Are roll batteries the same? Yeah. That's like asking if all soccer players are the same. Take Messi, the most decorated player ever. Is there any other player who has achieved that?
No, just him.
Now take Duracell. Is there any other battery with power boost ingredients inside? No, just Duracell. Remember, GOATs only trust GOATs because they're built different. And Messi only trusts Duracel.
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Now, on with the show. Uh Pump up the volume. This is the Rich Eisen Show with guest host, WWE superstar Seth Rollins. God, I love that guy. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles.
Earlier on the show, Super Bowl champion quarterback Joe Theizman. Coming up. Apple TV MLS play-by-play announcer Max Pretos. Comedian Brad Williams. And now, sitting in for Rich, it's Seth Rollins.
Oh, yeah. You know, guys, it gives me a nice feeling anytime that a little, I don't know, is that a real voice? Is it AI bottom? That's a real voice. Real voice.
Yeah, it's a real voice. Very nice voice. That's all. A real voice saying, sitting in for rich. And I'm like, oh, that's me, Seth Rollins.
That's nice. It feels good. And we are here hour two. Had a good hour one. Joe Theisman being held like a child by Andre the Giant.
Probably the highlight. Speaking of not an AI, that was a real photo. Yeah, it was real. You could show your kids that, and they wouldn't believe it. They would not believe it.
The funny thing is, I've seen the old Andre interviews where he talks about that. And it's just like, first of all, the fact that. Andre the Giant was a real person. And he's like, the myth is so great right now, but we actually live, we know that this dude actually roamed the art. If you haven't seen it, look for it.
I'm sure it's on a streamer somewhere. The HBO, or yeah, documentary that they did about Andre the Giant. Fantastic. You'll enjoy every second. It might have been Bill Simmons.
It was a Bill Simmons. I just re-watched that, like. Three weeks ago. It's so good. It's very well done.
Got a question for you, Seth Rowland. Oh, oh, okay. What you got, dog? Oh, it's WrestleMania, and your opponent is Andre the Giant. How are you going to go about that?
7'4, 500 pounds. How are you going to attack the eighth wonder of the world? You know, I have actually had a really great history of matches with big men. Oh, well, I love wrestling a big guy. I'm always one of those guys who, when I watch wrestling, I don't want to see two guys who do the same thing.
Yeah, sure. That's the beauty of pro wrestling. Styles make fights. Yeah, styles makes fights. And the only, it's the only like.
Sport art form, whatever you want to call it, where you get this, you know, in the UFC or in MMA or in boxing or in weight classes. There's weight classes. You don't get this, man. You don't get to see Seth Rollins, who's, you know, 220, 6'1, against Andre the Giant, you know.
So I loved wrestling guys like The Undertaker and Kane and The Big Show. And like one of my favorite matches that I've ever had is I wrestled the giant Omas in Puerto Rico in San Juan. And it was kind of, it was a, it was a throwaway match. Like we didn't have, there was no backstory to it. I remember it distinctly.
I was actually sitting here in Los Angeles down the street. I am drinking coffee at Offset Coffee Roasters, and I get a call. I'm thinking I'm off for the next couple weeks because they're doing this Puerto Rico show. Bad Bunny is headlining against Damian Priest. I've got nothing.
And I get This call, and it's Vince McMahon. And he says, Whoa, I'd like, this was years ago, obviously, I'd like you to work with Omas. And I said, What? Why? He's like, well, you know, the show, we need some star power.
You know, we've got Bunny on top. And, you know, Vince didn't know. You said this is the most listened-to stream. Vince, this is like Michael Jackson in his prime popularity having a wrestling match in Gary, Indiana, where he grew up. Like, that's what this is.
Vince from it. You know what I mean? He didn't understand it. How is Vince in your phone? Vince McMahon.
Okay. I didn't know if you had like boss or the boss. Nope. Vince McMahon is how he is in my phone. And I'm privileged to actually, you know, when he left the company, he obviously had to get a new phone.
So he lost the corporate number.
So I feel like I was privileged to get access to the other, the new number. But yeah, so Omas, who nobody was thinking could have a good wrestling match at this point, he was very young, very green, not a lot of experience. And I. I was like This is a challenge. Let's go.
And I was so excited. I think we had two weeks of Monday Night Raw to kind of like build it. There was no real story to it. Went in there, tore the house down in San Juan with the giant Omos, who I love, by the way. He's fantastic.
He's working down in AAA now, I believe, as well. People don't know, Omos is legit 7-2, 7-3. He's huge. Huge man, does not know his own strength. One of those guys who's like, Yeah, I'm strong, but no, no, no, no, no, sir.
You could snap all my limbs in an instant if you wanted to. Yeah. So, guys like him, big show. If I'm out there with Andre the Giant, oh, it's easy, baby. It's it's, I mean, that is a spectacle of a human.
