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This is the Rich Eisen Show. Hey, everybody! Can't get enough of the Rich Eisen Show? You're in luck. You can find us everywhere.
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Now, On with the show. This is the Rich Eisen Show. Okay. The news we've been waiting for. Anthony Richardson goes out of the gun, ball in the near hash, backs to throw it, and he is deck from the left.
Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. He hit me then. I was trying to make sure I had the ball, and I just looked down and I see my finger differently. Earlier on the show, NFL network insider Tom Pellisero, six-year NFL veteran Andrew Hawkins, coming up, gold medalist Paralympian Ezra Freck. And now.
It's Rich Eisen. Number three of the Rich Eisen Show is on the air. I got a top five list I'm about to unveil for you. It's involving X Factors. In the National Football League this year.
Hopefully, it'll be of interest to you. Phone lines are lit. We're going to hit a bunch of phone calls right now here on the program. What's so funny? You were just like, hopefully, it'll be of interest to you.
I'll be honest. Do I need to sell it better? Is that what you're saying? I don't even think you need to sell it at all. You know, top five X factories.
I think I'm being a professional. I think I'm being a professional. You can see I'm dressed in my plane gear right now. I'm heading to LAX right after this. Kids are coming out of camp.
Susan and I are spending some time with the kids. We're done with camp. We're all going to be reconstituted as a family. I spent my last night in the house without kids and all alone. How was it?
Are you a little sad that your alone time is over? Just a little bit, Rich. Come on, admit it, Rich. You could admit it. You could adjust it.
It's quiet. You and Susie in the house. You can watch whatever you want to watch. You know, you have to worry about. You know, anything.
Can I answer the question? Oh, there's more, but go ahead. Yeah. We'll do the shut up. Let me ask you.
Thank you. Thank you. Um In a way, yes.
Okay, but I'm not a bachelor. I have children. I've got a relationship. And I'm excited to see my children again. Because I value all three of them just the same.
For like five minutes, and then they'll annoy you, and then you're like, Can you just go back to camp? Excuse me, you're a parent. You understand? You only have my kids annoying a lot of times.
So, like, I'm okay.
So, so, yes, like when I left for work, when I left for work today, I did look around the house. Oh. And I did stand at the door, sort of like what, fresh prints? Oh, yeah, I was afraid and looked around the living room. And I just did just say to myself.
Take in the silence. For one minute. Because you know, I advocate for that all the time. You got to live in the moment best you can. People will call into the show and ask for life advice from RES Consulting.
We've had people call in just before their weddings, and I'm like, make sure you stand in the corner. It's one moment on your wedding night. Take it in. Take in a moment.
Okay?
So I did take in that moment, but I am excited to see my children again. Cash, what? Another question? I'm here for you. If you were to rank, like which one you're most excited to see.
It's not like if all three were ready at the same time and you had to pick up one. It's not appropriate. That's your man over there. The question is not appropriate. It's inappropriate.
And I'm excited to see all three of them and hug them just the same. And that's the truth. Right. How dare you? Right.
Now, but while I'm out of pocket next week, Tom Pellisero will be in studio in this chair next Monday and Tuesday. Tommy P. And then next Wednesday and Thursday, The Miz is coming in. Awesome. And, you know, he's got a big bar to clear because.
Seth Rollins did this show a few weeks ago.
So The Miz not only has to be engaging and entertaining, he's got to lie through his teeth about his health. He needs to be fake intervention. And then he's got to show up at the next PLE and rope us in as a program. Um, and and get us aggregated like crazy. I love you said PLE, too.
Yeah, dude, you don't even know who I am anymore. That's that's premium live event in case anyone is so most people still say PPV, so just like premium live events.
So that's the bar for the Miz. I'm just letting you know, Ms. You can't just come here and talk about how great Shador looked on the Friday night preseason. Oh gosh, that's a crazy thing. You gotta broaden out.
You got to talk about more than just the Browns and Cleveland sports, and you also have to lie about your health and rope us into something that benefits us in the long run. That's right.
Okay. This is going to come shoulder sling. He's going to like smooth. Is that right? Oh, my God.
Wheelchair. Oh, wait a minute. Let me get my message to beat the crap out of somebody. All right. And then Friday, O'Shea Jackson Jr.
is going to be sitting in this chair all three hours.
So good luck with that. I try to counsel you against that. Hostile work environment. I always like making news when I'm not in the chair. And I will tell you this: based on what I know right now sitting here, I will drop these two breadcrumbs and you know what I'm referring to.
You guys have already heard me talk about it off the air as well. There should be not one, but two things involving. me professionally that drop while I'm out of the chair. Interesting.
So One of them has kind of already been out there. And one of them would, I think, surprise a lot of people. Are you the new manager of the Yankees? Please, you know, I'll come back, Rich. I will not be the new manager of the Yankees.
Oh, they put you on the competition committee. Congratulations. No, no, wait, no, no, no, no, no. Big up. Just dropping a couple of crumbs of the break.
Okay, stop. Is that why you're taking the week off? You're getting the hair? No. Are you going to Turkey?
