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- [00:01]
Don LaGreca
Ray Ban Meta glasses are powered by Meta AI so you can get real time answers.
- [00:06]
Peter Rosenberg
Hey Meta, how bougie is Jade Garden? It's a trendy spot.
- [00:10]
Don LaGreca
What's a color that pairs with this top? Consider dark earthy colors charcoal or black.
- [00:16]
Peter Rosenberg
What are some good first date topics?
- [00:17]
Don LaGreca
Consider discussing favorite travel destinations or your favorite books. Get suggestions, inspiration and answers from your glasses. Ray Ban Meta Glasses Iconic Style meets Meta AI this is the Don Hahn and Rosenberg Podcast. That sounds like heaven to me. Listen live weekday afternoon starting at 3 on 880 ESPN, the ESPN New York app and your smart speakers. Mets win. They win six three sweep the series against the Angels as Diaz came in for the four out save. So the Mets had to really go deep into the bullpen. Angels are not good, but you know what, you have to play the teams that are on your schedule and they took care of business. So the Mets win and trying to keep pace with the Philadelphia Phillies for the division. Mets actually gain the half game as they wait for the Phillies and Red Sox to play later on tonight. So right now the Mets are tied for first place, but the Phillies will take on the Red Sox. The Red Sox taking a bit of a step back as they have not played well in that series against Philadelphia and have lost the first two. So Yankee fans hoping that Philly can win. So the Red Sox stay six back of Toronto and three back of them and the Yankees will play later on tonight and they've got Freed on the mound so they've got their race going and if they can take two out of three, I think you're happy with that. So even though these teams have left a lot to be desired with the way that they've played, they still have put themselves in the positions they need to be in. Mets are tied for first place right now. The Yankees are, you know, three back of Toronto with a chance to be two back if they can win tonight. So for every bit complaining and there's been, I'm not going to deny it, there have been reasons to complain about both of these teams and right now I would say it's presently constituted. I would not be predicting either of these Tim teams to win the World Series.
- [02:12]
Peter Rosenberg
No.
- [02:13]
Don LaGreca
But you do have the deadline coming up next week. Things can be done there. Alvarez now up, didn't play today, second game, you know, day game after a night game, all that he had a couple of big hits in this series so you get him. Schlittler's been really good for the Yankees and his two starts and we'll see where it goes. So as much as we talk negative about these teams, they should be able to carry us through what might not be that great a football season and see these teams get into the playoffs and make some things happen. But things have to take place. But let's not lose overall perspective of where these two teams are both in position to see if they can't win their respective divisions. And. And that's a good thing.
- [02:51]
Peter Rosenberg
Which. How many summers when you get to this point coming out of the All Star break, middle of July, so you've got a month and a half left before Labor Day, before football really kicks in. How many summers have we been in this position where the Yankees and the Mets are not only both good, but, you know, upper echelon teams in their respective leagues? This is not something that happens that often. Even last year, last year at this time, the Yankees were in pole position in the AL East. The Mets still at this time, you know, they were, they were showing some spunk, right? They had, they had that horrible start and then they rebound. Then you're like, oh, you know what? It's not going to be a completely wasted season. And that was right around this time. It could go one of two ways and obviously we know which way it went. They went on that run. They got into September, they played really exciting games in September. They had that series in Atlanta and then tremendous in the playoffs against Milwaukee, against Philadelphia. But at this point last year, we weren't set up like we are. I mean, you know, we are potentially set up for a great next six weeks of baseball, maybe 10 weeks of baseball. Because like you said, what are we waiting for for football in this town? I mean, it's just boring. Is going to be what. What's good for football.
- [04:01]
Don LaGreca
There's excitement around football, yes, because of the fact A, it's football and B, what's it look like? What's an Aaron Glenn team look like? What is Justin Fields look like? I know the team's not winning a Super Bowl, I know they're not going to the playoffs, but there's still a little bit of excitement, a new regime. What is it going to look like? And I think there's excitement around the Giants because you have like literally three new quarterbacks, right? All three should get. At least two of the three will get a look. Wilson's been announced as a starter and we'll see if darts backing him up. There's, I guess, a chance we don't see Winston at all outside the preseason.
- [04:39]
Peter Rosenberg
I think that would be no offense.
- [04:41]
Don LaGreca
That would be great. But you know, you've changed the quarterback position, which Giant fans are really excited about, and you've got a coach and a general manager that are coaching and managing for their respective jobs. And the feeling is Shane did a good job in free agency and with the draft and we're going to get to see these guys. So even though there isn't the excitement of hey, can this team make the playoffs? Can this team, you know, win a Super bowl, there is the excitement of one regime trying to stick around and the other regime trying to impress everybody. So I think there'll be excitement for a little while, but if it goes sideways on the Giants, it's going to be a disaster and it looks like everybody's going to get let go and then we will ultimately see what the jets look like. I, I, I can't imagine they're going to be a three win team. The jets, the jets, right. But anything around five they'll be like, what do you expect that they've given you no indication that it's about this year, so they've lessened the expectations. So there's nothing. That's why Rogers isn't here. Because if Rogers is here, we'd be talking about maybe he can get him into the playoffs. Now it's just, hey, let's see what it looks like. And nobody's going to be calling for anybody's job or anything until much later in the season if it completely goes sideways. So there's that. But the baseball teams are going to be giving us playoffs together and maybe both of them going in as division winners. I argue with Alan because Alan says, you know, the Yankee standard, forget the standard. Ruth, Garrick, DiMaggio aren't coming out. It's the standard of, you went to the World Series last year, take the next step. The met standard is you, you came within two games of the World Series last year.
- [06:11]
Peter Rosenberg
Take the stat and added Juan Soto.
