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Don Hahn
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Alan Hahn
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Don Hahn
Savory au jus for dipping.
Alan Hahn
This melty French dip is only at Firehouse Subs for a limited time, so head to your nearest Firehouse subs or.
Don Hahn
Order on the app and try the.
Alan Hahn
French dip before it's gone. Limited time at participating Firehouse Subs restaurants while supplies last.
Don Hahn
This is the Don Han and Rosenberg Podcast.
Alan Hahn
That sounds like heaven to me.
Don Hahn
Listen live weekday afternoon starting at 3 on 8 80, ESPN, the ESPN New York app, and your smart speakers.
Alan Hahn
Game time is brought to you by Tullimore Dew Irish Whiskey. Because when it's game time, guys, it's Tully time. You bet you Just one game, just one single, solitary game involving a local tonight and it's at the Garden. Alan Hahn is there. Knicks and the Pacers, the rematch, the grudge match from the conference final from last year. No.
Don Hahn
They'Re in last place.
Alan Hahn
That's all right.
Peter Rosenberg
Don't get caught.
Alan Hahn
This is their Super Bowl.
Don Hahn
No, no.
Alan Hahn
The Pacers.
Peter Rosenberg
Why not?
Don Hahn
Yeah, they're 13 and 40.
Alan Hahn
Yeah, but you know what? 14 and 40 sounds nicer if you're a Pacer fan. Well, this is where, this is where they. This is where they make up for.
Don Hahn
This is what they want.
Alan Hahn
There's still time to finish.
Don Hahn
They want to. They want to. Well, remember the last time they met was right after the NBA cup and that was a. That was quite a battle.
Alan Hahn
Yeah, it was a Brunson last second shot, right?
Don Hahn
Yeah. Yes, it was.
Alan Hahn
So maybe you'll relive that. Maybe the Garden and Alan Hahn will be all over it immediately. Following us on 880 at 7 o'. Clock. Telemar do the original triple still triple blended and triple cast matured Irish Whiskey. Be sure to grab a Tullamore Dew or try the new Tullamore Dew. Honey, during today's action, glasses up to enjoying Tullamore Dew responsibly. So we mentioned it earlier that David Stearns spoke as the Mets get ready for pitchers and catchers tomorrow. And he made an announcement about the Mets shortstop, Francisco Lindor.
David Stearns
Francisco Lindor is going to be evaluated tomorrow for a left stress reaction. His left hamate bone experienced some soreness in his left hand wrist area over the past couple of days. Informed our medical staff, so he's going to go to a hand specialist tomorrow. It is possible this will result in a hamate Surgery. If it does, that's a six week recovery, which puts us right at opening day. So at this point, even if it does require surgery, we would remain optimistic that Francisco would be back for opening day.
Alan Hahn
Now, he notoriously gets off to slow starts, but that doesn't mean you throw an entire spring training away either. So I don't think this can be spun as no big deal. And, you know, talking to Michael before the start of the show, he's like, these handmate bones are odd. You can't even guarantee he'll be ready for opening day. So six weeks, yeah, the math works out. But, you know, if he hasn't swung a bat since last year and all that, it could be an issue for opening day.
Don Hahn
Well, he's got an excuse for a slow start.
Alan Hahn
No, he does. But, you know, listen, I know he gets off to slow starts, but, you know, not available and this spilling deeper into the season because on top of getting ready now, his notorious slow starts, I mean, I don't want to have a guy that's going to be a shell of himself until the All Star break. We'll keep an eye on it. Now, David, when did the issue for Lindor pop up?
David Stearns
He's had soreness, frankly, off and on there for a couple of years, and he's usually able to grind through it. And he's done it. And I think. I don't know when he first felt it, but I think it just persisted to the point where he felt like he should say something about it. And once we exam it a little bit more, yesterday our medical staff determined that he should go see a specialist.
Don Hahn
Wow.
Alan Hahn
I don't get athletes sometimes.
Don Hahn
This sounds like Stanton last year, right, with the elbow stuff.
Alan Hahn
Yeah, but as an athlete, and Allen, you're closer to it than anybody. Could you play it on the collegiate level? I know we all want to give it the old college try and fight through the injuries. You're Francisco Lindor. You're not afraid of losing your job. Okay.
Don Hahn
Yeah.
Alan Hahn
If you're feeling something, wouldn't you want to call attention to it immediately, especially during the offseason and get it checked out? Like, why, why, why do you wait until you're reporting to spring training? Say, you know, this hand's been bothering me for a while. Can you check it out? Because if they checked it out two, three weeks ago, then he'd have a chance to have spring training. So I just find it odd that we wait till last minute. Sometimes on this stuff I get during the season because sometimes you don't Want to let people know you're hurting because you want to fight through it and be there for your team. But, like, if he's feeling something during the off season, say something immediately. Get. Get to work on this. If they could have found this out earlier, they could have got. He could have had the surgery already.
Don Hahn
But, you know, again, a lot of times you're ramping up before you go to camp, right?
Alan Hahn
So you're.
Don Hahn
You're probably swinging somewhere in a cage, whatever it is that you're doing, wherever you are, during. During the winter. And maybe it was something that he was hoping would go away. Maybe it wasn't that big of a deal. And then the more swings he was getting to get himself ready for camp, the more it started to bother him. Then when he shows up, it's always, anytime you show up, they do go through a physical with you. And so that could have been a thing where it's like, anything else bothering you? Well, you know, something in my hands bothering me, probably. I can get through it, though. It's probably just. And then let's check it out. And then it's like, no, actually, you did something. Did some damage there. We probably need to fix it. And he probably was like, I didn't even realize it was that bad.
Alan Hahn
Yeah, the guys want to play.
Don Hahn
You know that guys don't want to. They don't want to run to the trainer before camp starts. He goes, you know, this is bothering. We need to check this out. It's generally during the physical, they go through stuff, and they might have said, you know, that's actually worse than you thought. We probably should fix it now before it gets worse.
Alan Hahn
I guess we all play doctor at some point. Like, whenever you're feeling something, you come with, so, oh, that's probably because I slept wrong.
Don Hahn
Yeah.