Are you really going to Turkey? I am not going to Turkey. Oh, man, that would be something. Dion told you to come home. Nope, this is not happening.
Okay. Terzo in Iowa. All rise. Let's take his call. Terzo, what's going on?
Terzo? Hey, what's up? What's up, Rich? Hey, hey, guys, I got a call out for Devon Rollins. After what he did on your show, hoodwinking all of us, and then allowing for Iowa to get buried, let's remember, guys, he's from Davenport, Iowa.
We've been trying to give that. That city over to Illinois for years. They just won't take it. This guy. This guy.
That's an Iowa and Iowa violence race. Wow. That was a verbal money in the bank case you just hit him with.
Sorry. Go ahead. And at this point, I was going to tell him to, and I called in, I invited him over to Carl's place.
Okay. You know, and he had to say that it might be in a bad part of Des Moines.
Well, it is in a bad part of Des Moines now, Rich. And if he comes in there, there's a pool table with his name on it.
Okay. Look at this guy. Nicely done, Terzo.
So now, so Seth Rollins is now dragging us into an Iowa Civil War. It seems so. Apparently. All right. I love it.
I like your mock. I would. I would pot a lot of heat from that one, man. O'Shea had to come on the pod on Monday, Terzo, and he apologized to the citizens of Davenport for talking bad about him on weekend. He realized it wasn't their fault.
Okay. He was upset. Thank you. Yeah, I listened to that, DJ, and I was happy to hear that from O'Shea. Thanks for the call, Terzo.
Terzo and I are everybody. It's always great to hear from him. Christian in Toronto, Canada. Let's take Christian's call. What's up, Christian?
Hey guys, happy Friday. How's everyone doing? What's going on? I'm stressed because it's August 8th today, and Terry McLaurin is still not signed.
Okay. And We've I've watched my team be Bad for 15 years, and we finally are good, and now we're not signing our best player. Can I help you? Can I help you, please? Yeah, I need some encouragement from you.
Don't worry about it. I've been optimistic. I've been optimistic. You should be. Don't worry about it.
Don't worry about it. Do not worry about it. It's gonna get handled. It'll get handled when it gets handled to use the Mahomes' phrase. Um the uh Washington commanders are are in New England tonight.
Don't worry about it. He's not there, which means. And he's not going to look around and go, oh boy, this is a nice place to play, like Brockman said. I don't know why he wouldn't think that.
Okay. To be honest, there's a Tom Brady statue, 12-footer, going up tonight. He's going to be like, hmm, I'd like to be part of that.
So it's because listen, listen, it's all part of a long-ass negotiation that's going to get handled. The commanders will get it done. He will be there against the Giants, week one, apparently. And thanks to the call. Tom Brady and.
Burkhardt are doing that game. That's first step. And then we'll be talking about. Jaden Daniels throwing to Terry McLaurin. It's going to happen.
I firmly believe it. It just, and tonight, you know, well, Jaden Daniels looked good without him, or they didn't really need him, or boy, it looked, they looked terrible without him.
Okay. We're going to have to go through a couple of them. Jaden Daniels is not playing. And he will not be, and he will, there you go. And he will not even, you know, we'll see if he's going to, this won't get handled by the Monday nighter on ESPN.
To end preseason week two. And they'll talk about it and whatever. Midnight, we're not even close to midnight striking. What was it? Pellicero pointed out, you know, Micah Parsons in Dallas, 27 days till kickoff.
That is. An absolute freaking eternity. It's like 7 a.m. What does that mean? Before midnight.
It's that early. Oh, I see what you're saying. You're just choosing a time on a clock that's far away from.
Well, I mean, you could also say it's 3 a.m. I mean, that's. No, they're up. They're just not. If it's 3 a.m., I must be.
That just threw me the hell off right there. I'm sorry, Richard. What the hell was that? I was doing Matchbox 20. Yeah.
All right. I sing, but I know I can't. Can't sing anymore. Jimmy in San Antonio. What's up, Jimmy?
What's up, Jimmy? Let's call out Jimmy. May your PLE be better than the OPP. Thank you, sir. Yeah, you know.
Y'all are so easy to set up. I love it. It's easy to get my soul out of my nose.
Okay, first, honest condolences to Turzo in Iowa and Jeff in Detroit on their losses this week.
Okay. Love you guys. I just wanted to. Pass that along. I have a what's more likely and a Tommy P pushback because the rumors you heard, Rich, about Micah that he dismissed are true because I heard them four days ago and then you just reported them.
So there seems to be a little smolder of the smoke.
So Tommy P, respect riches I don't know. Listen, and it's just, it's in rumor. It's conjecture. You hear, you know, he's worn out his welcome in Dallas and Jerry's just kind of fighting a fight, but putting him to the griddle on behalf of those in the front office or the coaching staff or anybody on the roster who, you know, feels that way about Micah and he's doing it on their behalf. But as Tommy P rightfully pointed out, then why was there a handshake agreement to begin with?
Like, you know, why is he ready to pay him all this money? You know, I mean, I'm glad you bring up the handshake because the handshake wasn't just about money. It was about leadership. And that goes back to the rumors.
