Hour 2: Bridges & Let's Talk About It

Summary

Don, Hahn & Rosenberg — Hour 2: Bridges & Let's Talk About It

Date: March 17, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode splits its focus between two quintessentially New York sports radio topics: impassioned Knicks talk centered around Mikal Bridges’ struggles and the fallout from the recent roster moves, and lighthearted debate over "Drop Madness"—the station’s annual tournament of the most memorable, hilarious on-air flubs and drops. The hosts—Alan Hahn, Peter Rosenberg, and frequent collaborators—alternate between sharp analysis and their trademark banter, embodying the voice of frustrated, ever-hopeful New York sports fans.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Knicks, Mikal Bridges, and Championship Anxiety

Main Theme:
The segment opens with dissection of ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith’s scorching critique of the Mikal Bridges trade—and by extension, how the Knicks’ front office spending of assets may have hamstrung their championship aspirations. Both Smith’s original audio and the hosts’ reactions highlight tensions between fan optimism, front office decisions, and on-court reality.

Key Insights

• Bridges’ Slide Post-Trade:
  • Smith tears into Bridges’ post-trade performance, arguing the Knicks mortgaged their future (“four unprotected first round picks, a protected pick ... a swap ... a second round pick,” [10:07]) for a non-All-Star.
  • Alan confirms the decline, noting since the All-Star break Bridges is playing fewer minutes, scoring less, and hesitating to even take shots ([12:08]).
• Chemistry and Transactions Gone Wrong:
  • The “Villanova reunion” (Brunson, DiVincenzo, Bridges) fell apart when the Knicks sent DiVincenzo to Minnesota in the Karl-Anthony Towns trade ([13:55]).
  • Alan says, “They did this because…they were bringing the band back together... and then DiVincenzo got traded…” ([14:12]).
• Brunson’s Role & The Blame Game:
  • Stephen A. argues that Brunson’s discount extension gave the Knicks cap flexibility, which the front office used (badly) to chase Bridges ([10:09]).
  • Alan disagrees, calling Brunson’s involvement “speculation” and noting, “I don’t think Jalen Brunson’s in that conversation” ([14:30]).
• Bridges’ “Ironman” Streak & Diminishing Returns:
  • Despite Bridges’ durability (626 consecutive games, close to top-8 all-time, [15:35]), Alan questions if playing every game is now hurting the team.
  • “Does the streak become the most important thing about your career, respectfully?” — Rosenberg ([18:34]).
• Fan & Host Frustration:
  • Callers echo skepticism: “He has been absolutely atrocious since the minute he put on a Knicks Jersey…he stinks.” — Sean, Caller ([43:06]).
  • Alan concedes: “I can't argue with anything you said. It has not been a good fit. It hasn't.” ([44:11])

Notable Quotes

• “You can't let your organization give up that much to get a dude that's going to ultimately handicap you from building a roster that can compete for a championship.” — Stephen A. Smith ([10:07])
• “This is unacceptable stuff.” — Stephen A. Smith ([09:41])
• “It’s why you see, like, guys like Shamet on the court late in games, because [coach] Mike Brown can trust [Landry] Shamit to fight through screens, to do a little more defensively.” — Alan Hahn ([13:00])

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2. Drop Madness – The Battle for the Best Flub

Main Theme:
The Drop Madness “Flub Region” bracket seeding is hotly debated with passionate explanations for which broadcast mistakes deserve top billing, featuring playful arguments, nostalgia, and community input via YouTube and Twitter polls.

Key Insights

• Bracket Drama: Forgotten Drops vs. Legendary On-Air Mishaps:
  • The “Strawn J” drop (an obscure flub) is inexplicably awarded the one seed, baffling the hosts who admit even they forgot it existed ([26:51]).
  • Debate ensues over what truly constitutes a #1 seed—the funniest? The most used in show culture? The worst name mangling?
• Community Engagement for Resolution:
  • The team launches live polls (YouTube, Twitter) to put the bracket’s seeding to a crowd vote, exemplifying the show’s participatory spirit ([31:04], [32:03]).
  • “This is the way you lead.” — Alan, praising Anthony for being open to fixing the bracket ([36:42]).
• Drop Candidates' Legacy & Memorability:
  • Strong contenders include:
    • Don interrupting a commercial, mistaking ad music for a hip-hop segment ([35:12]).
    • Butchered athlete names (“Judicus” for Ja Rule/Jadakiss, “Udoko” for Udoka, “Harbaugh” mispronounced, etc.)
    • Infamously embarrassing or hilarious outbursts (“I had diarrhea that you dream about”)
  • Listeners have strong opinions, e.g., Ballard believes Don’s commercial-interrupt is “Mount Rushmore” material ([34:39]).
• Meta-Humor and Self-Reflection:
  • Show becomes a reflection on openness to error and the power of self-deprecation in sports radio.
  • “Strong leadership isn’t about pretending you don’t make mistakes. It's about acknowledging the mistakes and addressing them.” — Rosenberg ([32:54])
  • “When we have issues here... we talk through them. We find our common ground. We realize that we have more similarities than we have differences and we find solutions.” — Rosenberg ([36:47])

Notable Quotes

• “How did a drop that all three of us had forgotten ever happen end up number one?” — Rosenberg ([26:55])
• “If you're not right, maybe take a minute and get your battery charged up.” — Alan ([21:08])
• “This is exactly how you do it. This is how you lead.” — Alan ([36:39])

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3. WBC (World Baseball Classic): Exhibition or Event?

Main Theme:
With Don absent, Alan and Rosenberg field calls on whether the WBC actually “matters.” Some listeners bristle at the dismissiveness of ESPN hosts toward the international baseball tournament.

Key Insights

• Listener Pushback:
  • “All I hear…is the host telling fans that [the WBC] doesn’t [matter].” — Tyler, Caller ([46:54])
• Hosts’ View:
  • Alan: The US manager’s gaffes and players leaving for spring training undermine claims of intensity, but he acknowledges “it got real” for fans by the semifinals ([50:46], [51:11]).
  • Rosenberg: “Some of this, it kind of stinks that Don’s not here today, because…I think Don was the harshest take on the WBC.” ([51:17])
• Consensus: There’s room for both fan passion and broadcaster skepticism, reflecting the cultural divide over the WBC’s significance.

