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This is the Rich Eisen Show. I was happy to meet everybody associated with the Jets. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. And Matt Prater has won the ball! Today's guests, broadcasting legend Al Michaels, three-time Super Bowl champion Mark Schleren, and latest news and more.
And now, it's Rich Eisen. That's right. Hour number two, the Rich Eisen Show with one more game left in week one of the 2025 National Football League season is on the air. We say hello to everybody out there watching our live stream on Disney Plus and the ESPN app everywhere. Perhaps you are listening to us on ESPN Radio, presented by Progressive Insurance.
844-204 Rich is the number to dial. But let's start our hour number two with our in-studio guest, one of my favorite human beings on the planet. Thrilled to be able to call him a friend. He is a broadcasting legend, but the way I must introduce him since we're on Disney Plus. A man once famously traded for Oswald the Rabbit.
R. Michaels. Accurate, bro.
So happy. The new digs look fantastic. Oh, the mic flag. Yeah, I have a different mic flag like every 20 minutes these days. Yeah, in fact, traded for Oswald, The Lucky Rabbit back in 2006, enabling me to go to NBC part of a deal.
There is a movie. In progress right now or process. Jon Favreau is directing it. Wow. It will come out in about a year, and I've got a little cameo in it.
You do, I'm aware of it. Already shut. Oh, yeah. Mm-hmm. No kidding.
Me and Oswald. Oswald, of course, was the creation of Walt Disney. And they would not let Walt. take the character with him.
So he took the lucky rabbit. and made him look like a mouse. Because Mickey Mouse and Oswald. Or Probably out of the same womb. Is that so?
Right.
Okay. You'll see. The movie should be a lot of fun. And that's coming soon to a theater near the city. Probably in a year or so.
Okay. I think, yeah. Unbelievable. I didn't even know it, but I just figured I had to introduce you that way since we're on Disney.
Well, when Jon Favreau's going to do a movie, you know, it's a big deal. Very much so. I mean, all of his Marvel appearances are Mandalorian. I have to say that, right here on Disney Plus. Great to see you, Al Michaels.
Likewise. The Sunday Night Game. I mean. What what did you think when you're watching a game? like that.
I'm thinking it's the NFL once again proving it's the greatest unscripted television drama. And not only the game yesterday last night, but so many of the games yesterday that went down to the end, what Pittsburgh and the Jets and a sixty yard field goal. There were a number of games yesterday that were very high drama. And but that is the NFL. And that is why I think the NFL is so popular, because you don't know what's going to happen.
Very high drama, and then it's proven again. It's proven every week, four or five games every week. As you know, especially when you're on Sunday ticket, as it was yesterday at the end of the one o'clock games. Uh uh the one o'clock Eastern Time games. You don't know where to look first.
You've got four or five games that are going right down to the end simultaneously. There's nothing like it in sports. What's the. I mean, I know there's. Hundreds, thousands, but Craziest game like that.
81 points, something like that. Big at big, huge comeback that you don't see common. Whole country's watching. You're at the mic. Anything that jumped to mind for you?
Well, I go back to the two thousand game in the Metal Lands, the miracle at the Metal Lands. Oh, yeah. When Miami led the The Jets 31-7. Arnold Schwarzenegger came into the booth in the third quarter. I'm doing the game with Dennis Miller and Dan Fauce.
And Arnold came in with Miami leading by at least three touchdowns. And he says Uh Wayne Clubet will uh terminate The Dolphins. And we're going, don't you what the score is?
So Arnold leaves. And of course, that's the night that the Jets mount this gigantic comeback. They tie it at 31. But Jay Fiedler then leads Miami down the field. They lead 38-31.
And then we get to overtime because Vinny Testa Verdi goes back to pass and hits Jumbo Elliott from your Ama Mater, who'd been in the league for like 11 years at that point, on a tackle eligible for a touchdown to tie the game and go into overtime. That's. To me, Dennis Milder's greatest line ever, though. I call the play, and Tessa already packed the patch. It's Jumbo Elliott for a touchdown.
He's been in the league 11 years. It's his first touchdown. It's his first catch. Crowds going wild. Dennis goes, Well, you couldn't keep him down forever.
Ha ha ha ha. Yeah. I remember that. That was the off day in the Subway World Series between the Yankees and the Man. Correct.
Exactly. It was the Monday night between games two and three of the Yankees' Mets. And New York City was a lose. It was an amazing time for that. Yeah, Miracle at the Meadowlands.
