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Now, on with the show. This is the Rich Eisen Show. Live from Canton, Ohio, home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Today's guests: Pro Football Hall of Famer Steve Hutchinson, Pro Football Hall of Famer, Marshall Falk, ESPN Broadcaster, Chris Berman, Pro Football Hall of Famer, Rod Woodson, Pro Football Hall of Famer, Willie Rofe, Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, Luke Keekly, and now, Rich Eisen.
Well, hey everybody, welcome to this edition of the Rich Eisen Show live from Canton, Ohio at the Pro Football Hall of Fame Museum. And fans are filled up in the hallways and the bust gallery and everything that you love about coming to the Hall of Fame only gets jacked up because it is time for an enshrinement weekend for the 63rd time. This is the 64th enshrinement class in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And we are honored to be live here on Disney Plus and the ESPN app, as well as ESPN Radio and Sirius XM Channel 80. And our guest list is spectacular.
We've got Steve Hutchinson. He's going to be our first guest up right here in the middle of this hour from the Canton class of 2020. And then the man who once upon a time proclaimed this being football heaven in the Canton class of 2011, Pro Football Hall of Famer and current Southern University football head coach Marshall Falls. Will join us in the master of ceremonies for yet another enshrinement weekend on ESPN. Chris Berman will stop by.
Rod Woodson from the Canton class of 2009 will be here. Willie Rofe back in the day from the Canton class of 2012 will join us. And then at the end of the program, right in the middle of our third hour, somebody who's getting enshrined this weekend, Luke Keekly, is kind enough to stop by here as he watched his Carolina Panthers go ahead and win the Hall of Fame game last night on the final seconds in a walk-off victory in one of the more exciting Hall of Fame games we've seen in quite some time. 844-204-Rich is still the number to dial. I'm sitting here back in Los Angeles, California.
Chris Brockman and Mike Del Tufo are in their usual spots along with TJ Jefferson. How are you? Good to see you, Richard. What's happening? Can't do it.
Just so everyone understands, I'll paint the picture here because I know we don't have a, I guess if you want to take the Don Bowie, the wide shot here in our Studio, the widest one that we have. We are sitting here. That's Cam Hayward's big mug that's right behind me because we are here. Yes, that is correct. We are here in a glass-encased studio, something called the Presentation Center for those who are scoring at home or walking around the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
And it's a small room that is dedicated to the service aspect of being a Hall of Famer. Cam is on the wall because he's not a Hall of Famer yet, but the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award winners are basically honored whether they're in the Hall of Fame or not in this room, which is why you see him behind me for the rest of all three hours. Wherever you are, I'm sure you're working out right now in Steelers training camp. If your phone is blowing up, it's because your head is massive right behind me on our Disney Plus and ESPN app broadcast. But the interesting aspect of this, when I walked in here, guys, I thought to myself, I've been in here before.
And sure enough, this room used to be much larger, and it used to be the room that was dedicated to honoring the incoming class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame with some of their knickknacks and their jerseys and their helmets. And I'm glad to have known that I'm not crazy because I did get a sort of different sense that I've been in this room before. And sure enough, Years and years and years ago, when NFL Networks started. Broadcasting and honoring those who are enshrined in the Hall of Fame by covering this event every single year live on NFL Network. Whenever there was a rain issue outside and we weren't yet in a covered Situation in a set outside.
We would come in this room and one of the first broadcasts I ever did from the Pro Football Hall of Fame was from this room because the weather outside forced me and Mooch and everybody else to stand here with stick mics and fans were going crazy around us.
So, I guess it's only fitting, guys, that I'm sitting here in this room today. Man, that's wild. Rich, how far are you? How far are you away from that room that we used to sit in, the glass room? Oh, the luncheon.
Yeah, the luncheon. Oh, I'm far away from that, but I am down the hall from the bust gallery. Oh, and so there's a lot of foot traffic to my right because it's the oldest portion of the hall, the one, the building that everybody had seen for decades and decades and decades, nicknamed the juicer because there's a football, half a football, that's on the roof that makes it look with a flat roof around it like you're placing a big piece of fruit on top and getting the juice out of it. And then a small hallway that leads to the bust gallery that's right to the right. And there's nothing like it, folks.