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Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment / Highlight | |------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:45–06:58| Drop Madness bracket recap, banter over seeding and flub region arguments | | 08:50–18:59| Stephen A. Smith audio: Mikal Bridges critique and the fallout; hosts' in-depth analysis| | 24:41–36:47| “Let’s Talk About It Tuesday”: Drop Madness bracket debates continue, decision to poll the audience, meta-discussion about how to manage errors and leadership | | 43:02–46:17| Knicks calls: Fans vent about Mikal Bridges and the underwhelming results of the trade| | 46:54–51:17| WBC calls: Listener disputes ESPN’s treatment of the World Baseball Classic |

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Memorable Moments & Quotes (Speaker, Timestamp)

• “This is unacceptable stuff.”
  — Stephen A. Smith, [09:41]
• “You can't let your organization give up that much to get a dude that's going to ultimately handicap you from building a roster that can compete for a championship.”
  — Stephen A. Smith, [10:07]
• “Does the streak become the most important thing about your career, respectfully?”
  — Rosenberg, on Bridges’ Ironman run, [18:34]
• “When we have issues here... we talk through them. We find our common ground. We realize that we have more similarities than we have differences and we find solutions.”
  — Rosenberg, [36:47]
• “All I hear…is the host telling fans that [the WBC] doesn’t [matter].”
  — Tyler (Caller), [46:54]
• “If you're not right, maybe take a minute and get your battery charged up.”
  — Alan, on Bridges’ struggles, [21:08]

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Overall Tone and Takeaways

• Tone: A mix of sharp, sometimes frustrated sports analysis and irreverent camaraderie. The group’s signature blend of honesty, humility, and audience engagement shines.
• Utility: This episode is a rich snapshot of New York sports talk radio: balancing serious, poignant basketball criticism with the lighter side of broadcasting and inviting the audience to help shape the show.

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For Listeners Who Missed It

• Knicks and Mikal Bridges: Get updated on the sharpest current criticisms of the Knicks’ biggest trade and the existential question of what’s holding the roster back from greatness.
• Drop Madness: Experience the station’s inside jokes, culture, and the communal spirit that peaks during “Drop Madness.”
• Participatory Radio: See how fan engagement isn’t just tolerated, but central to the show’s self-image and decision-making process.

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Skip advertisements, intro/outro, and non-content sections—focus on the bracket debate, the Knicks’ episode, and the WBC controversy for the essence of this hour of Don, Hahn & Rosenberg.

Transcript

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[Don Hahn]

This is the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Rosenberg]

That sounds like heaven to me.

[Don Hahn]

Listen live weekday afternoon starting at 3 on 880 ESPN, the ESPN New York app, and your smart speakers.

[Rosenberg]

Feels good, doesn't it?

[Alan]

Yep.

[Rosenberg]

Top of the hour here. Of course, if you missed the controversy yesterday, we're gonna get to it. There was controversy in Drop Madness.

[Alan]

Yeah, we got to talk about Straw J.

[Anthony]

Whatever her name was from lsu,

[Rosenberg]

the number one seed in the flub region.

[Alan]

I mean, it was, it was definitely fun to revisit because it, it was so long ago and it brought back a memory and it's kind of funny. But a one seed, a one seed

[Rosenberg]

when this, when this is in the bracket. 25amonth. Don Ana Rosenberg with you until seven in your ears.

[Alan]

It feel. It feels like the committee

[Rosenberg]

was high.

[Alan]

Well, yeah, they were high.

[Jacob]

I don't know.

[Alan]

It feels like the committee really wanted this one as a draw and just felt if we can get a 1 versus 16 upset. Here's one.

[Rosenberg]

Jacob, what were you gonna say?

[Jacob]

I was gonna say, are we gonna give things late pushes because they closed out the season?

[Rosenberg]

Well, I mean, we never heard flage again ever.

[Jacob]

We've played it at least like twice, probably like since then, but like the optimum thing has also been a running gag the last what, like, couple weeks?

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, that helps. It does. Hey, I have a question. In college basketball, does having a run at the end of the season help 10 Game street to close out the season?

[Jacob]

I mean, are we putting Miami over highway as the number one seed?

[Rosenberg]

Well, but they, they, they better keep in mind they didn't close out strong in the end. You know what I'm saying? This is just to look at this bracket, though, there's so much. Look at Allen's greatness at the 13 seed.

[Alan]

You said it way more eloquent. Eloquently.

[Rosenberg]

I mean, and what about this?

[Alan]

You think Jerrick Jeter would have allowed this?

[Rosenberg]

Who's Jerick Jeter.

[Alan]

Jerrick. I think we should create characters on the show of. Of people that we misidentify.

[Rosenberg]

Jerick Jeter's a bit.

[Alan]

Jeter is like the. It's the alter ego of Derek. What about Derek Jeter sucks? What about he's not clutch?

[Rosenberg]

What about Roger Starbuck?

[Alan]

Cowboys trailing the Vikings, final seconds of a divisional round playoff game. Roger Starbucks.

[Rosenberg]

Starbucks.

[Alan]

Starbucks. Roger Starbucks.

[Rosenberg]

That's another great flub.

[Alan]

So Daddy Warbucks.

[Rosenberg]

Well, we'll address some of this at 4:30.

[Alan]

We got to talk about it because

[Rosenberg]

I think the other one seeds, the funny one seed, a little yo, yo, monkey boy. He wanted me to jump up and make the jokey, jokey so the people go, laugh time. No controversy, no troubling region. Number one, I had diarrhea. That you dream about.

[Jacob]

Often quoted.

[Alan]

No.

[Rosenberg]

And of course, number one in the nether region. Who would ever challenge this?

[Rich Eisen]

This is colle.

[Rosenberg]

Excuse me. This is college football.

[Alan]

That's a one seed with a bullet.

[Jacob]

I was about to say, which, if I'm being honest, that might be the strongest one seed that we have right now.

[Alan]

That is, to me, that might be the one bracket. That is chalk.

[Rosenberg]

You think, Carla? Do you think Carlin will be. Would be honored to win?

[Alan]

What do we do, by the way? If someone not on the show wins, do we give them something?

[Rosenberg]

You almost. They should at least get to call. I think we'd call at least.

[Michael K]

Listen, Don's got nothing in the seven wins. He has.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, it's a great point. And Don, if you.

[Alan]

I said not on the show.

[Rosenberg]

If you're wondering how often Don's won. Here you go. Year one, we know. Year two, firmly.

[Alan]

Garbage.

[Sean]

Look at this garbage.

[Alan]

Year three, how many chances you get?

[Rosenberg]

Year four, former Raven replied our current Raven. Oh, like the game doesn't need him.

[Alan]

Sorry.

[Rosenberg]

He's a Charger now. He's a Charger.

[Alan]

Oh, no, he's a Ram.

[Michael K]

Which still might be the best one ever.

[Rosenberg]

I still hear it and can't take it. I can't. How am I going along with every word he's saying? Like I. I'm running back and forth with him like we're having a conversation. Alan, he's just changing every word he's saying.

[Michael K]

You were Ron Burgundy ing it. No question.

[Rosenberg]

I really.

[Michael K]

That was definitely. So you were reading off your paper and you were just. You were just rolling right along.

[Rosenberg]

So I was trying to get to the next thing and he's.

[Michael K]

Andrew's in your ear. Somebody's in somebody's.

[Rosenberg]

No no, Andrew was in Don's ear.

[Alan]

Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

So. So what happens is he goes. He's a charger.

[Caller (Sean)]

He goes.

[Rosenberg]

He's a charger now,

[Sean]

anyway.

