Holly Rowe: Caitlin Clark Is Leaner And Stronger

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Visit chevy.com to learn more. Coming up, ESPN reporter Holly Rowe, senior NFL writer for the athletic. Kevin Fishbane, veteran NBA reporter Frank Isolla.

Plus, latest news and more. And now, sitting in for Rich, it's Susie Schuster, Colleen Wolf and Sarah Tiana. And that is exactly right.

It is a women's sports now takeover of the Rich Eisen show while the Jamokes are in Atlanta getting ready to take on the Dan Patrick for the Celebrity Family Feud. That is right. They are there. We are here. That's Colleen Wolf.

That is Sarah Tiana. We are so thrilled to be here. 844204 Rich is the number to call. You know how I feel. We're going to empty the phone banks because I love win-loss and I love college. It's like the perfect marriage for me. But the perfect guest for me right now is Holly Rowe, my good friend from ESPN. And Holly, I'm going to say it, face of the WNBA. You've been so instrumental for me in getting me caught up to speed on everything that has to do with women's sports.

And you're the face to me of coverage of the WNBA. Where are we finding you and where are you going? So I'm home right now in Salt Lake City and I am getting on a plane this afternoon to go to Indianapolis. We've got our tip off tomorrow. Chicago Sky at Indiana Fever.

It's sold out. It's going to be electric. And I can't wait. The W season really gets started today. The Valkyries playing their first game, the new expansion team, the first in 17 years. So it's really exciting what we've got going on this weekend in the W. I mean, you're really seeing the fervor expand and explode in a way we've never seen it before.

Ticket sales up 145 percent. Let's get right down to the important things. Prognosticate for me, who is going to be the MVP in this season? Well, you know, I think there's three candidates. I always say Asia Wilson. She's coming off a historic year and she only looks better. She said she had a really good off season as far as mental and physical rest. I was talking to her coach from South Carolina, Don Staley. And Don said Asia came here for a few weeks and watching her work taught our young players a lot about what it takes to be a WNBA All-Star.

So I would say Asia. Brianna Stewart is always in that conversation. She was the MVP year before last.

And then I'm going to put in a piece of Collier up there. I think Nafisa is a player that only gets better. We saw her as the MVP for unrivaled in the off season. And then I would say Caitlin Clark. You know, Caitlin finished in the top four voting last year for MVP. I don't see why she can't be even better this year because her game continues to elevate. What do you expect to see from her? I mean, obviously we've seen her coming back, bulked up, stronger, ready to play even a more physical game than we saw from her last year. What are you expecting ahead of this first tip off and the year ahead for her? I got to see Caitlin Clark play about 10 days ago in an exhibition game.

The Indiana Fever went back to Iowa. And what I could see is she's leaner and stronger. She told me that she has actually lost, you know, not not weight, but her body has kind of recompositioned a little bit. I think I just made that word up, but she hasn't gained weight, but she's gained muscle.

How's that? She said she's the strongest she's ever felt. And that's really important because I think one thing that rookies and people don't understand about this league, it is grown women. They are strong.

They are physical. And I thought Caitlin did a pretty good job adapting to the physicality last year. But I think it means something that she thought she needed to get stronger. And so for her to come into this season and tell me I'm the strongest I've ever been, I think that's important for Caitlin Clark. And then you already thought she's hitting like 36 foot shots, like just insane.

You know, her range never went anywhere. So I think it's going to be a fun season for her. Who's the rookie that you really want to keep an eye on? Oh, gosh.

I mean, I think there's a lot. But one rookie that I've got my eye on is this is going to be an odd answer. Obviously, Paige Becker is the number one overall pick for Dallas. I think how she acclimates to playing alongside Ariki Agumuale is really interesting for Dallas.

Their first game is sold out as well. But then Sonaya Fagan is a player. She just posted this incredible video yesterday. You know, she's a late round draft pick. She sat in that draft room for a long time and that's hard. And I watched this video of her making the L.A. Sparks yesterday. She's a player that played at South Carolina, really started to blossom this year. And I think she's a player that maybe a lot of people slept on that could be good in this league. We had Rekia Jackson on women's sports now exclusively on Roku, and we were blown away by her and also what we expect to see from her this season. So you mentioned the Sparks.

So I bring that up. I'm looking at sleeper teams. And again, I'm biased because I work with Renee Montgomery and I know how hard she works on building the dream. But I'm curious about who you see as being a potential sleeper team out there. I do think Atlanta is a sleeper team. You know, anytime you've got Brittany Griner at six eight, I do think Brittany still has a lot of gas in her tank. And then they also got another all star, Brianna Jones from the Connecticut Sun.

So they're their front court is big and strong and a mismatch every single night. And then they have got one of the most exciting players in the league who won both the MVP of the All-Star Game and the Skills Challenge last year. Alicia Gray. I think she's a player that not enough people talk about in this league.

So I want to put her name out there. So I do think the contenders are the New York Liberty to repeat the Las Vegas Aces, the Minnesota Lynx. And I do think Atlanta has a chance to be a team that people sleep on. They've got a new coach who is kind of a run and gun.

He's got an interesting analytical system. I think they're going to have a lot of fun this year. Yeah. Plus, they also drafted Tahina Pow Pow, who I think is like really, really fun to watch. So it's going to be interesting to see what the dream does. But Holly, I wanted to talk to you a little bit about the Women's College World Series because I know you are embedded in that as well. And like, I feel like this year, obviously, Oklahoma could go for their fifth title, which is insane to even say out loud. But it feels like, you know, this year they're not going into the World Series number one in there.

