the bald brotherhood, but he left us on the playing field a long time ago. So we've got to find somebody else to hang out with. I imagine. One thing about the American Century Championship, there's no such thing as a bad pairing. I love it.

But some are better than others. No pressure. Thanks again, Jay. Where are you now? What's your next game? I'm in Chicago.

I just got here from Denver for the lottery. So I will all be engaged until they start talking about how the ping pong balls work. Well, I don't care. I just tell me what the order is. I don't care about the algorithm.

And I don't care that the NBA personnel have to give up their cell phones for an hour or whatever it is while they're in that room. I actually would like to go back to the old envelope thing back in 85. Oh, yeah. I think that would be awesome.

Put it in a plexiglass bubble and turn it six times. Yeah. Let's have some more conspiracy theories. This has gotten to this gotten too good. I'm with you.

I'm with you. If you remember bowling for dollars, remember that when we were kids, like they used to used to used to put it in one of those things. You pulled out somebody's name and they were your pin pal and you were winning money for them. You were bowling for dollars for them. What would be great is just get the executives from the lottery teams and line them up at like a skee-ball thing at the North Carnival.

Yes. And give them give them two minutes and whoever has the most points gets the top pick. I agree. I'd love that. We are going to do the ping pong ball thing later on. I'll let you know who we're going to figure out the four digit code and everything.

We'll tell you who wins the draft lottery based on what we do here. Jay, it's a mock ball. I will wait with bated breath. Jay, thanks again, man. Great to see you. I'm enjoying your playoff coverage.

We'll chat soon. Always a pleasure, brother. Thank you.

You got that shape. Jay Pillis, everybody, right here on the Rich Eisen Show and the American Century Championship. So, Rich, as you know, the American Century is a stableford, modified stableford.

Yes, indeed. So points are good. You want a positive score. Jay finished 52nd last year with seven total points. And he's really good.

Right behind David Wells and T.J. Oshie. And what was my final? I was negative. Oh, my gosh, Rich. You were your three day cumulative. It's three three rounds. So I don't know where I don't know how the hell I'm going to do this, but I'm going to have fun.

I would recommend practicing. You were minus 63. Oh, my God. Right behind Jason Taylor, minus 57. Right ahead of the Chuckster was minus 79. And he's improved. He is vastly improved, Rich. He finished minus four last year.

He's very good now. I played with Jason Taylor and Derek Brooks. I remember that. And seriously, we were we were like panning for gold.

That's how much we were digging into the earth. All right. Yeah. Brooks. Oh, yeah. He was bad, too. Minus 38. Oh, God.

We were terrible. Yeah. OK. Let's take a break.

844204 Rich numbers. Now we come back overreaction Monday, baby. That's next on the Rich Eisen Show. In the NFL, there's zero margin for error. As we all know, one single mistake can change the outcome of a game, a season, livelihoods.

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I'm going to bring this up. It was in the city of Houston. It was the first ever Super Bowl the NFL network had ever covered. But you and the entire Manning family strolled into the Gatorade suite and who did you hear singing karaoke in the Gatorade suite that night? It was a beautiful voice.

Would you say like in terms of it was like an angel bringing us in there. Walk in and we see see Rich Eisen karaoke dominating to basically by the way, nobody else in the room. This solo.

You get a little practice. There was my me and my buddy. There was no what song.

That is good question. Sinatra Sinatra. I forget which one it was.

Okay. Well, I mean, New York. Did you have to ask?

Yeah, seriously. It was me and my buddy. And remember, we walked in and yeah, we joined. But we joined right in. Did you did sing right? You guys all did get on the mic. We got up there.

You know, we can't turn that down. No, I know. And it was honestly obviously like pre cell phone. I mean, you had a cell phone but pre like, you know, I had a camera. You don't worry about anybody filming.

There's no video. You say you don't think about you don't think twice. It was just a moment. Yeah, that's a moment.

You didn't have to memorialize it. Who's me, my buddy, Doug. And then it was, I think, your entire family. All crew. Yeah. Your mom and your dad. Yeah.

And you and Peyton and cover and cover. Yeah, exactly. And what do you have a go to karaoke song? It's changed over the years, obviously. Yeah, you kind of go with the time. So, you know, Footloose has always been one.

