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Now, on with the show. The 2025 NBA Cup champions, your New York Knicks. This is the Rich Eisen Show. The New York Knickerbockers. Wow.
The Rich Eisen Show. He was wild, man. Earlier on the show. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey. Pro Football Hall of Famer Kurt Warner.
The Ringer NFL draft analyst Todd McShea. Coming up. Actor Gary Cole. And now, it's Rich Eisen. Our number three of the Rich Eisen Show is on the air.
The actor Gary Cole from NCIS and Talladega Nights and Veep and Office Space, just to name a few, is going to join us in about 20 minutes' time. He's in our green room. It's going to be a great pop culture chat with the Cubs fan, by the way, who's from Chicago, Illinois. 844-204-Rich is the number to dial. It's Wednesday.
My power rankings are coming up in just a second. And so I am thankfully 20 yards away from the Met fan here, me being a Yankee fan, and because he just, TJ is just coming for everything that I have in my life. Because Luke Weaver and Devin Williams, it was such a great combo last year for the Yanks. The Mets say, I want that. Same thing seeing Clay Holmes.
Same thing seeing Juan Soto. It's great. Maybe you want Monument Park too? You can put that out there too. Just take it all.
Take the Yankees' history. Take all the world series. It'll be great. 844-204-Rich, number to doubt. I have a phone call.
Great chat. Let's take a couple more phone calls before we get to my power rankings. Let's go to Josh in Charleston, South Carolina. What's up, Josh? Rich, how are you, buddy?
I'm good. What's on your mind? I'm well. A couple things. One, I cannot believe that that young lady just bought up Ponzio's.
in South Jersey. Because that's where I ate every Sunday with my father before Eagles games my life.
So, these are all legit Eagles fans calling in. We asked Eagles fans to call in an hour one and talk about Jalen Hurts.
So, everybody's resume is sterling. It is great. What's on your mind, Jen Josh? I'll publish up my resume a little bit more. Sure.
My grandfather bought these season tickets to the Eagles in 1933 when they became a kid.
Okay. Wow. Sat through the Steels. 1970, after the tickets were passed on to my father. From the time that I was four years old till the time I went away to college at University of Dayton, I only missed one home game.
Okay. Upon returning from college, when I moved to New York City, I talked to bus down To South Jersey, where I grew up, every Eagles Sunday at six in the morning and went over to the stadium. All right, Vince Papali, I see you. What do you got to say about the current Eagles, Josh?
So, what I'll say. If I could pick any Single player. That the Philadelphia Eagles have ever had since I've been there, other than Brian Dawkins. And I would like to say Reggie White also, but I still consider him a traitor. Chandler Burtz is the player that I would want in my locker room.
Okay. And that's the sentiment. of everybody Who I know and who I consider knowledgeable. It's all these. Doofus fans and he has a bad team or whatever.
Everything shuts down after one bad game, and everything should start over right the slate clean. As far as the, and I hate to say aristocratic Eagles fans are concerned, I own Erks is our guy. And he should be the quarterback there until he decides to leave. Josh in Charleston, South Carolina. Nice.
We've seen every Eagles game ever since there was an Eagle in football right here on the Rich Eisenhower.
Well, thank you for the call, Josh. There you go. This is what we're looking for.
So we're looking for Sam in Fort Worth, Texas wants to say something about what's been going on on the first two hours of this program. What's up, Sam? Not a lot, Rich Eisen. The best show now on T V and radio are none. Thank you, sir.
Appreciate that. Sankey is just far too praised in my book. How is college football better? Other than more money in TV, how are the fans benefiting? How is all of college benefiting, college football benefiting, rather than the selected 20 to 25?
It meant a lot in these towns when Texas and OU and these other teams came through there. It wasn't the greatest thing for them, but college football is about the towns, the campuses, the atmosphere.
Now it's about these 16 people that he's insisting he gets nine or ten of them as best as he can. And everyone's praising Sankey like he's the savior. He's the devil's work of college football. Oh, I don't know about it. I'll push back on that, Sam.
I believe you do. That's why I call you. Because he definitely understands where the Achilles' heels are. He understands where the problems are. He even pointed out that, you know, he used to be with the Southern Conference.
He was a baseball player with NAIA. He's exactly the type of guy that you'd want to have as a power broker. Obviously, he's going to advocate for the South. Eastern Conference. That's where he's for the few.