[Rosenberg]

And he goes, no, la. And he goes. Oh, he goes. He goes. He's. He's on la. So Don goes, charger. He goes. No, the other one in his ear. And he goes, oh, no, he's a Ram. That's. It's some version of that. Year five. I think I'm saying this right.

[Alan]

Peter Stench in Mamaroneck.

[Rosenberg]

You're on ESPN New York. How are you, sir?

[Michael K]

Oh, hey.

[Sean]

No, it's Bennett.

[Alan]

Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

How did Don. No, explain it. Doesn't matter what it said.

[Michael K]

No, that is what it said. I was the one that screamed the ball.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, but. But he didn't even question it. No, he just said. I think I'm pronouncing that. You're absolutely pronouncing it correctly. The word.

[Michael K]

That's how I. That's how I spelled it. Because that's how I heard it.

[Rosenberg]

Let me explain to you. If Don wasn't Don Burgundy, okay, you'd

[Michael K]

go, this is Anthony. This isn't right.

[Rosenberg]

I'd say, anthony has this written as Stench. Not sure what that means. Hello. Something like that.

[Michael K]

Shows you how good the teammate Don is. There's no way Anthony's this dumb. But it turned out. Oh, no. He is that dumb.

[Anthony]

I think I'm saying this right.

[Alan]

Peter Stench. Immarenk.

[Rosenberg]

You're on ESPN New York. How are you, sir?

[Michael K]

Oh, hey.

[Sean]

No, it's.

[Michael K]

And you still gave me this job.

[Rosenberg]

Somehow, he still got the job. All right, and then year six.

[Alan]

Thank you, my friend, and I will see you soon.

[Rosenberg]

Say hi to everybody. Be well.

[Alan]

You say hello, too. Okay.

[Michael K]

Take care, Michael. It's Michael K. With me here.

[Rosenberg]

Michael having a complete stroke live on the air. Just. This was.

[Alan]

That's tough, man.

[Rosenberg]

And then. And then the last two years, we've been back to traditional. Don wins. No Michael K. Cut his fat ass. So, you know those. That's. Five of the eight are just Don screaming.

[Alan]

Four of the five sound like all from the same moment.

[Rosenberg]

Let's see.

[Alan]

Take out the. Yeah, there's one firmly.

[Rosenberg]

Garbage.

[Sean]

Look at this. Garbage.

[Alan]

Okay, then no Michael K. Then cut his fat ass. Tell me I'm wrong. How many chances you get? Oh, yeah. They're all from the same conversation.

[Rosenberg]

It could have been one conversation.

[Michael K]

That'll be three different studios.

[Rosenberg]

You know what?

[Michael K]

Now that I think about.

[Alan]

I think you're right.

[Rosenberg]

Wait, well, hold on. Is there. No, because. Cut. His fat ass was.

[Michael K]

That was in.

[Alan]

That was. That was West End. Yes, that was.

[Jacob]

No, that was Columbus.

[Rosenberg]

That was Columbus.

[Alan]

That's Evan Neal.

[Michael K]

West End was Garden.

[Alan]

We know.

[Rosenberg]

What's the third studio?

[Michael K]

Oh, no, then it was. It would be two because none of them were home.

[Rosenberg]

None of them were home.

[Michael K]

Okay.

[Rosenberg]

None of them were home.

[Alan]

Okay.

[Michael K]

Unrelated, by the way, did you know Carlin lost gas in Iowa with Courtney?

[Rosenberg]

Sorry.

[Alan]

He did what?

[Michael K]

He did. He was in a. He was driving with Courtney Cronin from. I believe it was Iowa to Chicago. And they didn't have. They ran out of gas in the middle.

[Alan]

Oh, ran. Wait a minute. That's not what you said.

[Michael K]

No, that's what I said.

[Rosenberg]

He said he released gas.

[Alan]

I thought you said he lost gas and he had Courtney Cronin in the car. And I'm thinking, poor Courtney. She cracked the window.

[Michael K]

Has lost. First of all, in either context, the way I said it, the way I meant it, or that. I've never heard that.

[Alan]

I mean, you know.

[Don Hahn]

Excuse me.

[Rosenberg]

This is.

[Alan]

I love when the music goes.

[Rosenberg]

It's the best.

[Michael K]

Carlin Sansk, middle of Iowa with the Cows.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, I've seen. I saw that moving around. Him and Courtney making their way through the country. It was very funny. I didn't realize what happened. They made it though. Are they successfully in Chicago?

[Michael K]

I believe so.

[Caller (Sean)]

What.

[Rosenberg]

What game was he going to. What was he going to do?

[Michael K]

I. He was doing the Big 12 tournament. I'm assuming Courtney was. Was with him. And then they both decided, let's go to Chicago.

[Rosenberg]

Wow.

[Michael K]

That way as opposed to flying again.

[Rosenberg]

It really gives. Dumb and dumber. All right, now we have. We're gonna get back to the WBC because there's more to get to with that.

[Alan]

Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

And of course Drop Madness. We're talking more about that coming up at 4:30. And if you want to participate, there's a lot of chatter in our chat on YouTube, the ESPN New York YouTube channel, whenever we're playing the drop. So if you want to be there and participate now, I want to play you a piece of audio here. Alan, I'd love your feedback.

[Alan]

Okay, you ready? Yes.

[Sean]

They are in a hole. And Mikal Bridges don't look like he's capable of getting out of him. And here's what Mikal Bridges has to understand that makes him look bad. You were the one seen complaining about Tom Thibodeau. Well, he ain't there now is Mike Brown and you look worse now. That wasn't the whole season because you had a good December. But you look worse with him right now than you ever looked with Tom Thibodeau. So I'm looking at the New York Knicks and I'm like, how does team going to beat Boston? Cleveland damn sure ain't going to be Detroit not looking like this. The Knicks are going to compete. I get it. And they're a good team, I get it. But I had championship appearance aspirations. I didn't have them winning the championship. I had the New York Knicks going to the finals. I damn sure don't have that now. And it's because of what will go down as an absolutely horrific trade if Mikel Bridges continues to look the way that he's looking. This is unacceptable stuff.

[Rosenberg]

Now there's another piece to this. I'm going to play you, Alan, where Steven goes a little bit further about the failures of Mikhail Bridges and other people's potential involvement in that.

[Sean]

The Knicks ain't winning a damn thing. Let me tell you something right now. Mikhail Bridges, this six game stretch, 39 total points, averaging six and a half points per game. The person I'm blaming most for all of this is Jalen Brunson. It's the only thing that I can blame Jalen Brunson for who I'm so proud to have as a New York Knick.

[Rosenberg]

But this is all his fault.

[Sean]

And I'm going to tell you why. Mikel Bridges, to get him, they gave up Bogdanovich. Four unprotected first round picks, a protective first round pick in 2025, a first round swap and a second round pick in 2026 for Mikhail Bridges. Why did they do that? They did that because instead of waiting a year and signing a five year, $270 million max extension, Jalen Brunson signed a four year, 156 million extension the year before, giving the New York Knicks a $113 million discount around that range. So what do the New York Knicks do? Obviously he saves them that kind of money. He did it so they could go get his boy, which I have no problem with. Mikel Bridges is not a scrub, but he ain't an All Star. You can't let your organization give up that much to get a dude that's going to ultimately handicap you from building a roster that can compete for a championship. Not to say that the Knicks can't compete for a championship, but you know what? I'm.