It feels like there's a little bit more parity at the top. So who do you who do you like in the World Series? OK, first of all, hi. Hi. Hi. I haven't gotten to meet you, but I'm a big fan of what you're doing. You're so funny.

So anyway, hi. Oh, my God. I just I just like blushed.

Let me get to the pitching and the rise ball. She just she literally is blushing. You were turning 17 different shades of pink right now. No one does this to her either.

Definitely did nothing that Holly Rowe even knew who I was. So this is very cool. Yeah.

So listen, it's really cool. So Oklahoma has won four straight national championships. That's never been done. It's historic.

A five Pete would be insane. But the thing that I think is really cool about Oklahoma is they won four straight national championships. And then last year they lost 10 players off of that championship team. So they come into this season and they join the SEC, the deepest, hardest conference in softball.

And they won it with 14 new players. It's just insane. I think more people need to be talking about what Patty Gaso is doing. But I also think a team to keep your eyes out for is Texas A&M.

They're the number one overall seed. And you would absolutely love Trisha Ford. She is like our kind of lady. She is like tells it like it is straight shooter, really good at her job. She's the coach that I think every woman in America would be like, I like her. She's she's my kind of lady.

Yeah. And what about Brie Hennessy with I mean, right. Brie, Brie Ellis, sorry.

Arkansas. Brie Ellis from Arkansas. So she's our big basher. She's putting up like Babe Ruth like numbers. We were comparing some of her numbers to Barry Bonds and and other people. And it's like really insane how good she is getting on base. She's got 26 home runs this season.

She could possibly break the single season home run record. And I talked to her the other day. And I'm just like, do you ever talk to young people that are like brimming with confidence? I feel like sometimes, you know, women are like their own worst enemy of like, well, you know, I'm trying really hard or I don't know how great. And she's just like, yeah, I'm seeing the ball.

I'm bashing the ball. I am really good. And I feel great about myself right now. And she's just like this breath of fresh air of complete confidence, which is really fun. Yeah, I would love if that could be bottled up.

I would I would pay top price for that. Holly, hi. A first time, long time. First of all, I loved your jumpsuit at the draft. It was gorgeous.

You looked amazing. A vision. But you talked about some of the new coaches in the NBA. Almost said NFL. I'm so used to just talking NFL.

It's like I've been programmed by Roger Goodell in the league. But you mentioned the fever or the dreams new head coach. And there's so many new head coaches in the league. So a lot of them are coming over from college, too. So when you look at the new head coaches that are making that transition, you mentioned the analytics side of things.

Can you tell us a little bit more about like his whole personality with the dream? Yeah, it's really interesting this year because there are eight new coaches in a 13 team league. Like, just think about that. It's crazy. And I don't know, it's really crazy.

And with that turnover comes a lot of different systems. So first, I'll start out where you guys are with the Sparks. Lynn Roberts is a coach that I just think is a badass. Oh, can I swear on the show? Yes.

You go make the rules. And she has a system that is like no bad twos. You know, it's like really high level threes or at the rim.

Super high efficiency. And she took the University of Utah to their first ever Pac-12 championship. You know, they were one missed free throw away from upsetting LSU the year they won the national championship with Angel Reese. So I think Lynn Roberts is a star on the make and she's got a really interesting system. The other coach I would say is interesting. We talked about Carl so mascot the Atlanta dream. But Tyler Marsh is a coach that is at the Chicago Sky.

He was with Becky Hammond in Las Vegas for back to back WNBA championships. And I was talking to Angel Reese last week and she was telling me about his new system. They're kind of going to be a four out one in with Camila Cardoso. That means Angel Reese is going to be more on the perimeter taking different types of shots and she's ever taken before having more space for the bigs like Angel and Camila to operate in the post and in the lane.

So I think what Tyler Marsh is putting in now, he's got some outside shooting with Ariel Atkins, Courtney Vander Sloot players that can stretch the floor that can drive and kick. I think Chicago is going to be a team to be reckoned with and Angel reset it. We are going to make the playoffs. She's like it hurt her soul last year not to make the playoffs. She even went to some playoff games just to get the feeling of what it should feel like to be playing in those playoffs. So I love what angels coming in with the mindset to attack. She has really embraced what her new coach is asking of her.

And so I think Chicago is a team to really keep your eye on with their new coach Tyler Marsh. I expect a lot out of Angel Reese. I love her drive. I love how she plays. I love her court demeanor.

I love what she's doing with Magic Johnson trying to teach girls to plan ahead with money, etc. You mentioned Camila Cardoza and I want to bring up another big who I love so much, Lauren Betts. And I saw you at a couple of the UCLA games. I'm going to show you this picture that happened yesterday.

Let's see if we can bring it up. That's my daughter Taylor. And there is Lauren Betts who took her time with Gabriela Hockes to go speak to a bunch of 11-year-olds, 12-year-olds, 9-year-olds, you name it at the Pan Pacific Rec Center.

And I just cannot get over her composure, the way she plays, her generosity of time. And I'm just curious for you, let's just take one second to talk about college before we have to say goodbye. But what do you expect moving forward as you look ahead at this year? Lauren's obviously having her sister come as well.

She's going to be joining us very soon on Women's Sports Now to talk about her experience of playing. But what do you prognosticate ahead, looking ahead for UCLA and also for the season as a whole? Yeah, UCLA got to the Final Four this year and they did not have their best performance. And, you know, I felt so sad for them because, you know, I never root for somebody to win, but I always want teams to be the best version of themselves.

