Hour 2: Kevin Egan & Weekend Recap

Summary

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Don, Hahn & Rosenberg – Hour 2: Kevin Egan & Weekend Recap

Date: July 6, 2026 | Key Guests: Kevin Egan (Apple TV)

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Episode Overview

This episode features two main segments: a deep dive into the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team’s World Cup run with guest Kevin Egan and a humorous, incisive recap of the star-studded Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce New York wedding. The show balances keen sports analysis with pop culture banter, highlighting shifting dynamics in American soccer and lampooning the spectacle of celebrity society events.

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Key Segment 1: U.S. Soccer World Cup Run (w/ Kevin Egan)

[00:43 – 13:17]

Setting the Stage: U.S. Soccer Reaches the Mainstream

• The show opens with U.S. World Cup fever—Team USA is about to play Belgium for a quarterfinal spot.
• Kevin Egan notes the dramatic rise in soccer buzz, especially due to a headline-grabbing red card controversy.

“All it takes is a fella to get his red card suspended. He’s back in action. Everyone’s talking about the U.S. Men’s National Team today.”
— Kevin Egan [01:17]

The Red Card Controversy

• The US team’s top striker is suspended after a red card in the previous match, swinging media and fan expectations.
• Rosenberg frames it as narrative whiplash: what would’ve been a plucky underdog story turns into a pressure game (“you better win now”).
• Egan compares it to pro wrestling:

  “It’s the ultimate heel turn.”
  — Kevin Egan [02:28]

• The moment is unique in World Cup history: “It’s never happened in the midst of the World Cup... It’s unprecedented.” [03:58]

Narrative and Momentum

• U.S. soccer is described as enjoying a rare lack of “insecurity,” driven by coach Pochettino’s bold mentality.
• Egan is impressed with how American players, under Pochettino, are displaying new confidence.

  “For once, American soccer has less insecurity right now... He [Pochettino] doesn’t believe in the ‘I believe that we will win’ chant. He’s more bold—‘why not us?’”
  — Kevin Egan [06:55]

• Stadium atmosphere in Seattle is singled out as electric and pivotal.

Is This a Tipping Point for U.S. Soccer?

• Rosenberg asks if this run is a true sign of the U.S. catching global soccer powers or just a “good class.”
• Egan:

  “Without a doubt... Soccer in this country has never been more popular. There’s more access on TV, more kids playing. The Economist recently said it’s the third most popular sport, eclipsing baseball.”
  — Kevin Egan [08:40]

• MLS’s growth through youth academies and improving infrastructure is highlighted.
• But, Egan stresses, U.S. players still need to display unique personality and swagger.

MLS: The Next Step?

• Don presses Egan on when MLS will parallel NHL’s Olympic bump, creating stars that return to home clubs.
• Egan points to growth in markets like Chicago, Cincinnati, St. Louis, but admits NYC needs an attendance-driven spark—possibly by signing megastars.

  “I’d love for that to be reflected in New York City one day.”
  — Kevin Egan [10:14]

Predictions and Stakes Tonight

• Egan calls the US-Belgium matchup a toss-up, referencing their classic 2014 meeting.
• A win tonight could be a "signature moment" for US soccer, propelling both public attention and youth inspiration.

  "I really hope this is that signature win that US fans have been craving for quite some time."
  — Kevin Egan [11:22]

• High national TV ratings are expected ("I think the ratings tonight... will shatter any other record..." [12:32]).

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On VAR & Process:
  “You don't slow down and go through with this microscopic detail to find where the studs may have connected with the Achilles... that’s not what VAR is for.”
  — Kevin Egan [03:58]

• On US soccer’s confidence:
  “He [Pochettino] comes in and he doesn’t believe in the ‘I believe that we will win’ chant... He’s challenging these players to step up, be bold and brave, like you’re American on the grandest stage of all.”
  — Kevin Egan [06:55]

• On MLS's Future:
  “Markets like New York need to take off... I have zero doubt that they'll bring over a few megastars and try and ignite that market a little bit more.”
  — Kevin Egan [10:14]

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Key Segment 2: Taylor Swift & Travis Kelce Wedding Recap

[22:22 – 36:58]

Weekend Recap—NYC’s “Royal Wedding”

• The hosts lampoon the scale of the Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce wedding in New York City (at Madison Square Garden).
• Hahn calls it “the most yo-yo event in the history of New York City.” [22:22]
• They list the plethora of A-list (and head-scratching) attendees, from Adam Sandler (who officiated) and Andy Reid to Giovanni Ribisi, Rob Riggle, and Sacha Baron Cohen.

Quotes & Comic Banter

"Why is George Keeto there? Kiki is better than Keto. George Stephanopoulos, the little Greek guy from Good Morning America."
— Alan Hahn [27:07]

"It's kind of... it's all of our wedding, because it took over our city. It shut down streets!"
— Alan Hahn [31:19]

• The group jokes about how both bride and groom had to each invite hundreds to avoid "half-empty" sides:

  “Taylor Swift knows more people than Travis Kelsey…You’re gonna run out of people!”
  — Don Hahn [29:30]

• They riff on strange invitations ("Ross Tucker invited—how??") and speculate about the Hollywood logic (“If you ever did anything with her, you’re invited!”).

• Alan Hahn stirs the pot, calling the spectacle "phony" and "ostentatious," while Rosenberg defends it as the realities of celebrity.

Meta Jokes and Cultural Commentary

• Don and Alan ponder the connection to celebrity culture and strategic guest lists, playfully referencing possible future media deals and the way publicists fill events.
• The conversation closes with a tongue-in-cheek remark about a possible divorce album called "Independence Day."

  “...when they invariably get divorced, she drops an album called ‘Independence Day.’”
  — Alan Hahn [36:47]

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Key Segment 3: Soccer's Popularity in the U.S.

[15:46 – 21:28]

• Discussion shifts on why soccer, despite rising participation and TV viewership, still lags the “big four” leagues, especially in major cities like New York.

• Cites The Economist’s January 2026 finding: soccer now ranks 3rd in American sports popularity at 10%, ahead of baseball (9%).

• They debate the staying power of this trend—“it’s amazing... soccer is number three and just ahead of baseball, which at one time was the pastime.”

  — Peter Rosenberg [18:33]

• The hosts admit emotional, generational attachments still drive American sports fandom.

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Key Segment 4: Callers and Family Sports Culture

[40:30 – 44:47]

• Caller "Joe in the car" proposes changing soccer’s rules to liven up play for American tastes; the hosts reflect on how personal history shapes sports interests.
• Don admits, “You just can’t be into everything… I have my—basically, hockey, baseball, and football.” [41:11]
• They reinforce the idea that exposure and parental interest are pivotal to shaping the next generation’s fandom.

