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Chevy Commercial Voice
Chevy is called the heartbeat of America for a reason. With SUVs made to move with your rhythm, the versatile Equinox tackles your entire day. The spacious traverse fits your crew and your whole weekend. And tracks bring style with value you can count on, all infused with tech that has your back, so your drive always hits the right chord. Chevrolet together. Let's drive.
Don Hahn
This is the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.
Peter Rosenberg
That sounds like heaven to me.
Don Hahn
Listen live weekday afternoon starting at 3 on 8 80, ESPN, the ESPN New York app and your smart speakers.
Don
Time now for the weekend weather report,
Peter Rosenberg
which is brought to you by Neutral Saturday, not great. 61% chance of thunderstorms.
Don
The high is going to be 80 on Sunday though. Gorgeous.
Peter Rosenberg
High of 86 and sunny all day.
Don
If you're venturing down the shore, a
Peter Rosenberg
little bit more rain on Saturday with a high of 77. But again, gorgeous on Sunday, high of 81 and sunny. So kind of a mixed bag this weekend as far as the weather is concerned. That is your weekend weather report. It's brought to you by neutral. Keep it tasty with neutral vodka seltzer made with real vodka and real fruit juice.
Peter
Enjoy responsibly as we continue on on this Friday, this Jay Z Yankee Stadium Friday. I'm off to the stadium tonight. Don't
Caller Pat
you are.
Peter
My first time at the stadium this season will be to see the. An always winning team. Jay Z. You know Roc Nation's always winning. At least based on how much money they've taken from me and my family this year. Good lord.
Peter Rosenberg
It's just Jay Z. Is there a. Is there an opener?
Peter
They did not announce anyone else for it. I don't know. What do you think, Jake? You think we get a dj? You think it's anything? They just quiet stage till he comes out.
Jake
It might be a DJ of some sort. I'm more interested.
Peter
But it has to be a bit. Listen, it's Jay Z. It ain't gonna be just any like. If it's a dj, it's gonna be like something.
Jake
No RP Clark Kent, but that's probably the guy who I thought would have been the dj.
Peter
Well, definitely RIP to my friend Clark Kent. It will definitely not be him. So I need you to come up with someone who's. Who's with us still.
Peter Rosenberg
Could it be. Did he just say that somebody who's dead might dj?
Peter
Well, Clark passed now a year and change ago and he was saying it's who he would have thought so. No, listen, I know what he's saying would be something. I know exactly what he's saying, because Clark would have been the perfect guy to do that. And by the way, I actually saw Clark, God bless him, at Yankee Stadium For Hip Hop 50 a few years ago. Did a tremendous set. And he has a great history with Jay Z, especially particularly with this Reasonable Doubt album that he's performing tonight, which he produced on and a R'd on and all that stuff. But anyways, I don't know who it would actually be now that Clark's not with us. I don't know who. But my thought is it'll be no one. Don, I. You know, Jay, where he's at in this stage of his career, He. Listen, he rightfully thinks rather highly of himself. And I think the idea of even bringing out anyone is kind of like, who's worthy. That's how it feels, right, Jake? Like, no, it's gonna be a black stage, and when the light goes on, it's on him, and that's it. And he performs till it's over, and then the lights go out.
Jake
Yeah, I do agree with that, but I do. It might be even like, a Mary come out for, like, a guest appearance for, like, one of his songs.
Peter
No, I don't. I hate to do this to Jacob, because this is. He didn't intend to have a tough day, Don. He just showed up.
Jake
I already know where you going.
Peter
Mary has a residency in Las Vegas tonight. She will not be. So you are over two between. Between life and death.
Anthony
She's a lot, but she's a lot.
Peter
No, he's going the right direction. He went to someone who was definitively still with us. But however, she's physically right. So can he get to someone living in the Tri State? That would be the next step for Jacob.
Peter Rosenberg
Jacob doesn't want to hear about things like death and residency.
Caller Andrew
Yeah.
Peter
He doesn't care about location, whether on this planet. Funk, I know, will not be fun. Master Flex. Sorry, K. I call him Funk. Well, that's fine, but he's still not gonna be. You know, Natalie and I have Jay.
Caller Cody
Juanito.
Caller Mike
No.
Peter
Well, Juanito I'm sure will be there, but it will not be on it. Oh, that'll be great for him. But guess what?
Don
He'll.
Peter
He'll be there, I'm sure, but not there.
Peter Rosenberg
I'm sure I'll be corrected on social media about this. But, like, I know growing up, sure. Like, Shay had big acts. Like, Shea was very well known around the world.
Peter
The Beatles to you.
Peter Rosenberg
Because the Beatles played there. These. The Police played at Shea Stadium.
Don
Not so much Yankee Stadium.
Peter Rosenberg
But. But recently I feel like the new Yankee Stadium has had more concerts in Citi Field.
Don
I saw Jay Z. My first time at the new Yankee Stadium was to see Paul McCartney.
Peter Rosenberg
They had that. The big metal show there with Metallica, Slayer and Anthony.
Peter
Can you believe I went and you didn't?
Peter Rosenberg
That's crazy.
Don
But you know what I'm saying. I'm sure there's been acts at City
Peter Rosenberg
Field, but it seems like way more
Don
at the new Yankee Stadium.
Peter
That's a really great call. Like, City does not seem to be taking on the Shay tradition, which is. It's odd when you think about it. You would think. You would think that city would be like, a little less, like, holier than thou and have lots of concerts. And really Yankee Stadium, they did the Jay Z, Eminem. They did, as you said, the big four metal one, Bad Bunny. Billy Joel has played Yankee Stadium. Has Billy Joel played City, too?
Anthony
I believe he has.
Peter
I think Billy Joel and Elton John play City.
Anthony
Ringo and his banner at Forest Hills this fall. Don.
Peter
You know how Don feels about Ringo.
Peter Rosenberg
Ringo's. Listen, say what you want, Ringo the other day turned 86.
Caller L
Wow.
Peter
If he's a day.
Peter Rosenberg
I mean, come on, man.
Anthony
Can he DJ tonight?
Peter Rosenberg
I'm taking 86. He's touring at 86?
Peter
That's right.
Peter Rosenberg
You just take.