And they weren't that day. But Lauren Betts comes back. Her sister that was the MVP of the McDonald's All-American game, Sienna, will join her at UCLA this coming season.

So I think that's going to be a really exciting team to watch. We've seen the transfer portal hit women's college. Neil Ivy at Notre Dame has to reformat a little bit. Even Dawn Staley at South Carolina, that was a blow to have Mylesia Fulwiley transfer out. So the era of the transfer portal is hitting women's college. I think that's a factor. USC is also going to be a team to keep your eye on because Juju will likely be out for much of the season after tearing her UCLA.

So how can they navigate that? I think that's going to be very interesting. But I want to get back to Lauren Betts because seeing her there with your daughter. It just warms my heart because Lauren was very vulnerable this year and did an unbelievable article with ESPN.com about her mental health struggles and about being hospitalized and the thoughts that she had of not being worthy and not being able to handle all of the expectations of her. And when we were meeting with her at the women's final four, she literally I broke down in tears because she said after I put that article out about how hard it's been with my mental health. So many people reached out to me and helped and said, you have helped me.

You have helped save my life. And she said, I feel like I'm watching my little girl self heal in real time. This little girl that had been bullied and treated so poorly and had damaged her as an adult. And she said, I'm watching my little girl self heal. And so I just want to thank Lauren Betts. Her putting out her journey and being vulnerable is helping other people. And I just commend that young woman, all that she's doing to give back and stay strong. It's still hard to to be her and stand out in a way that she does. So I just want to send a lot of love and appreciation to Lauren Betts for teaching us all how to be strong and how and how strength can look different for everyone.

Well, that's exactly right. And we've been really leaning in heavily into the mental health aspect of Mental Health Month for women's sports now exclusively on Roku. And she was meant to join us, I think, last week or the week before and had to reschedule. And we're really looking forward to that because, like you said, she's been honest and generous and too many women, I think, struggle and they try to keep everything together. We talk about that a lot on the show, that everything looks perfect. But behind the scenes, we've all we're all athletes.

We've all experienced different levels of stress and anxiety, what have you. And so we really are so thrilled to have her on. I think she's such a great role model.

Before we let you go, Colleen, you had a thought. Well, I mean, coming off of that now, I feel like asking about Golden State and the Valkyrie is what you expect from them is like kind of a left turn. But I am curious, like new franchise, what do you expect from Golden State? Yeah, I think it's going to be hard for them this year because they they have a brand new roster.

I do love some of the players they have on their roster. Kayla Thornton is a player that everyone in America should be screaming at the top of their lungs. She's one of the most versatile players in the WNBA and no one talks about her. So she was on the New York Liberty last year, played a crucial role in their game five win against Minnesota. And now she's on the Valkyrie. So she is someone that I feel like is a foundational player.

They can build around. But, you know, listen, they it's going to be hard. Tiffany Hayes is also a really great player that's played with the Atlanta Dream for a long time. She was with the Las Vegas Aces last year in a crucial piece to their playoff run.

So Tiffany Hayes is another crucial player for the Valkyries. But listen, it's going to be hard. This this league is so hard.

You guys saw all of the cuts that happened yesterday. I think it just reinforces. You have to be one of the top, you know, I'm bad at math.

What's one forty four point twelve one. Yeah. So.

Yeah. So you have to be one of the top players in the world to even get a sniff at a WNBA roster. And then you add in a new expansion team that are going to be learning the ropes and it's going to be challenging for them this season. But what I love is the Bay Area has gotten behind them. You know, their season ticket sales are over 10000 people. I won't be shocked if that building isn't close to being sold out tonight. I'm just really excited for the Valkyries.

The Bay Area has been starved for a WNBA team for a long time. And they finally get it. I've talked to so many people that are like, we're going we got our tickets. I'm just sending a lot of love and excitement to the Valkyries tonight as they tip things off. And Sephora being a huge backer of them.

I can't wait to see what those bathrooms look like up there. That's the other thing that I'd love to bring up is how many sponsors are coming to the WNBA. We know that next year there are two more expansion teams. Serena Williams is an investor and one once in Portland, one is in Toronto. But that's the last thing I want to talk about is just the way sponsorships are seeing the money and seeing the support. We talk about this all the time on women's sports now.

The women are the ones who write the checks, who buy the clothes, who shop for the gear. And I think we're really seeing that change, Holly, for somebody who's covered the league for as long as you have. All of a sudden we're talking Sephora, we're talking Starbucks. And I'm just wondering what your thoughts are on seeing these major brands embrace the WNBA and its players. Yeah, I think that brands have finally caught up with the social media because the W is one of the hottest. I think they were the second overall sports league maybe behind the NFL for social media impressions and interactions this last season. So that's where brands want to be. Brands want to be with young consumers on social media. And so I think there's no better way to position themselves than with the WNBA and with women's sports.

Like you said, women decide where a lot of the money gets spent. I know I'm headed to Sephora literally as soon as we hang up with this call to get my stuff for my trip I'm going on tonight. But I think that it's really cool. Like we saw Rihanna with her Fenty brand. They just sponsored the New York Liberty. Cover Girl is sponsoring the Chicago Sky. NYX is sponsoring a team. There's all these brands that are finally getting involved.

And I love it because between the intersectionality of sports, fashion, culture and social justice, I think the WNBA is kind of the it place to be. And brands are starting to figure that out. No kidding.

