Alan Hahn (2:59)

People were jumping to conclusions, of course, for this all over. Right.

Peter Rosenberg (3:05)

The script. I can't believe this though. And they really do.

Alan Hahn (3:10)

Oh yeah. But it's again, it's. What. It's part of the entertainment. Of course. Right. But you were mentioning this on the other side. It's worth bringing back. We already had a caller from Idaho get mad because we were suggesting that while the championship games both were compelling in their own way, they were, they were compelling. One was weather compelling and the other one was two quarterbacks just slinging it compelling. And I still come away with it saying if you're in New York and you're a Jets fan, the Patriots being in the super bowl makes you sick to your stomach.

Peter Rosenberg (3:46)

Ah, putrid.

Alan Hahn (3:47)

But Sam Darnold being in the super bowl, kind of you, you, I don't think you feel this, this jilted way about it because it was really Minnesota that let him go. The jets let him go years ago with the decision that was, hey, we have the number two pick. We want to reset all that stuff. It shows more the Jet dysfunction. Anything else? Because maybe you recognize, hey, we have our quarterback. We're going to keep building with him. But no, of course not because the jets don't have any stability. So let's go beyond that. But you're happy for the guy because first of all, he's a good dude when he was here. Second of all, he's been through it. The whole seeing ghost thing happen against the Patriots, if you remember famously when he was a Jet and the microphones caught him saying that I'm seeing ghosts out there. And so now he gets to face them again and see if he can be, you know, he can haunt the Patriots. But.

Peter Rosenberg (4:38)

And that's only for us.

Alan Hahn (4:40)

But what else is there about this matchup? So you were saying that it doesn't really grab you and really the super bowl for the most part, like the championship games feel more like championships. Getting to the super bowl is your. Is your reward and winning the super bowl, it does. Obviously it matters the most because it's the ring everybody talks about, but you just don't seem to be into this either this matchup or the Super Bowls in general.

Peter Rosenberg (5:10)

Let me just put it this way. I make plans for championship weekend to be Home, relaxing on the couch, watching every minute of both games by myself. Because, I mean, listen, if Ballard had said, hey, I'm going to come by, sure, but. But I don't care about making plans because I'm locked into the football.

Alan Hahn (5:32)

Right.

Peter Rosenberg (5:33)

The super bowl is. Where's there a good. Where's there a good party? Where are people hanging out? Because to me, that's what the super bowl is about. Unless I have a really, you know, my team is in it, which they never are. So to me, as a football fan, I've always said this. The last day of real football was yesterday. The next thing is a spectacle. And if your team is in it, you hope they win that spectacle. Yeah, but like, I remember, even when my team was good, I remember the feeling of when the Redskins won their two championship games, Minnesota in 87 and Detroit 91. I remember thinking, that's it. Like, I, it felt like such an intense football game. And the second you get to the next thing, maybe it'll turn into a football game. But Allen, in the case of both of my team Super Bowls, it didn't.

Commercial Announcer 1 (6:33)

Yeah.

Alan Hahn (6:34)

That maybe we were in it. When we were growing up, there was a lot of bad Super Bowls. There were the 1 matchups that were exponentially better than the other. But in New York, that wasn't the case. No.

Peter Rosenberg (6:48)

Had a couple, had a classic.

Alan Hahn (6:50)

The Giants, Bills was unreal, you know, and then the two with the Patriots. Unreal endings. Right. They, they were, they were compelling. They were. Again, the last matchup between Seattle and the Patriots was a compelling ending. You know, that was, you know, jumping the route, getting the interception, that whole story.

Peter Rosenberg (7:07)

Listen, the Patriots Falcons comeback turned out to be incredibly compelling.

Alan Hahn (7:10)

Football. You can get really, you can get great games. I feel like, though, what happens is that I'm with you. I do think the super bowl does have so much else happening around it. And people that we all in our business like to call the Foofs now come in and they start asking the Foof questions of the players. And you get all that kind of craziness. You're getting a lot of former players coming in and selling things. And so they're offering interviews to sell stuff. And not a lot of those interviews are any good. It feels, again, the two week thing drags on, but I always feel like once the kickoff happens, we're all picking who we, who we think can win. We all want to be right and we're all engaged in the game. So I, I kind of. No, I don't. Kind of. I disagree with you on the fact that the super bowl is not something to look forward to. I actually, it's just to me, getting to the freaking kickoff is what I'm always about. Because the impatience of waiting two weeks while all this other foofdom happens. I can't say it's a lot of.

Peter Rosenberg (8:14)

And the caller, you know, listen, I'm being a little bit silly also. I hate when people just can't read my. My energy.

Alan Hahn (8:20)

I can't expect everyone to know very serious sports, Peter. It's very serious.

Peter Rosenberg (8:23)

It's very serious. Listen, no, I'm a hip hop fan. So yes, I do like and I happen to be. This happens to be a Cardi B household. We enjoy Cardi quite a bit. Find her very entertaining. I'm not literally spending my time waiting. I just found it sort of curious that you have a very, very famous partner and we didn't see her at all. That's all. I just found it curious.

Alan Hahn (8:47)

It was interesting that, that I didn't even notice it until you brought it up. I didn't think about it till you brought it up. So did you notice.

Peter Rosenberg (8:55)

Did you notice how many, how many like preview commercials we had for super bowl commercials?

