Hour 3: Michael Kay joins the show

Summary

Detailed Summary of "Don, Hahn & Rosenberg" Podcast – Episode: Hour 3: Michael Kay Joins the Show

Release Date: June 5, 2025

Hosts: Don Hahn, Peter Rosenberg, Rick DiPietro
Guest: Michael Kay

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1. Welcoming Michael Kay [00:40 – 01:04]

Don Hahn introduces the episode, warmly welcoming Michael Kay, a renowned broadcaster for the Yankees and Guardians.

Don Hahn [00:40]:
"You hear him one to three right here on this fine radio station, ESPN New York. And of course, he does the Yankee games. He'll be on the call Yankees and Guardians tonight. And he's Michael K. And he's nice enough to join us here."

Michael responds enthusiastically, setting a friendly and collaborative tone for the episode.

2. Exclusive Event Invitations Discussion [01:04 – 02:38]

The hosts engage in a humorous discussion about the challenges of securing invites to exclusive parties, such as Michael Rubin’s white party.

Michael K [01:22]:
"Can I tell you how envious I was of you guys today? It was a great interview with Michael Rubin. I just said, boy, if I was there, I would really weasel my way into the white party."

Peter Rosenberg [02:25]:
"Is it really worth it, though? Is it really an invite if you had to [weasel your way in]?"

The conversation explores the social dynamics and perceptions surrounding high-profile networking events.

3. Yankees’ Pitching Performance Analysis [04:04 – 06:34]

Michael Kay offers a detailed analysis of Yankees pitcher Clark Schmidt’s performance, highlighting his consistency and reliability.

Michael K [04:37]:
"To me, Clark is enigmatic. Every time you look up, he gives up three runs in six innings, which is what every team wants. It's a quality start."

Don Hahn and Peter Rosenberg discuss the Yankees' pitching strategies and potential threats from division rivals like Tampa Bay, Toronto, and Boston.

Don Hahn [05:22]:
"Five and a half is not a huge lead, but it does feel like the Yankees aren't going to have to worry about making the postseason."

4. MVP Debate: Aaron Judge vs. Shohei Ohtani [07:20 – 15:37]

A lively debate ensues about who deserves the MLB MVP title between Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, with a hypothetical comparison in an American League scenario.

Michael K [13:05]:
"In the history of baseball, Judge is now the second guy to have a .380 or more batting average and 20 more home runs for the first 60 team games. The other guy is Mickey Mantle."

Peter Rosenberg [14:22]:
"The numbers do say that [Aaron Judge] is the greatest right-handed hitter in the sport ever."

Michael Kay praises Judge’s exceptional performance, drawing comparisons to legendary players and emphasizing his statistical achievements.

5. Scheduling Conflicts Between Baseball and NBA Playoffs [15:37 – 19:16]

Don Hahn raises concerns about major baseball games, especially between the Yankees and Dodgers, clashing with NBA playoff schedules, reducing visibility for fans.

Don Hahn [15:37]:
"It just seems silly that tomorrow those matchups will be over until the postseason."

The hosts critique the network's scheduling choices, highlighting the frustration among fans and local broadcasters.

6. Breaking News: Aaron Rodgers Signs with Steelers [19:43 – 20:16]

Peter Rosenberg shares the exciting news that Aaron Rodgers has officially signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Peter Rosenberg [19:43]:
"Our long national nightmare is finally over. Yes, Aaron Rodgers has a team."

Michael Kay expresses enthusiasm, anticipating more engaging content and discussions stemming from this major sports development.

7. On-Air Banter and Light-Hearted Moments [20:25 – 34:31]

The hosts engage in playful and humorous interactions, including mock scenarios about filling in for shows and teasing each other about name-dropping and on-air antics.

Don Hahn [25:50]:
"1, 2, 3, let's be a brawl at City Field."

These segments showcase the dynamic and entertaining chemistry among the hosts, adding levity to the conversation.

8. Conspiracy Theories and Coaching Changes in the Knicks [39:13 – 54:25]

Michael Kay introduces a speculative scenario regarding potential motivations behind coaching changes within the Knicks, sparking a deep dive into organizational dynamics and player-coach relationships.

Michael K [49:21]:
"I don't know what happened. Could Brunson have been the one pushing for the change? It's a crazy conspiracy theory."

Peter Rosenberg [40:36]:
"This is one of the craziest conspiracy theories I've ever seen."

The hosts critically analyze the plausibility of such theories, emphasizing the complexity of coaching decisions and player influences.

9. Closing Remarks and Upcoming Events [54:25 – 37:17]

As the episode wraps up, the hosts promote upcoming events like the ESPN New York Beach Bash, sponsored giveaways, and recap recent sports highlights, including Mets' performance.

Don Hahn [37:10]:
"The ESPN New York Beach Bash is back Friday, June 27th at Bar A in Lake Como, New Jersey."

Peter Rosenberg and Rick DiPietro join in promoting the event, ensuring listeners are informed about future engagements.

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Notable Quotes:

• Don Hahn [05:22]:
  "Five and a half is not a huge lead, but it does feel like the Yankees aren't going to have to worry about making the postseason."

• Michael K [13:05]:
  "In the history of baseball, Judge is now the second guy to have a .380 or more batting average and 20 more home runs for the first 60 team games."

• Peter Rosenberg [14:22]:
  "The numbers do say that [Aaron Judge] is the greatest right-handed hitter in the sport ever."

• Don Hahn [15:37]:
  "It just seems silly that tomorrow those matchups will be over until the postseason."

• Michael K [49:21]:
  "I don't know what happened. Could Brunson have been the one pushing for the change? It's a crazy conspiracy theory."

---

Conclusion:

In this engaging episode of "Don, Hahn & Rosenberg," the hosts and guest Michael Kay delve into comprehensive discussions surrounding Major League Baseball's Yankees, including pitching performances and MVP debates. They also navigate the complexities of media scheduling conflicts affecting sports broadcasts and share breaking news about Aaron Rodgers joining the Steelers. Interspersed with humor and personal anecdotes, the conversation provides insightful analysis and lively interactions, making it both informative and entertaining for listeners who may not have tuned in.

Transcript

[Don Hahn]

This episode is brought to you by State Farm. Knowing you could be saving money for the things you really want is a great feeling. Talk to a State Farm agent today to learn how you can choose to bundle and save with the personal price plan. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Prices are based on rating plans that vary by state. Coverage options are selected by the customer. Availability, amount of discounts and savings and eligibility vary by state.

[Peter Rosenberg]

This is the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Don Hahn]

That sounds like heaven to me.

[Michael K]

Listen live weekday afternoon starting at 3.

[Peter Rosenberg]

On 8 80, ESPN, the ESPN New York app, and your smart speakers 500.

[Don Hahn]

One of the big city Don Hahn and Rosenberg. Taking up until 7:00. You hear him one to three right here on this fine radio station, ESPN New York. And of course, he does the Yankee games. He'll be on the call Yankees and Guardians tonight. And he's Michael K. And he's nice enough to join us here. Oh, what a guy. Don Rosenberg. How are you, sir?

[Michael K]

I'm great. How you guys doing?

[Don Hahn]

Good. I figure it was time to return the favor.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Oh, wait a minute.

[Don Hahn]

We've all been on your show.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Man.

[Don Hahn]

I did not. I didn't ask anybody to play this music.

[Rick DiPietro]

Yeah, but it's the right mood, isn't it, when they get together.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Why does his voice change?

[Don Hahn]

Whose voice change?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yours? Yeah, little deeper. Little more sultry.

[Rick DiPietro]

Yeah, a little something there.

[Michael K]

Can I tell you how envious I was of you guys today?

[Don Hahn]

Interesting.

