Hour 3: Brunson's Ankle & Harbaugh Reaction

Summary

Don, Hahn & Rosenberg — Hour 3: Brunson's Ankle & Harbaugh Reaction

ESPN New York | January 15, 2026

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Overview

This episode dives deep into pressing issues in New York sports: Jalen Brunson's worrying ankle injury for the Knicks, major reaction to the New York Giants' high-profile hiring of John Harbaugh, and thoughtful speculation about the direction of local teams and sports culture. Alongside these central narratives, hosts Don La Greca, Alan Hahn, and Peter Rosenberg keep things lively with classic banter, listener calls, and reflections on everything from movie critiques to the navigation quirks of Long Island and North Jersey.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Knicks Update: Jalen Brunson's Ankle Injury

[03:14–05:03, recurring]

• No Brunson Against the Warriors: Jalen Brunson is ruled out due to a recurring ankle injury—his third such absence due to the same ankle since March 2025.
• Medical Concern: Unlike previous injuries caused by contact (landing on a foot), this instance was non-contact — "just taking a step, making a move, and the ankle just gave out." (Don Hahn, [03:17])
• Implications: While listed as "day to day," the non-contact nature of the injury is concerning to Hahn and suggests the need for caution moving forward.
• Knicks' Roster Strain: Mitchell Robinson is also sitting out (not playing in back-to-backs), potentially compounding issues for the team.
  • “You feel like you gotta win this game because you’re right now one and two on this trip because last night was an abomination of a performance.” (Don Hahn, [05:20])
• NBA Scheduling Criticized: The show's hosts vent frustration at the NBA's grueling schedule, especially back-to-backs and cross-country travel.

2. NFL Playoffs: Sam Darnold's Injury & Playoff Picture

[06:01–11:40]

• Sam Darnold Injury Drama: The Giants' playoff hopes hinge on Darnold, who is “questionable with an oblique” but expects to play.
  • “There is close to 0% chance he won’t play.” (Rosenberg, [06:25])
  • The show notes that quarterbacks compromised by oblique injuries can lose velocity and control.
• Playoff Narratives: The crew contemplates which underdog teams have value this week and speculates about Vegas lines designed to trick bettors.
  • “Public was 6-0 last week… So what does Vegas do this week that tricks the public?” (Peter, [09:03])
• CJ Stroud as M. Night Shyamalan: Amusingly, Stroud's early career is compared to the "Sixth Sense" era of Shyamalan, with hosts riffing on his perceived diminishing returns.

3. Listener Calls & Giants’ Historical Perspective

[15:16–18:50]

• The Ebb & Flow of Giants Fanhood: A caller reflects on being a longtime Giants supporter, with ups (back-to-back beatdowns of the 49ers in the ’80s, Super Bowl wins) and downs (the Fassel era's lack of legacy).
  • “Does anybody care about the Jim Fassel Giants...does anyone mention Jim Fassel?” (Caller Chris, [17:22])
• Celebrating Giants Memory: Hosts recall the 41-0 championship win against the Vikings as an unforgettable high point, even if overshadowed by Super Bowl disappointment later.

4. The Harbaugh Hire: Instant Repercussions for the Giants & Big Blue Optimism

[23:26–34:00]

• Harbaugh in New York: The hiring of John Harbaugh is described as transformative for the Giants' credibility, potentially shifting the franchise’s fortunes overnight.
  • “The Giants now have credibility. The Giants are going to be in games and the Giants could be in the conversation.” (Rosenberg, [33:29])
• Joe Schoen’s Role: Previously criticized GM Joe Schoen is now seen as a mastermind following Harbaugh's endorsement.
  • "Joe Shane was the architect behind a lot of this. He's gonna end up keeping his job, get a contract extension... From persona non grata to maybe the reason John Harbaugh is here.” (Rosenberg, [24:24])
• Immediate Expectations: Harbaugh views this as a “win-now” situation, not a rebuild, and the hosts agree, recounting close games from the past season that could have swung with better coaching. ([27:00–28:52])
• Quarterback Outlook: The conversation pivots to optimism—and some caution—about Jackson Dart’s future as Giants’ quarterback, comparing his development curve to other star QBs.
  • “What if he turns out to be injury prone?” (Rosenberg, [30:16])
  • “I saw a guy that hated losing... Guys like that I can win with.” (Don Hahn, [30:49])

5. Giants Legacy, Coaching Tiers, and Coaching Hires in NY Sports

[36:00–40:53]

• Great Coaches & Impact on Legacy: Callers and hosts debate which NY coaches are most revered and how high-profile hires (like Harbaugh now, or Pat Riley then) change fan expectations.
  • “What I’m trying to say is this is by far the Giants’ biggest [coaching hire].” (Peter, [39:46])
• The transition from within-organization hires (Coughlin, Dan Reeves) to true external, splashy appointments is discussed as a sign the Giants are changing tack.

6. Banter, NY & NJ Navigation, and Cultural Detours

[44:25–52:10, selected highlights]

• Reliance on Smartphones: The crew humorously explores how technology governs our daily commutes, reflecting on what would happen if GPS failed.
• Long Island vs. North Jersey Living: Playful regional rivalry, with Rosenberg and Hahn joking about getting lost, highway signage, and which burbs are better.
• Lighthearted NYC Anxieties: Some banter explores what might happen in case of emergencies on LI or Manhattan: “If the ish hit the fan...you’re jumping in the ocean.” (Peter, [51:41])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Brunson’s Injury:
  • “This is the third time now he’s gonna miss time with the same ankle going back to March of 2025…this was non contact…that kind of worries me a little bit.” — Don Hahn, [03:17]
• On Giants' Newfound Optimism:
  • “Joe Shane was the architect behind a lot of this…From persona non grata to maybe the reason John Harbaugh is here.” — Rosenberg, [24:24]
  • “The Giants now have credibility. The Giants are going to be in games and the Giants could be in the conversation...” — Rosenberg, [33:29]
• On Coach Hires:
  • “If Coughlin never comes to the Giants, we’re never talking about Tom Coughlin again. He’s a trivia question.” — Peter, [39:34]
• On Watching Classic Movies:
  • “I just got about halfway through, and it just became like, okay, I get it.” — Don Hahn (on Spaceballs), [14:19]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment/Topic | |-------------|---------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:14–05:03 | Brunson’s non-contact ankle injury; Knicks injury woes | | 06:01–11:40 | NFL Playoff picture; Sam Darnold’s injury | | 15:16–18:50 | Caller: Giants-history perspective (Fassel, Playoff memories) | | 23:26–34:00 | Harbaugh’s ripple effect, Giants’ trajectory, QB concerns | | 36:00–40:53 | Coaching hires and legacies (NY sports context) | | 44:25–52:10 | Navigation & technology banter, LI vs. North Jersey living |

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Show’s Tone & Takeaways

The episode is energetic, sporty, and uniquely “New York.” The hosts mix detailed, passionate sports analysis with casual storytelling, pop culture references, and listener engagement, making for a dense and genuinely entertaining digest of everything NY sports fans are talking about right now.

Biggest Takeaway:
The Giants' hiring of John Harbaugh instantly changes expectations and injects credibility—while the Knicks limp through key West Coast games. Surrounded by their signature blend of irreverent humor and nostalgia, Don, Hahn, and Rosenberg guide fans through the highs, lows, and future hopes of NY sports.