Alan Hahn (9:00)

Well, there was.

Peter Rosenberg (9:01)

That had like. Like back to back though. It was like coming up to 8:26.

Alan Hahn (9:07)

Yeah.

Peter Rosenberg (9:07)

Like trailers for commercials.

Alan Hahn (9:09)

McConaughey was in a couple of them for ubereats. Which has become like the theme now. Right. Is that football was created to sell food. That whole thing.

Peter Rosenberg (9:17)

Yeah.

Alan Hahn (9:17)

And he's in it. Bradley Cooper's in it. That one, you know, is going to turn into a thing like it was last year. Ben Stiller and Benson Boone doing something where they're both kind of in characters. It looks a little funny is that, you know, it's going to be funny with Ben Stiller and then there's the Danny McBride. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Danny McBride and Danny McBride and Michael Key and you know, they're doing a state farm thing. So there's that. So those were, those were the ones that I recalled that look like setups for super bowl commercials that are coming and that. Come on. That's the thing about the super bowl is while all of us that are sports fans like yesterday sitting down watching NFC Championship, AFC championship, you're into football. You're watching it. Right. And everybody else that's not really die hard sports fans or interested in football are in the periphery Super Bowls when that kind of everybody now is paying attention for various reasons. And that's what makes the super bowl parties are Fun. Unless your team's in it, then you don't want to be at a Super bowl party. Correct. I don't want to be at one. If my team, like, I'm never going to know this in my lifetime. Yeah.

Commercial Announcer 2 (10:24)

I don't know.

Alan Hahn (10:25)

I won't know what it's like to have the jets in the super bowl, but. But I do know that if they're in the super bowl, there's no way in hell anybody's coming around me. I gotta stay right here, man.

Peter Rosenberg (10:34)

Here's the thing. I'll tell you the truth. My guess is, and if Don were here, we'd probably get in a fistfight about it, because God forbid, he doesn't even want to be around, like, a regular season, you know, week eight with anybody. Which is. Which is crazy because he's not even that hardcore a fan anymore. But, like, he just has. No, no. Don just doesn't have a use for a lot of people. But I'll tell you the truth. I don't know that my stance would change. I sort of feel like I will. Listen. I was in the championship game last year.

Alan Hahn (11:00)

Yeah.

Peter Rosenberg (11:00)

I watched by myself with my. With my one week old baby. That's what I did last year. And I was glad I was alone because it was a nightmare. Had they gone to the Super Bowl. I'm just being honest. Life is too short for me. If the Commanders make the Super Bowl, I would probably host people at my house. I probably would because to me, making it would be such a big. I would be celebrating that they're in the thing that, like, I get that they're even a part of the whole thing to me would be so exciting.

Alan Hahn (11:29)

One of my people. You would. Again, you wouldn't want people that are like, oh, what is that? What. Why do they do that? Right. You know, you would.

Peter Rosenberg (11:38)

I'd have.

Alan Hahn (11:38)

You don't want.

Peter Rosenberg (11:39)

I would have friends. No, no, no. I would have my. I would have my football friends.

Alan Hahn (11:43)

Yeah.

Peter Rosenberg (11:44)

None of which are Commanders fans, but all of which would be rooting for them for me. Like, no one would be rooting against me. The whole house would be like, definitely, you know what?

Alan Hahn (11:52)

I'. I couldn't have that. Yeah. I'm with. You could not.

Peter Rosenberg (11:55)

I could have. But like, Ballard. Ballard coming over, who's a Packers fan and definitively there on my side. I got no problem with that. Like, Don can't be near anyone. I. If it were the Super Bowl, I just feel like I would want to enjoy it. I. I'd be drinking with my Friend, like, Dude, I'm 46. They haven't been there since I was 12. I don't want to sit by myself alone for that.

Alan Hahn (12:16)

Just don't, all right? At least you've seen it in your lifetime. But Anthony, you actually were like a grown, functional human when you're. When the Giants were in the Super Bowl.

Anthony (12:26)

Yeah, eighth grade and then middle of high school. The first one I watched at home with my dad, of course. Second one I went over to my buddy Scott's house and we watched with like three or four people that were also very into the game. And one was a Patriots fan. So it was very satisfying to watch it happen again for the second time. But I, I don't, I don't think you can enjoy it as a fan of a team that you like if you're in it with a group. As long as there are people there that understand you're watching football like this is your team.

Alan Hahn (13:00)

I don't.

Peter Rosenberg (13:01)

You're saying you could do it, you could do it. Anthony, if there are like minded true football people with you, yes, I think that's fair. And I don't care if it were yo yos.

Anthony (13:09)

I couldn't tell you who were the halftime shows. Neither of those Super Bowls. That was the time to decompress and relax. But also, like, if people are talking about it while the halftime shows, I don't care. Like, good for you. Like, this is the time you can talk about the halftime show.

Alan Hahn (13:20)

You get up and walk away. That's when you get some, you know, you eat, you have a couple of drinks, whatever.

Peter Rosenberg (13:24)

But on the flip side, on the flip side, at a Super bowl like this, if I have people over, let's say for the super bowl, dude, Patriots. If the bad bunny part will be when now women come and sit down and everyone's like, oh, let's watch the halftime. It will be the exact opposite of if my team were in it. Yes, I'm with Anthony. I would be outside.

