Hour 3: World Cup, March Madness, Mets

Summary

Don, Hahn & Rosenberg – Hour 3: World Cup, March Madness, Mets
ESPN New York – May 7, 2026

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Episode Overview

This hour finds Don La Greca, Alan Hahn, and Peter Rosenberg navigating a characteristically New York-flavored journey through sports headlines and cultural observations, with spirited debates on aging, ticket pricing, major sports events (2026 World Cup, March Madness), and classic baseball legacy, peppered as always with callers and streetwise banter. The trio’s blend of personal storytelling, righteous indignation, and nostalgia provides a lively, layered window into the state of American sports—and the fans feeling left behind.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. How Old Is “Old Enough?” – The Aging Game (01:52–07:38)

• Background: The guys riff on their long-running internal debate: If a mystical figure offered them a guaranteed age of death (e.g., 97), would they take it?
• Rosenberg: Shares touching perspective on appreciating every year with his parents and the bittersweet nature of aging. Rejects the idea that hitting 100+ is appealing when quality of life isn’t guaranteed.
• Alan: "My grandmother got to 90 [and] said, I’m good, I’m done." (03:25). Suggests accepting 90 seems reasonable.
• Anthony: Personal family history of relatives dying young makes any number near 97 hard to pass up.
• Debate: Whether not taking 97 is “not playing the game” – humor and philosophy intertwine.

2. Knicks Playoff Analysis & Injury Strategy (07:41–12:10)

• Knicks are up 2–0 in their playoff series, but OG Anunoby's day-to-day hamstring strain is a brewing concern.
• Alan: Advocates for cautious approach—now that Knicks are up, maybe sit OG and save him for later rounds (08:37).
• Rosenberg: Urges balance; emphasizes Game 3 as a pivotal “momentum” game (09:11).
• Quote: "Game 3 changes everything—it could change the momentum, extends the series…where somebody potentially could get hurt." (09:11)
• Emphasize the unpredictability in playoff series (examples drawn from Knicks, Rangers, Sixers).

3. Yankees & the Rise of Spencer Jones (11:53–12:44)

• Yankees calling up 25-year-old prospect Spencer Jones.
• Alan: Stresses urgency—Jones must "make an impact" due to age and strikeout rates (12:10).

4. March Madness Bracket Expansion & Sports Bloat (12:57–15:04; 19:22–22:32)

• NCAA has expanded the March Madness bracket, adding more "play-in" games (now an "Opening Round").
• Rosenberg: Critiques expansion as "gross and bloated and stupid and less meaningful." (14:21)
• Bracket visualization jokes: "When I was a kid, I used to get a kick out of looking at the Jim Kaat back of his baseball card because he played like 23 years…[now] I can't even see the names of the teams." – Anthony (13:08)
• Parallel drawn to NFL’s ever-expanding slate (18 games, international games).

5. World Cup 2026—A Financial & Cultural Disconnect? (15:21–18:37; 28:46–36:46)

• Primary Concern: Despite all the hype, hotel bookings for World Cup cities are low; high ticket prices are freezing out average fans.
• Rosenberg: "Mark my words, you wait until those games kick off, you will get into those buildings for pretty regular prices, I guarantee it." (17:13)
• Show argues that the World Cup and other sporting events are increasingly designed for the ultra-wealthy, alienating core fans.
• Caller from LA: "I don't know anybody that's going to a World Cup game…completely, completely, completely priced out the regular fans. The sporting event isn’t just a game, it moves culture—especially the World Cup." (33:49)
• Alan: Asks why no one in the media questions the affordability, suggesting governing bodies like FIFA don’t care about access (35:06).
• Anthony: Lampoons the “illusion” of World Cup inclusivity, noting that marketing suggests every family can go, but in reality "you're not invited." (29:14)

6. Ticket Pricing, Stadium Value vs. Home Viewing (18:37–19:12; 36:09–37:06)

• Considers how expensive in-person sports have become compared to ever more affordable and impressive home entertainment systems.
• Alan: "When is it that you say the experience on a 4K 75-inch television at home is better than sitting three miles up in the upper deck?…The experience sounds like a nightmare." (18:37)
• Rosenberg: Shares personal anecdote about $800 Beyoncé concert tickets—shows pricing out regular fans, even at “face value.” (31:50–32:27)

7. Legacy Broadcasters: Should John Sterling Be in Monument Park? (25:25–27:49, 46:13–50:42)

• Caller: Argues passionately for legendary Yankees broadcaster John Sterling to be immortalized in Monument Park.
• Anthony: "He was like a player on the team…he was like a family member to everybody. And if you hear everyone speak, you know that they mean a lot to them." (26:35)
• Discusses how voices like Sterling’s become generational touchstones, deserving of recognition alongside players.

8. Provocative Sports Talk & Debates—Jackie Robinson vs. Joe Morgan (47:03–50:42)

• Caller: Recalls being incensed by Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo’s claim that Joe Morgan was a better second baseman than Jackie Robinson.
• Alan: Explains that Russo intentionally separates a player’s baseball output from their cultural impact, insisting that as a pure player, Morgan might top Robinson—while still acknowledging Robinson’s monumental significance.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• On Accepting Old Age:
  “If you don’t take 97, you’re not even playing the game.” — Rosenberg (02:49)
• Quality vs. Quantity of Life:
  “I say all of that to say my parents are doing great…But it’s much more upsetting to think that, God forbid, it could be over in two weeks.” — Rosenberg (04:00)
• Critique on Bracket Expansion:
  “It’s crap. It is just crap. This is America in 2026—gross and bloated and stupid and less meaningful.” — Rosenberg (14:19)
• Ticket Price Alienation:
  “I play soccer my entire life…I don’t know anybody that’s going to a World Cup game. It’s completely…priced out the regular fans.” — Caller (Colombian-American, Los Angeles) (33:49)
• Why Even Bother?
  “They think they’re bringing it to America. And Americans… have no chance to get in the building. None.” — Alan (30:16)
• Is It Still Worth Going?
  “When is it that you say the experience on a 4K 75-inch television at home is better than sitting three miles up in the upper deck right by the light stanchion?” — Alan (18:37)
• Sports as Culture:
  “The sporting event isn’t just a game, it moves culture—especially the World Cup.” — Caller (33:49)
• On Iconic Announcers:
  “He was like a player on the team, like a family member to everybody. That’s why I think he [John Sterling] deserves to be in there.” — Caller (25:51)

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Topic-Specific Timeline

| Timestamp | Topic/Quote Highlights | |------------|--------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:52-07:38| Aging game—would you accept a set age to die at; family stories | | 07:41-10:18| Knicks playoff update; OG’s injury and playoff strategy | | 11:53-12:44| Yankees: Spencer Jones called up—prospect pressure | | 12:57-15:04| NCAA March Madness expansion critique | | 15:21-18:37| World Cup ticket/hotel price alienation; sports event bloat | | 18:37-19:12| TV/home viewing value vs. stadium experience | | 25:25-27:49| Monument Park: Is John Sterling deserving? | | 28:46-36:46| Callers vent on World Cup inaccessibility, ticket pricing | | 46:13-50:42| Jackie Robinson vs. Joe Morgan, sports talk provocateurs |

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The Final Stretch: Cultural Tangents & Classic Banter

• Old Movie References:
  The team riffs on “Brokeback Mountain,” “City Slickers,” and “Django Unchained” while talking about outdoor cooking scenes—highlighting the show’s penchant for pop-culture rabbit holes (41:30–45:14).

