From Thirty for Thirty Podcasts. Brian Patter, senior defensive lineman from Miami. Gun down. The key to this case, it's Brian. An hour before he died, he was on the phone arguing with Tabaki.
This might be a hit. You want the truth. They just want a conviction. Being placed under arrest. We had to kill our monsters.
Murderer. This is The Rich Eisen Show. Hey, everybody! Can't get enough of The Rich Eisen Show? You're in luck!
You can find us everywhere. Watch us weekdays on Disney Plus from noon to 3 Eastern. Miss the show? We've got a podcast, so you can listen anytime. But here's the best part: our YouTube channel.
Subscribe at youtube.com slash rich eisen show and you'll never miss a moment.
Now, on with the show. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. This kid has been on fire today. This is the Rich Eisen Show. Lawyers step back three, right wing.
Yes! The Rich Eisen Show. Earlier on the show. ESPN college basketball analyst Seth Greenberg. Coming up.
Comedian Derek Stroop. Plus, latest news and more. And now, it's Rich Eisen. Hour number three of the Rich Eisen Show is on the air here on Disney Plus, here on the ESPN app. Shortly, the comedian Derek Stroop, who's in our Green Room is going to come on out.
He's got a new comedy special called Nostalgic available now on Netflix. Funny guy, he's going to be joining us here. We'll have some good laughs. In the middle of hour, number three on the program, Seth Greenberg already joined us. You can join us as well at 844-204-Rich, being the number to dial.
The brackets are out, the men's and women's brackets. Do us a favor and join the Rich Eisen Show bracket challenge page. And whoever wins the men's and women's brackets gets a Rich Eisen Show swag bag. Do it. Load it up.
Maybe we'll put a a mug in there for you. Maybe. Hey, no, no, no. I just. A great mug?
By the way, that's not a great promise. We're going to put a mug in there for you. Do you know? What else could we put in there for that? Oh, gosh.
Got one of these ESPN iTumble for you. Hey, we'll throw a.
Some of the other knickknacks in there. No, no, no, no, no. We got just two bags, and apparently, that's all we got left. I had no idea. Oh, just two?
No, no, we got more than that. I tried to tell you, man.
Well, it's pretty cool, though, that I've got this Rich Eisen Show Tumblr. That has the letters ESPN on the back of it, and I never thought I would ever see my name. associated with the ESPN ever again after, you know. We parted ways in 2003, and I bring that up now. Because today Today.
is in fact The 30-year anniversary of my first ever sports center. Wow. Thirty years ago, Today. Congrats, bro. I was a 26-year-old man sitting there in Bristol, Connecticut, with my.
New sports jacket from a local warehouse, I'm sure. And Burlington Goat Factory, probably. And I went out there. My first sports center with Larry Beal. On us.
March Madness Round of thirty two Saturday. Saturday. And I will never forget it. Your first day was a Saturday? A Saturday Sports Center.
That's a little weird. Why is that weird? Because most people have the weekend off. Dude, sports casting and weekends are on, man. You know how it works.
That's when sports mostly goes down. I figured they just might get it. Look at that. Look at that. I don't remember how far after this was.
I think 97. It was a year later. And there I am with the rest of the. Sports center crew, most of us. There's Larry Beale up front.
He survived his first sports center with me because I was a total basket case. Because I remember it was a sweet 16 round of 32. And um and There were a bunch of highlights of games that had yet to finish. You're right, it was a Saturday. The story I like to tell is.
Is I remember thinking to myself, I've got 11 or 12 highlights in this show, I've only seen one. Mm-hmm. going into the show and I could do two things. I could either pee down my leg or I could just suck it up and do it and I probably did both. And I got down to that sports center set and I got through it.
And um it's entirely possible that on that day And I looked it up. that I did a highlight. I haven't seen that show in a while, but it's entirely possible. I did a highlighter that day of the Eastern regions one seed UMass. dismantled Stamford on that day.
or beat them seventy nine seventy four, With Marcus Camby, and I remember my sports center highlights were always: I'm Camby, damn it. Because that was, you know, not too far from the Eddie Murphy days of Gumby. John Calapari was the head coach of that. Look at that youngster. of the UMass One-seeded UMass team, he took him to the final four.
And yesterday, that man won the SEC Championship with Arkansas. Right. Look at him there. Look at him there 30 years later. Looks pretty good still.
Coach Cow, man. Still doing it and still winning games, and now he's in the middle of the country in Arkansas. After doing it up there in Amherst, right? Massachusetts. Umass Amherst.
Good Lord And it's entirely possible that on that day Thirty years ago my first sports center I also had the highlight, here's a dismantling. Kentucky, the one seed in the in the Midwest. Dismantled Virginia Tech. 84.60 behind Rick Patino. The head coach, look at him there that day.
Doing as Rick Petino thinks. The youngster? They're in Kentucky. After what he did in Providence and then This is post-Nix, right? Feel it?