[Rick DiPietro]

Why is that? Because Michael Rubin's so rich?

[Michael K]

No, I mean, I was envious of him, but I was envious of you guys. It was a great interview with Michael Rubin. And I just said, boy, if I was there, I would really weasel my way into the white party. But I can't. I couldn't. I'm no longer part of the show, so I couldn't. I'm sure that Peter was doing some weaseling, but I don't think he'll get the invite.

[Peter Rosenberg]

What's the word you always use?

[Rick DiPietro]

Schnur.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Schnur.

[Michael K]

Schner.

[Rick DiPietro]

Yeah, you know, I've thought about. I've thought about trying to sure my way in. It just seems like if you're gonna be invited to that, like you're gonna be invited to it. You know what I mean? It just seems.

[Michael K]

No, I think you put somebody on the spot, make it happen.

[Rick DiPietro]

Just say, hey, what's up, man? We've been friends for a while. Am I going to the white party or what?

[Michael K]

Because you're very successful, but you're not at the level of success. That's gonna get you a legitimate invite. So you're gonna have to embarrass him into doing it.

[Rick DiPietro]

You know what? He's never said something more truthful on the show before.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Is it really worth it, though? Is it really an invite if you had to.

[Michael K]

I know.

[Rick DiPietro]

Do you really feel cool when you're like, hey, I made my way in like you.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You're one step away from parking cars while you're there. You know what I mean?

[Michael K]

Like, well, you'd be playing touch football with Tom Brady, have stories forever.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Maybe not.

[Michael K]

Yeah, that'd be like momentary embarrassment of snoring.

[Don Hahn]

See that. That's. That's a good point. It's almost like coming to America where they thought they invited to the McDowell's party. Turned out that, you know, the parking cars and bartending.

[Michael K]

Or.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Or it's the other way around. It's Ferris Bu. And somehow, some way, you are playing touch football on the beach or wedding crashers, but you just find your way into a situation where you're like, I just caught a touchdown pass from Tom Brady. And he's like, this guy's awesome. Who is this guy? Now you're in forever.

[Michael K]

Or you could hook up with a beautiful woman that might be invited there. A famous woman.

[Rick DiPietro]

Wait, who?

[Michael K]

I don't know. You could. Anybody's married that could turn invite. Well, yeah, but you. Everybody, every. Everybody has a hall pass. Natalie would understand.

[Rick DiPietro]

Well, and Natalie, if she was there with me and said he, you know, this is good for the team. Take one for the team.

[Michael K]

Yeah. Or absolutely.

[Rick DiPietro]

Maybe it's a can I join Situation.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It is the Hampton. It is the hand.

[Rick DiPietro]

It's a coin of friends.

[Peter Rosenberg]

We do know that. That. That is key part.

[Rick DiPietro]

You talk about a place for a key part.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I mean, it's. Wasn't it invented out there?

[Rick DiPietro]

Exactly.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I'm not mistaken.

[Rick DiPietro]

I like how Michael's thinking.

[Don Hahn]

How's it going? You ready for this game today?

[Michael K]

I am so pumped up and knowing that I was going to be on the show. I did all my prep work before, so I'm so relaxed right now.

[Don Hahn]

So you know all the numbers of the guardians? You're good?

[Michael K]

Yes, I do.

[Don Hahn]

That's always what I got.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Michael, the numbers. Yeah.

[Don Hahn]

Did you sure you're ready for this game?

[Peter Rosenberg]

But out of curiosity, though, Michael the Clark Schmidt start. We always like, you know, bad game, bad sign. It was a bad like he. He had obviously after the bad start. He got into cruise control after that, but still. How are you? How are we assessing his performance last Night at the beginning, I don't think they were hitting Ortiz. Clearly, he was on one. But, you know, how has Clark Schmidt fared so far as a starter?

[Michael K]

To me, Clark is enigmatic. And by that I mean every time you look up, he gives up three runs in six innings, which is what every team wants. It's a quality start. So yesterday was three runs and five and two thirds. And he said, you know, they guess right. He didn't pitch up poorly in the first inning, but I don't think his stuff was as crisp as he was saying it was. They laid a pitch in there. Martinez and the cutter wasn't working. But that's what you get with Clark Schmidt. He's going to have like a 4 ERA, and they're going to win most of his games. But Ortiz would have not pitched well all year. He was 2 and 6 coming in. He just had it. And then they've got a pretty good bullpen. So that's only the second time the Yankees were shut down. The other one was in Detroit against Tarek School. So they're one of the best offenses of baseball. So you give him a night like that every now and then.

[Don Hahn]

You know, five and a half is not a huge lead, but it does feel like the Yankees aren't going to have to worry about making the postseason. Although I think you made a good point the other day about there may not be an available wildcard the way all these teams in the Central are playing. But with Tampa, Toronto, Boston, all within striking distance, is there a team that worries you or the Yankees should be concerned about in this division.

[Michael K]

To this point? I don't see it. Boston's been a massive disappointment.

[Don Hahn]

Streaky, right?

[Michael K]

Toronto. Yeah. Well, Boston's been mostly bad. I mean, it's just. It's unbelievable. It's that they're. They're. They've got a lot of nice pieces that don't seem like they fit together. They don't have a third baseman now. They don't have a first baseman. They have a DH who won't play either of those two positions. And their pitching has not been as great as they thought it was going to be. One of the few bright spots has been robust Chapman. And if they. If they fall out of it, it's going to be a nice trade piece for them, but they don't scare me right now. We'll see what they do this weekend, starting tomorrow against the Yankees. Toronto. I don't know what Toronto is, and Tampa Bay never goes away, but those three teams, I'm sorry, I don't think they're in the Yankee class at this point.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Devin Williams, he gets back into the closer role. One of his responses to the question Michael really caught me. Like I'm paying close attention to body language and attitude, mood and stuff. And it just. I don't know if he's fully embraced what it is to be a Yankee, to play in New York when it comes with it, but the fact that he seemed to settle in when he was a setup guy and then he's put into the role of closer now. Yes, they still won the game, but it still was 30 plus pitches, still was shaky. Can you get to a point? Sometimes you just bring a guy in and you realize this just ain't it. Like it's just not working here. Or the Yankees gonna just wait as long as possible to prove themselves right, that this guy can be a closer in New York.

[Michael K]

His track record is so good, Alan. I mean, the last three years, he's. If he's not the best closer in baseball, he's number two behind Emmanuel Clase. So, I mean, he's just so good. His stuff is so good. I don't understand why the ninth inning would all of a sudden unnerve him. He's pitched very well in the eighth, but in the three times since he was demoted that he's pitched in the ninth, he has struggled, but he nailed down the save. One thing that we have to get used to, I think with him, he's not Mariano. He's not even Luke Weaver, who, I mean, when they save a game, it's clean. He's going to make you sweat a little bit. I think that over 20 years we got, we really got spoiled. With Mariano Rivera, it was either over in an instant if he blew it or it was going to be 1, 2, 3, where they didn't have a chance. This guy works. The Milwaukee people say you look at his whip, it doesn't tell you that, but he has a lot of sweaty saves. So I think he's got the stuff to do it. And right now you probably are gonna have Luke Weaver for six weeks. So it's Devin Williams for those six weeks.

[Don Hahn]

I didn't like the comment, you know, just questioning like the number of media in the room. I know they're an analytically driven team and analytics don't believe in clutch. They don't believe in do. They don't seem to believe in pressure. But are these players properly vetted? We saw it with Sonny Gray that, hey, you got the numbers, you got the ability. But you know what? It's New York. There's going to be media, there's going to be scrutiny. And are you prepared for that? Do they vet this enough? Does Brian Cashman vet enough that these players are ready for this kind of a spotlight?