Peter
You just want to be on this planet.
Peter Rosenberg
Michael would not take 86.
Peter
No, I think.
Peter Rosenberg
I think he would be offended you even asked him.
Peter
Yeah, 86. He'd be sickened by that. How old is Michael right now?
Peter Rosenberg
65.
Peter
65. 21 years.
Caller Mike
Yeah.
Peter
That's a lifetime. It's not bad, but he's not taking it. I'm trying to see what happened on at Paul Simon the last couple nights. I guess. I guess Art Garfunkel didn't come out. I guess we would know.
Don
We would have.
Peter Rosenberg
We would have heard that.
Peter
Edie Brickell came out. I saw her.
Peter Rosenberg
They're still married, right?
Anthony
That's.
Peter
Sure they are. I have to tell you, by the way, was there.
Peter Rosenberg
Sure.
Peter
If you've not spent any time with it, and I'm guessing you haven't. Don, Paul's last album that he's been touring with on this whole tour, Seven Psalms is really good.
Peter Rosenberg
Okay. I should listen.
Peter
You know, you really should. I read recently from Someplace Serious. I don't remember where they were saying it's the best album, the best recent album made by any artist of that. Of that generation. Like, any. Any, like, attempts by the old guys to do something. This is the best One like, it's.
Ad Voice
This is.
Peter
And he's been touring it now for two years. Like, he, he clearly sees it as a real. One of his bodies of work.
Don
It's.
Peter
It's definitely worth listening to. Let's talk to some people before we get to Fraud Alert Friday coming up. 4:30.
Caller James
Yes.
Peter
So many people to talk about. Let's go to Mike in Hawthorne. Hey, Mike.
Peter Rosenberg
Hey, Mike.
Caller Mike
Hey, guys. How are you? Hey, Don.
Peter Rosenberg
Good.
Caller Mike
Just when you're on hold, so many things bounce around. Peter. That, that thing with. I remember that 30 years with Hulk Hogan, that was a, that was a whole different world back then, man. That was. That was crazy. That was absolutely, you know, what kind of show when that went on. But so about the soccer stuff, a little bit about that woman that from, from Florida who called. I've been involved in sports my whole life. Don knows that. And I started getting involved in soccer just because, you know, my daughter was getting a little bit older. And I was at a, I was at a clinic one time, and this guy was talking about stalker, an older gentleman, and the stuff that he was saying to kids and things like that. And I said, holy crap, I got to become a soccer coach. These guys were out of their mind. But what my friend and I did to save the team, save our town, our team money, is we went to a clinic and learned the game from guys, guys from South America. And from. They had a clinic down in Union, New Jersey. And I went there every Saturday for two months and learned the game. And if we would make coaches, we became better coaches and we became better soccer guys because we learned the game from the inside out. If they wanted, in my opinion, if they want America, America's soccer to get even better and better, they need to get the coaches to be better and better because you don't all of a sudden become, you know, Ronaldo. You became Ronaldo when he's six years old, and you got to coach him the right way, and you got to do it the right way. And it's hard because soccer is unbelievable sport. And it's really hard sport. It's a really difficult sport. And if you're playing three, two or three or four sports, you're not going to be that good at it. And also, to Don's point, before I remember going, when Pele and Canalia and all those guys played and Canal, you used to go to the two Lord Gyms and Hawthorne. It was crazy. And soccer was so big. And my, one of my best friends was like, this is going to take off he was from Germany. He was a soccer guy. And I just. To your point, Peter, this might be what it is. This is as good as it gets.
Peter
Because, Mike, I'm sorry. No, no, no. Because it did take off, right? Like it became in across the world the biggest thing. It's number one. It's the biggest sport in the world. It did like and it's even bigger now than it was when your friend and thank you for the call Mike was telling you about it. It got even bigger across Europe and South America and everywhere else in and here than it was 40 years ago. But what we are here unless we, you know, unless you're going to make huge fundamental changes. And again, I'm not talking about viewership because I think the viewership of soccer here is fine. I'm talking about the team just getting better. That's, that's the. To me, I'm fine with where it's at popularity wise. It's very popular.
Ad Voice
You're right.
Peter
You said it perfectly. It's never catching football. It's never catching basketball. It's not catching base. Well, baseball is the only one that. Because it goes the wrong direction. You don't know. But it's not catching the top couple sports here. My question just is, can they get better and what are they doing at the youth levels to get better so we can just compete when we do get to the World Cup?
Peter Rosenberg
Yeah, we, we've tried with MLS and it. And I guess it's worked to a certain extent. I remember, I'm old enough to remember the indoor soccer league. I don't remember know if you remember that, Peter. That was a big deal for a little while and then it kind of fizzled out. And then when the women won the World cup, they had the wusa. Like we've tried to get it.
Peter
Actually. We just found out we're getting what. We're getting a team here. There's gonna be a women's soccer team playing in queens starting in 2028.
Peter Rosenberg
Right. When they, when they get that next to Citi Field.
Caller James
Right.
Don
Is that, is that where the Gotham
Peter Rosenberg
are going to play?
Peter
Yeah, they're going to share. They're going to share the stadium. That could be a big moment. New York, actually.
Peter Rosenberg
It is what it is, but what
Don
it is isn't bad.
Peter Rosenberg
And I don't know what else you want to do, Don.
Peter
What it is, what it is is something that has, you know, YouTube and Netflix and Disney supposedly getting into a multi billion dollar bidding war for the next one. This for all of the Talk about, when will soccer be more, Don? When was the last time, like, what other sporting event takes over this much time where you're hearing people talk about it every day, you're seeing bars every day, Don. I don't know what the numbers will meet out in terms of viewing on television, based on how many games they play, etc. Culturally. Correct me if I'm wrong, guys, this doesn't feel much bigger than the NCAA tournament.
Caller Mike
Of course.
Peter
This feels so much bigger. So let's not act as if it's not huge.
Anthony
This is huge.
Peter
It's stopping everything.
Peter Rosenberg
Well, listen, it's huge and it doesn't need the USA to be huge, right? And that kind of insults us, right?
Don
Like, it feels like a slap in the face. Like, wait a minute, you don't need us at all.
