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Now, on with the show. We're on Aaron Donald watch. This is the Rich Eisen Show with guest host Seth Rollins. One thing that everybody that's ever played with Aaron Donald has ever said is that he is the best teammate. He's not a Roman Reigns, right?
He just don't want to show up. Today's guests. Good morning football co-host Jamie Erdahl. WWE superstar Becky Lynch. And now, sitting in for Rich, it's Seth Rollins.
My goodness. Boys. It is chaos here this morning at Rich Eisen Show. I am Seth freaking Rollins. Yeah, sing it.
Yeah, that soothed me a little bit. That puts me in my comfort zone, right? I like that. I like that. Keep that going.
There you go. We're here, and it is a Friday morning, July the 24th. We're live. We are live. We are live, and we are live on Disney Plus, live on the ESPN app, live on ESPN Radio, SiriusXM Channel 80.
And we have some big, big news. We want to talk about it. Give us a call. Give us your thoughts, your opinions at 844-204 Rich. You know, I think it's only fitting.
I think it's only fitting that TJ Be the person. Here it comes. To drop a mom, bro. Let us know. What are we going to talk about right out of the gate?
TJ, do the best. Rip it, TJ. Do it. There's a little signing that just happened in the National Basketball Association. Basically, guys, LeBron James is coming to the Philadelphia 76.
Let's go. I tried to tell y'all. Oh, okay. Elton Brand jerseys. He's an Elton Brand jersey.
I thought he was going to whip out like a pre-made six figure. No, it's not a game, Seth. It's not a game. I said this. This was my first blush reaction, like he should come to Philly.
But then I was like, no, because he probably wants to stay in the West Coast or he wants to finish in Cleveland. And even though I said it, sometimes we don't always say things that we truly think are going to happen. But like Penny Lane and Almost Famous, it's all happening. Yeah, so the actual news. LeBron James is signing a two-year, $8 million deal, player option for the second year with the Philadelphia 76ers.
LeBron Watch is officially over. Over. Over. Oh, God. He's going to Philly.
Wow. Unbelievable. I couldn't give the professional take, Chris. I had to go to the fan. Yeah, I know.
That's why I gave it to you because we wanted the genuine, the real joy, the elation that comes with being a fan, because that's what sports is all about: fandom. And you are. Look at that. Stop the J. That's beautiful.
And LeBron's got a chance to do something. That Dr. J did a long, long, long, long, long, long, long time ago. And it's bring a ring to the year you were born? Ooh, maybe.
No, I'm a little older than 80. I gotta be on. I'm a little older than 80, kidding. But yeah, this is amazing, man. And it's Nick Nurse's birthday today.
What a present. All right, more birthday. I'm just looking at the Sixers' Twitter page. No update on the LeBron news, but three hours ago, a happy birthday, coach.
Well, they're probably still too busy partying. They're like me, Chris. I could barely get the word right. Goodness. Two years, $8 million is insane.
He said it's not about money. LeBron actually, I don't know if we've got it, Mike, but LeBron did post a. A pretty long little thread on On Twitter this morning and all the other socials, he says, I thought I was done when the season ended. I wasn't ready to announce it, but I knew I needed some time to really decide. But I was pretty sure I played my last game.
I was honest at that last press conference when I said I needed to look at myself and decide If I still love the game, I still truly love the game and I have more to give. The last few weeks have been really special. I've never been able to have no clue what to do and take real time to just think. I've had an incredible few months with all the people I love, trying to figure it all out. This is my last decision.
I'm not going for money. I'm not going for family. What am I really playing for at this point? I had that question as well. I still want to sacrifice.
I still want to work. I still want to grind. I still want to compete to win to have a chance at the feeling of winning another championship. I believe I can make the Philadelphia 76ers a championship team, and I'm so excited to energize a new fan base and start this incredible journey one last time. Thank you, LA.
Miami, I'll forever love, and Northeast Ohio will always be home. Yeah. He's really doing it. Philadelphia. Wow.
He gets so much. It's amazing. It really is amazing. I mean,. I'm blown away.
I was of the opinion that there was, I would, I was like, no chance Philadelphia. I'm like, he's not going to Philly. Why? You know, I don't think he wants to do. He really must feel like this is the absolute best place for him.
To win a championship this season. He apparently is close with Tyrese Maxey.
Okay.
Okay.
They've got a great friendship, apparently. I remember like 10 years ago, Embiid was on Twitter trying to get LeBron to come around 2014. He was trying to get him to come sign with the Sixers. I think they've got a good relationship from playing in the Olympics together. And then, plus, of course, getting Jalen Brown was the key.
I think when that happened, that's what made me think: well, if you're LeBron, why wouldn't you want to come? Because, in all honesty, He only has to be the fifth ba Talent-wise, LeBron James isn't the fifth best at anything. But on this team, there's a 19-gall. He could be the fifth-best player on the floor, man. He can just do his thing.