[Rick DiPietro]

Fair question.

[Michael K]

Well, they do. What's funny is they do, but they believe that everything is overridden by the numbers, that the numbers will win out, talent will always win out. So if they say this guy's got the talent to succeed, even if he is Joey Gallo, and they think there might be an issue, that they feel that talent will always supersede any kind of other issue. Sometimes it does. But let's look at this. Carlos Rodan looked like an odd fit in that first year, and now he's the guy who's actually sitting down and giving Devin Williams advice on how to deal with all of this. So, you know, after a while, maybe talent does win, but do you have three years like Carlos Rodan had had six years to make it work, but the first year it just didn't look like it was going to work at all. But his stuff and his bulldog in this, that one out, and now he seems very, very comfortable here. I actually think Devin Williams is going to be one and done. He's. He's a free agent at the end of the year. I think the Yankees have learned that we're not going to pay big money for closer because, look, we can make anybody. We made Luke Weaver a great closer. They just have a way about relievers. I don't think they're going to, you know, tell Devin WILLIAMS, okay, here's five years, $50 million. Even if he had a great year, I just don't think that's going to be the case anymore.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It's such a great point about Radon, too. Like, really is. He's a totally different person and maybe just took a. Took a minute from the. Figure it out and just get comfortable with the surroundings. A guy that seems real comfortable. Michael is jazz chisel. Like, he just seems like. And I know coming from the Marlins coming to the Yankees is. Is like really playing in the majors, but the fact that he is a guy that, okay, he's used to being second base, he was second base, but it seems like dj, that's his best spot. So, okay, I'll go back to third. Whatever the team needs. I know some fans don't. Might not like the show showmanship and the way he is, but he just seems to be a guy who gets it when it comes to not just being a Yankee, playing in New York, but just understanding, like, wherever they need me, that's where I'll play. And since he's come back, it just feels like he has added that. That personality once again. What. What more can you tell me about Jazz Chisholm? Just not as a player, but what he has been as a Yankee since he's gotten here when it comes to just being willing to do whatever they need him to do.

[Michael K]

Well, the best thing I could tell you, Alan, he's. He's joyful. I mean, he's one of these guys that gets what a great life this is, you know, and you mentioned the Marlins. He's. He's gone from playing in front of 6,000 people for games that don't matter to playing in front of 40, 45,000 every single game. Even on the road. The Yankees, you know, have sellout. So, I mean, it's just a different energy and a different aura now. He has not hit the way they want him to hit. I mean, he's hit for power, but he's still hitting in the 180s, which is one of the 10th lowest batting averages in the American League right now. He's got to be better than that. But his willingness to do anything to win and the fact that all of his teammates like him, he's like that rambunctious, adorable little brother. They all like him a lot. And, you know, you said, you know, some people might not like the swag and all that. Well, I'm sorry. Welcome to 2025. That's the professional athlete in 2025.

[Don Hahn]

All right. He slowed down a little bit, Michael, but God, Judge. It just. It's amazing. Everything we dreamed about all those years. Can he stay healthy? What would it look like playing a full season? And now we're seeing it now just how special this guy is. I know he doesn't have the ring and he can't answer those questions to till October, but it must be just an absolute joy to watch this guy play day in and day out.

[Rick DiPietro]

Oh, no. Oh, no.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Speechless. Great. Such a great question. He's gonna ponder it. I guess we lost.

[Don Hahn]

Wow.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That's a good question, though.

[Don Hahn]

That was just more of an observational kind of thing.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, but I. I was thinking also of bringing up to him the. If Ohtani was in the American League, doing what he's doing now, him and Judge, it's like, who would be the mvp?

[Don Hahn]

And I was talking with Grass of Today. Grass of filled in for you.

[Rick DiPietro]

Love the grass.

[Peter Rosenberg]

He's a Big grass of fan.

[Don Hahn]

Just what was my.

[Michael K]

Very sorry guys. I don't know. I don't know what happened. Guys, I'm sorry. I'm back.

[Don Hahn]

That's all right. Listen, things happen.

[Michael K]

So you were asking about Judges and while I was doing the prep work, this jumped out of me. Unbelievable stat. So in the history of baseball, Judge is now the second guy to have a.380 or more batting average and 20 more home runs for the 60 team games. The other guy is Mickey Mantle. He did in 1956 and won the Triple Crown. I mean when people say he's one of the greatest right handed hitters of all time. Oh no, he's not. The numbers say he is. He's doing stuff that's never been done before ever. And if it's been done, it's been done by the Mantles or the Roots or the Ted Williams. It's unbelievable what he's doing. It's hard to believe that you're watching it.

[Peter Rosenberg]

There are numbers that say he is the greatest right handed hitter in the sport ever.

[Michael K]

Right.

[Peter Rosenberg]

The numbers do say that. Stacked up against history, right? So it's, I don't think it's hyper, I don't think it's hyperbole, I don't think it's, it's, you know, Yankee glasses. I think it's just a real thing and it's okay to acknowledge a real thing.

[Michael K]

Yes, it's a real thing. And if people that don't like the Yankees, nobody doesn't really like, dislike Aaron Judge.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Right.

[Michael K]

I mean I think, I think a lot of people on baseball are enjoying what he's doing. Not against their team but, but just to watch a guy do that.

[Peter Rosenberg]

So Michael, with that in mind, a caller had an interesting question and I'm curious how you'd feel about it because obviously Ohtani was once in the American League, but now with the Dodgers, he's in the National League. They both were MVPs last year. His 50, 50 is historic. But Judge also historic as well. If they're both like, like, if they're like any other sport where there's one MVP in a season, which one gets it?

[Michael K]

Well, it happened once where Ohtani got it. I think that when Ohtani pitches and does that, he probably wins because of the completeness of what he does. But when he's just a DH and Judge is playing like last year center field or this year right field, he's going to win. Because when you're only playing half the game and I'm not a Guy who doesn't think that DHS should win mvp. I think they should be able to because it's a position. But when it's close between that guy and a guy who plays a position well, how do you not give it to the guy who plays the position well? It's a stolen bases, the variable. Well, the stolen bases. But he's still, he's playing half the game. So he's unbelievable. But he's hitting around.300. The 50 homers, 50 stone bases. Unbelievable. But he's not contributing in the field at all while Judge is. But when he becomes the pitcher, I think that's a tiebreaker in his favor.

[Don Hahn]

And you know what frustrates me And I was talking about this, I was mentioning it before you came back on with Dan Grassett. Now, Major League Baseball didn't know the Knicks were going to make a run, but they do know that the NBA playoffs are going on, hockey playoffs, a lot going on early in Major League Baseball season that after Today the combined nine or 10 matchups between the Mets, Yankees and Dodgers will be over before June 6th.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Great point.

[Don Hahn]

You couldn't spread this around a little bit. And then the one Sunday night baseball game was obscured in New York because you know the Yankees are playing the Dodgers going up against the Knicks. I mean couldn't you spread this around? You finally have a matchup between the Yankees and the Dodgers and then with the Mets too because of the fact that they played in the league championship series last year. It just seems silly that tomorrow those matchups will be over until the postseason.

[Michael K]

Well, you're the second person that brought that up to me and it does make you think, I mean Major League Baseball does make out the schedule. They don't do it out of a hat.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Right.

[Michael K]

You know when the NBA playoffs are, you know when the NBA finals are. Why are you putting marquee games that everybody would be watching and yearning to watch against marquee events for another sport? It doesn't make sense. Why can't you wait for Mets, Dodgers and Yankees Dodgers until July when the NBA is dolphing in Cancun? What are you doing? It's just bad job.

