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I'm living my best life. Yeah, yeah. This is the Rich Eisen Show. Here's the other surprising part. With guest host, Brian Weber.
Yeah, big shoes to fill. Eisen's a legend. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. The Rich Eisen Show. Do you know who I am?
I'm a guy on television. I have my own show. And now. Sitting in for Rich, here's Brian Weber. It's another hour of the program and it's great to have you with us coast to coast.
Always an absolute privilege to Keep the chair warm. Defend the brand. Do my best not to destroy everything Rich has worked so hard to achieve. There are a variety of ways you can express your thoughts. 844-204-7424.
With the caveats, phone calls taken selectively. Let's keep it going on social media. Appreciate those of you who've enjoyed what you've heard so far. B.W. Weber.
Weber with two bees. Had no guests in the first hour, just me and you. We'll continue to focus on ability for you to. Pass along your thoughts and... When I reach out for a guest, it's going to be someone who's compelling and interesting, and we will demonstrate that in less than 20 minutes.
We're going to talk a little bit of baseball with Russell Dorsey. National MLB insider for Yahoo Sports. You also see them on MLB Network and Apple TV Plus when they have their coverage. Today, exclusively on Fridays, we'll get into everything that happened last night at Dodgers Stadium. Padres and Dodgers added again.
The newsmaking development was: What's the status of Fernando Tatis Jr. after he got hit on the hand? X-rays negative, more imaging coming up. And we'll take you around the bigs with Russ. We'll also get his perspective on what the impending sale of the Lakers to Dodgers' primary owner, Mark Walter, one of the richest men in the world, will mean in terms of the day-to-day operations of the Lakers.
Here's my thought on that. There's a pretty big difference between the NBA and MLB. In addition to the fact that baseball's played 162 times and NBA actions only 82 times, you might have heard of something called the salary cap.
So the Dodgers have the ability to outspend everybody in MLB. Because there's no cap. Yeah, there's a luxury tax, but they're willing to eat that because they have more money than everybody else and. They continue to get help from superstars like Shoe Otani with the deferrals to give them more flexibility. The NBA has become much more punitive, and I'm not going to put you to sleep talking about the particulars of the collective bargaining agreement, but I will be with you throughout free agency.
And we saw it last year. Remember, it was not the normal frenetic pace with all the wheeling and dealing. I'm having flashbacks to doing multiple shows about what will Paul George's impact on the Sixers be. Probably should destroy the tapes. I might have said they could make a run to the NBA Finals.
And if you're not paying attention, and after all, it's my job, you're supposed to be enjoying the program, not working. It is a lean free agency market. That's why we're talking so much about Giannis' decision. Does he want out of Milwaukee? Where could he be going?
And so much Kevin Durant speculation. And I'll join all that rumor and innuendo with KD coming up later in the program. But if you're talking about actual unrestricted free agents, how about Brooke Lopez? Miles Turner, who will connect to Game 7 coming up, D'Angelo Russell. Not a lot of Star power and folks moving the needle there.
And that's another reason why, unless you are a big-time gambler or you feel passionate one way or the other about indie or OKC, that's another reason why it is a gift from the basketball gods to deliver us a game seven on Sunday, which, to be fully upfront with you, I did not think would happen. And we're on the cusp of a trend continuing. We talk about all the reasons why football is king, primarily gambling. At fantasy football, which is gambling in a different form. The other aspect is parody.
Everybody's got a shot theoretically because of revenue sharing, and we see it just about every year. I don't have the arcane stat in front of me, but it's something like 21 of the last 22 years, somebody's gone from worst to first. Things change quickly. Think about, say, the Houston Texans a couple years ago, just three wins. They get CJ Stroud.
They went back-to-back division titles. In the NBA, however, We don't like parody for whatever reason. Although we're going to have it again come into focus with a seventh consecutive different champion crown. Once we get to the conclusion of Sunday's Game 7. And it's fascinating to me the disconnect that we love the notion that anything is possible in the NFL.
