Hour 3: March Madness & NFL Draft

Summary

Don, Hahn & Rosenberg – March 20, 2026

Hour 3: March Madness & NFL Draft

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Episode Overview

In this lively hour, Alan Hahn, Peter Rosenberg, and Don La Greca dive into the heart of March Madness with constant score updates, bracket banter, and reaction to key games—especially focusing on the Hofstra vs. Alabama matchup. The hour then pivots into a heated and hilarious discussion about NFL Draft culture, particularly Pittsburgh’s dramatic response to hosting, and finishes with callers weighing in on fandom, sports traditions, and more. The tone is classic New York radio: quick, irreverent, and deeply passionate about sports.

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Key Segments & Discussion Points

1. Live March Madness Reactions & Bracket Drama

• Hofstra vs. Alabama Game Updates

  • Real-time play-by-play and color commentary on Hofstra’s performance against Alabama, with emotional swings and frustration over refereeing.
    • "Hofstra had cut it to... I think it was five. Okay, got a steal and a dunk." – Alan Hahn (00:57)
    • "The steal and dunk really should have been called kickball, but referees didn’t see it. Shocking, that college refereeing." – Alan Hahn (01:04)
  • Frustrations about coaching strategy (“You gotta foul…you’re up three.” – Hahn, 03:15)

• Breakdown of Recent Tournament Games

  • Excitement over VCU’s comeback against North Carolina, criticism of Hubert Davis’ coaching, and discussion of game strategy in tense overtime finishes.
    • "There was a point where it looked like [UNC] could have won in regulation and then VCU just would not go away. Made a huge three, and then North Carolina answered, and then that’s how you got to overtime." – Alan Hahn (02:32)
    • “It's a tough one for Hubert Davis… he’s getting called out for his rotations.” – Alan Hahn (02:57)

• Bracket Standings & ESPN Celebrity Pool

  • Extended ribbing and status update on ESPN’s internal bracket contest—who's actually a “celebrity,” and some tongue-in-cheek bitterness about who's included or excluded.
    • "I'm at 91.4%. I have 160 points." – Alan Hahn (05:20)
    • “You’re the handsomest guy on an afternoon drive show in New York!” – Don Hahn (05:42)
    • “They just don’t think highly of you.” – Peter Rosenberg (05:51)
    • Ongoing jokes about Alan’s omission: “So nobody told me there’s a deadline to be a celebrity.” – Alan Hahn (08:03)

• Bracket Math: Max Points & Strategic Lament

  • Comparing potential point outcomes, sharing regrets about bold picks, and self-deprecating humor about past bracket success (or lack thereof).

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2. Caller Segment: Knicks, NBA Playoffs, and Basketball Insight

• Knicks Playoff Prospects & Fan Optimism

  • Caller "Spike" lays out an optimistic path for the Knicks, digging into injury reports, matchups, and specific players' impact.
    • "I see a path. I really do… Now I hear Hart’s out tonight with the knee… but he’ll play." – Caller Spike (11:46)

• Alan’s Analytical Breakdown

  • Hahn provides detailed analysis of player performances, matchups, and why the regular season has become a “nuisance” for the Knicks at this stage.
    • “He had the Knicks playing faster—up tempo. A lot of movement, you know, like he was forcing you to run with him.” – Alan Hahn (12:12)

• Don’s Healthy Knicks Skepticism

  • Don goes full New York cynic: “As a Knick fan… you should be fearing everything, should be afraid of the dark if you’re a Knick fan at this point.” (14:14)
  • “You're fooling yourself. You’re lying to yourself, which is the worst kind of lie.” – Don Hahn (15:18)

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3. March Madness Culture Clashes

• Sportsmanship Rant: Alabama “Running Up the Score”
  • Heated reactions to Alabama’s late-game antics against Hofstra—throat-slashing, showboating, and controversial late three-pointer in a blowout.
    • "At the very end… a guy comes in and he takes a corner three for Alabama to make it 20. You don’t need to be taking that three." – Alan Hahn (25:24)
    • “I think there was less than 30 [seconds].” – Don Hahn (26:01)
    • “They acted like a bunch of jerks. And I don’t like the throat slash.” – Don Hahn (27:41)
    • “You’re a 4 beating a 13. You’re supposed to do that. It's a mid-major.” – Don Hahn (27:40)
    • "There was a time where that dude would have had the ball thrown off his head." – Alan Hahn (26:29)

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4. The NFL Draft: Obsession & Culture Critique

• Pittsburgh’s “Virtual Learning” for the Draft

  • The hosts react incredulously to Pittsburgh schools closing for the NFL Draft—using it as a springboard to lampoon America’s NFL obsession.
    • "What did you say, Alan? This is a different—I didn't know this level existed." – Peter Rosenberg (19:04)
    • “This is how you get the next generation of fans… now they’re fired up because they love it.” – Alan Hahn (19:12)
    • “It’s the party that everyone’s got to go to… it's almost like there’s something wrong with you if you’re not all in.” – Don Hahn (20:29)

• The Draft as “Sports Comic Con”

  • Comparing the event to a convention, with skepticism about the lengths fans will go to just to stand in massive crowds to “experience” the draft in person.
    • “It’s a convention. That’s what the draft is.” – Alan Hahn (21:29)
    • “Yo yo convention.” – Peter Rosenberg (21:32)
    • “I want someone—show me the guts. If you’re planning on taking the trip to Pittsburgh just to cheer... I need to hear from you.” – Peter Rosenberg (21:44)

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5. Callers Respond: Ritual vs. Reality of Fandom

• Caller “Dan,” Steelers/Lifelong Fan

  • Explains making the draft a family tradition, but admits he doesn’t really know what he’s getting into with a massive crowd.
    • "I'm one of those yo yos, guys... but so when it came to Pittsburgh, my son said, hey, let's go... it's kind of like a guy's weekend." – Caller Dan (29:28)
  • The hosts tease but ultimately respect the family angle, differing between that and fandom as identity performance.

• Caller “Danny,” Old-School Draft Nostalgia

  • Reminisces about the draft days at Radio City—made “football day in the middle of April” but notes it’s a different beast now.
    • “We set up our chairs, went back to our cars, tailgated, had a blast...” – Caller Danny (45:16)
    • Recognizes change: “To go to Detroit or Lambeau or Pittsburgh… all crammed together, just seems...” – Don Hahn (45:50)
    • Riff on the veneration of “draft trinkets” and obsessive fandom as performative narcissism.

• Don’s Take: Fandom or Narcissism?

  • Extended riff on measuring one’s fandom as a competition, not passion.
    • “Everything Dave [Rothenberg] does… is to show how big a fan I am… it's all just a blank measuring of how big a fan you are.” – Don Hahn (33:25)
    • “I am as invested in the Giants, wins or losses, as Dave Rothenberg is. But I'm not a mental patient. That's the difference.” – Don Hahn (34:08)

• Alan’s Question: Is Fandom Performance Another Ego Game?