You know, just because you can kind of dance with it. But now, you know, it's it's tough. It's tough to do karaoke now. You're just kind of worried. You know, people are filming all the time. Then they judge. And, you know, I get judged enough.

I don't need to be judged on my singing ability. That's, you know, that's fun. Yes. It's everybody's made it too serious. I'm telling you guys, this just got real. I'm showing up to the American Century.

And I am going to be the karaoke man of the century for American Century. It's happening. Let's take some phone calls. People are kind enough to want to talk to us.

They're crazy. I mean, Alex in Indianapolis, first and first. Alex.

Oh, yeah. Hey, good morning, Rich. How you guys doing? What's up, pal? Hey. Well, so, you know, I don't want to look too many games ahead here, but it feels like you might have the possibility of a good old fashioned 90s, no-holds-barred Hicks versus next 2015 Eastern Conference or at the very least to use your Lexicon. It's on the board. So I guess I want to check. First of all, this. Are you physically, mentally and emotionally ready for what that seven game series would look like?

Because I can be honest, I don't think I am. OK, Alex. And then also, I think sort of over action Monday, would that actually be the greatest playoff series of the 2025 NBA playoff versus Nick? Let's bring it back. I first of all, Alex, I would love to see it because most importantly for me, that means the Knicks somehow get past the Celtics, even though they're up two games to one.

J. Bill has called the Celtics the favorites in this series and they're down. They're down a game.

Yeah, Las Vegas agrees. I mean, so there's that. And listen, man, the Pacers are going to move on. Shams, in addition to reporting that Giannis has got a bit of Milwaukee wanderlust, he's saying that there's an MRI on Donovan Mitchell, who is a game time decision for the next game. I mean, the Cavs are falling apart.

Sixty four regular season wins. They're falling apart. Cavs fans are like, what the hell's happening?

Thanks for the call, Alex. I mean, you know. But the Pacers are. I said the other day when when it took, what, six shots? In the second round for a team to win at home. Right.

Yep. The road team started six and 0. And so I said what that indication is to me is anybody can win this championship. And that includes the Indiana Pacers, man. You know, Mr. Church Bells, he basically sat back last night and just watched everybody else go nuts. Have you ever seen an 80 piece playoff game at halftime?

No. I mean, Nesmith made a shot at the buzzer to give him 80 and the place was going nuts. Someone posted T.J. and maybe you saw this, too. It was a Celtics heat playoff game, I think, from the early, early teens. And it was like sixty six.

Sixty five was the final score. Right. Yeah.

That's great. Those heat days back. They were just doggy with defense. But I think that was LeBron Heat days. Oh, right.

Just nobody could hit anything. College basketball right there. Eighty points in the first half.

Eighty. Wow. So Indiana. So Indiana next series. Sure. That would be great. I'll sign for it right now.

How does that sound? Knicks have home home court advantage. But the Pacers did bounce the Knicks last year. And Julius Randle with a triple double. I mean, give it up, man. That guy's unbelievable. Lakers sent him packing. Yeah, they did early, early.

Indeed. Remember, he broke his leg his first game of his rookie season. Do you remember this? Brockman driving in the rim.

He kicked himself in his leg and broke it. Let's go to Rashawn in Baltimore, Maryland. What's up, Rashawn? Hey, good afternoon, Rich, man. You know, pleasure being on your show.

Thank you for being on it. What's up, man? So early this day, I seen they released, I guess, the Thursday night opening game. That's how boys. Yes, sir. Eagles, right?

Yes, sir. Me being a Cowboys fan, I feel like the NFL, you know, of course, they want the Cowboys on primetime, but I think they did this to try to hope the Cowboys get in bursts, you know, on primetime television. You know, they figured we still down and be going, you know, get blown out by the defending Super Bowl champions.

But I really think the Cowboys don't come out swinging, man. And the Eagles will have a little bit of a Super Bowl hangover. We just got the we had a great draft. They picked up George Pickens with the trade from the Steelers. I think he's going to be a nice asset to that offense, along with C.D.

Lamb and tight end Jake Ferguson. But what are your thoughts on that? Let's open a match up on Thursday night.

