As a business owner, you're always going that extra mile to pursue your passions, so you deserve partners who can help you go further with premium benefits and rewards. The American Express Business Platinum Card offers world-class business and travel benefits, so you can get more for your business wherever it takes you. With the Amex Business Platinum Card, you can earn 1.5 times membership rewards points on select business purchases, and you can get complimentary access to more than 1,400 airport lounges worldwide, including the Centurion Lounge, so you can keep running your business while you're on the go. See how the Amex Business Platinum Card gives business owners like you the tools and rewards to do more of what you love.
Terms and points can't apply. Learn more at AmericanExpress.com slash Amex Business. Some people just know they could save hundreds on car insurance by checking Allstate first, like you should know you should check your draft stats first before you put them on your fantasy team, or you should definitely check the expiration date on that can of bean dip you picked up at the gas station first before you dive in. Yeah, checking first is smart, so check Allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds. You're in good hands with Allstate.
Savings vary. Subject to terms, conditions, and availability. See Allstate.com for details. Allstate Fire and Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates, Northbrook, Illinois. This is The Rich Eisen Show.
My home's gets hit late. There's a narrative out there, Creed. What do you say to people who think that there's a zebra thumb on your side of the scale? I don't really listen to any of that stuff much. Live from The Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. To the head rep of the Super Bowl, Ron Torbert didn't set up the Zoom for you.
He's not right next to you, serving you breakfast. He's cooking over here right now. Earlier on the show, former NFL general manager Mike Mayock. Coming up, ESPN SportsCenter host Hannah Storm.
NFL draft analyst for the ringer, Todd McShea. And now, it's Rich Eisen. Hour number two of The Rich Eisen Show is on the air. Hannah Storm's going to join us in 20 minutes time. She is going to be the Pat Summerall Award winner of 2025 at the Legends for Charity event. It's the 20th anniversary of the Legends for Charity event dinner benefiting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. This one taking place in New Orleans. Chris Berman's going to be the host. She's being presented by her husband, Dan Hicks. It's going to be a fun night.
I personally can attest to that. And you can call us, 844-204-rich being the number to dial to have a chit chat today here on the program. You know, we were just talking with Mike Mayock about the Super Bowl and the Senior Bowl. Todd McShea is going to chime in from the Senior Bowl as we're going to go full bore into the whole talent evaluation portion of the calendar. It will be one month from today when the combine begins. It's right there, guys.
Yeah. First weekend of March is the is the combine. And I'll be there again for with NFL Network and Daniel Jeremiah and the the puzzle that's put together. And how you build a team and how you figure out what you want to do in free agency and the draft and how it dovetails together.
And certainly the quarterback draft and the quarterback free agency. It is one big puzzle. And I can think of the line from the fugitive, as you know, where Dr. Richard Kimball was in the house of the one-armed man of the apartment of the one-armed man. He calls. He calls the authorities.
And as you know, you know. The marshal played by Tommy Lee Jones, Sam Gerard tells him, I'm not trying to solve a puzzle. And Richard Kimball says, Well, I am trying to solve a puzzle. And I just found a big piece.
And he puts the phone down and gets out because he knows the phone's being traced. Well, big piece just landed today in the quarterback puzzle. And that's Matthew Stafford saying he wants to keep playing football.
That's a big piece. Because one assumes the Rams will have him back. Willingly, they're going to have to pay him to return. Currently makes twenty three million dollars for this upcoming season. Do you know who will not play in twenty twenty five for twenty three million dollars?
The sidearmed man of the Los Angeles Rams. That is a joke. It will not be that. I'll tell you that that's the base salaries gets four million for a roster bonus. He won't play for twenty seven. And I, I imagine as he does turn thirty seven the Friday before Super Bowl fifty nine. That I imagine the Rams will say we will take a thirty seven year old Matthew Stafford and less need. We'll figure out how to get him in the fold.
And whatever dollar figure that that hits. Because Stafford, you know, if he says I'm not playing for that amount and the Rams and him can't come to a figure, I can't imagine what come down to a showdown where they trade him and then start from scratch with who? You know, Jimmy G's the backup there at the moment or for last year he was.
Stetson Bennett, I think. I mean, that's they don't have the next one in waiting there. With all due respect, should have said that in beginning. And why would you willingly put yourself in the free agent market and the quarterback drafting market right now? Like, say, the Jets are in. Or potentially the Steelers are in.
The Raiders are flat out in that mix right now. You've got the Titans wondering, is it Will Levis or the first overall pick? Do we go for Cam Ward? Do the Browns go for Shadore or Cam Ward? With the Sean Watson going to be slated to miss next season again?
Do the Browns go into that mosh pit? The Giants, one would think whoever is still there at the top of their draft board at the quarterback position, when they're on the clock at three, they're taking one. They're absolutely taking one. And hopefully Cam Ward is the guy. And wouldn't that be amazing if Cam Ward is the guy or Shadore Sanders is the guy there? And Mike Mayock said just a half an hour ago on this show that if he was placing Cam Ward and Shadore Sanders in last year's draft, they would be quarterback QB five on his list. He did say he was undervalued on Bo Nix last year, who he compares Shadore Sanders skill set to. And the Giants, as we all know, had an opportunity to take QB four last year and passed up on it. And took Malik Nabors instead, meaning whoever they do draft third overall will have a second year wide out of note. And that's the reason why I think the Rams are 100 percent going to figure out how to get Matthew Stafford back in the fold and maybe finish his career in Los Angeles. Certainly the way that he played last year, right?