Think so. Man, I think you're post-Larry Bird's not walking through that door, right? Pre.
Okay. Pre, pre. Yeah.
Well at any rate. Dismantled Virginia Tech on that day. I might have done the highlight. This is 30 years ago. Thirty years ago.
On this day. And now over the weekend. Rick Petino just won the Big East with St. John's. I see the same person.
Vampire Stone Age. Hey! It's crazy, man. 30 years apart. Think about everything in this world that's changed.
Just and not even sports, just The amount of stuff that's going on since that day. Yeah, I know, right? I got a cell phone. Eventually, was that your first? Oh, okay.
I don't even know if I had a cell phone. My cell phone was, I don't know when I got my cell phone for the first time. Probably late nine. Probably could have been then. I think Kentucky won it all that year.
They did, and UMass made the final four. And now look, they're doing their thing. For Arkansas and St. John's, St. John's is the five seed in the East.
And the Arkansas Razorbacks are the fourth seed in the West. The Kalapari and Pettino and me. Thirty years apart. Man I cannot believe it. And you're all still here kicking it, man.
Dude. I can't believe it. Again, that there's ESPN on the back of this Tumblr.
Now we're all here sitting here on Disney platform. We're streaming. We're streaming right now on ESPN platforms, Disney platforms right now. And St. John's?
In Arkansas? They got players, man. They do. They got players, and they got the ability to go. and go on a run.
You know? They're only um Well Arkansas is two games away from potentially playing The top seed Arizona. Um wildcats in the West and Saint John's could face this would be insane in the Sweet 16. In the East. Could you imagine?
If Rick Pettino takes on Duke again. You think we're going to be seeing that Christian Leitner play over and over and over again.
Well, we see it over and over and over again. I know, but this particular moment, the Petino versus Duke again. Honestly. Right? You know?
Good Lord I feel old. Do you guys feel old? 30 years ago, I was a sports center anchor at age 26, wondering what the hell was going on with my life. I was trying to find it, find the date, because that whole episode I think is on YouTube somewhere. But we talked to-really?
We talked to Larry Beal 10 years ago today on the 20th anniversary. No kidding. On this show. Should have gotten them back for today. I didn't, I honestly didn't think of it until the first hour of the show.
I'm like, let's look it up. Oh my God, it is today. It is today. And on this day, you mess. And Kentucky won their round of 32 game.
I might have done the highlights. The Kyle Powery. And Patino on that day. And we're talking about these guys in their new spots. Thirty years later.
You're right. Coach Kyle, is he he's like a Paul Rudd type character? Not much. Him in Petino.
Well You keep talking about Pacino sleeping upside down. There's different reasons. I can understand that.
Well, that's because you're a Celtic fan. You can't stand him. Can't stand that guy. He did get his start in New England, though. There's a lot of people that follow.
Mama says, don't say that. If you can say something nice to say, don't say it. You remember who his star player in Providence was? The current head coach at Chicago for the Bulls. Yeah.
Billy Donovan. That's right. He was unstoppable. Remember, Billy had that, what, 30 assists that one? Dude, he was really good.
They beat didn't they beat Georgetown in yeah, Providence beat Georgetown in the 20, I think, in. No, you would know that at nine? 89 something like that. Let's go to Andre in Texas. You're here on the Rich Eisen Show.
What's up, Andre?
Okay. You there, Andre? Yep, I'm here. What's up? What's up?
How are you doing today, sir? How are you? Hey, chips, chip top, man. Thank you. Uh oh.
Oh no. I just lost him again. Yep, you're there. All right, it's gone from my phone to my car. But I remember your first Um, still, I 'cause I remember How Smooth and relaxed, you see me doing doing the highlights.
I was like, hey. This guy might be as good as Dan Patrick. Oh, because, yeah, to this day, I still think Dan and Keith are number one, and then you and Stuart Scott, y'all are the second best duo ever. I appreciate that. Yes, Dan.
So, but just want to throw you some love on that. I appreciate that. I can assure you, I was nothing but a ball of nerves on that day.
Well, you did very well that day. I appreciate you saying that, Andre, and I appreciate you saying what you said. Dan and Keith are clearly. The big show guys who I was trying to emulate every single day still do, to be honest with you, every day.
So I appreciate that. Last question. Was that a real thing? Did they really get in trouble for saying the big show every night? No, I don't think they got in trouble for that.
They got in trouble for a lot. You know what I mean? Thanks for the call, Andre. They got in trouble for the big show. But they were the big show.
And it wasn't In trouble. There was when I got there to ESPN in 96. There was a, I think. friendly rivalry between The 6 o'clock sports center, the 11 o'clock sports center. and not so friendly rivalry with CNN.
you know The Nick Charles Fred Hickman. CNN. Sports program. That was their version of Sports Center. I remember when I would get there, there would be daily.
