REShow: Chris Fowler - Hour 3 (9-1-2022)

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Goes on dry, clean feel all day. Ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome... This is the Rich Eisen Show. Oh my God. You beat Ohio State last year. Oh my God.

Do you have the same drive to beat them this year? Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. I can't even think about it.

I'm jumping out of my skin over that possibility. The Rich Eisen Show. Earlier on the show, ESPN NFL analyst Robert Griffin III, 49ers general manager John Lynch. Still to come, ESPN host and broadcaster Chris Fowler.

And now, it's Rich Eisen. Yes it is. Can confirm, sources say, and now I'm on camera. It's confirmed.

It's confirmed. I'm here. That's the name of the show. I'm here. I've got a mug in front of me. You want to show them your feet? Well, that'll be later. I'm so...

I don't know. I'm wearing Birkenstocks today. Okay. They're very nice. They're very nice footwear. Chris. I just did that for TJ.

I mean, I never wear open-toe here. Rich, you look like you're ready to part the Red Sea. That's all I'm saying. Terrific.

Terrific. You know what it's called? It's called fashion, you morons. You walked in with those smells like patchouli. It's called fashion.

It's called fashion. Just because I'm branching out doesn't mean I'm leaving you behind, okay? You understand?

You're all coming with me to Roku. We're good. I'm not hating. You just take it down a notch.

I'm not hating. Turn it back down to seven. All right. I just did that for TJ.

Thank you. 844-204-rich is never the dollar. Rich came in eating rich program this morning. We just hung out. We just hung out from John Lynch. We're just hung up from John Lynch. Fowler wears Birkenstock, so it's fine.

Fowler is a very, very fashionable man, okay? And he's having a hell of a week. And in the middle of his hell of a week, he decided to say, yes, I will call in on the Rich Adzins show. You morons have delayed me getting to him. He's one of my friends. He's one of my best friends from the worldwide leader in sports back in the day. And now, he just finished calling an incredible match involving Serena Williams last night, and he's calling Notre Dame versus Ohio State.

I'm trying to give him the proper setup, and you've thrown me off my game. Chris Fowler here on the Rich Adzins show. How you doing, Chris?

You there, Chris? Despite my boulder roots, I cannot pull off Birkenstock. Oh, upset. So I don't put them on. But listen, I'm sure they look good on you.

Wait a minute, that sounded legit. Like, you really do think it looks good on me, probably, right? I said I'm sure they do.

I can't see you at the moment. Okay, understood. I'm sure you're pulling off a bullet. I'm not a sandals guy. I'm not either... Don't wear them on a plane. Do me a favor. No, please, please. Don't get me going on flip-flops while flying. Chris, Xander, who you've known for all 14 years of his life the other day, thought of putting on his sandals, open show shoes, going to Angels Stadium the other night. I'm like, absolutely not.

No chance. We stopped him. I said, the toes must be closed if you're going to a baseball game, and he did, so we're all good. Too many years in Manhattan, the idea of walking around. That's true. I wouldn't be doing it. I wouldn't take the train in it. I wasn't going to cabinet, but I just needed to get in my car real fast to get here. Okay, okay. It's not defensive. I'm unlucky.

Chris Fowler here on The Rich Guys. All right, I'm going to make the awkward but still necessary segue here. You have called many matches at the United States Open, and this is... Where does this rank? And I know they're just technically two first opening matches of this tournament, but the circumstances under which Serena Williams shows to this tournament and then wins the first two.

Where does this rank for you, Chris? Well, unlike anything I've ever been a part of at a preliminary stage of any sports event, it's maybe, maybe if you get the right matchup in a final, for example, when Serena's been in there, when Djokovic is going for the grand slam a year ago, you get that electricity. It felt like a final and opening night, and that's unheard of. There was such tension, anxiety, people unsure whether or not Serena should even be playing. How is she going to look? And for five games, it looked pretty ugly, and then obviously she snapped back and turned it around.

Wednesday, last night, was just a celebration. It was a whole different vibe. She came out. She answered some questions.

The crowd wasn't nearly as anxious, and it was a performance that I'll never forget. I mean, you got to remember, she's a month from being 41. She's a mom. She's barely played in a year. She looked like all summer, like maybe she'd passed her expiration date, and you got to remember, this is Serena, so the regular rules don't apply, and she should never be doubted. But Rich, that was amazing. I called it with Chrissy Evert and John McInerney, our two legends.

They were able to frame sort of what we were seeing really well, and it was pretty staggering. Her level of play in the third set after she got dusted up pretty good by Conovay in the second, you'd think, uh-oh, I don't know if she's got it physically for this last set, and from the first point of the set, new energy, hitting the ball big, and the crowd just came unhinged. It's funny you said this is Serena, because when Mary Jo Fernandez asked her afterwards, a legitimate question, are you surprising even yourself? She kind of gave her this look, like, you know, I am Serena. It's just like, okay, okay. She puffed up, and she said what she said, and I can't wait to see where this goes.

