Don, Hahn & Rosenberg – Hour 3: Best Sports Month?

ESPN New York | April 8, 2026
Hosts: Don La Greca, Alan Hahn, Peter Rosenberg

Episode Overview

In this lively episode, Don, Hahn & Rosenberg debate what is the best month on the sports calendar—April, October, January, or even May? The trio banter through baseball's opening month, NBA and NHL playoff races, the Final Four, the Masters, and more, interspersed with local New York sports updates, listener calls, and trademark quick wit. They also dive into listener stories, Giants trade rumors, Jets draft prospects, and even compare “hoses” to “guns” in baseball lingo—all while keeping it fast, fun, and candid.

Sports Updates & Banter

Mets/Yankees Game Updates

• [00:56-01:24] Don and Alan cover the Mets’ rough night: “Diamondbacks are up five nothing on the Mets in the top of the four. Peterson didn’t have it again.” (Don)
• The need for starting pitchers to eat innings, resting the bullpen, and the status of the Yankees and Mets during live broadcasts.
• Alan breaks the Mets’ potential no-hitter jinx:
  • "Mets being no-hit. Figured I’d throw that out there." [01:33]

Baseball Slang Debate: “Gun” vs. “Hose”

• [02:00-04:55] Peter describes Francisco Lindor’s arm, sparking a hilarious tangent about baseball lingo:
  • Peter: “Lindor doesn’t have a hose.”
  • Alan: “Excuse me?”
  • Peter: “It means an arm. A big arm.” [02:02-02:27]
• Don, Alan, and Peter debate whether 'hose' is legitimate baseball vernacular:
  • Don: “I have never, ever heard someone's arm described as a hose... Gun is usually the one I hear more often... I think you avoid hose for the reasons we just saw.” [04:14-04:22]
  • Peter: “We, we did it. We, we said hose. Yeah, it was the thing.” [04:55]
• Broader discussion about generational language and missing sports tropes.

NBA Preview: Knicks vs. Celtics

Setting up the Rivalry

• [06:01-10:30] Alan details the stakes for Knicks vs. Celtics, including injury updates and TV coverage.
• Alan: "The game’s probably not going to mean anything… we may not see some of the stars play, which really stinks."
• Don highlights buildup between the teams, Jayson Tatum’s return to MSG after his Achilles injury, and why tomorrow’s game matters for Boston:
  • "Tatum's first time back at the Garden since, of course, he suffered the Achilles...there’s a sense that tomorrow night means a lot to the Celtics." [09:26]

Notable Quotes

• Jayson Tatum on Returning to MSG:
  • “I mean, yeah, I thought about it. Not, like, thrilled to go back and play there. You know, last time I played there, obviously, it was a traumatic...experience for me...It’s not like I’m thrilled about it. It’s part of it. You know, I decided to come back and play. So just another game on the schedule.” [09:55-10:30]
• Alan and Peter discuss why Tatum needs to confront MSG now:
  • Alan: “Yeah, that’s why he should play in this game...get on the floor and just playing it, lost, and now...when the playoffs come, I’ve already played there. It’s no, it’s not a looking down at the floor going, that’s the spot I hurt myself.” [10:54-11:18]

Listener Calls: Fan Stories, Baseball Nostalgia, Cardinals vs. Cubs

Nice Fans & Clemens’ 300th Win

• [12:42-15:36] Steve from Middle Village recalls welcoming Cardinals fans to Yankee Stadium during Roger Clemens’ 300th win (2003), contrasting polite St. Louis fans with New York’s intensity.
• Don reflects on the novelty of interleague play, referencing Yankees-Cubs at Wrigley and fan interactions spanning decades of sports radio.

Cardinals Fans, Arrogance vs. Hospitality

• [17:07-18:11] Jim from New Jersey disagrees, calling Cardinals fans “arrogant.”
  • Jim: “If it rained and they were looking up, they might drown...” [17:24]
  • Alan: “They invented baseball there...One of my friends is a longtime baseball writer in that town. And... he has to put up with [it].” [17:51]

Main Topic: What’s the Best Month for Sports?

