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Now, on with the show. Phew. This is the Rich Eisen Show. And here goes Bajon Robinson. Are you serious?
From the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. Intercepting. Xavier Watts has got another one. Earlier on the show. Senior writer for the MMQB.
Albert Breer. Pro Football Hall of Famer Rod Woodson. Coming up. Actor and comedian Kumail Nanjiani. And now, it's Rich Eisen.
Hour number three of the Rich Hisen Show on the air here on Disney Plus, the ESPN app, ESPN Radio, SiriusXM. We say hello to our podcast listeners. If you missed any of the first two hours, there's ways for you to handle that. Void in your life. There is the aforementioned podcast, all three hours, however, you get your pods.
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Counting, we greatly appreciate that. Hour number one, Albert Breer, broke down last night's Monday night game and also previewed what's coming up this weekend. He said seven head coaching jobs will be open at this point Next week in the National Football League, we always do the math for you. Two are currently open. He thinks five more openings will happen between now and then.
Rod Woodson was on an hour number two. He broke down Ravens-Steelers. He thinks neither of those job openings that Albert mentioned will involve the Ravens or the Steelers. And we had a caller from Massachusetts calling in hour number one from a Purdue graduate saying, Should I root for Indiana? Um I I don't have any Um if you will, skin in that game.
So I had him hold on and ask Purdue's finest Rod Woodson that question. And Rod. Told the fan, under no circumstances, are you to refer in the end? Absolutely not.
So that was great. I think if Rod were able to curse, he would have cursed. Yeah. Uh and then I I made a a rookie mistake. And I should know better because I learned this way back in the day.
You're already laughing, right? Yep. Yep. I ate some of the caramel popcorn that Chris is eating during the commercial break. Yep.
And I'm now hosting with something stuck in my teeth. Not only is it caramel popcorn, but it's caramel popcorn lightly covered in chocolate. I shouldn't be doing that in many different ways. We all were guilty of eating the popcorn during the break, too.
Well, I am not, sir. It's this time of year, also, because I'll tell you this story from back in the day at ESPN. Um Every year around this time, somebody would bring in the ESPN newsroom. Uh, one of those tall tin containers. That's what he's got.
I brought that for him. You do DJ's got it right now. It's where it's broken up into the batteries. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's the regular popcorn, the caramel popcorn, the cheese popcorn.
And then the and then there's a fourth one in there. You have it. Oh my gosh. Broken into right.
So there used to be that, but much bigger. Yeah. And then there's the cheese. Oh, it just gets all over everything. It gets all over your fingers.
Sure is.
Now, I would, on occasion, back in the early late 90s, early aughts, go in on that sort of thing. Yeah, of course. Why wouldn't you? Stewart never did. Ever.
He never touched that stuff.
Well, there was a chance that Jets could call, and he had to stay ready.
Well, I mean, and he. would always laugh. whenever I went over to to dig into it because Um this one time There was a coordinating producer who did did our show quite a bit. Whose name I won't name the involve here. I just won't do it.
We watched him dive in. To the cheese side.
Okay, dive in to the cheese side. E some of the popcorn. Then wipe the cheese residue off his back right buttock of the jeans. Yeah, that's a pro move. And then go back in.
Oh, man. And Stuart looks at me and goes, You're gonna eat that? You're gonna do that? Yeah. That's like when it comes to it.
And I almost like said, I'll dare, you know, on a dare. Like, yeah, watch me do it. Don't tell me. How much you can put on it. I'll do it.
I didn't do that. You didn't do it. I mean, Rich, you once ate pizza out of snail meal, so I don't.
Well, that was in college. Yeah, but still. That's what a college kid is. He was slightly more sophisticated. Yeah, give me a little bit of credit.
I'm saying this. That was in the late 80s, by the late 90s. I was at least looking at a colleague of mine wiping the cheese popcorn residue off his ass. And not want to go back into this. I think about that moment every time I see something like that.
Is that worse than double dipping the chip? Great question. Great question. Man, that's a good one. It's in the same ballpark.
It's in the same ballpark because, as you know, it's like putting your whole mouth in the dip. You take a bite, and it's over, man. And end it. We just put that on our Instagram and TikTok feeds over the weekend. Remember back in bars, they used to have like.
Bowls and nuts right at the bar. Oh, I'm having a beard. I know. Eating paws and nuts. Yeah, we keep telling the kids: do not eat anything that's unwrapped.
Yeah. It's a dangerous game you're playing. But wait a minute.
So you brought... No, he had his own popcorn. No, no, but I brought the tin in. But you brought the tin in. Yeah.
Yeah. Okay. Because he bought you guys popcorn for Christmas, right? I gave you guys baskets. Right, gift cards.
