REShow: Marcus Smart - Hour 3

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You know, he didn't urinate down his leg, man. That's a great place to begin. Mike Tomlin's a national treasure, folks. National treasure. The Rich Eisen Show. Earlier on the show, Jets cornerback, Sauce Gardner. Co-founder of Merging Vets and Players, Nate Boyer.

Still to come, Celtics point guard, Marcus Smart. And now, it's Rich Eisen. Hey, our number three of The Rich Eisen Show is on the air.

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So that's the way we're rolling right here on the Rich Eisen Show. 844-204 Rich number to dial. We'll take your calls. Marcus Smart of the Boston Celtics is calling in. Marcus Smart.

Let's check in with him. Training camp right around the corner trying to defend their conference title. Season is very soon Rich. I'm so excited. I've got the calendar. I've been circling dates.

I've put little shamrocks in the corner. I'm crossing it off. A lot of good seats still available in Fenway Park last night too. It was really strange for a Yankee Red Sox series seeing a lot of empty seats. Well that season is definitely not over.

But the Patriots season is not over. That's kind of ridiculous. No. Stop. Please stop it.

Stop. We're marathoning Chris. We're not sprinting. We're marathoning. We're marathoning.

We're marathoning. I'm overreacting still. Understood. Understood.

Understood. So when I left here yesterday I saw this hit my Twitter feed and all the internet sports website news stacks. Headline was Nathaniel Hackett, head coach of the Denver Broncos. The man who is the first time head coach in his first time game as a head coach. Talk about unique circumstances. Russell Wilson is his new quarterback.

In case you need the back story. He used to be a Seattle Seahawks. And the NFL schedule makers, zero chill.

Zero chill. They put him in Seattle in Game 1 of his Denver Bronco career. Right back there in front of the 12s. And Russell knows this. And I'm sure Nathaniel Hackett knows it too. But until you're there, until you go to Seattle, now known as Lumen Field, where I guess they have waffle parties during breaks there as well. That's a Severance reference. Rich, I got it.

Thank you, sir. But just like Severance, a lot of crazy stuff happens in Seattle. You feel like you're in a different planet. It's loud. The stadium is just different looking. And then crazy-ish happens in Seattle.

And night games too. My gosh. Fans are going crazy. You can hardly hear it. Refs are blowing a whistle to blow a play dead, but you can't hear it.

And you're right there next to a whistle. It's wild stuff. And of course it was a wild finish. It's Russell Wilson's first game back in Seattle.

It's Seattle at night. And just the last minute, you watch it over and over and over again. And I just couldn't believe with a running clock, after a third and 15 nets them about 10 yards, 11 yards, or a third and 16. It comes to fourth and five. And you've got three timeouts left. I'm like, absolutely burn a timeout.

Go back, talk it over. That's the end of that. But it appears that they made a decision that if they got to the 64 yard line, I mean the 45 yard line or better for a 64 yard field goal or closer for Brandon McManus, they were going to kick it. So when the clock's ticking down, ticking down and ticking down, you're wondering why are they just letting the clock tick off? It's because they were going to just drive field goal and then make it and give no time left for Seattle to answer. And then of course when McManus missed it, the second time after missing it, the first time that didn't count because Pete Carroll called a timeout and you're taking Russell Wilson off the field in Seattle, it still doesn't compute a day later. And this is again a coach who was the offensive coordinator for a Packers team whose head coach took Aaron Rodgers off the field for a field goal to turn an eight point game into a five point game in the NFC Championship game and the entire ensuing offseason was does LaFleur not believe in his quarterback or what?

And that was in their first foray together, LaFleur and Rodgers and obviously their relationship has withstood it and gotten stronger and it's still a very successful relationship and the same could be said for Nathaniel Hackett and Russell Wilson, but it still is a head scratcher. So the headline was, Nathaniel Hackett now thinks they should have gone for it. You know, full 2020 hindsight, right? Or, you know, thinking about it now, maybe I made the wrong decision to kick it.

And so here's the soundbite of what appeared to be in the headlines and the articles of Mea Culpa from the coach. Yeah, you know, looking back at it, we definitely should have gone for it. Just not, you know, one of those things you look back at it and you say, of course we should go for it. We missed the field goal. But in that situation, we had a plan. I mean, we had a plan.

We knew that 46 was the mark. We were third and 15, I think third and 13. I'm more upset about that play before it to lose yards to be able to, you know, getting that there would have definitely been better to be able to call that same play and get extra yards.

But he dumps it out to Javonte. Javonte makes a move, goes a lot farther than I think we had anticipated. We were expecting to go for it on fourth down. And then you hit the mark, you know, the mark that we had all set before we started. We said 46 yards, 46 yard line was where we wanted to be. And we got there.

