Hour 3: Baseball Issues & Fraudulence

Summary

Don, Hahn & Rosenberg Podcast Summary
Episode: Hour 3: Baseball Issues & Fraudulence
Release Date: July 8, 2025

In this episode of the Don, Hahn & Rosenberg podcast, hosts Don LaGreca, Alan Hahn, and Peter Rosenberg delve deep into current baseball controversies and address recent criticisms surrounding Don’s professional broadcasting decisions. The discussion is segmented into two primary sections: Baseball Issues and Fraudulence.

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1. Baseball Issues

1.1 MLB Scheduling Problems

The hosts kick off the episode by analyzing the ongoing frustrations with Major League Baseball's (MLB) scheduling for the season's final weeks. Don LaGreca expresses his bewilderment at the scheduling choices, particularly the lack of matchups between top National League East contenders.

Don LaGreca [04:08]: "Does that make any sense that you have those three teams battling for position and the Mets don't play the Braves and they play the Phillies early in September."

1.2 All-Star Game Decisions

The conversation transitions to the All-Star Game, focusing on the exclusion of star player Juan Soto. Both Don and Alan critique the decision-making process behind roster selections, questioning the implications for the sport's popularity and fan engagement.

Don LaGreca [06:35]: "Does it make sense? Oh, but Altuve's got to play because the game's in Atlanta. God forbid those fans don't he get to see him every day."

Alan Hahn [10:01]: "It's interesting to me, but okay, but."

1.3 Critique of MLB Leadership (Rob Manfred)

A significant portion of the discussion centers around MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred's leadership. Don is openly critical, labeling him as the "worst commissioner in sports" due to perceived mismanagement and lack of fan-centric policies.

Don LaGreca [07:38]: "He has no ability to promote his sport. He has no knowledge of the sport. He doesn't care about the fans. He is the worst commissioner in sport."

1.4 Potential MLB Lockout and Labor Issues

The hosts speculate on the future of MLB, contemplating the possibility of a lockout and its potential effects on the sport. Don draws parallels with the NHL's labor disputes, expressing concerns over how MLB might navigate similar challenges.

Don LaGreca [11:25]: "At the end of next season, they're going to have to negotiate a new CBA and the big bad Yankees and Hal Steinbrenner are going to want a cap."

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2. Fraudulence: Don’s Broadcasting Career

2.1 Listener's Critique About Don's Role Switch

The episode shifts focus as Don addresses criticisms regarding his recent transition from broadcasting New York Rangers games to the New Jersey Devils. Several listeners express concerns about perceived loyalty and label Don a “fraud” for his career move.

Listener Fran [42:50]: "All these years, man, I didn't like you because I didn't know you were a Devils fan. I thought you were a die-hard Ranger fan."

Don LaGreca [46:12]: "But everybody knows these were the three teams that were going to battle for the National League East. And you don't have them playing each other in the final two and a half weeks of the regular season. Does that make any sense?"

2.2 Hosts' Defense and Discussion on Professional Choices

Alan Hahn and Don vehemently defend Don’s professional decisions, emphasizing the importance of career growth over unwavering team loyalty. They argue that in the competitive broadcasting industry, seizing opportunities is crucial for success.

Alan Hahn [31:20]: "You have the opportunity, but work for the Rangers. Probably got better at your job because you worked at the Rangers."

Don LaGreca [33:42]: "It's working out. I loved every second of calling the Ranger."

2.3 Final Thoughts and Listener Calls

The hosts continue to engage with listeners, addressing their concerns and sharing personal anecdotes about fandom and professional integrity. Don highlights the common love for hockey that transcends individual team rivalries, advocating for mutual respect among fans and broadcasters alike.

Don LaGreca [46:54]: "It's all in fun and we'll see what happens. It is kind of cool to know that that's coming."

Listener Mark [45:25]: "I'm losing my mind over these Devil fans, these keyboard warriors that are doing all this. It's awful."

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Conclusion

The episode skillfully balances a critical examination of current MLB issues with a heartfelt defense of Don LaGreca's broadcasting career choices. By intertwining professional sports analysis with personal narratives, Don, Hahn & Rosenberg offer listeners a comprehensive and engaging discussion that resonates whether you're a die-hard fan or a casual observer.

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Notable Quotes:

• Don LaGreca [07:38]: "He has no ability to promote his sport. He has no knowledge of the sport. He doesn't care about the fans. He is the worst commissioner in sport."

• Alan Hahn [31:20]: "It's my job. I'm not saying I'm now a Rangers fan. I'm saying this is my job."

• Don LaGreca [46:12]: "I've got a tattoo. And look at the years that are on the Underneath the Stanley Cup."

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For more insights and discussions on New York sports and beyond, tune in to the Don, Hahn & Rosenberg podcast weekday afternoons starting at 3 on 8 80, ESPN New York app, and your smart speakers.

Transcript

[Don LaGreca]

With the Venmo Debit card, you can Venmo everything. Your favorite band's merch.

[Alan Hahn]

You can Venmo this or their next show.

[Don LaGreca]

You can Venmo that. Visit Venmo Me Debit to learn more. The Venmo MasterCard is issued by the Bancorp bank in a pursuant to license by Mastercard International, Inc. The card may be used everywhere. MasterCard is accepted. Venmo purchase restrictions apply.

[Alan Hahn]

This is the Don Hahn and Rosenberg.

[Don LaGreca]

Podcast that sounds like heaven to me.

[Alan Hahn]

Listen live weekday afternoon starting at 3 on 8 80, ESPN, the ESPN New York app and your smart speakers.

[Don LaGreca]

Game time is brought to you by Telmore to Irish Whiskey because when it's game time.

[Alan Hahn]

I like when he holds it.

[Don LaGreca]

Mets start a series with the Orioles with coverage immediately following us at 8:80. At 6 o' clock Yankees welcome in the Mariners at 7:05 and the Liberty host the Aces at 8. Tullamore due the original triple distilled, triple blended and triple cast matured Irish Whiskey. Be sure to grab a Telemore do or try the new Tullamore do honey. During today's action, glasses up to enjoying Telemore Due responsibly. Talking Mets and Yankees Mets have a series coming up against the O's. Got to take care of business. They just had a nice emotional three game set against Boston against the Yankees took two out of three. Could very easily swept that series. Didn't. But you know what, you got to be happy if you're a Met fan. Alonzo starting to hit now. Soto's coming off a big month of June. You're trying to get healthier with your rotation and it's starting to get there. And you've got the O's and you got the Royals over the next six games to see if you can't maybe put a little bit of a dent in these standings. Philadelphia lost last night in San Francisco to the Giants. So the Mets are just a game back against Philadelphia for the National League east and maybe they can find their way into first place in time for the All Star Game.

[Alan Hahn]

That's going to be, I think a dog fight the rest of the season, don't you? I feel like they'll be, they're just going to be neck and neck pretty much the whole way home. And how late do they play each other? Do they play the Phillies in the last couple of weeks of the season? I remember we were doing the schedule.