So we'll leave it there, and I'll get to my what's more likely soon, so y'all can move on. Sure. All right, what's more likely? Jerry and Micah work out a deal by Monday. Or Tricia Libertino remembers holding hands with Brock.
When we were seven. Outstanding. Jimmy and San Antonio with a call back to the O'S Perlman segment yesterday where he guessed the name of Chris Brockman's second grade. Crush. And I think where Tricia Libertini Libertino Tricia Libertino out of nowhere entered the chat.
And I'll go that's way more likely wherever she may be to have gotten some sort of Of heads up from somebody you have no idea your name was mentioned on a national television and radio syndicated program.
So let me tell you what I saw on TikTok yesterday, Jimmy. YouTube brought me so the video got posted on our TikTok, Rich Eisen Show.
Now, I don't know how true this is, but somebody wrote, That's my mom. Oh, no, right? But I looked at the page, it was a private page, so I couldn't, so I didn't know if that's just somebody joking. But definitely let's hope this.
Okay, let's hope this. Why? Let's hope this is that Trisha. We're trying to hold hands again. It's the magical moment.
No, no, no, we can't talk now. Jimmy, Jimmy, not everything needs to be a reunion. Jesus.
Okay, like that. What I'm saying is this: that Trisha Libertino. Is that who it is? Libertino? I believe that was.
Okay. That she is alive and well and has a happy life, a happy family, and that Chris Brockman's second-grade crush is in fact somebody's mother right now. Like, that would be great. That would be great. Yes, wouldn't it?
Yeah. Okay. Thank you, Jimmy. Appreciate it. Just in the same way that the.
The advances of a second grader she rejected back in the way is a father right now. Right. Is that one way to put it? I don't know if there were advances. This is insane.
I don't know what we need to do. Advances.
Okay. Yeah, Chris, I looked at the page and it was. Let's hope. Private. That elementary school no longer exists.
It got torn down. Oh my God, really? That's sad. Yeah. All right.
Tiering school. I shouldn't say, all right. Let's hope everybody is still being educated in that Virginia area. That would be nice. Gents have a top five.
About Top five National Football League X Factors. Brow it up. We should be noticing more. Presented by Hyundai Hit it. High five.
One, two, three, four, and five. Riches, top five. All righty, everybody.
Now, when I say an X factor, that means this. Would Eventually, lead to success in the National Football League. We're not talking about it enough. That's what an x factor means, but I am going from five to one in ascending order. of this being a potential difference maker.
Okay?
That's my setup. of top five NFL X factors we should be noticing more. You, Chris Brockman, in your top five, recently put the New York Giants on a team that is absolutely not winning the Super Bowl on the top five list, correct? Yeah, correct.
So they may not be winning a Super Bowl. But what they may be doing is Finally ascending. From the depths of whatever happened with the Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley decisions, right? And they're going to finally start to win games at Bryant Abel. and Joe Shane is going to have better footing.
And we're going to move forward as a giants franchise together. Ascending. That's my belief. and where it's going to come from. Is not Jackson Dart.
And it is not. The quarterback position as a whole. or on the offensive side of the ball. Number five on my NFL X Factors we should be noticing more is the New York Giants defensive front. Nobody's talking about what they have built there.
Yeah. Brian Burns. And Dexter Lawrence. And Kayvon Thibodeau and Bobby Okariki and Rakeim. Nunes Rochas.
And then you add Abdul Carter to this mix. Everybody. Brigades. I think. The best player in the Big Ten last year was Abdul Carter.
Period. And I know Jeremiah Smith is, you know, the freak and all of this stuff. Abdul Carter Is no joke. And what he's talking about. He's second behind Brian Burns on the death chart.
So, what this team can do up front defensively can absolutely be the anchor for a team that moves forward. That's number five on this list. Nobody's talking about this. Number four on the list. is the Green Bay Packers wide receiver room.
Because nobody knows who to draft and fan. Honestly. No idea. Who do you choose? Dobbs.
Jaden Reed. Jaden Reed. Maybe was their best receiver last year. I mean, Christian Watson, can we get him healthy? It doesn't seem like it, sadly.
Ontavian Wicks. 22. It might be Matthew Golden, man. Matthew Golden. Golden.
Deuce Deuce. Yeah. Double Deuce. Golden. If the Packers are like, because the Josh Jacobs thing, we're.
He's a beast. We're checking that box out. He's a high.
Okay. And Jordan Love, let's get him not banged up in week one down in, you know, he won't be in Brazil, but you get my point. Yep. The wide receiver room, the Green Bay Packers, who's talking about him? They're young and they can do it all, and they're really good.
Miko Hardman's there, too, by the way.
So the wide receiver room in Green Bay is an X factor nobody's talking about. Number three. Number three. We got a glimpse last night. X Factor, nobody's talking about.
A fully paid Burrow, Chase, and Higgins. They're common and healthy. And they're not talking about their friggin contract. Fully paid. Fully Paid.
