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Now, on with the show. Oh my God, you guys are my favorite. This is The Rich Eisen Show. Rich Eisen. I know what I'm talking about.
That's the headline. The Rich Eisen Show. With guest host, Brian Weber. I mean, honestly, he's brilliant. Brian Weber.
I've got a long resume. Google me. It saves time. From the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. And now, sitting in for Rich, it's Brian Weber.
It is the final hour of the program, and it's great to have you with us coast to coast, however you may be. Maybe enjoying the program on One of our great affiliates on the ESPM Radio App, SiriusXF, Channel 80, or TuneIn. We have covered a lot of basketball. We have some more news to address that broke within the last 45 minutes but Because it is Independence Day weekend, and because I'm not 22 anymore, I grew up in an era in which baseball was the grand old game, was our pastime, and somebody is still watching all these games. Much more watchable, I might add, because of the innovation of the pitch clock.
So. Heading into the holiday weekend. Roughly halfway through the marathon season. We're talking baseball coming up in 20 minutes when we check in with K Blacks. of USA Today.
in 45 minutes by popular demand. People have spoken and I have listened. It's the return of the World Wide Weber segment. I do my best to be thoroughly comprehensive, but Maybe five hours of content crammed into the three hours we have together, but Occasionally I might overlook something, so We'll find out if that's the case coming up to wrap up the program with gusto. I was going to return to more thoughts coming off our conversation about the NBA with Kurt Healen, lead NBA writer for NBCSports.com.
And if you missed that chat, All you got to do is wait for the podcast. That'll be pushed out. Just after the conclusion of the program, because Kurt had some interesting thoughts about LeBron's future. including more than just the usual suspects. He put Denver as a team to potentially watch.
So As I was refreshing the X account, and I appreciate the feedback and the follows on Twitter. It's bwweber, weber with two B's. I did see the report from who else? Siranio, the best in the business. NBA senior insider here on the SPN.
Not earth-shattering nor surprising, but now. It's getting done. The Lakers are no longer in the DeAndre Ayton, and there's a T in there, DeAndre Ayton business. As they've made a deal with the Wizards. What am I doing?
Local radio and DC on July 3rd? I did not plan, of course, it should be clear, I have not scripted out the program. I can't afford the writers, and it would take too long. I did not plan on talking any Washington hoops today, but. You could link this to Anthony Davis if you want to spin things forward.
The former number one overall pick, not talking about AD, I'm talking about DeAndre Aiton, expendable once more. He's. been jettisoned from the Lakers to the Wizards. For a young another shooter, Jaden Hardy, and And a couple second-round picks in 31-32 if you care about the particulars. This was Obvious once the Lakers Gave up a lot to get Walker Kessler.
But they had to to make sure that Utah wouldn't match His offer sheet as a restricted free agent. And this is all in an effort to keep Luka happy because we heard all the reports from Team Donchic that he wanted a rim protector, he wanted a big man to play with, as worked out so well when he and Kyrie made that. Unlikely run all the way to the NBA Finals, losing to Boston.
So once Kessler. Was acquired by the Lakers. Eight and was expendable. And let me just be transparent. I know we're on here in Southern California.
On the flagship station of the Lakers Radio Network 710. ESPN LA I have been critical of Ayton, and maybe it's my own geographic bias because I play. A lot of the hits in terms of when I go through my past and how I've seen a player develop. I saw Aiton play a ton at the University of Arizona. There's a reason why he was so coveted coming out of college.
And remember, since I'm talking about unlikely runs to the NBA Finals, he was a critical contributor to the Suns. Reaching. The championship round before they lost to the Bucs. Since then, it has been an unmitigated disaster. Got paid, checked out mentally.
Portland gave him away to the Lakers last year.
