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Now. On with the show, Jaylen Brown, Jameson. This is the Rich Eisen Show. Duncan Robinson and the Doctor of Distance makes this a four-point game. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles.
Shaking that Thunder Moneyball number ten earlier on the show. ESPN college football analyst Josh Paye coming up. Dirt Jalen Best, BYU head coach Kalani Sitake, and now it's Rich Eisen. Our number two of the Rich Eisen show is on the air, conducting this program for all of us here on Disney Plus, the ESPN app, ESPN Radio, and Sirius XM Channel eighty. While on occasion, looking at my computer.
And trying to decipher all the sound bites coming out of Hal Steinbrenner's mouth in the Yankees' postmortem press conference next to their general manager for life, Brian Cashman, your manager for life, apparently.
Well, the manager just. All right, I'm gonna. I'll give you my thoughts on this coming up.
Okay, should we start calling you the maestro since you're conducting? What do you mean? You said you were conducting. Ah, yeah, yeah. Please do that.
Sure, maestro. Yeah, yeah, sure. We've got in our green room the actor Jalen Best.
Now, watching the Knicks and the Sixers last night, I saw a commercial for the Greatest, which is a new eight episode series on Cassius Clay's rise. From the 1960 Olympics to the 1964 World Championship against Sonny Liston, he plays the the great Cassius Clay, Muhammad Ali, and he's in our green room. And when I was watching the the spots last night, you'll see the the clip coming up. He's he's got he's got the champ down pat. Yeah.
Um.
So he's coming out here in about eighteen minutes' time to talk about that. Um.
Kalani Sitake, the head coach of the second-ranked, undefeated. BYU Cougars. He's he's coming up on this program at hour three.
So the phone lines are lit. JJ McCarthy is going to start for the Giants, according to Jeremy Fowler. We kind of hit that at the top of our program, but it is a it is a Wednesday. Oh, you know what that means? It's time for my power ranking.
Let's go see where the Los Angeles Rams land on it. Goodness gracious. You don't have to do. Brought to you by Sofa. Hit it, please.
Power rankings. All right, my power rankings presented by Sofa. Everybody, now I see the comments. What comments could you be referring about? How much I like the Los Angeles Rams and how I think that they are championship quality.
Those are just the comments from your own house, from my own house, from my own feeds and comment sections. And thankfully, there's many of them because of the amount of content we churn out here on the Rich Eisen Show. Vinny Pasquantino has fun with it in our text chain for our Guillotine League. I get it. I see it.
I understand it, and my power rankings for Week Seven at number ten is a two and four team. Oh boy, two and four! I'm putting a two and four team on my power. Yeah, but you're going to do the right thing, and it's the Houston Texans. Absolutely, well done.
It's the Houston Texans looking over the. I would have them. I'd have them higher if I really could. Just. Look at everybody in the face, or talk to you with the sound of my voice, and be able to say, "Yeah, this team won, but you just got leapfrogged by a two and fourteen." But CJ Stroud, man, the last time somebody was told, "Do your thing, and we'll fill up the bag for you," you say Flacco.
You know what I mean? I would say Flacco. You know what I mean? Yeah. Except he won the Super Bowl and won the MVP of said Super Bowl, and you know that remains to be seen if that's possible for the Texans and four to be two and four though.
They are playing well, and you know Marv's going to get up to speed. Tank Dell's coming back. I'm assuming David Montgomery will resume the role of. Chief ball carrier, but we'll see what happens with Woody Marks and Jawar Jordan came in out of nowhere.
Well, they're going to trade for Saquon, and that's fine. Yeah, there's rumors abound about that too. I can't imagine the Eagles are just going to cut bait on a season where they're two and four, and the team that they're chasing is three, two and one, and coming to their house with their third starting quarterback of the year in two weeks. I, I, I'm, I don't buy that.
Okay. Um.
Just to digress in that front, but I'm putting the Texans at two and four, and I know that that that that's going to. I I won't receive as much grief for it as I would putting any other two and four team on it. Still a little grief, at least one. Hey, listen, your team's not on it either.
Well, whoa, number nine on the list is starting out. They might be number nine on the list, down five spots. I'm not. I'm not kicking the Ravens off my top ten. Just not.
I can't believe Derrick Henry fumbled that ball in Cleveland. That one was a stunner. He's had a little fumbles. I got it. Two years.
