Hour 1: LIVE from The Irish Exit

Summary

Podcast Summary: Don, Hahn & Rosenberg – Hour 1: LIVE from The Irish Exit

Podcast Information:

• Title: Don, Hahn & Rosenberg
• Host/Author: ESPN New York, Alan Hahn, Peter Rosenberg
• Description: Featuring Don La Greca, Alan Hahn, and Peter Rosenberg, the podcast delves into New York sports, hip hop, WWE personalities, and more.
• Episode: Hour 1: LIVE from The Irish Exit
• Release Date: March 14, 2025

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1. Introduction and Setting the Scene

The episode kicks off live from The Irish Exit at the Moynihan Train Hall, situated across the street from Madison Square Garden in New York City. Hosts Don Hahn and Peter Rosenberg engage in light banter, setting a lively and nostalgic tone for the discussion ahead.

Peter Rosenberg [00:43]: "It's a Friday in New York City. A beautiful day here. Let's hear it."

2. St. John's Basketball Resurgence

A significant portion of the conversation centers around the resurgence of St. John's University basketball program under the leadership of Rick Pitino. The hosts express enthusiasm about St. John's return to national prominence and discuss the broader implications for the Big East Conference.

Don Hahn [01:26]: "St. John's is a player again and we get a chance to see it firsthand tonight."

Key Points:

• Historical Context: The decline and recent revival of St. John's within the Big East.
• Rick Pitino's Impact: Investment in the program, recruitment strategies, and leveraging Madison Square Garden as a home venue.
• Big East Dynamics: Changes in the conference, including Rutgers' move to the Big Ten and its effects on rivalries and team sustainability.

Don Hahn [04:24]: "It's like St. John's moved and came back. It's the prodigal son returning."

3. Coaching and Leadership in Sports

The discussion shifts to the importance of coaching in both college and professional sports. The hosts debate the longevity and impact of experienced coaches like Rick Pitino versus the industry's preference for younger coaching talent.

Peter Rosenberg [10:14]: "You have to really think about coaches who have been in one more than one place. And that's what Pitino represents."

Notable Quotes:

• Ann [16:01]: "In the age of the empowered athlete that we are in right now, are we not learning that the coach is still the most valuable piece of a franchise?"
• Don Hahn [16:10]: "They all got scared off when Parcells had the heart problems and needed to walk away."

4. NFL Update: Aaron Rodgers and Quarterback Decisions

Interspersed with the main conversation are discussions about NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers and his potential moves, particularly focusing on his interest in joining the Minnesota Vikings and the implications for other teams like the Giants and Steelers.

Peter Rosenberg [28:20]: "Brett Favre did. Yep, he wants to go there."

Key Points:

• Minnesota Vikings' Dilemma: Balancing between retaining J.J. McCarthy or bringing in Rodgers.
• Team Strategies: Evaluating the potential success of different quarterbacks and the impact on team dynamics.

Don Hahn [48:40]: "You got more of a chance to win, I think, than you do with the Giants."

5. Special Guest: Walter Berry on St. John's Legacy

The podcast welcomes Walter Berry, a St. John's legend from the 1980s, providing deep insights into the program's history and its current trajectory under Rick Pitino.

Walter Berry [29:39]: "They're back. And there's no doubt in my mind that St. John's is back, back on top."

Key Points:

• Nostalgia and Legacy: Berry reminisces about the golden era of St. John's basketball and draws parallels to today's team.
• Rick Pitino's Influence: Berry highlights Pitino's authenticity, connections, and rejuvenation of the program.
• Future Aspirations: Predictions of St. John's aiming for the Final Four and winning the Big East Tournament.

Walter Berry [38:28]: "The potential is Final Four. I think they're gonna go to the Final Four."

6. Nostalgia and History of the Big East

Berry and the hosts delve into the rich history of the Big East Conference, comparing its past competitiveness to the current landscape. They highlight how the Big East was akin to the NBA in its former glory, with multiple teams producing NBA talent.

Walter Berry [39:04]: "The Big East was like the NBA back in old days because every team had three to four starters that made it to the NBA."

7. Conclusion and Looking Forward

As the episode wraps up, the hosts express excitement for the upcoming St. John's semifinal game coinciding with the podcast's live broadcast. They emphasize the unique blend of nostalgia and present-day excitement surrounding St. John's basketball resurgence.

Peter Rosenberg [39:34]: "That is just unbelievable to see that when people, when, you know, we saw the, the 30 for 30 requiem of the Big East."

Final Thoughts:

• Community and Fan Engagement: Celebrating the involvement of legendary figures like Walter Berry and the emotional connection fans have with the team.
• Future Episodes: Teasing upcoming segments with more Big East dignitaries and continuing the exploration of St. John's journey.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Don Hahn [02:12]: "It felt like Madison Square Garden was the de facto home for UConn."
• Peter Rosenberg [08:22]: "Like that. Yeah. Let's get... Whatever works."
• Don Hahn [16:52]: "In the age of the empowered athlete, the coach is still the most valuable piece of a franchise."
• Walter Berry [35:39]: "It's magical, like you said, they are there."

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Conclusion

This inaugural episode of Don, Hahn & Rosenberg offers a rich blend of sports analysis, nostalgic reminiscence, and lively debate. Focusing heavily on the revival of St. John's basketball and the evolving dynamics of the Big East Conference, the hosts and their guest provide insightful commentary that appeals to both longtime fans and newcomers. With engaging discussions, memorable quotes, and a charismatic delivery, this episode sets the tone for a series that promises depth, passion, and a deep love for New York sports.

Transcript

[Ann]

I was never really a runner. The way I see running is a gift, especially when you have stage four cancer. I'm Ann. I'm running the Boston Marathon, presented by bank of America. I run for Dana Farber Cancer Institute to give people like me a chance to thrive in life, even with cancer. Join bank of America in helping Anne's cause. Give if you can@b of a.comSupportAnn what would you like the power to do? References to charitable organizations is not endorsement by bank of America Corporation. Copyright 2025.

[Don Hahn]

Don where do we stand on sus Han?

[Peter Rosenberg]

It's lame. It needs Viagra and Rosenberg?

[Ann]

I'm gonna lift my shirt up, take my pants down and shake it all around.

[Don Hahn]

This is in North Dakota. This is New York.

[Peter Rosenberg]

This is Don Hahn and Rosenberg on 8 80, ESPN and the ESPN New York app. All right, here we go on a Friday in New York City. A beautiful day here. Yeah, let's hear it. Let's hear it. Everybody that's here with us, I love it. The Irish exit at the Moynihan Train Hall. Liter across the street from Madison Square garden, where at 6:30 today, St. John's tips off in the semifinals of the Big east tournament. What a, what a day it was. Yesterday went late into the night at Madison Square Garden and I don't know, boys like you are feeling it around the city.

[Ann]

Oh, yeah.

[Peter Rosenberg]

An excitement about St. John's and this program coming back to national prominence led by Rick Pitino.