[Rick DiPietro]

And then if you're going to do it, how about we put all of those games on apps and don't allow any regular fans to watch in their local market.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Let's make you chase them on the stream.

[Don Hahn]

The reason I brought it up because it's a gift. I brought up yesterday. It's a gift. You've got two of the best players in baseball and you know what Michael? 50 years from now they might still be in the conversation of the greatest players to ever play the game. One playing in New York, the other playing in la. You couldn't write a script better than that.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Michael K]

And you know what? So the Sunday night game between the Yankees and the Dodgers, I think it has the highest rating 2 million of Sunday night baseball in a very long time. So imagine what it would be if it's not up against the NBA playoffs. It's silly scheduling. It just doesn't make sense. You're not locked into a specific nine for interleague playoffs anymore. You're not, you could play because every single day there's an Italy game because there's 15 teams in each league. It's dumb to do a short sighted and I just don't understand why it's done. And Peter, I know you were joking, but it seems like, you know the three games the Dodgers played against the Mets Fmy didn't have one of them. Didn't have one. The three games the Dodgers played the Yankees. Yes. Didn't have one game. It's not fair to the regional sports networks which carry the freight the whole year and it's not fair to the fans. This is not a knockout on the, on the national broadcasters who are there because they're the best. But you go through the whole season with Gary, Ron and Keith, you go through the whole season with me, Paul o' Neill, David Cohen and all of the others. And all of a sudden the biggest games, you don't get a chance to listen to them or watch them. We know that that's the rules of engagement in the playoffs. I get it, you signed up for that. But to take those games away from the local broadcasters who talk to the fans all year, again, very, very unfair. And I'm not talking about me, I'm talking about Gary, Rona, Keith as well. I'm talking about the Dodger Castro's as well. It makes sense.

[Rick DiPietro]

And even more so the fans because you know, as much as we can tell people to get with the times, blah, blah, blah, blah. The fact is it is a heavy ask to have this many different places and they expect you to have a cable system that includes the local sports network. It's just a huge ask. And to have people not be able to see any of those games or maybe just get to see the Sunday night baseball, it's to me it's not seeing the forest through the trees for the, through this league.

[Peter Rosenberg]

All right, well Michael, go ahead, finish your thought.

[Michael K]

No no, you go. There you go. Well, I know the one heavy ask to the fans is the apple, because a lot of people don't have Apple. Everybody has Fox and everybody has espn, but the Apple game is. That's a tough ass for people. And I understand baseball is going to go into streaming and maybe the ESPN package gets picked up by Apple. Who knows? But at this point, not everybody has Apple.

[Don Hahn]

Right. And Roku's ask is almost like asking.

[Peter Rosenberg]

To kill somebody Sunday morning. I mean, what are we doing?

[Rick DiPietro]

That's. I mean.

[Peter Rosenberg]

So, Michael, I know you're. You're knee deep in baseball right now, so I thought you'd be relieved to know this news that Aaron Rodgers has informed the Steelers he's going to go to Pittsburgh tomorrow and sign before next week's minicamp.

[Michael K]

I'm so happy.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Your thoughts.

[Michael K]

I don't know if I've ever been happier because that means the McAfee interview is still on because I'm sure the Steelers are going to tell them not to do. Just brings verve and happiness to all of us, I think. Gives us copy, gives us content.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Our long national nightmare is finally over. Yes, Aaron Rodgers has a team.

[Don Hahn]

Rogers, if you thought there was going to be a.

[Michael K]

Before you guys let me go, can I do one thing, one thing that I'm so jealous of that we didn't do when I was on the show? All right, so I'll say something. Let's see if you guys follow me. You know, I was talking to Aaron Judge downstairs.

[Don Hahn]

Oh.

[Michael K]

Drop. Oh, I love that you're a fan. Fight mostly when Peter talks.

[Rick DiPietro]

No, mostly Alan.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You know, it started because apparently I name drop as all I'm doing is telling a little story. By the way, I noticed that Michael would tell stories. Nobody ever did this. You guys never reacted well. But when it's me, I have become the redheaded stepchild on this show.

[Don Hahn]

But the problem, Michael, is, is that you're big on telling stories but never telling us who's the one that that said it even like texts about me. Right.

[Michael K]

Because I'm a weasel.

[Rick DiPietro]

Yeah. A bad guy.

[Peter Rosenberg]

So is that. Wait, wait, is that. Is that the play? Can you teach me the ways.

[Don Hahn]

So you're supposed to say this is a prominent thing.

[Peter Rosenberg]

So I just. A prominent movie star. A prominent.

[Michael K]

I spoke to somebody in the NBA. I'm not gonna tell you the name because I gave them anonymity so that they could be very frank with me. All of a sudden, you sound like you're locked in. But if you go, oh, I spoke to John Starks. And you get the name Dr. I make you look bad, Alan.

[Rick DiPietro]

At this point, I have to do it either way. And with Allen, the real humor in it began. Because the truth is, they really weren't name drops. No, they were, like, pretty. And I say this respectfully to these wonderful people. A fairly mediocre name drop.

[Don Hahn]

Wait a second.

[Rick DiPietro]

People you'd expect to see in the garden.

[Peter Rosenberg]

What are you talking about?

[Rick DiPietro]

He'd be like, you know. Oh, you'll never believe. I ran into Alan Houston at the game. It's like, well, no, I can believe it drop. You still have to hit it.

[Michael K]

Where's that drop from?

[Rick DiPietro]

It's a beastie voice.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Beastie boys. Yeah, it's the midst of a song.

[Michael K]

It's so good, but it is so good.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You see how I'm treated here, though, Mike, I don't get it.

[Michael K]

I think you're a delight. What a great addition to lose me and to get you. I mean, it's a plus.

[Rick DiPietro]

It's a win. Win.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It feels really sarcastic.

[Rick DiPietro]

No, it's. It's. It's traction and addition by addition because.

[Michael K]

I know it makes Don and Peter happier.

[Rick DiPietro]

Oh, yeah.

[Michael K]

And that should make the listeners happier.

[Don Hahn]

That's it. You can. You can feel it.

[Rick DiPietro]

You can sense.

[Michael K]

Did you guys hear what I said on my show? Let's see if John Winthrop actually swings it around a little bit. You know, Met fans have been very nasty to me about the Soto stuff. Very nasty. And I just said that Dthorn Rothenberg are having their big thing on the 12th at Citi Field.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Big thing.

[Michael K]

And at 11:30, I said, give me my show off. I'll be there. Let Met fans come and say it in my face.

[Don Hahn]

Now, as you know, I was. I was. I'm here early. I heard.

[Michael K]

Yes, on the roof.

[Don Hahn]

I heard you say that. He's on the roof.

[Rick DiPietro]

He is on the roof, guy. Yeah. The roof is on fire. Don doesn't care.

[Don Hahn]

He's there anyway. And we know the ceiling is the roof. I. I told John, and the answer is no.

[Michael K]

Why?

[Rick DiPietro]

But he doesn't want him to do it.

[Don Hahn]

Nope, not gonna happen.

[Michael K]

The show's not even on 880 that day. This one, by the way.

[Peter Rosenberg]

By the way, banned city field.

[Rick DiPietro]

I don't want to tell John how to do his job.

[Peter Rosenberg]

No, but you will.

[Rick DiPietro]

But I'm going to, because, listen, I love John. I've been a radio longer. I'm older than John. I'm gonna tell you the truth. That's not seeing the forest through the trees. A random Michael K Show on 1050 in the app or CB radio, whatever we're on that day. That doesn't make as much. That doesn't make as much noise as Michael K. Is heading to Citi Field to engage one on one with. That's a story that's marketing.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Michael K. Colon, come at me, bro.

[Rick DiPietro]

Yes.