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Notable Timestamps

• [01:17] Kevin Egan on U.S. Soccer’s “heel turn” moment
• [03:58] “It’s unprecedented”—why the red card controversy is historic
• [06:55] Egan on Pochettino, confidence, and the American mindset
• [10:14] NYC MLS market lag compared to national success
• [18:00] U.S. sports fan breakdown per The Economist
• [22:22–36:58] Swift-Kelce wedding deep-dive and guest list absurdity
• [41:11] Don’s personal fandom and the limits of sports fervor

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Tone and Takeaways

• Tone: Fast-paced, irreverent, local, and deeply sports-knowledgeable, with a throughline of New York attitude.
• Sports Segment: Earnest, energized, with real optimism for US soccer’s long-term prospects, questioning whether the current “moment” will create lasting change.
• Pop Culture Segment: Sarcastic and self-aware, channeling both awe and skepticism at the creation and consumption of American celebrity spectacle.

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Concluding Thoughts

This episode captures a unique moment of crossover between the burgeoning status of soccer in America and the ongoing spectacle of celebrity culture. The show’s all-star trio deftly blends serious analysis and sly irreverence, making the discussion both informative and highly entertaining for sports and pop culture fans alike.

Transcript

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[Peter Rosenberg]

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[Alan Hahn]

Listen live weekday afternoon starting at 3 on 8 80, ESPN, the ESPN New

[Peter Rosenberg]

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[Don Hahn]

401 of the big city. Don Hahn and Rosenberg take up to 6:30, and then it's Mets baseball. Mets and the Braves in Atlanta. Mets looking for the split of the four game series. But we're talking World Cup. We're just four hours away from Team USA in Seattle taking on Belgium for the right to move on to the quarterfinals. And Kevin Egan joins us from Apple tv. Don Hannah Rosenberg. How are you, sir?

[Kevin Egan]

Lads, good afternoon.

[Don Hahn]

How are we gonna say, Happy Monday Night Football?

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah. My. My guy. How you doing, bud?

[Kevin Egan]

I'm good. Is this where we're at right now, all of a sudden? For decades we've been asking ourselves, when is football gonna be discussed in the mainstream in America? And all it takes to is a fella to get his red card suspended. He's back in action. Everyone's Talking about the U.S. men's National Team today.

[Alan Hahn]

It is so true.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Wait a minute, Kevin. Like I'm. I actually, you're right in that it's definitely become a big headline. Right? But I do think, though, and I was trying to say this to the boys before we started the show, is the fact though, that we were going into that game already caught up, like we were into it at that point. So in some ways, like the success of the national team so far has created this. All this to me has done is taken an asterisk and swapped it to the other side, right? Because you could go into this game if nothing happened and say, bogus red card. And the US has to play without one of their top players. And if they end up winning, that's like an extra feather. If they lose though, it gives you that out. Like, well, you know, they had a bogus Red card. That was unfair. Now it flips it to the other side and it's almost like, you better win. Now do you agree?

[Kevin Egan]

It's the ultimate heel turn. This is it. Rosenberg talked to me.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Oh, he'll turn wwe.

[Kevin Egan]

This would the. The US Men's national team, right? They come into this World cup with zero hype. You could pick any one of those players. Maybe you could make an argument for Christian Pulisic, throw them down fifth Avenue, and not many people are going to recognize them. Not many people are going to run over to them asking them for a selfie and chat with them. Now this US Team comes in to a World cup that's been hosted mainly here in the US In Mexico and Canada as well. And it's been a phenomenal success so far. It's been unifying. It's healed the world in so many ways. It's brought people together from all over the world. The Algerians been welcomed into Kansas City. The Haitians into Atlanta bringing the party. There's been so many unbelievable success stories like Cabo Verde. And now you have this U.S. men's National Team that come in and they blitz Paraguay in the first game. And all of a sudden, all these people, I think it was 16 million people or something, watched on Fox. The next game, a boatload more people because the compounding effect of this momentum is there for all to see. And this team is playing well and they're looking good and there's a camaraderie. And Pochettino looks like Russell Crowe out strutting the sidelines, and he's really likable. And there's something special about this team right now. And all the momentum was in such a positive way and they were dealt a cruel blow with a red card to the top striker. So the ultimate baby face of all of a sudden, in one swift move by FIFA, becomes the biggest heel on the planet.

[Don Hahn]

So how controversial is this in relation to other things? Similar. If there's anything that's similar, it's massive.

[Kevin Egan]

It really is. It's never happened in the midst of the World Cup. It's never happened. This is a knockout stage game and we're talking about the top goal scorer. This was a red card that I've seen in leagues all over the world that arguably would have been given. I don't agree with the red card. It's incidental contact. Two players coming together. There's zero intent. Not that int. Written in the rule books. I didn't agree with it. Most people don't agree with it. That's not what VAR is for. Video review. You don't slow down and go through with this microscopic detail to find where the studs may have connected with the Achilles. It's not for that. But the way we went about doing this, the way that it's been suspended for now, I totally and utterly disagree with days later and the buildup to a massive game. And it's just unprecedented. It's never happened before.

[Alan Hahn]

Kev, what if they had? I hadn't thought about this right now, though, but you mentioned the days leading up. I think is interesting because yesterday, like everyone else, I'm preparing to watch the Brazil, Norway game, then all of a sudden you get this news in the middle of the day. What if it had been reversed late that night on Wednesday or late last week? Do you think it would have played any differently?

[Kevin Egan]

100% in terms of narrative? Absolutely. I'm watching. Maybe it's my algorithm. I'm born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, but I've been living here in the US for over 17 years and I'm an American citizen via my mom. And maybe it's my algorithm of football around the world. But this decision is getting absolutely battered because it's a dangerous precedent to set going forward where FIFA, you know, get contacted by, you know, the politicians running insert country here, his name, and all of a sudden something is reversed. Like if Keir Starmer was still standing over in the uk, is he going to contact FIFA, given that their player was sent off last night because their dad. There definitely was a question mark around the. The challenge last night that English fans will make their case. So where do we go from here? This is something that I've never seen before. And am I surprised by this, Peter? Absolutely not.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, it was interesting because obviously I didn't think it was red card either. Baligan definitely did not initiate. He didn't even initiate the challenge. It's a weird play in that way. But listen, I didn't think Harry Kane did anything last night either. And it led to a penalty kick that could have completely changed the game. That's kind of just part of what soccer is. And so it happening this way is very odd. But let's move away from it for a. Because Kevin, I've been watching this team since the 94 cup, the last time the US hosted, and I've been waiting for them to take a step forward. And it seemed like it was one step forward, two steps back. They end up, you know, 12 years ago, whatever it was, eight years ago, not even making the World cup, so many low points. The game that they have played since Paraguay has been by far the best soccer I have ever seen them play. It seems I joked, Kevin, that every goal they've scored in this tournament and has been better than every goal I've ever seen them have previously. How would you describe getting away from the ball again? Of it all, just how impressed you've been by what the team has looked like on the pitch.