Peter Rosenberg
But, you know, and it's. Then when this is over and they crown their champion in MetLife Stadium, everything will settle down and it'll be what it is, and then it'll become a bigger deal again in four years. That's just. That's how it is. And then when we try to make it American, when we try to get involved in it, it just hasn't stuck.
Don
But we still like the sport, but
Peter Rosenberg
it's the one sport we really like that we're just not very good at.
Caller Andrew
The.
Peter
There's. There is an ironic part of this.
Chevy Commercial Voice
Sorry.
Peter
There is an ironic. There's an ironic part to this whole conversation, of course, you know, and I think it kind of plays perfectly into where me and Don are landing here, which is that for all the complaining people do, it's pretty damn big, guys. We can't keep a phone line open on this conversation. So, I mean, this is the thing that people really care about. Let's. Let's go to Andrew in Queens. What's up, Andrew?
Caller Andrew
What's up, fellas? How we doing?
Don
Good, buddy.
Caller Andrew
Gotta tell you, I love the Peter Don vehicle. Nothing against Alan, but it's such a good show, especially on a Friday before my World cup point. I was at Paul Simon on a couple nights ago on Wednesday night. And I gotta tell you, for an 84 year old, again, obviously the voice is frail, but the man played, you know, roughly two hours. And, you know, I gotta tell you, Peter, I wasn't a fan of the studio version of the Psalm 7 Psalms, his new album, but. But I gotta say, in person, very impressive. Like, very started.
Peter
He started the show with it.
Caller Andrew
He did, he did. He played the album completely through like a, you know, like a. Like a Movement piece where it's just. He was like, like, you know, there's no stopping. Just played all the way through, didn't intermission. And then, you know, we did a bunch of solo stuff, a couple deep cuts, a bunch of Simon and Garfunkel took a break, did an encore, and then he did another solo encore where he did America for the first time in like three or four years, which was incredible to hear live.
Peter
So that I. I will. It's the first full version since 2021, and I will tell you that's. That's the only one that's hitting me a little bit in the. In the plums at this moment. Yeah, because I. I've gotten very into America in the last year. I don't know why Don. America. I've always liked it, but it's become one of my absolute favorites in the last year. So that's really.
Don
Well, what.
Peter Rosenberg
Really, that's what change.
Peter
It just ended up on a playlist and I ended up playing it a lot for Maya and I just love it. I pay attention to it in a different way and hear it differently. I'm sorry. Keep going, man.
Caller Andrew
No, no, you're good. It was beautiful to hear it live. And like, it was my girlfriend's first time seeing him and she's a big almost famous fan, so that was off the soundtrack. So the fact that they played that, it was incredible. And then hearing him play the boxer too, I would suggest. I know there's not a lot of videos. They were saying, don't take videos during the show, whatnot. But if you can find a video of current Paul Simon singing the boxer where the final line is, you know, the fighter still remains hearing an 84 year old sing that. Ye battle scarred and everything. It's very, very moving. So highly recommend anyway to my World cup point. Look, I think personally, FIFA lucked out with the US Getting knocked out on two reasons. And it was for FIFA and It was for Baligun 1. I think FIFA needed there to be some sort of a, you know, undisputed. No doubt that the United States lost and it wasn't because of, you know, the red carpet. Oh, no, suspended, whatever.
Don
They.
Caller Andrew
They had the US Lose big to Belgium. There was no controversy. And so it's kind of like, all right, well, the US Is out now. We don't have to worry about it anymore. No one's got to really talk about it in the us so there was that. And then my cousin, who is a big soccer fan as well too, he told me he's like, well, I feel bad for Balaguna. I said, no, listen, this is the best thing that could have happened for him because if the US had won, they would have kept playing. The controversy that actually the Belgian coach spoke about in pre match when he said if the. He goes, I feel bad for, for the US because if they win, everyone's always going to say, yeah, well if they didn't have the red or if they had the red card, who knows what would have happened and everything. So Baligan, the best thing that happened to him is that now the tournament's over and yeah, it sucks that he's out, but he was a non factor in that match and now he can kind of just resume his career and you know, people, it'll be a footnote.
Don Hahn
I agree.
Caller Andrew
Oh yeah, see, you know, he, he got the rules bended for him and he changed the game and led the U.S. to a win and Belgium got screwed, whatever. So in that sense, I think FIFA lucked out with the US winning. It sucks for. Don't get me wrong. But you know.
Peter
No, it's a really good point, Andrew. Thank you for the call. It's a really good point. Listen, I think still people would have traded it and rather had the US play another game, of course. But personally for Baligan, is there some upside that you can just move on? Yeah, he obviously seemed very affected by Dynamo. If you saw he went and apologized to the coaches of Belgium who kind of like were giving a hug and like, hey dude, when no one blames you that they reinstated you.
Peter Rosenberg
I didn't like the involvement with the President just because it was it set up for the whole thing to be tainted if they made a, if they made a run and maybe a lot of people don't care about that.
Peter
Don's dead.
Peter Rosenberg
It was undeserved.
Peter
He's back.
Peter Rosenberg
It would have been undeserving, right?
Peter
Well, no, there are people who would have thought that for sure it would have existed as a thing.
Don
And I know we're not supposed to
Peter Rosenberg
care what people think, but I think the world would have looked at it as, oh, look, look at the pool they were in. They get a break from Trump, you know, and you wouldn't really be able to appreciate the run.
Peter
By the way, did Trump ever like say anything after the game? He was so chatty the day of the game, people congratulating him. Did he ever say anything about after then turned out to be the biggest.
Peter Rosenberg
I'm sure he had to be asked about it. Whether he answered. I'm sure he did. I just didn't hear it.
Peter
Let's go to Pat in Maine.
Don
What's up, Pat?
Caller Pat
Hey, guys. How you doing?
Ad Voice
Good. Ap.
Caller Pat
Sorry, forgive the ignorance of the question if I have a second wrestling, Right, Sure. Is it like. Is it like your weight? Is it like you're waiting for, like, a new episode like, every time you watch stuff? I just, I just never. And it's probably a terrible question. I'm just curious. I just never really figured it out.
Peter
You mean, like. You mean, like, what's the mentality in terms of, like, watching it week to week? Yeah, yeah, I think I. Even though this is very cliched, I do think from a episodic standpoint, soap opera is the best comp because it never ends, you know?