- [06:12]
Don LaGreca
And added one of the best players in baseball. So the expectations are not anything about legacy or history or what's supposed to happen. It's about what just happened. So any team that went to the World Series, the expectation is going to be to take the next step. And the same thing for a team that almost went to the World Series. Yankees and the Mets are in the same boat. They both couldn't beat the Dodgers in a big spot. Right. So that's how close they were to both, you know, playing each other for a championship or winning a championship. The Dodgers were in the way. So that's Not a bad place to be. But we saw from the Rangers last year, you can go from being on the cusp to taking huge steps back and then not being close anymore. So you can't take for granted where you are. You got to make the necessary moves to make sure that you get there and that you stay there. 1-800-919-3776. Jose's in Brooklyn. You're on ESPN New York. What's up, Jose?
- [07:08]
Caller
Good afternoon, Don. Pat, shout out to the company. And you said, you're right. Hello? Can you hear me?
- [07:15]
Don LaGreca
Yeah, sure.
- [07:17]
Caller
My fault. Yeah, I can hear you. I got you guys. So I just wanted to call in and chime in because, you know, what you guys said about the media is totally true. Like, the reason that, you know, you guys take calls from, you know, crazy fans, like, my want to, you know, hold up the accountability is because this is part of the career field that you guys chose. And, you know, you don't, you know, cry about it or complain about it or try to virtual signal, you know, or disparage fans. It just is what it is. And the situation that kind of, like, I try to, like, boom. I really do. And I know that he's a nice person. I know that he's genuine, and when he speaks. But this id. But this nonsense that had. That. That was yesterday. Because I look at the people that were asking him those questions, like, if it was Pat. Like, if it was Pat. If it was Pat or. Or Alan asking the questions, and I didn't think that they were leading questions. I thought that they were fair questions that were actually, you know, describing what was happening. And yet, for some, like, the old, like, I. I felt like it was just a very immature response. I understand that he could be, you know, very, you know, defensive. And, you know, that's why they loved him, and that's why Cashman loves him, and that's how most of Yankee fans loved him. But to me, it was just like, I'm sorry, I. I come from a time where, yeah, yeah, I used to watch Joe Girardi get so annoyed at the podium with so many questions and still keep a better cool than, what was that? Because it's like, yeah, we want Anthony Volpe to, like, be honest in his assessment. What it looks like is happening is Anthony Volpe knows he's playing bad. Looks like. Knows he's playing like cr. But yet, for some reason, instead of, you know, you know, telling him, hey, this is what we need you to improve upon, it seems like, you know, what? No don't worry. We're the best team in the majors, as judge says. Whether this. Where's that? And it just gets annoying.
- [09:17]
Don LaGreca
It's annoying. But. But I do think we need to direct that annoyance at the. At the Yankees overall than just an hour Aaron is doing, I believe, what he's told. I would not be surprised. I have no inside information, but I was around Michael enough when he would say things like this, that if Boone wasn't taken aside after that interview with John Boy, that maybe he was a little too adamant. Use the S word. I don't think the Yankees love that. They didn't love Girardi in the post game because he looked beaten. He looked like it was getting to him. You saw the physical toll it took on Joe Girardi being the manager of the Yankees. You saw him physically change. And they didn't want that because they want to set the narrative. Everything's okay, we're good, Everything's fine. And that's what he's. He's doing his job. And it aggravates fans when everything isn't fine, that the message still is that it's fine. But don't direct it at Aaron. He's doing his job. I think that's the way Hal and the Yankee brass want it to be.
- [10:22]
Peter Rosenberg
I didn't have a problem with what he said yesterday to John Boy either.
- [10:25]
Don LaGreca
No. But I wouldn't be surprised if the Yankees did.
- [10:27]
Peter Rosenberg
No, I hear you, but I don't know that Jose didn't like his response. I think you and I talked about it last hour.
- [10:33]
Don LaGreca
No, I love it.
- [10:34]
Peter Rosenberg
I think more Yankee.
- [10:35]
Don LaGreca
I liked it. You liked it.
- [10:36]
Peter Rosenberg
I think that's what Yankee fans want to see. And the other thing about it is, correct me if I'm wrong, but those guys on John Boy, they're like. They're Yankee fans. That's like part of their show.
- [10:43]
Don LaGreca
They do a great job, but they're fans. But they're actually so.
- [10:46]
Peter Rosenberg
They're actually both. There are the media.
- [10:48]
Don LaGreca
They've done a great job building that company up.
- [10:50]
Peter Rosenberg
They got the weekly spot with the Yankees manager. But they are actually coming at it from a place of fans. And I had absolutely no problem with any of their questioning. I didn't have a problem with his response. I would just like to see a little bit more of it. And the other thing I would push back on when he says Yankee fans want Anthony Volpe. To be honest. No. You know what Yankee fans want Anthony Volpe to do? They want him to complete a freaking throw from Shortstop to first. They don't care if he's honest, dishonest. They just want him to play well.
- [11:15]
Don LaGreca
That's it.
- [11:15]
Peter Rosenberg
If he plays well, they don't care what he says. They just want him to play well.
- [11:20]
Don LaGreca
These are all conversations that come from the team not living up to their expectations. Now, Yankee fans do skew negative. I went through it a couple of years ago when they were the best team in baseball and judges hitting a thousand home runs. They were complaining about Joey Gallo and, and, and all that. But overall, I think the fan base is reacting to what right now doesn't look like the team that they thought it was going to be. And there's certain players not living up to the expectations. Volpe hasn't lived up to the expectation, so they're going to hammer him a little bit. And that they do seem to fixate on certain players sometimes, but it's not for no reason. Like, even though they fixated on Gallo, my problem was why are you fixating on Gallo? It's, it's all good. But Gallo wasn't good, so they fixated on that. Well, now Volpe hasn't been good and they're fixated on it because now the team is in second place and can't beat the Blue Jays. And some of these errors, Pat, are leading to why they're losing games, you know, so it's not like it's, they're not drumming this up for no reason. I think they were bored a couple of years ago, so they were picking on Joey Gallo. Now I think it's legit.
- [12:28]
Peter Rosenberg
But at least with Gallo two years ago, there was a way out. Remember, that was the year where they had 10 guys for nine spots and there was a way out.
- [12:36]
Don LaGreca
Yeah.