Borrow Chase Higgins. What does that mean? They're focused like that's it. They're focused on their craft not their contracts They're not talking about, oh, I was a, you know, this franchise tagged this, and I was last year. Don't you remember Jamar Chase was questionable going into week one?
Mm-hmm. Not this time around. Look what we saw last night. And Joe Burrow's like, yeah. Could have been better.
I missed my first missed battle. Then I made the next nine, and I was nine to ten for 123 yards and two touchdowns and 15 reps. I only had a pass rating of 157 plus 5. Let's see what this means for the Cincinnati Bengals, man. Start fast.
and overcome whatever defensive issues there are. Fully paid Burrow Chase Higgins. When was the last time we could say that? Never. Uh never.
They were all on rookie deals. Right. And what are they going to get it? How are they going to get it? Are they going to pay Joe?
What does that mean? Can they keep both? Chase and Higgins and let's franchise tag one. Not this time. Number two on the list.
We're all talking about two people who aren't there for the Detroit lines, right? Talking about Aaron Glenn's not there, Ben Johnson's not there. And we're using that as the prism. For the Lions season. Looking through that.
Prism is what happened to the Eagles the last time they lost their coordinators and invent Down a tubes. Here's two guys. Two guys, everybody. X factors, I know they're not. Jameer Gibbs and Aiden Hutchinson.
I know they're not X actors. I know they're superstars. I know they're superstars, but who's talking about Hutchinson as a defensive player of the year? We're all like, oh, they had to put his leg back together. Yeah.
And Jameer Gibbs is just, I think if I'm in charge of the Detroit Lions, I just tell Mr. Montgomery: listen, we love you. five yards an in every now and then we'll we'll use it as a battering ram. Jameer Gibbs is getting the football. Oh the Time.
Let's get him up to speed. Top running back in the NFL, big ass playmaker. Let's go to work there. And in terms of. The remember I said the other day How Dan Campbell said the defense is ahead of the offense.
Apparently it's because Aiden Hutchinson cannot be blocked in practice. that they have a rule in practice. that if Hutch blows the play up, And he has completed the sack because you know, obviously, he's not taking someone to the ground. They tell the offense to continue the drill. Because they're not going to stop their ability to rep in practice, because Hutch cannot be blocked.
And Dan Campbell made reference to that in his latest press conference. You're trying to get some of your plays going, run some of your stuff, but yet if you can't. If you can't block Hutch and he's going to blow every practice up, then you know that's not good either. But listen, we're good. It's all part of the process of working through it and letting guys grow and get reps.
They were the one seed when everyone got hurt and Hutch's leg was put back together. He's put back together. And I don't know, man. I know they try to limit Gibbs' touches, but I. Take that governor off.
Number one on the list of top... NFL X factors we should be noticing more. You're gonna be pissed at this one, but I don't care. Because he sounds friendly, he looks friendly, he is friendly, everyone loves him because he's. Patrick Mahomes is red ass side.
How angry is he? How angry is Patrick Mahomes? They should change the title of this top five. How angry. Pissed.
is Patrick. He's not wearing it on his sleeve. He'll say things about practice. Practice. Practice.
Not a game. The game. I think we got that. I want You ready? Edit.
Yeah, I just want to just. I wanted to up my mentality. You know, sometimes you get to camp and you just want to. You want to go out there and dominate the day, but I want to dominate every single rep. You know, I want to make sure we're getting the best that we can out of every single rep that we get on the field.
If that's even like we had a shift in motions period today, we're just going through the shifts and the motions. I want to make sure that we're getting set, doing those things the right way, and that carries through the entire practice. And there's no days off. You got to get better and better every day, no bad days. And I think that's been something that we've been great at this camp.
Now, I know, again, he sounds friendly. It's just one like machine gun staccato. Cliche after another. No bad days, get better reps. He's not going to come out and say, I.
Here. what everybody thinks about us being lucky, I saw the memes of me clutching the referee in the code play. Monitor. I see and hear everything. And I am coming for all of you.
Now we saw on the Netflix quarterback series that he does have that. And he works blue. Nobody's talking about this as a factor this year. And I got one more. Give me my boy.
Anything we need more? No, give me my boy. You have one more. I did not know this. Rich, you're leaving for a week.
Please don't do it. No, there's one other thing.
Okay. The other X factor is: what will it look like? with Jalen Hurts having a one in the case. Oh, okay. Jalen Hurts defending Super Bowl champion.
What is it going to be like? He's got one in the case. That's it.
Now, obviously, it's Philadelphia. They start two and three, and it's because he's missing receivers and whatever. He stinks again. I understand that. But what's it going to look like?
If they come out and they are just and they're starting to beat the crap out of the competition and they are now a dynastic team, they look like a dynastic team themselves, and this kid. He turned 27 yesterday. Yeah. Super Bowl champion, he has been there and done that self-made. I've told about this story.
I get goosebumps telling it.
Now he's got one in the case. As Super Bowl MVP, He is paid. He's got his Life completely in order. What does that look like? That's an X factor.
