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.
MLB.tv on ESPN is your home for every auto-market game, live or on demand. Catch your favorite teams and players, plus MLB network and ESP and app features like multi-view, syncing your stats. key plays, bets and fantasy. All in one place. Sign up now for MLB.tv in the ESPN app.
Separate subscriptions required, blackouts and other terms apply. Visit stream.espn.com slash MLBTV for more information. 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. Oh my god, you guys are my favorites. This is The Rich Eisen Show. The one and only. 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 another hour of the program, and it's great to have you coast to coast along for the ride. The Rich Eisen Show on a Tuesday, 844-204-RICH, 844-204-7424. I do my best to be thoroughly upfront with you, probably way too candid when I talk about.
Any semblance of a life, although that probably shines through not only in the references, but how I approach my business. I read the phone number because I'm a radio veteran, but my style, and again, this is probably too honest, is not conducive to. Hey, what do you think? Give me a call. Or an Insta poll.
I get it. I do want you to know, though, I review everything going on on social media. I once Googled myself. I'll never do it again, but I appreciate the interaction on the X platform. Let's keep that going.
It's BW Weber, Weber with two B's. And in terms of calls, I try to stack the show. With a good blueprint, probably should be obvious. I'm not just sitting here riffing with USA Today on my lap. And we come up with compelling outside voices to make sure I'm not droning on too.
Much or more than I normally do. And to prove that point in twenty minutes, MBA analysis will be provided by Dan Devine, Senior Basketball Writer, Yahoo Sports. And you can check out his excellent podcast, The Big Number. Already had a great soccer conversation with Danny Higginbottom, the former defender who played in the Premier League and the MLS at the end of his career. If you missed that from hour number one.
You didn't miss anything because you can catch any portion of any program, any time by enjoying the Rich Eisen Show podcast, which will be pushed out at the conclusion of the show. Got to return to soccer. And I understand many of you are saying, hey, Phil and Magoo, whoever you are. We get it. United States is not that good in the beautiful game.
Let's move on.
Okay, I understand your point, and you can express it on social media, but I would be committing professional malpractice if I did not address at least once per hour. Not only the biggest sporting events in the world. But secondly, it's not A missed opportunity for Team USA.
So. To reset my perspective. As somebody, forget about my Pele moment. I didn't even meet him. I was one of 72,000 people at the old Giant Stadium in the swamps of New Jersey watching the Cosmos in all their glory.
But as somebody who was part of that first soccer boom in the late 70s, and we all played soccer, and anybody could play soccer, even this will be stunning news: a broadcaster with no athletic ability, just go out there and follow the ball. Not that hard. And then indoor soccer exploded. Major indoor soccer league was a phenomenon. And then mid-90s, as I was doing local TV to start my career in the San Francisco Bay Area and helping getting KMBR 1050, if you're in Northern California and join the show on that terrific station on the air.
I'll go Kosell once more. Another contemporary reference. I was there for the founding of Major League Soccer, first game ever played after the success of the United States. In the 1994 World Cup, and more to the point, the overall buzz it created. MOS was founded two years later, and they played their first game in the Bay Area.
All of that was said to give you a sense that I at least appreciate soccer, and I'm not bluffing more than I normally do.
So With the overall talent of this roster, with the experience of the players coming back from the last World Cup four years ago, with the upgrade in coaching, no disrespect to Greg Berhalter, but he had hit the wall. I was shocked he even came back after he got. Shaken down, for lack of better term, by Giorena's parents, Mauricio Pochatino had changed the culture, added a degree of swagger on the sideline. United States had major momentum. They got a gift.
Albeit fraudulently decided by FIFA in getting their best player, Balogan, on the pitch. It was all there. And then the match started last night, and it was evident from the opening touch. That the rankings were not a mirage. Belgium Who was riding a 17-match unbeaten streak was a vastly superior team.
Now, the United States did not help its cause with way too many mental lapses. And if I was able to pick that up as just a soccer layman, I can imagine that those who played the game and understand it had to have even more of a resonant reaction. And let's find out by hearing from ESPN soccer analyst Hercules Gomez, who always has strong opinions. He did not hold back in his assessment of Team USA on ESPN FC. Belgium is a team that is on the cusp of that elite level around the world, but not one of those elite teams.