  • “If you’re telling me that that depth of fandom is motivated by what it does for you... That's narcissistic, right?” – Alan Hahn (35:26)

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6. Soccer & World Cup Preview

• Caller “Rod”: European Soccer Odds and World Cup Picks

  • Praises Don’s gambling strategy; tips Spain and breakout Barcelona star Lamine Yamal for the next World Cup.
    • “As far as I'm concerned, he's the best soccer player I have seen at that particular point.” – Caller Rod (42:44)

• Hosts’ Reflections

  • Quick appreciation for how the World Cup makes new international stars known to American audiences.
    • “The World Cup is one of those sports that always makes new international stars and gets those stars who are big in Europe to [U.S.] casuals.” – Peter Rosenberg (44:16)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On College Basketball Officiating:
  • “Shocking, that college refereeing.” – Alan Hahn (01:04)
• On Alabama’s Postgame Conduct:
  • “They acted like a bunch of jerks. And I don’t like the throat slash.” – Don Hahn (27:41)
• On Pittsburgh Closing Schools for the NFL Draft:
  • "This is how you get the next generation of fans..." – Alan Hahn (19:12)
• On the Nature of Today’s NFL Draft:
  • “It's the party that everyone’s got to go to... almost like there’s something wrong with you if you’re not all in.” – Don Hahn (20:29)
• On Performative Fandom:
  • “Everything Dave [Rothenberg] does… is to show how big a fan I am… it’s all just a blank measuring of how big a fan you are.” – Don Hahn (33:25)
  • “If you’re telling me that that depth of fandom is motivated by what it does for you... That's narcissistic, right?” – Alan Hahn (35:26)
• On Going to the Draft:
  • “You’re not going to have a guitar, but you want to be able to tell people you did it right.” – Don Hahn (32:36)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment Description | |-----------|--------------------| | 00:57–03:55 | Live Hofstra-Alabama updates, officiating complaints, coaching debate | | 04:46–09:24 | Bracket standings, celebrity pool banter, ESPN internal jokes | | 11:18–15:18 | Caller Spike on Knicks, optimism and concern, Alan and Don’s NBA playoff outlook | | 17:01–18:08 | Alabama’s attitude vs. Hofstra, gritty vs. mouthy | | 19:04–20:29 | Pittsburgh's school closure for NFL Draft, cultural critique | | 25:24–27:52 | Sportsmanship rant: “run up the score” & late-game showboating | | 29:28–32:29 | Caller Dan: Making the NFL draft a family ritual | | 33:25–38:34 | Fandom, performative obsession, narcissism in sports fans | | 42:44–44:38 | World Cup preview, soccer gambling, Lamine Yamal praise |

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Show’s Tone

• Classic New York: fast, irreverent, always slightly incredulous but deeply loving of sports culture.
• Lively, locker-room style banter with a healthy dose of sarcasm and nostalgia.
• Celebratory but not uncritical—hosts relish calling out the absurdity in modern sports fandom.

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Summary

This hour is a snapshot of contemporary sports talk—part live game reaction, part existential joke on the culture surrounding brackets, draft parties, and obsessive fandom. Don, Hahn, and Rosenberg blend their distinct personalities for a segment that is as much about the rituals of sports as the games themselves. Regular fans tuning in will find a mix of old-school skepticism, appreciation for new stars, and pointed commentary on what being a "real" fan means in 2026.

Transcript

[Alan Hahn]

So good, so good, so good.

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[Peter Rosenberg]

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[Don Hahn]

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[Podcast Announcer]

This is the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Don Hahn]

That sounds like heaven to me.

[Podcast Announcer]

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

[Peter Rosenberg]

Oh, yeah, baby. Don han and Rosenberg, ESPN New York. It is 502 in the big city to you and me, guys. Any big Hofstra update there, Alan Hunt.

[Alan Hahn]

Hofstra had cut it to. I think it was five. Okay, got a steal and a dunk.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Talk to me.

[Alan Hahn]

Three. Yes. And then had a chance for an offensive rebound. Couldn't get it. And Alabama hit a three. Now, to be fair, the steal and dunk really should have been called kickball, but referees didn't see it. Shocking, that college refereeing.

[Peter Rosenberg]

So what is it?

[Alan Hahn]

Eight.

[Don Hahn]

Eight.

[Alan Hahn]

So it's eight.

[Peter Rosenberg]

All right. All right.

[Alan Hahn]

But they, you know, they. They are not letting go of the rope. I love it. Putting up a fight.

[Don Hahn]

What was the number on this one?

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, what was the number?

[Don Hahn]

What's the spritz?

[Alan Hahn]

Anthony, since we're not allowed, we weren't allowed to do any of this. Now I'm glad I didn't take Liu and. Okay, well, it was. It was at one point. Eleven, I think.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Well, let's see now. Listen, I. This we talked about. So yesterday.

[Alan Hahn]

I'll keep.

[Peter Rosenberg]

We had the one. We had the one great game early, right?

[Alan Hahn]

Yes.

[Peter Rosenberg]

And then we had a decent. You know, the Duke thing was fun for a little while. Did anything great happen last night?

[Alan Hahn]

Yes. Yes.

[Don Hahn]

North Carolina. North Carolina.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Oh, North Carolina.

[Unidentified ESPN Staff]

A 10, baby.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Was the game fabulous.

[Alan Hahn]

That was VCU, right? That's right.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah. How was the game?

[Alan Hahn]

For now?

[Don Hahn]

Yeah.

[Alan Hahn]

There was a VCU at one point, down 19. Storm back.

[Don Hahn]

That late second half until overtime was a real back and forth. You know, it was a slug fest in the overtime period.

[Alan Hahn]

Yes. I don't think anybody scored for the first three minutes, but it was. But there was a point where it looked like uncle could have won in regulation and then VCU just would not go away. Made a huge three, and then North Carolina answered, and then That's. That's how you got to overtime. But it's a tough one for Hubert Davis, I'll tell you that. He's getting even though. You know, they did have injuries, but he. He's getting called out for his rotations and everything else. That's. He's going to be under fire right now in Chapel Hill.

[Don Hahn]

But, you know, the best game today, obviously, was the Kentucky game. And the. They hit at the end of regulation. They went in overtime.

[Alan Hahn]

What a.

[Don Hahn]

And you know what? I'm watching that Alabama Hofstra guys.

[Alan Hahn]

How are you not fouling there? You gotta foul.

[Don Hahn]

It happened pretty quick. So I guess the fear is.

[Alan Hahn]

Well, you hit the shot. 2.4. He gets the ball. There's a defender on him. If I'm. If I'm. I'm screaming foul. Aren't you screaming foul? Foul him. You're up three.

[Don Hahn]

Unless you're afraid. Are you afraid that if he fouls him late in the.

[Alan Hahn]

He took the shot from 40ft with 3/10 of a second left.

[Don Hahn]

It was. There was time.

[Alan Hahn]

Oh, I mean, that. You. You had that game. 2.4. You hit a 3. You got to feel good about your chance of winning that game. And for them to come back and then. And then answer that three, it's crazy.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah. Hofstra lost a review on possession, so Alabama got the ball.

[Alan Hahn]

So it's eight, but they got the ball back.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah, they just got a rebound off of. Missed three. So still very much in doubt here. But this is a big possession, Don.