He can. Drop dimes and run the offense and not have all the pressure put on him. I think it's a great situation. I think you say it best. This does not happen without.
The the Jalen Brown trade. And looking at this from a Celtics fan perspective, my God, that trade looks even worse today. And the fact that they don't get Vijay Edgecombe back in that trade, I know there was a report that they asked for that, and Philly balked, and the trade gets done anyway. With Paul, the fact that they don't get him and Paul George and draft picks back for Jalen Brown, it looks even worse today. Philly looks so good on paper right now.
I'm curious how they're all going to mesh because you got a few guys who kind of do the same thing. And then, you know, obviously the question marks about Embiid's health and how LeBron kind of fits into this. But on paper, wow, this team looks absolutely stacked. The updated title odds, they have the fourth best title odds behind. Oklahoma City and San Antonio and the Knicks.
Okay.
And then Philly's right there. They leapfrog Boston in the title odds now. And I think if you're a Sixer fan, TJ obviously is going nuts. Jake, our social guy, is going nuts. You got to think you can win the whole thing now.
And I don't think you really thought that, honestly, you know, a few weeks ago. I have so many questions right now. I have so many questions. I think my first question, Brockman, you mentioned as a Celtics fan, is this worst case scenario for you? Like, are you just like, I mean, I think is the trade and LeBron going to Philly, is this, are you just, have you had enough?
I'm kind of crashing out a little bit. It has not been a great month with, you know, one of your biggest rivals, the Knicks, winning the championship. That's obviously very, extremely painful. Then your other massive rival, Philadelphia, you trade one of your best players, you know, your equal. Finals MVP, the guy who carried you this past season while Tatum was out.
You trade him to your biggest rival to Philadelphia. Do not get the return for him that you felt that was satisfactory. An older player and Paul George and some draft picks, you're like, that is not on par with what we thought Jalen Brown was worth if you were going to deal him to this team. And then now, you know, maybe the final puzzle piece of a potential Philly title run here over the next couple of seasons now signs with them. It's absolute worst case scenario.
The only thing that's saving me is that you're wearing a green jacket. But like, I am not in a good spot right now. Hey, the socks are good. You got that going? Yeah, you got these.
Socks are good. Look, it's going to be an awesome football season. I'm trying to be glass half full right now. There you go. Super excited.
Drake made, I saw a picture of AJ Brown reporting today. That looked great. It got me pretty excited. But this news has me a little spiraling. Yeah, yeah, I can see that.
You know what? I like that. For a Boston fan. I do. You need that.
You got to bring you guys back down to earth sometimes. You know what I'm saying? You can't have everything. Sure. You can't have it all.
You spoke about how it's going to fit in. You're talking about LeBron James, who may have the highest IQ of any basketball player ever. Sure. Like, the intellect of the man is the few athletes that's on par with the physical capabilities.
So he's going to be able to make sure to peg round hold. It's not going to be the case. LeBron's going to find. His way into you know making sure that all of these guys reach their potential. Maxie's still young and he's Vijay the same way, he's going to elevate their game and he's going to take pressure off Embiid.
I think LeBron's smart enough to know, Chris, that you just kind of let Jalen shine. I think. It's kind of Jalen Brown's team and LeBron and everyone else is going to be here to help elevate him. I don't know. I'm excited to see how I bet you are.
I bet you are. That's what I was going to ask the Embiid question. You know, you said it takes pressure off Embiid because, you know, theoretically, the bronze in there, he can kind of pick up some of the slack. But I was wondering actually if it put more pressure on Mbi'd and this team to win now, because obviously the knock on Joel Embiid over the last, I mean, most of his career is can he stay healthy? But it's also, can he take this team to the next level?
And so I go, if not now. Then win for Joel and Bead. It's an excellent point you make, but I think we're at a spot now where all that doesn't have to be put on him. And that's what I'm saying, like taking the pressure off. You think that's better for him?
He'll be able to play more free.
Well, I love Embiid, and I'm on record here saying a healthy Joel Embiid is one of the maybe 15 greatest basketball players of all time. Wow. Unfortunately. His skill set is incredible for a man of his size, like to be seven feet, 280, 290 pounds, be able to handle the rock, shoot jumpers, and then, you know, do get busy down low. His skill set is tremendous.
His body has betrayed him all these years.
So we have, you know, going back to the John Cena point data, there's data that suggests that if he were healthy, he could do this, this, and this, but he hasn't been healthy. And that's always the naysayers come back to MB'd, right, Chris? It's like, can he stay healthy and can he do it in the playoffs? And now a little bit of that pressure. Yeah, I mean, last year, it seemed like, I mean, just like a month ago, he played a couple of games against Boston, was awesome, probably the decider in flipping that series, Your Guys's Way, and then doesn't play.