[Don LaGreca]

Usually you usually play pretty heavy.

[Alan Hahn]

That could be, that could be at the end really. But that's, that's Go to September.

[Don LaGreca]

That's something good to see here.

[Alan Hahn]

Let me give me some. Yeah, there they are.

[Don LaGreca]

They are September. Yeah, they close out. Wow. They got, they got a four game set in Philly in early September.

[Alan Hahn]

September, right. Right to the 11th.

[Don LaGreca]

Yeah. And then we get to October, they're already done. So they. Then that's the last of Philadelphia, four game series in Philly.

[Alan Hahn]

And then you look at it, I mean, I mean baseball man, closing up with the.

[Don LaGreca]

I got to tell you, I understand that the wild card comes into play, right? So for all, you know, like all Major League baseball's thinking is, well, we might, we might have the Mets and the Cubs battling for a wild card spot. So let's have them play the final week of the season. But after that four game set with.

[Alan Hahn]

Philly, which you know is going to feel like it's everything.

[Don LaGreca]

All right, season ends on September 28th. So the final 17 games, week and a half of the two and a half weeks of the season, Mets will not play the Phillies. They got a three game series at home against Texas Random three games at home against the Padres could be big. All right, then three at home against the Nationals.

[Alan Hahn]

There's your cupcake.

[Don LaGreca]

And then the Mets finish out the season. Three in Chicago could be big. And then three at the Marlins. So that's good because you know, you want to take care of business with the Marlins. But what's frustrating is you go into the season right, Mets and Phillies were the two best teams in the National League east along with the Braves. All right, so you explained to me the schedule, Alan, that you went to last year. Mets, Braves, Phillies, you know, those were going to be the three teams battling for the top of the National League East. And in the month of September, the entire month of September, the Mets have no games against the Braves. Four games with Philadelphia 8th through 11th. Does that make any sense that you have those three teams battling for position and the Mets don't play the Braves and they play the Phillies early in September.

[Alan Hahn]

Right.

[Don LaGreca]

And that these three teams are not battling each other in the final two weeks of the season. How does that make any sense?

[Alan Hahn]

You would think, think that that's where you load up your division rival schedule, right. To finish it, what is August must then have more Phillies games. Right. It must have another bravery.

[Don LaGreca]

You only play 13 times.

[Alan Hahn]

Well, I'm saying. But there's got to be another Brave series in there, doesn't it?

[Don LaGreca]

Well, it's got to be earlier, so it's going to be a lot. I just flipped over To Philadelphia, because I want to see.

[Alan Hahn]

So they got a three game series with the Braves and all, you know, I'm with you. I'm with you. Is it at Atlanta, too?

[Don LaGreca]

I gotta tell you, honestly, Honestly, Attack me if you want. I don't care. Baseball is miserably run. Rob Manfred has no idea what he's doing. So you've got the Phillies play the Mets. The Phillies don't play the Braves either. So the Phillies, Braves and Mets, the three best teams in the National League east. Last year put the schedule together. I was all done. They put the schedule together in September.

[Alan Hahn]

This is the Philly schedule. The Phillies, they're playing American League teams all over the place. The Royals, they're playing the Twins.

[Don LaGreca]

What do we do the last three games? And I understand you've got full time interleague play.

[Alan Hahn]

Why are we doing this though? You don't play interleague late in the season. Makes no sense.

[Don LaGreca]

But you got to.

[Alan Hahn]

All right, in what other sport does this happen? In the NFL, what do you play in December? Who do you play? Your division.

[Don LaGreca]

You play your division Always the last.

[Alan Hahn]

Three weeks, always division games. What are we doing?

[Don LaGreca]

But explain to me why it would make sense now. The Phillies have the Marlins.

[Alan Hahn]

I can't wait to see the Twins come in. We gotta get that game.

[Don LaGreca]

Yeah. The last three games of the season are against the Minnesota Twins.

[Alan Hahn]

Be a break.

[Don LaGreca]

I mean, come on, guys, really, it's not that hard.

[Alan Hahn]

They'll argue that. They give you the Phillies and the Marlins, though. You finish the season against the Marlins, they're going to say, see, there's your division.

[Don LaGreca]

No, but everybody knew the Marlins were going to stink. That the Nationals were going to stink. But everybody knew these were the three teams that were going to battle for the National League East. And you don't have them playing each other in the final two and a half weeks of the regular season. Does that make any sense? Does that make for good baseball?

[Alan Hahn]

No.

[Don LaGreca]

Does that make for good program?

[Alan Hahn]

No.

[Don LaGreca]

Does that make for good promotion?

[Alan Hahn]

No.

[Don LaGreca]

Next thing. I don't care about the All Star game. I'm a 57 year old man. All right? And Marco's not ready to understand All Star Games yet. So maybe I'll change my mind in the next few years when he gets excited about that.

[Alan Hahn]

Okay?

[Don LaGreca]

I didn't care that Juan Soto's not in the All Star Game again. I don't care. He probably doesn't care.

[Alan Hahn]

It's interesting to me, but okay, but.

[Don LaGreca]

Let me ask you this. Is it good for baseball that A guy that signed the biggest contract in sports isn't playing in your marquee event. Does it make sense? Oh, but Altuve's got to play because the game's in Atlanta. God forbid those fans don't he get to see him every day. But we got to make sure he's playing in Atlanta. God for freaking bid, Acuna. Yeah, I got God for friggin bid.

[Alan Hahn]

No God.

[Don LaGreca]

If Acuna doesn't play in Atlanta because the games, Jacob, the game's in Atlanta. The buildings will fall. They'll riot in Atlanta.

[Alan Hahn]

They might not come.

[Don LaGreca]

Oh, honestly. Honestly, you can get. You tell me all the commit you can. You can. You can call me a shill for Gary Bettman and you could put a nice big clown nose on Roger Goodell. And you can make fun of the fact that Adam Silver just can't gain weight. He looks like a guy that can have seven turkeys and not gain weight.

[Alan Hahn]

You could say that he's a little too player power.

[Don LaGreca]

Oh, he loves the player. The worst commissioner in sports and it's not even close to really great shape. Not even close. He has no ability to promote his sport. He has no knowledge of the sport. He doesn't care about the fans. He is the worst commissioner in sport. I won't even argue with you. I won't even take a call on it. Don't even tell me about the other commissioners, all right? And I think they're all flawed in their own way. Roger Goodell's great. I could walk into CBS and negotiate a billion dollar contract. You know why? Because everybody watches football, does anything. I take salesmanship. I'm dragging listeners. There's viewers that are following me into the room. They can't get enough of football. So I don't want to give him credit for that, but he's got a sport, runs it pretty well. Same thing with the NBA. Same thing with the NHL, Major League Baseball. Oh, we don't need Juan Soto in the All Star Game. We don't need division rivals playing in the final week of the season. We can call that. We can call the trophy a piece of tin.