I understand that he'll still be a first ballot. But long story short, is they're still the Ravens at four and two, and Lamar Jackson not seen practicing today. Oh, and they got a home date with Cincy. Like we got a Stym and Ice. You know, Lamar here, right?
All right. Slow healers. I don't know.
Okay. This goes on any longer, we're gonna start talking about contract this, contract that again.
Well, by the way, but still too early for that. Here's a big game for the for the Ravens with the Bengals. But the Ravens are on my power rankings list, down one spot. I almost kicked them off, but I I still think they're good. Let's get them back in the continental United States and see if they'll return to that form.
Because London stunk for the Jaguars. Stunk. They almost lost to the Eagles, who were—I can't even express the proper way to describe what the Eagles were doing. They—they lost to a guy who had blood clots in his in his foot. They almost did.
Almost. But they didn't. I get it. And the Jaguars just made tons of mistakes. They did not look like the team that went three and one when they're heading into into London.
But I'm still I'm still putting them here at four and two because I can't kick them off and put a two and four team on on on the list. They're two games in front of Houston. Everyone's just assuming Houston's the four and two team. They're on a buy this week. Number seven back on the list of the Green Bay Packers.
I like the way they are playing, man. A lot. I like the way that you could make the case they have the best one-two punch at wide receiver this year. Look, man, Chase and Higgins haven't done what Golden and and and Watson have done. You want to talk about the Pickens?
Pickens and Lamb haven't done that. Oh, who else? Deep ball. I mean, Golden should have had two more. You know what I mean?
Like you could make that case. I buy that. You know, obviously AJ Brown and Devontae Smith have been broken up. That's the that's a tandem that we keep mentioning over and over again for the last five years, ish. But the defense has been balling out too.
And back comes Micah Parsons soon enough. This week they get their running game back. I am wondering if Josh Jacobs is going to hit the field and they're going to give it to him eight out of the first fifteen, just like normal. Just say okay.
Well, we'll see what you got. I know that that's a tall order. Love, that's a tall order. But what a big game against the Lions this week! Number six back on the list of the Bears when they play like this, which is Caleb Williams blowing the doors off you, and the defense, you know, bowing up.
They have a Super Bowl. They got they they got a Super Bowl formula if they can do that, and the running game. My gosh. Best run game in the NFL. I think so.
It's hard to argue. It's hard to argue because the run game isn't like, oh, we're going to keep the other team off the field with our run game, Casey. Because everything else isn't that good. Yeah, no, Casey's got a good run game. They got one guy.
Yeah, they've got with all due respect, Bears have any guy. Right, they got my young guy, Carmen Young guy. Hey, young guy, dude, young guy, good job, TJ. They've got more than one guy, and one of the guys is my young guy. Go figure.
Swift guy and Roshan guy.
Okay, number five, top five, up three spots are your New England Patriots. Bam! Oh, I'm so worried about tomorrow. You should be because I just described about a Super Bowl, a Super Bowl formula. Drake May the first three weeks.
Where did that guy go? Who knows? Who cares? It's probably in that in that phantom zone, right? He gone.
It's the you know it's out there in outer space. Yeah, I don't know what that. Who was that guy? General May. Who was that guy?
Because it's not the guy we've seen the last three weeks. That is for sure. No, the last and Ben Johnson was singing Drake May's praises, and that is all you need to hear. And the defense is. Beginning to get better.
Do you hear Milton Milton Williams' soundbite about Vrabel? About Vrabel being an a-hole. Yeah, but I love him. You know what I mean.
So here we go. Here we go. They're getting some vibes now. Last year, Patriots would have won this game. This is the type of game the Patriots would win.
I'm going to go in your house on national TV and show that we're we're the real deal. AFC champs. And so, this is a big test. Yeah, this is an awesome game. This is a big test because this year's Bears should hold serve at home.
Well, they got the offense. Keep up. Let's go. We'll see what AJ Brown can do. Hopefully the the rust is knocked off.
What can Brown do for you? There you go. Anything other than last week is an improvement. Yeah, they didn't play. I'm still knocking them down one spot because I think the Bills at three would beat the Vikings at four.
I really do. The Bills.
So the Vikings. I know I'm knocking them down one spot from three to four, even though they didn't play. It's because the Bills. You know, after the Vikings last game. You know the Vikings, as you know, in Week Four played on a Week Five.
Pardon me, played early window in New Orleans, and then the next day the Bills beat the Rams, and then the following week they take care of business against the Raiders. While the Vikings were off, listen, Allen's out of his skull. James Cook is out of his skull. The defense. Let's see what's going on, but still, they're not being dragged asunder.
