What’s More Likely?

This is the Rich Eisen Show. You're not going to like it, but the call on the ice was correct.

No ball. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. We've got the Jordan rules, they're calling out from now on as long as I'm here in the Patrick Mahone room.

Elbows, feeling them, we touched them, we're in the head mentally, physically, emotionally. This is part of the reason why he's the coach right now. Earlier on the show, NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero, co-host of Six Trophies podcast. Jason Concepcion. Coming up, Academy Award nominated actor Jeffrey Wright. And now it's Rich Eisen.

That's a fact. Welcome to our number three of this Friday program. Getting ready for a big weekend in my world. My son Cooper is getting bar mitzvahed this weekend.

Hey, Cage turns four on Sunday. Oh, that's nice. You trying to top my son's big bar mitzvah?

Is that what you're trying to do? No, I'm just saying they're both taking place this weekend. Oh, that's what I'm saying is our boys, our boys.

So you're going to have to be excited for me also. I'm sorry. I should just, I'm sorry.

I should, I should already know we were talking about, you know, boys based off of the Major League Baseball uniform conversation we just had. Congratulations. Thank you.

That would have been great if to the Eastern Conference you scored the most points. Mazel tov. Well, congratulations. This is great.

Here's some see-through pants. My gosh. But anyway, happy birthday to your, your boy Cage. Coop as well. And Coop is getting bar mitzvahed this week. It's going to be, it's going to be great. Be exciting.

844-204 Rich numbers dial if you wish. Jason Concepcion. We had a great chat about the Association's return from, from an all-star break as well as some pop culture conversation. And speaking of pop culture, Jeffrey Wright, the Academy Award-nominated actor for his role in American Fiction is making his way to our studio. He will join us in studio hour number three of this program.

Great chat in hour number one with our friend Tommy P, Tom Pelsaro. As soon as he, as soon as he hung up from the Zoom. What do you, do you hang up from the Zoom?

Is it what you do? Just log off. The exit. Stop it. Stop it. Stop the Zoom.

When you stop the Zoom. Disconnect. The National Football League made an announcement. $255 million is the salary cap. That is a, that is a record.

Wow. That is a record and you could see how it's gone up. You know, and I know the collective bargaining agreement, the Players Association wasn't terribly happy with it from 2011.

And then the reconfigure, the reconfiguration of it, to use the Midnight Run phrase. I mean, the cap is two and a half. I mean, what is it? Well, I shouldn't do the math from the top of my head. It's, it's, it's up.

It's up a lot. $255 million was $224 million last year. It was $208 million two years ago. It was $182.5 million in 2021.

Yeah, Adam Schefter posted a graphic in 1994. It was a hair under $35 million. Wow.

It's 13.6% itself. So, business is booming and the players are going to benefit from it, we hope, and hope that this means the veterans that are out there, that they are able to stay on rosters. That's the whole idea here. Don't just give it to the top X percent of the league and then the rookies get it and then the veterans get squeezed.

I would love to see guys who are in this league, 8, 10, 12 years, continue to keep going what they're doing. Sorry. Was that your boat guy? What was that? No, he, no, I'll tell you what it is. I'll tell you what it is. Hey, Michael. It was a voicemail that he accidentally hit.

And his phone's on because, and his microphone's on, which is what sound guys should have their phones on and microphones on. All good. It's all, it's fine. It's a Friday, so it's time to do our usual drill here. It's time for What's More Likely. Hit it. What? What's more likely?

Never say never, but never. All right, Chris Brockman, what do you have over there? Hey guys, what's up?

Friday? We're doing good. We're doing well. We're doing well. Thanks for asking. Really appreciate it.

Very, very, very genuine. You asking us how we're doing? We're talking a lot about the Chiefs. They're back to back Super Bowl champs. The Nuggets are looking to go back to back. So what's more likely, the Chiefs three-peat next year or the Nuggets go back to back?

Uh, I'll go, I'll go, I'll go back to back for the Nuggets. Just to piss off Chiefs Kingdom. You know what I'm saying? I don't know. And also to just make sure that this is something that fans can get answered sooner rather than later. You know what I mean?

But I don't know. I mean, we've seen back-to-back champions. Three-peat's the different story. Never seen a three-peat in the National Football League.

Back-to-back in the NBA happens a lot. That's what I'm saying. So I'll go with something that's happened more, it's more likely to have happened because it's happened. You know what I mean? Yeah, so that's where I'll go with that one.

How about this one? Would you agree with that, TJ? Would you agree with that? No. You going with the Chiefs? No.

I'm gonna go with that man in my homes until proven otherwise. What about that man Jokic? I mean, that man Jokic is something else, but who's going to knock him off?

They're coasting. The Thunder just started the second half. The Thunder against your Clippers. Clippers still there. The Celtics.

You really think the Bucks? Okay. Are you going to bet against Patrick Mahomes? Oh, God. No, you're not.