Where do you think this can go, Chris? I mean, she was 50-1 before the tournament to win the title. I don't think people realize that, because they're used to seeing her there and assuming she's one of the top contenders. The odds-makers made her the 23rd choice to win the women's title. You know, more than half the field wasn't even born when she turned pro, so obviously it's an achievement we haven't seen someone that age trying to compete, and if you saw the way she looked at Wimbledon, and then in the summer when she sometimes looked like she didn't want to be out there, she wasn't moving very well, didn't look inspired, you didn't think this was possible. I mean, even the seasoned pros who know what it's like to try to get back into shape to raise your level physically were shocked by what they saw. So now she goes in as a favorite in the next round. It's Ayla Tomlanovic. She's a very solid player and has a skill set that can trouble a lot of people, but I don't know that she's mentally ready to face what any opponent for Serena's got to face.

You can say, oh, I'm relaxed, I've got nothing to lose, I'm going to enjoy the environment. No, that's not realistic when you get in the heat of battle, and Conovay, who's a very steady player, cracked late. She held up well for a while, but she cracked at the end, and I think that Serena goes in as a favorite on Friday.

Sunday would be tricky if it's Samsonov, a player that most people don't know about, but she's a Russian, very solid player, so it's going to get tougher. But if you could beat the number two player with that kind of performance in the third set, yeah, people are beginning to wonder what's possible here. And then of course there's the New York crowd at the United States Open, and when they get behind one of the players, you're playing against them too, and that's what's so special in many different ways about the U.S. Open when there is a fan favorite, a clear fan favorite, in front of the Ash or the center court, if you will, crowd. I just remember what's now used to be the Armstrong, right? Used to be the center court there, and I remember when Jimmy Connors at the end of his career was making some magical late runs and fist pumping in the same way that Tiger Woods did from the crowd last night. It's just, there's nothing like it, man, and I imagine that's just going to keep building as long as Serena stays in this tournament, Chris Fallon. Yeah, Agassi's matches, you're exactly right. The old days in Armstrong, Jimmy, John to some degree, but Agassi and Arthur Ash Stadium, when it was clear the end was near for him, and this is beginning to feel like that. Pete Sampras, of course, went out, retired after winning the U.S. Open in his last match, but Pete, as great as he was, never commanded the electric crowd support that Serena does.

I don't know where this is going. I think it was interesting to see that the atmosphere last night, they were beginning to cheer Conovate's faults, and they were beginning to boo electronic line calls, which can't be overturned. Serena raises one figure, nope, nope, stop it, and they just got quiet. The man that she has over the crowd, she didn't want any unsportsmanlike behavior by the crowd toward her opponent.

She didn't tolerate that. Amazing. Chris Fowler here on the Rich Eisen Show. So are you in New York now? Are you going to call that Friday, or you're heading off to? No, I'm calling the knowledge match tonight, Fanini, which is the nightcap, taking a nap, and then getting on a plane to Columbus. I mean, Notre Dame, Ohio State is a monster game. Very excited for that. It's the ABC opener, so do not want to miss that, even for tennis.

I'll be watching Serena on Friday, hoping that she can get through one more so I can come back on Sunday. We can keep the story going, but no, I'm hyped for this football game. It's, yeah, the odds-makers say the Buckeyes are going to win in a blowout, but you know, it's who knows, and it's Notre Dame, Ohio State in the same field on a campus, which is very cool.

Yeah, so walk me through, break down your Saturday gig for me with Notre Dame at the Ohio State. Buckeyes, as you know, well, had a bad taste in the mouth the way the last season ended. I mean, the big house meltdown there has colored the entire offseason.

That's been the fuel for them. They did win the Rose Bowl in a shootout. I'm screening that game right now against Utah. Fun one to watch when they prevailed, despite being shorthanded, but that didn't do much to lessen the pain of losing to Michigan, and that's driven them, and they've obviously got, you know, C.J.

Stroud and Smith and Jigba and Trevion Henderson. They've got kind of a triplets like the vintage Cowboys have that you rarely see in college football, and I think that the defense is going to be good enough because Ohio State could flirt with 50 points per game on offense this year. It's a serious challenge for Notre Dame's defense, which has Al Golden coming in as a new defensive coordinator. They're a pretty experienced group, but they're going to have their hands full stopping Stroud and company, and I think that Notre Dame's chance is to try to score with Ohio State.

