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Don Hahn
Han and Rosenberg Podcast.
Alan Hahn
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.
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Game time is brought to you by
Alan Hahn
Tull Mardu Irish Whiskey. Because when it is game time, fellas, I like that.
Peter Rosenberg
It's totally time.
Alan Hahn
Mets Rockies coverage begins on 1050 at 5 o'.
Tim Legler
Clock.
Alan Hahn
You heard that right. The Mets are going to be on 1050 whenever the Knicks are playing starting today. Met game was originally scheduled for later tonight, but it's too cold in Colorado because it's May. Why would anybody expect to be warm in May? So that game is now a 5:40 start. Coverage on 1050 begins at 5. Knicks open up their Eastern Conference semifinals series with the Sixers of Madison Square Garden and that game can be heard right here on 880. Following us at 7 o' clock with Pat O' Keefe and then 8 o' clock will be the tip and the Yankees finish up their series with the Orioles at 7:05 as they're bringing out the brooms if I'm not mistaken as the Yankees are continuing to play well. Telemardu the original triple distilled, triple blended and triple cast matured Irish whiskey. Be sure to grab a Telemore Dew. We try the new Telemore Dew, honey, during today's action. Glasses up to enjoying Tullamore Dew responsibly. Michael K. Will join us at 4:30 on the passing of John Sterling. But to talk about Game one and everything else, NBA is our friend Tim Legler and he joins us here on Don Ana Rosenberg. How are you sir?
Tim Legler
What's up fellas? How we doing? How we doing?
Don Hahn
Good.
Alan Hahn
New York's pumped. They're excited. They're already buying tickets for the next series because of course they're going to beat the Sixers. And I worry about this, Tim. I worry about this team when they get into those situations where now they're expected to win. They seem to do better when they're up against the wall. Is that just me or do you see a history where sometimes this team doesn't handle Prosperity.
Tim Legler
Well, yeah, I think that's a fair point and I think that's also probably true of a number of franchises, particularly ones that I've always said, like in the Northeast Corridor. I think, I think those cities, then the media scrutiny, the fans like the pressure, just the pressure cooker for some of those teams. So when the expectations are there and it looks like the path has been laid, that's when you start to maybe feel it a little bit different. By the way, I don't know. Look, they should be favored in this series, clearly, but I do think Philadelphia and a lot of it's going to depend on, you know, Embiid being able to stay upright the entire series. Philadelphia is a team that's right now feeling pretty good about themselves as well, the way that they played at the tail end of that Boston series. So they're, they've got a lot of offensive weapons and they've got guys that are difficult to contain. So I think Philadelphia is coming in at the right time, you know, for them having all of these guys back on the floor, having a bead be as dominant as he was in the Boston series. But he, you know, he still was on the floor a lot. He limps around a lot. So who knows really with him from game to game how he's going to feel. But I do think the Sixers are going to be a formidable challenge to
Don Hahn
the Knicks legs, would you say? Like this is the, like the Sixers finally got to this season the team they thought they were going to have for the whole season. Like, is this the look? Because even when they played together, it didn't look like this, but something, whatever Nurse did adjustment wise with the offense in the midst of that series with the Celtics, it's almost like a mirror image of the Knicks. Like suddenly things changed. And that's a much different looking offense than what you expected it to be with Embiid in there, isn't it?
Tim Legler
No question. And it started, you know, look, he came back for game four. It was not a pretty sight. There was a lot of booing going on. This was a team that had felt like they were in the series to one at that point. And everybody of course was piling on. I slows them down, style completely changed. They got, they got race cars on this team with Maxi Edgecomb. They need to get up, down the floor. Grimes, like, guys like that, they want to play fast. He slowed them down and that was the criticism as they're down 31 heading in to that game with Boston where Embiid now is a guy that comes in and the first game I thought like, man, like he was settling for far too many jumpers in the first half up in Boston, right? And we called that game. And then in the second half, that's really when I thought that their identity sort of almost came to fruition right before your eyes. And it was a mixture. It wasn't all Embiid in the post or, or playing through him there. He was catching it though, in spots where he's at his best and he was eating up the space like on the catch from the three point line. He was taking that one power dribble to the foul line area for the pull up rather than shooting the trail 3. He was, he was working guys a little bit more in the post like with an extra dribble to get deeper so he could shoot a little turnaround jumper or get to the rim. But it wasn't like that's all they did. They also played out of him with three point shooting. They played and got some threes in transition and that continued the rest of the series. And so I do think this is the best version that they could be of this group. And a lot of that also, by the way, hinges on Paul George. It's almost like that suspension that he got and the time that he missed coming back when he did. His legs feel a lot fresher than just about anybody else that's going to be in this series because he had that two month break and so he's, he's playing very well. And so now they've got these four weapons and it's like clicking in like you Bray is a good player, Quentin Grimes is a good player. They've got, you know, decent backups in the middle as well. So this is going to be a really fun, intriguing series. And I think so far of all of the matchups we've seen, this is my favorite series to this point.
Peter Rosenberg
Now watching the the Celtic Sixers series, it made me think a. Obviously I just, I frankly hate the way Coach Missoula coaches this team. But that's neither here nor there. The the it seemed that a. The Celtics were playing this just three point nonsense non stop and they didn't particularly seem to have a body to put on Joel Embiid regularly. And in a lot of situations, Embiid thrived as a result. I don't see the Knicks living and dying with the three the same week. And they have more bodies to put on Embiid. Is that a fair way to assess at least some of the differences between these two series for the Sixers, there's no question.