[Alan Hahn]

It's fine.

[Don LaGreca]

Oh, we don't need ESPN broadcast in our games. Let's put a double header on Sunday that nobody knew happened. Did you know that ESPN had a double header on Sunday?

[Alan Hahn]

No.

[Don LaGreca]

Did you know?

[Alan Hahn]

No.

[Don LaGreca]

You know why? Because you didn't care.

[Alan Hahn]

That's a problem with the commission where nothing was going on. Literally. Mets and Yankees played and we played it at 1:00'. Clock.

[Don LaGreca]

So I'll get the call from that. Yo, yo. You are a fraud baseball fan because you don't love the game and you pick. I'm picking at it because I love the game and I see what's happening to it.

[Alan Hahn]

Don't you think that's the opposite?

[Don LaGreca]

No, it's true love.

[Alan Hahn]

No.

[Don LaGreca]

What he wants you. He wants a shield.

[Alan Hahn]

You love it so much, right. That you're critical of it because you know it should be and could be better. That's true love, not blind love, which is. I don't care what it is, as long as it's there. I'm just happy just being there. That's ridiculous. Hey, that's not love. That's something else completely.

[Don LaGreca]

I'm just. I get so frustrated because I love this sport. But they wonder why it's in the condition that it's in because you get businessmen to run it and they worry about their bottom line. And I'm sure they're. Michael always used that phrase, bottom line. Baseball's flush with cash. I'm sure they're flush with cash. Great. But you've got a generation of fans that can't watch the games, can't find the games, don't care about the games. And some things I thought the pitch clock. Brilliant move.

[Alan Hahn]

Brilliant. Don't care about the games is the scariest thing.

[Don LaGreca]

But it's a real problem. So it's an All Star Game, it's an exhibition. So I don't care that Soto's not in the game. But does it make sense, Alan?

[Alan Hahn]

No.

[Don LaGreca]

That one of the biggest stories of the off season, playing for a popular is not in the All Star Game. One of the biggest stories is going to be Soto. He's not there. And not there because if I'm not playing, if I'm not starting, I'm not departing. He wants to play in it. Oh, it just. It drives me crazy. I don't even get started about the Astro situation too. That Manfred completely messed up.

[Alan Hahn]

Yes, but. But of all the players that you could say got snubbed, Juan Soto is the most obvious one. And it doesn't really make sense. Like, you could make the case, right?

[Don LaGreca]

He wasn't voted by the fans, but you. But you don't find a way to get him on the roster.

[Alan Hahn]

Well, no, no. But again, there's. There's the reserves, there's a reserve, so.

[Don LaGreca]

I figured he was gonna be a reserve.

[Alan Hahn]

The guy was player of the month just this past month.

[Don LaGreca]

But it's a story.

[Alan Hahn]

And he's. He's one of your Great young players. Yeah, I don't know.

[Don LaGreca]

It's a story I don't understand. And I'm telling you, baseball fans, embrace it. Get a chair with a seatbelt. At the end of next season, they're going to have to negotiate a new cba and the big bad Yankees and Hal Steinbrenner are going to want a cap.

[Alan Hahn]

That's right. That's right.

[Don LaGreca]

And if they go to war, man, guess what? I saw it in the NHL and I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it. An entire season was canceled.

[Alan Hahn]

Don't be shocked. This is a sport that canceled the World Series.

[Don LaGreca]

They did.

[Alan Hahn]

Think about it. I know it's 30 years ago, but it happened.

[Don LaGreca]

And also, and you could blame the players too for this. I don't want to leave them off the hook. But what happened during COVID was an embarrassment to a 60 game schedule. And that had nothing to do completely with COVID They couldn't come up with a deal, so they put together a 60 game season which was, let's be honest, we loved it at the time because it was giving us our sport that we loved. But looking back at it, it was a complete ripoff of a season. And I don't want to take anything away from the Dodgers, but the Marlins made the playoffs that year. Luke Voight led the league with home runs because it was a 60 game schedule, man, 60 games. All because they couldn't get along with each other. And you think they're all going to try to sing Kumbaya and save themselves, the NHL and the nhlpa, My God, they're fondling each other under the table. Their negotiations. They love each other so much. Baseball. What do you think is going to happen? They're just going to. Just going to randomly argue what color the sky is and miss a week. So get ready, buckle up. Because there isn't going to be any Kumbaya. There's going to be, you know, they're going to be. What's the, what's the chant with the hell no, we won't go? They'll be walking around with signs picking, oh, it's going to be great. It's going to be a great. The summer. What is that going to be? The summer. The, the summer of 2027. No baseball leading with WNBA scores. That's what we're going to have. Because you've got a commissioner who has no idea what he's doing, completely lost. There's like, hell no, we won't go. Hell no, we won't go. Na, na, Na na na na na na. Hey, hey, hey, goodbye.

[Alan Hahn]

Because I can tell you there it is.

[Don LaGreca]

There's nothing like a ballplayer sitting on a 250 million dollar contract walking around a stadium with a picket sign. You got something to read there. You're itching to play with your.

[Alan Hahn]

No, no, I'm just, you know, there's just, just like there's the baseball. We have the calls. We certainly, let's get some calls.

[Don LaGreca]

Come on, change.

[Alan Hahn]

And we have a new coach with the Knicks.

[Don LaGreca]

I'm in a good 1-800-919-3776. But even in a good mood, I love calling out people. I'm sure he's a good man, but I just, I'm not a Rob Manfred guy. I'm not piece of tin.

[Alan Hahn]

Let's be honest, it's not been a good run. It has not been a good run.

[Don LaGreca]

But I'm sure they, all the owners probably love them because they've got money and they're going to expand at 2 Major League Baseball teams playing in minor league parks. The Rays might make the playoffs and have to play in Miami because there's no stadium for them. The Oakland A's are going to play. Where are they playing next year?

[Alan Hahn]

You remember the caller we got? Yeah, I did some research on that.

[Don LaGreca]

He's right, right? Yeah. It's not, they're not playing in Vegas.

[Alan Hahn]

Vegas Stadium is not getting built. Oh, it's not. Like, if it does, it's not going to be for a while. Like that's a real thing. I was, I, I did because I'm, the caller was so adamant. Like, let me, let me look into this.

[Don LaGreca]

I don't know why he felt like he had to call the New York.

[Alan Hahn]

Radio, but he wasn't wrong.

[Don LaGreca]

But he wasn't wrong. 1-800-919-3776. Adam and Wayne, you're on ESPN New York. What's up, Adam?

[C]

What's going on, guys? How are you today?

[Don LaGreca]

Good, man. How are you?