Uh A daily accounting on a bulletin board in the newsroom of the ratings for the 6 o'clock Sports Center, the 11 o'clock Sports Center, and that CNN one, and then the 2 a.m., which was. barely rating a blip. But The 2 AM Show. Eventually Well, it's 2.30 when I got there. And then it eventually became an hour-long show, and then it would be re-aired all throughout the next morning.
Could you imagine if ESPN now? Was airing a seven-hour old edition. Of a sports highlight program. Like it just, it would never happen today. Right.
It would never ever happen today. But it was a different time. where you know It was understandable that I'm watching something eight, nine hours old because it is in the mind's eye of everyone still fresh because there's nothing in the palm of your hand or on your home computer to update you. in real time like you have now. Am I sounding old or am I not really, really sounding old right now?
You're sounding nostalgic. That's the truth though. It's ENN Sports Tonight. Remember that? I do.
I used to watch that. I remember that was considered. at least in my mind's eye when I got there, competition. I don't know if Dan and Keith would view them as such.
Well, Dan came with the ESPN from CNN. I know. I know. But that was it when I got there. And it was Robin Roberts.
And Charlie Steiner and Bob Lee. How is Bob Lee not in that photograph that's on that from the 97? He's not in there, right? I don't know, he might he might have been OFF that day to use the Bill Peto phrase. But Bob's not there, but Bob was the the general.
General Lee. They could have photoshopped him right between they could still do that, right over Chris McKendree and Torico. It could just so much hair.
Well What do you mean? For me or for everyone? Everyone, not a bad person. Look at Reese. Reese, now Reese is the Paul Rudd.
He looks exactly the same. He does. He is not aged. Yeah.
He is not aexa vampire? Look that up. You want to Google that? Yeah, yeah.
Okay. 30 years ago today, my 30-year anniversary of hosting my first Sports Center today. And I've no doubt. I would love to see if I did a UMass or a Kentucky highlight. I'll try to find out.
Because Coach Kyle and Rick Petino are now. champions of their respective conference tournaments. In Arkansas and St. John's, the fact that Petino is a head coach of St. John's is wild.
you know, in the succession of Louis Carniseca. In Madison Square Garden, cutting down a net for St. John's. Only right if Patina wore a sweater. For the tournament.
Right? That's funny. I remember those. You remember when John Thompson came out and won? Yeah, his fake sweater?
Those were the days, man. This is some of my earliest memories of it, man. All right. Speaking of nostalgia, nostalgic is Derek Stroop's new comedy special on Netflix. Let's have some fun when he comes out next, right here on the Rich Isen Show.
The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. If you're like me and my family, you're all about creating amazing memories while on vacation. And for me, many of those have involved a home we found on Airbnb. We had such great experiences that whenever we travel somewhere new, we always check Airbnb first to find a place that fits our needs. The homes we've stayed in, comfortable, safe, private.
You feel like you're part of the community. After a long day of exploring or sitting on a beach, it really is nice to come back to a place you can call your own. Airbnb is also a great way, if you want, to earn some extra money while you're traveling or out of your house for an extended period of time. You can make your home work for you while you're away. Not as a full-time thing, not as some big production, just something that fits into trips you're already taking.
You can use the money for that dream vacation or put that money towards that outdoor kitchen you always wanted. Hosting on Airbnb just feels smart. Your home may be worth more than you think. Find out how much at airbnb.com/slash host. Get into the Hyundai Getaway Sales Event and get away with a deal so right it almost feels wrong.
Because right now you can get great deals on our most popular models, including our adventure-ready SUVs like the Hyundai Santa Fe or Santa Fe Hybrid and the Tucson or Tucson Hybrid. Plus, there's our bold and stylish Elantra loaded with the latest tech or go all-electric with the Ionic 5 or Ionic 9.
So get down to your local Hyundai dealer and get away with a deal you'll love during the Hyundai Getaway Sales Event. Visit HyundaiUSA.com for details. Rich Eisen here. You know that feeling of handing off your taxes and then hearing nothing? Total radio silence.
Well, not anymore.
Now your taxes are done for you by a TurboTax full-service expert who checks for every deduction and keeps you in the loop with real-time updates on your phone. Just match with your dedicated expert, upload your docs, and go live your life, confident you're getting every dollar you deserve. This is how taxes should be. Visit TurboTax.com today to learn more. Real-time updates only in iOS mobile app, only available with TurboTax Full Service Experts.
Our radio audience has returned Derek Stroop, the new comedy special nostalgic available right now on Netflix. It debuted in the top 10. It's still in the top 10. It's awesome. And we're talking about back in the day, people would call the house and the parent would answer the phone.
My dad got really angry if somebody would just go, is Rich there? Yeah.
That would be it. Yeah.
Like, is Rich there? And he would go, well, who is this? Yeah.