[Kevin Egan]

I think for once, American soccer has less insecurity right now. And I think that comes from Pochettino, who's Argentine, who's managed the best players in the world. Lionel Messi, Neymar, the list goes on. Kylian Mbappe of top stars that he's coached and he comes in and, and he doesn't believe. He's like Travis Kelce. He doesn't believe in the I believe that we will win chant. He's a bit more bold and he's saying, why not us? And he's challenging these players to step up when it matters most. In a knockout game like tonight, and go and show yourself, Go and show the talent that you have, but be bold and be brave like you're American on the grandest stage of all. And that's what this World cup is. It's a once in a lifetime chance for these players to do it on home soil. And honestly, there may not be a better place in the country right now than Seattle Washington football for this team because the crowd was absolutely phenomenal when they played there a few games ago. And I'm just buzzing to see the reaction of this team tonight, see what it's like, but also see the reaction of the Belgian crowd because the majority now will be cheering against the US And I'm also intrigued by the way will Baligan start. Not to bring him back up again, but will he start this game? Because they had been training, I think with Pepe leading the line for this team all week long.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That stadium too, we know in the NFL can get real loud because of the way it's built. So certainly something to keep an eye on there. But because we know things can be cyclical. I mean, we know like they have gotten this far, although there's an added layer this year with a field of 32 into the 16. But is this a sign of the US of US soccer, the men's national team gaining ground on the rest of the world? Or is this. This just happens to be a really good class? It's not. They haven't done this before 2002. They have got to the quarterfinal. Is there something to be said though about this? Is there a gap that they're closing, the national team is closing with men's soccer?

[Kevin Egan]

Without a doubt. For me, I think that's a great point and I see it. And I also see fall offs. Germany, the aura has gone from Germany. Brazil knocked out by Norway. I think it's fascinating what we're seeing in the global game. Football, soccer in this country has never been more popular. There's more access to it on tv, there's more kids playing. The Economist recently said that it's the third most popular sport, eclipsing baseball in this country right now in terms of active participants. So it's only a matter of time. Major League Soccer is producing so many good young kids from academies where the facilities are absolutely top class now around the league. I just think the compounding effect of the game. The average age of an MLS fan, for example, is 36. What do 36 year olds do? They usually have kids in around that age. And I think the popularity is only continuing to grow. And with that, I think the team will obviously get a lot better. And now they need to be bold. Honestly, they need to have a bit more personality for me and showcase themselves like Erling Haaland is doing for Norway. Kind of stand there saying, why not me? Have that Latin Ibrahimovic esque approach to the game. And I'd love to see a bit more of that from the U.S. and I think they will should they get by Belgium tonight.

[Don Hahn]

Talking to Kevin Egan from Apple Television. And the other thing is, is what we have with, we saw the Olympics, we saw the NHL get a bump from the Americans winning the gold medal because majority of NHL players represented the rosters of the Olympics. And so when you went and pivoted to the NHL, you saw a lot of the same players. How close are we to MLS getting to that point where there's enough MLS players in the World cup that they could actually benefit from something like this?

[Kevin Egan]

Mls, they've had a strange, a great approach, I would think. The academy kids bringing in young, talented, 22, 23 year olds from South America and. And then bringing over the aging European superstar Messi coming across from Europe, son, young man, these sorts of players and that mix has worked of late. And now we need markets, quite honestly like New York to take off because Chicago are doing wonders right now with what they're doing. A new stadium on the way, just signed Robert Lewandowski and other good stars there too. New York have a new stadium coming in next year. Over by Citi Field. And I have zero doubt that they'll bring in whether the same coach is there or not. I would guess he's a good coach, so he may be. And then bring over a few megastars and try and ignite that market a little bit more because the attendance has been a little bit of a struggle, certainly over at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey, for the Red Bulls. Even when the team has been good, you expect it to be better. And I look around other markets, especially in Middle America, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Kansas City, we're talking sellouts each and every week. I'd love for that to be reflected in New York City one day.

[Alan Hahn]

So, nuts and bolts. What do you think happens tonight? And what is sort of the. Your highest expectation for what the US Team could do?

[Kevin Egan]

Oh, man. What happens tonight? Someone said to me earlier with these two games, and I said, I haven't got a Scooby Doo. How this is going to play out tonight, because with Portugal and Spain, who knows? They're just both that good and very equal in terms of their talent level. And I think the US And Belgium, very, very similar. There's revenge on the mind. Remember 2014, this was the matchup in the round of 16. It went to extra time, and Tim Howard had the game of his life, and ultimately Belgium ended up going through two 1. This is the same matchup. Their team is aging. They're not as good as they were in 2014. They do have some good young talents, but the US I think, will go toe to toe with them. And I really hope this is that signature win that the US fans have been craving for quite some time. And off to the quarterfinals we go against the winner of this Portugal, Spain game. So let's get it done. Rosenberg.

[Alan Hahn]

I would be. I'd be so happy, man. It would. It would. It would tickle me. I don't care, really what happened. I know Portugal, Spain, either one would be a very tough out for. For the US But I would just take one more week of getting to watch this thing go. And the further you go, you know, the more this can have an effect on American soccer moving forward. I think the more excitement you get in the kids growing up seeing that this can actually be a moment that people care about.

[Kevin Egan]

Yeah, I just see so many people talking about the game now that never, ever talk about it. And welcome in. It's a beautiful thing because it's the most popular game, obviously, on the planet. And I think the ratings tonight on Fox and I believe it's Telemundo will shatter, I think, any other record that we've had for the game in this country. It's an 8pm Eastern kickoff, five out in the West Coast. It's perfect to go and destroy any records in the past. And I really hope this team steps up in this moment. This is why Mauricio Pochettino has been paid the big bucks to come in on this mega million dollar salary, whatever it is, 5, 6 million, and get this team to, I would think, a minimum of the quarter final. And they've so far delivered. This is the sort of giant in world football. And I say giant. They're giant. Ish Belgium that you can get over tonight and go and book a quarterfinal against a true giant like Portugal and Spain.

[Don Hahn]

Kevin, this is a lot of fun. If you run into our buddy Steve Cangelosi, tell him we said hello. Shot go low.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Casi. That's his signature. Thank you.

[Don Hahn]

I really appreciate it.

[Alan Hahn]

Later, Kev.

[Don Hahn]

That's Kevin Egan really getting in on, you know, where he felt that it was wrong, what happened. But he thought that the original red card was wrong to begin with.

[Peter Rosenberg]

And then the process he talked about, like he would know better than the way the process of var supposed to work. And it wasn't used properly.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah. If you go back and look and the point is, hey, did we get something wrong? They went back and looked at it

[Peter Rosenberg]

frame by frame and frame by frame.

[Alan Hahn]

You see the foot land on the guy's ankle and you go, oh, my God, that's horrible. Yeah, but that's not what you're supposed to be looking at because that piece was incidental. How did they come together?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Right.

[Alan Hahn]

You know, and like there was one yesterday, a pivotal red card in the Mexico game that changed everything. Was that the red card that was given to England? The guy caught ball.

[Peter Rosenberg]

So, yeah.