Alan Hahn
Or we all do this, that, or it feels better. And you're like, okay. But I just think you're. You're a professional athlete, so everything is just so. Especially in baseball, everything is so important. Like, everything's kind of connected. That's why I. You know, fighting through injuries in baseball is very hard because now if your swing is off, then you're done and you're not hitting the ball.
Don Hahn
Right. Right.
Alan Hahn
You know, offensive lineman fights through an injury, he could still, you know, do his job. But, you know, a pitcher, a hitter, has to make an adjustment because of pain. You can go from being a.300 hitter to a 150 hitter, and you're not helping anybody. Here's another bit of news from Stearns where will Soto play this year?
David Stearns
Juan Soto is going to play left field for us this year. Over the last month or so, as Mendy and Juan were talking about the season, Juan was working out in left field because he's going to play left field for the Doctor and wbc. As they had their conversations, he felt really comfortable there. It made sense for us from a roster perspective. So we're going to go forward with it and everyone's on board with it. Not something we had really contemplated coming into the offseason, but as we've had conversations over the last month, it made sense for all involved to do this.
Alan Hahn
And if he's happy to be there, it's fine. He's not a great defender to begin with. I don't think it makes much of a difference other than, you know, you don't need as big of an arm at left field as you do in right, but not a big deal, but just interesting nonetheless. And Mets made a lot of changes. First base, third base, center field, closer David where did the team improve the most?
David Stearns
So coming into the off season, we talked a lot about improving our pitching and defense and I think in a variety of ways we were able to do that. We've added multiple Gold Glove caliber defenders up the middle. We feel like we've improved our pitching staff as a whole. And part of that is the expected emergence of young pitchers who, some of whom have already been at the big leagues, some of whom are coming, and so we're excited about that. We're also excited about the versatility of our position player grouping and the varied skill sets we now have across that segment of our team. We think over the course of 162 games, the unforeseen always happens. And we feel as best as we can be right now, we are prepared for the inevitable hurdles of a marathon Major League Baseball season.
Don Hahn
To boil all that down because that was a lot of corporate speak. Yeah, he's really good at, I mean, again, just to speak plainly, what he's telling you is we're a lot deeper than we were. We can protect ourselves better from injuries and stuff now more than we did in the past. That's what he's suggesting, that, you know, we'll be able to get through a full season without one injury turning into something catastrophic because we just don't have a strong enough back. Remember their issues, like their issues at third base? They had issues all over the field when it came to if this guy's out of the lineup, who's filling in, you know, you had too many soft bats. They feel a lot better about the depth of the team, simply put. So that you know that's a good thing. And again, that's why I think this team might just look a lot different than the past teams because they can get through injuries like Lindor, they can get through things early in the season, but by the time you get to the obviously talktober, you've got to have your best point. Yeah. And that's the other way to get through a full season is to have the depth that you can give guys. Not say load management, but you can give guys breaks here and there.
Alan Hahn
It's a long season and the days of guys playing 162 and keeping the same lineup every single night, they're over. Depth is going to be very, very important. Defense is going to be important, and they believe that they've improved that. And we'll see it all happening before you know it. Pitchers and catchers reporting tomorrow and then everybody else later in the week. And it's going to be happening sooner than later. We're already into the second week of February.
Don Hahn
Donnie, who's. If Lindor is moving to left.
Alan Hahn
Soto, you mean?
Don Hahn
I said Lindor. If. So does moving the left. Who's. Who's playing right is Luis Robert.
Alan Hahn
Is he the.
Don Hahn
Is he a center fielder?
Peter Rosenberg
That's Lou Bob.
Rich Eisen
He's.
Alan Hahn
He could play any of the outfield positions Benji did you talk about. So I guess it could be him. I mean, obviously, you know, Taylor can play right field if they need it too. So Soto wants to play left, he'll play left. But let's hear from Carlos Mendoza on the conversation with Soto about playing left field.
Carlos Mendoza
I visit him in the Dominican Republic and it wasn't until probably late December, when we started getting closer to roster construction with the wbc, that I asked him on a conversation that we had, I said, where are they going to have you playing in the Dominican Republic? And he said, I'm playing left field. Tatis is going to play right field. I was like, how do you feel about that? And he was very honest.
Unknown Guest
He was.
Carlos Mendoza
That's a position that I feel comfortable as well. When I first came up with the Nationals, my first two and a half, three years I play in left field and then move me to right. My last year was I was in right field. Then I get traded to the Padres. So he started going down the road. Then it's like the following year Tatis was back and they put me in left field. I think that was my best year. With outfield assists and things like that. I said, which one? You know, you feel more comfortable. And it's like, I feel really good at both.
Alan Hahn
Well, there you go. So this obviously was a WBC thing. Vidal Brujan was somebody they picked up from. The Twins also can play both corner outfield positions. And then Mendoza was asked, how confident are you that Lindor will be ready for opening day?
Carlos Mendoza
Knowing Francisco, I'm optimistic.
Don Hahn
Even if he.
Carlos Mendoza
If he has to go down the surgery route. Found out a couple of days ago, and I didn't think much of it. You know, this is a guy that's played through a lot, but for him to say something this early, you know, I was kind of like on the back of my head, I was like, hm. You know, he's like. Like David mentioned he's going to go see the doctor. And again, if we have to go that route, I. I'm optimistic that he'll be ready to play shortstop for us on opening day.
Alan Hahn
All right, then. Then it'll be no big deal.
Don Hahn
Yeah. This Lindor thing, I mean, sorry, this Soto thing, do you think this was, like. Because you don't just do that in February. You think they went into the off season thinking Bellinger, Kyle Tucker, like, you know, Soto. They wanted to get him comfortable with left field because there was a likelihood he was going to have to move there. And then they didn't get either guy.
Alan Hahn
Right.
Don Hahn
Am I crazy?
Alan Hahn
No.
Don Hahn
And now he's like, well, I spent all this time working out there. Why don't we just stick to it?
Alan Hahn
And all of a sudden they saw, hey, he doesn't mind going left field right in the World Baseball Classic. So let's ask him now.
Don Hahn
Yeah, he was cool with it.
Alan Hahn
So kind of walking on eggshells around, like, let's not. Because I, you know, Michael would tell stories about the Yankees, like, he likes to bat, you know? Well, I guess it was. He liked to bat second instead of third.
Don Hahn
Right.
Alan Hahn
You know, he likes to play left. Right field instead of left field.
