Jay Bilas: There Was Nobody Like Bill Walton

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Bluenile.com code POD. ESPN College Basketball Analyst, Jay Villas. Yes Network Yankees Broadcaster, Michael Kay, CEO and General Manager of All Elite Wrestling, Tony Khan. And now, it's Rich Eisen.

That's right. Welcome to this edition of the Rich Eisen Show, live on the Roku channel, which is free on every Roku device known to man. It is also a great way for you to just have fun at home with your family. Just check everything out, anything you want, sitting right there on your Roku device, especially this program. We also are thrilled to be on this terrestrial radio affiliate, smart enough to have a Sirius XM Odyssey. Our podcast listeners, we say a good Wednesday to you or wherever you're listening to this Wednesday show. That's your right to listen to us on demand.

844-204-RICH is the number to dial on this program. We've got two cars on the move headed to this studio. Two cars, one from Southern California. Michael Kay, the voice of the New York Yankees. He called the Angels comeback win on the Yankees last night.

Late in the eighth inning, they put up a two spot and beat the Yankees last night. Michael is on his way to this studio to hang with us in our number two. I've known this man since the mid 90s. It's going to be a fun chat when Michael stops by. Also, another car on the move, the CEO, General Manager and head of the creative unit of AEW Wrestling and a man who's about to pay off what he's owed this chair, if you will, in support of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Tony Khan is on his way, apparently with the neck brace that he wore during the draft that he said he would sign for charity for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Tony Khan is on his way with his head, with his neck brace on the way to the studio. And of course, as we all know, he is the chief football strategy officer of the Jacksonville Jaguars. And there's Tony up on the screen right there with his dad behind him during the draft.

Doug Peterson just off camera. Lots going on with the Jacksonville Jaguars. And we'll talk about it with Tony Khan.

That's it. I want to introduce to you the new for at least two more games of the Western Conference Finals, if necessary. The new Rich Eisen show fan of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Chris Brockman, everybody. Can't root for the Timberwolves enough. Keep going, win game. Keep extending the series. Become the 15 to take it to game seven.

There you go. That's what he wants to have happen. Because as a basketball, as the Celtic fan of the of the program, that's two more games. Let's go that he wants, which would extend this series four more days. Come on, you can do it each and every day. Come on, Celtics. Hey, cat, let's shoot the ball. I think it's 100 shots really paid off last night in a cigar or five for three. You can do it. Feet up on the desk leaving you. Chris Finch.

Great job. He stood. Yes, like red arm. Couldn't believe it while he roots for the Timberwolves. It's the same day. A-Rod. A-Rod looked great last door. I got something good for you, DJ, as well. First of all, DJ Mikey Diaz and these nuts is back from a day off.

We didn't know it was going to happen. That was a bonus. What did you do yesterday?

A bonus for who? I was doing some secret at work. Secret work?

Double secret probation? That's all I could say. Oh, God. Oh, really? No, actually, I was doing some graphics work, soccer stuff that I'm doing this summer. Graphics work? You're moving into graphics now? Well, they have sound for graphics and I had to make sure the sound was functioning for the graphics, the big graphics. The whooshes?

No, these are bigger than whooshes. You guys know graphics, but that's where I was. I mean, I'm sorry. Guys, we know graphics and the Rich Eisen show. We know graphics.

We know graphics. No, but I miss you guys. I'm very sad. I told Liz while she was on the boat with me. Oh, that was three days ago. That's very nice.

I'm glad that you informed at least you went through proper protocols. I do, you see? While on a boat. Interesting. T.J. Jefferson, I've got something for you. For me? I do. This is how we start this program.

I just have a shark. Listen, T.J., this is for you. Just for me. We're starting the show just for you. Now we had on this very program, Dave McMenamin was our first guest yesterday. And I said to him, hey, are you working with the next head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers? And I didn't mean Mike Breen or Doris Burke. I meant J.J. Reddick.

That would be something. Because J.J. Reddick is calling the action of the NBA finals for ESPN and NBA on ABC and all that stuff. And, you know, the Lakers fired their coach after getting bounced from the playoffs. And then, you know, haven't hired anybody. The Suns have since fired their coach after getting bounced from the playoffs. And I've already hired somebody. That's the way it would go. The Cavs have an opening, right?