I'm just saying. So how do you think September for the NFL Network season preview show and our season kickoff show, you think I'm going to be sitting here saying the Chiefs are going to do it? I believe you will. Yes, I bet you will, too. What's more likely I'll be doing that or I won't be doing that? I bet that you do.

I believe in your heart, you believe more that the Chiefs will three piece. So what am I saying right here? What do you think? I don't know what you said. You say you know, he said nuggets. Oh, he said because I was just changing my battery exciting here. But careful. Yeah. Easy. I'm going chiefs.

Chris, next up is how about this guy's? Who's more likely to make the playoffs next year? Justin Fields or the Chicago Bears? Why not?

But why can't it be both? That's weird because he's currently the quarterback of the Chicago. We're trying to say, Chris, what are you trying to say?

Great. I mean, his his current employer on February 23rd could be different. I will go Justin Fields timber. I think Justin Fields is making the playoffs next year.

More likely that he shows up where in Pittsburgh or Atlanta or Vegas, Vegas, New England. I mean, what if you employ the Mahomes rules with Justin Fields? So what's more effective? Mahomes rules or Vanderpump rules? One of those rules, I'm completely unfamiliar with the other one either. I don't watch that show, but Jason Concepcion mentioned it. I thought this is a is it is that show about a guy named Vanderpump who rules or it's about rules regarding a guy named Vanderpump. I believe the guy is actually a woman. It's a woman and they run a restaurant or something. Yeah, I don't know.

Clearly, I have no idea. I'm not that great. Can you take medicine to control your Vanderpump? Or hours to your doctor. Or wear a baseball uniform. What else? Hey, Bijan Robinson is talking a big game for next year. Talking about 2,000 rushing yards. Now that now that Arthur Smith's gone.

Yep. No more vulture. What's more likely? Who gets the 2,000? Bijan Robinson or Tyreek Hill next year? Oh, I'll go Tyreek Hill. Come on now.

A 2,000 yard season for a running back? Well, it's happened. I understand that. No one's ever done that for receiving. I got it. If Tyreek Hill did not get hip drop tackled by the Tennessee Titans, I think he would have gotten it this year.

By the way, can I ask you a question? He was not the same guy in the last month plus of the season and we all know it. Agreed. Did you guys ever hear that term before this year?

Hip drop? Yeah. I never heard that until this season. Well, it's in the last couple of years.

And then it's just been overly used. Well, it's because more and more people are getting their fibulous cracked. And ankles rolled over. It took the dolphin season out. Because the offense wasn't the same. Well, and the defense got hurt too.

I get it. But I would say over a second year running back, we have no idea what that offense is going to look like. We don't know what Raheem Morris is going to be bringing. I imagine he's going to get the ball a lot more.

I can't wait. Raheem Morris is slated to be on Tuesday's edition of this program. I will ask him that question. Are you going to vulture Bijan Robinson inside the five yard line? And what if he has no idea what vulture is? I will teach him because I taught it to Sean Payton. You sure did. That was one of my favorite moments in the history of this show is I because I had Alvin Kamara and he kept running Ingram and I brought it up to him because it's vulturing. He'd never heard of it before.

He loved the phrase and as soon as he hung up the phone, I felt my phone buzz and it was a it was a cartoon picture of a vulture. So we taught that to Sean Payton. What else, Chris? NFC East headline maker to miss the playoffs next year.

Cowboys, Eagles show. Come on, son. One of them's missing it, guys. I hate to be the bearer of bad news.

What are we doing here, guy? If you're saying one of them's going to miss it, and I have to say which one's more likely to miss it. That's the question. I would go the Philadelphia Eagles. Why wouldn't I go with the team that fell off a cliff as opposed to the team? That always disappoints you know that that stepped up.

I would rather in a bad hat. One team stepped off a cliff. The other one fell off the cliff. So I'll go with the team that fell off the cliff and we're all sitting here wondering did it have to do with, you know, Big Dom, Big Dom, not the head coach couldn't stop arguing with his own staff and players in a way that Big Dom would prevent Nick Sirianni from doing, which is the most insane story I've heard in the NFL in a long time.

Big Dom. And so they're the number of CSI sleuthing that's going on as to why the Eagles season fell apart like it did right now from Big Dom to Jalen Hurts having too much on his plate because he's suddenly making so much more like the guy who has been who's been nothing but a professional a pro is pro is suddenly lost focus. I mean and Jason Kelce is not going to be there. Maybe dude if we're expecting here from Jason Kelce at some point in time that he's going to retire and if he if what we assume is likely going to happen to use the phrase that pays right now in this segment.

That is a monster hole to fill at one of the most important positions on the field for a team that runs the most unstoppable play right him leading the way. Correct. So I'll choose the Eagles over your Cowboys. You were out sick last week. So you missed this. I'm aware of that. We came up with the idea that Jason Kelce will be playing with his brother next.