No, he's for the few, but I don't know. I think he understands that the way through all this is to get a set of rules that is as standard as you could possibly get in this world of political beasts, in this world of different. Schools with different ideas about what they need. Everyone didn't get to go to Michigan and Ohio State. Do you know what it's like in Lawrence, Kansas now, or Manhattan now that they're having to be relegated?
If you told the NFL, hey, 40% of your teams are going to have to play for one spot because we just don't see Miami and historically Jacksonville and all of them as good enough. That doesn't go over. Why is it being accepted in CAA? Sam, you make excellent points, and I appreciate it. I just don't know if Sankey's the avatar for it.
I think whoever's in charge of the NCAA is the avatar for it. Thank you for the call. Sam in Fort Worth, Texas. Let's take one more call before we get to our power rankings. Paul in the great state of Michigan.
What's up, Paul? Paul. Good afternoon. How are you guys doing? I'm doing fine.
You seem to be all business, Paul. I'm not going to lie. All business all the time.
Okay, brother. What's on your mind? Listen, I was born and raised in Alabama when Bear Bryant was a coach. And then throughout my formal years, I had to ride the roller coaster, right? And then Saban came, and that was the end of the story.
Yes, sir. And now we have to board. And last year, at the end of the year, I was like, yeah, this might not be the right guy for the job, but I'm going to give him time. And now. You got this program here in Ann Arbor, 15 miles away from here.
And I've had to listen to all these fans around here for years tell me how great that program is. It's Blue Blood, it's Elite, the Block M, it's the brand. And I I I look back and I go, Let's talk about the last 80 years. Has it been a good program? Absolutely.
But has it been a dominant program? 1948, 1997, and then the Asterix in 23.
So When was this program elite? since the leather helmets have gone away. And do you think these coaches are on That are on the list are looking at that and going, I don't want to go there with this mess they've got going on: the AD, the president, the regents involved, and Harbaugh and all that other stuff. And you've just got a dumpster fire.
So I gotta believe somewhere deep down, what they need is a guy of integrity, a Michigan man, so to speak. How do you get that guy when the program is really not what it's made out to be?
Well, I will just say this: that the structure itself. The house, if you will, that we're trying to sell still has some great bones to it, man. And, you know, the history of the program is the winningest program in the history of college football. And that has something to do with, hey, come on. Since when?
Since they started playing football, Paul. And in modern days, and in modern days, and in modern days, Michigan is a factor within the Big Ten more than not. Are they as much of a factor as Ohio State has been over the last 10, 15 years? No. And that's something that absolutely hurts.
And Michigan does have a massive image problem. And so, yeah, no, I hear you, but you, you know, I still like to think clearly, you're talking to somebody who's biased, that this is a program that somebody would want to come coach.
Somebody would want to say, I can build that brand to what it, you know, to what Michigan wants it to be. There's no question about it.
Somebody would, somebody does want that job. Yeah. But that man needs to be a man of integrity. No, there's a questionable. No doubt about it going on.
No doubt about it. I don't think you can hire a coach there. Yeah. Thanks for the call, Paul. That's Paul in Michigan.
A lot of real talking. Everybody's giving their resumes. I grew up here, I did that. What's light out? I'm going to say one last thing, too, about this asterisk, okay?
Just to remind everybody, okay, to remind everybody, it was ripped out root and branch. Root and branch. And then Michigan went on its national championship run.
Okay, what happened before that? It sucks. And one last thing. Can Connor Stallions, let me just go here. Can you go away?
Just go away. And I understand the outkicks of the world, and other people want to get him. And I've even talked about this to LaWan. I'll come out and just say it in personal. I'm like, why do you have him up?
What are your money?
Okay. What did he say to that? He digs him. He thinks he's fun. He's funny.
He's entertaining. You know? Loves Michigan. And I'm like, yeah, but in a way that's clearly unhealthy. Mm.
Clearly unhealthy. You know, and absolutely what he did was wrong, and what he did is a stain. A stain, but an asterisk. Hey, he was gone. He was gone when we beat Penn State and then Ohio State and then Alabama and then Washington.
Gone. Even the guy who was in charge of the NCAA says this is all on the up and up right now. There is no asterisk.
Now, that could have been benefiting the NCAA, but that said, that's all they did is try to hunt everyone down after all of that. Connersteins, go away. On behalf of all of us at Michigan, I'm glad you liked us. I'm glad you still like us. Fine.