As well. And Lakers have not filled that opening. And as long as it goes, it seems like maybe they're waiting for J.J. Reddick. Because they're not going to name him and he'll be the next head coach of the Lakers calling the NBA finals. That would be what we call awkward.

Even though this may be awkward already. But this is my long wind up to say, he mentioned a couple other names and said that until Ty Lue signs a contract extension with the Los Angeles Clippers, he will not remove Ty Lue's name from this opening. Because, you know, LeBron won a championship with Ty Lue as his head coach in Cleveland.

And, you know, the Lakers could make a big splash. Although they don't spend the money on the coaches. I think Phil would be the last coach that they spent a ton of money on. That's the last one that they paid top of the market, top freight for a head coach. You just don't seem to do that.

It's not in their DNA. And you'd think the Clippers wouldn't let Ty Lue go. They got that into a dome that they got to open up. By the way, Suze is getting a tour of it today. Remember, she was telling you she was putting on a hard hat and everything. I was seeing if she could get a plus one and bring me, but I don't get that.

I don't know. We can check that out. But anyway, congratulations. Thank you. Ty Lue has signed his extension.

Nice. The Los Angeles Clippers, the Woge bomb, literally as we were coming on the air today. A new long-term contract, taking one of the league's highest paid coaches. He's entering the final year of his deal, considered one of the NBA's elite coaches. I would agree with that assessment.

And that's a lot of bomber bucks. And you don't want to open a new building with a new coach because your coach left you for your former co-tenant. That's what we call bad luck. That's not how you want to say, hey, everybody, buy your new seats at this new Intuit dome.

That would not be the businesses. I can Intuit that. You don't want it. Boom. Hey, now I literally just made that up. I am spotting dimes today.

That's why your name's on the cup. No numbers. Yeah. I'm curious to see the numbers in this deal. I'm willing to bet there's two commas, zeros. Well, two commas and then a zero on the left side of this first comma. Just a lot of zeros. And then three zeros on the left side of the second comma with three zeros behind it.

That's a very long winded way of saying it's going to be at least 10 million bucks a year. Now, if only we could do something about ligaments and soft tissue. Well, that's the other issue. And joints.

That's the other issue breaking in hands. Podcast P. We could do something about that. And Juju, Karma.

He's got a good podcast, Paul George. I wonder if they smudge the Intuit dome. I think that should be a first order of business.

How do you smudge something that there's no history to? It's brand new. That's what you got to do.

It smells like a new car. You know, people broke in there and film videos. Got to get all that just bad. We need just. Sebastian Maniscalco is going to open it up.

It'll be fine. Yeah. I think he opens it up. I think he's one of the house.

I think it's one of them. We're all talking. So say that again. Sebastian was on the roof, posted a video. Mike was stuck in the graphics department where he was, no one was stopping him.

So Tom Brady's coming to Fox. You don't have to worry about it. Yeah. He's the graphics department. He's working on soccer noises.

Why are you lying? Not on a Tuesday. That would be the perfect time to do it. Exactly. I know for a fact he's been doing practice games on Tuesdays. Yeah, I know that.

Mike, by the way, somebody I know who's sitting right there knows somebody would know something about Brady because, you know, she made the roast pretty damn funny. And they, he lingered really long on a hug. And I was about to step in. Wow. Thank you for all you've done for me. Hold on a second. Breaking news here. Did you lie to us with this cockamamie graphics? No, no, no, no, no, no.

I was a hundred percent on my mother's grave. He may have signed one of those NDA type deals. I have not done any of that stuff. Trust me, by the way, it doesn't, I don't understand what's going to be top secret. The guy's going to rehearse. Of course he is. Of course he is.

At any rate, congratulations to Tyloo. Yes. Now all you gotta do is worry about getting your guys healthy. That's good. Mike's saying real quick that he's not on the A team. So you won't be working with Tom Brady. Is that what you're on the A team for the UFL right now?