Tim Legler
And when I go to that Celtics Sixer series look, that's how Boston plays offensively. I've, I've been all over it for the last few years. You know, last year when they, when they really blew those games against the Knicks with all those three point shots they took with a big lead and they never adapted. They didn't value time and score. So I've been, I've had some criticisms of them. They did it again in this series, so I actually, it's almost like they'll expect it. Like this is what it is. They double down anytime you ask them about it. They're not going to change. So I was actually much more like shocked by the defensive strategy against Embiid and particularly the last game. I mean, if you're going to, if you think you're going to get by with switching guys that are like 6, 5, 6, 6 on the Joel Embiid and think that they're going to be able to keep him from catching the ball where he wants, it's almost like child's play in that situation. The one thing they did that was effective was they went to a zone when they were down big in the second half and it did stall their offense a little bit. It just, they stopped moving. But it wasn't really because it shut him be down. And then they actually went back to man to man later and they had no faith. Except for Keita who was just. He commits some very silly fouls in that series. And so he kept taking himself off the floor. He's the one guy that could have matched up. Now obviously with the Knicks, you got Parliamentary Towns, you know, you got Mitchell Robinson, like you've got some size there. And it's going to be up to them to do at least a decent job initially against him. And their wings are, you know, like a guy like OG He's a lot stronger than the wings that Boston was putting on him on these switches, so he could even do a decent job. But I thought the strategy against him defensively, to me and the lack thereof was the turning point in the series. Much more so even than Boston missing all those threes because we've seen that out of them a bunch. They had to come up with a solution for the Joel Embiid problem and they didn't have one. And expect Mike Brown and the Knicks to have a much better plan and they've got better personnel to deal with him.
Alan Hahn
Talking to Tim Legler here, Don Hanna, Rosenberg game one, Knicks and Sixers tonight on 880 with coverage beginning at 7:00'.
Peter Rosenberg
Clock.
Alan Hahn
You can catch the Mets today. That'll be on 10:50. So the Sixers have an emotional game seven victory on a Friday, playing on Monday. That short turnaround, does that hurt them or help them?
Tim Legler
Yeah, that's pretty tough. That's pretty tight turnaround. And I think that, you know, it's actually. The game was on. The game was on Saturday night. Saturday night.
Peter Rosenberg
Sorry.
Tim Legler
Yeah, you're talking about, you're talking about two days later you got to, you got to team up for a new opponent and go play. That's a tough turnaround, there's no question about it. And it doesn't give you as much time to figure out what your plan is going to be defending the Knicks because really that's the, that's where the real preparation comes into a series is initially what's your game plan to defend this? You know, they see each other during a regular season, so they've got some things to go by. But it certainly would, you'd like to have an extra day or two to get ready for that first round series. That's definitely a disadvantage for them. And for the Knicks, the one thing I guess they would complain about is, and I said it on the air the night of the closeout game in Atlanta, I thought I just saw perfect basketball, you know, that's the best they could possibly play. Now you've got to take a break a little bit and wait. And so they would have loved to have played, I'm sure, two days later, but. So now let's see what they look like coming off of that just incredible performance against Atlanta to end that series.
Don Hahn
So this is a big man matchup that like we don't really get anymore in the NBA. Right. Like you got Jokic and Gobert, but this is a little bit different because you got two guys that are really offensive minded, big men. And for the first time we're seeing the Knicks, you utilize Towns as a playmaker and a hub of the offense, which is a new wrinkle. A lot of times we talk about head to head matchups between two players. Do you see the Sixers having Embiid guard Towns away from the basket like that? And do you think the Knicks will have Towns even on Embiid, knowing that he can get him into foul trouble, which is the last thing you want?
Tim Legler
Yeah, that's a good question. They're going to mix it up. I mean, there are times it depends on how Carl Anthony Towns is playing and what his mindset is and where he's catching the ball, there's a rhythm to the game that you could potentially get somebody smaller on him. And if he's going to spend more time out there, a Paul George or Kelly Oubre or somebody like that can do it. And maybe you put Embiid, but more back on the edge of the lane and he could close out to a three point shooter like a Bridges or something like. You might see some of that, but for the most part, no, he's got a guard on. And the one thing that I'm very curious to see and Mike Brown talked about this, they adjusted the offense during the season. They adjusted the offense in the middle of that series in Atlanta and it was the best version of themselves, was the best version of Karl Anthony Towns because even though his scoring numbers are down, he wasn't getting a lot of shots. His inclusion in the offense and utilizing his size to pass the ball from that elbow top of the key area, particularly when they were running, all those little rub. That rub action on the baseline looks like a flex cut where Brunson sets the back screen and somebody. And then Brunson comes up. Towns was the guy up there dictating where the ball was going to go. And Atlanta had smaller guys on him. Like a conglomerate is an underside center. Yeah, Towns wasn't even feeling him there. So he could throw the ball right over the top. He could see everything. The facilitation became very easy through that lens. It's going to be a little bit tighter and more difficult to make those passes if you've got more size on you when you're catching the ball there. So if a beat is out there and he's got his arms up and he's waving them and he's within, you know, arm's length to contest a three, those passes are going to be a little bit harder for Towns in this series than they were in the Atlanta series. So I'm curious to see how, if any, it looks different with Karl Anthony Towns and how they used him in the Atlanta series and how much praise he got for that and the assist numbers dictated he should get the praise. Will it look quite like that against Philly? Because it's a different look size wise on what's directly in front of him.