If they can shorten the game, run the ball, but they're going to have to score points to have any chance to hang with them. Well, and I spoke to Marcus Freeman a couple months ago. I was, you know, talking to him about how interesting it is that his first game is a regular season head coach for Notre Dame is going to be against his alma mater in his old spot in the horseshoe. Have you spoken to him about that? Because he didn't really want to talk much about it months ago. I wonder how he is now on the cusp of it, Chris.

How funny you should ask that, Rich. Well, he's the first guest of the podcast season five. Marcus Freeman episode happens to be up on YouTube. Foul or who you've got, all podcast platforms.

Good timing for the promo there. Unintended, but I appreciate it. All good.

We didn't speak a ton about the X's and O's. It's more about getting to know Freeman. His background's interesting. I covered him when he was Ohio State linebacker. Really, really good player and had his career, his brief attempt at the NFL cut short by an injury and then got into coaching. And, you know, listen, he's an unusual hire, okay? One year at Notre Dame as the defensive coordinator inherits the job when Brian Kelly leaves and the psyche is wounded and the players demand that he be given a chance and they hire him and, you know, he coached in the bowl game, which was a loss to Oklahoma State.

But as you said, now the real tenure begins as a head coach with the toughest possible assignment. I think he's not shying away from predicting Notre Dame will win a national championship in the coming years. He's he's been pretty bold. I don't recall Kelly talking about that. He stepped out there.

The players are talking about it. They're not paying attention to the fact that no one's giving him a chance. But but Freeman has recruited extremely well.

Whether or not this is a special team, you know, remains to be seen. But yeah, he's the kind of guy when you're his background, you certainly root for him. Father of six kids. He and his wife are raising six kids.

Well, he's taken on a massive responsibility at 36. It'll be a lot of eyes on him. He's tried to deflect it, as you do in that situation, but eager to see, you know, how he navigates the adversity because they'll face adversity on Saturday night.

Well, I mean, I'll be honest with you, Chris, you know me. I don't know who to root for or against in this game. I'm going to be very conflicted this entire time.

The two teams that I would love for. I mean, honestly, if there is a sinkhole that could open up and swallow both organizations, I don't know. I might obviously wonder and be concerned of their physical well-being. But other than that, I'm going to hope that a sinkhole doesn't swallow me up and everybody else with it. That's true.

That's true. Because, I mean, that is just a fascinating spot. What do you think, Chris Fowler, of the fact that I'm sitting in Big Ten country in Los Angeles?

What do you think of that one, Chris? Yeah, that brokenness over in Europe and I started getting a bunch of messages. I didn't know how to process it.

You know, you were in Italy. I was definitely out of the loop and off the grid and trying to process that on a number of different levels. There's the football piece, which makes more sense than the other pieces. Obviously, as a Colorado graduate, I'm a little concerned about the rest of the Pac-12 and what that means going forward. To sit and whine about the erosion and the traditions and talk about nostalgia is pointless in this sport.

There's a lot of people who think the sport has totally lost its way and that people who are allegedly trying to lead it have lost their way. I don't spend a ton of bandwidth on that because, you know, I'm there to call the game that's in front of me. I do think it's intriguing. I mean, listen, I'm not going to sit here and tell you that USC is going to the big house or the horseshoe or these big 10 teams playing regular season games out at the Rose Bowl, the Coliseum. That's cool.

That's intriguing to me. It makes no sense in the other sports besides football, but football dominates. It's about dollars. We know that. It's a couple of years before it's going to happen, but yeah, I mean, I'm not going to sit here and sound like a cranky old man about the traditions of the sport. It is what it is and it's not going to change. It's going to accelerate. Chris, I think you're going to wind up calling three if not four college football playoff games in a year during your career. I think that's going to happen. I think you're going to end up calling what's going to be the equivalent of the Super Bowl in college football. I think that's the way this is going.

I've spoken to Greg Sankey. We've got a standing invitation to Mr. Warren or the big 10 as well. Do you think we have a Super Bowl now though? Wouldn't you call it a playoff game? It's a smaller bracket. That's what it is, but the reason why I'm terming it that here is because we're going to have two conferences of about 16, if not 16, then maybe 20 or 24 teams each and that's why you should be concerned for Colorado because there is going to be a bunch of terrific programs like the ones that you've rooted for because you went there.

You might not have a seat at the table or they might be needing to come out of a relegation to get into whatever conference. I really think that's the way this is going. It may take years for that to happen, but I think the worldwide leader will be at the forefront of it. Whether it's 8 or 12 or 16, that's the only question. It's going to be expanded at the end of this current cycle, which means there's a few more years of it, but that's inevitable.

I hope you're right. I hope if it expands, we continue to have a dominant position, but I think you have to consider two things. One, are you just going to keep adding games on to the end of the season and another layer and another layer? It's 15 games for the two teams that are playing in the championship game now.