And Philly gets swept by the Knicks. It's like. Man, it's just you know being an Embiid fan, it's got to be pretty frustrating for you because like you've seen what the highest of high and the peak can look like. You know, he's the best player in the league, he's the MVP, and then just you know, for whatever reason, his body just doesn't want to cooperate. The gods just didn't bless him in that department, and you're just like, ah, it's so frustrating.
And now, maybe this does take some of the pressure off of him where he can play kind of half the season, maybe play once a week, kind of in the early months of the year, and then kind of ramp up a little bit before the playoffs and hope that he can sustain it for, you know, a two and a half month run to the finals. Because if he can, you got to think that Philly is going to be in there. We're going to get a Philly Knicks Eastern Conference finals, and then the winner of that takes on, you know, OKC, Spur, you know, San Antonio, whoever comes out of that out of that battle. Yeah, that was my next question. I'm like, does LeBron moving over to the east, does that tip the balance of power in any way?
I mean, because we talked about the West has been kind of the dominant. Dominant conference for a good chunk of the last few years. I go, ooh, do we now have a huge superpower in Philly to go with New York and Boston if Boston is still. A superpower. I don't know how you feel about that one, Brockman.
But that was my question. I was like, does this tip the balance to it?
Now we feel a little bit even like any team. of these kind of major squads out of each conference has a shot to win the title next year? You got to still give respect to the Knicks, right? They're defending champions. They've got what the Sixers don't have right now on July 24th is they've got chemistry.
Right. And that, and we see how far chemistry can take you and help take them to a championship. Sixers got to work on that. You know, that's something little that. Is going to play a big factor in the does.
So, you know, I don't want to disrespect. I got on that Knicks. Like, I rode that bandwagon of just like, yeah, we cool if New York wins. You know, sports are better when New York's 50 years is a long time for a title to play.
So I can't disrespect them. I won't disrespect them. They're, you know, they're the champions and they're who we and everyone else has got to beat. And I don't think they're going to give up that crown very easily.
So two years, eight mil, which is, that's the bargain of the century. Yeah, I mean, the vet man said, you know, he had said it wasn't about money. There was a report that, you know, that wasn't a factor. He wants the best basketball fit. He wants the best chance to win a title.
And He's seemingly true to his word on that. Yeah, I mean, the cool thing about LeBron James that I found, he's one of the most accessible. Star Athletes on the planet. He's very open about, you know, like that, that, that statement you read from Twitter, like, that's, that's, like, that's him. You know what I mean?
Like, you, you get all of it, all the, the, the spelling errors and everything. It's just that he put that out there himself. He also has a knack for kind of going on podcasts or wherever he wants to and explaining these decisions he makes.
So I'm fascinated to hear what. Like his train of thought was after the season, aside from just, oh, I was ready to hang it up and I talked to my family. Like, what was he thinking when he looked at all these rosters and who was coming after him and like what the process was that he trusted to get to Philadelphia and for two years? Do we think he's going to play? Both years?
Do we feel like he's just going to hit it at an even 25 and call it a day? Because he said this is it. This is his last decision.
So he's saying basically. Philly or I'm done. He's ending his career at Philadelphia. Yeah, he's not going to end year 24. You don't think?
Even if they win a title, you don't think he goes? That could be the thing that sways it, but I think. Of course, not knowing LeBron James. You're 25, like that's special that's never been done. I would assume with two years that that's what he's looking at.
If they were to win it, I don't think it ahead of myself, Chris. I don't know. I mean, if you want to jump ahead a year, best case scenario, Sixers win the title, confetti, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. You know, that puts him at five.
So now he wants to come.
Well, he ties him with Kobe. He's one behind Mike. You run it back one more year to try to get the back-to-back. Then you go back to back. Stay one more year to try to get seven.
That's how it always is.
So we were going to get LeBron James year 30 is basically. I don't know. And then they draft Bryce or something. You know what I mean? Like.
When is enough enough? You know what I mean? Like when is enough enough all the records? Come on, bro. You can't ask that question.
You're a man who wants to just claim championship gold, right? How many championships have you held in your career? Multiple, multiple. There's going to be multiple more. If someone said to you, How much is enough?
You'd be like, I mean, it could never be enough. Tom Brady's answer: what's your favorite ring? The next one.
Next one. Yeah. When's your favorite world championship, Seth Rollins? That's true.
Next one. That's true.
That's true.
But on the flip side of that, I don't want to be the guy. I don't want to be like. Washington Wizards, Michael Jordan. Like, I don't want to be that guy. He did average 20 points a game, but people seem to forget he's still that's fine, but that's not Michael Jordan.
Yeah, true then. You know what I'm saying? That's not who we're thinking about. I don't, and I love The Undertaker. He's one of the greatest of all time.
But you look at his stretch run of matches up until the Boneyard match, which was his final match. It didn't go well for him. And I don't want to be that guy. We had AJ Styles, who's a Hall of Famer, recently retire at the top of his game. John Cena, same thing.