[Alan Hahn]

And looked at, you could see. Caught the ball, but you could see the intention. The up in the air and trying to take the legs out. Red card gone.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Alan Hahn]

So I still think it was a terrible call. And again, you know, Kevin brings up

[Peter Rosenberg]

a great point about the impact. Right. We were talking about this before the show. You're not going to see it like we do with the Olympics. When the Olympics end and all those guys now go play for their NHL teams. And now people that might have been caught up in it might go follow an NHL team or their local NHL team that might have had an Olympian on it. Right. You might just get interested in hockey because mls, they're not. They're not. They don't have anybody that's going back to their teams. But he said the league's actually having success in a lot of other markets. But except here in New York, the draw in the. In the stadium that the Red Bulls have, Sports Illustrated, and then the one they're building by Citi Field, I'm thinking that one they're building next to Citi Field. That might be a prime location. Easier to get to mass transit. Right. Do you figure, like, that might actually benefit and you might start to see because he's right. If you get a team and if like NYC FC decides we're going to throw some money at a big name and make him come play here for a year or two, have him come in and draw just because of who he is, you're going to tell me that that's not going to have like a Joe Namath effect for the Jets.

[Don Hahn]

It's just we never type of thing in the.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It's New York people. You know, there's international flavor here. They love soccer in this town.

[Don Hahn]

No, they do, but they are. They reason. But this is the one sport. This is the one thing that we've never been able to overcome. This is the only sport in which the league in the United States isn't the best in the world. You want to play hockey, you play in the NHL, of course. You want to play baseball, MLB basketball, NBA. But why is it. But why in the city are they

[Peter Rosenberg]

getting big crowds and shooting crowds?

[Don Hahn]

In Portland, Oregon, they get big crowds, huge.

[Peter Rosenberg]

So why, why wouldn't that be the same if you brought in a big star, international star that everybody knows and they want to be able to see somebody that will help market.

[Don Hahn]

We've seen it with Messi and Miami.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yep.

[Don Hahn]

You know, but we've seen NYC FC win a title, you know, playing at Yankee State. Nothing.

[Peter Rosenberg]

No, no.

[Don Hahn]

But there's so much competition in New York.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Right.

[Don Hahn]

There's so many. So many teams that are just ingrained in it. Listen, we've been talking about soccer forever. My buddy Michael Hagan just texted me back in the mid-70s. We're around the same age when Pele was playing the cosmos. We're getting 75,000 people at giant Stadium. People have always loved soccer.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Mm.

[Don Hahn]

We've always heard fastest growing sport people. More kids are playing it. My son loves to play it, but he's not begging me to go see the Red Bulls or NYC FC because it's the only. Every other of the major sports, the United States, North America, that's the league to play in. But that's not the case. MLS hasn't reached that height. So, yes, certain markets, they get a player, you know, Ronaldo goes plays for nycfc. I'm sure it will be sold out every time they play in corporate queens when they build that new stadium next to Citi Field. It's sold out all the time. But until we get to that point, is it ever going to be with the four majors? It's really on the MLS to grow.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I also found that because you mentioned it. So I looked it up because I was curious. The Economist did this back in January where they, they, they used a lot of analysis metrics to find out, okay, what are the. What, what is the. The favorite sport of Americans? And number one with a bullet, of course, is American football.

[Alan Hahn]

Right.

[Peter Rosenberg]

NFL. American football. I shouldn't say just NFL. It's probably college football and NFL.

[Don Hahn]

Right.

[Peter Rosenberg]

36% of the share of fans. Okay. Basketball was number two. So again, college basketball, NBA, probably WNBA, it's all included 17% at number two. So you're seeing the 36% for American football. Absolutely dominant. Number third is soccer, and that's 10%. Baseball's at 9% and ice hockey is at four.

[Don Hahn]

Right.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Those are the top five sports as far as when they're talking about how much they watch it, how much they play it, all of that is included here. So it's really, it's amazing to say that that's what the. Soccer is number three and just slightly ahead of baseball, which at one time was the, you know, was the pastime.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah, I always, I'm always a little dubious about those kind of polls. Like, you're, what's your favorite sport? Because, like, I ask you, what's your favorite sport? Like, what is your favorite sport?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Hockey.

[Don Hahn]

Right. But, but we know how much you love basketball. We know how much you love football. So all of a sudden, the other sports that Alan loves gets thrown to the wayside because he said his number one sports, hockey. You see how it's kind of like there's still a massive amount of people that might have basketball their favorite, but they still love baseball, they still love hockey. They still have other sports, but.

[Alan Hahn]

Well, I will say this, though. Right now, soccer is on the biggest stage in the world.

[Peter Rosenberg]

And this was January that the Economist did this.

[Alan Hahn]

Well, but right now, as I'm saying. Yeah, biggest stage in the world. And FanDuel is changing the game right now. Well, they are, because sometimes your player gets subbed off and your bet goes

[Peter Rosenberg]

with you making a point.

[Alan Hahn]

I am. Alex, you are not anymore though, with FanDuel super sub. If your player subbed out, your bet stays in. That's right. Player leaves the match. No worries. The bet continues on with the substitute. And I'm not talking about the ill fated James Jim, what's it Jim Belushi movie the Substitute. I'm talking about the substitute in the game.

[Don Hahn]

Well, that was a. You know what?

[Peter Rosenberg]

That wasn't a terrible movie.

[Alan Hahn]

Strange. Strange poll.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah, that's one of the strangest.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, you don't hear that every day.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It was not a terrible movie.

[Alan Hahn]

But you're still in it until the final whistle because you just visit fanduel.com local, you get started and get in the action. Let there be goals this summer on FanDuel21 plus physically present New York for help with the gambling problem, call 877-HOPE NY or Tex Open. Why 467369. You could still be trying to bet goals in this first game because we're 58 minutes in and Spain and Portugal, two absolute powerhouses as Kevin Egan just alluded to, are still battling back and forth in a scoreless game.

[Don Hahn]

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[Alan Hahn]

Priceline Negotiator it's me, the Priceline negotiator. We don't need the jingle twice. What about a third time? Stop it. This is about vacation inflation and how Priceline negotiates amazing deals on hotels, flights and rental cars. Seems like they decided. Yeah, but I didn't mention that you can save up to 60% off hotels in the Priceline app. Time to read the timeline.

[Don Hahn]

Fine.

[Alan Hahn]

No one deals more deals than Priceline. Please stop Priceline.

[Kevin Egan]

Touche.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Priceline Priceline MLB TV on ESPN is your home for every out of market game, live or on demand.

[Alan Hahn]

Catch your favorite teams and players plus

[Peter Rosenberg]

MLB Network and ESPN app features like multi view, syncing your stats, key plays, bets and fantasy all in one place. Sign up now for MLB TV in the ESPN app. Separate subscriptions required blackouts and other terms of visit stream.espn.commlbtv for more information. Thanks for listening to The Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Alan Hahn]

I didn't listen to anything you just said.

[Peter Rosenberg]

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

[Don Hahn]

So how do you recap this is gonna be hard?

[Alan Hahn]

The weekend you. You do it by talking about the most yo yo event in the history of New York City. And by the way, we should be clear. We're a city that is proud of many things, including the amount of yo yo events that we have. It's the home of the yo yo event, for God's sake. Yes, there's events every night. Every night of the week. There are events.

[Don Hahn]

We've had SantaCon, we've had Francesica.