That would be great. He was balling last year. And I don't know what they do with Cooper Cup. That's going to be a conversation about the Rams later on. But Sam Darnold, Kirk Cousins might be cut free by the time it all happens. Who else is in this mix for a quarterback when you're going to need one?
Right? The AFC West is all settled for except for the Raiders. I mean, Pete Carroll was on what the football and everyone should still check that out because Marshall Falk is on it as well. Terrific insight for Super Bowl 59 as well from a guy who would know.
And certainly advice that Marshall gives to Saquon is in that episode of what the football as well. But Pete told Susie and Amy, I'd give you an answer about the quarterback room, but I'd be a guest. I'd just be a guest. They're in on it. Giants are in on it. You know, with the Saints being on it.
They love Spencer Rattler. I mean, who else is in the quarterback? You just wouldn't willingly put yourself in that mix when somebody like Matthew Stafford wants to imagine, stay here and figure this out.
But that's a pretty big piece. Yeah, I like that, Rich. And looking at Matthew's $27 million total, let's just assume that he plays on that next year. There are 15 guys making more per year at the quarterback position than him. Can I run down some names here and let's decide whether you'd take this guy over Matthew for next year. Can we do that?
Sure. Number one is Justin Herbert, $60 million a year. You'd rather have Matt, right?
Keep going. Tua, $51 million. Patrick Mahomes, $50 million. Dak Prescott?
Just stop there, by the way. Mahomes, $50 million. It's just a bargain. It seems like it's the best deal in sports. It's as big a bargain as you can get. Now, when you say you're talking about just for next year is what you're saying, right?
That's what you're just talking about. At this price tag. At the price... How many guys you taking over, Matt? But the reason why you take Matthew Stafford is to win now.
The reason why you have Tua under the fold like that and Justin Herbert under the fold like that is because you've got way more years of runway after with Stafford. So I understand. But you're talking about how expensive these quarterbacks are just to play in 2025. Yeah. I know. And you can get Matt probably, what, for 35 next year? I don't know about that. I think it would have to start with a four. He's going to want a double to play.
Why wouldn't he? He's going to be 38 years old. 37, right?
Yeah. Deshaun Watson, $46 million. Derek Carr, $40 million.
Trevor Lawrence, Aaron Rodgers, Kyler Murray, Geno Smith. I mean, please. Which is why he would absolutely ask for something that starts with a four.
So 844204, Rich, is the number to dial here on the program. I have a top five list, guys. This is your idea, Chris.
I appreciate you coming out with it here. Top five what ifs of the 2024 season. I love what ifs.
Presented by Turbo Tex. High five. One, two, three, four, five. Rich's top five.
All right. Top five what ifs of the 2024 season presented by Turbo Tax. Here we go.
Number five. Simply put, what if the Falcons benched Kirk Cousins earlier? What if they decided during the middle of that late season swoon?
What if they decided before December to go ahead and do it? What if they took a look at some of his great performances and said, you know what? Appreciate it, Kirk. We're just not going to ride it out here because we do see enough out of panics and we're going to make a move. That would have been bold.
Right, Chris? It would have been bold, but I think you could have made a case for it after the Broncos game. They got absolutely smoked in Denver 38-6. Kirk was awful. Maybe the worst game he's ever played as a pro.
And you could have realistically made the switch there. Did they have a bye week after that? You're talking about week 11. Yeah. They had lost two in a row coming off the bye, visiting, having the Chargers in their house.
You could have done it there. Yeah. Right. And instead what they did. They rode it out. They lost two more games. Kirk beat the Raiders, but he was again awful and got benched after that. You could have done it after Denver. Maybe saved yourself two more wins. Yeah, they were six and five at that point in time and finished eight and nine. Still could have won the division, gotten the playoffs with panics. Number four on the list.
This one is wild. What if the commanders week eight hail Mary against the Bears actually fell in complete? If the low percentage play was actually as low percentage as every other play is. Because don't forget the Chicago Bears at the time were four and two coming off a bye on a three game win streak. They had just beaten Jacksonville in London. And if the Bears beat the commanders in their five and two. I know the Bears then went to Arizona and lost by 20. And then they had the Patriots come in and beat them 19 to three at home. But those were residual effects of this hail Mary.
I totally agree. Based on the fact of what happened with Stevenson stunting in front of the fans. And then the reaction that the team had maybe internally to Eberflus's handling of all of it. I don't know if the Bears season would have been any different. But you take a look at the Washington commanders and how they finished up. It definitely wasn't going to be that much of an inflection point because of the way they finished up.
But Rich, the way they did finish up. They would have been five and three instead of six and two. But they won all those games at the end of the year. The Titans game notwithstanding. The last four, they all won on the last play of the game.
So maybe they don't have the confidence that they're going to pull out a game like that if the hail Mary doesn't fall complete. That's number four on the list. They don't make the playoffs. Number three.
They're all going to get more and more obvious as we go along. Number three, what if Jerry Jones had really gone all in and gotten Derrick Henry for his Cowboys? What happened? You know, you take a look at what Henry did in the Super Bowl. Well, I mean, about that. But you speak on it, T.J.