Did you hear any voices this morning of them talking to each other? I did not. They weren't talking, except the ones in my head saying, man, I wish. They hadn't shut the doors on my connecting flight to Canton two minutes after I arrived. Listen, what I was saying.
To everybody here before the show, and anybody that will stop me. Um that this place is open all year round. and the thousands of volunteers that make this Thing go. They're behind the scenes this weekend and they're behind the scenes all year long, but they're the ones who truly. Have the passion for football that matches the fan base that shows up here on this weekend.
This is a great place to visit all year round. It is an incredible shrine to football. And I just wanted to cape for my friends here at the Pro Football Hall of Fame just to start this show. Tonight is the Jacket Dinner. that I'm going to be honored to be hosting.
Once again, and this is the one that I know you guys have witnessed before. Oh, yeah. This is the event that's sort of a hidden jewel. It's not sort of, it is a hidden jewel. The NFL network used to broadcast it live for a couple of years, but For some reason, it's not shown nationally.
It should be, because tonight is the first night uh or the first day in the lives of the Incoming class. Of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, in which they receive a tangible item. And nothing can make an emotion. Or a realization land quite like an actual tangible item.
Now, as of now, the photograph that you see on the screen, the incoming class of this year's Pro Football Hall of Fame, Luke Keekly and Larry Fitzgerald, and Adam Vinatieri and Roger Craig. and Drew Brees, they're wearing golf shirts. Uh as of tomorrow, they will be wearing Um and a gold jacket. But tonight is where they receive the gold jacket. They'll get a bus tomorrow.
and they'll show up to the enshrinement ceremony in a gold jacket. But tonight is when they receive the jacket. You'll get a Hall of Fame ring later on this fall when they're honored at uh a football stadium near them or wherever they used to play football.
So obviously Larry's going to have his ring ceremony and In Arizona, and I imagine Drew will have it in New Orleans, so on and so forth. But tonight's where they get the jacket, and tonight where it really lands on them. Chris, you know, not to rope your personal life into this, but I imagine on the day you and Sarah made it official it landed the most when you know That ring put got put on your finger for the first time. Yeah, absolutely. Correct.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And if you watch Women's Sports Now yesterday, that ring might be coming off Sarah. Sarah's planning on a second wedding. Wow. Yeah, Connie Kelsey was Kylie Kelsey was the in-studio guest yesterday.
So Sarah told Kylie that she wanted Kylie to be the efficient at her next wedding. Can I hear that appropriately? Yeah, so on Women's Sports Now, I guess a few months ago, Sarah had like her dream team of who her bridal party would be, and she had Kylie Kelsey as the efficient. And obviously, Kylie was unavailable the same weekend that we got married. And so Sarah said, Yeah, yeah, at my next wedding, you can be the efficient.
And I just happened to be watching live yesterday and And kind of did a double head to rewind, had to make sure I heard that correctly. Took you back a little. Yeah. I was like, oh, Cage was laughing. He didn't snark.
Yeah, I was about to say, at least your son wasn't watching at the time. Oh, wait a minute. He didn't. But he didn't watch. Unlike you, then, Chris, now that you've brought that into this equation, nobody here in the Canton class of 2026 is going to get broken up with by the Hall of Fame.
Oh, good, yeah, good, good. Only to run it back. Like, that's not going to happen.
So once they're in, they're in. That's the end of it. But tonight's the jacket dinner. And this is, again, a very emotional time when they get the jacket slipped on them for the first time. It dawns on them.
It really hits them hard. For sure. And For those who might remember, if you don't, When Shannon Sharp went in the Hall of Fame, and again, he was in Marshall Falk's class. It was Shannon, Marshall, and Deion in that class, just to name three in 2011. When Shannon went in the Hall of Fame in 2011, He had Um his brother Sterling put the jacket on him.
Now, it's just so happened that back then. the presenters uh for each enshriny At the Saturday ceremony, Also served as the presenters of the jacket the night before at the jacket dinner.
So Sterling was bringing the jacket to the stage for Shannon. As his Hall of Fame presenter. And um When he put that jacket on, they cried like babies. And they hugged it out. And it was highly emotional.
And the standing ovation Was long. And their photograph uh of this moment Wound up on the front page of the Canton Repository, the newspaper here in Canton. And I'll never forget the next day. Uh in 2012, Chris, I was Recording some interviews for the podcast version of this show that gave birth to. All of us sitting here on Disney Plus, yada, yada, yada, years later.