They're not a France, they're not a Spain. They're not a Portugal. And in this year, two games, aggregate scoreline of 9-3 on home soil, I went out and I said this team could play against Belgium physically, that they would give them fits. Where we mistook our evaluation of this team was psychologically and mentally what they would do if they faced adversity. They weren't ready for the moment.
They weren't ready for it in 2022, and we said they were still green. They weren't ready for it here. And it's not debutants like Alex Freeman who weren't ready. It's the likes of a Christian Pulisic, a Serginho Dest. It's your most important players, a 39-year-old Tim Ream, if you will, your team captain.
In the biggest of moments, you can't allow those players to have bad performances mentally because on the field, some things may not go your way. But from the opening minute, That Matt Fries was tested, they were in a shell, and psychologically, they were already beaten.
Now, I don't want to talk my way out of a job more than I probably already had. Objectively, we should just play that on the loop for the next 15 minutes because that'll be more hard-hitting and compelling than anything yours truly has to offer. I'm not even going to say my name again. It's a Tuesday edition of The Rich Eisen Show. In 15 minutes, we talk NBA with today's headlines, including Jalen Brunson needing some surgery.
Making what he did in the unbelievable run to the first championship won by the Knicks in 53 years all the more impressive. We'll cover that and everything else going on around the NBA with Dan Devine of Yahoo Sports. Hercules unloaded, and everything he said was factual and spot on. United States was not ready for the magnitude of the moment. And that's quite an indictment.
Now, I'm going to give Belgium a bit more credit, and I understand that not everything can be reflected in rankings because we're going to talk college football in the final hour of the show with Stuart Mandel of the Athletic. And the catalyst is Big 12. And of course, you can catch all the Big 12 action on ESPN, ESPN2, all the great platforms in the Disney family. Big 12 media days underway in Frisco, Texas. More of it coming tomorrow.
That means college football is back. But to connect it to soccer, Just because a team is ranked in the top 10 doesn't mean that they're going to be a fixture. We see these bolts from the blues, but if we're talking about the elite of soccer, It's going to be France. It's going to be Argentina. It's going to be Spain, England, and who was left as the quarterfinal bracket is coming into focus.
Now, Belgium is a tier below. But in fairness, they did make it to the final for the semifinals, came in third place eight years ago, and the core of that team was back. As we saw last night, and motivated with the additional development. A FIFA going FIFA And I will not go down that road because I spent a lot of time yesterday. reminding all of us what we know to be true FIFA has some ethical challenges.
I will tread lightly because I don't need their team of lawyers. Running me down, but If you just want to look up in your search engine, briefcases filled with money and indictments and allegations, factually proven, of corruption, FIFA has a credibility problem. They did not help themselves with the way they handled the whole Balogu red card affair, even though they got to the right decision after the fact. But. If you were on Belgium.
Feeling like at this point, you You have the whole world against you. with the White House getting involved. and the sanctioning body of your sports conspiring against you, of course they had extra motivation. And I don't think it's a coincidence that they came out and played with even more Aggression. And intensity.
If you only watch the first ten minutes when Belgium scored. And grab that one-nil lead and never look back. It was a microcosm, a good summation of how the rest of the game played out because they applied a ton of pressure from. The kickoff, and the United States conceded that early goal in part because of just a ghastly defensive breakdown. Not nearly as bad as whatever happened to Matt Freese in the second half when he came way out of the area and just looked like he was completely lost.
So the United States Should feel good in some respects about what they were able to accomplish. They won a game. In the knockout round.
Now, remember. It was an expanded draw this year. When you bumped it up to 48 teams, winning a knockout game does not have the same kind of impact as it did in the old bracket. But. That's something that checks a box.
Still. It was clearly on display last night. There is a massive gap between even a team like Belgium, which is not. And I don't want to use the word elite because now we'll wind up in some NFL quarterback conversation. Not a premier power.
like France, Argentina, Spain, and England. A very good team. An experienced team. A deep team, as we saw when they beat up the United States 5-2 in a friendly in Atlanta in the spring.
So Why has that gulf not been narrowed over the fifty years I've been playing, broadcasting and watching American soccer? And that's the challenge. For this sport in the U.S. moving forward, with the understanding that it's never been more popular here. If you just drive around your neighborhood and you have a local watering hole, people who don't care about soccer walking around wearing jerseys, in part because of the international element of the World Cup.
But It's been so long. And there has been so much of a push for soccer in the United States, and I'm just talking about the setup of the men's national team. And I got to do a better job about being fair to include how dominant the American women have been, but we're just talking about the men's team here. After all of this time. And all of the resources Expectations have been raised.