Alan Hahn
Tim, I want to go back to Friday for a second and you're somebody that loves all sports. I'm trying to come up with a comp for Friday in the NBA. I can think of one in football. In hockey, in baseball, I can't think of an NBA comp where a team facing elimination in their own building get that outplayed the way the Hawks did. Can you?
Tim Legler
No, no. And you know, no, I can't. We were watching history that night and it was, look, it was a 61 point game.
Alan Hahn
Unbelievable.
Tim Legler
In a three, in a three two series. You know, this is. This wasn't a one eight. Where like going in, you're thinking, oh yeah, you know what? This could be a sweep. And it's three already. And even then a 61 point lead in that circumstance would be absurd. A 61 point game in a three two series when you're at home having a chance to extend it to a game seven. No, I mean, it was, it was. I'm still kind of stunned and shocked by what I watched. And honestly, not so much by like whatever, like the ineptitude of the Hawks that night. I was blown away by how good the Knicks were. And I said it, and I said it on the air, man, if there's a better. If there's a better half of basketball that was played this year in the NBA, I want to see it. Because I don't think there was. They were that forceful defensively, pressuring, denying, funneling the ball to the lane. Everything was contested at the rim. And then the shot making on the other end because you could play that way defensively and not shoot like that. And it's still ultra impressive. And you're probably up 25 at half and it's like, wow, what a performance for them to do that defensively. And then no one miss a shot basically for an entire half. No, never seen anything like it, man. It was, it was just mesmerizing. I said to Mike Breen and RJ during one of the breaks, I said, if basketball is played in heaven, I think this is what it looks like. I mean, I'm pretty sure, like that's how good it was. It was that pure. The next thing, man, you can't play better.
Don Hahn
For Atlanta.
Alan Hahn
For Atlanta, that was hell, yeah.
Peter Rosenberg
Is this heaven? No, it's Atlanta.
Michael Kay
Good point, man.
Tim Legler
They got on different elevators.
Michael Kay
Yeah.
Peter Rosenberg
So sitting right here, we're out of the first round.
Alan Hahn
What is your.
Peter Rosenberg
What are your finals look like? And is there any difference from where we were just around to go to now? In other words, did you have the Celtics there?
Tim Legler
Yeah, I thought the Celtics absolutely were worthy of getting to the finals. Yes. A book like a team. You know, the Tatum injury hurt. I don't know how that would have Played out at the end of that series, obviously that's a major loss. And that was a big part of why I think teams looked at them and said they can get to the Finals. And one of the reasons I thought it was was because I would describe them often this year as a team that did not contribute to their own demise. You know, they were number one in the league in protecting the ball. They were number one in the league in protecting the paint. Defensively, they just didn't do things to beat themselves. They didn't make communication mistakes. On closeouts where two guys run at a shooter and then one more pass, the guy's got to wide open. 3. Like, they talk through that stuff so well. And on top of it, they have these two really dynamic forwards that are tough matchups and they got a lot of shooters. They absolutely like a team that could get to the finals. But now as we, you know, this how it works every round, you kind of got to read, you know, recalibrate the landscape. Right now, for me, the Knicks are the. When all four of these teams left in Eastern Conference, when they play their best basketball, the Knicks are the best team that's left. But that doesn't mean everybody gets to that level in a series. We know that there could be unexpected guys go through a shooting swamp that you don't see coming. So. So they've got to go now play. They're still not going to play as well as they did down in Atlanta in game six. You can't expect that. But they've got to go play like closer to their ceiling than these other teams. And if they do that, I think their ceiling is higher.
Don Hahn
What about the bench matchup? They put a lot of. A lot of minutes Nick does on those four guys and he has to their benches, it's the lowest scoring bench left in the playoffs. They barely play. I mean, they don't play a lot of minutes at all. Could the minutes wait? And it's kind of coincidence that we're talking about minutes a year after, of course, with the Knicks, when that was always the conversation, because Mike Brown has really done a good job utilizing a bench. A rotation of four guys that have had impact on in the playoff games already versus a Philly, a Philly bench that I think has been outscored by like 25 points in that Celtic series. Do you think that's going to be a key here or is this still just about stars when you get this far in the playoffs?
Tim Legler
I mean, ultimately, it's going to probably be more decided by Stars. There's no question they're going to be bench players in this series that on a given night have that X factor impact. And I think there's more guys I trust on the Knicks to do that. I think Mike Brown's come a long way, like with it. Just I think he has those guys know that he has confidence in them and they can be inserted even in the situations where maybe you're not expected because there's foul trouble, that guy rolls his ankle, whatever it may be, and now you alter it and one of those guys gets inserted earlier and they play a little bit longer than they normal. I think he's done a pretty good job with that. I think for Nick Nurse a lot of times with their bench, I think that they're, you know, he's hoping to ride out those minutes like, you know, and that's. Let's just try to hold our own rather than you feel really good about guys coming in and like really doing some damage. I think the Knicks have some guys that are more X factors in that way. Philadelphia does have Grimes. I think Grimes could be a big one in this series and I thought his shooting helped turn that series around. In the Boston in a Philly matchup in Game five, he had some dagger threes to help close that game, and it gave Philly an opportunity to get back for a game 76 at home. They took care of business and obviously we saw what happened in Game 7, but that none of that happens in Game 5. And I thought Grimes was really big there, so he's a guy that sort of is capable of doing that. But I think there are. There are more guys for the Knicks that on a given night can be part of the storyline that's written after the game. And that's all we're talking about here. But this is going to be about the stars. There's a lot of them. These are two really, really, really talented starting fives. And I'm just fascinated to see how these guys go at each other.