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For more: Catch full episodes of Don, Hahn, & Rosenberg weekday afternoons on ESPN New York.

Transcript

[Don Hahn]

This is the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Rosenberg]

That sounds like heaven to me.

[Don Hahn]

Listen live weekday afternoon starting at 3 on 880 ESPN, the ESPN New York app and your smart speakers.

[Rosenberg]

Game time is brought to you by Tellamore. Do Irish whiskey because when it's game time it's teletown. You bet you the licks are in Golden State. Which is interesting because Golden State is the entire state of California.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

They're in San Francisco. I don't know why you can't be the San Francisco warriors or something. Wrong.

[Don Hahn]

They used to be.

[Rosenberg]

Oh, why not?

[Don Hahn]

Once were. Because they wanted Oakland.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah. That was the problem. And then nobody wanted to be Oakland.

[Don Hahn]

No.

[Rosenberg]

But now they're back in San Francisco be the San Francisco team's not good. Was it matter should be discussed. I think that's gonna be at 9:30.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

That's why Allen's all dressed up. Coverage on 880 at that time. And here's my little, little theory. I didn't even ask. I didn't even ask. Anthony didn't ask. But I know because my guy Pat o' Keefe was in Sacramento.

[Don Hahn]

Yep.

[Rosenberg]

So my, my belief is he's probably calling the game in Frisco, Knicks, Warriors.

[Don Hahn]

Hmm.

[Rosenberg]

Which then takes him off the board due to the pre and post grass is like I ain't doing no two and a half hour show. And then doing pre and post of a ten o' clock tip. Get Ty Butler's ass in there.

[Don Hahn]

And that's exactly what happened is he's also in for Rick tomorrow.

[Peter]

Part of it. I think the whole thing. Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

You'll see.

[Peter]

He destroyed everything.

[Rosenberg]

So why couldn't you just ride it?

[Don Hahn]

That would have been good.

[Peter]

Well, I don't. Why I was just trying to help Captain.

[Rosenberg]

This whole thing worked out.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah.

[Peter]

Because you're right.

[Rosenberg]

He would have done both. Because Dan Gross is not scared. But you know what he's scared of doing? Not that waking up tomorrow, that 1:30 in the morning sign off of Nick's warriors and then you know the 5:15 Zoom for the show that he's going to be on because God forbid Rick works on a Friday.

[Don Hahn]

Oh no, no, no. There's hockey. There's big tournaments this week.

[Rosenberg]

Great. There's a lot of stuff. And you know what? There also is a morning show.

[Don Hahn]

But he coaches. You know, Callie's off. She's got. She's got a tournament going up to going down in New Jersey. Gracie's going to play volleyball in.

[Rosenberg]

Where are you?

[Peter]

I gotta work professional.

[Rosenberg]

And Rick doesn't have to work. Dan has to work.

[Don Hahn]

No, no.

[Rosenberg]

Rick.

[Peter]

Rick.

[Rosenberg]

Coaches, can I ask is Rick's coaching schedule on Gross's refrigerator? Has to be.

[Peter]

Because it should be.

[Don Hahn]

Because that's a great point.

[Rosenberg]

He's obviously working in the morning. And then the Islanders continue their trip from hell that took them from Nashville to Seattle. They've got to stop in Edmonton tonight. David appointment was at 20 straight games. He is a beast. That game is going to be on at 9:00'. Clock. Oh, by the way, no Brunson tonight. We'll get into that in a second. Tullamore do the original triple distilled, triple blended and triple cast matured Iris whiskey. Be sure to grab a Telemore do or try the new Tullamore Dew honey during today's action. Glasses up to enjoying Tullamore due responsibly. So doesn't mean that it's serious but Brunson will not play. It's a second of back to backs. But what do we know right now about Brunson moving forward? Allen with his injury?

[Don Hahn]

We don't know much because all Shams is saying is that it's day to day and it was non contact. So that's the part that actually worries me more because remember, so this is the third time now he's gonna miss time with the same ankle going back to March of 2025. Right. He missed 15 games in March because he landed on a foot in overtime against the Lakers in a game and that caused him to miss time. Then earlier this season in November, he missed two games because he landed on someone's foot driving to the basket against the Orlando Magic, limped off the court. This it was not. It was just taking a step, making a move and the ankle just gave out. And that, that kind of worries me a little bit. The fact that it's day to day could be a number of things. Number one, that, that they think that it shouldn't be too bad and that because it's a back to back and it's the end of a trip, give him an extra day, get him home and see if he's available for Saturday's game against the Suns right away. You got to love the NBA back to back to end a road trip on the west coast, fly home one day and then play the next day. Three games, four days and coast to coast travel in the middle.

[Rosenberg]

At least the NHL's got the Olympics as an excuse for the condensed schedule. What's the NBA's excuse?

[Don Hahn]

It's just the NBA doesn't care they just throwing games in again. I don't know, whatever.

[Rosenberg]

They don't care about their regulations.

[Don Hahn]

Their schedule since the cup is. Has been hellish. But they also haven't played well. So I'm not making excuses. But the Brunson thing, it's alarming to me because this was non contact and the ankle, if you watch the replays, it just gave out. So I'm hoping for the best. But it does concern me.

[Peter]

It's always. Is it always lower body with Brunson?

[Don Hahn]

Well, it's feet.

[Peter]

It's his always feet and ankles.

[Don Hahn]

Well, because of a lot of things that he does, his footwork and when he shoots, people get under him. Raining on someone's foot.

[Peter]

It's usually he stepped on someone or has contact.

[Rosenberg]

That is contact scare.

[Don Hahn]

He just tried to crossover and when he stepped with the footage just rolled. No Mitchell Robinson too. Why back to back? So they don't play him in back to back. So he's not playing it either. You feel like you got to win this game because you're right now one and two on this trip because last night an abomination of a performance and car. Anthony Towns is under a lot of heat right now. Yeah. Cats for sitting on the court, not getting up to hustle for a loose ball that ended up. It should have been a turnover for the Knicks. It was not.

[Caller/Guest 1]

They.

[Don Hahn]

They couldn't make it three. But he is. He's starting to really feel the heat. And he's got to be careful if he's got to play well tonight because Saturday in the Garden he might hear it.

[Peter]

Now you can't get him on this fan base.

[Rosenberg]

Now before we get to your phone calls on the Giants, the other story we didn't get to yet big is Sam Darnold listed as questionable with an oblique for their game against the San Francisco 49ers. However, Sam spoke about a half hour ago said he expects to be ready to play. Said there is close to 0% chance he won't play.

[Don Hahn]

Of course it's the playoffs, man.

[Rosenberg]

You play to anything.

[Don Hahn]

But how much will it compromise him, right?

[Rosenberg]

Is he compromised oblique?

[Don Hahn]

Yeah.

[Peter]

Thursday to throw a football oblique for a quarterback is not ideal, not great. And I just. I hate that, you know, what do you end up doing?

[Don Hahn]

Robert Sal is like release the hounds.

[Peter]

And if an oblique injuries like that to that part of the body midsection that can end up having you short the ball. You know what I mean? You can't put everything on it.

[Rosenberg]

You know, obliques you're holding well, think about throwing a football.

[Peter]

If your oblique was killing you, you tried to throw a football, what would you do?