Alan Hahn (13:41)

Wouldn't care about bad bunny. You need to.

Peter Rosenberg (13:44)

I'd chain smoking, chain smoking yellow American spirits.

Commercial Announcer 2 (13:47)

You know what I mean?

Peter Rosenberg (13:48)

Until the game starts again.

Anthony (13:49)

But.

Peter Rosenberg (13:49)

But no, it's very different. It's all very different.

Alan Hahn (13:53)

Of course I'll never know this life. The only, the only comp that I could give you that I've seen but never didn't experience myself personally was watching my parents in 94 sit down for game seven. Rangers. Canucks. And they again, they weren't alive when the Rangers last won a Stanley Cup. At that time, Rangers last cup was in 1940. They were born after that. So they sat there and watched that game. And of course, as we all know, the epic ending, and it was a, you know, it was a bit of a nail biter, of course. And to see them and it was just the two of them that, no, they didn't want to hear from anyone. They did just. They were so focused on that game and they were so, like, emotional about it that I watched that thinking like, wow, that's. Again, I was still fairly young, so for me, I was just compelled by my parents caring about something so much. Be nice if they cared about me as much as they cared about the Rangers, but that's all I know. So only. All I can do is think if that crazy jets franchise could like, again. Rex had them on the doorstep twice. Like, that's how close it was for a minute where you thought, well, all right, after the first year, they get there, oh, they're getting in there now. They're beaten, they're beating Ben. They're getting there. And then of course they don't because of what they've been through. It's so hard to believe they could ever get back there again. But let's say they do. Like, I. That's the closest thing I could relate it to was how much that will mean. But I can see the Giants getting back there again before the jets do. So I can't relate to it at all. But it is something. So to me, that's what the super bowl really is about. It's more about your team. And for everyone else, if you're a die hard football lover, yeah, of course, you don't want to pay attention to any other pomp and circumstance. You just care about football. But for the rest of America, it's a show. It's the last show of the season for America's Got Talent. Right. That's really what's left at this point.

Peter Rosenberg (15:58)

Except it could end up terrible. Like the last episode of America's Got Talent will probably be good no matter what. You know what I mean? If you're watching Top Chef, the finale is probably gonna hit. But yeah, you don't know what the super bowl like again, though recently it has been better.

Alan Hahn (16:14)

Yes. And we've had good games now. I imagine this will be good. I still, I think this will be a good game. It'll be fun to watch. It'll be a good game. At least not to worry about weather. It should be an interesting game. 800-919377. He's gonna have two weeks to talk about it, of course, as well. Danny in Long Island. Danny, you're up next. What's up? How did things work out for you in the driveway and everything else?

Danny (16:36)

First of all, I just felt the pain of every parent who's ever raised son when Andrew said he watched the first super bowl, eighth grade at home. But as soon as he went high school, he was out the door watching with his friends, leaving the old man on the couch alone. Happened to me.

Alan Hahn (16:53)

Anthony, did you leave your dad by himself to watch that giant Super Bowl?

Anthony (16:56)

No. He was with people, too.

Alan Hahn (16:57)

He was with people.

Danny (16:58)

Well, but still. But yeah, it's still. And I don't blame it. I'm just saying your dad who raised you to be a Giant fan and you, you walked out the door, my son's at the same thing, going to steel again. They all went to big parties and stuff and I was home with just a couple of people wishing, you know, when a big moment comes, you're not, your son's not there to give you a hug. It's. It's okay. I understand. I understand. Andrew doesn't make you a bad guy.

Alan Hahn (17:15)

Wow.

Danny (17:16)

But anyway, getting back to the snow, it was, it's a blessing that Don got caught up in Seattle or whatever the heck he is, because if he would have come home and tried to shovel on three or four different occasions, which is what you had to do, he. We may have lost on.

Peter Rosenberg (17:28)

We may have lost and he better not do it tomorrow.

Danny (17:31)

Well, Alan was right. I did it during. I did it last night a couple of times. I thought I was in good shape, even though the wind was blowing and the wind blows the snow into the lowest depression. I don't want to get all richer from Manhattan, but, like, the sidewalks would fill back up, like. But then this morning it had like an eggshell on top of it to break it to get to the softer thing. And since my. Since my four manly snowblowers have all moved out and grow up, it's me on my own and I didn't have a heart attack. I managed to get it done. So listen, we got what they said we were going to get. They weren't wrong. Heads up. Kudos to the much maligned weatherman.

Alan Hahn (18:04)

Yeah.

Danny (18:05)

Couple of comments on the game.

Alan Hahn (18:06)

By the way, before you get to the comments on the game, we didn't get to this in the binge. Mike McCarthy, the new head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Commercial Announcer 2 (18:14)

Yeah.

Alan Hahn (18:15)

Danny, you're a Steelers fan. You're a well known Steelers fan. Is this what you wanted. And does this mean Aaron Rodgers might stay another year?

Danny (18:22)

I tried to come up with the appropriate quote from history, you know, I love history, but all I could come up with was a cultural reference when I to deal with the Steeler. Fans are angry today, my friends, like an old man trying to turn soup at the deli. That's all I got because now am I necessarily against McCarthy?

Alan Hahn (18:40)

No.