They give up too many points. Still, well, I mean, that's. I think that's a long. That's a that's a that's a season long storyline arc, not a week to week thing. Here, they're on a bye.
Number two is the Chiefs. And still number one of the forty niners. I could not knock down the forty niners because they struggled in the second half against Washington, which is a desperate team. Niners played their worst game of the year and still came up with the win. Yeah, no, the Chiefs don't really get any points for beating that Charger team either.
So, and then again, the numbers on Kenneth Walker are just insane because Kenneth Walker is performing for his new team through five weeks. To the tune of Eric Dickerson's record for the first five weeks, when he burst onto the scene as a rookie out of SMU, it's like he was running for a car this time. I know. In 1983, and then he's scoring touchdowns in his first five games of a season, hitting the end zone. As much as Eric Dickerson and Calvin Johnson, he's Eric Dickerson and Calvin Johnson's top season all rolled into one.
But still, I got to keep the the Niners number one as my power ranking. That's fine. And those are my power rankings. Brought to you by Sofi. Get your money right.
And who did I knock off the list? Oh, that's right. I knocked the Seahawks, Broncos, and Rams off the list. I think that's okay. My only Broncos one, and I knocked them off the list.
Yeah, but they don't look good. And the Seahawks are three and three. And I know that when I put the Texans in at ten, at two and four, I knew that would be the fan base the most that would be like, come on, three and three.
Well, I actually think the fan base with the biggest gripe are the Steelers fans. You could put Pittsburgh. That was a great, gutsy road win. I'm aware of that. Get to four and two.
Let me ask you a question. I might have had that. These current Texans take on the Steelers. What do you think? Yeah, the Texans are rising.
What do you think? Do you think the Steelers are that vastly improved off of the wild card team that lost? Where's it at? Yeah, Homer away. Let me get for you because they do play one another, and it's going to be a Sunday night game.
Oh baby, it's in Pittsburgh. Oh yeah, I'd probably yeah, slight slight Pittsburgh lean there.
Okay. Rogers is playing great. They win in France against the Saints. Hey, listen, somebody tell Aaron because I'm sure he'll use that as a. You know, a boost that if they win, he they they make my power rankings.
Well, let them know. Although, did you see the video of Rogers and Jalen Daniels at midfield after the game? Did you see that? Not.
So, one of the more gracious things somebody can do, um, is when somebody comes up to them asking, you know, they're going to ask, they're asking for something. And you cut them off mid ask prior to the ask, and just tell them sure. You know, because you could see certainly if they're younger than you that they're a little nervous asking or whatever. Yeah. So Jalen Daniels said, "Hey, A Rod, I hate to be that guy," and Rogers just says to him, "I'll I'll send it to you." Just cuts him off.
Wow. Says I'll send it to you, meaning the jersey they wanted a jersey. Oh, that's cool. And and he says I'll just send it to you because I I I know like you know age forty whatever he's not like going to take his jersey off and you know hold Jalen Daniels's jersey and smile. I mean Rogers might need help getting the jersey.
Oh, fine, but but but he he he cut him off and just I'll he just knew what he was going to ask and he goes I'll send it to you. And then Daniels, you know, appreciated it. And as Daniels left, Rogers said to him, "I want yours too." Oh, okay.
Now I don't know where he'll put Jalen Daniels' jersey on a wall, or if he'll frame it or not. Does he have any wall space left? But bottom line, though, and the fact that he even said that to him, it was extremely gracious. That's cool to see that sort of thing. Because Aaron's the OG, you know, he's.
The the last of his kind. I know that. I know that. It's just there will be only one. It's just you know with with with Rogers, he he wears so much on his shoulder that he thinks the media looks at him in a certain way or talks about him in a certain way because the way he talks in the media, quite frankly, sometimes.
But this was a highly gracious moment out of him because you could you know he knew what the kid was going to ask him. I mean, big big stones to even make the ask. I mean, if first of all, what you miss a hundred percent of the shots you don't take. Obviously, if you're Jalen Daniels, just look up his story too. By the way, he was one of our glue guys back in the day.
We gave him an NIL deal because he just showed up from Southern California, started for Kansas. Yep, and a self-made guy, and now he's on the same field as Aaron Rodgers, and he almost beat him. And Rodgers says to him, "I'll send it to." Didn't even let didn't even let him go through the process of asking. I thought that was gracious. All right, eight four four two zero four.