If you expand that, what is it going to be? Game 17? If you're a player, you damn sure better think about coming after some of that money and not being content with NIL. If you're going to expand the playoff, it means a lot more money. We've seen serious injuries at the end of the football season.

That's inevitable. It's a part of the game. We get that, but it feels to me like a disproportionate number of serious injuries late in the season. The people who are experts in this would tell you the wear and tear, the fatigue, the intensity of these games all contribute to that. I have my concerns. If you want to eliminate a regular season game, if you want to eliminate the conference championship games and pare down that piece of it at the same time you expand the playoff, okay. That's a different equation.

That makes more sense to me. If you're just going to add on games at the end of the season, another layer and another layer, and you're doing it for money under the veil of inclusion, which I think is a noble cause. Inclusion is great. Are you going to end up with any different four teams once you play it down to the semis than you have now? That's the question you have to answer because this sport is more top-heavy than it's ever been. It's more top-heavy than any sport except maybe the English Premier League, and even that's opened up more. And the same teams are there all the time, and that's the problem.

That's what's constricting the growth of the sport's popularity. It'll be cool to have more teams and playoff contention down the stretch, but if you go to an expanded format and you end up with Bama, Ohio State, Clemson, Georgia, I mean the same teams and the semis, what have you really accomplished? You're not changing who wins the championship. You're just throwing another layer of playoffs and so teams can say, hey, we made the playoff. Maybe so.

I don't know. And it's interesting you say that players should want a piece of that money. It's more than just the NIL. You're right. I mean, if you take a look at the annual television packages, the Big Ten package that just got sold is right next to Major League Baseball's on the annual like over a billion dollars. That's professional sports. That's it.

I mean, at some point, you have to call it what it is or what it looks like. But in the meantime, though, I mean, games like Saturdays, I'm in. I am so in. I will be watching, and I can't wait. Is it you and Herb Street as well? Yeah, absolutely.

And Holly Rowe. I mean, it's cool because you got that game. You got Oregon taking on a challenge of playing in the Dawgs' backyard in Atlanta. That's a really cool afternoon sort of special game.

You got Utah and Florida, which is intriguing because a lot of people think Utah is a playoff team this year and clearly the best in the Pac-12 again. So it's pretty good for an opening weekend. And very cool that we get to have the game in Columbus in prime time. Yeah, Florida State against Brian Kelly's new family. We got that one. On Sunday, yeah. That's a big weekend. That's a good one.

Okay, very good. I got that one in there. So Fowler, who you got? It's got Marcus Freeman as the first guest. Who else you got? Johnny Mack coming up. We just taped it. John, we've been working on him a long time.

It's not really about kind of like the best kind of stuff. We talk a lot about his guitar playing and all these guys in bands that he knows with, jamming with Pearl Jam and the Eagles and the whole history of just, you know, all the personalities that gravitate toward the Johnny Mack experience that he connects with is what we spend a lot of time talking about. Michael Simon, who's a buddy of mine, a chef, an iron chef in the Chew.

He's a weak two. So thank you for the plug. You know how fun it is to talk with different folks. And I learn something every single episode. Fowler, who you got?

Where all podcasts can be acquired. All right, so it's an adult tonight, then a flight, then a game of Notre Dame and Ohio State and potentially Serena on Sunday. If she wins, you go back.

You're out. You go. I like the way I'm going to save the open for throughout week two. Yeah, I don't do the second college football week because I love to stay and do all of the semis and the finals.

So I like the way you laid that out. It gets me, that's exciting. It is, man. It's a hell of a week. It's like that's why you lift all them scripts, you know?

I mean, like, that's it. This is great. I can't wait. You have your two favorite sports collide, you know, for two weeks.

And it is in the city where you've lived a long time. And as you talked about the energy, it's, I'd be an idiot, like, to let one minute of this go by without being grateful and been present and just appreciative. You're the man and your great attitude, Chris. Best to Jennifer. You be well, sir. You take it.

Thanks for your time. There's Chris Fowler, everybody. At CB Fowler on Twitter. I follow him.

You should as well. And Fowler, who you got? Marcus Freeman and John McEnroe. I'll never forget John McEnroe.

And I called a match, won US Open on CBS. Out there on the, in the grandstand of the US Open. What a spot that is. It's Ash. And then right next to Ash is Louis Armstrong, which used to be the center court.

Right. Now it's court two. And then grandstand.

You got the outer courts, but the grandstand is like the Cameron Indoor of tennis, where it's just one side of this, of the court are fans. And the other side is what, like the sixth train, I think is on the other side of it, right? Or the, yeah, that's the sixth train on the side. And then the seventh train out to, is that the seventh? Whatever the one that John Rocker was on. That's the one. I think it's the sixth.