Don Hahn
You know, that's what I mean.
Alan Hahn
You got to try to make him happy, I guess.
Don Hahn
I guess that's where Judge had to play center for most of the season. Right.
Alan Hahn
But that's a problem for me with the Yankee. You really want him playing center field? That wasn't a good idea.
Don Hahn
No. You didn't want him playing center field? No.
Alan Hahn
Let's go to Luca in SoHo. You're on ESPN New York. What's up?
Caller
Hey, what's up, guys? Always good talking to you. Two, three. The Lindor thing, I would be pretty upset if I'm the Mets, because, look, I was telling Anthony, Sean and I did the same thing. You know, he was like. He was trying to deal with the loose body, and then next thing you know, it got worse before it got any better. And, like, we get to the point where the season's about to start and, like, not, you know, now you're gonna have to potentially be out for longer than we might want you to be. It would be really frustrating. But I actually think I was. I was thinking about it on the call, on waiting for you guys to go, and I'm thinking, wait a second. Does Lindor just know something we don't? That he won't be playing the baseball World Baseball Classic? And maybe, you know, this whole thing with the insurance thing is going to turn out to be a dud, and, you know, a bunch of the guys might not be able to play. So he's just saying, well, whatever, I'll just. I'll sit out and, you know, good luck to us in the next go rounds.
Unknown Guest
Maybe that's.
Don Hahn
Maybe that's it.
Caller
Who knows?
Alan Hahn
Well, not if he's gonna have surgery.
Don Hahn
I. Yeah.
Alan Hahn
And with. With Benaya, with the moving bodies, the thing with that is. And listen, I'm no doctor, but, like, that's where, oh, it's painful, then the pain goes away because the. The body moves to a different area and you're like, oh, that's okay, and it's good. Back again.
Don Hahn
Right.
Alan Hahn
You know, and it was when you heard Stearns originally say, it's been something that's been on and off for the last couple of years, sounds like it's something that does go away and that he could manage, and now it got to the point where he couldn't manage it anymore.
Don Hahn
Right.
Alan Hahn
I. I would always err on the side of, can we get this taken care of? But, hey, nobody wants to rush to go have surgery if they don't have to.
Peter Rosenberg
But if you have to decide, rush and know that you'll be back or waste any time and risk missing opening day, you'd rather them get on the ball.
Alan Hahn
But again, we all go through. No, that's fine. It's not anything. I'll be okay. I just think as a professional athlete, when you're a leader, and he certainly is a leader, right? I mean, he's. He's somebody. Especially with Alonzo gone now the leader of this team, and you want to be there for your team, but, hey, even with the surgery and, you know, Mendoza says he's confident he'll be there in opening day. It's kind of. All right. Worst case scenario, I skip spring training.
Don Hahn
Big deal.
Alan Hahn
Right.
Peter Rosenberg
But I'm around when we get to.
Don Hahn
Yeah. When it matters most. And this thing will be cleaned up by then.
Alan Hahn
Let's go to Tim. He's in Dobbs Ferry. You're on ESPN New York. Hi, Tim.
Don Hahn
Hi, Don.
Caller
Peter and Alan want to go back to the list, but quick thing. I know you guys were talking about curling yesterday. You realize there's a curling club right here in Westchester, right?
Alan Hahn
No, I did not know.
Peter Rosenberg
No idea where.
Don Hahn
Where in Westchester.
Caller
Right at Dobbs Ferry. The RC Country Club. I believe the captain of the men's team spent some time here in the club.
Don Hahn
That's great.
Peter Rosenberg
Allen actually has a. A curling rink in his backyard.
Don Hahn
Yeah, I have one in my yard.
Caller
Wonderful. So just to go back to list, I'll do post 1980 chronological. So I think five of the songs that could be considered is Tom Sawyer with by Rush. One by Metallica, Three Days by Jane's Addiction.
Don Hahn
Wow.
Caller
Unfortunately, I hate to say it, but Smells like Teen Spirit, Nirvana. And then a more recent one, Mr. Brightside by the Killers.
Alan Hahn
That's a good one. That's another.
Don Hahn
I like that one.
Peter Rosenberg
It's another Modern era winner. And also Tom Sawyer. That's a. That's a good call.
Alan Hahn
That's a really good. That's. That was the moving Pictures, was a monster album. 1981, I believe. Jane's Addiction, I guess their biggest song is Been Caught Stealing.
Don Hahn
Probably.
Alan Hahn
Probably wouldn't have it that. Although was it. What's it called? He's a Mountain song Coming down the Mountain. That's a very underrated band.
Don Hahn
Very underrated.
Alan Hahn
Crazy.
Peter Rosenberg
That's not a bad list though.
Alan Hahn
Punching each other out on the stage. But you know that's rock and roll, right?
Don Hahn
That's rock and roll, baby.
Alan Hahn
Let's go to Alex in Lynbrook. You're on espn. Hi, Alex.
Caller
Hi, Donnie. Hi, guys. Peter, I know it's late, but God bless you.
Don Hahn
Door.
Caller
Hope you have many more. You're welcome. Donnie, what's killing me? Hockey is not my second favorite sport because of you. And I know your partner. You could tell he loves hockey. I'd like to see if possibly you guys could switch roles and see how that. I think that would be great. But my main reason is it drives me crazy when a team's alert awarded two minute penalty and one. It has to go from one to second period or second to third. And the worst is when I'VE seen it myself a couple of times. They're given a two minute penalty and they don't have enough time to finish it in a third period. I don't know why I just can't extend it. Just like in basketball, the guy's fouled, he still shoots his free throw if the time runs out.
Don Hahn
And I get what you said, that's an interesting thought. I get what you're saying, right, like, like it's the one thing that I'm supposed to get two minutes here, but there's only a minute 38 left in the game, right. So I'm not getting a full two minute power play.
Peter Rosenberg
And that's 42 seconds left.
Don Hahn
Yeah, well, that's, you know, honestly, when there's less than 10 seconds to go in a game and there's an offensive zone face off and obviously they're going to pull the goalie. So it's six on five. If you're on the defensive end and there's like a chance the puck is anywhere near the net, you just completely cross. You crush someone because you know they're going to call. It doesn't matter if they call a penalty at point.
Alan Hahn
Now, there's a couple of things that I've batted around because this has come up before.
