This episode is brought to you by our good friends at NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV.
I'm sure by now you've all gotten back into your Sunday routines, but they could be even better. With NFL Sunday Ticket and YouTube TV, you get the most live NFL games all in one place, every game, every Sunday. And you can even watch up to four different games at once with Multiview, one of my favorite inventions of this decade. It's exactly what you need to catch all the action. Make your Sundays more magical. And also, YouTube TV is great. I got it this year.
It's awesome. Sign up now at youtube.com slash BS. Device and content restrictions apply. Local and national games on YouTube TV.
NFL Sunday Ticket for out-of-market games excludes digital-only games. This is the Rich Eisen Show. Who's more likely to win more games next season? Caleb Williams or all other rookie quarterbacks? Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles.
I'll still take the rest of the field because you know these teams don't sit, these quarterbacks, anymore. The Rich Eisen Show with guest host, Kirk Morrison. Earlier on the show, host of the Business of Sports podcast, Andrew Brant. Patriots writer for The Athletic, Chad Graff. Coming up, MLB writer for The Athletic, Levi Weaver. And now, sitting in for Rich, it's Kirk Morrison. Oh, hut-hut hike. There we go.
I'm back. Omaha. Omaha. Omaha.
Omaha. What's going on? Linda.
Linda. I haven't been here in a long time. We changed the comms. Y'all got new communications.
Y'all have finally gotten to the 21st century. When it comes to some of these, the microphones. But yeah, my microphone is now on. And thank you as always, man, filling in for Rich here. Hour number three of the Rich Eisen Show.
Excited as always. We've had a lot that we got caught up on. I gave you my basketball story of the U.S.
Team USA. In hour number one, we had Andrew Brant. Talked about just the Matthew Judon trade and what the contract's probably going to look like for him. Keeping our eyes peeled on when that deal hopefully gets signed.
Trade has already went down, but obviously a deal must come along with that, we think. Chad Graff got me excited tonight about Eagles at Patriots. Tonight is our preseason matchup, 7 p.m. Eastern time. I love just hearing good old Scotty Zolack tonight on the call. Zolack and the McCordy Twins. Zolack is a maniac.
Yes. So we'll get a lot of that as well. And then coming up in a little bit, Levi Weaver, the baseball writer for The Athletic, will get me caught up on baseball as we head into a pivotal August series around Major League Baseball.
But first I was going to go to the phone lines on the Rich Eisen phone lines. I'm going to go to Curtis over in Colorado Springs. We want to talk a little Chiefs. What's up, Curtis? How we doing? Hey, doing good, Kirk. How are you? I'm doing great, man. How are you? What's going on?
What do you think about these Chiefs? I'm doing good. I did call in to do the win-loss game. Let's do it.
The win-loss game. Okay, here we go. Chris Brockman will remember me from last year because I was in the midst of delivering a pizza.
I'm not doing that today. Amazing. Amazing, Curtis. Kirk's going to pull up. I'm showing Kirk. Kirk's pulling up the Chiefs schedule.
I'm pulling up the Chiefs schedule. Look at around page 21, Kirk. Let's see.
Yeah, and you can write it down. Okay, I'm writing it right on page 22. I was close. Right here in front of me.
You're close. Write it down, Curtis. Okay, so Curtis is here. Jay Felley's here.
Mike Diltufo just left. Okay. Hit us with some music. Let's roll. I am ready for the win-loss game.
Let's get it cracking. Curtis is only the second Chiefs fan so far. Okay, Curtis, here we go.
September 5th, opening night of the National Football League. We'll be there in Kansas City, people. Okay, Baltimore Ravens versus the Kansas City Chiefs.
What you got, Curtis? Chris knows that even as a Chiefs fan, I like to pick the Chiefs to start slow, but Andy Reid beats his proteges. We're going to win that right now.
That's a W. Dub. Okay, that's a W. Week 2, another home game, back-to-back home game to start the season for these Kansas City Chiefs. They take on the Cincinnati Bengals, a rematch of a conference championship game a couple years ago.
This is where the flow starts going to bite them. They lose. Okay.
So, reliving what people remember, Arrowhead was once called Burrowhead, by the way, for the success of Joe Burrow. There we go. All right. Week 3, the Chiefs travel to Atlanta to take on the Falcons.
What you got? That's going to be a win. Okay, it's going to be a win. No Matthew Judon, possibly sacking Patrick Mahomes.
I'm saying you never know. Week 4, the Chiefs come to Los Angeles to take on maybe Justin Herbert's first game. We don't know with injury. We'll see. Chiefs at Chargers, Week 4.
Yeah, maybe Justin Herbert and too many questions. Los Angeles, Chiefs will win. Chiefs will win.
Okay. Week number 5, Monday Night Football. Dennis Allen's New Orleans Saints will go to Kansas City to take on the Chiefs. What you got, Saints? Chiefs.
Patrick shows up in prime time on Monday night in Arrowhead at the Chiefs win. The Chiefs are now 4-1. Heading into the bye. Heading into the bye, Curtis. They have a matchup against the defending NFC champion San Francisco 49ers. A Super Bowl 59 rematch, or 58 rematch I should say. San Francisco 49ers.
What you got? Andy Reid's still too good after a bye. Will you squeak out a win there? The Chiefs are now 5-1 as they head to Las Vegas.
And I will just say this, by the way, Curtis. The last team to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs, the Las Vegas Raiders on Christmas Day 2023. What will the rematch be? Raiders-Chiefs.