[Rosenberg]

Well, Alan, what say you?

[Alan]

Well, we've kind of like moved on from blaming Karl Anthony Towns since Towns since the All Star break has actually put up some Pretty decent numbers, is shooting the ball a lot better. And everybody's getting away from blaming him now. And now the. It's Mikhail Bridges who's in the crosshairs because since the All Star break, he has not been good. I mean, he. He was averaging just under 16 points a game going into the break, shooting 50%, which is very good. 38 from three, which is good. Since the break. Not only is his minutes are down because Mike Brown's not playing them late in games, he's averaged just 10 points a game. Peter, he's a starter, 41%, shooting 30 from three. And from the last like six games, last five games from three, he's been abysmal and almost to the point now where he's hesitating to shoot the basketball. And so, you know, like, I understand we got to find reasons why not, right? With this team because the eye test tells you this just doesn't look right. Even though when I tell you they are a top three offense, a top six defense, and a top five net rating team, they have the fifth best record in the NBA, the entire league. You know, I saw a funny thing somebody tweeted the other day, like, there's a thing going around about 2019, my March 2019 self. What would I say to my March 2026 person, right? What would I say to myself? And some people, like, used it as a nick thing saying, believe it or not, the fifth best record in the league, a top five offense and defense, and we're all going to be miserable.

[Rosenberg]

Isn't that crazy?

[Alan]

But that's in March of 2019. The Knicks were terrible. They're one of the worst teams in the league. So it just shows you how, you know, like, it's. Things can change in a. In a moment. And you don't realize how, like, how far a team has come because your expectations keep going up. Now, that's not to make an excuse because for Bridges, I've been watching him and his defense has not been stellar. He's not willing to fight over screens anymore. He's not physical as you need to be point of attack. He's been very average to below average as a defender and the shooting part of it also for him, his offense is completely gone in the tank. It's why you see, like, guys like Shamet on the court late in games, because Mike Brown can trust Shamit to fight through screens to do a little more defensively. But Stephen's right. They gave him a big contract extension. They gave up a lot to get him, and they did this because at the time of that trade, you have to understand, like he, I was at dinner the night before the draft that year when that trade went down. And at that moment when they made the trade, that was four Villanova guys because you had even Enzo still on the team. There was this sense of they're bringing the boy there, the band back together and they were bringing the group together and there was going to be great chemistry and they had a, they had a, a piece to do everything. And then what they ended up doing is DiVincenzo got traded in the car Anthony Towns deal. And that upset sort of what it was supposed to look like. Stephen A blaming Brunson for the Mikhail Bridges trade in the sense that why would you let them give up five first round picks? I don't think Jalen Brunson's in that conversation. I think Jalen Brunson's in the conversation of, hey, we, Mikhail wants to come here, we can get him, we should get him and so they get him. I don't think it was. I don't care if it's five first round pick. This wasn't less sneed f them picks. I don't think Brunson was involved in that. And I also don't think Brunson was aware that DiVincenzo, who's such a key piece to this, that a whole thing was going to be gone in a moment's notice.

[Rosenberg]

Nor did you, nor did you fully understand how key. Even though everyone loved DiVincenzo, I don't think anyone realized how important he was.

[Alan]

Yeah, I think you're.

[Rosenberg]

Because sometimes one plus one equals three.

[Alan]

Yeah, I think you're right.

[Rosenberg]

Justified.

[Alan]

I think you're right. And so put it all together and the picks are gone now, like this is gone. But the player now has to carry the weight of what you gave up for him if he doesn't live up to expectations.

[Rosenberg]

Right.

[Alan]

It's the same thing as when you sign a player to a big contract. He doesn't live up to it. You could say blame the front office for doing it, but a lot of times we blame the player for not living up to what you were supposed to be. And I just think that's where the Knicks are right now is this is another coach. This is not like, remember they changed the coach and Bridges was one of the loudest of the critics of the coaching last year and he was the happiest of all with the new coach early in the season. So now all of a sudden you have a second Coach in as many years, kind of getting frustrated with the inconsistency of a player that just suddenly all of a sudden isn't there. And let me point this out. Bridges tonight is going to play his 70th game of the season. It's his 626th consecutive game. 626 is ninth all time in NBA history for consecutive games played in six more games. So before the season's over, as long as he keeps playing, which we expect, he's going to pass Andre Miller for eighth most in NBA history. So he's going to be top eight Ironman in the history of the NBA. This is something that seems like it's an obvious point of pride for him, but if you're watching him play every day and you're in an NBA era where load management happens and guys do rest and they talk so much about how difficult the schedule is and, you know, you heard Steve Kerr and Rick Carlisle, LeBron, they're all talking about it, right? And here's Bridges. He's the anti. He's the guy I'm playing every night. I don't want to sit out. But when you watch him and you go, we know he doesn't suck. So what is it? Is he hitting a wall? Is he just tired? Because point of attack defense is. It's tough, man. When you're going up against pick and roll every night, and you got to fight through screens and get skinny through screens, and you know, Jalen Brunson is somebody that you got to help out on that end of the floor, you've

[Sean]

got to be aware.

[Alan]

DiVincenzo was such a great pair with Brunson in the back court because Dante was willing to fight through screens, willing to give up his body. He understood the role. That guy's a star. I'm covering for him. That's why Anthony Edwards loves him so much in Minnesota, because Devo's willing to do it. But if you're Bridges, I'm not getting enough shots. I'm not part of the offense as much because I got Brunson, now I got Cat. But they still want me fighting through screens. Now I'm kind of getting tired. You lose the will. And so even Mike Brown's like, you know, if he's tired, our medical people would come to us and say, he needs a knight. But would Bridges say, no, I'm not sitting. I want to play. Remember last year ended the season, he played one minute of a meaningless game, game 82, just to keep the streak going. One minute.

[Rosenberg]

But here's my question.

[Alan]

So is he just tired and he refuses to take the time that he needs.

[Rosenberg]

Well, because now at this point, does. Does the streak become the most important thing about your career? Respectfully.

[Alan]

That's what I mean.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Alan]

If that's what I mean. So the criticism of his play and saying he sucks and he's not worth the money or the. Or the picks, I think is unfair criticism for a guy who's a really good player when he's. When he's right physically and mentally. And we've seen him in the playoffs, make big plays and have big moments.

[Rosenberg]

I'm just having a flashback, though, right now.

[Caller (Sean)]

All right.

[Rosenberg]

I was on First Take around the time Mikhail Bridges started coming at Tibbs.

[Alan]

Yes.

[Rosenberg]

And I argued with Stephen about when

[Alan]

he talked about guys on the bench who can play and they should play. Yeah, go ahead.

[Rosenberg]

And I argue. So funny that I'm now remembering this.