Well, we started the show with this, but, Rashawn, I'm intrigued. Why do you think the NFL would choose to put a match up to start the season on television just because they think it's a mismatch? It's the exact opposite, having been with the NFL Network for 22 years and counting and for a long time to come. Knock on wood. What if you're with me? That that why would you think that the NFL would want to see the Cowboys clowned nationally, Rashawn? What do you think? Do you think there is some ax grinding going on for some reason?

I don't I don't know, Rashawn. Why do you think so? I think, you know, they know, first of all, the Cowboys America's team. So it's going to be a big draw.

Everybody's going to watch. But I believe the league, you know, hates Jerry Jones. You know, everybody just hates Jerry Jones for some reason. And they want to get their ratings. And also, they want to along with the ratings, they want to see the Cowboys get blown out in a burst.

So it'd be the first thing on first taking them on. And, you know, Stephen A. Smith is going to do his little monologue clowning and joking the Cowboys. So that's what I believe. I think, you know, just the league doesn't really like Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys.

I love it. Is this a complex, a Cowboys fan complex that I'm unaware of right here? No, I mean, I'm not saying the league doesn't like the Cowboys are on because the Cowboys are the team.

The Cowboys are the team that everyone wants to watch. Like you call them the varsity. So, yeah.

Yeah. But Rashawn saying that the league hates the Dallas Cowboys. And the only reason why they're on the first game is because they think they're going to get clowned. And that would actually like Roger Goodell will high five somebody. I don't think Roger Goodell will high five somebody else because the Cowboys are getting blown out.

That would be bad. We don't want to see blowouts. I don't think Roger Goodell hates the Cowboys, but you are one billion percent right in the fact that like the first takes of the world, like we get talked and I've said that since I got on this show, we spend way too much time talking about the Cowboys. We don't deserve to be talked about as much as we do. And he's going to argue it. But look, we know it's true. It's the ratings.

It's not a violin. You love talking about the Cowboys. Do you pay attention when I'm on here during football season? Rashawn, I know you probably do.

You're holding up your current grease board that you have the word Soto on right now. Because if I was a Cleveland Browns fan, Rich, and we win a game, I'm going to. That's what fans do.

We just we happen to win a game. It doesn't mean that we should spend the amount of time that we do talking about Dallas when they've not given us a true reason to talk about them. So then every single time the Cowboys are on national television, Rashawn, it's because the league wants to see them blown out.

Is that what you're saying? No, I'm saying they know the ratings. They know we have the most fans in the league, right? So they know it's going to be going to be watch the most viewed thing on television tonight.

Rashawn, Rashawn, if I could jump in. It's not that I think that we have the most fans. It's we're that team that most people have an opinion on. You either like us or you hate us.

But there's no in between. Like, you know, you could say another team. You could say the Bucks. Half the people don't have an opinion about the Bucks. No disrespect. Everyone has an opinion about the Cowboys and most of its dislike.

But there is an opinion. So that's why we get talked. How old are you, Rashawn? I just turned 40. Oh, OK. So you were 10 years old when you first started loving the Cowboys.

What you're saying? Yeah, I grew up and I was, you know, in the early 90s, the Cowboys was the first team I started watching. It was winning. So that's why in 96 when the Ravens came or the Browns came and we, you know, turned to the Baltimore Ravens. It took me a while to get on board, maybe a few years, you know, but I'm also a Ravens fan also. I just can't shake this cowboy itch though.

I just wanted to win one more Super Bowl. Rashawn, you need to call back. You do call back. Maybe we'll hook you up with Stephen A. one day. We'll have that conversation. Oh, I would love to challenge that guy, man.

That is a bring on Alabama from Nick Saban days type of feel to it. Thank you, Rashawn. I just was drawing him out there.

That was great. Like, I'm a clown. I amuse you. Come on, man. Why are you acting like what I'm saying is ridiculous? It's not ridiculous. That's what everyone out there thinks. I'm telling you.

I would love to sit here and say, oh, the Yankees are always going to be on on whatever Fox or ESPN, whatever the partners, you know, Roku, Roku's got a Yankee Oriole game coming up soon, speaking of Baltimore. So, yeah. Right. Like, but we haven't won a World Series since 2009. Exactly.