Danny (18:40)

Like you guys said last week, it's amazing how he doesn't get to receive. He's actually younger than Harbor. He has the same number of Sioux balls as Halbaugh. But somehow you think he's just an old fat guy because of his appearance. And if he brings back Rodgers, that's a disgrace because again, you're making decisions based on. We all saw the AFC championship. It was sad. It was sad to see a once great gladiator looking like he can't move. He's throwing the ball every three seconds because he doesn't want to hold the ball. Steelers offensive line was fine. He's old. He's done give the rookie a chance to play. After we lost Brad shaw, we went 10 years over different quarterbacks. I mean, Cordell Stewart have been the best guy we got Ken Graham starting. So you have to find the quarterback if they give the kid a chance. I'm not against McCarthy, but I'm against running it back with Rodgers. And that's, you know, enough said as far as the games are concerned. You know, we watch guys going for two, they got all kinds of strategies and then the moment kind of passed because it was a. But when the Rams scored a touchdown late in the third quarter, down five and they went for one point, made it four. Isn't at that point now that late that, you know, it's not the first quarter here. You're in the late third quarter at that point. Don't you want to go for two to make it a three point game? Because that point come back to haunt them when they had to go for on fourth down. I don't understand why there wasn't any discussion as to whether they should go for two. Because it's early a discussion at that point of the game and on the other game, it's just a good point, Dave.

Alan Hahn (20:06)

It seems like in these moments, yeah.

Peter Rosenberg (20:08)

It seems like in these moments like you get so used to them, you know, going constantly and then in a big spot where you go, hey, maybe they cut this thing to three. They don't do it and no one even mentions it.

Alan Hahn (20:18)

It's bizarre.

Peter Rosenberg (20:19)

Yeah, like that is A fair point. I mean that was a game where you could have seen Alan, you could have pictured the Seahawks and Rams scoring 24 points in the last five minutes.

Alan Hahn (20:30)

So no, no, you never know. But I wonder what if the analytics are like in the other game to go for it on fourth down instead of kicking the field goal in the second quarter. I no one brought up the analytics of going for two there late in the third versus not maybe it was just too early in the game and you just, just take the point, keep it moving, expecting to get multiple possessions before the end of the game. And you're also trying to hope that your defense will get a stop which that also didn't happen. Art Rooney did say this when it comes to after hiring McCarthy said it wasn't. There wasn't a hire about Aaron Rodgers. He said we don't know what Aaron's plans are right now. That did not weigh heavily in the decision. We'll see where Aaron is and we've left the door open, but obviously we have to sit down and see if it makes sense. So that'll happen the next month or so. Now I'm sure there's a darkness retreat or something else going on in Aaron's life right now.

Peter Rosenberg (21:27)

There's a lot. Come on.

Alan Hahn (21:28)

But it is interesting that the Steelers at least are saying the door's open. And really, if you think about it, what other options would they have at quarterback? Because they're scarce right now all around the league. Wouldn't you think? Like, like.

Commercial Announcer 2 (21:41)

Yeah.

Alan Hahn (21:42)

Would it shock you if he returns? They draft one at some point this year, but he returns as their starter. They have a relationship. It apparently is still at the very least cordial. He has spoken well of McCarthy. I remember Roger saying good things about him in the past. So why wouldn't you just do that for one more year if you have no better options?

Peter Rosenberg (22:04)

Who was. Who was Danny referring to them playing the kid.

Alan Hahn (22:09)

What do you mean?

Peter Rosenberg (22:10)

Anyone? Wasn't he saying like instead of Rogers, he wanted to see the kid play.

Anthony (22:15)

Oh, the Ohio State kid. Will Howard.

Peter Rosenberg (22:17)

Howard.

Alan Hahn (22:18)

Will Howard. Major kid.

Peter Rosenberg (22:22)

Were there was there real clamor in Pittsburgh for people to see Will Howard this year?

Alan Hahn (22:26)

I can't imagine.

Peter Rosenberg (22:29)

I mean local kid.

Anthony (22:30)

Fun story though.

Alan Hahn (22:31)

Well, sorry.

Peter Rosenberg (22:32)

No.

Alan Hahn (22:33)

So was what's his. Was it. Who was the quarterback they had before that they got from Pitt?

Peter Rosenberg (22:40)

Kenny Pickett.

Alan Hahn (22:41)

Kenny Pickett. They had him there. That didn't work out great. Local kid. He actually practiced in their facility for so many years.

Peter Rosenberg (22:46)

But they also had Dave's favorite they had Sklar Thompson there as well.

Alan Hahn (22:51)

As.

Peter Rosenberg (22:51)

He'S known as he's known by some.

Alan Hahn (22:54)

He has messed around too.

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Alan Hahn (26:22)

Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

Peter Rosenberg (26:25)

I didn't listen to anything you just said.

Alan Hahn (26:27)

Catch the show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts. Well, Peter, we have some. Some news. It's the way it was announced is very uneventful, but it was. It's news we already knew about. But the Yankees just put out a tweet saying the Yankees announced they have re signed infielder outfielder Cody Bellinger to a five year major league contract with two player opt outs. Yay. Not a very exciting kind of thing. It's like. Yeah, it's not even a photo. Like, you know, when they put up the nice photo, they give you a little graphic. The whole thing, they make it look big. It was a. It's very, very low key. They go, by the way.

Peter Rosenberg (27:14)

Heads up.