That's all I can say. Okay. He doesn't say he doesn't do games. The games are on the road.

Yeah. I'm not going on the road at any rate. He's going to be killing it, Mike. Great job.

Listen, Rich, I love it though, man. Big peace, the puzzle, getting done. I was a little bit of a worry because I didn't think he'd leave, but the Lakers job always kind of looms. You may exhale, sir.

Hey, congratulations to you, Chris. The Celtics are sitting back watching the Mavericks now have to take a flight to Minnesota. And if Minnesota wins another home playoff game, then we're going to a game six. And that's when you go, anything can happen. And you're like, Oh my God, let's see what happens in game six. And then if it's game seven, well, they got to game seven. They made it happen. Anything can happen. That's the road.

That's the world we're on. Did you see the stat that that was Kyrie's first ever loss at a closeout game? Is that right? Somebody dug it up.

He was 14 and O in closeout games in the playoffs. Well, you know what? Our guy cat showed up, didn't he? He had to, Rich. He had to. Got all them shots up.

Sometimes we went in. Much maligned Carl Anthony Towns was just making threes like crazy in the fourth quarter last night. Anthony Edwards made some shots as well down the stretch, played a little bit of defense.

Luca had his LJ moment, but couldn't convert the four point play just at the very end of this game where you just thought I didn't think it could happen. I didn't think Ant touched him on that. That seemed like a phantom foul to me.

I didn't love that. That was wild that he threw that. First of all, that he got that up and in and the foul and then missed the free throw. I guess ball doesn't lie in your, in your, in your scenario. You would have had it through a two point game if he made that free throw.

But Carl Anthony Towns got it done 20 in the second half, 25 overall, made those clutch threes down the stretch, playing some good defense. Rudy Gobert was backing down Luca. I was just saying, shouldn't you just say something in French about you can't guard me or as he's getting to the line, which is probably just, you know, that wouldn't be a wise use of his energy.

Google translate. Let me see what that would be. Make the petite, petite move like he's a little too petite, you know? I mean, everyone's petite next to Gobert.

I know. Rich, you said Kat's been much of Milan, which she has been. And the thing is, and I wondered about this last night because he has been, I think it's just because he was such a great player. He was the number one draft pick, Chris. The expectations for him coming out of Kentucky were so huge that like, you know, the Spiderman thing with great power comes great responsibility with that number one pick.

Like people expect you to be the man night in and night out. And I think obviously that's the reason why people kind of get on him a little bit, but he needed a night like last night. Well, Carl Anthony Towns wound up last night, as I mentioned, with the 25 points and Edwards wound up in a cyst shy of a triple double, which Luca got anyway.

If you told us again that Luca was triple doubling, that would be okay. Another sweep and you as a Celtic fan would be. Now, damn it, they have eight days off.

We have nine. It's only a one day advantage of rest. Now comes at least three days advantage of rest. And so see if the Timberwolves can make it a five day advantage of rest and the way Anthony Edwards was talking about. Yes, Micah Parsons, who is right there in the front row after the game last night, makes you think that Anthony Edwards told the Mavericks locker room attendant, see you later this week. How are you seeing for game six?

What, where does that confidence come from? What am I supposed to say? I'm supposed to say we're going to lose game five. No, I'm not going to ever say that. Michael Parsons, you know, he was rocking 81s and I told him he wears size 14. I bring back some nice shoes for game six. That's what I told him.

That's a great point. What is he supposed to say? He played great and that's what we needed. Look at Micah right there. Look at him.

The lion right there with his Maverick skier on, cheering it on. He's all in. Now that's all in right there. He's all in.

Yeah, Diggs is what Diggs was there too, right? Nice. I love it when guys from other sports in the city go to the game. I like it. I see that in Boston a lot.

I like it. And he's not even signed long term. Yeah, the Kelseys were there. Yeah.

Mahomes was there in Dallas last game. Well, I mean, they're just scouting so they could figure out if they can play in the NBA. Right.

Or are they going to try to sign Ant to play wideout or something? I don't know, man, but Anthony Edwards, hey, he's so wildly entertaining and I definitely want to see this to a game six just to see if we can get to a game seven. That's the way it goes. That's the way it goes. The team rules right now are three and oh and close out games.