• Rosenberg’s Closing Wisdom:
  “We are spinning right now…the turn at Brokeback Lane, we ended up on Lard Ass Street. Here we are.” (46:01)—summarizing the organized chaos and humor the show revels in.

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Takeaways

Don, Hahn & Rosenberg serve up an hour that’s everything NY sports talk should be—gritty, humane, irreverent, and occasionally profound. They paint a pointed picture of how major sports as both industry and culture are leaving average fans behind, even as the love for the games and their broadcast traditions remains undiminished.

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For Fans:
If you care about the Knicks’ playoff maneuvering, are puzzled or peeved by March Madness’ expansion, have thoughts about the “real” value of a World Cup in the US, or cherish Yankee broadcasters as much as their first basemen—this episode is for you.

Transcript

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[Don Hahn]

This is the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Anthony]

That sounds like heaven to me.

[Don Hahn]

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

[Anthony]

Game time is brought to you by Televardo Irish Whiskey because.

[Alan]

What?

[Anthony]

It's game time, guys.

[Rosenberg]

Well, then what is it? It's tally time.

[Anthony]

Mets are in Denver and they're taking on the Rockies. And at last glance, I could have sworn I saw the Rockies take the lead. Or they tied it at 2 in the bottom of the sixth inning. I thought I saw a run score. Bottom of the sixth inning, runners at second and third. They're changing the picture of the Mets. So the Mets had a two nothing lead. That's gone. Bottom of the sixth inning, the Rockies and the Mets are tied to two. Earlier today, the Yankees, they won nine to two over the Texas Rangers. And of course, coming up on 880 right after us at 6:30 will be game two Cavs and the Pistons Tullamore. Due the original triple distilled, triple blend in and triple cast mature iris whiskey. Be sure to grab a Tullamore Dew or try the new Tullamore Dew. Honey, during today's action, glasses up to enjoying Tullamore Dew responsibly. Michael has gotten back.

[Alan]

Okay. The verdict is.

[Anthony]

Well, Peter said he believes that Michael would take 97. Alan, does K take 97?

[Alan]

No.

[Anthony]

Meaning the age of his death.

[Alan]

No.

[Anthony]

Michael has gotten back to me and he replied with a simple no.

[Rosenberg]

Tom dumbass.

[Alan]

There's no number he will accept.

[Rosenberg]

Well, I got bad news then for you, buddy. It's happening.

[Alan]

You know something.

[Rosenberg]

By the way, hit the breaking news sounder. Okay, Michael K. Michael K. Will die.

[Alan]

Is that a threat?

[Rosenberg]

No, it's a fact. It's guaranteed. Print it. Print it. Right. And by the way, guess what? Hit the breaks. News on again. Don McGregor one day will be dead. Dead as a door. Nail.

[Alan]

Can't see that happening. And by the way, could live forever.

[Rosenberg]

Rosenberg and Han.

[Alan]

Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

Both one day. Dead as doornails. Dead as could be. I just.

[Alan]

If you don't take 96. Who says I'm not already?

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, it's true. You don't. If you don't take 97, you're not even playing the game. So can we, Don? Then let's admit it's a minute. We're not playing the game with him anymore. It's over. If you don't take 97, what do we do? What are we doing now?

[Alan]

It's.

[Anthony]

Now you're getting into unrealistic.

[Rosenberg]

I want to be 105.

[Alan]

Well, all right, let's do this. Top five ages that you would take

[Rosenberg]

out of 99. 100, 101, 102.

[Alan]

Why that, though? Why isn't 90 in there? 90 couldn't be in there.

[Rosenberg]

Well, do you want to be realistic?

[Anthony]

You're saying.

[Alan]

Yeah, it's. Of course, because, you know, 100 is not really a place you. For most people, it's not a great place.

[Rosenberg]

I.

[Alan]

Listen, like I said, my grandmother got to 90. Said, I'm good, I'm done.

[Rosenberg]

My parents are both 78.

[Alan]

Okay.

[Rosenberg]

And. And thank God, Both doing pretty well. Like, we're up here this week. They drove still.

[Anthony]

Wow.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, still. From Maryland.

[Alan]

You let him drive?

[Rosenberg]

I do. I do still drive. Four hours to come visit. Actually takes more like six these days. But they got.

[Anthony]

You're. You're on the shoulder with the hazards on, right?

[Rosenberg]

No, no, it's hitting the rumble strip. It's not that. It's actually just. They stop, repeat. It's just the endless stop. They never stop stopping. They're stopping at Chick Fil A. They're stopping. Yeah. Taking their time. It makes a three and a half hour trip from D.C. had to go to the bathroom and then I had to go, so. So I say all of that to say my parents are doing great. Seeing them with Maya is amazing. It's something I dreamed of. I wasn't sure I'd get it when I was getting older. And it's. I appreciate it every time. The idea of thinking that it would be over in just 12 years, of course it's upsetting, but it's much more upsetting to think that, God forbid, it could be over in two weeks or six months or a year. These are all things that are on the table as we live and breathe every day. So I have to say that even with my parents who are at 78, and I have no interest in seeing them go, and I'll be a mess when it happens. You probably take 90. You go, that's a great number for 78.

[Alan]

I think 90 is your first number on the list.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, it's a great number because, I

[Alan]

mean, when you start giving me triple digits, I'm like, what, what, what can. What am I gonna be? Like, what condition am I gonna.

[Rosenberg]

No, no, you don't see a lot of hundreds. And they're killing it.

[Alan]

You know what? You don't see? Six, six, 1 0s.

[Rosenberg]

No, you don't.

[Alan]

Well, by the way, you don't see many.

[Anthony]

That's always haunted Michael.

[Rosenberg]

And that's the. That's the oldest, tall, which is why you should take 97.

[Anthony]

And he's no longer with us.

[Alan]

Okay.

[Rosenberg]

Was Bill Russell Kareem. Right.

[Anthony]

But Russell made it into his 80s.

[Rosenberg]

No, it's late 80s.

[Anthony]

I think that's a good question.

[Alan]

He was only a couple years ago, right?

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, like a year ago.

[Anthony]

But Michael always would tell us that tall people don't live.

[Alan]

They don't.

[Rosenberg]

Which is all the more reason his takes are so dumb. So how do you, if you're Michael k. Not take 97? He was so tell you what, Bill was born in 1990. The great Bill Russell was born in 1934. Wow. He died in 2022.