So that would stand out as probably the most dramatic game I was a part of on Monday night football. I knew there had to be one. Oh, for sure. And then what else stands out to you from week one for you, Al? Like, what else, I mean, Rogers' four touchdowns against the Jets that would stand there.
You know, one thing that's gotten overlooked is Indianapolis that good? Or is Miami that bad? Mm-hmm. Or is some combo platter here? That was shocking to me.
Not that Indy necessarily won the game, but The way they did it. Maybe Daniel Jones is going to be the answer. Who knows? But If I'm the Dolphins right now, I'm wondering what the hell's going on here. And we've got them on Thursday night at Buffalo in two weeks.
I think they play the Patriots this week.
So um I don't like what was going on. From what I saw yesterday, I mean, that's uh There's a lot of trouble going on with that team. Tua throwing a bunch of interceptions. Tyree Kill already emoting. On the sidelines.
What else is new? Right.
And then, you know, you're right. I mean, Daniel Jones has an opportunity for the lack of a better analogy to be the next. Baker, Goff, right? Where it takes a while for things to click, yet it couldn't work. for the team that drafted him.
And we'll see with the Colts. Sure. If that's real or not. I mean, Rogers throwing four touchdown passes, going back to MetLife. Speaking of.
You know, being in New Jersey, um, and he kind of spiked the football in his very understated way, that he was happy, happy to beat anybody associated with the Jets, of course, you know. It's a great storyline for every game. I mean, no matter what the game was yesterday, you can look at it and go, okay, here's Here's an interesting story about that particular game. Every game. Right.
Name it. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you obviously, what's another good one? The Thursday night, obviously, season opener, seeing the Cowboys and the Eagles.
The Cowboys, I think, acquitted themselves quite well in a game that I thought everybody was going to get stomped in in that contest. Yeah, and this Thursday night, we start our prime schedule at Lambeau. Washington at Green Bay, all of a sudden, that's not, I shouldn't say all of a sudden, we knew that was going to be a pretty good way to open up, but you look at those teams. I mean, if I'm a Green Bay fan right now, I'm not sure I'm making Super Bowl reservations, but I'm thinking about it. For sure.
They look great. Yeah, let's talk about that game a little bit right here. Al Michaels getting set to call another season of Thursday Night Football on Prime Video, hanging with us the Monday before the Prime Video opener in Lambeau Field between the Packers. And the commanders and I mean, if I had told you a month ago that Micah Parsons would be wearing Green Bay colors, you'd probably thought I was out to lunch, but it's actually happened. It it happened.
And it's interesting too, because would he play at all yesterday? Was he getting an epidural? You know, all of the stories that surrounded that game before the game. And then I think he wound up playing about half the snaps, something like You know, 29 out of 62. 29 out of 62.
I think what I read. And he was very impactful. and then put the code on it, of course, by chasing Goff and Sacking him from behind, but They look so good. They look so good on both sides of the ball. They just dominated that game.
Well, the conversation that we were having on NFL Network. Uh that Mariuchi um In a very un-Mariuchi-like way, he began to bristle and he sat up in his chair. Is again the analogy of. The statistical analogy that we're hearing about Micah and Reggie White, you know, that they're the only pass rushers who started their career with four sacks season, four seasons of 12 or more sacks going from the NFC East to Green Bay. And Mooch is thus like, hold on a second, hold the phone here.
About him being Reggie White. And I'm wondering if you have a similar stance here, everybody loves to make comparisons. And, you know, in Micah's case, I mean, he is already a star, there's no question about it. But when it comes to. anointing somebody.
You know, I always tell the Bill Parcel story. I did a the Hall of Fame game years and years ago. I think Jeremy Schockey had had a tremendous night, and everybody he had not played a single game. Jeremy's a He's a rookie, comes out of college, has a phenomenal night in Canton. No, he's going to be Mark Bavaro, he's going to be Kellen Winslow, he's going to be Mike Ditt, he's going to be the greatest tight end in history.
And of course, a lot of the post-game press conference dealt with that. And only the way the great bard and soothsayer Bill Parcells could put it, he says, Boys. Just put away the anointing oil, okay? It's real simple.
So, I mean, to me, everybody, we're anointing everybody.
Now, In Micah's case, I mean, he's already anointed because of what he's done to this point. But we love to make comparisons. Look, the game is different than it was. There's no question in Reggie's time. And I like to look at.
comparisons like this is Enjoy them both. It's a different, everything is in a different era. And why can't we, you know, it's like saying, you know, what's the better meal?
