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- [00:02]
Rich Eisen
This is what everyone's talking about.
- [00:05]
Chuck D
Everything's on the table.
- [00:07]
Anthony Pusica
This is what champions come to take. This is what everyone came to see. No do overs, no second chances, no
- [00:17]
Don Hahn
more Mr. Nice Guy.
- [00:20]
Anthony Pusica
This is winner take all. And it's all happening now on the home of the NBA Finals. Don't miss it. June 3rd on ABC and the ESPN app.
- [00:31]
Don Hahn
This is the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.
- [00:35]
Alan Hahn
That sounds like heaven to me.
- [00:36]
Don Hahn
Listen live weekday afternoon starting at 3
- [00:38]
Anthony Pusica
on 8 80, ESPN, the ESPN New
- [00:42]
Don Hahn
York app and your smart speakers.
- [00:44]
Alan Hahn
Game time is brought to you by Tullimore Dew Irish Whiskey. Because when it's game time, Alan, I like that. The Mets continue their series with the Mariners coverage immediately following Ty BUTLER and at 9:00 clock and the Yankees their home for the guardians at 7:05. And we should also promote it because it's with our company Game one of the Stanley Cup Final tonight from Carolina Hurricanes and the golden knights. That's an 8 o' clock face off and can be seen on ABC tonight. Tullamore Dew, the original triple distilled, triple blended and triple cast matured Irish whiskey. Be sure to grab a Tullamore Dew or try the new Tullamore Dew honey during today's action. Glasses up to enjoying the Tullamore do responsibly. Waiting on Rich Eisen should be joining us momentarily and Rich has got something to promote. This was SportsCenter stories from the Set is a limited podcast series from Rich eisen Productions and ESPN. It launches on June 5th. That's Friday on Disney ESPN, the Rich Eisen Show YouTube channel and wherever you get your podcast. This Sports Center Stories from the Set is sponsored by Gusto. Gusto is your small business partner for payroll, benefits and so much more. Get started for free@gusto.com so Rich will be on shortly to be able to promote that. We had our predictions.
- [02:07]
Don Hahn
Do you want to hear the jersey the jersey schedule for the NBA Finals?
- [02:12]
Alan Hahn
You know what? I think this is a perfect time to do it. Go ahead.
- [02:14]
Don Hahn
You know, because it's, it's. We remember when the Cleveland Cavaliers won their championship, they had the sleeve jerseys which no one liked. But for whatever reason that was a thing back in the day. Sleeve jerseys, they were awful, but they had that. The NBA is famous for its many different jerseys and times where you're wondering who's the home team? I can't tell. Don't worry about that in this NBA Finals, Don. That will not be a problem. We are going classic.
- [02:41]
Alan Hahn
Oh well, you teased me.
- [02:42]
Don Hahn
I know. I wanted you to get fired up. The only thing that will stand out.
- [02:47]
Alan Hahn
Okay.
- [02:47]
Don Hahn
Along with, of course, the Larry o' Brien logo on the chest, which that's special car. Anthony Town said, I used to only see that logo when I watched on tv. Now it's on my jersey like, he's fired up. On the other side, there's going to also be a patch that says USA250 celebrating, of course, you know, the 250th birthday of the country on July 4th. So that's going to be on. And each patch can be taken off and put into a whole tops thing. But anyway, so games one and then three and four at the Garden. The Knicks are wearing the classic white. Oh, see, isn't that great?
- [03:26]
Alan Hahn
That makes me feel better.
- [03:27]
Don Hahn
The Classic association jersey. In the postseason, they're 6, 0 wearing that jersey, Don. And then in Game 2 alone, classic blue road icon jersey they're called.
- [03:40]
Alan Hahn
All right, that's. That makes me better. I was ready to start jumping all over the NBA. And the Knicks and the spurs are
- [03:46]
Don Hahn
going to wear what you remember from the classic spurs championships, just a straight black jersey with the gray down the side. They're going to wear black on in Game 1 while the Knicks wear the white. But then 3 and 4, when the Knicks are wearing white at home, they'll be wearing black on the road, just like it ought to be. There you go.
- [04:04]
Alan Hahn
This was SportsCenter stories from the set. And of course, Rich Eisen handles all the festivities there. Debuts on June 5th on Disney Plus ESPN Rich Eisen Show YouTube channel and wherever you get your podcast. And Rich is nice enough to join us here on Don Hunter Rosenberg. How are you, sir?
- [04:21]
Rich Eisen
I'm wearing blue right now.
- [04:24]
Don Hahn
Hey, listen, when you deal with Don
- [04:26]
Rich Eisen
legreca blue, I'm wearing classic blue.
- [04:28]
Don Hahn
You understand, Rich, that with Don Lagra, I love teasing him to a point where he thinks they might be wearing some silly third jersey.
- [04:39]
Rich Eisen
I think it stinks. I also cannot stand City Connect uniforms. I hate them. I think the only thing that Major League Baseball is trying to connect with with the City Connects is my wallet.
- [04:51]
Alan Hahn
All they. That's any. That's any reason why you have these jerseys. But all I ask is remember the old Seinfeld joke? Rich was always, we're rooting for laundry. We're not even doing that anymore. Yeah, I mean, I. I turned one of the Knicks Cavaliers games. I turned it on and for about 10 seconds, I thought the Knicks were the Cavs.