Well, here are words that have never been said before on the Rich Eisen Show. We love Sephora here. So I'm just saying I totally get it. I'm just saying.

All right. I'm obsessed if they could give me a personal brand deal because no one spends more money at Sephora than I do. Sephora, are you listening, Meghan and Anna? Come on, let's go. Holly, thanks again for joining us.

Have a safe flight. And tell Caitlin I said hi. You know, my kid wears her shirt every day, a different Caitlin or a different Juju.

The funniest thing about yesterday, I have to tell you before you go, is she was wearing a Clippers jersey over because Clippers sponsor all the different rec leagues around here. But she had a Juju shirt on. She's like, oh, sure.

And there's Lauren. She was horrified. I said, don't worry. She loves you. There's enough love to go around with women's love. Have a safe flight. Thank you. When they're off the court, it's love and respect. But I love that your little girl is so into this. That's literally what our job is, is to empower this next generation. And these women are doing that. So that's really cool.

They're crushing it. Holly, safe travels. Please come back any time you want. Thanks, Holly.

Thank you. She's the GOAT, you guys. She really is the GOAT. She and I did college football together another world ago.

When we come back, Kevin Fishbane, when we come back right here on The Rich Eisen Show. And enjoy the added safety of Hyundai's available blind spot view monitor. Constantly scan for dangers and take advantage of Hyundai's standard forward collision avoidance assist to help prevent accidents by alerting you of imminent collisions and automatically applying the brakes. Stay alert at all times and be thankful that Hyundai's standard driver attention warning system monitors your attention levels and can bring your focus back on the road. Safety is all about making the right decisions on the road and when selecting a vehicle. Learn more at HyundaiUSA.com.

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Ask your doctor about Evglis and visit evglis.lily.com or call 1-800-Lily-Rx or 1-800-545-5979. What could you do? Like, what's the move that you could actually perform right now? Oh man, you know what? I can kick a guy in the nuts without actually kicking him in the nuts.

Yeah, I'm going to pass on that. Hold on a minute. No, it's my party trick. I guarantee it. I won't hurt you. So, is this a...

I'll take my tank kickers off. Could this be sanctioned? Yeah. Okay. Let's see.

Who would volunteer for this work? Come on. You just have to spread your legs and wish for the best. Mike, Del Tufo. I mean, we'll both do it. We'll both do it. What are we about to attempt to do right here? Kick him in the nuts.

Without actually hurting him. Yeah, exactly. But you will make contact.

I'll make contact, yeah. Absolutely. Okay, but you will not hurt him. No. Well, it doesn't matter.

You have no desire to have children anyway from here on out. Yeah, exactly. WWE superstar Paige. We'll see. Do we have the... Go ahead and hit it there, Jenny. Here we go. All right, spread them for me. Okay, ready?

If I was you, I'd pull your shorts up a little bit just so I can have a bullseye. There we go. Got it.

Jeez. All right, ready? This is great. We'll see if this works or not.

I've already did this once before. I know. All right, Paige. How about it?

Superstar Paige. Here we go. Not him. There we go. No contact. I just slapped him on the butt.

No contact. Yeah. You're up next. That was a good slap on the... Yes. Chris is up next. Ready?

Spread them. You're the one who was making fun of her, so there we go. It just hurts on your butt. I'm sorry. Are you serious? Are you serious, Chris? I'm seven.

Big Smith, man. Take note. All right. Fight with my family.

Fight with my family. Go check it out. Well done. Fantastic. Nothing quite like watching men get kicked in the balls on television.

Just look for it. That's just what I'm looking for on Roku Channel. It's a new show coming this fall on Roku Channel. Please no. Oh my goodness. Evan Fishbane is joining us right here on the Rich Dyson Show.

Susie Schuster and Colleen Wolfe, Sarah Tiana. I mean, this is... We just saw it. Let me explain to you as we come back. We just saw a questionable video of guys getting kicked in the balls.

So as I come to you and say, how about that for an intro, how about I use that as an intro for you? Wow. Did Chicago just take it with the Seth Wickersham story that came out yesterday about Caleb Williams? My question for you is, number one, your thoughts on it, but right away I think to myself, why did they interview Cliff Kingsbury and then leave Matt Eberfluse in when they could have had Caleb Williams coach in there to take him through to put an offensive-minded coach there for him? Yeah, they had a lot of options and they picked the worst one.

There was a lot of different things they could do. When I was reading that Seth Wickersham excerpt yesterday, and you guys know Seth's the best. He is an incredible reporter.

I'm very excited to read this book. I think you knew if there was going to be a book about the history of quarterbacks and there was a section about the Bears, it probably wasn't going to look very good. We saw it and look, every concern, I shouldn't say every concern, but what Caleb Williams and his dad Carl, the concerns they expressed to Seth Wickersham or people that also talked to Seth, they came to fruition last year, right? Caleb Williams, sorry, I'm confusing my Bears quarterbacks. Caleb Williams is the third first round pick by the Bears at quarterback in the last eight years to have to learn a new playbook for his second season.

That's incredible. They drafted Mitch Trubisky and then they fired John Fox. They drafted Justin Fields. They fired Matt Nega the next year. They drafted Caleb Williams. They fired Matt Eberfluse. So Carl Williams and Caleb Williams knew about all this and they didn't want to be stuck in that same cycle.

The Bears committed themselves. They went on this West Coast tour to interview those coordinators. You mentioned Cliff Kingsbury. He could have been an option and they ended up with Shane Waldron. It doesn't work.