And if you care about my opinion, I don't think you can view this World Cup as a complete success because the United States. Didn't at least get to the quarterfinals. Had United States won last night and Everything was right there for him. You can't ask for better circumstances, a better venue in Seattle, and the return of Balogun. And they looked overmatched from the opening minute of play.
As the fallout will continue. And takeaways will be thrown around. I think the fairest way to sum it up is the United States played well. They played all right. But that's not good enough anymore.
And you can't tell me that just beating Bosnia-Herzegovina with the understanding that we did it. With the disadvantage of being a man down. After that ridiculous red card, that is not enough at this stage of. This sport in this country, you got to at least make the quarterfinals, especially when you have home soil advantage. I'm Brian Weber, In for Rich.
Never knew I was this passionate about soccer, but it's good to talk about it every four years and the Women's World Cup as well because. Since America loves winners, right? Why not just go team USA with what our American women have done historically? Hit me up on the X platform, BW Weber, Weber with two Bs, as we go deeper into the second hour of the program. This is the football show of records coming up in just over a half hour.
With NFL training camps officially opening two weeks from today, we will spotlight the reigning champs in Seattle. Why are they not getting more run? as the offseason is winding down. Up next, more NBA talk. Donovan Mitchell getting paid.
Does that have any implication for LeBron? When's he going to make that decision? And as we addressed in the first hour, Brad Stevens offering his explanation yesterday For trading Jalen Brown. Did it make any sense? We'll find out when we get analysis from Dan Devine of Yahoo Sports.
I'm Brian Weber. Having a blast once more as we continue on this Tuesday edition of The Rich Eisen Show. A reminder A SoFi personal loan is here to help you achieve something once thought impossible, overcoming high-interest credit card debt. You can walk the tightrope of your finances with one low fixed-rate monthly payment, no fees required, and as soon as the same day, funding, that's right, pull off your own debt-defying stunt with a SoFi personal loan. Visit sofi.com/slash trick to learn more.
That's sofi.com/slash trick. Loans originated by SoFi Bank NA, member FDIC, terms and conditions apply. N MLS six nine six eight nine one. This is The Rich Eisen Show. 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, it's already here.
Next starts now. Hyundai, an official partner of FIFA. Save money on your next oil change with O'Reilly Auto Parts. Get a $15 O'Reilly gift card after rebate when you buy five quarts of Mobile One Full Synthetic Motor Oil for just $35.95. Stop by your local O'Reilly Auto Parts.
A bandwagon fan. The biggest insult in sports. But this summer, during the FIFA World Cup, it's an invitation, America. Never watched soccer before? Perfect.
Think a corner kick is a karate move? Sure, why not? Prefer sports where players can use their hands? Me too. Just here for the snacks?
Now we're talking.
So grab a bag of Lays and jump on the bandwagon. We're undefeated. Lays, the official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup 2026. The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. It's the Rich Eisen Show.
Brian Weber Infor Rich, and I'm back with you on Friday to wrap up what has been another marvelous summer experience. Appreciate you hanging with us on your local affiliate. ESM Radio App, Sirius XM Channel 80, or tune in at 30 minutes. We'll make the move to the NFL. Is it because, and I'm just going to try to tell it like it is, that was such a boring Super Bowl, and Seattle fans come at me on the X platform, B.W.
Weber, Weber with two beats. Is that one of the reasons why we're not talking more about the Seahawks having a legitimate chance of running it back and winning it all again? That is on the agenda. But we love talking basketball as much as we can, and it's always great to be supported by an insightful NBA writer for Yahoo Sports. It's Dan Devine, co-host of a terrific show, the big number podcast I enjoy all the time.
Hey, Dan, Brian Weber with you. How are you? I'm doing well, Brian. How are you? I am doing well, and I need you to be an interpreter because I will.
Set for the record, I respect Brad Stevens a great deal. I've squandered a lot of education to bark into a microphone, so I appreciate SMART. Can you explain to me And the audience, what he was talking about yesterday when he was going through his reasoning behind the Jalen Brown deal, when he mentioned the word optionality. I think the big thing he put a number to it, right? The number that he put to it was 70%.
And the idea is you have Jason Tatum and Jalen Brown combining to make 70% of your team's salary cap figure. And what he was saying was, based on the way that they looked at where their roster was, where the rest of the league was, where the Eastern Conference was, et cetera, it was going to be awfully difficult for the Celtics to build another championship caliber team with Two players making 70% of their salary cap figure.