He did indeed. Yeah, okay. And he skipped me. As soon as I left, I got a text like, I would have liked some popcorn. Oh, so this is the make-good popcorn.
Yeah, I've heard it. That's better than just regular popcorn. Make good. Can you wipe the residue of make good off your back? And for the ring pocket, oh my God.
For the record, though, I've been taking a paper towel, scooping up the popcorn. Yeah. And so that was the first time I actually put my hand in the thing.
So we're not animals over here. Oh, by the way, Mike Hoskins, breaking news. Did he get in your ear and tell you this? What? You have a popcorn maker?
Oh, that's right. Yeah, I got a popcorn. Is it the same one you got on the price is right? Yeah, but what's that got to do with this? Anything.
Oh, okay, well, sure. You could make your own. Where is it? Or is that instilled in the box next to the ping pong table? I've put popcorn here with it.
And that was like a week after. Yeah, but it almost I was afraid it was going to set off the smoke a lot. That was three. It got smoky, and I didn't want to take that chance. Thanks, Godwitt.
I didn't write it in but I can't make caramel corn. No, no, I've talked enough over the last few minutes. You got it out? I'm ready for Kamel Nanjon. You need to wash it down, maybe?
He's going to join us shortly in advance of talking about his comedy special on Hulu. Hulu.
Okay. 844-204-Rich, number to dial right here on the program. Will in New Mexico has been hanging on for a bit. What's up, Will? What's up, Will?
Hey, Britch up. As a loud and proud Seahawks fan, I know you've been very bullish on them pretty much from the offseason to now.
Okay. And I very much appreciate that. Um, but something hit me yesterday, you know, after they scheduled the game on Saturday and whatnot. And everybody's throwing the style. Oh, Sam Darnold's the first quarterback to have thirteen wins in back to back seasons for two different teams.
Since Brady, I think since Brady that this is the exact same arc. That the Vikings had last year. They had 13 wins. Last game of the season, they had a chance to win seeds against the Lions. That didn't happen.
And then obviously, they had the bad performance in the playoff game that led to Sam Darrell now being the quarterback of the Seahawks.
So my question to you is: I'm feeling nervous. I'm feeling concerned. And being that you've been very bullish on the Seahawks this year, if you could possibly alleviate my concerns and protect me from the hot takes and overreactions that will inevitably come from the unlikable Patriots fan Chris Brockman in the event that the Seahawks crash and burn, like the Vikings we said last year. I'm going to go two ways with you, Will. You want me to shoot you straight?
Or do you want. Or do you want a rosy? Or do you want. Which way do you want it? Which way do you want it?
Which way do you want it? I'm going to keep it real.
Okay, I'm going to keep it real. Sam's going to play a good game, but I don't think you win. How does that sound?
Okay. Or I could vote. I can see that. I don't think Sam's going to poop the bed, man. The next question would be.
How would you feel about them going into the playoffs then? Just like any of the other teams that are going into the playoffs with double-digit wins. you could go on a run and win the whole damn thing.
So let me ask you this. Seahawks are the of the Stuart Bowl favorite now. But Will, would you rather Sam play a great game but you lose? Or Sam look pretty shaky and you guys win? Oh, Sam looking shaky because that's happened this year.
I mean, that Rams game on Thursday, they had no bad winning that game. And that's happened a couple times this year where I've felt good about the Seahawks and almost like a team of destiny a bit because there's been times where he's played bad and they've either almost won or outright won. And I'm like. Oh, well, if they can still win games with him playing shaky, then this is a real contender.
So I think that's why they're Super Bowl favorites. They're sort of quarterback proof a little bit. They are contenders. Period. End of story.
And who cares if he looks shaky and you still win? Style points do not matter. You have to play elite at the quarterback position to win the Super Bowl. That is a fact. Right, and if he doesn't look great in San Francisco and they still win, they still get the week off, and then he can go off you go.
Off you go. I don't think anyone has any faith in Sam Darnold. Get your ticket punched, Will. Thanks for the call. That's Will in New Mexico.
I think this is the Niners. Game to take. I really do, but there's a few days to go. And they can't play any defense. Who?
The Niners? Yeah. Well, you know who can? Seattle. Right.
Can they ever? It's going to be great. Saturday night's going to be awesome. Uh it's a uh Tuesday. Which means it's By the way, how weird would it be if I I just Came on the show every day and just told you what day it was.
But it we probably should help some people. It might have helped. Especially service. It's a time of year, Rich. It does serve us.
What's Christmas hits? You don't know what day it is. It's time for Overreaction Monday on a Tuesday. Head it, please. That was terrible.
That was crap. That was garbage. This life sucks. Overreaction Mondays. On a Tuesday.