I think it's sixth. All right. And so, and then on either end of the court, there's just a small amount of fans high up.

All right. And high up was where I did the match. You're not center court on the grandstand.

The booth is on an end. And they sent me out there because the match was heading towards a fifth set and it was way better than whoever I think Agassi or Lindsay Davenport at the time was blowing out. I think she won that year. And so it was me and McEnroll. They took McEnroll out of Ash and stuck me with him out in the grandstand. And I called the fifth set tie break of, I believe it was Yuri Novak and Eunice Elenowy. I believe that's what it was. I'm trying to remember if that was the matchup. And I just remember, they're like, get out there to the grandstand. That's where I did the, I read the wrong, I messed with my producer, Bob's mom's Bob doing the Pat Summerall Manhattan read over the blimp shot. And at any rate, long story long, very long story short, McEnroll arrives after I started calling the first few points without him. First tennis I'd ever called live in my life. Dream come true. I'm at the grandstand of the U.S. Open in my hometown.

Yes, Staten Island is New York City as much as Queens is. And did I get the matchup right? Are you looking it up? I don't know if it was, you can't, you can't. I did the Open for three years. I think it was my first year, which is probably 03. 03 was your, because that was the year I was there. Yeah, you were doing it with Barkan on USA. Barkan on USA.

Right. And I was doing the U.S. Open late night highlight show, but on the weekends of Labor Day weekend, this upcoming weekend, I would sit around and I called a match if it went to a fifth set in the grandstand and if CBS was willing to take that match. And they did, they were, and it was me. And McEnroll shows up. And I think he said it on the air and not on a commercial break. He goes, what is the guy on I Love the 90s, 80s, and 70s doing and calling a tennis match?

What he said to me? What was the match up again? Meaning the VH1 show that I was on. Great shows.

What was the match up again? What's the guy on I Love the 80s and 90s doing here with me? I think he said it on the air even. And I knew that's when I was accepted by McEnroll that he was busting my balls like that. It might've been, whatever the middle weekend was, Eunice Ellen Alley. And I think it was Yuri Novak.

I think that's who it was. Let's take a break. We'll have that information for you. I know you're all on the edge of your seats. We'll have that information for you right here on our YouTube stream, including Chris Brockman's latest burning questions about NFL teams when we come back.

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NetSuite.com slash Rich Radio here on the program. Did I get it right, Chris? What did I get?

You did, Rich. Going on a break, talking about my US Open team. Third round, I can't pronounce the... Eunice Elinale. That guy. I believe he was an Egyptian tennis player, if I'm not mistaken. And then he's Moroccan. Moroccan, okay. Close enough.

Right continent, wrong pew. And then Novak. Yeah, they went five sets. Do you remember who won? I believe Novak won, correct? No, it was Eunice. Novak was up 2-1, and the other guy, the Moroccan dude, he won the last two sets.

Fifth set tiebreaker, 7-5. The only reason why it was easy for me to remember his name at the time and whatever is there's that World's Fair fairgrounds that's outside of the tennis center that anybody who ever saw Men in Black, that was the end scene where the spaceship took off from the World's Fairgrounds there. And there's a globe that's there for the World's Fair, and it's referred to as the Unisphere. So we would show the Unisphere when Eunice Elinale was playing. It's just part of the turns of the phrase that I guess put me on the radar screen of CBS Sports, once ESPN said, see ya. And that's why I wound up doing the US Open for three years. And then NFL Network started covering the NFL more intensely at the beginning of seasons over and over again. So when I left for my third year of going to call games and events for the US Open, Steve Bornstein, the head of NFL Network said, enjoy your farewell to Flushing, buddy boy. So he sent me out there for... Eunice lost into the quarterfinals that year.

That wasn't called that. That's when things... Now Bandian. Quarterfinals was Dick Enberg territory. I only had a cup of coffee on... I was in case of emergency. Whenever a match might go five sets on a court other than Ash, I was on call.

Get out there. 2003, the only Grand Slam title for Andy Roddick. That's right. Wow.

Beat Juan Carlos Ferrero that year. That's right. All right, Christopher, are you ready for your latest burning questions? Let's do it.

Rockman's Burning Questions. Now that's a five. Very good. So you are ranking all NFL teams 32 up to one. You did 32 to 26 yesterday. Now you're doing 25 to 20. 25 to 21, Rich.

25 to 21. Five a day all the way up until toe meets ball next Thursday, a week from today. Christopher, you have the floor.

Hi, Rich. Pay close attention during this five because... The Jets are in it? Yes. Okay.