Caller Pat
Yeah, I was thinking that. I was thinking that I didn't want to come on here and say soap opera and be insulting.
Caller Andrew
No, it does.
Peter
It does feel like insulting. But what else could you compare it to when it goes on forever? And so, like, there are literally connections. You know, Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns are two of the biggest guys in the industry. Both of them have connections that go back 50 some years. So, like, I think it's the best comp.
Caller Pat
Well, interesting.
Caller Andrew
Okay, cool.
Caller Pat
And if you don't mind, I got a soccer point. And Don, you were saying about, you know, couple people have gone about the coaching and just these volunteers. And like, my kid, his A1 sport is soccer. He loves soccer. And you really just see these. It's literally all volunteer coaches. So when our team gets out there and, you know, takes a dump on the field, you can just see that the talent, you know, difference may start, like when you're 6, 7, 8, where it's just like Joe Blow's dad, you know, babysitting his son and doing the soccer thing. Like, it's wild. And I think be some of the best coaches around here teaching my kid. And to be honest with you, they're European. Like, they're coming over here. You know what I mean? So it's very interesting that I think we're losing soccer, like, before we even. These kids even get started, to be honest.
Peter
That's a really interesting point, Pat. Thank you, man.
Don
It's so, you know, it's weird, Peter.
Peter Rosenberg
Baseball is so ingrained in most American psyche.
Don
They. A lot of them played it, know
Peter Rosenberg
the game because it's.
Don
It's our.
Peter Rosenberg
It's our sport, right? And it's been around forever. Every high school has it. Like, understanding baseball is not a big deal.
Don
So when I was coaching Marco.
Peter Rosenberg
It came instinctual for me.
Don
I went back to when my dad
Peter Rosenberg
taught me the game and all the
Don
way that I played it, it wasn't anything I had to study. But I was running into other people
Peter Rosenberg
that weren't from this country or didn't
Don
grow up with baseball. And you're almost floored by somebody that doesn't know it. But then again, why would they, if they didn't grow up in this country? Why would they. Why would they understand the vernacular? Why would they understand the game if
Peter Rosenberg
they didn't grow up with it?
Don
They might have grown up with soccer. That's me with soccer.
Peter
Right.
Don
You know, so if I'm out there with Marco, I can maybe show him a few things that I know. But what really do I know? I didn't grow up with it. It's not in my DNA the way baseball is, the way football is.
Peter
I mean, like, truthfully, you can show him exactly how to throw a baseball. Can you show him how to properly kick a soccer ball?
Don
No, I can't. And if I can't get Marco to throw the ball, right, in a couple of years, he's going to quit because he's not going to be able to throw it properly. He's not going to have any fun, he's not going to be any good at, and he's going to quit. So why wouldn't the same thing happen in soccer if you don't have the right people teaching him? Yeah, when they're five or six, they're running around, they're kicking the ball, everybody feels like they participate. Right. So there's no strikeout, there's no tackled. So everybody gets to have fun and they get sweaty and they actually did something. But then once they start to grow and if they don't know the fundamentals, they're just not going to.
Peter Rosenberg
They're not going to be interested in it.
Don
Because how could you possibly be good if you don't know how to do it? And if you don't have the right people teaching you how to do it? In baseball, it's easy because everybody's got it in their DNA. But soccer is not that way. So unless you're somebody that played the sport, grew up with the sport, and how many people in the United States can say that they grew up with soccer the way they grew up with baseball and football or basketball?
Peter
James in Baltimore, what do you got?
Caller James
Hey. So I'm kind of agreeing with your point in a lot of ways. And I think, honestly, the number one issue with soccer is you Know, obviously, access and the money. But the reason that so many countries specifically look at France, they're probably the best team in the world. They're the favorite to win it. The reason they are so good at soccer is because they start playing in the cities when they're like five. Right. You have a ball. Soccer should be the easiest sport to play. You don't need anything except a ball and some space that you can kick around with your friends. But in the US we have such this barrier where all of these rich kids play it because they have the money to do so. And kind of the poorer kids can't, because we have such this barrier, not even with coaches, but just in general. So really, I think what people keep saying is, oh, this World Cup's the start. It's really just because, you know, we want people to start playing the sport. And if you see someone kicking around the ball on, like, you know, fif or Neil Fif, you know, that's a step forward for this country, just getting people to play. And then, of course, we need better coaches, we need better access. But the quote, unquote, getting started is about, you know, getting kids to start playing the game and then you can take the next step, coaching and whatnot.
Peter
Yeah. Which to me, and thank you for the call, James. No, I hear what you're saying to me. It comes back to that thing we heard, Kevin Frazier, and by the way, Kevin Frazier's Entertainment Tonight, I disrespected our very own network, and it's terrible. And he used to be on espn. Kevin Frazier's point is that, yeah, it should be really easy, but that most of these other sports, when it comes to the youth programs, football, basketball, and even baseball's made a real effort in the past several years. They're going into communities and trying to seek out kids who could be great athletes. And the point he was making is he doesn't think soccer is doing that. That's why he called it gatekeeping. Like they don't want to do it. Like they'd rather have the best kid be this rich kid who's not as good as the actual best kid who's now going to go play basketball instead. They're not interested in that kid. That's what he's suggesting. And it's an interesting. Obviously, Don and I, neither of us are close enough to it to know, but it was certainly interesting as, you
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Caller L
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Don Hahn
Thanks for listening to the Don Han and Rosenberg podcast.
Peter
I didn't listen to anything you just said.
Don Hahn
Catch the show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts. Did you or someone you know participate in fraudulent fan behavior?
Don
I'm a fraud with a capital F.
Don Hahn
Is your friend a fraud?
Peter
I have been a complete and utter fraud.
Don Hahn
Are fraud.
Anthony
What is fraud?
Don Hahn
Let's ask Dom McGregor.
Ad Voice
Screw.
Peter
Go scratch yourself.
Don Hahn
Brought to you by Dagostino Law.
Peter
God bless. Got some Yankees to get into some football as well. 8. What's the number?
Peter Rosenberg
1-800-919-3776 To Don, just reply to a drop of mine.