Don Hahn
Okay.
Alan Hahn
All right. You can kind of do what you do in football where a game can't end on the defensive penalty. So you'll play, you'll play it down with no time left.
Don Hahn
So you play, the rest of you play a full two minutes, no matter what's left.
Alan Hahn
So if there's 10 seconds left to the game, you commit a penalty, we're tacking on an extra 150.
Don Hahn
That's a lot. How much pressure on an official at that point because you know how that whole thing goes. The ref swallow their whistle in the last minute, all that stuff, Right. How much pressure on you if like couple of seconds to go? Hey, look, it happened in the Knicks game with the, with Denver 0.3 on a rebound, no chance to score. But they call what was an obvious, like a hold on a rebound attempt. And so he gets two free throws with point three and ties it to force the second overtime.
Alan Hahn
It's, it's, you know, now you could do that.
Don Hahn
I like that.
Alan Hahn
Or in the final minute of a game, okay, if there is a penalty in the offensive zone, meaning I don't have the puck, you're, you're driving towards my net, the puck is in my zone. I trip you up.
Don Hahn
Yeah.
Alan Hahn
Penalty shot.
Don Hahn
Penalty shot. I see that. I was thinking, I was thinking that while we were discussing it, maybe you can't extend the game, but if there's a penalty called in the last, what, 30 seconds?
Alan Hahn
Yeah.
Don Hahn
Because if it's a minute, you still.
Alan Hahn
Have a long time. But maybe the final 30. Final 30, something like that, it's a penalty shot. Because if I get a full minute power play, that, that could be a lot, especially if I pull the goaltender man. Advantage for a minute.
Don Hahn
Plenty of time.
Alan Hahn
The other thing I thought of in a playoff series.
Don Hahn
Okay, how about this? Okay.
Alan Hahn
If it's in the first, if there's going to be a game. So it's game one. All right. Rangers are playing Hurricanes. Game one, third period, two one Hurricanes. Mm. Rangers are buzzing. There's a penalty. It's a major. A major with like 30 seconds to go. So five minutes play the 30 seconds that, that hurricane sits in the box for the first 4:30 a game two.
Peter Rosenberg
Well, that, that really should be.
Don Hahn
I mean there's, that'd be wild carryover.
Peter Rosenberg
But there should be carryover in a series if there's a penalty lay. I mean this doesn't happen every day.
Don Hahn
But game to game is different though.
Alan Hahn
I know, but you know, I'm going to think twice about tackling you in the final 30 seconds if I know that that penalty is going to opposite.
Peter Rosenberg
It is the opposite of sort of the 10 second runoff. They have a rule in football to prevent you.
Don Hahn
Yeah.
Peter Rosenberg
From being able to make an illegal stoppage. You should have a deterrent from committing penalties lately.
Alan Hahn
It's a great point.
Don Hahn
It's a really interesting one to debate. Right. To think about what's the right thing to do. Because I'm telling you, like that's absolutely on your mind. If you're a defenseman in front of the net and is like, you know, there's seconds left in the game and there's a free puck and you can't get there and you know, all I got to do is just take a hook and pull this guy down. Right. Just reach to his hands and. And just absolutely. Or smash his stick in half. So he can't, he can't put the puck in the net. Like what are they going to do?
Alan Hahn
Yeah.
Don Hahn
Call a penalty.
Alan Hahn
Are you?
Don Hahn
Great. I'm in the box with two seconds. You're not going to win.
Alan Hahn
Any other thing I always thought of, if you commit a penalty in the final seconds of a regular of overtime in the regular season, there's two seconds to go on the three on three, you commit a penalty, you're not eligible for the shootout. The player isn't the player that committed the penalties. Sometimes it doesn't matter. But if you're a good starter. Just little things that I think about that's interesting when I was doing pre and post for the Rangers and like oh well here's what I would change. Here's I would change that something. Yep, something interesting.
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Don Hahn
Thanks very much for having me, Michelle.
Alan Hahn
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Without question, cancer rates are rising across the board and concerningly we are seeing more aggressive cancers in people even in their 20s and 30s.
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That's scary for a lot of people. Is there anything that can be done to help alleviate that fear?
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Don Hahn
Thanks for listening to the Don Han and Rosenberg podcast.
David Stearns
I didn't listen to anything you just said.
Don Hahn
Catch the show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts.
Alan Hahn
Nick's Pacers tonight. Allen's all over the coverage. He's at the Garden right now.
Don Hahn
Can I, can I complain about something? Because there was a talk about Rickle Ball? No, of course not. No. Because we did a talk about it and this would have been my talk about it if I had seen it sooner.
Peter Rosenberg
Oh.
Don Hahn
So NBA All Star Weekend is coming up, right? This weekend. As you guys know, it has reached a point for me personally as a basketball guy where I tune in out of obligation, not out of interest. Like it's that bad. And I saw this. Now the NBA is turning All Star Weekend into a content Factory. More than 200 top creators will be in LA for this event.
Peter Rosenberg
Oh God.
Don Hahn
The league hand picked a group of influencers to cover live broadcasts in arena programming, on court competitions, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Do we have the names? Does it matter?
Peter Rosenberg
I want everyone.
Alan Hahn
Well, we can play the game of.
Don Hahn
Does Don know them?
Alan Hahn
Yeah, let's do that.
Peter Rosenberg
Are they in the celebrity game?
Don Hahn
They might actually be more known. Peter.
Peter Rosenberg
Yeah, that's a great.
Don Hahn
I don't know the name. Let me see if I can find the names. All I know is that James Edwards, who covers the Knicks for the Athletic, he said something I didn't know about, but he revealed something that this is why I face palm at these things. He said that while at the NBA cup, we, meaning the media, were trying to do a player interview and one content creator, interrupted, pulled out a Knicks player's jersey and asked him to sign it. And that was the last question allowed.
Rich Eisen
See?
Don Hahn
And this is this is what makes you crazy. Because now you're like, well, like what? So why am I coming? And now you wonder why newspapers are like, I'm not sending people to this. If this is what's going on. Like it's become something that the league wants to control and let's just turn this into a circus. And they know that the next generation's not reading newspapers, not reading actual news. Everything they get is out of a 30 second reel or a TikTok. And so let's just get influencers who have lots of followers to do these silly things. And that's going to be what covers the event now. And that's it. So let me see if there's some names that were on this list.