[Alan Hahn]

However, none as yo yo, in my humble opinion, as the Tay Tay and Travis wedding over the weekend.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Why is that, Yo Yo?

[Alan Hahn]

An intimate gathering of a thousand people. I won't call them friends and family, cuz some of them, let's be honest, are just publicists. They're just publicist clients who were invited to go. Why was it Yo Yo? I don't know. Having to shut down city blocks. So two. I mean, I know they're not regular people, but they're also not like, you know, protected officials. They're just celebrities decided to get married at the world's most famous arena.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Oh, she's gonna draw some people, as you know.

[Alan Hahn]

Oh, she.

[Peter Rosenberg]

She drew. No, I'm talking about. Which is why you probably had to get some barricades up. Like her people. Her. Her fans are. Yeah, like, they're getting to a level of like Michael Jackson level.

[Alan Hahn]

Oh, yeah, I agree. Like the screaming. Which also, this is why it's so. So this is why it's yo yo is because early on there was something under the guise of how they wanted to keep it, like, private. So they're gonna put it in this big place where you can control it and that way no one can know what's going on. Now I will say this.

[Peter Rosenberg]

No windows.

[Alan Hahn]

Let's just. Let's draw the line between private and. I want to control the video and photos that get out from my wedding.

[Don Hahn]

There you go.

[Alan Hahn]

Because this is two very different things. Nothing was private about this. It was the most gaudy, ostentatious, shut down New York City, covered by all the news. It's the closest thing we have to a royal wedding, practically. It was gargantuan. So nothing. If they'd wanted it to be off the radar in a real way, they would have found a way to keep the entire roll up to it being private. And then do it on a small island somewhere where your very rich guests fly into said place and there's not media and fans everywhere.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But she didn't want that.

[Alan Hahn]

But she did not want that.

[Peter Rosenberg]

She loves the Garden and had this imagination of doing this wedding at the Garden.

[Alan Hahn]

Right. Which is back to me calling yo, yo. So we learned, you know, some random things about it. You know, Adam Sandler officiated, which I found. Which I found very random.

[Don Hahn]

I mean, so the wedding singer married officiated.

[Alan Hahn]

Now here's what I have to know. This is going to be a big fraud question for Sandler. Did he dress up? Because Sandler will literally wear. He'll dress like a houseless person wandering down the street to a major event.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Baggy basketball shorts.

[Alan Hahn]

I wonder. I wonder how he did it. So the list of who's who, obviously so many people from entertainment and sports, some of which you can clearly understand. Like, why is Chris Stapleton there? Well, that makes sense, you know, but I can see Chris Stapleton knowing Taylor swift. Sure. Tim McGraw, an early supporter of Taylor Swift. Him and Faith Hill being at the wedding. Completely makes sense. Andy Reid, well, he's the head coach of Travis Kelsey's Kansas City chief. That makes perfect sense. But as the list goes on and on, you find more and more names that just. I don't understand. Donald Glover and his wife were there. I've known Donald for many years. I don't know that he's known Taylor Swift in any way. I.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Maybe they doesn't deserve a drop.

[Alan Hahn]

Oh, yeah, sure have.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Sure, sure.

[Alan Hahn]

It's worth it. Ed Sheeran, you could see that making it Jake, tell me this one. I don't know how much appreciation Don and Allen will have. I think Nelly and Ashanti isn't very random. It is super random.

[Don Hahn]

I don't know. I don't know. Who knows?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Who was he?

[Alan Hahn]

I think Nelly makes sense because of the country connection probably.

[Don Hahn]

Wait.

[Alan Hahn]

I'm sick to my stomach.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Okay. Were you invited?

[Alan Hahn]

I'm sick to my stomach. You know how many people I know at this wit?

[Peter Rosenberg]

None.

[Don Hahn]

Sick as.

[Alan Hahn]

As. As the great Peter Rosenberg would say. And I'm a fan of your guys program. You have many people were invited to this for Cocter wedding? Over a thousand. And I'm seeing all the football names. I'm seeing names. I haven't eat the actor Ethan Hawke. What the heck? Why is he there over Kiki?

[Don Hahn]

Was he in a video of her?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, yeah.

[Alan Hahn]

Who cares? Everybody's in a video. Why is George Keeto there? Kiki is better than Keto. George Stephanopoulos. The little Greek guy from Good Morning America.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Well, I think they all went.

[Don Hahn]

Good Morning America was there for the actor.

[Alan Hahn]

The actor. Giovanni Ribisi. Why the hell was he there?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Who?

[Alan Hahn]

Giovanni Ribisi.

[Don Hahn]

I'm sorry, should I know that?

[Peter Rosenberg]

You should.

[Don Hahn]

Okay. What was he?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Giovanni Ribisi?

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah.

[Peter Rosenberg]

He's been in movies.

[Alan Hahn]

Okay.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You'd know him if you saw him.

[Alan Hahn]

Greg. Or she.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Every Conan has to get bit.

[Don Hahn]

You gotta get. No. If you want to have a good time, time, old Stifler's got to be there.

[Alan Hahn]

Great point by. And I'll tell you what. We partied before. I had a great time. Why shoe Grant there?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Why not?

[Alan Hahn]

Should he be out with a prostitute, too?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Wow. A Frosty.

[Alan Hahn]

That's the last store I saw.

[Don Hahn]

A lot's happened since then.

[Alan Hahn]

Okay, so we mentioned that. That all prostitutes. We. We mentioned all of Good Morning America was there, because who has a little wedding unless you invite the entire staff of the Good Morning America first.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You first invite Strahan. And then he's like, well, if I'm going, you kind of got to bring.

[Alan Hahn]

Robin's got to go.

[Peter Rosenberg]

And then if Robin goes.

[Alan Hahn]

Well, now, now Stephanopoulos can't get left

[Peter Rosenberg]

out because you leave him out. Forget it. It'll make it awkward. So we all have to go.

[Alan Hahn]

So now everybody's going.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, like, what?

[Alan Hahn]

What?

[Peter Rosenberg]

What?

[Alan Hahn]

But you said. You said. So I saw Joe Buck. All right. Joe Buck's like the voice of football.

[Don Hahn]

Yes.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Cool. Yeah.

[Alan Hahn]

Burkhart was also invited.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Okay.

[Don Hahn]

Because he's the voice on Fox. He's the number one Fox announcer.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yes.

[Alan Hahn]

Okay, but guys, I'm not joking here. Get the drops.

[Don Hahn]

Get the.

[Alan Hahn]

Get a strange pulls dropper. Dean Blandino was invited because there might

[Don Hahn]

have been a ruling. Somebody in the replay. They need to go over the rules.

[Alan Hahn]

The replay is. Who the hell are these people at my wedding?

[Peter Rosenberg]

How about this?

[Alan Hahn]

How about this?

[Peter Rosenberg]

How about this?

[Alan Hahn]

Hold on, hold on. Ross Tucker goes out the way.

[Don Hahn]

I'm going to tell you something.