You know, Derek Jeter kind of, you know, had his final year on his way out. Like, that's, to me, that's what you want to be. And I'm not saying LeBron is in the Undertaker category yet, but if we start hanging on for the one more ring, the oh, I got to get six, then I got to get seven to get past Michael. Then I got to wait for my other kid to get trapped. You know, like when, when, when is it like, okay, I'm good in a weird way, isn't this kind of the Aaron Donald conversation, too?
He retired at the peak of his powers and now takes two years off. And now we're, you know, we're all geeked out about him coming back, but. Coming back, why? What is it going to look like? You don't want to kind of tarnish what your earlier legacy was?
Yeah, yeah, there's always that question, too. Especially when you say, I'm out. And then you're like Ric Flair yourself, and you come right back. But we also came to the conclusion that Aaron Donet would not be that player based upon everything we know about. That's a way too.
We assume, we assume, but you never know. You know, you show up like Connor McGregor, and boom, there goes your knee, you know.
So, anything, anything is possible. This news is exciting. TJ, man, I'm very happy for you. Yeah, thank you. I deserve you.
You deserve it. I take a lot of slack here. As a loyal fan of the Philadelphia 76ers for a long, long time, you've seen a lot of bad basketball. I have made lists about them. And now here we are, and you've got the greatest player, arguably of all time, on your roster.
And he says this is his final stop. Wow. This still doesn't make up for trading Moses Malone, but you know. And I want to hear from Cavs fans today. Can some Cleveland fans call me?
Because I had a few in my life dead convinced that LeBron was going there. They were trading for Kyrie and maybe AD and it was going to be, you know, their coming home party. But you know what? The Cavs fans got the ring, right? He did what he was supposed to do.
He brought them the ring. My team hasn't had a ring since the early 80s. Like, you know, you've had rings, but many teams haven't. He gave them what he. I don't want to say owed them, but yeah, but everyone thought the book, you know, he's going to bookend the story.
Well, there's a story. He doesn't, Philly, but you're right, Brockman. I would love to hear from somebody. If you got some Thousand fans out there, give us a call: 844-204-Rich. We'll take your calls.
But up next, guys, we have one of my favorite people on the planet. She is the host, Good Morning Football, Jamie Freaking Erdahl. Yes, in studio. Let's go. Save money on your next oil change with O'Reilly Auto Parts.
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We are back here on ESPN Radio Series Channel XN. We are with Good Morning Football host and the Queen of Minnesota. Jamie Erdahl, who is telling us she's very upset. that LeBron James didn't even consider. The Minnesota Timberwolf.
The nice thing to do f would be to consider Minnesota. Wow. But instead, he goes to Philly. My mom's from Philly, though, so I think I guess I can hang. I got a lot of happy cousins in Philly.
Okay, so you got roots all over the place. I do. It's those two places, Minnesota and Philly. All right. Which is like a good combo for me because Minnesotans are super nice.
Yeah. But then Philly. Women cannot be so nice sometimes.
So I got a little, I got a mixed bag. It depends on like how I'm feeling that day.
Okay.
Okay.
So was the LeBron to the Wolves, was that like you're just like, that would be really cool? Or did you think that was the best fit for him? Oh, I definitely. I'm not in the game of like making NBA best fits, let me be clear.
Okay.
I just think it's fun when Minnesotans can be hopeful to feel something that resembles championship winning teams. Yeah. And so that would have been great. And I love Anthony Edwards, and I think it's been a fun team to watch. And then when Giannis left to go to Miami, and like, I just said something's got to shake out.
I feel like Aunt needs.
Something. I'm acting like I'd watch a lot of NBA. I watch the playoffs. True shit. It's a long season.
It's a long season. 82 games is a long. It's a long playoffs. It is. It's a lot.
It's a lot. But we did get the news of all news today.
So that was very cool.
So, how's this going for you? This? Yeah. I don't know, guys. How is this going for you?
How am I going to do that? You're exoling. I feel oddly proud of him. Like, yeah, for sure. Like, you're, I don't even want to like, I don't want to say I'm your big sister, little sister.
I'm like your twin sister in this. Like, we're peers. Yeah. And I'm like, I'm very, I'm very happy, very proud of you right now. First of all, we are not peers.
You are so much better. Although I got you today at this gig. Did you get me today? Twice. Oh.
Okay, so ready. Tell him, tell him about it. Unlike the Rich Eisen show, we do have some prompter reading that we have to do. Yes. And we had somebody on, and I asked my question, and then I just blew through the prompter and asked Seth's question, even though he didn't ask Seth's question.
So then we were chuckling about that. And I apologize. Seth, so sorry that that happened. And then the next hour, it happened to him again. Our guy, Jalila Dai, asked Seth's question for him, and I reached over and grabbed Seth's arm, like, oh my gosh, it happened to you again.