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Make life brighter with Pella windows and doors. The man who plays Muhammad Ali in the greatest. Jalen Best coming up. Today's forecast: falling leaves, football, and an eighty percent chance you're going to need a few more things for that backyard project. Running low on yard bags?
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Rich Eisen here. At Hyundai, the SUV trophy shelf is getting a little out of hand because U.S. News and World Report named Hyundai the best SUV brand. That's five out of six years with hybrid SUVs like the premium and capable Palisade, the adventure built Santa Fe, and the tech infused Tucson. Which means at this point, the shelf will need its own structural support system and a dedicated construction crew.
Probably need those little visitor hard hats too. Visit U.S. News Best Cars at cars.usnews.com. And visit hyundaiusa dot com for more details. The Rich Eisen Show podcast, The Greatest, is available for streaming exclusively on Prime Video.
November fourth, it's about the rise to prominence of one Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali, from the nineteen sixty Olympics to the sixty four title match with Sonny Liston, and the man who plays the greatest Jalen Best is here on the program.
So let's jump into. The role here, because is it true you had to be vetted by Lonnie Ali? I did, Muhammad's wife.
Okay, absolutely. And the executive producer named Michael B. Jordan as well. Absolutely, you had to personally vetted, huh? Is that what happened?
Personally vetted. What was that like? I mean, it was in crazy, it was a crazy, crazy story because when I first, you know, was introduced to you know Mike and also Lonnie, you know, for me, I'm just a kid who I've always Dreamed of me and them too, but for Lonnie specifically, just watching how she responded to just how I looked and how I naturally, you know, presented myself, it was a lot of comparisons and parallels that she was able to see through me and also and through Ali as well.
So I think that was refreshing to know that I was just being myself and reminding her of someone, you know, like Muhammad Ali.
Now, had she already seen what you could do? Before she met you, or did you like show up to her house and she's like, "All right, no, what do you sound like?" Yeah, do his voice. No, you know, this was very early on, so I had like a little. I could do the voice a little bit, so that was how I wound her. You know, sometimes I would do some little poems for her, but I didn't really get into the boxing.
I was full on in the imitation world, and I remember someone asked, "You know, we passed by this ring in the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville." And they said, you know, get in the ring and show show her your moves. And she looked at me and she said, "No, that would that wouldn't be fair." And that's when I knew I was like, "Okay." And I knew I had to prove her wrong and I had to prove people wrong. It was going to be that type of that type of job.
So yeah, it was refreshing. That wouldn't be fair. It was humbling. It was really humbling.
Well, I mean, he is the greatest for absolutely exactly exactly. It's not just because of humanity. Terian style, you know, like he was the greatest. Hundred percent. I find that's so not.
It's nice and gracious and funny and also intimidating. Yeah, no, very intimidating, very intimidating. But I've always been known to prove people wrong, so it was, it was just okay. What do you mean by that? Let's dive into that.
What do you mean? I'm an athlete, man.
So I feel like you know, growing up, I never, I knew how good I was. I don't think the coach knew. You know what I mean.
So I think those who don't know the story, go ahead. Tell tell the story. What do you?
So I walked onto the men's basketball team at East Carol East Carolina University.
Okay, which was my first stint playing basketball and having that opportunity. But that whole process was a proving point. You know, I I had transferred over from a school. I had I wasn't recruited. You know, I just knew I was capable of of playing at that level.
Okay, and so I would send these email. I would set a camera up, my tripod up in the gym, and I would just record. Myself on the camera and put together these rows and send it to the coach to the point where he would say, you know, please stop emailing me. And I would respond to that email and say, you know, thank you for taking the time to respond to the email. I'll stop emailing you.
And that followed up with the opportunity to try out for the team. And and yeah, it lasted for about a month, and then I gave it up. But I gave it up because I started acting.
So okay, it's a good story. And the month that you were there, though, did you did you torch the? Did you torch anybody? No, I did not. I didn't really get an opportunity to.
To you know, play too much.
So who's your who's your so if Muhammad Ali is your acting slash boxing yeah alter ego, who's your basketball one? Oh, I would have to say, uh, you know, I consider myself a great. I had to say Kobe Bryant. Oh, you went to the very top. Yeah, of course.
I think she got the mom mentality. Clearly, wait, yeah, absolutely. You kind of have to, especially playing someone like Ali. You know, it's like, yeah, you have to really push yourself every single day to be the best you can be. And my boxing coach made sure I showed up that way.