[C]

Just, I'm good, thank you. Just calling Donna say congratulations, man. I, in a world where you constantly hear about negativity from, from this person or that person about a hire and I pretty much, with every comment I've read, it seems to be pretty unanimous. Everybody super pumped for you. So congratulations.

[Don LaGreca]

Well, thank you. I appreciate. Super pumped to do it.

[Alan Hahn]

Are you a Devil's fan?

[C]

I am a Devil's fan. I'm more of like a casual Devil fan, but I do try to go to at least like five to ten games a year.

[Alan Hahn]

That's not casual games. That's not casual.

[C]

I try my job. I can't.

[Alan Hahn]

Well, that's a lot of us can relate.

[Don LaGreca]

I'm going to make it my mission statement to make you a die hard fan.

[Alan Hahn]

So Adam, here's the thing, because you're right, I would say 99% of the response has been positive. But you know what pisses me off is that there was like a couple of people that's just like either didn't just take five seconds to know who Don Lagreca is or just like to be like miserable and complain about everything and just have negative things to say. And so I need Devil's fans to make sure that they, they spread that word as clearly as possible. They were people that are like bringing a Ranger announcer in is so tone. I saw one guy said it's so tone deaf. And I'm going, are you that dumb? Like you would rather take the time to comment something stupid than take the same amount of time to just google Don Lagreca?

[Don LaGreca]

Well, I listen, it's been a long time.

[Alan Hahn]

It's just maddening to me. And how can you call yourself a Devil span on not who Don is? Seriously.

[Don LaGreca]

And I've always told, listen, I'm thrilled. You know, Michael grew up a Yankee fan. He calls Yankee.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah.

[Don LaGreca]

Mike Breen grew up a Knick fan. Calling Nick game. Right. Sam Rosen range or something. I could tell you I've always brought this up. Not everybody rooted for the team that they do play by play for.

[Alan Hahn]

No.

[Don LaGreca]

No.

[Alan Hahn]

Well, Kenny Albert.

[Don LaGreca]

Kenny Albert is a Vancouver Canuck fan.

[Alan Hahn]

But, but, but Kenny Albert growing up though, his. What he would do if you read his book.

[Don LaGreca]

Yeah.

[Alan Hahn]

He would do. He would call Ranger games into his tape record.

[Don LaGreca]

Yeah.

[Alan Hahn]

His father did it. So he wanted to follow in those footsteps. This is for him a dream job. Yes. The Canucks for the crazy reason that he tells. But it's still the Ranger job. That's his dream job. He has said that many times. So yeah, he's got the dream job too.

[Don LaGreca]

But ultimately I'm gonna have to prove that I can do the job. And if they, if they want to just wait and see, then, you know, we'll wait and see.

[Alan Hahn]

Well, I want it unanimous.

[Don LaGreca]

I'm looking forward to it.

[Alan Hahn]

I want it unanimous.

[Don LaGreca]

What did Jason Seehorn say? That no matter what you do in the world, the best you can hope for is getting seven out of every 10 people alike. Like, you're like, if you're working at 70%, you're gold. You're never Gonna be able to get the other 30 and convince them or whatever. So. But yeah, I was not a Ranger fan, but I did a professional call.

[Alan Hahn]

Yes.

[Don LaGreca]

The one thing I did find funny that it was tweeted out by a few fans that three on one that the Devil scored against the Rangers, like that's a garbage call. They showed no emotion. I was calling it for the Rangers. So did you want me to just like, right, soil myself? The Rangers are now down three. You know, I don't know what you want me to do. And one guy's like, I'm such a passionate. If he's a real passionate Devil fan, he would have shown.

[Alan Hahn]

All right. Yeah, cool. But good story.

[Don LaGreca]

Not good for you.

[Alan Hahn]

Good story.

[Don LaGreca]

Listen, you'll love me. You hate me, but I'm gonna, I'm gonna give it my all. They're not gonna hate you, but I'm gonna love doing it and I'm looking forward to it. I. Listen, I love the summer, but this is the one time I'm not going.

[Alan Hahn]

To wait till I want summer to.

[Don LaGreca]

Come to an end. It's a lot of fun. Steve in New Jersey, you're on ESPN New York. What's up, Steve?

[C]

What's up, Don? Congrats.

[Don LaGreca]

Oh, thanks, man.

[C]

I, I am not a casual Devil fan. I'm a die hard Devil fans and I don't meet the Ruffle Allen feathers or anything like that. I'm very happy for you and, and looking forward to it. As a Devil fan, we've been spoiled with announcers. You know, Doc Emmerich in my opinion is not just the best hockey announcer, he is the greatest play by play man for any sport. I would go to bat for that. You know, we were great with, we had, we had Bill Spalding, he was great. And, and even Gary Thorne going back there. So, you know, it is a little tough, you know, because as a Devils fan, it's not just a casual rivalry with the Yankees and Mets playing six times a year, if that. I have two favorite hockey teams. I have the Devils and then whoever's playing the Rangers that night because it is a rivalry that's, that's different than any other, you know, New York rivalry. It's the little brother versus big brother. Ranger fans, you know, they talk like they have Yankee fan history when they're closer to Mets and Nets. Right. You know, their cups came before offside was invented and all they could talk about is how Ranger fans go to the Prudential Center. So, you know, I am, I'm looking forward to it. It is a little, you know, I guess it is warranted that there is some hesitation that someone that has been so associated with the Ranger and kind of, you know, in, in some people's minds threw away that devil's fandom. So, you know, I'm going in with an open mind and looking forward to it. Wish you the best. I think you're going to do great. But there is that little bit.

[Alan Hahn]

Sorry, that, that's a, It's a classy response. But I gotta tell you, Steve, anybody that thinks that a man who takes a job is throwing away fandom, those two don't. So I just. The logic of it, Steve. So you're supposed to. If you're Don and you're offered the opportunity to work in broadcasting, which is your career, and have a great opportunity to work for another team, and you're supposed to say, I'm all set. No, I'll never work for that. So I'm throwing away an opportunity to grow my career because of fandom, which, which by the way, they don't pay you to be a fan. You pay to be a fan.

[Don LaGreca]

And also remember this, Steve, like, that's.

[Alan Hahn]

Just illogical, Steve, to say that. Like, I covered the Islanders. I grew up an Islanders fan. Then there was a year with Newsday said to me, we need you to cover the Rangers. And so I did. Cuz that was my job. I was paid. And it was the same thing. Islander fans who like, knew you'd leave us, knew you would just stepping stone to the ramp. It's my job. I'm not saying I'm now a Rangers fan. I'm saying this is my job. Like, that's just how it works.

[Don LaGreca]

Yeah. And, and Steve, I wouldn't have gotten this devil job if it wasn't for doing the Rangers play by play for 15 years. Like, so that opened the door for me to do it.

[Alan Hahn]

I don't understand the logic, Steve, for doing that.

[C]

Absolutely not. I get it. But that's just the, you know, and it's the fan in me. That's the part of me that's being said.