You know, that's right. He'd turn the burner up. Absolutely. Yeah, you're not going to blow by the head of the household. We're going to talk for a second here.
Yeah.
He's not an operator. Yeah, 100%. Like, let me go get him. Yeah.
He would say, who is this? And they'd say, who it is. And he goes, well, how are you doing? Like, he's talking. And I'd be standing right next to him.
Oh, just give me the phone. Just give me the phone. Brutal. And the phone calls we made back then were in front of our family. I mean, I'd be standing there in the living room and she'd be like, you're acting, you know, kind of weird.
And I'm like, no, my dad just turned down the TV so he could hear us talk. You know? That's not me breathing on the phone. My mother's on here, too. I mean, you remember back in the day, they could just hop on and you'd kind of hear some, and your mother would never, my mother at least, she would just be like five more minutes and hop off.
It was never like, she was never engaging, you know. It's a different time. Yeah, if you had multiple phones in the house, someone could just pick it up at any time and start listening. Yeah.
On the extension. Yeah.
On the extension. Or you'd be on the phone. You're, honey, I need you to throw the trash out. Like, mom, I'm talking about the phone. You're on the phone.
Yeah, like, click. No privacy. No privacy. Wrap this up. No privacy.
Kids these days have some privacy. I didn't even know what that word was until I got to college. I mean, no privacy. What are you talking about?
Well, we're talking nostalgic, too. I'd have to get off the phone because there was no call waiting yet. No. Because I was tying up the phone. Absolutely.
I'm tying up. My nonsense with my friends. This is preventing potential emergency phone calls from reaching the house. Your grandmother's supposed to call in three minutes. Yeah.
Dude. That exact sentence. And you go, okay, and you'd have to wrap it up. And then you'd have to make plans that you couldn't even follow up on. Let's meet at the park in four hours.
Could you imagine? You know what I mean? You can't touch base in 1988. You're just going to have to believe they'll be there. True that.
Why did they show up?
Something came up. Yeah, that's exactly right. I waited around. That's exactly right. Just circling your bike in the parking lot.
Yeah.
Oh, circling your bike in the parking lot's real. Yeah.
Just killing some time. You don't know what happened. And that goes into dating back in the day. There was no sorry, I can't make it. You just sat there and you were like, well, I guess this is another strikeout, you know?
Yes. My dad also, my parents also set no phone calls after 10 o'clock. Oh, for sure. If my friend would call at 10.05, 10.05. At like 10 10 01 and then have the double whammy of calling too late.
And then addressing my father as an operator, saying, Is Rich there? No, no, no, no. It would be, my dad, as soon as I got off the phone, would be like, this is not happening again. Yeah.
You know, and you better, like, you talk to your friends about this, or I will. My gosh. He did that. I mean, I can feel that in my chest, Rich. I mean, really.
I can feel it. Then you get on the phone with your buddy, and it's like, no, good to hear from you, Tyler. My night's ruined. Yeah.
You just called my dad, bro.
So it's all over for me. Yeah.
See, where you have similar upbrings. Oh, man. It's crazy how it travels through so many. You know, I started off when I was working on this hour thinking I was talking from a 90s perspective. Sure.
And I was way off. There were so many decades before me and generation. We all have so many more similarities than I ever imagined. You know, it is in the games. You know, I thought games that 90s kids had created, and they were like, no, no, we were doing this in 74, big boy.
That's right. And it was fun to learn that. Yeah, I know. And my kids, they're 17, 15, and 12. They can't imagine what it was like to just go out on the street.
Hang out. Oh, yeah. And then come home like seven hours later. And my wife and I look at each other and go, How the hell did our parents just let us walk out of the house and not have us on a find my iPhone situation or a Life 360 or something like that? That's it.
We'll see it. We'll see in like five hours. That's it. There was no like warning shot back then. You didn't get a message like, hey, you need to.
You knew that when it got dark, at least for me, I had to be home. And the consequences for me not being home were heavy. I mean, being grounded, which was a nightmare back then, but just sitting looking out my window trying to make friends with a cardinal. We got really grounded back then. But yeah, they didn't have the leash on us that they do kids these days.
And I think there's probably good and bad in that. I agree. Derek Stroop is here on The Rich Eisen Show. Again, nostalgic is available right now on Netflix. You also have a.
a really funny exchange um in this special about Something that we are very passionate about, and that's middle seat armrests. Yes, on the program. I'll give you the floor on your opinions on this front seat. Yeah, I mean, this and then this is avid flyers. The more you fly, the more you notice these type of things.
But for me, I just started to notice that middle seat people, I mean, they really camp out on the armrests. And I started to figure out that once I had some conversations, they kind of treat it like it's a rule, like it's a thing that it's concrete, it's something, and then it's a made-up situation. And for a frequent flyer, a middle seat person is barely on the flight. I mean, they're the only seat. This is the line I tell you.