Well, you know, sometimes you can have two fantastic desserts, right? Enjoy them both. That's how I look at it. That's how I look at comparisons. And just in case anyone's wondering, I've been fortunate enough to have a meal with multiple desserts.
In fact, maybe the last one you and I had. Right.
So you mean what you say. But obviously, he's not Reggie White. It's just a sense. The only comparison you can make. Is when Reggie showed up in Green Bay.
It gave everybody. A boost. It gave everyone a sense of, okay, now we can really win this thing right here. And I think you're seeing, you're, I don't know, I got, obviously, it's just one game. But you just get a sense.
It was like a role reversal with Green Bay and. The Lions on Sunday, where Green Bay feels like they have the Super Bowl shot, and the Lions have question marks about them. for their chances. That's the way I feel about it. And also I mean Jordan Love looked really good yesterday and and this bevy of receivers and Christian Watson still hasn't played yet.
I think he's on PUP.
So they've got um you know Jacobs didn't have the greatest day rushing until in the fourth quarter. Their line was great. Their offensive line. That's a real team. But you know, going back to Reggie.
What Reggie did is not only made that team better, He changed that whole culture. Because when Reggie got sent to Green Bay or signed with, Green Bay. Everybody said, oh no, Green Bay is the last place you want to go. We're sending you to Siberia. And when Reggie signed, all of a sudden it became different.
So different. He changed the whole culture up there. Yeah, and then Favre obviously became Favre, and then that led to Rogers, and now it's led to Love. And the conversation, again, is the second season that Bart Starr won a title. At age 27, same year, that same age of Favre, Rogers, and now Jordan Love, when Favre and Rogers won their championships.
What were you doing at 27? Uh I was one year into my ESPN tenure. Wow. What were you when you were twenty seven? I was doing the World Series on NBC as the voice of the Cincinnati Rays.
Come on now. Oh, yeah. Okay. When we were twenty-seven, it was a very good year. Calling a World Series.
Well, in those years, if you were the team announcer and your team won the pennant, and I'm with the big red machine, Bench, Rose, Morgan, Sparky Anderson, Tony Perez. When we won the playoffs, beat Pittsburgh in a dramatic ninth-inning comeback in the deciding game, I got to do the World Series with. Kurt Gowdy. And Tony Kubeck on NBC. I think I've told you the story.
Not that I was nervous when we came on the air, but this is when the World Series was drawing 35 million viewers. And we come on on Saturday afternoon at Riverfront Stadium, and there's a single shot of Kurt.
Now they've got to pull out to and include me. And the only thought I had in my brain, I was trying to get rid of it, was Please, God, please. When I opened my mouth, Let air come out. And This. And we were off and running.
And yada, yada, yada, here we are getting ready for another season of football for you, certainly on Amazon Prime. I guess a. A way to turn this. talking about beyond years and arriving early and and dealing with nerves successfully, Jaden Daniels appears to have mastered that craft. You know, just one year in.
Yesterday, it wasn't a points of Palooza. It wasn't just throwing it all over. But he and Debo Samuel had a connection in game one that's got to. feel good for the Washington commanders. With the running game looking more style, with everyone wondering what it would look like.
So I'm sure you took that in in preparation for the game. A rotational running back situation with. You know, Eckler and the seventh-round kid that they drafted. Also, having a good day yesterday. You got Samuel McLaurin, of course, holding in, holding out, whatever you want to call it.
And then he's there. We got Ertz as the tight end. Line is good. I have the greatest respect for Dan Quinn as a coach. Cliff Kingsbury is there running the offense.
Yeah, I mean much is expected of Washington and um Uh, I'm feeling the same way. You know, sometimes there's a regression to the mean. Don't forget, they'd only won, I think, what, four or five games. in Ron Riveras last year. Then they win eight more games.
the following year and then everybody thinks oh you're going to take the next step but oftentimes You you regress. But in in this particular case, I think they look They look really good. And it's a big one in Lambeau. They go into Lambo, they win that one, and here they go. Yeah, because you've got to start thinking, and I know it's early in the season, you got to start thinking of tie breaks down the road where you can take a card out of your back pocket and say, We're not getting on a plane, you are.
I mean, that's something that might come home to roost with. Say what we saw in Brazil with the Chargers and the Chiefs. Say what we saw on Sunday night between the Bills and the Ravens. This could be something, you know, obviously for the Commanders and the Packers down the road based on. What we saw in week one.
You just got to throw that out there.
Well, you can take a card out of your back pocket of your Gene Sterator and try to measure for a first down. Ladies and gentlemen, how Michael? By the way, I did that game too. You did? Yes.