- [05:08]
Rich Eisen
I thought so, too. I can't stand it. You know, I'm I'm with you, John, you know, but I guess we're not rooting for laundry. We're railing against laundry.
- [05:19]
Alan Hahn
That's what we're doing. But you know what, Rich? It's, it's always a pleasure to have you on to talk sports, but this was SportsCenter. I'm so fired up for this because, let's face it, ESPN has kind of come by like MTV with videos. That's kind of what's happened to SportsCenter, right? It was must view, Sunday night conversation. All the things. It was how I got caught up with sports and didn't matter. You know, the Hartford Whalers could be taking on the Vancouver Canucks. You were going to get highlights, you were going to get humor, you were going to get caught up on everything. And, and it's how I got into sports. It's why I wanted to be a part of sports, to do what I'm doing now. So I'm so looking forward to doing this. How much fun was it to do?
- [05:59]
Chuck D
It was great, man.
- [06:00]
Rich Eisen
And you know, what you're referring to again is a limited podcast series that I'm going to hopefully do multiple seasons about where I sit down with some of my SportsCenter colleagues back in my day when I did it in the mid to late 90s and in the early aughts when again SportsCenter was a different, different show because so was our world. There was no Internet really in many people's lives, certainly not any smartphones. So SportsCenter was a show where you tuned in to see what happened maybe for the first time or for only one time after having seen the game once and want to see the highlights again. And so obviously that that changed. And so SportsCenter had to as well. I didn't know that that also meant that they would change from having me hosted, but with my show being the conduit to bring me back to the ESPN world, which as you know, having appeared on this show, I believe late last year in December, is something that I'm so thrilled about. One of the first things I said in one of the first meetings with ESPN management was I wanted to do a show where it was straight memory lane, old school sports center back in the day, interviews with a colleague of mine and they were like way in. And so here it now finally is arriving Disney plus the ESPN app. My show's Rich Eisen Show, YouTube page, YouTube.com richis and show if you want to watch it. But it's also an audio podcast as well if you wish. You'll just be missing out on all the bells and whistles. We've dived into ESPN's archives, video photographs, to just put together a great stroll down memory lane. And the first episode is with Dan Patrick on Friday. Then we're gonna. And every Friday we're going to release a new one. Except for this week. Chris Berman and I sat down at the super bowl in San Francisco in front of a live audience. We're going to drop that next Monday, and then the following Friday will be Mike Greenberg. After that, Linda Cohn, Chris Fowler and Craig Kilborn will wrap up season one. And it's just all the interviews are great. And, and it's, it's, again, not just about what it was like to host the show, but what it was like to work together. It wasn't all harmonious. What it was like to work there for management wasn't all harmonious. And ESPN has been kind enough to say, do what you want. Go ahead and put a show together about what it was like in all aspects. And that's what we're going to put together.
- [08:47]
Don Hahn
It's really like when you think about it. And again, it's funny. I always remember it as If I watched SportsCenter and I saw a highlight. Like, these days, now all you got to do is rewind or you can watch it a million times on social media. Back then, if I turned on the TV and I just missed a game highlight, I was like, I gotta watch it back. So now you're, now I'm sitting and I'm watching through it. And when it comes back around the second time they show it, I'm stuck watching it. But that was sort of how we consumed things back then. But it drew you in because you wanted to see things that you knew, if I miss it, I'm probably not going to see it again for another hour or maybe even till the next day or never. And so that was what was so different. But it also, like your story and so many others, the impact it had on your careers, like the launch pad that that became for a lot of the people that you're going to be talking to here. Is there one story in particular that stands out to you?
- [09:42]
Rich Eisen
Oh, gosh. I mean, just to tell some stories that we've already, you know, again, all six episodes have been shot and they're now in the edit bay trying to. My coordinating producer of my Daily show, his name is Mike Hoskins. He's one of the most talented people I've ever worked with. And it's been he's been tasked with making this all look great and sound great. I mean Dan Patrick in particular tells some great Olbermann stories and telling story about Stuart Scott once upon of time came dressed head to toe in Nike gear and guarded them all 94ft on a basketball floor. And the two of them almost went at it. I tell the story to Linda Cohn for the first time that when I first arrived at ESPN I couldn't get the high holidays off because only three anchors could get the specific day off and she had already claimed one of the high holidays and it was told the other two anchors who did were Steve Levy and Jack Edwards. And Jack Edwards I was very stunned to hear would be asking for the high holidays off. And I was told that he had just married the religion. And I then basically said I get it that he has more tenure than me as a Sports center anchor, but I have more tenure than him as a Jew. And that didn't go over well. Craig Kilborn tells a great story about meeting Clint Eastwood for the first time because his small market television was, was done in Carmel, California where his co anchor wound up marrying Clint Eastwood. It's a laugh out loud. Helen. Hilarious story there. Chris Fowler telling a story of working on Scholastic Sports America before working on SportsCenter and his first, his first interview there. The first ever guest on Scholastic Sports America was a high school running back in the state of Florida named Emmett Smith. Man, what else can I tell you? Berman's just full of stories, as you might imagine. And Mike Greenberg being mistaken once upon a time for Steve Levy in a restaurant. It's all, you know, lots of. And back in the day, good times filled with just flashbacks and Sports center commercials and again stories that are a bit raw for all of us to relive. You know, I talked about how to Dan Patrick about how Kenny Main got Keith Olbermann's chair. I wanted it. Stewart was pissed that I wanted it. Again, that's sort of behind the scenes storytelling that I hope fans will enjoy because it was kind of therapeutic for me to go through it having gotten my cardboard back, you know, last year and, and being part of the Sports center universe again.