So the choice they made was. We're going to basically it was a choice between Tatum and Brown. Who do we decide we're going to keep as our thirty five percent Supermax franchise cornerstone player? And who do we think we can deal for a package that gives us some chances to make different types of moves? What they decided to do was, obviously, the first point was: can we level up from Jalen Brown to Yanato Dekumpo, who obviously is also on a similarly gigantic contract, but higher level of player than Jalen Brown.
Once that deal did not come to pass, and be reasonable, people can argue over whether the idea of not adding in What seemed to be fringe prospects or an extra draft pick here or there was a sound move by Stevens in that front office, but it did not wind up happening. Giannis goes to Miami. They look and they say, we're going to have to canvass the league here and see what's available to us for Jalen Brown. the return looks paltry, right, to say it's Paul George at roughly almost exactly the same dollar figure, so similarly thirty percent, thirty plus percent of the cap figure there. and only a couple of picks far far out in the future.
I think the key distinction though is Paul George's deal has a player option for the 27, 28 season, so it's potentially a deal that the Celtics could get out of as soon as next summer. Whereas Jalen Brown was on the books for two more years after that and was going to be expecting a multi-year extension for which he's currently eligible that would run two or three years after that.
So, this is basically Brad Stevens and the Boston Celtics saying: this is an off-ramp for us. If we stick with what we have now, we stick with the Jays, we stick with this team construction, it puts us in position to basically be locked into gigantic seventy plus percent of the salary cap contract for our two signature stars for a handful of years in the future. And we don't think we're going to be able to build a good enough roster around that. in the years to come. Yeah, it's going to hurt now.
We're not going to be as good right now, or we think we're going to take a step back potentially with Jalen Brown going to Philadelphia. But this puts us in position to get out of the 70% business a year earlier with some more draft capital, some more picks we can move, and puts us in position to maybe build a different type of team around Jason Tatum in the years to come. It is a big swing. It is a bitter pill to swallow for Celtics fans that have spent the last decade rooting for Jalen Brown and watched him and Jason Tatum raise the Larry O'Brien trophy. But that is the bet that Brad Stevens and that front office are making that it hurts now.
But what we do with this flexibility moving forward is going to be something you guys get excited about. Appreciate that detailed overview. We're talking NBA with Dan Devine of Yahoo Sports on the Rich Eisen Show. Dan, would it be cynical to say, didn't Brad know that 70% metric when the Celtics decided to go Supermac Steals with both Tatum and Brown? I think the tough thing is That was right around the championship, right?
Jalen Brown's deal, the supermatch, was off him making all NBA in 2023, I believe. That was the summer that that deal went in. And then 2024, after the championship, is when Tatum was eligible for the new deal.
So they're in a position at that point where. Uh If you don't like the idea of trading an all-NBA player who just finished top six in MVP voting now, how excited would you have been to do it when the guy was three years younger in 2023, or if it was Jason Tatum coming off of the championship in 2024? Unfortunately, the nature of the game in this current era of the NBA, the 2023 collective bargaining agreement, the onset of the second apron, yada, yada, yada, is that Teams are getting put to difficult choices and having to say, Your options are: do I pay through the nose to keep this guy who is the signature player of our franchise, the one that everybody's got the jerseys of, the one that packed the stands? Or do I look at it and say, I think that that's going to wind up being an underwater contract moving forward, and I'm going to have to bite the bullet and do something I don't really want to do by moving off that guy before that deal becomes a negative asset. And I think it's not just the Celtics here.
I mean, like, we saw, we're talking a couple of hours after news comes out that Donovan Mitchell is extending for four years and $273 million in Cleveland, a deal that is going to put him on the books for $75.5 million in his age 34 season in three, four years' time. And like, The Cavs, you know, the immediate reaction to that is that is an incredible amount of money, even for an excellent player like Donovan Mitchell. Like, how could the Cavs put themselves in position to be paying that freight in a few years? And then the flip side of that coin is, well, what do you want them to do? Do you want them to say, I'm not paying Donovan Mitchell, who is the guy that has led us to Fort Four postseasons and just the Eastern Conference finals after years where we kind of had nothing going in the post-LeBron era?
Do you want him to say, well, we're going to trade Donovan Mitchell and see what we can get back?