It doesn't work with Matt Eberfluse. We all see what happens, but this is the funny thing about this is maybe that disaster led them to Ben Johnson and in a perfect world for the Bears and nothing's, you know, it's usually not perfect for the Bears that it will be a footnote and it'll just come be something they laugh about that, hey, it all worked out in the end. Kevin, the universe works in very odd ways and I do feel like that is one of the ways that like potentially this is a glass half full situation the way that you're looking at it, but also Ben Johnson comes with a lot of fanfare, a great resume of what he was able to do in Detroit and he was the bell of the ball in terms of the coaching hiring cycle this year. So the fact that Caleb Williams, when this came out and when he finally talked to the team and internalized going to Chicago said, okay, I want to do this. I want to go there, kind of saves himself, obviously the PR of it all, but now seeing what the team did at the draft and having Ben Johnson there, do you think, what do you think that will do for this team and how different will it look? It should look a lot different and I think it's important also to remember what Caleb said, he talked after Ben Johnson's introductory press conference and Caleb said that he was in his car driving on the highway when he got the call from George McCaskey and Ryan Polls and Kevin Warren about Ben Johnson.

He let out a yell. He was very excited and so this is obviously a quarterback who was looking forward to working with Ben Johnson. He saw what Ben did in Detroit. You talked to all these players and they kept thinking, they kept mentioning, when you thought about the Lions, you thought about them putting up 40 points all the time and that's something unheard of in the Bears in Chicago unless you're talking about like five pick sixes in a game. So for them to bring in Ben Johnson with, as you mentioned, all that fanfare and this is somebody who called plays for the best offense in football the past two years. You saw what he did with Jared Goff and you think about what you could do with Caleb Williams who has a ton of physical abilities.

He's still so early in his career. They bulk up the Lions. You have Roma Dunsey and DJ Moore at wide receiver. You draft Colson Lovell at number 10. There's a lot of reason to think that this could work. Of course, it's Chicago so it's never that easy but I think for the Bears to have come away from everything that happened last year, to end up with a coach that was considered the best offensive mind available is about a good of a way for the Bears to try to move on from that, you know, that excerpt in a sense to move on from what that book chronicles.

This is what it seems like the best way to do it. Yeah, so like an exorcism of sorts. Kevin Fishbane from The Athletic joining us here right here on The Rich Eisen Show. Does anything linger from this?

Is this just evaporate and move on? What do you expect? It's a great question because I think what stood out to me the most were Caleb's quotes in that excerpt. I think what Caleb's father has thought about the NFL and some of the things he's said on the record, some of the things you've read, none of that surprised me. I think reading about Caleb Williams expressing interest in getting traded to the Vikings but then reading that Caleb walked into Hallis Hall and said, you know what? I want this.

I want this challenge. I want to be the guy. I don't know if there's anything to worry about. I think for the Bears, they read that and they go, yeah, like Caleb understood that this was a mess last year and now we have the right guy or they hope they have the right guy and now we can move forward. So I'm very interested to see how Caleb Williams addresses this as someone who's been in the spotlight his entire football career. He's generally been unfazed by the distractions and again, you think about what he went through last year.

He had three or two different play callers, two different head coaches in his first year in the NFL, the long losing streak, the Hail Mary, that was tough. And now he can kind of start over. So I don't expect there to be any lingering distractions. Again, I'm curious if Ryan Polz and Caleb Williams have a discussion at some point, talked through some of this at all but I imagine a lot of this wasn't a surprise to them when they saw it.

Maybe the timing of it and to see it in the fashion they did could be, again, they might have to have some conversations but I think these guys are in a really good spot right now. Everybody in Chicago. I think that's why Bears fans were so bummed out yesterday because it's a running joke in town that the Bears won the offseason again and that's something they're pretty good at doing. Congratulations!

Yay! An April parade but Bears fans are like, oh, we have all these good feels, these good vibes. Why you got to ruin our vibe, Seth Wickersham? But they're also like, we know that.

We knew that this was a problem last year and now fans are thinking, okay, hopefully we have the coach and the quarterback that can finally get us out of this mess. Hey, Kevin. It's Sarah Tiana. Big fan. I really want to shift gears because I see your Cubs pennant in the background and I'm just wondering how you feel about the Pope being a White Sox fan. Well, above that pennant, Sarah, is actually a 2005 White Sox World Series picture.

So I'm playing to both sides of town here. In case, before I get people commenting on social media, I do know the Cubs were not in the World Series in 1984. That is a pennant that probably somebody left it on the gift table at my wedding and I thought it was hilarious. So I appreciate you pointing it out. Listen, I do think though, because that's not why you called, the White Sox are three and one since the Pope took over. So we'll see what happens.

Cubs socks this weekend. And as you tell, I'm supporting both teams in town. I almost said this so no one could get mad at me, but really this way, everybody gets mad at me. Okay. Good answer. You got to risk it all though, don't you think? Don't you think we should put them on the spot to pick one side or the other? Pick one side? Yeah.

I don't know. I mean, it's kind of tough being both fans of the Cubs or the White Sox. You're covering all of your bases though and I appreciate that. You know your audience.

The Cubs are really good this year. One of the first things I ever wrote was from a high school paper and it was like a confessional that I was a both fan. So I guess I got the physical people making fun of me in the hallways, which was like that version of Twitter maybe back then for being a both fan. But I don't know.

I didn't know any better. I loved baseball and my dad told me you could like both. He did that without telling my mom who's a diehard Cubs fan. So I will say this. My children, I'll put this on the record, my children will be Cubs fans. That is telling. Wow. My wife's a Cubs fan. So that's an easy.