Very good. What's up, everybody? What's going on? What's up, man? Popcorn man over there.
The Overreaction Monday pod is still out there for everybody to listen to.
However, you get your pods or see on our YouTube channel. This is just, for those scoring at home, the segment version. Of uh Jaguars fans, I was kidding yesterday. No, you weren't. Calm down.
No, you weren't. I'm not kidding about this though, TJ.
Okay. The Rams peaked too soon this season. Who told who gave you that subject matter? Was that did Cooper send that to you on an overreaction Monday? Or you sent that out?
I had it already. It was going around on the guillotine channel. That was what it was. It works here now. Yeah.
Overreaction. In the same way, I just told a caller from New Mexico who's a die-hard Seahawk fan that he's nervous that Sam Darnold's going to have another. Game 18, like he had last year, with a chance to get the one seed, winding up the five, and then one and done, and see ya. Um Just Punch your ticket this year. and then catch fire.
Punch your ticket. Get Devontae Adams back with Puka. Get Quentin Lake back with the rest of the defense on the other side. Get your left tackle. Alaric Jackson back.
Get your right guard back if you can, and let's go. Let's go and let's go with your system, and let's go. And if they got to go to Philadelphia, at some point they'd have to go to Philadelphia anyway.
So Be that as it may, chips fallen. And you It doesn't matter. Didn't the Saints lose their last three the year they went to the Super Bowl? I know they started 13-0 and started pulling starters anyway. I don't buy it.
Overreaction, what else you got over there? Wow, just a quick dismissal. Quick dismissal. Not surprising. Not enough people are talking about this, but it is going to come into play with the NFC South still up for grabs.
The Bucs were once 6-2, Rich Eisen. They had the MVP of the league in Baker Mayfield. Then it all fell apart. After an epic collapse, the Bucs should go get a young, offensive-minded head coach for their exciting core. Mm-hmm.
Love Todd Bowles. I don't think you love Todd Bowles. If you love Todd Bowles, you wouldn't be bringing up this subject.
Well, it's time for a different voice down there in Tampa. They also signed him a contract extension last year, so you're going to dead Coach Walking pay him? Whatever. That money means nothing. Money means nothing.
It was like $30 million. Who cares? Who cares? The Glazers are very rich. I understand they are, but.
I will just say this is an overreaction as well. This could be one of those surprise. There's always a surprise team that. moves on from there. Oh, I understand.
I don't know if it would be that surprising. It would be surprising to me because they they... They would be paying him to not coach the team for a while. Good chunk of money. Um I'll just call this an overreaction too and I know Bucks fans are upset about the way things Has on this year.
I'm very well aware. Six and two. I'm very well aware of that. Um The crazy thing here is that The Bucks can win this game on Saturday night, feel great about themselves. That might not matter.
And then have to root for the Saints. Oof, that's tough.
Well, although the Saints have played better, Saints Falcons could wind up being a must-see game on Sunday just for this fact alone. Those two teams hate each other. What else you got over there? You know, we all had a feel-good story of the year. TJ, we loved watching Philly Riv come back.
Even though he didn't win a game, it was great seeing him out there. He did play well. Phillip Rivers secured his gold jacket with this Colts comeback. Really? Three games and no wins.
Secures the gold jacket in the way that he. The fact that he was out there without having played in five years did look a bit dad bottish, but showed he could do it. And I think that really matters. And I think it's going to get him that gold jacket. The finalists were announced today for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but in five years, Maybe not first bout, but Philly's gonna get his.
So let's unpack this one, because I thought he was a gold jacket. But See, I did. Already. Yeah, I don't know. I don't know about that.
I didn't either. He doesn't have any major rewards. No, I know that. He doesn't have any major accolades, he just has stats. Got it?
But let's unpack what you want to unpack here. Yeah. which is there should be a rule. When you're age 44 and above, doesn't matter. Um Your eligibility should stay Intact.
No matter how much time you've been out. Oh the of the game You should not have your clock restart. Yeah. If you're age 44 coming off of the couch. From what?
Like week f week f Twelve on. Is that what? I don't know. I'm just like, you got to codify it, is what I'm saying. These are things that you have to, if you are really pitching the Hall of Fame, to say Phillip Rivers should be.
Enshrined or at least eligible for enshrinement right now. He shouldn't have to wait another five years. Look, I was borderline. I wasn't sure he was a Hall of Famer, but when that knock comes, as I said before, one of the things they list is your contribution to the game, what you've done for the game, him coming out of retirement, him. Putting this team ahead of his potential Hall of Fame chance.
Yes, that's a contribution to the Colts. That's a contribution to football. We all rallied around the Colts in this three-week span.