All right. And it is I'd love to sit here and say that we're the team everybody loves to hate. We always have an opinion. But at some point you start and to come on the show and say that the NFL is ready. To put the Cowboys on the stage. The biggest stage possible, because it's going to be a blowout. The NFL wants all four quarters to be so scintillating, the numbers are through the roof and you cannot wait to keep your keep. Keep your your remote locked for the next game. Apparently, the rumor is the Brazil game on peak.

Is it on pecan? YouTube TV, YouTube TV. The Friday game. The Friday game. Apparently, that's going to be another divisional matchup. Oh, interesting.

I don't know if this is true or not. The rumor hit that it's Chiefs Chargers. Oh, wow. So you're going to have two divisional games to start the season. Maybe that maybe that's going to be the theme. We're going to find out because I guess that's going to want to call up Fox. Apparently, Fox has got their upfront today, too. And they're going to announce today what their next game is.

Some people there. I know. You know, I actually know a couple of things. Well, you know, you do. I've been around. See, oh, thank you.

We'll see if we're Jackman's caught with Mike Del Tufono. This message is brought to you by Navy Federal Credit Union. May is Military Appreciation Month, and we're celebrating the military community that goes above and beyond every day with Navy Federal Credit Union. Navy Federal was created for the military community and is dedicated to ensuring that its members feel celebrated and honored every single day. For over 90 years, Navy Federal's mission has been to support and uplift the military community.

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That's OReillyAuto.com slash Eisen. We're back here on the program. We're back, everybody. Hey, buddy. Hey, you know what?

I've got one single residual check. Nice. It's lonely. It wants to be open. Hit it.

Pay that man his money. All right, everybody. Who wants to go first?

Mike Del Tufo. You're first up. Winning time. My one episode of winning time. I did not appear on camera. My voice was heard. So it's voice only.

That doesn't really matter. Winning time. The rise of automatically. I have to go for you guys.

The rise of the law. Ten dollars. Mike Del Tufo says my residual check is ten dollars. Christopher.

In honor of Cooper flag. I'm going to go two dollars. Seven cents. Two dollars and seven cents. TJ Jefferson.

There's there's lots of area for you. Three dollars and twenty cents. Bonus.

I think Feli should. He's sitting over here. He doesn't have a microphone. I know, but I can get it from him.

You know, you know. No cameras on him. J. Feli, there's no camera.

There's no. He's here for that. What are you doing? He's here for the feud, Mike. OK. All right, here we go. This is not good for your feud future.

I mean, I was I was ready to go here. Just jump right in and Mike just like decides. So ten dollars for Mike. Two oh seven for you. Three twenty. C.J.

Jefferson, the actual retail check is five dollars and ninety nine cents, everybody. There you go. TJ has to stop going last. Why? Because he just cherry picks.

That's not true. Yeah, he goes last every time. I don't go last every time. You do go last every time. I do not go last every time. Not every time. Not every time, but more often than not. Guys, I mean. This is. Please, let's not fight.

I'm concerned about our team chemistry. Well, I mean, the haters over there, man. Just celebrate my wins. Do we have any more checks?

I don't have any more checks. They now go first so they can shut up. The best thing about us, though, is it's about us. It is about us.

You got one more? I don't. Oh, somebody's reporting. Giannis is intrigued by the idea of playing in a state with no income tax. Oh. Orlando. Texas.

So that would be. Nevada. Orlando. Heat.

Magic. Heat. Spurs. Mavericks. Rockets. Rockets. Rockets.

The Vegas team that's coming soon. Yes. Right. Well, not for a while. Does Oklahoma have a state income tax?

I don't know. So that would eliminate the Lakers and the Clippers because our taxes are. Yeah. Oklahoma's got a small one.

Is it really what matters to him when it all said and done? Hey, tax. They take a lot of tax.

I'm aware of the California tax situation. Same. Welcome to the party, pal.

It's worked out for Curry and Draymond and LeBron and Kobe, you know, just to name a few. Come out to the coast. There's a lot of juicy rumors. You know, a Pittsburgh. You never heard that from Ola with candy, for instance.

That's true. A lot of rumors flying around right now. What's the rumors flying around? Yeah. A Pittsburgh country club had to deny that Rogers became a member because he's planning on signing with the Steelers. So they denied that he's oh, so we're now we're now seeing who real estate. I got it.

Where is A.A. Ron right now? Yeah. Joining a golf club.