I don't know. Honestly, but also makes the Ravens less than so. It makes the Ravens. They don't win the division. Maybe they don't win a playoff game. Don't forget, the Ravens came into Dallas with Derrick Henry. Took a big lead. Yet another one of those teams early on before Dak got hurt that just blew the doors off of the Jones Mahal before halftime and made games non-competitive right from jump. What if he was actually there?
I mean, we could keep going on and on. What if Jerry had actually signed C.D. Lamb and Dak Prescott on time? Would their cap situation be better right now?
Would the season have gone better because these guys weren't held up the entire time? Also, the Ravens beat the Bengals by a combined four points. Maybe they lose both those games and now suddenly Cincinnati's in the playoffs.
Maybe Baltimore's at home. Number two on this list of what ifs of the 2024 season. What if Christian McCaffrey had been healthy all year long? What if the Niners came in to the season and it was McCaffrey's world and the McCaffrey of last year showed up this year? I know they still had a bunch of other injuries.
Jordan Mason was also really good. I know, but it's not the same, dude. Not the same. Just because he was doing well for your fantasy team and was compiling stats.
It's just not the same. I think the NFC might be different. You know, and I know that the Niners had other things happen.
IU gets his leg blown up out of the blue. But what if McCaffrey had been healthy all year long? Number one, it's as obvious as the nose on everybody's face. What if the Giants had decided to stick with Saquon Barkley? It's self-explanatory.
It is self-explanatory. And Mayock had it perfect. He's like, you know, the Giants had a plan.
Their problem was it played out on HBO. And that's, by the way, from Mayock. A guy who was, I guess, goaltending in his hard knocks for the Raiders back in the day with Antonio Brown and Gruden.
He was standing on his head like Dominikosik stopping pucks for that one. That hard knocks got Mayock cleansed. But do the Eagles do what they're doing?
Does Kenneth Gainwell, is he the guy? I don't know if that would have been their plan. Had Saquon not fell in their laps? Maybe they throw it more. It's a bigger Jalen Hurts year. He didn't even have 3,000 yards this year. Maybe he throws for 5,000. I don't even know if the Eagles would have done what they did.
He's the MVP of the team. They definitely wouldn't be in the Super Bowl. I think we could say that. And the Giants? I don't know. Probably would have went 6-11.
Which is their point. Why are we paying all that money to somebody that wouldn't affect wins and losses immediately? That's your top five. Do you think we need one more? I'm sure. Why not?
All right. We'll get one more. In terms of the concept of what if the Hail Mary had fallen to the ground? What would the Commander's season have been like? What would the Bears' season have been like? What if Jerry Jones had Derrick Henry with a star on the side of his helmet and Derrick Henry wouldn't have been on the Ravens? How different would those seasons have been? What if Isaiah likely was a size 13? I weirdly think not a lot changes in terms of the scope of the season.
I don't know. Obviously, they would have gone for two to try and win that game. There still would have been one more play to play it out.
But you see what I'm saying. What if the Chiefs had started 0-1 and then had Burrow come in the next week and then they go to Atlanta the week after that? What if they were 0-1 instead of 1-0 and they lost to the Ravens? The Ravens were a game better.
How would that have played out? Is this also the multiverse where they don't have Derrick Henry? No, they have Derrick Henry. I mean, they had Derrick Henry that night. As you know, they actually used him in the first half of that game. But he didn't do that much if I recall. No, but I'm just saying, what if the Chiefs had lost week one?
Is this another way of saying it? Just food for thought here on that front. How different would it have been if the Chiefs started 0-1 and instead weren't undefeated all the way through the first half of the season? Now, I could choose a ton of other what-ifs. Oh, I had a huge list.
Oh, I know. What if they didn't block the field goal against Denver? What if the snap didn't go off of Aiden O'Connell's chest against the Chiefs?
That's just for the Chiefs. There's a lot of what-ifs for the Chiefs, but I just went back to week one to see if there would have been a domino effect throughout the rest of the season. What if the Bills didn't trade the pick for Xavier Worthy?
I hear you. Would Xavier Worthy still have been off the board before 32? You never know. What if the Bills had taken him? That's my top five what-ifs of the 2024 season presented by TurboTax. Hand off your taxes to a TurboTax full service expert this year. They do your taxes, you get back to life.
Now this is taxes. 844-204-rich number to dial with your what-if. We still haven't gotten back to the way we started the show, whose legacy would be burnished the most with a Super Bowl win. We will hit that. But coming up next, this year's Pat Summerall Award winner at the Legends for Charity event in support of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Hannah Storm will join us next.
This is the Rich Eisen Show. Some people just know they could save hundreds on car insurance by checking Allstate first. Like, you should know you should check your draft stats first before you put them on your fantasy team. Or you should definitely check the expiration date on that can of bean dip you picked up at the gas station first before you dive in.
Yeah, checking first is smart. So check Allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds. You're in good hands with Allstate.
Savings vary. Subject to terms, conditions, and availability. See Allstate.com for details.
Allstate Fire and Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates, Northbrook, Illinois. Let's talk live good people. We all take supplements, or at least we know we should. But why are so many supplement companies charging ridiculous prices for products that really aren't that special?