Brockman defended me on Twitter after I pointed out that I had already called the Raiders beating the Chiefs in Kansas City on Christmas Day. And I'm going to go. This is that one loss we shouldn't have. We're going to lose to the Raiders for the first time ever in Las Vegas. Wow. Wow.
That's an L. Okay. Fast forward to another Monday night showcase this time. Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers coming to Kansas City to take on Patrick Mahomes.
And the Chiefs, what you got? I'm not scared. That's a win. That's a win. Okay.
Not scared of those Bucks. There we go. Fast forward to November 10th, Broncos come to town. That's a win. That's another win.
72. Not even thinking about it. Now, a lot of people saying this could be the trap game. This game is kind of centered around Taylor Swift playing, I believe, in Canada. Some people are saying possible engagement time for Travis Kelce.
Oh. Could this be the trap game? 11 November 17th at Buffalo.
No, this is the Deadpool bye-bye-bye moment. Kansas City is going to beat them. They're going to assert their dominance. The Buffalo can't roll with the Chiefs. Buffalo can't roll with the Chiefs. Wow.
Buffalo got bad news about Matt Milano today. Oh, they did. Here we go.
Eight and two Chiefs taking on the Carolina Panthers. Duh. Duh. Okay. Easy. Eight and two.
And we talked about it earlier. Last year it was Christmas Day. This year it's Black Friday that the Raiders travel to Kansas City.
The day after Thanksgiving, November 29th. What you got, Curtis? That's a crazy day to have football on, first of all. But secondly, the Vegas Raiders are not going to be Kansas City in Kansas City two years in a row. That's a W. That's a W. Wow. You get to stay home for another week as the Chargers will now come to Arrowhead to take on the Chiefs.
What do you got? Week 14. We're going to have that one game close to the end of the season that's going to light a fire under our tails for the postseason. But this isn't going to be it. We win.
Okay. Well, could that game be the next week? December 15th at Cleveland. Deshaun Watson. Patrick Mahomes on the road.
What you got? I don't think so. I think that Kansas City is going to win that one.
Lighten it up. 12 and 2. December 21st. It's the Kansas City Chiefs at home taking on the Houston Texans. This is a Saturday game.
What you got? This is it. This is the game.
That's the game? Okay. Alrighty. 12 and 3. And the NFL will do something that we don't see too often on Christmas Day. Wednesday. But on a Wednesday. Wednesday. Solidifying that the NFL will have a game every day of the week at some point during the season.
This will be a Wednesday game. Christmas Day at Pittsburgh. Will it be Justin Fields? Will it be Russell Wilson?
Quarterbacking the Steelers against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. Christmas Day. Will the Chiefs get a win on Christmas Day, Curtis? I'll be pulling a bow in the wrapping off of a big W. No. Okay. It says gift wrap.
Gift wrap. Now. 13. 13.
Oh, no. Whoa. Whoa.
Whoa. 13. 13 and 3. There we go. There's the three losses.
Alright. 13 and 3. Christmas Day game of the season at the Denver Broncos.
Who? That's a W. That's a W. Think about that. 14 and 3. 14 and 3. That's probably the one seed.
Right? So they're going to get a mini buy coming off of the Christmas Day game. And then they all the way into January 4th or 5th. Then if they're the one seed, another buy. One game in three weeks.
It'll get handled when it gets handled. There we go. 14 and 3. From Curtis in Colorado Springs. That's a lot of wins.
And Curtis, I don't want to spoil your thoughts here. Just not going to happen. 14 and 3.
You can't do that. Think about it. 14 and 3. Well, Dre in Kansas City called a couple weeks ago and he had him going 16 and 1. We fail to remember the Chiefs have to find something to get them going.
And they usually don't get going until it matters most. To me, we forget about this. Last year, week 18, Travis Kelce had an opportunity to go over 1,000 yards.
I believe receiving, right? Was it 1,000 yards or was it 100 catches? Well, I forget which one it was. I think it was 1,000 yards. Might have been 1,000 yards. And he said, I'm good.
I'm going to stand on business, stand on my resume. And did not play in that week 18 matchup game last year. Oh, 11 and 6 last year.
Yeah. Like, the Chiefs realized they just want to get to the tournament. Get us in the tournament and let it all play out. We're better than everybody we feel like we play because we got the equalizer. We got the guy, the dude, Patrick Mahomes, the fourth best player voted on by the players.
I couldn't even get that out without laughing. I can't even say it with a straight face. The fourth best player as voted on by the players, Patrick Mahomes, that's who they've got. But in all seriousness, they went on the road last year to Baltimore. And honestly, made Baltimore play their worst game of the season. They know they're in the head of everybody else. They know that. You've won back-to-back Super Bowls.
You're going for a third. The only way you're going to get to the Super Bowl is you got to go through the Chiefs. Whether the Chiefs playing at home, on the road with Patrick Mahomes and Kelsey. Man, look. And we'll see what this wide-receiving group looks like.
I feel like they've upgraded. Obviously, we saw the injury to Marquise Hollywood-Brown. We'll see him recover.
May miss a little early part of the season. But I still don't put them at 14 and 3. Like, it's just not possible for them. Has anyone went 14 and 3 in the 17-game schedule? I don't believe even that's been a record. I know the Packers have been 13 and 4. I think they did that like about three years in a row. I don't even believe a team has went 14 and 3 since they went to a 17-game season. So why would the Chiefs go to that?
Yeah, just double-check on that. Don't quote me on that. But I can't... Baltimore? Ravens were 13 and 4 last year. Since we went to the 17-game season, I don't believe a team has won. The Chiefs were 14 and 3 in 2022. Which year?
14 and 3? Yeah, I think that they're done with that now. And the Eagles, by the way. Oh, I forgot about the Eagles. So you're double wrong. I'm double wrong. It's fine.