Alan Hahn (27:15)

Yeah, we did it. Hey, by the way, would there have.

Peter Rosenberg (27:18)

Been more fanfare if it had happened sooner?

Alan Hahn (27:24)

That's a good question. But I would think for the Yankees there should be some fanfare. This feels very like. It feels just very, I don't know, low key for the Yankees. But for a guy like Cody Bellinger, who's very important to them, he's very important to them. The actual account. What am I looking at?

Anthony (27:45)

Yankees PR is.

Alan Hahn (27:46)

No, no, no. This is not Yankees PR. This is at Yankees. New York Yankees, 10 minutes ago.

Peter Rosenberg (27:53)

But you're referring to Yankees PR in general, Anthony and.

Anthony (27:55)

Well, that and then Yankees PR put out the same tweet the Yankees did. And then nine minutes ago, there's a picture of Cody. It says resigned and it says belly staying in the Bronx With a fire emoji.

Alan Hahn (28:05)

This is interesting. Then why would this one. Why would this one go out of first?

Anthony (28:09)

Well, that's the. For you. They want you to know, Alan, that the.

Alan Hahn (28:13)

The praying in the Bronx with a graphic comes right after the one that is just a very standard press. Press release type tweet. Yeah, it's. It's what, two minutes after. You couldn't just wait the two minutes and put the graphic up? I don't know. We're nitpicking, aren't we? Baseball's coming, Peter. I know you're excited.

Peter Rosenberg (28:37)

I'll be there. Listen, I'll tell you one thing. Actual baseball is better than winter. Talking about baseball.

Alan Hahn (28:44)

Fair. Fair and true. Yeah. There's some interesting stuff going on in the world of the NBA. I want to go back and see what is the final score of this game we just talked about. Because it. The Sixers. Let me. Just let me. The last I told you was 104 to 57.

Peter Rosenberg (29:05)

130, 93. It went final.

Alan Hahn (29:07)

They got to 93. God bless.

Peter Rosenberg (29:09)

Yeah. It ends up being fourth quarter. It ends up being like a, you know, not an unnotable blowout, but for a while it was notable.

Alan Hahn (29:20)

Yeah. So that's. So then the Knicks went to Philly and got a win. That now puts them on their first winning streak since late December. December 27, I believe, was the last time they won consecutive games, which is sad because we're already in late January. But now they have a back to back. They play the Kings at home tomorrow, and then they play the Raptors in Toronto on Wednesday. So can they. Can they piece together some things? Did they get through something? I don't know. But that game in Philly on Saturday had good moments. Like a 30 to 13 third quarter where Brunson was great and Anoby was great. But then a finish to the game where the officiating was bad, the players made some. Some, you know, there was some poor play, there was bad free throw shooting. It was not a. Not a pretty ending, but the Knicks survived it. Yet as we get close to the trade deadline, two things that I'm noticing. One, Karathony Towns is just staying in whatever funk that he's in right now. He played 16 minutes and he fouled out. That's not a good sign. And then on top of it is this interesting report that Giannis might be close or almost fired his agent because he's frustrated because he's still in Milwaukee and, you know, he doesn't want to be there. And a great friend of mine who's a terrific NBA reporter, writer for andscape and espn, is Mark Spears. And he said that it. The belief is that Giannis played his last game in a Bucs uniform. Think about it. He's got a calf issue for another. The second time this season. He expects to be out for maybe a month, but a month isn't the end of the season. So either he's getting traded or he's going to get shut down for the rest of the season with concerns over the calf. It's gonna be interesting to see which one it is. Because if he gets traded at the trade deadline, then forget any future in New York. No chance now.

Peter Rosenberg (31:26)

This is not going the way I expected.

Alan Hahn (31:28)

What did you expect?

Peter Rosenberg (31:30)

I just mean this stage of his career. It just. I don't know.

Alan Hahn (31:36)

Championship. You thought. You thought.

Peter Rosenberg (31:39)

I guess. I guess this is what the NBA is like. It really. I mean if we're bitch. Being totally fair and I'm not some like anti NBA guy at all. I love the NBA, but you know, once you, once you win a championship, if you're not immediately competing for another. How can I get to a place where I am? I thought the way that they did Budenholzer in Milwaukee was crazy from the beginning.

Alan Hahn (32:02)

I agree. And that was a lack of.

Peter Rosenberg (32:04)

It was there and a lot of it was Giannis. And I just never understood it. It's like you, you. You've become a team that is always there. You're always in the hunt. And rather than say, let's just stay in the hunt and keep building here. If they went into panic mode because they had an unhappy star and now the whole thing's falling apart and he wants out. It's just. It's just disappointing for a guy whose story is so lovable.

Alan Hahn (32:26)

Yes.

Peter Rosenberg (32:27)

This guy who came from nothing.

Alan Hahn (32:28)

Yep.

Peter Rosenberg (32:29)

You know, in Athens and became one of the best players in the league and it's just been a kind of gradual heel turn for Giannis that it's not been what I expected.

