Don, Hahn & Rosenberg – Hour 4: Don's Trip & The Last Call Crew

Date: January 16, 2026
Hosts: Don La Greca, Alan Hahn, Peter Rosenberg
Outlet: ESPN New York

Episode Overview

This hour dives into Don La Greca's upcoming NHL broadcasting road trip across Canada, lively caller debates over New York sports fandom and regional loyalties, NFL betting waves, and playful banter about host dynamics. The tone is classic DHR: quick-witted, self-deprecating, heavy on New York sports culture, and peppered with radio-family inside jokes.

Key Topics & Insights

1. Don's Canadian Road Trip Woes & Joys

Timestamps: [00:13]–[05:57]

• Don's Itinerary: Don describes an extensive Devils road trip: leaving Sunday for Calgary, games in Calgary, Vancouver, and Seattle, with significant downtime due to one of the games being on ESPN (and therefore not on his broadcast schedule).
• Travel Logistics:
  • Flight schedule: “Fly with the team to Calgary” [01:44]
  • “Four, four and a half, something like that” flight length [01:53]
  • Off days: “Wednesday, Thursday off in Vancouver” [02:41]
  • Trip total: About a full week away [03:08]
• Family & Emotional toll:
  • Impact: “I'll miss him, but we'll see each other on FaceTime and all that.” [03:28]
  • On downtime: “It's just frustrating...if I had the technology, after the Flame game, I'd beam myself home.” [03:41–04:00]
• The Host’s Perspective:
  • Alan frames the ‘problem’ as a silver lining: “Isn't there a part of you that, on those days with nothing to do but the radio show, you can just, like, chill out?” [04:11]
  • Don objects, in classic style: “It's going to be pure hell.” [04:39]
  • Peter agrees with the struggle: “Good for you, man. I get it. It's tough, dude.” [04:52]
• Comic Relief:
  • Don: “You can feel death out there.” [05:24, on Canadian cold]
  • Hosts joke about commercial flights: “He checked for as many commercial flights...there's nothing available.” [05:29–05:36]

Notable Quote:
“Every second that I'm in Vancouver drinking my smoky old fashion, right, and having a steak, like a gentleman, I will be wishing that you could be home having Mac and Cheese and helping the kids.”
— Don La Greca [04:41]

2. The New Commanders Stadium Renderings

Timestamps: [05:57]–[06:44]

• Reaction to design: “It looks like a monument...like the way it sits in front of the city looks incredible.” — Alan [06:09]
• Located “at the site of where RFK was.” [06:14]
• Hopes it “puts MetLife to shame.” [06:32]
• “If that place feels like MetLife Stadium, I will have seen enough.” — Alan [06:39]

3. The New Jersey/New York State Road Sign Phenomenon

Timestamps: [09:54]–[11:19]

• Caller Mateo (NJ):
  • Praises “driving in New Jersey" and describes always seeing signs pointing to New York, even nationwide.
  • “I've been to 49 states in the Union...and it never fails, everywhere you go, there’s a sign pointed to New York." [10:26]
• Hosts appreciate the “comfort” of being oriented toward home wherever on the road.
• “That's why they hate us, because there are signs.” — Alan [11:19]

4. Caller Segment: NFL Regional Fandom & Frauds

Timestamps: [11:42]–[15:12], [24:04]–[26:13]

• Caller Andrew (Long Beach):
  • Flags students who return home from college in Buffalo now self-identifying as Bills fans as ‘frauds’.
  • “I personally believe this is fraudulence...that they come home as Bills fans.” [11:53]
• Don’s Ruling:
  • “If you're a Jet or Giant fan and go to Buffalo to school to come back a Bills fan, you're a fraud.” [12:46]
  • Debunks the “only team in New York” excuse; Buffalo is not the same as New York City/metro.
    • “Buffalo might be in the state of New York, but it is not local.” [12:47]
    • “When you go to Buffalo, you go to a Sabers game...they play both the American and Canadian national anthem. How can you be a local team if you're so close to Canada?” [13:24]
• Playful debate:
  • Frauds for “quitting a team” vs. “joining another team” distinction. [14:46]