[Alan Hahn]

Hit the button, Jacob. Ross Tucker, was it? Taylor Swift and Travis gel. How do you.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But how do you know the relationship you're. See, what you're doing, though, is creating this idea.

[Alan Hahn]

Friends with that.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That. That they can't possibly know each other. And they do, clearly.

[Don Hahn]

I'm going to tell you something right now.

[Alan Hahn]

Jones and the Quest for a Winning Season.

[Don Hahn]

I'm going to tell you exactly what happened.

[Alan Hahn]

Go ahead.

[Don Hahn]

Taylor Swift knows more people than Travis Kelsey.

[Alan Hahn]

Go ahead.

[Don Hahn]

He doesn't want to be embarrassed. If they had that moment where they have the bride's side and the groom's side and it be half empty on his side. So she bites 500 people. He now has to invite 500 people. And, dude, you're gonna run out of people. Like, you know, a lot of people, Peter. All the different walks of life. Shorts, rest, music. If you had to invite 500. Just couldn't do it. Couldn't do it.

[Alan Hahn]

Couldn't do it.

[Don Hahn]

I couldn't do it. I gotta tell you. Ross Tucker. If I had to invite 500 people to my wedding, Ross Tucker.

[Alan Hahn]

Ross Tucker might be there, and he never met him.

[Don Hahn]

Worked with my brother, and it'd be a phone number. I just. Let's. I need people, man. Are you available? That's what it had to be, right? You don't want your side half empty and hers all full.

[Alan Hahn]

Mariska Hargitay was there.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Well, of course she.

[Alan Hahn]

Well, they just ran into each other at a Knicks game.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You got to come to the way, right?

[Alan Hahn]

Or T shirt.

[Don Hahn]

You're trying to fill the garden, brother. You know how difficult that is to do.

[Alan Hahn]

Matt Stafford. Well, Aaron Andrews, he was going through

[Don Hahn]

the NFL blue book. He was inviting anybody.

[Alan Hahn]

Mgk, Michael Strahan, Millie. Bobby Brown.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Really?

[Alan Hahn]

Miranda Lambert, Niecy Nash, Nikki Glaser. It's like, who's. It's like, who's appearing at the oscars tonight? Pat McAfee, of course.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Have to.

[Alan Hahn]

I, by the way, didn't.

[Peter Rosenberg]

If you didn't, you'd never hear the end.

[Alan Hahn]

You'll never. That's right. You're getting to go.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You got to invite him.

[Alan Hahn]

McAfee's there. Even put on shoes. No tank top.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Mm.

[Alan Hahn]

Although I gotta take Ross Tucker.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That's really bothering you. That one's got you.

[Alan Hahn]

Well, he. The fact that he's wearing Jordans, bro. You were invited to the biggest wedding on planet earth. But wear some shoes, dude. Can you. Can you just wear some hard bottoms? No, it's a.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Please. Can I honestly, like, why does this bother you so much?

[Alan Hahn]

Because it's so phony. It's just so fraudulent.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Is it your wedding?

[Alan Hahn]

It's kind of. It's all of our wedding because it took over our city. Pete went for a day. It shut down streets. There are bars that shuttering because of this.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It shut down square block.

[Don Hahn]

Pete Wentz.

[Alan Hahn]

Pete Wentz was there.

[Don Hahn]

The ghost of George Wentz, I heard, was there.

[Alan Hahn]

Rich Eisen was there.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Nice. Good for Rich.

[Alan Hahn]

I got it. So, so Rich. So Rich. Kelsey.

[Kevin Egan]

Rich.

[Alan Hahn]

Hold on. But Rich and Kelsey are that close

[Don Hahn]

when you need to fill.

[Kevin Egan]

How do you know they're not.

[Peter Rosenberg]

First of all, again, maybe how much is. How much has Jason been embedded in media, doing a lot of media stuff. Right. They've met. Those two have met tons of people in circle. Like the circles that you get yourself into when you're in this business.

[Alan Hahn]

Rob Riggle had to go to their wedding.

[Peter Rosenberg]

He's funny. He is very funny. You don't think they ripped it up one night, had a great time. I have the Pete Wentz connection.

[Alan Hahn]

Ronan Farrow, the writer. Woody Allen's son. Ronan Farrow.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Don't know that connection. Can't make that one.

[Don Hahn]

What was the. Anthony, what did you say?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Taylor Swift says Pete Wentz is a major influence on her songwriting.

[Alan Hahn]

I've heard that before.

[Don Hahn]

That's right.

[Alan Hahn]

All right. Sabrina Carpenter, Sacha Baron Cohen. Obviously, Borat had to be there.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yes.

[Alan Hahn]

You cannot.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You can't.

[Alan Hahn]

Because when they finally said, I do, you need someone to go, nice. I mean, I just. It's just crazy.

[Peter Rosenberg]

So you really believe that at this wedding and the reception that followed, they walked around thanking everyone and realized half the time they whispered to each, who's this? Did you invite him? Like you really believe that?

[Alan Hahn]

Stephen Colbert, Steven Spielberg, Tate McCrae. Obviously Tom Brady was Jack Hughes.

[Don Hahn]

Must have been. Jack would have been a guest on that party.

[Alan Hahn]

Tom hanks and Paul McCartney.

[Don Hahn]

Oh, this list. I don't know if Jack.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Steven Spielberg inducted Taylor Swift into the Songwriters hall of Fame.

[Don Hahn]

So they just knows everybody.

[Alan Hahn]

Travis.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Alan Hahn]

Taylor Swift worked with Rob Riggle in the Lorax movie. What?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Alan Hahn]

Yep.

[Peter Rosenberg]

There you go. Lorax Clan was there.

[Alan Hahn]

The Lorax Clan. That's what it is.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Made it.

[Alan Hahn]

Thank you, Jacob. I knew the Lorax would get invited.

[Don Hahn]

Wait a minute, Wait a minute.

[Alan Hahn]

Everyone who did everything with this person was an invite, no matter how small. That is how they got invited

[Don Hahn]

between here and Sirius, I did a full week of shows with Chris Carter, Jerry rice and John McEnroe. Am I inviting them to my wedding?

[Alan Hahn]

You invited all of them. I assume if you were Taylor Swift, you'd invite all of them.

[Don Hahn]

Now, Kofi brings up a great point. Also announcing an article. Wait, you know, Come on.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Why not?

[Alan Hahn]

But Vanessa Bryant.

[Don Hahn]

Awful announce. He's trying to say that maybe Kelsey invited some of these TV people because he's trying to grease the skids for his post career.

[Alan Hahn]

Like, he wouldn't just have CBS invited. I haven't seen any CBSEvan Colbert, who's no longer.

[Peter Rosenberg]

So this is. So this is the thing, by the way. And I forgot about this. And Swift and Kelsey were in the same. I'm guessing it was a suite in the 2025 Stanley Cup Final. Now why that how we got there I'm not quite sure. But it happened because you. You spend the night, you hang out and then you're like hey, I need

[Alan Hahn]

to invite you to my weather in the same places. Let's.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Let's connect again and probably happens.