Well, I'd set it on a reaction podcast. I know you mentioned that but Creed Humphrey is not a position. I mean, what it will play guard. Yeah, why not?

But they don't need a guard their guard got injured in the Super Bowl. Why would he why would he move his entire friend? We had this conversation with his brother. Okay, moving on you.

I like this topic rich. It's not your cup of tea quarterback under the most pressure next year. Derek Carr, Justin Herbert. Um, Derek Carr in the news Derek Carr restructured his contract.

I got it feels like you might be on my ass. So if he doesn't perform there, do you think they're going to keep him around Herbert's guess? Who's guess who's going to be guess who's going to be the what's more likely hold on a second. What's more likely that Derek Carr is not the Saints 2025 starting quarterback or Justin Herbert is not the Chargers 2025 starting quarterback. Justin Herbert will be the 2025 starting quarterback. So what pressure is he under?

And by the way, and by the way, I live up to being a MVP. Everyone thinks he is as Greg as Greg Roman said like let's get him a running game. No, you didn't say let's get him a running game. He said could you imagine what Justin Herbert would look like with a running game to which I'm sure Austin Eckler was sitting at home on his twitch going.

What the hell that you know, hey Greg he didn't have we don't know but I can imagine what it might look like. Can you imagine Justin Herbert with a great running game? So that's kind of the vision and and I'm sure I'm sure Eckler's like, hey Greg you might you might have missed it two years ago when you were when you were when you were scheming for Patrick Ricard right here and everyone else literally right here, you know, I can hear you.

I can see I pretty much had a year and a half stretch where I was the number one touchdown maker in the National Football League. That's true. But hey, he's new to the he's new to he's new to the world there. And so yeah, who's got it better than Justin Herbert? But Chris, no one looks at Gary Carr like he should be a Super Bowl winning quarterback MVP type. People have those expectations of Herbert, right? So people have the expectations of the Saints needing to actually start getting going. Including the guy who's pushing the buttons of this program right now. What if I give you Herbert or Trevor Lawrence under more pressure next year? Better question?

No, remove Herbert from the equation. What's the pressure he's under? You guys, everyone wants him to be this great player including us and he hasn't done track squat. Jim Harbaugh is there.

Give him some time. They're going to figure this thing out. You know, they're going to start road grading.

You know, you're going to be better protected. Come on now. There's no pressure. Pressure is like if I don't do this, where am I going to play? Pressure is what Baker Mayfield succeeded under. Because he's my boy.

Okay. That's pressure. Like if I don't perform here, I don't know where my next gig is going to be. I might be holding the clipboard.

I might have my hat on backwards. That's pressure. Herbert's going to be here.

What else? Needs to start winning. Which position is more likely to have more of it drafted in the top 15 quarterback or tackle? I think there's going to be top 15 quarterback or tackle. I think there's going to be four quarterbacks taken in the top 10 maybe so I'll go quarterback. Because then after that, I mean, I mean, I'll go quarterback.

How about four and four? How about it's more likely that they're going to be the eight of the first 15 will be tackling quarterback. I know that's not a choice. But if I have to take a choice, I'll choose quarterback. We'll ask this of Daniel Jeremiah on Monday's program when he joins us to kick off combine week. I was going off of his mock draft. Okay, I know that I'm looking at his top 10. He's got he's got four quarterback, seven of the top 10 quarterback and tackles and seven tackles in the first round. Right. And he's got two, three wide receivers. That's it. He doesn't have a defensive player in his mock draft top 10. Oh, that'll be the first time in a while.

That's never happened. I think so. All right. Last one. They played last night. Struggling contender. You like to win a playoff series this year. Lakers or Warriors?

More likely. Jeez. I'll go. It's crazy. That's what we're at with these teams. T.J., I'd go Warriors. What would you do? Okay, okay.

I guess indeed, there's not an option, right? Struggling contender. They might play each other, and that's why it's called What's More Likely. I like I want to say the Lakers like the Lakers is fighting to come out of my mouth right now.

Like me too. And they're the ones they're the ones who made it, you know, to, you know, they were in the Western Conference Finals last half game, separates them nine and 10 right now. I'll say Lakers. What would you say, Chris?

Break the time. I like the Warriors, man. I think they're coming on.

I do too. I think Clay had only three points off the bench last night. Honestly, they don't need Clay.

Oh, wow. They should have traded him. Look at him at hot take. Look at him hot taking. They don't need him.

So if you, they don't need him from the team? I'm saying they should have, they should, they don't need Clay to like pour in 20 every night for them to win. Like the old days. They just got, like, got to play some defense. And Draymond just got to stay on the floor. Got to stay on the floor. He's got to stay on the floor. And it's not, he's going to get, don't you get suspended after a certain number?

He's going to get more tax. I just don't feel like he's not going to miss any time. You know, I feel like he's going to go the rest of season and not accumulate these teams and stuff. Well, I think Steph is just going to wheel this team. All right.

He possibly could. I don't know. Is that it? That's it.