[Don Hahn]

It's so unique. I was trying to like, have a comp of like a local team that all of a sudden became good after being like, Persona non grata for a long time. And it's not even the St. John's not being good. It's just the whole vibe, just being dead with the Big east breaking up and then, you know, St. John's being okay, not great and the one and done. So there wasn't any players to fall in love with. Not any, like, big, huge coaches like coming here. So the rivalry between, you know, Georgetown and St. John's and it just. It just went away. And now is it back? I guess we need a little bit more sustainability. But at least this year it feels like St. John's is a player again and we get a chance to see it firsthand tonight.

[Ann]

And it's a. It's a college basketball in this town is like a unique situation, period. Right? Because this is a city. This is a city that like, in particular is like a bit of a transient town when it comes to teams, Right. When it comes to college teams in particular. And so you don't necessarily have. This isn't one of the. We're not. We're not in Tuscaloosa. Right? We're not. We're. We're. We're not in. Not even the University of Miami. We're not in a place where there's one team that dominates, but this team, at its best, because of where it plays, because of the history it can take over the town.

[Don Hahn]

I think New York adopted UConn during that dormant time. For St. John's it felt like Madison Square Garden was the de Facto home for UConn. UConn would come play here. They would sell it out. Stores isn't close, but it's the closest we had to, like, legitimate college basketball.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Was also Villanova before that, right? When you think about it, when Villanova really got hot with. With Brunson Crew, Nova comes here. They fill the building.

[Don Hahn]

No, they fill the building with people from Philadelphia.

[Peter Rosenberg]

So. But like you Villanova alumni here in the city, the one thing about New York is there's so much alumni from different.

[Ann]

Well, that's what I mean. The whole city, like, you go to Murray Hill on a Sunday or Saturday, every single college team is represented.

[Don Hahn]

But college football has been trying to tap into this market. It originally started with Syracuse. Matter of fact, our radio station signed on with Syracuse to broadcast their.

[Ann]

Their football game.

[Don Hahn]

So this going back 20 years ago, it just never gained any traction because Syracuse wasn't very good, and it's just not a college football town. Why do you think Rutgers moved to the Big Ten? Because they wanted to get, like, a New York vibe, even though you got to go to New Brunswick, which is an hour outside the city. And basketball's kind of become that where. Well, if St. John's is going to be any good, who are we going to adopt? Villanova when they're good? UConn. When they're dominant, we'll adopt them. But it's back, and it's like nothing else. Like, a professional franchise goes through a bad period of time. They're kind of. I don't know, you got to thaw them out, right? They were in hibernation. They wake up and they come back like the Islanders back in the day when they woke back up a little while ago. But like St. John's it's like. It's like they moved and came back. It's. It's the prodigal son returning.

[Ann]

Well. And you know what the beauty is? The beauty for tonight will be, and hopefully tomorrow Night will be that normally during one of these years, let's be real, the Big east tournament. Al and I were talking about this off the air, I believe yesterday. Lot of finance bros at the Big east tournament. Right. You got your, your Morgan Stanley's and your JP Morgan and everyone gives away tickets and it's one of those kind of corporate events.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Say that with such disdain.

[Ann]

A slightly. If you hear that's a tad.

[Don Hahn]

Not a big billionaire.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You don't like money, I understand.

[Ann]

Although my, my wife used to work on Wall street before she left it to become a photographer. So yeah, I think JP Morgan now.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Wall street works for her.

[Ann]

That's right.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Successful.

[Ann]

That's right. You know it, but you know, so you. What I'm saying is the building is often not in the Michael sense, in the real sense, up for grabs. Like you don't know who's going to take over. You got people placing their bets, what over is going to hit. Whereas this time around, especially as the top teams aren't as good, your Villanova is not the team they once were. Right. Seton hall was no good. By the time we get to Saturday, guys, it's just going to be a straight up home game. If St. John's is playing tomorrow night, we're talking about a straight up home home game and it will be awesome in that building.

[Don Hahn]

Well, they have like, I think they had three sellouts here during the course of the regular season. So there, there, yeah, there are people coming here because they love St. John's and they've got a reason to, to root for them. I mean, you want to go back to St. John's heyday just to wrap your mind around where we were in our life is, is like coming to America where they thought, they thought we can throw in St. John's at the Garden and have it stick in our movie.

[Ann]

I remember, I remember that was what, 1987? Seven. I remember thinking too, like the casual way with which they say, like, oh, I got tickets to the St. John's game. I think as I got older, you know, like 90, 91, 92. I'm kind of like, who cares about tickets to a St. John's game? You know what I mean? It was already. There was a gap there once you got to 90. Alan. I feel like between that and Felipe Lopez, like, there was not a lot of reference happening there in that middle seven, eight years.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah, like the Jarvis, but that's still 25 years ago.

[Ann]

It's a long time.

[Don Hahn]

And so. No, it's cool. And just to be Doing this now, we've always done things around the Big east, but to see that there's St. John's jerseys, that there's a. There's a local flavor to this. When we did it last year, it felt like it was more like it. Out of obligation or obligations, you would say, sure. Now it's.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It's.

[Don Hahn]

It's a local and a big time event, and we. We got to be there. We've got to be involved in it.

[Ann]

I had. I had a meeting yesterday near the Garden because the person I was meeting with was heading to the. To the Big east. And I had a moment of real fomo. I was like, oh, this would be cool if you went to a Big east school and you lived in New York. A random Thursday to go to the Garden to take in this tournament would be absolutely awesome. Like, as a Terps fan, and granted we're having a good year, which is fun, but I feel no connection to the Big Ten. I'm gone. Like I was in the accident, and now it's like I'm in nothing.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It's weird.

[Ann]

The Terps don't even have a conference.

[Peter Rosenberg]

To me, we saw a game last night. It was a Big Ten, you know, a playoff game, whatever Oregon lost to. I don't even know who the hell they lost to, but it was like the weirdest thing. Like, why is Oregon playing in this game? Felt like a game in February.

[Don Hahn]

The Big Ten now.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I know, but it doesn't make sense.

[Don Hahn]

Weird.

[Peter Rosenberg]

There's no geography left anymore.

[Don Hahn]

They should rename them like the old. The NHL, like the Patrick Division. Like they should. No, you should at this point, because the two things. They're not honoring geography and the actual number in the conference. Right? Because there's not 10 teams.

[Ann]

There's not 10. Wait, so they're honoring not 12 teams.

[Don Hahn]

In the PAC 12.

[Ann]

So there's no number. There's no geography. And they basically rooted out tons of the rivalries as well. So they've really done everything they can to kill the conferences in college basketball.

[Don Hahn]

They still play each other, but to have Washington and Washington State not in the same conference just seems.

[Peter Rosenberg]

None of it makes sense.

[Don Hahn]

It's stupid. So to rename them whoever, like the great player from that, the Red Grange Conference. I don't know. Something like that.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Like that. Yeah. Yeah. Let's get.