- [12:23]
Alan Hahn
And we're talking to Rich Eisenhower on Don Hahn and Rosenberg. And of course your comeback and your tribute to Stuart Scott, you know, just so emotional. And I'm sure he's, he's someone that is featured prominently in this. I'm, I'm sure.
- [12:34]
Rich Eisen
Oh yeah, I mean Linda tells a great story about how Stuart, you know, once upon a time Came into her office and. And wound up tripping and falling and basically said, that's now the way I have to do this from now on. And for years afterwards, we just come into her office and pratfall. I mean, just telling, you know, all of these stories has been great for all of us because we love doing it, man. We were all very fortunate to be in those seats at a time when sports television was taken off. And that show meant so much to so many people. I mean, again, I'm 56 now, and I'll run into fellow parents at school events who are in their late 30s, early 40s, and tell me stories about how Stuart and I used to put them on a school. On the school bus in the morning or kept them up at night or helped them procrastinate finishing their term papers in college, or they, you know, come back home from the bar one night, two in the morning, and they're just flip the flip, flip the show on. And then at 6 in the morning, they're done watching it for the fourth time. You know, like you're raising your hand, Alan, you know, that's it. And so this show is for all of them. And then God bless the current young generation that is locked into nostalgia in every facet of pop culture, which is why this is launching on June 5th on Disney. It's a throwback month on Disney where it's just full of nostalgia. All the shows on Disney plus being featured this month are going to have a nostalgia bench, and I'm honored to represent ESPN in that regard.
- [14:17]
Alan Hahn
And I know you're up against it, Rich, but I just wanted to throw this out. Every Wednesday, I do a top five. And a few months ago, I threw out the top five Sports center anchors of all time. And I want to know if this gets your stamp of approval.
- [14:31]
Don Hahn
Wait, Don, Don, why don't we see what his are and see if it matches up with you?
- [14:34]
Alan Hahn
Oh, that's good.
- [14:36]
Rich Eisen
No, no, that's all right. I'm curious to hear what Sean has.
- [14:41]
Alan Hahn
Well, number five, I had Linda Cohn. Number four, Keith Olbermann, you were number three. Stuart Scott, two, Dan Patrick, one, I think.
- [14:51]
Rich Eisen
And again, you'll see on Dan's show this week, I wouldn't have wanted to start this. And I told this to him. And I told this to him for weeks and months while I was imploring him to be my first guest on this podcast series, this limited series on Disney plus that you can again, I don't wanna the podcast word podcast makes it seem like you can only listen to it. But Dan would agree that Keith's too low on the list. Keith's one. I've never seen anybody like it. I've never seen anybody like him. I've never seen anybody come to be able to write and execute and communicate in his way, ever. And Dan, Dan would, you know, I think you'll see the. What he says about him on the show on Friday. I think he'd agree. But dan being number one is. Is 100 worthy. Linda's done it more than any other human being who's ever done it. I'm honored to be above Keith in that front. And Stuart broke the ground when people internally were telling him that he didn't, he didn't, he was going too far, which is kind of absurd. And I had a front row seat to that. It's something I'll talk about and with various guests throughout this show. And I was fortunate to be able to have a spot in the 30 for 30 on his life that came out last December that I was in town for with you guys. So it's a great list. I don't. I don't think you can go wrong.
- [16:22]
Alan Hahn
And real, real quick, I've had a couple of interactions with Stuart Scott, but the one I remember the most was my first week working here, September of 2001. It was right after 9 11. They sent me up to Bristol to do updates on the national show. And Stuart was filling in for Dan Patrick on his show, doing it from the ESPN zone. And every time he introduced me, Rich, he got my name wrong. And finally the producer, the last one, he said, can you at least get this guy's name right? He drove all the way up from New Jersey to do this. It's his first time on national radio. Can you at least the last time say his name correctly during the break? And he goes, okay. So finally, it's like I've been messing up his name all day, so I'm gonna get it right for the final time. Here on the Dan Patrick show with a SportsCenter update is Dan LaBraca. And I, I always figured there's no way you screwed that up. It had to be performative, right? Like nobody.
- [17:22]
Rich Eisen
100%.
- [17:23]
Alan Hahn
Yeah.
- [17:24]
Rich Eisen
And again on Friday, you'll hear me tell to Dan's face how he hazed me when I first got there.
- [17:30]
Alan Hahn
Okay.
- [17:31]
Rich Eisen
You know, he hazed the hell out of me. But he did that just, you know, because he. Because he appreciated you, you know, but, you know, 100%, that was before.
- [17:40]
Alan Hahn
Yeah. And I loved every second. And if he was always such a great person and I have a chance to deal with all of the people on my list and maybe I'm biased because the way they treated me. Keith's always been a friend. Stuart was terrific. Dan Patrick as well you Linda and we really appreciate that you give us this time.
- [17:57]
Rich Eisen
I appreciate it.