[Alan Hahn]

Why can't it be that the guy is coming home where he belongs? Why can't it be that it's both?

[C]

It is that it's both.

[Don LaGreca]

This might not be apples to apples and Steve, thank you for the phone call, but this is what I would say to people. Like, I made a decision, I wanted to do play by play. And the Rangers offer came to my table. They had me audition, Bob was shoes and was leaving to Go do more espn. College basketball, college football. He was the backup for Kenny. He couldn't do it anymore. They had me audition. They gave it to me. The first year I did 15 games, and it grew from there. And I made a decision. As much as I loved being a Devil fan, that I want to do play by play is what's the difference between that and a kid that grows up a Ranger fan and decides, I want to be a hockey player. And he goes. He works on his craft, goes to juniors, maybe gets a scholarship, plays college hockey, gets drafted by the Islanders or the Devils. Is he supposed to pull a Lindros and say, I'm not going?

[Alan Hahn]

You know, that's happened.

[Don LaGreca]

That has happened. But in all likelihood, that kid is going to be thrilled to get drafted by an NHL team, and then maybe one day when he becomes a free agent, he'll decide, you know, I'm going to go play for the Rangers for less money so I can be with my childhood team like Jonathan Quick did, signing at the end of his career to play for the Rangers, the team he rooted for. But do you think he regretted getting drafted by the Los Angeles Kings and winning two Cups with them? Oh, here's your.

[Alan Hahn]

Here's another. Saquon Barkley's father was a what, a Jet. Jets fan?

[Don LaGreca]

Yeah.

[Alan Hahn]

Love the Jets. Has it tattooed on his body. His son was drafted by the Giants. Did he become a Giants fan? No. Did he support the Giants and his son? Yes. Because that's just what you do.

[Don LaGreca]

No, it's so like.

[Alan Hahn]

That's just like eventually you get to a point where life gets in the way of it. Now, I don't expect regular people to understand this, because you don't. You aren't in this world. You have your careers and your jobs and your businesses that. That are separate from the world of sports. You can be that way. You can be the type that says, my daughter's not dating a Ranger fan or whatever. You can do that if you want to. It's crazy, but you do it. But in this business, we don't have that ability. You grow up in the business, you look for opportunities that are the best for you, and you take them.

[Don LaGreca]

That's life and it's choices. Because how he rose.

[Alan Hahn]

Great example. He was a fantastic TV broadcaster on Islander games. He was fantastic. Him and Joe Micheletti were great. He and Butchie were hilariously good together.

[Don LaGreca]

Jaffe, too.

[Alan Hahn]

Jaffe, I don't want to forget him. But Howie was really good. But everybody knew his roots were Rangers. But that didn't mean he couldn't do a good job. And he did. And he sounded genuine with every call he made.

[Don LaGreca]

Yeah. Because that's what's fun about doing it. So I'm. I'm. Circumstances have allowed me to go and do it for the team that I grew up on. But you know what? I auditioned for the Islander job when it was open when Brendan Burke got it. And if I had gotten that job, then I would have been on the Islander and doing that because I love hockey.

[Alan Hahn]

And you would have been great at it, too.

[Don LaGreca]

And that's one of the things about hockey that's different than the other sports, is you've got that comp. Even though we all root for different teams and Devil fans hate Ranger fans, Ranger fans, Devil fans, Islander fans, all that we all share one thing in common. That's a love of a sport that's underappreciated. And we fight. That's the one time we can all unite as hockey fans.

[Alan Hahn]

Yes.

[Don LaGreca]

You know, to fight for more coverage and fight for the sport to be covered the way that it should be covered. So we should all be able to have that in common. Like Dave Rothenberg. Like Dave Rothenberg's committed himself as a fan. He would never take the Jet job like I took the Jet job as a Giant fan because Giants didn't offer me a job, the jets did. So I jumped and did the pre and post. Dave wouldn't do that because he has put his fandom to a point where he doesn't want to do any of those things. He just wants to be a talk show host. And that's him. That's a decision he made. But yeah.

[Alan Hahn]

Well, the decisions, I don't know. I don't get it. I don't get anybody holding what I'm.

[Don LaGreca]

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[Alan Hahn]

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[Don LaGreca]

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[Don LaGreca]

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[Alan Hahn]

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[Don LaGreca]

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[Alan Hahn]

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[Don LaGreca]

So I thought it would be fun.

[Alan Hahn]

If we made $15 bills, but it turns out that's very illegal. So there goes my big idea for the commercial.

[Don LaGreca]

Give it a [e-mail] Switch upfront payment of $45 for a three month plan equivalent to $15 per month required. New customer offer for first three months only. Speed slow after 35 gigabytes of network's busy taxes and fees extra. See mintmobile.com thanks for listening to the.

[Alan Hahn]

Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Don LaGreca]

I didn't listen to anything you just said.

[Alan Hahn]

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

[Don LaGreca]

Don Han and Rosenberg take you up until 6 Mets are in Baltimore. They've got a special 6 o'. Clock.

[Alan Hahn]

I saw tarp on the field.

[Don LaGreca]

6:30 start.

[Alan Hahn]

I saw a tarp on the field. Now I don't know if it's still there, but we know weather is all up and down.

[Don LaGreca]

I know that they've had thunderstorms so they may be. I haven't heard anything whether I have.

[Alan Hahn]

Not seen any, anything about a delay.

[Don LaGreca]

But Alan and I have an engagement.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, we, we got to go.

[Don LaGreca]

Alan's my plus one today.

[Alan Hahn]

I feel pretty good about that because.

[Don LaGreca]

Joe Mix in town. Joe Micheletti. Yeah, they're having something for him.

[Alan Hahn]

There you go.

[Don LaGreca]

And location. When was that from?

[Alan Hahn]

This is 36 minutes ago from Match.

[Don LaGreca]

Well, not good. Get that pre game started. I love Anthony Pusick defending me.

[Alan Hahn]

Oh, is he on Social.

[Don LaGreca]

He's on social. Defending me. I wouldn't even have given this guy the time.

[Alan Hahn]

All right, so what the guy said.

[Don LaGreca]

Let's see. Nate said. Alan Hahn. The problem with narrative Don gave the.

[Alan Hahn]

Devils is the Rangers claim the reason that he was around them all the time and they put money in his pocket. He said it. You know, it's true. But now he's a Devils fan again. Fraud.

[Don LaGreca]

Well, it's not even that I'm like a Devil's fan again. It just means that. Come on, I'm doing Devil games now, and I will do the Devil games the same way I did the Ranger games. Well, because why would you want to call games for a team and have them do poorly?

[Alan Hahn]

It's weird.

[Don LaGreca]

You want to see them win the game.

[Alan Hahn]

Big fan of yours, though, Don, from looking at his tweet, so it just feels like somebody that just wants to agitate.

[Don LaGreca]

He doesn't like me.