I'll stand up. Obviously, they were the two best teams, though. I'll give them that. They were the two best teams, and they played in the Super Bowl. Yeah, they were the two best teams.
They played in the Super Bowl. But then I think you think about what's happened after that. It's like we realize that puts so much strain on us that we just want to get to the tournament. It's really hard to do. It's hard to do. But would any of you be surprised if Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs pulled this off? Because I don't think that that's something that's impossible for them to do.
I don't say it's not impossible to do. But what scares me the most is that how much do you have at the end of the season? You know what I mean? Like last year, they weren't the one seed. They were the three seed.
Correct. They went on the road in Baltimore. AFC Championship on the road.
First time they ever had to do that. So they've shown they can win at home on the road with an over just an amazing offense. My point is that they don't have to have that great number one seed season to win the Super Bowl. They've proven that they can just get in and then it just takes care of themselves because they have fifteen.
They have eighty seven. They have Andy Reid and that's good enough to to obviously win another. And they got four point two one out there too. Let's not forget that. Did you see the catch he made yesterday?
We're worthy. Oh man. It's just like so clear of everyone. He's he's he's fast. Chris and I were talking about this yesterday.
Chris is like he's going to be like the Sean Jackson. I'm like, yeah, you're going to see stat lines like two catches 180 yards and two touchdowns from this guy. So you got to understand the reason why you have a guy like Xavier Worthy in your offense when he's on the field what that does to a safety was that does to a corner no matter what it's always in the back of your mind. Yeah, always in the back of your mind like you think about it in the back of your mind you're realizing that even at my best at my fastest this guy is faster than me.
All right. Let me ask you this Kirk a perfect time because you've had to be on the field with those speedsters think of a guy like from your era who just was known for blazing speed as a defender like like you said it gets in the back of your head. But how do you game plan for someone who you can't match up with and practice who's speed you can't mimic?
Well, there's two things. One is your defense will be geared to have to have a halo somebody over the top that's always going to happen. You're going to have multiple eyeballs on them second. You need your rush to get there. You need your rush to get I need you if there's a week. This is the week that I need my pass rush to get there. I don't care how fast the guy is still can't beat a good pass rush that balls coming out quick coming out hot.
We can have something for coverage, but you're going to need a great pass rush man. That's what it's going to be. All right, we got to get to the break because coming up next Levi Weaver, the Major League Baseball writer for the athletic gets me caught up on some of these pennant races as well as it's tight in that NL West tight things is tight and we'll get his take on everything.
Levi Weaver coming up next right here, the Rich Eisen show. Let's talk O'Reilly Auto Parts people. You love their jingle. You're going to love their friendly helpful service even better because they're in the business of keeping your car on the road and the parts knowledge they have. It's all you need for your maintenance and repairs. They've got thousands of parts and accessories in stock either in store or online. So you never have to worry if you're in a jam the team at O'Reilly Auto Parts can test your battery for free in or out of your car.
If it needs to be replaced, they'll find you just the right battery for your vehicle need your windshield wipers replaced a brake light fixed or quick service. They'll help you there and find the right part or point you to the nearest local repair shop for help. The professional parts people at O'Reilly Auto Parts are your one-stop shop for all things auto. Do it yourself and you can find what you need in store or online. So stop by O'Reilly Auto Parts today or visit us at OReillyAuto.com slash Eisen.
That's OReillyAuto.com slash E-I-S-E-N O-O-O-Reilly Auto Parts. Hey everybody this just in it's summertime. It's time to go and do all those summer things like going to a baseball game during the summer.
I'm about to do exactly that and I know exactly what to do and you should too. You should go look forward to making new memories this year by going to a ball game using game time the authorized ticket marketplace of Major League Baseball, which makes getting tickets faster and easier prices on the game time app actually go down the closer it gets to the first pitch so you can wait to buy your tickets with killer last minute deals the all in prices feature. You get to see how much everything is before your purchase views from your seat. You know exactly where you're getting your seat and the view of the field from it their lowest price guarantee. Of course, that's game time takes the guesswork completely out of buying MLB tickets download the game time app create an account and use my code EISEN for twenty dollars off your first purchase terms apply visit game time. Co for restrictions again create an account redeem my code EISEN for twenty dollars off download game time today last minute tickets lowest price guaranteed. You are the commissioner of baseball. I make you commissioner of baseball right here right now to start off. What what do you do?
Nothing that anyone would like. Why would you say that because they're not going to like my ideas and some replays over. Why who cares? Because if you see it at home, you need to use it, right? Why why do we have a balls and strike umpire? We don't need that.
We can easily do that with GPS. Why is he there? Well, okay.
Why is he there? Why don't get rid of them? That might actually happen.
That might actually happen. And then what do you have a robot and a robot? I guess or yeah, there's a there's a value to charm my friend. There is a value to it that we sometimes ignore.
Uh huh. Okay, so replays gone out plays gone. I do kind of like replay, but it bothers me. See designated hitter is gone.
So why? Well, I mean, that's not baseball. One of the essential one of the great principles of baseball's democracy of talent and physique. This is what makes baseball very special, right? Democracy of talent and physique.
Everybody plays plays it. Okay, everybody, right? So short stop the slugging left fielder. They're all everyone's welcome, right?
It's democracy. What do you think of just the intentional walk? Like just you go to first now? No, don't like that either. Why?
It's fine. How much time are you saving? About 10 seconds.