[Don Hahn]

Let me throw this out. Let me throw this out because I've got the next day off because I'm taking the families. I am going to wait. Say what the Ringo Starr.

[Michael K]

You kids are going to see Ringo? Stellar.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Well, no, he's going. The kids have to come along.

[Don Hahn]

Why not? You don't think that's going to be cool? Please tell their.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Continue with Star.

[Don Hahn]

He's 85, for God's sake.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Continue with the convenience.

[Don Hahn]

I'm not buying Green banana. I volunteer on the arm.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Here we go.

[Don Hahn]

I will. I will fill in for you. So there's no fiscal. There's no fiscal reason why it can't happen.

[Rick DiPietro]

I will do on the K show.

[Don Hahn]

On the arm one to three and then do our solo.

[Rick DiPietro]

You get.

[Michael K]

Are you sure?

[Don Hahn]

Because the late Ruth Buzzy is no longer with us, so they can't get somebody to fill in.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I've already been told that's already a no.

[Rick DiPietro]

Wait, you've been told that's no.

[Don Hahn]

What?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, you alone. We can't have that.

[Rick DiPietro]

Yeah, that's the end of the radio.

[Michael K]

They never. They never trusted Don alone.

[Don Hahn]

You never know what he's going to do.

[Rick DiPietro]

He'll do hockey. He'll just do two hours.

[Don Hahn]

That's all. He could do Stanley Cup. But Michael, that's offer. Well, how do they say no?

[Rick DiPietro]

I can't.

[Don Hahn]

One to three.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I'll tell you what.

[Michael K]

And Alan, think about the drama because there could be confrontations. And I know I've got the guy who loves me more than anybody next to me. And Rick.

[Rick DiPietro]

That's right.

[Michael K]

If anybody comes at me, Rick rips their head off.

[Rick DiPietro]

Right.

[Michael K]

Throws a red solo up down their neck.

[Rick DiPietro]

Well, that's right.

[Don Hahn]

Remember when they almost arrested you at Yankee Stadium and our program director at the time said, no, do it. It'll be great for the station.

[Michael K]

That was Shea Stadium. That was Shay Stadium.

[Rick DiPietro]

You know what this makes you think? This. This Don's Don's most popular current phrase. Couldn't be more true.

[Michael K]

Oh, I know what it is. Can I say it? Go ahead. We had a meeting today. 1, 2, 3, let's be good.

[Don Hahn]

That's it.

[Rick DiPietro]

1, 2, 3, let's be a brawl at City Field. With Michael K. Michael K. And Rick D. Pietro.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Here's exactly now, the radio. Way to do it then. If I'm following along correctly.

[Don Hahn]

Go ahead.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Michael just doesn't show up for his show.

[Rick DiPietro]

I love it.

[Peter Rosenberg]

And goes right to the field anyway.

[Rick DiPietro]

What are they going to do?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Rebellious, defiant. I told you what I was doing. If there's nobody on the air, that's on you.

[Don Hahn]

Let me ask you that. If that happened, what would they do?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Well, they're not firing.

[Don Hahn]

Can you come out at one o' clock, Don? Can you do case show?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Wait, Don, you're here already? You got to. Joe, you got to jump on. Michael's at Citi Field. He. He didn't listen.

[Michael K]

You know what? I hate to do this, guys. I hate to do it, but if Winthrop the pinhead suit says no, then I'm going to the owners of Good Karma.

[Don Hahn]

Oh, we've got that kind of swing.

[Michael K]

I'm gonna go to Karmadon and Paul Cena and then say, let's be great, guys. Let's do this for the people.

[Rick DiPietro]

I love what you're doing here.

[Don Hahn]

This is big. And then you know what? You know what's great about it? Then they call John with the idea. John. Be like, that's such a great idea, boss.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Let's do it.

[Rick DiPietro]

I can't believe you had such a great idea.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Done.

[Don Hahn]

I'll do it.

[Rick DiPietro]

You got it, boss.

[Peter Rosenberg]

We have this idea.

[Don Hahn]

I'll call Don. I'll get Don on.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You gotta fill in so Michael can do this. But see, the more we do, the more this comes up, you know? Now fans. Now Met fans are gonna be like, I want a piece of cake. I'm gonna go. I'm gonna be there. He better be there. You better be there.

[Don Hahn]

K. Yeah, this.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You know, that's coming.

[Rick DiPietro]

This has to happen now.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Now it has to happen.

[Don Hahn]

You know what? I'm gonna take it. It's gonna happen.

[Rick DiPietro]

There you go.

[Don Hahn]

They're not gonna come in at one.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I got a hot take. More people show up to Battle K than they do to see dnr.

[Rick DiPietro]

Yeah, it might steal the day.

[Don Hahn]

We don't want that. We want. We don't want any shade at their.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It's still a lot of people.

[Rick DiPietro]

Yeah. Either way, they'll keep the people. That's great.

[Peter Rosenberg]

A lot of people.

[Rick DiPietro]

I love this. Michael, you know what?

[Michael K]

Most of the Twitter. The Twitter top guys, they're. They're lambs when it comes to personal confrontation. I'm ready.

[Don Hahn]

All right.

[Rick DiPietro]

Damn right you are.

[Don Hahn]

And you can handle yourself.

[Michael K]

I'd like you to be there, too, Don, because I don't think Rothenberg would help.

[Rick DiPietro]

No, you would need.

[Peter Rosenberg]

All right, now. Now I see what happened there. I knew this was coming.

[Rick DiPietro]

What do you mean? He wants to. Now he wants to be there, too, Don. Yeah. I want to be there with you. I want to be near you.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I need you with me, Don.

[Rick DiPietro]

I want to be with you one whole time.

[Peter Rosenberg]

See, Peter, I knew it was coming eventually. Yeah.

[Don Hahn]

You got a problem.

[Rick DiPietro]

It would land over there, man.

[Don Hahn]

You got the gig first, you got the job.

[Rick DiPietro]

As a wise man once said, first.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It was, I'll fill in for you, and now it's, no, I need you by me.

[Rick DiPietro]

Let me. I'm gonna ask you. I'm gonna ask you something real quick, Michael.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Guys don't even, like, hide it.

[Rick DiPietro]

My two gutless co hosts won't answer, Michael, but I know you will. Any. Any surprise that the Trump Musk relationships exploded this quickly?

[Michael K]

Wow.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Click.

[Michael K]

No, I want. I want to talk about this. This is unbelievable. The ramifications worldwide is unbelievable.

[Rick DiPietro]

Yeah. My wife lost money today on Tesla. It's the. The market's going crazy.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You guys know this is all a cartoon, right? All of it. The whole thing's a car.

[Rick DiPietro]

But, by the way, I love cartoon.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I know. It's just here for.

[Michael K]

I want. You know what?

[Rick DiPietro]

Go ahead.

[Michael K]

I was thinking about this with Alan. You know, obviously, he has an issue with me and. Don't. Alan. If Alan was Angelina Jolie, sure, he would be pestering Brad Pitt about Jennifer Aniston. Yeah, you're Angelina Jolie. You got Brad Pitt.

[Rick DiPietro]

That's right. You already know Brad Pitt. Yeah.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Listen, you never trust him. Never.

[Rick DiPietro]

Yeah. Never.

[Don Hahn]

Oh, my God.

[Rick DiPietro]

It's very telling, isn't it?

[Don Hahn]

It's sad.

[Michael K]

Peter, why can't you help with this?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Listen, he only encourages. He makes it worse.

[Rick DiPietro]

I try to make it worse because I. I'm just learning what makes Allen crazy. The idiosyncrasy. Like, you know, for you, Michael, I learned over nine years what made you and Don crazy. Now I have a new co host, Alan. I'm learning what makes him crazy. One of the things is he's insecure, particularly about Don. He doesn't worry about me so much. He knows I'm a rogue agent. But Don.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Oh, yeah, you have no loyalty to anybody but yourself.