All right, number 25, the Washington Commanders. My burning question for these guys is, it's pretty simple. How soon will Riverboat Ron turn to Sam Howard? That's it.

That's it. You could say how will Carson Wentz fare in potentially his last foray as a starting quarterback in the NFL. I assume that he's going to fail. I mean, that's sad. It's very super pessimistic, but he's 0 for his last two.

You know what I mean? Since he had an MVP type season before blowing out his knee out here in Los Angeles, and now he's 0 for 2. So how soon will Ron turn to Sam Howell?

Because it's going to happen. Carson Wentz, back in the NFC East. Carson Wentz, after the Indianapolis Colts told him, thanks for the memories, won in Dundum after they traded for him from Philadelphia. Man, Chase Young, not being able to start the season healthy is absolutely crushing for that team.

Yeah, that's huge. But good news is Brian Robinson made the 53-man roster, so it looks like whatever happened in his carjacking will not knock him out for the season. But it is a Carson Wentz equation, and does 2 plus 2 equal 4, or 2 plus whatever equal Howell? That's the burning question.

What else, Chris? Number 24. All right, number 24, the Carolina Panthers. Now, it could go in many directions when talking about this team.

I could look at the health of Christian McCaffrey. Obviously, he's very important. Baker Mayfield, new spot, obviously. But look, I think it comes down to the head coach for me. How will Matt Ruhle handle the hot seat? Because he is definitely going to win on the hot seat.

He's got an owner who wants to win, and he wants to win yesterday. And so if this is now going to go south once more from Matt Ruhle, how will he handle that? If things do go in that direction, can he basically...

He's coaching for his job, so that's basically my point. Well, I guess the burning question that I would have plays into that is how will Baker Mayfield fare in his second act in Carolina? And will he perform so well there that that's going to be his team moving forward?

Is Carolina going to be his future home because he performs so well this year? But to me, the most burning question for that team, and again, it does play into how hot Matt Ruhle's seat could be, does Christian McCaffrey stay healthy? Can he stay healthy? Will he stay healthy?

That's the question. Because if he goes out again, and it's my man Shubha Hubbard, again, that gets the run there, and now I think things go south. Because as well as Baker Mayfield might play, and as much of the hold of the locker room he might take, and whatever leadership skills he does put on, he's going to be a put-on display that the rest of the locker room buys. I mean, McCaffrey gets hurt. That whole thing, I think, is just another non-playoff season in Carolina. That's the burning question for me there. Going down to 23, TJ, we talked about this back in April. Who won the first round of the NFL Draft? Oh boy. All right, get to your Jets burning question.

Go ahead. I would say either the Eagles or the Jets. Yeah, so number 23 on my list is the New York Jets. It's pretty simple, Rich. Will the talent all over the field translate to wins? That's really how it is. I guess. There is talent everywhere on this roster. This was respectful. I think you thought you were going to go at him. No, I didn't think that at all.

I think that is a great question. Will the talent all over the field translate to wins? The talent over the field also includes their quarterback. And the head coach.

Head coach is very talented as well. So that's just what I'm wondering. I think that is a spot on burning question about the New York Jets.

Will it translate to wins? And I am so not excited to see Joe Flacco week one against the Baltimore Ravens at all. I think they're going to eat him for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and spit him out. I saw that horrible interception he threw in the preseason at the end of it. It's just like, come on, man. You're in there instead of Mike White to avoid throws exactly like that.

You're supposed to be the vet who throws it away. But maybe it's just a preseason game and I'll chalk it up to that. What's your next burning question? Next is not too far off in this division, Rich. The New England Patriots at 22. And it's very simple.

We've been talking about it for months and months with everyone who comes on. Will this offense be able to score about 24 points a game to give the defense a chance? Are they going to be able to just put some points on the board? Because the defense should be again, you know, at the upper half of the league. And it's just going to the offense.

Keep pace. My question for you is 22, huh? You think you think the Patriots are that low on the list? I think when I just look at the roster and the, you know, the new coaches and all, you know, everything that's kind of going on with them, I think 22 is about right. They have pretty long Super Bowl odds. I mean, they're down there 40 to one. So it's not like Vegas thinks that they're among contenders. So I just think every team that I'm going to have ahead of them would beat them straight up in a game. Okay.

Yeah. And number 21, I have the New Orleans Saints. We know Jameis is back. Crystal Lave in the draft. Alvin Kamara. They've got weapons all over the place, but I'm looking at Michael Thomas.

Is Michael Thomas, we haven't seen him in two years. Is he going to have the same chemistry with Jameis that he had with Drew Brees? I think that's going to be the key to kind of unlocking this offense. And if Jameis is going to be the long-term guy there, is he going to have a great season? Is he going to build off the, you know, what he did to start last year before he got injured? He's going to need, he's going to need, he can't guard Mike.