So that'd be something you never know. Let's go. More basketball. Well, definitely better than less because tonight we got nothing. Nothing. Got nothing.

We got nothing. Baseball. Got some college golf. Is that right? Are you watching that?

And you know what? It might get so we might get so desperate for live sports that Mike just have to live stream his wishing of the soccer graphics. What is the noise? What is the noise? That's so can you at least make the noise?

I cannot make the noise. What did Tom Brady wear yesterday? I cannot make it.

Tom Brady's not doing it anywhere yesterday. Negative. Come on. I honest. I did soccer. I don't believe you.

Graphics. I don't believe you. Do I need someone to call in and no, we don't. Actually, deep down, we don't care.

You put it on your mom, Mike. That's good enough for me. Jay Billis is going to join us. He's got, you know, some more good Bill Walton stories like the ones that we heard yesterday and also obviously lots to talk about with him. Bronny James, Rich Paul saying that Bronny is going to be in the draft. He had until midnight last night to declare that he was going to stay in college or stay in the draft. He's staying in the draft.

The question is, is where does he go? Is he really worthy of the first overall selection in the draft? Well, definitely not. But if you think that LeBron's coming with him, why wouldn't Atlanta just do it? It's not a good draft anyway. I don't know, man. I don't know.

Seven foot three inch euros out there. Bronny, now you get LeBron and now you got LeBron, Trey Young and Dijonte Brown. He's probably gonna get traded, right?

No, I don't know if that's the way you build a roster. And then obviously it's the whole business of colleges essentially saying we're going to start paying players, which is something that Jay Billis has been talking about forever. So there's lots to talk about with Jay. Two cars making their way to the set right now. Michael Kay hopefully is past Long Beach by now on his way here. We'll hang with him in hour number two. And then Tony Khan and his neck brace making his way here for hour number three. AEW is in, speaking of the Brady roast, the Forum tonight. So 844204 is also the number to dial right here on the program.

Jay Billis is here when we come back on the Rich Eisen Show. My wife's is 70, 10 numbers apart, but it truly is the world of difference. The sleep number sleep that you get is unbelievable.

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I hope it's not in the middle of his round from what appears to be a very nice locker room at a golf facility. Jay Billis here on the Rich Eisen Show. How are you Jay? Good to see you. I'm doing great Rich. How are you? I'm doing fine. And I thought of you. You're one of the first people I thought of after I heard about Bill Walton's passing and I knew you probably had a bunch of stories and then I looked at your Instagram at Jay Billis and I saw all of them. Were you aware of how ill he was Jay?

Because this one shocked me. I was stunned that he passed. Yeah, I was aware he wasn't doing well. He hadn't really worked since February. So I knew he was ill.

I didn't know the extent of it. And it came as a shock, a heartbreaking shock over the weekend to learn that he had passed. But you knew him Rich. I mean there was nobody like Bill Walton. And for a guy like me that grew up in Southern California and started playing basketball when Bill was at UCLA, he was my idol and remained so. And then when I got a chance to work with him at ESPN, I mean it's pretty rare when your idol exceeds your expectation should you ever get the opportunity to meet him or her. And Walton exceeded every expectation I could have ever had for a kind, generous, curious, intelligent, just giving of himself human being. I mean he was just a marvelous human being. And you know look, were there times when we all said man there's some weird stuff going on with Walton. A few years ago during the pandemic couldn't do the Maui Invitational in Maui and Walton didn't go to Vegas to do it. And I remember telling him you know I'm going to miss you Bill, but the thing I'm really going to miss is the contact high.

Right? Because he always, was that his line that he would say he would never go low because he's always preferred to be high or something like that? Isn't that one of the lines that he would say, Jay? Well that's what he said to me in a text message.

It was actually a friend of mine named Steve Howard that we went to high school together in Southern California and Steve's a big deadhead so he knew Bill from dead shows over the last 30 some years. And Steve and I got together and played golf last summer and we thought hey let's send Big Red a video of us you know kind of in the golf cart and tell him we're thinking about him. And he texted right back with this thing about, and he called me Jake, he would say Steve and Jake my hero heroes and stuff like that. And he said Jake talked about going low, I'm more comfortable going high. And then it was like thank you for my life.