Root in your own privacy of your own. Don't need you. I got my power ranking. Oh, yes. Week 16 Power Rankings presented by Sonos.
Sonos, hit it. I'm not here. This is my favorite. All right, my week 16 power rankings presented by Sonos. There's only three more of these left in the regular season.
Sad, Richard. Oh, man. Oh, yeah. Sad. Will I power rank in the playoffs?
How can I do it? Why not? Yeah, you can do it. I guess we make the rules. Yeah.
I'm just loving the fact that you're so into these power rankings after fighting them tooth and nail for so long. You didn't like them. Let's just put it this way. I'm less into the power rankings than the Mets are into getting Yankees on their teams. He's a wild boy.
Wow. Number 10 on the list. That's your man, TJ. One of only two stays like before. I'm keeping the Bears here.
I'm keeping the Bears here. I'm keeping the Bears here at 10. By the way, I know people are accusing me of being a Bears hater. You are not loved by the Bears community. Why?
I don't understand. And I'm doubling down in the comments saying that. It took me a while to respect them.
Okay, guess what? It took me a while to respect them.
I respect them enough that they've been on my Power Rankings for almost a month. And we can see the Bears can finish one. in the conference, two in the conference, five in the conference. Seven in the conference. or out of the conference.
Like literally the next three weeks rubber meets the road.
So, Caleb has looked much better. It's been exciting to watch. The Bears' defense has been way better in terms of taking the ball away. They got a terrific running attack, but I'm putting the Packers above them. The Packers have already beaten them, and we'll see if they are going to sweep them.
And the Packers are down. Four spots to nine. I knocked them down four pegs. down to nine on this list. We'll see how they bounce back.
Micah being gone is a massive problem. Massive. We'll see how they make up for it. And they're taking on the Bears on Saturday, and we will see who stays on this list and who drops off it. Number eight, up one spot.
I'm putting the Jacksonville Jaguars eighth. I think the Jaguars would actually give the Packers and the Bears a run. And if they play it, maybe in Jacksonville, I think they could beat them the way that they're playing right now. Maybe I'm wrong. We'll see.
I think they beat both of them. Let's see. They are balling out. Trevor's playing the best football he's ever played, ever. Number seven on the list though, up one spot, I'm putting the Texans above him.
I think the Texans and the Jaguars are right there with each other. They don't play each other the rest of the way. The Texans, we have D'Amika Ryan on Friday's program. I look forward to catching up with him. They are on fire.
Every single pundit. Talking head. Expert, we have on. Which team do you think is going on a run? I think it's now universally the Texans.
That bandwagon is full, like the Broncos won us over the summer. Yeah, it feels like it. Number six, up one spot, the Niners are here. The Niners are in the mix for the one seed. As a matter of fact, the reason why the Rams don't have a West clinching scenario this week.
Even though they would be one-up on Seattle, With two to play and a tiebreaker on Seattle in their back pocket, is because the Niners could still win this division.
So keep an eye on the Niners who are 10-4. They can win the division and the conference. Number five, down three spots. I'm keeping the pats in my top five. They played well enough in that first half to say that they're for real.
The way they finished I'm just going to chalk it up to this is Josh Allen. This is your division opponent. You drew blood on each other's turfs. Sure. And let's see how the Patriots can march on.
I think they're going to give the Ravens more of a game. They could just actually flat-out win it. Traybion Henderson is a home run hitter of the first variety. And defensively, let's get Mill Williams back and let's see what we can do. Agree.
Number four on the list, up two spots of the Buffalo Bills. They're back in my top five. You look at him on paper and you're like...
Okay. You know, like you're Larry David.
Okay. And then you look at this quarterback, running back combination. Is it the best in the NFL right now? Quarterback, running back? Yeah, no doubt.
All right.
So, and then the rest of around him. James Cook is going to win the rushing title. Follow the lead. They're up two spots to four. Up one spot to three of the Seahawks.
I'm concerned about this offense. It's been a while since they just went on tilt. The third down offense is a problem. They've been settling for way too many field goals. That is not the way you win divisions, conferences, and playoff games.
We'll see what happens. But I'm putting them at three because I respect them with being 11-3. The defense is no joke. Their kicker has been stupendous. And he's the one Meyer is 60-yarder away from being atop this list.