You know, you just run around him, chop him down like a tree, and have a party. I would relish a chance to work with Andre. And Andre was stomp on Andre? You'd have to be coming off the cage. Yeah, I don't something to take him down.
That's a big boy. Andre's, and my men need like three feet for the stomp. I don't even, he's head. His head, man, the size of his head. Yeah, we are here.
I am Seth Rollins. I'm not Rich Eisen, but we are chatting it up on Disney Plus and ESPN, SiriusXM, ESPN Radio, all of it. And guys, we got to talk about some basketball. We've got to talk about the NBA because free agency is wide open. Not just free agency, but there are some trades going on, and there is like.
I don't know what to call it, like an inter-caste violence. There's some sort of, I mean, you guys, TJ, Brockman, there was a big trade that went on. Um, the Celtics, the 76ers, you guys take me through it. I need to know your feelings. Here it is on the screen.
Take me. I mean, how are we feeling about this, guys? Where are we at? I feel great.
Well, yeah, exactly. It's like Felly has two friends: Chris is sad, and TJ is happy. Um. Man, it's terrible. It's awful.
I. This guy at Jalen Brown. It has been so good to me as a Celtics fan for a decade. He has won so many games, and we've experienced so many highs. And yeah, there's been some disappointments in there.
Most recently, this past spring. But. we got to the mountain top and There was really no reason to To to get down from the mountain top. And it just, you know, Something that I'm sure we'll find out eventually in a hit piece by the local Boston media, because that's what they do. Maybe we'll get some answers as to what really went on behind the scenes and why Jalen Brown had to go.
But by all accounts, from Chris Mannix and Choms, he did not ask for a trade. This is something that the front office felt like they had to do, and whether it was. You know, the analytics department, TJ, I know you hate them. They didn't think it would work out any longer, or maybe. Maybe this is the ultimate sell-high on a guy that just had his best, you know, statistical and on-court.
Season, but it's the end of the era for the Jays, and I am very, very sad. And all I can say is, TJ. Treat them right. You know, for me, Seth, we have these. documents that we We have here on the show, no one's actually signed one, and that is if you want to give up your sports fandom for a particular team.
So I was presenting one with the Cowboys, can't sign it. I, guys, legitimately, I was thinking. I was done with the Sixers because the Sixers, since I've been a kid, have just this history of making horrendous and horrible basketball decisions. I'm talking back when they traded Will Chamberlain. I wasn't around for that, but I know what happened, to trading Moses Malone, to not drafting Brad Doherty, to passing up on Paul Pierce, to, you know, everything they do seems to be the wrong move.
And it was almost as a fan, I was kind of tired of it. This is kind of Rejuvenated my fandom. I thought I was out. They pulled me back in. Getting Jalen Brown, right now, in the prime of his career, to pair with.
Tyrese Maxie, the pair with a young edge come. Look, Joelle Embiid, we could just put him on the exercise bike till April. There you go. Maybe play him once every four weeks. Just be like, hey, big fella, sit there, get healthy.
We'll pop you out every eight to ten games just so you don't have any rust. Jalen Brown is an NBA Finals MVP. Dog.
Okay, he is one of the best players in the world.
So put him on this Sixers team. With those other guys. And now we've got to see how the rest of the team stacks up. They're going to bring other people in, obviously. But the New York Knicks have made it as such that.
Any team that hasn't won in a while has to sit there and think, why not us? And that's not knocking the Knicks, but 53 years has been.
So, yeah, if the Knicks could do it, why can't we do it?
So, so. Where are we at now for expectations then going into the season in the fall? You were back in, TJ. Are you. Like championship or bust back in?
Look, the fan in me wants to sit here and go, yeah, this is it, obviously, but I've got to be professional here behind this mic and be realistic. I mean, why do you have to beat why? I think the Bears are going to win the Super Bowl. I think Caleb Williams is going to be the MVP. Why would you be professional?
I believe. Here's what I believe is going to happen. Can I just set up a scenario? Yes. LeBron James comes to Philadelphia.
Wait a minute now. Man. That is a different conversation. You and everybody else. Look, I'm just saying, LeBron the money's no factor, right?
He's going to play for less money than us. He said he would take less. Yeah. LeBron James comes to Philadelphia. It's out there.
Whoa. And I feel like. That could be enough to get the Sixers over.
Someone, I think Big Perk just said that the Celtics is short, that the Sixers would be in the NBA Finals next season. I'm not ready to go that far. Come on. But I can say I am so looking forward to this season just to see what can happen. And I'm going to renew NBA League pass without a doubt.
Okay, boy. All right.
So they got your money. They got your money. All right, Brockman.
So what? Yeah, from the Boston perspective, look, I mean, this hit me kind of like a ton of bricks. I was on the golf course when I found out yesterday. Just like Austin Reeves. My route.