So I was borderline, but I think because he did this, he didn't go out and embarrass himself. And he looked kind of good, to be honest with you.
So delaying his frustrating weight should be count towards his enshrinement. I don't think eligibility held against his time serve. I buy all of it. Oh, lovely. You're glad.
I'm glad by all of it. Because who can deny Philip River? Because it was fun. We were all in it. It was fun.
Jeez, there's no doubt about it. Even though they didn't win, it was fun. And the message to his kids. Yeah, contribution. What a message.
And as Kurt said, it's for any coach out there. Not just for him as a coach with his kids, but any message from a coach to the kid saying, go for it. Go for it. You can do it. Don't worry about the risks.
And in two years, when John Krasinski is playing him in the distance, that's your choice? Wow.
Now that's an overreaction.
Well, I mean, he just popped into my head real quick. At first, I thought Michael B. Jordan, but now it's like, eh, I don't know if that will acting. We're getting close to one of my favorite parts of the year. Where Phillip Rivers is a vampire?
That's what you're saying? That's a hell of a sitter. I'm just saying, Michael B. Jordan's a great actor, and he could probably pull it off. It's almost pressure season.
I love it. You don't, but it's true and it's a real thing. The quarterback under the most pressure because they don't want to hear it from. People like Chris Brockman on the Rich Eisen Show or Rich on TJ. You want to hear what you're saying?
He has to say first.
Okay. Let's give him the quarterback under the most offering. Oh my God. It's Tom Brady. To get the right head coach and the right quarterback for the Raiders' future.
I like your style here. Hmm. Pressure's on TB12. Yeah, I think it's a very good idea. Yeah, then what you can take away his life?
Livelihood. Like, what? Like, what's the problem?
Well, the Raiders are going to continue being a laughingstock. My goodness, that would be really awful for Tom Brady to show his face anywhere on the planet. Come on. Pressure. You don't think he's under pressure to rebuild the brand?
Or what? Mark Davis will say, I don't want you around here anymore? Mark booted him with him. Kind of? What are you doing?
Divest yourself, sir. Hey, take your 5-10% discount and shut the hell up. Buy me your coach and your. Court, my coach and my quarterback. Otherwise, I don't want to see your.
Handsome Awesome. You know Yeah, chiseled face anymore. Yes. Yeah. Huh?
Yes. Respect the bull haircut.
Well, is that what you're saying?
Well, that's get out of here. It's time for a TV12 heat change.
Okay, very good. Last one. Chris, what if, you know, Philly Ribb come back? I'm right about that. Makes Tom want to come back.
Last one, think about it. A face of the franchise quarterback will be traded this offseason. I don't think that's an overreaction. I like it. Yeah, I think that's a property.
Does that include Kyler? Kyler, Lamar, Joe Burrow. Anyone's on the table. Nobody wants to. It's all on the table.
You want Tua and the Raiders? Oh.
Okay, that's what I thought. The weather's nice, though. I dig this one.
Somebody's getting moved. I dig this one.
I think Kyler's getting moved. I think that that's it. That's for sure. I don't know who's going to take them. Why don't we think the Jets are going to take that cheese?
Because it's a Jets move. It's a proper thought. Woody's seen his Madden rankings? Is any likes it? If you consider a franchise Liberty University, then Malik Willis is getting.
Well, he won't get traded. Is Mac Jones a face of the franchise? No, but he technically would be traded. I know I'm having a little bit of fun here. I'm with you.
I kind of dig that one. Yeah, for sure. Oh, wait, to finish up strong. Thank you.
Okay. I cannot believe one of the subject matters on the podcast was the Patriots are one of the most likable franchises in the playoffs. Dan Wetzel wrote a whole column about it.
Okay, great. Where's Dan Wetzel from? ESPN. Where does he live? No, I mean, you know, he's respectable.
No, I thought he was from Massachusetts. I don't know where Stan's from, but he's a respectable person. That's what I'm saying. Yeah, and you certainly are not. I know.
Oh, wow. You just want to be Wetzel adjacent. I do. That's a good fantasy. 844-204-Rich, number.
Camille Nanjiani is here. This'll be fun. Don't go anywhere. The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. Back here on the Rich Eisen show with our radio audience, along with Disney Plus and ESPN, the app.
New comedy special we just saw Eclipse Kumail Nanjani Night Thoughts available now, streaming on Hulu. It is Golden Globe nominated, and you filmed it at the Vic Theater in Chicago. That's right. If you see, you see Little Baby Bagel in that corner, we added her. All right.
Like, well, this is really like a tribute to her. The Vic Theater, the reason I talk about this in the special, I opened for Zach Galifanakis there. Um when? Why did you ask that? What kind of question is that?
I i if you know, it was around. It was so close to 2007 that it was exactly in 2007.