[Alan]

Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

So he made. Yeah, 88.

[Anthony]

88.

[Alan]

That's. That's a run.

[Rosenberg]

What a life. What an American hero.

[Alan]

Are you kidding me? But great people.

[Rosenberg]

One of the great human beings of all time. But Michael wouldn't take 88. He would not. He'd be like, no, I'm good. But here's the way the game works. The game that we're playing is this. An imaginary figure, a representative of God comes up to us. This is. We don't say this, but this is what the game is. Okay, here comes the. I'm a representative of God here. A Alan. Don. Peter. Good to see you, Don. I brought something for you.

[Alan]

Curious.

[Rosenberg]

If you take a. Take a look at. I'd love to get your thoughts. And obviously if you're not interested in this, we'll take the offer back. But we don't know what we're going to give you after that. But this is what we are willing to give you today. And if you take it, it is locked and it is yours. But if you don't take it, anything could happen. Let us know how you feel.

[Anthony]

I think you wrote if I followed. Your penmanship is at 87. 88 in a second.

[Rosenberg]

Done. Heartbeat Enjoy yourself. Have a heart. Have a great next 30 years.

[Anthony]

59.

[Alan]

Yeah, yeah, right, right.

[Anthony]

My grandfather on mother's side died at 68.

[Alan]

Yeah.

[Anthony]

My father died. My grandfather, who I never met, died, like at 54 years old.

[Alan]

Yeah, same here. My father, 61. My two grandfathers, 60.

[Anthony]

Now granted, you know, Chimneys, there was a lot of.

[Rosenberg]

Michael's dad wasn't old either.

[Anthony]

No, I think he was like 53 or something.

[Rosenberg]

I mean, so I just. These numbers, 97. If 97 gets handed, you got to take it. This is important. If you guys ever get this offer, if you meet the devil or God, whatever you believe in.

[Alan]

If I get the offer.

[Rosenberg]

If you get the offer. It's an offer you literally cannot repeat.

[Alan]

Wouldn't it give you almost like a freedom? I know now I know the number. And now I can just live and not care. I know what it's going to be.

[Anthony]

Know what it's like, you know, 88.

[Rosenberg]

It's like the Knicks in the playoff. It's like, will the Knicks have to blow things up? You got to see what it looks like. It's the same with 88.

[Anthony]

I love this. Pretty revealing. We've played this game with Michael for years. For him to say no to 97.

[Rosenberg]

No, we're not playing. The game is over.

[Anthony]

The game is over.

[Rosenberg]

So we can't give you anything anymore.

[Anthony]

So the Knicks, they pick up a win. They're up two games to none. In case you're just joining us, OG listed his day to day. Yeah, right.

[Alan]

Hamstring strain. Right. So that's what everybody kind of figured it was going to be. The right hamstring. By the way, it was the left hamstring earlier this season. That cost him time. Right. Hamstring, if you remember, was two years ago in the same situation. Game two of the second round against Indiana en route to going up two zero. But that one was a lot more debilitating. He was limping off the court in a lot of pain when he popped that one. This is a strain. They are saying day to day. There are some people reporting that he could play in game three, that he could be available to play in game three, which would really would be remarkable because a lot of people were concerned, but because it's a hamstring, do you, hey, you're up too. Well, winning that game almost buys you time to say, why don't we give you a couple of days and if we do win now, we have a chance to close it out, bring you back in for game four. Or if we Lose, we get you back in game four on an afternoon game on a Sunday with a chance to go up 3:1. You know what I mean? Like, I kind of feel like winning game two bought you the ability to say, let's be overly cautious because we're going to need you in further down the road in the playoffs. Let's not make this.

[Rosenberg]

That's the point.

[Anthony]

But the scenario. And I'm 100% behind you. But the scary thing is game threes are big. And I know you don't think this is a Nick fan because they're currently riding a five game winning streak, one shy of the franchise record for consecutive wins in the postseason. You look unbeatable. But a Game 3 loss could be big. You saw what happened against Indiana two years ago. It happens, man. Like all of a sudden, a team gets back into it. They got a home game in game four. You just don't want to let them up. But at the same time, you don't want to have OG get hurt further and then really hurt your chances in the next round or if they're fortunate enough to get to the NBA Finals. I acknowledge err on the side of caution. But game three is not nothing. It's a, it's a big series. We've seen two old leads get blown before because game three changes everything. It could change the momentum, it extends the series, which could also mean even if you win it, that's one extra game you got to play where somebody potentially could get hurt. You love to just finish these off.

[Caller 1]

You.

[Anthony]

You go up three zero. It just, it's. It's over, right? It's just a matter of time. But if you let the Sixers back in, not only you guaranteed a game five, you might all of a sudden be in a game six and you don't know.

[Alan]

Right?

[Anthony]

And then, and then Embiid comes back and he feels better and they get on a roll. It's. It's crazy. This is a Sixer team that came back from 31 down against the Boston Celtics.

[Alan]

But it's a totally different story, though. I have to keep reminding you, this is not the same situation. Let me point out one other thing too, because it's also a different fight they're in. The Celtics were playing a three point game. They were just. They almost refused to try to score in the paint, didn't want to do it. They played the three point game and it burned them. And the Sixers took advantage of it because they played their game and it worked because the Celtics let them off. The mat and shouldn't have. That's why up in Boston, they're freaking out right now because that shouldn't have happened. But it did because they got stubborn on their style. The Knicks are going in the paint and they are scoring over 50 points in the paint against this team because they can't stop them with Embiid without him being.

[Anthony]

I agree. I'm just saying that ask Anthony how it was when the. When the Rangers were up on the Lightning 2. Oh, and then they lost Game 3 and didn't win another game. I understand this Nick team is different.

[Alan]

They are.

[Anthony]

I get it. But you just don't want to give the Beast an opportunity to survive. Jack Curry just tweeted. I guess he just said it on. Yes, but of course we've got the volume down. Doing the show. Spencer Jones is being called up on.

[Alan]

There you go.

[Anthony]

Okay, here we go. Finally get a chance.

[Alan]

Opportunity.

[Anthony]

This 25 year old that's been down there feels like forever. And I got. I got a very tall outfield all of a sudden. Not that he needs to be told this, but he's got to make him. He's got to make an impact.

[Alan]

Oh yeah.

[Anthony]

Because when. We'll see what happens when Dominguez comes off the il. He's probably going to get his job back. Unless Jones is raking. I don't know how many more chances you're going to get. Unfortunately, this is his only chance. But you get to a certain age, 25 years old, and he strikes out 40% of the time down to the minor leagues. That's probably what they're concerned about once he gets to the majors. But looks like we'll get a chance to see him tomorrow. Who do the Yankees playing coming up this weekend?

[Rosenberg]

It doesn't matter. They'll win. They'll win two or three. It doesn't matter.

[Alan]

I love your confidence.