Peter
Thinking it was live.
Peter Rosenberg
Yes.
Anthony
I thought it was live.
Peter
Okay, no, that happened earlier. All right, everyone. And look, Don had something earlier too.
Peter Rosenberg
One call, one company. Total peace of mind. Visit vikingpest.com protecting your home inside and out.
Peter
By the way, if we don't run that on a commercial, we're failing as a radio station. We're failing as a radio station.
Peter Rosenberg
And nobody wants to do that.
Peter
No.
Peter Rosenberg
Especially a radio station.
Peter
Listen, I know, I know. Marco may be the athlete. I think we just found out who the broadcaster is. Yes, I mean, listen, that's good. He sounds like Chris Farley on the air. You know what I mean? Which is not nothing but. Which is not nothing but but listen to this one.
Peter Rosenberg
Call one company. Total peace of mind. Visit vikingpest.com protecting your home inside and out.
Peter
I mean, give her a mark.
Anthony
I'll be no Mark will be a broadcaster. After 15 years in MLB, he'll get a seat right next to David Ortiz on Fox. And then you played baseball. Now you get, now you get broadcast.
Peter
Now you go but they'll, but he'll, they'll go. He'll pale compared to his sisters at that point. Hall of Fame broadcast career. All right, let's talk to the people, shall we? Dhrespn@gmail.com if you want to get us your Fraud Friday questions. Yes, let's see. Cody writes us Honorable Judge the Greck I was born and raised a New York Rangers fan, lived and died with the team as long as I can remember, which is roughly 1997. When the Golden Knights entered the league in 2017, my friends and I marveled at the way they managed their expansion draft, talked ourselves into their chances to be a contender, and placed a $2,000 bet. No way. At 500 to 1 odds for a million dollar payout. As we all know, they went on that magical run to the finals where they lost to OVI and the Caps and it was difficult to not find myself rooting for them considering the financial implications. My friend and I ended up hedging our bets roughly 1/3 of the bet before the conference final and 1/3 of the bet before the Stanley cup finals and walked away with roughly $100,000 each.
Caller James
Wow.
Peter
This life crazy. This life changing sum of money helped me to enroll in grad school to obtain my master's degree and eventually land my dream job. Naturally, it has been very difficult for me to root against the Vegas Golden Knights ever since. I know in my heart of hearts I would never root for the Knights to beat the Rangers if they met in the Stanley cup final. As much as I would never call them my favorite team, but considering I have essentially rooted for them since their inception, would I be a fraud to call the Knights my second favorite or Western Conference team? Thank you for your time. Cody in Connecticut.
Caller Cody
Ready?
Peter
Peter I'm ready.
Don
No fraud. Matter of fact, you'd be a not to make him your second favorite team.
Peter Rosenberg
100 grand and you're able to help your schooling grad school get your dream job.
Don
How would you not have a soft
Peter Rosenberg
spot in your heart for the Golden Knights?
Don
They're not a rival.
Peter Rosenberg
They're not in the same conference. He admitted that he would still root for the Rangers against the Gold Golden Knights.
Don
But how do you not have a
Peter Rosenberg
special place in your heart for a team that did that for you?
Don
No fraud.
Peter
By the way, though the fraud or no fraud is so the side note to this story, that's an incredible story. The fact that like, listen, we all fancy ourselves to some degree. I know some people find this hard to believe. We all fancy ourselves, people who know something about sports and have a good inkling or inclination when it comes to it, what's going to happen. Don, those are some very knowledgeable fans and I'm aware of how well they did in the expansion draft. But still, the odds were what they were for a reason. And not only did they say, hey, that's a thought, let's each put up a thousand bucks, which is not nothing, which is not nothing for a college kid, but also is an amount that maybe if you worked summers, maybe you have $10,000 and you. I could. You know what, I'm going to throw a thousand at it. And it's a big number. They took a huge swing and I would. Now I would like a follow up email. I want to know exactly how they hedged the bets to still end up with 100 grand.
Anthony
Well, they mentioned it. They hedged it the other way on the conference final and the final. Oh, you mean how much money they put up.
Peter
But think about it. Because that was still a risk too. And no, no. And what do you mean though? They bet it before, so they bet them again.
Anthony
Read that note can go back to when they said they hedged because the hedge means that they bet the other way. That means they bet against Vegas in the Western Conference final. Probably lost that one.
Peter
So he said, he said.
Anthony
And then bet against them and then bet the caps to win.
Peter
He said, my friend and I ended up hedging, right? Roughly a third of the bet before the conference finals.
Anthony
So the hedge on that's a third of the bet.
Peter
$300,000. How would you do.
Anthony
No, no, no. A third of their bet is only $333 on them to lose.
Peter
But that wouldn't pay that much.
Anthony
Well, no, what you could have done then if he's hedging, this is the part where you have to know what he's talking about or like what he's doing. If you bet 333 on them just to make the cup final, you probably made a little money there.
Peter
But no, he said they ended up making a hundred thousand each.
Anthony
Dude, no, I know, but there's more,
Peter
there's more to this than we understand. The numbers aren't.
Anthony
The math won't matter on that.
Peter
The math won't.
Jake
Math.
Peter
Well, whatever.
Anthony
Hedging. You lost a couple of them.
Peter
I just. I just want to follow up from it.
Peter Rosenberg
They would have won more than a hundred thousand. They ended up settling on a hundred thousand dollars, which he was able to put into money for grad school to land his dream job. It's an amazing story.
Peter
I. I just want to hear what he did. That's a phenomenal.
Don
But even that you could almost understand.
Peter Rosenberg
Even though he would be a fraud to say, you know what? Forget the Rangers. I'm a Golden Ice fan.
Ad Voice
Yeah.
Peter
I'd have a tough time being mad at him.
Caller James
Right.
Peter Rosenberg
And I would call him a fraud, but I still congratulate him on what he did.
Caller Andrew
Right.
Peter Rosenberg
Didn't go that far. Just like, that'll be my second favorite team. I'm like, hell, yeah, they're your second favorite team. Why wouldn't they be?
Peter
Wow.
Peter Rosenberg
No fraud.
Peter
76th minute. Belgium and Spain now getting Anthony's hopes up again.