Okay. That's good. I mean, they have a really good team this year. They got King Tuck over there. So let's just hope they don't trade away their best players anymore. That's always the test for the Cubs.

They do have a tendency to do that or to have good players and then not resign them. Kevin, thank you for your time. We can talk Pope with you anytime you want.

I mean, the invitation is right here to come back. Anytime. It's an honor to be out with you guys. Thanks a lot. We really appreciate your time. Thanks, Kevin. That's Kevin Fishbane from The Athletic.

Not often you get to talk Pope in baseball. No. We can keep this going as long as you want. I mean- The Lenovo grad. I know. Yeah. You think the Pope is a Bears fan?

Does the Pope love White Sox fans more than Cubs fans? Is that what we're saying? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. That's what I'm saying. He's checking.

I think the Pope would choose a side. Yeah. Somebody brought him a baseball to sign at the Vatican the other day. Or he signed that he said Cubs or Sox. And they were an Orioles fan.

Really? They were an Orioles fan. So he was like, all right. And he just signed it.

A fun Pope. He also has to learn a new signature because he's changed his name. Don't you think it's weird to change your name after all those years?

Yeah. You have to pick a new name. What would your Pope name be? Something that Rich did not expect us to talk about right here. Hi.

Are there guardrails for this? What are the parameters for- Bob Pope. Bob Pope. For picking a Pope name?

Ron Pope Hill does not count. So I could just be like a John or a Peter or a Paul. Pope Solo. Okay. By the way, that's fantastic. Just thought of it.

It was fast. Thanks. Yeah. That's me. I'm a Leo. So I like a Leo. Oh.

Oh, you're a Leo? Yeah. Oh, God. That explains a lot. I am.

Quiet over there. Uh-huh. But there's like a bank that you can choose from? Yeah.

And you can't go outside of that? I have no idea. I don't know either. I'm Jewish. Yeah.

I have no idea. As soon as you change it, it becomes a Pope. Then we're in for- Then you're really in for it.

Then the asteroid really did hit the Celtics next game. Yeah. Then you're really in for it. Oh, my God. It's coming up. Kick off summer with Memorial Day savings at Lowe's. Right now, get five Scotts NatureScapes one and a half cubic foot mulch bags for just $10. Plus, get up to 40% off select major appliances and save an extra $50 on every $500 you spend on select major appliances, $396 or more. Lowe's. We help. You save. Valid to $528. Mole Shopper excludes Alaska and Hawaii. Selection varies by location. While supplies last.

See Lowe's.com for more details. The new McCrispy Strip is here. Dip approved by ketchup, tangy barbecue, honey mustard, honey mustard, Sprite, McFlurry, Big Mac sauce, double dipped in buffalo and ranch, more ranch, and creamy chili McCrispy Strip dip. Now at McDonald's. Not once have I been able to live out my long dream. As a young top growing up in Staten Island, New York, I've always dreamt to do a show like this one wearing a mustache with one of my colleagues in full clown makeup and a black wig and a red clown nose, Chris Brockman. Wearing that on this show, having March sadness. Rich, I'm so sad. And you will be out on the DirecTV thoroughfare dressed like that where the rich eyes and show sandwich board that reads, I have March sadness.

This is the most public yet of my many humiliations. I have March sadness. Can you come give me a hug? I'm so sorry. I'm so sad. I feel better. Thank you. It'll be okay.

Okay. Congratulations to you for getting more out of the clown makeup this year than last year. At this point last year, hour three, you had already removed it, crying like a baby about how your skin had hurt. That's pretty. You see what it was. You kind of look like Zach Galifianakis in Baskets right now on FX. You kind of look like that angry sort of disheveled clown right now. This is not a good look for me. I disagree.

The very third consecutive year has finished dead last in the rich eyes and show bracket competition. Thus having to wear clown makeup for all three hours. None other than Chris Brockman from modern family. Our friend, Eric stone street. How are you, Eric? Well, I'm not doing very well. Take that wig off right now. Okay. Take, remove the wig. Come back.

I have March. I'm just going to follow you now. I don't know where you're going. Now this is creepy.

Now this is creepy. Come on. I have March sadness.

I need a hug. My man. You get it. You get it.

Chris Long. I have March sadness. I need a hug. Yes. Yes.

Management approved. It's a tradition unlike any other for a fourth straight year. And as per the specs of Eric stone street, you are dressed as an Auguste clown. You're like the Buffalo bills of this contest.

Can I get a hug from March sadness? Anybody? No. Oh boy. The sandwich board's flying all over. Come on millennials.

Come on millennials. There you go. Come on, big finish. Finish up strong. There you go. Nicely done. It's love. Such a loser.

What kind of a loser dresses like that? I mean four years in a row. That's that's I mean, I'm impressed by this honestly. Was that before you met Chris? No, that was like right when I met him.

It just made me always want to bend, I get bet against him in March madness. No kidding. We got to bring that back. Yeah. We got to bring that back.

Yeah, we can do it. It also reminds me never to let red shave that beard off. I was watching all those old clips with Chris with it. I was like, Oh, I remember the beard days. The beard was like right when I met him.

I think he had the beard. Oh yeah. I would have never given him a hug. I would have never given any clown outside asking for a hug. Yeah. What's creepier than some guy in clown makeup following you around a courtyard asking for a hug? Oh my God.

Like I would have called the cops as you should have the creep factor is real people. It is. It's kind of creepy. Yeah.