[Rosenberg]

I mean, come on. I just watched you guys before the show started, watching Anthony and Allen watch the game and Milwaukee. Oh, man.

[Anthony]

In Milwaukee, the good.

[Alan]

The good lane.

[Rosenberg]

So. So Anthony just sent me. The NCAA released the new March Madness bracket.

[Alan]

This is news. This is.

[Rosenberg]

Yo, yo, Bump.

[Anthony]

You know what? You know what? This.

[Rosenberg]

But it's half pregnant. As Michael would say.

[Anthony]

No, but you know what it looks like to me? Huh? When I was a kid, I used to get a kick out of looking at the Jim Cott back of his baseball card because he played like 23 years. So the print was so small you couldn't even read it because he played forever. I'm looking at the bracket. I can't even see the names of. You're not gonna be able to see the names of the teams. So.

[Rosenberg]

But no. But here's the thing. Don. Here's what makes it so dumb. I thought it would actually be a new bracket and they'd have to figure out how to make it work. It's the exact same bracket.

[Caller 2]

Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

All they did was add tons of play.

[Anthony]

It's gonna be printed like a post.

[Alan]

Really? All it's going to be. It's still a field of 64. Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

It's the same thing.

[Alan]

It's just that they added a layer outside of the 64.

[Rosenberg]

It doesn't exist that you don't see for play in. So.

[Anthony]

Don.

[Rosenberg]

So it looks like this. It looks like your same old br. Except there's a 16 versus 16 to decide who's 16. A 12 verse 12 to see who's 12. 11 versus 11. So in each bracket there are. In the top half there. There's four. Six. Yeah. So they just. On each side of the bracket they have six different playing games to give you the extra 12 teams. It's crap. It is just crap. This is America in 2026.

[Caller 3]

How are they playing all these games on Tuesday and Wednesday?

[Rosenberg]

Gross and bloated and stupid and less meaningful. Just.

[Alan]

And just keep taking.

[Rosenberg]

Taking the tournament like everything else is the giving tree until it's dead and it means nothing.

[Anthony]

But this is. And honestly this is what the NFL's doing too.

[Alan]

18 games.

[Anthony]

Keep getting more games. Keep putting more games on national television.

[Rosenberg]

We're going to have more countries that don't care about football at all.

[Alan]

We're going to play on the moon.

[Anthony]

And we seem like idiots. We seem like idiots because they continue to print money and it continues to grow in popularity. I'm just saying at some point the balloon burst.

[Alan]

It's right.

[Anthony]

It's getting bigger. It keeps getting bigger. And you're like, all right. We'll just put a little bit more air in. I want to see how big this balloon gets. And then eventually it pops.

[Rosenberg]

But isn't it. Here's the thing that's so insane. And this sounds like political. It's not about really direct politics. We're not exactly doing great right now financially. People in America are not doing great financially. The middle class and lower middle class is being squeezed.

[Alan]

All the money being spent.

[Rosenberg]

And yet somehow shocking. You're right. You look around and all there's. We have. We're buying tickets to everything. Concert tickets are more expensive than any. We have to Go. Although we didn't get to this in. I didn't really get into this in ENN yesterday. But you know, so far an article came out this week in the Times, I believe, that said the hotels across the country and all of the World cup markets are saying that as of this point, according to the hotel industry in each city, the World cup is a non event. There's nothing. There's no indication of anything.

[Alan]

They're not selling.

[Rosenberg]

We are in early May and no

[Alan]

one's buying up hotels.

[Rosenberg]

It's a non event for hotels. Now that doesn't mean we know Airbnbs are doing some big things in New Jersey. I heard about people renting out houses. I'm sure there's some level there.

[Alan]

Interesting.

[Rosenberg]

But I wonder whether this is all like secondary market tickets. Buying these tickets up. So people think all the tickets are sold, but they're really being owned by brokers and no one's gonna buy these ridiculously priced tickets. And frankly, a lot of people from across the world are. I'm not going to spend that kind of money to make a trip to the U.S. i'm good. So it's. But across every single sport, we just keep seeing ticket prices go up. Advertisers make more.

[Alan]

Cup is going to be a financial flop. Can you. Because didn't we see the what flop?

[Rosenberg]

It'll make money no matter what to

[Anthony]

make money because there is enough of the 1% in the US that will spend the money on.

[Rosenberg]

And the TV ratings are always going to be.

[Anthony]

TV ratings are going to be good and they'll be able to sell, but it's just basically money throwing money at other people with money and then everybody gets like shut out. Like, they'll watch, they'll be a general interest. But if you think any of this stuff is for you, that's why they could charge 150 bucks to go on the train. Because the people that are going to pay the 150 are people that are paying tens of thousands of dollars to fly here. Do those airbnbs. So that's nothing.

[Rosenberg]

Mark my words, you wait until those games kick off, you will get into those buildings for pretty regular prices, I guarantee it.

[Alan]

Oh, that's always.

[Rosenberg]

It's nonsense. These are not happening.

[Alan]

It's the Harry Styles thing. Wait till the end and you'll be able to get into a Harry Styles concert.

[Rosenberg]

And the only place where I'd say you probably can't do that is a Knicks playoff game. They'll drop. But it's going to be tough because Everyone wants to actually go. People don't want to give up the tickets.

[Alan]

Yeah.

[Anthony]

And you're also only talking about, you know, 18, 19,000.

[Rosenberg]

Well, in a city where everyone cares about the team. But when, you know, when, when Uruguay plays Germany and you have X base from each one of those countries sends out.

[Alan]

I'm sorry, I thought you'd do it.

[Rosenberg]

First thing you do is throw out the record book. And the second thing is you'll have a lot of Uruguayan people and Germans who want to go. And they buy up, let's call it 25,000 of the tickets. But then you have another. What are they, what are they seeding at MetLife for a soccer game? 65, 70,000, probably. I mean, it's a football.

[Anthony]

Why would it be any different than

[Alan]

the same as a Jet game?

[Rosenberg]

So what is 80? 80. So it's 80.

[Alan]

Yeah. Unless they're cutting out something for media or whatever.

[Rosenberg]

I don't know. So at what, at a certain point there, it has to be that there will be tickets available.

[Anthony]

Yes.

[Rosenberg]

But until, again, the point always is, and we always have said this on the air, until the people say, I'm all set. Yeah, I'm not, I'm not going. That. It's never going to change.

[Alan]

When is it that you say the experience on a 4K 75 inch television at home is better than sitting three miles up in the upper deck right by the light stanchion?

[Rosenberg]

Isn't it interesting too, that the TVs we get at home have become a much better value than 50 years ago? Yes, but going to the game is a much worse value. Yeah. So now you could go to, you could wait and go to Price Club, wherever your place is, Costco, whatever it is, and get a great TV for 800 bucks that you watch for years. 80 inches. Like having a movie screen in your house. But if you want to go, you're going to, you're going to shell out

[Alan]

for and you're getting there. And you call it the experience, like we're killing this whole process right now. But it is true. And you call it going for the experience. And yet the experience sounds like a nightmare.