[Peter Rosenberg]

How much. How much time the tourney gonna get from you this weekend?

[Don Hahn]

Well, I don't have a game.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Okay.

[Don Hahn]

Until Tuesday. Probably not a. Tom. Yeah. Again, I'll be looking at my phone. If I see a game's close, I'll pop it on. Because, Peter, you know, you get a free weekend. I'm not telling the wife that I'm gonna be staying home watching college basketball as Hofstra just hit a three.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah.

[Don Hahn]

To cut it to five. Hello? They're digging in.

[Alan Hahn]

Man, I love.

[Don Hahn]

Not a ton, but I'll be. I'll be keeping an eye on what's going on. How about you? You got. You got wrestling, right?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Well, no wrestling. Wrestling's tonight.

[Unidentified ESPN Staff]

Don's brackets at 150 points.

[Peter Rosenberg]

What am I?

[Alan Hahn]

I think I'm at 98%. Right.

[Unidentified ESPN Staff]

Don's in the 75% area.

[Alan Hahn]

Where am I? I think I'm doing really well.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Where all of us. Tell. Tell us all.

[Unidentified ESPN Staff]

Yeah, I only know Don's.

[Alan Hahn]

How do you only know?

[Unidentified ESPN Staff]

I Said because I put. Because I put Don's bracket in for.

[Alan Hahn]

Oh, well. By the way, why am I. I see all the ESPN celebrities. How come I'm not in this?

[Unidentified ESPN Staff]

Listen, I'll have to take that up with the boss. I'm not sure why that happened.

[Alan Hahn]

I don't know how I'm supposed to declare.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Well, it's not like your specialty is basketball.

[Alan Hahn]

It's a fair point, Peter. I'm at 91.4%. I have 160 points.

[Unidentified ESPN Staff]

That's pretty good. Yeah, you're right up there with Jay, Stephen, A Hannah Storm.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, but you don't see me on that list because, you know, I'm just. I'm just Han Solo.

[Don Hahn]

But that's bad. I mean, you're. You're on Get Up. You've done national NBA games on radio. But how did they.

[Thumbtack Advertiser]

You're.

[Don Hahn]

You're. You're the handsomest guy on an afternoon drive show in New York.

[Alan Hahn]

How do they designate it, though? Like, is this. Do I have to tell espn?

[Peter Rosenberg]

They just don't think highly of you.

[Unidentified ESPN Staff]

Listen, I gave all your information for all your brackets to the powers that be. And then what they did with it, I guess, is up to them.

[Alan Hahn]

So they're choosing to say that you're not worth this.

[Unidentified ESPN Staff]

Listen, you said it. I didn't shout out to the 4,405 people left, by the way, with perfect brackets.

[Alan Hahn]

That's insane when you consider some of the upsets we've had already.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I mean, it hasn't been.

[Alan Hahn]

It's at 98.1. Greeny Green. He's at 98.1. He's at 170 points. I'm right on his tail

[Peter Rosenberg]

trying to log in. How did I do this?

[Alan Hahn]

Jay Williams. I'm tied with Jay Williams.

[Don Hahn]

Look.

[Peter Rosenberg]

God bless you.

[Alan Hahn]

John Crispin, anyone? Ron Slay.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Wait, these are celebrities?

[Alan Hahn]

These are celebrities.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Wait, these are celebrity celebrities for our company. We don't. Celebrities, and we don't know who they are.

[Alan Hahn]

How about Scooby? You know Scooby? I don't know.

[Peter Rosenberg]

This is very tough. You know, there's one person to blame for. It's got to be Justin Craig. Justin doesn't like you. That's all it can be.

[Don Hahn]

Peter, we've talked about, like, the college football rules that don't carry over to the NFL. Like, you don't have to have both feet down. You don't have to touch a player for them to be down. Stuff like that. Right. Like, it bothers us. Isn't even worse than that, is the fact that on a simultaneous possession, there's the possession hour. You can't have a tip ball.

[Alan Hahn]

I know.

[Don Hahn]

You take too much time. I mean, it doesn't make sense.

[Alan Hahn]

This is so old. This goes back to the 80s, when they started doing the possession arrow, which is stupid because there's times where you're like, make the hustle play. Dive on that loose ball. But it'll actually work against you. So why. You know, it's maddening. By the way, Aaron Goldhammer of I believe it's ESPN Cleveland fame.

[Unidentified ESPN Staff]

That's right.

[Don Hahn]

Come on.

[Alan Hahn]

He's on this list.

[Don Hahn]

You sure you're not on that list?

[Alan Hahn]

I'm 100% sure, because I'm looking where all the people that have my numbers, which I would be on the top. I'd be up right there with greening. Yeah, you should be.

[Don Hahn]

This makes no sense.

[Unidentified ESPN Staff]

I believe the deadline.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Is that right?

[Unidentified ESPN Staff]

Was Monday. You guys gave it to me on Wednesday.

[Alan Hahn]

So nobody told me there's a deadline to be a celebrity.

[Unidentified ESPN Staff]

I imagine work that goes into it to make the graphic.

[Don Hahn]

You would think the deadline for the celebrity would be just seconds before tip off. I would think celebrities usually get the breaks, right? Let the common people go on Monday. Let the celebrities come in late.

[Alan Hahn]

Right.

[Unidentified ESPN Staff]

I was told you weren't. I was told that you guys weren't the last ones to put it in, though, so. So there you go.

[Alan Hahn]

All right. Do I have to just put. I'm going to put my. My, my.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I am so bad. How many points do you have, Alan?

[Alan Hahn]

160.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I am so bad.

[Unidentified ESPN Staff]

What do you have, Peter?

[Peter Rosenberg]

130, folks.

[Alan Hahn]

130. I have Joe Linardi, who's supposed to be an expert at this stuff. He's around your. He's in your neighborhood.

[Peter Rosenberg]

My. My Max, what's your potential, Max? That's the key.

[Unidentified ESPN Staff]

How do you see that on the bracket?

[Peter Rosenberg]

It'll say.

[Unidentified ESPN Staff]

It'll say your points and it'll say what your Max is. Mine's 1810.

[Alan Hahn]

Oh, I'm at 1820.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That's so funny.

[Alan Hahn]

What's your Max, man? What are you. Max.

[Peter Rosenberg]

My Max is so. My Max is above you, man. I'm still 1830, bro.

[Unidentified ESPN Staff]

The thing about that, then, is that Allen's gotten a lot of games correct. Yeah, Peter, you, even though you like me, haven't gotten a lot of these games correct. You haven't lost probably any elite eights or if any sweet 16s yet or anybody that's gonna go past.

[Alan Hahn]

That's my problem, is I believed in

[Unidentified ESPN Staff]

BYU Yeah, see that. That's gonna hurt you down there.

[Alan Hahn]

That was a big.

[Don Hahn]

You believed.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Why you.

[Unidentified ESPN Staff]

Donnie's got a 1850 max. 75% right now at 150 points. Me and him racked our brains together to come up with this bracket for him.

[Don Hahn]

We're on the phone for a good hour, chat.