- [12:36]
Peter Rosenberg
There I think fans are recognizing now with Volpe, there's no way out. He's your shortstop. Right. So the only option now, you're not going out and bringing in a new shortstop and the trade deadline, the only option now it's a hope is to hope that he plays better. We just read his stats, his career, they've been the exact same all three years. And now he's worse defensively and he.
- [12:57]
Don LaGreca
Batted ninth last night. And my answer with the Gallo stuff was always, do you really think he, he's going to be in a big spot postseason and he wasn't. And they eventually got rid of him. Yeah. And then they complained about that because they thought they mistreated him, which was, which was odd, which is a really weird turnaround for the fan base. But no, I Can't say that about Volpe. No. Volpe's going to be your shortstop. Yeah. First day of the playoffs. He's going to be in the. In the order and he's going to be on the word. He's going to be batting, but he's going to be playing shortstop. And that's. And that's not going to change. Let's go to Al in the Bronx. You're on ESPN New York. What's up, Al?
- [13:30]
Caller
Hey, gentlemen. Good afternoon. Okay, so I'm gonna defend Boone a little bit.
- [13:35]
Don LaGreca
Okay.
- [13:35]
Caller
Okay. So being a Vinny, being a New York Yankee is probably the most difficult job in baseball. Right. You go to the World Series, it's a failure. The media is rabid in New York. If the manager came out critical of his players, he's just piling on. Who in the hell would want to play in New York? And I think that's part of the problem. There were issues with some players not wanting to play in New York because of the pressure. So part of it may be that he just doesn't want to pile on. It makes no sense.
- [14:06]
Don LaGreca
Anybody who's watching the Yankees don't want him to pile on. For sure, you're right. I mean, this. There's a method to the madness. You're right.
- [14:13]
Caller
Right. And anyone who's a real baseball fan. I told. I told Jake I've been watching the Yankees for 42 years. I remember Steve Summers and then Imus in the morning on the other station. I've been listening to you my whole sports life, it feels like. And we know that Boone is not okay with this stuff. Just because he doesn't say it to us out in the open, we think that he's not trying to correct the problem. I don't believe that.
- [14:39]
Don LaGreca
But Pat said it best, Al. But he's not correcting the problem. So if the. Protect my players, and I'm going to handle this behind closed doors, however you handle it. But it's still happening. So whatever your method is, it's not working. Volpe's still making mistakes. They're still making baserunning mistakes. That's the problem, is that it's not working. If there's a method to the madness. But also, Pat, can we find a happy medium? Like, does it have to be always so over the top, great?
- [15:10]
Peter Rosenberg
No.
- [15:11]
Don LaGreca
Is there a way to be able to be critical of a player without crippling them emotionally?
- [15:16]
Peter Rosenberg
I think you shouldn't do anything the same way. I don't think Aaron Boone's approach is. Is Appropriate, given the amount of winning that this team has done, which in the context of the New York Yankees over the last seven years, eight years since he's been here, is not enough. All right. I do think at some point over the last eight years, there had to have been a situation where he would lose his cool a little bit and talk sternly about a player a little bit. He hasn't done that. By the same token, I'm not saying that every time the Yankees lose and he's got to come out there and slam the podium and throw his hat and essentially act like he does when he doesn't like a called third strike against one of his players, when he gets in the umpire's face and gets ejections. I do think that, yes, there's got to be a happy medium. You can't do everything the same way every single time. It's got to be a happy medium.
- [16:07]
Don LaGreca
And that's. I think that's all we're talking about, so. But unfortunately, everything is either black or white, right? We're not asking him to be Bobby Knight. We're not asking him to destroy and humiliate players. Nobody's going to want to play here if that's the case. He wouldn't be able to keep his job if that were the case. But we do know he can lose it. Loses it to umpires. Just lost it on John Boy yesterday. So after a tough loss and he's telling you, well, the official score, probably Job Volpe, it's not as bad as it seems. We're still doing. He's, you know, still doing this. What are the things he's still getting. He's still, you know, ripping the ball. Still his exit. Velo's still good. Getting a barrel on the bat, like always. Just trying to find a way of saying, she's got a nice personality. Like, it just. It's the baseball version of that. And I think the fans are like, just kind of give me a little bit more credit than that. I'm not asking you to bash the player. I'm not asking you to humiliate the player, but I'm just asking you to just be a little bit more honest from what we're seeing, because I think the. I. I think the fans can see beyond all of that positivity and just get down to your shortstop on a championship team. Shouldn't have 13 errors and have not hitting and struggling offensively. It's. And the same goes for the Mets. Mets go through it, too. I listen to Mendoza. He's the same way he's cut from the same cloth. They all do the same thing. Because Mendoza came from the Yankees. I'm sure the Mets want to handle it the same way. He's over positive about everybody. Right. But you did see accountability. Alvarez was sent down. Yeah, I think fans want to see that. You know, it was nice to see Volpe got dropped in the drop to ninth, I think. All right, so maybe you protect them, but they'd also like to see. All right, what are you going to do about it? What are you going to do about that player that's, that's struggling? You're going to send him down? Are you going to do something about it or just going to keep telling me I don't know what I'm seeing? Because that's what it comes across as. Ah, you don't know what you're seeing. He's great. I don't think so.
- [18:02]
Peter Rosenberg
Boone. Boone bears the brunt because he's the.
- [18:04]
Don LaGreca
Guy who speaks every day, every day.
- [18:06]
Peter Rosenberg
So he gets the frustrations of the fans for the entire organization. And a lot of those are directed at Cashmen, a lot of those are directed at Hal, a lot of those are directed at the organization as a whole. But it all goes to Boone. So yes, in that sense he gets more blame than that he probably deserves because he's getting the arrows for the frustrations about everybody.
- [18:30]
Don LaGreca
And.
- [18:30]
Peter Rosenberg
But that's part of the job. Like when you, when you sign up to be the Yankees manager and you accept the job and everything that comes with it, good and bad, you know, that's a part of it. It's like, you know, we just. Tom Thibodeau with the Knicks for the last five years. Leon Rose has never spoken.