Honestly, what are you even doing here at this point? Like, we don't even have to work. And you, and I like to call him, you let out a church giggle. I lost it. And we couldn't look at each other for the next seven minutes because the giggles were happening.
It was bad.
So, it was the first time on the show where I just did the old, like, Yeah, it was like audible in the mic. It was, it was, I was very embarrassed. I think, Jamie, too, the most important thing is that Seth is here not under a guise or a ruse. He's not lying to us this time. That kind of made it a lot more better and free and clear.
Has he lied to you guys directly? Oh, what? Oh, my goodness. Oh, boy. What are you saying?
Oh, my goodness. The last lying that I witnessed was with KB at the draft. Oh, yeah. This was pre-bad. Yeah, we can rewind basically an entire calendar year where.
Seth comes in here, knee brace, crutches. Oh, that one. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, that one. That one.
Jamie, that one. I was so convinced. Me being probably the biggest wrestling fan here, there's a part of me that's always like, well, maybe. But I took him at his word. I asked about his mental health.
Like, people online were really complimentary of the fact that I wanted to know how he felt inside, which got me some followers.
So thank you. Did you check on TJ's mental health after you did this to him? I checked on his mental health briefly last season after the Chicago Bears absolutely destroyed his Dallas Cowboys. That's what she meant, bro. And by checked on his mental health, I mean I texted him later to make fun of him for how bad that beating went.
During the game. Yeah, well, because he was so confident that Dallas was going to dominate Chicago that he went and hung out with his buddy Ashton Kusher, fellow Bears fan, and his child, and he watched the game with them texting me. I put this on the group chat, Jamie, because I thought it was going to go my way. Group chat thinking, oh, this is my day. And it went south.
It went south so bad. Ashton's child was just admonishing him in video form. Wow. It was fantastic. Ashton's an Iowa guy, though, right?
He's an Iowa guy. Yeah. It got so bad, Jamie, that next time Seth came on, we renamed the show The Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire. Did you also put him through like an MRI before he came on to make sure everything was fine? Oh, we had the lie detector test and we got it all going forward.
Yeah, full steam. I love that graphic. On the up and up. You know, I think I've lied so much that I would pass a lie detector test. I think because I wouldn't even know what was true and what was a lie anymore.
Like that, that was my favorite. Like, you're like, oh, the last time he lied was the Kyle Brandt incident at the draft. And I was like, the time before that, the time before that. I feel like we're in some very abusive, emotionally abusive relationship. Like, are we friends?
Are we having a good time? I don't even know. To give him credit too, Jamie, yesterday and today, I told him I don't think he really looked at it like that. This. He hosted and is hosting five hours of live television that in a day.
Like, that doesn't happen. Like, people aren't on air live that many hours in a day. I don't know. I don't know. Why anybody wants to hear me talk for five constraint hours?
That is, that's bonkers. That's actually. You have a high Q rating, Seth Rollins. Oh, I don't know what that means, but I. You're likable.
I like that. Oh, okay. You're approachable. You're a man of the people. All right.
All right. All right. All right. Nice. You have a Q rating slightly lower than Del Tufo's, but his is as high as it gets.
I mean, with a name like Del Tufo. Everybody knows. I mean, everybody's got a huge, huge Q rating. All right. So you and I host a show.
Well, you host it. I just dabble on it occasionally. Good morning football. Yeah. So let's talk some football.
Okay.
Training camps. happening. It's about time. We got two in right now, right? We got the Cardinals and the Panthers.
Cardinals and the Panthers, because you and I. Are you going to tell the people? It was yesterday, actually, on this show. We both, at the same time, she said it out loud first. She said, oh, wait a minute.
They do the Hall of Fame game with teams who are who are inducting players into the Hall of Fame. Was that a breaking news? And I said, Oh, it was breaking news to her. And then as she said it out loud, I was like. Seth is like, thank god you said it.
And then it made me go back and track every single, I would say the last five-year Hall of Fame games. Let's, I'm not trying to, you know, insult the Hall of Fame game. It's just not one that I like really click into my skis for, you know?
So I. We pay attention. We love the doorknob features and whoever's going in. I just never, and maybe it's because the Hall of Famers who have gone in recently, maybe they're like a multi-team guy or something like that. And so it doesn't.
Necessarily track, but this Panthers Cardinals one felt quite random. Ah, yeah, felt quite random. Until Cam Wolf, I asked Cam, what's Charlotte feeling like? You know, is there a bunch of Luke Keekly stuff going on? He's like, Well, yeah, there's going to be a lot of festivities in Canton.
I was like, Right. Right. Yes, white people who are fans of the Panthers. And the Cardinals and Larry Fitzgerald, another Minnesotan, are going to be there to celebrate their guys and watch the team play because I definitely knew that. Is Larry Fitz from Minnesota?