Well, I mean, if you're going to play Ali, you got to be ultra confident in yourself. I mean, right? It's got to come out of your pores. Come on now. You're like, come on, Rich.
What's the stitch? You know it.
Okay. I was a little about to say you should start rhyming, and then you did. Yeah. So, so okay. And I guess that that takes out one of my other questions I was about to ask you from what you just said, because you're very confident.
Clearly, how how how long did it take for you to refer to Michael B. Jordan as Mike? As you just did, I still call him MBJ. I mean, but you know, he he's like a brother to me. I would call him Mister Jordan if I if it was up to me.
But right, you know, he tells me call him Big Bro. You know, so I think really, yeah, that's so cool. Yes, I mean, again, it's it's such an honor and a privilege to be in this position for someone. I somebody I looked up to for all of my life to now being in a position where they're like a mentor to me, a big brother is is yes, it's a crazy crazy. Transition in life, and then of course the responsibility of doing this, yeah, has to be a great okay.
Clearly, what did you do? Because how how how old are you? If you're my man, twenty eight.
Okay, super young.
So well, you by the way, awesome. But you were definitely not alive to see anything, yeah, in real time of Muhammad Ali's greatness. What did you do? I mean, how'd you get it going? Luckily.
We have you know this big catalog of videos on YouTube that you that you know watching, and I would study interviews so much so where I can cut the sound off and remember what the rhymes he would say and how the mannerisms of how he pat his hands or how he points and what he does with his face, and I would just continue to practice those things until it was second nature for me. Similar process with the boxing videos, looping it and slowing it down in slow motion and being able To see the rhythm of his bounces, my coach, my boxing trainer that I had, Rob Sally, in Los Angeles, he would give me homework essentially. To it would be little, you know, clips of Ali boxing in the ring and shadowboxing, and he would, you know, word for word, eye for eye, want me to kind of relay what I was looking at. You know, whether he was throwing an uppercut and his body doesn't fully twist, but his hands stay, you know, right in line with his body, or his shoulders are snapping. But they're super relaxed.
Then we would critique video just like that, and then the next day when we go into the gym to train, we would make sure we were constantly doing those things.
So if I'm throwing left hand jabs, it's like it's not fluid enough, you know, it's not quick enough, and we would continue to just do that over and over again until it was perfect in his eye.
So it was a process for sure. It took a lot of you know repetition. It was a tough thing, but as an athlete. The mentality you build over time of wanting to just be be your best and prove people wrong. I think that helped me show up every day and want to want to do that.
And so the footwork too that had to be even more. I mean, difficult. I'd imagine absolutely. The footwork is the hardest part because you have to have the rhythm and you have to have the speed and you have to have the agility as well. You know, for someone like him who is a heavyweight and can move the way that he did and be so fluid and graceful in the ring, it's like listening to jazz.
You know, listen into the blues, and so I would listen to the jazz and the blues. I would listen to Motown, you know, all the time when I was training, and it helped me kind of develop that that mentality of, you know, the music and the beat and the flow and just how graceful it needed to be. No kidding.
So you didn't have a stunt foot person? No, they said they couldn't find anybody looked that good as me.
So I like it. I like it. All right, let's get into it now. Speaking of Going fifteen rounds, you're a Washington Commanders fan. I am.
That is correct. How are we doing right now? We're doing pretty good. You know, facing a little adversity, but that comes with you know anything. You know, so we're coming out of it.
What's the it? What's the? All right, you know what I'm. You know where I'm going here, right? Yeah.
I mean, oh man. Injuries. Maybe that's what they need. They need a bell to go off. That's what it is.
They need a bell to sound to let them know it's worth down. To let them know they're out of timeouts. Ten seconds left in the would that be help? I mean, here we go. Yeah, right.
Okay. Like in boxing, at the ten-second mark at the end of the round, clat clat. No, that that.
Sometimes a smile has to be your umbrella. Yeah, you know, it's it's been a tough. Couple years, you know, but you know I'm sticking with them through and through. I love. I'm not saying you should drop them.
Yeah, man. Because you're from Alexandria, Virginia. Alexandria, Virginia.
Okay. Yeah. So you you you grew up in FedEx Field, pretty much. You know what's crazy? I actually I grew up in Alexandria, Virginia.
I went to this school, Patrick Henry.