Yeah, exactly. I had the same reaction as to Austin Reeves. I passed out, but for different reasons. You weren't getting 100-plus million. I was not getting 100 million.
I was having my heart ripped out. I can only think: look, it's the in Bradwee Trust situation, right? Brad Stevens is one of the best front office guys in the league. I have to think this is. Just the first move in a series of moves, right?
You acquire two first-round picks and two second-round picks in addition to Paul George. I can only hope, and I can only, I guess, I can't assume, I didn't assume that we'd trade him to our biggest rival, that this is part of. A package that we're going to go get somebody else. Oh.
So it's not just who is out there to be got. You know, the name that Trey Murphy is the name, TJ, that keeps getting thrown about. The conspiracy brain in me says, Why hasn't the Giannis trade been officially announced yet? Is that can we come over the top and now offer four first-round picks, two seconds, Paul George, Sam Hauser, who else? Wow, that would be a heck of a turn right there.
You know, I know people are saying, well, it can't be done until July 6th. That's something.
Okay, great. Then we still have four more days to have a better deal than what Miami agreed to. I don't know. I'm just throwing that out there. But my hope is that it's part of a better move.
I look at the odds, TJ. It's not a thing that you guys are into. It's something that I'm into. Boston still has the fourth best championship odds, they have much better odds than Philadelphia. And Toronto and Detroit.
They have the fourth best odds to win the title next year. Why is that?
Okay. They may have, we don't know. Or they're just still confident. In the roster that Boston has, Jason Tatum, who has proven time and time again to be a top-five player in the NBA, fully healthy, coming back after the injury, the second season removed, and then all the pieces around it. You know, you're seeing articles today saying that the Celtics.
I can't even say it with a straight face. Go ahead. Think that Peyton Pritchard could have a Brunson-like come up? Wow. First off, wow.
Six man of the year. Had a great season, 18 points a game this year. No problem, but I do know this. If there's a buzzer beater to be made, Richard Pritchard is made. He's going to make it.
He's going to make it. I know it's paying Richard. This is a big one. I mean, I joke, folks. Seth, if there's a buzzer beater, he is going to stroke it.
Maybe I'm just like smoking the copium today, and I'm doing whatever I can to kind of. Not freak out and like crash out over this. What everyone thinks I'm going to do. But I got to try to keep the glass half full when maybe I shouldn't. But I'm definitely bummed.
Like I said before, just won a lot of games and so much joy as a fan. They've proven that they can be the best in the league as a duo, and now they're no more. Yeah, that's painful. Is this equivalent to like. The Bulls trading Scotty Pippen during the Jordan years?
Is that where we're at? If you're a Celtics fan, is he that necessary for the success of the franchise? I don't know. I guess the analytics people would have you think no. Yeah, the stats that Brockman was reading this morning to me tells me that they don't believe that.
That's true. He did read some quite jarring and have these available and give you a trend. Yeah, I saw them this morning. You know, that was the quote that Bobby Marks had, you know, and he took a lot of heat for that. But he was just saying what he's hearing from analytics people.
And it's, you know, over the last three seasons, the Celtics are 36 and 6 when Jalen Brown does not play. Wow. 36 and 6. 90 and 36 all time. Oh, then you didn't need him.
I know. You didn't need him. Again, I'm not saying we should have gotten rid of him. I do not. I do not believe that.
But Brown finished his Celtics career with a negative on-court, off-court differential. Breaking up. I mean, it's crazy, right? It seems crazy to break. These guys up when they've had so much success and proven that they can be.
1A, 1B, whatever you want. They're ones. They're both ones. You know, it's crazy. It's crazy to break up Brown and Tatum.
It's almost as crazy as having a group that had, I don't know, Rollins and Reigns in it and breaking them up at the ICA. It's just, it's crazy to think about. It's crazy to think that you would have these great performers who all towed together. And then a piece of steel chair comes in and just destroys it all. Look, sometimes executive decisions need to be made and people don't understand what goes into these.
So maybe I'm with you here. And I was, I was, TJ ruined it for me. I was on TJ's side. I was trying to hype up Jalen Brown here. And now I'm, you know, I think I'm over.
I get it. I get it. This is an executive decision. And you know what? I'm thinking about this too.
I'm thinking about this as well. Like the draft pick thing, it has some legs to it because, I mean, in the NFL, when there's a trade and there's draft picks, that draft capital is huge. But in the short race, it's not the same. Not the same. I mean, look, with Cal Bridges, it's the famous one: five first-rounders, whatever.
We just saw the Lakers give up less to get Walker Kessler. It's like they gave up more for Walker Kessler than they did for Luca.
So, in the NBA, the draft picks and the trades, one and two are not the same, and plus whatever the market is at the time. One of those draft picks right now is currently in eighth grade. There you go. So, that's the stuff's going to get moved around. And one of the unprotected that the Celtics got, Jalen Brown's going to be what, 35, and Embiid's going to be 37.
