Don, Hahn & Rosenberg Podcast – Hour 4: Last Call Crew (April 8, 2026)

Hosts: Don La Greca, Alan Hahn, Peter Rosenberg
Network: ESPN New York
Episode: Hour 4: Last Call Crew

Overview

In the final hour of the show, Don, Hahn, and Rosenberg bring their trademark blend of irreverent sports talk and New York flavor, fielding listener calls and riffing on everything from the ethics of draft night attendance, NBA draft reform ideas, and the persistence of old sports clichés, to upcoming memoirs and, unexpectedly, a running gag about the word "hole." The hour is lively, sparring, and quintessentially local, weaving serious sports insight with their signature humor and chemistry.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Should Top Draft Picks Attend the Draft in Person?

Segment: 00:44–04:02

• Caller Question: Is it a problem that the consensus number one pick, Mendoza, is staying home for the NFL draft rather than going to Pittsburgh?
  • Don & Alan: No issue at all – it's on brand and about family.
    • Don: “I imagine he wants to make the point that it’s about family... in reality, though, we know his mother, she’s not able to get around.” (01:47)
    • Alan: “If it’s a matter of simply it being hard for his mom to get around, that to me is enough reason.” (02:08)
    • Rosenberg: “From the television portion of it... what’s the difference if he’s there or at home? He’s still going to be on our screen.” (02:42)
  • Consensus: Modern technology (Zoom, camera setups) makes virtual attendance routine for prospects, especially for legit family reasons.

Notable Quote:

• Rosenberg: “I don’t need to see Roger Goodell hug another player.” (03:07)

2. NBA “Incentivizing” Wins for Losing Teams

Segment: 07:13–12:08

• Caller Proposes: End-of-season games where losing teams compete, with the winner getting a better draft pick (to discourage tanking).

  • Hosts Push Back: The idea is unworkable – players have no incentive to play for a draft pick that could cost them their job.
    • Don: “You are never going to get players to try hard for a draft pick... They don’t want this. The players don’t want to be replaced by a draft pick.” (07:46–08:04)
    • Alan: “No players—G League or current—will be motivated to play for a draft pick.” (09:15)
  • On Fans and Tanking:
    • Richard (caller): “I want to see the Nets and the Bucks play for something. I don’t care if they called up a bunch of G League guys.” (09:41)
    • Hosts: Fans might say that, but it doesn’t make for real competitive games. The existing system has flaws, but these solutions aren’t the answer.

• Satirical Solution:

  • Don: “Fan bases make a team play each other. Whoever wins...” (12:08)
  • Alan: “Very entertaining—or legends from the team!” (12:27)

Notable Quote:

• Don: “Why would anybody want to be motivated to play at the end of the season and risk injury for a possibility of getting a player that’s going to take their job away?” (11:55)

3. Heavy Metal Voices & Social Media Reactions

Segment: 14:48–15:39

• Rosenberg discusses his list of top five heavy metal singers, which attracted both praise and critiques on social media.
• Ozzy Osbourne didn’t make Rosenberg’s top five because, “Ozzy had a unique voice, a recognizable voice... but I don’t think he had the voices of the five guys I had up there.” (14:57)
• The team thanks callers and transitions into the next topic.

4. Deconstructing the “Kissing Your Sister” Sports Cliché

Segment: 15:39–17:20

• The phrase “like kissing your sister” (to describe a tie) is debated and mocked.
  • Alan: “Man, she’s hot.” (15:45, jokingly)
  • Rosenberg: “You gotta imagine—the first person to coin this... must have had strange pulls going on in his head.” (15:46)
  • Alan (citing research): “First used in print in 1892.” (16:12)
  • Rosenberg: “We can’t use an analogy from 150 years ago because we’re filth bags... It hits different now.” (16:36)
• Humor about how the phrase lands differently in modern, less innocent times.

Notable Quote:

• Rosenberg: “Now we live with a bunch of filth bags. And it hits different now.” (16:30)

5. "Hole" Humor & New York Pothole Season

Segment: 17:21–18:41

• New York State tweets “It’s hole filling season,” leading to a loud succession of double entendres and puns.
  • Don: “Supposedly they filled like 8,000 potholes in a day.” (17:53)
  • Alan: “Even the state is trolling. Algorithm hustle.” (18:00)
  • The team competes to see how many puns and drops about the word "hole" they can fit in, tallying up to 16.