I mean, it's 10 seconds. It's like when someone texts you the letter K instead of okay. What are you doing with that time? You're going to add that up and so you can watch an 11 minute YouTube video of a skateboarder bouncing his nuts off a railing. Is that what we're doing? Someone's texting me T Y instead of thank you.
T Y. I'd like to bounce your nuts off a railing. Welcome back here to the Rich Eisen Show Radio Network. I'm sitting at the Rich Eisen Show desk furnished by Grainger with supplies and solutions for every industry. Grainger has the right product for you.
So call clickgrainger.com or just stop by. You know, I love these summer August months in terms of when baseball comes when the Little League World Series is on. That means, you know, we in the thick of it. We're all in, right?
We're all in. So I always keep my focus on Major League Baseball as these pennant races start to tighten up. And I needed a little bit of clarification. I need help to make sure I'm focused on what I need to focus on. Or like some coaches say, keeping the main thing, the main thing. And my guy Levi Weaver, baseball writer for the athletic joining me now because I need the main thing.
What's the main thing I should be focusing on Levi? Because I feel like every time I tune into baseball, I'm just seeing another record that Aaron Judge continues to break. So should I be focusing on other things or does it just keep record count of what Aaron Judge does every night he steps into the ballpark? Man, the cool thing about baseball is that you can focus on whatever you want to focus on, right? Like I like to watch Eli De La Cruz run the bases.
I like, you know, he starts to steal and his arms go, every time he takes off, that brings me joy. You know, you can watch that on the small scale. If you want, you can watch Paul Skean's throw the ball 102 miles an hour. Like there's the little micro, you know, or you can look at the macro and we've got some interesting pennant races. We've got some interesting MVP races and, you know, we've got franchises that are in the middle of like, where are they on the rebuild or like the, are the pirates going to be good even though they're in the middle of a 10 game losing streak? Like when are they going to be in the playoffs again? So you can look at it as big or as small as, you know, whatever, whatever brings you joy.
Okay, what's at the top of your list right now currently? So the NL wildcard has just been an absolute traffic jam all year. And even now, you know, we're looking at the Diamondbacks and the Padres. You got it, you got it pulled up right there. Look at you guys, you're so professional. So professional we are here.
That's what we do. They're nine and one in their last 10 games. They've really kind of been taken off. The Braves currently in a wildcard spot, but they've been so injured and just so beaten up all year. The Mets are incredibly streaky. So they could, you know, drop completely out of it or they could, you know, catch the Diamondbacks and Padres.
You never know with the Mets. And then look at that, you got three teams down there that are tied and it's four and a half games. That's a lot of teams that are still in it. Four and a half games is not that big of a deficit on August 15th. And it I think it's it's not as much of a log jam as it was, you know, two weeks ago where teams like the Pirates were still kind of in it before they completely dropped out. The Cardinals are not doing great there. I think I don't like a four game losing streak. The Cubs kind of made a little post all star game run to try to be relevant.
I don't know. There's six games out now. That's probably too many teams to jump. But it's I love that there are still so many fan bases that can in August. Right. Like I'm old enough, as you can tell from the the white and the beard to remember when like June 10th, like two thirds of the league was already looking forward to next year. Right. And now you've got a lot of teams and a lot of their fan bases still with like a glimmer of hope. If things break just right.
Kirk and Levi, you know, I'm a Mets fan, Levi. So today we had to talk to a girl throughout the first pitch. So I'm hoping our 15 minutes of playoffs chasing that wildcard, I'm hoping we get an additional 15 minutes and we can keep going. Yes. Towards making the hot tour girl. Yeah, man. First pitch.
Got third first pitch today. OK. You know what I love about the Mets? You know, I genuinely love this about that.
And it's it might sound derogatory, but I promise it's not. They are not afraid to lean into being baseball's biggest melodrama at all times. And the Angels try the Angels try, but the Angels just sort of have like the trip and fall aspect of it. And the Mets is it's exquisite, right? Like they've got the biggest like cringy, just like do you remember a couple of years ago?
And I'm not sure what I can see on the air, but there was an item in a player's locker that ended up on television like that. Mr. Met flipped off a fan like they've got that. And then grimace. They also will then go on like a 10 game winning streak and be a playoff team.
Like it's it's nonstop drama. And don't forget about grimace earlier this season. Levi, that was grimace going out the first pitch on what we found out was his birthday is what really turned the Mets season around because I was out. I was done with baseball and grimace. Oh, yeah. Something sparked. And here we go. So from grimace to hot tour, I don't know who we're bringing in next.
Where's the beef lady still alive? I don't know, but whatever it takes to get us to continue to make that playoff push I'm with. Yeah, I think I have a better shot than the Braves, honestly, and I know the Braves are in a wildcard spot right now and they are, I think, probably a better team on paper. But like half of that paper is ripped up and burned right now because so many people have been injured.
I think the Mets do have the edge on the Braves, even though they're two games back right now. So I don't know if that gives you any it might be false hope, but I'm back. Who cares? Like I said, whatever brings you joy, it's false hope. Hope is all I ask for, Kirk. I know, I know.
It's what you wanted, right? Levi Weaver, baseball writer for the Athletic joining the Rich Eisen Show, Kirk Morrison filling in for Rich. You're just going back to this National League as we get ready for these pennant races. And right there you saw your division leaders, the Philadelphia Phillies, the Milwaukee Brewers, obviously the Dodgers. And right now, currently looks like the Dodgers are down 2-0 to the Milwaukee Brewers. Are we taking these three, Brewers, Dodgers, Phillies, or taking the field?