[Don Hahn]

It would hurt more.

[Peter]

You win some pain, you're not able to fully let it go, and you shorten the football. It's just like for a guy who needs to prove himself in the playoffs. Let's be real. This is. Now we know now. Sam has already proven he's a regular season guy. He's already shown that. What are we, three years now?

[Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Peter]

Where Sam has shown you he's a regular season guy.

[Caller/Guest 1]

He's.

[Peter]

Can you take the next step? And remember, I know Brock Purdy's really good. He's not going up against Joe Montana or Steve Young. He's up against Brock Purdy. He's the number one seed. They're coming off a buy. They're at home. You got to go in the playoff game.

[Rosenberg]

That stinks. Is we find this out on Thursday. They're playing Saturday night. Now if you're playing Sunday, you buy an extra day. They're playing in like 48 hours.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

So hopefully he'll be okay. I got to tell you, like, that's my whole interest in this. I am so on board to see Sam make a run. If you tell me Sam gets hurt and I got no love for the 49ers, like, I go from really caring to like zero.

[Peter]

Care zero. And that line is Seattle by a touchdown.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah. No kittle.

[Don Hahn]

Seattle's home on the by Seattle defense, too.

[Rosenberg]

And I wonder.

[Peter]

I'm liking lots of dogs again this weekend.

[Don Hahn]

Is that crazy just because of the spreads or just in general?

[Peter]

Just in general. I mean, you got the Bills as a dog. The 49ers is a big number. Even with dude the 49ers, we could find out nobody's playing. And still with the 49ers as an organization in the playoffs, I just expect them to play close no matter what. Then you have the bears are a dog at home, and then the Bears are a dog at home.

[Don Hahn]

That I can see, though.

[Peter]

But I still like the Bears. Texans, you got a one and a half. Yeah. No, no, no, no. Two and a half.

[Don Hahn]

Three and a half.

[Rosenberg]

I said that.

[Peter]

You remember earlier in the week, I said.

[Don Hahn]

I said they have the hook now. It's coming back on the road. Yeah.

[Peter]

It's a disrespectful number to the bears.

[Rosenberg]

It is. Just remember the public cleaned up last week. So let's see.

[Don Hahn]

Let's see where all the money is.

[Peter]

So that's so. So to Anthony's point, I was Going to mention that the public was 6, 0 last week, not just Don legrecord.

[Don Hahn]

Don was. Don's the public. Don Q. Public.

[Peter]

Well, I mean, I mean, not to disrespect both Don and myself, but Don was 6 and, oh, I was 5 1.

[Don Hahn]

Make sure you throw.

[Peter]

I've been able to find a pick anywhere. There may be a reason for it. The entire public was 6, 0 last week. So what does Vegas do this week that tricks the public? Because they're not going to keep losing throughout the playoffs. No, they're finding a way. Which line stinks here? Which is the line that the public goes, oh, yeah, maybe it's the Bears. Maybe it's people like me who go three and a half. The Bears have been good. And then you turn on that game, it's 37, 14 and you go, oh yeah, the Rams are.

[Don Hahn]

And this is not a comeback team. Rams are not going to let you come back if they get up early, which is the Bears, Mo but they.

[Rosenberg]

Almost lost to the Panthers. But maybe just the Panthers have their number. They beat them in the regular season.

[Peter]

It's matchups, right?

[Rosenberg]

And sometimes, you know, you get that scared wild card weekend and then you go on a run. And really when you look at the experience, he's the most experienced quarterback left. Right.

[Peter]

You know, it could be, you know, it could be the beat up the public game. And I don't want to tip a hand here because maybe you guys will take this. Alan won't be able to do it.

[Rosenberg]

Can't do it.

[Peter]

I guarantee he won't do it.

[Don Hahn]

Okay.

[Peter]

The beat up the public game would be Texans over New England. New England's been hot, hot, hot. They're only, they're minus three. Right. You don't even have a hook at home. No one wants to bet the afcc.

[Don Hahn]

All I'm going to say, no one.

[Peter]

They already got the one against Pittsburgh.

[Don Hahn]

I'm going to say go ahead. Did you watch C.J. stroud? I did do all he could to keep the Steelers.

[Rosenberg]

He has not been good since his rookie year. No, not as good. That was his best.

[Don Hahn]

And you put him on the road again in New England against a real team like I like.

[Peter]

What did I say? So what did I just say?

[Don Hahn]

Yeah, you're right. No, you're right.

[Rosenberg]

I said there's no chance.

[Don Hahn]

How you, how do you sell that defense though, man?

[Peter]

This is going to be a war. It's going to be a 10, nine game.

[Don Hahn]

I think you're right.

[Rosenberg]

Stroud's kind of like M Night.

[Don Hahn]

Take the under.

[Rosenberg]

Like his rookie year was 6 cents.

[Peter]

And now since signs.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, signs in the second year.

[Peter]

Pretty good.

[Rosenberg]

There's been some good. And just waiting for that. What was that? The Woman in the Water. What the hell was that one?

[Peter]

Is that what it was called?

[Don Hahn]

Split was very good.

[Peter]

Well, I never heard of it.

[Rosenberg]

Was that bowling movie?

[Peter]

No, the Bowling Vehicle.

[Rosenberg]

The M. Night Shyamalan Bowling Vehicle. I think they filmed that at the Gil Hodges lab.

[Peter]

What was Split about?

[Rosenberg]

I don't know. I usually a guy with split personality disorder. Oh, see, I missed that one.

[Peter]

Yeah, I didn't.

[Rosenberg]

Was it lady in the Water?

[Peter]

Yes. You got it.

[Rosenberg]

That is.

[Peter]

She's a charger now.

[Rosenberg]

We talked about that, though. Who's the. The critic? Was it the Rex. Rex Reed. Rex Reed, right.

[Peter]

We talked about Rex's Two days.

[Rosenberg]

Going out again. It is. It is universally known Rex Reed's review of lady in the Water is the most scathing review in the history of cinema.

[Peter]

No. Oh, in cinema. Okay. Like, you read it.

[Rosenberg]

And if I. If I direct. If I made that movie and got that kind of critique, I tap.

[Peter]

So you said. You said cinema. Because I read a review a couple of years ago in, like, New York Magazine or something.

[Rosenberg]

I forget.

[Peter]

Of Guy Fieri's restaurant in Times Square.

[Don Hahn]

Oh, really?

[Peter]

No, it's the. One of the best reads you've never just eviscerated. It's like, from beginning to end and it's laugh out loud funny. I mean, you're on the floor, so.

[Don Hahn]

Well, no, this is.

[Rosenberg]

This is cinema. I can't speak to that. Send it. And also can't speak the fictional Spinal Tap. The. Was it the Shark sandwich? The four of you is Blank Sandwich.

[Don Hahn]

Is that real?

[Rosenberg]

Is that. Is that made up?

[Peter]

So you're the Rex read to CJ Stroud. I think you're being a little bit harsh on CJ Stroud because we don't watch him a lot.

[Rosenberg]

That is true.

[Peter]

And that team is very good. They've won a lot of football games.

[Rosenberg]

But I think it's. It's gone a little down since his rookie year. And he saw Spinal Tap and said he gave it a four.

[Peter]

Yeah, he wasn't into it. He did not like Spinal Tap. Yeah, that was very interesting.