But I showed up here to do some podcast interviews. And um walked into the Hall of Famers hotel for that day's shoot. and there were three guys in the lobby. there was Shannon, there was Sterling, And there was the other individual holding up the front page of the newspaper. Yelling at the two of them for crying in the most profane manner, yelling at them.
And it was Deacon Jones yelling at them. To tell them that they were big babies or big effing babies. And now, you know, we didn't cry now. Saturday's events were where you're supposed to cry, not Friday night. It was a classic moment where you're looking around saying, Is there anybody else here witnessing this sort of thing?
Anybody else see this? And tonight's that's right. Tonight's that night. Tonight's that night. However, A couple of years ago, the Hall of Fame added a new wrinkle.
to the jacket presentation. And It was born out of The way that they reintroduce all the returning Hall of Famers. The beauty of this weekend, as I've just mentioned, is the passion of the sport from all the fans who show up. Excited to honor the past while thrilled. to welcome the present in the dawn of a new football.
Season. That's what makes this weekend unique as well. I mean, again, the basketball hall of fame is having its enshrinement ceremony next week in Springfield, Massachusetts, but that's not at the outset of a A basketball season. college or pro. Hockey and baseball do it differently as well.
Baseball does it in the middle of their season. Football last night had its first preseason game. It was very exciting, and it does mark this week. this event the beginning of a new season while celebrating the past. Folks who are the volunteers make it so special as well.
But when the Hall of Famers return, and say we're coming back to That puts this event at a completely different level. And so at the Jacket dinner, each Hall of Famer is introduced one by one by Dan Fouts. a fellow member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Each member comes out and waves on the stage where the jacket will eventually get presented, and then they move off to either the right or the left and form. a gauntlet, as it's called.
Yep. Front each side of the Stage all the way up. to the exits where there's a Riser on the right, and a riser on the left, and on each one of these risers, one by one, alternating right to left. Is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Canton class from this year. That's where they get introduced and they wave to the crowd and then walk through a gauntlet of Hall of Famers, hug it out, high-five it.
It's my job to keep things going and trying to say, put your hands together and tap dance until they finally get to the stage and get their jacket. And so With this moment. The Hall of Fame, it dawned on them. Why not? Change this.
Ceremony from having the Hall of Famer's Saturday presenter, present them the jacket on Friday night. Why don't we just leave that for Saturday? And have each Hall of Famer choose if they wish and they kind of push them to do it. choose a member from the retur from the returning classes. Choose anybody you want.
that's coming back to the Hall of Fame this year. To present your jacket. And it creates some strange bedfellow moments. If you remember, Joe Thomas a couple years ago chose. Jerome Bettis to give him the jacket.
And a lot of Browns fans around here are like, wait a minute. You're choosing a Steeler to do this sort of thing?
So I have the list here tonight of who's putting the jackets on. Yeah. Because, you know, I've I've I have this sort of You know, have you been authorized to reveal this? Yeah, man. Can you do it?
No, I've just gotten the script and I'm doing it. Also, Rich, I read somewhere that. It's not televised. I don't think it'll be great. And for those who hear about it, it'll add to the moment, I think.
Rich, I wonder if there's a record number of returning Hall of Famers coming this year. Did you hear anything about that? I did not hear about that. There are 387 total members in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I've heard there's about 100 showing up.
I love it. It's so great. It's so great. That is awesome to hear. And so that's a large pool of people from which you can choose.
Drew Brees has chosen LaDanian Tomlinson to put the jacket on him. Tonight. He's got Sean Payton introducing him tomorrow. Roger Craig tonight, and he's been waiting a long time. Oh, I can guess this one.
Go ahead. Who's going to put on? Joe Montana. Yeah. I back Brock it up.
Really? Nope. Not Montana. It's Ed DeBartolo Sr.
Okay. Oh, pardon me, Eddie DeBartolo Jr., my bad. Ed DeBartolo is going to be doing it. The longtime owner of the San Francisco 49ers. Luke Keekly.
You want to guess? Let's do this now. Joey's going to guess. Sure. Chris Brockman gets the prize.
Oh, yes. Maybe it's one of the donuts that Tom from Canton dropped off here as he did. Adam Vinatieri. Oh. Adam Vinoteri.