You know all these different things and including I'm the luckiest guy in the world. And but Richie you know like he played for John Wooden and revered Coach Wooden and he obviously knew that I played for Coach K and he loved Coach K. And so he told me one time he said he said uh Coach K is to you what John Wooden was to me. And then he followed up by saying but you were not to Coach K what I was to John Wooden. That's awesome. That's so funny.

Oh my gosh. And I remarkably I didn't put two and two together. You grew up in Southern California and what he means because I did get a lot of tweets from people about what he meant to Southern California for people in San Diego where he's lived or here in Los Angeles where he played and and what he meant and and how he personified it. And a friend of mine reached out to me today because I had no idea he's worked he had some working relationship with Bill over the years. He used the perfect phrase he said Bill collected people. That's what he said Bill collected people and that one kind of hit me Jay when I when I read that in a text today. And I think that's that nails it. One of the things that that I think everyone has noticed after Bill's passing in the in the few days with all the tributes and all the articles and and TV appearances and social media posts they all basically say the same thing.

Uncoordinated they say the same thing. That he never never talked about himself unless you prided him to tell the story and he could make the story about someone else. And and was unfailingly generous with his time and made you feel like you were the center of the universe.

Because it was always difficult to tell what planet Bill was on so the universe was a good place to be. But but he he remembered everything he always talked to stop and talk to strangers. You know just this last year we toured together the burn site in Maui after those horrific fires and we were the only ones some of the only ones allowed in there.

We were allowed in before the the people of of Lahaina that had lost their homes and it was incredibly moving and there was a cop that had come up to us and didn't know why we were there and we explained it to him the cop couldn't have been nicer. But he basically gave us some advice he said you guys shouldn't be here and he said it's not safe for us to be here and I'm not sure you should you should continue to be here. So we heeded that warning and but some of the cops that were there they wanted their pictures taken with Walton and he stopped and and interacted with them you would have thought those guys grew up together. He never turned anybody down and always would wrestle a check away from you like he was an MMA fighter and always paid but just a generous soul and one of the one of the sweetest human beings I've ever known. You know you're you're one of the latest guests that we've had here to speak so eloquently about their personal relationship with him but also with a basketball background. Don't talk basketball about him ever like the first conversation you have about him is who he was and how he treated or funny story here or that moving story there about humanity and his humanity and and the humane nature that he approached others. But he was a brilliant basketball player Jay he was one of the best of all time you know. It was it was him and Kareem as the two best college basketball players of all time and that remains so to this day. Bill Walton was 86 and 4 as a player at UCLA in in 90 games and he was 30 and 0, 30 and 0, 26 and 4 and his senior year in 1974 I mean I remember this like it was yesterday I was a little kid but they lost a they lost a road trip at Oregon and Oregon State and Sports Illustrated called it the lost weekend.