[Don Hahn]

Solid four before.

[Peter]

I can't believe that it brought me paying attention.

[Don Hahn]

What else was I doing?

[Rosenberg]

He was on. It was. I don't know.

[Peter]

Thank you.

[Don Hahn]

I. No, no, I. It. It brought me in to. In the beginning, I was like, okay, this is. This is good. And then after A while. I was like, all right already. Like, all right, all right.

[Peter]

But you know what, Don? Maybe I haven't watched Final Tap in a long time. God bless Rob Reiner. But you remember, and it's a different kind of movie, for sure. But you remember, like, two years ago, Natalie and I tried to watch Spaceballs, and I was like, this is not good.

[Don Hahn]

It didn't hit.

[Rosenberg]

Did not say I loved Spaceballs when I watched it again with Marco.

[Peter]

You watched it again? I never watched it as a kid.

[Don Hahn]

Everyone else loved it as a kid.

[Peter]

I'm not the huge. I knew Star wars, but I'm not a super Star wars guy. Right. Which is the basis of a lot of the jokes. Never saw it as a kid when I watched it for the first time as an adult. And Natalie is 10 years younger than me, so she really has no connection to it. And her family's foreign. Nothing. It's not in the house at all. And, like, I'm sitting there and Pizza the Hut's on the screen. I'm looking at him like, this is. We're not making this.

[Rosenberg]

You didn't accidentally watch the reboot. You watched the original from 84, right? Yes. But you didn't even laugh at the quotes that I had. The top five quotes. Were you in that day? The top five quotes from.

[Don Hahn]

He got mad at me, kicked me out of stage.

[Rosenberg]

I threw him out of the studio because he said he had saw it once back in the day and doesn't remember it. So I made him listen to the top five in the control room.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah.

[Peter]

And then he was.

[Rosenberg]

Watched the movie.

[Don Hahn]

No, because I'm a good teammate.

[Rosenberg]

Solid.

[Peter]

I respect you watching.

[Don Hahn]

And I said, I've got it. I got.

[Rosenberg]

He's not Damian Woody.

[Don Hahn]

I've got time off. Got to kill some time right now. You know what I can do? I can bring the movie up. And I started watching it, and I'm just like. I just got about halfway through, and it just became like, okay, I get it.

[Rosenberg]

The only people that didn't like Spinal Tap were, like, the bands from that era that thought it hit too close to home. Well, again, like, Aerosmith walked out because they. Because they lived through all that stuff and figured, this is a documentary.

[Don Hahn]

Right.

[Peter]

This isn't a mockumentary.

[Rosenberg]

Right.

[Don Hahn]

But again, four isn't hated.

[Peter]

No, four is bad. Four is under five.

[Rosenberg]

It's less than average. Right.

[Peter]

You're with a woman, and afterwards you go, give me a number. And she goes, four.

[Rosenberg]

If it's four, then that woman was unclean. Let's go to Chris. No, no, you're in Beth Page.

[Don Hahn]

Let it go.

[Peter]

You know what?

[Rosenberg]

No, he was. He didn't perform because she was unclean. Chris in Beth Page.

[Peter]

I don't know.

[Don Hahn]

I don't. I.

[Rosenberg]

You deserve better, but go ahead.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah, follow this.

[Caller/Guest 2]

Speaking of. Speaking of spinal cap, this one goes to 11.

[Don Hahn]

I always. Yeah, that was a funny scene.

[Rosenberg]

You would give it more than a four, Chris, right?

[Caller/Guest 2]

Kidding me. It's one of the best movies I've ever seen.

[Don Hahn]

Love it.

[Caller/Guest 2]

I've seen it four times. It's a great movie.

[Don Hahn]

Wow. Wow. Yeah, man.

[Peter]

Did you.

[Don Hahn]

How did you laugh the other three times when you already knew the joke?

[Peter]

You never watched.

[Rosenberg]

The way they delivered it.

[Caller/Guest 2]

It's the way they delivered those guys.

[Don Hahn]

It was just.

[Peter]

Yeah, hold on. We gotta stop for a second. What's your new scholar's name?

[Rosenberg]

Are you Chris?

[Don Hahn]

Chris.

[Peter]

I'm gonna need to hold on for one second. That was a very Michael Captain Literal man by Alan. Can't watch the movie again because you know, the jokes are coming.

[Don Hahn]

No.

[Peter]

When is that a thing?

[Don Hahn]

No, it is when the jokes are obvious. When you see it coming, it's delivered and you're like, okay. And then the next time you're like, oh, here's where he says the 11 thing.

[Peter]

But this is regarded as one of the great comedies of all time.

[Don Hahn]

I don't. I'm sorry.

[Peter]

It was genre bending.

[Don Hahn]

He.

[Peter]

This is the beginning of the mockumentary.

[Don Hahn]

What do we say about movies and music? You're not wrong to not like something.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, but this time you might be wrong. I'm sorry.

[Don Hahn]

Go ahead, Chris. In this company, I am clearly.

[Rosenberg]

Chris.

[Caller/Guest 2]

So, guys, you talk about the Giants like. I'm a longtime Giant fan, season ticket holder. I'm 62 years old. Been through it all. I gotta say this. This is what I think. It's. Everything is relative on the way you feel at the moment. So I lived through the 70s. I'm sure you did, too, Don. Which were brutal. They were as bad as they are now. I mean, we were in last place every year in the 70s. Then we get Sims and LT and Parcells, and guess what? I went to back to back playoff games where they beat the 49ers by a combined score. The Joe Montana 49ers, 70 to, like three.

[Rosenberg]

Yep. I was. I was at the 85 game with my dad. I took him to the game.

[Caller/Guest 2]

I'm sorry.

[Rosenberg]

Go ahead.

[Caller/Guest 2]

So now I start getting spoiled. We were great in 86. Okay? And then guess what happens? We have The Flipper Anderson game in 89. And you're like, this was such a disappointing season, but then they come back and win the Super Bowl. Okay? And time goes on. And this is what I'm going to tell you. Does anybody care about the Jim Fassel Giants, the team that he took to the Super Bowl? Does anyone mention Jim Fassell?

[Rosenberg]

Well, they should, but I get. I get what Chris is saying. Didn't win. We don't care. But yesterday we should have talked about it on the air. Was the 25th anniversary of the 41 nothing championship win against the Vikings. That was something.

[Don Hahn]

Yep.

[Peter]

All right.

[Don Hahn]

They got Vikings.

[Rosenberg]

They got beat up in the Super Bowl. I get it now. Jim Fossil's not going to be revered like Tom Coughlin or like Bill Parcells because he didn't win a championship. But he was a.

[Peter]

He was there, baby.

[Rosenberg]

He won a division. He went to a Super Bowl.

[Peter]

The guaranteeful Super Bowl.

[Don Hahn]

But a Super bowl, but NFC championship doesn't count for anything.

[Peter]

Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

I'm the one thing I. I get disgusted by people who I. I think I've talked about this before. Oh, geez.

[Peter]

If you were going to get beat.

[Rosenberg]

Up in the super bowl like that, I would. I would have just rather lost the championship. They won the championship game of 41, and nothing was one of the great memories of my life. That's where I took the. The grass from Giant Stadium, and my mom thought it was pot. Love.

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[Don Hahn]

That's a great story.