[Alan Hahn]

GPT.

[Unidentified ESPN Staff]

Also that.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Also that I. I suck so bad.

[Alan Hahn]

It's just.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It's crazy, man. I used to do the work, and the work would actually pay off. But you shouldn't feel bad.

[Unidentified ESPN Staff]

You didn't do the work.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, but it's still. How can you be.

[Unidentified ESPN Staff]

You can't feel bad.

[Don Hahn]

You shouldn't do it.

[Alan Hahn]

No, no, you didn't do the work because.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Because what kind of poor luck is it? Don, be real with me. Yes, I did the work, okay? So what? Now I don't do the work. I'm just picking, you know, mostly favorites and grabbing a random upset. You see what happens. How can I still suck so bad? Every year a broken clock is right twice a day.

[Don Hahn]

I don't.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I got nothing.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, I lost a sweet 16. That's my problem.

[Unidentified ESPN Staff]

That's.

[Alan Hahn]

That.

[Caller Dan]

That.

[Unidentified ESPN Staff]

That's gonna hurt.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Well, one sweet 16 isn't that bad.

[Alan Hahn]

Only one I got. Everybody else is still alive.

[Unidentified ESPN Staff]

Iowa State reached 101 points, by the way.

[Don Hahn]

I'm never good, Peter. That's why I celebrate. The only time I ever won money in a bracket finished in second at Sportsphone. 1995, rode Oklahoma State already the conference final. It led to you loving Vancouver because of big country.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That's right.

[Don Hahn]

Reeves ends up being the first draft pick of the Grizzlies.

[Alan Hahn]

Oh, my God. Yeah, I'm thinking. I'm thinking 80s. Yeah. Never mind.

[Don Hahn]

1995.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I'm rejoicing in my high point pick.

[Unidentified ESPN Staff]

That was a good one.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, That's a good one.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That's a good one.

[Unidentified ESPN Staff]

I think I'd imagine a lot of people got hurt by UNC last night. Yes, because VCU, if they didn't win the A10, wouldn't have even been in the tournament.

[Alan Hahn]

Crazy.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Well, listen, this is. This is the things we'll be doing this weekend. Keep an eye on it. Hey, you know, love some basketball. Is Spike in St. Pete? Hey, Spike.

[Caller Spike]

Hey, boys. How you doing? I heard I made the semifinals or something.

[Don Hahn]

So I drop madness, man.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You're moving along. Yeah. You're doing good.

[Caller Spike]

Well, I appreciate everything. It means a lot to me. Especially now for me. I got a question for you, Alan. I don't want to be serious But I am serious. I looked at the next path. I listen, I'm biased, but I see a path. I really do. Now I heard hearts out tonight with the knee.

[Alan Hahn]

Yep.

[Caller Spike]

What are these new terminologies. And Josh Hart would just cut a moose. He'll play. And he had a career game the other night.

[Alan Hahn]

Right.

[Caller Spike]

Tell me, tell me if I'm right or wrong. If my. My mind's still good. Body's going, but my mind's good with what's the kid Alvarado. On the court it seemed like the pick and rolls, everything was working better. Am I wrong or right?

[Alan Hahn]

He was for. For in that game against Indiana, he was really up. He had the Knicks playing faster up tempo. A lot of, A lot of. A lot of movement. A lot of like player movement, you know, like he, he was forcing you to run with him. Basically the ball.

[Caller Spike]

The ball wasn't getting stuck. And, and. And two other quick things and you guys have a great weekend. Your shows are just fantastic. I love it all. This kid Acuff, by the way, at Arkansas is a Cal Perry. Guy's going to be good his D, NYU or some one of those schools. Anyway, what I notice there's an opening here. There really is an opening. And I feel very poorly about Kate Cunningham. I don't wish harm on anybody, but I looked over all of the collapsed lungs. I feel like I'm on ER that the time off is anywhere from 8 to 20 games. I think CJ McCollum had him a couple of times and I hope the kids come back because he's the best player in the conference this year, in my opinion.

[Alan Hahn]

But he's not Jalen Brown.

[Caller Spike]

Jalen Brown sickens me with that arm bar, Alan. I can't get over it. He gets more 8 to 10 foot shots by pushing with the arm bar off his left hand. He's a great player, but I don't see Tatum on defense and that's hard on offense. He knows what he's doing. He's not getting any lift on defense and that's going to take time. It's really going to take time. I'm not afraid of Boston. I'm not. I'm sorry, Peter. I love you, but I'm sorry. But I think Cleveland matches up really well against the Pistons and I think Harden. I looked over Harden's whole playoff history. He craps out in the third round. His stats go way down.

[Alan Hahn]

Right.

[Caller Spike]

So why can't we be there? Why can't we be there?

[Alan Hahn]

Why not us? Well, but I don't Think anybody saying can't. I just think there's a lot of. Like, Don, I think we've been just talking about all the reasons why the confidence isn't as high as it should be, that they can. But we know they can when they're right.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah, but they're not right enough. And, you know, I love Spike. He knows way more basketball than I do. But I just roll my eyes when I hear Knick fans, like, I don't fear this. I don't fear that. You should be fearing everything, should be afraid of the dark if you're a Knick fan at this point, because they haven't done anything consistently. Just when you fall in love with them, they. They pull something. And we're all just feeding off of. Well, last year they went to the conference final. All they did last year was beat Boston, all right? And now you got to take out a different Boston team that's going to have a chip on its shoulder for what happened last year. You went to the conference final, but you didn't beat the Pacers when all the Knick fans were already buying tickets for the finals. You're going to wipe the floor with the Pacers, and you didn't. And the Pistons gave you all kinds of trouble, and they've crushed you every game this year. Now, you might catch a break with the Cunningham stuff, but I'm sure he's going to be back and be fine, but by the time you would meet him in the playoffs. And I'm not saying you can't beat Boston, and I'm not saying you can't go to the final, but I'm not scared of this. I'm not scared of that. Come on, guys. You're fooling yourself. You're lying to yourself, which is the worst kind of lie.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, lying to yourself. I agree. I think. But we're in that point of the season now where the regular season has become almost uneventful.

[Don Hahn]

Nuisance. Tonight's a nuisance for you, Alan, and I know you love your job, but this is gonna be a joke tonight. It's a. You know, the Nets don't care. They're not gonna win. This is supposed to be. God, I keep thinking back to those days of plant your flag. Are you a Net fan? Are you a Knick fan? It's a joke. The Nets are a joke. The Knicks are going through the motions just because they know they're gonna win this game. You're gonna get no value out of it.

[Peter Rosenberg]

None.

[Alan Hahn]

I'll tell you what you get no Value out of that. But you know where you do get value from? Ring's End.

[Don Hahn]

There you go.