Real estate. Right. And somebody is denying that he's joined? Yeah. The club is denying it.

You know, they're probably denying it is they don't comment on membership. I'd imagine. Yeah.

You can't. Come on, man. We're dealing with golf clubs. They're like pound sand. Overreaction Monday hit it. That was terrible. That was crap.

That was garbage. This place sucks. Overreaction Mondays Monday on a Monday on a Monday for it, sir. What's up, everybody? You guys good? I'm great.

What's going on Monday? The NFL screwed up. The Eagles should have faced off against the commanders in the season.

I would have. I agree. That's not an overreaction NFC championship, run it back team on the rise, see how they're doing against the defending champ.

I agree. They couldn't resist the urge of putting the Dallas Cowboys on as according to Rashawn in Baltimore, a new caller to this program because the league hates the Cowboys so much, they can't wait to see them blown out. That's a game's not going to be a blowout. That's an overreaction.

I believe so. I would have loved to have seen Jayden Daniels versus Jalen Hurts again. Let's run it back from the last time we saw an NFC last time we saw the Eagles at home. I would have loved that. I agree with you. Save the Cowboys for later on in the season. Let's get the Young Turk back out there.

Let's go. Yeah, I think so. Yeah. Why not? The new fun team commanders. Who wants to see the Cowboys? That's what I'm saying. Nobody.

Yeah, definitely. They don't rain. Coming up on 30 years. Again, as TJ points out, not as long as the 49ers. Coming up on 31 years for the Niners, are we going to keep going? 30.

What else, Chris? By the way, 30 plus years for the commanders. Yeah. It's been 30 plus years since O'Shea came on after the Lakers season went down the tubes. While I think this team should be calling a certain California coastal resident, I think Tyler Shuck has taken the Saints to the playoffs. That's total overreaction. Come on, pal.

Get out of here. They still have the weapons. They got Chris Salave and Alvin Kamara, good defense. Cam Jordan's still there. Hey.

Kellen Moore, offensive head coach. We've seen these done at every stop along the way. Dallas. Dallas.

Los Angeles. I love a good Magic Carpet story just like anybody else. I love a Magic Carpet story just like anybody else. Most pro ready quarterback in the draft. A New Orleans Superdome Magic Carpet ride story, as we all know, Tom Brady won his first Super Bowl in that building. Magic Carpet ride over the quarterback who had the greatest Magic Carpet ride maybe in the history of the National Football League.

And Kurt Warner, I understand you never say never in this league, but overreaction. Saints, Panthers, you know, not scaring anybody. Bucks, sure.

They've won the division a few years in a row. Okay. I just think, look out for Shuck. Okay.

I'm high on him, too. But I don't think there's any in between. It's either going to be awesome or terrible, you just said. Or time for Arch Manning to consider, does he want to play for his grandfather's franchise? What else, Chris? Country Club rumors notwithstanding, Aaron Rodgers or not, the Steelers are going to finish third or worst in the AFC North.

That's an overreaction, dude. Third might be good enough for that 10 and 7 season to make the playoffs anyway, right? Perhaps. That is driving Steelers fans so nuts. You spinning your wheels.

Although Trey Hendrickson is livid with the Cincinnati Bengals at present. Way to hear this quote. Okay. We have it later on. Okay. Do we?

We have a board. Okay, great. It's a statement. Yeah, he's livid right now with him. He's not happy. He's livid.

He's a pretty pal. Like so many Bengals players have dealt with in the past. That's an overreaction. I can't sit here and say the Steelers aren't, can't win the division or have defensive honestly better than Baltimore Cincinnati.

No, I don't. But I can't just sit here and say this is third or worst. That means you're third or fourth play. They got a fourth place finish.

Really? They make the playoffs as much as they don't. The Steeler fans don't like what they do in the playoffs.

They make it and that's usually better than third or fourth. What else? George Pickens, TJ. He's going to eat the Cowboys and TD catches this year. You want to take this one? Uh, yeah, that, that it's a nice thought, but that's slight overreaction. Oh, look, double team CD lamb all day.

Pickens is just wide open and reaps benefits, 16 scores, 80 catches. But if this happens, I'm not going to be upset with it. So get out of here, man. I got to see this thing.