There's hope for everybody. Less you're a Raider fan. And I say that to my good friend and technical producer, Art Martinez. I'm not doing the show for one person.
Well, when I got into broadcasting, they said. Theater of the mind, project like you're talking to one person. And now Art is waving at me that I'm dead wrong about the silver and black. When we get to the NBA, When we've had this revolving carousel of different champions somehow Nobody likes it. And I understand the historical dynamic.
Over the course of the history of the NBA, seven teams have accounted for roughly 70% of the championships. And I understand because football is king. And the NBA needs all the help it can get, according to you folks who think that the league somehow is crumbling. That. When you don't have New York, you don't have Boston, you don't have Los Angeles, you have ratings challenges.
And I've already conceded this is going to be the most poorly watched Game Seven in the history of the league coming up on Sunday because the numbers have been challenging because of the market sizes of both Indianapolis and Oklahoma City, and because of the notion that we're talking about flyover states in the middle of the country. But I'm not interested in demographics. I'm interested in excellence. And are you not entertained by these NBA Finals? The level of play has been unbelievably drama-filled and unpredictable.
And maybe I'm just trying to come up with an excuse for me being so dead wrong with my analysis. Like so many people, I thought it would be Thunder in Five. And I'm glad I was off base because. We need more things to talk about. That are actually game-related in basketball, other than trashing young players because they don't compare to folks back in the day.
And look, I'm old. I'm a double nickel. I am AARP Central, okay?
So I have a different frame of reference and time horizon than hopefully my energetic delivery would suggest. I should be the well, Jordan did it first and did it better guy, but I don't want to be a prisoner of the past. And that's why I've enjoyed these finals so much. I got nothing writing on the outcome. I'm just looking for content, and I don't want to spend valuable time speculating about where Brooke Lopez is going in free agency and doing three hours on Kevin Durant, which hopefully, when I come back on July 4th, will have resolution of.
Our long national nightmare about where Durant is going and what the Suns are going to get in return. But none of that should overshadow what happened last night on the floor. And you have to simply give the Pacers Yet Another level of respect and recognition because they're the Bella Lagosi of basketball. You cannot kill them. And if we're talking daggers, and if you were watching like I was last night, hopefully not taking notes and having a life, I'm Brian Weber in for Rich Osen, 844-204-7424, or on X.
BW Weber, Weber with two B's. In 15 minutes, we talk some baseball with Russell Dorsey of Yahoo Sports. To me, the game. Felt like it was completely over, heading into halftime. Halliburton looking energized, looking like he had almost full mobility.
He did not look to me like a player who was a shell of himself, as we saw in game five when the calf issue flared up. Halliburton comes up with the steal, the lob to Siakam, and I rode dagger, game over. And occasionally, I stumble across something that's accurate because if you endured the third quarter, From the perspective of both teams, that was just hideous hoops. Nobody could do anything right. And then OKC waved the white flag heading to the fort.
So, what does this mean heading into game seven? I don't think it means much of consequence because there's been virtually no carryover effect game to game throughout these NBA finals. The best development for the Pacers, in addition to staying alive, priority number one is Tyrese looked good and did not have to play heavy minutes, was only on the floor for 23 minutes. To me, the mobility was there. He'll have the benefit of a few more days of rest, and let's see what he has to offer in game seven.
If you're a Pacer fan, hopefully he finally shows up in the first quarter. Last night, I'm not going to hammer him for a lack of production because the key issue was just getting on the floor and testing that calf in a high-lever situation. But I'll concede this for folks who have an anti-Halliburton agenda. For whatever reason, you don't like his old man waving the flag, or you're looking to knock people down instead of building them up. I don't think he can carry a team.
But that's why he's in the absolute ideal situation. Another reflection of how well Kevin Pritchard has assembled this roster, trading Halliburton for Sabonis, was the perfect deal. Also, think about picking up Pascal Siakam. Not a lot of people reacted to that deal prior to the deadline last year. But another Excellent glue guy, a champion from his time in Toronto, remarkable athletic ability.
