REShow: Doris Burke - Hour 2

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Try Dove Men Plus Care Dry Spray goes on dry clean feel all day. You were early on the tour train. This is the Rich Eisen Show.

Absolutely I'm on the tour train. We met him at Super Bowl, great kid. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles.

When I read Tyree Kill's comments, if he feels that way about Mahomes and Reed, how is he going to feel about this new situation when it doesn't invariably go very well? Today's guests ESPN NBA analyst Doris Burke, Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts, plus longtime sports columnist and author Rick Riley and now it's Rich Eisen. Our number two of the Rich Eisen Show is on the air. We're excited to talk to Doris Burke in about 20 minutes time. She's going to join us from Boston, Massachusetts side of the NBA Finals game number six tomorrow night.

She's calling it on ESPN radio. You know what I'd like to do? I'd like to have, maybe we can ask this of Rick Riley. He's a man of arts and letters and such, to use a phrase from the great movie Unforgiven.

He's got a new book out here, So Help Me Golf. Why, and this maybe a 30 for 30 is necessary on this. Why does the National Basketball Association's last round of the playoffs called the Finals and the NHL's last round of its playoffs is called the Stanley Cup Final? No S. You leave that off for savings. Well French Canadians don't use the S. Is that it?

Let's do that hockey. Is that what it is? I think so. So it's a Canadian thing? I mean think about some like I know some French Canadians and a lot of time they won't put an S at the end of a word that we would put. Right because that's their second language.

Yeah. So are you saying that the Stanley Cup is called Stanley Cup Final because they're using English as a second language? I'm not saying that. That would be phenomenal if that's the real reason. I'm just throwing it out there as maybe that could be the reason. You're blaming it on the French is basically. I wouldn't say blame. I wouldn't say that. Is that not a question you have the answer to then? That's correct.

All right. I don't have the answer to it and I'm asking. I'm asking. Could it possibly be? It's one of the commonly asked questions on Google.

Why is it called Final and not Finals? Yeah. It's a shrug emoji? Google even said try and Google it?

Is that what you're saying? There's no answer? Does anybody out there know? I'd love to know. Google said go to DuckDuckGo and see if you could find out. Google said Google told you to ask Jeeves, huh? By the way, remember Ask Jeeves? Remember you used to call a number? Would there be something you'd call? Yeah. They used to have hotlines that you could get information from.

Now you can't get a human being just to get a book of flight. Back in the day when I used to go out, you know, in the early 2000s, I used to tell girls that I created Ask Jeeves. I mean, did that work? I mean, what? That was your game? That was one of them. Hey, you know, exactly.

She's like, what do you do? I said, well, have you ever heard of Ask Jeeves? Well, yeah, well, you know, I created that and you had nothing to do with Ask Jeeves.

I don't think I ever used Ask Jeeves. Look, sometimes you did what you had to do when you were young in Hollywood. Very impressive.

Very, very impressive. And your best friends on People magazine is the most eligible bachelor on the planet beating Prince Harry. Like you got to do something to get him where you fit in. So was this game Ashton approved? Was this line Ashton approved? I mean, he didn't have to use lines, so he didn't really care. No, but he heard he had to know.

I probably didn't say it in front of him because he would throw me under the bus. Very good. Have we tap danced long enough for you to actually find on the internet the answer to this question? Okay, so the Chicago Tribune did a story about this in 2015. Damn. Okay. Okay.

The headline is Stanley Cup final NBA finals, which is correct. Okay. I don't know. I mean, I don't know if they really came to a conclusion. They talked to some guy. Nobody knows. So they had a quote here. Hold on, let me see.

Do I have to pay for this article? Frank Brown, the NHL's group vice president. By the way, I know Frank Brown. He's a good dude, man. So he was head of content integration. I think Frank used to write for the Daily News, too.

Like, he's a writer. Yeah. Okay, so here's what he said. He goes, it is a singular event, meaning the Stanley Cup final. Yes. It is a singular event comprised of a series of individual games. Yes.

While up to seven games may be played, each game is an individual piece. Yes. And together they comprise the final just as multiple slices comprise a pie. Wow, that's deep. That's deep, man.

Because you don't say pizza pies. You know what that is? Frank's saying, I don't have the answer. That's like three card money. Don't look at that card. Look at this card. Look at this hand. Don't look at that hand. That's impressive.

I hate three cards. The author of this article is Rhiannon Walker. Okay. She reached out to the NBA who could not find any officials who would explain or justify the polarization.

That's because they don't refer, if they referred to him as official, they'd have found one. I'd say let's just go with my French Canadian idea. I think TJ might be right. How about this one? How about this one?

How about this one? Yeah, I played with a lot of hockey players and that sounds... It's time for the final. The final, yeah. It's time for the final.