[Don Hahn]

Imagine.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Whatever works. But I guess why, when we're talking about this in the reemergence of the St. John's basketball program, and a lot of it has to do with Rick Patino a lot of us do with Micropoli and investing in the program because you can do that now. And so you're not losing recruiting battles anymore because you're not necessarily chasing the Cooper flags. You're trying to use the money that you have to attract. It's free agency. And you're trying to attract players who fit the program and can come in here who want to play at Madison Square Garden. That was a smart thing Pitino did.

[Don Hahn]

Yes.

[Peter Rosenberg]

The first thing he did was say we got to play more games in that building. But you have to earn that by knowing we can get people open it up for you.

[Ann]

No.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Because 5,000 people show up. You know, it's a waste of time. So they had to build it to that. So Pitino brings his. His cachet. He brings his connections, his people. He has a local connection, some random guy they brought in. It's somebody that is. He's as New York as they come. He still has his accent. All the years he spent in the South.

[Ann]

Right.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Louisville and Kentucky, he still has it. So that I think is the authenticity that the program needed. And then you needed a financial backing because that's the new. That's. That's college sports.

[Ann]

But who knows that better has worked famously. Who's going to be better at that and schmoozing people and taking them out to get a great Italian meal in the city to talk things over than Rick Pitino. Here's the. I don't want to pressure you guys and mid show throw a list idea at you.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Oh, let's do a list.

[Ann]

But in the. In the pantheon of coaches in all sports and I recognize college basketball is very specific, but pro basketball too, who is the top five most guaranteed that you plug them in a place and they will turn the thing around. Because Patino, you could argue guys is number one with a bullet. He literally just changes program.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You know why he's.

[Ann]

That is what he does.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You know why he's number one and not like a Calipari? Because while Jon has gone from UMass to Memphis, Kentucky, Arkansas hasn't happened.

[Ann]

No.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You know what I mean? Like it's the one that it hasn't now maybe it'll hit, maybe it won't, but I don't know. But that's the one where you're wondering about that. So that's what I mean. And had to come back. He had almost had the death penalty and went over to Greece and kept coaching because it's in his blood. He had to do it. So. So you have Him. Cal's a good name. He'll be on it. But I don't know if necessarily I would, you know, put him above. Above Patino. But, you know, like, you have to really think about coaches who have been in one more than one place. And that's what.

[Ann]

Does two. Is two enough? Does Roy Williams get you there with the.

[Peter Rosenberg]

With the two man Roy Williams walked into, went from one blue blood to another.

[Ann]

He did, you know, but that doesn't change the success of both.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I agree. I mean, because you could fall flat on your face.

[Ann]

We've seen that, too.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yes. Yeah.

[Ann]

So I don't know, though. Is that not enough? Do you need to do it more? And also, are we not thinking about, like, the pro football teams where it's happened too?

[Don Hahn]

Well, when you just moved around, when you were saying it, I think, you know, Parcells, right. Giants, and he goes to the Patriots.

[Peter Rosenberg]

They go to a Super bowl program change.

[Don Hahn]

Jets takes them to a championship game. Cowboys that go to the playoffs probably win in Seattle if Romo doesn't fumble the snap. That's four places.

[Ann]

That's four places that he made solid.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Nick Saban.

[Don Hahn]

Nick Saban, Yeah. I mean, college football.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But he's turned them into. Again, you're walking into blue bloods. But still. Still. But you can fail.

[Ann]

And were they all.

[Don Hahn]

I mean, he didn't.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Well, that was the NFL.

[Walter Berry]

Right.

[Don Hahn]

But I'm just saying that, I mean.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Patino didn't do well in the NBA, although he had a little room with the Knicks, the Celtics.

[Ann]

Celtics. Not so we don't so much.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Calipari went to the Nets. That didn't work out. Right.

[Ann]

Well, that's always. That's why I always panic about college coaches or the pros. Like, I never get excited with my teams if they go, oh, do you want. So and so. I. I never. That. Never because of Patino. Mostly because of Patino and Spurrier. I have no interest. I'm like, I've seen this before.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Again, to argue. Pitino had great success at Providence College. Think about what I'm saying. Providence College, you talk about take a program and make it a final four team. It's Providence College, right? Like. Like, they don't. That's not really what they do. It's not a big enough school. But yet he did that with them and jumped from there to the Knicks and took a pretty much dormant Knicks team. And within two years, they won 50 games and were again reigniting the city. And then just when he was hot, went to Kentucky. He probably should have Stayed with the Knicks. But anyways, I mean, you can't argue how Kentucky went for him there. But the, the point is, is that there are certain people that just understand how to come in almost like the cleaner. And you know, I'll, I'll throw in Tom Thibodeau. I mean, everywhere he's gone. Went to Chicago, woke that up after they were dormant after Phil Jackson left. And then when he left Chicago Bulls never been the same. Went to Minnesota. They hadn't made a playoffs in 10 years. Got them in the playoffs. He left. They only just recently started being good again. And then he came here and he's done the same thing. There's certain guys that just have a way and they say, you got to let me do it my way. Get the players that fit my way and I promise you we'll win. Pitino and his defensive style and his in your face style, that works. And St. John's was smart to invest in him. Yeah.

[Don Hahn]

And the pros, it's a little easier because with free agency I want to go that, go there because all he does is win. And I can attract players. Hockey would be Scotty Bowman.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Right.

[Don Hahn]

Go to the final with the Blues. Dynasty in Montreal wins, Pittsburgh wins in Detroit. You know, some of those teams were really good when he took over, but they never missed a step and grew and got better.

[Peter Rosenberg]

About Laviolette, Peter. More recent, more recent name.

[Don Hahn]

No question. Laviolette. You know, he resurrected the Islanders franchise. We were just talking about being dormant. Flying, flying commercial. Being completely irrelevant to what, three straight playoff appearances.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah. And they let. And really prematurely let him go. There was no reason for him to get fired, but he did. And then all he did was have more success. Carolina, Philadelphia.

[Don Hahn]

Won a cup in Carolina, Finals in Philadelphia, finals in Nashville, Playoffs in Washington. Conference final with the Rangers. There are certain guys that just do it, you know, and. But the knock on St. John's always was. Well, they never could really be dominant because it's kind of a commuter school. These guys don't want to stay in a dorm in Queens. But when I. You could make enough money to have Manhattan be your playground.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That's right.

[Don Hahn]

Now, it may not be great for a youngster to be in that situation, but you're selling the Garden, you're selling Manhattan, you know, but.

[Peter Rosenberg]

And you're not chasing the 18 year old high school student. You're really not. No.

[Don Hahn]

But. But here's the thing. How, how much can. How long do you think Rick is going to do this?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Oh, I got to be honest. With you when you hear him talk. I know of energy and passion. I know as I like, like it's.

[Don Hahn]

Not like you could say you can't.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I think he's coaching to his last breath.