I know. Clowns are weird. This is a no clown zone. It is. I don't like a clown.

I don't know. I am sorry to Eric's own street because he does love a clown. But he does. He loves it. He was Fisbo on Modern Family. He loves a clown.

And you know what creeps me out that everything about that and especially clowns. This military appreciation month, Navy Federal Credit Union celebrates the service, sacrifice and commitment of service members and veterans in going above and beyond for us every single day. Rich's uncle Myron was a vet and he used to tell us stories about when he was fighting in Europe. And I was always riveted.

I love learning about World War II history. So I always appreciated the service that he did. If you're active duty, a veteran or part of a military family, you are eligible to join at Navy Federal Credit Union. Our members are the mission.

Learn more at Navy federal dot org slash celebrate Navy Federal is insured by NCU back here on the Rich Eisen show. Susie Schuster in for Rich. There's Colleen Wolf. There's Sarah Tiana.

And we have a different version of what's more likely Sarah. That's right. My turn to do it. Right. Do I just start? OK. What's more likely?

Never say never, but never. Now you go. OK. How's everybody doing? Hey, how you doing? Hey, how you doing? Thank you for that. I really appreciate it. All right.

So we just talked about it. Caleb Williams definitely said that he considered trying to get traded to the Vikings before he was drafted by the Bears. So who is more likely to get close to 4000 yards passing this year? Caleb Williams or J.J. McCarthy? That's a great one.

That's a great one. J.J. coming off of the injury. Caleb coming off, having his I'm going to say, Caleb, because Caleb already has that first season behind him and J.J. McCarthy has not been out there yet at the NFL level. So we really don't know what we're getting from him. I love Kevin O'Connell, but I really love Ben Jonson. Yeah, but we did see J.J. coming back looking good.

We saw him with Justin Jefferson the other night at the game at the NBA game, camaraderie teamwork there. I don't know. I'm going to go against her and I'm going to say J.J. McCarthy, Sarah. OK, I'm fine. Do I have to give an answer? Do you want to? No, I don't want to. Moving on. I don't care. I hope both of them get a thousand total as a Falcons fan. This one specifically for Colleen, since you're our Philadelphia native, we want me to talk about Philly. Yeah. What are the chances we could get you to do that?

Twist your arm. Philadelphia team more likely to go further in the playoffs, no Phillies or Eagles, Eagles. OK, Eagles, not the Phillies.

I mean, who keep getting worse in the playoffs every year. And I love going to Citizens Bank Park during playoffs like Red October. There is so fun. You hang on every single pitch. The energy there is like nothing I've ever experienced and like no other football game in any stadium, in any city. A Phillies playoff game at home is next level.

But I think that the Eagles go farther based on track record. I finally heard some Phillies. Is it on?

Oh, no, I did. Back on. And I finally for the first time heard the Wawa. Home. Home. Oh, my gosh. So crazy.

Ah, water ice. So let's shift gears again here. More likely to win Rookie of the Year.

Ashton Gente for the Raiders or Paige Becker's for the wings. This is a tough one. Wow. That's hard. That is hard.

Both. Because Pete loves Ashton Gente. He's going to see a lot of time. He's going to need to do a lot of running. Yeah. He's going to love Kelly there, too. That's Paige Becker's. It just feels like she's already won it. We do. Yeah. I mean, a lot of times the number one draft pick does win Rookie of the Year. Asia won it.

Kaitlin won it. You know, it is something that happens a lot. But it's also like I don't know who who they're going to be throwing it to.

Feels like they're going to have to hand it off a lot in Las Vegas. Yeah. And we have seen this emerging relationship with Dijonay Carrington and Paige Becker's and we're seeing that that's going to look pretty sexy down there. Go Paige. You're going to go Paige. I'm going to go Paige, too. Because I just feel like Ashton Gente has more competition. Yes. I mean, he does with Travis Hunter, I mean, but they already went head to head and toe to toe for the Heisman.

But Ashton should have won that. OK, more likely to change teams this season are coming up in the next few months, Giannis or Kirk Cousins. Oh, my goodness. You take that one.

I mean, I I mean, God, that's a really good one. I'll say Kirk Cousins. I think that they end up pulling something off and moving him as soon as somebody goes. If any quarterback gets hurt, he's got to be the first guy on the block on the trading block. Right. Yeah. And think about like during training camp, a lot of times like preseason games, this stuff happens in the beginning of the year. And it's awful.

It's sad. But I could like he's definitely just like at the top of the reserve list panic mode. I'm just thinking the Rockets, the Spurs, the Warriors, the Lakers, Lakers need a big guy. Lakers need a big guy. I think the chances of Giannis being in a Bucks unit are slim to none. Yeah.

Mm hmm. It's tough. He's not staying in Milwaukee. Yeah. He's he's he's packed.

That was his last game there. Yeah. He's packed his bag. How about this? Who do you think goes first?

They're both probably. I'll say Giannis on that one. OK. Giannis goes first. I like that.

This is fun. OK. Who do you think will find out who has a bigger contract in the next six months? Michael Jordan for NBC or Brock Purdy for the 49ers? Oh, Michael Jordan by far, right?

It's going to be Jordan. He doesn't have to get out of bed. Uh uh. I don't think he's doing this for fun either. Yeah.

I mean, they I mean, so many of my friends shows the NBC got canceled this week. Oh, that's probably to pay for Michael Jordan. So it's like but I don't I don't know how he could be there. He's not going to be there full time.