It's time for the final. All right, so she talked to a University of Chicago linguistics professor. Yes.

A man named Chris Kennedy. Yes. And he said both forms are grammatically correct. Final is a noun that has both singular and plural forms.

Of course, it is okay to use it either way. I will tell you this. I prefer final. That's it. Because if you say it's the NBA finals, are there multiple ones?

Right? It's my issue with saying the Ohio State University as if we're totally confused what you're referring to. It's not at Ohio State University. And there are different directional schools within the, like for instance Michigan, that school up north as you folks in Ohio refer to. And I have no problem referring to your school's name. There's University of Michigan at Dearborn. There's University of Michigan at various other parts of the the great state of Michigan. But we don't say it's the University of Michigan. Why don't you? Because we all know it.

Okay. Which we all know we're referring to the school in Ann Arbor, you know. It's like the, you know, Ohio State University. We know who you are. We get it.

We're not confused with another Ohio State University. My point is this, is what I'm saying. What's your point, Rick? My point is this, is that finals, it's not like there's multiple NBA finals, right? It's not like it comprises it. I kind of, I'm agreeing with the French Canadians and I'm agreeing with the cup. It's the Stanley Cup final. Well, like the Super Bowl is a final. There's no game. It's not like, hey, let's go play the Super Bowls.

It's only one game. The World Series. It's the World Series. You want to call it the World Series?

Well, the French do. By the way, there was a player, I believe, what team is he on? I forget because Koopa and I are just watching non-stop on the MLB app.

Non-stop games. There is a player named Siri. Oh, really?

S-I-R-I. And I said to Koopa, I said, should we ask him a question? It's one of those dad moments. Big dad joke.

Big dad joke. Do you ask him a question? Do you ask him a question? Does Siri have the answer right now? So sure enough, Koop grabs the remote and he presses the microphone button.

And I'm like, no, like we're not really asking. That actually happened the other day. That's amazing. All right, here we go. Kathy in Philadelphia.

Of course, we knew you would be interested in this nonsense. How you been? Kathy, we smoked you out. We haven't heard you in forever.

What's going on? I know. I know. It's, you know, it is.

And so I'm trying to get used to the Bills being the team to beat and I'm trying to process that mentally so I can't come to go. Understood. You know, understood. And also it's painful being a Phillies fan, so I can't make fun of TJ.

You know, there's only but so many things I can call about. I got you. And even though my Rangers are not part of the Stanley Cup final this year. So a few years ago and I don't know the accuracy of this, but a few years ago they asked higher ups in the NHL why it is a final. And the answer was that the event is the final. And each game is part of the event. So even though there could be up to seven games in the final round, the event itself, those seven games are best of seven, are the final.

So technically the NBA has it wrong in calling it the finals because there's only one round in the final. Thank you very much, Kathy. I appreciate it. Appreciate it. There you go.

That's Kathy in Philadelphia chiming in because that makes complete sense. I love grammar. It's final exams, right? It's not finals exam. Well, you're taking your finals.

I've heard both. Well, you're taking your finals because you're probably taking more than one for more than one class. Right, right, right, right. But if you're saying each game is its own, then the collective is the finals. Or it's the final round.

Well, as the linguistics professor explained, both are correct. Or it's the final countdown. I think that professor's a moron. You want me to get him on? Nah. Sean in Pennsylvania is on. What's going on, Sean?

Hey, Rich. Love the show. Thanks for taking my call. Thanks for making it. Yeah.

Hey, just a just a quick comment. I think it's just more in how it sounds. NBA kind of being understood as a plural type collective group of players. So if you say NBA finals, sounds a lot better, whereas cup is like a singular noun.

I know I was listening to him, to the conversation, and grammatically, they're probably both correct. But I think it's more of just how it sounds, right? You wouldn't say cup finals, you would say cup final.

So I think it's just more how it sounds. Stanley Cup final sounds a whole lot better to the ears than NBA final does. Okay, because if it was named the Larry O'Brien, like if we referred to it as in the trophy, right? So it would be Larry O'Brien final would be better than Larry O'Brien finals, is what you're saying?

Yeah, just, I mean, exactly, right? I mean, if the NFL were a series as opposed to one final game for a championship, right? And they called it the Vince Lombardi finals, that wouldn't sound right, they would call it the Vince Lombardi final. So to me, it's kind of a similar argument. This sounds a whole lot better to say NBA finals versus NBA final. And the cup final makes a whole lot of sense. Thank you, Sean.

Greatly appreciate it. Great conversation, everybody. Great conversation, everybody. Is this the time that I should remind everybody that it's kind of crazy now that both finals and final have started, that one final is named after the trophy. Lord Stanley, whose cup is being handed out, it's the Stanley Cup final. It's not the NHL final, right?