Now, they got him for virtually nothing because Portland picked up some of the salary, and he had the player option this year. But if you track the Lakers at all, They had a massive void in the middle. He did show up. He did not have the same kind of rash of injuries, so at least he did the bare minimum. But he had just the basic fundamental issues like hanging on to the ball.
when they would feed him in the post. The goal Was to do better than Aiton, which was a low threshold to surpass. They got that done by getting Kessler, and they got something for Aiton. Which is surprising, Considering How much of a basketball vagabond he has become. But another tall player.
for Washington to put on their roster and If we think about the future of Anthony Davis, perhaps that signals that Washington will listen to more offers for the battered big man, which is all connected to LeBron James as well. As we took the long way to get to more thoughts about the King. I'm Brian Weber, Ain't for Rich Eisen. Conversation heating up on the X platform. That is B.W.
Weber, Weber with two B's. In fifteen minutes, we talk baseball with gay blacks of USA Today.
So We've spent a lot of time focusing on a couple big names in the NBA. All the fallout. That continues to be able to sift through in the wake of Jalen Brown being traded to. The Philadelphia 76ers in division by the Celtics, and where is LeBron going to go as a free agent?
So. To keep that going, let's get the outlook of ESPN, NBA reporter, Anthony Slater, who weighed in on NBA Today about how the Warriors currently see themselves and their chances of landing LeBron. They continue to get indications that they're on LeBron James' shortlist, but I'm hearing a growing belief from them that they don't necessarily believe they're at the top of that short list. And if they're not able to get LeBron done, you're looking at a roster that probably is going to remain relatively stable. They've re-signed Melton, Porzingis, Horford, Draymond Green is likely back.
But you do have people around the league wondering, looking at the Warriors' draft ammo, looking at the way they strategically structured Chris Ops Porzingas' contract so it can be traded, and wondering if they can execute a trade that could maybe lure LeBron James.
Okay, a lot to dissect there, and since I'm trying to be. Objective, and if I'm going to bash players for having availability issues. And I've just pointed out What is self-evident? Anthony Davis, Joel and Bede. Porzing is also made of glass.
Whatever viral inflammation he has had in the past, there's a reason he went from, he was the first player I can recall in the NBA, and I might be overlooking something because I don't hang out on Twitch. All of the other social media platforms out there, but just from a mainstream standpoint, he was the first player I remember being called, quote unquote, a unicorn. Because of his versatility as a big fella. But now, when you go from New York to Dallas to Boston to Atlanta to Golden State, you are versatile. The very definition of a journeyman in terms of LeBron's desire to go to the Warriors, and I keep going back to.
The signpost that was set up. By his agent, and it's not hard to crystallize the thoughts of Rich Paul anymore. He's got his own podcast with Max Kellerman saying that for LeBron, the goal is to. Maximize happiness. I don't know we're winning fits into that balancing act, but If he wants to be happy with or without Anthony Davis wounding up in Golden State.
You can understand the reasons why the Warriors make a ton of sense. It's a relationship-driven sport. The NBA is run by their players, which I have no problem with because, after all, they generate the revenue. And with baseball conversation coming up in ten minutes, when we check in with Gabe Lacks of USA Today, another reason why I'm hammering baseball while I can, and this is a doomsday scenario, but I think we all know what's coming. The owners have been so Transparent if you want to give them credit.
Overt would be the other way of viewing things, signaling that. The cap is going to occur. Whether we have to slam it on the players through a lockout, or we have to go to court. Or They're willing to get something back in a just brutal bare-knuckle negotiation, but. A lockout is coming.
And the Players Association is hung tough every step of the way. We'll see what their appetite is to miss game checks in this latest labor war after they shut the sport down in 1994 and missed a World Series. But the NBA players run the league because, just do the math, there are fewer of them, and superstars mean everything. And I'll give the league some credit. As much as this new collective bargaining agreement has effectively killed free agency.
It has made the league more competitive. Eight different champions over the span of eight years. I can throw out just about every team. And you could think of a recognizable superstar. All good things.
That's also a reflection of The players understanding that they need the owners as their partners as they hammer out how much revenue they can get and who does better than NBA players. We're talking about. Unbelievable powerball type numbers. And just to put a footnote on Jalen Brown, he's up for another extension in a couple of weeks. Another reason why he was expendable from the perspective of the Celtics, because they were not going to move forward with two Supermax contracts and they chose Tatum, which I can understand.