Uh kind of dig that act uh that that uh Top five. I was cultivating that caper for a while. Um and finally today. And I'm going to stop talking about it. Ezra Freck is in our green room.
Let's bring him on. Here he is: the gold medal. Paralympian. We'll talk with Ezra when we come back. This episode is brought to you by Navy Federal Credit Union.
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Terms and conditions apply and are available at NavyFederal.org slash true car. Credit and collateral subject to approval. Navy Federal is insured by NCUA. Are you feeling more fulfilled now that you're back to work? On August 15th.
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Omar. Nobody 2, Rated R, holding in theaters August 15th. Popsicles, sprinklers, a cool breeze. Talk about refreshing. You know what else is refreshing this summer?
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Three-year price guarantee applies to then-current base monthly rate only. Additional terms and conditions apply for all offers. Season one of Adaptive, which is available streaming on Peacock right now, which means you can see it right here on Roku, follows the journeys of four Paralympians as they train to qualify for and compete in the Paris Paralympic Games, including our next guest here, who we met on the phone back in the COVID days, but now here in person, Ezra Freck is here on the program. Yeah, a little bit of a spoiler, but these are the gold medals right here. Boom.
Okay, there's one. Here's number two. Beautiful. Thanks, baby, here. There you go.
And so that's a piece from the original Eiffel Tower that's on the front of those. And yeah, that's the 100-meter. That's the high jump gold medals from Paris at the Paralympics. Oh my. Oh no.
Oh my gosh. Everybody back off. They're broken, guys.
Well, at least we know where those little scratches are coming from. Oh, no. Excuse me. Those things are heavy. They're no joke.
No, they aren't. They're super heavy. They're super heavy. I think they're some of the heavier metals that they've ever made. Because I, after I finished competing in Paris, did seven hours of media interviews with both of those things on and might have felt like it broke my neck.
I literally was in so much pain. Look at that. How beautiful is that? And these are, this is original. You said these are original pieces of metal in the middle from the Eiffel Tower.
From the Eiffel Tower.
So when they first built the Eiffel Tower, however many years ago, and they would make remodelings to it, they would keep parts of the original building in a scrapyard for something. They didn't know what they were going to use it for, and they infused it into the metals, which I think is super unique. Ezra Freck is here. His gold medals from the 2024 Paralympic Games are on. The desk right here, Adaptive, which chronicles your journey along with three of your other fellow Paralympians, is available on Peacock right now called Adaptive, available on Roku.
It's great to see you. Last time I saw you was at USC, correct? Yeah, it was. It was. Were you in that Pete Carroll class?
Did you take that class? Were you just? I was.
So you were, you. The class that I've been talking about. And I know I saw you here. You were in the Pete Carroll class. At USC, right?
I was in the Pete Carroll class at USC. I'm a freshman. I was one of literally two underclassmen, I think, that were in that class. It was me and Juju. They let you and Juju watch.
Yeah, we were some of the only, I think we were the only two underclassmen that were allowed in that class. They wanted just, you know, they let us in because we were obviously athletes and they wanted us there. Yes. But I just got chills thinking about it because that was the most epic class of my entire life. Probably the most epic class I will ever take at.
Any school. Would you mind just diving into this a little bit here? And then obviously we'll get into you and the documentary here and what you learned, what you gleaned, because I tried my best to explain it. It was something so remarkable. My wife and I were sitting there just blown away.
We've known Pete forever. But just the stories that your fellow classmates were telling about how transformative it was for them as a person, as a student. And I'm wondering, you know, obviously you have been there and done that in terms of so much in your life to overcome and also succeed. I give you the floor on this right now. Uh There's moments in time where, as you're experiencing it, you know this is going to impact you for the rest of your life.
And That's what Every Thursday. At four o'clock felt like in that Pete Carroll class. This is a man who has so much wisdom and guidance and life experience. And for him to take us under his wing, to share that wisdom, to share that insight, to basically become a little USC family in that room every single week was so special. You had people completely opening up, sharing vulnerable parts about themselves.
It was a class essentially on how to optimize your life, how to live life to the fullest. It was called the Game Is Life because we were learning from the greatest, one of the greatest football coaches of all time in the way he approaches football and the way that applies to life. And so it was this beautiful, beautiful class where, I mean, and Pete Carroll is one of the most amazing human beings I've ever met in my entire life. This man had so much going on, would come to class every single week and go, Jessica, how was that dance recital? Oh, Steve, you were talking about that meeting.
How did that go? But he would remember every detail about every single. Student and just had so much love to share. He brought in some of the most amazing speakers. We had Jason Sudeikis, we had Tom Brady, we had literally the most elite high performers across every single field that were coming in, sharing their wisdom.
And then Pete was this, probably, it was the most amazing class I will ever take in my entire life. And to hear this from you, Ezra, because obviously, you know. a lot's gone on with you since birth, pretty much, right? I mean, and and so how did you learn more about yourself and about optimizing yourself when you clearly have succeeded at that on your own? It's it appears so far.
I appreciate that.