[Rosenberg]

It's a complete and utter nightmare.

[Alan]

Speaking of back to the NCAA thing. So the first four, remember they called it that Tuesday. Yeah, that's out. They're calling it now. You ready for this?

[Rosenberg]

Here we go.

[Alan]

Very creative. The opening round.

[Rosenberg]

Not the first round.

[Alan]

No, opening round. Yeah. So instead of eight teams playing in four games to get into the round of 64, there's now 24 teams playing 12 games. As Anthony said, how are we doing this? We're going to have on a Tuesday, 12 o' clock tip offs.

[Anthony]

Well, no, because what they're doing, they see the excitement Thursday and Friday.

[Alan]

Are you watching the game?

[Anthony]

Now they want Tuesday and Wednesday because, let's face it, people, nine to five is not what it used to be. I was having this conversation with Nancy the other day where, when I was growing up, there might be a gas station somewhere.

[Alan]

Yeah.

[Anthony]

That was open 24 hours. I remember the first 711 moved into Hawthorne probably sometime in the early 80s, and we were, like, aghast that it was open 24 hours. Well, I grew up.

[Rosenberg]

There were.

[Anthony]

I was in high school. There were still, like, channels that signed off, played the national anthem.

[Alan]

Yeah. Turned off and then went right to snow.

[Anthony]

Now we are such a 247 society that there are people that have off during the day and they work at

[Rosenberg]

night on Thursday and Friday. But here's the thing. People have made plans in their lives of that Thursday and Friday. I find a way to watch. I can't do it Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.

[Alan]

That's what I mean. It's like you take a whole week off. All right, so 12 games played on Tuesday and Wednesday between selection Sunday, of course, and when the round of 64 begins that Thursday. So you're melting right into it. Instead of scheduling two games each day in Dayton has been the case in the past with the, you know, with the first four. Three games each day in Dayton, three

[Anthony]

in front of nobody.

[Alan]

Probably. Yeah. Three games each day in a second city yet to be determined. But I imagine if one city is still Dayton, I can't imagine the other city is going to be Vegas.

[Caller 3]

Another A10 school.

[Rosenberg]

Okay. Yeah, Another crappy Rose Hill, baby. We'll be doing what we doing, shows

[Alan]

from Rose Hill, say Fordham.

[Rosenberg]

Now, Anthony. Anthony just made a prediction in my ear.

[Alan]

Oh.

[Rosenberg]

Which was? He thinks that they'll take some of the automatic bids from Repug conferences.

[Alan]

Oh, they are.

[Rosenberg]

And they're going to make them play in these games they're going to make. And then like the fifth team in the SEC makes the tournament, but you win your little tournament, which used to be the thing that makes the dance

[Alan]

special, but now you're.

[Rosenberg]

If you could get out of your conference, you get to go.

[Alan]

But your automatic bid, a 10 or any of these other places, and he see, you know what it's going to be? It's going to be for the. For the round. You're going to be your automatic bid will be to the opening round, not necessarily into the field.

[Caller 3]

They set the standard Miami of Ohio this year and how hard it was for them to get to where they needed to go. And you're already seeing it with the College Football Playoff where it's yeah, it's cute that we're going to get the two lanes every once in a while, but we're really trying our best to make sure more of the big power

[Alan]

four, power five, wherever it was is about Auburn getting in the tournament and all the SEC and big, big extra

[Rosenberg]

big 10, extra ACC 7th place team now gets in because you want their fan base watching. It's more money. Yeah.

[Anthony]

So money and they think more interest. We'll see.

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[Anthony]

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this product is right for you.

[Don Hahn]

Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Rosenberg]

I didn't listen to anything you just said.

[Don Hahn]

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

[Anthony]

Foreign let's go to Griffin in Connecticut. How are you, buddy?

[Caller 1]

Good.

[Caller 4]

How are you guys?

[Anthony]

Terrific. Terrific.

[Caller 4]

Before I get to my point with John Sterling, Alan, to let you know with Jose, Jose Caballero.

[Caller 5]

Whoop.

[Caller 4]

Is fine. He actually came in late in the game for defense and batted. So.

[Anthony]

Okay, good.

[Caller 4]

He wouldn't have done that if it was anything to worry about. So I just want to let you know that be worried about it.

[Alan]

Yeah. We didn't have a chance to watch all the game as we're getting ready for the show and I'm looking. Yes, I see the they won at Betty did have. That's a good sign look again. There's always the little concerns. So thank you, Griff. That makes me feel better. See, I love the positive things about the Yankees. That's what you want to hear right now. The good stuff.

[Caller 4]

I think. I think John Sterling deserves to be in Monument Park. And it's because when you hear from Jeter, speak, Aaron Boone, speak. Judge A Rob, Bernie Williams, then you hear from House Steinbrenner. He was almost like he wasn't your typical broadcaster. He was like a guy on the team, like a player on the team because he's like a family member to them. So that's why I think he deserves to be in there. He was like family member to everybody on that team. He was like a teammate to everybody. And if you the way you hear everyone speaks, you know that they mean a lot to them.

[Anthony]

Yeah. And also, Griff, you know, he means a lot to the fans. And that's what Monument park is for. Right. Monument park is a museum of the history of the New York Yankees. And when people go to the game early, fathers bring their sons and daughters and moms bring their family over to see, hey, this is who I watched. This is my Yankee team. Or this was grandpa's Yankee Team. Oh, and by the way, here was the voice of not only dad's team, but grandpa's team too. Because he was around for so damn long. Right? You know, Mel Allen, Mel Allen started in 1938. I grew up hearing on this Week in Baseball. This Week in baseball.

[Alan]

How about that?

[Anthony]

You know, and I believe he was in the Naked Gun movie. He was one of the announcers.

[Alan]

He said, how about that? And that was his line.

[Anthony]

So you have somebody. So in 1989, if you were like a 30 year old guy listening to the Yankees, then you know, 20 years later and in 2009, you know, you've got a son and then 20 years, you know, 20 years. Don't you see? Like that's the voice of all those generations. They need to be acknowledged there. I understand what you're saying.

[Alan]

I was just trying to give doggy side of it to see if we can have it out. I wasn't really making a stand.

[Anthony]

And I'm not saying that every announcer's got to be there, but if, if it just hits and that. And that's the thing, you know, Allen's been around the Knicks long enough. He's got relationships with the current players. You know, I'm just getting to know the Devils. I got to know the Rangers, but it was tough for me. I was only filling in so I wasn't there like every game. And maybe I'll start to develop a real closeness with the Devils over the years of doing television. But you know, to hear, you know, for Derek Jeter, who's been out of baseball for a decade, you know, make a statement for Alex Rodriguez, who hasn't played for the Yankees in So, you know, 10 years, making a statement about, I mean that's, that's significant, man. That's pretty significant and it deserves to be acknowledged in some way, shape or form. Let's go to Rob. He's in New Jersey. You're on ESPN New York. What's up, Rob?