Carly Ursi Gordon. Oh, she's presenting. No. She's presenting. I mean, she's presenting.
Right, she can't give it to her. Is either Ty Waw or Richard Seymour? Oh, you're going to be so here's the hen. Here's the hint. It's not a payment.
Who would. Who would upset you the most? Oh, Peyton. Paint Manning Manning. Nope.
Come on. Why would Pete Manning upset you? Because anyone but a patriot would upset me. I don't know. Who would upset me the most?
Like a jack like Curtis Martin? No, no, no. You're right church, wrong pew with the Colts. Oh. Oh.
Who would upset you the most? Who would anger you the most? That this guy is putting the jacket on a patriot goat. Oh man. Break my heart.
Bill Poland. Bill Poland. I knew it. I knew it. God damn it.
Are you not getting that? Serious? How did you not get that? Huh. That is infuriating.
I wish I was there right now. I wish I was there right now instead of looking at you through the camera in the remote.
So let me cleanse that palate with something that will be the warmest moment tonight.
Okay? This is going to be the warmest moment tonight. Larry Fitzgerald. has chosen to have the jacket put on him. By Chris Carter.
Yeah, that makes sense. Oh, man. If you recall, that makes sense. Larry Fitzgerald Sr., who just passed. Was a longtime reporter up there in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
And Larry Fitzgerald. The ball boy. Yeah, for Chris Carter. Once upon a time, is now going to have Chris Carter put his Hall of Fame jacket on his shoulders tonight. Wow, and I don't think there's going to be a dry eye in the house when that happens this evening.
So, I do apologize if I'm telling any tales out of school, but uh I guess don't give me the run of show in advance next time. But in all seriousness, though, I just wanted to at least bring to the people here something that's going to happen tonight that they might not see live. and just know it's going to be awesome. And it's something that fans should, um come to if they can. whenever you can.
It's an incredible weekend. And it's just filled with emotion, and it's got all the feels, and it's football, and it's family, and it's back. And that's tonight. And I'm honored to be the host of this jacket ceremony once again. Even though when I step to the podium, I'm going to be hearing OH non-stop.
And you know Chris Carter's going to find me when I don't know. It's going to be something, you know, I'll get past. It's bigger than me. But in that respect, I also get to do what I want to do. Which is respond.
And then also Be able to do a show from here in Canton, Ohio. and have one of the greatest in the history of Michigan football be my first guest. That's Steve Hutchinson, and he's here. And he's about to join us next right here on The Rich Eisen Show live from Canton, Ohio, with Marshall Falk and Chris Berman and Rod Woodson and Willie Rofe and Luke Keekly behind them with a what's more likely Friday still to come along with a Detroit Lions four downs. 844-204-RICH is the number to dial right here on The Rich Eisen Show.
Steve Hutchinson is here. We're back with him in a matter of moments 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.
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Our radio audience has returned. We're just talking about the way it used to be to find out that you're in the Hall of Fame. And so you're sitting in a hotel room waiting for that door knock, and there would be times. You got in how what was the time? That was my third time.
Oh, so the first two times? I sat in the hotel the first two times, and you wait, you wait, and then you get a phone call. And if you get the phone call, you know you didn't make it. And then so, you know, and I joke when David Baker was president, I guess, you know, they stagger us in the hotel by floor.
So if you're a guy that didn't make it, you're not listening to a bunch of guys, you know, family celebrating and you didn't make it, so they stagger us.
Well, I didn't realize that I was on the top floor.
So he started his way You know, at the bottom floors and worked his way up.
So I'd gone through it twice knowing the longer you wait, the better chance you're not going to make it. 'Cause they do the calls after the knocks.
So it was getting pretty late by. I'm looking at the clock and I'm like, all right, we're getting ready. I'm you know, this is this is not a good sign.
Well, I had I didn't realize I was I think I was on the 15th floor or whatever.
So by the time they got to me, I'm already in the mode thinking, all right, well, this is year three come come and go. Then I got the knock and it, you know, it's Listen, any way they do it, any way they do it now, it's great. And you almost have to appreciate going through it and not making it before you can really appreciate making it. You know, I always joke with the first ballot guys. I'm like, well, you don't know what it's like to.