[Rosenberg]

I'm not. I'm not throwing that away, but the caller's right. Like, Jim Fossil's not reversed. He's not going to be in a ring of honor. He's not going to the hall of Fame. But if I. Now, Jim Fossil also got fired. Jim Fossil also had some very disappointing seasons, too. But if. If over the next 10 years, if I got Jim Fossil out of Harbaugh over 10 years, I'd probably be disappointed.

[Peter]

But.

[Rosenberg]

But if he takes him to a Super bowl, that's still better than anything we've had over the last, you know, going on two decades.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

You know, so perennial playoff team, be relevant. Get them back on track. And to Peter's point, and your point, too, when you brought up Tibbs, is that, all right, what if. What. What if he doesn't win a Super bowl in 10 years, but they're a perennial playoff team knocking on the door and he just decides to retire and the next guy comes in and that very next year they win a Super.

[Don Hahn]

Bowl, it takes to the next level.

[Rosenberg]

Then he becomes kind of like Buck. Right. Like where, hey, let's give, let's throw some roses to Harbaugh for getting us to where we were able to get back to a Super bowl. And maybe he'll be looked and revered that way, too.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah. Tory didn't Joe Torrey didn't become Joe Torre until after the winning because when Joe Torre was hired, that was widely panned. After going from Buck show off Lewis.

[Rosenberg]

Joe was the headline.

[Don Hahn]

And then he started winning and you started realizing that this was the right guy for the job. But you didn't know at the time.

[Rosenberg]

Right.

[Don Hahn]

You didn't know that took time to.

[Rosenberg]

Develop and it could happen with Brown, with the Knicks, we'll see.

[Don Hahn]

Yep.

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[Don Hahn]

Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Peter]

I didn't listen to anything you just said.

[Don Hahn]

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

[Rosenberg]

So a pretty significant day in New York sports history. Significant in who the Giants hired and God, it even beat my timeline. I thought I was aggressive saying it'll be this Friday into the game it did beat you, but it just not just the Giants getting Harbaugh, but, you know, winning in a row. I mean, not even formally talking to Tennessee or Atlanta. And we ended up being right all along. Like what's going to stop this from happening? And another big winner in this whole thing is Joe Shane. Because the Giants are ridiculed for keeping Joe Shane. And now it sounds like Joe Shane was the architect behind a lot of this. He's gonna end up keeping his job, get a contract extension. Ian was talking about that. That could be announced very soon. And the fact that John Harbaugh wants to work with Joe Shane obviously is going to make the fan base reevaluate Joe. So he's a big winner here, too. From Persona non grata to maybe the reason John Harbaugh is here. So that could be quite the turnaround for him. And if he has a good draft and they've got the fifth pick overall and they've got some cap room. And I would think the Giants are a destination not just for assistant coaches, but for players that Joe Shane can come out of this smelling like a rose.

[Don Hahn]

Guys, I can't wait. And Ian, IOC to you and me, did kind of hint to us that he's putting pen to paper on something significant about all this with a lot of the stuff that he had in the notebook. Tom, really curious to see how much of a role Joe Shane did play in this. Going all the way back to November when they started thinking about who the next head coach is going to be and whether somebody tipped off someone to say, hey, you know, keep an eye on things in Baltimore. Don't jump to anything yet.

[Rosenberg]

It really checks a lot of boxes as to why Shane survived. And it also explains why he wasn't given a contract extension when he survived, because the Giants probably didn't know how this was going to go and that maybe if Harbaugh didn't come here, then Joe would be out of a job. But I still buy into the conspiracy theory, and IOC did not squash it, that this was something that was on the Giants radar far before Harbaugh was fired and probably on their radar the second they fired Brian Dabel. I'm not saying that's the reason they fired Brian. Brian got himself fired because he wasn't very good at what he did. But once he was fired and the search began, John Harbaugh was on their radar. Are you trying to get to the level where IOC becomes such a thing, that AOC starts getting tweets about things that IOC said on the show? Like, would you feel.

[Peter]

Can you confirm or deny that they're considering Cliff Kingsbury for an interview?

[Rosenberg]

Would you feel a sense of pride if that were to happen?

[Peter]

I think it's a lofty goal, but I'd like to see us make it happen.

[Don Hahn]

I think it's just a great, like, way to.

[Rosenberg]

Or works the other way.

[Don Hahn]

Or the iron starts getting tweets.

[Peter]

That'll be. That'll be tough for.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Peter]

Like, I think AOC is probably used to getting some tweets that she has to look just kind of move on from IOC would be. Wait a second. I never hear from people. What do I say?

[Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Peter]

Now the IOC, why is Big Blue 86 following me?

[Rosenberg]

I'm not sure why that.

[Peter]

But now the bigger issue is, is the IOC going to have a problem?

[Don Hahn]

This the ioc? Yeah. Oh, the Olympic Committee.

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[Don Hahn]

Is that, Is it trademark or something?

[Rosenberg]

They're so corrupt. I don't care.

[Don Hahn]

Every four years we refer to the ioc, don't we?

[Rosenberg]

Like, who cares? Yeah. And usually complain about it.

[Don Hahn]

Ian, though, is extra special. What we said, what he said, though, what stood to me was how he takes this job. A team that was 4 and 13 and doesn't look at it as a rebuild. He thinks they can win right away. That's a pretty like.

[Peter]

But it's logical. Let's just look. Look at, look at the games they lost last season.

[Don Hahn]

They were in a lot of games in the beginning. Now, later in the year.

[Peter]

Well, how many, how many, how many of the blown games would they not have blown?

[Rosenberg]

Well, I could tell you for a.

[Peter]

Fact, with good coaching, the 31 point lead in the fourth quarter, they're not.

[Rosenberg]

Losing to Denver if John Harbaugh is the quarterback.

[Peter]

So that's at least one.

[Don Hahn]

How about this?

[Peter]

I'm giving them Dallas too.

[Rosenberg]

The very absolute. The first one, those two Lions, Green Bay, they might have lost those games anyway. Those are good teams.

[Peter]

We're already at six wins.

[Rosenberg]

Right, Right. There's six now.

[Peter]

I think the one thing you can't really overlook with the giant season that John Harbaugh wouldn't have been able to fight is the loss of Malik Neighbors and then Cam Scatterbo. I mean, I think that was really problematic offensively for this football team.

[Don Hahn]

Yes.

[Peter]

But I'm saying immediately, addition by subtraction, getting rid of who they had there, gets the Giants to six or seven wins.

[Don Hahn]

Remember, there's. I do believe that their defense also was just pathetic. All the talent they had, they have.

[Rosenberg]

But the Dallas game was one. The Denver game was one. The Detroit game, that game was over. Oh, yeah, that was a 10 point lead in the fourth quarter. Now the Green Bay game, hey, listen, they're only up a score in the fourth quarter. Green Bay, you know, pretty good. Love was healthy. Hey, that's going to happen. There were some games that, you know, we're going to slip through their fingers because they weren't very good and they weren't very talented. But Peter's right, at least throw two, three more wins on the hopper just based on how competitive they were for three and a half quarters in a lot of games. Keith's in New Jersey. You're on ESPN New York. Hi Keith.