And that's the top of the roster for the Pacers. And I could go through all the dudes, and I'm not going to continue my man crush, my bromance with TJ McConnell, but he did it again last night. But it wasn't just 114-year-old TJ, it was Nemhart and Toppin. And we've seen Neesmith and Matherin and all the way down the line.
So win or lose, the Pacers deserve our respect. I know most of the country doesn't want to see them, but we don't get a vote. And I realized so many of you think the NBA is rigged.
Well, I'll throw it out there: 844-204-7424. And yes, I thought it was curious that Cooper Flag somehow, some way, wound up in Dallas, but there are no secrets anymore. I'll go along with you back in the day as a Knick fan, and we can break down the video on YouTube like it's the Zabruder film of David Stern looking for the frozen envelope. Yeah, maybe the fix was in because you went to the Knicks changed everything. But for all of you folks out there from the X-Files and the black helicopters who tell me everything is scripted in the NBA, how in the world did we get a Pacers Thunder final?
And if you have the answer for that, let me know. Although, probably you'll tell me they're playing 12-dimensional chess, and I can't figure it out because I'm not a Freemason or something.
So I realize. A lot of you didn't want this matchup. But we got it, and it's been spectacular.
So, what happens in game seven? I expect the Thunder. primarily to actually show up. Because after that early surge at 10-2, and I thought they were on their way to blowing out Indy, if you were going to snuff him out, you had to do it at the outset. Instead, the exact opposite occurred.
What a miserable performance by the Thunder. Way too many turnovers, could not hit a single three. And other than SGA and to a degree, Williams, nobody showed up. And if I'm going to tell like it is, if you're the reigning MVP, In SGA, you can't have eight turnovers in a close-out game. Still.
I think they can compartmentalize. I think even though our young team has to go through the crucible, as I get deep as a fill-in guy, the challenging exercise of learning how to win in the playoffs, they are much better at home, as everybody is. Just five and five on the road in this postseason. I fully expect them to handle their business. And when Rich and the guys are back on Monday, they will give you all the particulars.
If I'm wrong, you can let me know on the X platform, BW Weber, Weber with two B's. Either way, You're going to have a lot of hand-wringing for casual fans who check out when it's not the Lakers, not the Celtics, or the Knicks. And if we're being up front, I think if Boston had been fully healthy, and obviously the Tatum injury changed everything, and I'm giving the Knicks credit. Look, if you care about my background, I already gave you my Ewing anecdote. I grew up like Rich in the suburbs of New York City.
I was a Knicks fan a million years ago. I didn't want to see the Knicks in the NBA Finals. It is aesthetically a tough watch because they're so Brunson focussed and I had no issue. And believe me, The Dolan family, who I worked for as a former cable vision employee at the late Great Sports Channel Pacific in San Francisco, I am no fan of the Dolans, but I can understand why the Knicks blew out Tom Thibodeau because he had maxed out his impact on that team. He got out coached by Rick Carlisle, specifically when Indy came back down 14 in game one and he refused to call a timeout.
And he plays the starters too many minutes. But I didn't want to see the Knicks. in the finals. I thought it would be the Celtics. But another reason why I think this is a great chapter in NBA history, and I know a lot of you just.
Do not appreciate having to quote unquote, oh, I gotta sit through the pacers and the thunder. I don't know who these players are.
Well, we're getting ready for game seven. Even if you're not paying any attention by now, simple osmosis would tell you. Who are beyond the names that we know about. And if we're thinking about the depth of OKC, and we can. Focus on the defensive prowess of Dort.
It really is their big three, and Hartenstein a massive addition, too, because they can go double big with Holmgren. And the big German. It really is their big three. And if you believe this is a dynasty in the making, the key is going to be: will ownership write the big checks to keep SGA Williams and Holmgren together? Why not?
I think that when you look at what Sam Presty can do with complementary talent around them. This could be a super team for years to come, but first they have to win that single championship. But When we get that seventh, Different NBA champion, to me, it reflects. That the CBA has worked. And yes, injuries were, as always, the unpredictable variable.