As for LeBron's choice, to me, if it's the Warriors, it's about fits. It's about situation. He likes hanging out with Steph. He respects, presumably, Steve Kerr from their Olympic experience. And are they going to win anything?
Probably not.
Now, I know I keep hearing this.
Well, all they have to do is get hot in April and stay healthy. Those are two giants. giant hypotheticals. And we're talking about a team. That and all the jokes out there about being sponsored by Icy Hot and everything else is going to have to turn back the clock if your core is.
Steph? Lebron, Draymond, And poor Zingas if he's still there, and the guy's never healthy.
So, this would not be a championship push because after all of these moves have occurred, and LeBron's still the X factor. What has really changed? At the top of the West, I would go with Oklahoma City because I remember they were missing Jadub. And A.J. Mitchell, but let's just say the reigning champs of the West, I have not overlooked this.
Are the Spurs? Remember, they took four out of five from OKC in the regular season, so head-to-head matters.
However you want to slot it. Spurs, Thunder. The question is: who is the third best team in the West going to be? Maybe it's the Young Lakers. I'll still go with the Nuggets, with their dysfunction and Joker needing more assistance.
I don't know if it's going to work in Minnesota with Ball and Ant Man doing their thing, but it's going to be fascinating to watch. Could be a car wreck, but could also be Winning the lottery. And then in the East. For all the conversation about Giannis, I don't think the Heat are any better than the four or five seed. Certainly behind Philadelphia now with Jalen Brown and everybody still looking up with the Knicks, although, as we wind down this portion of the NBA conversation, who better Demonstrated the value of a team concept more than the Knicks.
Yes, they had a superstar who found his way in Brunson, but they got it done as a collective, and it's going to be. Very intriguing to see what happens as now Mitchell Robinson is going to be able to be a key defender for Boston, how the Knicks look missing that piece. I'm not trying to overstate the value of a role player, but they got it done together. And now they are missing a key component of that championship team. I'm Brian Weber in for Rich.
You want to hit me up on Twitter, you can do that. Hit me up with some thoughts on the X platform. That's BW Weber, Weber with two B's. Coming up, we're gonna talk some baseball because it is a holiday weekend in July. While it came in a loss, The Miz was lights out again yesterday.
Ten more strikeouts in just five innings. Is his dominance and velocity sustainable? We'll find out. We check in with Gabe Blacks, MLB writer for USA Today. While the world watches the stars at the FIFA World Cup this summer, Hyundai has its eyes on the next generation of talent, the future stars, who are already turning heads at the age of 14.
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Next starts now. Hyundai, an official partner of FIFA. Continue on the Rich Eisen Show. Brian Weber with you, always having a great time whenever I'm lucky enough to be. Pitch in for Rich and the fellas.
We've done our best to cover it all, talking the World Cup. On Team USA, a ton of NBA, even some. competitive eating and Taylor Swift and Travis Kelsey tying the knot Chunite. But it is, after all, Independence Day weekend, and baseball remains the grand old game.
So I gotta hit the diamond for that. I'm pleased to be joined by an old friend. A terrific baseball journalist. It is Gabe Lacks, MLB writer for USA Today. Gabe, I appreciate you taking the time.
How are you? Oh, not too bad. A little schnitzy, but we're we're hanging in there, you know. I hear you. Although where are you right now?
Because I'm originally from the East Coast, although I've tried to bury the accent. All my relatives are complaining, saying it's about a billion degrees there. Yeah, I'm in the the greater DC area and it's uh The feels like it's creeping toward 110, you know, it's uh Yeah, it's it's not pleasant to say the least.
So, you know, but uh, you know, thank goodness for Freon, I suppose. There you go. And traffic and weather together here on ESPN radio.
Well, let me be Hacky Magoo and come up with a segue. Hey, the Miz is heating up.
Okay, this man is... Phenomenal.