Missing piece. Okay. Very good. Dallas. Very good. Two touchdowns on opening night against Philadelphia. What do you think about that?

Wow. Name me the last wide receiver that the Steelers sent elsewhere and was exactly exactly what you thought. Was it Antonio Brown in Tampa? Not, not, not the Raiders.

Not, not new England. One of the Superbowl caught a suit, caught a touchdown. Give me another one though. Give me another one. Mike Wallace.

In Miami, 0.0 Sanders, manual Sanders, but none of these guys were 23 years old either. All right. Yeah.

You got one more. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Let's talk about the Cleveland quarterbacks, baby. Shador and Dylan Gabriel are going to be one, two in the depth chart in some order by week one.

No, that's not that you're crazy. One of them could be one or two in week one. Bang bang. Not both rookies. One, two.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Guys. Joe Flacco is going to start the season. Joe Flacco is old. Joe Flacco is going to start the season shot right now, but you don't want to second. What's more of an overreaction this or Joe Flacco is going to start the season week one. It's the Cleveland Brown.

So I don't know an answer. I'll say I agree with him. One of those two is starting. That's an overreaction Monday. Subject matter for sure. Guys.

I mean, come on, man. I would take Flacco start in week one over those two rookies are one, two on the depth chart. Week one. They're not to turn this into a what's more likely you have another one. I have two more. Two more.

All right. We'll get one, two more. Colston love. When first tight end drafted. Yes, sir. Shocked everyone.

Yes. He's going to lead all tight ends and touchdowns. This is not an overreaction, sir. Ben Johnson.

First year with Samuel Porta. You could play music whenever you feel like, Mike. Yeah, yeah.

That's not an overreaction. You like it? I do. All tight ends. All including guys like tight ends. George Kittle and Travis Kelsey, including Jake. Kelsey still plays.

He does. Oh, my God. Jake Cavender of the Cowboys. You talk about Jake Cavender, who was the leading touchdown maker for tight ends last year.

Kate Otten. I'm just thinking more tight ends. Good question. I have no idea. Let's look. But now you've got to figure out that number. You know?

I'm guessing it was double digits. Let's see. Give me the one more and I'll say it. Give me the extra one more.

Give me the drop. Yeah, one more. I did not know this.

I did not know this. By the way, I played Dr. Cooper over the weekend. Mark Andrews. What do you say?

Mark Andrews had 11 touchdowns. Oh, that's a tough one. All right.

I'll call that an overreaction then. Yeah. Come on. Last one, Mike. And you can change music if you want because it's a little NBA action.

Give it to me. The Pacers are going to the NBA finals. I don't think that's an overreaction at all. They look like the best team in the playoffs right now, right? I don't think this is an overreaction at all.

I don't think it at all. Because they're going to be whatever. Listen, I think they win game five and they're just going to sit at home. They're going to sit at home and they're going to sit and wait and they're playing with house money, whoever they play. The, you know, the biggest house money would be if the Celtics beat the Knicks and now they've got to go into Boston. And they will relish that role. And I, I would not be surprised if this happens.

This is not an overreaction. Anybody can win it, guys. Anybody that's currently playing right now can win the NBA championship with the exception of now. When I said that Cleveland is getting even more injured and Steph Curry, it's a damn shame. I would love to have seen the Warriors full strength against the Timberwolves. You know, it's crazy.

Cleveland has better NBA title odds than the Knicks. That's an that's that's offensive. Yeah, I agree with you. That's offensive. And if I'm if I'm Thibodeau, I use every last one of this stuff.

I go, I don't know what because what whatever you got to do to light that fire because they showed up fully doused on Saturday afternoon. It's going to be close to three, and we're going to tell you who wins the draft lottery when we come back. Former MLB All-Star Sean Casey, a.k.a.

the mayor, keeps hitting it out of the park. Take my 30 years of experience. Take the wisdom and knowledge I've learned from the failures when I got sent down my rookie year.

All the injuries I had to overcome. Your mind is the most important tool you have in life. Be relentless.

Keep charging. It matters how you talk to yourself, how you look at the world. That matters. We talk about that.

I don't know. I'm fired up. Baseball's back, and it's going to be incredible. I love it. The mayor's office with Sean Casey from Believe. Follow and listen on your favorite platform.