If Steph doesn't get hurt, maybe the Warriors, with the addition of Jimmy Butler, make a deeper run. The Tatum injury changed everything. To complete my thought, I think they would have come back and beat the Knicks. Understanding they being Boston, pronouns pal, were responsible for their own demise by gagging a pair of 20-point leads because they were so stubborn and wouldn't stop the barrage of three-point shots. But with a seventh consecutive NBA champion about to be anointed on Sunday, to me, it reflects.
A degree of parody we haven't seen Since the mid to late 70s, and I vaguely remember, I vaguely remember I was six, that crazy Rick Berry Warriors versus the Bullets back in the day, and yes, I'm aging myself again, 1975. We had a series of different champs then. Haven't seen it in decades in the NBA. And it also indicates talent has been spread more evenly. for the first time in my lifetime than we've ever seen before.
Other than a few franchises like Washington. Who just I think is intent on being terrible. I can make an argument, and again, I love basketball to watch virtually any team around the league. And if you have a GM who knows what he's doing, And a basketball ops guy like Pritchard or Preston, whatever title you want to give him. Organizations matter.
That's how the Pacers and the Thunder Have arrived at game seven because they have. Tremendously constructed rosters, and that was why Indy was able to win last night. Even though Hallard Burton wasn't 100%, but played much better than Monday, and they got a ton of help. from the thunder. who I think mailed it in after they had the 10-2 lead.
They were not emotionally prepared for the intensity and energy of the Pacers who just overwhelmed them. And now it's on the thunder to show us as basketball fans, they have the tenacity, the mental strength, and the resolve to get it done on their home floor. And they think it'll be mission accomplished coming up on Sunday. I'm Brian Weber in for Rich, 844-204-7424. Much more basketball coming up.
I do have detailed thoughts on Kevin Durant, I will get to, but the fallout from last night is more compelling to me in addition to getting you fully prepped for how things could play out coming up on Sunday. Coming up. We're going to talk some baseball. Concisely and in entertaining fashion. We'll get into the fallout from the latest beef between the Padres and Dodgers last night at Chavez Ravine.
And can Shoe Otani, as he returns to the mound again this weekend, jumpstart LA's injured pitching staff? We'll pose those questions to Russell Dorsey, national MLB insider for Yahoo Sports. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. fiscally responsible, financial geniuses, monetary magicians. These are things people say about drivers who switch their car insurance to Progressive and save hundreds.
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You can hit me up there. It's BW Weber. Weber with two B's. Let's talk some baseball. I've enjoyed reading our first guest work on Yahoo Sports.
You can also catch him on MLB Network, Apple TV. He's a national MLB insider. It's Russell Dorsey. Russell, thanks so much for taking the time. How are you?
I think I've stomped Russ. Let's try it again. Hello, Russell, Brian Webber, with you. I'm going to reach over and hit the right button. I don't think we have Russ right now, and I'll be informed when we are able to make the connection.
The rainbow connection. As Kernbert the Frog once said, written by the great Paul Williams, you know, in the nineteen seventies, kids, there were things called variety shows. And Paul Williams was famous for being diminutive can't believe Paul Williams monologue here and a noted songwriter. And you see, there were the Muppets, and Jim Henson was a legend. We are efforting hitting the right button to get Russ there.
We know he's on the line, but sometimes there are gremlins in the system going once, going twice. Hey, Russell, it's Brian Weber. Can you hear me?
Okay, I'm going to move forward with this and then we will move Russell to the next segment unless I get the big thumbs up. I was going to ask and I am going to ask about the fallout from The latest reminder that the Dodgers and the Padres have the best rivalry in all of baseball. Yeah, I said it. I understand. Is the caller there?
We're hearing that on the air, guys. We could pod that down. Thank you. You know, we've done radio together before, all of us. We have an A team.
But live broadcasting ain't nothing like it.
So I just gave you my Larry King. I miss Larry King, folks, from this standpoint. And as a broadcaster, I respect anybody who prepares. But the beauty of Larry King, and people forget, as a radio veteran, Larry used to do a five-hour overnight show on the old mutual network. The man was working very hard, so by the time he got to CNN, he didn't have time to read the book.