[Alan Hahn]

No, no. Big fan. I'm saying he's a fan of yours.

[Don LaGreca]

All right.

[Alan Hahn]

He's cool with you. So this is just like. He just wants.

[Don LaGreca]

I'm just a fraud.

[Alan Hahn]

He just. People think that you were a fan of the Rangers, right. When working for the Rangers, you wanted them to do well.

[Don LaGreca]

Yeah.

[Alan Hahn]

I would venture to guess that since you've worked with a team, you haven't been a fan of a team for a long time, you now have the benefit or pleasure, however you want to call it, of now being able to work for the team that you grew up.

[Don LaGreca]

I never bought a Ranger jersey.

[Alan Hahn]

No.

[Don LaGreca]

I go to a game that I wasn't calling and, like, rooting. I just. It was. It was my career.

[Alan Hahn]

I can't. I'm just. I really, honestly. This is the stuff that just sets you off. A lot of listeners. I don't know what they would do if they were in that situation. If they had.

[Don LaGreca]

They would say, I've heard. I've heard.

[Alan Hahn]

They've told me to tell me that in your dream job, anybody out there right now that wishes that they could be in the sports broadcasting business, you tell me that someone approaches you and it's. It's a rival team of yours growing up, and they come to you and say, well, we want you to fill this role, and, boy, is it open doors for you in your career, and you're gonna go, I'm all set. I'll never work for you. Well, guess what? You and your pride can sit in mom and Dad's basement for the next 10 years, because that's as far as you're getting in the business. If that's how you're starting out your career, no chance.

[Don LaGreca]

You make a choice. I'm gonna work in sports. Now. Some people, they get the ability to work for the team that they love. Michael K got to cover the Yankees as a beat reporter, and he got to call Yankee games on the radio and television.

[Alan Hahn]

I got to do it with the.

[Don LaGreca]

Knicks, and you got to do it with the Knicks and the Islanders.

[Alan Hahn]

Yep.

[Don LaGreca]

I did not give that luxury. Okay.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah. No. So different route.

[Don LaGreca]

I took the route that was given to me because I wanted to do that, and I don't regret it for a second. But now to be able to go to a team that I rooted for is awesome. It got you right here that we're not handing out these jobs. You don't wait online, fill out an application, and they give you the job. You've got to pay your dues.

[Alan Hahn]

Oh, my God.

[Don LaGreca]

I loved every second of calling the Ranger.

[Alan Hahn]

It's so. It's so easy, though, for people to say, I would never do that. Of course you wouldn't, because you don't even work in this business. So how. It's easy for you to say, let's.

[Don LaGreca]

Go to Ray in Newark. You're on espn.

[Alan Hahn]

Sorry, honey, we're going to be back on unemployment. Because, you know, even though I had this job offered to me, I told them, you go walk. I'm never working for you. Yeah, good job.

[C]

You guys. You guys are the best on this topic. Congratulations.

[Don LaGreca]

Thank you.

[C]

But I'm a lawyer, and this is not that different than me being a prosecutor for 10 years, and then all of a sudden I work for a defense firm. It is no different at all. I am in that industry. It is what I do. You are in that industry. It is what you do. You have the opportunity, but work for the Rangers. Probably got better at your job because you worked at the Rangers.

[Alan Hahn]

True.

[C]

And now you're moving on. Do these people not have jobs? I mean, this is. Yours is one of the most competitive industries, I'm sure, of all the industries anywhere. But you. And you're. And listen, you know, you hang up on me whatever you want. You are a very popular radio personality. Sooner or later, a job such as this is going to go up into you. You just got lucky enough. It was the team that you rooted for.

[Don LaGreca]

Oh, yeah.

[C]

Why can't we be happy for Don McGregor? What is wrong with people?

[Don LaGreca]

I don't. I don't get upset because part of being a fan and a fanatic, and they just. They Live in a different world. They. They made their decisions. They do what they do for a living, and they're a fan. But it was always my dream to call games. I got that opportunity because of the Rangers, because of this place, because we made. We had to deal with the Rangers in the Knicks. And I was a hockey guy, and I got the Ranger gig, and Brandon Tierney got the basketball gig because he was a Nick guy and he backed up on Knicks. But then he took a different path, and I took my path. That got me the chance to do play by play. 473 Ranger games later, I got this opportunity. So it's working out.

[Alan Hahn]

But he a fraud because he went to Marist, but he's calling St. John's games.

[Don LaGreca]

He a fraud. Yes, he is. Because I don't understand how you can be a fan of a team that you didn't go to school there. I'm a big believer in it.

[Alan Hahn]

Well, they didn't give him a scholarship, but I just.

[Don LaGreca]

I don't know why you would root for a college.

[Alan Hahn]

He said, yeah, he is. No, I.

[Don LaGreca]

No BT reached out to me. I love him, too. I'm trying to get him to come to the softball, but we took our path. Listen, he does a great job calling, doing color for St. John and puts.

[Alan Hahn]

Great passion into it.

[Don LaGreca]

And I'm sure if Seton hall offered him more money, I would think he would do it. I just think. I don't know that for a fact, but I have a feeling that he would do what's best for his career. Uh, let's go to Sean. He is in East Rockaway. You're on ESPN New York. What's up, Sean?

[C]

Hey, how you doing? Don't just want to say congrats on the new gig. Hey, Alan. Shout out to you, man. Big fan of yours. My mom's a fan of Wally. And you on the Knicks. Oh, I just want.

[Don LaGreca]

Yeah, she's gotta choose.

[Alan Hahn]

I gotta. You gotta choose one, though.

[C]

Wally, man, she got Wally. I love you. And she loved Wally. It's always a fight, a new house every now. And watching Nick.

[Alan Hahn]

All right. Well, all right.

[Don LaGreca]

Pounds, the better.

[C]

She said Wally boys got a hook, so I don't know. You got to fix your voice.

[Alan Hahn]

I gotta fix my voice.

[Don LaGreca]

It is what it is. No, Wally's voice.

[C]

I don't mean any disrespect by it, but my idea is. Man, I love Don. I love hearing him. And call on the radio for the hockey. I just want to say congrats to him. I got an idea. What did you guys do a top five. Don's best hockey call because last year on the playoffs, man, he had some amazing calls.

[Alan Hahn]

I like this.

[Don LaGreca]

I'm not going to make that list. If you want to make the list, go ahead. I'm not going to sit there.

[Alan Hahn]

I think the boys on the other side of the glass are already ready to put that list together. And what is tomorrow? Tomorrow's list?

[Don LaGreca]

I'm not. Guys, have fun.

[Alan Hahn]

Homework tonight, boys.

[Don LaGreca]

Have at it. I can't in good conscience, like come up with a top five of my calls.

[Alan Hahn]

But enough about me. Let's talk about me.

[Don LaGreca]

That's.

[Alan Hahn]

But if you, you know, have at it is Wednesday.