I don't know. I would take one more. No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

He doesn't have one more. That's eight topics, guys. I mean, okay. I mean, you could say you could in seven.

Listen, he's a stone. How much blood? Is that it?

How much blood do you want from him? I'm saying we could have did seven and then had the eight. It's the one more bit is his, you know? Yeah. What do you mean?

It's not a bit, but it's kind of a bit. What's up? Drop the one more. And then I do the face. I go one more.

Me and Chris are like, what? Oh, my God. I didn't see this coming.

I had no idea. I really sell it for you. By the way, I don't need you to sell it the same way.

You don't think that Klay Thompson's needed by the Warriors. Honestly, I don't need your silent movie acting. I'm doing my best. I appreciate it, though. Congratulations.

Well, he's on fire again. I just know we kind of do help sometimes get it over. I think with our surprise, I appreciate it.

I can write some more in the break, but the one more I've been very restrained in the one more lately because I haven't done the even done the variety. You know, the I haven't done the Einstein bit in a while. So yeah, thank goodness for that. Well, it's been over a year since we've seen Einstein. Let's keep it that way.

Yeah. Well, I mean, let's keep the Einstein talk to a minimum because it's played by a guy who's trying to take an Oscar from our next guest. I mean, I say that in 1955. So I'm not saying Einstein is trying to. Oh, well, actually, I'm not mistaken. Einstein.

Einstein is an Oppenheimer as well. True. Who's trying to take an Oscar from our next guest? That's right. That's we can't have that.

We are Jeffrey. Right. We can't have that. This is the right time. That's what we're trying to do is get this man an Oscar.

That's the rich eyes and show bump. Come on, let's go. We're going to provide. We're not ready to take it. But what are you playing?

What do you play? I'm sorry. Oh, I'm excited.

I thought you don't have to play us out to play us out. This isn't this isn't the O'Reilly. This is this isn't, you know, what was that? That was the I was inside addition.

Inside addition. Yeah. All right. Now you can play the music. See, let's take a break right here.

Listen, I thought was a control freak thing. You don't play commercial break music until I say so. This is the rich eyes and show, damn it. I mean, it says someone get your act together. Jeffrey Wright's coming out here, button it up.

That's next. This is the rich eyes and show. Concise, accurate and fresh each day. America in the morning, the podcast available wherever you listen on the Bigger Pockets real estate podcast.

Co-host David Green and Rob Abasolo interview real estate investors and entrepreneurs about successes, failures and hard earned lessons. Joined by author Dave Meyer, who wrote a book. I did write a book. It seems like you're coming out with a book every four minutes. You are one to talk. You've released two books this year.

I've done half as many as you. It is more about strategy than it is about. Just finding whatever the new buzzword happens to be. Bigger Pockets real estate podcast on YouTube or wherever you listen. Jeffrey Wright is here on the rich eyes and show nominated for best actor in the upcoming Oscars for your role in American fiction. It's an awesome movie and it's thought-provoking.

I'd said to you off the air. It's thought-provoking. It's moving. It's funny. It's a little disturbing, to say the least.

It parts as well. But as I'm watching it and I'm wondering if you would agree or not. I remember a movie that Robert Townsend wrote and essentially directed and produced called Hollywood Shuffle. And there's some very similar themes in this film about pop culture, reducing folks down to some tropes and stereotypes and that's what your character is fighting in this film. Sure, you know, he's a guy he wants to write what he wants to write about and he has his own, you know, personal interest. But from the outside, you know, bluntly, they're not perceived to be black enough. And so he's frustrated, but I don't think that that phenomenon is limited to the black experience. I think we all want to be seen for who we are. So there's a kind of universality to it. Even though it's told specifically from my perspective, we all just want to be seen for who we are.

We can all relate to that. The thing that we do with this film too, that I think allows people across backgrounds to find a place inside it is, as you say, like with Hollywood Shuffle, which was an inspiration for Corey Jefferson. It was. Who wrote this script and directed it.

He adopted our script from a novel by Percival Everett called Erasure, but he cites Hollywood Shuffle as an inspiration. And what we do like in that film and also like Mel Brooks did is we talk about these thorny issues, these relevant issues, but we have a laugh. And you know, we're not afraid of it.

What's to be afraid of? Let's come together and let's laugh at it. Let's laugh at ourselves. And maybe after that experience, at least within the two hours of the film, we come out.

Who knows, maybe with a little more clarity, maybe with some better questions, but maybe we make a little bit of progress around these issues, at least for those two hours. Right. That's pretty cool. And particularly now. Yeah. And I was, I'm thrilled to hear that he does feel that Corey Jefferson, who's also nominated for his screenplay here, does sort of, that I was onto something because, because Hollywood Shuffle is definitely more slapstick at times. Yeah, right. A little more farcical.