Have to go through it and not make it, you know. But anyway, but you know, it's funny, we all sit here, we just had our meeting, we're doing the luncheon now. Once you get in, you don't care how many times, you know. How long it took, you know, to guys like Andre Reid waited nine years, or John Lynch waited, you know, and once you're in, you're in. Harry Carson waited forever.
Yeah. And at one point, he said, take me off the list. I don't even want to go through this anymore. And then to the point where this was, again, back in the day when. You would get a phone call wherever you were.
Right. And Harry Carson said, Screw it. I'm just going to go to Hawaii on the day of the induction announcement. He was probably on a phone call. And he was on a plane.
And we were, because again, I was part of a broadcast. That was uh televising the announcement live. Right. And they couldn't find it kept going to Harry Carson's voicemail. and he gets to Hawaii, Turns his phone on, it's like, you have 50, you've got 7,000 messages.
And the guy who said, I'm so pissed with this process and with everybody voting. Take me off the list. He gets in, he walks around here, he doesn't care. Yeah, like it sucks that he had a couple of days where the Pro Bowl was still at in Hawaii. Did he just stay and do the thing?
Because they used to bring the guys out there. I don't recall. I think he did just stay. Yeah. For that, because they used to wave hello in Aloha Stadium.
Yeah, remember we used to walk like kind of like they did last night with the they walked the gauntlet and then have all the teams line up. Right. I remember that.
So there's a new way of giving the jacket tonight. They've done this the last couple of years where an incoming Hall of Famer chooses someone from the class of the Hall of Fame. Who presented you again? I think Roger did all ours.
Okay, my presenter. Yes, who was Roger?
So my presenter was Rob Tobeck, a center in Seattle.
Okay. And that was, he was the one that did the introduction for the enshrinement. Sure. But I think Roger, if I'm not mistaken, I think Roger put all the jackets on. Today was a five, by the way, today is the five-year anniversary of your actual enshrinement day.
You had to wait a year because of COVID. And there was a 20th, you know, it was a massive sort of, let's get everybody caught up once in a while. That was a unique. Because we had the century. You know, there'd be 20 guys in our class of 2020.
Right. And then it rolled into 2021 because of COVID.
So we had two classes, and it was a huge class to begin with.
So that was a. That was a fun weekend. I mean, it was kind of cool for me because I got to do my party on Friday night because we had a staggering. We had too many guys. Too many guys.
So we did the party and then did the after-the-jacket celebration. And then after Enshrineman, I got to just kind of relax and go to everybody else's party. Yeah. So, uh, If the rules that are in now where you get to choose a returning Hall of Famer. to put your jacket on.
We're in place. For you, who would you have chosen?
Well, it would have to be an offensive lineman. It would have to be. Yeah, I mean. You know, it'd be... Probably Bruce Matthews or Randall McDaniel or one of those guys.
We're talking interior, too. Yeah, 100%. Yeah, Munch, one of those guys, you know. But yeah, I got got in here to hear the before you went to break and heard the The Larry deal. And having played in Minnesota, I know that story.
Please go ahead. Go ahead. But no, no, I think that, to your point, it's going to be pretty amazing seeing. Larry had this jacket put on by Chris, who used to be the ballboy for the Vikings growing up. And when Chris was playing, and Um man, it just it goes to show you just how impactful Yeah.
The you know, any sport is professional sport, and you see, you know, the the influence it has on young guys. Uh And Larry's sitting there every day, and of course, his dad covered the team, and so he grew up in it. You know, going out there and watching, you know, during camp, watching these guys work, going, you know, I'm going to do that one day. And here he did it. You know, it's not that easy, obviously, but.
I just remember watching those guys when I was young playing and going, Hey, I'm gonna You know, not that I don't think when we're young, I don't think anybody strives to be an offensive lineman. When you're you wanna you wanna be a quarterback, you wanna be and then we just kind of grow into that position. Sure. And then you have an appreciation for it.
So Yeah, it's going to be fun. It's fun every time we come back. And when you've gone through it and you're done with it and you're already in, you return as a returning Hall of Famer. You know, the stress, the whole thing. It's like I always equate it to a wedding, your own wedding.
It's like it's for everybody else but you. You know, you're so worried about is everybody if grandma's got a ticket and it's her seat, and can she get in? And how's the hotel rooms? When you come back, it's just like, hey, let's just, you just got to relax and see everybody. You're going to someone else's wedding now.