Alan Hahn
Tim, it's always a pleasure, man. Hopefully we'll talk to you later on in the playoffs.
Michael Kay
No question.
Tim Legler
I cannot wait to be in the garden for game two. Man, we are looking forward to.
Alan Hahn
We're looking forward to seeing you, too. That's. Tim Legler does a great job on ESPN and breaking down not just this series between the Knicks and the Sixers, but all of the playoffs. Now, obviously, Alan, the Knicks are after a ring, but there are other rings in the world.
Don Hahn
There's lots of other rings. And this is this other ring to it for you, It's Alan. Han. I want to tell you about Ring's End.
Michael Kay
Wow.
Don Hahn
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Alan Hahn
so I was thinking about. I brought up the Giants blowing out the Vikings in the championship game.
Don Hahn
It's a good one.
Alan Hahn
But that game was at Giant stadium. The other one I thought of from a hockey standpoint, two no mas. Game 7. But that was in Detroit when the Red Wings beat the Avalanche.
Peter Rosenberg
Seven.
Alan Hahn
Nothing.
Don Hahn
Yeah.
Alan Hahn
Lit wa up decisive game seven. And then the other one, not to hurt your feelings, Alan, is the game seven and.
Peter Rosenberg
Oh, four.
Alan Hahn
Red Sox, Yankees.
Don Hahn
Yeah.
Alan Hahn
At Yankee Stadium. Ten. Three.
Don Hahn
No, no, that. That. That game was over. You knew it was over. You felt it was over. That was painful. Yeah, Pedro. Right. Like that. That. That was pure dominance. That was the end of the innocence.
Tim Legler
Yeah.
Don Hahn
And that there, the place was like it was a library in that building.
Alan Hahn
Well, it became Fenway North.
Don Hahn
Well, by the end of it, by the End. You did have the loud Red Sox, but there for the most part, in the middle of that game, you all of a sudden just had no juice at all. For what that. The. The size and magnitude of that game versus the. By the middle of the game, the reaction, yeah, it was tough.
Alan Hahn
But even the examples I gave, you know, 41 nothing. Ten, three, seven nothing. To be up 61 points.
Don Hahn
Yeah.
Alan Hahn
On the road, I just, I never seen anything like that in my life.
Don Hahn
And the poor PA Guy, just every time they'd hit a three, screaming three. That was bizarre.
Peter Rosenberg
And I think I did hear back from Tigger later that day.
Don Hahn
Okay.
Peter Rosenberg
And it is. I say, hold on. I said, oh, no, I never asked him the question because he got back to me too late. I didn't hear back from him until 10 at night. So I didn't get an answer. Don, my old mentor, who I interned for as a kid, who's a pretty kind of a hip hop legend, I'd say is the PA guy for the Atlanta Hawks. And it's just a bizarre situation to be in. And then they had an artist perform at halftime. Yeah, they were down 50 points and a real, I mean, you know, he's not a big time artist, but has one huge record. But I was performing a halftime.
Alan Hahn
They were killing the Mets last week when they were getting blown out. They had to fight. When you don't, you got to still play, plan out the things you have.
Tim Legler
Right.
Alan Hahn
I mean, you just can't, you can't abort it. Like, oh, you invite somebody to sing at halftime, you've got certain things you're going to do. Nobody can expect that.
Tim Legler
No.
Alan Hahn
How can anybody expect that?
Peter Rosenberg
You can't. And you got to keep going forward. So it's like. It is what it is. If we plan to do something, you
Don Hahn
look like a tool.
Alan Hahn
You know it.
Peter Rosenberg
But you got to stop.
Don Hahn
We paid for this stuff. You got to do it.
Peter Rosenberg
It's done. What's done is done. Now, I was just looking here, though, and we'll, we'll obviously have, you know, a lot to discuss, but seven and a half point favorites the next.
Don Hahn
That, that seems high.
Peter Rosenberg
That's a bit. That, you know what that means. Oh, they, they think it's continuing to just roll.
Alan Hahn
Yeah.
Peter Rosenberg
Like they're saying, they're saying it's four straight blowouts now.
Don Hahn
That's what Vegas says. Are you falling for the banana in the tailpipe? Are you saying, no, no, no. It ends, it stops. It doesn't mean they're going to lose. But seven's a big seven.
Alan Hahn
You just wonder if everything's even. That number is a lot lower. But for the Knicks coming off of not having played since Friday, and then the Sixers in BOSTON, Emotional Game 7 win on a Saturday and then go one day off and then go to New York, that has to affect the number. This is probably more like five and a half, six, maybe.
Peter Rosenberg
Maybe even lower.
Alan Hahn
Maybe.
Peter Rosenberg
Maybe a three and a half, four.
Alan Hahn
And still that's high.
Don Hahn
It is. But again, like it all.