[Alan]

Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

I argued with Stephen A and kind

[Alan]

of said, I was texting you.

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[Rosenberg]

I said, if this had come from Jalen Brunson, we're having a different conversation. But it coming from Mikhail Bridges is kind of like, you know. And Stephen A's response was, but Mikhail Bridges is an Ironman. He never misses any games. So if it's coming from him, you know, it's valid. Now we're kind of on the flip side of that.

[Alan]

Yeah. Where he's. He probably could use a break. He might even have a nagging injury he doesn't want to talk about. And it could be affecting his willingness to fight through screens, to play physical defense, to do the extra things. It takes this late in the season, and who knows? Because he won't talk about it. Like, his whole thing is, like, you know, just trying to find ways to stay aggressive. That's it. You know, sometimes you're open, sometimes the ball doesn't find you. Like, he's not really saying anything right now. A couple of weeks. You remember about a month or so ago, he did that interview with Clyde when Clyde asked him about. He had a big game. I think I remember the game that he had. It was a huge game, maybe the Rockets, something. And he said I needed to be. I need to be more. No, it was a Toronto game, huge third quarter. And he said I needed to be more coachable, that he held himself accountable. Well, he's not doing that now. Now he's just talking about trying to stay aggressive, and sometimes the ball doesn't find me. It's. It's odd to me. And the head coach, which is the second one now to deal with him with the Knicks is sort of also doing the same. Shrug of I don't know what to do but if he's not effective I'm not going to play him late in the game and that's what making this look bad. So there's a lot of I think side eyeing of you know, if, if you're not right maybe take a minute and get your battery charged up.

[Rosenberg]

You know Cal Ripken, you know like Cal Ripken might have not gotten as much credit if ground balls were going through his legs. You know what I mean?

[Alan]

That's a good point. Very good point. Right? Or if he was going through like an 0 for 30 slump, right? If he, if he, if he couldn't

[Rosenberg]

get doesn't hit, doesn't hit the same way.

[Alan]

Such a great point.

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[Rich Eisen]

Rich Eisen here. The tax deadline will be here before you know it and you just want to know your taxes are actually being handled. But the old way, you hand everything off and then silence. Days pass, weeks pass. You start wondering, should I send another follow up email? It feels like you're chasing updates and getting nowhere. But now taxes are different because your taxes are done for you by a TurboTax full service expert. With Intuit TurboTax, you can match with your dedicated tax expert and hand off everything right in the app. And while your expert checks for every deduction, you'll see real time updates on your phone. So you always know exactly where things stand. Suddenly you're not refreshing your inbox. You're going for a run, grabbing a coffee, scrolling anything other than a just checking in message because your TurboTax expert is handling it and keeping you in the loop. So this tax season, get your best possible outcome and every dollar you deserve without the guesswork. Visit TurboTax.com today to learn more. Real time updates only in iOS mobile app only available with TurboTax full service experts.

[Don Hahn]

Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Rosenberg]

I didn't listen to anything you just said.

[Don Hahn]

Catch the show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts. Sometimes you just can't take it anymore. This is let's Talk About It Tuesday with Don Hahn and Rosenberg.

[Rosenberg]

Ah, it's time to talk about it folks.

[Alan]

Sure is on this here.

[Rosenberg]

Talk about it Tuesday. Bing Bong. So many things to do. You know what I mean? Aaron Judge, the judger, the right fielder, number 99 betting second. I don't know when I did that, but I like it. So yesterday we revealed our drop madness brackets. We're very excited. Anthony and Jacob work very hard to make sure we have a great tournament and we really thought it was a great bracket. But somehow the first overall seed that we got to the one seed in

[Alan]

the flub region was an unknown.

[Rosenberg]

A region that just to give people an update and if you want to be a part of the chat here, jump on our YouTube, ESPN New York on YouTube the conversation's happening and I'm sure it'll it'll increase during this segment here. So this, this region, Alan, it includes things like on 880, ESPN New York and ESPN Orac.

[Alan]

We're so bad. See, come on. That's so good.

[Rosenberg]

It has things like you think Jerrick

[Alan]

Jeter would have allowed this? Who's Jerry Jeter is Derek's brother who sucks at baseball.

[Rosenberg]

That that's the 11 there. The two seed for example, in the flub region.

[Alan]

Udecki.

[Michael K]

Is that his name?

[Alan]

Udoko.

[Rosenberg]

Udecki. Udoko. Yeah.

[Alan]

That would be IME Udoka.

[Rosenberg]

Right?

[Alan]

He was right there. Yeah, I can see Richard.

[Rosenberg]

Also the three in the flub region.

[Alan]

I mean, big John Harbaugh. Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

That's a big drop, though. I mean, we think about how much we've used it, how funny it is.

[Alan]

Yep.

[Rosenberg]

And the seven seed is this getting a lot of callers that are very confident. Ben Judicus was on. He's a little nervous. JAS J. I'm sorry, I would be Judicus.

[Sean]

I'm Judicus.

[Rosenberg]

I mean, that's got a. That's got a huge celebrity, a great flub.

[Alan]

What a moment.

[Rosenberg]

Don calling Jadicus. Judicus. And that's a seven seed. So the question is, why this? I don't know what Strawn J.

[Anthony]

Whatever her name was.

[Rosenberg]

How did that. A drop that all three of us had forgotten ever happen?

[Alan]

A forgotten drop, Anthony, how does that

[Rosenberg]

end up number one? And should we do anything about this?

[Michael K]

Yeah, I've been thinking about it. I'm glad that it's talk about it Tuesday, because I think it's important.

[Caller (Sean)]

Talk about it.

[Alan]

Yeah.

[Michael K]

Look, everybody knows I'm not very bright,

[Rosenberg]

that is for sure.

[Michael K]

But I do pride myself on in this tournament, for the most part. And I've only run it, I think, the one year that after Andrew had left, that even though if there were some disagreements, it wasn't egregious. This to me, the way that you guys reacted seems egregious.

[Jacob]

Yeah.

[Michael K]

Now, the tournament hasn't started. I'm not the, you know, the selection committee for college football. I'm not the selection committee for the March Madness. I can admit if there's a mistake made.

[Rosenberg]

Sure.

[Michael K]

Now, I'm not saying that it probably isn't worthy of being in the top 16, but you guys certainly don't feel like it should be the number one, and that's fine. And it seems like you have a general number one that you think could be that. And it would be, of course, Don singing over the optimum commercial.

[Rosenberg]

That to me, this feels like the number one seed in the flub region. Don on a Rosenberg with you until seven.

[Alan]

I gotta be honest, I don't even know if that's a one.

[Jacob]

How's he shooting up the one? That's. That's what. I'm confused.

[Alan]

I don't know if that's a one. It's. It's good and it's funny, but it is if you know it, you know, it's one of those people, you know.

[Rosenberg]

But let's think about what.

[Alan]

That there are others that are really good.

[Rosenberg]

Number one is the. The as we said, that's the one in question.

[Alan]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Rosenberg]

Two is.