So when he would have an author on, pick your favorite author. Remember when people used to read? Again, I'm taking you back to a different time in our society. He'd say, Why did you write the book?
Well, speaking of a man of letters, that was a long introduction. I believe we have connected with the great Russell Dorsey. Russ, are you there? I'm there. You're a little muffled, Brian, but I can kind of hear you.
Here's the good news. I am very loud, so I will ask short questions and over enunciate. What did you make of the latest kerfuffle between the Dodgers and the Padres last night? It was a crazy series. I think when you look at these two teams, there's a lot of history there, right?
Like I was there in the postseason covering the NLDS Dodgers and Padres. And I think one of the things that causes so much friction between the two is I think the Padres look at Last year's postseason, and they felt like they were the better team. And let the Dodgers come back in that series, ultimately win that series, and they had to watch them win the World Series. I think for me, they're really two really talented teams. And when you have a team like the Padres that feels like they let something slip away, you don't forget something like that.
And then, you know, everything we saw this week, you know, with eight Hit batters in the series. You see the benches clear last night. Fernando Tatis Jr. goes down. Shohail Tani hit multiple times in the series, just like Tatis.
Andy Pajes hit multiple times in the series. You're going to see tensions rise. I do think rivalries are great for baseball, and I do view this right now as the best rivalry going in Major League Baseball. Thank you for confirming what I said when we were trying to connect you. And Russ, I'm from the East Coast originally, so I should be drinking the Yankee Red Sock Kool-Aid, but I'm with you.
I think LA versus San Diego is the most intense rivalry. You mentioned the Tatis injury. What was your reaction to watching him be hit by that pitch in real time? And do we know anything more than the X-rays are negative according to reports? Right now, we don't know anything more than the x-rays that they had last night.
We have them on Friday Night Baseball on Apple TV Plus. And so I know, I'm imagining we'll find out more before the game. But that's what you don't want. You don't want to see the best players in the game go down with injury. You don't want to see a guy like a Fernando Tatiz Jr., you know, break his hand.
We don't know if it's broken, might not be broken, but like there's a higher probability of that happening when you have teams throwing at each other, right? You don't want teams throwing at Shohayotani, the best player in the game right now.
So that's what you don't want to see in a situation like this. You don't want to see the best players, the biggest stars in the sport go down because of tensions arising between the two clubs. I was going to forward promote your connection with Apple TV Plus. Everyone can check out Russell and his role as a national MLB insider on Apple TV Plus streaming, on MLB Network, and read them on Yahoo Sports. Final question about the Dodge.
And Padres Russ. Is this over, or is this going to carry over into the next time we see these teams get together on the diamond?
Well, here's the thing, Brian. It's been a while since the postseason, and it doesn't seem like anybody forgot. It doesn't seem like any of the intensity went away.
So you had Manny Machado come out at the end of the game last night and say, hey, they better put a candle out for Fernando's hand that it comes back negative. It doesn't sound like from whether it's Dave Roberts, Mike Schilt, Manny Machado, that this thing is over anytime soon. I will say, I would imagine that Major League Baseball is going to intervene here because you can't have eight batters get hit in a series and have these clubs just doing this all season long because unlike a series where you're not going to see this team again, like these two teams are in the same division. This is going to be something that can carry over the rest of the season. We have a lot of season left.
As you know, the Dodgers have almost unlimited death because of their payroll, and they need it again this year with a wave of injuries specifically hitting the pitching staff.
So they've shut down Roki Sasaski, the Japanese rookie, and that's just one of a series of notable injuries. Russ, how much do you think the Dodgers need Shohei Otani's return on the mound to jumpstart everything going on with the pitching staff? Yeah, I mean, I think it's big. I think you've seen their plan kind of change over the last four or five months or so. I think during spring training, they were slow playing it, right?