That's how rare it was for them to lose. Digger Phelps ended that 88 game winning streak that year Notre Dame and then they lost to NC State in double overtime in the uh in the final four in Greensboro, North Carolina which Bill Walton always always used to say was the worst day of my life uh you know and talked about so like it was some horrific failure that he only made it to the final four as last year. But uh but I'll tell you the only thing Rich that ever annoyed me about Bill and this is going to sound odd but um I don't think the players of today that were covered by Bill they knew him as a showman and uh and a character and they loved him but uh I think his showmanship at times and the fact that he never did talk about himself I'm not sure the players he covered had any idea that he could kick their ass twice every day and three times on Sunday that how much better he was than any of them could ever hope to be and uh and I told him that I go you know you never talk about yourself and and uh and that it really annoys me these guys have no idea how good good you were and uh and of course he laughed and shrugged it off and started talking about the Grateful Dead. I know exactly right so uh in the few minutes I have left with you Jay Bill is here on the Rich Eisen Show that photograph that um my crew my good guys in the control room put up there just looking at this here um that photograph of Walton and Wooden uh what do you think those guys are talking about today? They might be talking about the one shot that Walton missed in the uh 73 title game when he went 21 to 22 and scored 44 points. Nice. Wooden used to rib him about uh about how could you miss that one shot I used to think you were a good player that kind of thing uh but I'm not sure that any player has revered his coach as much as as Walton revered Wooden and I know they butted heads over things uh at times including how how long Bill wanted to wear his hair and things like that but uh the fact that those two remained close uh and until until Wooden's passing and Bill spoke so eloquently and reverently he was always referencing Wooden and his teammates uh I think that was true of his time in Portland in Boston uh you know it was never about it was never about Bill and and you know go back to it Rich like he made you feel like you were his best friend and you were the center of the universe and he always he always left you with a smile and I said this to somebody the other day there are only two people in basketball that I've ever felt that way about that uh that just thinking about them brought a smile to your face and the idea of seeing them and seeing them really brought joy to you and that's Bill Walton and Bill Raftery you know the two bills of basketball um the two the two kindest most generous souls uh you've ever met in your life and and Walton I mean I you know I I'm I'm getting better with this but I mean I I was cheering up talking about it uh on Mondays uh on on appearance I had on SportsCenter and uh uh I didn't mind I didn't mind it but it was just it hit me you know how much he he meant to me not just as a as a colleague and friend over the last 20 years or so but um but from when I was a kid you know like I was I was a Bill Walton guy first and foremost and uh and to be able to know him and uh and then to have him exceed every expectation you could have of an idol uh what a what a joy yeah so the kid who showed up on the white shadow that's uh that's who was revering Bill Walton that kid back in the day younger than that younger than that I was probably eight years old when he was uh at UCLA and I had just started playing basketball and uh and everything he did you know cover Sports Illustrated got drafted you know played when he played for the Clippers um you know I followed his career for me uh it was my two favorite players growing up and college players were Bill Walton and David Myers who passed away several years ago uh Annie Meyers Drysdale's older brother and those were my two favorite players and and both of them were were better people than they were players and they were truly great players hey Jay I know you've got uh you got uh you know some uh some uh recreating to do but if you just give me two more minutes with you being here just to change up everything going on with the court cases and a settlement it appears between the NCAA and um I guess the Jeffrey Kessler led class um of players I imagine I might be botching it but what is happening here and what's your prediction as to what happens next if you don't mind well that's going to depend on what Judge Claudia Wilkin does uh and the the federal court judge out in California so she has to approve this settlement the settlement's basically in two parts one of them backward looking damages for the harm that was caused by players due to the antitrust violations in the NCAA and that's in the neighborhood of 2.8 billion dollars payable over 10 years the other is revenue sharing that's the forward-looking piece of this and my understanding after reading what I've read is that players are going to be eligible to receive up to 22 percent of revenues going forward that's a cap and my question for the court when this settlement is presented is what other cap is there whom else is subject to a wage cap other than players because coaches are going to be able to be paid as much as a school wants to pay them uh and I don't I don't think players should be capped absent some sort of collective bargaining agreement where the players agree to it to me it's not enough and what what's clear to me is the NCAA through this settlement is going to try to take this to congress and say here's a framework that we've agreed to with uh with the the plaintiff lawyers and the plaintiffs and the class we want you to put this into law so that they can cap all this at 22 percent and that and that doesn't even mean that they have to pay anything to players if they don't want to I think the market will dictate