That game was in Oakland, and I thought the irony of, you know, Gene pulled the card out to see if it fit between the marker and the ball. And I'm thinking, this is how we're measuring a first down. And right across the bay is Silicon Valley, where everything gets invented. What are we talking about?
Well, now, I mean, because I didn't see it Sunday night. I didn't see it Thursday night. We didn't have it on Friday night. We'll see what happens tonight on Monday night with the Joe Buck Troy Aikman broadcast. You might have the first virtual measurement on Thursday of a standalone national.
Televised game. We haven't seen that yet. We haven't seen it. No, they had it during the preseason. We had one in the preseason.
It was just taking forever. They're trying to figure out how this thing works. Apparently, they've buttoned it up. At least they're assuring me of that sort of thing. They tell us.
That's pretty good. All right, let's take a break right here. We're hanging out with Al Michaels on The Rich Eisen Show. One more segment with Al before we send him off on his Monday. Before you, when do you head out?
You head out Tuesday? Tomorrow.
Okay, very good. He's gonna head out to Green Bay. Isn't this great? I just love how the cadence goes. We're seeing all this great football, and then boom, here comes Thursday on Prime Video.
Commanders and Packers. We'll talk more in a moment. The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. This episode is brought to you by Navy Federal Credit Union. With rising housing prices and steeper mortgage rates, we know home ownership may seem too expensive to be achievable.
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Alan Michaels is with us. One last thing to talk about, Jaden Daniels, and then we can move on a little bit here. I did not see this soundbite until this morning. From Brian Burns of the New York Football Giants, who was chasing him around all day, and actually did get him a couple times. Um He had this about Jaden Daniels being a talker on the field, which I did not know.
But it This is I love this sound bike because it sounds like he's Talk about Jaden Daniels being a trash talker, and then you find out. It's like a story by the end. what and who Jaden Daniels is rolling. You didn't learn anything new about Jaden Daniels today, did did did you, that you didn't know? You talk about it.
Oh, yeah, um Cool dude, but he talking about it. I don't like it. I don't want to talk to you. Thank you. Talking because that's shooting that shit.
Talk to the fucking shit. Nah, he just be talking like this. Hey, buddy, I don't want to talk. Talk to you out of the game, bro. I'll talk to you after the game, man.
Smart young man. Yeah, he's a smart guy. That's what he's trying to get in my head, making me feel like we're friends now. That's right. Yeah.
He really is. Just like, hey, how are you doing? It's like, yeah, no, no, I don't want to be your friend. No. It's perfect.
He's beyond his years, it seems like, you know? It does, for sure. Yeah. And you can tell, I mean, he's got what it is. it takes a you know, at least when you watch him and you look at him.
Yeah. He looks confident, he looks poised, he looks in in control. You can tell he has uh the respect of of the people around him. I mean, you know, he had a tremendous rookie season, off to a great start. In year two.
And obviously, look, they expect gigantic things from him. Again, you know, you g you have to go back. And you go back to Fifteen years ago. in Washington. The bell of the bowl.
The guy who is going to take them to multiple Super Bowls over 15 years. RG3. RG3. Remember that?
Well, he blew out his knee in the playoffs, unfortunately, and that changed the entire dynamic of everything there. It did, and it was never the same.
Well, let's be honest: if we're telling stories, I mean, um. I think Dan Quinn wanted the quarterback that got drafted. Uh that word was Mike Shanahan was not And that's why they drafted Kirk Cousins later on in the same draft. Exactly. Which you rarely see, so the Cleveland Browns kind of did it this year.
You know, I mean but you rarely see uh multiple quarterbacks taken in the same trap. That's a different story, different day. And and I think that's why commanders fans are out of their skulls, is those those days are past. Those days are over. New owner, new coach, new GM, new quarterback, new way of going up, new name, new everything.
After a tough quarterback. Quarter century. Yeah. Yeah, as brutal as it you can do. Right.
Totally different.
So that's uh that's on Thursday night. Let's let's stroll down uh later on. You got You got Miami hosting Buffalo. Then you got Seattle at Arizona. Congratulations for that.
Home date, San Francisco at the Rams.
Now, that's going to be, that one's kind of jumping out at me right now. I get per Diem for that? You can't. Right.
Is the white jumping out at you? Oh, absolutely. I love it. Oh, of course it is. It's one of my favorite games.
And then you got Philadelphia at the Giants. You wonder at this point in time, week six, is that is Jackson Dart going to be the starter?