Farcical, right? Than this film. And, but, but it's just some similar notes, some similar beats to that sort of thing as well. And, and your character in this film, Jeffrey, right here on The Rich Eisen Show, essentially does succumb to the, I guess, pull, the gravitational pull of what the market is asking for and dives in to write something that is completely anathema to what your character wants to portray in his writing. Well, yes. And also, no.

Okay. He is driven by a couple of things. And interesting too, when he does write this version of a novel that he thinks is street and he does it, you know, dismissively to mock it and also to mock the hypocrisy of the publishing world. But when he does go about writing it, the scene that we see him write is a scene about a father whose, whose son is frustrated with him, whose son is disappointed in him and angry.

And that actually, from a psychological level, relates to my character too. So even as he's dismissive, there's still something underneath that says, wait a minute, there's something important here maybe that he's expressing, maybe subconsciously, but there's an emotional depth to it that's surprising. And so I think throughout the film, what we explore is, okay, yeah, maybe that's a type of black art that he doesn't necessarily think is worthy. But at the same time, maybe he's not entirely right too. He's flawed, right? He's not the most narrow, reliable narrator. And so he undergoes a process of self-discovery through the course of the film. And I think what we're saying is, listen, it's not about, we don't want to see those stories.

We don't need those. That's not the case. What we want to see is a broader range of stories that reflect the complexity of the black experience, the complexity of the American experience. And so, and so you're, you're, you're right. But at the same time, there's some other levels and layers inside it that, you know, I think too, audiences are responding to. I think people who see this film go, wow, I didn't think I was going to be feeling that.

I didn't think I was going to, you know, have the emotional, like kind of experience that I had. And that's cool. Yeah.

And when did you pick up on it? Just when you first read the script? I mean, did you pick that up as you're reading through the script for the first time about how nuanced and layered you can make this character? Yeah, absolutely.

Absolutely. You know, the first scene kind of like, you know, drop the hook in my direction. It's a scene in a classroom talking about, you know, a forbidden word that's, you know, race word that's on the whiteboard behind me. I'm a teacher, a professor of Southern literature, teaching a book by a Southern writer named, rather an essay by a Southern writer named Flannery O'Connor. And there's a student in there who objects to that word.

Can't have that word. Oh my God. And so that's a conversation that's being had in classrooms across the country and outside of classrooms right now. So I was like, oh man, let's dive into that. Let's get into that stuff. Why are we so afraid to talk about this stuff?

Why? And it was funny too, of course, always got to go back to that because that allows people to breathe a little bit. So that was the first thing that captured my attention. But then as I read further, what really, what really set the hook in my mouth was the story of this man and his relationship to love, love of himself, love of the other, love of his family, and love of his mother.

He's a caretaker to his mother in the midst of a family that's just like everybody else's family, crazy as hell, and loving in spite of itself, and inescapable. And that's the thing, as I was playing it, I said, man, I've never been asked to play these dynamics before. And that's kind of the life that I was living when the script came to me. My mom had passed away about a year before, still dealing with that. I had the good fortune of being raised by two women, my mother and her eldest sister, my aunt Naomi, who's 94 years old now, who came to live with us.

I have kids at the same time. The pandemic set in, like all of us. We were going, what's going on here, man? But it was that caretaking side of the story that really hooked me. I really got that. You know, my son saw the movie and he said, you know, I see a lot of myself in that character, but man, also, that's a beautiful homage to grandma. And that's what's been really moving to people, too. People, again, across backgrounds have said, you know, wow, my dad has Alzheimer's.

We just put him in a home yesterday. I really felt validated when I saw that. I felt moved by that and across backgrounds.

So what we've tried to do is create a space, you know, for for all of us that for all of us to in some ways, find something that they can relate to and find themselves inside of it. And again, you know, do it and have him have a little bit of fun at it. Well, you you mission accomplished. Oh, cool. Honestly, watching the movie, like I said, a couple times, there's a heart in the throat and then other times I'm laughing out loud.

I don't want to give too much away, but the your character sort of having enough of the hypocrisy from the publishing community that you want to change the name of the title of the book. Yeah, you accomplish that goal. Yeah.

Oh, my God. I was laughing out loud. That's good. TJ saw you're laughing at that. I mean, yeah, that's the desired effect. That's cool. It's that was that's great.

Jeffrey, like you got to have a laugh at this stuff. Look, I go back to watch like, you know, blazing saddles. I go back back to watch the sheriff is a near scene. That's right. Just when I'm feeling down and tweeted that out recently when I guess it was in an anniversary of blazing saddles. Yeah, right. And you said the sheriff is near. That's right. That's right. Come on, man.

For sure. It ain't that it ain't that deep. I guess speaking of saying stuff with humor, Jeffrey right here on The Rich Eisen Show. Sometimes when professional success happens, you you have to sometimes give something up to have professional success happens.

It's so rare to have it all. So if I had told you last year, not only would you be nominated as best actor, but Dan Snyder would no longer own the Washington football team commanders. You'd be like, well, I believe the Oscar. That's right. That's right. Right.