Notable Quote:
“Can we stop? ...If you’re a Giant fan, you go to Buffalo to school, come back, you’re a Bills fan. You’re a fraud.”
— Don La Greca [13:49]

• Where Is “Upstate New York,” Actually?
  • Caller “Chris in the car” and hosts debate the upstate/downstate dividing line. [24:04–26:13]
    • Chris: “Buffalo is upstate New York...It’s like Narnia. It’s a foreign land.” [24:30]
    • Don: “Westchester’s not upstate. Buffalo’s upstate.” [24:44]
    • Alan: “You could make the argument past Westchester.” [25:31]
    • Don sees “north of Albany” as the real upstate. [26:02]

5. NFL Betting Trends & “Fraud Friday”

Timestamps: [17:34]–[21:34]

• Caller Danny (Long Island):
  • NFL coaching rumors (John Harbaugh–Giants)
  • Story about NFL playoffs betting: “There were 640 combinations of three-team teases you could have bet last Saturday and Sunday, and every single one of them won. DraftKings...took a beating.” [19:00]
• Hosts dissect:
  • The “parlay problem” and betting trends ("what stinks the most? Will the public go Buffalo?") [20:16]
  • “Public probably loves Buffalo again. ...No, that’s how the public thinks.” — Alan [20:16]
  • “I know, but now it makes me feel stupid because I've been on the Bears all week.” — Alan [21:34]

6. Station Dynamics & On-Air “Snapping”

Timestamps: [21:55]–[23:48]

• Caller Brad (Montclair):
  • Observes Peter’s ability to make colleagues snap on air, theorizes that it's due to “subtle belittling.” [21:59]
• Peter responds:
  • “I do not believe I belittle Griffin. I just treat Griffin as an equal...In the case of Tessa, I don't think I belittle Tessa. I think, frankly, I humor her.” [23:05]

7. Lighthearted Closer: The “Rex” Rabbit Hole

Timestamps: [26:52]–[27:05]

• Quick tangent about how many “Rexes” exist in sports and pop culture.
  • “Rex Walters. Rex Reed. Rex Ryan. Rex Mondo.” — Alan and Don [26:58–27:03]

Memorable Quotes

• On Road Life:
  • “It's going to be pure hell.” — Don [04:39]
• On Regional Loyalty:
  • “If you're a Giant fan. You go to Buffalo to school, come back, you're a Bills fan, you're a fraud.” — Don [13:53]
• Geographic Identity:
  • “Buffalo is upstate New York. It's like Narnia. It's a foreign land.” — Chris, caller [24:30]
• On the New Stadium:
  • “It looks like a monument.” — Alan [06:09]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:13] – Don's trip preview and logistics
• [01:20] – Don’s thoughts on time away from family
• [03:28] – Alan & Don examine emotional side of road travel
• [05:57] – Stadium design discussion
• [09:54] – Mateo on road signage and NY identity
• [11:42] – Andrew on “fraudulent” NFL fandom
• [13:24] – Don on Buffalo’s proximity to Canada
• [17:34] – NFL betting recap/caller Danny
• [21:55] – Brad on Peter’s radio style
• [24:04] – “Where is upstate New York?” debate

Tone & Energy

Jovial, deeply New York, irreverent but affectionate toward the hosts’ own quirks and those of their passionate listeners. Heavy banter, but a willingness to honestly explore the emotional tugs of family, fandom, and professional travel.

For New Listeners

This episode is a quintessential sample of what makes the Don, Hahn & Rosenberg show beloved in the NY sports scene—insider energy, fan debates taken seriously-but-playingly, personal confessions woven between sports hot takes, and a warm, self-critical humor. You’ll walk away feeling like you just hung out in the back of a New York bar, at once in on the jokes and invested in the endless local debates.