[Alan Hahn]

Cause we're about to get some work done at the house. They're gonna do some windows in the house. And I'm telling you, when it comes to value for the work, the quality, the product, this is why you want to work with Ring's End. They have premium brands in windows, doors, decking, paint, lumber, kitchens, all the stuff you need for your house. They have items that are built to last. High end product lines. And these are the type of things that contractors rely on because they do it right, they don't have to do it over. Now ring's End, they're not a national chain. They have regional expertise. Eight full service lumber yards in Connecticut and Westchester County. Twelve freestanding paint centers as well in the area. They're family owned and operated since 1902, Peter. That's 124 years in business to you and me. They have deep northeastern supporting local builders and communities. You love that they know your house, they know the area, they know what you need. And if you can't make it to the store, you can shop online. Go to ringsend.com, that's ringsend.com.

[Don Hahn]

got a little something brewing here, player. Down in Alabama. Players coming together, they got separated pretty

[Alan Hahn]

quick, but yeah, well, Alabama started pulling away.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah, they're up 1313, showing some frustration.

[Alan Hahn]

And bam. I'll tell you what, because. Because, you know, hops has really been. Been real punchy. Real. They've been gritty. Bama, when they started pulling away, they got a little mouthy. They were getting a little mouthy.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You got gutsy versus mouthy.

[Alan Hahn]

Oh, okay. I see what happened there. Dude stepped in and let him know.

[Don Hahn]

There you go. Shoulder him. Shoulder back.

[Alan Hahn]

I like it.

[Caller Dan]

Who's not?

[Don Hahn]

Why not, man? No, no, no. Show me some way, right? You could punk us on the scoreboard, but you're not punking us in the physicality, man. Throw it around. He probably got. I'm sure he got a flagrant there and he's probably gonna get kicked out, but.

[Alan Hahn]

Well, he's gonna get in trouble for that part of it. And it's, you know, you're losing your cool. Don't do that to your team. But I think, I think with two minutes to go, Hofstra kind of knows the writing's on the wall. It's okay. Yeah, like, I'm fine with it. I, you know, don't let a team punk you.

[Peter Rosenberg]

And the dude from Bama flopped on top of it, so.

[Alan Hahn]

Of course he did.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Now, real quick, guys, I was gonna. I was gonna save this for enn, but, you know, we're full transparency with our listeners here, because this is a family. Can't say there's a barn burner of a subject hitting any of us in the face right now. So I might not bring it up. Did you guys see this story out of Pittsburgh about the draft?

[Don Hahn]

I know.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I just thought this is something that could actually, we might be. I don't know how either of you feel, but I'm like, it's on the table. The three of us will be annoyed enough to do this for 40 minutes. The NFL draft is being held in Pittsburgh this year.

[Alan Hahn]

Correct.

[Peter Rosenberg]

And the city has decided that in order to deal with the preparation related to and around the draft, they have opted for virtual learning for two days. Kids are staying home from school so the city of Pittsburgh can prepare for the NFL draft.

[Alan Hahn]

Yes.

[Peter Rosenberg]

What did you say, Alan? We talk about how. We talk about the NFL obsession. This is a different. I didn't know this level existed.

[Alan Hahn]

This is how you get the next generation of fans, because you got kids that might not already be football fans or NFL fans. Why do we get to be home this week? Oh, the NFL has its draft. What is that? You tell them about it now. They're fired up because they love it.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You go thank Papa Goodell for this one.

[Alan Hahn]

Papa, can the NFL come back again next year?

[Peter Rosenberg]

We love Unki. Roger.

[Don Hahn]

Well, you was a Green Bay last year. Was it Detroit the year before that?

[Alan Hahn]

Did they shut down the town then?

[Don Hahn]

So they have. I don't know.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I didn't hear that.

[Don Hahn]

This is the first I've ever heard. But. But listen, if it keeps the streets clear and all that, because it's going to be a mob scene, because you know how Pittsburgh is.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But wait a minute.

[Alan Hahn]

The draft was in. The giraffe was in New York for years.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah.

[Alan Hahn]

But now it's all.

[Don Hahn]

Now it's. Because now it's just become a bunch of, like, wannabes. I enjoy the draft and you know how much I love football, but it has become like, well, this. I don't know how people are so obsessed with going. It was one thing. You went to the city with people from New York. There's. It was a fun thing. You go to Radio City Music hall, you go check it.

[Caller Spike]

Sure.

[Alan Hahn]

As a Jets fan, it's a rite of passage and boo your team.

[Don Hahn]

A quarter of a million people are gonna descend on Pittsburgh, not see a thing, not know what the heck is Going on there just to be there.

[Alan Hahn]

Right.

[Don Hahn]

It's. The NFL has become the party that, like, everybody's got to go to. And it's almost like there's something wrong with you if you're not all in. Done. I'm all into the game. Kick off to the clock, zero and out.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Done.

[Don Hahn]

You do have me more than anybody on the planet. The rest of the stuff, man, I'll take or leave. Some of it I like. I like the draft. I'll parachute in, check it out. When my team does, recap it when it's over. But this obsession, I don't get it.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Cannot imagine a world in which, In a world, I would buy airfare, hotel dinners, take off of work.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Not to go to a playoff game, not to even go to the super bowl, which I would never do unless it's for work or my team is playing. Not. Not that. No, no, no. To go in April to watch other teams pick players you've never heard of.

[Alan Hahn]

It's a convention. That's what the draft is. It's a convention.

[Peter Rosenberg]

A yo yo convention.

[Alan Hahn]

But it's. It's. It's the sports convention. That's what it is.

[Don Hahn]

People love to go.

[Alan Hahn]

They celebrate. And it's become. It's just become a behemoth now.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I want someone call us. Show me the guts. If you're planning on taking the trip to Pittsburgh just to cheer for what either the Giants or Jets do in the draft, I need to hear from you. 1-800-919-3776. How about this? ESPN New York is teaming up with Calandra's Bakery again to give away a pair of tickets to see the Knicks take on Charlotte. Throw the record books out, baby. It's not your grandparents. Charlotte Hornets. As Alan will let you know, this isn't Grandmama. Sunday, April 12th. It's easy to enter. Just stop by Calandra's Bakery at 234 Bloomfield Avenue, Caldwell. Trust me, everything there is delicious. Anyway, you might as well stop by before April 7th to enter in person. It's brought to you by Calandra's Bakery in Caldwell, home of fresh bread, classic Italian pastries. I have some tiramisu waiting for me when I get home. And traditions baked daily. Shout out to Calandras.

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[Podcast Announcer]

Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I didn't listen to anything you just said.

[Podcast Announcer]

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

[Don Hahn]

I got a problem.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Oh bam. Here we go man. Talk to us.

[Alan Hahn]

So Hofstra loses 90 to 70.

[Caller Dan]

Oh boy.

[Alan Hahn]

All right. Late in the game, 110 run broke the game open. Hofstra was was fighting tooth and nail. I give him all the credit in the world. They really battled. Alabama just had too much. The kid Filon was really good. He almost had a triple double at 29. Eight rebounds, seven assists. Like he had a hell of a game. Three steals. But late in the game I didn't like the way Alabama acted.

[Don Hahn]

No, I agree with you.

[Alan Hahn]

They, they, they would, they were doing a little bit too much of like sticking the chest out. And at the very end, what I didn't like the most I'm trying to find the time that was left on the clock. Now I'm trying to get to the play by play, but of course, forget it. Just trust me when I tell you that it was a 17 point game. It was less than a minute to go, the game was over, bench was being emptied, and a guy comes in and he takes a corner three for Alabama to make it 20. You don't need to be taking that three.