Like, they were not really committed on a timeline because it is a really unique situation. Like, you have a guy in Shohiotani when he's healthy pitching. He's one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball, but he had one of the best seasons we've ever seen from a player at the plate last year: over 50 home runs. Over 50 stolen bases. And you can't send him on a rehab assignment like you can another guy or another starting pitcher that's on the IL.
So they're kind of doing it on the fly. And I think when you look at the injuries that they had coming into the season, Blake Snell, big time free agent that they signed, goes down. Roki Sasaki, big international free agent that you had high hopes for, even though they were downplaying the impact that he would have because he was what they considered a project. Goes down. We haven't seen him since he went on the IL.
Tony Gonsolin, who was, you know, missed all of last year, comes back, has not, you know, they just transferred him to the 60-day IL. And Tyra Glasnow, who's on a rehab assignment currently, has never pitched more than 122 innings in his career.
So I think the fact that not only Shohil Tani has to come back and pitch before the all-star break, which we didn't think would happen, you're having to rely on Clayton Kershaw still at this point to be a guy that gives you innings in your rotation. And he's done a nice job. Like, I'd be lying to you, Brian, if I told you before the year that Clayton Kershaw would come back in June and give the Dodgers really good innings. But that's the situation that they're in. I fully agree.
I'm based in Southern California and candidly thought he was effectively done. But obviously, it speaks to his love of the game. He came back from that toe injury and everything else, and he's been dealing to a degree. I'm Brian Weber in for Rich Osen. We're talking baseball with Russell Dorsey.
You can read him on Yahoo Sports. You can see him on MLB Network and tonight on Apple TV Plus. Let's stay in that division and go back to the massive trade on Sunday sending Raphael Devers from the Red Sox to the Giants. Russell, how much do you think that could impact the balance of power in the National League West with the Giants already off to a solid start without him? I think it's huge, right?
Like, and I talked about this a little bit on MLB Network yesterday. I think the thing I love. About the Giants being willing to make a splashy big-time blockbuster move like that is. It happened before the thing that really helped them happen before the trade was even made. Buster Posey takes over as president of baseball operations, three-time World Series champion, had a Hall of Fame career for the Giants, and comes in and he wants to impact winning, and he didn't want to sit back and say, oh, we'll just, you know, ho-hum, and the Dodgers are really good, and the Podgers are really good, and we'll just sit back and, you know, play this thing out.
He said, no, like, we're going to go for it.
So they go out in the offseason. You sign a guy like William Damas. And even though that's not a, he's not a. Been performing like they thought he would so far in the first half. That's a guy that you want in the room, right?
That's a guy that, when I was talking to executives all offseason, was a guy that people were very high on because of the character. Yes, he was a really good player for the Milwaukee Brewers for a long time, big time power from the shortstop position. But they believed that that was a guy that could lead that clubhouse. And I think that's really important coming off of this Raphael Dever situation where you had character questions in Boston.
Now, I think that there's a lot of things coming out of Boston. And you have Dever saying one thing and Boston saying another. And I think the truth is probably somewhere in the middle. But I think for the San Francisco Giants, when you try, which is something that teams have stopped doing so much in Major League Baseball, you allow yourself to be opportunistic. When you have a situation where a disgruntled superstar might be looking for a place to go or a team is looking to send their disgruntled superstar somewhere, the Giants were in a position.
Where they could say, okay, we have a good culture here that we've built, and we need a superstar in the middle of our lineup, and they were able to strike. Let's wrap it up. Spotlighting marquee pitching. We did not get the dream matchup we had hoped for yesterday with Skeens versus Scubal. But when Paul got the ball, he finally got some run support, picked up his fourth win.
And again, the numbers are just staggering building on his sensational rookie year, sub to ERA. Russell, how much of a sports crime? Not to be too melodramatic, but how ridiculous is it that we have a generational talent in Paul Skeens and the Pirates won't spend any money to support him? Yeah, it it's it's It's one of the tougher situations in baseball when you see a guy like a Paul Skeens that is unlike many pitching phenoms we've seen. Like, this is a guy that could lead any rotation, any staff in baseball from the time he first took the mound as a rookie last year.