Who knows if he's even on the team then? Like, that could be any pick. But, look, I think it's part of a bigger move. At least that's what I'm telling myself to sleep at night.
So, I need to jump back in over here to this LeBron conspiracy theory, TJ. What conspiracy? I'm not conspiring. Where are we thinking? Because he.
What what makes you think he's going to end up in Philadelphia? Hope.
Okay. Just hope. That's it. You know, because look, he's going to go somewhere. He is.
So why not come to us? You know, why not, you know.
Now, by the way, if LeBron gets four rings with four different teams, if you are of the belief that he's the greatest, then your argument just becomes stronger than Omos at this point. He just keeps joining super teams? Is that what you mean? I don't know if it's joining super teams, but he's brought championships everywhere he goes. I mean, LeBron's, if he's not the greatest, he's the second greatest.
I'm a Jordan guy, so I'm always going to think Jordan's number one unless somebody comes out and is more dominant. LeBron just wasn't as. Dominant of a winner. As Jordan was once Jordan hit his stride. But you look at the length of the career.
Yeah, the longevity. There's no argument here. He played twice as long. I think there's two different, there's just two different kinds of. They're playing the same game, but it's different eras.
And I don't know. I'm a Jordan guy, but I either. I've spent thousands of dollars on Jordans. I own one pair of LeBrons and I got them for free. It's one, two, or one A, one B.
Sure. We want to slice it. For sure. But he's not going to go to, he's got no, he's going to go somewhere where he's either. He has no ties to Philadelphia.
Why would he go there? He's got to have an attachment to Philip. To make me happy. Or he's going to go play. You know, I bet that's on his watch.
Why wouldn't it be? But if you were him, Seth, where would you go? I'm going to go play with my friends. Golden State. Golden State.
Golden State. That I mean, uh, he's always wanted to play with Steph. He's made that known. He's gonna go it's gotta be somebody that he thinks can contend for a championship and somewhere where he's gonna have fun. And I think Golden State is it kind of kind of fits both of those.
Sort of things for him.
So that would be the front runner to me. I would not be surprised if he ends it up somewhere else. But to me, that's the front runner. He's always made it. Very clear that he would love to play with Steph.
And, you know, when he's not going to get, this is it for him. Like, he's done here. If it's not one year, two years, like, he's very, very close to the end.
So, and I know I said I wanted to go to Philly, obviously, as a Philly fan, but let's be honest: once you spent a February in California, going back east and spending a February is not that appealing. Not the same. Yeah, yeah, that's fair. Coming up, we got a good show. We are going to have Max Brados in here to talk some more World Cup.
He was at the game yesterday in Santa Clara, so we are going to get his perspective on it. Maybe he'll know where LeBron's going to. We'll see. The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. Rich Eisen here with some advice.
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While the world watches the stars at the FIFA World Cup this summer, Hyundai has its eyes on the next generation of talent, future stars who are already turning heads at age 14. Because Next doesn't wait for an invitation and neither do we. Hyundai has always moved the future within reach. We did it when we made advanced safety standard on every vehicle and engineered EVs with ultra-fast charging capability. Because the future isn't some far-off concept.
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Next starts now. Hyundai, an official partner of FIFA. Aim was a breakout or just the World Cup. In general, Is a breakout for soccer in the United States? Are you feeling the game or just in general?
I think in general.
Okay. But. For the U.S., which has a lot of players from Major League Soccer, there's a couple guys who start for the U.S. team that play in Major League Soccer. MLS is trying to connect to it so they can grow.
We're developing young players from all over the states. We have some players on the Mexican national team. There's a kid from Alaska who's playing for the Mexican national team. There's a kid from the Chicago suburbs who plays for Mexico. They came through MLS.
So MLS is trying to build that. And the success for the U.S. is connected to that. It's connected to everything that's American in the sport.
So it's really important. But if they lost that game, you kind of wipe away. All the goodwill because this tournament goes on for another two and a half weeks. And if they're not there, you become forgotten. You start talking about France and whoever's left and Brazil.
So, if them extending this is so important for this, and to get to this. They extend another five days. Hopefully it goes even further. But I think if by winning this game the success can parallel with the World Cup. Usually when I talk to people about the World Cup, it's always like, hey, the World Cup's on.
And they go, No, I know. I'm watching it because the games are on prime time. It's unbelievable.
So it's a definite tentpole moment. First win in the knockout stage for the U.S. in like 24 years or something like that. 2002.
So, yeah, we are here. Rich Eisen Show, Maximiliano, Casanova, Great Does. The way you say it, I would have said yes. Maybe Casanova can be you're looking for him. I wasn't expecting to hear that, but Mad Max, you know, there's a lot of Mad Maxes out there, but Casanova I like.