So we had to make the decision if we want to give it to Brandon. And we did. And didn't work. Sucks. But hey, that's part of it.

That is not a mea culpa, folks. That is not a guy who's just like, boy, that was a bad decision to go for the field goal. We should. Yeah, I should have left my quarterback Russell Wilson out there since it's, you know, Russell's return to Seattle. And that's. We got to show our belief in our quarterback.

I should have let him cook. No, no, no, no. That you know what? That sounds to me when I heard it for the first time, that sounds to me like, again, I don't know the question that was asked. I'm assuming it was. Do you know? Did you think differently about your decision after missing the field goal? And we're going to play that soundbite again. It sounds like to me he's making a joke. Right.

Of, yeah. Now that I know that we missed the field goal, I'd love to. I shouldn't have taken Russ off the field. And I kind of waited for the laugh to come.

And that laugh line didn't land. It's what it sounds like to me. And then he starts going into his response about what their plans were going into the game. Take take a listen. I think that's what this is here. Yeah. You know, looking back at it, we definitely should have gone for it.

Just not not, you know, one of those things. You look back at it and you say, of course, we should go for it. We missed the field goal. But in that situation, we had a plan. I mean, we had a plan. We knew that forty six was the mark.

We were a third and fifteen, I think. So, you know, that's what it sounds like to me right there. Right. And the plan is the problem.

That's the problem. And he did make, you know, an interesting case that it was the second down play that caused them to lose the yardage. It was actually first down. The first down play.

Yeah. So at the two minute warning, they get the first down. It was third and two. They get nine yards. And so with one twenty four to go, it's first and ten from their own forty nine. So essentially midfield. And Russell Wilson throws to Javonte Williams and he loses four yards.

That's the one. And it sets up second and fourteen. Russ is incomplete. And then third and fourteen. Obviously he gets nine yards.

You're right. So he's pointing out like if the first down play got positive yardage, then the third down play would have netted them the first down or closer to the first down. And clearly they would have gone for it or been closer to the mark.

That's the whole idea. And I understand you have to have a pregame plan like you say to your kicker when you know what's the furthest away that you are confident that you can make it. And he's just like, yeah, sixty four yards, which is fascinating to me because he had never made one from that distance or even sixty plus.

You know, we had that graphic to lead our show on Tuesday and it's kind of like, OK, McManus, like, really? That's your mark? Because I guess you must have felt it in pregame snap. His previous sixty four yard attempt that he had made from that actual yardage was twenty nineteen. He missed it. Missed from seventy. He's missed one from sixty three and two from sixty two. As a matter of fact, prior to him, thirty eight different attempts from sixty four yards or longer got missed in the history of the NFL.

So so hold on a second, then you can jump in. I'm just saying the plan was terrible and that, you know, not ever. And again, it's his first foray at it, but. And the hindsight is, sure, he missed the kick and if he'd made it, we'd be talking about why was an interesting way for us to finally get it, get to get his first win as a Bronco. But that's not the way it went. It went.

It's Russ's building. He's back. He has a chance to get you five yards and get you closer for a much more manageable field goal. It doesn't matter what your kicker said or as. Mark Schlereth said when he appeared yesterday, OK, Ray Finkle, we don't care what you have to say, how far out you can make it. We got Russ here. We're going to go for it with him.

And so. I thought when I read that headline, he understands or he gets it. That's just like he's waving his game plan at everybody like in Hoosiers, and I think, you know, he can. I'm not saying this means he can't coach and he's not going to be successful and the Broncos are screwed. I'm just saying that everybody, the headlines and the stories were written like this was a teachable moment for the first time head coach in his first game.

And to me, I don't think that his teachable moment is to tell everybody I've got a plan. I know what's going on with this team. And I made the call and it sucks. It didn't work out.

So it goes. And I just hope for the Broncos sake that he and Ross didn't just get off on the foot where Russ is like, OK, you know, I'm going to be allowed to cook here or what? And can he because that was a teachable moment for Leflore. Did you notice how many times they went forward on fourth down the following year when Rogers was back?

Not like branded Staley-esque, but Leflore took something out of that, which is like, OK, 12. It's your show. And he's won two MVPs since that moment, by the way. Yes.

Back to back MVPs. I just found that interesting. I heard that sound, but I'm like, no, I sounded like a laugh line that didn't land. Trust me, as a former standup comedian, I know what that sounds like. But what were you going to say? Well, I mean, you know, yeah, he missed the kick. Right. But what Chris and I were discussing today is what no one's talking about is how close he came to actually making that kick. It was not a distance thing. I mean, the guys had the leg. He was just to the left.