It's kind of odd. It's the only one where, for instance, we don't call the Super Bowl the Vince Lombardi final. Or the NFL finals.

Right. We call it the Super Bowl. And it's not in baseball, Major League Baseball finals. It's the World Series, goes way back forever.

Right now, if they named it after, it would be a piece of metal final. You knew where I was going on that. Now I telegraph everything, according to Chris Brockman. Now you know what it's like to live with me every day. So there's that. And just a time to remind everybody that Larry O'Brien was the head of the Democratic National Committee, whose office got broken into by the Watergate burglars. And then he became the commissioner of the NBA. That is the Larry O'Brien after whom the NBA's finals trophy is named.

Unbelievable. Watergate history. Honestly, should they change it to the David Stern trophy? Well, that would be an offense to the O'Brien family. But when you talk about when you talk about greatest commissioners in the history of the sport. And sports in general. He's one of the best.

He basically single-handedly, with the help of Magic and Michael and Larry, got the NBA to where they are today. Say it's all about the Stern? Going for the Stern? You know? Stern doesn't have anything named after him?

I didn't even think about that. Wow. Well, I mean, he just passed away about a year ago, right? Plus? No, it was 20. It was right before Kobe, right? I don't remember. I believe so.

That started off a weird year, man. How about that? I think it could. I guess.

A little traction. All right, great coverage of the NBA finals. And the Stanley Cup final. I got a bunch of family cup finals.

I got a final bet tonight in case anyone wants one. So now I know you're referring to hockey. We're playing hockey tonight. It's about hockey.

Here's what I like tonight. Tampa starts off slow in series. They were down 0-2 to the Rangers, right?

Yes. And while the Avalanche have had nine days off, they're well rested and they're at home and they're big favorites. So if you want to take Avalanche to win tonight by more than one and a half goals and you want to parlay that. They scored half goals in hockey? What do you mean? I don't know what you mean by that. They cut the puck in half and then shoot it at the net?

I've never seen that. Avalanche to win by two or more and then tack on Nathan McKinnon to light the lamp tonight. You can get about three to one odds on that. Just throwing that out there. So that's good.

In case anyone wants to make a little hockey scratch. That's good? When you say that three to one odds are good?

That would be good. That's high ROI, Rich, as we like to say. Okay. That's a return on investment.

See, again, your terms confuse me. There's only one guy in this set and there's anything really about hockey. And that's you? No, it'd be Feller. Hoskins is a huge hockey guy.

What do you think of his gambit then? Yeah, go for it, man. Thank you. Well, when Wyatt Russell was here, we were so close to hitting on that. Remember, the Oilers lost in overtime.

We had hit every other leg on that one. You see, Rich, I was trying. Sorry, Chris, I was trying to do the John Stockton thing. I'm trying to set Jay Feller up because he knows hockey. He's played hockey. He's gone through the pains and agony.

And I'd love to see. That's why you shouldn't talk. I was looking up how to say finals in French. It's finalist.

So the whole S theory went out the window. That was like 10 minutes ago, man. I'm a little slow. I'm in Del Tufo. By the way, you pronounced it like it was Spanish. You don't pronounce the S in France. That was a bad idea. In French, you don't do that. He's right.

The French don't. It's all silent S's. Well, there went that theory on my half. Great stuff, guys. We're all over it.

Wow. So let's turn to Doris Burke for a little bit more germane pertinent information on the NBA finals game six tomorrow night. What a, by the way, what a day in Boston tomorrow, huh? US Open tee off NBA finals game six. And the Red Sox will hopefully for you go to seven games over 500. Let's keep it going. That's right. It's only June 15th. Tonight the Yankees go for 30 games above 500. Oh, dang. Yeah.

These, by the way, these are facts. They try to go 46 and 16 tonight. That's ridiculous. Again, again, still waiting for you guys to accept New York or the field.

Just any time you're willing to say yes. I don't bet. Neither do I.

Neither do I. You're the one who shows, you're the one who shows up with a cash t-shirt, but you only see the words as let's take a break. Doris Burke. We will say hello to Doris when she joins us next from the site of the NBA finals.

Back here on the Rich Eisen Show, 844, 204 Rich being the number to dial. Well, we were all huge fans of hers. And she is calling the NBA finals on ESPN radio with Marc Kastisher at the play-by-play, PJ Carlessimo also on the mic with analysis. And she is just dynamite when she talks hoops and she makes us smarter. And we love having her on this program. I believe it's her first foray on this show on the Mercedes-Benz Vans phone line from Boston, Massachusetts, from the worldwide leader in sports, the great Doris Burke. How you doing Doris?

I am superb. Getting a little bit fatigued from the back and forth between coasts, but the series has been worth it. That's for sure. No question about it.