Peter Rosenberg
No, I, I just want you guys to apologize. I just want you to apologize now. Apologize to the. No, no. Relative to how bad things are. This is why I didn't get upset at the lady in Jacksonville. Because relative to what's going on out there, I, I, it's, we are.
Don Hahn
Oh, the woman.
Peter Rosenberg
Yeah.
Don Hahn
I told Liam Cohen, like, keep your head up.
Alan Hahn
Yeah.
Peter Rosenberg
At least there was something sweet about it. And like I said, I don't think so.
Don Hahn
What did that become, Peter?
Peter Rosenberg
Well, that became, it depends what you look at.
Don Hahn
It became content.
Peter Rosenberg
It became content. It became a big McAfee story. It became content.
Don Hahn
I gotta tell you, I'm reading NBA's release. Yeah. What do you got? And with the Drew Ski and dude, perfect guys. Got it. Know them for sure.
Peter Rosenberg
They're big.
Don Hahn
Well, Drew Ski's always going to be around. There's a lot of, there's a lot here and that's on me. I don't know a lot of these.
Alan Hahn
Now that you've, you've called my attention to him. Every ease on every commercial.
Peter Rosenberg
I heard. By the way, this didn't come up when we talked about it the other day. I heard he really pissed off Barry Sanders.
Don Hahn
Yes.
Rich Eisen
Oh yeah. On stage. Yeah.
Don Hahn
So there's a lot of people that were not happy with him and what he did there with in Jigba's name.
Peter Rosenberg
So real quick, the injigma part where he turned his name into the N word.
Don Hahn
Yeah.
Peter Rosenberg
Said it like three times that I understand. That's horrible. What was that? What pissed off Barry Sanders?
Rich Eisen
Jacob.
Peter Rosenberg
Or was there something else?
Rich Eisen
I think it was, from what I'm hearing, I think it was that that pistol.
Alan Hahn
Cuz you could even see on Barry saying his face that he kind of was like rubbed, like rubbed the wrong way.
Peter Rosenberg
But yeah, yeah, I heard from sources. And I have source. I actually have a. I have a source here that the league was like, drew Ski's never coming back to anything we do. They were out, fully out on that situation. So the influencer thing blows up in people's faces sometimes is the point. What's that?
Don Hahn
I gotta send you this. And you gotta help me if you know people, because I'm these people. Apparently they people are known. One guy's got 30 million followers.
Alan Hahn
Oh, probably Jesser.
Don Hahn
Yeah, yeah, that's the one.
Alan Hahn
Yeah, he's like NBA content.
Don Hahn
There's 2K guys, right? There's gonna be some 2K guys.
Alan Hahn
It's probably gonna be a couple 2K guys. A couple stream. Is it nothing crazy.
Don Hahn
So again, it's, it's really all. It's all for kids. This is not. Mike and I keep saying this. If you're an adult, especially anyone over the age of 40, just understand that this is no longer for you. So don't get mad when you're like, what is this crap? It's not for you anymore. It's not for you. They don't care about. I don't understand this too, because if you're in your 40s, God bless, you have at least 30 more, if not 40 more years to live, which means you have 40 more years to be a fan of a sport. Why leagues don't give a rip about you. And when I say you, I mean me, Don. Peter. Why they don't care about an older audience doesn't make sense. All these leagues are doing now is catering to the younger audience almost to a fault now. And instead of raising standards, you're lowering them. Well, and it's, it's kind of pathetic, but that's where we are. And they don't care about us anymore because I guess we're not the new consumer. I don't know. But who's paying for this crap? We are. If our kids want something, we're the ones buying it.
Alan Hahn
But, but, but still to the point. What happened in Jacksonville with that woman. It was kind and it was.
Don Hahn
Yeah, it was sweet.
Peter Rosenberg
It was positive. It was a positive, sweet thing.
Alan Hahn
But what I tried to explain at the time is, and nobody's going to feel bad for us, but if I got a job in which I've got to write an article or I've got to do something, which I need to get information to, ask the coach something. And I know my time is limited.
Don Hahn
Yes.
Alan Hahn
We're going to play these reindeer games.
Don Hahn
Right?
Alan Hahn
And like, what happened with the influencer now they shut the interview down. Yeah, so I never got to ask my question. She got in something that was completely self serving. Had nothing to do with a job.
Don Hahn
Could have been done privately in the hallway.
Alan Hahn
Could have been just a fan out thing. Creating content for whatever you're doing. Meanwhile, I've got a job I'm being paid to do and now I can't do that job properly. If I have a credential and I'm in a scrum or I'm in a room, I realize if, especially if I'm there. Allen. Just because, hey, I wanted to go to the game, I got a credential, I'm able to go in the room. Maybe there's a couple of players I wanted to talk off the record to. If there's a scrum and reporters are asking questions, I lay out because I don't need to ask anything. I'm not going to take up their time. They've got a job to do.
Don Hahn
Right.
Alan Hahn
That's the problem. So you want to play your reindeer games? Do it after the scrum is over. Ask the PR director. Can I get a private moment? Whatever. You only have so much time. These things aren't endless.
Don Hahn
Yes.
Alan Hahn
And now because these content guys create a lot of eyeballs for the league, then like the reporters don't matter anymore and the fans aren't going to support you because the fans hate the media.