Or can the field compete with these three current division leaders? Man, it's easy to sort of like think that the Dodgers are a disaster right now because we expected them to have won somehow 200 games by this point. And right now their lead before these games end right now, they're up four games on the Diamondbacks and Padres. Like it's still, it's not an insurmountable lead by any means, but I do think they are a better team than anyone else in the division.
So I'll take them. In the central, I mean, I think the Reds have the ability to go on a hot streak. I don't know how the Brewers are doing this. They lost, like they traded away a Cy Young winner. Their manager goes and manages a division rival. Their closer gets injured on like day two of the season or something. And they're still at four and a half games. So the Brewers are a mystery to me.
Love it. And then the Phillies are, yeah, I mean, I think the Phillies are fine. They've been struggling a little for like a month and a half, but they've built up such a big lead. I don't think the Braves or Mets are going to catch them.
The Phillies might be getting lucky that the Braves have had so many injuries or that might be a closer race, but I just don't see anybody catching the Phillies. So yeah, I'm not going to take the field on this one. I'm taking the current division leaders. I like that. There we go.
There we go. What about MVPs though? Because usually you kind of have an idea, but is it sort of already wrapped up or will the last five, six weeks of the season really determine or give the writers a little bit more to think about when it comes to filling out that ballot for the National and American Leagues MVPs?
Yeah. So full disclosure, I have an AL MVP award so I can talk about it. I have a vote.
So I can talk about it in general terms, but I can't give you a favorite. We are looking at two players in the American League, Eric Judge and Bobby Witt Jr. who might be having the best season of all time at their position in center field and a shortstop. That's crazy for that to be happening in the same year.
It's not going to be an easy vote. In the National League right now, your wins above replacement leader, at least according to Fangrass, is Shohei Ohtani, a designated hitter. And the vote for him when he was the AL MVP was like, yeah, but he pitches also and that's added value. So you have to sort of give him a little extra credit for that.
And I agreed with that. Now he's a designated hitter. He's not even playing defense.
He's not pitching either. Is he the most valuable player? I mean, maybe he has hit so well that he still might be the most valuable player just as a hitter.
Elie De La Cruz, I think, is at least in the conversation, but that probably depends a lot on if the Reds are able to go on a hot streak at the end of the season and really make the playoffs. I think voters tend to and I don't have a vote in that one, so I can speak a little more openly about it. Voters tend to give, I guess, sort of bonus points if your team wins, right?
Like if your team loses and finishes in the last place, they could have done that without you. So what's your value? I think the value that Elie De La Cruz brings is, to use a word that is much too young for me to be using, vibes. He's also a very good player, a good defender. His speed is good.
He's got good power. And if the Reds do make a run at the playoffs, I think he's a big reason why. I'm glad that you mentioned vibes, especially when it comes to the Reds. And we're talking to Levi Weaver, he's the writer for the athletic baseball writer. And I'm getting excited because I told you when we get to these dog days of summer when it comes to baseball, a lot of times I just check the box score and then you move on.
You don't really focus in. It's just like, all right, there's so much going on. But that being said, I saw that next year around this time, August 2nd to be exact, 2025, that the Bristol Motor Speedway will be hosting a baseball game. And you mentioned Elie De La Cruz and the Reds will take on the Braves.
And maybe that has something to do with his appeal because a lot of people are going to come out. But what is baseball trying to do in terms of, we've seen other sports, basically hockey play in these different venues. What is this? How did this kind of all come about? And what do you expect from a big place like the Bristol Motor Speedway to host a Major League Baseball game? Yeah, and baseball's done it too. They've done some additional venues, right? So they went to London, they played these games in baseball parks in Korea and Japan. They played in Rickwood Field last year. They've done the Field of Dreams game.
Field of Dreams, yeah. They're not new to trying some things. This is definitely going to be different though. It's very likely that they'll break a record for the largest regular season attendance at a game. If you're going to play at Bristol, I think Cincinnati and Atlanta are the two closest teams. So that's a great match up there. You're going to get Elie De La Cruz. You hope Ronald Acuna Jr. is back by then.
Maybe Spencer Strider. Like some of the bigger names in the sport. And I think it's cool. I am not a NASCAR guy, so I've never been to Bristol. I couldn't tell you anything about the atmosphere there.
But I have heard that it's amazing. I mean 100,000 people. I've been to music festivals that have that many people and the energy is insane. So I cannot imagine that at a baseball game when you've got sort of two teams that are from around that area. Yeah, I think it's going to be crazy. I'll be very interested to see the dimensions of the field and how they fit it onto the infield and all that nerdy stuff. Like what are going to be the park factors? Are you more or less likely to get home around?
What's the air pressure like at Bristol, Tennessee? But yeah, I think it's cool. I think they should continue to do this. I would love to see baseball on every continent. With the exception of Antarctica, I think that would be maybe a little bit tricky. But yeah, expand the game.
Go places you haven't gone before. The other thing I think is interesting too is a couple years ago Rob Manfred said that he really wanted to expand the league to 32 teams. But we can't do that until we get the stadium situations sorted out in Oakland and in Tampa. Well, Oakland sorted.
Yes, still waiting. But something happened there. Is it Sacramento? Is it Las Vegas? I mean we don't know. You're talking to a guy who grew up in Oakland, California.
I don't know. What are we doing? Are they the Sacramento A's? Are they going to be the Oakland A's next year? The Las Vegas A's?
They haven't broke ground in Las Vegas. Don't ask me. I'm not a fan anymore.
It's a mess. Sell the team John Fisher. But now that those two things are sorted, you know, Major League Baseball might be looking to Tennessee to be like, could you guys support a Major League team in Nashville? I know Nashville is one of the possible candidates. So that's another like maybe side factor to look at and see how the how the crowds go. Keeping baseball relevant in August. I like it. Major League Baseball doing something different, keeping our eyeballs peeled on the Bristol Motor Speedway next year.