[Alan Hahn]

Adam Scott and Paul Rudd.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I don't know. This doesn't bother me at all.

[Alan Hahn]

I. I bothers me. I. Phoniness bothers me.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I don't.

[Alan Hahn]

And that's why. And I. I thought you're assuming it's phony. No, I know that it's funny.

[Peter Rosenberg]

How do you know it's funny?

[Alan Hahn]

Because these people, they don't make sense. Not enough makes sense to be wedding level. It's gaudy, it's ostentatious. It's. I want to have a wedding that's bigger than the Met Gala. We need it to be bigger than the Met Gala. Could be true publicists go to work. We need to fill this with every McCartney and Hanks.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Why not?

[Alan Hahn]

These people are 33 years old. You know what? Or I'm just a bad guy.

[Kevin Egan]

You know what?

[Alan Hahn]

I hate love, Don. I hate love and I'm a bad thing.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I. I just. I don't know. I don't.

[Don Hahn]

It's a bacchanal because you know that there's going to be some kind of. Disney plus is going to have some kind of.

[Alan Hahn]

See, now we're getting.

[Don Hahn]

And then the more famous people better the ratings. Everything is being done. Absolutely not phony. It's very strategic.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Paul McCartney, Taylor Swift.

[Alan Hahn]

Same Rolling Stone car. I saw they met at that and they became very close.

[Don Hahn]

You know what all these people do? They share the same planet.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Maybe he sent the COVID Maybe. Maybe they sent the COVID as the invite.

[Alan Hahn]

Paul Rudd, die hard Chiefs fan and oh, that's right.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Big time Swifty.

[Alan Hahn]

By the way, I forgot Paul Ruddy

[Don Hahn]

got Modern families got to be in there.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yes, he was. What's his name?

[Don Hahn]

Good friend with. I can't think of house. But anyway.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Stone Street. Eric Stone Street.

[Alan Hahn]

He was there. And what's. And Charlie Day was there too.

[Peter Rosenberg]

So he also. So clearly what happened here is that they then got the Chiefs PR team to give them the celebrity guest list. Hey, who's asked for a ticket within the last five years?

[Alan Hahn]

They're coming.

[Peter Rosenberg]

All right, then we're going to invite

[Alan Hahn]

them to the one I Would love to know. In all seriousness, obviously, I wish them the best. God bless. They don't. Neither seems to be a bad person. I hope they have a great life together, or at least until. No, I don't care.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You don't care.

[Alan Hahn]

And I saw a tweet.

[Don Hahn]

Let's see.

[Alan Hahn]

That's phony. And I saw. I'm here.

[Peter Rosenberg]

To be honest, I really hope they're happy.

[Alan Hahn]

I'm not a big fan, but I did see a brilliant tweet the other day on Saturday. Someone's like, oh, my God, I can't believe we've, like, I've been lulled into this whole thing knowing they got married on July 3rd. So when they invariably get divorced, they drop an album. She drops an album called Independence Day.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That is a good line.

[Alan Hahn]

And I was like, that is strong to quite strong. Anyways, that's the weekend recap.

[Don Hahn]

That was quite the recap. Yeah, we have to recap.

[Alan Hahn]

There's so many things. And by the way, there's some other good stuff coming up to recap in ENN, but. But we'll do that at 6 o', clock, of course, before we get out of Dodge for Mets baseball.

[Don Hahn]

And that was the weekend recap brought to you by neutral. Keep it tasty with neutral vodka seltzer made with real vodka and real fruit juice. Enjoy responsibly.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Alan Hahn]

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.

[Don Hahn]

As the pest control provider and proud partner of the devils, Viking offers 45 years of trusted experience to keep ants, cockroaches, stinging insects, rodents, mosquitoes and more out of your zone. No matter what you do, there's always going to be a bug problem. And you don't want to have people over during the course of the summer. And you got flies, you got ants. You want to get rid of all that stuff. And the team can build a personalized game plan that actually works. You tell them what the issue is and they go right at it.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You know what? The big issue right now? Ticks.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Really bad. If you have a pet twice. Oh, yeah, Good.

[Don Hahn]

I was like, twice already. We've had to take them off of Marco and Jalen.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It's unreal. Yeah. And they're saying that with kids, you have to check you. They go play, you come in, you got to check them. Every time we walk the dogs, you always have to check them. The tick thing, this because of the Winter that we had.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It allowed, like, a lot of the eggs, I guess, don't survive winter. So there's a There. The ticks are major issue.

[Don Hahn]

You know, what happened is, when Marco was playing baseball, like, Jalen would just go, like, you know, go play around. And then on the field, she gets into none of the field, off the field, unfortunately, like, over by the woods, by the.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I'm in, out.

[Don Hahn]

Right. Yeah. And. And then we come home, and then you'd see she would have, like, a tick.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Don Hahn]

And once they embed their head in there, very, very careful.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Viking, very important bust bundle.

[Don Hahn]

Pest control, mosquito services, and you score big savings. One call, one company. Total peace of mind. Visit vikingpets.com protecting your home inside.

[Alan Hahn]

Can I ask you a very detailed question?

[Don Hahn]

Do it.

[Alan Hahn]

Marco and Jalen Howden.

[Don Hahn]

Eight and a half.

[Alan Hahn]

They shower themselves.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Now he takes the hose out.

[Don Hahn]

We. We need to check. I mean, if we leave them to their own devices, I'm sure there's gonna be areas that are gonna.

[Alan Hahn]

So. So there is.

[Don Hahn]

I. Yeah, I. It's supervised.

[Alan Hahn]

Got it. Okay. Because that's the part that would make me nervous when the kids get, like. Because Natalie's very paranoid about this tic thing, because she's been hearing about it for months, this explosion. And I don't know how much history you guys have with Lyme's disease, but it is terrible. It is not to be messed with. It ruins people's lives. So we're very serious about it. And I'm like, well, the good news is, like, we bathe Maya every day. We see every inch of her, so we know she's good. Right? I mean, her hair, you have to, like, feel through it. But I think that. I think that's.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But kids, when they go off and play.

[Alan Hahn]

That's what I'm saying. So once they're older, once they're 10, 11, and they're showering themselves.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Alan Hahn]

You have to, like, really, like, that's.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It's lucky, because Cali plays hockey, so that smell is so bad that it ticks like, I'm good.

[Alan Hahn]

Right? They know we don't even want to do it.

[Peter Rosenberg]

No. The minute they get to the hands with a glove and you got to get your dog, I'm out.

[Alan Hahn]

You got to give your dogs the collar and the. In the medicine.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Well, you do the peppermint spray. If you take them for a walk, you spray them with peppermint. Like, I guess it repels a lot of those.

[Alan Hahn]

But there's also. But Bear also gets, like, the Pill.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Like, not all dogs can get stuff like that too, because they'll have seizures. Some dogs react to the medicine. So it's a lot of things. The most important thing you can do scary stuff is you come back in from a walk or if they run around the yard, you just check them. But it's been. It's worse I've ever seen.

[Alan Hahn]

It's the worst season.