They're the only seat. You cannot lie. That if they don't show up, we celebrate. I've made good friends with another person. Five in the morning.
You both look, the middle seat's empty. You don't want to talk. You don't want to look, and you'll just fist bump. You'll go, how about it? It happened my last fight.
We've got a big Wednesday ahead of us. Big win. My last fight day. Yeah.
How about it? You don't want to bring it up either, Rex. You want to jinx it. You don't want that person. You don't want to sneak it.
No, and that's right, too. Because you'll learn there'll be somebody that'll sneak on in boarding group 110 and they'll sneak on. But when they announce the door's been closed. When you hear the thump, you're just like. That's when the fist bump is.
Oh, that's right. It's the best feeling.
So on the opposite side, like you're the middle seat person and you're boarding last, and then you look at the two people that thought. That was going to be empty, and now you're occupying it. And then now you're sitting down. And I've been this guy before. You're like, okay, how do I get at least one of these arms?
Yeah, you're right. You're right. You know, and the thing is, you want the back of the armrest. You don't want the front. That's right.
You need the back. You need to sit back and be able to tuck your elbows in. And this is now a fight. It's a fight. It is.
And here's the thing: we've all been in the middle seat situation.
Now, what you don't want to come into in the middle seat is when the guys on the edges go, oh man, we thought that we were yada, yada, yada. It's like, I know, I know I'm a disappointment. You don't have to tell me. I can see it on your face. Oh, your face lost color when I put my bag over your head.
So it is an awkward situation for everybody, but just owning the armrest regardless without any type of courtesy, it drives me crazy because usually, most of the time, middle seat people, I mean, they're not like frequent flyers. You know, they won their seat in a raffle, and now I'm dealing with them on their second trip in the air.
So that's kind of my feelings on it. That's true. Pardon me, it's the truth because. We even said that they don't have a right to the armrest, right? Didn't we say that one year?
And it kind of, you know, middle seat people are barely human. We're kind of in that case. Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Oh, man. Then y'all must have loved that bit because I really dig in. I go, I go, I saw a middle seat guy pull out a laptop. All right. And I didn't know how to tell him that nobody's in an office waiting on a middle seat email.
If anybody cared about your email, you'd be in the aisle, big dog. And I've gotten emails already. Like, I guess I shouldn't bring a laptop if I'm in the middle seat. And I'm like, it feels good to be heard, you know? Yeah, I stand by that.
You say, you told them to pay. It's like marrying a tuxedo to a diner. You know what I mean? Tell them to pull up. It's crazy.
You're in the middle seat, man. You got to eat the pretzels, tighten up, get your fly miles together. You'll be in the aisle. We all earned our positions. You know?
Status is real. That's how I feel about it. That was great. Oh my God. It's funny because I saw Conan O'Brien on the Kelsey Brothers pod recently, the New Heights pod.
In advance of him doing the Oscars. And he talked about how when he first got to Hollywood, he and his riding partner from the Boston area flew out to LA. And they took People's Express. Yeah, yeah.
You remember that airline? People's Express sounds more like a magazine. Dude, no doubt about it. And I did a. Because I did stand-up in college, so I could not respect what you do for a living more.
And I kind of did a bit about because you'd have to pay as you go. Like they used to on People's Express have a a cart for the drinks and a cart for food. and then a cart for payment. Where they had one of those things where they used to put your credit card in one of these things and then give you the copy. Yeah, that's right.
That's right. The sheet that rip off the copy. And I thought to myself, what if somebody didn't have a credit card? Yeah.
Like, would they hand you a parachute? I mean, was that the joke, Chris? That was the joke. That's not, that's great. Yeah.
And you, and the way you, and it's what I do for a living, I should suck with it. And you formed it in such like in conversation form that it landed even harder. There you go. Because I didn't see it coming. Maybe on stage it plays different, but in this conversation, I go, does he need a parachute?
What a zinger. There you go. Yeah.
Like D.B. Cooper out the back. No, now people don't even understand who the hell that is. Yeah, you lost me. I know.
But I appreciate the courtesy left. Yeah, yeah.
I really, really do. How'd you get started? I started right out right when I got out of college. I kind of hung around the college town for a little bit. And I would go up at the local bar I worked at right out of college.
There was some country. I went to college. I went to Jacksonville State in Jacksonville, Alabama.
Okay. Now they're Conference USA. When I was there, I mean, they all had on different colored jerseys. It was like Division IX, and we still loved it. But at the local bar, there was like a lot of country music.
Riley Green and Sam Hunt, some guys that have really made it now, were coming up through there. And I mean, it was exciting, but I was like, if I hear a wagon wheel one more time, I'm going to walk in front of a bus.
So I got up and I just started to do comedy, not like chasing a dream, just like for my friends, just having some fun. And one thing led to another over the years, and I eventually moved to Denver in 2014, and we were off to the races.
So that was a big, that was a break for yourself. Yeah, yeah.