Alan Hahn (32:38)

Well, it's his frustration of kind of what he feels like being stuck in a situation where he doesn't want to be there anymore, but he doesn't want to be the bad guy. To say I don't want to be here anymore leaves it up to his agent to do the dirty work. And his agent can't get it over the goal line. And now he's even more frustrated because he's stuck. Fans know it, everybody knows that, his teammates know it. So everything's gone South. When it comes to culture in that franchise, they're all waiting for the inevitable, which is he's. He'll be out of here soon, and then they can move on. So the problem, of course, is where he wants to go. Wasn't willing to pay the price that it would cost to trade for him. That's New York. Now he's got to consider other options. Or does New York kind of make a decision at the trade deadline? That would be something that would shake up their roster. Here's the problem. This is the second time he's got a cap strain. Now, my question is, does that give you cause for pause? Because we know cap strains. What do they generally lead to, Peter?

Peter Rosenberg (33:38)

Oh, that would be the old Achilles tear.

Alan Hahn (33:41)

Yeah. Yeah. We've seen players who have had calf strains, and then the next thing you know, pop goes the weasel.

Peter Rosenberg (33:46)

So you have that weasel say pop.

Alan Hahn (33:48)

That's right. You either have that, and that's your concern of. Wait a minute. Do I want to trade for a guy that's right now dealing with cap strains, or is this second one sort of just the way to not play this? I'm shutting it down until the trade deadline. I don't want to. I'm not doing this right. Like. Yeah, is it not really a caption, but you're just calling it that. There's a lot of questions I have about what's going on there, man.

Peter Rosenberg (34:16)

You mean like the Trey Young injury in Washington, but a different version?

Alan Hahn (34:19)

Yeah, very much so. Like the Trae. Young. Trey Young not playing Ja. Like, there's. You're seeing this happen right now around the league. It's not a good look right now in the NBA, this is a bad look, but it's a lot of. A lot of bad contracts and unhappy players. And usually bad contracts lead to unhappy teams, not unhappy players, but you have that. I just don't know what's going on. This is. This is one. Like, people are asking me about it. You know, Giannis wants out, Knicks gonna make a trade. And I'm thinking it's a really difficult trade to make in season on many levels. First, you're going to need another team. Second, you're disrupting your roster, which in December, when they were rolling, nobody wanted to touch it. But after a January where they're going to be under.500 for the month, this has not been a good January whatsoever. They're trying to end it strong. But did January give you an indication that, you know what, maybe they do disrupt it. Maybe they think, you know, this team isn't as good as we thought. I have no idea what's going to happen before the trade deadline. And a month ago, I thought. I was pretty sure there's no way that they would make a move at the trade deadline. But if you feel like another team might swoop in and get them and now you lose out, do you. Do you bring them back to the table, man, honestly, I don't know.

Peter Rosenberg (35:36)

And if it doesn't happen, Alan, what is. And they can't get. They can't get. Get catch. Back to being Cat, what do you do?

Alan Hahn (35:46)

Well, again, you go through this season, you still try to move. You're still trying to get him. Right.

Peter Rosenberg (35:51)

You just hope that somehow something kicks it. Because which. Which can happen, by the way. It could seem impossible, and then something could happen.

Alan Hahn (35:56)

No, you've seen him at his, like, again, we've seen him at his best in a Nick uniform, and you've said, wow, this guy's really talented. They just got to get him there. For whatever reason, this season, it has been a struggle, and you could see it's just weighing on his mind. Something's going on with him. But that game in Philly where Embiid. Embiid owned him. He got called for a foul every time he touched him, and that was tough. And then Robinson came in and did a much better job on him in the second half, and they were able to kind of slow down Embiid, who had an absolutely dominant game. But they. They desperately needed that win, come hell or high water, despite the fact that missing free throws and some questionable decisions late in that game with the ball. But this. This coming trade deadline is going to be really interesting on many levels in the NBA because of the. The magnitude of players that could be on the move. We saw Luka get traded last year, and it surprised everybody. To me, you can't feel like anything's a surprise anymore. So it's something. It's something. I mean, look, Mikhail Bridges was benched in the fourth quarter for Landry Shamut because Mikhail Bridges wasn't playing well. Mike Brown, he's. He's kind of. He's kind of on that Tom Thibodeau thing now, where it's like, you know, what if I'm going down, I'm going down coach the way I want to coach. I'm not going to play favorites. I'm not going to. It's going to upset people. No, you aren't playing well. You're not fighting over screens and you're not making a shot. I got to win this game. So this guy, he's. He's fighting through screens, he's playing and knocking down shots, and that ended up working out. Now, I don't know how Bridges will feel about it after the game, but you can't worry about that anymore. You got to try to win games coaching the way you believe you can, instead of worrying about feelings and emotions. So I found that interesting that those decisions, to me, when a coach reaches a point where he's like, okay, I'm not. I can't worry about how you feel. I got to worry about winning the damn game. And that's what he did in Philly. So I'm curious to see if that continues. But as I said, this trade deadline is going to be interesting. And where the Knicks are now compared to a month ago, suddenly, I wouldn't rule out anything anymore because Giannis looks like he is fed up and somebody I respect a lot. And Mark Spears is telling you he's played his last game in a Bucs uniform. That math tells me that there might be something to watch before February 5th when the trade deadline comes around. We could be talking about this in the next week. We shall see.

Peter Rosenberg (38:17)

It would be. I'll tell you this, though. I mean, there are going to be some, for lack of a better word, but hurt Knicks fans if we end up seeing him just pop up on in Atlanta or wherever.