Well, it's fair enough to talk about. You got Barkley coming back to New York, where he always torched them last year and, of course, went on to to win the rushing title and the Super Bowl. Interesting. But um yeah, I don't know. You know, we had Jackson Dart in the um Preseason game that we did a couple of Thursdays ago.
Did you get to chat with him pretty quickly? We did, broadly. We did. What did you get from him? Sharp.
What did you take from him? Sharp guy. Sharp kid. He gets it. Very smart kid.
Um. And he went to USC at first. And then when Lincoln Riley came in and brought Caleb Williams with him, that's why Dart wound up going to Mississippi. He knew that he wasn't going to be the guy with the with the change of coach and quarterback.
So that's how he winds up. Going to Oxford, Mississippi, he. I like them a lot. Very sharp, very clear-headed, very well-spoken. I said to I said to, and of course, the town just fell in love with him.
He's. He is their bell of the ball right now. And I said to a Kirk on the air, I said, You know when you've made it in New York, I said, if Anna Wintour calls and tries to get his phone number, and invite Starr to the Med Gala. He's the guy. Is that what happened?
No, not yet. Not that you're well-versed on the Met Gala invite list. Right, or Vogue or anything else like that. What can I tell you? Right.
So you got a sense from him that he He gets it. He's any sense from Dayball that you can share about any plans to get into it. Brian basically said was: you know, Russell Wilson is my opening day story. We're going with Russell Wilson. No.
He he doesn't want to put Wilson in a position where he's going, hey, either play well or I'm I'm bringing the new coach. You can't do that as a coach.
Now what he's thinking? On the inside is different, but he's not going to say it on the outside. I think he's going to have to take a temperature of the locker room. You know what I mean? We always Read in.
Conversations, body language, right, and body language, but as my crack. Coordinating producer Mike Hoskins just got in my ear and said Dable during this conversation said it's Russ in Dallas. He's getting the start. Oh, yeah. So it's definitely Russ's gig for week two.
Against the Dallas Cowboys. I mean, the offensive line was terrible yesterday for the Giants. I mean, Russ had no time. No time to set up, throw the whole thing. And Malik Neighbors.
Yeah, that's where I was going with the sideline conversation. He didn't play at all during preseason. you know, they weren't necessarily on the same page, but That's a risky move for a coach to make in week two. It is. You've gone one way in training camp now.
What am I going to do? And then how do you ever bring Rush back if Dart doesn't make it? A lot of things get factored into this.
Well, I'll tell you what, the sledding gets only tougher. You look at the Giants' schedule after. Um, this week's game, as we mentioned, against the Dallas Cowboys. Then they're on Monday night football with their home opener against the Chiefs. Mm-hmm.
I don't know if that's where you throw Jackson Dart out there. Probably not. And then you got the Giants after that home for the Chargers, who look terrific. in Brazil. They looked absolutely terrific.
They've got a killer schedule. Right.
So then they're at New Orleans before your. Game on Prime Video. I don't know if you're going to make a move. You're certainly not going to do it within a short week. I wouldn't think so.
So for him to get. And be somebody that you're calling is game. Yep. Um, Something's going to have to happen over the next three weeks against some very difficult opponents. No question.
But again, that offensive line's got to play better. And they might they're you know, they minus Thomas, the left tackle, he's still out. That hurts. Right.
So, Al Michaels is here on The Rich Eisen Show, 844-204-Rich. Number to Dial with our phone conversations throughout the rest of the program. Then you've got, let me just check out the rest of the schedule: Pittsburgh at Cincinnati. I mean, that's a massive game. That's in week seven.
Right.
And then another Per Diem game, Minnesota at the Chargers. That'll be J.J. McCarthy taking on as old coach. Yes. All of us, Michigan Wolverines, will be definitely tuned into that.
And then Baltimore at Miami in week nine. What's, I guess, your philosophy about a bad week one loss? How long it lasts? I mean, When it all comes down to it, there's still 16 more games to go, or does it linger in your estimation?
Well, I mean, Miami's loss yesterday was. Really bad. Right.
Really going to uh Indianapolis and just get your head handed to you. It's not like going into Kansas City or something. We'll see. But the great thing about the NFL is a team can look so terrible one week and so great the next week.
So I don't put anything past anybody right now. You know, I once upon a time heard Marv. Yeah. Mark Allard? Yeah, I mean, he's the guy.
He's part of the reason why I do what I do for a living growing up in New York City. He would always say whenever there was a blowout in an NBA playoff game, it's a series, it just means nothing. That two days later, here you go, it absolutely means nothing, just throw it out. Right.