Peter Rosenberg
Can you picture another. The question is, can we picture tonight's another laugher and the Knicks just completely do what the Knicks do.
Don Hahn
I'm not going to go laugher. I. But I. I do have a sense of. An odd sense of confidence about, like, they. They know how they want to play now. And it's like everybody's kind of like on board with it. And it's a matter of. As we know this, we always simplify the NBA game. But if, you know, because they haven't played in a couple of days and they have practiced, of course, but, you know, you come out and you go 1 for 12 from 3 because, no, everybody's rusty, you know. Now all of a sudden you've got a game, but because it's a quick turnaround for the Sixers and you're kind of cramming on what the Knicks do because there isn't. The Last time these two teams played was February 11th. That was the last game before the All Star break, fellas. There's two teams in totally different places now, so there's nothing really you can rely on other than, here's what they're doing now. Let's just do a quick, like, catch up on what you need to do and then figure it out as the game goes on. So if you get off to a hot start, yeah, it could be. It could be quick. And getting that first one, especially at home, as we know this Nick team, you got to get that first one at home just to get yourself to the right start. This is the time to take advantage of it.
Alan Hahn
They don't win series when they lose the first game at home. They don't. That's why this is such a pivotal game, especially where you have the Sixers coming off Amazon. We played that game on Saturday in that Game seven win against Boston Smalls here.
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Don Hahn
Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.
Peter Rosenberg
I didn't listen to anything you just said.
Don Hahn
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Alan Hahn
We all woke up today to the news that we lost John Sterling at the age of 87. And whether you're a Yankee fan or not, I mean Everybody who's familiar with his work and knew him or heard him and pretty significant loss in New York sports. And I got to listen to Michael K. Earlier today, and I was as emotional as he was because he just did a terrific job of painting the word picture, especially in that first hour. But you can't talk John Sterling without talking to Michael K. And just before he's got to go to work over at Yankee Stadium for the final game of the series against the O's. He's nice enough to join us. And Michael, it was emotional, but one of the things we wanted to really get out of you today is the fun. You said something very interesting during your show that John would want us talking Knicks. John would want us to talk about how much he loved life. And one of the great things working with you, Peter and I were talking about it. In all those years that we were together, you had the best John Sterling stories, and some of them are for the air, some aren't. But, you know, it just. It was just such a pleasure to hear those stories. And I really wanted to thank you for connecting us with John.
Michael Kay
Well, thank you. He loved you, Don. And I know you told the story about how he called you. He was. He was as happy. I don't know as happy as you. But when he heard that you got the devil's job, that meant the world to him because he realized people live in dreams. You know, he wants to be the Yankee announcer since he was 6 years old. And he realized your love for the Devils. And when you got it, he called me up and said, michael, I need Don Lagreca's number. And obviously he used it right away and called you. And then I was listening, driving to the ballpark, and he said that he even called you, like, after the first game. So that's the type of guy he was. He just. It was amazing and the best way I could put it, guys, and not to get too maudlin, life for him, life was a cocktail hour. He just wanted to have a scotch in his hand and be well dressed and have good conversation. And that's what he was about. He just enjoyed every second of his life. And he did it on his own terms, and he did it the way he wanted to do it. He didn't like being told what to do. He didn't like rules. I told the story on the show. We were waiting for customs and Canada, and I'm standing next to him, and he go, I don't get it. I don't get it. I said, what don't you get John, why do we need rules? Why can't you just go anywhere you want, any place you want. There shouldn't be borders. People should just do whatever they want. I said, well, that would be anarchy, John. He goes, no, no, no. People would be happier. That's the way life should be. And that's the way he lived his life.
Peter Rosenberg
So that's, that's the thing that's always funny to me about your guys friendship, Michael, is that in some ways, like you're so different. Yeah, your shared love of baseball is so different. But like, you know, all, with all due respect, I consider you a dear friend. Sometimes you're like a little bit scared of life and taking big risks. He seemed like a guy who just lived by the seat of his pants. How did you guys sort of, you know, get along socially?
Michael Kay
Because we like to have fun. We, we both like women and you know, that helped. And you know, we had a shared admiration of pretty ladies and so, and we, you know, we could talk sports. We pretty much had the same views on certain things. And I envied him, I really did, simply because of the fact that he did not let stress affect his life. And maybe that's why he lived to such a ripe old age. And he did not let the bad guys get you down and just, you know, he concentrated on all the positives. The only time I ever see him get down is when he would get ripped by the, the radio and TV columnist. He didn't understand why they were so mean spirited. And you know, that's the way he did his job. And the thing that kept him going though, and got him out of those moods is that the way he was received by Yankee fans, how much they loved him and how they would walk up to him and do the Yankees win and do all of his calls and things like that. That meant the world to him because that gave him validation that, you know what, that's who he's doing the games for anyway. He's not doing the games for the guys that don't like his style. Because most of the guys that do radio and TV criticism, they're, you know, they're pretty much old school. And John was not an old school broadcaster. He did a baseball broadcast like nobody else did a baseball broadcast. He wanted, you know, he once told me he wanted it to seem like, you know, a cocktail hour. Like if you, if we, when we were doing the game and somebody would walk into the radio booth, he'd go, look who just walked in. John McGregor just walked and he explained that to me. He said, I want people that are listening to feel like it's a party and they want to know who's coming in next. This is the hottest party in New York. Who's coming into the Yankee booth? What are they talking about? What are they joking about? Let's eavesdrop on that. And that's the way he fashioned the broadcast. And the guy before me in the Yankee radio booth, Joe angel, when they first started, he said, don't ask me questions on the air. And John knew that that was a relationship that was not going to last. And with me, he could ask me anything. And we had conversations and we broadcast. The people that were listening were just eavesdropping and they wanted to be part of the party. And that that was, you know, very crafty of him. And it was designed that way. And I think that a lot of Yankee fans felt like that. And on top of everything, guys, you know, while we were in the BOOTH for those 10 years, they did an awful lot of winning. And John once told me, if you think if you bring people good news, they're going to like you. And he was right.