Alan Hahn (38:28)

Miami. Miami, you know, like. Like think about some of these places that he could wind up that have assets to make the move, and they'll. They'll go for him short term. Well, we don't care. I know he's only here for a year and a half, but Toronto did it with Kawhi and they won a championship. Right? So there might be a team that has the assets, and the Bucks say, we don't care, we're just moving them. And if he tells that team, well, I'm not going to sign an extension, that team might be like, well, once we get you here, you might like it here, and we're going to do it. So, yeah, there'll be a lot of frustrated Knick fans that said they should have pulled the trigger while they had the chance, and they didn't, and now you know that. And that, to me, also might weigh on Towns, because if the Knicks don't make the trade and Giannis ends up somewhere else, are you telling me that fans are so forgiving, aren't they, that if Carl Anthony Towns doesn't get his game right, he'll really start to hear about it from, from fans in New York. And that's another thing that you have to worry about because it only gets tougher for him. So honestly, this is, I have no idea what's going to happen. But all the number, all the, all the conversations that you're hearing now tell you that he could be on the move. And the other thing I worry about is if the calf strain is a real injury again that he had earlier in the season. That's two of them. Are you willing to make a trade for somebody that's had two calf strains and then go into a playoff where you're trying to win a championship and it leads to a devastating injury where then you lose them for a whole year?

Peter Rosenberg (40:04)

And a guy who's at the age where, yeah, he hasn't had that big injury.

Alan Hahn (40:11)

Yeah.

Peter Rosenberg (40:14)

Alan, it's very not easy. It takes being very lucky to never have the big injury happen.

Alan Hahn (40:22)

That's why anybody that thinks that this is like, oh, you gotta do it. I need to know more about that calf strain before I feel I gotta do anything.

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Peter Rosenberg (41:24)

Get to DSW asap.

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Alan Hahn (42:06)

Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

Peter Rosenberg (42:10)

I didn't listen to anything you just said.

Alan Hahn (42:11)

Catch this show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts. It's a hell of a beat, isn't it? You know the sample.

Peter Rosenberg (42:25)

I don't know what this is.

Alan Hahn (42:26)

You don't know the sample, though? This is Peter Gabriel's Sledgehammer sample.

Peter Rosenberg (42:35)

Yeah. Okay.

Alan Hahn (42:36)

I hear that. You can hear the Sledgehammer song.

Peter Rosenberg (42:39)

I hear the end of the Sledgehammer. Yeah, that part.

Alan Hahn (42:42)

Yeah, I don't know the song either. What are you playing, Jake?

Peter Rosenberg (42:45)

Is. Is it a bad Headbanger redo?

Alan Hahn (42:48)

What is that? It was a bad Pop Goes to Weasel redo.

Peter Rosenberg (42:52)

Oh, it was Pop Goes to Weasel Redo.

Alan Hahn (42:54)

Okay. Oh, is. It was. So a remixed version of Pop Goes the Weasel? Yeah.

Peter Rosenberg (42:58)

Or like a recreated instrumental. It just didn't sound quite like Pop Goes the Weasel to me.

Alan Hahn (43:02)

Yeah, it didn't. It didn't at all. I didn't catch it, but I did catch the sample of. Of course, Peter Gabriel, Sledgehammer. It's game time. Brought to you by Tullamore Due Irish Whiskey. Because, Peter, when it's game time, it's sure is. Rangers are back at home. They're hosting the Bruins tonight, of course, at Madison Square Garden, and coverage immediately follows us on 880 at 6:30. That means we're, of course, we're a 630 vehicle coming up next. And we'll be done with our show leading right into the Rangers coverage, so don't miss it. The Islanders, they visit the Flyers. They're still on the road. It's amazing. They've been on the road forever, but they play the Flyers in Philadelphia at 7. Telemore du. The original triple distilled, triple blended, triple cast matured Irish whiskey. Be sure to grab a Telemore do or try the new Tullamore Dew. Honey, during today's action, glasses up to enjoying Tullamore Dew responsibly. A couple of calls here before we get to enn. Why don't we go to Griffin in Connecticut? Hey, Griffin.

Tess (43:58)

Hey, guys. First off, Alan, you must be so happy you get to watch your star quarterback at the pro ball.

Alan Hahn (44:08)

You know, they can't take it away from him forever. They'll say Pro bowl quarterback Shador Sanders. It's. It's. It's just.

Tess (44:16)

It's absolutely ridiculous.

Alan Hahn (44:18)

I know.

Tess (44:19)

It really shows you.

Alan Hahn (44:22)

Like, can you explain it though? Because they don't really play a real game anymore. If Someone drops out, why do you need to fill the spot? They play flag football.

Peter Rosenberg (44:30)

You just let it be. Also, someone. Someone went to Trevor Lawrence and he said no. Right. And other. And others, I would hope.

Alan Hahn (44:37)

Yeah. I'm wondering what that list is. I haven't seen anybody say, look, I don't want to mock Shador Sanders because we all know how I feel about him. So you can have fun with it saying you can forever call him Pro bowl quarterback Shador Sanders. But we have seen other players get picked for the Pro bowl and we've talked about how, like, that's ridiculous. This has to be, if not the most, one of the most curious names to put on a Pro bowl team. When you consider the fact that he was what, three and four and he was okay, but he wasn't great.

Peter Rosenberg (45:14)

I.

Alan Hahn (45:15)

This is a weird one. It really is. It is. Hey, we're all watching the Pro bowl, right?