So I'm looking forward to that. I know we talked National League. What's the take on the American League? Is that something that we should be excited about as well? Because I feel like all the storylines are in the National League where we're not talking about the American League as much. And will the Rangers be right back where they were a year ago?
I'm just trying to figure it all out. No, no, they won't. They're cooked.
They're toast. The American League West is interesting, though, and the Astros are on an eight game winning streak. So they know they've taken a two and a half game lead in the division, but they got off to such a slow start.
And it took them so long to get good again. They've had a lot of reason their rotation. Meanwhile, the Mariners have like maybe the best rotation in baseball, but their hitters haven't been hitting. And that's going to be, you know, if it has the potential to be just a really messy dogfight to the end, unless the Astros are as good as they've looked for the last week. And then if you want a much classier, like actual top of the sport version of that dogfight, the Yankees Orioles in the East, that's going to probably go down to the wire. I think the Orioles to win the World Series before the year.
OK, as long as that's viable, I'm not going to change horses midstream. But the Yankees certainly have played better than I expected for most of the year in the central. I think it's going to be the guardians. I don't think anybody catches them. They do need some starting pitchers to get healthy. It's amazing to look at Cleveland and think, wow, they could use some starting pitching because they usually have all the starting pitchers. But their offense has been very, very good. And I don't think the twins catch them. The Royals have been kind of I don't know. They were really hot up until recently. And now they're falling off a little bit. Had a chance to overtake the twins.
Didn't do it. It's probably next year for the Royals, I think. But they could be a wildcard team. So the Royals are interesting after being so bad last year.
What would be interesting, final month and a half as I try to focus on baseball, NFL preseason and college football as we roll into September. So I know I'll be preempted for some baseball coming up real soon. But it's it's OK. I'll be OK, man.
Levi, man. I appreciate the time and also voted me top five coolest hats ever worn on an interview at Wayne's World. Game on. I got this for two dollars at a thrift store. I was looking for a Halloween costume. Also, you got some impressive cards on the wall. Are those real? Thanks. Are those real?
Yeah, those are all real. Because I've been staring at this Ricky Henderson rookie back there. Ricky Henderson, we got I saw Hank Aaron, Bob Gibson. Oh, look at that. It's Roberto. That's a rookie card.
Bob. Yes. Yeah, that was my pandemic project. I spent way too much money on baseball cards. I mean, we can relate. We all have these guilty pleasures, man. Doing more card breaks on Instagram. And I spent more money on cards.
It was ridiculous, but it was fun. Levi, man, I appreciate the time. And we'll be following your work at three to Eafus on Twitter X. As we said, we're going to watch you and listen and everything you're doing with the windup as well. We're going to follow to make sure I need to follow you. So I know I can get caught up on all my baseball when I need to stop.
Stop checking box score. So I appreciate the time, Levi. Right on. Thanks. Anytime, guys.
That's Levi Weaver, baseball writer for the athletic. And that was a nice little game of baseball game on that. Waynes World has you. I've been kind of into that, though. I've been into some of these thrift shops and stores. Yeah, I feel bad because I get all excited and I buy a bunch of stuff and I got to stop. Last week I bought a TLC.
Crazy, sexy, cool world tour. I bought a Prince shirt. What else did I buy? And so it's hard because I frequent Target, one of my good stores. You just happen to go by the men's section. Oh, they have all those. And they got all of those throwbacks. And it's like, I don't know if I feel at the age of 42 wearing a McLovin T-shirt. You know, it's like the McLovin one.
I saw like the Star Wars T-shirts, I think are OK. Well, they're like had a bluey T-shirt. I'm like, am I just overdoing it? Man, where would you dig? Where would you dig? All right. Well, I guess I'll start. I can't wear a Shrek T-shirt, though. They're like a Shrek one.
I can't. Do you like Shrek? I mean, I do like Shrek.
T-shirt then, baby. But then you don't want to be you want to be taken serious. I can't be walking around the streets of L.A. or walking to a meeting with a Shrek T-shirt on. You can't go in there maybe, you know, meeting some future bosses. But if you're just chilling in the cut. Yeah, not all of us can do that.
Not all of us can do that. By the way, McLovin, the character turned 43 this year. Really? From the fake I.D.? From the fake I.D.? This fake I.D.
age is 43. So you're fine. So good. There we go. What we got coming up? We got a what you got for me, Brock? Oh, I got a Patriots top five of what I want to see this year.
Let's go. Patriots top five. Get ready. Patriots top five. Let me hear that one more time, Philly. We're only going to win two games, so it's fine.
But I'm going to watch all of them. As we get ready for Tom Brady day. Right. First game of the season? Or was that last year? That was last year. Well, the statue's coming soon.
The statue's coming soon. All right. Cool.
You know, I'll talk to you about something else, too, I saw. Off air. Yeah.
About Tom Brady? No. I saw the the the other documentary that should be released coming up. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Talk about that a little bit later.
Come back here. Let's talk about sleep number, people. We all know in the NFL there's no margin for error.
A single mistake can change the outcome of a game. We all know that. And proven quality sleep, yeah, believe it or not, can boost reaction time, recovery time and overall performance.
You know that probably in your real life. The same thing goes in the National Football League, which is why sleep number is, in fact, the sleep and wellness partner of the National Football League, partnering since 2018. Eight out of 10 players have a sleep number smart bed.