Now, I know he took the loss yesterday, didn't get a lot of run support, dropping that game to the Reds, but he had 10 more strikeouts in five innings, nine and four, 147 ERA for those of us who care about the counting numbers. Gabe, you've been covering baseball for a long time and have a great sense of history. Can you think of a comp for what Miz is doing in terms of consistently hitting the gun over 100 miles per hour? And do you worry about injuries with that kind of velocity? Yeah, it's Looking at the total, I guess, stuff with him, the total package.
The one kind of comp I can come up with, and this is going to be kind of like inept for a few reasons, but it kind of reminds me of Randy Johnson. just because he's a six seven guy, not as not as tall as the big unit. And obviously he's right handed, Johnson was left handed. But back in the day, Randy Johnson would come down the mound at ninety eight miles an hour and then he'd come at you with a ninety three mile an hour slider. And here's Ms.
Arowski. Hitting 102, 103 with consistency. Pretty much every fastball is over 100. And then a slider that weighs in at 97, 98 miles an hour. And I'm not going to go down the rabbit hole too much of how the modern radar gun might be a little different or all that.
Hang on, it might be. I think it's conventional wisdom that it's a little bit juiced up, and a good way to talk about juice in baseball for once. But uh you know the the manner in which y you know strength training and all that kind of stuff that they do nowadays that they can turn. you know, megavelocity into absurd velocity with a bit of a bit of a you know, wind at your back from the from the gun, we'll certainly yeah, we'll concede that point. But uh the the fact that he can you know, he can Throw that slider up there at 98, along with the elite velocity, you know, a decent curve ball as well.
I mean, it's just. Increasingly hopeless. You know, you talk to guys who have faced him, and they're basically like, okay, maybe there will be one pitch that might be down the middle. In one at that, and you better hit that one, or else you're cooked.
So it's remarkable to see. And as for the injury thing, I just. It's just tough to say. You know, some guys last forever.
Some guys, you know, hit the, you know. you know, hit the the red flags eventually. You just kind of got to enjoy it while you can. And I mean, you know, it's going to be a really long time.
So we really look back and fully correlate how velocity you know, leads to breakdowns. You know, we're talking five, ten, fifteen years from now. We'll look back on The Miz and we'll look back on Skeems and guys like that and whether they held up and all that kind of stuff. 'Cause some guys truly are built different, you know, and so maybe physiologically they they can handle it.
So far, and I I gotta say, I've been impressed with the the the one year, the twelve months since since The Miz was named an All Star, you know, for him to continue to get better as a pitcher. and continue to be more dominant and hold up physically. It has a couple of hiccups here and there, but it is remarkable. But we'll certainly just kind of reserve judgment on whether it's sustainable until we see, just because it's certainly a scientific marvel right now. Appreciate that overview.
I'm Brian Weber and for Rich. It's the Rich Eisen Show here on ESPN Radio, rounding the bases with Gabe Lex of USA Today.
Well, you mentioned schemes. Feels like the late 1960s and the year of the pitcher in the National League with The Miz, and what Christopher Sanchez is doing in Philadelphia. But Gabe, and I realize he is human after all. Skeens has been a bit mortal lately. He had his worst start of the year, Wednesday, got roughed up by the Phils.
Struggling a bit as of late. Do you think this is just a blip, or do you have any reasons for real concerns? Really good question. You know, I mean, a lot of the peripherals look as As good as they did, a lot of the stuff looks as good as it did. You know, right now, getting really bit by the home run ball, he's already.
equaled the amount of home runs they gave up all last year, eleven home runs already, so obviously on pace since we're pretty much halfway to to give up twenty two to twenty five home runs.
So it's a That part of it is a little bit daunting, to be certain. Yeah, it's. maybe just things just don't last forever per se, or guys sometimes can get that occasionally non dominant swap of time. But he's still punching out eleven guys per nine innings, which is very encouraging, still striking out. You know, the strikeout walk ratio still looks really strong.
Twenty-two walks in ninety-seven innings. That's pretty crazy.
So, you know, he's getting hit a little more, which is uh which is I think Behooves him to start making some adjustments. And I think he'll be the first guy to tell you that. Not that he can't. It's just that in this cat and mouse game, and I like to tell people: if you find anybody who doesn't believe in evolution, have them watch baseball. The way guys have adjusted to velocity, the much vally hooed 104.5 mile an hour pitch, whatever it was, that Ms.