[Caller 2]

Hey guys. I'm a kid who grew up in northern New Jersey. The first wave of soccer that came through in the 80s and I got to see some pretty good soccer. I got to see Pele play. I saw, you know, I spent $20 on tickets sitting the last row of Giant Stadium and I was happier than anything. I'm not going to drive to the metal. I can't drive to the metal. Transit in northern New Jersey. How the heck am I supposed to get there?

[Anthony]

Not for you, that. See that's the thing, you're not invited.

[Caller 2]

75 inches on TV.

[Alan]

That's what I'm going to do.

[Anthony]

They sell these things. And that's why I was like so sickened. Rob. When New York got the Super Bowl, I've told this story that if you go to the press box at MetLife Stadium, they've got a big jumbo back page of the Daily News or the front page of the Daily News. When New York got the super bowl and you see these like two 16, 17 year old girls, like in the midst of jumping up and down celebrating that the super bowl is coming to New York. And it's laughable. Like unless they're related to the mayor or something, they're not getting in that game. We're so excited. Oh, the World Cup's coming to New York and they're gonna market it and the commercials are all gonna sell. And there's going to be that guy, I forget, I think it's a Coke commercial where that guy is drinking a Coca Cola and he's at the World cup and he's got all his USA stave up, which is laughable because who knows if they're even going to be playing deep into the World cup. And he's jumping up and down excited. I'm thinking like, that guy's not going to the game. No, he can't afford to go to the game. Think about it.

[Alan]

They think they're bringing it to America.

[Anthony]

Yeah.

[Alan]

And Americans, you know just what he just described, right? Like Rob and anybody else that you know, that you know a soccer family and they have no chance to get in the building. None. This is not here really for true, like soccer fans or people like New Jersey, you know, really good soccer in New Jersey, right. Like you have a lot of kids who played soccer and really talented kids who've come out of New Jersey that have played soccer. And you would think like with that kind of like a lot of soccer families and you're thinking like, you can go see the World cup, wouldn't that be amazing? And that's what they'll sell to you. All the commercials will be about that, as you said, and none of it will be in the building.

[Anthony]

There'll be a commercial of a father and son holding his 10 year old son's hand.

[Alan]

Right. One day that'll be me dad.

[Anthony]

They should actually people in suits, you know, millionaire pulling up in limousines, you know, getting. And that's what it's for. And again, whatever, that's fine because you'll have it on TV and all that. But

[Alan]

that you're gonna have to make to get two tickets to go to it and then on top it just to get to the building. And then what happens when you get to the building? Well, you got to get merchandise.

[Anthony]

Right.

[Alan]

I'm sure that's fairly priced wrong. So think about the amount, like it's gonna carve you up.

[Rosenberg]

But we're talking about, we're not talking

[Alan]

about like, better be an amazing experience.

[Rosenberg]

We're not talking about a thousand dollars. We're not talking about 600.

[Alan]

Oh gosh.

[Rosenberg]

Thousands and thousands. I've never done, guys, I'm just, I. I've never done it. Beyonce was the most I've ever spent in my life. Last summer as a 46 year old man with a couple of bucks in my pocket for my wife's favorite artist, I shelled out and I got the best hookup I could get. And I think I spent something like 800 bucks a ticket for two tickets. And I was like, wow, never doing this. This is. And it was so we could be on the floor in one of those areas where you have your own bar. And her stage like kind of came through where we were. They were good.

[Anthony]

They were good.

[Rosenberg]

There were times when she, there were times when she was close to us. There were other times when she was not. But like to me as a, again a 46 year old who I don't know if you guys know, has 38 jobs. To put it all together, I said I can do this right now. I don't see how someone working hard in this country on a blue collar salary who wants to take their kids. Let's say you're from Mexico or some country where you really, really love the game and you want to take your kids to go see your home country play.

[Alan]

Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

I just don't see how it's a plausible thing again unless, and I think this is the move, you wait until the day of and you say we're just going to roll up to the building and see what happens.

[Anthony]

But even rolling up to the building means having to pay 150 bucks to train there and you're still a few hundred bucks in just to get the tr. Cheap seats. And I understood back in the day because I've done that too. A lot of money for and usually was on a secondary market because the show was sold out. Now we're just talking about face value, right? I understood. Hey, if you're going to wait, a show is sold out. Supply and demand, right. You knew you're going to have to pay through the nose if you're going to go to a secondary marketer, if you're going to go to a scalper and you really wanted to go to the game or you really wanted to go to the event that sold out. We're talking about on this, on the ticket, the face value. Crazy. Crazy. Jonathan in la. You're on ESPN New York.

[Caller 5]

Hey, guys, how's it going? Talking about, talking about the tickets. Guys, I've lived. I lived in New York, Miami, Toronto, and I'm in LA right now.

[Anthony]

Okay.

[Caller 5]

I play soccer. I play. I played soccer my entire life. I played with so many people. I have friends everywhere. I don't know anybody that's going to a World cup game. Like, it's completely, completely, completely priced out. The regular fans. And you know, the thing, like, we always talk about like an analytics and how they were like baseball and, and basketball and all that. But if you think about it, same thing with the ncaa. The analytics, the corporate analytics have also started to ruin kind of like the sport. Because the sporting event isn't just a game, it's more cultural.

[Caller 1]

Right?

[Caller 5]

Same thing with, like the ncaa. Same thing with everything the sporting event is. It moves culture, especially the World Cup. I'm Colombian. I have a Colombian background, so Colombia, the Colombian national team fan base is basically like the Knicks of the international soccer world. I don't know if you guys have checked. You can. You guys can check on everything. The game in Miami, the only game that Columbia plays in Miami, the steepest ticket is $2800 to sit next to Dodd, who's like, it's impossible.

[Anthony]

No cheapest ticket.

[Alan]

Who's buy. Like, does anybody, like, in the media, when they have these press conferences and they announce all this stuff and you have the, the actual. Who is the governing body? Is it FIFA? Who is it that's doing this?

[Anthony]

No, whatever it is, FIFA. Right?

[Alan]

Okay. Did they ever ask these questions, why are the tickets this expensive? Who do you think is actually going to be able to afford to go to these games? Why do this?

[Rosenberg]

Well, that's a good point.

[Anthony]

Does anybody ever talk about it, you know, in affluent places, like, you're going to have the championship again. New York, I mean, there's a lot of rich people in New York. There's a lot of rich people in LA. 80,000 people in Miami.

[Alan]

There's 80,000 that many rich people.

[Anthony]

Well, they, they think they're going to get it, right?

[Alan]

Oh, no, they're going to get it

[Rosenberg]

one way or another. It'll be very interesting. We get there to see who actually gets into the crowd.

[Alan]

It really is. You know what, it'll be fun to watch from the outside and not be in it. But you know, because of social media, we will see it from the inside. Just how either awful or easy it is to get to the stadium through all the mass transit and how much it costs and the actual cost and everything else that goes with it.