Okay. Growing up, but my family, my brothers, my cousins all went to TC Williams. Later, I moved to North Carolina, Clinton, North Carolina.
So I actually did school in Clinton, North Carolina. I'm not a North Carolina, you know, fan when it comes to most sports. I am a Duke fan when it comes to college.
So you know, that's that's important. You're a front runner. Yeah, I mean, I'll play Muhammad Ali. I'll root for Duke. Absolutely.
Where are we going here? You know, but no, then you got the Commanders. You still you haven't given up on that. I haven't. Commanders, Wizards.
You know that.
So it's Wizards. Yeah, come on now. You got to be with your teams. You know, in the dirt. You know, so you can experience them in their highs.
You know, when they reach the skies and start flying.
So. You only know one speed. I can pick up on that. Yeah, absolutely, man.
Well, you know, TJ's already got his Cowboys gear. Yeah, TJ, we don't need to talk about him right now. The Cowboys. Ain't nothing too good about that. Listen, yeah, we got.
I will say this. I will say this because I don't know if you you've been able to be locked in or not because you're probably on a promotional tour here. But did you see the Monday night game? Did you see that? Yeah, yeah, I still pay attention.
Okay, good because they didn't quit. Yeah, you know what I mean. They haven't quit on the coach. Like they they they tried hard and they almost handed the Niners their first yeah loss of the year. Uh, and and they did have you know they.
Lose? They tied. They didn't have that game one. They could easily be three and three right now. Yeah, in first place.
The hope is still there. The hope is still there. You like Jaden Daniels? Yeah, I love Jaden Daniels. I think he's incredible.
I think the team is incredible. I think we just have a lot of young players, and I think we just you know it's it's coming together. It's coming together.
Okay. Yeah. All right. The Wizards. You got Anthony Davis, right?
Yeah. Trey Young. Trey Young. AJ, man.
Well, AJ is out for tonight, is he not? Yeah, he's out. Out tonight. Yeah, he he didn't answer the bell. Yeah, he didn't.
But he's he's answering the bell though. He's ready for. Yeah, he's great player. Let me tell you, that city would go nuts if the Wizards were really good. What I mean, it's it's so unexpected too.
So. To come out and surprise people in that way, which I think is capable. I think anything's possible, you know, especially in today's world. But but yeah, it's going to be something special to watch. All right.
So before I let you go, again, Jalen Best, eight episode series, the greatest, available for streaming exclusively on Prime Video. You know, this is not really a test or anything like that. But, but how's that for a start? Here, your favorite Muhammad Aliism that you picked up in your preparation. Ism, okay.
What is it? What is it? Like what? Yeah. Like what did you?
What did you? Like the most, the most, the poems. I think just being able to like, it's not. I just, I was thinking. I'm like, this man was not only the greatest of his sport, you know, and then to also be who he was to the world and be an activist and you know, root for his people, but to have to go home and memorize poetry and or write it.
You know, I'm thinking that it takes a. You know, this man was a jack of all trades.
So I think that was my the most fun I've had is memorizing. Poetry and being able to, you know, stand up in front in front of people and like, you know, recite it. You know, it's kind of fun. Your floor is yours. Which was your couple favorite?
I got a couple, but I got this one right here because you know when you watch the series, it goes from season, I mean, episode one to episode eight, and it ends with the great Sonny Liston.
So this one's for the great Sonny Liston. It's lately I've been more modest. I can honestly say I now mention my greatness almost ten times a day. I've been perfecting my punches, which is that. Smooth as a piston.
I take time out of my day to feel sorry for listening. Oh, what a beautiful world this would be if that was just a little less of him and just about five more of me. Hold on, I got one more. Can I do one more? I got one more.
Come on, let's go. Ready on. Look, he think he's the real heavyweight champ, but after I'm finished, he'll just be a tramp.
Now I'm not saying this just to be funny, but I'm fighting Sonny because he needs the money. I decided to let him make a little bread, but the catch is I'm much. Whoop his head. He thinks he can stand toe for toe and with me trade blow for blow. But if he's hip, he'll take a dip because I plan to bust his lip.
And if you come to the fight early, be cool. Don't run because I promise you the fight will go over one. He might be great, but he will fall in round eight. Always remember, I am the greatest. Ah.
There you go, Rich. That's the stick. They asked me what my weight is. I said one ninety-eight. Good knockout weight.
I'm done. That's all you get. For the rest, I need to tune in. That's right. That's right, ladies and gentlemen.