[Caller/Guest 2]

Hey guys. Happy New Year to all of you here. As an OG Giant fan, I believe this is Coughlin 2.0. The team is only going to be good as far as that is where you bring in the right people. Pierce as defensive coordinator. Ed Reed for special teams. Now the offensive coordinator I'm suspect about. But also keep in mind in Giant history you have one offensive coordinator. Then Karvlin brought in McBride. I think this is redemption for Harbaugh and also he can win two chips in 10 years. What is your thoughts?

[Rosenberg]

Well, if Coughlin was able to do it, if Parcells was able to do it, is John Harbaugh of that ilk? Yeah, why not? He's won. Tom Coughlin had never won. But the one thing I will say is what is Jackson Dart right now? We've all and I agree with Peter on this, we've all feel like it's a fade accompli. Like all right, he's going to be great. We've got our quarterback. I believe they've got their quarterback. But I still need to see more and never mind the health, I just still need to see more. So what if he's a good quarterback but not a great quarterback? What if he turns out to be injury prone?

[Don Hahn]

But you can say anybody. But what about him tells you. What about him gives you the concern. What about him that you've seen this year with not great coaching. Right. With not great situations around him. All the things that I saw in Jackson Dart. Yes. Young, raw and has a little bit of that again, it's, it's the, is the nosily thing with the way he answers questions. I don't care about that. You know what I saw when you get through all the bs, I saw a guy that hated losing.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Don Hahn]

Like didn't try to. Didn't try to explain it. Didn't want to make excuses. He hated losing. Hated it. Didn't want to hear about it. He was somebody that I felt like when they made him a starter that whole sideline changed. Of course now it didn't last because they weren't very good.

[Rosenberg]

Right.

[Don Hahn]

But guys like that I can win with.

[Rosenberg]

I agree.

[Don Hahn]

But would you worry about him staying healthy?

[Rosenberg]

That it's very difficult to go out there and win a Super Bowl. I agree. I think he's going to be a good quarterback. Will he be a championship caliber quarterback? Remember LaMar Jackson's got two MVPs with John Harbaugh didn't win because he doesn't seem to be able to translate it into the postseason. Peter was just talking about the regular seasons, the last few, for Sam Darnold, but come postseason time, you don't necessarily see it at the same level. So, yeah, I think he'd be a good quarterback. He could be a Pro bowl quarterback. But do I know that he is going to go out there and have the ice water in his veins like Eli Manning and. And drive the field when he has to to win a Super Bowl? I. I don't know that.

[Don Hahn]

No.

[Rosenberg]

We've only seen a handful of games. I think he could be good. I think he's got the arm strength, I think he's got the vision, I think he's got the intelligence.

[Peter]

But he lost his best receiver, lost the head coach. He was clearly not the same guy under Kafka, for the most part.

[Don Hahn]

Correct.

[Peter]

So.

[Don Hahn]

And, and Scatterbu was a big part.

[Peter]

Of what he was a big security blanket for, for him in multiple ways. Not just blocking, obviously, he's a tank, but also catching the ball.

[Rosenberg]

You know what I mean, Peter? I think he checks a lot of boxes. Is he a championship quarterback?

[Peter]

We don't know. You know, we don't.

[Rosenberg]

But you got the coach. I think Josh Allen's a championship quarterback. Just doesn't have the coach. Was he going to be Josh Allen? Is he going to be Patrick Moore? Look at the quarterbacks that have won. And really, the only quarterback, and sorry, Eagles fans that I wouldn't say is truly special is Jalen. Hurts. But look at how special the team was around him. But otherwise, guys that win Super Bowls are kind of megastars, and that's a lot to ask from what we've seen. Is he on that trajectory? Sure, but we don't know if he's going to get there. And then that could certainly influence whether John Harbaugh wins. Because what if Dart turns out not.

[Peter]

To be the guy?

[Rosenberg]

Like he's almost the guy, but he's not quite the guy.

[Peter]

Well, then, guess what?

[Rosenberg]

Now you're looking for another quarterback like everybody else, and then it becomes really dicey for him, right?

[Don Hahn]

Yeah, but you can do that. You can find those guys. Jared Goff was thought to be the guy. When McVeigh got there, they got to a Super bowl, but he couldn't win it. They flipped him into Matthew Staff. But, like, it's doable. Of course, when you have the less need, when you have a GM that has the ability to find that player, you also have the timing to know, wait, that guy's available, we're getting him I don't care what it costs. That's what you do.

[Rosenberg]

I think the only thing that's guaranteed here, based on what we know, is the Giants now have credibility.

[Don Hahn]

Yep.

[Rosenberg]

The Giants are going to be in games and the Giants could be in the conversation whether they can actually win. A lot still has to happen for them to be able to win. And oh, by the way, I do think Philadelphia is slipping, but that's still a really good division where Washington can be back.

[Don Hahn]

It's always going to be a good division.

[Rosenberg]

You know, where are the Bears going? Right. Are the packers going anywhere? Like, there's a lot.

[Don Hahn]

There's a lot of things there.

[Rosenberg]

There's a lot of things that will dictate whether you can win a championship or not. It's just, it's, it's. Do you stay healthy? Do you have the right quarterback and what's around you? Yeah. Right.

[Don Hahn]

So looking at the nfc, you're going through the nfc, right? Like, Seattle's a young defense, a very young team with a young coach who's very good.

[Rosenberg]

Sam's not the Ram.

[Don Hahn]

The Rams go the other way. The Rams are going to need a quarterback soon. They have everything else. But Stafford's not going to last forever. So that's going to be what do they do?

[Rosenberg]

Right.

[Don Hahn]

Looking in the nfc, that's the kind of things you're seeing. But you worry, what's Tampa going to be?

[Rosenberg]

But the biggest concern always is your division.

[Don Hahn]

Yes.

[Rosenberg]

And right now, it's always going to be, as much as we all hope Philadelphia is going to slip, they're still right there. Washington's got an old world quarterback, a really good head coach. I think they'll be back. And as long as Jerry Jones has a pulse, he is always going to try to put that team in a position. They're not going to just blow it up and rebuild until after he's gone. I really believe that. So they're always going to be in the conversation.

[Don Hahn]

That's the thing. The presence of Jerry Jones and Harry Roseman tell you that that division is always going to be competitive.

[Rosenberg]

So listen, it's, it's. I think sometimes because we see how many New England won, how many Kansas City won when the Cavaliers were on their run winning championships, the warriors, you know, the Lightning and the Panthers, the teams that won multiple championships in recent vintage, kind of makes it look like, oh, well, it's, look at all these teams that they win. But there's a lot of teams that are really good that don't win because those teams are always winning the champions. And right now we seem to be.

[Peter]

In that state of flux. Right.

[Rosenberg]

This is the year it's open.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

But at some point, one of these young teams is going to become the next Kansas City. They're going to become the next Philadelphia, the next New England. Is it going to be New England? Could the Giants end up becoming that team in recent.

[Peter]

I think New England could be the next.

[Rosenberg]

That's what's scary.

[Peter]

At the very least, they're New England. Will they be New England, please?

[Don Hahn]

No.

[Rosenberg]

Let's go to Steve in. You're on espn New York. Good.

[Caller/Guest 2]

Two coaches came to mind when you started talking about past coaches and how they're held in high esteem or whatever. One not to be too dated here. One guy I feel like still doesn't get enough respect, although it was a while ago. Billy Martin, man was a hell of a coach. We brought him up 500 games.