So, yeah, we're here: ESPN Radio, SiriusXM, obviously, ESPN app, Disney Plus. And Max was at the game last night, and he were talking about how this win has had a huge impact and could have a huge impact on the growth of the sport of football, soccer in America. Would you prefer to call it football or soccer? No, soccer for me.
Okay, just checking. I grew up calling it soccer. It's hard for me. I mean, football for me is American football. That's just, I can't, I can't.
And I know if I'm insulting anybody internationally, I apologize. This is an interesting conversation because we've got to respect the American sports here. I think soccer, when we do it, we gatekeep and we always say, hey, you. You got to understand this to do it. But we have to be respectful of football, and they have that name.
And I think that's a good way to get new fans as well. We got to, we got to. The American sports fan is football and baseball, basketball. They've had it for generations. We just want to have a little side of soccer there.
Yeah. If they have a little room in their belly. It also doesn't matter what we call it. It really doesn't. It's just a game.
It's a name. We call it a thing. It's beautiful. It's awesome. It's an incredible sport.
These athletes are unbelievable. And the competition for this World Cup has been fantastic. You mentioned the impact that the win and the fact that the U.S. national team, them staying in, helps the growth of the sport. How far do you think they can go?
This next game will be on Monday, July 6th, against Belgium in Seattle, which has proven to be a great home field advantage. They've really. They've locked into that. They've been based on the West Coast. They were in Irvine.
They had a game, two games in L.A., a game in. Santa Clara, and now a second game in Seattle, potentially another game in LA.
So they've really locked into this corridor, and they're feeding off. Fandom. I mean, I can't get country roads out of my head because they're singing it, but all these things that are coming, the creature comforts they are enjoying. Even though a lot of these players, most of these players are based in Europe, they're here. They know it.
Their family, their friends are close by.
So that's a big benefit. We've seen it. All three host countries, Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. have advanced.
So that's a good sign that that is making a difference. The Belgium game is a toss-up. We lost our Star Striker. He suspended Flo Balagham. You see that?
Off Hane. Max, tell us how much BS that was. What do we think about that? Where are we at on that? Messi did the same thing and wasn't even given a yellow.
And it looked like Messi was looking down when he stepped. Like, give him a red card. Messi gets away. This is really quite complicated because. I looked at it many times and it's an awful challenge.
Look, that could break his ankle. That Bosnian player, Tariq Muharemovich, is the most, we talk about transfers. He's the most valuable Bosnian player. He's expected to get 40, 45 million. He might move to Juventus, which is a top club in Italy.
So they were probably shocked watching the replay that that could break his ankle.
So it's. It's a red card offense if it was seen.
Now, the rules say, this is a Brazilian referee, that you can't use slow-mo, which they did for non-contact, like off-site plays. You can use it, things that are very bang-bang. This does not apply.
So, you're not allowed to use it.
So, that makes it null and void. It should not have been a bit of red card. But when I see it, it is a red card offense, and Leonomessi should have got a red card because you've got to protect these players too.
So, there's nuance to it. It's very sticky.
So, you're saying they sort of went against their own policy by using the slow-mo. To diagnose the red card, but they're actually not supposed to do that. They're not supposed to do that. It is actually a red card. It's a mess.
Yes. But they can't use the slow-mo to do it.
So it's. See, this is why I like Pro Wrestle. You don't have instant replay. You just do it. It's all inside the ring, but this complicates things.
And now we're missing one of our key players in. For this round of 16, but they're going to have to be creative with that. But it's still, according to the sports books, a coin flip with Belgium. And I think with home field advantage, our manager's been really creative with players. He's going to have to be really creative to get Flo Baligan, who's been three goals.
That's rare air for U.S. players. Yeah. I think they can do this. Yeah, I don't want to leave this for a second.
Why isn't there a FIFA policy to review these things and appeal and possibly get this overturned? They actually came out of that right after the game. They said they don't have that in place. Why is it?
So they should. This is kind of like learning things on the ropes. And the whole thing right now with FIFA, they're implementing new rules. This isn't one of the new rules. This was kind of something that was lost in all the other stuff that's being implemented.
And now it's just kind of a cautionary tale to maybe get something in the future. But they're not going to do it now. It's just a mess. But the hydration breaks with the time substitutes where you have to get off or you have to sit out for a minute. They're doing a lot of these things that there's muddying the waters a bit, but it's kind of hard to keep up.
And this just adds to the list. It's not going to help Flo Baligan, I'm afraid, but it might help someone down the road. Down the road, yeah, four years. They've got to make the adjustment, I think, when you have something this way. It's got to happen.
So you go, this can't happen again. Yeah, you got to have a system in place to go, okay, let's prevent these top stars from missing big games if something like this happens. Because I mean, if this was Leo Messi, I mean, that would be his point. It was Leo Messi. That's what happened, and he got no foul.