The greatest is available for streaming exclusively on Prime Video, November fourth, an eight episode series. Check it out. Giovanni Ribisi is Angelo Dundee as well. Great cast. Amari Hardwick, who I believe is on Thursday's program, plays your dad.
Nice. Got it. You got any? You got any good stories for? Yeah, for me to sort of needle him with.
Yeah, Amari's great. He he's basically you know. Throughout this process, he told me this whole thing would feel like therapy, you know. And so I think he's incredible person. We spent a lot of time together.
I'm curious what stories he'll tell about me. Geo, incredible guy. Remember when we rap set and when I found out he was rapping, it instantly hit me.
So we we met up in the parking lot and instantly grabbed each other and was just crying and balling because that's how much the experience was so special and so important to both of us.
So those are two. Special great guys! I can't wait. Yeah, we're going to hit this this show again tomorrow on tomorrow's program. And again, it's the the first for Friday.
Pardon me, first authorized scripted series about the life of Muhammad Ali.
So let's go. A pleasure to meet you. Nice pleasure to meet you, Rich. Absolutely. Come back when the Commanders when when when the division you see me again.
Well, you want them back sometime soon, right? Oh yeah, exactly. End of the season. You want them coming back in twenty thirty. Yeah!
Wow! This man TJ something. His team's one half game better than yours. It makes sense why he's talking so much, Matt.
Well, because because his team.
Okay. Yeah. Here's what.
Next time you'll come back on, you'll have a poem for him. Absolutely. You know. Yeah. I will have one.
I have one for you too. Very good. At Jalen Best on Instagram with two A's and his first name. Right here on the Rich Eisen Show. Check it out again, November fourth on Prime Video.
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Hiring for a small business is hard. You don't often have a team of people helping out. That's why LinkedIn hiring. That's why LinkedIn built Hiring Pro. It's like having a true hiring partner, and you can chat with it just like you would a recruiter.
Hiring Pro listens, adjusts, and shows you the people that actually fit your needs. Eighty eight percent of small businesses say they trust LinkedIn's candidate recommendations. Be confident in your hiring decisions. With LinkedIn Hiring Pro, post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/slash Eisen. Terms and conditions apply.
Listen. Only one team in in any sport wins it all, right? True. Last I checked, they don't they don't name two champions. Oh, sometimes in football they used to.
Yeah, sometimes throw up banners for other stuff.
Okay. Yeah. Oh, yeah. I remember Michigan Michigan's championship back in the nineties. We had to share it with Nebraska.
Penn State and Nebraska gave Tom Osborne a great gold watch present. Half of half of my championship. I love that you guys think that. Oh, yeah. Oh, ask Charles Woodson who would have won that?
Oh, ask Charles Woodson. Yeah, of course. That's the only one I know. Yeah, why don't I ask Tommy Frasier who would? I don't know Tommy.
Okay, yeah, Penn State, Nebraska. Yankees haven't won a championship since two thousand nine. Losers. You're not allowed to talk in the second mic. You're not allowed to talk.
I am. No, you're not. Your Dodgers. Your Dodgers won the last two. Yeah, Mike.
What you talking? I don't want to go down that road.
Okay, stop. I'm sorry.
So, 2009. It's been a long time, and they just lost again in the playoffs. Made the World Series a couple years ago. How Steinbrenner and um, son of George. I'll tell you what.
They share the last name. When when he talks, can sound like his dad a little bit. But he has a totally different approach to running his team. Pays a lot of money, like Dad used to do. But Dad would not countenance coming up short.
Once upon a time, famously told Ed Bradley on sixty Minutes. Remember Ed Bradley? Yes. Talk about a goat. Yes.
Famously told Ed Bradley on sixty Minutes. Quote. You show me a good loser, and I'll show you a loser. That's what he told him.
Now, at the time, you know George was nuts.
Okay, like over the top to the point where it was beyond disruptive, and it became detrimental to the Yankees' cause of winning. To be quite honest with you, then he was forced to leave his role for a while, suspended. Yankees put something in place that began to take root with Bob Watson being the general manager for those Yankees teams, where once upon a time they used to trade away the Jeters and Rivera's. The famous Seinfeld episode about what the hell did you trade Jay Buna for and Larry David. As George Steinbrenner said, my baseball people told me Ken Phelps got to have Ken Phelps.