Okay, yeah.
So if you did basic math, it's 18 years ago, but I opened for Zach there. Right. And I was like, someday I'll headline this place.
So I didn't do stand-up for like 10 years when I started up again in the actor strike. And I got enough material. I was like, I want to do a special. There was no question. I was like, I have to do.
The Vic. Right. Because they, I used to go there all the time too. They used to have this thing called Bruin View, where they'd show a movie and people would get really drunk. And one of the best experiences I had was I watched the first Fantastic Four movie, the one that came out, you know, a long time ago.
And there was a guy in the audience who every three minutes would yell, That's fantastic. Oh, and the response he got, nothing in my hour of stand-up got the response this guy got. Every time he yelled, that's fantastic. I mean, it's kind of like what, the Letterman style of comedy that you say something over and over and over again, and then you start beating it to death. Yeah.
I imagine like the ninth time he did it funnier than the first.
Well, because then you got to time it. Like, how long are you going to wait before you say it? Do people think you got to wait until like people think it's done? He's moved on and then he comes back with it. Oh, man.
That is so funny. I love it. That's fantastic. And I guess the poster for it, which is you in bed with a Stand-up mic and a spotlight on you with a pillow behind you because night thoughts. That's basically me almost every night.
Um, where I'm waking up 2, 3 in the morning, and it's. That's when I come up with my ideas for this show more than not.
So for you, it's good.
Well, I mean, I'd love to be able to sleep between, you know, going to sleep and waking up. Would love to just stay asleep. That would be awesome. That would be. But those days are kind of over for me, right?
So you used to be able to sleep through and now you don't? Absolutely. What do you think that is? Because I have the same. I think getting older, I think.
And then waking up, it's tough to just not turn my brain on. Like, not to have like thinking that, all right, I'm on now. Spotlight. I got to start thinking of what, you know, what am I going to say on the show the next morning. And are you taking notes then?
I try. I don't wake up and actually write stuff down. Yeah. I make mental notes and hope that that's me counting sheep and I go back to sleep. Yeah.
For me, the most like a lot of stuff I've written was in the middle of the night. No kidding. But then I also go into spirals of like, you know, worrying about random things. Like what?
Well, it's some of some are big, so I talk about them in the special, but one of the new ones is that kept me up was like Do bears poop and pee when they're hibernating? Or do they like get up to do it? Yeah. Really? Yeah.
Okay. They don't. They oh, you you looked up the actual answer. I looked it up. There's a phrase, it's not.
The phrase that came up, it's not dirty. Can I say it? Sure. Go ahead. Fecal plug.
Definitely not dirty. That's a good thing. That's the name of my fantasy team, as a matter of fact. That is, in fact, that's a new fantasy team name right there. One of those weeks you'd kind of.
All right. So that's the Bears. Not the Chicago Bears, right? We're not referring to the natural animals. They're having regular BMs.
The Chicago Bears. Hale Williams is so regular right now, man. It's not funny. But go ahead, sorry. They make something out of their betting.
And what? Yeah. And then, you know, I mean, okay. It would be great, though, you know, if you're like, you know what? I'm going to take this pillow, put it somewhere, and I'll see you in June.
That would be amazing.
Okay, so that's one thought. That's one. And then also, you know, is my door locked? Sure. You know, what am I going to do if somebody comes in?
Like, you don't then get up and. You're not to that point where you're checking locks. I check my alarm and make sure it's red. That one I understand. Oh, the alarm on the wall.
I thought you meant you make sure that if you got to get up the next morning, you set your phone alarm. No, well, that I check a hundred times.
Okay. But no, I just look at the red light on.
Okay, sure. Which just means, you know, if someone's coming in, I'm going to wake up and then, I guess, hide while they go through all my stuff. I got nothing to fight back. What do you mean? You're swole.
Like, what do you mean? You do have things to fight. I say this is a special. These muscles are decorative. They don't do anything.
All they can do is pick up a weight 10 times and put it down. They're not functional. Like, I can't really do anything with them. You can't, huh? You can scare people with those muscles.
Yeah. Guys, I can barely move. You're giving away your secrets. These are completely pointless. I mean, I guess in an arm wrestle, if the robber comes in and is like, let's arm wrestle it.
If you win, I'm leaving. I guess that's okay. Or, like, let's bench, see who's got more. I guess that would be acceptable. But other than that, no, I've never been in a fight.
Have you ever been in a fight? I was in a fight for two seconds. What does that mean? I got sucker punched. Oh my God.
When was that? I mentioned this on the air and the guy actually hurt. Not last week. No, I actually mentioned this on the air. How many years ago did I mention it on the air?
Oh, yeah. And then the guy called in. The guy called in. His name was Bennett Hirshhorn. Yeah.