Up one spot are the Broncos at two. They are obviously the best in the AFC, but I'm keeping the Rams at one. They stay like before. Ooh. I'm keeping the Rams at one.
I think this is all self-explanatory here. Um and so the bottom line is I took the two teams that lost on this list and knocked them down a few pegs. That's why nobody fell off the list, and nobody got on the list because nobody fell off. But the two teams on my top 10 from last week that lost were the Patriots to the Bills at home. and the Packers to the Broncos on the road.
The Bears, Jaguars, Texans, Niners, Bills, Seahawks, Broncos, Rams, all one.
So I'm not going to move them around anything except up a little bit. And the no changes with the Bears at home against the Cleveland Browns and the Colt. And then no change were the Rams taking care of the lines at home. One of those schemes. That's my power rankings thought process, gents.
The floor is yours. Anything? Bueller? Good list. I mean, what?
The Chargers are probably 11th. They're like 10A. A Jason 10.5. Am I going to take the Packers? Am I going to drop the Patriots and the Packers completely off the list?
So you think if they put the Chargers on it? No. So if the Eagles play the Jags, you're picking the Jags?
Okay. Over there? Right now you'd have to consider it, don't you think so? Listen, you know the way I feel about the Eagles, but I can't. What am I going to take the Eagles and pop them on the list?
Because they. Beat the Raiders 31-0, which is exactly the get-right game I was looking for. But they're not getting right back on this list because who am I taking off of it? I'm taking the Jaguars off the list after they eviscerate the Jets and Trevor Lawrence plays the game of his career.
Well, you can say the same thing about them that you said about the Eagles and the Rags, which is what the Jets.
Well, they they got right, man. Yeah, but Jacksonville's looked much better than Philly in the last year. Exactly. Yeah. Look, don't make me start caping for Philly.
You just did. I don't mean I had to. I didn't make you do anything. I wouldn't have to, but I feel like I'm not the same way that I didn't make the Mets want to be the Yankees. You got to die on this shit like me.
Chargers 11, Eagles 12. That's fine. My power rankings are brought to you by Sonos. Explore soundbars, speakers, and more at sonos.com.
Sonos products look. as good as they sound. 844-204-Rich. Number to dial. We might sneak in a call.
I'm told O. Shay Jackson Jr. might sneak in by the end of the show before doing no contest wrestling. But Gary Cole is here. This is going to be fun.
Don't go anywhere. This is the Rich Eisen Show. As many of you know, supporting pediatric cancer research is something I care deeply about. That's why I'm proud to share what Hyundai is doing through Hyundai Hope on Wheels. For over 27 years, with every Hyundai sold, they've helped fund pediatric cancer research.
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Learn more at AmericanExpress.com/slash business dash platinum. The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. NCIS, new episodes return on February 24th. Last night, the mid-season finale, packed with twists, especially for Special Agent Alden Parker, played by Gary Cole, who is here on The Rich Eisen Show. You, sir, are a diehard Cubs fan?
Do we call it a family? I am a diehard Cubs fan. Your first Cubs game was... My first Cub game would have been probably in 1965. And I do remember that probably around there, I also saw.
A no-hitter by Jim Maloney. I think it was in 1965. Jim Maloney's no-hitter. Not a lot of people talk about it. No, I don't know that it was that memorable.
I remember it because I was like waiting for when is something going to happen? But my dad assured me that it was something good going on.
So August 19th. Not for the Cubs, but August 19th, 1965. There you go. Is that right? 65.
Against the Reds.
So you were there. Gary Cole was in attendance. I was there. Years and years and years ago, when I was on my first iteration with ESPN, I was covering spring training, and so was my, at the time, girlfriend, who's now my wife. And we were in Phoenix just at a driving range, just hitting some golf balls.
And the other person on the driving range who came up to us and started talking to us about what you should get married and have children, which was always interesting when she said girlfriend snake, was Ernie Banks. I will never forget that in my mind. Like, oh my God, what are you doing here, Ernie Banks? And he's like, What are you two doing here? And we're just explaining what we're doing.
What was the conversation that preceded that? Was there much of a conversation between it? And I'm like, Are you Ernie Banks? And he goes, Yeah, and who are you? And we introduced ourselves.
He goes, Oh, you should get married and have children. And I'm like, Yeah, that's a new meaning of Let's Play Two. You know what I mean? But it was just so cool.