[Don Hahn]

I think there was less than 30.

[Alan Hahn]

You think it was less than 30? Okay.

[Don Hahn]

Because I.

[Alan Hahn]

He takes the. He's a wide open three. He takes the three. He doesn't need to take the three. They sell. He celebrates. They celebrate. If I'm Hofstra. Because now he's like, they come down and they're just gonna let the clock run out. I. I get it. You gotta keep your composure and all that stuff, but there was a time where that dude would have had the ball thrown off his head.

[Unidentified ESPN Staff]

And.

[Alan Hahn]

And by the way, Oates probably should have grabbed the kid and said, what the hell are you doing? But instead, he apologizes to Speedy as Speedy walks by. Speedy Claxton, the head coach at Hofstra. And you could tell. Speedy's like, I don't want to hear it. Dude just kept walking like, whatever. Like, this is like, you can't hold anybody accountable anymore because you're supposed to maintain your composure and your cool and all that stuff. 14 seconds left.

[Don Hahn]

He took the three, and you're never going to see him again because I don't know, the next time Hofstra is going to play, I'd schedule him Alabama, but I'll take it a step further because I'm watching along with you. Yeah, I saw that three moments before the three coming out of a timeout. I watched one of the kids throat slash. I saw that again, I don't know the history. I don't know what happened in the game. I'm sure there'll be some Alabama fan or somebody will say, well, this happened. And they.

[Alan Hahn]

The Hobster was talking when they were up.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah, I'm doing a talk show, watching the game. All right.

[Alan Hahn]

I don't like it.

[Don Hahn]

So I. I don't know the history. I can't. There can't be any history other than what happened in this game. Right. I know there was that little scrum that we talked about before we went to break before. Yeah, two guys kind of wrestling for the ball and the shoulder and all that stuff. But, dude, you're. You're a four beating a 13.

[Alan Hahn]

Thank you.

[Don Hahn]

You're supposed to do that. It's a mid major and I, They. They acted like a bunch of jerks. And I don't like the throat slash. And you're right, there was like less than 30 seconds. He's taking a corner. Three to make it a 20.

[Alan Hahn]

What are you doing?

[Don Hahn]

Come on, man. Get out of dodge. Win the game. Good for you. But, boy, they really wanted to rub it in there. I can't wait for their next game. Them lose by 50.

[Alan Hahn]

Well, remember, one of their best players is now no longer with them because he was a little charge called drug trafficking.

[Don Hahn]

Well, there you go.

[Alan Hahn]

But, like, there was a lot of things. Now, look, look, Taylor Bowen is a great story. And even he, at the end of the game, caught a couple alley oops, you know, Again, Hofstra's now got to overplay. They're going for steals, two oops and a three. And he's doing the bye bye, waving the bye bye like, bud, it's. It's the first game you want to do bye bye. You do that against Auburn if you're playing them in the Sweet sixteen, waving off Hofstra. Right.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It's not that.

[Alan Hahn]

And again, this is to me, I look at the coach.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah.

[Alan Hahn]

And I got to start asking, like, what are you about? Is this what your team's about? This is what you're about? I'm sorry, I don't. I saw Speedy. He didn't even want to look him in the eye as they were coaches supposed to shake hands and the pleasantries and all that stuff. And you could see he gave him a, like, you know, tell your story walking.

[Don Hahn]

Well, I'd like.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Let's. Let's talk. Let's talk to some people. Dan. And East Windsor is willing to admit that he is taking the trip to the draft. So, Dan, out of the gate, I just want to say welcome to the show. What's wrong with you?

[Caller Dan]

Yeah, yeah, I'm one of those. I'm one of those yo yos, guys. All right, take us through it.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Take us through the thought process.

[Caller Dan]

And I'm really trying to figure out what the hell I got myself into here as well. But anyway, my son, who's got a one year old, it's his birthday presents. First off, I'm a Steeler fan. I drive five hours to go. See, I try to go once a year to Pittsburgh to catch a game, and I got my kids hooked into it. Two of my daughters went to college out in the area, basically, which was awesome. Pretend to visit them and then go to a game. But so when it came to Pittsburgh, my son said, hey, let's go. I got two son in laws, and the four of us are going. And it's like kind of like a guy's weekend. And again, I have no idea what I'm getting myself into.

[Don Hahn]

But, you know, listen.

[Alan Hahn]

You're gonna face paint?

[Caller Spike]

No, no.

[Caller Dan]

But, you know,

[Alan Hahn]

they go cosplay, man.

[Peter Rosenberg]

They do.

[Alan Hahn]

They put it all on like this, this.

[Caller Dan]

I. I threaten it. You know, I say stuff like that, but, you know, you know, I won't do that.

[Don Hahn]

Well, I. Listen, I will say this. You know, if you're a Raider fan and you want to see the first pick, although I can't imagine Mendoza is going to be that crazy. Like, it's not like, what, we're drafting Peyton Manning or even Trevor Lawrence, who came out, like, highly touted. But listen, football has just got this mystical, magical force over everybody. And, you know, and the thing is, it'd be one thing if I didn't like football. I absolutely love football.

[Alan Hahn]

Right.

[Don Hahn]

I love it and I love the game and I love following the game and all that. But, like. And the draft is really interesting to me, too, to follow it. And I've been to drafts, I've covered drafts for our station and did shows around it, and it's cool. But to go out there amongst 250,000 people in downtown Pittsburgh to watch Roger Goodell announce guys that half of those people never saw play and jump up and down and hug each other, it just. It just seems odd to me now. If I lived in Pittsburgh and I only had to do was, like, open the door and go out there. Yeah, I'd probably be. Cool atmosphere. And he's a Steeler fan. He probably loves going to Pittsburgh and he's bringing his kids and making a guy. That's fun.

[Alan Hahn]

That's different.

[Caller Spike]

Yeah.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I mean, listen, I respect making it, you know, whatever. Whatever fun things you obviously want to do with your family and tradition, I, of course, have no beef with. But I'm just saying, if I were to rank the things that I could make trips for, the idea of just being there with a million other fans, you guys have to understand, I don't even want to go to NFL games with fans of my team. You think I want to go to a collection? Now, the only. The only upside here, guys, is, is that while you're hanging out with NFL fans, there's no actual game being played. So the intensity, I'm guessing, is way lower than at an actual. Yeah, it's a Party. It's not a fight.

[Alan Hahn]

Again, I liken this to, like, Comic Con. Like, this is NFL Con. That's really what it is. But.

[Don Hahn]

But. But it's also that and going to Times Square for New Year's Eve. You know, you're not gonna have a guitar, but you want to be able to tell people you did it right.

[Alan Hahn]

You know, you're not going to have a good time.

[Caller Danny]

No.