It's frustrating. That's why I want to introduce you to LiveGood, a brand that's turning the supplement industry on its head. LiveGood believes that everyone deserves access to high-quality supplements without the insane markups. They offer premium products formulated by their industry-leading team of natural health experts, and they cut out the middleman to sell them at some of the lowest prices anywhere.
You're going to love it. Collagen peptides. Energy endurance electrolytes. Organic coffee.
Yeah, coffee. Organic super greens. Protein powder. Weight loss products. Hormone products. Skin care products. All highest quality products at prices people can actually afford. Ready to make the switch and start saving?
Well, we'll make it even easier for you. Use our link, and you can save an additional 10% off your first order on top of the already lowest prices. Go to LiveGood.com slash rich to save 10% on your first order.
That's LiveGood.com slash rich. Don't miss out on this opportunity to invest in your health without overspending. These statements and products have not been evaluated by the FDA.
These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or condition. Let's talk sleep number, people. In the NFL, there is no margin for error.
One mistake can change the outcome of a game, as you can tell right around these times, an entire season. So you've got to be on your game. Science proves quality sleep can help you boost your reaction time, recovery time, and overall athletic performance. As the official sleep and wellness partner of the NFL, sleep number's mission is to provide players with data and insights to optimize their sleep for the ultimate competitive edge.
So why not do it for yourself? I do it. My sleep number setting is 60. My wife's is 70. My wife's is just 10 numbers apart, but being able to adjust your bed's firmness after working out or for recovery, it's a game changer. So why choose a sleep number smart bed so you can choose your ideal comfort on either side? And now save 50% on the new sleep number limited edition smart bed, exclusively at a sleep number store near you, limited time.
See store or sleepnumber.com for details. Back here on The Rich Eisen Show, hey, the coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars is coachable. That's a good sign.
That's a headline. When you hire someone as your new head coach, at least we find out if he's coachable, he should be able to coach others. So Liam Cohen, as you know, in his opening press conference, creeped us out with the way that he said, Do ball. But I mean, it sounded like, you know, he's haunting a house.
You know, it's like the ghost of Jaguars past. Do ball. The last do ball to be part of something is spooky was Shelly. Do ball. One of the stars of The Shining. Oh, it was Robert.
Do ball. Ever in any horror movie or anything like that? Oh, good question. Spooky? I don't think so. I don't think Robert was.
I mean, Apocalypse Now is pretty spooky, but not in the traditional sense. So Liam Cohen in a local interview was given an opportunity to try again. And I do believe he's been coached up. Do ball. Here we go. Here we go. Do ball.
I got to say, the first one is growing on me. Did he try again, too? Did he get a second? OK, you got a second crack at it.
Three, two, one. Do ball. OK. All right, so he's owning it.
He's owning it. OK. Very good.
Let's go. I think he should have stuck with the first one. Which is do ball.
And then everyone around him is like, great job, sir. Let's now all change. Yeah, and change.
That new regime. Look, the old way of saying do ball didn't get you anywhere. OK? OK. Got to shake things up, do things differently. Nice. I like it. I like it.
Back here on the Rich Eisen Show, Liam Cohen, a round of applause for the Jacksonville Jaguars coach getting his second crack at do ball. Yeah, that's saying, I mean, that is not good. That was bad.
Pretty bad. It sounded spooky. Spooky.
Which is not the way to go about it. Let's go to Mark in Albany, New York. You're here on the Rich Eisen Show. What's up, Mark? Hey, Rich. How you doing? What's on your mind, sir? I want to talk about our new Dallas Cowboy coach.
Go for it. I never thought we had a chance to get in Deion because there's no way we was going to get him and his two sons, so I knew that wasn't going to happen. But I think, Brian, I think he deserves a shot. I really do.
I think he deserves a shot because, you know, I don't know. You are me, Mark. You are me. Mark, that is the greatest defense of anything we've ever heard in the 10-plus year history of this program. You are now going to be a drop. You are going to be a drop. We're going to use your words forever, Mark.
Congratulations. I've never called anyone my spirit animal. Because his dad was a great coach, so you don't know. His dad was a good model. Yeah, of course. Mark, my dad was a great French teacher, so I should start teaching French. His mother was a mother.
By the way, not just start teaching French, I should start teaching French to French people, because that's the level of what Brian's getting into here. Right? Yeah. Yeah.
So, well done, Mark. And then I just have one more thing to say. Yeah? I don't think the problem, I think the, we let Dan Quinn go, and we let Kellen Moore go. Look how successful they were this year.
Right. They weren't the problem. Mike McCarthy was the problem.
Dude was 12 and 5, all those years in a row. You know? Yeah, but when you can't, yeah, you could be, well, look what happened to Minnesota and Detroit this year.
I'm 100% sure everybody thought one of them would be an NFC Championship, but nobody thought it would be Washington and Philly. That's correct. For where? For Minnesota. Well done. Mark and Albany, everybody. Mark, make sure you call back, man. We need to commiserate. Yeah, we'll, we'll. Okay.
I never have any Dallas fans calling on my side, so. Can we get that as a drop, please? You know? I think Brian Schottenheimer, I think Brian, thanks for the call, Mark.
I think Brian Schottenheimer should be coach because, I don't know. He loves the slop. Loves it, eats it up. Eats the slop. Born to slop.