Peter Rosenberg
Right. Because. Because if they end up going to. Even if they score in overtime, he still wins, right?
Anthony
No, it has to be in penalties.
Peter
Yeah. In penalties and penalties.
Peter Rosenberg
All right, so it's not the 90 minutes of the over under.
Jake
It's.
Peter Rosenberg
It's the actual gameplay. If they go to kicks.
Peter
He's good.
Peter Rosenberg
He's good.
Caller Pat
That.
Peter
That would be hockey. No, in hockey, they add it to the score.
Anthony
Yes.
Peter Rosenberg
Yes.
Anthony
Actually, an actual goal shows up on the.
Peter Rosenberg
Because officially, the final score in an NHL game would be, you know, the Rangers beat The Blue Jackets 21 in the shootout in. In. Correct me if I'm wrong, in soccer, it'll be the final score was 1:1. Spain wins in penalty kicks. Like, the final score won't be 2 1.
Anthony
No, it'll be 1 1. Somebody wins in penalty kicks.
Caller Pat
Correct.
Anthony
I have a long way to go, but I can.
Peter
Let me. I want to say something too.
Anthony
Please do.
Peter
And I'm sorry. I'll get back to my next fraud email. I always spend a lot of time, like, hating PKs in soccer, like, on principle, like, feeling like, oh, it's impossible to stop it. I gotta tell you, I'm not saying it's the greatest way to end something, though. You have to stop this game. I mean, they're running for 12 miles. You only have four substitutions. It's limited ways to do it. I don't know, Don. I found the PKS to be pretty thrilling. Like, because it's hard, because, you know, it's so unlikely. The fact that essentially it's won by the goal. Just being able to stop, like two. I think it makes it a really fascinating finish.
Don
I would.
Peter Rosenberg
I wish that it was a little bit more challenging to score. Meaning giving. Giving the. Giving the goalie some hope. Because even when they stop it, it's almost a fluke.
Don
Right.
Peter Rosenberg
You just hopefully dive in the right direction to make the save. I wish they made it a little harder.
Peter
Yeah, maybe one notch more. I see what you're saying, but it is pretty fun. I see what you're saying because you are guessing for the most part, but some of them are better. Better at it than others. All right, here we go. Good morning. When I was a kid, or afternoon when I was a kid, I grew up loving the Michigan Wolverines. I don't remember how it started, but they were always my team, and I even applied and got accepted to their school. Pretty smart. Sadly, money got in the way, so I wound up going to Virginia Tech instead. While I was at Virginia Tech for a few years after, of course, I was all rah, rah for. For the Hokies. But my experiences at Virginia Tech were horrible. I count those four years among the most miserable of my life and consider the choice to go to VT among the worst decisions I've ever made. Oh, well, yeah, I would consider. If you go to a college for a full four years and hate it, that Don. That's high on the list. It's got to be. I hope it's very high in the list.
Peter Rosenberg
Yeah, it's terrible.
Peter
And as time has gone on, I've lost all rooting interest in Virginia Tech, returning to my Michigan roots. I never stopped cheering for Michigan. I simply had a second secondary interest in Virginia Tech while I attended there. And the immediate aftermath. Am I a fraud for cheering for Michigan?
Peter Rosenberg
Now, these are difficult to rule rule because of the whole college thing. Because I can. I can call him a fraud for being a Michigan fan, not going there.
Peter
Right.
Peter Rosenberg
But he became a fan before he was in even eligible for college. He tried to go in there financially, he couldn't go. So I'm going to say no.
Ad Voice
Fraud.
Peter Rosenberg
D', Agostino, not knowing what his experience was at Virginia Tech, it sounded like it was pretty painful. I can't kill him for not rooting for them. And if he grew up a Michigan fan, as wacky as that is, having not gone to the school, I can't in good conscience call him a fraud. So we're on a nice little run today.
Peter
So you're going?
Peter Rosenberg
No, Fraud of. No fraud. And also some incredible. We need follow up emails on these stories. Man.
Peter
Some of these stories are tough. Some of these stories are terrific, fascinating stuff.
Peter Rosenberg
Usually we just get the ramblings of a madman or woman. These are good.
Peter
Now this came in to the email and is different. It says drop Madness. A proposal denied.
Anthony
Different court move on.
Peter Rosenberg
Yeah.
Peter
It says drop Madness is amazing.
Peter Rosenberg
You got to go down the hole.
Peter
Drop. Drop Madness is amazing. It can't die.
Anthony
Okay.
Peter
I have a hunch that the reason your votes were so low this year is because. Because the drops were announced at the beginning of the show and the winners at the end. That only gives listeners who are able to get on social media in the three hour window the opportunity to participate.
Anthony
But that's always how we did it.
Peter
I am a podcast listener because I don't like to miss a minute of the show. I'm sure there are a ton of others like me. If you announced the matchups at the end of the show and allowed them to sit on socials overnight until the start of the next show, I'm confident you'd see enthusiastic participants. Anticipation. It's not. But, but Anthony, you're not wrong also, but things have changed in the last few years. Namely like the 98.7signal going away is a huge. Between that and yes.
Anthony
I say yes is a bigger problem than the signal.
Peter
I don't know, man. That 98. 7 was kind of big.
Anthony
They put up a graph. Yes, puts up, put up the graph.
Peter
That is true. But the combo like either way, listen,
Peter Rosenberg
I'm going to throw it out there. Maybe, maybe I'm wrong to do it.
Peter
Go ahead.
Peter Rosenberg
I personally, as a member of this show.
Jake
Yeah.
Peter Rosenberg
Am holding out hope that there'll be a change of heart from who?
Anthony
None of you wanted to do it either.
Peter
Well now, we didn't say that. We didn't say that. We were just unhappy.
Peter Rosenberg
We were unhappy. But now this time has passed, I'm thinking that I, I would not be surprised if I got a hankering for it.
Anthony
Jacob, hit fraud, please hit the button.
Peter Rosenberg
Hit the button.
Ad Voice
I'll tell you what.
Anthony
So now, now it's going to. So, so my plan of always like preparing ahead out the window in February. They can be like, you know what, Anthony, why don't you go back.
Peter
You're still pulling drops though.