I know, I know, but I'm just saying, like, say he gets red carded somehow. I mean, that's terrible for people buying tickets. I mean, it's all sponsored, everything. It's all bad. You know what I mean?
So, especially if it's so controversial as it is in this situation.
So, yeah, I mean, this is. Do you feel is there? It like Can they make it to the finals? And they may good enough. No.
Okay. I'm sorry, but I will. No, be honest. We love it.
Okay, when I, before this World Cup, I said the U.S. will never win a World Cup. And I'm not trying to poo-poo it or anything. It's just like, I just don't think we're at that level. But after I've seen what has happened here and these players who are excellent, they play positive.
Watching them is so entertaining. They're not this pragmatic team, which they've been in the past. They get after it, they hit the pass the ball. It's beautiful goals. And the quality of player, and now you see this conveyor belt.
I think the U.S. can win. I'm changing my story. Changing your stance. I think they can, not in 2026.
Maybe 2034. Because there's some young players that are coming through MLS Academies and be all over this country. I mean, Chris Rich, we used to have players from New Jersey and California.
Now we have players, Chris Richards from Alabama. We have players from El Paso. We have the dual nationals. They're recruiting. You know, Flo Baligan could have played for two or three countries.
He wants to play here.
So they're doing a really good job expanding the player base, and the gap is closed. I will be happy to be wrong, but I don't think they. Maybe they can, I think they make a quarterfinal. I think anything beyond that would be. Seismic.
Is France your favorite? Yeah. By a wide margin? Do you think this is the best? It's a margin.
It's a margin. Their attacking trio is. Is excellent. Killian Mbappe gets the headlines, but I think his teammate Michael Olise has been the outstanding player of the tournament. They have Usmani Dembele, who's also tremendous.
I don't think anyone could match that. Brazil is interesting because they're Brazil and they seem to be getting a little bit better. Spain, who is playing at in Los Angeles today, will see if they can advance that. That's the team that could do it. But as you'll see, it's the it's and of course the Rainy Champs.
It's Argentina, Brazil. It's those five big European teams. And the US hopes they can break into that. But that's the That's the power surge of soccer. Those are the teams that are favored to win the World Cup and, in all likelihood, will win it.
But I think it's France. Max, why does England make their fans sweat so much? Like, why do they cause them such misery? Yeah. They deserve it.
I like that England team a lot. Darren Kane was spectacular yesterday. He's just a savant. He scores goals. That's what he does.
And he's a great leader. And he it The moment is lost on a lot of players. It's never lost on him. They have talent, but this is a bit of a messy team. But I really respect the fact that they are navigating through here.
But they have Mexico in the round of 16. It's at the Azteca, where Mexico have lost two games in like. Up the item. I think in the history of the building. Oh, my goodness.
So I think Mexico was going to be the favorite there. If England gets by them, then we. That's to me. And I don't want to be a prisoner of the moment, but I tend to be from time to time. To me, that could be the biggest game in World Cup history because which one?
Mexico, England, in a round of 16. That coming up right there.
So we got the brackets right there. If you've seen what's happening in Mexico, they have a million. In the US, if we have a million people go to the streets, cops will shut it down. Mexico, it's encouraged.
So in Mexico City, they come out when they beat Ecuador, a million people. Mexico City. Wow. That's going to double it.
So we've never seen that. I've never seen a host nation. We're doing good at the U.S., but I've never seen a host nation. Just absorb the duties as well as Mexico. We had Brazil in 2014, but this is another level.
And with England coming in there, And England, there you see it, it's unbelievable. Wow, that's not special effects, that's not AI. No, it's not AI. Wow. It's uh, I thought there was a Knicks per million people in the streets of Mexico.
But that's gonna be more. Everyone's gonna go out because they're gonna miss it. Beautiful. England has a history in the 86 World Cup. They didn't play Mexico, but they were there in that stadium and lost to Diego Maradona in the hand of God.
So there's so many interesting subplots. I can't wait to see it. And. We'll see if these hosts continue to march on in this tournament. England, a slight favorite.
England, a slight favorite. Okay. Minus 140. I don't know. That's interesting.
USA and Belgium are even, both minus 110. With the Flo Balingan news.
So, can you imagine if he was playing, the U.S. would be a firm favorite? For sure. Man, darn it. I'm getting hyped now.
I think I might have caught the feet. That's what we're here to do. I was in Europe selling the boys. I was in Europe for the first month.
So, like, the group stages was kind of like the time was all off. Like, I'm in a group chat with some boys who were going after it. And I'm like, I'm missing all this action, but I'm also with my family, just enjoying my pasta and my pizza and stuff like that, and putting on way too much weight. And so I was like, ah, you know, now I'm back.
Now I'm in.
Now I'm like locked in, and I watched the game last night. Obviously, no one I was going to come here. I'm like, well, we got to talk about it. And there was so much to talk about. But now I'm talking with you, and I'm like, oh, baby, okay.