[Rosenberg]

I guess what you can bank on, Don, and you were just saying this, it, it's gotta be that a lot of it is you're getting the richest people from each country to travel here. So how many people can you get from each of these countries that are playing who are in the, in the 1%, you know, that's what it'll take.

[Anthony]

And also they don't, they don't want the middle class to go to these shows and these games. They don't spend any money.

[Alan]

That's terrible.

[Anthony]

I mean, I used to complain when a concert T shirt was like 15 bucks. Now like a concert T shirt, it's like $50. Right. So you think somebody who just barely got enough money to go to the show is going to dump another 200 bucks on a, on a $10 soda and a $15 beer and a $50 concert t shirt or God forbid, a jersey at the World Cup.

[Rosenberg]

The first one on U.S. soil will be, I believe, Friday, June 12, the U.S. and Paraguay at Sofi Stadium.

[Anthony]

Okay.

[Rosenberg]

The next day, Qatar and Switzerland will play in Santa Clara at Levi's Stadium, the home of the Niners. Haiti and Scotland will play in Foxborough and Brazil and Morocco will play in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Saturday, June 13th at 6:00'. Clock. That'll be the first look we'll get at it. And of course they have Brazil in the first game in New York. Probably not a surprise though.

[Anthony]

Not a surprise at all. Evan Cohen here.

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[Don Hahn]

by thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Rosenberg]

I didn't listen to anything you just said.

[Don Hahn]

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

[Anthony]

McCarthy Grand Slam Rockies now with a 6 to 2 lead on the Mets as the Rockies bat in the bottom of the eighth inning. So the Mets three game winning streak is in jeopardy.

[Alan]

That was tough. It like went right over the foul pole and it looked like Mendoza looks like could he challenge it or whatever it was that was.

[Anthony]

I understand that when you were talking about, you know, foul poles or goal posts that you do get to a point if it gets too high they could start to bend and be affected by the wind and all that. But anything we'd get the technology we can get like rope, something to kind of keep it. There should never be a field goal or a foul ball that you can't determine whether it's fair or foul or good or bad based on it going over. Right. They shouldn't be going over. They should make the poll and the foul pole where no one can hit it over infinity. You know, I'm saying.

[Alan]

Well, it's also to me, once again, how is it that there isn't some type of technology in said foul poll or goalpost that just has a sensor?

[Anthony]

Right.

[Alan]

Is it that hard?

[Anthony]

I don't know.

[Alan]

It's a sensor.

[Anthony]

You could. That's a good question because they obviously have the technology whether the pitch is in or out of the strike zone. They can't create the technology that it was.

[Alan]

My car tells me how close I am to the car in front of me or behind me. You can't tell me that a ball

[Rosenberg]

just passed too much.

[Alan]

The ball passed right over the top, see? Yep. That sensor went off.

[Anthony]

We're good. Not only does my car tell me with a beep it'll slow the car down.

[Alan]

Yeah.

[Anthony]

Which is irritating too because I like to be in control.

[Alan]

You know what? You just need like a nice. You know what like a 78 duster. You know what I mean? Just beautiful.

[Anthony]

You left it.

[Alan]

Yeah, yeah. Just give me something like that. Just. Just beat up, bang around. But it'll give you £300 of the cars today.

[Anthony]

It would. It would be almost like, you know, cooking outside like they did in Brokeback Mountain, you know? You know. You know what? Because I was trying to think of a movie where they were cooking outside and that's the only one that came to mind. It really was. What else am I gonna think?

[Rosenberg]

It's classic line.

[Alan]

The only one I know that movies.

[Anthony]

That movie might be 20 years old.

[Rosenberg]

ProPak. Yeah, I think it just celebrated 20 years.

[Anthony]

Crazy, right?

[Rosenberg]

Well, crazy also that it was only 20 years ago and it was like a big, big deal at the time.

[Alan]

It was a big.

[Rosenberg]

They were like well, what's the big deal? The story.

[Alan]

Yeah, it's like, well, wait till you see.

[Rosenberg]

They're. They're.

[Alan]

Yeah, they're. No, no, you can't say it. You got to whisper it.

[Caller 1]

It.

[Anthony]

They're gay.

[Rosenberg]

Can you believe it? There was a movie about the gays and the whole world.

[Alan]

What am I watching?

[Rosenberg]

How can he love him? He's a man. And you guys, if you're too young, that just makes.

[Anthony]

No, damn.

[Rosenberg]

I'm watching the movie and the guy, the feller's married to the feller. The lady from the Dawson's Creek. But then he's with the other guy from Spider man or what? And then they start kissing each other. Guys, it was a huge. Like the world stopped back down.

[Alan]

The whole debate about a lot has happened.

[Rosenberg]

I'm not going to watch that movie like this.

[Alan]

Who's watching that?

[Rosenberg]

I'm a man.

[Alan]

You might catch it. You can't watch that movie. You might catch it.

[Rosenberg]

I love that. And I was a big. I cried my eyes after that movie. I was that I can't quit you part was. It was sad. These people. It was love they couldn't pursue. It's as sad as his life can be.

[Alan]

Very sad.

[Anthony]

And then the way he dies, it's.

[Rosenberg]

I forgot.

[Anthony]

Way to spoil it up.

[Rosenberg]

Oh my God. That's what he.

[Alan]

Way to spoil it.

[Rosenberg]

I totally forgot.

[Anthony]

Well, it's a 20 year anniversary.

[Alan]

That again. It's.

[Rosenberg]

No, I'm actually kind of upset because I Forgot. That is what happens. Yeah.

[Anthony]

Remember? And then he calls up the wife because, remember, the. The mail got returned back to him. Returned to sender. So he called looking for him, and she says that he was changing a tire. And I think he got either hit by a car or something came off the car and hit him, and that's how he died. But then as she's explaining it, they go to the scene where like three or four guys, I guess, know that he was gay and then beat him through Heath Ledger.

[Rosenberg]

Or the other one.

[Anthony]

No, the. The other. Jake Gyllenhaal.

[Rosenberg]

Jake. Jake Gyllenhaal. I.

[Anthony]

Confusion with Gyllenhaal.

[Rosenberg]

Gyllenhaal.

[Alan]

Now, when you said the Spider Man, I was like.

[Rosenberg]

I always used to confuse. He was Toby back in the day.

[Anthony]

Really?

[Rosenberg]

I thought they were similar back.

[Alan]

Gyllenhaal was in Spider man, but he was the. One of the villains.

[Rosenberg]

Really? Is that right?

[Alan]

That's correct.

[Rosenberg]

And then, of course, it's extra sad because that Heath Ledger died, like, pretty shortly thereafter. Great actor.

[Anthony]

No, it's an interesting movie, but I don't know why that's the first one that came up. But right now, as we've been talking, I'm trying to think of another movie where people were cooking outside. And I can't think of one.