Trails End Camp. I got punched by a guy named Bennett Hirshorn. I got knocked out, sir. I don't know if you could see. I got a little bit of a scar right here because I was wearing braces in Trails End Camp.
I don't remember what it was, but I do remember the right fist came from Uppercut. Just smacked me over. Done. Blow. Oh, yeah, everyone.
You were out. Oh, yeah. I was out and I got stitches the whole thing. That's the only fight. That's the only fisticuffs I've ever been in.
I would leave the guy's name out. Because it doesn't sound like a not really a oh, I'm sorry, it was it was Jake Paul, yeah, yeah, there it is. Oh my god, better, yeah, have you ever been in a fight? I've never been in a fight, I've never been in a physical fight. I say this in the special because I'm very good at apologizing.
Like when I got buff, I would have for the first time guys kind of stepping to me, like they would kind of try and pick fights. And I was like, What is this new vibe that I'm getting from men? And Emily, my wife, was like, Oh, they're like threatened by you, and they want to like size you up, yeah. They want to size me up at the gym, at like bars and stuff. And I'm just like, I don't, I don't want to suddenly.
People who were never taking attack postures with you suddenly were because they saw how swole you are and wanted to test it out or something like that. I don't know. Is there a pheromone that goes out there? I think there's some like ancient thing that happens, and they're like, you know, I'm the alpha, you're not the alpha. And I'm like, yes, you are correct.
You are the alpha. I just want to eat my spaghetti with Tylenol. Ladies and gentlemen, well done, Johnny. Night Thoughts available now for streaming on Hulu. It has been Golden Globe nominated.
So you sit down and you tell me the story. that I'd love to hear about. You're on a plane with who? Back in the day, and uh, this was a few years ago, it was the year that they ended up winning with Sean McVay, the Rams, yeah, with the Rams. That's 2021, yeah, and Matthew Stafford.
Was it? Yeah, it would have been 2021, or they just won.
Okay, so they were like they had the two because they were still together the next year, they're still together right now, yeah. Yeah, and there was just the three of us on a plane because it was for a different project for Hulu, so they, you know, they got us a They got us a plane. All right, look at you. Yeah. You got the Disney jet, huh?
I think they got the Disney jet, and they were like, if you want to hop on, there's a.
Okay, so you're on a jet, it's you. Sean McVay, Matthew Stafford. It's just the three of them. Were you heading to Disney World? Like after the Super Bowl?
We were going for the upfronts. You know, the Hulu upfronts for a TV show I was doing back then. And so I just talked to these because I don't, you know, I'm not a big like football guy. Like, I know some of the names I've met. My dad, for some reason, got really into the Chiefs at some point.
Okay. And he was like, that Peter Malone, he can really throw a football. Different initials. You know, I get it. Yeah, he likes Peter Malone.
Okay, Peter Malone. Yeah. And but it was really fun talking to them because they wanted to know about like what acting and writing was like. And I wanted to know. And it turned out there was a lot of overlap in the ways that we both approached our jobs, you know, because there is structure, but then you got to be able to adjust on the fly with acting.
You know your lines, you know what you want to do, but then you're like waiting for some magical thing to happen. Yeah. Same with football, right? Because like you have your play and then you're sort of like. looking for How to surprise people.
Yes. Yeah. And, oh, that's not happening. That's not happening. Oh, I'm going to run.
With all that stuff being very present. Like, there's, it's very similar to acting and stand-up.
So you and Matthew Stafford were finding common ground on this. Yeah, that's right. That's right. It was a great conversation. I really liked those.
Really liked both those things.
Okay. Yeah. All right. That's pretty cool. Yeah.
You have private jet. Who else have you met? I did meet Peter Malone. The genuine article. I took a picture with him, a selfie, and sent it to my dad.
He was very impressed because I did this. You know, Paul Rudd does this charity event. Oh, yeah. So Big Slick. Big Slick.
You did Big Slick. I did Big Slick a couple of years ago.
So you must have met Travis Kelsey there. I met Travis Kelsey. I hung out with Travis Kelsey. He's a great guy.
Okay. Really great guy. Like, I actually hung out with him. He's a great dude. He is.
He really is, and he's fun. Like, Mahomes didn't, you know, go to the after party. Him and his wife went home. Yeah. And but Trav hung out.
Yeah. I haven't texted him, but I do have his number. Oh! Yeah. I'm not going to abuse him.
I think we should FaceTime him right now. FaceTime him right now. I think that's a great idea. Yeah. But yeah, we hung out one night, and he was really fun.
He had just visited the White House. Oh, so that was fun to talk about. You only hang with the football players after they win the Super Bowl. That's what I'm picking up right now. That's right.