[Don LaGreca]

We're going to have fun some way shape or form.

[Alan Hahn]

Of course.

[Don LaGreca]

Let's see, where else are we going to go? How about Stephen East Meadow? You're on ESPN New York.

[C]

Hello.

[Don LaGreca]

What's up, Steve?

[C]

All right, listen. Anybody that's ever listened to Don McGregor on the radio knows he's the devil fan. And God forbid he tries to support his family and make their lives better and then they want to criticize the guy, what he's doing. People, idiots.

[Alan Hahn]

Trust me, you can't figure it out.

[Don LaGreca]

They're just.

[Alan Hahn]

Steve, I can't figure it out. Sometimes you need to smack some sense into something.

[Don LaGreca]

Honestly, I don't know before I start jumping people. Steve, I don't know what 18 year old Don Legreco would have thought.

[Alan Hahn]

You'd have fought someone while I was.

[Don LaGreca]

Like, still like graduating high school, going into college, not knowing if I was ever going to do anything other than like being a metal DJ or something.

[Alan Hahn]

I was 18. But when you were in, you were at Ramapo and you realize this is what I want to do. Did you, did you know then that you wanted to call?

[Don LaGreca]

Yeah, but I didn't know I would do it.

[Alan Hahn]

No, no. But you want.

[Don LaGreca]

I wanted to, yes.

[Alan Hahn]

And if somebody said to you, you know, Don, one day you're going to call Ranger. No, I'm never going to do that. You would not respond. You'd say, really?

[Don LaGreca]

I would.

[Alan Hahn]

Like, wow, NHL.

[Don LaGreca]

That's something I would be like, I can't believe that.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah.

[Don LaGreca]

Do you know, do you know the teams that Doc did play by play for before the Devils?

[Alan Hahn]

I do not.

[Don LaGreca]

Yeah, Flyers and Rangers. He was originally the guy that filled in for Marv back in the day.

[Alan Hahn]

How about that?

[Don LaGreca]

So he did Ranger games and Flyer games and Flyers games for a while.

[Alan Hahn]

What a fraud. Total fraud.

[Don LaGreca]

Come on, I'd love to tell you. I've got some really Guys that do play by play, you'd be floored. If I told you who they rooted for before they got the gig floored, you would pass out. I'm going to tell you during a break.

[Alan Hahn]

Pass out.

[Don LaGreca]

You would pass out.

[Alan Hahn]

Now I need to know. Kk Remember Kate teased something yesterday, then we went to break. He told me I almost passed out on that one. That one got me. I was not expect that I changed.

[Don LaGreca]

It was one of the most. Yesterday was a big day for me, but that was still one of the highlights.

[Alan Hahn]

That was Michael.

[Don LaGreca]

Mike. Michael told Alan Hahn.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah.

[Don LaGreca]

Wow.

[Alan Hahn]

Yep.

[Don LaGreca]

Good. Good for that one.

[Alan Hahn]

That floored me. Like yo. Okay. All right.

[Don LaGreca]

On WhatsApp, no one can see or hear your personal messages. Whether it's a voice call message or sending a password to WhatsApp, it's all just this. So whether you're sharing the streaming password in the family chat or trading those late night voice messages that could basically become a podcast, your personal messages stay between you, your friends and your family. No one else, not even us. WhatsApp message privately with everyone. This episode is brought to you by Polestar. There's only one true way to experience the all electric luxury SUV Polestar 3, and that's to take a test drive. It can go from 0 to 60 in as little as 4.8 seconds with the dynamic handling of a sports car. But to truly understand how it commands the road, you need to be behind the wheel. Up to 350 miles of range. The 3D surround sound system by Bowers and Wilkins. It's all something you have to experience to believe. So book your Test drive for Polestar 3 [e-mail] Close your eyes, exhale.

[C]

Feel your body relax and let go of whatever you're carrying today.

[Don LaGreca]

Well, I'm letting go of the worry that I wouldn't get my new contacts in time for this class. I got them delivered free from 1-800-contacts. Oh, my gosh.

[C]

They're so fast.

[Don LaGreca]

And breathe. Oh, sorry. I almost couldn't breathe when I saw the discount they gave me on my first order. Oh, sorry. Namaste.

[C]

Visit 1-800-contacts.com today to save on your first order.

[Alan Hahn]

1-800-Contacts. Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Don LaGreca]

I didn't listen to anything you just said.

[Alan Hahn]

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

[Don LaGreca]

My brother said something to me the other day that bothered me. My brother said that people that like the Eagles don't like music. He hates the Eagles.

[Alan Hahn]

Yep. Is this your brother? My brother, yeah. All right. I have not met him in person, but there's already now two things that I. I have a major problem with him about.

[Don LaGreca]

Right.

[Alan Hahn]

We haven't met yet, but we're gonna have to. Things we gotta have out. That's. That's the second one. The first one was the other day when he said something.

[Don LaGreca]

But we'll get together. There will be that moment. There's no question about it, by the.

[Alan Hahn]

Way, because I'm thinking of it. And we just played the Eagles. I have to send you something on Instagram. There's a. Kids. They're like. They look like they're 12, 13 years old. Seriously. School of Rock age, right? And they're playing an Eagle song, and it's unreal. It's so good. And it's just a little kid. I'm gonna send it to you right now.

[Don LaGreca]

But my brother's like the dude in the Big Lebowski, like, just hates the Eagles for some reason.

[Alan Hahn]

Well, that doesn't make any sense.

[Don LaGreca]

Got thrown out of the cab. Fran Amasapequa. It was a pleasure to talk to you. You're on ESPN New York. How are you, Fran?

[C]

Hey, guys. Been a while. Just before I get to talking with you guys, my friend Scotty. Huge Ranger fan. Ranger family. His mom passed away. Scotty, Stevie, Shoshana, and their father, you know, they're good people, Dawn. They're huge, huge Ranger fans. And they're having Shiver at the house. I just wanted to just throw that out there. She was a wonderful woman. She had some issues with her health, and she fought like a champ. Just a wonderful, nice person. She gave everything she had. Her son survived cancer. She got to see a couple of Grant. Three, four grandkids. And just. It just wanted to mention that. That's all. Huge Ranger fan.

[Don LaGreca]

Our. Our condolences for sure, man. Sorry to hear.