And you're seeing that continue here in 2025. I think the the frustrating thing is Looking at Tirards fans who, you know, it's a great sports town, great sports city, and that fan base deserves to see their stars, not only Perform in Pittsburgh, but stick around Pittsburgh, right? Like the fact that Pirates fans, for the better part of the last two, almost three decades, have watched. Star after star after star, come to Pittsburgh or get drafted, develops. And then they, year five or six of their tenure in Pittsburgh, get shipped off somewhere for young prospects that the team hopes turns into the all-star that they just traded away.
It's really unfortunate. And you see a guy like Paul Skeens and see just how good he is. And you could already kind of see the movie play out in real time here. And, you know, finally got some run support yesterday. But yeah, this is one of those things in baseball that, you know, I think of Felix Hernandez in Seattle, right?
In the late 2000s, where that was a guy that was unhittable and not only could rarely get run support, but it seemed like they were never really in a position to contend while he was there in his prime. And you just hate to think that that's the reality for Paul Skeens. Russ, as we say goodbye, and I mentioned when we were efforting to get you on the air, I've enjoyed reading your work and seeing you on MLB Network and Apple TV Plus, looking at your Twitter avatar as somebody who got. The biggest break in broadcasting and was the co-host of the Oakland A's pregame show on Sports Channel when I was 23 in 1993. Is that you at the late, great Oakland Coliseum?
Couldn't hear you, Brian. I was doing a long ode to the Oakland Coliseum. I'll save it for next time. Russ, I appreciate you taking the time. Have a great broadcast tonight and look forward to chatting with you in the future.
Thanks, Brian. I appreciate it, man. And thank you for your dedication. That is the first time in my career someone has said I cannot hear you. My late mother used to say, Brian, you're booming.
Inside voice. I was going to connect Russell, not the rainbow connection. How did they get on Paul Williams and Larry King in the same vamp? Tells you I'm old and I love pop culture. But if you follow Russell on Twitter and give me a moment, I can give you his Twitter handle because he's a good follow and he's got all the breaking news.
You should be. Fully aware of, it is Russ underscore Dorsey One. You'll see a picture of my new friend, because we're going to be calling him when I'm filling in in July as well, sitting alone atop. The Oakland Alameda County Coliseum.
Now, if I could take a shot at the A's, I'm going to bury him because John Fisher is the worst owner in all of sports, even though he went to the same college. Although he's got a lot more family money than I do. Russ is sitting by himself in the upper deck of the Coliseum. That could have been taken during a game. Probably was.
With 4,000 of his best friends. Although, if you're tracking, and I'll use the term again with specificity, a sports crime. Anybody looking at the attendance of the West Sacramento A's? 8,000 people the last two games. 8,000.
It only seats 13,000.
Now, what nobody talks about is it's 140 degrees in Sacramento. in the summer. In a minor league ballpark and write it down because I'm going to pass away with this microphone in my hand. I will be filling in for Rich in twenty seven, twenty eight, I hope, twenty nine. The A's will never play in Las Vegas.
Just because they're breaking ground doesn't mean anything. John Fisher's got the money to buy a shovel, maybe. You notice he's selling his soccer team because he's cash poor. I'm like, Ace Rosteen, I'll be in Vegas getting blown up in a Buick before the A's ever step foot in Nevada. All right, well, our technical.
Kerfuffle woke me up. Watch out. Passion and energy for the last hour and 20 minutes. But first, We have much more to get to in this hour. And we're going to focus on a little bit more NFL as the Bengals and Trey Hendrickson keep talking.
Why hasn't Jerry Jones decided to pay his SAC master Micah Parsons yet? That is straight ahead. I'm Brian Weber, Infra Rich Edison, 844-204-7424. You can. Claw your way through the morass on a Big Word Friday.
That is social media. And get at me. On the X platform, BW Weber, Weber with two B's. When we were having just a slight technical issue, I was thinking of the great Van Earl Wright. I was this close to saying, hello, anybody.