Yeah. So I mean, what are you thinking right now? It's a new day, baby.

It's a new day. Actually, Josh Harris, who is our new owner, is a buddy of mine from summer camp. Come on. Camp Minnehaha represent.

Camp Minnehaha, White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. Yeah. I first met him when I was, oh, maybe eight years old. His brother, Gabe, was in my cabin.

Okay. And yeah, as soon as the news came out that, you know, the previous owner was considering a sale. I reached out to them. Gabe and I had remained friends through college, but I hadn't talked to him in a while. Josh and I hadn't talked to him in years, but I was like, hey, Gabe, what are you guys?

Are you guys, you know, looking at this? And sure enough, you know, Josh is at the helm now. And so I bought season tickets again. You did. I let my mom's laps. My mom had season tickets from 1970. I grew up at RFK Stadium, as I've mentioned on this show before, but I let them lapse after she passed because I was like, man, I just can't do it. And I bought tickets again. So I went to every game until this rollout of our film started. Yeah, I'm probably the guest on your show right now who has seen fewer games in any sport lately.

But yeah, I went to, I went to the first pre-season game and I saw Josh, and I had all these ideas about, you know, what we might do. Do you think they should change the name? I do. You do?

Yeah, I do. I think what's happening is that everything related to the previous era is being undone. And to that point, I was talking to Josh about, yeah, you know, fan experience stuff, particularly. How are we going to win?

Slow down, bro. He's like, look, I'm trying to fix the plumbing in the stadium. You got pipes that need, you know, I mean, it's so, so, yeah, everything. Yeah.

Within the organization, the infrastructure needed to be scanned and needed to be addressed, assessed, and worked through. And that's what he's doing. And he knows what this franchise was. He knows what fans want it to be, which is akin to what it was in terms of the pride that we took in that, in that, in that team and what it meant to community and in the way they play it on the field. Bottom line, man. You know, bottom line is hot.

We know how you play that game. So Josh and Josh was an athlete, too. Josh was a wrestler. He was good wrestler.

I think he wrestled at Penn. So he's got that competitive spirit. He's got at least a window on, you know, on what it means.

And so anyway, he's going about it in the right way. And the new coaching staff looks exciting. I love the, the sense of respect that Dan Quinn has from players that have played for him and coaches, you know, Anthony Lynn came on board, came from San Francisco.

He said, Hey, man, I want to be with this dude. I know that this guy is a leader. That's what it takes.

I went back in 1969, saw Vince Lombardi's press conference when he came on board. Right. Vince Lombardi said, he said, he said, I want to win first season if possible. That's the attitude. Come in, get it done, win.

Well, it's not like the cupboards bear completely, right? No, that's right. There's some good quality players. They have the second overall pick. Yeah, and it's entirely possible, you know, that management decides to move up one spot, you know, Caleb Williams is truly appears to be generationally talented.

He's from the area, Gonzaga High School, Gonzaga College High School. Yes, he is, which would be another way to excite the fan base is if you're, I think you're giving voice to the general sense of this is awesome. Ding dong.

The witch is dead. We're in, you know, we're back. Yeah, there's no question about that. Yeah, that would be a great story. I mean, it's a bit on the optic side, though, you know, it could be, you know, what what's important is is how he plays the game. Who knows if they have an opportunity, you know, it looks like the Bears looking at who knows there's some good, you know, who knows what they do, right? You know, do they go after a quarterback?

Do they use those picks to, you know, that, you know, that pick to broaden their picks. It's not, you know, I'm not in the war room, but I will say this about Caleb Williams that I think you're right. He's had a rough season this last season, but that guy has some incredible athletic instincts. And what I see in him that's really exciting is the way he sees the field, his vision, the way his head swivels like Mahomes. Mahomes has that too. No doubt. It's rare.

It's rare. You just watch those guys, their ability to scan danger and find opportunity. That's like, that's the thing.

And then complete it with a flick of the wrist. Yeah, I mean, he's got an arm that works pretty well too. He does have a stout. He's durable. I think he's bigger than Mahomes. Yeah, yeah, he is.

I think he's bigger than Mahomes. And it just, you know, throw the word Mahomes around, which I've done. I mean, just like you did. It's, it's obviously a large level of expectation, but I just, I just love hearing the excitement in your voice.

And then on top of it, I mean, if you could choose somebody from the world of sports and business to come in outside of your camp friend Josh Harris, yeah, Magic Johnson, baby. Hey, you know what's going on in your life right now? It's kind of crazy. It's good.

It's all good. Yeah. And last, I would, the last game I went to was at SoFi out here when they played the Rams and happened to see a Magic there. And of course, we all know who Magic Johnson is.