Barely hooked at all. But, you know, another five, six inches. We're talking about something different. He almost made that kick. He didn't make it, obviously. Sixty four yards, though.

I mean, they had to do something for his confidence to just to know that he had that much leg. That's great. You know, and maybe he'll get that chance again later in the season. That's great.

That keeps them out of the playoffs. I just say that's as far as I'm concerned, you know, you need to you. You've acquired the I mean, it's obvious you've acquired a guy. You're paying him all this money. He's your guy. You go with the guy.

He's marquee. You go with your guy. And if it doesn't work, it's just like, hey, you went with your guy.

And after the game, did you think of kicking it? Well, you know, that was the time and that was the distance where, you know, McManus was saying it. But you know what?

I mean, I'm right. He says, let's ride. We were riding. It just didn't work out. Play didn't work out. And he had a terrific game.

Three hundred forty yards. We're going to be great. We're going to be fine.

You know, it's a tough spot for you to play your first game in period, let alone to coming back here. And we had all been like, got it. Yep.

But he thought this was the best way to go about it. And I'll tell you what, keep a pin in that one, because everybody else has got to play Seattle in that division. What do you think? The rest of the division is going to go 3-0 against Seattle?

Yeah, probably. You know, everybody's talking about Seattle less than, and nobody's really talking about Seattle's win and how Geno looked. We're all talking about that decision more often than not. But this is also Seattle Super Bowl. Seattle is at the Chargers and at the Raiders, which means, well, one of these is, yeah, they get Vegas in, that's it. At the Chargers, they're at Kansas City. Vegas is the one that's got to go to the 12s. At Chargers, that'll be a long game.

And that is weak dozen. It might be a chilly day, too. It's going to be loud. Man, what a home field advantage they have.

Can't even sometimes hear yourself thinking there. Kansas City's the same way. I don't want to piss off the rest of the Chiefs fans also there. Everybody's so sensitive. We're talking about loudest outdoor stadium. Very, I mean, it's insane.

Very sensitive. Loudest place I've ever been into where I couldn't think, couldn't hear was the Superdome. Indoors, night game.

Everybody's swing oil all day. I went to a preseason game in Seattle in 2014. One of the loudest outdoor stadiums. We're in the third deck.

Couldn't hear the person next to me. One of the loudest outdoor stadiums ever. And so is Kansas City.

You know, when they say home of the Chiefs and they say Chiefs, it's just the first time I heard that, I literally was, well, did a plane fly overhead? All right, we'll take a break when we come back here on the Rich Eisen Show. Marcus Smat of the Boston Celtics will be joining us here.

He's got a very important issue he wants to talk to all of you about and make you aware of. And then Chris Brockman's week one MVP race. It's never too early. Never too early.

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Simply go to Geico dot com to get a rate quote or contact your local agent and get started seeing how much you could save. Back here on a terrestrial radio network, T.J. Jefferson just revealed the fact that he's on camera wearing his Jordans has, in fact, resulted in free stuff from Nike and Chris Brockman is irate. I mean, you figure he'd be happy for me, but because I went to him three years ago and said, this is what I because I'm big on manifesting stuff. Are we a team here or not, Rich?

There is an eye in Rich and Eisen, but there is not one in show. We're a team, but you also can't spell ish without shh. Are we a team?

I think we are. So, you know, there you're I guess it's fortunate that I'm not as into the shoe game as you are, because that's a lot of pairs of 13 size 13. You know, ten and a half would look good, too.

It would look good if I was able to put an order and I didn't put the order. My friend, like I said, thank you, Kathleen. She asked me what was my size. She goes, she had a friend.

Now, this is great. You thought you were friends. How can how can anyone be mad at me? Like, can we be happy for T.J.? No.

See, that's the difference. Let's be happy for you, T.J. I think it's great that you have you have blossomed in the role that you have you have ruled the corner of our set since we we had you grace our audience every single day. I think you have ruled it. You have your own style. You have your own panache.

And I think it is terrific that you have done so many great things with it and it is now culminated in you getting free stuff. I have no explanation for what happened that you haven't shared with anybody. Well, how can I share with anybody?

Because we're not size 13. I didn't know this was really coming. Oh, you know, I go home, I show up and it's there. Well, I mean, how did she get the address? Well, I've been friends with her.

She's OK. So then so then can you say, hey, oh, no, you see that, you know, like now you're a snorer. She's the phrase she knows you don't want to be known as a snore. Well, I don't know. I got it. I don't like I said, I don't know who sent this. She was just like, let me see.

Because she used to represent Jumpman years ago. Can you let me see what I can do once where we need Larry Day. This is what we need photo to like put on it. No, no, no. I mean, that's one, two, three. That's that's seven pairs, seven, seven.