You're going to somebody else's wedding. You go right to the bar. Go right to the bar. How many people are hitting that bar right now in this luncheon? Yeah, yeah.
Well, they're probably scarfing it down right now. I was about to say, I appreciate you leaving the luncheon to chat with me for a few minutes. I'm hoping I get the extra plates at the end. Is that who it is? Yeah, what are you talking about?
I don't, how much? I'm down almost 100. 100 pounds from your playing with it. I'm probably upper two. Yeah, I mean, I'm 90-something pounds.
I'm down to upper 220s. I think. Dude.
So. That's crazy. Yeah. Body enjoys it. All right, body.
So so i if there are we're hearing that it's a record number of returning homes yeah i think uh jim just said it's a hundred is it a hundred and twenty five hundred and twenty something damn okay so of the hundred and twenty five guys yeah how many are Hammering down something alcoholic right now in the middle of a luncheon is a little bit more. I would say there's a good number. I don't know if hammering's the word. I think I saw a lot of wine. Wine?
Yeah. I think a lot of the guys are at the age now where they're going to enjoy a nice glass of white with their chicken for lunch. We once saw LT a couple fingers deep. Yeah. Yeah, I think the heavier stuff will come out later.
And who's in charge of this luncheon now?
Well, the way it's been. It used to be the Nitschke lunch, yeah, it is, and it's still called the Nitschke Lunch. And we actually just finished this meeting with Jim, and Ray's daughter came and presented at the end of that meeting and told us how special her dad used to love this weekend and everything, which was a great speech by her. I mean, it was just a quick little kind of reminder of why we're all here. And again, it was born out of the fact that when the Hall of Fame, born in 1963, suddenly had a glut of returning Hall of Famers, they decided.
We got to do something for everybody that's coming back here. And Ray Nitschke's like, let's have a lunch.
Well, that's the most special thing, I think, for this weekend for us, is because. Especially today with social media and everybody's got a phone, like so much of what goes on on this weekend is documented by anybody, and it's all over social media or all over the different networks. That luncheon. Jim Porter's not even allowed in there. It's just Hall of Famers.
The only people in that room right now, downstairs. other than the Hall of Famers. are the catering staff that's bringing us The plates and taking them away, other than a whole.
So it's literally closed door, everybody will eat. And then Chris Carter usually goes around with a mic, and we get to hear no, he just kind of right says the MC.
So he's now the one who is basically running. He'll go and hand the mic to and we get to hear from The older guys, and he does a good job of picking guys from either very recent classes all the way to, You know, the Willie Laniers and the Bobby Bells, the guys have been here the longest. And when you get to see the kind of perspective. Of guys that have kind of been in for maybe a year or so, or maybe this is their, you know, guys going in this year. All the way to Bobby Bell, which I think this is his 43rd year.
He hasn't missed an enshrinement in 43 years. That's amazing.
So, what's the general message being delivered to the incoming class? It's just to, I think, to kind of put it in perspective of how special it is to be a part of this group. And to hear it from the guys that Plated. Different eras when the rules were different, and you know, the obviously the pay was different, and the the not say the intensity, but there was a there was a different set of rules they played by. The game was harder in some degree back then.
In some degree, now it's harder just because the sheer number of guys and The cutthroat of the business now, and with free agency and guys moving around. You know, you listen to those guys, those guys played for the same team their entire career. And they're just as part of the ingrained in the DNA of that club, the Kansas City, as the old, the blue blood. Teams and those guys still follow those guys, those teams around because that's the only thing they know. And for me, in 12 years, I played for three teams.
And, you know, some guys are fortunate to still play their whole careers. Larry Fitzgerald, I think it was 17 years with the Cardinals, but. It's just different hearing everybody's different stories, and through the different eras and different decades that they play. It just It just reminds you how special it is to be in a group of 125 guys coming back. And again, the general sense that I've been told over the years is that.
With everything you just said, the general message is also: we're now all on the same team. We're on the same team. And you need to respect it, and you need to come back as much as you can and to keep paying it forward to new classes. We're all on one team that, I can't remember who said it. I don't know if it was Nitschke himself or somebody, but it's deacon.