So, Ernie was your guy, I imagine, growing up. Ernie Banks, Billy Williams.
Okay. Yeah, I kind of. Went back and forth between those two guys.
Okay. And then when they won the World Series, what did that mean for you? It was disorienting, actually. No, it was. It was like, no, I mean, I remember I was doing, I didn't get to watch the game live.
We were shooting Veep. We were shooting late. But of course, we were following it. Kevin Dunn, who is also on a show, another guy hired Cuban fan.
Okay. So we knew it was happening, and I think the game ended actually before we finished shooting. But it was late. I mean, it was like, you know, in the East Coast, it was probably like 11:30 or something. Was this game seven your time?
This was game seven. And then I went and I knew the outcome, but I went home and watched it alone in my living room and just, you know. Just was like I I didn't know what. My head exploded. Disorienting.
Yeah, but but when they wa wi lit literally the next day you wake up as a Cuba fan from, you know, for a lifetime and you go, Wh who? Who am I now?
Now, why? What is my identity now? I mean, I can't mock them anymore.
Well, Chris is a Red Sox fan. You probably had that after your first Red Sox championship. Like the dog that caught the car finally. He's really great. I mean, enjoy us, too, but also just like.
Wow, right. This happened?
Okay. Well, now you have Southern California Harvard Westlakes finest Pete Crowe Armstrong, PCA doing some wild things now, too, right? Wow. There's not a ball he can't get to, it seems. He's unbelievable.
Yeah. Remarkable. Yeah. So and sometimes that puts the other outfielders in danger because all of a sudden he's showing up in places where no other human would be. Yeah.
Yeah. And you did the first pitch, correct? You did it first pitch. I did.
Okay. I did.
How did we do? We did okay. Oh, look at you. There he is. Look at you.
Okay. The shades and everything. Yeah. Okay. I actually.
I was a little intimidated by it.
So I worked for about a month. I threw for about a month. Yeah, you did. I just went to various diamonds and just tried. The object was just get it there on the fly.
Do not be YouTube famous. No, that's the key. No bouncing in.
So I did a Tim Wakefield.
Okay, nice little. But it got there. Clark the Cub received it. Clark the Cub. Yeah.
And he didn't even have to move much. He did one like. What a relief. But it was okay. Most pressure you've ever had, probably.
And I actually looked better because that day there happened to be three first pitches. Oh. And the first, and they saved me for the third one because I was also going to sing the seventh inning. Yeah. So the first two guys.
One guy did a like, you know, a Bull Durham somewhere in Wisconsin. Kick the mask on. Yeah, and then the other one bounced it in twice. And then I was up and I went, oh, you can't join this club.
So I just did what I had been rehearsing, which is take one step in, plant, and get it there without too much of shame.
Well, congratulations on that. Gary Cole here on the Rich Isand Show. Let's dive into your career, if you don't mind. Sure. Is it true you are you college roommates with John Malkovich?
Were you college? I was not college roommates with John Malkovich, but I went to college with John Malkovich.
Okay. So you did. Which college was this? Illinois State University. Illinois State University.
Bloomington Normal, Illinois. The Illinois State. The Illinois University.
Okay, very good. And did you know you wanted to act then? By then, yes. I got involved in high school. My sister was a performer and a musician.
I saw her perform, so I got involved in it in high school. I was a wannabe jock, where that was, it was pretty certain by the time I was in my sophomore or junior year that. My playing time was going to come to an end probably by my senior year.
So I got involved in theater and. And I think by the time I went to Illinois State, I kind of had made up my mind, I guess, that. This is what I'm going to do. I'm going to be in for the duration, was the phrase I kept thinking of.
Okay. And then you wind up to live and die in L.A. was your first big, I guess, Lucas. You were in Lucas, isn't it? Tell me about that experience, please.
Is it quotes? Yeah. I was in Lucas. I was an assistant coach on the football team. I had one line, I believe, that was in the training room.
I forget what the line is, I think it was a two-syllable line. Come here. That was it. And then that made the cut. But then when I watched the movie, it wasn't my voice.
It was someone else's voice. What the hell? They dubbed me. They couldn't find me, apparently, to replace the dialogue.
So, did you and Charlie Sheen hang out on the set of Lucas? I only remember Charlie Sheen, and I believe Jeremy Piven also was in Chicago. All the young, not Cuzak wasn't in it, but. How did you wind up on office space? Office space was just kind of a traditional call from an agent, except for.