[Rick DiPietro]

He knows I'm out for a. I actually respect that. Yeah. But Don, he thinks, is secretly still pining for you, and it gets to him. So, yeah, I just encourage Don.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Don's got the buyers Me, remorse going right now. That's. That's, that's. That's what I'm feeling.

[Michael K]

Yeah, well, I think you're probably right, but I mean, it is what it is, you know, not the guy big.

[Don Hahn]

Like I had a say in any.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Well done.

[Don Hahn]

But Michael, enjoy your game tonight.

[Michael K]

Enjoy Ringo Star. Why do you laugh?

[Don Hahn]

He's a legend.

[Rick DiPietro]

It's just a legend.

[Michael K]

But why would your two adorable children care about Ringo Starr?

[Don Hahn]

They do.

[Rick DiPietro]

They care about Ringo solo. Ringo do.

[Peter Rosenberg]

They listen.

[Don Hahn]

They care about whatever you're gonna tell.

[Michael K]

Your kids when he starts to sing. No, no, no, no. I don't know more.

[Don Hahn]

What does that mean, Daddy? Oh, the questions. You know that your kids were seven and a half. The questions are fascinating.

[Michael K]

What are the answers, Don? What's the answer when they ask you that?

[Don Hahn]

Oh, you'll love this quickly, because we've gone rogue here.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It's off the.

[Don Hahn]

Because Marco plays mlb, the show. And you know that you got to play in the minor league. He's got infatuation of all baseball players, Ronnie Mauricio. And he's asking me what's. And like, how am I supposed to know what he's doing in Syracuse. But then he's been called up and I think he's over eight with like, you know, seven strikeouts. But, yeah, he loves.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That's because I'm not hitting it before him. I'm not setting them up.

[Don Hahn]

So if I Ringo Starr. No movement. You know, Ronnie Mauricio, the kids going nuts.

[Michael K]

There you go. Well, he should have called, Uncle Michael. I would have said he was 8 for 15 and three games at triple A. But Daddy didn't know that.

[Don Hahn]

Oh, boy, you might have made that up.

[Michael K]

That was what he was.

[Don Hahn]

How cool is it, though? Seriously? Because we saw you at the game, the Nick game, and you brought Charlie and I know your heart is black and you've given up fandom the second that 77 World Series was over. But do you find it coming back when you see him getting into it? Don't you find it's rekindling your fandom a little bit?

[Michael K]

Absolutely. And I took him to game two and game five, and when they lost game two, right. Was sitting there and he burst into tears.

[Rick DiPietro]

Oh, man.

[Michael K]

So I don't want my son ever being unhappy. So I started to root for the Knicks big time. I wanted them to win so my son wouldn't cry.

[Don Hahn]

You didn't give him.

[Michael K]

You got act like a mouth, told him to get real. No, I said, get real. This doesn't matter to you okay? You don't make any money off it. No, we don't.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That was my dad. That's literally my dad. My dad. I would get furious. I just stomp up the stairs mad. And he would say, hey, you know, there's another season. They're going to play again next year. It's not like his whole thing was, like, matter of fact about it.

[Don Hahn]

Let him be, Michael.

[Michael K]

What I really. What I banged home on him was, Charlie, if you do really poorly on a test, Jalen Brunson doesn't care.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That is true.

[Don Hahn]

That is so true. All right, we got an answer from John. When? Oh, on me filling in for you and you being allowed to go over to Citi Field.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It better not be that I have to host because I'm out.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah, he said we'll see.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Oh, that's an. That's. I'm all set.

[Michael K]

We'll see when Craig and Steve tell him to do it.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Michael swinging it now.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah. Let's make this happen. I love when you make people feel. I've been telling you to swing it.

[Michael K]

Michael's second 22 years.

[Rick DiPietro]

He's seconds from calling Winthrop pig vomit. I mean, it's right there.

[Don Hahn]

Like calling John's wife. Right?

[Rick DiPietro]

I mean, unbelievable.

[Michael K]

Calling John's ex wife. That's what I'll do.

[Don Hahn]

Oh, too soon?

[Michael K]

Yeah. Yeah, I went there.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, you did.

[Michael K]

I went. No, it's not too soon.

[Don Hahn]

All right, enjoy your game, man. Thanks. This was fun. We should make this a weekly.

[Michael K]

Bye, guys.

[Don Hahn]

All right. That's the great Michael K. That was. That was fun. We destroyed the clock.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Was it a lot of fun, by the way? A lot of fun.

[Rick DiPietro]

But for the record, should it be a week later in baseball season? Kind of should.

[Don Hahn]

I don't know. I think he'll. Alan will go into a fetal.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You guys want me to step out?

[Rick DiPietro]

Don, you and I will do it. And not sure he's going to charge us 20 grand, but we can get it done.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah, then that'll happen. And then it's off.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Hey, guys, you see randomly Gary Payton walking into New York City, Right?

[Don Hahn]

It's really gone bad for Gary on the news. All right. I'm not even going to explain where we just went.

[Rick DiPietro]

This is an ad by BetterHelp for Mental Health Awareness Month. BetterHelp surveyed 1600 people across 23 countries for its first ever State of Stigma report and found that while 75% of people believe it's wise to seek support, only 27% of Americans are in therapy. When people hesitate to get help. It doesn't just affect them, it impacts families, workplaces and entire communities. Let's encourage everyone to take care of their well being and break the stigma. The world is better when people are healthy and happy. With over 35,000 therapists, BetterHelp is the world's largest online therapy platform, having served over 5 million people globally. It's convenient too. You can join a session with the click of a button, helping you fit therapy into your busy life, plus switch therapists at any time. We're all better with help. 72% of BetterHelp members report a reduction in symptoms. Visit betterhelp.com timeout to get 10% off your first month of therapy. That's betterhelp.com timeout.

[Don Hahn]

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[Rick DiPietro]

Race the rudders.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Raise the sails.

[Don Hahn]

Raise the sails.

[Rick DiPietro]

Captain, an unidentified ship is approaching.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Over. Roger, wait. Is that an enterprise sales solution?

[Don Hahn]

Reach sales professionals, not professional sailors.

[Peter Rosenberg]

With LinkedIn ads, you can target the.

[Don Hahn]

Right people by industry, job title and more. We'll even give you a $100 credit on your next next campaign. Get started [e-mail] results. Terms and conditions apply.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Rick DiPietro]

I didn't listen to anything you just said.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Catch the show on demand whenever you want.

[Michael K]

Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts.

[Don Hahn]

The ESPN New York Beach Bash is back Friday, June 27th at Bar A in Lake Lake Como, New Jersey. Head down to the Jersey Shore, join Michael K Show and also us. We'll be live there from 1:00 clock with an appearance from dpa, Joe Rothenberg, Bart Carlin and more. So they won't be doing their shows but they'll be there. But we'll be live from 1 to 6:30 that day because there is a Met game but we could be hanging out way past 6:30. It's going to be a lot of fun. We'll have plenty of giveaways for the fans in attendance and there's going to be plenty of music as well as suit and Mai Tai and Overboard are going to be there. That's all brought to you by Yingling Traditional Lager, Deep Eddy Vodka, also Scherhofer Spike Aid, Wild Fork Meat and Seafood Market and the New Jersey Lottery. You must be 21 years of age or older to participate. So sure for Hoffer is going to be there. That's a mouthful but I'm telling you, everybody seems to be loving it.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Oh yeah.