Well, those Ken Phelps trades stopped, and the Yankees started building. And one of the guys, part of the building alongside Bob Watson, was the current general manager of the Yankees, who just got a new contract, and Brian Cashman.
So it's Cashman's been around a while, been around a while. He just got a new contract from Hal, and Aaron Boone's being brought back for year ten. Even though they got swept in the divisional round by the team that won it all in Tampa, which is fielding a team about what would you say twenty three places lower on the payroll than the number three overall Yankees, this is what because Hal said it's Super Bowl, Super Bowl. Pardon me, World Series or bust.
So he was asked at his press conference today if he's changing that mantra. I have never suggested that a season like this season is a success. I am often asked, "Was the entire season a failure?" Winning ninety-three games is not a failure. I mean, playing in the division series is not a failure. It became a failure because we did not do well.
So, would I have I ever called a season successful? No, I don't believe I've ever called a season that we didn't win a world championship in successful. But at the same time, I'm not going to say that everything that happened in that season, hence the entire season, was a complete failure. I mean, that's that's just the way I. I perceive things.
Yeah, well, it's again. He's not his dad. You could see he was getting really agitated in this press conference. Yeah, thank Tim, because he did say World Series are bust, and they went bust. Hit it.
No, not at all. That's absolutely what we expect. That is our mission. That is our goal. Yes, we failed at the goal this year, but that is always our goal, which is why we put so much effort and resources.
Into the roster every off season to field a team that can accomplish that, and I certainly believe we had that team this year. It just didn't. It didn't pan out. He's got his dad's cadence, right? Yeah, yeah.
But he sounds more Larry David. Yeah, yeah. I mean, the big boy. Kind of wonder if the calzone was going to show up in the middle of this press conference. Yeah, I need the calzone for bisados.
Now. Again, I'll just say this: Brian Cashman has got to get some people who put the ball in play. That's it. End the story. Number of times that Hal was talking about the players didn't execute.
The players didn't. Yes, the players are the ones who who have to come through. Again, the number of people that I've watched who aren't like diehard baseball fans, they'll say to me like, "What does a manager do?" Because you look at the manager, you look at Stephen Vogt, you look at you know all these managers. They just sit there and watch. They put the ball, they they put the lineup out there, and they got to just sit back and watch the players execute.
You know what I mean? So when the players don't execute, sometimes it's a manager's fault because I guess they they don't have the the team's mind right, maybe, or the general manager puts the wrong players in the clubhouse. And listen, Boone did a great job this year. They won a ton of games without a lot of players because they were hurt. I thought so, and the pitchers were great.
But at the end of the day, they strike out too much, and some of these relievers are just you know are hitable. They're hitable, even though their bullpen did way better than than than usual. But they do not put the ball in play, and they do not have ducks in the pond for Aaron Judge and Stanton if he's healthy, and they strike out way too much. You can't have a leadoff hitter in in Trent Grisham. He ain't a leadoff hitter.
You gotta have somebody who puts the ball in play and on base. Period. End of story. And they don't have it. But they they gave a qualifying offer to Trent Grisham, thinking he would not take it and want to get big money in free agency.
He goes, "Sold. I'll take it." Now suddenly, you got a twenty-two million dollar player that doesn't do very much for you, except you know hit home runs on occasion, strike out, and he's one of the players that Yankee fans do not want to see in a uniform again. With all due respect. And at the end of the day, Cashman and Boone are lucky that Hal's not his dad, because they would have been gone a long ass time ago, and maybe rehired before being fired again. That's true, right?
Right? And they're they're lucky. First of all, that he's not his dad, and they're lucky they're not like say Terry Pecula or Steve Buscotti, who's like, yeah, appreciate the success. Appreciate making the playoffs. Appreciate going to a certain spot in the playoffs.
Not enough, but at the end of the day, doesn't matter how long we've been running this thing. We're not running it back like this anymore. We're going to go with a different voice, newer blood, younger blood, and let's see what happens there. But it's tough to watch the the Rays with their payroll, right? It's tough to watch the Rays make it.
And beat their brains in, and not even they're not even competitive. One guy reaches base, you know. One guy got a hit off a Rasmusson, and he then he gets himself thrown out at third in the seventh inning or the eighth inning. And the latter of of the Guardians gets as many hits off of that guy in two games. Thanks for listening to the Rich Eisen Show podcast.
You can watch and listen to the Rich Eisen Show live weekdays from noon to three Eastern on ESPN Radio, Disney Plus, and on the ESPN app. The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast.