- [18:48]
Don LaGreca
Never.
- [18:49]
Peter Rosenberg
The last time he did, I don't think there were any cameras. It was a closed door with some, you know, right after Covid, like 2021.
- [18:55]
Don LaGreca
Need to do a sit down with Breen too, I think on msg possibly.
- [18:59]
Peter Rosenberg
But so anything, any frustrations there are with that team? There's only one guy who's the mouthpiece of that team for the last five years for the Knicks has been Tom Thibodeau. Now it's going to be Mike Brown.
- [19:07]
Don LaGreca
Obviously that's.
- [19:08]
Peter Rosenberg
I mean, Cashman does talk, but he doesn't talk every day. He talks sporadically. So it's Boone every single day that gets all those frustrations.
- [19:16]
Don LaGreca
And I think people need to take give him credit for that. I mean, we were joking yesterday, like when. Because Jordan says sometimes Brian Dable will get A little irritated by questions. I'm like, dude, football coaches have it so well, right? They talk after the game, they talk on Monday, they talk on Wednesday. They probably say something maybe after the walkthrough on Saturday, before the team managers got 162 games, got taught before the game, he's got to talk after the game, you know, and it's, it's a lot. Baseball's a lot, man. And as popular as it is, you know that the fans want that information. And there's so many games and listen, they're becoming less and less meaningful because there's so many more teams that get added to it. But in this town, there's always been a baseball town because you got two teams and they're both good and they both spend a ton of money and they've got a lot of interesting players. And so there's going to be a lot of conversation. And the expectations are through the roof. So the Mets win today. Lindor finally gets a couple of hits. Alonzo with a home run, Diaz with a four out save. But my only gave you five innings. But the Mets were able to navigate through the bullpen. Did give up a few runs out of the bullpen, but overall a 63 win over against the Angels, not perfect, but they get the sweep. They're right now tied with Philadelphia for first in the division. The New York Yankees, they've got a chance to draw within two of Toronto if they can take the series tonight up in Canada. All right, coming up next is going to be a list and I'm going to tell you what the list is because after we lost Ozzy, I'm going to give you the top five Ozzy written song. So there's a lot to pick through because there's Sabbath and then there's a solo career which is amazing. And then after that we're gonna talk to Keith Roth and I apologize for to Pat because I just, I just did it on my own. So Jacob, I did not usurp your authority as the producer, but I've, I've known him just from afar. He's a DJ on Ozzy's Boneyard on Sirius satellite Radio and he's friends with my brother over at Sirius. I've always been a fan. He's also a fan of ours. He listens to the show. Watched the show when it was on. Yes. Big sports fan. He's from New Jersey. He's a, he's a member of the dictators. And of course he's worked at Ozzy's Boneyard and when you worked at Ozzy's Boneyard, you got to know Ozzy, so he got to know Ozzy, so I want to just tap into him and we'll talk some sports and have some fun with Keith after we do the list. And then at 5 o' clock we'll reset. We've got ENN coming up at 6 o' clock as well, but the list is coming up next here. Don Han and Rosenberg with Pete with Pat O'. Keefe and it's all happening right here on ESPN New York. This is an ad by BetterHelp. Workplace stress is now one of the top causes of declining mental health, with 61% of the global workforce experiencing higher than normal levels of stress. To battle stress, most of us can't wave goodbye to work, but we can start small with a focus on wellness. With over 30,000 therapists, BetterHelp is the world's largest online therapy therapy platform, having served over 5 million people globally. And it works with an App store rating of 4.9 out of 5 based on over 1.7 million client reviews. It's convenient too. You can join a session with a therapist at the click of a button, helping you fit therapy into your busy life, plus switch therapists at any time. As largest online therapy provider in the world, BetterHelp can provide access to mental health professionals with a diverse variety of expertise. Unwind from work with BetterHelp, our listeners get 10% off their first month at betterhelp.com timeout. That's betterhelp.com timeout.
- [22:48]
Peter Rosenberg
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- [23:20]
Don LaGreca
If you're thirsting for asphalt, melting your work boots, tape measure has anger issues, nail guns talking smack again and hard hat baked onto head level refreshments. We definitely have that. Cool off with Gatorade Summer Blaze. Available only at Circle K. When you're feeling the heat, Circle K makes your day. Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast. I didn't listen to anything you just said. Catch the show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts.
- [24:00]
Caller
You just made the list, buddy.
- [24:02]
Don LaGreca
This is the list with Don Hahn and Rosenberg now top of the list and it's brought to you by bet365. All right. This was curated by myself and obviously with Ozzy passing, I wanted to come up with the top five Ozzy Osbourne songs. Now, where it becomes tricky is that you got Sabbath and then you got a solo career, but he had to write the song. And so this is my list. Now listen, I can come up with my five favorite, but I think these are the five most significant that Ozzy Osbourne contributed to the work. And just let me know if you know them, Pat, because I know that you're a casual when it comes to Ozzy's work, but you'll be able to fire these off, right? Jacob, you already there? All right, so you tell me if you've heard it before. But number five, I believe, is the song Black Sabbath off the Black Sabbath album. They got a little rain, all right, so don't judge it based on the rain. But this is the first, in my opinion, anybody ever heard heavy metal. It's the first song on Black Sabbath's first album, came out February 13, 1969. I was 1 years old. And it's a classic, classic song. And the reason I have it at number five is because I believe it's the first ever heavy metal song. There are other bands that played heavy music. Led Zeppelin played heavy music before 1960. MC5 is another band that played some heavier music, but Sabbath, they are the. The high priests of metal. And this was the first song on the first ever metal album to me. So I've got Black Sabbath at number five. Haven't.
- [25:57]
Peter Rosenberg
Haven't heard that.
- [25:58]
Don LaGreca
Haven't heard that, haven't heard that.
- [25:59]
Peter Rosenberg
Doesn't ring a bell.