[Don Hahn]

I, I agree. But it's not like you could say, well we're, we've got the coach thing good for the next decade, you know. Well, I guess you're talking with. How old is he now? 70.

[Peter Rosenberg]

70. Yeah.

[Don Hahn]

You know. So is he gonna play? Is he going to be coaching into his 80s?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Why not?

[Don Hahn]

I, I listen, I listen. I, I said the same thing.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Started to slow down.

[Don Hahn]

He's Pete Carol.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yes.

[Don Hahn]

Pete Carroll is a guy that I, I look him and I see a 45 year old coach running up this aisle. You know, you can tell me what his age is. I don't care.

[Walter Berry]

Doesn't matter.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yep.

[Don Hahn]

And Rick is into that.

[Ann]

And by the way, he's in a. Carol's in an interesting conversation of how good he is now too.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You mean as far as going? Yeah, I mean the only place it didn't work was here with the Jets. But the problem was he was young and he didn't get enough time.

[Ann]

Right.

[Peter Rosenberg]

They get, they got, they, they got out. They, they basically gassed him at the one year.

[Ann]

I, I was saying two. Was it two years ago when he's, when he was done in Seattle, I was shocked there wasn't more interest in him. I thought that was very.

[Don Hahn]

I think there are people, whether it's a bias or whatever or like I don't, I don't want to get a guy that old.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Feels like the hiring all young coaches.

[Don Hahn]

Because, because we see it in all walks of life. Believe me. It's like I'd rather hire the 20 something so I don't have to worry about hiring somebody else for the next 40 years.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Right.

[Don Hahn]

I'm going to want to bring in the young coach and I've got that box checked for the whole time I'm here. If I hire somebody in their 70s, it's probably only going to be for a handful of years. He's going to want a bag, something's going to happen, God forbid, physically, and I'm going to have to go look for another coach. But you are missing so many great opportunities because Pete Carroll still has it, Rick Pitino still has it. So if you want to have that same kind of bias. But they all got scared off when, when Parcells had the heart problems and needed to walk away. But then what ended up happening? He got it cleared up and ended up Coaching what? You know, a decade and a half after that and coaching in Super Bowls and big games. But I'm telling you, these executives, these general managers, these owners, they, they, they, they want the young guy and they don't want to have to worry about it for the next two decades.

[Peter Rosenberg]

In the age of the empowered athlete that we are in right now, are we not learning that the coach is still the most valuable piece of a franchise? Yes, you need stars and you need talent. I completely understand it. But if you're an owner, when you look at your team, I mean, can't we still. Because there was an argument made recently that coach is not as important like baseball manager feels like. Feels like it's not as important.

[Don Hahn]

Not important.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But you, but don't you lose some type of standard and someone who sets and upholds standard. This is who we are. This is how we play. This is our schedule. This is everything. Don't you feel like that stands still needs to be an important part of sports is the head coach and what he does?

[Don Hahn]

I think so. But leadership. It all started with the. The best players are making, you know, two, three times as more money than the, the head coach. So it becomes a game where the owner and the general manager are going to side with the guy that's under contract for a decade, making $30 million a year. Rather than an head coach, what you need is an owner to say, we've got a head coach here, we love him, he's not going anywhere. I'm siding with him. But I think a lot of these owners and general managers get scared and go, well, I don't want to lose that player. He's going to want to get traded, so I better fire the coach, you know, and, and I think that's what.

[Peter Rosenberg]

When has that ever worked out?

[Ann]

Never.

[Don Hahn]

It never worked.

[Peter Rosenberg]

When does it ever work that they didn't get along and they fire the coach and the star gets what he wants and then everything's happily ever it works.

[Don Hahn]

Probably as many times as you see.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You know what I mean?

[Don Hahn]

Owner say no to a player.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I remember the one time. Now, now, now, again. Doug Collins was fired. When Michael Jordan was a young player, some people felt like Jordan had to do with it and they brought in Phil Jackson, that Jordan always dispels that and said that wasn't me. Because he loved Doug Collins. Actually, when he went to the Wizards, what did he do?

[Ann]

Hired Doug Collins. Doug Collins was his coach, got him, got him the job.

[Peter Rosenberg]

So, like, when you think about it over time, who is the guy that A star player wanted to get rid of. I mean, famously, Brooklyn had Kenny Atkinson.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah.

[Peter Rosenberg]

And in comes Kyrie and Katie and that and Kenny's team before those guys came in was that hard. Similar to what the Nets are now. You don't want to play them. They play hard. You know, he was making something out of nothing.

[Ann]

And that was the beginning of the end.

[Peter Rosenberg]

They had a culture. And they bring these guys in to think, all right, we got a hard playing team now. We got two superstars. This is going to be great. And we have a great coach. And within a year they're like, yeah, that's not the guy.

[Ann]

Yeah. But it obviously aged great because Atkinson stinks now. He's not a part of anything. Good.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, let's. Let's check the record on that.

[Ann]

Oh, sorry. It's not true. There's a team that the average person can name two players on that is the best team in the conference right now with that same box.

[Don Hahn]

But what ends up happening is you're an owner. You've invested a ton of money in these players, and so you make them de facto general manager. Like, listen, I don't know. I'm just giving you an example. I don't think he would ever do it. And I'm not saying Hal would listen. But you've given all this money to Aaron Judge. You made him kind of a decision maker. In away faron, Judge walked and said, I want Boon gone. What do you don't. You don't think that there's a chance that could happen? I don't think Boon. I don't think that would ever happen. Judges. But. But if he did, could Juan Stto, in one of the 15 years he's on the team, making all the money that he's making, go to Cohen and say, you know, how about this?

[Peter Rosenberg]

How about this?

[Don Hahn]

I'm not feeling Mendoza, man.

[Ann]

If we went across every team in this city, we would basically find one player who could do that. I'm sorry. Brunson could probably do away with Tibbs if he really wanted to, too. At this point, this team is that married.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Which is why the Mikhail, The Stephen A. McHale bridges take about how Tibbs is in trouble because Bridges is speaking for the team of all his takes, that might be one of the worst takes he's ever had.

[Ann]

Listen, I'm not.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I'm glad you challenged him, by the way. He had a suit on. Did you see this guy? National television?

[Don Hahn]

I.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It was fantastic. He looked splendid.

[Don Hahn]

I teared up today when I saw it right.

[Peter Rosenberg]

A Tie all the way up to the neck.

[Don Hahn]

I'm getting nostalgic now. A lot of changes have happened.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You're right.

[Don Hahn]

And so you look back, I mean, it's 20 going on 24 years I've been at this radio station and this is the biggest change that we've had. No more Michael K now Don Han and Rose on the show and all that stuff. And I start, I'm reminiscing, I'm spending a little time thinking now I'm very nostalgic. And I remember at a time where we on the air, we told Peter when he decided to wear the backwards hip hop cap on cnn, you're crazy.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Might not be.