I mean, we're proud to you. Are you wearing one of the new ones? Not today. No, you should have. Wow. So this is what you had. You were. Wow. On Monday, Chris, you're right over there.

You need a hug. He is not. He's like, oh, he's shut down. Chris, you can't shut down. Marcus Smart's about to call.

I mean, he's a smart Mac is smart. But I'm just saying thank you to people because she happened to see clips where like fans would call in. A couple of guys commented on the sneakers and she was like, let's see what I could do for you. Was it like I don't like said I couldn't even have asked for shoes for anybody else because I don't really know. I was getting that you can, though. Right.

I'll see. But like, I don't know the person at Nike. I don't even know who sent me. I don't need him. Get him for him because we can't have him shut down. Maybe I would. But the fact is, shut it down. He's already shutting down. The fact is, if he had shown like a little bit of joy for me, then maybe I'd be more likely to go, hey, Kathleen. But the fact is, he like right off the bat was just angry about this is the business we've chosen.

Yeah, I mean, Hyman Roth would say that is the business we've chosen, which, as you know, is free. It's me. That's called swag. Although swag means stuff we all get and not what is this? It's s o t j g. So it's such good stuff.

Only T.J. gets that's such good. Wow. There's a game, right? You can hate it, but don't hate the player. Like, I didn't ask for this. This is a player move. Don't hate the player. Hate the game.

But what did I do to be hated? Just not by not having a close up camera shot. That's all I did. Guys, we need to look. Hey, to hell with what the show looks like.

It's all about me. Hold on a minute. I don't even know that this sounds this sounds a little bit like the Celtic season last year. Yeah. Where there was apparently some rift or dissension in the locker room amongst the ranks. Team meetings were called and then best foot forward. I guess I shouldn't use that phrase right now.

And then and then championship quality material unfolded only to lose on Emmy night. No, I'm just trying to be positive here. We were nominated.

I'm trying to be positive here. Because joining us on the Mercedes Benz Van's phone line is the defensive player of the year of the National Basketball 2021 2022 Association season of the defending Eastern Conference champion, Boston Celtics. Marcus Smart on the Rich Eisen Show. How you doing, Marcus? Oh, I'm great.

Thank you for having me. My family loves you, Marcus Smart. I bet you hear that quite a bit. I bet you hear that a lot. I actually I actually do.

And, you know, it's it's crazy to hear that, you know, little old me that people in the house love me. So what do you mean? What is that?

What are you talking about? What do you mean little old you? I'm just a little I'm just a young dude from Dallas, Texas, and had a dream one day to play professional basketball. And then one day his dream came true to play for one of the most prestigious franchises in NBA history. So it's a lot.

And that is what you're doing. So who was your guy growing up? Who did you want to model yourself after Marcus Smart?

You wouldn't believe me. I actually played football before I was playing basketball. So I wasn't really a guy.

I was like, I have this guy who I'm looking to model in my game after. I just wanted to get good basketball too. So you were from Dallas, Texas, and you were more of a football guy than a basketball guy. Marcus Smart. Is that what you're saying? Yes, sir.

OK, so then I have to ask you, I don't mean to mess with the Boston Celtics. Can you play quarterback right now? I can. I actually played quarterback, wide receiver, safety. I played a couple positions, but I could definitely play quarterback.

I could definitely. I know my Cowboys ain't doing too well. Sorry. Just give them some time. OK, no, no, no, no, no.

Look, they could use your. You see, you played wide receiver and defensive back. Is that what you're saying? Yep. OK, defensive back. I think they got that handled. OK, wide receiver. They might be able to use your ability. Marcus Smart quarterback.

Definitely. They could walk. What was your game? What was your game? Big arm? What do you had legs to? You run past? I had it all. I had it all. I could run past. I had the legs. I could read the defense. I was pulling up to see over my line. So I can get the ball out.

I didn't need a lot of time, but I had it all. OK, how many other Cowboys fans are there on the Boston Celtics right now? Marcus? Probably, to be honest.

Yeah, that's a good question. I know. I think I know two for sure. Who else?

Who else? But I have no clue. I don't really. I try to stay away from that because the Cowboys are very touchy subjects, especially here in Boston. Yeah. Yeah.

That is it. Patriots, you know, Patriots versus. Yeah.

Patriots are the team there. You know that. OK. What was it like? It was neat for me to see this Marcus Smart, but to have Gary Payton surprise you at practice with the Defensive Player of the Year award was awesome for me to see.

What was it like for you to live, Marcus? Oh, it was fourth of July. It was ridiculous. Because of how they did it. This is a surprise.