- [26:00]
Don LaGreca
It's not, it's not my particular favorite. And it's not like it's not mainstream, a mainstream song. But I put it on the list because of the significance. Absolutely historical significance for sure. Number five. And it's awful. Blizzard of Oz is Suicide Solution. Not just the great stuff song, you know, not just a great song, but how much heat Ozzy got for the song Suicide Solution. Kids start committing suicide, Ozzy's a bad guy, they're killing themselves to this song. Just showing you how dumb people are. They didn't listen to the song. It's an anti suicide song, but because it had suicide in it and a lot of kids unfortunately commit suicide, it really, it really started to build to where heavy metal was being accused of driving kids to commit suicide. And no better example of that was what Judas Priest, who actually went to trial over two Kids who attempted to commit suicide while listening to Judas Priest out. But, you know, kids have influence. They're going through a lot of stuff. And metal was something that they would listen to, but it wasn't driving them to kill themselves. But Ozzy got a lot of heat for that. And it was also a huge song off of Blizzard of Oz. So I've got suicide solution number four. But you've heard it.
- [27:37]
Peter Rosenberg
I've heard that song. When I hear that track, I think of, like, the beginning of an 80s movie. Like a high school movie from the 80s where the foil is driving up in his muscle car and this is the first time we see him. And the door opens and you see his feet pop out. And this is where you're. You're introduced to. To the bad guy in the movie. That's what. That's what I think of when I. When I hear that track.
- [28:03]
Don LaGreca
Okay. It's a great song off a great album. Number three, one of my favorites, probably maybe right up there among the biggest songs from Black Sabbath. And that's War Pigs. We're gonna let this go for a little bit, so I'll put the check in the ASCAP mail bag. Don't worry about it. You know it so far?
- [28:29]
Peter Rosenberg
No, not yet.
- [28:32]
Don LaGreca
This was. What was that. What was that movie where it was like the end of the war? This is the end. Seth Rogen. Yep. They played this a little bit. It's been in a lot of different movies. You'll know it when it's. When it. When it kicks in. It's off of the Paranoid album, which was their second album and probably their biggest album. But we'll just let it kick in here and then we'll. Let's see if you judge it or not, because this is just the beginning stuff. But, God, this. Taking me back to my high school days. I just love this song. Their anti Vietnam song, if you will, from 1971. Here we go. Little Bill Ward on the Symbols. Still don't know it. There we go.
- [29:21]
Peter Rosenberg
I'm with you now. I'm more lyrics, guys.
- [29:23]
Don LaGreca
There you go. That's the part, you know. So I got War Pigs at number three. Number two off the same album. Probably the most popular Black Sabbath song with Ozzy Osbourne. And that's Paran, you know. Absolutely. Can you help me? Ozzy's got an amazing voice, and I know he went through. When you snort ants, it's gonna probably hurt your voice a little bit. That was a dare. Motley Crue asked him, you know, snort ants. There was like an ant hill. He's like, you know, grab runs. Nor did some ants. I don't know if he got high off it, but he certainly.
- [30:07]
Peter Rosenberg
It didn't, it didn't help.
- [30:08]
Don LaGreca
Yeah, you don't, it's not what you want. You don't dare Ozzy to do anything. And number one. And I've got no problem with this being number one, otherwise I wouldn't have put it there. I think everybody's going to be happy with this. And this is probably Ozzy's biggest solo song played in arenas all over sports. And that's Crazy Train. I I I also off of Blizzard of Oz, you hear it. It's classic. It's, it's one of the great heavy metal songs of all time.
- [30:50]
Peter Rosenberg
It's one of the great songs.
- [30:51]
Don LaGreca
Yeah, it's, it is a, it is a great song. And what I love when I was a kid because I used to listen to music with headphones when I was a kid. You might have heard it a little bit just now. The I I it's in each ear so it almost feels like it's going through your head. God. Just great stuff. So I've got the, the original Black Sabbath song number five, Suicide Solution four, War Pigs three, Paranoid two and Crazy Train one. And that is our list.
- [31:17]
Peter Rosenberg
Awesome list. Appropriate for today for sure. It is funny because when you mentioned him at the beginning of the show, you mentioned he wasn't a, a big sports fan.
- [31:24]
Don LaGreca
Right.
- [31:25]
Peter Rosenberg
And I don't know that he struck anybody as a big sports fan. But that last song is played in stadiums and arenas and has been forever. So there's a lot of crossover between Ozzy's career and the enjoyment of sports in person.
- [31:39]
Don LaGreca
And that's why I wasn't afraid to bring this into the sports show. And as I mentioned, he opened up the 2005 season at in Foxborough for the. When the Patriots opened the season, you know, playing. He's played Super Bowls. He is, I think he's a household name. I think people may not be as familiar with the music or the history and all that stuff, but they certainly know Ozzy Osbourne when they hear it.
- [32:03]
Peter Rosenberg
Iconic.
- [32:04]
Don LaGreca
Absolutely. And we lost him at the age of 76. And we're going to get Keith Roth on in a little bit here from Ozzy's boneyard and guy that got a chance to hang with him and talk to him. Very interesting about Ozzy too. When I was talking to Keith before when I, when I see if he was available today and he confirmed it when I was when I was working at Z Rock in Kroc as an intern back in 1990. And he did a show, he was a guest DJ. He had to play Long and Winding Road because he was that big of a Beatle fan, refused to do the show unless he played that song. And he said he always toured with the White Album, always had the White Album with him because he was a huge, huge, huge Beatle fan. And he was from Birmingham, England, and that's where Ringo was from, and everybody else was from Liverpool, but he was obviously coming from England. You're going to be a big Beatle fan, but he just loved the Beatles. And I tweeted out, I don't know if you saw the license plate that my buddy gave me when I was in college. Sabbath, one that he autographed for me on that very same day. So it was cool to get a chance to meet him. But I'd love to be able to talk to Keith. Just what it was like to work with him and just be a part of a great, great iconic voice because he was just known for so much wacky stuff. But I wasn't surprised to hear he passed away. He didn't look like he was in that great a shape for that show in Birmingham, England. That was going to be it. That was the last show. And many people thought that Sharon, his wife, was kind of like taking advantage of the situation, trying to milk more money out of him. And they'll be doing it again every year because you always hear these. The last show, the retirement show. But to be able to get all four original members, Geezer Butler, the bass player, Tony Omi, the guitar player, Bill Ward, who's had a bad back forever, the drummer all back reuniting. And I don't know how much you paid attention to the show. Everybody was at that show. I mean, everybody in metal. Ron Wood from the Rolling Stones was there. Tom Morello from Rage against the Machine, like, everybody went to honor him. So I'm glad he got his flowers at the end of his life and not knowing all of the circumstances in which we lost him. But you wonder if it was just the closure of having that last moment that kind of allowed him to, to move on to another dimension.