they have to but a 22 cap with the way revenues have exploded are continuing to go up in college sports to me doesn't sit well with me we'll see if it sits well with the uh with the players and what their objections uh to this settlement and objections going forward but one thing we know for sure rich amateurism is dead I think was dead a long time ago but they pulled the plug now uh they're going to be the players are going to be paid directly by their universities now which was a long time coming and that hopefully will mean contracts for the players and they can put buyouts in them so the schools feel like they have some more protections uh but but amateurism is now dead it's it's purely professional sports and the only thing that differs from the NBA or the NFL is uh is that the players have to be enrolled in school that's it Jay I appreciate the two cents there go hit them straight and um and thanks for your time uh remembering bill means a lot thanks in honor of bill I'm about to go low and hot very good thank you Jay enjoy it sir enjoy it thanks for the time at Jay Billis everybody check him out those photographs we just showed are part and parcel of everything we just discussed how funny is that John Wooden he says Coach K is to you what John Wooden was to me except you weren't to Coach K what I was to John Wooden is really one of my favorite things I've heard in a while that is so disrespectful but accurate but when it all comes down to it spot on factual yeah what he said these kids and because Chris we're at a generation where like Bill Walton at least for me his prime was really before me so I caught like his later celtics years it took a long time in youtube for me to really do a deep dive to understand yeah I never saw Bill Walton play basketball I know it was all just reading about it you were born in 86 history when were you born I was born in 80 but I didn't move to Maine until I was 12 so I never saw him play but like I said I did a little deep youtube and that came out and Bill Walton like people talk about joker kind of similar skill set Bill Walton you could run your offense through him great court vision he could pass he could shoot he played defense he blocked shots he was agile he he was a five tool player as they say and um I just don't think people understand if his body hadn't failed him he'd be you know top 10 centers of all time without question and then part of the 86 celtics 86 87 celtics yeah getting everybody into dead concerts how about Rick Carl Carl that story that was a great story yeah Rick Carlisle yeah maybe we'll we'll cut that up and and play that by the end of the show I'll send it to you guys uh 844-204 riches the number to dial Michael K has done uh Yeoman's work friend's work which is getting into a car for an hour from southern deep southern California to get here to hang with us for two seconds oh no he was south of Anaheim oh geez you better love somebody to do that even more not close oh the Yankees put him in a very nice hotel trust me he's got a different basic cable world than uh the rest of us basic cable people you know so they treat him like Soto like it means on a one-year deal and I get treated no no no no what it means is he should be adopted he should be adopted honestly Steinbrenner family should do the math of how much it would cost to keep him what six does it start with a six yeah one of the things we'll talk about with okay because if it starts with the seven with Otani the pushback from the Yankees would be he's not pitching well neither is Otani well that starts next year he's never going to pitch again I think that's ridiculous I I think that is ridiculous he's one million percent going to pitch again he hits 70 points better so what guess guess who stopped pitching the babe I understand that but I think he he's gonna still pitch again I completely disagree well then don't you think the Dodgers would have to redo the deal why yeah he's worth it he's the MVP he's got a triple crown right now I can hear you but I don't know if that's because he's not pitching maybe it's just the way he's just beginning to hit better I don't know I think he's gonna pitch again but that said don't don't don't throw me off just because the Red Sox won't beat the Orioles by one run last night it's all good don't throw me off the Yankees should figure out what does it start with a six yeah okay and then just tell him we would prefer to adopt you instead how would you like to become part of the Steinbrenner family we'll put you in the family trust what's that dowry could be cheaper could be cheaper couple cows could cost them less how does Juan Steinbrenner sound to you are they gonna take him in like the Eisen family's taken in brought Purdy that's the way the conversation should go that's really funny Juan Steinbrenner George's grandson there's Hal and there's Juan I think I would take the 600 mil in New York you might want that last name so does work working well for him but at any rate Michael Sierra's basically what I'm saying when we come back there is a plan going down there is a plan going down about completely redoing the off-season workout program from the National Football League we're going to unpack this because I I need to do some looking into it Tom Pozzaro sent me a whole string of text to explain it to me okay great because I want to unpack it in advance of Tony Kahn walking in the door in hour number three Michael K's in studio for our number two don't go anywhere we'll wrap up our number one in a moment what's up everyone it's reality steve your number one source for all things bachelor nation and reality tv every day I'm giving you the behind the scenes juice and your info on all your bachelor nation stories and also interviewing some of your favorite reality stars my name has been synonymous with spoilers but I'm so much more than that give me a listen the reality steve podcast part of the believe network just search b-l-e-a-v on youtube or wherever you