You should, too. My sleep number setting is 60. My wife's is 70. Just 10 numbers apart. But it is the world of difference because being able to adjust your bed's firmness after working out for recovery, that is game changing. So right now, during the sleep numbers biggest sale of the year, you can save 50 percent on the sleep number limited edition smart bed, plus special financing for a limited time only at a sleep number store. Or you can go to sleep number dot com.
Sleep number is the official sleep and wellness partner of the National Football League. See store for details named one of the best personal finance podcasts. The Stacking Benjamin Show with Joe and his friends makes financial literacy fun. We see money of inefficiency around us all the time. We've got a few skeletons sitting out in the open and maybe we need to broom into the closet, if you know what I mean. Take that out. Whatever you're going for didn't land right. Who's got a shovel and some lime?
Maybe you need to do that with your financial picture. I don't know. Find out more by searching the Stacking Benjamins podcast wherever you listen. You're six, seven, correct?
Correct. And you're from Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Born and raised. So did you ever try football? Did anybody ever throw you out there on the field as a tight end or something like that? Oh yes.
Being from Tuscaloosa, you know, it was, you know, we see football day in and day out. So as a child, you want to do what you see. And that was my goal and plans, you know, until I was in college and I had a daughter that was on the way that was born with spina bifida. So, you know, it's just like to say, like, for me, it's like sometimes we have plans because God has other plans for you.
And those plans that I had set for myself, he's seen it in another light, a different way. And I found one of my purpose, you know, at that point in time, my life coming up, having a child that was born with a disorder, you know, it was very tough. It was difficult being that you young yourself and you only pray for a healthy child.
And then when you don't get that, you got to you got to you got to you got to set responsibilities and do what you got to do as a human being in general. And as a father, you know, I love being a father. You know, if it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be in boxing when, you know, I'll probably be, you know, in football or basketball or something like that. But having her, she changed my world completely. And and I'm forever grateful for her because I wouldn't be in this position.
I probably wouldn't be here. Who knows where I'd be, you know, without my children and their blessings. Many people say when you have kids and not playing that, you know, there's a mistake, but no child is a mistake. You know, and I just love being a father is number one for me. You know, even my two year olds understand boxing. All my kids would be at the fight. Yeah.
And my two year olds say, I want to go see Daddy Boom Boom. Oh, man, the final segment of the Rich Eisen show. So much we got done today. Got accomplished. Always great. My wife tells me to make a list. Make sure you get, when you get your list, make sure you make the checks.
On my list was Matthew Judon. We had to talk about that. We had to talk about the Patriots and what was going on. Because we got to preview a game tonight.
It's weird. Thursday, you always kind of spread out the preseason games. And so, but tonight is just a standalone pretty much. So I'll be watching that. So we're watching Eagles, Patriots.
We had to talk about the Eagles. Are they playing their guys tonight? I don't even know what they got going on.
I haven't seen any tweets or anything about it. Yeah. I mean, it's always a story of there's friction between Jalen Hurts and Sirianni. That's like the big story going into the season. We'll see.
I mean, they're going to be fine. I had to get caught up in my baseball. We did that. You say you're not a fan anymore. You're done with Oakland, huh? I'm done with the A's.
I've been done. I was always half A's, half Giants. You remember when I came on the show. You wore a jersey and a hat.
I've always been half, but now I've just been full on my allegiance to the Giants. And it's okay. It's okay.
That's smart. Because it's one thing with, I'll say this first. I've been, as a homegrown Oakland kid, I understand why the Raiders had to leave.
It's a different. People are like, oh, well, what about the Raiders? The Raiders left.
I get it. The Raiders were saying, look, we want to build this stadium where this is going to be our culture. This is just going to be the identity of our city.
City didn't want to do it. And now, I mean, jealous. I'm not jealous. But, you know, I guess for me, I'd love to go to Las Vegas to go to a football game. You know, I mean, hey, it's a great time to go to Las Vegas, you know, go watch a football.
It is an actual show. And I don't know if it would have been that way had they stayed in Oakland. You know, look, even for the Warriors, the Warriors are totally different. And they're playing over at Chase Center and they're a much bigger brand now. So I get it. It's about branding. It's about money. And I think once you get older and you take the politics out of it, you realize why things are happening.
That being said, the Patriots are not a political team, but yet people want them to be political. What is this top five things that we want to see from the Patriots in 2024? Yes. Let's go.
Do I have an animation? One, two, three, four, five. Brockman's. I like that. I love that.
OK, I love that. All right. OK. I have already resigned myself.
I know that it's going to be a long season. I totally understand that. OK. But it's about progress.
It's about development. I like that. It's about getting better for the future and becoming a Super Bowl contender and a winner once again. All right. So having said all that, top five things I want to see from the Patriots this year. All right.
In 2024. Writing this all down. Here we go. Number five. I like the right.
I like the right. It's tough being the guy after the guy, Kirk. You know what I mean? It's tough being the guy after the guy, but I want to see Jerrod Mayo out there and I want to see that Mayo confidence. I like what I've seen so far from him, but he's a little more friendly with the media.
He's talking a little bit more. But does he have that bill in him? Is he going to shut it down and not be forthcoming with the press and the fans? How does he handle the challenge flag? Is it in a sock like Bill used to do it?
Are we going to get cut off hoodies? I don't know. I just want to see the Mayo confidence prove you can be the guy after the guy, because as we know, that's very, very difficult.
Yes, it is. Number four. Especially in Dayton. Number four, it's all about the pass rush. We just got rid of Matthew Judon, a guy who had a huge 21 and 22 season. Didn't play much last year, but the Patriots, I looked this up. As Rich would say, I'm a stone cold professional or whatever he says.