- [34:15]
Peter Rosenberg
Yeah, I mean, the, the industry that he, that he started, the genre that he, he started was best known for at the beginning, and all of those guys kind of coming after him and paying homage to him. It's, it's, it's very telling.
- [34:28]
Don LaGreca
And the other big thing, and he actually joked about it in in the movie Little Nicky, the Adam Sandler of biting the head off the bat, that was a big deal. Everybody went crazy. And the story goes, from what I understand is he thought the bat was fake. So he figured, I'll just bite the head off the bat. Figured it was gonna be a rubber bat and ended up being real. And he ended up getting tetanus shots and everything. And that was pretty bad. Similar story to Alice Cooper throwing the turkey in the crowd. I don't know if you heard that story. Threw a turkey in the crowd and everybody figured, you know, of course they destroyed the turkey. Just feathers all over the place. He thought it was a fake turkey? No, he thought the turkeys could fly, as we found out in WKRP in Cincinnati with that classic Thanksgiving episode. Let's go to Derek in Brooklyn. You're on ESPN New York. What's up, Derek?
- [35:22]
Caller
Hey, guys. How you doing?
- [35:24]
Don LaGreca
Good, man. Number one.
- [35:26]
Caller
I love the WKRP in Cincinnati reference.
- [35:29]
Don LaGreca
I remember that episode, man. Only I'm only 47 years old, but.
- [35:32]
Caller
When I was a kid, I remember exact episode.
- [35:34]
Peter Rosenberg
That's hilarious.
- [35:35]
Don LaGreca
I swear on everything that is holding that turkeys could fly. That was the best.
- [35:42]
Caller
So, yeah, I mean, God bless the Dark Prince, right? And I think, like, one of the things that was. That was misunderstood about him is that, you know, even though the context of his music, of the music of Dark Sabbath was so hard, man. Like, his lyrics, when you really listen to them, are really soft. And a lot of them are about love and about peace and about, like, anti war kind of.
- [36:06]
Don LaGreca
And about God. I mean, they sang about God, but when you sang about God that aggressively, people. People assumed that, you know, you were. You were anti God. Where. I think. I don't. I'd have to ask Keith when he comes on, if he was a religious man, but he was not a Satan worshiper. And you know the one, the song. Would you like to see the pope on the end of a rope? Do you think he's a fool? Oh, my God, no. He's singing about, like, how ridiculous people are and the hypocrisy of sometimes the politics of it all. But I. I think it was a very good and pure message. But you play aggressive music, you throw God in there or suicide, and people just say, oh, he must be anti God. He must be pro suicide, not realiz. There were messages behind that music that were very pure, very innocent and very, very important. And somebody that knew Ozzy, and you can hear him on Ozzy's Boneyard on Sirius satellite radio. He's also a member of the Dictators, and I got a chance to talk to him today. We got a lot in common, sports and music wise. He's Keith Roth and he joins us here on Don Hunter Rosenberg. It's Don legreca and Pat o'. Keefe. Man, how you doing?
- [37:12]
D
Good, good. Good to talk to you, Don. You're my favorite sports guy and good to be connected with you, you know, sadly, under these circumstances. But, but, you know. Yeah, you know, I was just listening to you before Countdown, the top five. And that's pretty, pretty accurate, I feel, you know, the way you, you know, I do believe they were the. You know, the birth of heavy metal did start with Black Sabbath, the song. And it's definitely, you know, one of the most important songs in music. And, you know, as you were mentioning, you know, the MC5 and heavier bands. Yeah, there were heavier bands, but there was the combination of, you know, the music and the lyrics and the thought provoking and kind of questioning authority. It was just, it was a beautiful thing.
- [37:55]
Don LaGreca
Yeah, he was just an amazing person. What was it like to get to know him? I know part of being on Ozzy's Boneyard was to do and work with him. What was it like to spend some time with him?
- [38:05]
D
Well, you know, he kind of overlooked the channel. I mean, you know, I can't say that I knew him great, but I did spend some quality time. He just seemed like a really sweet, fun, likes to have a good. You know, you really have to dial in because I don't have the best hearing in the world. So you really comes with the territory, right? Yeah, but, you know, he was cool. And I mean, obviously if you really want to get Ozzy in a good mood, just start talking about the Beatles. And that'll put him in a good frame of mind, you know, because, you know, he hears the same questions over there, the tour, the record, blah, blah, blah. But when you start talking about the White Album or Abbey Road or something like that, he really perks up and, you know, becomes a different guy. But, you know, he just seemed like a wonderful and a family guy too. You know, he loved his family and, you know, obviously all the trials and tribulations he's been through and, you know, Sharon really, you know, pulling him out of the darkness because, you know, you remember, Don, we were the same age. I mean, when Black Sabbath, when you heard Ozzy left the band, you're like, this is over, you know, I mean, you know, you thought it was over for him. You thought it was over for the band. And, you know, Sharon, you know, gets him. Gets him rolling and starts that amazing career with Randy Rhodes. I mean, capturing lightning in a bottle twice, incredible.