Arowski threw last week, everybody's freaking out about it. One thing that is less known about that pitch is Pete Crow Armstrong fouled it off. It's not like it's some kids' 90s movie where a guy throws 104 miles an hour and it makes everybody's head spin. These guys are trained now for velocity. And as long as the anti keeps getting raised, they're going to continue to attempt to try to hit it, and some of them with great success.
So even for the package that Schemes has, it still requires. Adjustments and tweaks and all that kind of stuff. And I'm pretty sure he's going to find it and he's going to be. close to the guy that that we saw his first couple of years. I did not think we get an allusion to the Scopes monkey trial, but Gabe Lacks is just that versatile.
He knows history on and off the diamond. Check out his great work for USA Today. Gabe, you referenced that you're based close to D.C.
So. You saw, in terms of local team, the Nets go through an absolute series of heartbreak against Philadelphia last week with all of those comebacks in the ninth inning. When you look at Philadelphia and as they've now come alive and are trying to run down the Braves in the NL East, what impact do you think Don Manningly has had as the interim manager with the cool dynamic of working for his son, who's the GM? I would say the biggest thing he has had that Rob Thompson did not have is Zach Wheeler. And kind of similar to when you call you call a team meeting before you're facing a real Paluka, so it looks like the team meeting had a good effect.
He switched managers right around the time Wheeler was coming back. And that has certainly helped Matt Enley's cause. And Wheeler is a really interesting case because you hear thoracic outlet syndrome and it just you fear the worst. You fear Steven Strasberg. You think about Matt Harvey.
Now we're knowing more about this thing and the various types of uh TO S that can occur and uh You know, Wheeler famously had a rib removed, and he decided to keep the rib after it was so neatly removed, and apparently it's up in his closet somewhere. And, you know, that might be a magic rib. The guy's been amazing, you know, a 236 ERA. He's eight and one. You know, after.
basically missing all the spring training. His spring training was basically spent in in the month of April.
So it's that's what really gives them a really daunting look when you consider the rest of the season in the NL East and then the playoffs, just because suddenly you're pairing Wheeler with John Christopher Sanchez, who's a arguably been the best pitcher in baseball. Obviously, Miz, him and Miz, it's kind of an apples and oranges thing. Certainly, you can give a tip of the cap to either one of those guys. But then you you look down the line and to me, the key guy for them from a pitching standpoint Is Jesus Lazardo, just because he got off to a disastrous start, signed a big extension.
Now he's starting to spin it a little better. You know, got his ERA down to 388. If there's one thing I look for in championship potential teams, it's three good starters, because that means you're got a good chance at winning three out of five. You set up well in playoff series. And with those three guys, I think they really have a fighting chance.
And Madding Lee, it's kind of unbelievable. He's now 40 and 20, which is insane. And obviously, he's. in such a such an interesting spot with uh yeah, his his son kind of the second in command in uh in uh in baseball ops and and he's down here from Toronto closer to his family and all that kind of stuff. It's really pretty cool.
And and you know, the guy always remain so nonplussed by stuff, you know, just so He just kind of goes about his business and very quietly kind of explains things away to the media and stuff. And it's an interesting interesting to watch him go about his business, watch him handle things. But yeah, the switch that they have flipped is remarkable. And suddenly, you're within just a couple of games with the Atlanta Braves.
So really the sky's the limit for those guys. And it'll be interesting to see if they can I don't know if they're going to sustain winning two out of three forever like like Donnie's done so far, but anything close to that. And they're certainly right up there with the Dodgers as a favorite of the National League. It is a Friday installment on July 3rd of the Rich Eisen Show. Brian Weber with you, rounding the bases with Gabe Lacks of USA today.
So let's go from the surging Phillies to the suddenly cold Yankees. Gabe, we knew there would be challenges once they lost Aaron Judge to his rib injury. What else do you think is going on behind their current seven-game losing streak?