Along with the script, I got this is how long ago Office Space was: a VHS cassette. Nice. Of two little short animations called Office Space by Mike Judge. Yes. And I pop those in and They both begin with Milton sitting in his cubicle, mumbling to himself, I could do this, I could do that, I could do that.
And then you hear footsteps and this. Lumberg esque dude comes in with glasses and and kind of peers over the cubicle and begins to torment Milton. And so when I watched it, I I like a lot of people probably. Recognize that guy, you know, as a boss, I certainly had, or at least the personality of one, and I'm sure a lot of people did too.
So I figured, well, what am I going to do for this audition? I can't do it better than that, so I'll just do that.
So I went in and tried to do my best, like, imitation of this animation. I guess Mike liked it. He certainly did. Were you channeling any former boss of your line? I had a boss named.
Buck Palmer. I worked at a place called Kinney Shoes. I don't know if you know Kinney Shoes. And it's funny because now that I think of it, Buck, and this was in 19, this was in the 70s. This was like 70.
Mm-hmm. Buck wore one of those blue. Dress shirts, but with the white collar. He probably had, but he had white shoes on, too. I don't know if he had suspenders.
Right. And I thought, my God, and he. He never raised his voice, but he was. You know, you could tell he wasn't thrilled to be there, and he certainly wasn't thrilled that anybody else was there, too, including his employees.
So there was probably a little bit of buck, but mostly Mike Judge. Were there any memos in Kinney Shakespeare? No, we didn't get memos. I mean, no, it was before memos. I don't think he would just.
you know, Cole or whoever you you know, he would just can you help them in the uh in the double pump area? Yeah. He was kind of that guy. He just knew, it's like, I guess I have the best job in this place. But that's not saying much.
So I just love that you just channeled Lundberg here on the Rich Eisen Show. I'm like honored that you just channeled him here on the program. He surfaces. He does. He surfaces every now and then.
Fantastic. And that's become a cult hit, right? I mean, nobody, I mean, when we did it, we. Jennifer Anniston and Ron Livingston and Stephen Rudge. Yeah.
I mean, we all knew it was really great. Everybody was a fan of Mike. But you never know what's going to hit in a theater. And when it hit in the theater, it didn't really do well. And then we all knew something was up when people started shouting the lines across the street to us.
Did you get the memo? You know, and I thought, well, what I thought this tanked. But apparently not. Apparently not. Gary Cole here on the Rich Eisen Show.
Crazier set, Dodgeball or Talladega Nights?
Well Probably dodgeball, although I probably wasn't witness to it because actually, dodgeball, my work in dodgeball was done in probably. Six hours. Me and Jason Bateman Sat staring at an empty gymnasium. No way. No way.
And we finished before lunch. I did more work. In the recording studio afterwards, laying in all of the call of the game and other teams and stuff like that that they added and cut and edited. But especially the stuff between me and Justin, did I say Justin, Jason? Brighton.
Sorry. Was done, yeah, half a day. And there was. We did not get to see the Dodgeball Dancers, I regret. And we only saw that later.
If we only knew, we would have stayed after lunch.
So you're saying your work on the Ocho. Was done in fewer than ocho hours in an empty gymnasium. Yes, it was. Sadly, yes, but that's my goal. That's movie magic as it goes.
Were you ad-living? Were you in Jason Ad-Living? No, I mean, maybe Jason was. I was not. I don't believe, I don't think I went off the rails.
Were you channeling any announcers from your youth? Yes. I think there was when I went into it, I read for it like twice. And I think I had some kind of a Vin Scully thing going on. Because I kind of talked louder and higher, but it wasn't really Vin Scully.
I don't know who it was, but it was you know, and then because of there's a line in dodgeball that had to do something with He almost mimics the Do You Believe in Miracles line from Al Michaels.
So I guess I looked at it as a combination of Vince Gully and Al Michaels. Ladies and gentlemen, that's the only way you should show up on the Ocho. And so Talladega Night's The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.
Now, that was an ad-lib situation. Yeah, there was more going on there. Although I would have to say, that's one of the best written things that I've done. No kidding. That character was, they had that on the page.
What they like to do, what Will and Adam McKay like to do, is. Do what they've written. Uh get that secure. And then do freebies. You know, and I hadn't, I mean, I had not done a lot of ad-libbing in films.