- [17:57]
Alan Hahn
This was SportsCenter stories from the Set is sponsored by Gusto. Gusto is your small business partner for payroll, benefits and so much more. Get started for free@gusto.com it premieres on ESPN, ESPN, Rich Eisen's YouTube channel, wherever we get your podcasts on Friday, June 5th. Rich Eisen, thanks man. Don't be a stranger. You have a pick for the finals.
- [18:21]
Rich Eisen
Yes.
- [18:21]
Chuck D
Nick's in six.
- [18:23]
Don Hahn
My man, Nick's in six.
- [18:26]
Alan Hahn
I'll just.
- [18:26]
Rich Eisen
If you got a couple minutes, I'll do this as well because I was going to do this on my show tomorrow when you're kind enough to listen to me between 12 and three. Bronson is a superstar. He's SGA in Nick's clothing as far as I'm concerned. Where he can get to the line, he can confound you. He can make huge shots. I think Cat and Mitchell Robinson. Mitchell's always got to do is give me six fouls, couple block shots, give me the rebounds and start the fast break. And maybe, just maybe his broken pinky could possibly. How great would it be if it makes him a better free throw shooter? That's all he had to do is break his pinky to make some free throws. That would be great. OG is a champion already. Bridges and Josh Hart is basically our Caruso but plussed up as far as I'm concerned. So a team that the reason why I'm comparing to the Thunder is because that's a team that just took the spurs to seven games. I think the Knicks match up really well and I think their bench is better than previous years. I'm genuinely bullish on that and I'm also preparing myself to go home tonight and watch the Yankees take on a Cleveland Guardians team. That always makes me angry because I'm just at some point will Brian Cashman watch that team put the ball in play and try and get somebody like that on it is that would be just dandy because we got Cam Schlitler tonight. Let's just get somebody in the lineup who's always going to put the bat on the ball. But I am excited to watch the Yankees. I don't mean to come on this network and denigrate the general manager put a team that's 13 games above.500 on my television screen every night. But that is the way I spend my evenings here in Los Angeles watching the Yanks.
- [20:22]
Don Hahn
Rich, that the, the, your Yankee take has been mine for the last five or six years when it comes to the style of play and how much. There's so much like the Celtics on the three point shooting. And that's what made to me that 13 run inning on Sunday so much fun. Not a single home run and a bunch of just like bloops and just perfectly placed hits.
- [20:44]
Rich Eisen
What happened in the other eight innings? Like my grandfather who's like, you got a 98. What happened to the other two points? What happened in the other eight innings is it disappeared. It's so streaky.
- [20:55]
Don Hahn
Yes.
- [20:56]
Alan Hahn
So streaky again.
- [20:59]
Rich Eisen
And it just doesn't, it's whatever. But the pitching's gonna be better in October, that, that's for sure. And it gets me excited.
- [21:06]
Alan Hahn
Well, not to ruin your viewing for tonight, but Aaron Judge is out of the lineup due to shoulder soreness. Of course, he had imaging last night and the Yankees are hopeful. It is just a day to day situation.
- [21:17]
Don Hahn
Rich, are you getting to the Garden for any of the games? It's the hottest ticket in town. Can you get here?
- [21:20]
Rich Eisen
I know, I'm out here in la. I'll be watching.
- [21:22]
Don Hahn
All right.
- [21:23]
Rich Eisen
Watching. All good.
- [21:24]
Alan Hahn
All right. Anything you need, buddy, let us know about this. Man, I really.
- [21:27]
Rich Eisen
Yeah, I need tickets to game six.
- [21:28]
Chuck D
Okay.
- [21:29]
Rich Eisen
I just predicted it's gonna shut down. Hopefully in their white uniforms. Yes, for sure.
- [21:34]
Don Hahn
That's a big, very important.
- [21:35]
Alan Hahn
All right, Rich Eisen, thanks so much for this. Appreciate it. That is the great, I mean, great Rich Eisen. You like Miley one to Keith Hire.
- [21:43]
Don Hahn
Yeah, that I got.
- [21:45]
Alan Hahn
I, I listen, that was interesting what he said.
- [21:47]
Don Hahn
Well, what he said. And by the way, I apologize for the YouTube audience. My iPad just died and I'm trying to resuscitate it. It's, it's interesting because you always saw Olbermann as an intellect, right? Like you, you, his wit. Quick. And people need to understand these guys wrote a lot of their own stuff. So the, all the one liners, all the different sayings. Like all these guys had their shtick, I guess you want to call it, but they were writers. That was it. Like, did they have help? Sure. Is it an impromptu? Of course. But it's still. That was their work. Again, Stuart Scott. That's him. That was all him. And so this, the amount of talent they had, as creative as Writers, I think, is underplayed when it comes to some of the stuff. Delivery, though, is what makes it. Sure, you can write it, but can you deliver it? And all of them did such a great job doing that. But Olbermann, you could tell that he was at a different level intellectually with his ability to write and then deliver and the timing and all that stuff. So it doesn't surprise me. But I still. I feel like Dan Patrick, when it comes to all of it, that it takes smooth delivery. Look, the whole thing, like, I'm with you. I'd still put him at one, but I can see why they would have Keith. You know, as somebody you would put a lot higher, because his skill set, like he was.
- [23:20]
Alan Hahn
You can put them in any order you want. These are the five to me.
- [23:23]
Don Hahn
Yeah.