I don't know why that's, why is that drop dramatic? Slop as a mother. Oh, I see. Because I said his mother was a mother. Oh, okay, now I got it. I needed those dots connected a little bit. No, I heard you.
That's why I tried. He's listening, guys. Yeah.
Who is? Don't you follow? Yeah. Were you?
Yeah. Because I thought you were doing banking or whatever. You didn't hear TJ. I was actually listening better than Mike. Excuse me.
That's a good point, Mike. Excuse me. Did you hear something on your phone during that phone conversation? No. Now, he actually heard what I said.
He did. We're back on 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. Call clickrainger.com or just stop by. Definitely, if you are in New Orleans next week, go and purchase tickets for the Legends for Charity dinner at legendsforcharity.com. Cheryl D. Leonardis is, I guess, the heart and soul and the creator of the event and the person who just keeps it going year after year after year and is the angel on earth who will raise his money in support of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
A Pat Summerall award is handed out every single year during that Super Bowl week, the 2025 winner of that award. Joining us here on the Rich Eisen Show, Hannah Storm. Good to see you, Hannah.
How are you? Thank you so much. It's great to see you. Thanks. Right back at you. You're such an important part of that legacy of the Pat Summerall award.
Well, listen, I'm honored to be on the list of winners and a list that now includes you, so congratulations to that. It's a beautiful night. It really is. It's a pretty sweet night when you see all that money that's raised for kids that desperately need it. Yeah. It was when Bill Cower went in a few years ago, so I've met everybody associated with it. I have a little bit of an idea of what it's all about.
I didn't ever dream that I would be an honoree at that event, so it's pretty cool. Exactly. So no doubt about it. And Chris Berman's hosting the evening as well? Yeah, of course. The swatter?
Yeah. He flies in every couple of years and he hosts. The kind of nice thing is, too, obviously, the Super Bowl in New Orleans, Archie Manning is super busy, but I know he's going to stop by for a while, too, and he's a long-time friend and, of course, a great supporter of Legends for Charity, so I'm excited to see him as well.
I was the host the night of 12 years ago, last time this was in New Orleans. He received the award, and it was just great to see his three sons there standing behind him and seeing Peyton Manning and Eli Manning act like the younger brothers to Cooper, because they're the younger brothers. It was just wild to see them in a younger brother deferential role to their older brother in support of Archie.
It was great to see that that night as well. Yeah, it's a pretty incredible family. Obviously, as you know, the matriarch of that family is Olivia, and she kind of holds the whole thing together, right?
Yes. But I love the way, I love the boys' relationship, and the way that that's continued as adults is so cool. I kind of look a little bit at the Kelsey brothers right now, and playing, obviously, in the Super Bowl, 57, and then today, Jason being the announcer for Travis as he's playing, it's pretty neat. Watt brothers, too, just these really special families. Yeah, and it's pretty cool to win an award with Pat Summerall's name on it for what we do for a living, and certainly, you spent some time with CBS News, and he was the voice of the NFL on CBS before he was the voice of NFL on Fox. So that's pretty cool.
It's all nice that it all comes together. Yeah, and golf, too, obviously, yeah, a very important voice in tennis. U.S. Open tennis?
Yeah. U.S. Open tennis was a huge part of his legacy, and a guy, by the way, was a great athlete. He was born, actually, with one of his feet backwards, had surgery when he was a couple of weeks old, and his mom was told he's going to walk with a limp, and then he ended up being this incredible multi-sport athlete kicking in the NFL, and then had this, just by accident, this broadcasting career when somebody from CBS Radio was calling his roommate and looking for them, and then liked the way his voice sounded and said, why don't you come in and audition for this job, and he did, and the rest is history. So he's got a very, very cool story.
I had no idea about that. That's like a very Forrest Gump-like beginning, you know, to your life. I know, right? Well, you feel like our job and our lives are Forrest Gump-ish, I mean, really. Well, listen, when I did get a couple summers with CBS Sports at the US Open, I was blown away by just being there, and looking down and seeing the CBS logo on a jacket, and just knowing that Summerall did that for all those years, and then calling games just for football, and shutting up.
Like, it ain't easy, you know? He was the king of just the economy of words and never saying too much, and just letting everything play out in front, like he was the king of that. He was all about the game, you know, and it's almost, I don't want to say it's a lost art, and it's very hard, and you know doing play-by-play, and I did play-by-play for Thursday Night Football on Amazon for four years, and it's a very, very difficult job, but one of the important parts of it is letting the game be the thing, right, letting the action tell the story. And when we talk about the greats, Vince Scully was the same way, Rich, right?
He didn't over talk or feel like he had to fill airspace and all of that, and that's just a true art, right, to be able to say what needs to be said, but really let what's unfolding unfold, you know? It's something that kind of comes naturally, I think, to maybe a golf announcer, right, someone like my husband, but because by nature they don't over talk, I think because of the nature of the sport, but with football it's, I think, you know, we could all emulate Pat Summerall, right? Absolutely, no doubt, and you've been around sports your entire life. Is it true your dad was the commissioner of the ABA?
Yes, isn't it crazy? So when I was a little kid, I would grow up when it wasn't a school night and I would be going to basketball games, and so when I got to Notre Dame and, you know, I was thinking about what I wanted to do for a living, I was like, well, I want to be in sports, you know, I want to be a sports announcer. I started at the radio station in college and the local TV station because I loved it. I just knew how much fun it was, you know, but that was just from living it, you know, on the business side, and we moved around constantly because of my dad's job.