Yes. All right.
I think I'm in. I think I've caught the fever. By the way, I did want to say this. MLS comes back on July 17th. LA Galaxy is playing LAFC.
Wanted to invite TJ Chris, yourself, and you want to go. We'll get it all sorted out so you can see that. It's a big Derby game. And then it's the day before the World Cup final to wetting the appetite. What you Derby game?
What does that mean? I try not to use too many of the English terms because it feels a little phony. When I say pitch, I can't. But I understand it. That's what we call it.
Darby is uh a regional Darby. Iowa, Iowa State would be Darby. Oh, I see. Freeway, freeway, man. Freeway, Freeway Series.
Oh, okay. Would Iowa, Iowa State? Is that a good example? Yep, the PsyHawk game. The PsyHawk, there we go.
That's it. Totally understand that. Question for you. Do you know Uh a gentleman by the name of Kevin Egan. Yes.
I worked with him at Apple TV. Yes. And he worked at WWE too. That's right. Kev was a lead announcer for us on WWE for a long time.
He loved it there, but his passion for soccer is like with me, too. I was at ESPN for many years. I go, I love. I love the sport. I wanna.
Go all in on it. You can't think he did the same thing. Yeah, yeah. He loved WWE, but he just couldn't quite get the fit. He's an Irishman.
Him and my wife, you know, he's basically a brother-in-law, is what I'm getting at. Oh, that's awesome. He is the most lovely human being. He calls me, leaves me texts, always positive. I just wish I could be like Kevin.
I really do. When you grow up, you want to be like Kevin. That's great. Max, I think, too, what's been most enjoyable about the World Cup is that especially for the casuals, the stars are having the star performances. You're seeing multiple goals from Mbappe and Messi and Erling Holland.
And, you know, Ronaldo even got in on the act, even though he's kind of at the end here. Do you think that's had a super huge factor? And tell us what you know more about Erling Holland, because he's really coming on the scene and a lot of people are seeing him for the first time, even though he's been doing this for a few years. He's He's he's just a unicorn because he's a he's a goal scorer, but he's a superb athlete. His father uh was a a a famous footballer, soccer player.
And then uh Erling Holland as he He's a difference maker. If you put him on any team, they will, if you put him on any of the top teams, he'd win a World Cup. There are a lot of top teams that don't have a player like him. And that's what gives Norway a shot at. I don't think they're in the round of 16.
They just don't have the depth, but they have him. And he is the envy of every player. He's just a superb, superb athlete. And you see him on these dead runs, incredible pace. He's running 25 miles an hour.
You watch, just sometimes what we do in soccer, just watch him play for like three minutes, just focus on him, and you'll. You'll be blown away. It's just elite, elite athleticism coupled with incredible technical skills. When we say technical skills in soccer, we mean how you handle the ball, how you touch the ball, how you pass the ball, which is something the U.S. is getting better.
But that's another day's right now. Can he single-handedly beat Brazil? I don't think so. He could get close. He could score a goal against Brazil.
I think Brazil, they may be catching Brazil at the wrong time. But the stars, as you said, is a big reason. You know what another thing is? And you were talking about being in Europe and the times are all off. Yeah.
We have these games in prime time. It's an awesome time. It's been amazing. We've never had it. The last World Cup.
The 2002 World Cup where they won in around as far as 16. It was 3 in the morning. It was in Korea.
So no one watched it. I talked to everyone about it and they go, hey, are you watching the game? Yeah, it's at 8 p.m. I'm watching or 9 p.m. or Eastern time.
Five here. It was great yesterday. I mean, we got Ronaldo is going to be at 7 p.m. Eastern today. We got Messi tomorrow at 6 Eastern.
It's just like.
So easy. It's a holiday weekend. You're sitting around. You're at home anyway. It's just perfect.
It's kind of a perfect storm for a surge in popularity, especially here in the States. Yeah, we've got to grab it. But we can't tell people to watch. You can't tell people to watch soccer. It's a turnoff for those people, but they're naturally watching it because of all those reasons.
The stars really help. I think it's going to get a little more cagey. I think now you get to the quarterfinals, people can play a little safer. I'd be surprised if you have a glut of goals. I don't want to.
Disappoint anyone. Maybe I'm wrong. It's going to be a good thing. But enjoy those. Enjoy the cases.
More goals. Oh, I mean, if you're a gambler and you've been just parlaying the stars to score, you've cleaned up. In the you know, in the ra you know, in the group stage. Uh this was an expanded World Cup 248 team.
So I think you're also seeing that, you know. Leo Leo Messi getting set loose on Jordan or Algeria or Or Achille Nababi against Iraq, they're going to get their numbers. They still might against these other teams, but the tournament of. Really turns. We're at the sweet spot of the tournament where everything, every game's a knockout game, and there's so many of them.