[Don Hahn]

So we're looking forward to doing that coming up on the 27th. Mets 43 in the bottom of the fifth inning. So Peterson gave a bunch of runs back in the third after the Mets took a 4 nothing lead. Marte with a home run, Alonzo with another home run. So Mets trying to take three out of four from the Dodgers and then they go out to Colorado. So we'll see what the Mets are going to do. That game is on 880 if you're interested in that. Let's hear from you. 1-800-919-3776 let's go to Dave in the car. You're on ESPN New York. What's up Dave?

[Michael K]

Hey, what's up guys? Thanks for having me on. I want to throw a devil's advocate type of scenario out there about what just happened with the Knicks, but I don't think it's too far fetched. So just follow me.

[Don Hahn]

Sure.

[Michael K]

Everyone knows Nazi Johnson asked for his coach to be fired. He wanted Pat Riley. He goes on to win championships. Magic, you know, he's one of the greatest ever do it. But he backed it up with play. And then recently today I heard, oh God, Han, who's your former Bart? Yes. They asked Bart has he ever seen someone with power on a team get someone fired? He's like, yeah, we're out partying with the owner and Ray Lewis just said, I want Belloc out of here. And that's exactly how he got fired. So now if you. If the heaviest hand in the locker room is Brunson, even though he answered the question at the end of losing to the Indiana Pacers, if it is found out that he was someone who was in favor of that. I'm not saying he is. I'm just saying if it's ever found out in the next year that he was the one pushing that agenda, there's an immense amount of pressure added to him. As someone who's supposed to be the man in New York in sports, what are your thoughts on that? Could that be a reality? Because I don't care what people say about Towns and the other guys. No, no, no. This is Brunson's team. I would think he might have had something to say. What are your thoughts?

[Peter Rosenberg]

My thoughts are. Dave, take the tinfoil hat off. This is one of the craziest conspiracy theories I've ever seen.

[Don Hahn]

Which.

[Rick DiPietro]

What am I missing? Is he just saying, is there a.

[Peter Rosenberg]

World Dave was creating, like this hypothetical of what if Brunson was the one who said Tibbs has got to go? And I'm just saying. But is he saying that's not accurate?

[Rick DiPietro]

There is a world in which Brunson was like, hated it, but also was like, I get it.

[Don Hahn]

Right?

[Rick DiPietro]

But in public, he goes, of course not. That's my coach. In private, he goes, guys, I love him, but if everyone here thinks he's not the fit it. I'm not going to throw a tantrum.

[Don Hahn]

Asked for that.

[Peter Rosenberg]

No, no, no. Dave's saying what Bart suggested that Ray Lewis did was went to the owner and said, get rid of.

[Rick DiPietro]

No, he needs it. So.

[Don Hahn]

Meaning?

[Rick DiPietro]

Meaning he would be the world's biggest.

[Don Hahn]

Phony of all time.

[Rick DiPietro]

Like, he's literally lying through his teeth.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Jalen Brunson is. Is not.

[Rick DiPietro]

That's not his vibe.

[Peter Rosenberg]

And I don't think. Yeah, so that's why I just said it's a conspiracy theory. That is something that you might want to make up as a hypothetical. This just shows you, though, how no one can figure out why. Right? Like, as many people that called and said, Tibbs sucks and Tibbs has got to go. How many more people have been calling us since this has happened? And instead of saying, like, how many have we had calls from people that are celebrating this? Everybody's completely thrown off by it. Everybody. So they're trying to come up with what it could be, what did it. And I'm telling you, it was a group of the main players, had exit interviews. And the prevailing belief was. And there was. There was already a faction of people that didn't think that Tibbs could take the team any further. And I'm not talking about players. I'm talking about people within the organization. And so enough conversations were put together to say, if this isn't really headed in the right direction, maybe we should do this now instead of wait.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah.

[Peter Rosenberg]

And so they did it.

[Don Hahn]

But nobody wants to have nuance. It's, he got the coach fired.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Right.

[Don Hahn]

Messier got the coach fired. Magic got the coach fired. Kid got the coach fired. Like there's a bunch of players, but significant players are gonna have a say. And there's a big difference between the BART story. When Ray Lewis, one of the biggest names in the sport, says, I want Billock out at a party, that's way out there. That's wrong. It shouldn't be done that way. But most of the time it's probably done. Hey, we're thinking about making a change. What do you think? I'm all for it. I think we should do it. Or I love the guy, but I think we can do better. Isn't that different that I got somebody fired, that I kick the door down and say, it's either him or me? Trade me. If you don't fire that guy. I'm not saying that doesn't happen, but most of the time, at ease. He got the coach fired. It was just all kind of. Just part of the process. I don't think Jalen has shown any time to be a phony, to be a liar, to be a conniver, a schemer.

[Peter Rosenberg]

No.

[Don Hahn]

But I do know that he's all about the team. And if there's a conversation that we think we can do better, I can see Jalen being on board with that. That. Because that's what he wants to do, ultimately, is to win.

[Peter Rosenberg]

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[Don Hahn]

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[Peter Rosenberg]

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[Don Hahn]

Exclusions apply.

[Peter Rosenberg]

See details online. 25 off vacation essentials is valid in.

[Rick DiPietro]

US and Canada through June 9, 2025.

[Don Hahn]

Applies to select styles as ind price reflects discount.

[Michael K]

With a Venmo debit card, you can.

[Don Hahn]

Venmo more than just your friends.

[Michael K]

You can use your balance in so many ways.

[Don Hahn]

You can Venmo everything.

[Michael K]

Need gas? You can Venmo this.

[Don Hahn]

How about snacks?

[Michael K]

You can Venmo that.

[Don Hahn]

Your favorite band's merch? You can Venmo this or their next show?

[Michael K]

You can Venmo that. Visit Venmo Me Debit to learn more. The Venmo Master Class MasterCard is issued.

[Don Hahn]

By the Bancorp bank and a pursuant.

[Michael K]

To license by Mastercard International Incorporated. Card may be used everywhere. MasterCard is accepted.

[Don Hahn]

Venmo purchase restrictions apply. When you're on the go and it's time to refresh your energy, grab an ice cold Celsius where zero sugar, seven essential vitamins and proven ingredients meet pure refreshment. Unlike traditional energy drinks, each sip of Celsius is a perfect balance of flavor and function. So whether you're hitting the gym, the office or your next adventure, grab a.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Celsius at your local retailer or visit.

[Don Hahn]

Celsius.com to learn more.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg Podcast.

[Rick DiPietro]

I didn't listen to anything you just said.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Catch the show on demand whenever you want.

[Michael K]

Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts.

[Don Hahn]

Nestled in the heart of the Riviera Maya Fairmont Mayakopa offers a luxury escape like no other other. Ideal for travelers seeking a summer getaway, this stunning resort boasts pristine beaches, lush mangroves and world class amenities including the award winning Fairmont Spa and the world class El Cala Camaleon Golf Course. There you go. Home of the LPGA LIVE and PGA Tours. ESPN New York will be sending one lucky winner and guest to this all inclusive resort for seven days and six nights including round trip airfare, airport shuttles and a day on the golf course. For trip details and to enter, check on the ESPN New York app and find the Fairmont Mea Coppola Tile. To submit your entry, enn's coming up at the top of the hour. You don't know Mets 43 in the top of the 6th in LA trying to take 3 out of 4. See if they can hold it down. Let's get back to the calls at 1-800-919-3776. And let's talk to David. What the hell was that?

[Michael K]

I like that.

[Rick DiPietro]

Oh you see.

[Michael K]

Oh, you guys made up for the way. Thank you for the intro gentlemen.

[Rick DiPietro]

Thank you. Thank you Hollywood, Han, Donnie Pugs and Rosenberg Radio.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Hey buddy.