Don Hahn
But again, all part of the problem is the fact that the NBA can't figure out how to fix an All Star game. An all Star weekend and a dunk contest has four. I defy you. Look at the four contestants. Just if you can name one of them what team that guy plays for, I'll be impressed. Like that's the problem. The league doesn't know what to do. They don't know what to do. With the Utah Jazz that are blatantly made an unbelievable trade at the deadline. Brought in a guy, Jaren Jackson Jr. Who's an all world defensive center to play him with Lowry market in. They have a good young player in Keonte George. They're good enough to win. And you know what they're doing? They're taking leads into the fourth quarter and sitting those guys because they don't want to win. They don't want to. They want to keep their pick. They want to have a lottery pick. And there's nothing the league can do about it. Because I'm not sitting out my guys. They're playing. You can't tell me how to play my guys. I'm not Choosing to play them in the fourth quarter. It's like this sport is going through this stuff right now, and it's maddening. So what do we do? Instead of giving more voice to it, to a media that's going to call you out for these things and discuss things that are uncomfortable with the players about the sport, we're going to basically drown you out by loading up all these foofs that come in and they're just, you know, it's like flower children just running around, just having fun and putting up fun content and that's it. And what a fun weekend it was because I have 37 million followers and all they care about is funny stuff. A reel that'll make me giggle. That's. That's what's happening right now. The NBA is not in a good place, man. And, And. But they don't want to be called out for it. They're about to. They're. They're going to discuss adding franchises. And I told you, Vegas is. Is. Everybody know Vegas and Seattle are obvious places to go. And I mean the league right now going through what it's going through with some of the betting stuff that we saw going into this season, surprisingly, no one's whispering about anymore. One coach is no longer coaching anymore. And that just went away. Right? A player in Miami just went away. Nobody's talking about it. No, we're going to put a franchise in Vegas now. So that's the stuff that I'm worried about. It's not about influencers and having that side of it. It's the fact that if you're letting them in on scrums and letting them in on part of interviewing players, and that is. That will. That noise will drown out the mainstream media coverage of things that need to be talked about with this league. That's a major problem. Major problem.
Alan Hahn
And unfortunately for Utah, not a lot of people care outside of Utah.
Don Hahn
They're not people in the league. Care in the league.
Alan Hahn
You can't not going to get an outcry. But if the Knicks were doing it.
Don Hahn
Or if the Lakers were.
Alan Hahn
Lakers were doing it, it would be a big story. But Utah's doing it.
Peter Rosenberg
Can I. Can I say that I simultaneously agree with everything Alan just said? And I'd also like to present him with the award for the old man yelling at cloud statement of the day.
Don Hahn
Which is what the whole thing.
Peter Rosenberg
I mean, I agree with every word you just said. And yet I hear it and I go, but we are now those people. We are just old people.
Commercial Narrator
They don't Care.
Don Hahn
They all moved on. No, no, I'm not.
Peter Rosenberg
We're not disillusioned.
Don Hahn
I am that guy.
Peter Rosenberg
But you know what, but you're.
Don Hahn
Here's the problem. If I, If I'm so worried about being called the old man yelling at the cloud.
Alan Hahn
Yeah.
Don Hahn
And then I just say, well, I'm not going to say it because who can't? It doesn't matter. They win.
Peter Rosenberg
No, you should say it.
Don Hahn
Yeah. Somebody's got to say it.
Peter Rosenberg
And there is. For the record, I really do think there is a. And you see it in other places. There is a healthy way to balance this.
Don Hahn
Yes.
Peter Rosenberg
Where you start bringing in influencers and you say, hey, these guys, these people are important and they're, they're spreading our game to different people. And we want to, we want to reach those people. But also we're not going to allow it to take over absolutely everything that we do. But remember, the NBA is a funny, duddy situation. Everyone was so desperate. There was so much complaining about TNT's coverage of the NBA and this whole idea that they hate the game that they cover because they're so critical. They're so critical, they're not fans of it. We want to go someplace where it's friendly. Meanwhile, everybody with a pulse, and I say this as a proud ESPN employee, everybody with a pulse knows that the NBA on TNT was the best pre and post of all professional sports. We all know that. And yet the NBA was like, but.
Alan Hahn
We don't like this.
Peter Rosenberg
They don't love the game.
Don Hahn
Well, well, it's funny because.
Peter Rosenberg
Nonsense.
Don Hahn
TNT went away, but the show didn't. Although ESPN recognized its value and said will give you a place to keep this show going.
Peter Rosenberg
Although it seems like there are a lot of people who think that, like, they. We kept it, but it's still not getting the same eyeballs that once did. So the league is happy.
Alan Hahn
Yeah.
Peter Rosenberg
Because we're not seeing it as much.
Don Hahn
I, yeah, it's a fair. Is a fair point. But what you missed was they like, you have to get through a full season, but when there was a serious topic to get into, no one did it better that well.
Peter Rosenberg
And, and you would get to the playoffs, right? Like, I wouldn't. I don't. I don't watch a whole lot of national basketball. If I, if I watch basketball during the regular season, it's either a Celtics scam that I see on the ticket or I'm watching MSG coverage of the Knicks, my two teams, as you know. And then the playoffs come and you're used to watching what it used to be TNT every night in the first couple of rounds of the playoffs.
Don Hahn
Oh, yeah.
Peter Rosenberg
And what would, what would develop is half of what you're watching was the games and the other half is a running talk show of these really critical, knowledgeable fans and players talking. And now the NBA, they want it out of that.
Alan Hahn
But the other side, what Alan's saying about the influencers, which is dangerous and we saw with the NFL awards.
Don Hahn
Yes.
Alan Hahn
Is that they don't play by any rules. As a matter of fact, they're famous for not playing by the rules. The more they do the things that they do, the more hits they get, the more attention they get. I'm not going to do that because I represent espn. Mike Verable, I represent the New Jersey Doubles and msg. So if I go out there and act like a clown, I could lose my job. I could lose my credential. There is no losing your job when you're an influencer.
Peter Rosenberg
You could literally say the coach of the year like this. Mike Veramoff is an actor, but you.
Alan Hahn
Get the idea the name that was. That just gets more attention on him. There's no way to govern that. All right, so he's banned from doing so. What? He probably picked up so many more followers and got so much more attention doing what he did.
Don Hahn
There's no regulation because you're not connected to any mainstream media.
Alan Hahn
And going strain is what works for them. It would get them attention. So they cannot be governed. But everybody wants it, Alan. So the NBA and the NFL hire these people because they want those eyeballs and then they get ticked off when they go off the rails. Well, their job is to go off the rails.
Don Hahn
Yeah.
Alan Hahn
And that's what you got.
Don Hahn
So, yeah, so this is where we are. This is, you know, this is what's going to happen this weekend. And it's going to be flooded all over social media more than it will be because they know that the product isn't good enough to draw eyeballs to the broadcast. The product is. No, the All Star weekend product is no longer good enough to draw eyeballs. So you bring in influencers who already have their audience built in, knowing that you're going to at least reach a large worldwide audience because of these 200 people that you're bringing. That's the reality it's making up for. We're not getting the reach that we usually get. So how do we do. How do we do a better job? And then they'll sell it afterwards of X amount of people took in NBA All Star Weekend content rather than watched the actual freaking game because you know you can't sell that anymore. You can't brag about that anymore. When it's declining numbers and declining interest in something that they just can't figure out how to get right. Because what used to be an entertaining game and an interesting game has now become a joke. Almost as bad as the Pro bowl. But not as bad.