Anthony
But I'm not, I'm not keeping track of what's what.
Ad Voice
I have a whole, I have a
Anthony
whole document of like what we would use, what we possibly could use. We're like four months behind now.
Peter Rosenberg
Well so my vote is only one of three or five if we count obviously Anthony and Jason.
Anthony
My vote doesn't count.
Peter Rosenberg
I may, I, I may have a change.
Anthony
No.
Peter
And I'm going to say something right now. This is on Anthony.
Jake
Me.
Peter
Yes. Please explain why because you know that we are all frauds and you actually running with it was wishful thinking because he doesn't want to do it again but he knew there was a very good chance we would turn around and be like so and so would drop madness.
Anthony
So on day two when there's 400 votes for the two seeds you guys are going to go I don't know why we did this.
Peter
400 votes. What kind of improvement was this?
Anthony
So we're going to double our vote total from last year.
Peter Rosenberg
I'm just saying. Oh I, I, I, I don't know why it always became a woman's prerogative. I think it's a human's prerogative to change their mind.
Peter
All people have have the right right now. Now also look at Jacob's face.
Anthony
He's not throwing let me stuff.
Peter
Maybe we gotta, maybe we gotta go.
Peter Rosenberg
We gotta freelance this. Maybe we gotta go outside.
Peter
Yeah, maybe we gotta go outside and find someone.
Anthony
Oh listen, I think racing listen that DNR said wait, drop madnesses up for grabs. I go ray, rj, all yours. Have fun with it. They go no, we don't want it now. So it's not just me.
Peter
I'll just say this. Maybe we'll luck out with the show and something will happen and the way people consume it will change don and it will make more sense.
Peter Rosenberg
You don't know. The bright thing to do is just let's, let's wait and see. Let's not jump to conclusions.
Peter
Yeah.
Peter Rosenberg
All I'm saying is time is on our side.
Peter
Just throw them in a folder that's
Peter Rosenberg
all marches from now.
Peter
I mean think about that. That's just that should dawn that job's gonna just die on the vine.
Don
What about this one?
Peter Rosenberg
Call one company total peace of mind. Visit vikingpest.com protecting your home inside and out.
Anthony
Don't cry cuz it's over. Smile because it happened.
Peter Rosenberg
There may be a fun there may be a function in the near future where you're gonna have to look Jalen and Maya in the eye and say you're the one. Their drops are going to die.
Anthony
And you know. And you don't think I'll do it.
Peter
No. We know you right. So what about this?
Anthony
That's it. It's A beautiful drop that we can play between the hours of 3 and 7, because then here's the next thing. Well, we don't like Twitter. Okay, you don't like Twitter to do it as a poll? Well, somebody should make a website for it. Well, we're not going to do that unless we have some type of support from the company. All right, well, we don't have support from the company. Anthony, I guess you're going to have to do it on Twitter again. But Twitter stinks. Nobody uses Twitter. All right, well, how would you like to make poll? I don't know. Nobody's ever done it any other way. All right, well, 200 votes in. The 16 seed has lost to Maya.
Peter
Hold on, let me just do something.
Peter Rosenberg
Anthony out.
Caller Cody
This is.
Anthony
This is what march is going to be. I'm just letting you know. I'm letting you know. And I'm calling everybody out. Because you don't want to vote. That's right. Everybody listening. Oh, Twitter's too hard. I can't. I can't open Twitter.
Peter Rosenberg
I'm trying to figure out you're not wrong. Is this him upset about the lack of participation or he just doesn't want to do it?
Anthony
You know what? That is something that. That you guys talk about with John. My work ethic, how little I have of it. Oh, yeah, that is definitely something that always comes up.
Peter
Yeah.
Caller Mike
He doesn't work.
Peter Rosenberg
Yeah, in your little mind.
Peter
No, he's being sarcastic.
Anthony
Hear this, Peter.
Peter
Do you know what he says?
Anthony
Very upsetting.
Peter
What he's saying is, we know he knows we don't think that about him, but we may have to revisit because maybe there's just. Maybe. Guys, sometimes things just need more brainstorming and maybe there's a better way to do this. Now. Last thing on the way out here that just came in, Matthew Wright says, I'm not a Knicks fan, nor have I ever professed to be one, but I've lived in the Tri State area my whole life. So my son and I got caught up in the run and we loved it. If only the Yanks and Giants can follow suit. Fast forward to the parade and Tyler Kolek's 1993 NBA champion T shirt. It was amazing. So much so that I felt compelled to buy one. And yes, it's being sold all over the Internet. Am I a fraud if I wear the T shirt in public? Even if it's just for the joke and not to make people think I'm a fan? Thanks, Matt from Hoboken.
Peter Rosenberg
But does he have an allegiance.
Peter
No. All he said was he never professed to be one. He didn't mention another fan. You're from the Tri State.
Peter Rosenberg
I need to know that. Because he's a Nets fan, he's a fraud. If he's just not really a basketball fan. No fraud. I need more information.
Don
I can't rule.
Peter
Wow, has this ever happened?
Peter Rosenberg
Well, since he just emailed, he's still listening.
Peter
Yeah, right.
Peter Rosenberg
Give us Are you a fan of a team? I need more information.
Peter
All right, here's what I Cody also wrote back about explaining what happened on the hedging the bets. I'll tell you what he explained on the other side.
Peter Rosenberg
I like it.
Peter
We'll take a break. That'll do it for fraud Alert Friday. Brought to you, of course, by our friends at D' Agostino Law. 35 years getting accident victims and Social Security disability clients every dollar they deserve. Offices are New York and New Jersey. 1-800-BITE BACK. 1-800-248-3222, Daggetino Law. Bite Back.
R
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Ad Voice
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Caller Cody
This summer, serve up the cookout classics. Heinz ketchup and Kraft Singles. Every good burger needs a layer of perfectly melty cheese and thick, rich ketchup. We all know it's not a cookout without Heinz and Kraft.
Don Hahn
Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.
Peter
I didn't listen to anything you just said.
Don Hahn
Catch the show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts.
Peter
My brother and I were having a conversation. Jay Z is one of those guys who is in that category of Absolute, like all time, greatest level. And also kind of overrated simultaneously. Like he has. There's that Beatles. There's that Beatles thing of, like, you're literally incredible, but the celebration is so high that, like, it's hard for anyone to match it.