[Don Hahn]

Hey, how you living?

[Michael K]

Yeah man, the Knicks debacle. It's a lot man. And every we're just Getting like all these things at once. I'm just gonna sk on that.

[Rick DiPietro]

I'm a punt on that.

[Don Hahn]

We're going to talk about our Mets real quick.

[Michael K]

If we could take this series, I'm.

[Rick DiPietro]

Really confident in the way the rest.

[Michael K]

Of the season will go because we're.

[Rick DiPietro]

Only going to get better in pitching, people.

[Michael K]

And you know, we're starting to get things together. And another thing, Don, we found the ball. It's in level 300 by the Food stand.

[Rick DiPietro]

They found the polar bears.

[Michael K]

Dinger.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah, the 447 foot shot Oppo last night and he had another one oppo today. He's having such a special season and maybe you can parlay this into more money down the road, but. Yeah, no, listen, they're checking all the boxes. The Mets, one of the best teams in baseball, second best record in baseball, best record in the National League. But as you've already pulled leads against the Dodgers, it's only the sixth inning, but still you feel pretty good about it.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, and they've already proven it. Now is four months later. If they meet him again in the playoffs, will these games matter? I mean, at least there's that confidence that you can beat them.

[Don Hahn]

Well, I mean, there's got to be something to the regular season, right? You know, like a measuring stick. Like you're a Yankee fan. The Yankees are cruising. Not, not a lot to be concerned about. But you did drop two out of three to the Dodgers. So you're like, all right.

[Peter Rosenberg]

And one of them was an absolute boat race.

[Don Hahn]

And you're like, all right, listen, this is the measuring stick. These, this is the gold standard. The defending champions, the team that beat you last year, you know, so they've answered a lot of bells. But you're right. At the end of the year, at the end of the day, come October, no matter what happens, the Dodgers are going to be the team to beat and they're going to be hanging around. But right now, after today, my concern is Philadelphia and trying to win this division. None of these best of three garbage. I want to be able to sit play a best of five in the divisional round and win a division title. Sam in New Jersey. You're on espn, New York.

[Michael K]

Hey, Don. Hey, Alan. Hey, Peter. How are you guys?

[Don Hahn]

Good man.

[Michael K]

Guys, I'll be quick. Don, I have a question for you, but before I ask you that. Hey, Peter. Hi. Call you out on something? How dare you.

[Rick DiPietro]

Go ahead.

[Michael K]

How dare you disrespect a two time all star, an Olympic gold medalist, one of the purest shooters the NBA has ever seen and a guy who had a rule named after him and it wasn't even used on him.

[Rick DiPietro]

Oh, Alan Houston.

[Michael K]

Houston. There you go.

[Rick DiPietro]

No, no, I love Alan Houston. He's the man.

[Michael K]

I'm just messing with you, Peter.

[Rick DiPietro]

But I did. He was a perfect reference for like a guy you would expect to see at MSG who Alan might name drop, you see.

[Michael K]

Hey, Don, I have a question for you. Have you ever heard of the Dunning Fugar effect?

[Don Hahn]

No, I have not. What is it?

[Michael K]

Okay, so basically it says that when people want to be a part of the conversation, but they're ignorant as to what they're talking about, they tend to talk more about things. You're not going to have casual fans say, oh, you know, Tibbs is X's and O's. You know, he needs to do more picking pops than pick and rolls. They don't know what they're talking about. So when they hear that minutes thing, they latch onto it. It's all they have. And it's all misinformation. Derek Rose will tell you himself he tore his ACL because he wasn't taking care of his body. He was. He wasn't eating right. It would have snapped the game after if it didn't happen that game. It's all misinformation. And I'm really sad for Tibbs because he's a bigger Knicks fan than all of us combined. And he didn't deserve that.

[Don Hahn]

No, he didn't deserve it. I feel bad for him. That's why the $30 million he's sitting on isn't gonna do anything for him. He's a coach. He's dedicated to the game and now the opportunities are starting to dwindle. But you just nailed something I. What he called it again. But it's a great. It's a great thing. Yeah. You start to talk more about it, you start hunting for the evidence on why you're right. And the minutes thing is always gonna be out there.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Right. Easiest. And it's. What do they call it? Low hanging fruit.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It's the easy thing to pick on because. Because it's there and there's statistical data about it, but it's never been proven right. It's only.

[Don Hahn]

And that means something that you go to wrong either.

[Peter Rosenberg]

And then the worst thing that happened was Mikael Bridges said something publicly.

[Don Hahn]

Do you think the players, like now. Because the players are human. Right. So could they fall into the same thing as the fans do? Like, I'm not feeling this, coach. I'm not loving my role. So let me go to the minutes because I know I'll get people's attention.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Players always talk about this stuff. You know, players do. Players talk about this stuff. And not every coach is loved. There's always going to be guys who felt slighted by that coach if he played for him and then he's got an ax to grind forever. And everybody's got a podcast now, so they'll all say stuff and then that, that goes. Players are on social media no matter how much they say they're not and they see things on their feed and they, they listen to ex players on podcasts say things and it all gets into your brain.

[Don Hahn]

It just.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But whatever this was, man, it's. We'll find out sooner or later.

[Don Hahn]

But I, it does come across unfortunately like backstabbing because it did feel like these players loved him. And to find out that some of the players might have been in on being okay with him being gone feels like they were two faced, even though they might not have been. Alan. But it does kind of come across.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Like that from my experience because I, unfortunately I've covered for many years that I've covered sports. I've covered a lot of coaching changes based on mainly because there were a lot of bad teams that I covered. And a lot of times you will get that where players like a coach for the most part, but when they get fired, the players will give you that. You know, I feel bad for him and all that stuff, but they quickly move on because for the players it's always about what's next. I got, I'm about winning. This guy wasn't getting it done. I'm about winning. And so it's, it is how fast you will move on no matter how much you liked a coach. Like, I was stunned when Peter Laviolette lost his job with the Islanders after two seasons. Stunned. I couldn't believe it. Like this guy, it was almost the same story. Turned the franchise around, but because players were a little grumbly about how he was with them and all that stuff, you know, it's. They felt like they needed to make a change. And every player I talked to, for the most part, it was like, and all year was how much, you know, lobby this and lobby that and they really respected him. But then when he was gone, it was like, yeah, well, we're just trying to win. No, like it's unreal how this, how it can get like that. But I thought this was different here though. It felt like a family.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But not, not anymore.

[Don Hahn]

You just don't know. As tapped in as you might be, Alan, you know, me to the Rangers.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You to the Knicks, we don't know this stuff.

[Don Hahn]

This is the stuff that you really need to be in the room for, literally. And a lot of things leak out. These are the types of things that don't.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Well, things that leak out. Understand, there's people who push their agenda out, right? And it's very hard to balance it because you could hear somebody that's telling you, hey, you know, what's really going on behind the scenes is this. Nobody's. You know, and they tell you that. And the smart thing to do is to try to then, okay, let me corroborate this. Let me go and make sure this is really happening. And then if you get somebody that's like, no, no, no, that's not the story. This is the story. And now you say to yourself, well, which story do I go with or do I go with? Neither, but I need a story. So you always take the one that's gonna be the most interesting when you're a journalist. Reporter.

[Don Hahn]

Mm.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But you really never get the real story until a little bit while later. I hope eventually we will.

[Don Hahn]

Oh, it'll come out at some point.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, you believe it will. Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast. I don't want to know how the sausage is made, man. I just want to know it's good. Hear more of Don Allen and Peter.

[Don Hahn]

Weekday afternoon starting at 3 on 8.

[Peter Rosenberg]

80, ESPN, the ESPN New York app, and your smart speakers.