[Michael K]

Is that his name?

[Alan]

Udoko? I might even argue. I don't know if I like that as a really.

[Rosenberg]

I love Udaki Udoko.

[Alan]

Udaki Udoko is fun.

[Rosenberg]

It's pretty bad. 3. I mean this to me could have been one in flub.

[Caller (Tyler)]

Hot dog.

[Michael K]

Now, now. So this is again now this is a me thing that we. And we haven't run into this a lot because we had another region and more often than not it involved people that weren't on the show.

[Rosenberg]

Right.

[Michael K]

Our. How comfortable are we giving a non show member not in the nether region a number one seed. That's fair tournament. That was what I was saying.

[Rosenberg]

So then you have four where you get to Don on 880.

[Anthony]

ESPN New York and ESPN.

[Rosenberg]

We're so bad.

[Alan]

I. I don't. Again, I don't hate that either.

[Rosenberg]

But do you. But you don't love it as one. You don't.

[Alan]

That's a. That's a. That's a. That's a pretty good one. But wasn't there another one too? Wasn't there the one when he did the. The. The. The. What is it? Somebody went behind like a Harness Wagner

[Rosenberg]

rookie card or something.

[Michael K]

You never know.

[Alan]

Harness Wagner. These are better. Hornets. Hornets. It's still a stupid name. What's the one where he messed up our name?

[Rosenberg]

Rosenberg. But we're going Rosenberg.

[Alan]

Hot knot like that.

[Rosenberg]

Rosenberg. And that's a 12.

[Alan]

That can't be a 12.

[Michael K]

Well, listen, I'm. I'm not gonna. I'm. We're not going to completely revamp.

[Rosenberg]

We can't.

[Michael K]

This region.

[Rosenberg]

It's out. Anthony. We can't. It's too much.

[Michael K]

It's too much. What I would say is this. If there is one in that top eight that you guys view as. Oh, why is this not a one over the one? And you guys clearly don't feel great about flagee. Yeah. Strange.

[Rosenberg]

Then you say clean swap.

[Michael K]

I say we just swap if your guys are cool with that.

[Rosenberg]

Because again, what about Judicus for going from 7 to 1?

[Alan]

I don't mind that one. Especially because of who. We're on the phone. Yeah, Ben's on the phone.

[Rosenberg]

That's the Ben Stiller.

[Michael K]

Yeah, listen, I would, I would. I would certainly be comfortable with that. Jacob obviously has been a staunch defender of Strawn J. Flash.

[Rosenberg]

So you, Jacob, you are. Because it is talk about a Tuesday

[Michael K]

and we should talk about it.

[Rosenberg]

You want to talk about the fact that you believe there's any reasonable argument. I'm not saying Flage should be number one.

[Jacob]

I'm not saying there's any reasonable argument while Flaujer should be number one. But I also do not see why there's not a strong number one in the flubs. Like, this was part of the reason too, with me, Anthony, running into like some of the other regions had stronger ones or like they had more abundance to pick from the flubs. It wasn't too many flubs to go from. And not only that, too many flubs to like rank one high enough that we felt strongly about. Like it was something that we've like laughed at. We thought about it and then like it's usefulness to the show.

[Rosenberg]

How about this, Anthony? What if we put a poll? Can you do polls on YouTube or is it just two options?

[Michael K]

I could see how many I could add.

[Rosenberg]

Is there a way to do four options?

[Jacob]

I think it's like three or four.

[Rosenberg]

Because I'd be curious to put a feat like YouTube. All right, what if we said what should be the number one overall seed? The strong J. Okay, you leave that there.

[Caller (Tyler)]

The.

[Rosenberg]

The Don interrupts commercial. Okay. The Harbaugh.

[Michael K]

Okay.

[Rosenberg]

Or the Don, Han and Rosenberg. But we're going. Rosenberg had not. What do you think about those four options? Because the thing for me, Alan, the reason I feel strongly about the Harbaugh is how bad a pronunciation it is of something that everyone knows that's correct.

[Alan]

I get it mixed with how much

[Rosenberg]

we used it because right after it, you know, it was in the middle of the Harbaugh thing. Right.

[Alan]

I totally get it.

[Rosenberg]

So a lot of usage. So I think those four. Can we live with the results of a YouTube vote?

[Michael K]

I'll do you one better, Peter.

[Rosenberg]

Go ahead.

[Michael K]

Because this is. This was a conversation we're gonna have to get into also.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Michael K]

For years.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Michael K]

Since 1947.

[Alan]

Yeah, sure.

[Michael K]

This tournament has been on Twitter.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Michael K]

I don't know if you've noticed. Yeah. We have quite the abundant audience on YouTube.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Michael K]

Now I don't know how many polls you could put up at a time.

[Rosenberg]

Excuse me.

[Michael K]

Yeah, exactly. So the problem with that is, and I'm seeing it now because of course we have the. If you want to go vote on YouTube. Right. For the number one seed in the flub region, what will happen is if Flage gets knocked off, it will swap with whatever you guys have chosen.

[Rosenberg]

We're currently at 29, 30 votes and Strange has zero votes.

[Michael K]

Yeah, listen, it was. Look, and that's what made me say it because you guys have disagreed before. This seemed egregious. So I need to make it right. I need to make it right now.

[Rosenberg]

I love Anthony for this, by the way. I believe strong leadership isn't about pretending you don't make mistakes. Mistakes. It's about acknowledging the mistakes and addressing them. And I love this for him.

[Alan]

And fixing the problem right away. Yeah. This is what a good committee.

[Rosenberg]

This is the kind of. This is the way you get extended. Get a longer career.

[Michael K]

What's unfortunate is I really was gonna suggest we do the polls on YouTube this year, but you can only put up one at a time. There's too many. There's too many matchups in the beginning rounds to do that.

[Alan]

That's very difficult.

[Michael K]

I can't do it now.

[Rosenberg]

Maybe fun to watch the voting.

[Michael K]

Maybe later in the tournament. Maybe Final four or Elite Eight or maybe the championship. I throw in the YouTube. I think we're still gonna have to. I know people gonna be upset with this. I think we're still gonna have to keep votes on Thursday on Twitter. It's probably the easiest for everybody. But for now. And you're gonna make.

[Alan]

Drop the link in the chat and they can.

[Rosenberg]

Steve Brzezinski. Steve Brzezinski weighed in and says no less of an authority than Steve Brzezinski.

[Alan]

Right.

[Rosenberg]

Says we need Andrew Gundling to be an arbitrator for this situation.

[Michael K]

I appreciate the 2% of people that felt bad enough for me to actually put the flasher drop in. That's good. Congratulations. Thank you very much.

[Rosenberg]

So far, 86 votes. 87 now. 2% for stranger. It's going to be close, though, I'll tell you. It looks like you have Don interrupting the commercial with a solid lead at 45%.

[Alan]

Wow.

[Rosenberg]

And then you have Har Bog and Don Rosenberg Hadan at 29 and 23, respectively. This is going to be a good race between the three.