- [23:24]
Alan Hahn
And I'm glad he at least agreed with that. And, you know, I got to know Keith because he's a Ranger fan. He'd always be at the Garden and talking hockey with him. And Dan Patrick would come to the studio on occasion because sometimes if he were in New York, he would do his show from our studios over at Tupan. And I told you the story of Stuart Scott, the other Stuart Scott story. I probably said it a billion times. The first Super Bowl I went to was in New Orleans. And the. The ESPN party, which is a very coveted ticket, if you're ever going to a Super bowl, to go to. The ESPN party was right on the French Quarter. And ESPN put these beads that they gave us, ESPN logo on it to throw out to the women. And, you know, if you've ever been to New Orleans during Mardi Gras, this is obviously during the super bowl, women lifted up their shirt to get the beads. So I'm on a balcony, we're throwing out the beads, and all of a sudden Stuart Scott comes out, starts going, booyah, booyah. And all of a sudden, there wasn't a woman down there. It was just a thousand men looking for beads. And I gotta be honest with you, I lost interest and wandered off. Like, I love going, what are you doing? I love you, Stuart, but you know what? You kind of. You kind of wrecked the vibe here.
- [24:35]
Don Hahn
That's not how that's supposed to work.
- [24:38]
Alan Hahn
No, but listen, it's one of the really great perks of being able to work here. And it's going on 25 years of meeting all the different talent up in Bristol and the people that have worked at SportsCenter and. And becoming close with Mike Greenberg and SVP, because they all get that they wanted this to work in New York and so they were always very, very helpful, whether being guests or coming by and hosting shows. And Linda's played in the Sasso softball and of course she's a huge Ranger fan, so I'd see her all the time when the Rangers were making their runs back in the day. So great people. It was great to get rich on and so don't forget to watch the show. This was SportsCenter stories from the set. It's gonna launch coming up on June 5th. You can see it on Disney ESPN, the Rich Eisen Show, YouTube channel, wherever you get your podcast. As you know, managing maintenance, repair and operations is never easy. But for the ones who always rise to the challenge, Grainger has your back. From professional grade products you can count on to fast, dependable delivery. They're there to help you keep things running smoothly. Plus their technical product specialists are here to help answer your toughest questions. And because Grainger knows safety is always a priority, they're committed to being your partner in protecting both your people and your facilities. Call 1-800-GRAINGER Click grainger.com or just stop
- [25:59]
Don Hahn
by thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg Podcast.
- [26:04]
Rich Eisen
I didn't listen to anything you just said.
- [26:06]
Don Hahn
Catch the show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts. So in New York, every block is a business. Every minute counts. And Amazon Hub Delivery lets you earn extra revenue from the business you already run. You and your staff can deliver packages right in your neighborhood on a schedule that works for you. So Bryant and The crew at 165 Hardware in Washington Heights deliver during their store's afternoon downtime. The extra revenue, they say, from Amazon Hub Delivery helps their bottom line and delivering has given the business more visibility and connection to their community. And getting started easy. No delivery experience, no long term contracts and no startup costs either. New York local businesses ready to make your next move? Visit Amazon.com hubdelivery that's Amazon.com hub delivery
- [26:57]
Alan Hahn
get back into this Aaron Judge situation again. If you're just joining us, not playing tonight because of shoulder soreness and we will get more information on that as we get closer to game time. But the Knicks in the NBA Finals begins tomorrow. Our coverage right here on ESPN. New York will get underway at 7:00 o' clock and one of the biggest Knick fans and one of the biggest names in hip hop is Chuck Dean. He joins us here on Don Han and Rosenberg. How are you sir?
- [27:25]
Chuck D
Hey Don Allen. Yeah, go back a while. I go back to the point where the first time you know, I wasn't an infant or a toddler, but I was 7, 8 years old. You start recognizing things when you. Your dad. And I remember and I've told Allen this before the 68, 69 Knicks. It feels the same going in 69, 70 Knicks. And I feel that luau cinder's around somewhere.
- [27:53]
Don Hahn
You made a connection like you. You sent me a couple of really interesting takes on this. And one of them was that when you look at Victor Wembanyama, you see Lu Alcindor who is obviously Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Early 70s steps into the NBA. And it was different right from the very dominated college. And was a guy you saw was going to change the sport. And why do you see a parallel between these two players?
- [28:21]
Chuck D
Because Lou Alcinda later on Kareem Abdul Jabbar was impossible. Is an impossibility. Everybody was. Was breathing a sigh of relief when Bill Russell left. He's the first person that made me cry because after the Knicks got Dave to Bush and and this is speaking to all the 70s 60s babies out there. After the Knicks got dated Bush. I remember as a kid we didn't lose. And then I remember the Bullets were beating the Knicks all year. You guys can look it up. I think we swept them and then went against the juggernaut of the Boston Celtics. And Bill Russell made me cry. And then all of a sudden he quits. And the next year is no Bill Russell. But here comes this guy who only lost one game in college. And the Knicks got to face the Milwaukee Bucks. And the Knicks faced the Bucks. And we beat the Bucs. I think it was 4:1. But Lu Alcindor was an impossibility. He could do it all. Yes, he couldn't dribble around his back.
- [29:21]
Rich Eisen
Yes.