Well, then we're in the same position that the Celtics are with Jalen Brown, right? Like this guy that we've built everything around that is the central figure in our organization, we're going to deal him for spare parts and picks because we think that that is a healthier long-term strategy. Just coming off of an Eastern Conference finals birth and an opportunity where you obviously they got washed out by the Knicks in that series, but where they put themselves in position where they're in the Final Four. And if not for a couple of breaks, who knows, maybe they put themselves in position to play for a title.
So When you get to these sort of extremely expensive rosters, the rarefied air that comes with employing perennial all-NBA players who make a ton of money as they get deeper into their career, these are the choices that organizations are going to have to make. And they're not fun choices. They can be damaging no matter which way you go, whether you decide to move off the guy too early or keep him around and maybe have to move off him too late. But that's the cost of doing business at the highest level. And now the business means even casual fans are aware of the dreaded second apron.
Dan, I can't just say second apron. I have to say dreaded second apron every time we get into the minutiae of the CBA. I'm Brian Weber, Infra Rich Eyes, and Tuesday edition of the program, getting excellent NBA analysis from Dan Devine. You'll get those well when you read his terrific work. For Yahoo Sports.
And also, when you check out his show, co-hosting the big number podcast, and Yahoo's got a streaming fast channel if you want to see that in living color.
Well, you mentioned Donovan Mitchell. I was going to get to Cleveland anyway, but thank you for leading me in that direction. We keep hearing that LeBron's process for making this decision involves maximizing happiness. That would suggest going home again to Cleveland, but from a basketball standpoint, which team do you think would be the best fit for LeBron if we're just talking hoops alone? I mean, I think it would be tons and tons of fun to watch him and Steph Curry play some two-man game out in Golden State.
I think that was one of the sort of most enjoyable parts of the 2024 Olympic experience with Team USA on their run to gold. I think that the basketball fit in Cleveland's interesting because we just saw LeBron in LA. Except to some degree, you know, maybe not as willingly at the beginning, but adjust his game to being a non-primary ball handler, right? To make space for Luka Doncic, for Austin Reeves to be the primary shot creators and ball handlers in that offense, and turn himself into kind of a super Swiss Army knife, like an elite high-level role player where he's finishing plays, he's screening, he's diving, he's spotting up off the ball, he's cutting behind the play. And he was fantastic in that role.
And the Lakers were excellent with him doing that. You can envision a world where he's doing that off of Donovan Mitchell and a re-signed James Harden. And where, by the way, you've got some defensive capability on the back line with Evan Mobley and Jared Allen able to cover up some of the mistakes and erase some of the mistakes that will happen on the perimeter there.
So I think that could be very interesting, especially like not that Dean Wade, his presence or absence would have limited you from getting LeBron James, but Dean Wade leaves in free agency. There's a hole at the 3-4 spot there in Cleveland. It would make a ton of sense setting aside even, or you know, not even mentioning the storybook component of it of the return home, right? The ones that. I don't I think are unlikely, just given there isn't really a previously beaten path there, but that would be like super interesting just to see what it would look like.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have a big wide-open hole at Power Forward after trading away Julius Randall and Nas Reed in the moves that made room for LaMelo Ball to pair in the backcourt with Anthony Edwards. LeBron on a team with Ant and LaMelo, he's already got gray hair in the beard. I wonder how gray would go by the end of that. Doesn't that strike you as too combustible, though, for LeBron to wrap up his career? Unless he brings Bronny and they can all act like a family, I guess.
Yeah, I mean, right, that's what you know. Bronny would be the translator for the consumer movement with Lamello and Ann. But yeah, I think, yes, I think it's probably too big an ask in that way, right?
So maybe you're looking at a more veteran-established team. And I mean, I think it would be an awful lot of fun to see what it would look like to have him play off of Nikola Jokic in Denver. Thank you for getting there, because I've been talking about that the last two days. Just from an aesthetic standpoint, I would love to see the Joker and LeBron run together. And don't forget about Murray and the rest of the talent in Denver.
Yeah, I mean, the thing, the thing that has sort of undercut Denver the last couple of years has been: well, when you don't have Aaron Gordon, when his hamstrings have been an issue, and you don't really have that connective piece at the power forward spot, everything gets a lot tougher for them on both ends of the floor. I mean, saying that LeBron James would be a good replacement for Aaron Gordon is probably a bit of an undersell of LeBron James. But if you're thinking, like, I could use a 6-8 power forward who can play off the ball, who can hit the glass, who can defend, be a backline communicator, all that kind of stuff, LeBron does feel like a pretty good fit for what that would look like. And so I think that if for no other reason, then, you know, it would amplify that strength. The idea of those two guys, you know, the genius-level basketball IQ of LeBron and Nicola Jokic being able to figure out how to play together.