But I wound up in films, obviously, with Will Farrell, you're going to find yourself. You know, without a net a little bit in that area. He was just so He's so skilled at it that and I just I felt very confident in doing it because the character was so they had written such a great character about it.
So a lot of the stuff that took place, a little bit in the in the Cougar scene, you know, there was more going on when before he He's a good idea. His car, and he's going to finally drive fast. He's going to get his mojo back, and he drives straight into somebody's house. The whole lead up to starting the car, that was all ad-lib. You know, about how do you feel now?
I feel a little heat, and you go, yeah, it must be the car, you know, melding together with you, all of that stuff just, you know, just happened. But it's. He's just really, you know, conscious. And he did that, obviously, in every scene in that movie. Right.
But did you do any specific ad-libs that you're proud of? Yes. I came up with, I don't know if they were ad-libs. I went in trying, and I said, I'm going to do this. And when I talk to my grandchildren who kind of mouth off to me.
And I said, you better shut up, you little pot liquor, or I'll put you in the microwave. Wait, what?
Sounds dark now, but we got through it then. That just came out of nowhere? Yeah. Pot liquor came from when I did a big western in Montana. Actually, I played Custer, and they sent me out with this Wrangler.
We were riding around in Montana, and He would look at elk running and he would go, look at that little potlicker goat. I had no idea what potlicker meant, but it sounded authentic. Yes. So I used it. Oh, fantastic.
I don't know if you're aware, but we have had the director Christopher Nolan on this program. And I asked him what his favorite remote drop movie is. And he had never heard of the term remote drop movie. And when I explained it to him, he said Talladega Nights. And I even said, get out of here.
And then this is now a drop that we use all the time. But if you ain't first, you lost. That's what he says. Much better in an English accent. Much better.
That's what he said. That's great. I mean, Christopher Nolan is the biggest Talladega Nuts fan, man. I better give him a call. There you go.
See what he's got going. You got a good Clint Eastwood story from In The Line of Fire.
Well. That's I mean That's what intimidation is like in terms of working with somebody who's that iconic. I guess the only thing I can really remember about it is that. I had to do scenes with him. A lot of Clint Eastwood movies follow a certain formula, which is that Clint Eastwood is doing his job, minding his own business, has integrity, and there's some.
annoying bureaucrat Who is tormenting him? That happened to be me. And there was from a bunch of hundreds of guys running around in Seuss. I had to fire him in the movie. And uh I'm doing a scene with him, and it's as if you're doing a scene, and you're, you know, like if he's across from me and the camera's here, and you kind of felt like, you know, I kind of feel like turn around and go, Are you getting this?
It's Clint Eastwood, okay? It's Clint Eastwood.
So you had to get, you had to kind of dial that back and make sure that you were, you know, staying there. Because it's easy to become a spectator at some point. Yeah, I mean, he's Clint freaking Eastwood, you know? Yeah. Hey, Gary, this has been fantastic.
We've even hit on Veep as well, which means you've got to come back, if you don't mind me already being extending an invitation and assuming you would. This has just been a blast. I'm, again, huge fan. You've given me nothing but laughs and enjoyment throughout your career to date. And I appreciate you stopping by here.
Well, thanks for having me. I appreciate it. Of course, Gary Cole, everybody. Again, last night was the mid-season finale for NCIS. New episodes return on February 24th.
In the meantime, just stream it on Paramount Plus. There's only a billion seasons for you to catch up on. And new episodes air on Tuesday, so make a note of that when new episodes come back for NCIS. Thanks, brother. Really appreciate it.
Gary Cole here on the Rich Islands Show. We will wrap this up in a moment. See ya. The Rich Heisen Show, the podcast. Back here on the Rich Isand Show, that was awesome with Gary Cole.
844-204 Rich and McDonald's seeking a call before we get out of Dodge. This season, make your home feel alive with Sonos speakers. This show is brought to you by Sonos. Maybe you're watching us at home through your Sonos speakers and your sound system, which means. Hello.
You heard that. You felt that one in your bones because that's what sono speakers do. We have it in our house. Susie and I, you can listen to music in any room that you put. as a zone on the Sono system.
Stream everything you love, music. Movies and your favorite sports podcasts, again, all in one place. The Sonos holiday sale is on now through December 28th, 2025, at sonos.com. Discover how easy it is to bring every room to life. Jimmy in San Antonio.