[Don Hahn]

Might not be the best idea. And he fought us on it. And now we fast forward 15 years later, he's on ESPN, the one place where he might have gotten away with the look that he had on cnn. But no, no, no, no, no. And you know what? Everything you said hit different. It made more sense.

[Peter Rosenberg]

More credibility, right?

[Ann]

More credibility, yes.

[Don Hahn]

I know you hate playing that game.

[Ann]

Peter, but man, no, no, listen, a lot is.

[Don Hahn]

Thank you.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Thank you, Peter Rosenberg. Our first take today. Thank you. Beautiful, by the way. Not only wearing a suit, done wearing makeup. He didn't want to do it, but I had a little makeup, orange pocket.

[Ann]

Square, a little watch. I know I did it all. Look, man, but, but by the way, for the record, in my, in my defense of my child herself, I've been doing that at WWE for a very long time. So I'm certainly going to do it. And you get on the biggest show. And I will tell you this right now, and I know Alan could speak to this firsthand. I do a lot of different things in my life. I'm very, very fortunate being on that first take. When you look down at your phone, hits different. I mean, air is a little bit thinner. My phone, the amount of text that I had from the array of people in my life, I'm not even talking about going on social. I haven't, I haven't been able to go scroll through enough social. I haven't even done it. Who wants to read myself getting ripped for by the same people who are ripping me on the, on our show?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Who even cares?

[Ann]

But to just see the people, how you know that you realize the power of Stephen A. That guy is reaching.

[Peter Rosenberg]

He's a magnet.

[Ann]

Everybody in our country, every day, he's a magnet. But anyways, I didn't fight as well as Alan did, but I'm in lockstep with Alan. Like, I understand that Mikhail Bridges brought up a point that a lot of Nick fans have had and a lot of basketball critics have had of him for a long time. But the fact is, if it ain't Jaylen Brunson saying it, on this team, you need more people. He is the guy. Maybe Cat, maybe Josh Hart. But Jaylen is number one with a bullet on this team. And I think there's no question about it.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah. And so that's why, again, as we look at it and we just see as we put it all together and put a bow on it, St. John's the opportunity to get to the championship game tomorrow night, by the way, 6:30 feels a little disrespectful.

[Ann]

Wait, what?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, tomorrow, 6:30 is the tip for the championship.

[Ann]

I feel like it's always a seven or seven.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, I mean, you know what I mean? Like, but it. Because the other bigger conferences have to get their prime time tip offs. Little disrespectful biggies. But this is. You talked about nostalgia, Don. Yes, that's what we're feeling right now. I think when a program like St. John's gets back into the national attention and New York, it's kind of like New York's fifth team. When you talk about all the, the major pro sports teams, you add St. John's in it when they're really good, like this level good. And so it does feel like, all right, some big time basketball back in New York City. And it's great to see and you know, with that nostalgia. Well, we thought today, while we are live at the Irish exit at the Moynihan Train hall, right across the street from Madison Square Garden. This is a beautiful setup here, by the way. I love this bar. It's gigantic. And you get all like the cross crossing paths of different travelers and all kinds of people from all, all walks of life. We thought, let's reach back into the history of not just St. John's basketball, but the Big east as well. What we remember, we grew up on. So today we got the truth. Walter Berry, player of the year back in 86, a great St. John's legend, is number 21, retired in the rafters at Carneseca Arena. He's going to join us coming up next. We also have Charles Smith. You remember those great pit teams from back in the day. And he's got great stories from the great era of the Big east as well.

[Unknown]

If you like true crime stories, listen to this one. But as you listen, put yourself in the place of this IT manager because he never dreamed this would happen at his company on his watch. He came in on a Monday and tried to log in and couldn't a ransom pop up informed him that company data, customer files, bank accounts, apar, everything was being held for ransom and if they didn't pay $250,000 in bitcoin no less, all of it would be wiped. Nearly a third of mid sized American companies got hit by data breach last year and that number is going up. It's your choice. Trust your current cybersecurity infrastructure like he did or outsource protecting your precious data with the leading managed security services provider in the US Thrive. It all starts with a comprehensive THRIVE cyber risk assessment. Thrive security analysts identify security gaps and deliver proactive solutions to help keep your network healthy and protected. It's not a matter of if, it's when. Are you ready? Get your no obligations, security recommendations and consultation. Your business relies on it. Visit ThriveNextGen.com ESPN that's ThriveNextGen.com ESPN as.

[Peter Rosenberg]

The number and severity of third party breaches continue to rise, companies are increasingly vigilant not just about about how they.

[Don Hahn]

Handle their own data, but how their vendors do as well.

[Peter Rosenberg]

For security and compliance leaders, this means more security reviews are coming across your desk every day and valuable time is being wasted on manual security reviews.

[Don Hahn]

With Vanta questionnaire automation, security and compliance teams can complete security reviews up to.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Five times faster, giving you time back to focus on running your security and compliance programs. Over 8,000 global companies like ZoomInfo, smart recruiters and NOIBU use Vanta to save time on security reviews. Visit vanta.compodcast to learn more about questionnaire automation. That's V A N T A dot com podcast.

[Walter Berry]

Some people just know they could save hundreds on car insurance by checking Allstate first. Like you know to check the Jumbotron first before attempting to eat a stack of Supreme Nachos in one bite. Now you're just a meme that everyone shares on game day. 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. Allstate Fire and Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates, Northbrook, IL thanks for listening to.

[Peter Rosenberg]

The Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Ann]

I didn't listen to anything you just said.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Catch the show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts.

[Ann]

Now before we get to our big guests who are always happy to see this time.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I can't wait for this conversation.

[Ann]

Big shout out to our friends at at Paul Pollo Campero. I'm I house some delightful, really good chicken and. And coleslaw. The break.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Now I did let them know, being a good Catholic, it is Friday, so what that means. So I, I got to avoid the chicken and all that stuff. So whatever you see in front of me, you don't see.

[Ann]

Oh, got it.

[Peter Rosenberg]

No, you know, I mean everybody here, right? You vouch for me?

[Ann]

No, nothing.

[Peter Rosenberg]

My ashes. I still have some on the forehead. So just.

[Ann]

No, no, no. And, and, and the last thunderclap.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You know what that's about.

[Ann]

And the last thing I just saw a tweet from our friend Diana Rossini.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Oh, big news.

[Ann]

Get to this later. Not, not big news, but an update mid sounds as if. Brett. Brett. Aaron Rodgers is waiting to find out what Minnesota is interested in doing. It appears that that's where he wants to go.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That's what it sounds 100% he wants to go there. You said Brett because obviously that's what Brett Favre did. Yep, he wants to go there. They're not sure. And so he's making the Giants and the Steelers wait. And now we'll see if the Giants and Steelers want to wait or if they want to go. Forget it. You know, like there might not be a chair left at the music stop.

[Ann]

Because if I can go play inside in a place that Sam Darnold dominated.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Against my former team in that division.

[Ann]

Why not do that?