Don Hahn
You know, Michael, I never got to meet him, and it's one of my greatest regrets in life. But also, there's a part of me, because I only knew the character and the voice, and it was so connected to me in my, you know, early years, before I was even a full time sportswriter, I was a part timer driving home, listening to the calls, staying in the driveway. Like you had people calling in today, saying about sitting in the driveway, waiting for the inning to end, because I just want to hear the rest of the inning. So just sitting there listening to it, and it first of all made me think of two things as a listening to your show. The first one was to make sure that you know that we love you, because that's not said enough when we're together. And you are also one of these people that is associated, the voice and personality associated with a lot of great Yankee baseball. That needs to be said, and you need to embrace that first and foremost. But second, the amount of calls that you got from people that talked about exactly what you were saying that John loved so much, which is the response he would get from fans, like, how much does that, or how much does that tell you what you. What a broadcaster can mean to a fan base when critics say what they want? They're miserable people, but it really does matter how the fans feel about what you say and what you do and your style with the team that they love, it's, it's their favorite show and 36 summers they watched that show and he was the main character.
Michael Kay
Every, everybody, Alan, everybody loves affirmation to know that what you're doing is appreciated and that people listen and, and they enjoy what you're doing. So that, that, that is a, it's a really big deal. I know it meant a lot to John. You know, when he would come into a booth. I was, I was at a diner today reading the newspaper. A couple people came up to me and did the Bernie call to me. Oh, it's such a great feeling. And, and he told stories like that all the time. So it meant the world to him that the Yankee fans appreciated him and he knew that, you know, stick in the buds didn't, didn't quite get it and that was fine. And like he would tell me the last two years, I think he was, he at least got a nomination for the hall of Fame. And he told me, I'll never make it. He said, because I'm just not that style. I'm not the style that the people that vote are looking for. And he was probably, he was probably, you know, he was right on that. And, you know, it's sad that I was going to say this on the show today and it moved so fast. I never got a chance. I wish that John didn't die today, but people thought he died so that he could hear everything that people said. Yeah, because that would really mean the world to him. All the love that's coming from all these disparate factions like Met fans were calling in today. I hate the Yankees, but I would listen to Yankee games to hear John Sterling, that would really be special to him. But at least maybe his children are going to hear it and realize how much of an impact their dad made.
Alan Hahn
Now, you touched on this a little bit during your show, but I want the audience to hear why he always wore a suit. Full disclosure, Radio. Usually you don't have to wear a suit because you're not on television. Especially in baseball with so many games you see guys with just, you know, polo shirts and sometimes if it's really hot, you wear shorts. He's still dressed impeccably. And why the stand up mic instead of the headset mic?
Michael Kay
Well, the stand up mic was because he only had his earpiece in one ear and he jacked that up as loud as you could. So, I mean, I know what he went through because you end up losing most of your hearing because of it. And so the Stand up mic. He could hear himself better. He felt it was a better mic than the one that you have the wraparound, you know, with the headset on.
Alan Hahn
Right.
Michael Kay
And he didn't want to have both ears. He didn't want to lose the hearing in both ears, which made sense. So he had the earpiece on one ear and then the stand up mic. As for the, the jacket and a tie, I really believe he just felt, like I said earlier, life was a cocktail hour and, you know, he wanted to do respect to the job and he felt there should be a respect to the job. And he was the voice of the New York Yankees and he had to represent himself in that way. Always had the white handkerchief coming out of the breast pocket or a crisp white shirt. And, you know, in the summers he would wear white pants and he wear bucks and stuff like that. He had a distinctive style about him. And then when he would get back to the hotel while we were on the road, he would get spruced up, put on more cologne, and then the cocktail hour would really ramp up in the, in the hotel bar. So he just, he lived life to the fullest. He really did. I don't think it was a day that went by that he didn't enjoy. That's why it's so hard today for me, because I can't, I can't even picture him dead. No, I just, he was so full of life. I never, I thought he would live on forever, but thankfully, his calls will live on forever. And, you know, just before I came on the air, Aaron Boone told a great story. If you see, after every Yankee win, guys, Aaron Boone turns around and he, you know, shakes hands with his coaches and puts his arms around his coaches. And if you wondered what he says, you know what he says when they're celebrating a win, he'll turn around to them and he goes, yankees win. The Yankees win. That's what he's saying in the dugout.
Don Hahn
That's.