[Don Hahn]

We mentioned him because we brought up.

[Rosenberg]

Because he might be that Yankee one where they went out and got somebody special.

[Don Hahn]

They hired him. Everybody got excited.

[Rosenberg]

George. George kind of with all the firings, almost became a punchline. Steve. But he was a hell of a manager.

[Caller/Guest 2]

It wasn't he. I mean, just his turbulence, his personal life kind of clouded everything and the circus with George.

[Caller/Guest 1]

But he.

[Caller/Guest 2]

I still. I think that kind of clouds what a hell of a manager he was. The second guy a little more recent, maybe you mentioned him as well. Maybe I checked out for five minutes. But although the one guy had the Hollywood. Hollywood looks and the rings I think Vin Gundy's held in higher. Has a. Knick fans have a higher affinity than Eagle Riley.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah. Because of what? Because he was the self made man kind of coach. He was the one that they didn't originally want it. Just the players loved him because you could see that he slept on his couch in the coaches. There was something about that. Every man, you know, the guy that just burned the candle at both ends, everybody respected and loved him. But again, what we were saying was we're not talking about the best coaches in New York ever. That's not what we were saying. No, what we were saying, just for those who might not have understood what we were doing there at the time of the hire, it was backpage bold type. They got this guy and that's why Pat Riley, when Zeff Van Gundy got the job, that wasn't like the, hey, they got this guy. In fact, everybody was chasing the Phil Jackson rumors before Jeff finally was like, okay, no, he's the guy for the Long term. Pat Riley, when they brought him in, that's that guy. Like when they brought him, even Rick Patino got a little bit of sizzle because when he got hired by the knicks back in 87. So. But that's what we're not saying. Who are the best coaches. No. When Red Holzman biggest hire, best way to say, yeah, I'll stay with the Knicks. Red Holzman, when he was. He wasn't hired. He and Dick McGuire switched jobs because Dick McGuire was a great player. Saw that he really wasn't getting through the players. This isn't working. And he was a scout. Red was a scout, but he had coached before. So he just said to him, McGuire said, why don't you coach the team? So Red. Okay, he coached the team and it worked wonderfully that there was no pomp and circumstances.

[Peter]

So this is it. This it Certainly for the Giants.

[Rosenberg]

It's it for the Giants.

[Peter]

It's not even a question.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah. Parcell's for the Jets. That was their big one. Big Fish.

[Peter]

I'm trying to think of a comp for the young people because we got youngsters listening of Coughlin when they signed Coughlin at the time with, with what he'd done with Jacksonville, what the comp would be higher wise now because it's not Harbaugh.

[Don Hahn]

Certainly the problem is here.

[Peter]

It's, it's, you know, it's between Stefanski.

[Don Hahn]

And Harbaugh, but it's not, it's not La Violette Rangers.

[Peter]

I was trying to get one.

[Rosenberg]

So you're talking about a guy. Playoffs, couple of championship games. Never went to a Super bowl, but you felt good about it. So who is that guy? I guess it would be McDermott. If he became available and you hired him, he would be the Tom Coughlin level, right?

[Don Hahn]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Peter]

He's Dan Quinn. Went to a Super Bowl.

[Caller/Guest 1]

Yeah.

[Peter]

Nice. Really nice coach. Nice coach. You get excited, but you don't go, oh, my God. You know, this Coughlin was cool, but Coughlin's a Hall of Famer because of here.

[Don Hahn]

Yes.

[Peter]

If Coughlin never comes to the Giants, we're never talking about Tom Coughlin again. He's a trivia question.

[Rosenberg]

Right.

[Peter]

Who took Jacksonville. But like he. So it's.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah.

[Peter]

What I'm trying to say is this is by far the Giants biggest.

[Don Hahn]

And it's also because of the status of. When he became a free agent, there were what, four teams? There was. There was six openings and four teams were in on it. And he didn't even talk to the other three didn't talk to him, didn't, didn't meet with them.

[Peter]

And one of the other two was his former team. The other one was their number one rival in the division. So he basically everyone, everyone who could be in on hardball is in.

[Don Hahn]

And he was like, I met with them.

[Rosenberg]

And the thing about Tom Coughlin, he had coached the Giants before as a wide receivers coach. When they won a 90, he'd been around, they pursued him. He said no, went to Boston College, and that's when the Giants pivoted to Dan Reeves. So he had been on their radar. This is so interesting because this is the second consecutive time that the Giants have hired a coach that has not been within the organization, like somebody that had ties to the organization. Everybody else seemed to have some sort of a tie. This one didn't have it. Like even Joe Judge ties because recommended by Belichick that whole deal, right?

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[Don Hahn]

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[Don Hahn]

Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Peter]

I didn't listen to anything you just said.

[Don Hahn]

Catch the show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts. So the Giants won the off season when we just, we're not even in the off season yet, but that's how it feels.

[Peter]

They have to.

[Don Hahn]

So you give them a trophy, right?

[Rosenberg]

I think.

[Don Hahn]

Well, you know, when the trophy is raised, when it can feel like the season is over.

[Peter]

Oh yeah.

[Don Hahn]

But on ESPN's app it never really is because with more than 47,000 live events plus originals, highlights, coverage from every corner of the sports world, there's always something to dive into, lots of hoops to keep an eye on this time of year, as you all know. I mean, look at the injuries happening to some of these players right now in the NBA. Look at the complaining going on mid season. We're getting closer to the trade deadline All Star break. You get no off season, just everything a fan needs to keep going. Always in season. Get all of ESPN all in one place. Download the ESPN app on your TV or your phone today. And luckily you can do it on your phone today because I guess all the services.

[Rosenberg]

Oh my God, it took a while.

[Don Hahn]

Did you get texts from people saying like you didn't respond or like I got a text from somebody saying hello and I'm like did I miss something? And apparently sent me like a text, a very important one yesterday. Never went through.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, I don't know. I sent Michael a text because my stage manager last night. Is his stage manager on?

[Don Hahn]

Yes.

[Rosenberg]

And I sent the image. He never responded. Well, I don't know if he got it.

[Peter]

So he doesn't even care.

[Rosenberg]

May not care, but I did not have coverage because I was able to use the WI FI in the building last night. I didn't get until I got home.

[Peter]

It Was really bad.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

And it led all the news. It was. We're so reliant on our phones.

[Don Hahn]

We are. But imagine that you had to go on the subway and make eye contact with people. Imagine that scary thought, right? Very. Imagine that. You'd have to like, maybe buy a newspaper, read it while sitting on the train going home. What else are you gonna do?

[Peter]

The funny thing is, though, it would be immediately insane for people. There'd be some upside though.

[Don Hahn]

How about this, though?

[Peter]

As long as we have electricity, I can do it.

[Don Hahn]

If you. But think about how much we rely on. On your gps.

[Peter]

Like, that'd be the problem.

[Don Hahn]

And you don't have that to put in. In your car as you drive it home.

[Peter]

I can't leave the city anymore. I'm in Manhattan only now. I'm good, man. I'll be fine.

[Don Hahn]

Do you know how to get anywhere in all.

[Peter]

So it's funny. So, you know, Natalie's from here, from here, from here. True New Yorker. So like she.

[Don Hahn]

She's here, here, here, here.

[Peter]

I. I can't go to the airports without gps.

[Rosenberg]

Wow.