Moving to Denver changed everything. Because in Alabama, there was no, I wasn't part of a comedy scene and there was no, you know, open mics per se. I was just getting up in front of a bunch of the patrons that came to the bar that I worked at. I would make pictures a dollar and I would do 40 minutes of terrible comedy. But when you're Somewhere where nobody's doing anything like that.
It was just fun for everybody to see me on stage telling stories and trying to be relatable. But I mean, that was long before the dream. When I moved to Denver, I really hit the ground running. You know, met a community in Comedy Works, my home club there.
Now I'm putting two and two together because you and I were talking in the back in between the second and third hours. You say you're a Nuggets fan. That's where that comes from? That's where that came from. Yeah.
I mean, I got there about the time Jokic did. And it was, I lived, I lived downtown. I lived there for about 10 years, and I was just like a 20-minute walk to Ball Arena back then, and it was the best.
So you're feeling good right now? Oh, yeah, yeah, I feel good.
Okay. Yeah, yeah, I feel good. I mean, Jokic, I mean, he's showing some emotion right now, which is nice. A lot of leadership from the bench. He's being a lot more emotional than I've seen him in the past years.
So, yeah, I mean, I'll ride with the Nuggets to the wheels fall off. Yeah, because Jokic in the past. This seems like he's a stoic who just wants to go home and watch his harness racing. That's it. You know what I mean?
And this time around, Now he seems like that that fae who did he give that face to? Who got in his face where it looked like, you know, that was Dort tripped him. That's right. Yeah, that's right. It was Jalen Williams.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. He ought to be on the business end of that. Yeah, I was watching that live. I mean, that look on his face. But I mean, you know, it's good to see that because there's no way he can be who he is and not have that type of emotion boiling right under his skin.
Well, all you got to do is just see his brothers. Oh, my goodness. I mean, those look like the guys that you see if you owe money. You know what I mean? You open the door and you go, oh, no.
You know. That parlay, though, not a good Wednesday. Not a good Wednesday. I didn't think they'd ever find me. And now here are the Monsters at my front door.
Monsters. Yeah.
That is funny. Yeah.
That's what they look like. Just six, nine goons just standing there. And it's like, my goodness. With Marvin the Martian suddenly showing up, right? That's right.
Oh, my gosh. Oh, that is funny. And so you're a Commanders fan as well. Where did that come from?
Well, I was born. In Charleston, West Virginia.
Okay. A free agent state.
So you got a few places you can pull from. Bengals, Steelers. I was born into a Commanders family. Back then, it was a lot more fun. I was born in 84, so I got here about the time they gave up.
I mean, we had one, we had Doug Williams in 92, which was great. But besides that, it's been tough. But I am a lifelong Commanders fan. I do love them.
So you're still there? You're a Nuggets fan. Nuggets fan.
Okay. And in baseball, I grew up a Braves fan. Made the worst decision you could possibly picked up the Rockies when I moved to Denver. And what a blessing. They haven't won a game since I started rooting for them.
The stadium's unbelievable. I just love Coors Field. I was there when Nolan Aeronado was there. Got to watch him be a Rocky. Sure.
Root for the Rockies, but that is a tough ride. I know right now. Yeah, yeah.
It is. You don't know.
So you're heading to Vegas next? Headed to Vegas next.
Okay. You got some appearances there? Yeah, yeah, I'll be with. Nate Bargettsi for a few days there in Vegas.
So we'll be hanging out a little bit of golf, a little bit of sunshine. When did you get connected with Nate? How did that happen? You know, a lot of people think it's been a long journey. It was just two years ago.
That's it. But we're pretty kindred souls. I could, honestly, I think you guys have a similar sense of humor. You've got similar cadence. You know what I mean?
Like, I can see why the two of you would, you know, get along and let alone work together. Yeah, I mean, we really hit it off immediately. You know, we're, like you said, we're both very similar guys. I'm, you know, clearly a lot more emotional than he is on and off stage. Yeah.
But our sense of humors are the same. We grew up 90 miles from each other. No kidding. So, yeah, the tone and the cadence is pretty similar. I remember one time I worked with Jim Gaff again.
I kind of told him how people compare me to Nate. And when I was on stage, he was like, that's two different worlds. And then when I got off stage, Jim was like, I'm not trying to be rude, but it feels like you're doing an impression of Nate, right? That's what he said. Yeah.
Yeah, because we were off stage, our voices were so. Similar when I kind of dial it down and I'm just hanging out. But, you know, there's a lot worse people to be compared to. I can tell you that. Nate's the best.
Yeah, he's been here a couple times, and I've gotten to hang with him every now and then, certainly at the American Century Championship last year. He's good at golf. Yeah, no, he's going to. Very good at that. Are you not nearly as good?
No, he's going to stick it to me. I mean, I can tell you the difference in me and Nate is that he would never let me be in his cart.