I don't even know who won the DPO worldwide award. My teammates left. And then he made you, Coach. He was like, I need you to stay real quick.

I need to show you something. I'm like, all right. And then when I walk out, everybody, the whole organization, Gary Payton is there to hand it. So I couldn't believe it. It was it was a dream come true to not only get acknowledged for what you do.

You pride yourself on it, but to have the one guy who you've looked up on that defensive end. Who was the previous recipient of this award before you were to open the door for guards to even have an opportunity to win this at his side. So it was incredible.

It was an incredible feeling. Right. I know.

And then you're going against the sun. Then I think it was all over the whole Gary Payton thing. Yeah, exactly. The whole glove thing, mitt and fail, that goes out the window.

Yeah, it goes out the window. Yeah. When it actually came down to it. And so so much of a conversation, Marcus Smart, last year about where the Celtics were and how they got to where you wound up. And how there was quite a journey going on behind the scenes. And there was a lot of team meetings.

What are you willing to share with us about what did happen for a switch to maybe get flipped for the Celtics right around the turn of the calendar year? Marcus, for us, we became more stable after the train deadline. Guys kind of became more like they knew exactly if they were going to be here, if they weren't.

They knew exactly what their roles are going to be. I think early on in the year, we had a new coach. We had new guys.

Nobody really knew exactly what was a sure thing. And I think that hurt us. But once we clarified that and then just settle down. You know, everybody was anxious to to prove to everybody what they could do to prove to the world what we can do. And sometimes it came back to bite us instead of just letting us do what we've been doing all whole lives is work that our work come in and do it and let the game do for talking. Once we settled in and calm down, it actually started to show, you know, and we went on that run, but it wasn't pretty.

And I think all things great things, you know, they don't start off pretty at all. So it was definitely rough for us. But I think once, like I said, once we settled in, everybody knew kind of what was a sure thing.

It made everybody's eyes a little bit better. And then what about the coach? What about Ime Ujoka when he started selling? And then when do you think you started buying what he was selling? So he was Ime Ujoka's coach.

He was selling from day one. So when he got here, he was, this is how things are going to go. This is how we're going to do it. This is how it's done. And it wasn't like, all right, if it didn't happen, you know, some coaches would be like, all right, it's not working.

It's either going to work or you're not going to play. So this is how we're going to do things. And it wasn't just with one player.

It was the whole team from the guys to the coaching staff. And it kind of gave us a sense of relief that, OK, he knows what he wants to talk about. He's not coming out here looking scared, afraid, nervous. And so he's going to give us confidence to do the exact same.

How is he different from Brad Stevens? Brad is a more laid back guy, you know, killer smile, you know, can't really stay mad at him. Where he may, you know, he doesn't care about your feelings too much. He's going to let you know exactly how he feels.

And if you did wrong or right, right in the end, no matter who's looking. So with him, he's more he's more on your face a little bit. He's more aggressive than Brad, which, you know, he is a player himself. So he gets it. He understands it. And he understands a little bit more about how to get the most out of players and what to say, when not to say things and how to say them. Yeah, I couldn't guess that about coach Yudoko when in the game three huddle, he told you to stop playing like a-holes right to your face. Couldn't pick up on that. Right. You know, exactly.

That's coach Yudoko. What happened in that? I mean, how did you take did you guys at least laugh at that when he said that to you or it was just too intense? Because, you know, it's kind of like the NBA finals. What was that like?

No, I mean, it wasn't you didn't you didn't lie, but you definitely agree with him. So that's one way to express it. That's one way to express it to the team. I heard that. I'm like, whoa, OK. Oh, yeah. I hope he's got the pulse of the team because that can sort of turn people off. That's right.

But I think he did. That's pretty it was just neat to watch, you know, Horford going off and the way that he went off and then to see the team get together. And Tatum obviously doing what he's doing with Jalen Brown.

But I do have to ask you, Marcus Smart, how did it land with you, the rumor that the team was looking to trade for Durant and Jalen Brown was part of that deal a few weeks ago? Well, for me, I mean, my my my my name has been a trade talk since I got here. So I really couldn't think too much of it because I've been doing this a long time. I know how it goes. I know the tricks and everything.

So I couldn't really take it seriously because I didn't know how seriously it really was. Like I said, you know, all the time. But I mean, it definitely would have been cool if I had Kevin Durant. Like I think any team, anybody tell you like, yeah, like one of the best players in the world.

Like, of course, we want to watch. But at the same time, Jalen Brown, who Jason knows two guys or young upcoming superstars. And we just made it to the finals. So for me, I was glad, you know, like I said, would have been ecstatic to have Katie. But I'm glad we still got Jalen and Jason in the team in the court. We just went to the finals beyond everybody expectations at the start of the year, the way we had. Why not running back? So I'm like I said, would love to have had Katie.