[Don Hahn]

Really? That's. I crazy.

[Peter]

I'd probably figure it out. But I've done it every time.

[Don Hahn]

It's not that difficult.

[Peter]

But I've done every time on gps.

[Rosenberg]

I could do well. That's always the fastest new work in my sleep, obviously.

[Don Hahn]

Because.

[Rosenberg]

Because of course, Jersey and LaGuardia is easy.

[Peter]

JFK.

[Rosenberg]

I think I'd have to put new.

[Peter]

Work I could do.

[Rosenberg]

I could probably. Maybe I would. Might have to put JFK in the gps. Only because I know how to get there. But I would want to know the fastest route. There's obviously different, but that's not what we mean.

[Peter]

The question is, could you get there?

[Don Hahn]

Could you. Could you get there? If you had to get there, you wouldn't know when you're getting there, but you're getting there.

[Rosenberg]

I always like the adventure.

[Don Hahn]

The adventure. Yeah. Cause.

[Peter]

So go ahead, you throw away your phone. Show us some.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah, no.

[Rosenberg]

There were times when I was younger I would just. All right, Shea Stadium is in Queens. I'll just follow signs. Oh, we all did that, you know.

[Don Hahn]

And figure it out.

[Rosenberg]

And I did it in Montreal when I covered that 97 Devils Canadian series for the 15 bucks a game for Sportsphone.

[Don Hahn]

That's both.

[Rosenberg]

I just said, I'm just gonna drive north and I'll find signs. I knew to get on the New York Thruway, I'll just go north and.

[Don Hahn]

Until you see French.

[Rosenberg]

And then I eventually ended up at Le Chante Sheridan. I was really.

[Peter]

That's crazy.

[Rosenberg]

I was. But you know what? It was an adventure. It was fun.

[Peter]

But I guess if you look at the map and you see that it goes north, if you take the three way, you're going to eventually be fine.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

I'm going to tell you something that people don't know that don't live there. One of the great things about living in North Jersey, like in the Bergen county area. All right. I don't know if you're familiar. I've heard of it and this is entire. Growing up, didn't. Never had to worry about how to get home. Put me any. Put me in Westwood, New Jersey. Okay. In Bergen County I will get home. Because at every intersection in North Jersey there's a sign that says Glenrock. Right. Hawthorne Straight. And you just follow those signs. I would eventually get home because there'll be a sign that will tell me where and then I'll eventually realize where I am.

[Peter]

So it'll keep telling you the next town and eventually you're gonna go one of the towns.

[Don Hahn]

It's also recognized.

[Rosenberg]

I've never seen that in anywhere else. And I've been Long Island. Did you ever have anything like that? Long Island?

[Don Hahn]

Well, Long Island's very simple. It's a grid.

[Peter]

No, but they don't have the signs.

[Rosenberg]

But I'm just saying sign. I will get Pascack Valley Road and I'll be in a red light and it'll say Ridgewood.

[Don Hahn]

Right, Done. Just throwing it out. This is not exclusive to northern New Jersey.

[Rosenberg]

Really? I don't know. I think it is.

[Don Hahn]

I don't first. First and foremost, the island is very easy to navigate because all the major highways either go east, west or north, south. So you can find your way that way. And then every single. Not just exit, but every. Even like the state roads all will have a town and the. And the arrow.

[Rosenberg]

I've only seen this in North Jersey.

[Peter]

I mean he's talking about like literally at the big. At all big lights it has.

[Rosenberg]

And I'm not talking about a highway. I'm just talking about I can be not. Not on a side street, but any kind of like main drag in any Bergen county town. If I hit a light, it won't give me how many miles it is. It'll just give. It'll be a green sign, green frame. And in there it would list like five towns and the directions of where those towns where I have to turn to get to that town.

[Don Hahn]

Okay.

[Rosenberg]

And I've never seen that anywhere else. Not you Know Hawthorne, five miles or this exit? Hawthorne, Fairlawn, Ridgewood. No.

[Don Hahn]

So just like four towns and every. It's those towns.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, all that in that vicinity. So if I was. So when you turn New Jersey, it'll.

[Don Hahn]

Keep telling you how to get to Hawthorne, right?

[Rosenberg]

Because it wouldn't. It'd be a while before it would say Hawthorne, because Westwood Trust it. Or Emerson isn't close to Hawthorne. But if I'm on Kinderkamack Road in Emerson and I'm driving, I hit a light, there'll be a sign that'll say Ridgewood. All right, Ridgewood's close to Hawthorne. I'll follow the Ridgewood. Then eventually Ridgewood becomes Glenrock, Glenrock becomes Hawthorne. As long as you know the towns that surround where you live, you'd never get lost. Yeah, And I've never seen that anymore.

[Peter]

I feel like it's a great place.

[Don Hahn]

I do feel over. Long island is very similar in a way that maybe it doesn't have like, you know, every single light has like that sign, but you really can navigate the island well when you just know. North, south, east.

[Peter]

What I like, what really easy. My favorite charming thing about Long island, where I spend a lot of time these days, is, is that no matter how nice a neighborhood you're in, when you end up on the main drag within seven to ten minutes, if it's after eight o' clock at night, three nozzles will come speeding by in Hondas at 140 miles an hour. That's what I. You can immediately all of a sudden feel danger and go, do I want to be here? I was just in a great neighborhood.

[Rosenberg]

Long island and North Jersey are almost identical, just on different sides, probably in a lot of ways.

[Don Hahn]

It's just basically, you get to a point where it's like bagel place, pizza place.

[Rosenberg]

Right.

[Don Hahn]

Like though every strip mall has them. And there's always one or two that will tell you what town you're in now.

[Rosenberg]

The only difference is that at least in New Jersey, I'm on the mainland, so I can get places. All right, you have to get off the island, then you figure out how long you want to go to Boston.

[Don Hahn]

It's the worst.

[Rosenberg]

Oh, I know how to go to Boston.

[Don Hahn]

Four hours.

[Rosenberg]

I'll just. I'm. I'm already on. I'm on. I'm on. I'm in the country.

[Don Hahn]

Yes. Yeah. No, we're just gotta get off before.

[Rosenberg]

You can even start counting how long it's been.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah, you're mainland.

[Peter]

Well, you know, I.

[Don Hahn]

We are all we're just. We're just dangling off the edge of America.

[Peter]

I'm being 100% serious. I.1 of the things I've considered recently is I do not like the fact that the two places I spend time are Manhattan and Long island. And I have no place when I'm spending time on mainland. I don't like that on principle. I don't like if something bad float away. No, there's just something happens if the ish hits the fan.

[Don Hahn]

Getting out.

[Peter]

You cannot get out.

[Rosenberg]

That's a good point.

[Peter]

There's no if you're deep on Long island at all. And the issue at the fan in some way and people were going, you're jumping in the ocean.

[Don Hahn]

Oh, yeah. No, you just get the beach chair. Put it right down.

[Rosenberg]

Sitting there were people getting on trains, just not knowing where they were gonna go, just knowing it was getting them off the island.

[Peter]

Can't do that from Long Island.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

That's lir Manhattan. You can just.

[Don Hahn]

Are you going one way?

[Peter]

Yeah. And they're not letting you into the city.

[Rosenberg]

That took a turn.

[Don Hahn]

Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Peter]

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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