And I'll tell you what, Magic Johnson is not one who's friendly with losing in anything that he does. Yeah. So yeah, the Avengers have assembled and and it's, you know, there's so much work to be done on every level, but they recognize that and they are willing to do that and wanting to do that. So bright things on the horizon. We'll see what happens with the new venue. I'm hoping that it comes back to the team comes back to the spiritual home and that is at the site where RFK Stadium was.

Right. People, you know, you need to have an appreciation for what that place represents. Yes, there is incredible games played there. I have so many wonderful memories there.

We all do who were at that stadium. It was a beautiful, beautiful stadium, intimate stadium, but it's also more a memorial. It's Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium.

It sits at the other end of Washington DC on the Anacostia River at the far side of the city directly down across the mall. Is the Lincoln Memorial. It's not just a football stadium. There is something so symbolic and powerful in that piece of land that is beyond any other place for a sports venue in this country.

And I think if we celebrate that aspect of it as well to recognize its importance, not only to the city, but as a national, as a national piece, then, you know, ooh, it's hard not to come back there. Obviously, there are the fiscal issues as the political issues and all that stuff, but they get, you know, we want to bring the team home. It seems like the, again, management and ownership gets it. Yeah, they understand what has happened. They understand who folks like you represent and what would push your buttons, right? And I think the business community has just been dying to talk to somebody else.

You know, than the previous guy as you've referred to, you know, and I think that all alone together will get things done in the way that I think you'll wind up being happy. No doubt about it. I just remember I went to one game at RFK. I sat in an end zone seat, two rows from the front of the upper deck. I had to get up and see when the ball was thrown in the back of the end zone. I had to get up and lean over to see what was going on underneath. Yeah.

And then at one point, I turned to my friend who took me to the game. I'm like, is this seat shaking? Yeah. And he's just saying, yeah, look around.

You would see, it would shake. And then, of course, the band playing music too. And no seatbelts. Yeah.

But you're right. I remember Mark Moseley used to, a straight on kicker, straight on kicker, and he would kick the ball so high, he would go over the net behind the goalpost most often. And I would run down, or my seats were, or my mom's seats were in the corner just above the band, right? We had some cover. It was cool, you know, but anyway, I would run down. You could run down, scamper down, you know, and you could watch the game from behind the goalpost. And when Moseley would kick the ball over the net, I would run back behind the bleachers. You could sneak back there and you could get the ball, man.

I got a ball or two that way. Yeah, man. That was, it was, I mean, it was, it was a different time. But yeah, man, it was, it was so special. It was so special.

I'm glad you had an opportunity to experience because, and people who were there know, there was just an intimacy there. There was just a, and players who came there, they feared to come there to, if you were playing against the Redskins. Yes, I know. Formerly known as. Correct. Then yeah, you, you, you, you were up for, you were up against something. Oh, I was there when the Cowboys were in.

Yeah. And, and Danny White was being burned in effigy in the, in the parking lot. Well, that was probably better than what happened to him on the field in that championship game in 1983. When yeah, he was planted by Dexter Manley.

Yeah, Dexter man, Dexter man. Yeah, I was at that game. You are the, I got, I got ticket stub from that game.

Yeah, actually, I think it reads NFC, NFC championship game, whatever the date was, 1983. Yeah, 20 bucks, 20 different, different day. I've been told we, you can hang to the end of the hour. If you don't mind, I'd love to finish the show with you.

Sure, man. Okay, got Jeffrey right, right here. We'll take a commercial break. We will finish the show and send you to the weekend with the Academy Award nominated actor of a movie.

Everyone should see called American fiction. Jerry Jeffrey Wright is here on The Rich Eisen Show. Be sure to follow so you never miss the next episode and thanks for listening wherever you listen. Back here in The Rich Eisen Show, Jeffrey Wright still with us to close out today's program. We're on Roku right now.

Only radio audience will return in a second. Listen, Sterling K. Brown is a revelation as well. I mean, we already know how great he is from his previous work, but you and him and you and he in the in the scenes together are just crackling.

Great. Yeah, I tell you that. Yeah, he's he's such a, a forceful actor. He's super smart.

And yeah, yeah, he deserves that nomination. It's it's really cool what we all did on this film. Of course, first we read the script and we all wanted to tell this story. We wanted to be there. Sterling, in fact, wasn't planning on working at during that time, but he read the script and said, no, man, I gotta I gotta be a part of this. So we showed up Tracy Ellis Ross, the legendary Leslie Uggams, Issa Rae, everyone came on board because they were super passionate about telling the story now and doing it together. We all looked around and said, wow, well, okay, we're all here and we just threw, you know, it's cliched.

But yeah, we put a lot of love into this thing and and and it's really gratifying that audiences are responding in the academies responding in this way. But yeah, Sterling's Sterling Sterling terrific. He played football.

He played football in high school. I certainly couldn't tell them to look like he hit craft services. Too much. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, that's you know, it's describing a scene. Yeah, that's a scene between myself, Erica Alexander and Sterling K. Brown's abs. The ad stole the scene. No offense to you.