Well, and the hits just kind of keep coming. They're getting Ryan McMahon back from the IL today. They're getting Grisham back from the IL today. That's kind of been a quiet You know, a quiet subtraction in the wake of Judge. And now they've lost Carlos Redon with elbow inflammation.
So it's been tough for them to kind of keep it all together. But yeah, you know, a lot of the sort of magical things that were happening early in the season sort of gone a bit, I don't know if you want to say awry necessarily, but suddenly they're back to having Anthony Volpe as their shortstop. The Jose Caballero joyride kind of over with a bit, just in terms of him being such a big contributor. The one thing I've found surprising after his first two starts. Is Garrett Cole has come back to earth a little bit.
He struck out 10 in his second start. He didn't give up an earned run in his first two starts. And since then, he has gotten beat around a little bit. Suddenly, you know, there's these absences that start to become a little more glaring. You know, Max Freed.
Maybe he's back by the end of the month, who knows? But these things eventually kind of come home to roost in a sense.
So but I don't think there's much to worry about with those guys necessarily. It's such a good core, and there's guys who might You know, might come up and down the surface a little bit. You know, the Jazz Chisholms and the Caballeros and the Grishams, but when you got. Cody Bellinger with a really nice foundation there. Gold Schmidt has been remarkable against left-handed pitching.
It's still a nice core, but yeah. They've been without Aaron Judge for, I think it's been a month now, and there's still no sign of him, as they put it, within four to six to eight weeks. He will receive more imaging on his rib injury. And they have not talked about him receiving more imaging yet.
So that means probably another couple weeks, and then maybe they'll start talking about baseball activities.
So it's not hard to ticket his absence all the way into August at this point, unless there's something, some real quick healing behind the scenes there.
So it's tough to lose the MVT. It really is. And they were really game about making up for it. But now you got guys coming and going.
So they need Judge. They need Max Freed. They need Schlittler to not hit the wall. He finally had a little bit of a blow-up start there. still very ace like, probably should still start the all-star game for the American League.
But at the same time, getting into some uncharted waters in terms of his first full trip around the sun as a big leaguer is as a guy who's going to make thirty two, thirty three starts.
So he's an interesting guy to keep an eye on too. I think they're going to be fine, but obviously not impervious to big losses like Freed and Judge. Gabe, tremendous information as always. Greatly appreciate our relationship and you taking the time. Stay cool and enjoy the rest of the holiday weekend.
All right, you have a good weekend, Brian. Appreciate it, man. Kay Black's comprehensive insights across Major League Baseball. Be sure to check out his excellent work. for USA Today.
My name is Brian Weber. We took you around the bigs, focusing on The teams that matter and the storylines that stand out and Let me give myself some props. We made it all the way through that conversation without bringing up the Dodgers because.
Some of my I'm trying my best to evolve. We're back to the evolution. Inherit the Wind is the movie you should check out because the kids love watching Spencer Tracy on the 3rd of July. I do my best not to be locked in to where I am broadcasting from. And I'm fortunate to have family back on the East Coast, so I'll do shows there periodically.
But I've been lucky to live in California since 1987. In Los Angeles in 2003. And while I did talk to some Lakers today, and there was a reason, LeBron is moving on, and they finally unloaded DeAndre Ayton. I find it, as someone who listens to too much sports talk radio, people who just talk about their local teams on the national platform. strike me as having less than a broad vision.
However, If you're talking baseball, how can you not talk Dodgers? And they're trying to become the first National League team ever to win three in a row. And if you think about the general disparity between the American League and the National League, and remember. The Dodgers are banged up. They tried to solve their bullpen issue, and it was in spite of their bullpen that they were able to go back to back last year, moving Sasaki out there.
Remember, they trailed Toronto three games to two. It took a massive comeback on the road to Toronto in game seven.
So the notion that somehow they're buying a championship is just ridiculous. I understand the massive payroll gives them more depth. But you can't buy your way out of injuries, and currently no Diaz who's done nothing since coming over to be the closer. No Tyler Glasnow? And no Blake Snell.