I totally agree with you on it. I have thoroughly enjoyed watching these finals as they currently are playing out. What would you say is the difference maker through the first five games entering game six of these finals?

Doris? I think I'd point to the play of the respective stars. And I try to remember, as I call these games, Rich, that there is 10 years difference and six finals experience difference between Jason Tatum and Stephen Curry.

And I think for Jason, two things are in play. The deeper this wears on, obviously inexperience, but also then fatigue, I think contributing to some of his turnovers. And we talk all the time, Rich, about, you know, you have to have great physical and mental stamina to play against Stephen Curry. And we're talking about when you're guarding. I think what's getting overlooked is the level of defense being played by the Golden State Warriors. So I think many things, obviously, but I look directly to the best players between these two teams. And what would you say, I kind of touched upon this with your colleague, Jeff Van Gundy, also calling these finals for the worldwide leader. I touched upon it with him yesterday about the Celtics reactions to some of these calls and how on the fourth quarter, you could really point to their demeanor and say that that was part of their downfall in game five, Doris. A hundred percent. And I think it goes back even further than that because I had the Eastern Conference Finals as well.

I had part of their Milwaukee series. And Rich, to me, that's immaturity as well. And far too often, listen, it's team-wide. And I've had this discussion. I've actually talked to Jason Tatum's mom, his trainer, Drew Hanlon. I said, you know, your son is incredibly talented. And I, you know, listen, there's frustration because I don't think necessarily he gets a lot of calls. But every time you throw your hands up in the air for that second and a half that your hands are in the air, Golden State is sprinting in the other direction, getting five on four and four on threes. And listen, they're human and all of us are human.

They're reacting to you showing them up. And I think it's the finals. Like maybe in round one, two and three, you can get past, you can get over with that, but not against this Golden State Warrior team who is so dangerous in transition. These half court defenses are so good. Both of these teams are well below their offensive rating in the half court, in the regular season, in the early rounds, because that's how high level this is.

And all of those momentary mistakes because of your frustration is absolutely putting you at a deficit. And Andrew Wiggins has come to the fore, certainly in games four and five, a combined stat line of 43 points and 29 rebounds. He has been all that plus the biscuit that the Timberwolves thought he could be when they drafted him first overall in 2014 out of Kansas.

Where do you think this is coming from, Doris? Yeah, I have to be honest with you. It just gives me great joy. And I'm going to tell you unequivocally that when he was in Minnesota, I could be critical of him. You know, you get captivated by this guy's physical tools athletically, but then the basketball skill set as well, the shot making, the tough twos that are always so critical in these environments. Listen, he's the one guy who can go and get his own when the beautiful game or Steph's pick and roll is not working. And there were moments where I thought the weight of a couple of his shots were truly extraordinary and I thought took some of the wind out of the sales of Boston. And it's great, right? I go back to when he arrived in Minnesota.

I think he was 19 years old, Rich. I'm not a hundred percent sure. And some of the criticism was warranted. We questioned whether he cared deeply about the game, how passionate was his competitive heart, but boy, oh boy, isn't it like wonderful to see someone who had come through so much perform on this stage and live up to all the physical gifts he has. And listen, you know, we talk about Boston's defense. Gary Payton, the second and Andrew Wiggins and Draymond Green are influencing their ability to win games with what they're doing defensively. To see Andrew Wiggins get down in the stands and contest and contain and pressure Jason Tatum into some of these turnovers.

This is something else to watch. Doris Burke joining us from Boston, Massachusetts, where she and the rest of the ESPN radio crew will be calling game six for those of us who need to listen to it, want to listen to it on ESPN radio, joining me here on the Rich Eisen show. All right, so let's talk about game six and what to expect. I guess it's been 234 games since we've seen Steph react to not making a three.

So it's been a while. I don't know if we have a frame of reference on how he might show up to game six. We know Clay better bring his earmuffs because the f-bombs might be coming from every seat in TD Garden on Thursday night. What are you expecting, Doris, in this one? Yeah, well, just so you know, Rich, I have tried to predict every game and I've been wrong every single time. So what's your level of expectation?

How about that? We'll soften the prediction business here for you. Listen, yeah, so the one thing about the Celtics is we have to remember they were 20 and 21. They were really hard to watch.

They hadn't figured anything out. And for them to have overcome that level of adversity, for them to win a road game against a Miami team that gives no quarter, to win in seven against Giannis Antetokounmpo and all the pressure he can put on you, I expect a great response. I expect a nasty environment. And I would say, see if you're going to make me pick.

No, no, no, you don't have to pick. I'm just saying, like, what do you think the adjustment, well, you know, the adjustments of each coach is going to try and make and certainly what they've been trying to do over the last five games and how you think, you know, game six might be just an extension of that, just the organism that is the NBA Finals. Yeah, I mean, I think for the Boston Celtics, and I'm going to pick the Boston Celtics just because why not go out on the limb about being wrong?