And I'm just wondering if that's what a week one bad loss can be. In the NFL. You hope it is. If you're the team that suffered the bad loss. When did you did you ever do anything specifically with Marv back in the day?
No, we did boxing in like 2015 and 2016. That's the first time we had to do it. Marv and I have we've known each other, but we but he was always at NBC and I was at ABC and then he went over to Turner and I go to NBC at that point. But no, Marv would come out here quite often for dinner. We'd have dinner, Linda and I with Heather and Marv.
So we shared a lot. We were both Brooklyn kids. We loved. Hockey, among other things.
So Vin Scully was your guy collectively. No question. That was it. For baseball.
So Mark's my guy, and Vin was yours? And Kurt Gowdy, the two of them, yes.
So you call in with Kurt Gowdy must have been an unbelievable figure. It was no kidding. And Kurt was really kind of a mentor for me for many years. What would he tell you? What did you learn from Kurt Gowdy?
Kurt, when I was a kid at Arizona State, I took a tape machine. The Red Sox, he was doing the Red Sox and they were training in Scottsdale. And I called him up out of the blue. And I said, Hey, Mr. Gowdy, can I come over and And have you listened to my tape?
Sure. And he and I sat there for a half an hour, and that's the way it began. Then we're doing the World Series together in 1972 and the Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Japan. It was it was the all-time dream come true for me. And when you were in Arizona State, were you calling Reggie Jackson games?
Yes, I was. Yeah, I went to school. Sal Bando was my classmate. And then Rick Mundy came along the following year. And then Reggie came the following year.
Was Reggie Reggie at Arizona State? It was obvious. Or no? A little different. What do you mean?
I mean, well, no, Reggie, by the way, Reggie also played football. Reggie was the starting cornerback as a sophomore. For Frank Hush.
So he played both sports. But of the three, I thought that Monday Was the most talented player. Rick Monday. Rick, yeah. And Rick had a great career too.
And then, you know, and Bando, so Bando and I meet in a registration line. As freshmen At 17 years old, with two kids in a registration line talking about our dreams, 10 years later, when I'm doing the World Series, Who are we playing? The A's. The A's. Who do I run into in the clubhouse when the A's come to town to work out the day before?
Sal. We looked at each other and went, what? Where are we? Right.
And Reggie was on that team, too.
Well, Reggie had pulled his hamstring by stealing home in the playoffs against Detroit, and Rick had already been traded to Chicago. Crazy stuff, man. Man Michaels, before I let you go, I would be remiss if I did not ask you about Ken Dryden, who just recently passed away. And Ken was your broadcasting partner. For the Olympics in Lake Placid, New York.
He was sitting next to you when you started talking about believing in miracles.
So I give you the floor on the passing of Ken Dr. That was a dagger. I had no idea that was coming, and that hit me like a. Yeah. Ken was so.
There's an if anybody wants to read. about Ken on nhl.com. I think the writer's name is Dave Stubbs wrote a piece the other day that's that's just some kind of Perfectly. Ken was so many things. Don't forget, Ken had.
A tremendous Hall of Fame career, but he only played like eight seasons for the Montreal Canadians. That's it, eight. He won five Vesana trophies, best goalie in the league, six Stanley Cups, retired at 32 because he had a million other things he wanted to do. Among the things he was in Parliament, he wrote books. In 1984, when you know, this is four years after Lake Placid.
He'd already retired. We'd already done the the Olympics in eighty. I was over in London with my family cove covering something for Wide World of Sports. We went to visit Ken. He was studying at Cambridge.
He went to McGill University the day after the U.S. had beaten West Germany on a Wednesday in Lake Placid with the Soviet game to come 48 hours later. Ken got picked up in a car. And driven to Ottawa, a three-hour drive, to take the bar exam the day before the Soviet game. Took the bar exam, clearly passed.
I think it was probably number one in in in the class. got taken s he passed the bar exam in the middle of the Olympics. Ken, he was in Parliament. can probably Could have been the Prime Minister of Canada. But um he got disillusioned with the way The government was being run at that time.
So, you know, very similar to what we're hearing about a lot of situations in a lot of countries right now. Ken was. As thoughtful as anybody I've ever met. And I'll tell you, you know, Rich, we always throw around the phrase Renaissance man. Too much.
I mean, if somebody reads three books, he's a Renaissance man. Ken Dryden was a Renaissance man. Knew a lot about everything, but everything was very, he was very mild-mannered. And don't forget, he was 6'4. And he wore glasses.