Well, it's a truth. And I do, I would like to believe that I'm pretty far along as far as the way I view myself and my confidence and life optimization. But even still, as an athlete, as an entertainer, as a human being, I feel like we're always pulling from inspiration, right? I feel like I'm always trying to be two, three, four percent more inspired, motivated, and to then have people who have accomplished the highest of successes, to have someone like Pete Carroll to impart his wisdom, take nuggets from it, learn from it. I mean, every now and then I just open up that journal.
I look at some of the things he says, some of the things we talked about, and it might help me with some sort of issue challenge that I'm going through in my life. And you were born with congenital limb differences? Is that the proper way to put it? I was basically born. I had one finger on my left hand and I had a lower left leg that was curved up towards my waist.
And then about three years old, I had a 15-hour surgery where they actually amputated the leg right at the knee, and then they took the big toe. From my left foot and put it onto my left hand. And so I had a toe-to-hand transplant. I could pick things up, I could hold things, and then I got a stump that could fit into a prosthetic. And so, when did you, or who was the one who inspired you to say, I want to be a Paralympian?
Like, when did that moment arrive for you in your life, Ezra? That's a good question.
Okay. Growing up, I loved every sport: basketball, soccer, football. Growing up, my actual idol was Pao Gasol, and he and I became friends, and he was a mentor to me when I was growing up. But then when I was 11 years old, I was watching the Rio 2016 Paralympics in my living room, and I had this out-of-body epiphany universe telling me this is your calling type moment. And I decided right there and then.
I was going to be a Paralympian. Did you, who did you tell this to? I told this to everyone, family, friends, parents. I publicized it as much as I could. I was 11.
I said, in four years, I'm going to make the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic team.
So the odds that the average 11-year-old can just go from completely unranked to making the Paralympic team is super, super slim. But we built a great team around myself. I trained obsessively, sacrificed pretty much all of my middle school, high school years to make it happen, and then competed in Tokyo. And then you did it. I did it.
Yes. That was the start. I competed in Tokyo. I placed fifth in the high jump in Tokyo. I was devastated to come so close to the podium but not walk away with a medal.
And I was reinvigorated. I set the lock screen on my phone as a photo of the medalist that beat me with the words never again on there. And I vowed that I was never going to let that happen again and I was going to win every single major championships or Paralympic games for the rest of my career.
So then you must have, I assume you heard how Jalen Hurts made his lock screen, you know, exactly. Losing the Super Bowl. Yeah, a photo of him walking off with the Chiefs' confetti on the field. Exactly.
So you can relate to something 100%. I can relate to that. The reality is, it's like this weird balance between wanting to sort of let go of the past, but also recognizing that is the most motivating thing in the world. Losing on the world stage. Every time I open up my phone, I see a photo of the guys that beat me.
Jalen Hurts has the same thing. Those days you don't want to get up. Those mornings you want to sleep in a little bit longer. Those times where you're not feeling like going to the weight room, you open up your phone, you see that. Mm-hmm.
There's nothing more motivating than that.
Well, I guess the difference between you and Jalen Hurts is he's got one trophy, you've got two medals. Just as a for instance. Just as a for instance, what do these medals mean you? Those metals Those medals mean a lot to me because of how many people invested so much time and energy into my career. And for me, it's really about impact over medals.
It's always been. My dream, my purpose is to normalize disability on a global scale. And winning medals are just a part of getting to that larger purpose. But I would trade every medal in the world if it meant I could accomplish my larger goals. But the reality is, I put my heart, my soul, my blood, my sweat, my tears, every ounce of my being.
Into putting myself in the position to succeed at the Paralympic Games and for it to work out the way it did. I mean, this documentary we've been talking about, adaptive, we've been filming this for five years. We were actually up against the budget. We were, you know, almost running out of funding, and the whole team decided we're going to spend the entire budget to film in Paris, just banking on the fact that if I were to win, we could then get funding to finish it afterwards. And so I'm sitting there in the Paralympic village thinking to myself, Yeah.
We've been filming this doc for five years. If I don't deliver, We don't finish this. If I don't deliver in Paris, we don't find funding to finish the dock. And so, thinking about how many people were involved in my journey, these medals are an ode to them. And that's what makes them special.
Dude, man.
So cool. You're pretty special resolved. Thank you. Thank you. You are.
But I mean, I, you know. I told you that beforehand when we were chit-chatting at the Pete class and It's remarkable. It's remarkable.
So what's next for you? What's uh I mean, you've accomplished a lot. How old are you? What's your 20.
Okay, dude. Wow. Still a baby. 20.
Okay. So now what's on the docket? On the dock, it is we have world championships in about eight weeks.
So, in between Paralympic games, you have the quad, which is basically world championships, national championships. Last week, I just went pro. I signed with Adidas. Congratulations. Thank you.
I can see it very much. I got you repping already. Look at him repping. Yeah, I went pro. I see it.
I signed with Adidas. So I won't be competing on the USC track team anymore, but I'll compete as a pro-track athlete. And then we have world championships in eight weeks. And where is that? In New Delhi, India, which is very exciting.