[Rosenberg]

Oh, I can think of more movie.

[Anthony]

Go ahead.

[Rosenberg]

Cooking outside, you say?

[Anthony]

Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

You want a scene?

[Anthony]

A scene where they're actually cooking outside.

[Caller 2]

Not.

[Anthony]

Not a barbecue. I mean, like, out there. They built their own fire.

[Alan]

Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

Skillet, stand by me there. Seen when they cook food outside.

[Anthony]

The other.

[Alan]

Don't recall.

[Anthony]

The other one that just popped into my head was Django Unchained.

[Rosenberg]

There's a scene, but there's. I feel like there's so many movies where they end up cooking outside.

[Anthony]

Again, not a Barbie. I mean, just your own fire.

[Rosenberg]

Look around your fire. That's not a fire.

[Alan]

Wait a second.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah. Castaway.

[Alan]

No.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Alan]

Well, yeah, okay. But I mean, there's one when Billy Crystal Wore a Met hat.

[Rosenberg]

Ah, the Slickers of the City.

[Alan]

There you go.

[Anthony]

All right, so we're coming up with others. I. That was the first one that fell.

[Alan]

I would think that one would be the first one to come to mind.

[Anthony]

City Slickers.

[Alan]

Yeah.

[Anthony]

All right. I don't know what to tell you.

[Alan]

2005, December 9th release date by the

[Rosenberg]

way, there's a new wrestler who a lot of people are very excited about, including. John Cena joined nxt. His name's Mason Rook. A very talented, big, big guy.

[Alan]

What's up, Brooke?

[Anthony]

He.

[Rosenberg]

Tell me this guy does not look like Lard Ass from Stand By Me just made it to the wwe. I don't mean. And it sounds offensive when you say Lard Ass, but that's the character's name. What was his real name? Anyone remember what Lard Ass's real name was?

[Anthony]

No. All right. That took a turn.

[Rosenberg]

Really? Lard Ass was the. That was the turn?

[Anthony]

No,

[Rosenberg]

we've been careening off the highway for 20 minutes.

[Anthony]

We took the turn.

[Alan]

We are spinning right now. The turn.

[Rosenberg]

It broke back lane. We ended up on Lard Ass Street. Here we are.

[Caller 1]

Yeah.

[Alan]

We're about to crash right into.

[Rosenberg]

That's right. You bet your ace we are.

[Anthony]

It's coming. Steve in Middle Village. Run ESPN New York. Hi, Steve.

[Rosenberg]

Didn't think you'd take this.

[Caller 1]

Yeah, hi. You know, whenever I'm on hold, I come in with. With one comment and then you. And then I'm writing notes here. There's six other things.

[Anthony]

Okay.

[Caller 1]

But to get to your. To get to the point, I was. I was calling about Monument park has Mel Allen and Bob Shepard.

[Anthony]

Yes.

[Caller 1]

I'm a lifelong Yankee fan. I have no problem if they. In a year or two, they put up a plaque for John. As a matter of fact, maybe. I don't know if they're doing it. I haven't watched, you know, many of the games after the first game. Maybe they're going to do John Sterling's call. The Yankees win all the time now, when they win, I don't know.

[Alan]

They didn't.

[Caller 1]

That would be a nice honor. But definitely the plaque.

[Alan]

Yeah.

[Caller 1]

One other point I want to make, and I know he's a great talk show host. Christopher Russo I've never really cared for. I almost drove over the.

[Anthony]

Whoa.

[Caller 1]

Drove over the Kosciusko Bridge once when he was saying that somebody else was a greater shortstop. Joe Morgan was a greater second baseman than. Than Jackie Robinson. And I was yelling at the radio. Maybe that makes him a good talk show host. I was yelling at the radio, saying

[Caller 4]

if there was no Jackie Robinson, there

[Caller 1]

wouldn't be a Joe Morgan or a Willie Mays, who, by the way, that's his birthday today. So happy birthday to Willie Mays, wherever he is. But anyway, those are all my comments again. I have six of the things I'd love to talk about because I'm a former journalist, but you guys are great. Thanks again, and I look forward to your comments.

[Anthony]

Well, thank you. I appreciate the phone call. Listen, he's a provocateur, right?

[Rosenberg]

Of Sports.

[Anthony]

He's supposed to kind of generate. And I will say, Alan and I and Peter know Chris very well. I Met Chris In 1996, one of the first people I met when I worked at the Fan. He never says anything he doesn't believe.

[Alan]

Right.

[Anthony]

Listen, who's more significant? Jackie Robinson is a more significant baseball player than Joe Morgan. But. But to Chris Russo, the better second baseman was Joe Morgan. Now, I don't know how much Chris Russo saw of Jackie Robinson, considering he's only like 10 years older than me. But listen, he got you. You reacted to something that he said. That's a good talk show host.

[Rosenberg]

Well, and it's the kind of. The take is the perfect talk show host troll take, because he knows how important Jackie Robinson is. But people aren't necessarily always talking about Jackie Robinson the fielder. They're obviously talking about Jockey Robinson in every other way humanly possible. So he's playing with your emotions to make what he could believe is a real argument. But that he knows is provocative.

[Alan]

Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

That is what makes him.

[Alan]

I don't think he's trying to be provocative. I think what he's trying to do is separate the two things. The iconic human who did something that, you know, changed the. Changed sports. Right. And had to endure a lot of things that showed a mental toughness about him and all the things that are honorable about Jackie Robinson. That's not who he's talking about. He's talking about the baseball player.

[Anthony]

Yeah.

[Alan]

That's all he's talking about is just. Just the baseball player, you know, who got me one time, Bart Scott did this. He was talking about Bill Russell and Draymond Green, and he was telling me, like, that's what. That's what Bill Russell would be in today's NBA. He started this with me, and I'm looking at him going, what are you talking about? Bill Russell was this and this. And then he's like, oh, yeah. He's like, look at his shooting numbers. Literally the same as Draymond Green. Like, Bill Russell wasn't a great shooter. He was not a great scorer. He was a great player. He did all the other things. Assists, rebounds, defense. Which sounds a lot like Jaymon Green.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, but the numbers are still.

[Alan]

But no, but the point that Bart was making was that Bill Russell in today's NBA would be. That he wouldn't be Wemby. Right. Like so. But. But saying it, your first reaction is to jump on it. Because I'm thinking of Bill Russell, who's, again, an icon and a winner and all that stuff and he was saying, no, just give me the player, don't give me all the other stuff that comes with the player. And I think that's what Doggy's saying about Jackie Robinson. Just take the baseball player and remove all the other context and put him next to put him next to Joe Morgan and maybe you have a better player in Joe Morgan.

[Don Hahn]

Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Alan]

I don't want to know how the sausage is made, but I just want to know it's good.

[Don Hahn]

Hear more of Don Allen and Peter Weekday afternoon starting at 3 on 8 80, ESPN, the ESPN New York app and your smart speakers.

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