Tess (45:22)

No, no.

Alan Hahn (45:24)

Me either.

Commercial Announcer 1 (45:25)

I don't.

Peter Rosenberg (45:25)

I don't know the last time I saw it.

Tess (45:28)

I don't either. My point is. My point is Mike Ravel could do something that I don't think has ever been done. I could be wrong, but I tried to look it up today and I didn't find anything. He can win a Super bowl as a player and a coach for the same organization.

Alan Hahn (45:52)

Yes. I thought I saw Anthony. Did we. I know. That was in the. That was in the notes, right? No other. No one's ever done that. Win a Super bowl as a player with the same franchise and then coach them to the super bowl and win it.

Anthony (46:07)

Yes. He would be the first to coach and play for the A team to win the Super Bowl.

Alan Hahn (46:12)

Right. There you go. So. Yeah. That is amazing. Really?

Peter Rosenberg (46:15)

That. Yeah.

Alan Hahn (46:16)

Wow.

Peter Rosenberg (46:16)

I guess so.

Tess (46:17)

That is amazing.

Alan Hahn (46:19)

Do you think they can win, though? That's the big no.

Anthony (46:23)

No, I don't.

Tess (46:23)

I don't think they can win, but we can't count them out at this point. I know they had an easy pass, but if they do win, win, it would be very impressive because they would end up winning by beating top. They will be. They beat the Texas, the Broncos and the Chargers, all top five defenses. And then if they beat the Seahawks, another top five defense to be all top five defenses to. To win the super bowl. That would be impressive, but I don't think they will win. But, you know, you never know. Listen, their defense playing well, so.

Peter Rosenberg (47:02)

And Seattle's a fairly. Thanks, Griff. Seattle's a fairly heavy favorite, but come on, I'm not going to be shocked.

Alan Hahn (47:08)

If the Patriots no, no, no. It's. Well, three and a half isn't that big of a favorite. Wouldn't be shocked. It's. But it's quite a story. And again, that's why I go back to when the. When the Giants hired Harbaugh. It shows you and the. The great example, and we had a caller say it early in the show, the great example to any Giants fan is the Patriots this year. How you can turn it around fairly quickly when you bring in stable, smart, experienced leadership who knows what to do. And that's John Harbaugh. That's what you expect you're going to get from John Harbaugh. Now, you can't. I'm not predicting they're going to go to the Super Bowl. Right. But if the path is there, you would expect that he can. He can lead them there. You can turn this thing around fast. And that's all you're asking for with this hire. And you know who's excited about it? It has to be Tessa and Wes Caldwell. Tess, you have to be excited about the possibility that what the Patriots did this year, off of last year's record, can happen with your Giants next year.

Tess (48:13)

Absolutely. Thank you so much for taking my call. I appreciate it. I mean, I'm just filled with so much hope and excitement. Like I was saying the other week, I'm just like, so excited. And like Anthony said earlier, whoever John brings in, I'm okay with it. I really don't know too much about the guy, Wilson Dinar Wilson. But I know in 2024, his defense was ranked number two with the Titans. I do know that, and I know he was pummeled with a lot of injuries this year, but I'm just excited. And it's like the way these games have been playing, like the way the Seahawks defense, the Texans defense, even the Patriots, when they play the game, the defense has been out of control and out of his mind. That's why I'm a fan first. And I just been so excited watching the defense. So when I heard about this hire, that's all I want, Allen. I just want our defense just to be dominant, even top 10. So for me, next season, if we could get our defense to top 10, even special teams, that guy was out of his mind for Seattle. What was his name? Schooler or whatever he was attacking the machine. On special teams, special teams aren't important. So we can get our special teams together and our defense ranked in top 10. Yeah, sky's on the limit. Like, I definitely think we could at least win Seven or eight games. I know I'm out of control right now, but I really think eight and.

Alan Hahn (49:22)

A half is eight and a half's the over, under now.

Peter Rosenberg (49:24)

All because that's not crazy.

Alan Hahn (49:26)

All because of the coach. So. And thank you, Tess.

Tess (49:29)

All I'm saying. Thank you, guys.

Alan Hahn (49:30)

Yeah, no, thank you.

Peter Rosenberg (49:32)

It's seven or eight's not a crazy thought. I mean, this is.

Alan Hahn (49:35)

I still think they're defense.

Peter Rosenberg (49:36)

They should have easily won two more games. Easily.

Alan Hahn (49:39)

Easily, maybe. Easily, yeah. But that's why I said you could have their defense and just make one or two simple additions. They need a corner, clearly, right. They probably could use some linebacker help. One linebacker. But their front line, the guys who get after the quarterback, trust me, that defense alone is going to get better. Just because you're going to have better coaching. You don't have to add tremendous amounts of talent. You could just get better coaching. They'll be a better defensive team. They won't blow leads. They won't be soft late in games. They'll be able to tackle in the second level because that's where they were bad. They couldn't stop the run. They were a mess. I also think, by the way, getting Dexter Lawrence right, I don't think he was right all last year. I don't. He was right all last year. You could see, oh, this past season you could see it. So they could turn it around really quickly. You know, we can turn around quickly enn, because it's next. Don Rosenberg, ESPN New York.

Peter Rosenberg (50:35)

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Alan Hahn (51:33)

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