And I always, when I was with him, it was like being with a professor. I'm with a professor who needs a pipe. Slippers and a dog at his feet. And this was probably the greatest Goldie in the history of the National Hockey League. I really I r you know, you miss People when they've gone, I really, I'm really going to miss them.
Well, my condolences on that. Is there a story once you took the headsets off after The US beat the Soviets, and it's just the two of you in that booth? I mean, is there a mom like. The first person you spoke to, right as soon as you dropped that line and you take the headsets off, there's Ken Dryden.
Well, he didn't quite take the headsets off because I think Jim Lampley wa went to interview. Herb Brooks afterwards.
Now you have to understand, as the crowd is filing out, there's another crowd filing in because Sweden is going to meet Finland in the other what amounts to semi-final games in the medal round.
So, in those years, it's not like it is right now. We were going to play the U.S.-Soviet game, which we did on delay at 8 o'clock Eastern. But Ruin Arledge was so afraid that if there was a malfunction with the tape machine, where were we going to go? The only other event that night was Sweden Finland.
So Ken and I were made to stay there and announced the Sweden Finland game into a tape machine. And that's how we spent the next two and a half hours. Right after that game. Correct. You're not going back to the hotel to just download.
Not yet. But that game was seen by nobody? By nobody. Was it ever seen by anybody? Yeah, if you were in Stockholm, maybe.
Well, Helsinki, I'm sure, got a big audience back there. But I guess before that, did you have a moment with Ken Dryden going, that was the most incredible thing I think I've ever seen or talked about? Or anything? We knew it.
Well, it took later on, I mean, through the years, some of the. Most wonderful conversations I've had. Kennedy and I were talking. Maybe two or three times a year. Look at that picture that's up there.
Oh, yeah, look at that. How about that wardrobe, huh? Tony got the sweater somewhere still, dude. You know, I think that sweater is somewhere around. Oh, my gosh.
Wow. But Ken was. Scout the teams before the Olympics in late 79. And I'm sitting with him the first night we meet, we're having dinner. And he he talked to me about the the difference between international hockey, which he had played as in addition to the National Hockey League brand, eighty five feet wide, NHL versus 100 feet wide international.
And Ken went through about a five or six minute dissertation Beautifully orated. Uh Explained everything about it, and then Ken looked at me and he said, Now do you think this is something that the um American audience would be interested in. I said, Ken, yes. But let me introduce you to the world of broadcasting. Can you get that down to eight seconds?
He was, and by the way, he had never done analysis or broadcasting before. He was phenomenal during Lake Placid. Renaissance man. Renaissance man. True.
True. You're the man, Al. We're so blessed that you give us so much time, and you're always the best. I can't wait to. Listen to you at the microphone for yet another football season.
40th year, huh? Calling the NFL Games? 40th year. 40th year. Unbelievable.
You are. I'll hear you from all over the world, right, coming down the line. Yep, absolutely. And I'll tell you what tree it is or how many seasons it is. I'm always there for you.
I'm always there for you. Never buy an ice machine, though. That's all. No, no, no, no. You remember that one, don't you?
Yes. Stay away from that elevator. Al Michaels, everybody. Check him and Kirk Herb Street and the rest of the Amazon Prime Video crew for another terrific season of football. Starting this Thursday on Prime Video with the Commanders and the Green Bay Packers.
Safe Journey on Air, Al, sir. Safe Journey on Sure. We are back with more and your phone calls in a full hour still to come on the show. The Rich Heisen Show, the podcast. The Jack Welch Management Institute at Strayer University helps you go from, I know the way, I've Arrived with our top 10 ranked online MBA.
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Where are we gonna go here? Where are we going here? Um let's go to Christian in Los Angeles. We'll take your phone call. What's up, Christian?
How are you right here in Los Angeles, California? What's going on? Rich, my man, huge fan of the show. Glad to be on. Just want to talk about.
The performance of Justin Herbert on Friday night. Yes, sir. Um Man, I'm a I'm a Life Month Charters fan, born and raised in I can confidently say I think that was Herbert's best performance I think I've seen in the six years he's been in the league now.
So What was that like for you? to to see Him come up clutch. on a on a national stage and and for you to do see that again our rival the Chiefs too.
Well, I'm going to just say this. It was beyond impressive. He was letter perfect. I don't recall anything that he did that was off. He was From start to finish, in full control.