Sorry, my nicks kept you from winning the NBA Cup, Jimmy.
Well, first I just want to say, hey, Connor Stallion, don't feel bad. He's mad at Rich. You ask him, why are you still here? That's correct. That actually happened last night.
So there you go. No, I'm just going to get a good one. Good one, Jimmy.
Well, I wanted to call and congratulate you and Carl in New York City. I had uh mariachi music ready for Today, and it didn't happen. It was y'all's night in the Spurs three-point perimeter defense. let them down yet again, and y'all were just reigning threes and took over the fourth quarter, and you lift the cup. Yeah.
Did I hear that the Knicks are not raising a banner in Madison Square Garden for the moment? Yeah, Shams reported that. Yeah. I honestly hope they don't.
So that the Shays Lakers looked dopey for raising a banner. The Bucs did as well. Yeah, the Lakers and the Bucs for those banners. Yeah. Knicks are like, okay.
That's for NBA titles, Stanley Cups and Billy Joel. Right? Taylor Swift is also here in L.A. Oh, yeah. I'm saying that.
I want to give a shout out to Wimby for playing under the circumstances that we all learned about early in the morning. Yeah, I know his grandfather had passed, right? Or his grandmother or grandparent? Grandmother, he's a tough kid. And we are so young, and I'm not mad that we lost the cup because I think OKC lost the cup to the bucks.
Yeah, the whole thing is, Jimmy, listen, and thanks for the call, Matt. The NBA is trying what it you know is trying to take something from European football, or what everyone else calls football. They're trying to, you know. Have a champions league, having to do something, you know, to make the regular season. Have a little bit of a pizzazz to it.
I totally get it. Those guys got a half a mill each for winning last week. And I understand that. You know, Josh Hart making the money sign, you know, give me my money. The games in Vegas were terrific.
They were good.
So, you know, check that box. I can't stand the floors, you know, like whatever, but good enough. But. And for the Knicks, hey, unless Jason Tatum comes back, I feel really good about the East right now as we're heading into Christmas. You're worried about him coming back.
Okay, and I'm seeing the videos. Yeah, I know. Right. So I feel really good about the Knicks. And hey, Mike Brown, man, give it up to him.
Uh so far, obviously. You don't raise banners. In December, as the Knicks say. But as you remember, he was choice. I wrote it down.
The letter is the letter Q. He was like choice Q for the Knicks. Knicks are the favorite to win the East? He was. And so.
I really liked it, man. I liked the fact. I saw people online kind of mocking the fact that the Knicks were making a big deal of winning it. But if you're gonna try to make something feel special, you have to have people, you know. Just getting into it like that.
Of course, and that's what the NBA wants. And listen, the games were great. In terms of Mike Brown, like I said, he was definitely not choice. One, two, three, four, five, whatever. And it's all working out for him and the Knicks right now.
And this is a fun moment. Did you see this when he got to the podium last night? Hit it. It was a great win. By our guys, for a lot of different reasons.
Yeah, w one of the things Uh Excuse me, I just had a beer. Usually when I have a beer, Kind of sits in my throat a little bit.
So, so sorry about that. Excuse me. Excuse me, mom. That's hilarious. I mean, like at one point where he got, I thought when I saw that at first, is he getting choked up?
No, he's just choking. No, he's like, See, if he was on the Mads, Michael Finley would have taken a barefoot. Yeah, I know. Pretty cool.
So the Knicks are not raising a banner just because they won the NBA Cup. I think they should. Unlike O. Shea Jackson Jr.'s Lakers. Oh, hey.
The hard out is coming. It's a joke when the Lakers win it. When the Knicks win it, they're raising the banner like it's, you know, it's something to hold. You know, that the Lakers had to raise that banner. You can't be the first team to be like, I'm not putting it up.
Okay. We're on the right time. Good to see y'all. No, we got a Disney Plus segment. But that'll wrap it up for this edition of the Rich Eisen Show.
I want to thank Gary Cole and Greg Sankey and Kurt Warner and Todd McShea. We'll be back to wrap this up on the TV side in a sec. Thanks for listening to the Rich Eisen Show Podcast. You can watch and listen to The Rich Eisen Show live weekdays from noon to 3 Eastern on ESPN Radio, Disney Plus, and on the ESPN app, The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast.