I think anybody in the world will tell you that. But I think anybody on the team also tell you that we're also happy that we still got the team that we had. I thought Mark Smart for a second, like maybe it wasn't that serious. And if I'm the Nets, I am definitely let everyone in Boston in your locker room know that Jalen Brown was offered to us and we're just sticking with Durant. I would want to I would want to lob that into your into your locker room one thousand percent. And I'm wondering how is that going to affect you guys?

Do you think when it's all. It's my job to make sure it doesn't. Mark is smart here on the Rich Eisen show. All right, let's get into this.

Why are you talking about blood stem cell and the blood stem cell registry? I give that to you, Marcus. Mark, what are you doing with Aflac? So for me, you know, I partner with Aflac and be the match because of the reason it hits home with me.

Everything that they're doing. I was personally affected in my life. I lost my mom four years ago to bone marrow cancer and I lost my oldest brother about 15 years ago to lung cancer. So I've been affected by cancer and the blood diseases. So for me to be able to to to know that, you know, that is people out here that are going through the same thing that my mom or my brother or somebody else is going through. Without the education, knowing that, you know, especially in sickle cell that, you know, that the donor of the match being able to get matches only 29 percent of African-Americans compared to our white counterparts.

And which is which is outrageous because everybody has a chance to deserve to have a chance, an opportunity to find a cure, to be able to have that cure found for them and to be able to have somebody be able to have a match for them. So for me to be able to get people to be aware of, you know, cancer, sickle cell and other blood type diseases, to be able to join the registry by just swiping the tube and joining that registry, becoming a donor because you never know who like you might be able to say. And it's as simple as just swabbing your mouth. That's it. You swab your mouth and join the registry. So then your profile is somewhere. Somebody needs a match. They're hoping against hope that there's a match out there.

Somebody's family's life is on the line. And boom, you go to the registry and you could see there's a match. It's a simple swab. That's it.

Right. Simple, simple, simple, simple. And just one swab could save a life.

Go to BeTheMatch.org for more information and how to donate and be part of that. I'm sorry to hear about your family history. And it's as simple. I lost a dear friend to bone marrow cancer as well, and it took him forever to find a match.

It took him forever. And it would have been much quicker had enough people actually swabbed him in part of the blood stem cell registry. It's that simple.

Yep. And I think another thing people need to know about this, about joining the registry and the reason why it's so important to get people in that registry is because the only way that kids, adults, or anybody who's dealing with these type of blood disease, such as sickle cell or cancer, anyway, that the only way for them to survive is through the transplant itself. That's the only way. So I think by letting people know that how critical it is for us to do our research and educate ourselves to go and at least see if you're a match, because this is literally the only way to save the lives that you're hoping to save. Amen. Again, for more information and to donate, go to BeTheMatch.org.

Mark is smart. I hope this is the first time of many. Hope this is the first time of many. Look for my call during the season. Let's talk. Let's talk. I'm not going to...

I would love to. Even if things aren't going well, I'm not going to call you guys a-holes. I'm just going to be nice. I'm just going to welcome you in with open arms. That's what we'll do. I would like that a little bit more.

Sometimes he may go before the a-holes, so that's good. Okay. You can upgrade.

Somebody can upgrade his language. Okay. I got it. I look forward to that. And again, I might have to reach out sooner if Cooper Rush doesn't do the gig very well. Maybe they really are going to have to reach out to you, Marcus. That'll at least get you out of training camp.

Get you out of training camp. Right. Exactly. Take care of yourself, Marcus. Mark, thanks again. Truly, you are a joy to watch for so many people. And Brock, you want to just give them a little hello for the Celtic fan that's right here? I just want to thank you, Marcus, for bringing back the Celtic pride. Appreciate everything you do. Appreciate your game.

Even though everyone gives you a hard time on social media, but us in Boston and us out here worldwide, we love it, man. Keep it up. Thank you, guys. I appreciate it. Thank you for everything. Thanks for having me. Thanks for the support. Look for our call during the season, Marcus Smart. Thanks again for the two cents here.

Yes, I will do. Thank you. Marcus Smart.

At Smart underscore MS3 on Twitter right here on the Rich Eisen Show. A delight. An absolute delight. The best. Talking to Marcus Smart. Love that guy. And to the rest of the Eastern Conference who would like to get past the Celtics this year, your Philadelphia 76ers.

It's going to be tough, man. One of them right there. I know. No question about that. To that fan base, I say last time I had Chris Brockman address somebody who's really loved. Whoa, hold on a second.