And so are they going to have that chemistry? I absolutely understand why you would want to focus on a player of Michael Thomas's caliber coming off of an injury and how his ability to return to form is a key for the team, which it absolutely is. And Jameis at the quarterback, he can have a much better season to have Michael Thomas can't guard Mike back. But for me, the burning question of the New Orleans Saints is what does this team look like post Sean Payton? We've known one version of the New Orleans Saints since 2006, one version, and that's the one coached by Sean Payton, where he's just rolling dice and he is brash and he is leading his team from the offensive side of the ball on the field. And now you've got a coach who's a defensive minded guy. I mean, Cameron, Cam Jordan came on a couple of weeks ago and I asked, what's the difference? He goes, well, when the defense wins a play in practice, we don't run it again.

When I asked him what the difference is between Dennis Allen and Sean Payton, that's what he basically said. It's just like, okay, we can move on. It's supposed to run it again.

How does that all play out in game, outside of game, after losses, leading into a week off a win, all of that? I'm just keen to see it because we haven't seen it since 2006. That's just one way we've known it. All right. Burning questions. Well done.

Nicely done. The Saints down at 21. They're number two on my top five sleeper team list.

There's a lot of good teams. I'll tell you what, man. All right, let's take a break. When we come back here on the Rich Eisen Show, Otani Homer, judge didn't. Otani won the game last night with a Homer, judge didn't. And the Angels took two or three over the Yankees.

So Otani's the MVP, judge isn't. I got to say something about that. That's next on the Rich Eisen Show. Sound the trumpets. I'm coming out of the pen.

Timmy. Back here on our terrestrial radio. Talking about my open-toed shoe choice today.

I mean, we got people in Paris watching us, man. I think the phone lines are lighting up because you showed your feet. Push it out. All right, while we're on the subject of something here that's upsetting me greatly, upsetting me greatly.

I can't believe you did that. Shohei Otani is the best player in baseball. Yeah. The guy can shut you out one night and provide his own run support while doing so. He is a unicorn that does not make him the most valuable player in the Major League Baseball circuit.

Welcome to my side of the argument. It does not. He's the most outstanding player.

It does not. He's not the most valuable. I thought he was incredible last year and I would have voted for him last year as well because we hadn't seen what he did before. And it deserved that last year.

And I know Vlad deserved it. Dude, the most valuable players last year for the American League were all on teams that weren't going to make the playoffs. So if we're all in on that, then go ahead and give it to the guy who can pitch and hit.

Just because Otani had his 30th home run last night and beat the Yankees on a three-run shot taking Garrett Cole yard and Judge didn't does not mean that makes him above Judge the most valuable player. I am sorry. The Yankees are making the playoffs.

Heaven forbid they don't make it as the division winner, which is entirely possible now because they just had their worst month of baseball since Stump freaking Merrow in 91. I know. That's crazy.

Okay. They were the first team to 70 wins. They don't even have 80 right now. They had nine wins in August.

Terrible. They are blowing their lead. They're only five up in the loss on the Rays who they visit for three this weekend. But the Yankees are making the playoffs.

And the reason why they're even here is because of Aaron Judge, who is the most valuable player in the American League. Period. End of story. Full stop. Full stop.

Agreed. And while we're on the subject of Aaron Judge and things that piss me off. Here we go.

Here we go. The whole thing that Yankees didn't sign him. Yankees left him unsigned going into the year, which means he's so upset at the Yankees, so angry at him that he's leading them where they're leading him. And he's the darling of the fan base. And he's the darling of that locker room.

Better be the darling. You're seeing everybody thinking Judge is going to come to us. The Yankees are going to lose. Aaron Judge.

Hey, Met fans, enjoy your trumpets and your polar bear and your diagram and all of that stuff, because it is delightful and it is great. But hey, Schmucko, who takes your hard earned money and puts a judge name on the back of a Met jersey and shows up to the game. Schmucko. Schmuck on wheels, to use the phrase of Maury the Wigman from Goodfellas. What if his last name's Judge? You don't know, man.

Mason Schmucko. You're not getting him. He ain't coming. You're not getting him.

Steve Cohen might have more money than God. He's not getting him. Not happening. Told you, we're holding out for Otani. OK, you can keep fine. You can take him. Oh, please.

We will. You're not getting Aaron Judge multiple times. Apparently, there's multiple Met fans wearing Judge. Imagine you've got Alonzo. Yeah, you've got Diaz. You've got the Grom. You've got Scherzer.

Yeah. McNeil may be their best hitter. He is delightful. Martez, the man. All of a sudden, you know, you're going to spend two bills on the jersey. Thumbs up on Lindor.