listen afford anything talks about how to avoid common pitfalls how to refine your mental models and how to think about how to think Paula while certainly you can mess up on a million dollars a year it is far less likely than it is on thirty thousand dollars a year right I would meet wonderful people that were struggling with a budget that was super tight it was a hundred percent you need to make more money make smarter choices and build a better life afford anything wherever you listen back on the rich eisen show uh hey fill the grill and fire up the party people get the weber sear wood pellet grill smoke roast and sear on the same grill go from low and slow on smoke boost mode at 180 degrees all the way to high heat sear at 600 degrees it's got a full great sear zone so you could put more food on the flame food will look as good as it tastes this grill is as hot in 15 minutes and cleanup is easy and guess what you'll cook on two levels at the same time if you want you could make enough for everyone you can add even a heavy duty rotisserie or rust resistant griddle insert get fired up for your new weber sear wood pellet grill hey folks when I first started NFL network back in 2003 there was a large chorus of complaints from a lot of national football league players that the word voluntary was um really the word for it was mandatory that uh the only thing that was voluntary about any activities was for you to volunteer to say yes to do it and so when the national football league and the players had that lockout in 2011 one of the things that the league said to the players fine you may have maybe because it didn't really cost them any dollar and cent to say was we will make the voluntary voluntary and the mandatory is a date in april by which you show up for an off-season workout program and then there will be some incentive-based stuff that's in the language and of your contracts in order for you to appear there if you want you get more money for weighing in and doing things but uh the only thing that is mandatory is a couple of organized team activities the rest of them will be voluntary by the way otas i always thought like that that must not have stood for organized team activity but that's what it stands for what did you think it said oh you know organized training whatever the hell it was i had no idea when i first started with nfl network organized team activity and that's the way it's been up until the present day where the off-season workout program started in april and players are not uh they don't have to be in the building and as a matter of fact you're you're not allowed to have contact with them in certain periods of the spring and that playbooks you can't really hand them a playbook and get them physically in the playbook until the organized the the the off-season workout program begins in april because otherwise players could coaches would want these players in the facility 24 7 365 so they had to codify it in this way now according to my colleague tom posero of the nfl media group i think he was the first to report this yesterday if he wasn't i apologize to the person who was but uh the nflpa is going to make a proposal this summer to take the current ota system condense it and move it to before training camp in june so one big ramp up to training camp to games in the fall meaning i guess may would be the fallow period where nothing's happening this month where nothing would be happening yeah right now it's june right and that you'd be able to uh get i guess players on zooms like so so as pelicero said in my text let's say players arrive june 16th two weeks of strength and conditioning would be phase one two weeks of like football work would be phase two two weeks of non-padded padded practices like otas they currently have it's phase three then into a traditional training camp starting around august 1st which as soon as anybody's in pads now anyway they would do virtual classroom work in the spring just nothing on the field no workout program and i'm like you know how how is this any better he says the league and union science supports the single ramp up less soft tissue injuries they did it in 2020 for covid league people seem to be fine with it players need to vote on it it's not finalized still needs to pass votes by the union before it even goes to the league but that's more or less what it would look like some vets oppose it so no playoff means basically february march april may off of on field work but you would do zoom i guess in the same way in in april or whatever yeah so take the organized team activity on field work of may and a little bit of june condense it and throw it towards the end of june and so july would be non-stop in camp which is exactly why i believe coaches will go nuts about this and gms wanting it or not wanting it not wanting it because this is when they go on vacation the two weeks that they actually get to be away from stuff yeah because the spring you know as soon as the season's evaluation it's evaluation and getting ready for for the combine and then for the draft and then once the draft hits you've got on field work and then once the on field work hits i guess all the rookies could remove what you'd move the the the dead period where you can go on vacation in may well there would be no rookie camp now and all that just gets lumped into jim i imagine i guess we're just all coming up with the idea here but i honestly like coaches and gms and front office people they get they get married in july like that's when weddings happen welcome to talkville the ultimate smallville rewatch podcast guest star sarah carter as alicia baker although i didn't really work with her a lot but tom did and they had some real big smoochy scenes yeah should we talk about that could there be any more sex what was a three page makeout scene that just kept going good lord we get it they have chemistry jump in now or catch up on any of the past seasons of talkville on youtube or wherever you listen