Okay, we're not taking those detours, Derek. We're not we're at a nice course. We're not driving through this pine through these pines to get your yeah, I get my own every time they go, Derek, you go do your own thing. I'm like a 17-18 handicap. You and I could be in the same cart.
Oh, yeah, we'd have a blast, Rich. I know. I would agree.
So you're not cart-friendly. No, no, because my journey to the hole is a little different than other people's. It's not as direct. It is not as direct. You're running a hot tour.
Tickets on sale now. Dates and information at derekstroop.com. And you're set to appear in an upcoming movie, The Breadwinner, in theaters coming up at the end of the year. Yeah.
So exciting. That's Nate's movie. He's got Mandy Moore co-starring with him. They set me up in a great little role. I'm an overbearing car dealer.
Yes. Car salesman, excuse me. And it was perfect. They gave me just four or five lines and a decent amount of caffeine. Right.
And they were just kind of like, you know, run with it.
So it's a fun movie. I think everybody should check it out. Yeah, it's kind of like a Mr. Mom sort of reboot in a way. It is.
It's kind of the comedy that has disappeared for the past. Yeah.
Yeah, and it's coming back, and I think it's refreshing and light and fun. Nostalgic. Yeah.
It's nostalgic. It's full circle. That's right. Nostalgic again, top 10 right now on Netflix. And you live in Queens?
I do. I live in Astoria.
So you live in Astoria, Queens. I do. Yeah.
Okay, have you picked up anything from the New York experience? I do. I do like halal bacon, for sure. I never had it until I moved there. The texture's different.
The taste is really similar.
Okay. And also, there's so much Greek food around me, it's unreal.
Okay. I mean, I'm in Mediterranean heaven. It's the best.
Okay. So there's a few things. There's a few things that I've picked up. I mean, my accent gets some attention, as you know. You're from that area, Rich.
I'm from Salesforce. He's already laughing. He already knows. I am. They probably want to see your passport.
I mean, I walk into a bodega. I go, what's going on? I mean, they all stop like, what's that? You know? It's great, though.
That's Mets country right there. You live in Mets Jets country. I do. I do. Not much, didn't grow up caring much about the Mets, but I did have a little love for the Jets growing up.
Did you really? Yeah, yeah.
I mean, Brian Cox with the board behind his head, middle linebacker when I was growing up. He was just eating people. Yeah.
And I felt like, you know, he was like a heavy-set athlete. It was pretty inspiring. Yeah.
Inspired you. Yeah, it did. I go, look how chubby his face is, and he looks like he's moving. You know? Derek, this has been a blast, man.
Let me know whenever you're back here. Yeah, of course. I appreciate you coming on here and sharing your very funny thoughts. Thank you, man. Thanks for having me, Rich.
I heard you say 32 years today. 30 years ago. 30 years my first year. Yeah, I grew up watching you. 41 years old, man.
I'm right in that demographic. We're like high school, college, all the way up. Really loved watching you.
So thanks for having me. Oh, my God. I appreciate that so much. Wow. So you were 11 when I did my first sports.
First, yeah. Yeah, I meet folks who are of your age, and I'll either have Stuart and I will have either put them on a school bus or kept them up at night procrastinating in college. Yeah, and when you're at my age range, you did both for me.
Okay, that's right. I did both. I bridged both. Yeah.
Well, it's my pleasure to see you and be of service. Thank you, buddy. Thank you. That's Derek Stroop right here on The Rich Eisen Show. Check out his special nostalgic right now on Netflix.
We're back to wrap this show up in a moment. The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast. Save money and get a better view of the road when you replace your worn-out wiper blades at O'Reilly Auto Parts. Right now, save $10 on a pair of Rainx Latitude Wiper Blades. They feature beam blade technology to improve windshield contact for maximum visibility.
The professional parts people will even install your new wiper blades for free. Choose Rainex Latitude Wiper Blades at your local O'Reilly Auto Parts store or online at O'ReillyAuto.com. As you know, managing maintenance, repair, and operations is never easy. But for the ones who always rise to the challenge, Granger has your back. From professional grade products you can count on to fast, dependable delivery.
They're there to help you keep things running smoothly. Plus, their technical product specialists are here to help answer your toughest questions. And because Granger knows safety is always a priority, they're committed to being your partner in protecting both your people and your facilities. Call 1-800-GRANGER, clickgranger.com, or just stop by. For small businesses, every hire counts, and so does your time.
Hiring can quickly become overwhelming, folks, from sorting applications to figuring out who's truly qualified. That's where LinkedIn Hiring Pro. Helps. It streamlines the process so you can focus on connecting with the right candidates, not managing the noise. Hire right the first time.
That's so crucial. Post your first job and get $100 off towards your job post at linkedin.com slash Eisen. That's linkedin.com slash Eisen, terms and conditions. Apply. That was a lot of fun with Derek Stroop right there.