[Alan]

Interesting. So they love the interrupting the commercial part.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Alan]

I mean, thought it was an actual.

[Rosenberg]

Ballard has reached out to me multiple times, as he always does, and said, I want to let you know that in my opinion. And he's been listening since border 47 to Jace.

[Alan]

Okay.

[Rosenberg]

Ballard believes that not only should it be the number one overall seed in the tournament, he believes that Don interrupting the commercial could be on the Mount Rushmore of Drop Madness. How about that? Now I don't know that I feel that strongly about it. But there's obviously some sort of special thing. The fact that Dom.

[Alan]

So he's Ballard. Is suggesting that this could be a UCLA type program.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Alan]

Where it's just this is. We'll talk about that drop for years to come and use it as a standard of the greatness of drop madness.

[Rosenberg]

And not only that, it's going to redefine the way what it means when we say 25amonth. Don, Ana Rosenberg with you until seven.

[Alan]

Same sweet number in your ears. You know, I wish we should. When we give out the number for

[Rosenberg]

our, you know, our callers say the same sweet number.

[Alan]

We should just say that same sweet number in your ears.

[Rosenberg]

I don't like, I don't like your rap voice that you're doing for this terrible commercial. And that was the worst part is that, you know, Don and I, you know, Don and I had the hip hop fight a couple of weeks ago.

[Alan]

Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

And Don has admitted that it's been a tough couple of weeks for him in hip hop and that. And that this was the more egregious foul. The fact that he thought this commercial for Optimum was just a song that Jacob was playing by choice to rejoin the show.

[Alan]

No, his argument with you was a technical foul.

[Rosenberg]

Right.

[Alan]

His. Him jumping in thinking this was an actual hip hop song.

[Jacob]

Yeah.

[Alan]

And an intro to a segment.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Alan]

That's a flagrant two.

[Rosenberg]

He's out. He's out of the game.

[Michael K]

25amonth.

[Rosenberg]

Don on a Rosenberg with you until seven.

[Alan]

I wish. So what do you think?

[Michael K]

Keep it up till enn?

[Alan]

I think you got to give it time.

[Michael K]

That's what we do around this time. Peter, what is it? 4 o'?

[Alan]

Clock? Usually we do it.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Michael K]

And then by 6 o', clock, like 6:20 is when we usually.

[Alan]

You know what? I'll tell you what, Anthony. God bless.

[Rosenberg]

No, he's done a hell of a job.

[Alan]

This, this is exactly how you do it.

[Rosenberg]

This is how you lead.

[Alan]

This is how you lead.

[Michael K]

I'm glad we talked this out. I feel better about it now.

[Rosenberg]

That's what talk about it Tuesday's all about.

[Alan]

We talk through things.

[Rosenberg]

That's. I think that our show can be an inspiration for the rest of the country. When we have issues here, we have problems, we talk through them. We find our common ground. We realize that we have more similarities then we have differences and we find solutions. And look what we did here. And that's why, Anthony, you've proven something not just to Jacob, not just to Alan. Not just to me. Not just to Don. You've proven something to this nation about what we can all be.

[Michael K]

This is perfect. Right before the world baseball class. Yes, that too. That makes me feel good.

[Rosenberg]

That'll be the funny part. Is when that wins the tournament.

[Michael K]

Oh, that'll make me really happy.

[Rosenberg]

Is when you suck piece. It goes the whole way. What is that? That's a L. What?

[Alan]

That might go on a run, though. That really could. That could be.

[Rosenberg]

No, it's tough.

[Alan]

That could be a Butler type of franchise here.

[Rosenberg]

It's. Well, then don't forget though, Anthony has a couple of tough drops in trouble, including.

[Alan]

Well. Yeah, that's before.

[Rosenberg]

I hate it. Every time I hear it, I think one.

[Michael K]

Because I wasn't. I couldn't. How could I cut it? I didn't know it happened.

[Rosenberg]

No, it's. It's so. So troubling.

[Alan]

Yeah. It really. That can't win. Not allowed. Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

I mean, there's a lot of troubling stuff in here. Hey, lookreka. Open your mouth. And of course, Allen has a big one in this.

[Alan]

Whoa. Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

You know, of course, the 16 to me could challenge the one. Here's the one. I had diarrhea that you dream about. By the way, underrated is Anthony's. Oh, in the middle of the. I had diarrhea because he was in the room, I believe, doing enn, perhaps. So listen, is his ad lib. I had diarrhea that you dream about.

[Michael K]

I wasn't ready for that.

[Alan]

This is during ENN. Clearly.

[Rosenberg]

That's up against the 16 seed. Richard, have you ever heard of Brazzers? No. I mean, that's a hell of a matchup for a Thursday afternoon. You throw on true tv, you don't know what you're getting. And you see that as the 116.

[Alan]

Right.

[Rosenberg]

That's what makes this tournament special.

[Alan]

All right, who's calling the game? You know what I mean? You don't even care at that point. Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

You're just here for a good time.

[Alan]

You don't need Harlan. You just. You don't care. It just suddenly became a good one.

[Rosenberg]

No less of an authority and no less of a friend of ours than the great dawn from Madison Square Garden has reached out.

[Alan]

Oh, she says we love Dawn.

[Rosenberg]

She says it's that Don makes the song sound like it's part of the show with the in your ear coming in after he says DHR didn't think it's a number one, but there's an argument for it. I love the thoughtfulness of dawn on this on this topic. Well right now as we wrap up talk about it, we're about 200 votes in. You can vote. If you want to vote on where the seating should be, you have to go right now to the ESPN New York YouTube. We are live on ESPN New York YouTube. Go to our live jump in there and you can simply vote. And right now Don interrupting the commercial is at 48%. Richard Harbaugh is at 23 and Don Rosenberg had Don is at 24. Stranger a lowly 6%.

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[Anthony]

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[Don Hahn]

Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Rosenberg]

I didn't listen to anything you just said.

[Don Hahn]

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

[Alan]

Now let's get some calls going here. 800-993-776, of course, is the number. We want to talk some Knicks here, so why don't we do that with Sean in Bloomfield first. Go ahead, Sean. Hello, Sean.

[Caller (Sean)]

Hello, guys. Thanks for taking the call.

[Alan]

You got it. What's up, Alan?

[Caller (Sean)]

I always, always, almost always respect everything you say about the Knicks. If you say 10 things, I agree with nine of them. Mikhail Bridges only kind of being a problem since the All Star break is a joke. He has been absolutely atrocious since the minute he put on a Knicks Jersey. All the 30 point games, the 35 point games in Brooklyn, we only got that because Brooklyn stunk and there was nobody else there to take any shine. That's why he shined there. He's an awful nick. He's not built for the city. Everything you mentioned about his character earlier proves that he, he, I'm so tired of seeing him run under the basket, jump up in the air, spin around and throw the ball out of bounds. How many times are we gonna watch this? He's not playing late in the games because he stinks.

[Caller (Tyler)]

He's brutal.