- [39:11]
Don LaGreca
Yeah, it really was. And we're talking to Keith Roth from Ozzy's Boneyard. That solo album, Blizzard of Oz was just mind melting for me. And that was right in my wheelhouse, you know, 1980, you know, he leaves the Never say Die was. Even though I enjoyed the album, a lot of people didn't think it was their greatest work. And he basically gets fired and he's lost and he's got all this material he didn't use with Black Sabbath. He saved that for later. He put so much into what is probably one of the greatest metal albums of all time.
- [39:40]
D
Yeah, yeah, I agree. And you know what? I loved Never say Die. I'm glad all those records got done. But, yeah, hearing that record and seeing them on that tour, 14, 15 years old, right? And Motorhead opening and, you know, just had so much piss and vinegar going through them and just ready for worldwide. And then hearing all those songs and then following it up with a record that's almost as good if. If not equally grand. Diary of A Madman, you know, incredible. And I got to give Sabbath some credit too with Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules with Dio, because who would ever imagine, right, both those bands, right, without each other going on to such great success. But, you know, it's such a beautiful thing that Ozzy got to say goodbye to everybody, you know, at that back to Birmingham and, you know, seeing all the people that he made music with and, you know, it's. It's a, you know, very rare that he was able to do that. You know, it's like almost like he held on long enough just to accomplish that, that final thing.
- [40:35]
Peter Rosenberg
Hey, Keith, at what point would you say Ozzy's appeal brought into a larger sector of the audience, going from just hardcore fans of the heavy metal genre and became, you know, more quote unquote, mainstream, if you will.
- [40:49]
D
Yeah, the show. Right, the show. Then all of a sudden, you know, my mom loved them, right? You know, people loved him. All of a sudden they realized, like, oh, my God, he's not this satanic dude that's, you know, cutting up chickens in his backyard at 3 o' clock in the morning. He's actually a pretty funny guy. You know, everybody kind of could relate to that family life with the dogs and the kids and, you know, people always used to say that about my family, like, wow, if this was reality tv, this would Be something. And, yeah, I think that's when it, you know, broke mainstream. And I think people started paying attention more to the music after that. I think it also kind of started that Kardashian stuff and the Family Jewels, you know, I think he was the first at it.
- [41:29]
Don LaGreca
Yeah, that was. That really kind of humanized everybody. Got to know the family and just the real special stuff and not knowing all the details behind what happened yesterday. Keith. But you just wondered the irony of it being just a couple of weeks after having that show in Birmingham being celebrated back with the original Black Sabbath, was that kind of closure, just the irony of his life ending just moments after that show, that closure?
- [41:58]
D
I know, I know. It's amazing, right? You know, and the go out that way was just so perfect, you know, having Bill Ward there, you know, because Bill Ward, to me, was, you know, such an integral part of that band. And to see those four guys together and, you know, the timing. Was it even two weeks since.
- [42:15]
Don LaGreca
No, I think less than two weeks. Right? Yeah.
- [42:17]
D
Great. Crazy. You know, who gets that opportunity? I mean, you know, he's in the Mount Rushmore of rock, in my opinion. You know. You know, you got David Bowie on there. You got John Lennon, you got Ozzy, you know, I mean, there's not, you know, Lemmy maybe, you know.
- [42:31]
Don LaGreca
Oh, yeah, all of them right there. But he's the. He's the king of them all. Talking to Keith Rowe from Ozzy's Boneyard. I know you're a big sports fan, so what's. What's on your mind? Sports today?
- [42:41]
D
Oh, gosh. Well, you know, I bleed the blue and orange with my beloved New York Knicks. So I'm hoping, you know, I'm hoping brown. I mean, listen, you know, the whole Thibodeau thing wasn't shocking. I love the man. I screamed for his head, you know, for the last two years in the playoffs.
- [42:56]
Don LaGreca
Right.
- [42:57]
D
But, yeah, the Nets should hire him. He'll get him in the playoffs this year. But, you know, I'm a delusional Knick fan. I've been waiting since 1973. My father took me to my first game, 2-6-73. I went kicking and screaming. And after halftime, I've been waiting ever since, you know.
- [43:12]
Don LaGreca
All right, before we let you go, lead singer of the Dictators, anything coming up with them?
- [43:16]
D
Yeah, we got a show coming up October 30th. We're doing a cruise around New York City, I think around the Hudson. My next single drops from my record, the Law of Diminished Returns, which came out my Fourth single. Yeah, it comes out sometime in early October, but dictators October 30th. There's like a boat cruise around New York and tickets are selling quick. So with Steve Conti. I don't know if you know Steve. Yeah, he's a Jersey guy. Don. New York Dolls and Michael Monroe and. Yeah, so that's what immediately I got coming up.
- [43:45]
Don LaGreca
And you can hear Keith on Ozzy's Boneyard, the great music. I listen to it constantly. And you have such great personalities. A DJ there, you hit all the right notes, setting up all the music, dropping a ton of knowledge. And I'm a big fan. It was great to finally get a chance to talk to you and let's do this again soon, man. I'd love to come on and spin some records with you, man. That's always been a dream to be able to play. I haven't played any metal music since I was in college, so I'd love the opportunity to do that. Maybe we could hook up again down the road doing that.
- [44:14]
D
I would absolutely love that. I'd love to have you come and spin some music with me. I also do a podcast. We have a mutual friend, Don Jameson, called the Rock Strap. And we'd love to have you come on and talk music because we know you're a sports guy. We know that. But we'd love to hear you come on and talk about, you know, Sabbath and Man of War and Blood Feast and all the bands you love. And also, I want to congratulate you too, you know, being the voice of the devils, man. Good things happen to good people and, you know, your favorite team and being able to do that, it's just amazing. So, you know, congratulations on that, Keith.
- [44:46]
Don LaGreca
Thanks so much for that. Thanks so much for a couple of minutes. We'll talk to you soon, man.
- [44:50]
D
Absolutely. Have a great day. Thanks, guys. Appreciate you.