Let's take Adam and Maryland's call. What's up, Adam? Hey, Rich, good to talk to you again. What's up, bud? What's on your mind?
I just had to call in and Step up to bat to defend Van Montabayo and my Washington Wizards for last week's game.
Okay. Because you know. A lot of people who watched the box score had a lot to say, but what they didn't do was click the Wizard section of that box score and see that despite Bam going off in the first quarter, Alex Starr gave him twenty eight points in twenty minutes. Even though he's on a minutes restriction.
So he had a he had his own little historic night last night. And uh funny question, who has scored over thirty points against the Wizards since the band went off? The answer? No one. Not even Brockman Celtics could do that.
So, what's your point? That the wizards are better than how terrible they looked? Is that what it is? Yeah, like we we we got a lot of lot of young kids and like, you know, they're getting time. We're waiting for Adi and Trey to like fully step in next season.
And for people to just go, Oh, well, it's the Wizarders just like You all play the wizards and you're not doing what Band did.
So just accept that BAM had a historic heater. And we're actually not that bad. You do a lot better. He went so high registered. He did go high registered.
I was not that bad. I was with him up until that point. He was not that bad. Adam, thanks for the call. Really appreciate it.
There he goes. Everyone's playing their G-Leaguers when they put it on the map. Listen, it's not about the Wizards. It's really, again, about the way that the last three minutes went down. That the Heat kept on fouling so they could get the ball back for Atabayo to take his free throws to get into the position to have a record night.
And Since that's happened, pretty much to an all-time great. when they're on their respective broadcasts. They've all said back off. Bam. Back off.
And because again, he's such a likable guy. He is set to be a Hall of Famer one day. He is a winner. And he had a magical night, and a lot of folks just had a problem the way that he got from 70 to 83. Essentially, And um Okay.
He he is just back in the mode of playing games every single night, And keeping it within the box of that night's game, which makes sense in. The world of professional sports. You just need to. Keep it a game to game. SITUATION FOR YOUR SERELF even if that means that you go to the microphone after a game.
like the one that he played. for the heat in a loss to your Milando Magic. where he complained about The lack of whistles. Roll it. That's what's frustrating about it because we get fined if we say something about it.
But Like That altered the game. And When you alter the game You you should you should have to s like Stand on that. Because when we mess up, when we make mistakes, when we miss stuff, like. All hell breaks loose on us. Uh you know, we got people blaming us for everything.
Um So Uh I feel like they had a Five second call that wasn't called. Altered the game. Uh so you you see what I'm getting at when it's I they they affect the game in a way where sometimes i it does have an effect and You know, they they they get to go home and and and and sleep peacefully and We're up here talking about a call that you feel like should have been called or not called.
So for those who feel that BAM's 83.9, Was aided by his teammates altering the game by fouling to get the ball back for him to get free throws every single time. The Wizards would foul him. It's difficult to hear him complain about Mm-hmm. Referees whistles altering the game. Couldn't be.
Everybody has the same complaints. I will just say this. Like, now he cares about integrity. No, but we've got to just get past it. We do.
Yeah.
Because guess what? The guy had 83. He had 83. You've never seen that in your life before. He's gotten 83.
And the way he got it. I understand folks have a problem with it. But His teammates We're like, we're going to help you get it. The coach was like, we're going to. Keep you in the game so you can get it.
And he got it. And at the end of the day That's one game. He needs to do what he's doing, which is living in the box of game to game. He's not going to. See, he's given he no longer has the right.
to complain about officiating. Is that it? I think it was two games. But I understand the same week that it's still echoing. Like, come on, dude.
I think it's still echoing. But You know, like no one wants to hear it. It's going to be, you're going to be hearing about it, his 83-point game for the rest of his days. And when he goes in the Hall of Fame, there'll be, you know. discussions of it.
And he got it. And that's the end of it. I think we all just need to move on. Dot com. I know we got O.
Shea Jackson Jr. going to be coming in here later this week, and he's already. Doesn't want to hear it because these. Oh, he already did that.
Well, no, no. He's double down. That's the first. I did not know about this sound bite until he texted it to all of us. Yeah, me neither.
He's an unhinged Kobe fan. He's a Kobe Stanford. Like, what's he going to think? But, like, come on, man. But again, let's move on from that.
Meanwhile, His Lakers are third in the Western Conference now. After Yeah.
Okay. You know, Luca and Austin Reeves are going off, and that's with LeBron playing with them.
Okay. So it's gelling. That Lakers win over the Nuggets this past week was a wild game and a fun game. And one that, by the way, looks to be a first round match up if the season ended today. Sign me up for that.
Lakers Rockets tonight. And that's going to be fun stuff between now and the end of the season. But can we just drop the whole autobio thing now? And he's allowed to bitch about the reps because it's a game-to-game situation. We'll chat again on Tuesday.
Mm-hmm. 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.