But then we were able to make the connection. And I appreciate. The persistence and the patience of Russell Dorsey, especially on a show night. Check him out tonight. Apple TV Plus.
They have their exclusive MLB coverage, and you can read them, as I mentioned, on Yahoo Sports. And I saw him yesterday on MLB Network Ubiquitous. Your best ability is availability. As we get closer to the final hour of the program, coming up in just over 10 minutes, back to the NBA. will continue to sift through the wreckage from the Oklahoma City perspective of a miserable, abysmal performance last night.
When you have a chance to finalize and win the first championship in franchise history, sidebar, And as I was referencing, Kermit the Frog, Paul Williams, and Larry King. Larry King anecdote. I met him briefly. in a career dip Any time you pick a profession as Subjective. I'll choose my words carefully.
Unpredictable is this one. You're going to have ups, you're going to have downs. I had a good run in San Francisco and then was lucky enough to meet Rich at NFL Network. And I'm proud of what has been achieved, and hopefully the best is yet to come. But I was between jobs, as we say.
I've never been fully unemployed, but I was underemployed. And I met Larry King, and I was effusive in my praise. And he goes, oh, big fan of yours, big fan of yours. And it occurred to me as he was saying that I was not currently on television, and he would have to have a ham radio to hear whatever show I was doing at that point. But we miss Larry coming up.
We will Have a in-depth conversation as to what went wrong for the Thunder last night and what they need to do to rectify things heading into game seven. And we'll continue to give credit to Indy. They showed up. It was, to me, more of a matter of what the Pacers did than what the Thunder failed to do, although, of course, they are intertwined. And coming up, We will effort one more guest, and it's a good thing I didn't book 19 guests today.
We'll talk more NBA with Eric Pincus of Bleach Report. In a handful of minutes that we have left here in the second hour of the program, back to the NFL. And it is interesting when we're talking about trends, such as now we're just a couple days away from the seventh different NBA champion being installed, that you can have these weird pendulum swings and then.
Some things never change. And if we're talking about football, two things are true. The Bengals are cheap and they'll always be cheap. And yes, I know, primarily because of the public pressure that was dialed up by Joe Burrow, who did the only thing he could do. by being candid and transparent to the teams.
Via the media, using the press as he should, saying, Pay my playmakers. And they got it done with Higgins and Chase. There's still one other guy that should get paid.
Now, should is loaded and implies someone deserves. But in my opinion, Trey Hendrickson has outperformed that contract. And it's a positive sign, at least, that after doing all he could by staying away until he showed up at OTA's and buried the team for slow playing the negotiation and lowballing him from his perspective, at least they're talking this week.
So we know that the Bengals are always going to be cheap, and we know that Jerry Jones is going to butcher every major contract negotiation. Why has he not paid Micah Parsons yet? And Micah went public earlier this week saying That he believes he and Jara had a handshake deal in the spring.
Well, if you've already had the contract parameters laid out, knowing he's going to make more than Miles Garrett got, who got more than Max Crosby got, it's like quarterbacks. They keep resetting the market. If we know that Mike is going to become the highest-paid edge rusher in NFL history, what's the holdup? Because the longer Jerry waits, the more he's got to pay. As we saw with Dak Prescott and all of the nonsense with the franchise deck, as we saw with CD Lamb.
And to me, It comes down to a simple fact, Jerry Jones at this stage of his life. Craves the currency of attention. And publicity much more than money because this deal could have been done a long time ago. And look, he's got more money than God, but it's a salary cap league. Why not take the time and the care to get the deal finalized?
Instead, Jerry has achieved his goal by me talking about him once more. Back to the NBA Finals with the final hour of the Rich Eisen Show coming up next. Bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing. The United States Soccer Federation presents the U.S.
Soccer Podcast. Inside the opening, 45 seconds. What a goal! With that cannon of a land. I'll leave it.
Never miss a game. What a start for the United States! Shot from distance! What a goal! Never miss a moment.
Exquisite from La Sandiegan! Can he finish? Yes, he can! Yeah. The U.S.
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