It makes no sense. Lead pipe wielding. Well, yeah, that.
Lead pipe wielding. 27th in sacks last year, Kirk. You played on defense.
Yep. That's not good. That's not good at all. Not good at all. So I want to see how the guys go.
Key on white. A God child just got paid. Hopefully Christian Barmore comes back. Josh, you change.
You want belly? I want to see those guys and how they get after the quarterbacks this year, because we're going to have to rely on the defense a lot to keep us in games this season. So I'm looking forward to checking that out. Okay. Number three, we talked about them a little bit with Chad graph, Gonzo, Christian Gonzalez, first round pick last year, only played the four games last season, but show that he was on a defensive rookie of the year trajectory during the first month of the year.
I agree. He looked great. How does he come back?
How does he bounce back? Does it take an adjustment period before he gets to looking like that player, the shutdowns? Look, we had, uh, we had Reavis Island for a season, won a super bowl. Stefan Gilmore was a defensive player of the year. Can Christian Gonzalez get to that level?
I'm looking forward to seeing that number two. And look, the reason why we didn't go get Brandon. Not that he didn't want to come to new England. That's a great place. The development of the receivers. We love the wide young wide receiver room. Pop Douglas, Jalen Polk, Devon Baker, John Baker. I like these guys. I want to see how they develop, whether it's with Jacoby preset, whether it's with Drake may, hopefully towards the end of the season. I want to see these guys out there and see how they develop because it's all about this.
This is the core. This is going to be the nucleus for Drake may in 2025, 26 and beyond. So let's see how those guys do. And number one, the thing I want to see most from the Patriots this season, I want to see lots and lots of Jacoby preset. I want to see 17 games of Jacoby percent.
You don't know why Kirk? That means we're sitting Drake may and we've committed and we've got a plan and the patience is there. And we're going to actually red shirt the kid and let him learn and let him get the visual reps and the reps in practice, but we're going to not throw them out there. If the offensive line's not up to snuff and I don't care what the record is.
I want to see lots and lots of Jacoby preset this year. Okay. Do you think we need one more? All right, we'll get one more. Here's what else I want.
Okay. We've got a bonus. I want two wins this year. I don't care if there go two and 15, but I want two wins.
And I want them both to be against the jets. You want to know why the jets have been losers for 50 years. I don't care who their quarterback is. I don't care who their stars players are supposedly going to be. They're losers. Okay. We might be terrible, but we're not as terrible as them.
Two and 15 with both wins against the jets. Let's go. Fuck nasty. Tell them how you feel. Tell us how you feel. Say it with your chest. Say it with your chest. Losers.
They're losers. Okay. Okay. That's all I need to know. All right.
Done. That's what I wanted to pass it. So be the guy after the guy. The pass rush. Gonzo.
White receiver development. And for some reason I always want to put brisket instead of brisette. What do you think about brisket? Brisket. Brisket. Brisket.
That's what I'm talking about. What are you thinking about? Meat?
No. Just change it to Jacoby brisket. Brisket. Tacos. Our Instagram. If you ever went to the Chiefs, he'd have to change his name.
Yeah. Jacoby brisket. Lots of Jacoby brisket this year. That means we're sticking to the plan to develop and sit Drake May. You got it, man.
I'm trying to figure out. Where does Bazooka Joe fit into this plan? Not to start nothing.
Well, first off, here's the deal. First off, we need to put Bailey Zappi out of his misery. He needs to just be cut, released, let him go find another job somewhere else. He has no spot on this team. Joe Milton is going to be the third quarterback this year. He's probably not going to dress for a lot of games, but he's going to be the third guy. He's fun as exciting, but I think he's a super project as well. Joe Milton will start two games this year. That's not a hot take. At quarterback? At quarterback. I feel like you have to.
I think he may be. What do you mean you have to? I think he may be your best chance this year.
To do what? To be able to sit Drake May. I just feel like Jacoby Brisket has been great when he's been in there in terms of, as your bridge quarterback, but he's one injury away. One bad snap, one bad hit. Anyway, who goes in first? Who goes in first? If Drake May goes in, you cannot sit him back down. I saw this before with Jeff Fisher a long time ago. Jeff Fisher, when Jared Goff came in, made Jared Goff inactive and everybody said, how could the number one overall pick be inactive? He said, because if my starter goes down and the second guy in the backup goes in, he's got to play the rest of the season. You said he's not ready. Well, if he's not ready, then why are you putting him out there?
You cannot put the toothpaste back in the tube. That's why I'm saying you may have to put Milton in ahead only because Drake is the future. That's all I'm saying. But what if Milton comes in and shows and proves?
Hey, baby, I just like storylines. That's a good problem to have, I'd say. It is a great problem. It's a good problem. Let's just remember, all his highlight last week was against guys who aren't going to have jobs. Right.
So that's fine. It's an interesting take and I'll be watching it throughout. Same thing, what's going on with Kirk Cousins over there in Atlanta, man. Special thanks to all our guests today. Andrew Brandt, Chad Grant, Levi Weaver, Kirk Morrison, Rich Eisen's show, signing out. Former Navy SEAL Sean Ryan shares real stories from real people from all walks of life on The Sean Ryan Show.
Tucker Carlson, what is it that you think that people gravitate towards? I'm not self-aware. I refuse to be self-aware.
I don't even like mirrors at all, which you can probably tell from my appearance. I don't have a crazy high IQ or I really don't have that many skills. I would say my main skill is I believe my instincts. I don't hesitate to follow my instincts ever. The extent that I have, I've gotten in trouble. The Sean Ryan Show on YouTube or wherever you listen.