Only like, if you listen, you could fly with McVay, you could fly with Stafford, but only after they win the Super Bowl. You have standards. I got a high bar, man. I don't want to just up here. Yeah.
Right up here. Yeah. Yeah. That's exactly right.
Well, but you know, I've been open with them. I'm like, I don't really, I still watch cricket all the time. Like, I'm still watching cricket constantly. But doesn't, again, I'm sorry if I'm sounding ignorant, but doesn't cricket take days?
Well, okay.
So one of the formats does. It's a five-day game. But imagine that. Five-day game. Rich, imagine how fun is it to watch a football game.
How long does a football game last? Like four hours? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Imagine that for five days. How exciting is that?
You wake up in the morning, you're having lunch, the match is going at night, you wake up the next day, it's still going. It's so fun. It's so exciting. Australia, England just had a five-day match that ended up being over in two days because what happened? Do you want me to really tell you?
Yeah, because somebody had to go home or something? No, no.
So basically, you play until all the players get out, right?
So in baseball, once the player's out. They come back. In cricket, they don't.
So, until the players are out.
So, now in cricket, it's different. I'll just explain this to you very quickly: there's a pitch that they make that the ball has to bounce off of, right?
So, the quality of the pitch is really going to affect the match. If the pitch has grass on it, the ball's moving around more, if the pitch is dry, you know, the ball is bouncing differently, it's spinning differently, it's moving differently off the pitch. And they made a pitch that just ended up being really difficult for batters to bat on. You know, in baseball, I don't know, you tell me. How much does the weather affect pitching?
Quite a bit. You know, if it's humid or it's cold. All that stuff, right? Of course, yeah, yeah.
Now imagine with that, there's also the added layer of this, the thing that it's bouncing off of. And now, you know, based on the soil that they use, so like Pakistan, India pitches are slower because our soil is more conducive to that. In Australia and New Zealand, the pitches are bouncier.
So you have to really adjust to all that.
So there's like a lot of, and once a pitch is made, you cannot do anything to it for the five days they play.
So day one, they were like, oh, we made a bad one. And then they couldn't do anything about it. And then it becomes like a completely different kind of game.
So I was bummed out. I thought I would have five days of a game, but I only got two full days out of it.
So if we covered cricket here, I would come on and start this show complaining about the pitch. Is that what I would do? Is there like complaints, overreactions? Oh, my God. Hot takes?
Are there cricket hot takes? Yes, of course there are cricket hot takes. I mean, you know, it's the entire. Give me a cricket hot take. That everyone else would understand.
We might not.
Well, but the big thing that they're talking about right now is that pitch because you want to hit the balance. If the pitch is too easy, then people aren't getting out. The score is too high. And cricket is following the same thing that, say, basketball is following, where scores are getting higher, right? Like the average score is so much bigger in the 90s.
If you get to like 80, 90, that's pretty good.
Now they're going to what 130, 140, right? Yeah, sure. Yeah. Same thing is happening in cricket. All right.
The scores are going up because the pitches are getting easier, and the hot take is pitches are getting too easy. But in Australia, then they made a pitch that's too difficult. How an outrage. That's an outrage. I would be outraged by that.
Yeah, I was outraged. The other thing is, you know, cricket is a gentleman sport. You're not supposed to get into any altercation. There's no brawls. There's no, you're not supposed to have brawls.
You cannot complain to the umpire. You get fined and immediately like a basketball, every play every foul. No basketball player has ever committed a foul, right?
So LeBron would never be able to play cricket, is what you're saying. No, he'd have to tone it down. He'd have to tone it down. No, they're like very like. No, it's all proper.
And so if somebody gets angry, or two players get into it, that becomes a really big thing. The most recent drama was when India and Pakistan played, the India team refused to shake hands with the Pakistan team. Geopolitics. Geopolitics. There you go.
That didn't happen between the Rams and the Falcons last night. There was no geopolitical angle between the Falcons and the Rams last night on Monday night.
Now, I'm going to bring this all full circle. Watch this.
So you're. No, man. You're good. Here we go.
So, are some of your night thoughts. Middle of the night, you wake up saying, I wonder what the score is? Yeah, and then I checked. And night three of a five-night banger. It's exciting.
I know you're trying to make fun of it. I'm not trying to make fun of it. Yes, we take a tea break. Sure. And do they drink tea?
Yeah, you bet they do. Yeah. Could you imagine a tea break in the National Football League? Wouldn't that be fantastic? Do you remember?
A player called John Amichi, of course, who played for The Magic. He was British, and he would drink tea during the breaks. Yeah. Go figure that. Didn't you play for Penn State?