That's a good point. Everything went south. Very south. It was Syracuse football. Like a couple years they haven't recovered, right? It's not my birthday today, OK? You didn't surprise me. This interview with Marcus wasn't a surprise. It was scheduled. We knew it was on the docket for like a week, OK? And Syracuse football is 2-0.

He's got a good point. It took three years. The curse of the Brockman has been turned on. Dino Babers has survived. He's still there.

Still there. Very few can survive the Brockman Ziggy. When your college football team actually has a quarterback, it's amazing. Garrett Schrader, my man. Let's go.

Keep it up. Home opener. Purdue this week.

Let's go. Is he? He's really good, right? He's really good.

Is he good enough to make you swear off Georgia football? Come on, Rich. Oh, make me. What does that mean? I don't know what that means. Let's take a break.

Come back. Chris Brockman has his. What are your MVP watch? MVP index. Oh, MVP index. Is Micah Parsons on this index? The MVP index.

There is a defensive player, though. Coming up next. Hey, when was the last time you seriously considered your dream? I mean, come on. You used to think about it all the time.

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Tell them your dream sent you. We could talk about how complicated other banks make it to redeem credit card rewards, like how they require minimums and worse, how their rewards flat out expire. Or we could talk about how with Discover you can redeem your rewards for cash in any amount at any time. I mean, talk about amazing. And now that we've talked about that, let's get back to the Rich Eisen Show. You know, the stuff we talk about here.

Learn more at discover.com slash redeem rewards. Terms apply. Back here in the Rich Eisen Show on the thirty seventh anniversary of the Golden Girls, we have had, may he rest in peace, Alan Thicke on this program saying he told us he wrote that theme song, the different strokes. He sang it.

World don't move. I just got 11 cents for singing. That's Alan Thicke right here. He wrote a lot of theme songs. He wrote a lot of theme songs. Yeah. When he sang the first few bars of.

Give me one more time. The world don't move. I just got 11 cents for singing. Yeah. So many people love the Golden Girls. Yeah. It was to this day.

Yeah. When was the last time you watched an episode of Golden Girls? Probably about two weeks ago. Two weeks. It comes on.

I forget the channel, but it comes on at night. So he wrote the theme songs Alan Thicke for 10 TV shows. What else did he write for? What else did he write for? Here we go. I found a list. He wrote obviously different different strokes.

He wrote Facts of Life. You take the good. The Wizard of Odds. Jokers Wild. Jokers. Celebrity Sweepstakes. The Diamond Head Game. Animal Crack-Ups. Blank Check.

Well, as we all know, though, Wheel of Fortune. Wow. I didn't know that had words to it. Damn. Wow. Nobody, though, the number one theme songwriter, television theme songwriter ever is Mike Post.

Yeah. Mike Post. Just yesterday, I tweeted out the Rockford Files, greatest theme song ever. I saw you responded with Hawaii Five-0.

Mike, don't at me. Best television theme song ever. No. Hawaii Five-0 played in every bar mitzvah and bat mitzvah party and wedding and pool question, Chris. You made my point. That's right.

That was huge. You made my point. You just also played every bar mitzvah and bat mitzvah and wedding. It's the electric slide.

It's the electric slide. Do you want to hear this Mike Post list? Oh, no, it's disgusting. Please have at it, sir.

It's disgusting. Rockford Files, Hill Street Blues, Magnum P.I., Law & Order, The A-Team, L.A. Law. Let's see. Yeah, he wrote for all the Bochco shows. Yeah, all of these.

Code Quantum, Sonny Spoon, Wiseguy, Doogie Howser. Yeah. Wow.

I played Hill Street Blues for my piano lessons. Oh, man. I did. I would have been watching this show in 60 minutes. We'll be coming up following football. Followed by murder. Comma. She wrote.

Thank you very much. So I'm going to do that as a poll. Better theme song.

Rockford Files or Hawaii Five-0. Do it. All right.

We're on the right demo. Chris Brockman to play us out. Let's do it. Let's finish up today's show. Chris Brockman, you'll be doing this. Are you doing this weekly? Weekly, every week, because we're going to overreact a little bit.

OK, very good. And at the end of the year, we'll get we'll narrow it down. The most valuable. You have a drop for this?

There's a drop for it? Oh, yeah. Let's go. The most valuable player. Y'all better start the MVP game, man. Brockman's NFL MVP Index. Brought to you by the fact that the NFL season, every Westwood One NFL broadcast is streaming live for free. Mondays, Thursdays, Sunday nights, Thanksgiving and Christmas triple headers.

The international series in every postseason game. Chris, you have the floor. Rich, I think your head was down. Why might you not see that graphic? Mike, if you want to see that, I was Bill Walsh. I saw no reaction.