And then we're already filming the next season of Adaptive. That'll come out before LA 28. And the LA 28 Paralympics, and you can quote me. That will be the most transformational moment in American sports history. All right.
LA 28 Olympics and Paralympics. And so because we have the opportunity to fundamentally change the way society sees people with disabilities through the Paralympics. The Paralympics, in and of itself, people don't fully understand this. This is the highest level sporting competition on the planet for people with physical disabilities. When you expose that to all of America, it rewires the way you see people with disabilities.
And we have the opportunity with the games on American soil to do that, to make sure that 50 million Americans, 15% of the U.S. population that has a physical disability, feels properly included in society. And it's through sport and it's through the Paralympics in 2028. You can count us in on that effort if you wish. We're here.
You know where we live. As a retail. Did you take place in Swim? You said you went to SC. Swim with Mike.
Was that something that you were part of? Swim With Mike is an amazing organization. And, you know, I was good enough to make the track team at USC, but I wasn't good enough to warrant a full scholarship. And so USC is an expensive college to pay out of pocket. And Swim With Mike is an amazing organization.
And they help people with physical disabilities basically get into school, get into colleges, and help them afford to be able to be at a high-level institution. And so they help me be able to go to USC in the first place and allow me to compete on the track team and help me afford that.
So they're very special. Very amazing.
Well, listen, you know where we are. I know where you are. If you're still around the USC campus, I'm going to be there. Later this month for the first class of the next iteration of. It's not called the game is life, but Susie, my wife, is the professor along with David Velasco, who is taking up the mantle.
No way. Yes. And she's beyond excited. But you know, it's daunting because you're a perfect example here, guys. Here's somebody in you.
I don't mean to talk about you like you're not a sitting here, Ezra, but where you have accomplished so much. that you decided I am going to compete. I'm going to see what this game of life can do for me. from my couch, from my position. And look what you have done with it.
And you said you learned so much from Pete's class. I'm telling you. It was one of the most special things I've ever seen. And I'm appreciative of you giving voice to it. And, you know, Susie's going to take up that mantle.
She's going to be able to get that. She's competing in that respect. I'm so excited. I'm going to stay there. You can come behind a presentation.
I would love to be able to. I'd stop by on Tuesdays. Is that what it is? I'd love to stop by. I know.
Pete Carroll's an amazing guy, and I'm so excited to go to some Raider games. I mean, he literally accepted the Raiders' job. While he was in class, like with us. Wait a minute. Are you serious?
Yeah. So you're all in class together? He, right, he was. In the process of figuring all this out, and literally, he was like, right after class is how, when he accepted the job, like, we, oh, you have no service down there, no service, right?
So, he wasn't getting any calls or messages. And then, apparently, like, right after class is when you know, he got the call, accepted the job. It was unbelievable. Like, this is all happening while we were. And he's, you know, he's talking about all he's explaining, you know, the process of like what it's like to be an NFL head coach.
And then, sure enough, he, you know, he takes the next class, comes back, and we're like, Coach, you accepted the Raiders' job. And he was like, Oh, yeah, that happened right after class. I thought you meant like you got something right in the middle of a question telling one of your classmates, hold on a second before you answer. I guess you're gonna say Tom Brady's on the back of the middle. I accept.
Now, you were saying, you know, like sends a quick text, like, yep, I'm in. I'm in. But yeah, with no service down there, a little difficult. But yeah, apparently, like, it was happening as class was going on. And then eventually he stepped out and took the job.
Well, the game is life, right? No doubt. It is life. Adaptive on Peacock. Available on Roku.
Check it out. Ezra, you're a delight to have here. Ezra Freck, thank you for bringing your hardware. Congrats on the gig with Adidas, and good luck in your professional career. And stay in touch.
And seriously, your mission is remarkable. And however, we can be a small part. We're here for you. I appreciate it. Thank you for having me.
You've got it. That's Ezra Freck right here on The Rich Eisen Show. Eczema isn't always obvious, but it's real. And so was the relief. From EBGLIS.
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Live to paque idea and experience for experience. Expedia, divimos to the side. There you are, you're Clapping! Claffin! Yes, clapping!
Oh, he's sweating, he's tournament.
So he made it out of contestants row? Yes, he made it out of contestants row. I'm gonna do it! Car! Yes!
Yes! TJ can run a car! Oh my gosh! This is amazing! I can't believe we're doing this!
I cannot believe it. Oh my gosh, it's beautiful, brand new car! This is wearing a coffee maker. Oh, that's terrible. This is a bike.
An electric bike is like five. By the way, the master key is the cane. Master Key is the game. Oh, yes. This is going to take a while.
Oh, what unlocked the car, TJ. TJ, did you ever watch Master Key? This is a rare game, so I'm going to be honest with you guys. I spent three weeks watching episodes of Price Right. I never saw this game before.
It's a rare game, dude. Yeah. This is so hard. I take someone. I've never seen this game, guys.
But look what's going on. My heart's thumping right now. I mean, this is amazing. Where did your carry grow this big-ass beard? Oh, he's had it for years.
He looks like... Are you serious? He looks like Jeff Riches. That's actually trimmed to what it used to be.