Okay. I do expect Jason Tatum to sustain the level that he, you know, performed at in terms of his scoring because I just think he's that good. And I think they'll do a better job of sort of, you know, continuing to be patient and move the basketball. I'm not saying they're not going to turn it over. It is who the Celtics are. They're going to turn it over some, but I do think that they're going to be a little bit more consistent, play with a level of offensive force, get the pieces moving. At their best, the Boston Celtics are a multi drive and kick, keep moving it, change sides of the floor offense. And listen, it's going to bog down at times, but I think they'll be able to sustain it. And I think they win. And what Stephen Curry does is fascinating to me because does he, you know, follow up a tough game with more shot making?

I don't expect him to not make a three, but I do wonder if Boston's defenses is maybe having a long-term effect because we've seen that in the past where over the course of the series, it does take its toll. Doris Burke here on the Rich Eisen Show. Again, game six on ESPN radio. Check it out with Doris Marquez to share PJ Carlos was one of my favorite people on planet earth. And you, I mean, that must be so much fun.

He's the absolute best, the best. I mean, you've worked with a ton of amazing people. Doris, you got a good Hubie Brown story for me in any way, shape or form.

You know, Rich, you know, we are lucky to interact with these athletes who are incredible and can be all inspiring. I was a college student and I was actually Rick Pitino's nanny when he was transitioning between, um, uh, the Knicks assistant job and the Providence head coaching job. I don't get in awe of anybody, but I grew up in Nixon and Hubie called the house. Rick was away recruiting, uh, Hubie was going to pick Joe in Rick's wife up for, I don't know, a picnic or something. And I could barely speak on the phone because Hubie Brown had called the Pitino residence. That's how in awe of Hubie I am and remain. And I'll say this to you. You know, I work with incredible colleagues cause there's plenty about the NBA over the course of covering it that I didn't understand that I needed explanation. Why this coverage?

What does this terminology mean? And to their everlasting credit, Hubie Brown, Jetha and Mark Jackson, name and analyst, they have answered every question I've had. And I've, I've always so appreciated it from all of them. Well, Hubie created the lexicon, did he not? Like he's, he's the one who created most of the words that everybody uses when referring to the floor, the painted, I assume you spoke to him from the painted area of the Pitino residence when you answered the phone back in the day. And what people don't know is like the greatest joy of, of, of part of this is the dinners you've had, we've had with Hubie over the years because his stories go back to the ABA, the wild, crazy days of the, you know, the ABA, and then him coming over to the NBA. I don't know if people understand, Rich, that there's no human being alive who has affected more generations on every continent than Hubie Brown.

Think about all the teaching he did with all the clinics overseas and his passion for the game at 80 plus years old. He, he's a marvel. He is an absolute marvel. So who was your Nick when you say you were a Nick fan growing up, Doris? Yeah, I love Bernard King, you know, before, before Bernard King's knee injury, the NBA had nothing for him. And Hubie tells me this, you know, one of the things he would say to me as you're trying to learn the NBA game is, you know, who is your best player and what are you doing to get him his shots in the areas on the floor that he was most comfortable? Well, for Bernard, that was the low box and send what you may at him, forget about it if you tried to check him, because I'm telling you at his best, this guy was a bad man.

Oh, well, number 30, anytime I see another Nick wearing it, it's, it's, it's bizarre to me, Doris. Bernard King was my guy. I mean, I don't know if you could hear, I audibly reacted when you said the name Bernard King. That was my guy, too. That was my good- I'm glad we have something in common that gives me great joy.

Oh, many things. I mean, you must, you also have a better jumper than me, but I, I attempted, you know, the baseline, he would turn to the baseline from the lower box, and then just his shot, he would, he would make it from the baseline, turning around, didn't matter which way, which box, his turnaround jumper to the baseline was, was lethal, lethal. He had high hips and a big backyard, and listen, a big backyard is a good thing as a basketball ball.

Oh, I thought you were referring to my actual backyard where I was missing those jumpers as a child, which is, caused me to talk about it more and more. I mean, my gosh, yeah, I just remember those battles, Hubie in the old, I guess what, Joe Louis Arena against the Pistons and Trepuka and Isaiah before the bad boys. Those, those were the, those were the Knicks teams that I thought when Bernard was teamed up with Patrick Ewing would win championships, and of course, Bernard was just never healthy to make that happen, you know. And thus the long-suffering Knicks fans that we are. Yes, indeed. Yes, indeed.

So, I just want to ask you one story that a lot of people are talking about, Doris Burke, before I let you go on this day. What is your, what are your two cents on the story, it's not a story, he said it, Anthony Davis not picking up a basketball since he said April 5th. What do you, what do you think of that?