- [29:21]
Chuck D
He could not do the crossover because they called Palmer back then. Yes, he didn't have to take a three pointer because it was only in the aba. But he could do it all. And Wilt was still in the league taking up a different style of game. He was taking over the Bill Russell's game. I remember that clearly. And we beat the Bucks to face the Lakers. The season that made me cry was when I thought we was going to win again. And the Knicks were beating the Bucks. Every chance we got with Lou Alcinda and we lost to the Bullets. And we never got a chance to face the Bucks. Where I thought we would won two. We would have won two in a row. And that's when they swept the Bullets four zero and we would have had two in a row. I felt so. I feel the same way. I feel like this is 1969, 70. And facing Mr. Impossible, Kareem Abdul Jabbal was just as impossible as Wemby is right now. But one man can beat five. And one thing about this Nick team, you don't know what kind of poison you're going to get. And a team of older veterans, they're not old men. When they're fighting for their food and they're on the same page, you're going to see something that you've never seen before. And that's why the 6970 Knicks are to be remembered as one of the greatest teams ever in basketball.
- [30:42]
Alan Hahn
Now, you talk about the passion you had growing up as a child, but you're a busy man, you know, touring the world, constant, and focusing on your music and your career. Were you able to still maintain your. Your fandom, Chuck? Did it wane at all as you got busy, especially when the team was
- [30:59]
Chuck D
struggling even more so because this is the thing you do as your release and you check out and then you're able to go to some cities. I mean, last year I saw Allen Hahn and I was in okc. I was invited by the mayor and okc, and I saw it for three quarters. The Knicks were throwing the thunder around and we kind of lost grips of it in the fourth quarter. And then. So I had a running bet with the mayor. I said, we'll see you in the finals. And they got there and we didn't. So this year we were going to run the same kind of bet, but we got there and they didn't. So, yeah, in your. In your travels and in your touring and in your knowing of many people, places and things through the rough time to the good times, this is your release and there's nothing better. I'm down to one sport and one team. I don't follow football like I used to, and I don't follow baseball like I used to. I'm tuned into one sport, but really I'm tuned into one team. When my team loses, I'm. I'm off into doing what I do. So this is very important to me, as so many others. I think this, this will go down. Sound like Marv, right? This will go down, I think, as one of the greatest championships in New York history. And I think it would rank with the Dodgers in 1955. That's how good. Because it's a boy. It's a boiling point. And you couldn't script this better I mean, every year, inch by inch, stage by stage, beat down by beatdown, loss by loss. This is so. This is something like a 10 year story with the pandemic in the middle. It's kind of crazy.
- [32:33]
Don Hahn
They say, all right, I'm glad you went there. So Don, one of the things that Chuck said to me when we were going back and forth the other night is actually during the show yesterday. And Don hates when I text during the show, by the way, Chuck. But the very few people I'll respond to. But I've responded to you. So he said, Don, 1955 Dodgers is what he texted me. And I was like, wait, what is he talking about? And you explained it, right? How the Yankees did all this winning, all this stuff was going on. But why did that 55 dodger win them bums, right? Finally breaking through. And finally that seemed to resonate more than anything else to it. And it's still, to this day is still something that resonates historically in New York. You feel like this, this team, if it can win a championship, would have that same type of generational hold.
- [33:28]
Chuck D
Yep, because of the boil. And in 41, when the Dodgers lost to the Yankees, you know, you had like a 15 year period it only the Dodgers and the Yankees and maybe occasionally the Giants back there in the subway series. And every year the Dodgers would sit home packing. So it was a boil. And when that boil burst in 1955, it was so powerful and was so big, is that the next year was a malaise. Matter of fact, the next three years was a malaise where the enthusiasm wasn't there the same. And the Dodgers and the Giants left town basketball speaking mob. Albert even said the other day is like the 69, 70 Knicks. It was so crazy in the town during season, the postseason and after the season, going into the next season when they won it for the second time in 73, it was so anti climactic. It was like a business type of thing. You know, there was nobody waiting, nobody waiting at JFK for the. It was quiet. And then, you know, very few reporters after the game, they got on the plane and there's a picture of the Knicks with Henry Bibby and Dick Barnett and Cal Ramsey and other Knicks playing cards on the plane. It was like sort of like, okay, we did it again. So you know that this. But this right here is a boil. And when you get things to a boiling point, I mean, and then you got generations that have come in after. So you got like two or three generations that have come. 1973 this team right now with the Knicks, this ain't the 90s Knicks, where there might have been some flaws, the team couldn't really shoot as as well. You know, it was one or two focal points. This team is like the 73 and then the 1970 Knicks, where you didn't know where your poison was coming from. And here's another thing. When I was growing up, I never. And like other Knick fans, we never saw the Knicks in the league stats. We were never like individuals, wasn't at the top of the league statistic areas. And as a kid, you're like, oh, man, I want to see Willis in the rebounding league. I want to see Clyde number two. We didn't see that, but we won. And later on when we got up in the fives and the tens and the top echelons of individuals, we weren't a winning team. So that goes to tell you something. But. But Allen Hodge said it very best. Regardless of the fact this team is hard to beat and harder to kill.
- [36:05]
Alan Hahn
We're talking to the great Chuck D here on Don Han and Rosenberg, what are your memories of 94? Where were you during that series with Houston?