Alan Hahn
Nothing. No, no, no.
Peter Rosenberg
Nothing's that bad.
Don Hahn
Nothing as bad as a Pro bowl. But it's close.
Rich Eisen
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Don Hahn
Thanks for listening to the Don Han and Rosenberg podcast.
David Stearns
I didn't listen to anything you just said.
Don Hahn
Catch this show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts.
Alan Hahn
It's hard to believe, one of the greatest ever, that this album came out 48 years ago today.
Don Hahn
Damn. 1978.
Alan Hahn
February 10, 1978.
Don Hahn
This. This album, like, this band, like, changed music for me personally. And I know you're not. They're not an altar. I know, Don. They're not an all time and all that stuff.
Alan Hahn
It was my favorite band growing up, but they, they.
Don Hahn
There's just something about Eddie's sound that I, I, you know, it just. They were one of my, like, my favorite, like, top three through my childhood until Sammy came along. And then that kind of changed.
Alan Hahn
Yeah, that changed.
Don Hahn
Everything just sounded different. It wasn't bad. It just was different. But those, those first three albums, though. Yeah, one, two, and Fair Warning. Oh, my God.
Alan Hahn
One, two, and the Women and Children first was an awesome.
Don Hahn
I'm sorry, I should say the first four.
Alan Hahn
Yeah, the first four.
Don Hahn
Fair Warning just rocks, by the way. That's so good.
Alan Hahn
Then I, then I thought, you know, diver down. It was good that you could tell.
Don Hahn
They put the synthesizers in.
Alan Hahn
Yeah, that's.
Don Hahn
You could tell that they threw that together.
Alan Hahn
It was all right, 1984. And then just like, it just. They. They took a turn. More commercial. But they were rock band.
Don Hahn
Oh, the first I. I tell anyone, like, again, if. If you don't know, if you like, just give those first four albums a listen and you'll. That's. That's his. That's as close to grunge from the 70s as you'll get. Yeah, before grunge, they were playing that. It was good.
Alan Hahn
All right. Get some calls in. Before enn.
Peter Rosenberg
I also got to give a shout out to a name, a name you'll remember Don from past years. Well, because we have a drop of his name. Always been a loyal listener from the K show years.
Alan Hahn
Okay.
Peter Rosenberg
My good friend Jeff Sanchez at the NBA, who I just reached out to, because a friend of mine is based in LA and she was hoping to cover some stuff for the league, and she hit me up and she was like, she's. She's awesome.
Don Hahn
Influencer.
Alan Hahn
She's.
Peter Rosenberg
No, she's not an influencer, but she's influencer. No, no, but she is influencer. Jazz. She was a great broadcaster at wwe. She since left out and is doing her own thing. Kayla Braxton. Now back to her real name, Kayla Becker. And she. She reached out to me and I saw. I just texted Jeff about 10 minutes ago and said, hey, by the way, my friend, blah, blah. And his response to me was, is she an influencer? Because y' all crushing us right now. Jeff Sanchez handles New York. There you go. There's the old Jeff Sanchez drop. And I was like, you know, it's funny you mentioned that. No, she's not. But that is. That conversation is what reminded me to follow up.
Alan Hahn
Hello, NBA. Thanks for.
Peter Rosenberg
Well, listen, listen, It's. But I think they know.
Don Hahn
They know the mainstream media is not happy about this.
Peter Rosenberg
Well, yeah, and it's. And as I've said, I think it's a. I think it's becomes a. An interesting conversation about where you strike the balance. Some of those names that you threw out, there are huge names that if you can get to participate and promote your product, I get absolutely one.
Don Hahn
But do you need 200 of them?
Peter Rosenberg
Well, I don't know. I got to. Also with a fine tooth comb.
Alan Hahn
But also, you should see the All Star.
Don Hahn
You can't walk. It's just people on top of people.
Alan Hahn
It wouldn't work anyway because, like I said, chaos and against the rules. That's what gets them hits. That's what gets them attention. But can there be a conversation instead of being all hot and bothered about, oh, we've got this guy that's got a billion followers is gonna be coming to our event of having a conversation saying, I'm not gonna give you this credential unless you follow the same rules as all the other people that are given a credential. Do what you do.
Peter Rosenberg
You don't. You don't have any interest in All Star anymore. And did you used to have an interest in Go?
Don Hahn
Well, when I was a writer, I went to everyone.
Peter Rosenberg
When I.
Don Hahn
As a broadcaster, I don't. There's no reason for me to be there.
Peter Rosenberg
It's time off. You just take it as time off.
Don Hahn
Well, there's no reason like Other than just.
Peter Rosenberg
No, it would be just schmoozing.
Don Hahn
Yeah, but I don't look like I don't really need it for that. Like, it's not important. And I don't want to be there. Like, I don't like being somebody who's there and in the way. Like, I need a seed. I need a credential.
Alan Hahn
I need.
Don Hahn
No, no, no. I'd like. But I will say this to be fair, is if you're the NBA and you're like, well, you know what? A lot of mainstream media, they're not sending writers anymore. They're not. They're not spending the money to send their writers to All Stars.
Peter Rosenberg
And also, how many of these people are willing to pay their own way? They're coming out. All they want is access.
Don Hahn
That's. I'm sure that's part of the deal. Like, they certainly are paying their own way. And I know that the newspaper industry, because it's no longer what it used to be. They're not going to spend all that money to pay for a hotel to put up their riders. They're just like, you know, we'll. We'll take the ap. You watch what if there's a local player? Watch what they do and follow up. Now in New York, those guys go because, you know, they have two all Stars. You got to go. But that's the big markets. But some of the other markets aren't. And so I don't know if maybe the. The media attendance numbers are down as far as, like, print, and maybe that's part of this deal is like, we're not getting enough coverage. So let's get some more coverage. How can we do it?
Alan Hahn
There's got to be the.