Minnesota man. I did not know that. That explains so much. He's so nice. He's so nice.
He's so nice. So, Seth, did you not realize that Larry grew up as a ball boy for the Vikings and he learned the position from Chris Carter? Yeah. His dad was a, who recently passed, was a journalist, sports writer, Minnesota. Larry grew up in his teen years, he was a ball boy.
So he learned from Chris Carter and Randy Musk the position of wide receiver. He went to a really good, like, a really, really great high school, like big public high school, Minnesota. Wow. I did not know that. Then he went to a prep year in, I believe, Pennsylvania, in Western PA, like a Pittsburgh area, which then he went to Pitt now.
Like a 13th year of high school. It all makes sense. Will you actually check his high school for me? Yeah. It's either a school.
I think he went to a military academy. I think the military academy might be the one in Western PA. Jamie, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, that was news to us. But the Panthers and the Cardinals are indeed the teams that are in training camp. Good job, Jamie.
Valley Forge military camp. Military, yeah. But that's the one in PA. Where did he go before he went there? Academy of the Holy Angels.
Oh, there it is. In original colours. That's also a military academy, Minnesota. Yep. Wow.
All right, okay.
So, Minnesota girl, Minnesota Vikings, the big talk. Quarterbacks. Kyler Murray, are you Team Kyler or Team JJ? I'm Team Justin Jefferson.
Okay.
You've heard me talk about before. I honestly have just, this is stuck in my head since the offseason, which is like that man is such a professional. Justin Jefferson has shown up. For whatever has happened. And I don't think it's done onto them.
I think they've just gotten into some pickles effectively between contracts with Darnold on the one-year deal, the draft pick with JJ. They just, they, they, they back themselves into this parking spot, essentially. But like, I think you're at the end of the rope with Justin, essentially. Like, if he were to throw a fit, which I know he wouldn't because he is a professional, like, I would be like, yeah, that tracks. Like, you, I would be infuriated if I was as talented as him and as much of just like, you are the brand, you are the Vikings.
This is a team with like. A beautifully historic list of names at the wide receiver position. And all he's trying to do is continue that. Yes. Just give him a guy.
I don't care who the guy is. I really don't. Just find the one. I thought we had the guy. Then he went and did what he did.
Track back two years ago to the Sam Darnold 14-3 season. They lose in the playoffs. He goes to Seattle. Are you like As a Vikings fan, are you like, oh no, we should have kept him? Or are you like, ah, it's this, it's still this old Sam Darnold.
Like, that's fine, let him go and let's move on. No, I think we should have kept him. I'm not going to brag, like, I knew that the Vikings, in terms of cap space and all that stuff, I'm not going to say like, I knew they could have afforded the, I think it was three-year, $100 million deal that he got.
Okay.
But I just don't think you saw enough from what you had to really just say like Because they have such a team. Like their defense is unbelievable. You have offensive weapons all over the place, and the fact that that is your one missing thing, and you had the guy in the building. And I think Sam Up until being cast aside, I think he liked being in Minnesota. I think guys like playing for Kevin O'Connell.
Again, you have one of the best, if not the best, wide receiver in the league right now at your disposal. You don't think he could have stayed, even if it was not for the same, but if you had just shown him, like, some love. But then again, now they've moved on from the GM that was there then. I don't know who, and I'm not like one to play the blame game. I just like, I want to.
I just want to figure it out. Cause it's like, I know it's a big piece, but you're one piece away. And everyone's getting better. That's oh yeah, that division is legit. Because the Bears were we could have just kind of dealt with them, but now they're better.
They're better. Yep. Packers are the Packers. The Lions still have Dan Campbell and Goff and Amon Ra and Jameer Git. And then that's just that division.
The NFC as a whole is a nightmare. We can't stop talking about the NFC on PMF base. Do you have a favorite in the NFC? Do you, I mean, the Rams? I am not.
I really like to play Devil's Advocate. I just hate going chalk. I don't like being Captain Obvious. I feel like I'm. I don't want to pick the Rams.
Okay.
Not because I don't like them. I respect the hell out of what they're doing, and I think they're wildly talented. I just, I don't want to know this early. That's what it is. I don't want it to be so obvious.
Yes. Cause then I get annoyed of it. I really want it to be fun and a surprise. Like what the Seahawks did last season, that they were like the come running team. Yeah.
Yeah. They were. And that was fun to watch because it was a slow burn, if you will. Yes. I don't need it to be just like.
That's it. The Rams are done. Why even play?
So, are there any slow burners in the NFC this season? Are the Vikings a slow burner? Do we have any? Is there anybody in the South that's going to win a playoff game? Sure, they might win it, but the slow burn team.
Do you feel like there's any maybe's? I kind of like what you said on the show earlier today: that I think we haven't paid enough mind to the Lions again. These are good humful circle. You know, I think. Uh, Pach honestly, I think Pacheco is going to be helpful to them.