Jokic being a player who just he is he sees every angle in a way that very few players other than LeBron have done in this generation. I think that would be tons and tons of fun to watch. It's just, it's a little more difficult just with A, it's staying in the West, B, it's I don't have a previous relationship there outside of say like the the ownership with ownership group, the Cronkies, a little bit of previous ownership relationship there. But I mean, that's part of it here. I think the one that doesn't make as much sense from a basketball perspective to me, and I might just not be imagining clearly enough.
I don't know that I see Miami being super clean with Bam Auto Baya, with Yannis Ada DeCumpo going in. The idea of LeBron going back there, I mean, maybe he's just there, like kind of jumbo point guard, but it feels a little bit too like too much like you're kind of smashing the same size of action figures together when you're playing, having those three guys all together on the court and in the half courts. I think that one might be a little clunky, but you know, listen, Eric Spolstra certainly has forgotten more than I'll ever know about how to make difficult things work and is a schematic genius and one of the most respected coaches in the NBA. If that's the way it works out and LeBron's able to kind of patch things up with Pat Riley and return to a place that he kind of came into his basketball adulthood, that would be pretty interesting too. I think all that to say, LeBron's got his options available.
He's got, you know, he's got Rich Paul's whiteboard. He's got podcasts to program for himself moving into the next few weeks. I expect this might take a little while for him to decide. But Cleveland, I think with Donovan Mitchell being locked in there, with James Harden's flexibility, okay, that deal's not done yet, hasn't it certainly hasn't been announced, there's some optionality there. There's that word again.
He could have some potential to make a few different choices. And I think he's going to take his sweet time doing it because he knows that the whole rest of the league is waiting on him, and I think he kind of likes that.
Well said. Dan, we could do this for hours. I want to be respectful of your time because I really do appreciate your thoughts. Concise observation, if possible. Based on the news that broke within the hour, now Jalen Brunson's going to need surgery.
For an injury that he was dealing with apparently throughout the postseason on his forearm and wrist area. You know, we love Liszt, we love Mount Rushmores, and I grew up a Knick fan just outside New York City.
So when I'm thinking about the greatest Knick of them all, I gotta go Willis Reed, game seven, 1970, and then they back it up, winning the title in 1973. With now the Brunson injury component and the historic playoff run of the Knicks that we just saw, does that elevate him maybe to Reed status? Are we talking about Brunson and contentious to be or contention rar to be the greatest Knick of them all? I mean, it doesn't hurt to the legend to say that he did all that in game five on the road, 45 points in 41 minutes with a busted wing. I think if you're talking about best games in Knicks' history, you mentioned that game seven in 1970.
It's Clyde, right? Clyde, the performance that he had in that game. And then Jalen Brunson in game five in San Antonio. I think those are one and two in whatever order you put them there. Brunson has a long way to go just because of the longevity that those guys had in their careers as Knicks.
But I mean, what he has authored since getting to New York, the playoff. 30-point games, 35-point games, 40-point games, all of it. And then, obviously, delivering the first title in 53 years, there's not a whole lot of names above him on that list, and it looks like it's going to have some more opportunities in the years ahead to keep adding to it. Dan, as I said, big fan of your work. I enjoy everything that you write, and the show that you co-host is terrific.
So I hope everyone checks out the Big Number podcast. Thanks so much for taking the time today on ESPN Radio. Oh, my pleasure. Thanks so much for having me. Dan Devine, giving you not only terrific insights, but excellent energy as well.
And he summed up as much as I try to be a wordsmith, and when I drop a $14 word, as my grandfather used to say, this is not being me. Going into the wrestling heel book, I am not Sir Oliver Humperding from back in the day. Occasionally, though, the polysyllabic words slip through. I just found it interesting because I do like to read. I know that is another way of connecting with a young audience.
I just found optionality to be such an interesting word. But as we described in the last hour of the program, what Stevens was saying was: we need more wiggle room. We need more versatility because we had created our own problem by going Super Max times two with Tatum and Brown. And it was a pretty straightforward process, I think, internally to choose between either Jason, Jason, or Jalen, even though Brown. Had a superhuman regular season.