Okay, here we go. Oh, popcorn machine. Oh, I'll take that if you want that, TJ. By the way, you've got to bring in this popcorn machine if you win. I want this popcorn.
$41. $41. $41. $41. It's not $71.
$71. $41? It's $1. $41! That's one key!
That's one key! Grab the key! Take the middle key! Take the middle key! There's five keys!
CDG, takes the middle key! No, he's not looking! He takes the second to the right key. I didn't look, I didn't look. All right.
All right, TJ. What are you gonna unlock? Oh, you gotta do that later. That's right.
Here's another key. Here's a basket. $5.84, that's a $58 basket. It's not an $84 basket. No way.
What's in it? What's going on? Oh, you got to get what's in it, too. Oh, it's an $84 basket. It's an $84.
It's an $84 basket. That's where I messed up. I listened to. That's an $84 basket. I listen to the people.
Come on, TJ. TJ. $1.84.
Now we want $50. Oh yeah! Oh, he only has one key! Oh my gosh! Come on, TJ.
Look at the $84 king. Uh-oh, massive. Does it unlock the uh... Does it unlock? Does it unlock?
Okay, it does not unlock. Coffee maker. No coffee maker.
Okay, he's gonna unlock the electric bike. No, no, no, no, no. No!
Okay! All right, all right. Does it unlock the car? Oh my god. Does it unlock the car?
Let's go! She doesn't unlock the car! Does it unlock the car? He's turning the cake! No!
That was so riveting. Oh my gosh. Well, some nice parting gifts for you. I can see. What did you get to get out of contestants' role?
What did you bid on to get out of contestants? It's a punk table. Oh! Oh, can you bring that in here?
Well, I, yeah, probably. May 4th, 2021 was when that aired. It's now August. Hmm. Eight.
25. Four plus years later. The ping-pong box, ping-pong table is still boxed up. I mean, we could have went and graduated from college. And it's not unboxed.
And it's still sitting at the house. It's still sitting at the house. It's still at the house.
So the parting gift is yet to part from his Maybe. You got ripped off, TJ. I did. By the way, I just found that video I was making at the point. Fantastic.
I'm sure you watch it back all the time. Hey, come on, dude. Chris, I'm going to let you choose one of the four that's still remaining. I got time for one win-loss game. Head it.
Which one? I can't see. My screen is dead.
Sorry about that. Tip number three. I got a good one. Mike, you do it. Mike, what do we got?
Jacob. Jacob in San Bernardino, California. What's up, Jacob? It's been waiting almost three hours. What's up, Jacob?
Hey, how are we doing, Ray? I only got two minutes. What do you want to do? I want to do a win-loss game. I actually did have a quick question, though.
How come, Rich, you guys don't do the higher register segment anymore? I love that. Great question. It's coming back, guaranteed. We'll bring it back.
Jacob, we'll bring it back. Give him.
Okay, we got to go fast. The Dallas Cowboys. Here we go. What happens opening night? Philadelphia.
Uh that will be a loss, sir. Home for the Giants. That's a win. At the Bears. I'm counting that as a loss.
I think Caleb will be good. That's not a higher register. One and two for the Packers. That's so lost. That's a win.
I think we do it against Green Bay finals. 2-2 at the Jets. Come on. That's a win. Sorry, Rick.
Three and two at the Panthers. That's a win. Four and two, home for the commanders. Uh we'll take a loss there. Four and three at the Broncos.
Another loss, back to back loss. 4-4, home for the Cardinals on a Monday night. Ah, that'll be a win. Five and four at the Raiders on a Monday after a bye. That'll be a win.
Six and four home for the Eagles. We lose both games against the team six and five. Chiefs on Thanksgiving. That's another loss on Thanksgiving. 6-6 at the Lions the following Thursday.
10 days. I don't feel good. The week three lost in a row, so we're losing to Detroit. Six and seven, home for the Vikings. We win that one though.
I think the Chargers do unfortunately run all over our defense, so I think he has a lot. Seven and eight at the Commanders on a Thursday. Yeah. That'll be a win. We split with Washington.
Eight and eight at the Giants. And we finish 9-8. 9-8. Thank you, Jacobs and Sam Bernardino. 9-8.
They missed the playoffs. That's a very. I don't like that. But at least I'm falling to 6-6 on Thanksgiving and then 6-7 a week later. It won't set off any alarm costs.
No, no, no, of course not. If that happens. Back to wrap up on the Roku channel in a moment. I am Michael Rosenbaum. I am Tom Welling.
Welcome to Talk Bill. Where it's fun to talk about small books. We're going to be talking to sometimes guest stars. Are you liking the direction Plois is going in? Yeah, because I'm getting more screen time.
That's good. But mostly it's just me and Tom remembering. I think we all feel like there was a scene missing here. You got me, Tom. Let's revisit it.
Let's look at it. See what we remember. See what we remember. I had never been around anything like that before. I mean, it was so fun.
Talk Bill. Talk Bill. I just had a flashback. Follow and listen on your favorite platform. Let's get into it.
Mm.