Michael Kay
And you know, John hasn't done a game in what, a couple of years now, but he lives on in that Yankee dugout. And Aaron said that when he first became manager and they would call somebody up, you know, when he was in the car driving home, he would anxiously listen to see what the home run call was for the new player. So it became a thing, it became a team for all the, became a thing for the players. And, you know, I was in the car when you read the Derek Jeter release, I mean, that, that is so unbelievably heartwarming. He Said he's just as important as a lot of the Yankee players. And, you know, he lasted 36 years. There's never been a Yankee player that lasted, you know, 36 years. I think Garrett had the longest run of all. And as I was walking up here, and it's been an emotional day for me. It's certainly not about me, but Hal Simoner said, you know, John was part of the family, and that tells you what the Yankees think of him as well. He was part of the family, and not only of the Yankees, but of everybody that listened to games for 36 summers. He was their buddy.
Peter Rosenberg
We are. We're talking to the great Michael K. About the passing of his dear friend and former partner, John Sterling. And. And. And Michael, he. He has a child named Derek.
Alan Hahn
And.
Peter Rosenberg
And the triplets thing always sort of blew my mind. Did he ever tell you anything? Just about being a father to triplets? It is pretty unique. His life was unique in a million ways, but that's just another really unique piece.
Michael Kay
I think it wore him and Jennifer out. I think it was a shock when it happened, and it became sometimes too much for John. And, I mean, he loved those kids with every fiber of his soul. But when, you know, you're raising one, Peter and Don, you're raising two, and I'm raising two, and it's a lot of work. So they have the older daughter, Abby, and then to have three infants, you know. And the best story I could tell about John, how he lived life on his own terms. You know, he was at the hospital when the triplets were born, and then he was in the Booth for Game 2 of the 1998 World Series. And then he was on the charter going to San Diego. And Scott Brocius came up to him and said, john, didn't you just have kids today? Yes, I did, Scott. He said, why are you on the plane? Oh, nothing more I could do.
Tim Legler
That's on my part.
Alan Hahn
Oh, and it was a great laugh. Michael, have a good game tonight, man. And our condolences, man. It's a tough loss.
Michael Kay
Thank you very much, guys. I appreciate the time.
Peter Rosenberg
Love you, buddy. You did great today.
Alan Hahn
Thanks, man. Yeah, terrific, terrific stories. That's what I wanted to have. I wanted to be able to get, you know, some laughs because he's.
Tim Legler
Well, that.
Peter Rosenberg
Michael. Michael, listen, you know, what an impression becomes, how you picture someone. It's like how Will Ferrell's George Bush, like, became George Bush, right?
Michael Kay
Yeah.
Don Hahn
Yeah.
Peter Rosenberg
Michael's John Sterling, to me, is John. Well, I. Now, when I do an impression I'm only doing an impression of Michael's impression.
Alan Hahn
Michael's impression of him absurdly.
Peter Rosenberg
But I'm glad we were able to laugh a bit with him.
Alan Hahn
He told the story earlier about that flight to Minnesota where they heard tremendous turbulence and players are praying in the aisles and the oxygen masks drop, and people really thought. And John's just reading the newspaper casually, just moves through the oxygen.
Don Hahn
He's reading a mystery novel. He had a book in front of his face. Susan also told the story, and she had more detail. He's reading a mystery novel. He's holding it up in front of his face. He's not affected at all by the turbulence, and everybody's screaming. The oxygen match drops down, and he. He brushes it aside, and then he starts chortling, like, laughing because it fell down in front of his face. While everybody else, of course, was thinking, you know, these were the. The end of time.
Alan Hahn
He just knew that he was on the plane, he was okay, that he wasn't. And then when Michael said, I just can't believe that he's gone, I don't think the way John lived life, like, he had no plans of going anywhere.
Don Hahn
Yeah.
Alan Hahn
You know, he was just in that. He lived hearing Michael every second.
Don Hahn
Sorry. Hearing Michael say that, like that. That kind of chokes you up a little bit, you know, like, just. That's when somebody's that close to you. You spent that much time with somebody. I mean, that many hours, and the mileage and everything else that goes with it. And then just to say, like, I just, you know, it's still. I can't believe he's gone, probably because I don't think he can. And maybe it won't even be reality until, you know, the funeral. Basically.
Alan Hahn
Yeah. Just unbelievable stuff.
Peter Rosenberg
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Don Hahn
thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.
Peter Rosenberg
I didn't listen to anything you just said.
Don Hahn
Catch the show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts.
Alan Hahn
Ryan M. Spader on Twitter. Don't know who this is, but apparently he did the math. And according to him, John Sterling called 28 of all Yankee games in franchise history, including 47.5% of their postseason games.
Peter Rosenberg
Wow.
Alan Hahn
Well, when you're doing that many games,
Don Hahn
right, who's the only. I think. Was it Scooter?
Alan Hahn
Right.
Don Hahn
That Rizzuto did 40 years, so only he did more. Right.
Alan Hahn
A lot of that was on television. So there's a lot of games that weren't the national television took them away. And believe me, scooter didn't do 5,000 straight games.
Tim Legler
No, no, no.
Don Hahn
I'm talking about years. No one else did more years. So if John's doing every game, you know, that's. Yeah, that math.