And they're still humming along in part because That division is an absolute dumpster fire. Donnie Vitello has to be dead man walking in the San Francisco Bay Area, unless Buster Posey does not want to concede he made a mistake by hiring.
Someone with no MLB experience as a player or a coach directly from college. Yes, he was very successful at Tennessee. That ain't the bigs. And the Padres have a very big payroll, getting no return on that investment. Manny of Machado is lost at the plate.
Dodgers already have a double-digit lead ahead of the field in that division. And you compare it to the American League. All I have to tell you about the American League. Even if you don't follow baseball that closely, is this? Two years ago.
The White Sox lost 121 gaps. Worse than The joke that was 1962 in the expansion bets 121 in the loss column. Heading into play today. I got a share of the division lead in the American League Central.
So. As we step aside now from the baseball conversation, and I'm back with you for a handful of shows next week, as we get closer to the trade deadline, going to be fascinating to see what teams do in the American League because they're all bunched up together because nobody's any good. And what does that mean for the Tigers? And will the baseball world explode? We'll go plan the apes.
Burned back to a different millennium. If Schubal is traded to the Dodgers as someone who is interested in chaos as something to discuss, I'm sitting back and I'm enjoying the notion that the whole thing could blow up. I'm Brian Weber. I am not the joker. I am not looking for total anarchy.
I am looking to wrap up the program with style points.
So. As I do my best to cover it all on this program, I'm told by our great production team that occasionally, I overlook a story or two, we'll find out. What that might be today as we log on to the World Wide Weber. Hope you're having a great day before the July 4th holiday. I'm Brian Weber and for Rich on The Rich Eisen Show.
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Weber, back with you in for rich final segment today.
So, as we wind down with the World Wide Weber on the horizon, that means we're warming up for Monday's show. I'm back with you then. We'll get you fully lined up for The latest, biggest match in the history of American soccer. As they prepare to take out Belgium, Unless there's a massive red card reversal, no ball again. We'll see if that's.
not an insurmountable issue for Team USA Coming up, we're gonna boot up the mainframe for the World Wide Weber with a reminder. Running a small business means every hire matters. Bad hire costs time and money, but the right one helps your business grow. The challenge? Finding that person without sorting through a ton of resumes.
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Terms and conditions apply. Who needs artificial intelligence when we've got a host with more bandwidth than a data center? It's time to log on to... WWE, the World Wide Weber. And for that, we bring in our super producer, Josh Kafke, doing a marvelous job.
Josh, before you throw questions my way. Do you have any idea what those sounds you just heard were? Are you aware that we had dial-up modems back in the day? Uh I have heard the tales of the modem from time to time. Yes.
That sounds like a bad podcast. Tales of the Motem with B. Webb on ESBM Radio. Where do you want to start, my man? All right, Brian.
Well, thanks for bringing me in here. We'll start with LeBron James. You know, he's been a big topic, you know, ever since he's entered the NBA, but especially recently since he just became a free agent. How much of a difference will his free agent decision impact the balance of power in the NBA?
Now, I wonder, since we're going to go back in time, will he have another decision with Jim Gray? Hopefully, it'll be on ESPN because I am a company man, even as a filling hack. I don't think it's going to have a massive. Impact on the balance of power, irrespective of where he signs. We went through the outlook in the West.
Maybe best case scenario, if in fact, now this DeAndre Ayton deal, a lot of Ayton talk for no reason today, means that Anthony Davis is viewed as expendable by Washington. You give me Anthony Davis, LeBron, Draymond, and Steph. With the outlook, maybe they're healthy, just come playoff time. You do load management and you ease into the postseason with them. Close to 100% physically.
They're the third best team in the West, but what does that get you? They still don't touch OKC or San Antonio if he goes to Cleveland or Philly or Miami. Yes, that's an improvement, but still not good enough to beat the Knicks in my estimation.
So certainly the move will be tracking, but not anything that's going to tip the hierarchy atop the EMBA. What's next?