So he ended up being in the old WFL, USFFL, all other leagues, indoor tennis, like crazy stuff, the Astros. I mean, we were all over the place, but I knew how much fun sports was. So I'm really grateful for that because I think as a woman, naturally, you know, there were no women doing it at the time, but I was lucky enough to grow up around sports so that I was pretty stubborn and determined. I was like, yeah, I really want to work in this.
So that, that tenacity definitely served me well. Well, you arrived at NBC at a perfect time too, right? At the cross section of so much of the NFL and the Jordan years in the NBA, on NBC, you know, John Tesh, Round Ball Rock, the whole thing, you know, when you were... Olympics, Notre Dame football.
I mean, there was a point, Rich, where NBC basically had everything. And we even had something called the Baseball Network. I don't know if you remember that. Oh, I remember that. I mean, I remember, I remember sitting in, I was on a local TV at the time in Redding, California, watching the Yankees take on the Mariners on the Baseball Network, you know, in the 95 playoffs, watching them beat the Yankees.
And I turned the television off and sat in silence for five minutes. I remember watching the Baseball Network. Oh, yeah. I'm sorry.
That's all right. All the Baseball Network stuff was actually done out of Bristol hilariously. And I think ESPN was like one building at the time. And there was like a Friendly's across the street. So we would, you know, drive up and grab a fribble from Friendly's and sit there all night, you know, with myself, maybe one other person in this like little closet of a studio and do the Baseball Network.
It was pretty crazy, pretty crazy to be like what it all is today. No doubt, no doubt about it. You know, and you and I have something in common, not just a Summerall Award, but also you and I had the, you know, unfortunate moment where both you and I for our respective networks announced the passing of Stuart Scott. And I know you work with Stu for, you know, with ESPN for all that time on the NBA Finals and all the coverage of it. I just throw the floor to you and what you think of when you when you work with Stu and got to know him. Well, I think that honestly, Rich, what because I work a lot with Stuart, I consider working with him now, too, because I work so much with the V Foundation and with his very specific element of the V Foundation, which is to fund research for really underserved populations in the cancer space. And I just think of, you know, when Stu had cancer, you know, and I was diagnosed with cancer a year ago. And I'm thankfully great cancer free now when he had his very, very long battle, which he obviously eventually succumbed to cancer. He would always say, first of all, he always talked about it, which I thought was really cool. He didn't pretend it wasn't happening.
It was like right there front and center. And then he would always say, I don't want to know what stage it is. I don't want anybody to tell me how long I have to live. I don't want to know the odds.
I don't want to know any of it. I'm just going to live my life. And you remember, he would like work out like a fiend, drink his protein shakes, talk about hanging out with his girls. You know, I mean, he really, he really, he really lived life without thinking about what was coming down the road. And I just thought, you know, obviously his broadcast legacy is unparalleled and singular. He allowed people to be themselves. He was unabashedly himself in every sense of the word. He was genuine. He was true. He was 100% authentic. That is something, again, as you and I are talking about the greats here, right?
That anyone can emulate. And it takes courage to do that. And that courage that he had sort of intrinsically manifested itself in his battle with cancer and is still today, his life is having such an incredible impact on the millions that have been raised for cancer research. And I just, you know, Tay and Sid, his daughters are unbelievable at carrying on that legacy.
And I just think it's something that even Stu maybe couldn't have envisioned, you know? And I think that when things like this happen in life, I didn't know that, like my cancer diagnosis and luckily caught it early, but it has enabled me to reach out with and to so many people about the importance of testing and early testing. And just, it has introduced me to this entire incredible community of people who care so deeply about those suffering from cancer.
So it's been a real blessing and I think Stuart's life is just something that we can emulate on so many levels. And I think about him all the time. You and me both. You and me both. And it's one of the- I'm like ready to, I know.
No, I know. You and me both. Cause I think about him first, obviously for a Super Bowl, big moments, you know, what he would think about a three-peat and things of that nature of what you and I are going to New Orleans to go check out. And you know, what he would think about Bill Belichick is coaching North Carolina football. He would lose his mind. You know, he would go out of his mind about that.
You know, the current NBA, Victor Wambunyama and what he's doing and LeBron at age 40 and what his perspective on all of this would be. You know, I think about that all the time. And it wasn't about him, Rich, you know what I mean? He would say stuff that was uniquely his, but it wasn't about him. Does that make sense?
Of course. He would say it in his way. And of course today he would have gone viral on top of viral on top of viral, right? But it was always about the thing and the event and how much joy he took out of whatever he was seeing, how much delight he took from it.
And now he was going to phrase it. And you know, that was part of his magic. No doubt. No doubt. Congrats on, again, the Pat Sumrall award that you're getting next week at the Super Bowl. I would be remiss if I didn't say before saying goodbye, your opinion of what happens in Super Bowl 59. I think it's, you know, obviously I think like a lot of people, I would love to see Daquan. Just as an individual, he's been so impactful on that team, I'd really love to see him win a Super Bowl.