Oh, it's very funny. I'm in, ladies and gentlemen. He's in. Seth Rollins is in. We did it.
The hook. You locked me in. You brought me in with that analysis right there. I mean, hey, that's all you need is someone who's passionate about it to kind of explain it to you and get you through. Without talking down, without saying, hey, what you're missing out.
Yeah, you don't want it done. Just bring me in, man. Just tell me how awesome it is. You did a great job of that. You do a great job of that all the time.
This is you do a great job. What a natural Seth is here at that desk, right? Look at that. Come on. I'm dressed like a schlepp, and you look like a million bucks.
Well, look, I just, you know, you, but you got in, what, because you were at the game yesterday, so you drove in last night afterwards, got in like 2-3 in the morning.
So you are, we need more conversations. My friend Juan Carlos and I, we rented the Mustang convertible. We opened that Mustang top zero times. Zero times.
Well, that's a bummer. That's a bummer. You're playing. It's like, oh, I haven't got my hat. I don't want to.
Yeah, it's a hair. I get it. I understand it.
Well, ladies and gentlemen, Maximiliano the Casanova Breto. Thank you so much for joining us. You are the man, and the World Cup continues on as we continue on on the Rich Eyes and Seth Rollins show. Thank you very much. The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast.
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We are live. It's the Rich Eisen Show. I am Seth Rollins. We are on Disney Plus, ESPN App, ESPN Radio, SiriusXM Channel 80. And guys, it wouldn't be a Rich Eisen or Seth Rollins show in this situation without a top five list.
And I got one for you guys. All right, you ready? It is a top five. Must have Fourth of July cookout foods presented by Hyundai. Are you ready?
There I am. There it is. Look at that graphic. Suit Rollins. Top five.
That is also not AI. That is a real graphic. Oh, yeah. No water was wasted. Photo photo shoot this morning.
Yeah. All right.
All right.
I'm going to lock them in. Top five. Then we're going to have a chat about them. All right.
Here we go. Number five, starting with a side dish, we're going baked beans. One of my favorite side dishes. I love it. You can just get into it.
It's delicious. It's creamy. That's a terrible picture of baked beans. I like them. You know what?
I don't even mind them from a can. You don't even got to put them in the oven. Just put them in a can, put them on the stove. Let's go. Brown sugar.
Yeah. Bake it again. Give it to me. Number four: we got to go to our vegetables. All right.
We got to have a full meal here. And the only vegetable that matters Fourth of July is the corn on the cop. Oh, yes. That's right. Oh, look at that.
A little burn, a little crisp on the edge. Put the skewers, the corn skewers on the side.
Some good Iowa corners. Butter it up. Oh, give it to me. That is right. Frank out the cornfield.
Number three, we were discussing desserts, and it was a difficult one, but I'm going with the all-purpose watermelon. I think because it's more than a dessert. It's not just a dessert. You don't just have to have it after the meal. You can have it in between meals.
It can be a palate cleanser. It can be an appetizer. You can do a lot of different things with watermelon. I agree. And if anybody ever walked by a bowl of watermelon and not just taking a slice, absolutely not.
No chance. And now the top two. I'm just gonna back them up one like two and then one because I think they kind of go together and we can fight about it afterwards if you want. Maybe I fight. Number two, cheeseburgers.
Yep. Number one, quintessential. Hot Dog. Who is he? Oh.
Hot Dog. The Frankfurter, the Wiener, whatever you want to call it. That is my top five, and it is brought to you by Hyundai. Discover What's Next at your local Hyundai dealer, like our next generation Eevee, the Ionic 9 Hyundai official partner of the FIFA World Cup 2026. Talk to me about this list.
Can't argue with a single thing on this list. Oh, really? Perfect. It's a perfect list. Wow.
Only debate. Yes. How do you dress your hot dog? Ooh, how do you dress your dog? I had hot dogs for dinner last night.
Plain mustard. You had hot dogs for dinner last night. I did. Was this for the game? Like, was this for the soccer?
Well, the game was about to start, right? I was on the phone with my mom. I got off the phone. I was like, I was either going to go somewhere and grab dinner and come back. I didn't want to miss the start of the game.
I looked in the fridge. I had some glizzies in there.
So I made hot dog. How did you dress those dogs? I've got this sauce, like the chili sauce that I get from Altoona, where I'm from. It's from a place called Texas Hot Dogs. Whenever I fly home, I get some, I freeze it, bring it back, I keep it in the freezer, and then you know, unthaw a little bit and Anytime I have hot dogs, I'll use this chili sauce.
Like sweet chili? It's like meat and. Yeah, it's hard to describe, but it's like a meat sauce that goes on. And they call it chili, but it's not technically your idea of chili. Wait, are there like beans in it?
No beans in it. No beans in it. That's just what they call it. You're going to have to bring this to me. The Rich Eisen Show Podcast.
Mm-hmm.