Yeah, I was shocked. I mean, with the level of underperformance of that team, the, the mighty struggles, and I know they didn't play much together, but you are a part of the storied organization. I don't, what I don't understand is, why would you say it? I mean, if it's true, why would you open yourself up to the criticism of that, and the fact that you, I mean, is it because he's not healthy?

I don't know, I, here's the thing, and I, and I think it might have been Grant Hale, forgive me, I can't remember who was the first to say this. This is a top five talent when he is passionate and healthy and cares. If this is a sign that you don't care, that's problematic, because you are wasting extraordinary basketball ability. I, I was absolutely stunned, Rich.

What, can you tell me your reaction to it? Well, I mean, again, that is a similar thought that I had, Doris, that, that it is an indication, if you don't know him, and I don't, personally, that, that he, he doesn't, he doesn't care, because the sense is that you get in the gym no matter what, right? I mean, Steph Curry, when he's done with the night, goes and he works out for an hour after he's dropped 40 on a team, and I, I, that, that seems to me an indication of working on your craft, that you're the best, arguably, that's ever shot the ball in the history of the game, and you need to work on your body, on yourself, and that Anthony Davis hasn't touched a basketball does give an indication that he may not love it, like he's not a grinder, right? Right, greatness, greatness requires a price and a toll, and sometimes it's, it's an unhealthy pursuit, sometimes, in terms of, like, the commitment required, maybe unhealthy's the wrong word, but sacrifice is certainly appropriate, and that is what strikes me about Steph Curry, like, to watch, to watch teams target this guy, as they did early in his career, and see his physical transformation. Here, Draymond Green, when I spoke to him earlier in the year, talk about he's the first guy in the weight room before practice, and after he leaves, he's the last guy out. LeBron James, watch LeBron James, you know, compete in a, in a conference finals game, or finals game, and then be lifting the dumbbells with Mike Mancias in the back room after a game.

It's, it, the greatness comes at a price, and, you know, no, like, Giannis Antetokounmpo, the guy remains hungry, even though he's one of the most dominant forces in the game, and he continues to work on his game. I don't, I was shocked he said it, and I fear what it represents. Yeah, it set off an alarm bell with you, right? No doubt, no doubt. Doris, thanks for the time. You know, I know you, you, you think there might be a game seven that means more travel for you, so, you know, hydrate, and, and enjoy every second of it. You got a great front row seat. We're listening. We, we love, we love listening to you. We think you're terrific. That's not the royal we, that's the entire crew here on the show, and I hope this is the first of many conversations you and I can have. I would look forward to it. I've been a fan, as I told you, from back at your ESPN days, and I thank you so much for having me. Right back at you, at HeyDB, Doris Burke on Twitter, I follow her, you should, as well, at Doris A. Burke on Instagram. Joining us from the NBA Finals right here on the Rich Eisen Show.

Just a complete delight, a complete delight. We didn't discuss this yesterday, Anthony Davis, saying that he hasn't touched a basketball since early April. Yeah, you know, it's really funny. I think he really heard the criticism because yesterday, video of him working out.

Yeah. So there's a, there's a Instagram co-basketball coach, the guy's name is Lethal Shooter, and he was working out with Anthony Davis yesterday. So I think he kind of, either he said that, maybe LeBron called him up, or, see, the problem is, and we have Darvin Ham on the show tomorrow. Can't wait to talk with him.

And I'm sure he will refute what, what I'm about to say. But anybody who loves it and eats it and breathes it and can't get enough of it, doesn't take a break from it for two months. Not that long of a break. I didn't think it was a big deal, but we asked John Salley on Monday, because that's when the story broke. John Salley was like, yeah, that's kind of weird. That's weird. Yeah. It's weird. Especially when LeBron is like posting Instagram lives with his kids shooting in the driveway. Just anything, not even just a casual shot, you know, for Anthony Davis.

A few things about that, right? We don't know when that video was filmed. L came from a video that posted.

It was like one of these random videos. He was talking to a guy and he said, I haven't shot since, I don't know, April 5th. So we don't know. So we just assume it came out that day. We assumed it was a weekend, I guess.

What if that was in May and that thing was filmed? If that's what it was, then he should refute it. His name is being mentioned. She said it gives off the impression of not caring, which is not something I've ever heard associated with Anthony Davis. Look, if you are a professional basketball player, you shouldn't go two months without touching a basketball if you're physically able to do it.

Yeah. But the thing about Anthony Davis is we're not the concern with Anthony Davis has never been. Can he put the ball in the hole?

It's about how can you stay healthy? So what if he's not shooting basketball? What if he's out like rehabbing? What if he's getting his body right?

Like, I feel like you get to a point where, all right, you've been shooting that ball your entire life. Two months to me doesn't seem like that big of a deal. If he's doing other things to get himself. If he's not, then yeah, that's an issue.