[Peter Rosenberg]

And he owns the Bears, by the way, so he loves that. All right, that's a conversation for obviously later. But right now we want to bring you the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth. If you are a nostalgic Big east fan, if you are a St. John's fan, you know what I'm referencing, of course, the great Walter Berry joining us right now on the set. First and foremost, thanks for joining us. Second of all, what does. We were just talking about nostalgia. We were just talking about seeing the, the program get back to a national prominence like when you played with them back in the late 80s. What does it mean for you? Just personally, as a St. John's alum, as one of the all time greats in St. John's basketball history, to see it where it is right now, nationally ranked. Feel like a team that's gonna be at least a three seed in an NCAA tournament with a chance to win the Big East.

[Walter Berry]

They're back. And there's no doubt in my mind that St. John's is back, back on top. They playing well. And it's magical. Like I've been saying all week, they've been playing magical basketball, man. And them guys are really hustling. Coach Pitino got them guys really playing well. So to me, this is. This is like a beautiful thing to.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Get back to the 80s and bring it back.

[Don Hahn]

We're talking nostalgic because a lot of our listeners weren't around that, you know, 40 years ago to know. I mean, we're all getting older. But do you see similarities in your team's. To the team that you watch on the court right now?

[Walter Berry]

Oh, yes. Oh, yes. We were that team that we hustled, we played hard, and we had a team concept that nobody couldn't figure out. And that's why we were so successful in them days and got to the Final Four.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I'm trying to remember the timeline, because you, I believe. 86, 86.

[Walter Berry]

85. 86.

[Peter Rosenberg]

85, 86. And then 86, you went to the NBA.

[Walter Berry]

Yes.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Okay, so you weren't in the game that is in. Famously in coming to America. Right. That gave the City St. John's game at the guard. I don't believe you played in that game. It was against Marist.

[Walter Berry]

Yeah, I wasn't.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You were already gone. Right. Okay. Yes. Just out of curiosity, because it's such a famous scene now.

[Walter Berry]

Yes.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That. That you always want to figure out who was in that game that remembers. Obviously, they didn't know they were being filmed, but it speaks to how culturally.

[Ann]

Relevant St. John's was at that time.

[Walter Berry]

Yes, yes, yes.

[Ann]

That's the beauty of.

[Peter Rosenberg]

So you must have. Then, if you. Back in that era, Rick Patino was in the Big east coaching, but it was at Providence College. And so there's familiarity there. But did you ever run across him in the NBA?

[Walter Berry]

I came across Rick Pino after my first year in the NBA. Once I got to San Antonio, we played against the Knicks, and Rick Patino grabbed me after the game and said, I don't know what the Knicks was thinking about. I would have took you at the fifth pick with no question. And I was like, thank you. That. That really means.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That was Kenny Walker from Kentucky. They took that.

[Walter Berry]

Yes, they took Kenny Walker.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Right.

[Don Hahn]

And you dropped a 14, right?

[Walter Berry]

Yes, 14 pick.

[Don Hahn]

And you have a great story on why QB Brown, who was the head coach of the Knicks at the time, didn't want.

[Walter Berry]

Yes. Everybody in New York was wondering why they didn't take me. And finally they got it out of Hubie Brown. And he said, walter Berry makes it look too easy. He's not even cracking a sweat. He gets 30 points. And I was like, you would want this kind of guy on your team because if you get him to sweat. Yeah, if you get him to sweat, what more could he do?

[Don Hahn]

Did you ever confront him on that?

[Walter Berry]

No. Never confronted Hubie Brown on it? Never.

[Don Hahn]

And you, how shocked are you that now, this year, after you're 90 years old, he finally retired from calling games?

[Walter Berry]

Yes. He was great at what he did at calling games.

[Don Hahn]

Just not evaluating you.

[Ann]

Yes.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Actually, I can't wait to see Hubie now and ask him about that story. But as I introduced you, of course, famously, you're one of the. That's the great thing in sports, is that if you get a nickname, and it's a good one, it sticks forever. And I'm sure you probably still hear it to this day. Day, the truth. But everybody, every nickname has an origin story. So what is the origin of the truth when it comes to you?

[Walter Berry]

Okay. Well, it started out first with Mark Jackson. When I came back to St. John's from junior college, they asked Mark, was I really that good? And Mark was saying, he's really the truth. I know this personally. So when he told the press that, I felt like, I gotta live up to this name now even more. So season first started. I'll tell you a story. The season first started, the practices we had, we was doing scrimmages, they was keeping stacks. I came in with 14 points, eight rebounds. Coach Carter Secka checked me on it. He said, Walter, 14 points, eight rebounds. I said, coach, just wait till the game start. And he was like, we waiting on you.

[Don Hahn]

It's such a shame we lost Lou. He's not able to appreciate this run. How much of a relationship did you have with him in recent years?

[Walter Berry]

That was my heart man. Coach was my heart man. He. He helped me in ways nobody else couldn't. And when I tell you, he was like a father figure to me. And when he passed away and I got the interview, I couldn't even compose myself. Tears. I was crying. So even when I think about it, today is bad because it's almost like he took me in as his son. And we stayed on the phone nights in and nights out. A lot of people don't understand that, but that was really the truth.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You being a New York product, obviously, and playing for St. John's there's a different kind of pride certainly in that, is that did the relationship start there, him recruiting you that way? Because I know you did go to San Jacinto. But in between Was that always the target is to come play here?

[Walter Berry]

That was the target. You got to remember before I went to junior college, I sat out at St. John's to become a walk on after the first year and the NCAA didn't, didn't sanctionize it, so I had to go to junior college for a year.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Oh, that's what that was.

[Walter Berry]

That's what that was.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It was a different world then.

[Ann]

Now maybe I'm just feeling a little bit spiritual this week because I've been dealing with a lot and thinking about these things. But is it almost like we're not making enough of the timing of Luke Harneseca's passing and what's happening here? Like, I just feels like it's not the, like the story that's out in the forefront. But doesn't it feel like Alan, as it goes on and the national media finally starts truly digging in on this team? Don't you think it's going to be a gigantic part of the story?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Of course it is.

[Ann]

It's amazing. I mean, to think that there's not a little bit of angel dust, little bit of magic over this team. It's impossible not to think that.

[Walter Berry]

I've been saying this since I've seen St. John's play this year. Last year they did good and this year I didn't expect they was going to be where they are today. But magically, like you said, they are there.

[Don Hahn]

How do you think Lou would have handled Nil one and dones just a modern day game because he got so close to guys over time? How do you think he'd handle the transient way players come and go?