So, moving on, you talked about competitive eating during the show with the hot dog eating contest coming up tomorrow. If you were asked to participate in an eating contest, What food do you think you could do the most damage in? I mentioned last week when we were talking about stadium foods that I did a tour of MLB summer after I graduated from college.
So I went to 20 parks and I'm surprised I fit into the car after we went to Wisconsin, old county stadium in Milwaukee. I had not one, not two, not three, four brats. and felt it the next day.
So I understand my limitations. And I'm going to go back to what I mentioned in the previous hour because I know the audience is hanging on my every syllable. I could be the Joey Chestnut of shrimp cocktail. even with a vat of cocktail sauce. And give me that horseradish so I can sweat more than I've been perspiring during this program here in one hundred and ten degrees in my studio.
And I don't want to have people dealing with anything that seems a little bit unseemly, so I'm not going to get into the details, but. My grandfather, because I'm old. Survived the Great Depression. We were careful with money in my household. He taught me to eat the tails.
I know what's in the tail. I'm aware of what resides there, but he told me it was quote unquote the protein.
So if I have to eat the tails, like Joey Chestnut has to have the bun and the dog, hand me the belt. I'm taking that thing to new heights. What's next?
For me, I'd have to say chips and salsa. When I ever go to a Mexican restaurant, I have to. There's just no bottom for me. Yeah. Also, at that point, then you just get up and maybe you tip them because you had some water.
But you and I are cheap. What's next?
So, since Rich Eisen talks entertainment a lot on this show, a lot of people will hit the movies during the holiday weekend, and Supergirl is in theaters now. To borrow a device from sports, who is on your Mount Rushmore of superheroes? Ooh, now this is going to sound shocking because I have self-reported how nerdy I am. I was not a comic book guy growing up. I was not cool enough to be a comic book guy.
I was a stamp collector. Yes, I'm a lot of fun at parties, but Because we had a monoculture, we all watched the same things. If I'm giving you my four superheroes, because I don't do Mount Rushmores normally, but we have holiday rules today. I'm going to go old school Hulk, not the movies. I'm talking Bill Bixby on the TV show.
Don't get him mad because he turns into the great Lou Ferigno.
Next up, Superman. You know, of course, I'm taking you back to the 1970s with the incomparable Christopher Reeves. Kids do not watch Superman 3 as much as Richard Pryor is a genius. Gotta do something current. All right, here's one: Dead Bull.
Ryan Reynolds, talented. I like the sense of humor. And then to wrap it up. Batman, and I'm not going to throw it out there on my Twitter account. Who's your favorite Batman?
B.W. Weber, Weber with two B's. As much as I respect Michael Keaton, the answer is one name and one name only: Adam West from the greatness of the 1967 TV show. We have time for one more. All right, Brian, and for the last one here, July fourth also means it's beach season.
Given that Los Angeles County features seventy six miles of coastline, can you recommend some premier beach spots in LA for our listeners who might be heading there on vacation? Josh flashing the value of a Florida education with a particular 76 miles. You would think that since I'm based in LA, I would have some hidden spot for you, a cove. If I have to, and I have to, because it's my construct anyway, if I got to give you one spot, I'd say go to Malibu. But you can't afford.
That chips and salsa plate you want, because that's going to cost eighty five dollars because of the rich people. And since now I'm burying my soul, I can't believe I talked about my stamp collection. I've lived in Los Angeles for twenty three years, Josh. I've not been in the ocean once. I'm anti-ocean.
I don't like the sand. I don't like having to deal with other people.
So I don't know what kind of input I have to offer. But yeah, go to Malibu and look for. Rockford in the Rockford Files in 1974. Excellent stuff. I have stumped Josh, which is my goal.
Anytime you're a fill-in host, to leave the producer speechless, mission accomplished. And want to thank Josh and all the great people in Bristol, Connecticut for making this so straightforward for me. Thank our guest, Kurt Healen of NBCSports.com, talking hoops with him and baseball conversation with Gay Blacks of USA Today. And, of course, thanking Mr. Risen for the opportunity to sit in.
We're going to do it again on Monday, so have a great weekend and keep it where it is on ESPM Radio. 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.