He is the great reaction. NFL MVP Index coming to you every week. We'll go five to one.

We'll count it down, TJ, because that's how you like it. Number five, guys. Defensive player. Chargers. Khalil Mack.

Oh, boy. Three sacks dominating performance against the Raiders in week one. Terrific. Half of his sack total from a year ago, where he only played seven games for Chicago. Khalil Mack was awesome. Also had six tackles of four QB hits.

Number four. TJ is going to add him in fantasy this week. I had to do it. Carson Wentz. You put my business out there. Three hundred and thirteen yards.

Get out of here. Four touchdowns. A comeback victory in the fourth quarter. In the fourth quarter. Rich, according to ESPN, the Jaguars had a eighty five percent chance to win the game in the fourth quarter. Did they win the game?

Well, no. And it was because of Carson Wentz. The reason why the Jaguars had that percentage at that point in time in the game was because of who?

That's not my point. My point is Carson Wentz. It's week one. It's week one, guys.

All right. Number three. He might still be open and running for a touchdown. Justin Jefferson, nine catches, one hundred eighty six yards and two touchdowns. He might very well be the best receiver in the NFL, as he claims he is. He's number three on my list. And the top two guys, I have a feeling these are going to be the top two guys, probably just about every single week.

But I'm not going to get sick about talking about them because they're awesome. Number two, Josh Allen, two hundred ninety seven yards, three touchdowns. Oh, if that wasn't good enough. Fifty six rushing yards and a touchdown for the Buffalo Bills. Josh Allen really good at the football.

And number one, Patrick Mahomes. Guys, unbelievable. It's got one hand. Three hundred and sixty yards by. They just scored again. Five touchdowns.

He's going to do it again tomorrow night. He's probably gonna have five more touchdowns tomorrow night. Bet the over Kansas City Chiefs. Patrick Mahomes, number one in my NFL MVP index. You're going with the street ball? Number one over Josh Allen? Why?

Did you not hear me just say I did. Three hundred and sixty yards and five touchdowns. Right. What about Josh Allen? Because he had his his sheet wasn't clean. So are you saying Josh Allen turned the ball over twice? Patrick Mahomes lost his top receiver to the sand. Patrick Mahomes. I like number one this week.

This is great because, again, Brockman had his finger on the Chiefs are not going to be good chess piece. Yep. For what? For months? For months.

Most of the summer. You moved that piece. I put it in there and I held it. You held it. You held it. You held it. You held it. And then you moved it back before you took your finger off it. I don't think so.

You got your finger on that piece. You moved it. You realize how unstrategic a maneuver that was? I don't like that move. That's what I'm saying.

Brockman went from having Mahomes on Mount Rushmore to he's not going to be that good. Streetballing. He was the unknown streetballing. That was me.

I was the one giving quotes to the athlete. A little paper bag over his head. Number one, Patrick Mahomes. Good God. Great show, everybody, guys. Great show.

I want to thank also I want to thank my guests today. We've got sauce gardener Nate Boyer. And who was the third one?

Who's here? Marcus Mott. And Nathan Zagura. And Nathan Zagura, yes, to set us straight on Brownie the Elf.

Words that are not said in irony, but accurately. I didn't think. Set us straight on Brownie the Elf.

Okay. Tomorrow's show, Willie McGinnis. Jared Payton will be here because his dad Walter is the subject of this week's icons on Epix, which I'm voicing. So it's part of the family of the Rich Eisen show here. Family. Family. Dalvin Cook on the phone. Hey, Mr. Dalvin. And then in studio, get the great Jews in sports book ready.

The first set of brothers to ever sign it. Jeff Schwartz is already in that book. Mitchell's in studio. You think Mitchell bring us a little bit of brisket? Brisket.

What else do you want for free? Jesus. By the way, brisket might be the most non-Jewish Jewish food you can mention. But he loves making. He and Stone Street trade brisket recipes.

That's true, too. That was great. When I called him, I called Mitchell Schwartz, a member of the tribe, and Stone Street's like cheese. Cheese. I'm like, no, that's the wrong tribe.

Not that tribe. And by the way, Dan Brockman asked for free wine last week. And he got it. And we got it. Okay then. And I'm tight with the B and the CEO. No, that's nice.

Well done. For the real story behind some of wrestling's biggest moments, it's something to wrestle with Bruce Prichard and Conrad Thompson, too. All-time Hogan opponents, Macho Man's got to be in the conversation. Where's Andre for you? I've always said Andre was number one. Wow. Because even going back before Hulk Hogan was a babyface, Hulk and Andre were able to go in and headline at the New Orleans Superdome at Shea Stadium in Japan. Wherever they went, that was an attraction. Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.