Carrying that team without Tatum, doing it with Derek White. And Peyton Pritchard, and having the second-best record in the East in a year that most people had written off. And his reward? You're going to Philadelphia. I'm Brian Weber in for Rich Isaac.
Although he's in a better situation now, Sixers undeniably have a more complete roster and a better chance to compete to come out of the East. 844-204-Rich, 844-204-7424. We'll get back to. The soccer conversation in 20 minutes. With the third and final hour coming up, but straight ahead, we got to get to the NFL with training camps opening two weeks from today.
Why are we not talking more about the Seahawks running it back with the real possibility of defending their championship? That is next. I'm Brian Weber, Infor Rich on The Rich Eisen Show. Rich Eisen here. Running a small business means every hire matters.
A bad hire costs time and money, but the right one helps your business grow. The challenge? Finding that person without sorting through resumes. That's where LinkedIn Hiring Pro comes in. It screens candidates so you can focus on conversations with qualified talent.
With Hiring Pro, you can hire with confidence and build the team you need. Join the 2.7 million small businesses using LinkedIn to hire. Get started by posting your job for free at linkedin.com/slash Eisen. Terms and conditions apply. Rich Eisen here for Gusto.
On my shows, we talk a lot about what happens in the spotlight, the games, the highlights, and the moments that get replayed and debated. But in any successful operation, what happens behind the scenes matters just as much. Small businesses are no different. Payroll, hiring, onboarding, benefits, and all the details that keep things moving may not be the most visible part of the job, but they still have to be handled right. That's where Gusto comes in.
Gusto is online payroll and benefits software built for small businesses. It's all-in-one, remote-friendly, and incredibly easy to use.
So you can pay, hire, onboard, and support your team from anywhere. Automatic payroll tax filing, simple direct deposits, health benefits, commuter benefits, workers' comp, 401k, you name it. Gusto makes it simple and has options for nearly every budget. And it's all built to save you time with built-in automated tools for offer letters, onboarding docs, direct deposit, and more. Plus, you get unlimited payroll runs for one monthly price.
No hidden fees, no surprises. Tried Gusto today. At gusto.com slash rich and get three months free when you run your first payroll. That's three months of free payroll at gusto.com/slash rich. One more time, gusto.com slash rich.
The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast. It's the Rich Eisen Show. Brian Weber with you, 844-204. Rich is the number: 844-204-7424. Or continue to.
Throw your verbal jabs at me on the X platform, BW Weber, Weber with two B's. Got a lot to get to. And this is my last program until Friday, so. If possible, although I try to get the words out in the right order, we're going to have even more of a pace to the final hour of the show. Football will be addressed here and then we'll head on campus.
In fact, We will give you some of the takeaways as The biggest names in the Big Twelve are meeting with the media. The first of back-to-back media days in Frisco, Texas, which means college football is back. And I love college football as much as I love the NFL. And I'm not alone. If you look at general ratings, trends, attendance or just popularity surveys, consistently the only thing that is more popular than the NFL Right there, college football neck and neck.
Obviously, the NFL is king. I'm not going to be an absurdist saying that college football is more popular, but when you just ask people, hey, what do you want to watch? It's the NFL one college football not too far behind. And we will let you know what to expect once we get to the games. this fall, actually late August, as always, week zero not too far away when we're joined coming up at two twenty Eastern time by Stuart Mandel, editor in chief of the Athletics College Football Coverage.
As mentioned, you know by now this is the football show of record. Face of NFL Network has always been Rich Eisen. And of course, he and his lovely bride Susie Schuster got an invite to the latest wedding of the century, Friday at Madison Square Garden, amongst the football community gathering.
So. That's one reason I feel good about talking football. If you're thinking, well, it's a little bit too early. It's never too early to address the shield. And.
We are precisely two weeks away from training camps opening. When the Cardinals and the Panthers had their rookies arrive as they gear up for the Hall of Fame game, which kicks off the preseason.
So. As we do this time of the year, every year, we start thinking about The handful of teams that have a legitimate chance of winning it all, with also acknowledging. One of the primary reasons why football is king, both college and the NFL. And It's now a perfect combination of professional and what we used to call amateur football, is its unpredictability. Who would have thought that Indiana football would ever be relevant in our lifetime?
With the college football conversation coming up in the next hour. This is not an exaggeration. Statistically, they were the worst major program. in the history of the sport. And you know, Google me, my guy, Kurt Signetti, shows up and everything has changed.