You got many options. Vogelback is like he's the king. He has a walking cartoon.

The American dream. He is a fire hydrant with arms. He's like a baseball Frank Pollard.

Right. He's like taking an eye black from his nose to the back of his earlobe. I don't get that.

Running around. You should see it. Do you see the way he puts on eye black?

I thought, OK, that's my mistake. Honestly, he puts on eye black to a point where John Randle saying, what's he doing? So many options of your own. Stay out of my backyard. Judge ain't coming. Oh, Mr. Steve Cohen's going to pay all that money just because suddenly your owner isn't in debt up to his eyeballs. Yeah, swindled and also swindled. And suddenly, suddenly everybody's in play for Met fans like the nouveau riche. And to that point, Yankees.

Yankee. I saw. Did you see this? The Yankees bought a piece of AC Milan. Did you see that?

Yeah. Oh, it's like Lebron and Drake. AC Lebron.

The Yankees bought a piece of AC Lebron Milan for one point two billion dollars. Don't tell me you don't have the money to make sure Judge winds up anywhere. That's why he's going to leave your own locker room. They could have paid him and they'd rather buy a soccer stuff.

He's the MVP. He will be a Yankee for life. He ain't going to be a Met Mason schmuck on wheels. Imagine you take your hard earned money with all these incredible Mets for you to root for and you're going to show up to try and troll Yankee fans in your own backyard.

Just enjoy the trumpets and get a regular jersey. I would say your reaction to this is probably worth the 220 that he spent on that jersey. I guess Mason's the one who put the photo out. Might not be the name of that schmuck on wheels. Yeah, Mason took the picture. Maury the wig man I think was from Queens, right? He was in Queens.

Maury the wig man might have been a Mets fan. Yeah. Back in the day.

Yep. Maury was rooting for Ed Kranepool. Dave Kingman.

Dave Kingman. All right. Rusty, stop. I've said my piece. That photo enraged me so.

That's why I tweeted you immediately when I saw it. Look at that. Look at this dude.

Yeah. Look at that showing up. At least the other guy's got a can of jersey. Okay, that's another Met to root for. And there's a Lindor right there. Very good judge. 99 Met jersey. What are you thinking?

He's thinking how could I get on the Rich Eyes and show up. Well you made it. You made it. Congratulations.

What are you smoking bro? Give me something. Thank you. Puff puff pass. All right, Allen Dallas. I got about 30 seconds for you. I knew that my feet would get you calling him. What's up Al?

What do you got? Who let them dogs out? That's me. Nice Baja Men Mets reference. Nicely done. Oh my god. Thank you sir. John Rocco would love to see you on a seven train with those on.

I could say that. I would never wear them on a seven train. Al, it was for convenience and comfort not for the scorn of my friends.

There's a lot of things for convenience and comfort as we would need to walk out of the house with them. True knocking. All right Al. Thanks.

Judge is the MVP by the way. Thank you sir. I'm sorry I got to you at the very end of the show. Thanks for the call Al. There you go.

That's Allen Dallas. Amazing. Oh my god. All I got to do is show my feet in the phone lines. I told you.

Yeah. Kevin Hart is on Friday's edition of the Rich Eisen Show and more. Stay tuned for that on Friday. I'm still here. Tom in Washington will take your call. What's up Tom? My eyes Rich. What's up? My eyes.

What? Hey. Hey.

I'm an Indian alum. Tom. Big 10 country now. Tom. I cannot disrespect the Big 10 by sticking your Birkenstock clad feet on top of the desk.

That's gonna visit so much bad karma on the Big 10 in Michigan now. Uh oh. I don't think so. I don't think so.

You know why Tom? I've got a very nice pedicure. I did this the right way. I did it all by the book. Okay. I did. I did. I didn't show up with my feet like all sort of unwashed and ugly.

They're very very nice looking feet. I mean I've already gotten the call. Wow. Hold on a minute. Rex in New York. You're on the Rich Eisen Show. No he didn't call.

What the hell's going on? Thank you Tom. Appreciate it. There we go. All right I'm gonna show up in regular shoes tomorrow.

Oh thank god. Well you're your old dad hokas. Old dad hokas. By the way hokas are not only fashionable but you're the one who got up out of your seat.

Oh oh my god I've been sitting around so long. It's not easy. It's not easy. I know. Suddenly I'm wearing hokas and pickleball and this. All right.

You can swear on YouTube Rich. By the way everyone's calling right now. Should we just take the rest? Let's take this call real quick. By the way do we have to be off at 12? I mean yeah we do.

No we're testing. Can you dig it? I can dig it. All right that's it for this edition of the Rich Eisen Show.

We'll see you on Friday. 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 you know 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.