[C]

All right, now I'm first of all pissed at ESPN because they broke you guys when you guys split up, the three of you guys. I'm gonna talk about something this really quick. I was upset because I thought you two guys should have got your own show. You. And. And. And the other. I'm sorry. Yes, but nothing wrong with Han. I love Han. He should have got his own show, too. I just think that when. When. When Michael walked out on you guys, they should. You guys were always great together, and they should have given Han his own show. But I just. I. I think he's doing a good job. Really good job. I just think they messed it up. Could have come in at a different angle. And, Don, I just. All these years, man, I didn't like you because I didn't know you were a Devils fan. I mean, I might have heard it and just put it to the side and not realize it, but I thought you were a Die Hard, jump through a, you know, plate glass window Ranger fan. And I'm just. I'm shocked. I was gonna, like, call you Fraud, but I can't do that, because if I'm, you know, if you're gonna get a job that you always wanted, I can't get mad at you for that. But I just. And I was gonna, you know, I was gonna call you Fraud. But if. You know what, if you're a Devil's fan and you know what, that's the job you wanted, then. Then I think it's the right thing. You know, that's. And I just. That's it. I changed my whole tune thinking about it.

[Don LaGreca]

Well, I appreciate it. And I'm gonna take what you said, Fran, as a compliment. Because if you listen to me do Ranger games and you thought I was a Die Hard Ranger fan, that means.

[Alan Hahn]

I did my job. You sounded authentic, but I'm a little annoyed.

[Don LaGreca]

Yeah. I don't know why he had to.

[Alan Hahn]

Throw something at you. I feel like you and me together is like.

[Don LaGreca]

No, this is natural, right? It was never gonna be just me and Peter.

[Alan Hahn]

It's like peas and carrots.

[Don LaGreca]

No, this is. I think they did the right thing.

[Alan Hahn]

You know what I mean?

[Don LaGreca]

Peas and carrots.

[Alan Hahn]

I don't know.

[Don LaGreca]

I'm not a fan of jelly. That's better. That's much better. A beer and a hot dog. Steak and a brew, something like that.

[Alan Hahn]

Smoking a pancake.

[Don LaGreca]

Let's go to Michael in Connecticut. He's got something interesting. You're on ESPN New York. What's up, Michael?

[C]

Good afternoon, Alan. Don. Good to talk with you. A thought came to my mind while I was sitting here on hold. One of the greatest baseball broadcasters of all time, Vin Scully, as a boy, was a Giants fan. Red Barber offered him a job in 1950, and he stayed for 67 years. So, you know, as a young man in my 20s, I went to Syracuse and I took broadcasting classes. And one of the first things that I was told, if you're ever offered a job, whatever it is, you take it. And at the age of 65, if Jerry Jones were to call me today and say, can you come do play by play for the Dallas Cousin Cowboys, as much as I hate the Cowboys, I would do it absolutely would do it.

[Don LaGreca]

Yeah.

[C]

You never turned down a job, never turned on an opportunity.

[Don LaGreca]

You don't never turn down a job. And you just. You gotta put the fandom aside if you decide this is what you want to do. And that's what I decided to do. So it's really. Honestly, people ask, like, how difficult was it? It wasn't difficult at all. It really wasn't. It was just, no, this is what we're gonna do. You do the job, you know, and.

[Alan Hahn]

See, it also comes with the foundation of loving the sport.

[Don LaGreca]

I love the sport.

[Alan Hahn]

You love the game. So you end up. You just call the game. You forget all the other stuff. You just call the game. You just go with it, and that's the way it is. But this is fun, though, because you are getting the true colors of some people, which is fine, but you're also understanding that there are a lot of people that do get it.

[Don LaGreca]

But it was interesting. Like, Fran from Massapequa wanted to call me a fraud, thought about it and realized, not you. Just the logic kind of kicked in for him. So, Mark in New Jersey, you're on ESPN New York. What's up, Mark?

[C]

Hey, Don. I'm a die hard Ranger fan, first off. Congratulations. I'm so happy for you and for selfish reasons, I'm gonna miss you so much because I used to listen to the radio quite often for games, and you were incredible. I'm gonna miss you a ton. But congratulations.

[Don LaGreca]

Thank you.

[C]

I'm losing my mind over these Devil fans, these keyboard warriors that are doing all this. It's awful. How about this guy? Take your little fingers, go to Google and type in the name Donald Directa.

[Alan Hahn]

That's it.

[C]

Go to Wikipedia and see that Donald was born in Hawthorne and grew up with Devil's. If you're smart enough, you'll go to Images and see Don's Devil's tattoo that he has.

[Alan Hahn]

I tweeted it. I did. I tweeted it. Anybody that thinks he's a fraud, here's a tattoo. And look at the years that are on the Underneath the Stanley Cup.

[Don LaGreca]

Honestly, I don't even want to yesterday. I really don't even want to, like, approach it like Mark. And thank you for the call because, like, 99.9% of everything on social media has been positive. There's been a few people, but that's going to happen. That's just the way life is. So I'm not even worried about that. There'd be something wrong if everybody universally agreed on something that would be abnormal. So I'm not, I'm not worried about it. It's, it's, it's all in fun and we'll, we'll see what happens. It is all. It is, it is, it is kind of cool to, to know that that's, that that's coming, you know, and, and to just, and the people that reached out and it just so much and, and I, I got emotional this morning. Ray Santiago sent out something really nice and I was like, because I'm sure.

[Alan Hahn]

Of the two of you @ the.

[Don LaGreca]

The Winter Class Winter Classic and, or it was. That might not is either Winter Classic or it might have been the stadium series, I'm sure because we did both.

[Alan Hahn]

Okay.

[Don LaGreca]

But that, that one might have been the stadium series over MetLife. And he talked about how I always closed out the broadcast with, you know, who's been to Santiago, Chile twice in one year. When I say Ray Santiago from. You know what that's from, right? Something about Mary and that he felt like he belonged and everything. That was really nice. And that's the thing is I'm going to miss working with him and miss working with Kenny and Dave and all the people. John Giannone and all the people Madison Square Garden. I was treated just so well. But it's just, and a lot of those guys reached out too. So it was really cool to, to experience that yesterday. Let's take one more and let's go to Ryan in New Jersey. You're on ESPN New York. What's up Rye?

[C]

Hey Don. Big ups. Let's go Devils. Super happy for you. And just wanted to say as somebody who has also worked in pro sports, not going to name the teams, obviously I wasn't the voice of the teams either, but just somebody who's worked in the front office. You know, there's only so many of these jobs, especially locally. So the fact that obviously, you know, you're a Devil's fan, but you're working for the Rangers, that's still a local team. It's not like you ever had to move your family and your kids across the country for work. I just want to give you a big shout out. I almost did frog check myself for this in the past. But will you be supporting the Rangers in any way, shape or form now going forward as a full time.

[Don LaGreca]

Woah. Supporting them. Meaning like I've always. I said it when I was doing the Ranger games. I want all three local teams to do well because that means we'll have something to talk about on this show for the sport. This show is not like any other show in New York. We talk hockey. So if all three teams are good, if all three teams make the playoffs, we're going to be able to talk about it more. So I want that.

[Alan Hahn]

I'm in for sure. You know I'm in.

[Don LaGreca]

Mets coming up next. We'll be back with you again tomorrow at 3 here on ESPN New York.

[Alan Hahn]

Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast. I don't want to know the how 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.