I think Aiden Hutchinson, they were secondary, he's got to get right. obviously, but um There's just so many to pick from. Would it be weird if the Seahawks were just the Slowburn team again? I mean, they are under the radar. They are under the radar.
We discussed it this week. Like, well, because the Niners are there and they brought in Mike Evans, and everybody thinks, oh, they'll be healthy this year. And, you know, there's no electrical system that's going to hurt. You know, I don't know what's going on there. Minefield.
Yeah, whatever superstition they've got.
So there. And then obviously the Rams made all the big moves and Aaron Donald might be coming back.
So, I mean, they're just kind of like just. Left off the radar, and everybody's like, I can't repeat in the NFL anymore. It's too difficult.
So it's like, you just forget about they could slow burn a game. Yeah. This is a really specific example, but it pertains to today in the LeBron James news, which is when I, at the very beginning of my career, I worked in Boston from 2012 to 14, which is very much part of like the New England heyday. Oh, yeah. Championships, titles, titles, titles.
And there were moments where it felt like the teams amongst each other were just trying to one-up each other. Like the Bruins won the Stanley Cup in 11, I think it was. And then Celtics were like, nah, we got 12. You know, the Red Sox are like, okay, cool. We got 13.
And then the Patriots were just winning a lot. Sneaky, like, could that happen in Philly? Brockman is so look at him. You're taking him back. I was so happy.
You saw Saquon already tweeted at Ron, like, when are they going to hit the sticks? Oh, no. They get a golf at Marion, those two. Jamie, I'm a New Englander, so no. My answer is no.
Those are fun times, though. There's still fun times. We were in the Super Bowl last year. Everyone forgets that. True.
Were you... Were you really there? Did you really? Whoa. I don't want to hear it from you.
No Super Bowl appearances in 20 years. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Talk about Slowburn. Yeah, it's a real slow burn, man. It's the slowest of burns in Chicago.
No, but did you okay?
So that's so as a New England fan, like that was a real - I think that was a real era in Boston when those teams were - I mean, it was just an it was incredible. I mean, 07-08, you got the Celtics with KG and Pierce and Ray Allen. That was undefeated too at the same time. And the Red Sox won this World Series in 07, and then. It was, yeah, it was a wild time.
It's been a wild run for New England sports fans in the last 20 years, and it did feel like they were just trying to top each other. And it was like the running debate was who's the biggest star in the town. And you had a player from each of the big four teams. And you don't really see those types of runs happen for a city. Yeah, like, could it happen in Philly?
Like, could the Eagles be the Slowburn? Eagles? Because it can't, Jamie. It'll happen for the Sixers, but not for the Eagles. But if the Sixers start to turn it on and they're like taking the city by storm, the Eagles might take that personally and say, hold up.
We just want to play in an NFT title. What are the Phillies doing? The Phillies are not great. No, Phillies were not great. They've been awesome since they fired their manager.
Don Maddale takes over. They have big stars, obviously, with Bryce Harper and Cal Schwarber and Chris Sanchez. Yeah, they have big stars. Philly's a big, big, big star sports town right now. That true is.
Everybody is a new hotbed. That's crazy. All right. Okay, well fantastic. We are going to take a short break here.
We have more with Jamie Erdahl when we get back. I need to ask you about Kyle Brand. I need some Kyle Brandt stories on the show.
So we're going to come back more with Jamie after this on the Rich Eyes show. Let me call Kyle and ask him. Rich Eisen here for Gusto. After all these years talking to athletes, coaches, entertainers, and people at the top of what they do, one thing is pretty clear. Success usually depends on getting the details right.
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So, what are we talking about? We are talking about me sailing a boat to Minneapolis for SummerSlam and me winning back my World Heavyweight Championship from that putz Roman race. Look at that. So, that's what we're talking about imminently. But what I've been wondering since we went to break and now that we're back here on Disney Plus ESPN app and ESPN Radio, SiriusXM Channel 80, I've been wondering, you've been working with Kyle Brandt for how long now?
We will embark. On our fifth season together this year. Kyle Brandt is a maniac. Yes, he is. In the best possible way, he's a lunatic.
And I love him. We love him. Do you have any great Kyle Brandt stories that you can share? With us. Anything that jumps to mind, just rhythms about Kyle, anything we can muse on?
Um You know, this will be a good television tease too. We have a Jeopardy episode coming out at the end of.
Next week. Is it like a uh sports? It was ESPN Jeopardy.
Okay, sports themed. Sports themed ESPN Jeopardy. Kyle, Mantai, and I competed against each other. Wow. The episode is going to drop on all these platforms that run right now.
I'm not going to rattle them off. It comes out next Friday. Kyle and I and Mantai were, you know, group chat, you know, like, let's make sure we make good television, let's represent GMFP. But like I fully expected to um lose to him to Kyle because he's brilliant. And we're standing there.