[Walter Berry]

I think he didn't need that because they had something. All the guys wanted to come to St. John's especially the hometown guys. So it really wasn't about the money then, right? To a lot of guys. They wanted to come to St. John's to play at St. John's because of coach Conaseka and because of the Chris Mullins, the Walter Berrys. We set a standard for those guys and we got Malik Seely, Jason Williams, we got good guys right after all that. And Malik seely came to St. John's because God bless the dead. He came to St. John's because he wanted to wear my uniform. And they called me. St. John's called me and said, malik, he won't come. Not less than he went, he's going to wear your jersey. And I said, you give him the jersey if he's going to bring him to St. John's we'll share Jersey, no problem.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That's special. And that jersey now hangs at the arena at St. John's how about the fact. And this is something that Rick Pitino really harped on when he got the job, and it is work, because they are getting more and more games now in the building across the street. What does it mean when you play for St. John's you play a Madison Square Square Garden, and back then, you guys almost always played at Madison Square Garden. What kind of like, how much of an added attraction is that for the program? In reality, it's great for the program.

[Walter Berry]

Like I said, playing at the Garden is magical, man. And this is the Mecca. This is where everybody want to come play, visit, and do it all. So it was special playing at Madison Square Garden. That's why I wanted to be a Knick at the time.

[Peter Rosenberg]

What was the 86 championship championship game like?

[Walter Berry]

Oh, man, that was.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That was some battle.

[Walter Berry]

That was a battle. That was a battle. That was really a battle. That it. It was a battle. But, you know, it's. It's in our past, and the battle was great.

[Peter Rosenberg]

What are you looking for for this team this year when you, like, Like, I mean, we all. We don't want to get past today, obviously, but another matchup with Yukon would be something. It would be sort of like, you know, you need to slay the dragon. Right. You want it. You want to win the championship? Sure. But to do it, beating the team that had kind of dominated the conference the last couple of years would be even sweeter. But when you watch them now, what are some things that you're just. You're saying to yourself, like, I think this is what this team can be. You've told me you've been here a lot. You've watched the team. So just give me an assessment of what you see and what you think the potential is.

[Walter Berry]

The potential is Final Four. I think they gonna go to the Final Four, but first, I think they gonna win the Big east tournament. And once they do that, I think they go on Final Four. I think they're gonna repeat what we did. And it starts with winning the Big east tournament. Once they win the Big east tournament, I think that's gonna give them the momentum to go further in the ncaa, and I'm hoping they win it all, to be honest with you. That'll be nice for the morale of.

[Peter Rosenberg]

St. John's and you saw probably the. The highest point of the Big east, which was three teams in the Final Four.

[Walter Berry]

Yes.

[Peter Rosenberg]

And that's. I mean, Think about that again. That is just unbelievable to see that when people, when, you know, we saw the, the 30 for 30 requiem of the Big East. We know that the conference has certainly changed dramatically. It's not the same teams, but still there are the core teams that are there. But if you could tell those who weren't around to like, Donnie and I, we grew up with it, like we saw it, we watched it, we went to games, all that stuff. But if when we're talking about people that never got to see that era, what that was like, what was the Big east like? Night in and night out.

[Walter Berry]

The Big east was like the NBA back in old days because every team had three to four starters that made it to the NBA. So it was really like playing NBA. So if I had to explain it, that's how I would explain it to of people. And you gotta think Georgetown, look at all the guys win. The NBA. St. John, Villanova, all of these, Syracuse. Yeah, a lot of guys is in the NBA.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Who was your biggest rival? Like if you had a player that you were like every time we faced them, I wanted to, you know, like it was personal.

[Walter Berry]

It was. Cause of course Georgetown and, and everybody wanted to match me up with Patrick. You and I did the jump ball when we started the game, but Bill Winnington was our actual center. But it seemed like me and him, me and Patrick Heughan clashed all the time.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Those are just unbelievable days. Those are great days. And this has been awesome. It's been great to have you here. Basketball royalty. New York City basketball royalty, of course.

[Ann]

Join tonight royalty as well.

[Peter Rosenberg]

The truth. Walter Berry.

[Walter Berry]

I want to say one thing. I got to thank Swepts.

[Ann]

Oh yeah, big time.

[Walter Berry]

Pepsi Swepts for inviting me here to have me here. And one of my guys, Eddie Lopez, who did a great job of bringing me on with them to make this day possible.

[Peter Rosenberg]

We appreciate him too to have you Schweppes with us. You'll be at the game tonight. St. John's in the semifinals. 6:30 is the tip off of that game. Right after our show is over, I.

[Ann]

Can say to my new Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, hey, find a keto friendly restaurant nearby and text it to Beth and Steve.

[Don Hahn]

And it does without me lifting a finger so I can get in more squats anywhere I can.

[Ann]

1, 2, 3.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Will that be cash or credit?

[Ann]

Credit. 4 Galaxy S25 Ultra, the AI companion.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That does the heavy lifting.

[Ann]

So you can do you get [e-mail] compatible with select apps.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Requires Google Gemini account.

[Ann]

Results may vary based on input, check responses for accuracy. It's time for basketball, and Uber Eats is dropping deals on game day favorites to keep you locked in on the action. Like when you're craving a buzzer beater but also buffalo wings. Or when an upset makes you want to ugly cry into a pizza. And right now, Uber Eats has game day deals from McDonald's, Popeyes, Pizza Hut, Wendy's and hundreds more local favorites so you can keep your eyes on the ball and your hands on a hamburger. Order now only on Uber Eats. Product availability varies by region. See app for details. Um, I think I just won my taxes. Yeah, I just switched to H and.

[Peter Rosenberg]

R Block in about one minute.

[Walter Berry]

All I had to do was drag and drop last year's into H and.

[Ann]

R Block and bam. My information is automatically there so I don't have to go digging around for all my old papers to switch. Nope.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Sounds like we just leveled up our tax game.

[Ann]

Switching to H and R Block is easy.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Just drag and drop your last return.

[Ann]

It's better with block.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Ann]

I didn't listen to anything you just said.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Catch the show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts.

[Ann]

We are back. We are here at Bohan train station. Is that what it's called officially, Mohan Train hall?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, it's a hall, not a station.

[Ann]

Oh, wow.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, it's Penn station. This is a train hall.

[Don Hahn]

This is the hall.

[Peter Rosenberg]

This is the Iris exit. It's that gigantic bar that's right in the middle of everything. And it's like. It's. It's awesome now. Such a great spot. You get. Basically what you get here is like. This is like the. The paths crossing of Amtrak lir. New Jersey transit subways. Yeah, it's. Everybody just kind of crossing all through here. This is like. What do they call Times Square?

[Ann]

Hell?

[Peter Rosenberg]

It's been called that, yes. Like, what is it? The. The crossways of the world or something like that.

[Walter Berry]

Yeah.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Well, this is sort of the same kind of thing. This is the travelers.

[Ann]

This is the crossway.

[Peter Rosenberg]

So you meet people from all kinds?

[Ann]

Oh, yes. They're perfect. Vortex of where the vortex of where the flu, Covid and measles all come together right away.

[Peter Rosenberg]

There he is.

[Ann]

I'm sorry, Blanket. I'm sorry I stopped speaking the truth. Now, by the way, right in front of us is burger joint, which I'm guessing it's an offshoot of the actual legendary burger joint inside the Parker Meridian Hotel.