That having been said, I would like to see history. I would like to see a three-peat. I think this team is so unique. There are dynasties and then there is, you know, how you win. And how you win to me is how you become legendary. And how this Kansas City team has won, you know, these 17 straight one-score games. But how they win with Patrick Mahomes doing whatever it takes. With that flair like a Tiger Woods had or with that magic like a Michael Jordan had or with that consistency like a Michael Phelps had, that consistent excellence. You look at this team and its core and you look at Andy and Spags and Patrick and Travis and Chris.
And you consider all the different pieces that have come and gone, right? But that can be called upon at any time, a la, you know, Samadhi Pirain, that they have the faith to dial up a play at any time, like at the end of the AFC Championship game. That they understand that their players are going to execute and that they're going to execute consistently a team that doesn't beat itself. To me, this team is special and it has the stuff of legend because of the core people that are involved. And so I would like to see them do something that Montana didn't do and Brady didn't do and Bradshaw didn't do and, you know, dynasties are dynasties, but three in a row. That's truly the stuff of legends.
So I would like to see that rich. Hannah Storm, I look forward to seeing you in New Orleans. And speaking of legends, it's called the legends for charity dinner, legends for charity.com purchase tickets.
They're almost sold out. Chris Berman is hosting your husband. Dan Hicks is presenting you your well-deserved Pat Sumrall award and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is the beneficiary of all of it. Thanks again, Hannah. Congrats. Thank you. Say hi to Dan for me. And I will see you in New Orleans. That is Hannah Storm, everybody go again, legends for charity.com purchase tickets.
It goes to a great cause. That's Hannah Storm right here on the Rich Eisen Show. Okay. Let's take a break here. When we come back, we've got a sports update on the infinity sports network from Manny Rodriguez.
Manny, take it away. This is a message from sponsor Intuit TurboTax. Now taxes is 100% free when you file in the TurboTax app. If you're a first time filer or didn't file with TurboTax last year, that's right. Just do your own taxes in the TurboTax app by February 18th. Had a few jobs last year? It's free.
Have a lot of forms. Yep. Still free.
Have a bunch of new invisible crypto coins? Heads up. It's still free.
Convinced you saw Bigfoot, even if your friends don't believe you. That has absolutely nothing to do with taxes, but you better believe it's still absolutely free. Just download and do your own taxes in the TurboTax app by February 18th. All tax forms, all 100% free. Now this is taxes. See if you qualify in the TurboTax app. Excludes TurboTax live.
Must start and file in app by February 18th. This episode is brought to you by Love Hurts. Kiwi Kwan has had quite a career from childhood roles in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and The Goonies to a recent Academy Award win for Everything Everywhere All at Once. But now, Kiwi finally stars as a leading man in the film Love Hurts. Love Hurts is the perfect date night movie with its mix of over the top action, comedy and a ton of heart.
Love Hurts only at theaters February 7th. To put in, to never give in to those who said you can't all came to a head the night that you won this in this town. It meant more than even winning the Super Bowl I think for me because it was the journey and it was the people that said you had no chance and it was the moments that I remember sitting there with my wife going, is it just time they can give up? Is it time to let the dream go?
How often did you have that chat with Brenda, do you think? I don't know if we had it a lot, but we had it a few times where, you know, you have those people that are in your life that want to support everything you do, but they give you that look like, you know, I'm supporting you, but come on, dude. I mean, really, it's probably not going to happen at this point. It's just, you know, so at some point you have to let it go. I mean, I think about that with my kids, you know, my kids have the dream of playing in the NFL and doing that.
And, you know, I've got one that's playing in college now and Nebraska, right in Nebraska and one that's, you know, just 14 and freshmen. But I just think to myself for most people, it comes to an end at some point and I've got to be ready as a dad to go, okay, it's been great, but maybe this is the end for you and that's how the people, my parents, my wife, as much as they wanted to support me and help me along this path, I mean, you get to be 26, 27 and it's like, you know, I love you, dear. And maybe the thing I have to tell you is it's time to let it go. And you know, and I tell people all the time that, you know, they say, wow, how do you keep going?
You know, how do you keep going when you're working in a grocery store and you're doing that sort of stuff? The funny thing for me was that everybody looks at sitting on the bench for four years and getting cut by Green Bay and going to the grocery store. And all I ever looked at was every time I played football, every time I was between the lines, my one year in college, player of the year in our conference, you know, when I played in arena football, we went to two championships, I was the best quarterback in the league when I went to Europe. And so what kept me going was nobody's ever shown me, I've never stepped on a field and not been able to be successful. And so I think that's what would have just killed me is had I walked away, never given the opportunity to succeed, I didn't want to be that guy that was 47 years old sitting on the couch. Man, if I would have just got the opportunity, I could have done it.
So that's what kept me going was just I need that one legitimate chance to prove I can play. And thank goodness it came from St. Louis. Oh boy, all of Kurt Warner's appearances, and he's going to have another one in our Super Bowl shows next week can be seen on our YouTube channel, youtube.com slash rich eyes and show. You know, I'm going to we need to pop out there the Kelsey interview we had at the Super Bowl in Minnesota the day after Alex Smith got traded. It's a seven year anniversary tomorrow.
We'll do that. Just seeing how young Kelsey is and how he looks and now he's just like, yeah, you know, the new getting new kids. There's a lot of expectations. What I like most about that is that he said, you can't talk about Travis Kelsey without saying Alex Smith, but at that point in time, it's 22 touchdowns together.