And you know, the thing about Kyle is like, he approaches creating television from when his eyes open that morning. Like, it's that is his whole goal. You and I, like, I think we go about our lives. We're married. We have children.
Like, we, and then we, we do our jobs. Yes. Kyle, that's not how Kyle operates.
So I get to Jeopardy and we're standing up there and we're at the podium. And I'm just like looking around. This is this is cool.
Okay.
And I write my name on the board. That shows the whole time. Sure. Kyle looks over at me and he's like, Hey, so he goes, You happy with your name? And I'm like, I thought I was like, Did I just do?
And so I had written Jamie with no, and I was like, Am I supposed to put a cross on my J? What's the problem? Like, what do you, why are you? And he was like, Yeah, I'm fine with my name. Wh why?
What's going on with your name? And he goes, I've thought about how I was going to write my name on Jeopardy my whole life.
Okay, and so then I rewrote my name because, like, the pressure of like, is it right? Like, this is gonna go down in his mind. That's a life moment. For me, it was a Friday. And it was a Friday in May.
And then he, and now it's going to come out next weekend. And he wiped the floor with us. I mean, I'm sure I'm ruining the episode, but like he was so good. And but he also just made brilliant television at the same time. And like, that rattled me.
The entire experience rattled me, I'll be honest. Like, Jeopardy's very stressful. But he the hymn Him proclaiming that he is, and I was like, Am I doing this entire thing wrong? Like, did I not? I should have thought about how to write my name.
By the way, I'm doing that right now. I'm like thinking about how to write it. How would you have done it? Yeah, so now when everybody watches our episode, you should pay attention and compliment Kyle. How you wrote his name, but that's how in the wheez he is.
Were you expecting when you went into this? Were you at least hoping, okay, you know what? Mantai, I know it stands no chance. Respect, respect my name. He would also.
He would say that. Are you like, I can hold my own here? Or are you like, I hope Kyle takes it easy on me? Because Kyle is like a wealth of. Pop culture and sports knowledge.
Like, he can remember third down and four plays from a game that happened in 2009 in week 13. Yeah. That's where his brain is. It's also like the speed in which he can respond.
So that's actually, this will be a true tease. I. We were working through the last board, and I got the second to last question correct. And so the final number was triple jeopardy. And I'm not going to pretend like I know the math well enough to think that for some way, if I had gotten the number right, I could have been close to him.
But the point is, like, I had control. But the fact that in like a 10 seconds and it felt like a half a second. I got a question right, which I was proud of. Then the Triple Jeopardy comes up. You're just staring at the camera, and Joe Buck is reading you the question.
And I'm back at like, but I got the question right. Can we celebrate that? But you gotta go. And like, and I fully fell on my face. The answer to the question that I got wrong for my final Triple Jeopardy.
Will live in my head rent-free for and I will actually like hold anger towards this athlete for the rest of my life. Oh no!
So, watch the episode, it drops on July 31st. I'm very excited, and so that, but like, it all from start to finish, he was just buttoned up, and I was like, This is. You s you're so intense and I respect it so much. But it can it's like a wave over you. Like you can get bowled over by it sometimes.
Yeah, he so we we mentioned we talked uh previously in the last segment about, you know, When was the last time Seth lied to you? Yeah. And you mentioned at the draft, Kyle and I's a little dust up, right?
So. That was Kyle's idea, brainchild from the beginning. Before I even got to Pittsburgh, he's like, yo, we got to do something for the draft. And in my head, I'm like, dude, it's my first draft. I'm just trying to learn about all these kids and have good conversations.
Well, you know, admittedly, I don't really follow college football as much.
So when it's draft time, I start to learn up on them and I want to give them their day in the sun and talk about them. Kyle's just like, no, we got to make great TV. No, like we got to figure out how to do something to stand out. What if we had a fight? I can't.
What if we got into it? How would that work? What would that look like? And then he leaned on me to bring in the pro wrestling of it all. But he was so excited to just pitch this fight.
He didn't want to tell anybody. He's like, no, we can't tell anybody. It's got to be like nobody can know. And you got to walk off. And don't tell anybody.
And I was very concerned. I was very concerned. I'm like, can you at least smarten up? Because Jamie and Mantai were in LA. And I'm like, can you at least smarten them up so that at least Jamie, please, like somebody, tell somebody.
He's like, I'll tell the right people when I need to. Yeah. Complete, a complete lunatic. Yeah. Absolute lunatic.
But then, like, he, it, they are brilliant ideas, this man has brilliant ideas. And so then you feel, at least this is how I feel, like honored when he like taps you on the stick of like, you shall play it, you shall be in on this with me. Yes. So, for example, another one that comes to mind is like, he loves metal. You know, and like he always plays Pantera before he does Angry Runs in the studio.
And so let's just say I'm not well versed in metal. The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. Mm-hmm.