[Don Hahn]

And I had. I had one I was very, very, very good.

[Ann]

Because the original burger joint burger at. At the Parker Meridian is one of my favorite New York things to do.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Okay.

[Ann]

It's a little. It's tucked away in the corner of the hotel. When you walk in the Parker Meridian, there's a sign that's just a. An electric little light sign of a burger. You follow the arrow and there's this little burger joint. And I guess they have that right here.

[Peter Rosenberg]

They also have the Pastrami Queen.

[Ann]

Pastrami Queen. I know Pastrami Queen. Well, there's one in my neighborhood.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Okay.

[Ann]

My guy Jacob has a Jacob's pickles here.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Jacob's. Oh.

[Ann]

Oh, yeah. There's a lot here, buddy.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Emma and Gracie. That's their spot.

[Ann]

Oh, really? They're fans.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Jacob's big. Oh, my God.

[Ann]

Oh, we got to do a family dinner there sometime.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Absolutely. Yeah. That's a good spot too. So this is a great spot to be. So come hang out with us. We got a nice crowd here already here with us. We just had Walter Berry on with us. We'll have more Big east dignitaries joining us as well. They just go down that nostalgic road. But we just have a few minutes here. We do have more to get to. And we have ENN as well. I guess it's 4:30. Is that how this works? Because we do have a 6:30 tap out. Right?

[Ann]

What are we doing? I guess It's a 430 vehicle.

[Peter Rosenberg]

430 vehicle. Because I believe we have more guests to get to. But in just a few minutes here, let's just revisit on the NFL front, since you did bring it up.

[Ann]

Here you go.

[Peter Rosenberg]

And let's get a little bit of commentary on this, which is the latest on Aaron Rodgers and Aaron Rodgers. Watch.

[Ann]

Our friend Diana Rossini tweeted the Vikings are having discussions about what they may want to do at quarterback and if they want Rodgers. Rodgers is giving them time and waiting to hear from Minnesota. The Vikings have yet to make a decision. We all wait.

[Don Hahn]

And I guess the decision is, is J.J. mcCarthy fully recovered from his meniscus surgery?

[Peter Rosenberg]

It's just meniscus.

[Don Hahn]

I don't understand the same thing.

[Ann]

I don't understand what they're thinking about.

[Don Hahn]

But that's what I had heard. They were talking about it on the morning show that he may not be fully back now. I don't think it must have been.

[Peter Rosenberg]

A significant piece of meniscus.

[Don Hahn]

It must have been. And maybe they just feel like, well, maybe we just give it a slow burn. Let's not rush him back. But we did win 14 games last year. So let's bring in somebody that can be that bridge. And either the guy will fail and McCarthy will come in, or McCarthy will just have to wait till 20.

[Ann]

He's not going to miss two years from him in meniscus.

[Don Hahn]

No, but it's a second year because the veteran quarterback is winning games and.

[Peter Rosenberg]

They don't want to rush him.

[Ann]

But then you're. Okay, but real quick, then you're wasting another year on his rookie deal with the quarterback you're interested in.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, but again, it goes back to Tom Brady kind of suggesting that there should be a slow play of some of these young quarterbacks. So originally he was supposed to be QB1 last year. Now all of a sudden you don't want to rush him back?

[Don Hahn]

Fine.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But if you look at that division, this could be their thinking again. Kevin O'Connell is not here to lose. Right. They could be looking at the fact that the packers are a good team. They have good coaching, they have a good quarterback in Jordan Love. Like, they know what they are. That's a playoff team. We know that Detroit is maybe the best team. Right? Right. We know that. And then there's the interesting story of the Chicago Bears and what they could become with Ben Johnson, with Caleb Williams in year two, rebuilding an offensive line that they desperately needed to do with it, with an ability to also emerge. What you don't want to be is the Minnesota Vikings is the. The team that didn't do enough to catch up. And so do you really want in that situation to go with a rookie quarterback coming off an injury or if you have a chance at a. Let's. Let's do what the jets couldn't do is get the legend and give him an opportunity to try to win for us, even if it's just for one year. Just to be in what could be one of the most competitive divisions in the sport.

[Ann]

And then here's how you could look at it. Rogers plays great, all right? The kid learns and is completely fresh and healthy. He'll be your backup. And come year three of his rookie deal, he will be your starter. Which, by the way, there was a time when that was normal. Year three or four might have been the year. I mean, Jordan Love wasn't in before year three quarterback in the division. So maybe that is the logic. Don, they go, let's see what we can do with them. And by the way, if it completely falls flat on his face, week six, we turn it over to JJ and we get it started then, but.

[Don Hahn]

But if I'm. If I'm Rogers and I'm interested in Pittsburgh, other than just driving up the dollars, why would he even kick the tires on Minnesota or even the New York Giants? Giants aren't good. And even if you think they're going to be better, they did spend a ton of money on free agency. The defense got younger and faster, and they did reconstruct that offensive line. If they draft a young quarterback, then you're only going to be a stopgap. Same thing in Minnesota. You know, J.J. mcCarthy's their future. But in Pittsburgh, you got a chance to win and you might be there for a couple of years.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Do you believe you have a chance to win in that division versus what? Minnesota?

[Don Hahn]

You got more of a chance to win, I think, than you do with the Giants.

[Peter Rosenberg]

And all right, Minnesota, your fallback to me, the Giant, the Giants are his last option.

[Don Hahn]

All right, Minnesota, better chance to win in the Giants and probably a better chance to win than the Steelers. But you still have to get through Detroit and, you know, Pittsburgh, you got to get through Cincinnati, but Burrow gets hurt. Cincinnati just always seems to baffle you at times. And in Baltimore, hey, listen, as good as we like Jackson and as good as Baltimore has been, they haven't proven they can make run in the playoffs, you know, and. And if I go to Pittsburgh, right, It doesn't. It doesn't work out. Year one, Baltimore wins the division, we come up short. But if I have a good year and I feel good, I might get that second opportunity. If the Giants drive the quarterback, you're not in Minnesota. Eventually, J.J. mcCarthy is going to take over again. I just don't know, other than driving the numbers up or Pittsburgh not really being interested. Although I can't imagine they're not.

[Peter Rosenberg]

No.

[Don Hahn]

Why is Rogers not done in Pittsburgh already?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, well, again, I think he looks at the Vikings as a great situation, and everybody has to wait on Minnesota. We'll get more on this later on in the show. Coming up, though, more Big east history, more nostalgia, more just great stories as the great Charles Smith will join us coming up next. But first, Peter, a message.

[Ann]

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[Peter Rosenberg]

Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg Podcast. I don't want to know how the sausage is made, man. I just want to know it's good. Hear more of Don Allen and Peter Weekday afternoon starting at 3 on 8 80, ESPN, the ESPN New York app and your smart speakers.

[Ann]

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[Peter Rosenberg]

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[Ann]

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