It might have been deacon. You can't get cut, traded. Even when you die, you're still on this team. Um yeah, it's it's It's pretty special to have been playing football since I was six years old and to be in my upper 40s here, being able to come back and still be involved and do this for as long as hopefully I can do it for. 50 more years, come back and see these guys and see the new classes and see the excitement on the families and go through the emotion every year with them.
It's pretty special. Brother, it's great to see you. I don't want to take you from this luncheon too long. No, no, no, I appreciate it. And I can't wait to see Landon, your lovely wife, tonight.
We'll tip on that cocktail. I do cherish it. I do cherish it. And our friendship as well. Yeah.
It's been a long time. Remember the days back in Pro Bowl and Hawaii and sitting by the pool having our karaoke. Karaoke's to do that stuff. Yeah, the stories we go back like stories we can tell and not tell. And then, of course, are you getting as much crap for being a Michigan guy here?
Oh, yeah. Not so much in here. But I'll hear the OH crap tonight.
So will I. And, you know, I need you. I need you because if I start talking smack, like I said, I need you. I need Charles. I need Ty.
Yeah. We need you.
Well, Ty's here. I don't think Charles is here.
Okay. But Ty's here. All right. And yeah.
So I got back up. You got back up. Adam. Boy. Say hi to everybody in the luncheon.
Great to see you. That's Steve Hutchinson right here on the Rich Eisen Show Live from Canton, Ohio. It is still a what's more likely Friday. We'll hit that before Marshall Falk. We pull him out of the luncheon coming up.
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Here on the Rich Eisen Show, we are live in Canton, Ohio. Marshall Falk is going to be our next guest right here on the program. He's going to join us at the top of the next hour. In the meantime, Chris Brockman, it is a what's more likely Friday, I believe, right? Or do you have any thoughts on that last interview, or are you just going ahead and just strolling about the studio space while you're talking about?
Actually, we got breakfast burritos delivered, so we were kind of eating those while you were talking to Hodge Johnson. Full transparency. Yeah. Okay, so I tell you, one thing I like, Rich, is like the Nitschke dinner when you can only get in there if you got that jacket. That is something so cool about.
About that. Again, and I'm going to try and pick the brain of Marshall when he sits down here. That Nitschke luncheon, again, it was once upon a time born out of, hey, what are we going to do with all these Hall of Famers coming back? And the thing that I was told is it was basically a roast. To start, it was a roast.
Of players roasting Hall of Famers to be basically saying, You're not a Hall of Famer yet, you know, and we're the Hall of Famer. And then Deacon Jones turned it into more of a roast, but now it's seemingly a different ball of wax. But anyway, it is a What's More Likely Friday. Let's get to it. What's More Likely presented by Pella Windows and Doors?
Hit it, please. What? What's more likely? Never say never, but never. It's what's more likely presented by Pella Windows and Doors.
I'm sitting inside the doors of the Hall of Fame. Chris Brockman, you've got the windows of the Rich Eisen Show right behind you. Hi, guys. Happy Friday. Great to see you.
We had football last night. Hope you all took the overs. The biggest story to come out, though, is how good Carson Beck looked. He was absolutely dealing for the Cardinals. Guys, more likely to be the higher number.
Week, we see Carson Beck this year, or Panthers wins this season. Oh, come on now. I'll see Panthers wins this season. I'll go there. Um That means we see Carson back soon rather than later.
I see what you're saying. Yeah, buddy, parse it out. No, I just was knee-jerking in the respect of being respectful to the Panthers. Right. Um But I just don't know.
You're going to stick with Jacoby Brissette for as long as you're sticking with him. And you just throw Carson back in there. I'll go Panthers wins.
Okay. Yeah, buddy. That's where I'm going to go. That was fun to watch him throw deep balls. By the way, also getting the receiver getting blown up like it's week 10 already.
It was like, welcome to the Hall of Fame game. That was cool. It was great. But yeah, it's. I will say we'll see Carson Beck sooner rather than later, and we'll see the Panthers try to win the NFC South for a second straight year.
All right, all right, all right. All right, we got two of the top players who are going to take it. Fantasy this year, both got paid this week. Running back who got paid, not counting, all due respect to Jonathan Taylor, to finish in the top three in MVP vote this year: Bajon Robinson or Jameer Gibbs. Uh I'll go, um I'll go Bijan.
I'll go him. We've already seen Bijan carry the ball and touch the ball. a significant number of times. We haven't seen that from Gibbs yet. And I know I'm I'm I'm nitpicking here.