[Don Hahn]

Because you're going to. But you want to know in a. In a col. Nowhere to go to the bathroom, people all huddled around you to see a ball drop that I can watch on tv, and then it takes you six hours to get home. If your car's even there when you get back. Times Square's infinitely worse, but it's a story. I think what's happened. This is the Dave Rothenberg effect. Because if I were to sit him on a couch, if I went to school and became a psychologist, everything Dave does, from the destroying of objects to himself, caring about his family.

[Caller Spike]

Mm.

[Don Hahn]

It is all to show how big a fan I am. It's not enough to say I watch every game. Anybody could do that. It's not enough to say that I can name where everybody went to school or I've got them. I've got all the games on tape. I can recite every score, every game. I. My. My fault. My wife could bleed out before I stop watching the game. I watch every preseason game. I go to the draft. It's all just a blank measuring of how big a fan you are.

[Alan Hahn]

So you're not better than me.

[Don Hahn]

Because I will say this. I am as invested in the Giants, wins or losses as Dave Rothenberg is.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Of course.

[Don Hahn]

But I'm not a mental patient. That's the difference. What? Because I have to treat people poorly, I have to break things. I have to go great distances. I have to abandon my family after bad losses. I'm a bigger fan than you. Now you're just a moron. So this is simply particular, but just.

[Alan Hahn]

No, no, you. I think you said. You. What you said.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But, yeah, Dave. Dave is included in the moron, but

[Don Hahn]

you really feel like that's what.

[Alan Hahn]

So you think the motivation of this is not as much passion as it is determination and competition.

[Don Hahn]

It's blank measuring. It's like, oh, you're a big Giant. I'll be a giant fan of you. Well, I watch.

[Alan Hahn]

Did you do this?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Have you ever committed murder for the Giants?

[Don Hahn]

Did your wife need to go to urgent care, and you made her wait and sit there in her own blood and Death. Until that preseason game was over. No, I can't say I did that. Holding. You can't call. You're not really a fan. I'm telling you, that's what it is. It's all just collecting little trinkets to prove to everybody how big a fan you are. You know what? I'm good. Let me be ranked 3 billion and 7th among Jivan. I'm a fan, Right?

[Peter Rosenberg]

But yeah, all. No, I'm simply bummed out when they lose. I'm really bummed out when they lose. And I think about it the next day and I go,

[Alan Hahn]

this brings an interesting question. Now, if you're telling me that that depth of fandom is motivated by. By what it does for you, like, what you. What it makes you look like. That's narcissistic, right? Like, it's.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Sure.

[Alan Hahn]

Like, I'm like this not because of my love for the team, but because I know no one can outdo it. Therefore, I'm always considered better than you as a fan.

[Don Hahn]

Right?

[Alan Hahn]

That's a fraud, isn't it?

[Don Hahn]

Well, no, that's not fraudulent. How are you.

[Caller Danny]

You.

[Alan Hahn]

You're claiming that it's passion when really it's not. You're saying, don.

[Don Hahn]

Oh, no, it's. It.

[Alan Hahn]

Because it's almost like you're using the team for your own.

[Don Hahn]

Well, you're keeping score, Romania. You're.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You're.

[Don Hahn]

What you're doing. You're keeping score in an imaginary game that no one's playing except you. That's the narcissistic part. But you are a fan. But it's not enough to say you're a fan. You've got to be the biggest fan. How do I prove I'm the biggest fan? I paint my face. I go without a shirt on. I did it. I was a. I was a moron, too. When I was younger and I go to Giant Games, I thought it was cool. I had these giant boxer shorts. Shorts on. Like, I wear. I. They were long. They were big. They were big on me.

[Alan Hahn]

Okay.

[Don Hahn]

I would wear them over my pants, and I'd go to the game with my giant box of this.

[Alan Hahn]

Do we have pictures of.

[Don Hahn]

No, I don't think so. We have, like, this is like in the late 80s and, like, it was like, I'm a big fan. I wear giant underwear over my actual clothes.

[Alan Hahn]

I'm such a big fan. I wear my underwear outside my.

[Don Hahn]

Because that. Because at least I was younger and I was stupid and I had no guidance, you know, because my father would be like, you look Like a jerk. And I'd be like, all right. That was his guidance. He was like, you know, you look like a jerk. If you're good going out looking like a jerk, fine. But I was young. But don't you think that's what it is, guys? It's like, I've got to prove I'm a bigger fan. Because back the day was like, watching every game. That was enough. You watched every guy there. I haven't missed a play in 50 years. That's a big fan. How do I top that? Well, I carve the score into my chest at the end of every game. And then just to prove that I'm that. Can you do that? No, I can't do that because I'm not a mental. No. But, you know, as big a fan, go stand over there. You're not as big a fan.

[Alan Hahn]

Right.

[Don Hahn]

It's like. It's like the fraud alert Friday. We're having fun with the fruit. But I think that's kind of what it is. It's like, no, I'm super fan and I will do anything interesting to show you, because what else is could it be?

[Alan Hahn]

There's definitely a level of ego in that, though. There's no question, like you're saying, I firmly believe that. I think a lot of it is performative because you enjoy what it looks like where people are just aghast at your actions. As a fan, you're like, that's right. That's because I care. You don't care like I do. Because if you cared like I do, you would do something crazy like this because.

[Don Hahn]

Because, like, Dave has these stories about his wife not being able to go to the doctor right now. If he's telling that story at a party and I said I would take my wife to the doctor, he would walk away with pride saying, I'm a bigger giant fan than him.

[Alan Hahn]

And you'd walk away in pride going, I am not.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I'm a good husband. I'm not a maniac. I'm a better husband than I am fan. Dan, who's in Centre Port, we're going to get to after the break. He's usually in locks with Don, but not right now.

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[Peter Rosenberg]

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[Podcast Announcer]

Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I didn't listen to anything you just said.

[Podcast Announcer]

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

[Peter Rosenberg]

This feels very Alan Hahn.

[Don Hahn]

Really? Why you say that?

[Peter Rosenberg]

This is just his era. What record is this, Jacob?

[Alan Hahn]

Don't be cruel.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Ah, don't be cruel.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah, I couldn't remember which Bobby Brown

[Peter Rosenberg]

new edition or Bobby record it was for that time, but right up Alan's alley.

[Don Hahn]

I'm good.

[Alan Hahn]

You're good?

[Don Hahn]

Real good.

[Peter Rosenberg]

On all Bobby Brown or on don't be cruel? Most all of it. You're good?

[Don Hahn]

I'm good. Wow to him. Although I hear he wasn't the greatest of people.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Well, I mean, that was a long time ago.

[Don Hahn]

I'm not being judgy. I'm just saying he could have. He could have decided to become a priest. I don't like the music.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Was I right, Alan? That don't be cruel Right up your alley.

[Alan Hahn]

Oh, yeah, of course.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That's Hahn wheelhouse right there.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, that was a good time. Those are good years.

[Peter Rosenberg]

The Han years as we know them. Bobby calls them that too. No, Bobby calls them the Han years.

[Alan Hahn]

Sure he does.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Let's take a couple calls here before we get to enn. Rod in Bethlehem wanted to talk World cup for a moment. What's up, Rod? Big Rod.

[Caller Dan]

Congratulations on the. Hey, congratulations on the new business venture, Peter. Speaking of double or nothing, I want to speak to Don and thank him. Hello?