- [36:14]
Chuck D
I was in the middle of touring somewhere, but I was in Florida at, At a Cousin's house and O.J. simpson popped up on the screen and. And that kind of distorted the thing and. And yeah, I mean, I was in the. I was in the mix, you know, a mix of the Knicks. I told Dave, check it. I said, yeah, I'll get around to a game. I just gotta, you know, get my money up. He says, you could get your money up. So, yeah, I was in the mix back then. But yeah, I. I loved game six so much that I feared game seven. So that's how much I was into it. Hey, listen. Hey, listen, with a championship, this is what, this. If the championship comes to us and there's that big city hall event or whatever, where people gather, you know, my ideas, how we should start it, how get a. Get a basket, right? And everybody doesn't commence to beginning going crazy until Mitchie hits a foul shot. Just like what they do with you, like with the parade can't start until
- [37:16]
Don Hahn
Mitch hits a free throw.
- [37:18]
Chuck D
Yeah, it doesn't matter how many he misses because everybody's going to be on every moment. And the minute he hits it, it's better.
- [37:26]
Don Hahn
It's on. The only person that won't like that is Mitch. Everybody else will love it, but the
- [37:32]
Alan Hahn
only person, yeah, he would have a problem with me. And people are joking Maybe this, this broken pinky will help his foul shooter.
- [37:41]
Chuck D
I think Mitchie is going to be a monster. I think his focus is going to be there. I think his lateral movement is what we want. We want his presence, we want his. But you know, again, in this situation, the Knicks ain't old men, but I think it's boys against men. And the fact that we were able to get away from the maniacal minds of Spoelstra and in the last two years of. Rick Carlisle sets the Knicks free. I'm telling you, because those two master maniacal minds, there's one guy that remembers that those mindsets, and that's the. That's the captain on the floor, Jalen Brunson. And Mike Brown has done such a turnaround job where his uses of 10 to 12 people confused us at first, but he came out on the other side because a lot of people were saying, like, you fail if you don't get us to the ecf. Yeah, you okay. If we lose the ecf, you pass the test if we win the ecf. And that's where I'm at.
- [38:46]
Alan Hahn
Chuck, you're the best, man. Thanks for this. And it's fans like you that I'm rooting for the most. I want you guys to finally be able to see that championship.
- [38:53]
Don Hahn
So enjoy New York. You're going to make it here.
- [38:57]
Chuck D
I'll be back and forth. Matter of fact, coincidentally, I'm going to Texas, but after they leave. So, you know, those are my schedules. But hey, but you know what? Salute to you all, y'. All. And if I. I don't make predictions, but I. I think we're going to blow them young cowboys out the gym. And if we lose game one, we still win in six.
- [39:16]
Alan Hahn
Okay.
- [39:17]
Don Hahn
I like it. Let me know when you get to town if you get in.
- [39:21]
Chuck D
Yeah, I won't blow you up, Alex.
- [39:22]
Don Hahn
No, but, yeah, you can. You can let me know if you're the one person. Chuck.
- [39:27]
Alan Hahn
Thanks, man. Really appreciate this.
- [39:28]
Don Hahn
Appreciate you.
- [39:29]
Alan Hahn
Oh, what an hour.
- [39:31]
Don Hahn
Yeah. See how he's so funny? You could hear, right? The passion and his voice for this. Yeah. Matches. Like, if I showed you the text exchanges. We have it just. Again, he's a pro. We were just talking about. About the Sports center anchors. Like, Chuck is a prolific writer, so he just. He goes into the stream of consciousness with the text and it's stuff he says. I'm reading it just going, my God, that's profound. Like, wow, that's profound.
- [39:56]
Chuck D
Wow.
- [39:56]
Don Hahn
That's a bar. Okay. Like, it's. It's amazing. And so he starts giving me the 55 Dodgers and then he breaks down. Why? Just his passion for this right now. It really is like the fan level of passion. You can tell he's been through so much watching this team and it's like he feels it like so many others feel it. There's just something different. A lot of times in New York. I'll be quick. We have this thing with our teams that we expect the worst and hope for the best. There's just this feeling, I can't explain it, Don. There's just this feeling with this team around it, listening to them, watching them, it just makes you feel like I, I, no, I just, I just think they're going to do it. Like I really do. I really think they're going to do it. And that's, you know, you could hear in his voice. Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.
- [40:53]
Rich Eisen
I didn't listen to anything you just said.
- [40:54]
Don Hahn
Catch the show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts.
- [41:02]
Alan Hahn
Don on and Rosenberg. It'll 7:00 then it's Ty Butler leading you into game two of the Mets and the Mariners series. Mets dropped a game in 10 innings last night. The snap their four game winning streak. But before we get into the Aaron Judge of it all, Anthony Pusick has something to tell you.
- [41:20]
Anthony Pusica
Oh, Don Allen and New York.
- [41:22]
Don Hahn
Yeah, you need to hear this.
- [41:23]
Anthony Pusica
This summer all lines lead to champs sports fan Central Station. A soccer pop up shop open right in the heart of the city. 125 West 33rd Street. This is the soccer destination in New York. Jerseys for every national team you ride with. Usa get that Pulisic jersey. Mexico, Argentina. Who doesn't love Messi Brazil and way more all under one roof. If you want to gear up, rep your country and feel the energy of the city champs sports fan Central Station. 125 West 33rd Street. That's where you need to be.