Alan Hahn
Maths, yeah, but that's pretty incredible for a franchise around for over a hundred years that nearly 30% of Yankee games are called by John Sterling. Aaron Boone spoke before the game and of course Sterling was the topic of conversation. And Boone just talked About Sterling specifically,
Aaron Boone
one of a kind, an amazing career, an amazing life. The soundtrack for so many New Yorkers and Yankee fans over the years. You know, I know like a lot of Yankee fans, anytime there's a big moment or a big game or something like, man, I couldn't wait to get home and I want to hear how John called this and just such a nice man. Like there's so many times, you know, when we're traveling the traveling party, we get in somewhere in the middle of the night, we're maybe going through a rough patch during the year or a good patch and he'll pass on by me and in the front row on the bus there and just say something sweet, funny, encouraging. And one of my favorite things is that to me embodies John is when the foul ball hit him in the booth and he just ow. Like the boyish six year old reaction that he just kind of spews out like, ow.
Tim Legler
I'm okay.
Aaron Boone
Like to me encapsulates him so much. I've heard a lot of great tributes today. I listen to to Susan talk about them, but just awesome. A giant in the sport did it his own way, walked to his own beat as as much as you can. And truly one of a kind and a sad day, but also one where we get to celebrate an iconic figure.
Alan Hahn
Talked about his favorite sterling calls.
Aaron Boone
You know, when we win, I still do this. My coaches look at me like I'm nuts. I don't even know if they know what I'm doing. But as soon as that final out is made and I go, I get up to shake player sands, I go, ball game over. Yankees win. Duh. Yankees win. And I'm shaking all my coach's hands. So I got goosebumps thinking about that. So I love that. I heard some great calls on the radio today. I mean, Jeters 3000 hit the home run. Like, man, I heard that played back today. I'm like, man, what a great call that was. My home run in 03 was obviously Charlie Steiner called because it was an extra innings. And Susan once handed me a tape when I was with ESPN in for a game and said John made a tape of him calling it, which is so. God, did you give this to Boonie for me?
Peter Rosenberg
That is insane. That is hilarious.
Aaron Boone
It's a sad day. It is. But what a life and what an amazing character John was.
Don Hahn
That's unreal.
Michael Kay
Crazy.
Alan Hahn
I never heard that story. That is amazing.
Don Hahn
What does that say?
Alan Hahn
Oh my God.
Don Hahn
That is how much it meant to him that he Was like, I want to have the call. So you just do it on your own.
Peter Rosenberg
I never heard of that.
Alan Hahn
You know what, Don?
Don Hahn
I think you should go back and Jason Arnold's call, you should probably call that.
Alan Hahn
I couldn't do it. But John got away with it because he was John Sterling. Garrett Cole on his favorite John Sterling
Don Hahn
call, there's, like, anticipation to especially young guys to see what he would come up with. You know, he.
Tim Legler
He was so good at it for so long. My personal favorite is Burn, Baby Burn. I mean, that was. That one got me fired up, you
Don Hahn
know, and so I think that's one thing we'll very much, very much miss.
Tim Legler
You know, the little idiosyncrasies, extra knowledge
Don Hahn
that he would bring, the little tidbits and just the charisma.
Alan Hahn
I gotta tell you, it feels pretty rare to me that players have such a connection to an announcer, and if they do, it sometimes ends up being the TV guy, because especially in modern baseball, right, Allen? Like, they'll go back and watch the game.
Don Hahn
Oh, yeah. So it's always on in the clubhouse,
Alan Hahn
you know, And I. And I always think about that too. Like, after I call a Devil game, I get on the plane and the coaches are all watching the game back. I'm like. So they might hear the calls because they got to watch the game back. But the radio call, how would they ever hear it? Because, you know, you're not going back and listening to the radio call. You might catch it during a highlight or something, driving back from the ballpark. But he made a connection, and that's very rare. I mean, he was around forever. But, you know, these players, they're self absorbed, a lot of them, and, you know, they don't even understand what goes on with the announcer. They know the announcer is. I'm not saying that they won't have any relationship, but to have that kind of love for somebody just shows you he was around forever. But he made a connection to players that sometimes announcers, especially on the radio side, never get a chance to do.
Peter Rosenberg
You know. You know what we need on Wednesday?
Don Hahn
Oh, yeah. All right, this is. This is the list. This is tailor made.
Peter Rosenberg
We're gonna. We're gonna need. We're gonna need a top five from you, buddy.
Alan Hahn
All right?
Tim Legler
It's either.
Peter Rosenberg
It's either calls, you know, nicknames, some sort of list.
Alan Hahn
I will be curating over the next 48 hours. Do the right thing to get that done.
Don Hahn
Thanks for listening to the Don, Han and Rosenberg podcast.
Peter Rosenberg
I don't want to know how the
Don Hahn
sausage is made, man. I just want to know. It's good. Hear more of Don Allen and Peter Weekday afternoon starting at 3 on 8 80, ESPN, the ESPN New York app, and your smart speakers.
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Date: May 4, 2026
Hosts: Don La Greca, Alan Hahn, Peter Rosenberg
Guests: Tim Legler (ESPN NBA Analyst), Michael Kay (Yankees broadcaster)
This episode is split into two main themes:
(Starts ~00:53, Tim Legler joins at 00:58)
(Starts ~28:08, following commercial break)
Timestamps: 45:23 – 49:45
Tim Legler (on Knicks vs Hawks blowout, 13:17):
Michael Kay (on Sterling’s approach to announcing, 32:35):
Aaron Boone (on Sterling, 47:40):
Michael Kay (on fan appreciation, 34:57):
Michael Kay (on Sterling’s reaction to criticism, 31:18):
For New York sports fans—or anyone invested in the power of sports culture—this episode captures both the heat of playoff action and the warmth of community, memory, and legacy.