[Don Hahn]

Yes. You got me.

[Caller Dan]

Yes, I got you, Don. I wanted to speak to you and thank you because I was. You know, back in a couple of years ago, you switched your ice picks from going to minus odds to plus odds. And I did a deep dive in myself and looked at the soccer bed and. And Don, I figured it out why everybody loves that sport and why it's the most famous sport in the world. That kid screaming. Kids screaming. There are plus odds all over the map in soccer. And coming up on this World cup, if I could share some of those that I used to call up the other shows and you know, to make some. A little coin and make it a little special. Warm my heart to know that you watched a Real Madrid game right before the Super Bowl. I did. So your kid.

[Don Hahn]

My son. Yes.

[Caller Dan]

Your kid chose. Your kid chose right. Real Madrid's a good team. And you know, Killian Mbappe. Coming up to me this World cup, if there's anything that I'm leaning towards, it's for a showcase of one player and one player. Have you guys got a chance to watch lamine yamao, the 18 year old out of Barcelona? He plays for Spain.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Nope.

[Don Hahn]

Heard about him.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Have not seen him for a second yet.

[Caller Dan]

Okay. As far as I'm concerned, he's the best soccer player I have seen at that particular point. He's playing right now at the point where we're looking at him as. I look at him as already being at the prime Messi level as far as skill wise and if there's, if there's any, you know, cordon, if they're the God in heaven and we get to a World cup in the knockout stages and we get to a Spain France final or even a matchup that is a dream matchup that you want to see. And I think they're very heavily favored coming into this World Cup. One US men's player that I want you to keep an eye out for, Peter, and that is following Baligan. He's a street scorer. He's on the team. I don't. We're going to come up with how he's going to be utilized in the next couple of games. They have a couple of friendlies coming up against Portugal at the end of the month and another game. So coming into this World Cup, I'm leaning towards Spain. I think it's going to be a Le Mean Yamau showcase. This kid is. If you see a 60 minute piece on him, you'll see it online. The kid's phenomenal preview.

[Don Hahn]

I like it. Thank you, Rod. That was cool, man. Because it's going to be happening soon enough.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Well, yeah, I see a little stat of his that came up since he took number 10 on Barcelona. 39 games, 21 goals, 15 assists. He's a beast. There are highlights of him that you see online from when he was 16, two years ago, doing absolutely insane things. So the World cup is one of those sports that always makes new international stars and gets those stars who are big in Europe to casuals here in the US let's go to Dan and Danny and Centerport. What's up, buddy?

[Caller Danny]

Hey, boys. How are you doing?

[Caller Dan]

What's up?

[Caller Danny]

You know, so, Don, I'm usually pretty much in lockstep with you on a lot of your takes when it comes to.

[Caller Spike]

To the football stuff.

[Caller Danny]

And I'm not disagreeing with you on being a little bit of a nut bag, traveling, you know, from stiff to a totally different state to see the draft. But if I can make a point here, I gotta be honest, you know, going back, as you guys know, the draft was always held in New York. Went Downtown Athletic Club to Radio City, then to the Paramount and the Garden. And I have to admit, man, you know, for me and my boys, you know, we're going back 25 years ago now, but for me and my boys, we got together, you know, on that Saturday and, you know, we set up our chairs, and then we went back to our cars and tailgated and had a blast. And it really was an awesome day. You know what I mean? Because you were getting a football day in the middle of April.

[Caller Spike]

You know what I'm saying?

[Caller Danny]

So it was just a full football day, and it really was awesome. But I have to admit, you know, if I was to travel now to out of state, to go to the draft is definitely a little.

[Don Hahn]

I think that's what we're saying. I never went to.

[Caller Danny]

I did have another point. I'm listening.

[Don Hahn]

I never went to the drafts affair, but I did cover it for ESPN early on, and I would go, and

[Peter Rosenberg]

it was cool to be there.

[Don Hahn]

I get it.

[Caller Spike]

Yeah.

[Don Hahn]

Kind of having football in the middle of the spring is a cool thing, but, you know, to go to Detroit or go to Lambeau or go to Pittsburgh and just be among 250,000 people all crammed together, it just seems.

[Alan Hahn]

Danny, it's one thing.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Danny, thank you for the call, buddy. It's one thing to, like, roll into the city, you know, from. From one of the boroughs or Jersey or even Connecticut to say, hey, let's go to Radio City tonight. We'll get a little dinner in the city. We'll do a little thing like. Don, that's one thing. That is not taking a trip across the country.

[Alan Hahn]

And Standing outside in a huge crowd like that, it's really changed.

[Don Hahn]

I know we're against it, but just real quick, the reason I'm kind of like iffy about the draft in 1996, the Giants were taking fifth and I was told it's a four player draft and the Giants are picking fifth and I wanted them to get Simeon Rice who ended up going Arizona at 4, right at 3. Jonathan Ogden ended up going to Baltimore at 4. So the Giants had to get Cedric Jones. Turned out to have no career and Simeon Rice was good, but not great. I was told four player draft, Giants taking fifth, take Jones. You know, else was taken in that draft. Eddie George, 14, Marvin Harrison, 19. Ray Lewis, he was pretty 25. So that's what I'm saying. It's so arbitrary. And all the tanking and all the high fiving, all this pick, we don't know. The greatest player in that draft was Ray Lewis who went one t Shawn Johnson to the Jets.

[Alan Hahn]

Oh, that's the best wide receiver, right.

[Don Hahn]

Norman Harrison would have been the better pick.

[Alan Hahn]

Right. And who went to

[Don Hahn]

two was Kevin Hardy to Jacksonville.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Well, you don't hit them all, but

[Don Hahn]

you know, I'm saying, Peter, is that you go, you do all this work and you do all the mobs and it turns out that Patrick Mahomes goes 10.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah.

[Don Hahn]

And Wilson goes second round and Hertz goes second round and Dan Marino goes late in the first round and Ray Lewis goes late in the first race. It's all gobbledygook. So go tank and sit in your stink with 250,000 people. It doesn't matter.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You sitting in your stink again?

[Don Hahn]

Yeah. Because where are you going to go? You're not going to go to the bathroom, so you're going to soil yourself because it takes six hours to go sit there in a latrine. Basically that stinks because nobody's cleaned it for seven days. But I went to the draft and wiped poop on myself. I'm a bigger fan than you because

[Peter Rosenberg]

I stink and I. They stuck their tongue right in the urine. You know what? They licked it like it's ice cream.

[Don Hahn]

That's right. Oh, look, there's a hot dog down there. I haven't eaten in three days. It's not a hot dog because hot dogs are 700.

[Alan Hahn]

That's not a hot dog. I'm sorry. All right.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You find out.

[Alan Hahn]

Well, maybe it once was.

[Don Hahn]

I'm a bigger fan than you.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I found out it wasn't a hot

[Don Hahn]

dog because I love the Giants more than you

[Podcast Announcer]

thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I don't want to know how the

[Alan Hahn]

sausage is made, man. I just want to know it's good.

[Podcast Announcer]

Here with 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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