How about this? I will put this a pin in this one. And Marshall Falk, who knows all about being a bell cow. uh who can run it and catch it and Um win an MVP. In the process, he knows that, so we'll ask him this.
Put a pin in that. Right now I'll go beef on. What else you got? All right. Eagles Camp has been raving about this guy, and Jaden Daniels got a new weapon.
NFC East wide receiver and a new home to have a better season this year. Stephon Diggs or Dantavian Wicks? Oh, I'll go Diggs. I mean, Diggs is the king of a thousand-yard season. Come on now.
I can't believe you're going to go with Diggs and sure.
Okay. I will say Stefan Diggs. He's going to have a really nice season in his new, if you will, digs. They're both number two receivers for their teams now. Oh, okay.
Okay. Who do you trust more? New Eagles offense, another new offense. You don't think Mackai Lemon's going to wind up being WR2? You don't think so?
I don't know. Okay. Might be a little early for McKay level. I will just say that after McLaurin, it was a steep.
Next step. on the roster. For the wide receiver spot in Washington, whereas in Philadelphia, it's not as steep a next step after Devontae Smith. What else? Uh, did you see this news?
Aaron Donald flew out his speed trainer from Pittsburgh to LA this week. Uh oh. Is this another edition of Is He Back Yet? I don't know. Is he back yet?
I'm just going to keep doing Aaron McDonald what's more likely until he makes it official. Give me that again. What has he done? He flew out his speed trainer. From Pittsburgh to LA.
this week. You can fly out speed trainers to help you get faster. If I had known that, were you aware of that? I'd be faster than six seconds by now if I knew that. I didn't know you could fly speed trainers' places.
Well, you've had Brandon Marshall, Michael Johnson, gold medal winners. Let's see, who else have you? You've had speed trainers. You've had speed trainers. Otto Bolden.
Yeah. Yeah, Olympians. Yeah, of course. Oh, yeah. I didn't fly him out anywhere, but go ahead and keep going.
More likely to be the bigger them all. Bigger total this year: Aaron Donald Sachs, Matthew Stafford interceptions. He's had eight each of the last two years. I got you.
Okay. Um I'll go Donald Sachs. Come on now. I'll go Aaron Donald Sachs. Come on now.
I don't know. Yeah, yeah, Aaron Donald Sachs. More than um I think Stafford's going to have fewer than eight interceptions this year. Aaron Donald had eight sacks in his last season.
Okay, there you go.
So, what's more likely? Just putting it out there. You got one more? I got a few more. How about this one?
How about we talked to one of these guys earlier this week? Who's more likely to have a big bounce back season? Ladidi Mikonke or Saquon Barkley? Oh my goodness. I'm thinking Lad is going to have a great season.
In this system, McDonald, McDaniel is going to get him cooking, man. Right? I mean, gotta assume that. Saquon. But Saquon, you know, I'm gonna go Saquon.
I'm gonna go Saquon. I'm gonna go saque. He's going to have a bigger bounce back year than Ladidi McConkey.
Okay. Okay. That's where I'm going to go. How about this? Not sure.
Bigger body of work. Bigger body of work. I know you were fine. You had some flight issues yesterday, Rich, so you might have missed the epic comeback in Fenway. More likely to happen first.
The Red Sox lose. Or they jumped the Yankees in the ALE standings.
Now just a half game back. Oh, yeah. They're thinking on the athletics tonight, the Yankees take on the Braves?
Well, I think, yeah. At least If the Yankees, if the Red Sox finally... Uh leap the Yankees. At least it'll happen on a night where we don't have a show day the next day, and the Yankees have two more days to get back in front. for me to appear on the show on Monday with you again.
But I think it happens tonight. Yeah. Damn short. That's worth more likely. Oh, okay.
Dude, who cares? It's still August. Let's see what happens in October. Last year, if I'm not mistaken, one team sent the other team home. What's more likely is brought to you by Pella Windows and Doors.
When it comes to your home, Pella Windows and Doors always have the winning game plan. That's why your neighbors trust them. Visit pella.com. Slash Eisen. That wraps up our boy.
This first hour flew by. Marshall Falk, Chris Berman, Rod Woodson in hour two coming up. The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. You know when you're locked in, focus and fearless. Welcome to the WNBA.
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