- [41:54]
Alan Hahn
Well, thank you Anthony. So we were talking about it just before Chuck D came on. No judge tonight. They're hoping it's just day to day with some shoulder soreness. Here is Boone before the game tonight against the Guardians updating everybody on judge.
- [42:08]
Anthony Pusica
So he's been kind of the last couple weeks kind of dealing with, with some shoulder soreness, just kind of more nagging. And then over the weekend, last couple games in Sacramento I think became, became a little more than that where I noticed you know, with some swings and stuff and you know, so it became a little More than just that nagging, I think it was affecting him. So we got some imaging last night. We think overall good news. Showing a bone bruise. He's going to meet with the doctor tonight. So hopefully it's a day to day situation. Could be a few days, could be longer. I don't know for sure. Kind of based on how he's feeling day by day, but you know, hopefully we avoided something serious. But we'll have an idea, you know, more when he meets with the doctor and then as the next couple days unfold.
- [42:49]
Alan Hahn
That probably explains Alan. Over the last 15 games he's batting.193.
- [42:54]
Don Hahn
Maybe finally said something.
- [42:56]
Alan Hahn
17 strikeouts and only one home run. So it's, and it's, and it goes beyond that. I mean he's, he's having a great year for the average player. But for Aaron Judge, these are not numbers you're kind of used to so.
- [43:08]
Don Hahn
Well, not recently especially. Right.
- [43:10]
Alan Hahn
Oh yeah, listen, he started out like a house on fire, but then he's
- [43:13]
Don Hahn
definitely think about that 13 run inning. He had a bloop single that really should have been caught. Like he, you know, he didn't have a big hit in that inning at all. Second time around I think he struck out. So yeah, it's, he's not himself. Don't love to hear this. And it's probably reached a point where he just, you know, said, yeah, it's bothering me, maybe we need to just calm it down.
- [43:39]
Alan Hahn
Yeah, for sure. I mean just, it kind of explains what he's going through and he's, he's really important to this team. You know, that's stating the obvious. And yeah, you know, right now the Rays are really struggling. You figured they'd come back down there if they were playing at a, you know, a 750 clip. You knew that they were going to slow down a little bit. Yankees are right there. But they're probably, it sounds like, you know, probably today and tomorrow, maybe, maybe in this series, maybe we won't see him for a few days here. And if that's the case, hey, it's the guardians and you should be able to take care of business. But you just don't want this to be an issue. Remember last year wasn't playing the field because there were issues. I mean, listen, this is, he's the one thing he's been able to overcome is his health problems early in his career. He's been able to stay healthy and we know the beast that he can be over entire season. So get whatever needs to get taken care of taken care of. So this isn't a problem in the second half of the season. I don't think the Rays are going to go away. This is going to be a battle probably till the end on who's going to win this division. You know, they're going to the playoffs, but you'd like to win the division. You'd like him to be healthy come postseason.
- [44:41]
Don Hahn
You want to win the division. There's no, like, there's no reason why you shouldn't win this division. There's no excuse you should win this division.
- [44:49]
Alan Hahn
Well, there's an excuse if Judge is compromised. That's why, hey, it's June 2nd, you know, take advantage of the time of the season.
- [44:56]
Don Hahn
This might be. So now, again, it's never, it's never a good thing that you're dealing with this. But if he, he has been compromised and he hasn't really given you much offensively at the plate over the last how many games Now?
- [45:10]
Alan Hahn
I just gave you the stats for the last 15.
- [45:12]
Don Hahn
15. Okay.
- [45:13]
Alan Hahn
Yeah.
- [45:14]
Don Hahn
And they've had a pretty good run here. So they're winning despite usually if he's out or he's hurt their offense, they can't do anything. So they've been able to survive and actually thrive. While he's not producing. That's a, that's a good sign that you don't want to do that for too long. But it does show you at least that they can, I guess their starting pitching is very good. That's been a strength. But if they can still generate offense and he's not producing, that's, that's better than what we've seen in the past. When they lose him, they fall apart. So that's something at least you could
- [45:50]
Alan Hahn
say they've got another stud. I mean, Ben Rice is a stud.
- [45:53]
Don Hahn
Yes, yes.
- [45:53]
Chuck D
Right.
- [45:53]
Alan Hahn
So that, that has certainly helped. Last year it was Bellinger when Judge was to going, going through his things. And you know, you, if you're going to be, if you're going to be a championship caliber team, you got to have more than one guy supplying the offense as good as he is with Judge. And then maybe you get Stanton back and then you can kind of get things going there. But that's the latest on the Yankee situation. Now, Nick fans, join us for a live broadcast tomorrow at Stout NYC, two blocks from the Garden at 15 W. 35th St. Before the NBA Finals. Now, we know the game's in San Antonio, but we also know you're going to be out and about for the game. So we are going to be at Stout even on nights where the Knicks are on the road. We'll break down everything, talking matchups and getting you ready for Tip Off. Don Hanna Rosenberg live tomorrow at stout NYC, all starting at 3pm thanks for
- [46:41]
Don Hahn
listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg Podcast.
- [46:44]
Rich Eisen
I don't want to know how the
- [46:45]
Don Hahn
sausage is made, man. I just want to know. It's good. Hear more of Don Allen and Peter weekday afternoon starting at 3 on 8 80, ESPN, the ESPN New York app and your smart speaker.