Peter’s Central Question

• [18:11-23:00] Peter: “Is April the best month for sports?”
• Alan: “No. October is.” [18:22]
• Panel weighs April (Masters, start of MLB, NBA/NHL playoffs, NFL draft, Final Four) against October (football in full swing, playoffs, basketball/hockey season starts).
• Peter: "If you’re a very diverse sports fan, the fact that you get hockey playoffs, basketball playoffs, Masters, draft...Oh, and then the first weekend...Final Four. That’s a strong..." [18:58]
• Alan: "In October you're getting World Series, four weeks of football, hockey regular season, basketball starts." [19:20]
• They debate the merits of January and March as well:
  • “January, you are getting playoff football, NBA, hockey, college football championship... There's a lot in January.” (Peter, [21:17])

Listener Input: May as a Sneaky Contender

• [43:02-44:10] Marcus from Springfield calls in:
  • Champions League finals for NBA & NHL, US Open and French Open, and "the best Sunday in motorsport" (Monaco GP, Indy 500, Coca-Cola 600).
  • Don: “That was always a big deal.”
  • Alan corrects the golf schedule: “US Open is June, PGA is May.” [43:54]
  • Panel reflects on the “Morning Formula One...Indianapolis 500...Coke 600” as a unique multi-sport day.

Giants & Jets: Roster & Draft Talk

Giants Trading Dexter Lawrence?

• [25:55-32:54] Phil Simms (via earlier interview replay) weighs in:
  • “...Playing interior defensive line is the hardest thing to learn and to do in the NFL...I hope they keep him.”
  • Don: “I don’t think he’s going anywhere...Remember, not only do you have to trade a lot for him, you’re going to have to pay him.” [29:05]
  • Alan: “If you’re trading him, it’s draft night...If he’s still on your roster after the draft, what are you doing?” [30:00-30:29]
  • Discussion about holdouts, incentive to resolve disputes quickly for team progress and rookie acclimation.

Jets QB Prospects: Carson Beck

• [32:57-37:34] Phil Simms’ pitch for QB Carson Beck:
  • “Carson Beck…makes more and more sense that he's going to be the guy that the Jets should target...One size, he is a big dude...he does have a big arm.” [33:01-33:56]
• Peter jokes, “...Carson Beck doesn’t already sound like a failed jets quarterback?...I just...can picture it on the list…” [34:00]
• Alan and Peter joke about draft busts, QB names, and NY’s history of quarterback heartbreak.

Off-Topic: Carson Beck & Abella Danger

• The panel riffs on tabloid rumors about Beck dating adult film star Abella Danger, leading to a comedic discussion about relationships, celebrity and, in Don's words, "Steak-umms vs. filet mignon." [38:06]

Women’s Hockey League Discussion & NHL Point Systems

Listener Alex on Women’s Hockey

• [47:31-48:37] Alex calls to praise the Professional Women’s Hockey League’s growth:
  • “18,000 people...Most everything [merchandise] was sold out. So that’s a good sign.”
• He advocates for the league’s 3-2-1 point system for wins (regulation, OT, OT loss) and asks if NHL should adopt it.
  • Don: “It would change [the standings] dramatically. It would put, obviously, a lot of weight in winning games in regulation.” [48:13-49:07]
• Alan and Don detail how league structure and win types would shift playoff races.

On the Value of Ties

• Don: “I just wish we’d go back to ties...I fell in love with the sport with ties.” [50:25]
• Peter: “A tie is like kissing your sister.”
• Don: “The person that came up with that phrase should be institutionalized.” [50:38]

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• Baseball Vernacular:

  • Peter: "Lindor doesn't have a hose." [02:00]
  • Don: "I've never, ever heard someone's arm described as a hose...Gun is usually the one I hear more often." [04:14]

• Tatum’s returns to MSG:

  • "It's not like I'm thrilled about it. It's part of it..." (Jayson Tatum on playing at MSG) [09:55]

• Sports Month Debate:

  • Peter: “Is April the best month for sports?” [18:11]
  • Alan: “No. October is.” [18:22]

• On ties in hockey:

  • Don: “I just wish we’d go back to ties...The person that came up with that phrase should be institutionalized.” [50:25]

Key Segments with Timestamps

• Mets/Yankees Updates & Baseball Lingo Debate: [00:56-05:00]
• Knicks vs. Celtics Playoff Preview & Tatum Discussion: [06:01-12:15]
• Listener Calls: Yankees/Cardinals Fan Stories & Mets-Yankees Rivalry: [12:42-18:11]
• Best Sports Month Debate: [18:11-23:00], [43:02-46:24]
• Giants’ Dexter Lawrence Trade Rumors: [25:54-32:54]
• Jets QB Discussion – Carson Beck: [32:57-37:34]
• Women’s Hockey League & NHL Point System: [47:35-51:02]

Tone and Style

The episode is informal, energetic, and full of friendly ribbing. The hosts riff on each other’s sports knowledge, pop-culture references, and listener contributions, all while keeping New York sports at the heart of the commentary. They mix sharp debate with off-the-cuff comedy, making for an engaging and thoroughly New York-style roundtable.

For more deep-dive debates and sports talk, catch Don, Hahn & Rosenberg weekday afternoons on ESPN New York.