And he was without a doubt Um supported in a way that can make him The MVP of this league. Everything that you honestly Thanks for the call, Christian. You know, I know a lot of people are having their fun. more responsible for Justin Herbert's you know emergence Jim Harbaugh or Madison Beard, right? Yeah, it's the latter.
Okay, thank you. I know everyone's having fun with that. Um But So you're saying this beer crazy? Dude, I'm just saying, you know. My God, Jim.
If I may say. People think he's just crazy.
Well, I mean well, I know there's a lot of evidence. No one I understand. Where Where he was talking about you know, sitting here on our set. Woke up the other night. I gotta get this guy to the home.
And everyone's like, all right, Jim. And he's just like, you know what? I mean, he's kooky. Or he says across the street at his press conference, you know, where the Chargers train. You know what?
We just got to all play up to his level. The rest of us, like, I've got to make sure everybody plays up to his level. And you know You think that's just cookie. And the entire time You know, we we spoke to I I asked that of Herbert in the pre broadcast zoom that we had. with the chargers.
And he said when he heard those things, he's just like, you know what? I just want to make him proud. That's what he said. That's what Herbert said about him. Herbert said that about Jim.
I just want to make him proud, which sounds like, you know. Father-son type stuff, right? Yeah. And sometimes it's just like, what is Harbaugh's secret sauce? If you ask Jim, he'll never give you a straight answer.
Ever. Ever. I mean, because he's just as he keeps it simple. At one point, we asked him in the pre-broadcast Zoom. About you know what what it is about communicating with people How does it work?
He's now 6-0 in his career. In week one, he's never been 0-1 as a professional. football coach ever. And he said basically Because when you ask him, what's your secret sauce? He says I love football.
And that's what he says. He goes, I love football. And you're like, okay. And he goes, I love football. And I love people who love football.
And You know, I think Yellow. They love me back. Because we love football. That's what he said. And again, your reaction, just like there, Chris.
It's just like, all right, whatever. All right. He keeps it simple. I know. He keeps it simple.
It's direct and simple, and it works. Get good coaches around you. Come up with a good game plan, good Greg Groman. Jesse Minter. Are the two coordinators?
Well, whatever he's got, he's got it. He's literally won everywhere he's been: San Diego, Stanford. He goes to San Francisco, and they almost win the Super Bowl. He goes to Michigan. Right.
Yeah. And now he's here in Los Angeles. I mean, the guy is just an absolute ball coach of the highest order. And Herbert with 300 pass yards and three touchdowns. And by the way.
Over 30 attempts. And they were throwing it, man. When maybe you were like, hey, why are they throwing it here? That's right. And I would turn to Kurt during the commercial break.
I'm like. They're winging it around, Kurt. They keep throwing it because they got a guy who can do it. And most importantly, this is what's most important for the Chargers. It's not just Ladidi and Quentin Johnston trying to figure out.
you know, how to flip the light switch. They got Keenan Allen back now. Those running backs are improved, and they got Joe Alt. Hey, Rashawn Slater. Out for the year.
Highest paid tackle. Let's just take the kid who had 33 starts at left tackle at Notre Dame that we drafted fifth overall as Jim's first draft pick, and let's just move him from right to left and let's see how it all works. And guess what? Looked pretty good. Derwin James is out of his skull.
Khalil Mack is, you know, on his way to Canton. Arguably. Hey man, the Chargers with a big, huge dub in Brazil. Flying 11 and a half hours going down there. And by the way, the same stuff kept happening.
There's Mahomes to Kelsey. which is nightmare fuel for Charger fans, happens all the time. Oh. Here comes An opportunity for Mahomes to get the ball back with no timeouts in almost two minutes. To try and win the game.
With no time left. Justin Herbert. pops out Iced it. And iced it. Chris Jones took a terrible path.
And he took advantage of Chris Jones overplay in his hand, and he slid down inbounds, let her. Perfect. Full command. There wasn't a single moment where I'm calling this game. I'm like, Herbert doesn't know what he's doing.
They're not in control here. I mean, the one time was when O'Marion Hampton ran out of bounds with no time, when the Chiefs had no timeouts left, left some time left, and that led to the Butker fire drill. Yep. 59-yarder with no time left in the first half. It gave the Chiefs an opportunity for three points.
And after the game, Jim took responsibility saying, We put the kid in that position. By running them right. close to the out of bounds mark. Great first week for the LA Chargers. Just a great first week.
Nope. I mean, you know, our caller wants to know what I thought. That's what I thought, and that's what I saw with my O-2 eyes. The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. Mm-hmm.