Then he has 55 in the regular season, but the 22 touchdowns were the first ones of Kelsey's career and he probably thought that's my guy the rest of my life. Not so much back on the rich eyes and show radio network. When you're ordering out wings for the game in a couple of weeks, whipping up a seven layer dip or just ordering pizza. There's something about football that makes you want to eat. And this football season, Uber Eats has had the best deals on game day food, no matter what you're craving from two for one pizza to buy one, get one wings. Uber Eats has been dropping new deals each week, all season long. So Uber Eats, the official on demand delivery partner of the NFL order right now for game day. Terms and conditions apply.
See the app for details. Brandon Bean, the general manager of the Buffalo Bills, his end of season press conference today, he was asked about the fourth down spot that we're still talking about days later because the initial official at the top of your screen thought it was a first down. The official at the bottom thought it was a first down for the chiefs. The two met at the football, wound up being a first down for the chiefs.
After further review, he was asked about it today. You know, if you're talking about like the fourth down play that was, you know, I feel like he, you know, he got that and I still feel like he got that. I felt that in the moment and I, nothing has changed my mind on that, you know, and, and you know, the, the play that we challenged, I thought was a good challenge. I think, I'm not sure either player had possession, um, on the Bishop worthy play. When the ball touched the ground, you have to, you have to have possession. It's like, what is possession and what Matt says is possession might not be what Elena says is possession, you know what I mean, it's a little bit, but when the ball touches the ground, someone has to have established possession and you know, again, they've given how they see it and that's their job and, and, um, but it is what it is. I mean, that's, those are just like plays we didn't make in a game too, that so by no means are we saying that's why we lost the game. What a tough, tough pill for the Buffalo Bills to swallow.
What a tough pill, man. And um, just let's get the technology. Let's get the technology in play.
Seems like an easy fix. If we've got the lasers and the GPS and the chips and it's available, let's do it. What are we waiting for? True line. You have fell at it.
Let's go. Tested it, tested it though. And it wasn't completely accurate. Is that right?
Yeah, it was good. But there were times when you could see, I mean, it was, it still needs to be like perfected. So then, so then, so then we're not ready to unveil it close.
I mean, if God forbid, like you said about the stay, mess it up. And because of that, you're never going to hear the end of it. They got to wait till it's perfect.
I don't know when it is. Because right now, if something like this happens in the Super Bowl, good night. Oh, it would just be, you say that real difficult to swallow. It would be AFC championship game. Isn't good enough. Dude, I understand that there's nothing bigger than the Super Bowl. The audience for the Super Bowl will be double the AFC championship game, double.
I understand that. But so, and it's a bunch of people that don't watch football and that they're introduced to football maybe for the first time. But I haven't read anybody or listened to anyone who thinks that he didn't make it.
So what are we doing? War number three coming up, Todd McShea from the Senior Bowl. I have no pushback on it, other than the fact that I thought he made it too. I thought he made it too, but I also did not see anything conclusive on a replay to say that you got to overturn that.
I didn't see that either. And I understand Brandon Bean saying that the dually possessed ball didn't look like anybody had possession as the ball hit the ground, because a ball can hit the ground as long as it does not move and it doesn't aid you in your possession and it doesn't precede possession. And I think that's his point is that if we don't know who's got the ball and the ball hits the ground, that means it should be incomplete. Again, that would have just been a 20-yard difference in terms of spotting the ball. It's pretty big between the five and the 25, I totally understand that, but it doesn't raise to the same level of losing the football, the possession of the football. The one thing I just pushed back against is that there is no entity within the front office of the National Football League that is saying to the officials before they go out to the Super Bowl, call it for the Chiefs.
It just doesn't exist. It's absurd. I have actually spoken to the commissioner himself about what keeps him up at night. Years ago, I asked him that question. And one of the things he said is a gambling scandal.
That keeps him up at night. So this falls into that, right? Like if it comes out that there are entities in the front office of the NFL that tell the officials to make sure one team wins over the other, it would be the end of everything.
Oh yeah, it would be. No, and I understand that you can't push back on the notion for, I see the responses to people on our YouTube page and things of that nature. I see them where I'm a stooge, I'm a company man as Bill Burr accused me of being earlier this week. I just know 100%, I would go to my grave saying that there is nobody in the NFL that roots for one team over the other. As a matter of fact, when I took the job and I asked Paul Taglia, who was a former Washington Redskins lawyer and season ticket holder, does he still root for Washington? And he said he was told by the previous commissioner, Pete Rozelle, when he asked a similar question of Rozelle, who I believe was at the Rams for a while, he goes, now that you're a commissioner, you root for the team that's losing because you won a close game. With the proliferation of gambling and all the partners, it seems like it's not if it's a when situation, when there's a type of scandal. There's a breaking news right now about the NBA having another possible one. So it's going to happen in the NFL, it's a matter of time. Well, one thing I'm just saying is that this ain't it.
Our number three coming up. Hey, it's Rich Eisen here. Join me and my compadre, Chris Brockman, every Monday on the Overreaction Monday podcast. You're also saying the record's going to go down.
I'm saying the record's going down anyway. I don't think you're off on this at all. Like you're spot on. I don't think this is an overreaction because we have no idea what we're reacting to. Come react or overreact with us. Overreaction Monday. Follow and listen on your favorite platform. It's game over. We'll be right back.