There's no way he'll be there for 15 minutes. Yeah. And he's still going to get paid more than Brock Purdy. Yeah. Also, doesn't he make something like half a billion dollars a year? Yeah. Shaky.

Add on to that, like by the time he has cut the tip off of his cigar and lit it, he has made a fortune. Yeah. I just like I like this retro NBA feel. I like roundball rocks, roundball rock a lot. I like the John Tash. I love the bah, bah, bah basketball. We sing that in our house a lot.

I like the retro feeling they're doing. I think Jordan works for, I don't know, like 15 minutes a week and goes home. So you think he makes less than Brock? I don't know how much I think about how much they're paying Tom Brady to do NFL on Fox. How much is that? Like 200 million? I don't know.

All I know is more than I make and more than I'll ever see in my life. Well, there's that. I know.

If I could just root around in Michael Jordan's couch cushions for a while, I'd probably be set. Yes. All right. Next one. More likely to win MVP this year, Kaitlin Clark or a non quarterback in the NFL? Kaitlin Clark. Yeah. Kaitlin.

Kaitlin. Yeah. I mean, it's just, it's going to be a quarterback.

It's always going to be a quarterback. It feels like. I know.

And I kind of wanted Saquon last year. Yeah. Yeah. Josh Allen won. So yeah. If Saquon didn't get it last year, then you think Kaitlin can upset quarterback every time?

Asia, Nafisia. That is the one thing I will say this, how now I'm going to, can I just take that back? Yeah.

I hadn't thought of that. We maybe we're all totally wrong because the fact of the matter is Asia Wilson had 10 more points than anybody. Yeah. Anybody average. Yeah.

And who average? And who are we kidding? Yeah. I take it back. I mean, Kaitlin had 19 points average per game.

I think Asia had 26. Yeah. So, but every year, every year in college, Kaitlin went up two points a year. So it's possible.

I feel like this is like an old school, Nick, but high push. Okay. I mean, it hasn't happened since 2012 in the NFL and that was Adrian Peterson.

So it's a running back. All right. Let's do one more.

I'm going to go. I'm going to go to repeat as champs guys. More likely to repeat as champs. This is a choice of three, the New York Liberty, the Philadelphia Eagles or the Los Angeles Dodgers. More likely to repeat as champs. Go birds.

Yeah, I mean, I guess we all knew what you're going to say. There's no way you're going to not be biased. My family will not. Liberty Eagles or Dodgers. Dodgers. Dodgers. You're going to go. Dodgers. I'm going to go Dodgers. I mean, yeah.

Why not? Yeah. If they're pitching can come back at any point. That's the reason they, they signed eight pitchers, 8,000 pitchers. Yeah.

And they spent the most amount of money. Um, all right. Plus I love Shohei.

You don't think the Liberty has a chance. I do. I really do.

I really do. I think that they, they're loaded. They brought back almost everybody. So did the Lynx.

But you know, but we know this ACL, well, you're always one injury away, so I don't like to prognosticate that much. And they're the ones now that everyone sort of expects. So that's a totally different energy that they carry into the season. Yeah, it is.

It is a different place to have to play from is just like from the top hour or two in the books already. How is that possible? Or three when we come back on the Rich Eisen show? Yeah, I am. We've talked about this a lot. The rash of ACL injuries with the women's sports. So I get nervous saying who I think is going to win because I'm always thinking, Oh gosh, we've, we've probably reported on 10 ACL since we've actually sat together doing women's sports now exclusively on Rogue.

That's the full title. I've added women's sports now exclusively on Rogue. Do we have time to take a call? Let's do it. Okay. Okay.

Who's been on the longest? It is. Oh, it's Jimmy. Hi, Jimmy. Jimmy. Jimmy. Hola. Hola, Chica. Hola, Jimmy.

Hola, Jimmy. Okay. Um, I'll get, I wanted to do the Cowboys when lost. Do we have time for that?

Yeah, of course we do. We got, we have a minute and a half, so you're gonna have to do it fast and I never like to ask anything of you, but let's do it. I have to do this real quick. I have a beef with Sarah cause she stole my Han Solo joke with Hope Solo. I know what you were doing.

And then Colleen, mucho gusto. It's nice to meet you when you're in Texas. I would love to dine with you.

Just tell me what city. No big deal. Cool.

Or I could just say you're hungry and we go get something to eat. All right. That's great. Thank you. Yeah.

I'm always hungry. That's nice, Jimmy. All right.

Week one. Let's get up to music. RJ, ready? Let's go. Let's go.

Let's go. New York and New York giants at home. Uh, when at Chicago week three, when green bay home for week four law at New York jets for week five, when at Carolina week six, when home for Washington and Jayden Daniels week seven.

Yeah. At Denver or week eight. Ooh, sounds like a loss. Week nine, week nine, Arizona with week 10 by week, week 11 with Pete Carroll in Las Vegas when we 12 home for Philly law week 13 KC when week 14 at Detroit law week 16 home for Minnesota when week 16, uh, with the chargers at home law week 17 at Washington when, and finishing up at the giants when, all right, what did we get? Who did the math? Oh, I didn't. 10 and seven. The guy's in the control.

I can't do math. Jimmy. You're the best. Thank you for calling it. Thank you, Jimmy. Thanks, Jimmy.

Jimmy is the super fan here at the rich eyes and show much more when we come back, Frank I solo up ahead, former MLB all-stars Sean Casey, AKA 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'm fired up baseball's back and it's going to be incredible. I love it. Mayor's office with Sean Casey from believe follow and listen on your favorite platform.