[Caller (Sean)]

He's a liability on offense and defense and I don't know where we go from here. We just gave him an extension. Nobody's going to take him for off our hands with him playing like this.

[Alan]

It is something that going forward, you know, like, like you, you got it. Like, that's the problem. It's like Tom Thibodeau trying to get maximized what he is. Mike Brown's trying to maximize what he is. And when he got to the playoffs last year, he started to play better. He made impacts defensively. He had a couple of good games. Still didn't really shoot the three that well, but he made you feel like, okay, that's what you did. That's why you, you know, traded those picks. But I can't. I gotta be honest with you. So I can't argue with anything that you said. It has not been a good fit. It hasn't. The idea at the trade, when they made the trade, at the time, it felt like, what a. What a missing piece, what another great piece, another wing guy, wing defenders, that was something we knew all around the league. That's what you had. And that was his reputation. A guy that could score, but also could defend. And he had played on a team that had gotten to the finals. So he already. He's part of winning. He knows how to be a role player on a winning team. You thought all that stuff made sense. And then you watch him every day, game to game, and you see how he can get lost, how he kind of. If he's not getting the ball, he does disappear and allows himself to disappear. His compete level is not where it needs to be on a. On a consistent basis. And it does make you feel like, okay, you paid a tax because Brooklyn wasn't going to send him across the river for nothing. You were going to pay extra than any other team was going to do. But the Knicks thought this could be one of those key pieces to a championship roster, and it has not shown to be that for the majority of the time. So everything that he just said, I can't. I can't argue with it. I can't tell him he's dead wrong. But I know that his numbers before the All Star break were decent. He had some good games, and he was one guy that even when he had bad games, he kept putting on himself. He was not putting at coaching, none of that stuff. But post All Star, he really has disappeared, Absolutely disappeared. And that is a concern.

[Rosenberg]

Well, listen, his best moments came in the playoffs last year, right? And basically the closing moments of two games in the playoffs.

[Alan]

Defensively, yeah, he had huge games there and he had some decent games along the way.

[Rosenberg]

But overall, his output last year, this was a problem. All year, his numbers were all, they were all down.

[Alan]

Everybody thought it was him and Tibbs, everybody thought it was about that until we're seeing it this year. Now it's like, all right, what's the, what's the problem now? You got rid of the coach that you didn't like. What's the problem now?

[Rosenberg]

Let's. Let's go to Tyler in Suffolk County. Hey, Tyler.

[Caller (Tyler)]

Hey, how's it going, boys? Long time span, man. Long time listener. First time. So I wanted to talk about the wbc. I really, I'm a huge fan of ESPN Radio. And I listen to you guys pretty much throughout the entire day. And I just, I get a real like, irk in my heart the way you guys talk about the WBC talking about it being, you know, only an exhibition and that it doesn't matter. And I understand that. But you know, you have these professional athletes playing at the highest level telling you themselves. Now you want to believe it's a gimmick or not, you know, conspiracy theory, sure, but they're telling you multiple different athletes, some of the best athletes in the sport, telling you that these games mean the same, if not more than playoff games and World Series games. And all I hear from ESPN hosts across the board on all shows is, you know, you know that they don't know what they're talking about or like, like, like almost as you think these guys are lying these games, you know, I mean, you see the excitement that these players play with during these games. They don't have this excitement during the regular season. And those games do count. So why is it that, you know, you, you kind of poo poo these games in a way where, you know, it really doesn't matter. And sure, the stats don't matter, the wins and losses don't necessarily, you know, matter, but you have these professional athletes at the top of the sport telling you that it matters. Okay, and yet all I hear losses is the host telling, telling the fans that it doesn't.

[Alan]

I know, and, and there's the reason is very simple. And tell. And I appreciate you have a passion for it and I appreciate your argument. I'm not telling you wrong, but when the manager of the US team doesn't know the situation, how invested is he? When players on the roster leave to go back to their teams for spring training, how invested are they? You know what I mean? Like, that's the kind of part of it that I think we're all looking at is leading up to, and I'll say it again, the semifinal game against the Dominican Republic had me, all right, I'm into this, right? Because you knew there was something big about it. Baseball fans, fans who love baseball. You're in already, you're hooked. You're into it because it's baseball and because it does have this feel of a competitive elimination kind of thing, a pride thing, all that other stuff. But for everyone else who's invested in other things currently right now, like between, you know, whether it's Don with hockey, me with the NBA, there's a lot of things that's pulling you away from something like baseball, which we're not used to really watching right now. If I'm not seeing something that compelling, it's not drawing me in. That's just reality. No one is doing this because we're trying to bash baseball. No one is saying this because we hate the sport of baseball or we don't want it to be great. This is our professional opinion because we are in the world of what's the most important things happening in sports right now for us to talk about. We're in that world every day, man. And if we are, we aren't getting drawn to it right away out of the gate. And then we see. The first thing we saw that became a story was DeRosa not knowing the situation with his own damn team and almost costing the US A chance to play in. In the. In the. In the knockout rounds. You can't tell me that that's not something that. For those of us on the periphery, because we're. We're locked into other things, traditional things happening right now. You can't tell me that that's not a reason for us to look at it. Go, how important can this be if this guy's not even aware of what's going on? Where players are leaving the team in the middle of the tournament?

[Rosenberg]

That was the one. You know, that's how I felt. That's the stuff where you like, is

[Alan]

this big to Puerto Rico? Is this big to, you know, the Dominicans? Is this big to Venezuela? Is it. Was it big to Japan? I don't know. How did Japan play in that game? The Italian team? Let's be honest. Is it a bunch of guys from Italy? No, but it was big to them because it meant something and it was fun. They had fun with it. That was fun. It got real when we got to the knockout round, and we're all invested now.

[Rosenberg]

And again, I think some of this. It kind of stinks that Don's not here today, because I think Don was the harshest take on the wbc.

[Alan]

Yeah, he's a baseball guy and he's

[Rosenberg]

the biggest baseball guy here, and he was the hardest on it, and he's not here today. But, yeah, listen, I think we've all been very impressed by the level of interest there is, and we'll see what happens tonight and how much conversation there is tomorrow. We still have a lot of calls on it. We'll get to you guys next big five o' clock hour. And right now, guys, FanDuel is dropping bonus bets into everyone's account for the tournament. All you have to do is opt in to claim your bonus. Use them on your bracket picks, Moneyline spreads, totals, game props, or even same game parlays. But don't wait. These bonus bets are only available for a limited time. Just visit FanDuel.com local to learn more. 21 and over fizzly present New York bonus issues non withdrawable bonus bets expire 7 days after receipt. Max bonus 500 bucks unless otherwise specified. Restrictions apply. See [e-mail] for help with a gambling problem. Call 877-8-hOPE in a wire text Hope NY 467369 thanks for listening to the

[Don Hahn]

Don Hahn and Rosenberg Podcast.

[Rosenberg]

I don't want to know how the

[Alan]

sausage is made, man. I just want to know it's good.

[Don Hahn]

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.

[Rosenberg]

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