I don't think he's sitting on the couch just watching movies. I'm not saying that. What I'm saying is I don't know of a single quarterback that spends two months without grabbing the football. I don't know. I don't know of a right single baseball player that would go two months without just grabbing a glove.

Yeah, pick up a bat. Just doing something. I mean, we say this, but do we really know? Like, no, I don't. We're assuming, but you don't know.

It's definitely an eyebrow razor to say what's up with that. Certainly when last year was a total complete unmitigated Lakers disaster, as we've all described it, one of the worst seasons in the history of the Los Angeles Lakers. And you'd want to, I would assume, get back in the gym right away. Say what you will about Westbrook. He probably doesn't go two minutes without picking up a basketball.

You know? Seriously. Say what you will about LeBron. And everybody says that about him, but he probably doesn't go two seconds without thinking about it.

He probably works out every day. We'll talk about it with Darvin Ham on tomorrow's program. That'll be right around this time when we're speaking to him. Are we going to go pick Darvin up, by the way? We got a hit on that. Let's hit on that, because we have a great idea. Yeah, we have a great idea.

Dave Kelly may not think so, but we have a great idea. Oh, and we also have a new fantasy team name. Rick Pitino's nanny.

I wrote it down immediately. Rick Pitino's nanny. Daris Burke. Rick Pitino's, the Pitino family nanny.

Back in the 80s. Or as I just tweeted out, Bernard King's high hips. That could be a fan. Bernard's big backyard. That's my next year's fantasy team name. Bernard's big backyard. Yes, I'm calling it. What did I call the other one? I don't know, man. I mean, I'm the Bernard King fan here.

That is true. I'll defer to you. When he had back to back 50s, when he had back to back 50 point games on a Texas road swing, I think he made back to back covers of Sports Illustrated.

And I remember when he was on the cover of Sports Illustrated, that was a big day for me. Bernard King is your Dr. J, so I will let you have it. I appreciate that. Bernard's big backyard.

I don't know. I might have to keep my team don't trade for Giannis. How do I switch up my championship team name?

If I win the fantasy and real NBA competitions, yeah, it'll be great. Meanwhile, the Yankees go for 30 games above 500 tonight, so it'll be great. And this is in addition to your Michigan, your Ohio State, your Notre Dame. Oh, folks in Canton, Ohio, get ready. Get ready.

A jacket dinner is going to be lit this year. First time I'm hosting that coming off of Michigan, went over Ohio State. They're going to have to literally drag me out of there. They might have to... We might have to get... I would say all the offensive linemen in the room protecting me, but Orlando Pace is one of those guys. He might let a few defenders past him. Yeah, security might be... He might fall for a swim mover too. All right, we'll take a break right here on the Rich Eisen Show.

There's something about Darvin Ham that I don't know. It's being discussed. That'll be next here on the show before Kyle Pitts and Rick Riley join us in Studio Hour number three. ST Driver, Rogue ST Drivers, there's one to suit your game, that is for sure. There is the Rogue ST Max, which is incredible.

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Find your Rogue ST Driver at CallawayGolf.com. Coming up on Hour number three, Kyle Pitts will join us from the Atlanta Falcons. And he had a terrific first season. I don't think he scored a touchdown in America yet.

His one touchdown was against the Jets in London. I think you're right about that. So we got to get him on the domestic pay dirt list, right? And Rick Riley will be joining us in studio. His new book, So Help Me Golf. Lots to talk about in the world of golf right now, and Rick is the perfect guy to do it. That's what we call perfect timing for a guest. Darvin Ham is on the program tomorrow. He's slated to call in. Now, does he know he's right around the corner? I'm not sure. I don't think so.

The Lakers facility, Lakers, Lakers facility. Two blocks. Well, it's more than two, but less than six.

We'll say that. We can get door to door walk if the lights are with you. Less than five minutes. Yeah, easy.

Five to seven minutes. Between here and their El Segundo home. Correct. It's literally right down the street. So, I mean, if he's got nothing better to do, he could walk here. He could.

And then walk back. He's on at 1 20 Eastern, 10 20 a.m. here locally. If he's got it by 1 10, he could do it. He could. If he's got an 11 a.m. meeting at the facility, he could be back for it and walk there. Or we could send him a car, even send him a, which, by the way, is the most Los Angeles thing to do, is to send someone a car for a 60 second ride.

But we really want him in the studio. If you send him a car, you make a, this is the Californians, you make a left, right? It's Nash out here, I think.

Or is it Douglas? You make a left and then another left and a right. And you're here. Now, here's the deal. We could do, we could send a car or.

Yes. We had a great idea. We have a great idea. Adam's in the back. So Adam will take Darwin's phone call.