Easy, easy. Oh my gosh, again, American fiction. See it in the theater. It's in theaters everywhere.

And also you could see it right here through the Roku portal on Amazon as well as Apple Plus. We've got Jeffrey right here on the Rich Eisen show. I'm sitting at the Rich Eisen show desk furnished by Grange with supplies and solutions for every industry. Granger has the right product for you.

Call clickgranger.com or just stop by. When you walk down the street, which character do people stop and say to you the most in your career? It depends on what street I'm walking down.

Okay, certain streets. It's you know, it's peoples. People's Hernandez from Shaft, you know, I get people stabbing themselves in the chest. You know, you kill my brother. You kill my right.

You know, I get that, you know, if I'm maybe a London Street, it's you know, it's Felix Leiter. A lot of Westworld fans everywhere. I don't know. I don't know.

I don't know. Fans everywhere. I bet. Yeah, I got a little something for everybody rich, you know, right something for everybody.

Anybody stop you with Angels in America? Yeah, of course. Of course. Great.

Yeah, of course. It's 20 years ago now, isn't it? Oh, the film.

Yeah, and the play which I did on Broadway was 1993. Geez. I can't even count that high. I'm not even that old. No, you're not. Yeah. Yeah. Wow. Yeah.

The Felix Leiter. I see every now and then when Casino Royale pops up. It's a mic drop. I mean a remote drop. Yeah for me.

Oh, like seriously, like doesn't like I have to clear schedule. Yeah, that that is true. That's one of my favorite Bond movies ever. Yeah, people love that one. People really love that one. And it was good for us that we came right out of the gate with, you know, Daniels, you know, first right, you know, first take on this and did one that people responded to again.

It was going back to a vintage story vintage Bond story, but you know, we wanted to you know, to update it and infuse it with a with a kind of contemporary energy and an edge to it and just well-crafted and yeah, it was a good way to kick it off. Did you learn how to play poker for that? Or you already knew it? Man, you know, I'm not, you know, poker is not my thing. We played a lot of poker.

Yeah, we shot that in Prague. Yeah, I think I lost a lot of Corona a lot of, you know, check money playing that thing. I don't know, you know, I'm too, you know, I'm too like I take too many gambles, you know, pokers are gambling game, you know, but yeah, not necessarily my game just fitting that was fitting. It was a character study.

Character study for sure. Yeah. Yeah. I know.

I mean, I do love that film. I'm too emotional for poker. Yeah, you too emotional for poker. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, but it seems like you're an actor though.

You don't have a poker face, you know, I got a poker face, but you know, I acting is, you know, you know, emotion is my, you know, it's my currency. Yeah, I like that. Yeah.

I've never heard that before. Yeah, that is a neat way to describe. I mean, that's that's that is the ultimate part of the craft. Yeah, it helps. It helps. Yeah, for sure. Got a got a yeah, you got to put something out there. You got to infuse it with something fantastic.

And again, like I said, this this movie is beautiful for sure. When was the last Brooklyn Nets game? You're able to make it to a man. It was a while. It was it was during the latter part of last year. I got season tickets and then everybody left and then well, no, I got my season tickets before you take trade.

Okay. Yeah, because I loved that they were creating this core group of young guys that were playing together and and winning and playing and creating this this this culture that was about about team. And so yeah, that's when I bought my my tickets. And then of course, they you know, they made the big, you know, trade. We all know what happened to that.

And a year after the trade, of course, the season ticket prices doubled even after that whole scenario, like dissipated the season ticket prices have not gone back to what they are prior. Oh wow. Yeah, but no, I was I was on board prior to that because I live about I don't know, you know, 10 minute walk from from Barclays from Barclays in Brooklyn. But yeah, I haven't been a chance. I haven't had a chance to be there lately because I've been out here a lot and been, you know, promoting our our film American fiction. Well, good luck to you.

Yeah, I've seen nothing but the best of luck to you. You you honestly you deserve it. This this performance in this film is is awesome. Thank you, Rich. And you are you are great in it. And like I said, it made a it made an impact on me.

Oh, man. I appreciate that. I'm so glad to hear that. Thank you for having me back. Absolutely in here. No, and I appreciate that as well. I think the last time you were here was for Westworld. I think it might have been for the probably was a while ago. Yeah, let's let's do this.

So more often than once every five years. Let's do it, man. I appreciate that. Everybody should go check out as I mentioned American fiction. The cast is amazing. The script is also Academy Award nominated is thought-provoking and it is something that is worthy of your time. It is available in theaters near you.

And also right here on the Roku portal, Amazon, the Amazon app, as well as the Apple TV app is the way that you can go. Check this out. It is worth every second of your time. And I I can't wait to watch you in your tux. Go on up there, man.

I would love it. Well, thank you. Thank you, Rich. And if not, Snyder's gone. Yeah, we're gay every day every day in celebration. We're back to wrap up the show in a sec. Like no one respects me Rolling Stone music now wherever you listen.