Memorable Moment:

• Alan: “Shut your damn pie hole.” (18:29)

6. Colin Kaepernick Memoir Announcement

Segment: 19:01–21:13

• Alan announces that Colin Kaepernick’s memoir, The Perilous Fight, will release on September 15, 2026—ten years since he first protested by kneeling.
  • Alan: “It’s crazy, because I remember it was preseason at first... Didn’t get bigger till the regular season.” (19:36, 19:45)
  • Don: “Someone was tipped off. The rumor is... someone said, ‘Hey, watch, have you noticed what he’s doing?’” (19:52)
  • Alan’s Reflection: “You may have not liked that he was kneeling, but you cannot argue that it was disrespectful. It was very purposeful.” (20:29)
  • Rosenberg: “This is going to really help the sales of the book, for sure.” (21:13)

Notable Quotes & Moments By Timestamp

| Time | Speaker | Quote/Moment | |----------|------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:19 | Don Hahn | “It’s on Brand.” | | 03:07 | Rosenberg | “I don’t need to see Roger Goodell hug another player.” | | 08:04 | Don Hahn | “The players don’t want to be replaced by a draft pick.” | | 09:15 | Alan | “No players—G League or current—will be motivated to play for a draft pick.” | | 11:55 | Don Hahn | “Why would anybody want to... risk injury for a possibility of getting a player that’s going to take their job away.” | | 14:57 | Rosenberg | “Ozzy had a unique voice...but I don’t think he had the voices of the five guys I had up there.”| | 16:30 | Rosenberg | “Now we live with a bunch of filth bags. And it hits different now.” | | 17:53 | Don Hahn | “Supposedly they filled like 8,000 potholes in a day.” | | 19:36 | Alan | “It’s crazy, because I remember it was preseason at first.” | | 20:29 | Alan | “You may have not liked that he was kneeling, but you cannot argue that it was disrespectful. It was very purposeful.” | | 21:13 | Rosenberg | “This is going to really help the sales of the book, for sure.” |

Memorable "Hole" Gag (17:21–22:18)

• The hosts engage in an over-the-top tally of double entendres and drops using the word "hole," culminating in 16 audio drops and countless puns. This stretch exemplifies the show's spontaneous, inside-joke humor and willingness to chase ridiculousness for the entertainment of loyal listeners.

Wrap-Up & Teasers

• The hosts close with quick hits:
  • Mets lose (“Mets lose 7–2.” – 21:29)
  • Islanders preview, Yankees ahead
  • Reminders of the next episode and continued banter about studio drops

End Notable Quote:
Don Hahn: “I don’t want to know how the sausage is made, man. I just want to know it’s good.” (22:51)

Summary Table of Timestamps

| Segment | Start | End | Notes | |----------------|---------|---------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Draft attendance | 00:44 | 04:02 | Discussion on whether Mendoza should attend the draft in person | | NBA tournament | 07:13 | 12:08 | Call-in debate on rewarding losing NBA teams and solutions to tanking | | Heavy Metal top 5 | 14:48 | 15:39 | Rosenberg’s social media debates and list reactions | | Kissing your sister cliché | 15:39 | 17:20 | Mockery and history of the phrase, shifting cultural context | | Hole pun marathon | 17:21 | 22:18 | Running “hole” joke, pothole season, abundance of drops/puns | | Kaepernick memoir | 19:01 | 21:13 | Announcement, reflections on the protest, book timing, and significance | | Closing and wrap-up | 22:18 | 22:47 | Show wrap, Mets/Yankees/Islanders updates, more “hole” gags |

Tone & Takeaway

Fast-paced, banter-heavy, and brimming with the trio’s blend of sports insight and off-kilter humor, this hour is a showcase of the Don, Hahn & Rosenberg crew at their most relaxed and playful, moving deftly between meaningful sports talk and comic relief, perfectly tailored for a New York audience.

If you missed the live show, this summary will have you in the loop on all the sports commentary, spirited debates, culture-war puns, and why “hole-filling season” became the accidental theme of the day.