[Don Hahn]

Especially around the ankles, under the socks. You know, check the hair, too, because Jalen's got long hair. Like, it's, It's. It's a. It's a process, but you got to do it.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yep.

[Don Hahn]

Let's go to Joe in the car. You're on espn, New York. What's up, Joe?

[Alan Hahn]

Hey, guys. How you doing?

[Don Hahn]

What's up?

[Kevin Egan]

Not much.

[Alan Hahn]

So I have a way to fix soccer for Don. If they instituted some sort of back court where you can't pass the ball back across the midline or put like an attacking zone line like they have in hockey or something like that. So that way there's no. There's less dead time passing the ball back and hanging out by the editor. Your own gold.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah. I mean, if it improved the offense. I'm not sure it's really any one thing, Joe, that I'm not turned off by it. It's just I never played it. I never had a team.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I think offsides maddening.

[Don Hahn]

And would you agree

[Peter Rosenberg]

I understand why you need it, but isn't it because there's times where you're like, he's once like, but what a play.

[Alan Hahn]

That would have been killed a million dollars speed away.

[Don Hahn]

But I just. I honestly, when you say fix it for Don, I don't know if there's anything that you could fix. You just can't be into everything. That's why I really. I admire. I admire Peter. Like, Peter, he goes through a lot of people like, oh, why is this non sports guy. And he's into way more sports than I am. You're into everything. I don't. I have. I have my. Basically, hockey, baseball, and football.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You have your friend group. You don't have enough time to add more friends.

[Alan Hahn]

Right.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That's what you have. You have your friend group. You're very loyal. They're your best friends. And you have no time to add people.

[Don Hahn]

Now, listen, I swamp and I. If. If it wasn't for my friend John, I would. Hockey might have missed me. My dad was a baseball football guy, and that's what I was into.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That's it.

[Don Hahn]

On television. That was it.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Don Hahn]

And then I got into hockey on my own through friends, you know, and that came. That came later for me. You know, I was always liked basketball, but my father didn't have a team, and I didn't have a team, and that's just the way it went.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Well, that's football for me. So we were. The house I grew up in was baseball and hockey.

[Alan Hahn]

Only Spain has rung the bell.

[Don Hahn]

Oh, wow.

[Alan Hahn]

Late 35 seconds into extra time. Six minutes of extra time. As you see a screaming a few minutes ago. Don't worry, it's not play by play. A few minutes ago, a screaming. Cristiano Ronaldo very unhappy with the defensive laps from Portugal. And now Spain leads one nothing with probably five to six minutes left.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Oh, boy.

[Alan Hahn]

So we will see the added time this five or six minutes. You guys want to see this goal? It was. It was as easy as it gets.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah. That was a breakdown. All right.

[Alan Hahn]

It's an absolute breakdown. And this is. This would be who would face the winner of tonight's US Game clearly on side, complete defensive breakdown. And, like, the abs. The totally rare. Just complete breakaway. No. No chance for the goalie, basically.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah. Ronaldo's beside himself, and rightly so. Like, and I always take exception, like, with hockey, people like, oh, you know what? I don't like hockey because there's too much fighting, or, I don't like hockey. There's not enough score. You don't know. You just don't.

[Alan Hahn]

You don't like hockey.

[Don Hahn]

You don't like it. Like, don't give me a bunch of reasons. Oh, it's awful on tv. No, you're just making excuses. It's okay.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Doesn't appeal to you.

[Don Hahn]

You didn't get into it as a young kid, and by the time you've lived your life, you're like, I'm good.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yep.

[Don Hahn]

And that's kind of the way I'm with. I am with soccer. I had friends that played it, but I never played it. It just never appealed to me. So there's nothing to fix. It's just that you could only juggle so many things in your life, and something's going to be missed. Soccer is. Now. My son loves it because he plays it. And that's why I think it's important when we're talking about the mls. As much as he loves soccer and he's totally getting into the World Cup. He is. He's even know about the mls. I don't watch it, you know, because it's on Apple tv. It's not anything that appeals to Me and. But he wants to go to a baseball game, he wants to go to a football game, he wants to go to basketball and hockey because of those are things that he. But if you like to it.

[Peter Rosenberg]

If you were into it, he might be into it, right?

[Don Hahn]

He might. But there's just not as many people that are into it compared to the other sports. And I think that's what's. Because that's always what ends up happening. I remember when we won the Ryder Cup a few years ago. This is going to be so big for golf. It's very rare. It happened in hockey with the. With the Miracle on Ice. To a. To an extent I think it helped more American people want to play hockey. And that's where you got the Madonna's and the leeches and all that.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Don Hahn]

I don't know how much it really did for the popularity of the sport.

[Peter Rosenberg]

No.

[Don Hahn]

You saw a bump ratings wise in the NHL because all the players that were in the Olympics now went to their respective teams. And you could see Jack Hughes play for the Devils and you could see the different guys, you know, Miller playing for the Rangers, all that stuff. It's different because it's not like Ronaldo's going to go join up with, you know, Atlanta United, do it. No, he's not kind of. He's not coming. Messi will go to Miami. But we've already seen that. Right. He's already been playing for Miami and

[Alan Hahn]

others and others have implied. Implied you know that they're going to come as well. And obviously it's cool that Messi is not only in Miami but still a dominant force in this tournament. It's pretty cool

[Don Hahn]

kid that is. That is coming up that his dream is to play for the Red Bulls or NYC fc. It's not to play for Liverpool, it's not to go play for Manchester United. It's right. It's like if his dream is to play in mls, not his dream to

[Peter Rosenberg]

play decided I want to play home. I don't want to go over. I don't want to go back over there.

[Don Hahn]

And he could play overseas but chooses to play.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, well, you'd have to have a

[Don Hahn]

MLS to be better. And I get like I said sport where the best league is not in North America.

[Peter Rosenberg]

We should.

[Alan Hahn]

It's totally a factor. But we got to take a break. But it is interesting to talk about because I do think there's a world in which if the US were to win the World Cup, I don't know how much it would change MLS in short order. But I do think it would change the overall love and passion for the sport in a way that over time would be a rising tide for all ships. You know what I'm saying? If they were to win the whole thing. They do.

[Peter Rosenberg]

If the NBA can expand to Europe as it wants to do, why couldn't the Premier League expand to the US Right?

[Alan Hahn]

Maybe it ends up not being mls. Maybe it ends up being something else.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Why couldn't it? But I think enough owner who has enough money and you can do that travel just like the NBA is planning on doing. Who's to say it can't work and

[Don Hahn]

they don't play as often as they do in the NBA there.

[Alan Hahn]

And remember, Shot Khan in owns the Jaguars, owns a soccer team over there. Seems to be wanting to push football there. Why not? You know, you just don't know. I'm just saying the US Going truly deep, like making a final would be gigantic for the sport.

[Peter Rosenberg]

No question. Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Alan Hahn]

I don't want to know how the

[Peter Rosenberg]

sausage is made, man. I just want to know. It's good here, man. More of Don Allen and Peter weekday afternoon starting at 3 on 8 80, ESPN, the ESPN New York app, and your smart speakers.