And in the NFL, just about every year, somebody goes from worst to first, and we saw the Patriots have that unlikely run to the Super Bowl. And then do virtually nothing against the Seahawks.
Now. We knew going into the game that Drake May was less than 100%, and clearly. There was no reason for him to be open and say, Yeah, my shoulder is really just not operating.
So, hey, Seattle. Come over and abuse me as much as you can physically. It was clear within the first five minutes of that game that Drake May was a shadow of himself. And Seattle, much like we saw with Belgium and the United States last night, was vastly superior to the Patriots.
So And perhaps this is because I'm based in Southern California like Rich. I am hearing nothing but Ram's chatter. And I'm not zigging when the world is zagging. I'm not telling you that the Rams have any flaws other than Matthew Stafford will be a year older, and let's not overlook around this time of the year, a year ago, As the Rams were gearing up for training camp, there were real question marks if Stafford was going to be able to be the week one starter. Remember, he had that baccatorium in a mobile home outside their facility getting round-the-clock care?
Now, maybe. After the fact, he just didn't want to go through the motions of Practice sessions in training camp. And don't worry about. Preseason games because McVay doesn't play his starters with all. Whatever changed, Stafford had the best year of his career, and now.
The Rams' mindset is: let's take the biggest of big swings and bring in Miles Garrett. And there remains all of the rumor and innuendo that Aaron Donald. Could be coming back, and the question would be: when does he want to return? Would it be. November for a playoff run.
It's all right in front of the Rams. And if you care about the view from Vegas, they are the odds on favor to win it all. But It feels like there's been a lot of disrespect. directed towards the Seahawks. And maybe that's just because of the division they share with the Rams and the Forty Niners.
NFC West, undeniably the deepest and most talented division in all of football. And perhaps it's because The primary reason offensively they won the Super Bowl. That's why he won the MVP award. Talking about Kenneth Walker III, he is now a member of the Kansas City Chiefs. But just going through my early preseason ramp up.
And I still read magazines. I know, I know. I'm 140 years old, and I'm sitting in a rocking chair next to Clint Eastwood. But all the preview stuff floating around. I'm not just Cherry picking here, I am not seeing a lot of Seattle conversation.
Now, perhaps there's still a degree of doubt. about Sam Darnold. Because if we're going to be objective, he didn't do anything in the Super Bowl. By his own admission. They won that game despite One of the best.
resurgence stories we've seen in all of sports Are people of the mindset that last year was the peak of Darnold. And Seattle got everything out of him to win that Super Bowl. I don't know why he can't. Return to that same level of play of being a high-end game manager. The key for Darnold was he didn't implode in the Super Bowl, as he did consistently down the stretch with the Vikings that made him expendable.
And then he played with more confidence. Steadier, more efficient football, and he still has JSN, the best receiver. as a playmaking asset to lean on and his defense largely hasn't changed because All of the studs in the front seven on that dark side D are coming back.
So it's early to start breaking down things in the NFL. And I don't want to be a slave of, hey, I got to throw you some red meat every 15 minutes, or you're going to run away because, my goodness, we're talking a little bit of soccer and a good chunk of the NBA. But. As you're starting to organize your thoughts about The top of The sport we care the most about, yeah, it's the Rams. I don't see major separation between them and Seattle.
Go back to what happened in the regular season last year. How close were all three of those meetings, including the NFC title game? And I know Ram fan, you still feel like he got jobbed on that two point conversion that felt like it came straight out of FIFA or the WWE. I think Seattle will be fine with Jacques Charmonnet. Taking over the lead running back position.
And if it's just a matter of. trying to have a carbon copy from last season Avoid risks, avoid the massive turnovers that Darnold was plagued with early in his career, and let that defense eat. I think Seattle is going to be right there with the Rams. Doesn't matter if they win the division or not, they have the experience. Of Knowing what it takes to come through in a high-leverage situation, having won the Super Bowl last year.
And then, if we talk AFC, and we'll get to some of this when I'm back on Friday, you're looking at the usual suspects. I think it's Baltimore, I think it's Buffalo, and I do think Kansas City should not be overlooked. I'm Brian Weber in for Rich, getting closer to the final hour of the program with more of the fallout from last night's loss by Team USA in Seattle. That is still to come here on The Rich Eisen Show. The Ridge Eisen Show Podcast.
Mm-hmm.