Don Hahn
Trying to be fair here, but it is annoying, too.
Alan Hahn
But still, rules have to be followed.
Peter Rosenberg
Also, I will say I've been very checked out of the Winter Olympics. When I'm not here at work and it's not on. I just haven't had a moment to flip it on. I am surprised, though, at how my mind is always blown. I've been. I'm now Don. I'm 46.
Don Hahn
Okay.
Peter Rosenberg
I've been through my share of Winter Olympics at this point, and Bob sled is.
Alan Hahn
Blows my mind every time I'm watching it right now. Right.
Peter Rosenberg
Is it not just watch it and you go. It looks scariest, most insane sledding of all time.
Don Hahn
It looks fun, though.
Alan Hahn
Oh, it looks super.
Don Hahn
Oh, no, that's not bobsled. No, no, no. That's luge. That's either Luge or skeleton? Yeah, sorry, sorry. This is the one where you basically have no net and you're going 70 miles an hour. You're just laying on your back on a sled on an act like. Yeah, this is, you know, Radio Flyer, right?
Peter Rosenberg
Yeah, it's a radio.
Unknown Guest
Exactly.
Alan Hahn
It feels like they're gonna. They're going to just put a gold medal on your coffin.
Peter Rosenberg
Is it showing?
Don Hahn
This is luge. Skeleton is when you go head first. Head first. You will become one.
Peter Rosenberg
Oh, my God.
Alan Hahn
They call the helmet the bucket.
Peter Rosenberg
They're going now 50 miles an hour.
Don Hahn
It says 50.
Rich Eisen
52.
Peter Rosenberg
It just said 52 miles an hour.
Don Hahn
Actually, that says 73. The one I'm looking at.
Peter Rosenberg
Oh, 68 and a half. Yeah, you're right.
Don Hahn
I'm at 75 now. I might be ahead of you. Wow. I think you have the dirty feed.
Alan Hahn
This is. Yeah, 73.
Peter Rosenberg
I'm with you now. You're ahead of us.
Alan Hahn
I said this in our meeting. Alan. I think it was before we. We got you. I think. Peter, I think it was before you showed up. The Winter Olympics are better than the Summer Olympics. Me, there are more entertaining sports.
Peter Rosenberg
Of the random stuff you can stumble into.
Don Hahn
In what other Olympics other than winter are you skiing and shooting a weapon and getting a gold medal if you're good at it?
Alan Hahn
Because that's an insane. I think the wash. Figure skating and gymnastics, that's a wash. Because I could see.
Peter Rosenberg
No, both are good.
Alan Hahn
Both are really good.
Don Hahn
Right? I agree.
Alan Hahn
The figure skating is better for me, but I think that's a wash. You get basketball and hockey. I'm sorry, the hockey is more competitive. It's better. More countries have a chance to win a gold medal in basketball.
Don Hahn
But you can. You can argue that.
Peter Rosenberg
But, Alan, wouldn't you say that recently the Summer Games have picked up a bit? It's more. Football in Europe has picked up quite.
Don Hahn
It's almost. It's almost like you're. You're watching now to see if someone can beat the U.S. but versus hockey. It's like, the U.S. is good, but are they good enough to go all the way? They have, you know, like, to win a goal for the US Is a.
Alan Hahn
Big deal, but even if you made that a watch. Okay, I just think, you know, the luge and the skeleton and the. The. The downhill skiing.
Don Hahn
How much is the track? Because that's. That's track and field. And track and field can get redundant.
Peter Rosenberg
Yes, it can. It can. But the best. The bottom line is, though, and skiing.
Don Hahn
I mean, any moment, something crazy can happen totally.
Peter Rosenberg
For whatever reason. You know, maybe because you see the people more. They're not covered as much and in some cases they're like attractive people. It seems like we get more stars out of the track and field. The biggest stars in track and field become big stars.
Don Hahn
Yeah, you know, it's true.
Alan Hahn
And listen, I'm sure the ratings in.
Peter Rosenberg
The summer are better and the gymnast and the us gymnastics.
Don Hahn
Yeah, you know, those are those.
Alan Hahn
I just find it to be.
Peter Rosenberg
But I agree with you in terms of stumbling into a random event. Yeah, I would rather stumble into a random winter event.
Don Hahn
Agree.
Rich Eisen
But.
Peter Rosenberg
But the big time marquee events, I may prefer summer.
Don Hahn
Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.
Peter Rosenberg
I don't want to know how the.
Don Hahn
Sausage is made, man. I just want to know. It's good. Hear more of Don, Alan and Peter weekday afternoon starting at 3 on 8 80, ESPN, the ESPN New York app and your smart speakers.
This episode dives into two main topics: a mid-winter update on the New York Mets as spring training approaches—centered around Francisco Lindor's injury and roster changes—and a spirited discussion on the state of NBA All-Star Weekend, its pivot to influencer content, and generational divides in sports media. The trio joke, debate, and provide sharp commentary from the perspective of long-time New York sports insiders.
"Even if it does require surgery, we would remain optimistic that Francisco would be back for Opening Day."
—David Stearns, Mets President [02:13]
"We think over the course of 162 games, the unforeseen always happens. And... we are prepared for the inevitable hurdles of a marathon Major League Baseball season."
—David Stearns [07:37]
On the NBA’s shift:
"All these leagues are doing now is catering to the younger audience almost to a fault now. And instead of raising standards, you're lowering them. Well, and it's, it's kind of pathetic, but that's where we are."
—Alan Hahn [31:26]
On influencer press scrums:
"She got in something that was completely self serving. Had nothing to do with a job. Could have been done privately in the hallway... Meanwhile, I've got a job I'm being paid to do and now I can't do that job properly."
—Alan Hahn [32:17]
On sports generational disconnect:
"If you're an adult, especially anyone over the age of 40, just understand that this is no longer for you... It's not for you anymore."
—Alan Hahn [30:41]
Peter’s tongue-in-cheek self-awareness:
"I'd also like to present him with the award for the old man yelling at cloud statement of the day. I mean, I agree with every word you just said. And yet I hear it and I go, but we are now those people. We are just old people."
—Peter Rosenberg [36:40]
On Winter vs. Summer Olympics:
"I think the Winter Olympics are better than the Summer Olympics. There are more entertaining sports."
—Alan Hahn [51:22]