Yeah, John the Minister. Is that where you learned to drink tea? I mean, it couldn't hurt. It's called Kumale Namjani Night Thoughts, available now for streaming on Hulu. It is Golden Globe nominated.
Thank you for coming on. Thank you so much for having me. If you ever need someone to try and explain cricket to you on the show, next week. It will take five days. It will take.
See you in five days. Right here on the Rich Eisen Show. We're back to wrap this Tuesday show up in a sec. The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast. Back here on the Rich Eisen Show, 844-204-Rich is the number to dial.
Hyundai Hope on Wheels, for over the last 27 years, every Hyundai sold has helped fund life-saving pediatric cancer research. Together with over 850 dealers nationwide, they've raised more than 277 million bucks, supporting over 25,000 kids in their fight against cancer. Visit HyundaiUSA.com and search Hyundai Hope on Wheels to learn more at Hyundai Hope isn't optional. It comes standard. Stephen in Virginia is hanging out on the phone line.
Stephen, this has got to be good because this is the last caller we're taking in 2025 on the franchise and show. No pressure. Great point. No pressure. Rich, I just wanted to.
To say thank you, man, for another great year of commentary. Wow.
Okay. I heard you talking. Earlier, about a story with Stu, man. I grew up with you guys, you and Stu, and Kenny and Dan, and And just to to enjoy this car ride with my son next to me talking sports. It's just beautiful, brother.
So I appreciate what you've done this year. I'm really looking forward. to 2026 And yeah, man, keep it going, brother. I appreciate you so much. Wow, right back at you.
So, your son is in the car right now, Stephen? He is, yes, sir. Wh what's his what what uh what's your son's name? His name is Colton. Colton, are you there?
Colton, what up, man? He just put his AirPods in. Oh, okay. Hold on a minute. Meaning what?
He can't hear us right now? That's what you're saying? He cannot hear us right now. Oh, man. He's trying to reach back.
How old is he? Maybe he's rich eyes and YouTube channel. I love that. How old is he? How is it?
He's 10 years old. 10 years old. Let's get Colton out. Let me. I got to talk to him.
Get his ears out. Get his ears out right now. Colton ten uh ten years old. 10 years old. All right, his ears are out.
Colton, are you there? Yep. Colton. Yeah, he can hear you. Colton, who's your favorite team?
What's your favorite team? Hokies. Hokies are his favorite team.
Alrighty, then. All right. Do you want to give him TJ? Straight talk to Colton. Uh you wan you want to tell him about James Franklin?
What do you want to do? You want to give him a little tutorial? I think the wheels fell off for James Franklin at the end of the tenure there, but I think Virginia Tet has to be happy getting this man as coach. And I feel like he's. Oh, don't go hire register on a 10-year-old boy.
Give him the straight. I think he should be happy. I think he's going to do very well at Virginia Check, to be very honest. All right, does that help, Stephen? You're there, Colt?
Yeah, that helped, man. Yeah, T.J. Rigby, uh. When he put me on hold, he said, Yeah, good luck with that.
Okay, Colton, Stephen, happy to you. Thank you for the call. Thanks for saying what you said. Yeah, happy news, Rich. Yeah, there you go, ladies and gentlemen.
Father-son combination, right? Love that. I gotta love it. I think Virginia Tech should be very happy. They should be.
Okay. Yeah. That would be great. Let's see what happens when they face a top ten team. You've always thought it got to be a little bit negative.
You know what? I'm going to work on that for 2026. You know what I mean? Like, this is my last negative segment with you. You know what I mean?
Maybe resolve it. It's going to be a little nicer to the gym. Yeah, next year.
Next year. Friday will be nicer. And like I told you at the beginning of the show, you're talking to a four-time champ. You should talk nice to me for the show. It's all on.
Four-time. Yes. Fantasy football champ. Yeah. Okay.
Hey, and congrats, you won best ball. I did win best ball. You did. I'm hoping to win guillotine. That's major right there.
That is right. We know we spent what? 35 days doing that draft. That draft took forever. True.
I know Jay Felly didn't do anything because Rico Dowdle didn't do well this week. That backfired on me. I'll tell you what, man. When I couldn't, that was my favorite fantasy moment of this year. Wait, I have Rico?
When I went, when Chuba Hubbard went down, I saw it in the commercial break. I'm like, let me go get Rico Dowdle. And I said, oh, damn, Felly's already gotten him. And then I mentioned it on the internet. You're like, oh, I have him?
And then you beat me with him later that week. When I say favorite fantasy segment moment, I mean the worst. It means the worst. And Brockman, you're about to win guillotine? It's me and Jeff.
Jeff Berman. Jeff Berman. So between the three of us? A. To nicer guys, it couldn't happen.
Right? Yes, sir. 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.