Our call screener. So what if, and we all drive very nice, respectable cars. However, one of us has a really nice car. Jay Felley drives a Maserati.

Yeah, I saw that today. So what if we have Adam take Jay Felley's Maserati and just drive right down the street and pick up Coach Ham? Be hard for him to say no to that. And if he's hungry in and outs right there, too. So Darwin be like, yeah, it's right at lunchtime.

I had to be like, Coach, I got you. We'll hit the in and out and we'll drive right to the studio. What if Ham is a vegan? Can you be a vegan if your last name is Ham? I don't think so.

OK, I digress. So do we do we literally have our staff call the Lakers and say, offer it up. We've got a Maserati. Yes. Here's what we call a rich eyes and show Maserati.

Has it been detailed recently? No, Adam can do that while he's out. Well done. But he's got to answer the phone. You got to answer the phone. He has a function.

You can take care of the detailing. How many phone calls do you think we're getting? I mean, we get enough, but it's a quick drive from here to there. What, you leave people on hold? Sure.

People stay on hold for hours. They can wait 10 minutes for us to go pick up Coach Ham. Is your is your car suitable enough? It is. But I like that the guy who's offering my car up has the front end of his on the desk over there.

Yeah, we already know. I mean, I had some issues. He was just sitting there and the guy in front of him forgot he put the car in reverse and just slammed right into him when he thought he just was going straight ahead. And he went right back. So my back is killing me right now. I don't know how they say no. Adams, here's what here's how we term it.

And unfortunately, we've let the cat out of the bag. The Rich Eisen show Maserati will pick you up. The shows the show Maserati Maserati will come and pick you up. It goes 185 just so you're aware. Oh yeah.

If you go zero to 60, you could be here in 60. Yeah. Do we have Adam put like a black tie and a coat on? Yes, and a hat and a hat and gloves.

And I think that's a lot for him. Driving gloves. You know, gloves for sure goes. You want the white glove? He should dress like he's an extra and Arthur. Brockman's laughing. He's never seen Arthur.

I have actually seen Arthur. Great idea, guys. Great idea, guys.

Great idea. Yeah, you just deltufoed the music there. What were you doing? You guys, back him off. You got him off his game.

He's like freaking out like the newest coach, the Laker. He's going to be sitting shotgun in his Maserati or well, he's in the back. He can't be up front without him. Do you have a back seat or is it a two door? It's small.

It's there. There's a back seat. I've been in them. I've actually driven the car before.

It's plush. I'm sure. Yeah, I'm sure. Darvin Ham's a big guy.

Six, seven. Yeah, he's got to be up front. TJ, you got to go up front. Darvin Ham, member of the 723 Club.

Oh yeah. Or we share a birthday with him. He has to come in now. He has to come in. Now we need a picture. That didn't work when you met Nomar. Hey, we have the same birthday.

He thought you were weird. No, but I call it the Lakers and say, Coach Ham's got to come in. I won't lead with that.

Coach Ham's got to come in. Why? Because he shares a birthday with two of you guys. Yeah, we won't lead with that. We'll be out the door.

Hey, oh, by the way, we have the same birthday. Yeah, I mean, coach could be begging the astrological signs and that might be the thing that gets in the cone. I think we need to workshop this. We don't have time, Rich. He's going to be on the phone. By the time we figure this out, he'll be on the phone. He is just down the street, though. The Lakers have no excuse. I mean, it's so close.

Yeah. Unless he's calling in from his home. Maybe he's...

Which is possible, but he just got hired. Does he have a home? He's in the office. You know what he's doing? Picking up a basketball.

Grinding tape. He's picking up a basketball. He's over there right now. He didn't even get that. He's probably there right now. Picking up a basketball, I heard you.

Somebody on his team hasn't done in two months. Why do you think I'm not paying attention? Because you don't. Sometimes I look over at you and you're looking at your phone. Yeah, but I don't have to stare at you to hear it. My ears work.

I can look at something else, and my ears are still working. Darvin Ham, one of the best Sports Illustrated covers ever. Darvin Ham, the only coach in the history of the NBA who shattered a backboard. We think. We think.

You think? We can't confirm. I don't know that Bill Russell never shattered one. And I'm pretty sure Steve Kerr... Oh, you mean the entire history of the NBA?

I can't figure it out. Oh, you think he's the first? You think he's the only?

Well, how many people can shatter backboards? It has to be either Darrell Dawkins or Shaq or... I had coaches. Jerome Lane, did he ever coach? Send it in, Jerome. Yeah, so... We might need that as a drop. Send it in, Jerome? Yeah. I don't know who it would be, but it's just... Even when one of us says something and dunks verbally on the other, that's a new drop.

Just any rafter makes me smile anyway. Kyle Pitts, Rick Riley, hour three. 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.