- [44:52]
Don LaGreca
All right, thanks. Keith Roth from Ozzy's Boneyard. The dictators talking a little bit. Ozzy Osborne the day after he passed at the age of 76. That was the list brought to you by bet365. Whatever the moment, it's never ordinary at bet365. Don Hanna Rosenberg on ESPN New York. You want to get the most for your money. That's why more Mazda buyers choose Ramsey Mazda for selection, customer service and savings during the Mazda More to move your sales event. Lisa New 2025 Mazda CX30 all wheel drive only. 239 for 33 months. Start shopping now at Ramsey Mazda dot com. Choose wisely. Choose Ramsey Mazda. Call 833-853-2970 for details. Excludes tax, title, registration 0 security deposit Vin SM 804627 MSRP 29000040 ENDS 73125.
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Don LaGreca
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Peter Rosenberg
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Peter Rosenberg
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- [47:15]
Don LaGreca
Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast. I didn't listen to anything you just said. Catch the show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get. Your podcasts take you up until 7 o'. Clock. Mets win Yankees playing a little bit later on tonight. 1-800-919-3776, number the call. Also get into the football of it all as the jets and Giants open up camps today. So we've got sound from Aaron Glenn, we've got sound from Joe Shane, Brian Dable. As it's about to happen. It's about to happen. We are going to see football. Hopefully it'll look like football, but it's supposed to be football. We'll find Out. We'll wait and see. Russ in the Grand Parkway. You're on ESPN New York. What's up, Russ?
- [48:02]
Caller
Hey, Don. You talked about suicide solution. Wine is fine but whiskey's quicker. That's actually a song not just about anti suicide, but about the death of Bon Scott, who was the lead singer from AC DC before Brian Johnson.
- [48:15]
Don LaGreca
Sure.
- [48:16]
Caller
Died after a night of drinking whiskey.
- [48:18]
Don LaGreca
Yes. Choked on his own vomit. A classic way. A lot of great people left us for sure.
- [48:26]
Caller
So it's amazing that you know, when you look back at what he did. Also you have a song like no More Tears, which again you can't put on the list because what are you taking out? Which came out in 1990 through grunge and all these bands. Nirvana were coming out with the grunst music. He comes out with no More Tears, which is just a complete hard heavy song. Which again defined another way of defining who he was.
- [48:48]
Don LaGreca
Yeah, he was. He was amazing. And the no More Tears thing, that's around the time that I met him in the early 90s. And just a quick aside. So it was KROC and then Z Rock was the station that was down the hall. And I talked about it yesterday. Steve Apria ran it from sound. And so after he was done doing his show, he went to the afternoon drive show that was on K Rock at the time. You remember kroc?
- [49:15]
Peter Rosenberg
Yeah, of course.
- [49:16]
Don LaGreca
Classic rock radio station. Flo and Eddie from the Turtles were the afternoon drive show. So he went on with them. And you always had to sing happy together whenever you were a guest on Flo and Eddie. Flo and Eddie sang backup on no More Tears. So like the members of the Turtles sang back up. He used everybody. And of course they sang backup for T. Rex. And they were very, very eclectic. So they. They had known Ozzy a long time. So he definitely changed genres. It was very seldom as big as Metallica is. And I think Metallica is like the Beatles of metal. Like they took metal to the mainstream when they were nominated for a Grammy. And songs getting played on the radio on a regular basis and selling out stadiums, not just arenas. But I don't know if as much as they are important to the metal world, none of those guys individually have the global impact. People know who Ozzy Osbourne is. And a lot had to do with that was 20 years ago. The Osbournes on.
- [50:16]
Peter Rosenberg
But he also had the solo career.
- [50:18]
Don LaGreca
Before that, the solo career. But he just transcended the music that he played and it was just pretty special stuff. Let's quickly Bring in to close it out. Dave in New Jersey. You're on ESPN New York. What's up, Dave?
- [50:30]
Caller
Yeah, hi, Don. I just wanted to say a wonderful.
- [50:32]
Don LaGreca
Tribute there to Ozzy.
- [50:33]
Caller
I had a chance to interview him on the Technical ecstasies tour in 1977.
- [50:38]
Don LaGreca
Their second to last, their penultimate album with him.
- [50:42]
Caller
Yes. Yep. With Bill Ward actually singing lead vocal.
- [50:45]
Don LaGreca
On a ballad on that album. Love that song.
- [50:48]
Caller
And it was one of the most bizarre double bills I ever saw in my life. Black Sabbath with the opening act, Dr.
- [50:54]
Don LaGreca
Hook and his medicine show, really.
- [50:56]
Caller
But they were absolutely fantastic. And Ozzy was just a sweetheart of a guy. A fantastic interviewer. Anyhow, I just wanted to say above and beyond being the leaders in terms of launching the heavy metal movement, the whole grunge scene was very influenced by Black Sabbath. You listen to early Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alison Chains, who, by the way, performed at that Ozzy tribute concert. All of that was basically 1990s Black Sabbath. So I think now with the influencers in terms of founding metal, but also.
- [51:28]
Don LaGreca
The grunge scenes, you know, it's interesting. David, thank you for the phone call. When grunge came out, I'm like, how is this not metal? I know it's from Seattle, but it's aggressive. And, you know, I had a metal show at the time, and I was playing Smells Like Teen Spirit. I was playing Black from Pearl Jam, I was playing Alice in Chains at Soundgarden. So definitely they were influenced by metal. So thank you for indulging me, Pat. I just. I learned a lot. I just had my moment. Ozzy was. Was. Was too significant a part of my life to not be able to have some of it over the last two days on this show. Coming up, football. Brian Dable, Joe Shane talking about their decision to go with Russell Wilson to start the season. What does Rich Samini and Jordan Raman have to say about the team as they cover first day of training camp over in Florham park? And also over in East Rutherford, it's Don Hahn and Rosenberg hanging out with the old 7:00 clock right here on ESPN New York. Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.
- [52:26]
Peter Rosenberg
I don't want to know how the.
- [52:27]
Don LaGreca
Sausage is made, man. I just want to know. It's good. Hear more of Don Allen and Peter weekday afternoon starting at 3 on 8 80, ESPN, the ESPN New York app, and your smart speakers.