Don
Yeah.
Jake
I can't disagree with that. Also too, like, if you go back and, like, think about those hottest summers or hottest years, he probably didn't have the best song of that year. Like, what was it, 01 hot in here. It was Nelly's year. Then you had 0203 was like 50 cent and G unit.
Caller Andrew
Yeah.
Peter
No, he didn't have a lot of those years. That's one of the. I mean, listen. And again, you're getting into a competitive kind of objective breakdown of something that's very subjective. But Jay has an incredible body of work.
Jake
Absolutely.
Peter
But there are less celebrated artists whose body of work may be better. It exists. There are people out there we could talk through. And I go, wow, man. If you add up these albums and some of them, I think would make people go, what? You're crazy. But I'm telling you, if you were to really go through and do the work, there are some people, like Ghostface and Common who have like, album, like multiple. Multiple albums. Kanye, who's not nearly the rapper, Jay Z is, of course. But the first five albums are just absolute hangers.
Jake
Yeah.
Peter
So, you know. But the winners write history and Jay Z is the ultimate winner, and the history is he's the one.
Peter Rosenberg
You do get to us to an area like it where you're so good and so respected that if you do have an album or a song that's just not quite up to snuff, will people go after you? Or they just give you the benefit of the doubt and still say it's great, even though they really don't think it is. Because like the Beatles you gave as an example. Is there something that maybe if it was anybody else, you might say, ah, this isn't. This isn't as good as they're making
Don
it out to be.
Peter Rosenberg
But because the Beatles, it's automatically great because the reputation is just so pristine that nobody would ever go after them for something that might be a little subpar.
Caller Pat
Yeah.
Peter
I mean, if I want to hold your hand as by someone else. Do we think this is the greatest achievement in music? It's a great question, but I have many questions, though, some that need to be answered by Anthony Pusick.
Anthony
This has been a horrible 15 minutes. Bets dead.
Peter
Sorry. Spain has taken the lead. Two one, we're into extra time.
Anthony
Drop madness on a whim is back.
Peter
A lot's happening for this in New York.
Anthony
You need to hear this. This summ. All lines, they deserve better. Actually, you know what? Champs deserves better than me being annoyed. So I will, I will, I will up it for them. New York, you need to hear this. This summer, all lines lead to Champs Sports Fan Central Station. A soccer pop up shop owned right in the heart of the city, 125West 33rd Street. This is the soccer destination in New York. Jerseys for every national team you ride with. Usa, Mexico, Argentina, 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 is, is where you need to be. And for all you Knicks fans, they have championship gear to celebrate your team's first title in 53 years.
Peter Rosenberg
You're very good, especially under the adversity of everything falling apart at once.
Peter
You know, he's having a tough few moments here. And yet he rallied. Absolutely unacceptable goal given up by Belgium.
Anthony
Isn't that great?
Peter
I hate to, you know, you feel for the keeper because I know how hard these balls are coming in and they're taking all these twists and turns down that you can't even see on tv.
Peter Rosenberg
Basing that on experience.
Peter
Excuse me, but this shot comes in from distance from like 30 yards out and ends up in the. In the keeper's gut and he just couldn't hold it. And the rebound gets knocked in each.
Don Hahn
That.
Peter
It's. It is, it is one of those jobs, you know, it's like being a defensive back. They might, you might not get, they may not call your number all day long, but late in the game, if they go deep on you, you cannot let them get behind you. And you just have to hold on to that. Now they're three, two and a half minutes from going home as a result of it.
Peter Rosenberg
But just for our own benefit, our guy lost his bet.
Peter
And then even sadder Anthony Pusick takes a huge l. The phone lines are jammed. We are now done with fraud alert Friday, which means we have an hour till Ian ends. We have one hour left to talk to you, the people.
Don
But one of our.
Peter Rosenberg
One of our fraud alert Friday emailers had gotten back.
Peter
Oh, and I didn't even give you the answer.
Peter Rosenberg
Yeah.
Peter
All right, I'm gonna wait one more time. So we will find out how Cody managed to somehow still get $100,000 off of his bet on the Golden Knights. If you don't know what we're talking about, you don't care. But if you were listening to Fraud Alert Friday, you're completely glued.
Don Hahn
Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.
Peter
I don't want to know how the sausage is made, but I just want
Don Hahn
to know it's good. Hear more of Don Allen and Peter weekday afternoon starting at 3 on 880 ESPN, the ESPN New York app and your smart speakers.
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Date: July 10, 2026
Hosts: Don La Greca, Alan Hahn, Peter Rosenberg
Podcast: ESPN New York
This episode of Don, Hahn & Rosenberg dives into the cultural and sporting significance of soccer in the United States, especially amid a World Cup summer. The trio analyzes why soccer’s popularity in America remains complicated, compares it to other American sports, and discusses youth development issues. Interwoven with their signature banter, the hour also features the ever-popular "Fraud Alert Friday" segment, where listeners call and email to confess (or seek judgment on) their “fraudulent” sports fandom behavior.
Caller Mike from Hawthorne explains how youth soccer exposes a gap in American coaching; success hinges on grassroots understanding and technical teaching, reminiscent of South American and European models. (07:36–09:45)
Peter’s View: Popularity ≠ Success
Caller Andrew: Argues that the U.S. getting knocked out of the tournament helps FIFA sidestep controversy regarding eligibility and ref decisions; takes pressure off players like Balogun. (13:15–16:38)
Political Intersection:
Listener Calls Highlight Barriers:
Gatekeeping Discussion
Golden Knights Bet:
College Fandom:
NBA Gear Without Fandom?
On Subpar Songs and Icon Status:
On Penalty Kicks in Soccer:
Show Humor:
This episode captures the crossroads of New York sports culture, soccer’s peculiar spot in American life, and the entertaining complexities of sports fandom. The show is candid and self-aware, teasing out the humor in “fraudulent” fan behavior and the larger existential questions about how Americans relate to “the beautiful game.” The tone is fast-paced, playful, and loaded with inside jokes that keep the audience, and even the hosts, on their toes.
Note: