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Rickie Ricardo on Yankees, Eagles, World Cup & Being a Switch Speaker | Stay Tranquilo x DraftKings
00:48:56
Broadcast legend Rickie Ricardo joins the Stay Tranquilo Podcast to discuss his journey from music radio to becoming the Spanish-language voice of the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Eagles. Rickie breaks down the Yankees’ roller-coaster season, Aaron Boone’s future, the MLB trade deadline and whether the Miami Marlins can make a legitimate playoff run. He also shares his perspective on the Eagles trading A.J. Brown, the pressure facing Jalen Hurts and what Philadelphia’s offense could look like moving forward. The conversation also covers the 2026 World Cup, Team USA’s disappointing exit, the continued growth of soccer in the United States and the importance of MLS and the national team building a winning culture. Plus, Rickie reflects on calling Aaron Judge’s historic 62nd home run, the Eagles’ first Super Bowl championship and his role as a bilingual bridge between American sports and the Latino community. Download DraftKings in English or Spanish and always play responsib...
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- [00:00]
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- [00:31]
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- [00:59]
Ricky Ricardo
change being the BR you that's the key word. I've taken pride over my music career and and now in sports, I'm bilingual. I'm a switch hitter. You know, they say switch hitter, I'm a switch speaker. I do both. And being that bridge for years has been my thing and God has blessed me with the ability to do that.
- [01:23]
Podcast Host
All right, welcome back to another episode of Stay Tranquilo. Tranquilo Sports. Today we're we are joined by a broadcast legend, Ricky Ricardo, one of the the announcer for the Spanish broadcast for the Yankees, for the Philadelphia Eagles, and one of the only people that I've ever seen announce a home like this. Se vase. Vase fue. One of the most iconic callings of a home run in Yankee Stadium. Ricky Ricardo, thanks so much for taking the time to be here today.
- [01:53]
Ricky Ricardo
It's my pleasure.
- [01:57]
Podcast Host
As you said, tranquilo y tropicad. Right? That's always energy that we try to bring.
- [02:02]
Ricky Ricardo
Yeah. It's a midsummer July, the All Star, the baseball's at its best. Trade deadline coming up. Lots going on.
- [02:09]
Podcast Host
Oh yeah. Oh, yeah. H definitely a lot to cover today, right? There's a lot going on. We just had the home run derby yesterday, H, which was a great home run derby. A little bit of controversy as to how people perceived it there at the end, but in my opinion as a baseball fan, I thought it was great. H but there's a lot going on. Right. You got the midway point of the season, a lot of teams kind of like in the mix. Doesn't seem to be a true Heavy favorite. So definitely want to get your perspective on that. Then we're what, a month away from football, basically, which is crazy to even say. So definitely want to talk Eagles, want to talk NFL with you. There was a big trade in Philly with A.J. brown in the off season, so I want to get your perspective on that. And then of course, the World Cup's going on, right? We're here, Final four teams, semifinals. We got Spain playing today against France and then you got Argentina playing tomorrow, which that's a big game as well. So just a lot going on. So, Ricky, let's jump right into it. Let's talk some baseball, right? You've been covering the Yankees all season for, you know, multiple years now, but I want to get your perspective on this Yankees team, right? They're, they, they came out hot. They kind of cooled down a little bit in the last month, but they're starting to find a little bit of their stride again here right before the All Star break. Give me your thoughts on what this Yankees team has, has done up to this point and kind of what you think they look like going into the second half of this year.
- [03:26]
Ricky Ricardo
Well, as you mentioned, it's been a roller coaster ride for the Yankees. They had their annual, it seems like it's every year, their quote unquote, June swoon. And everything started to get a little bit shaky after the major injury, obviously to Aaron Judge. Yeah, it's going to catch up to you sooner or later. When you have guys like Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge and Trent Grisham was out of the lineup for a couple of weeks. Max Freed, one of the top lefties in all of baseball, he's been on the IL now for many, many weeks. When you have guys of that caliber out of your lineup consistently over the course of a month, month and a half going on two months coming up, it eventually is going to catch up to you. Bench players do a great job, but they're bench players for a reason. They're not starters. So eventually it catches up to you. I think Aaron Boone has been dealt a difficult set of cards to play with here. Now, having said that, the American League, number one, I think is very weak. I think the National League, at least on the surface, because things tend to even themselves out in the long run.
- [04:35]
Kit Kat Jingle Singer
Right.
- [04:35]
Ricky Ricardo
But in the, in the interim, the American League, with the Tampa Bay Rays and the Yankees battling it out in the American League east, there was a point where The Rays were 6 up in the lost column on the Yankees. The Yankees had a walk off win with an Aaron Judge walk off home run. Everything turned. The Yankees were two, three games up in the loss column in first place. I look at the loss column as my dad used to say. El Perdido, no, Serra negative. The loss, you can never get it back. Wisdom from my father who's been gone for a while, but he was a big Yankee fan. And now as things have gone back and forth again, now the Tampa Bay Rays here at the All Star break are back in first place with a couple of game lead in the lost column over the Yankees. I think these two teams who just split a four game series at the Trop in St. Pete, they're going to battle it all the way to the end. There's a big four game series in the Bronx, including a day night doubleheader in the final week of the regular season. Tampa Bay, New York, clearly the two best teams in the American League. Now a lot's going to change at the trade deadline, right? Does Detroit, does Detroit trade Tarek Scubal? Do the Cleveland Guardians make moves and try to, you know, fortify their offense? Do they bring in a big bat? Somebody in the west has got to. It's almost like nobody wants to win the West.
- [05:58]
Podcast Host
No, the west is a mess.
- [05:59]
Ricky Ricardo
Yeah. Texas Rangers, Seattle, Houston, you know, right now in the American League you've got teams in the wild card positions that are under.500 or you know, hovering right there. And so, so the Yankees, to me, even with all the injuries that they've had and they're going to get guys back, you know, hopefully sooner than later, it remains to be seen how long Aaron Judge will be out, but Max Freed will be back, hopefully. You know, Giancarlo Stanton, who's always very good later on in the year, especially in postseason, you know, he comes back. So some of these pieces, maybe the trade deadline for the Yankees will be getting their own players back, their own injured players back to fortify the roster. But you're absolutely right. It's been a roller coaster ride up and down for the Yankees. I still think they're the best team in the American League. When you have starting pitching in a short series that you can throw in a 3 out of 5 or a 4 out of 7 series, when you can throw a Garrett Cole at someone, a Cam Schlitler, a Max Freed, a Carlos Roland and put some of the starters, the overflow of starting pitching into the bullpen like a Will Warren or Ryan Matthews, I think they have the deepest pitching, I think they have the strongest pitching for a short series so eventually, as the guys that are held, that are injured, get healthy and come back, I think the Yankees the cream will rise to the top.
- [07:28]
Podcast Host
Yeah, absolutely. I mean that you look at that Yankees roster, especially that starting rotation, right? It's built for the postseason. And I think that's where you know, if you're a Yankee fan, like it's not a time to panic. When you see these kind of June swoon type months, right, where you know that this team is still very competitive, there's still a ton of talent. You talk about the injury with Aaron Judge, right? That to me is one of those things that it stinks, right. If you're, if you're a Yankee fan or even if you're a baseball fan, whenever you see the star players of a team go down, right. It just takes away from the best baseball that you could possibly watch. And with, with Aaron Judge in his career, he's a stud, right? He's one of the best players right now in the mlb. But he's been having these injury problems and it's unfortunate, right, where sometimes the Yankees feel like they lose a little momentum throughout the season because you're losing your captain. Right. And that to me is one of the, the biggest challenges with, with the Yankees. Can, can they stay healthy? That, that seems to be kind of like the common theme with the Yankees. And I actually curious, right. You brought up Aaron Boone. Is he, is he someone that you think is, is kind of like on the hot seat, right. Obviously the team's been really competitive, but they haven't been able to get over that, that hurdle. Right. It always feels like it's kind of the same thing over and over again. I think he's a phenomenal coach. I think he'll succeed wherever he goes and I think he should stay the Yankees coach, in my opinion. But I'm curious to get your thoughts and kind of what the fans temperature is around that.
- [08:52]
Ricky Ricardo
Well, Yankee fans, the Yankee universe, they want success and they want it now. Okay. They're not very patient. You know, they, they go into a 3, 4 game losing streak and they want to fire the manager, they want to fire the general manager, they want to make major changes to the roster. You know, Jazz Chisholm, he's a guy that runs hot and cold with the fan base. So the fan base is fickle to say the least. Overall, I think Aaron Judge. Aaron Judge. Aaron Boone has done a wonderful job as Yankees manager. He just won his 750th game. Wow. On Saturday as Yankees manager.751 on Sunday putting him number seven on the all time list of great managers. And you're talking about the jotores of the world and the, and the, you know, the Yogi Berras of the world and the guys that go back into the 30s and 40s and the 50s and the Ralph Haugs. You're talking about some of the biggest names ever to manage baseball teams. Aaron Boone is now in that echelon, in that upper echelon, number seven all time in wins. And there's plenty more wins where that came, where that came from and hopefully more of those are, you know, this season to get him closer to 800 wins. We'll see there's enough games to be able to do it, although they'd have to really reel off a big winning streak. But having said that, I don't think he's on a hot seat. I think the, the organization is pleased with his managerial style. He's a perfect mix of analytics and gut. Okay, so he doesn't completely go by analytics, but at the same time he uses the numbers in a way where then his baseball ackerman, remember he comes from a family where his grandfather played in major league baseball. His father, Bob Boone was a great catcher for the Phillies, won a World Series, was also a very good manager. Bob Boone, his brother Brett Boone was a quality baseball player too. So it's in his blood. There's no better baseball guy, as they say, than Aaron Boone. So do I think he's on the hot seat? No. Do I think there's pressure for him to win? Absolutely. He's the manager of the Yankees. It's almost like being the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys or of the Philadelphia Eagles. There's always going to be pressure to win. But hot seat, I wouldn't go that far yet. Now, if they don't make a long postseason run this year, especially in an American League where, you know, they meet, they may be the dominant team right now and going into October that might be another conversation down the road, but for right now he is comfortably in place. The players respect him, they like him, they play hard for him. And like I mentioned, he cuts that thin line between being an analytics based manager and his gut, his baseball instincts.
- [11:48]
Podcast Host
Right.
- [11:49]
Ricky Ricardo
You know, while he's making decisions on the field.
- [11:51]
Podcast Host
No, absolutely, absolutely. You also brought up the, the dynamic of the AL right now. Right. American League is, doesn't seem to be as strong as, as the NL right now. I, to your point, I, I think a little bit of is, is smoke and mirrors. Right I still think there's a lot of good teams in the al. Yankees obviously being one of those, Tampa Bay Rays being another. Right. But when you look at, at run differential, right, that's, that's a, a statistic and an analytic. That's, that's kind of viewed across the league as to the legitimacy of a team, right? When you look at the, at the Al, they, they currently have 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 teams with a positive run differential, right? Whereas in the nl, you have about nine teams in the positive run differential. How much do you, do you look into that at this point of the season? Right. Kind of weighing some of these teams. Are they good, are they not, are they legit? Are they just kind of cruising by and maybe getting lucky through the course of some of these wins? I remember the Marlins a couple years ago, right, Were kind of like, I think there were five, six games above.500, but you know, they were I think negative 20 in, in run differential, right? So it almost like they were winning a lot of close games, you know, maybe getting a break here, making a break there. But how much do you look into that when you look at, at the, at the legitimacy of some of these teams? Because right now, if you look at the Yankees, they're by far the highest in run differential in the alpha.
- [13:12]
Ricky Ricardo
Look at the 90 odd game point. We're about what, you know, most teams have played 94, 95, 96 games, right? Once you get to Memorial Day, in my opinion, when you get to about 60 games into the season, you start to get a feel for what you got. If it's legit, if it's not, where your weaknesses are, where your strengths are. Right? We're beyond that now. You know, we're at the All Star break. Most teams, like I said, have 66, 67 odd games remaining in the regular season by now. You know who you are, you know how you got here, and you know what, you need to go further now it's up to the general managers. This is where it shifts this month, right through August 3rd at the Trade deadline. This is where organizations now, the people in the front office, the scouts, they go hunting for that, that little known gem that might be on a roster who's unused, that they can bring. The Yankees have done it for years, bringing guys like Clay Holmes in from the Pirates and made him a star relief pitcher when nobody knew who Clay Holmes was. So here's where, you know, management scouting, this is, this is where they cut their teeth and they earn their money. Let's see who can pull off. It's easy to pull off the big deal. If the Tigers are willing to move at Tarek Skubal, you know, even though he's a rental, you're going to have to put up the some of your big time prospects, sacrifice them for the immediate good.
- [14:39]
Podcast Host
Right.
- [14:40]
Ricky Ricardo
But there are players that have team control contracts that are financially viable for organizations going forward. Four teams like the Marlins that are still in contention but just come off a sweep, being swept at home for the first time, you know, this past weekend by the Cleveland Guardians or the team that I just did, I did the games in English. I did the English broadcast this past weekend of the Yankees in the Washington Nationals. The Nationals have no bullpen at all. They've blown 27 saves. It's almost amazing to even think about that. Holy cow, 27 blown saves and they're not to 100 games yet. Imagine if they would have only out of those 27 or you went half. If Washington would have actually saved, I don't know, eight, nine of them, they'd be in first place.
- [15:30]
Podcast Host
Yes.
- [15:32]
Ricky Ricardo
In the National League's Eastern Division. So at this point in the season, all those numbers that you're talking about, they're being weighed, they're being added, subtracted. Absolutely. They mean something because this is where the organizations and the front offices are looking at all those numbers you just mentioned and saying, okay, we've got a target, this player, this type of player, bullpen, another bat, maybe somebody to help defensively, somebody coming off the bench, a veteran. They're making all those decisions right now. So. Absolutely. What you mentioned, run differential having to do with strikeouts, as per, walks with pitching, all of that now, is really front and center when teams are fine tuning their rosters.
- [16:19]
Podcast Host
Absolutely. Yeah. Now, now's the time to take a pause. Right. Look at where you're at, evaluate kind of where the strengths and weaknesses are of this team and see where you are from a positioning standpoint. Right. You bring up the Marlins. Right. I'm a Marlins fan, obviously, I got the old school cap on. But, you know, we would probably be talking about the Marlins if they didn't have the June and, you know, a little bit of, of July that they had. Right. I mean, talking about best record in baseball in the month of June, best record for the franchise in a month. Right. When you talk about winning percentage. So there's a lot of good that comes from the Marlins. And we have this conversation all the time. Right. Where, you know, Marlins haven't been spenders. Right. They're never aggressive in free agency, they didn't do anything. In the offseason, it's like, we're going to trust the, the prospects and we're going to try to develop them. And early on in the season, you're like, okay, well, what are we waiting for? Right? Then they bring in a guy like Joe Mackin, you know, about a quarter way into the season, and he's been a stud defensively. Right. And that's now an opportunity to actually evaluate what you have, because now here we are, I think we're about seven games above.500 after we got swept by the guardians there, which is a tough kind of momentum killer going into the All Star break. But you're still sitting, you know, three and a half games, four games back of the division. If you told me the Marlins would be in this position halfway through, I'd be like, holy cow, we're in a great spot. Right? But now it's like, to your point, what do the GMs do? Right? You, you have, you have an opportunity to do something here. You have a young core that's playing really well. Sandy's kind of back in, in full form. Yuri, coming off an injury, has been good. Max Meer, All Star, right, has been phenomenal all, all season. So it's like, holy cow, these guys have the pieces. What is that move you're going to make? And that's, that's the question, I think as a Marlins fan, I'm curious to see, because historically we haven't done anything right? So now we have an opportunity to do something. Are they going to do something? And I think that's a big, big, big point.
- [18:06]
Ricky Ricardo
Interesting, because I covered the Marlins. I cut my teeth doing play by play with the great fellow Ramirez. Back in 2000, I believe it was two. That was the Joe Girardi year.
- [18:18]
Podcast Host
Okay.
- [18:18]
Ricky Ricardo
I don't know if you're old enough to remember.
- [18:21]
Podcast Host
Yeah, yeah.
- [18:21]
Ricky Ricardo
When Joe Girardi won the manager of the year with the Marlins and got fired. Yeah, that same season. 81 and 81, a tremendous job. I was there. That was my first year transition, transitioning from music radio into sports radio under the tutelage of, as I mentioned, the hall of Famer fellow, Ramirez. So I've seen the Marlin franchise be sellers at the trade deadline. I can't remember very often. You'd have to go back maybe to the Jim Leland days, the Dave Dombrowski days, when the Marlins were buyers. I mean, big time buyers, not little pieces here or little pieces there at the trade deadline. That's One of the more interesting teams right now for this year's trade deadline. Do they keep Sandy Alcantara? Do they add to the young core, maybe with a veteran player, you know, that bring some leadership into that clubhouse? Or if in these next three weeks they fall back, do they sell and try to compile more young talent?
- [19:24]
Podcast Host
Right.
- [19:25]
Ricky Ricardo
You know, moving forward for Clayton McCullough. So a very pivotal. It is next couple of weeks for teams like the Miami Marlins, the Washington Nationals, I think the Mets are going to be sellers. There are some pieces of fruit that are low hanging from that met tree that some of these teams maybe could pick off. So the market is developing, but we're almost there. You know, we're in mid July. The trade deadline is a little bit later this year. It's August 3rd. It happens on a Monday, August 3rd. So a couple of more days on a weekend series to evaluate. But on that particular day this year, I think the action's going to be hot and heavy.
- [20:04]
Podcast Host
Oh yeah.
- [20:05]
Ricky Ricardo
Because a lot of these teams that are still in the mix are going to wait till the last minute to decide whether to buy, sell or stay still?
- [20:13]
Podcast Host
Absolutely. Absolutely. No, I'm excited. I'm excited. I think it's been a great first half of the baseball season and I just think the way things have kind of painted up to this point will paint the picture of a great electric second half of, of the MLB season and just not even talking about the trade deadline. Right. Whatever happens in this trade deadline, it's going to be active, in my opinion. So it's going to completely shift the dynamic of teams that could be in the mix later on in the second half. So one last question on the mob. Who's a dark horse that you like going into the second half of the season?
- [20:47]
Ricky Ricardo
Well, that's a good question. I'll give you surprise teams from each league that I think have staying power to at least make a dent or make an impact on the big boys going forward. I think in the American League, the Chicago White Sox are the biggest surprise in the American League. And you know, I've seen them up close and personal. They were in, in New York for a series. I'll be in Chicago coming up at about 10 days for another four game series against the White Sox. They don't know they're so young and so talented that they don't know that they're not supposed to be any good. Nobody's told them, hey, you're the White Sox. You're supposed to think, you know, so I think the medias Blancas. Chicago White Sox are the surprise team and keep your eye on them in the American League and your Marlins in the National. Listen, I, I'm a Florida resident, so there's always a little peace in my heart for the Miami Marlins. You know, I have a condo in Pembroke Pines with my family, so. And like I said, I cut my teeth, you know, doing Marlins game. So there's always a little piece of me that's always following the Marlins and Otto Lopez and, you know, all the young talent that is blossoming. Liam Hicks, you know, all the talent that's blossoming with the Miami Marlins this year, I would keep my eye because McCullough is one heck of a manager. I would keep my eye on Miami. And if they don't do something themselves, they could be the team that throws some cold water either on Atlanta or Philadelphia, who I think, I think the Phillies are the biggest threat to the Dodgers in the National League, period. But a team like the Marlins could sneak up on Atlanta and, and, or Philadelphia and give them headaches down the line.
- [22:31]
Podcast Host
I like that. So. So you're saying put, put a nice little bet on the, on the Marlins to go win the division.
- [22:38]
Ricky Ricardo
DraftKings, baby. You go to DraftKings, download it. It's available in all right here. Okay. It's available in all 50 states right now. This Car Gal application. Get that app. It's in Spanish. It's the only one that's completely in Spanish. DraftKings was first play responsibly, but absolutely, I, I would put a little something on the Marlins to get into October baseball. And I do it on DraftKings.
- [23:05]
Podcast Host
I love it. I love it, I love it. All right, perfect. So now we're going to talk a little bit of NFL, right? Your Eagles that you cover all year, just traded A.J. brown a few months ago, right. Traded them to the Patriots for, I believe it was a first round and a fifth round pick, first round next year and a fifth round in 2027. And Brown is reuniting with Mike Vrabel. Right. There's a lot of kind of controversy about A.J. brown. Was he happy with Philly? Was he happy with Jalen? Hurts and that whole relationship. Before we talk about, I guess what your thoughts on the trade are, just tell me a little bit about covering A.J. brown, covering him with, with the Eagles and that relationship with Jalen hurts. What was kind of the temperature in the locker room there?
- [23:52]
Ricky Ricardo
It was an interesting dynamic to say the least. They're as close as two people can be one minute and they're as far apart as two guys can be the next minute. Yeah, there are family ties there. One is. Is godfather to the other's daughter. It goes that deep. They've known each other and been very close since college. But A.J. brown, I look, the term everybody uses is, you know, when you talk about receivers especially, is diva. All the diva wide receiver here. You know, I remember I wasn't working with the team at that time, but I'm a talk show host on WIP in Philadelphia and WFAN in New York and occasionally on QAM in Miami. And I remember that there was a very unique relationship between Donovan McNama and Terrell Terrell Owens back in the day in the early 2000s. This is very similar to that. It's got the similarities where they need each other. Jalen Hurts and A.J. brown needed each other. But at the same time, the skill set of Jalen Hurts, you know, there's a lot more to Hurts than just flinging the ball down the field to A.J. brown. He likes to keep the ball a lot, run, get, you know, convert third downs on his own, right. He wants to get everyone else involved. The Dallas Goddard to the world, Devonta Smith. You had a super dominant two years ago when the Eagles won the Super Bowl. You know, you had Saquon Barkley having a record season, right? And A.J. brown is a guy that needs the ball. He needs the ball early. He needs a lot of targets. He's high maintenance as a player. And the one thing with Jalen Hurts is that Jalen Hurts is going to spread that ball around and he's going to use his own personal weapons also. So there came a time, and look, everyone saw it on national TV with, you know, AJ Reading a book on the sidelines and all these kind of things that were distractions that were unnecessary for the team. Howie Roseman, who I think is, you know, if not the best general manager in the National Football League, he's got to be amongst the 2, 3 best. He recognized that, you know, this relationship has run its course and for the good of the team, we're going to go in another direction. Even if in the immediate the team takes a step back. Because when you lose a player like A.J. brown, you're not going to replace him and be better quickly. It's going to take time for this new group of receivers, you know, they brought in Wicks, they brought in different guys. You know, it's going to take time to gel. That's why this particular training camp that starts in a couple of weeks is the Most important training camp in Nick Sirianni's tenure as the head coach. And it's the most important training camp for Jalen Hurts maturing as a quarterback. And now this is his team, right? This is clearly his team. AJ's gone. It all falls on the shoulders of Jalen Hurts. A huge season for a guy that. Listen, I saw the ESPN rankings. Didn't even make the top 10.
- [27:05]
Podcast Host
Wow.
- [27:05]
Ricky Ricardo
In quarterbacks in the National Football League and has been to two Super Bowls in just recent memory. An MVP of one of them just a couple of years ago. So just to. To. To prove the naysayers wrong, this is a huge year for Jalen Hurts as a player, as a man, as a quarterback, and it is a year of question marks, but hopefully things will end up on the right side of the ledger for the Eagles in hole.
- [27:32]
Podcast Host
Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, look, I don't know if you saw there was a clip on, on the Kelsey brothers podcast where Tom Brady actually was on there and they asked Brady about that dynamic between, you know, QB and wide receiver relationships. And the first thing Brady says is like, look, you have to understand where the receiver is coming from. That guy is lining up full sprint down the field, running his routes and he, he's expecting the ball to come his way every single time. Especially if you're an A.J. brown wide receiver. One, right. On any team, right? Like you said to the. Chad Johnson's the world, Tyreek Hills of the world, right? Jamar Chase is of the world. They want the ball because they are playmakers, they're difference makers. So I think there was a, a little bit of a mixed reaction with what happened with Philly and A.J. brown, right, because it was, it was, it was an issue where A.J. brown was maybe not getting the ball enough, and that's his own personal issues. But when you looked at the offense as a whole last year, specifically, right, Jalen Hurts is having games where he's throwing for 125, 150, 150 yards and A.J. brown's not getting the ball right? So he's like, okay, well, am I just not a system fit? Does Jaylen not get me the ball? And I think there was a little bit of an identity crisis, I think, at least in my opinion, like as a fan, as to what is this offense, right? How is this offense going to run? Is it going to run through A.J. brown? Is it going to run through Saquon Barkley? Is it going to run through Jalen Hurts trying to use his legs, right, and extend those plays. And, and the Eagles were still successful. And I think that's what people don't realize. We had this conversation, right? It was always the TUA and Jalen hurts conversation. Right? That conversation was always going on. It's two of the better quarterback is Jalen hurts the better quarterback, right? But the Bama guys, different types, different types of players. But that was always a combo. And I always said I don't give a crap if Tua throws for 350 yards and three touchdowns and we lose that game. I rather the quarterback throw for 150 yards and a touchdown and we win that game. That at the end of the day, a W is a W. And I think people don't realize, obviously it's sexy and it's fun when your quarterback's lighting up the defense and throwing for a ton of yards, throwing for touchdowns. But if it's not translating to wins, which is what you have to credit Sirianni there, right? The fans are booing when the offense is not doing anything. But at the end of the day, they've been to two Super Bowls in the last few years. They're winning a ton of games. They're, they're, they're controlling the division, they're doing what they're supposed to do. And at the end of the day, it's not easy to win in the NFL and it's. Teams are going to try to figure you out and you might have dominance one year and it's going to be that much more difficult the next year. You have to credit what Sirianni's been able to do there, where it's kind of been this defense first approach laden, letting Jalen Hurts be the quarterback that he's supposed to be, whether that's with his legs, whether that's his arm, but just allowing that team to find a way to win the game, even if it doesn't look good.
- [30:13]
Ricky Ricardo
Kevin Patulo was the offensive coordinator. No longer.
- [30:17]
Podcast Host
Exactly.
- [30:17]
Ricky Ricardo
Yeah, but the dynamic, the dynamic between OC quarterback and wide receiver room, specifically Brown, was just not there. They've moved on from Patulo. It's a new system now. So this is a fresh start. But like I said, with Pulo gone and Brown gone, the three pieces that just didn't fit last year, the one that's still there is Herz. It's Jaylen Herz. It's his camp, it's his team, it's his approach moving forward. So it's the biggest season of his career in the National Football League.
- [30:51]
Podcast Host
Absolutely. And then this year, you guys drafted Makai Lemon in the first round. All right, so you, you, you find the piece there at least young wide receiver that can kind of n fit right into the system. What are your thoughts on him? How do you see them integrating him in year one?
- [31:05]
Ricky Ricardo
I thought it was a brilliant move by Howe on draft night jumping up. Remember he was on the phone with the Steelers who were about to trap him.
- [31:13]
Kit Kat Jingle Singer
That's.
- [31:13]
Ricky Ricardo
And, and Howie Roseman jumps ahead of Pittsburgh by one pick to get Lemon.
- [31:18]
Podcast Host
Kai was on the phone with the Steelers already.
- [31:20]
Ricky Ricardo
He was on the phone with the Steelers when the Eagles picked him. He comes from a, you know, a pro style offense at usc. So I, I think he will fit in quickly. He will pick up on the, on the Tech, you know, the, the, the, the terminology and everything that the Eagles have in their system which it, which can be complicated. But coming from a system like Southern Cal at usc, I think Lemon will fit perfectly with a Devonte Smith who now becomes your wide receiver. 1 and let's see. As camp, as they go through the, the battles in camp, who ends up being two and three, they've got more receivers right now than they're going to keep. Okay. So it's going to be a battle for some of those spots. Even the who can play special teams, you know, who can maybe return kicks. So it's going to be a, a healthy competition for some of the wide receiver spots. But I do expect when the smoke clears and when everything gets settled and they get that roster ready for opening day against the Washington Commanders, that you'll have Smith on one side, Wicks and Lemon on the other side. And then the veteran Dallas got it at tight end. The Eagle offensive line, which is slowly starting to age, especially Lane Johnson on the right side. Dickerson, who's been, has been injured a lot. My lotta didn't have his best year last year. So the key to get all that to work is to for that offensive line who was, you know, which has been great especially through the Kelsey years at center. For that line to be as dominant as it has been in years past.
- [32:55]
Podcast Host
Absolutely. Yeah. Everything runs to the offensive line. Being a Dolphin fan, you know, we've dealt with some really bad offensive lines over the course of the years, so I could see how much of a difference it makes. Right. When you talk about A.J. brown going to the Patriots, right. Patriots are coming off going to the Super Bowl. What's the fit with AJ Brown that seems to be a better fit for him from a system standpoint, right. Patriots throw the ball. Drake mays coming off a great year last year, I think it's just a perfect situation for both parties. Right. When you look at what happened in Philly, what do you think?
- [33:25]
Ricky Ricardo
Time out. Time out. I'm not convinced. No, I'm not convinced.
- [33:29]
Podcast Host
I mean, hear it.
- [33:31]
Ricky Ricardo
Drake May was not impressive. Let's face it, in postseason, I get the Patriots got to a Super bowl, but it wasn't because they didn't, you know, get there on the shoulders of Drake May throwing the football.
- [33:46]
Podcast Host
Yeah.
- [33:47]
Ricky Ricardo
Okay. I need to see Drake May now with a weapon like Brown. All right, we're going to see May, the real Drake May. Please stand up. To quote a famous rapper, as you know, I need to see this for real.
- [34:04]
Podcast Host
Okay.
- [34:05]
Ricky Ricardo
I'm not convinced that AJ's arrival is going to bring the best out of Drake May if the targets don't go his way. I know, I know how Brown operates. If Drake May, if there's double coverage, triple coverage on aj, and May starts going to the other side looking for other receivers, then Drake May is going to feel something that he's never felt before, and that's a, you know, a made man type of wide receiver. And AJ Brown complaining about, hey, why youngster? Why aren't you throwing the ball towards me? And, and I need to see Drake May deal with that kind of pressure. Look, he may be able to handle it and I could be completely wrong, but I need to see it. I'm interested to see the AFC east this year. Miami, nobody expects anything from them. The jets, nobody expects anything from them. This is on paper a Buffalo and New England division. Right. But I think the two teams at the bottom might just jump up and bite somebody in the, you know what, on a couple of occasions being Miami and the jets against both the Pats and the Bills.
- [35:18]
Podcast Host
Listen, you're speaking my language. Anytime we can, we can knock the Patriots a little bit and praise the Dolphins. I'm all in for that. I, I, I do agree with you. Right. I, I think when you look at how the season went and you can't take away showing up to a Super bowl from anybody. Right? But you talk about the Patriots, right? They, I think they ended up with the easiest record or easiest schedule. Right. Of strength. Of record or strength. Strength of schedule against Right. Oppos. Opposing, opposing teams. And you look at the way that they kind of got there, it felt like they weren't the team. And then come Super Bowl, I mean, they got manhandled by a way better Seattle team like we, the film doesn't lie. Right? You saw what happened in that Super Bowl. Seattle dominated them all game and like the true colors I think of the Patriots came out. One thing to credit, I think Mike Vrabel is a great coach. Right. He was a perfect fit to come in at the right time and it all worked out in that regard. But.
- [36:12]
Ricky Ricardo
Right.
- [36:13]
Podcast Host
I do think the Patriots could get exposed this year. Right. They're going to have a more difficult schedule and is.
- [36:19]
Ricky Ricardo
It is very well distracted by his own issues.
- [36:22]
Podcast Host
True.
- [36:23]
Ricky Ricardo
Okay, bring it up. Need I bring up the whole thing with this, you know, Diana Rossini. So, you know, we haven't seen that. That's not going away.
- [36:32]
Podcast Host
Absolutely not.
- [36:33]
Ricky Ricardo
That issue is not going to go away. He's going to be pounded and peppered with questions about that, you know, during training camp and into the season. So, yeah, let's see. Let's see where Vrabel's head is at this season as compared to last year, for sure.
- [36:47]
Podcast Host
I mean, he's been able to hide, Right. So he doesn't have to be sitting in front of press conferences or anything like that. So, you know, the start of the season will be full of that. But it's always great to get back to football season. Right. We've kind of had this perfect transition of we got baseball going on, we got the World cup this year and it's going to lead us basically right. Right into summer or right into football season. So with that, I want to transition to World cup. Right. We got the final Four teams playing. We got France and Spain playing today and then England, Argentina. What are your thoughts on. On the World cup this year? Right. We're hosting it here in the United States, Mexico, Canada. What are your thoughts from. From a fan perspective and just being a broadcaster in sports, it's been a wonderful event.
- [37:29]
Ricky Ricardo
Okay. And I think the intention of getting the sport of football, soccer, as it's called in the US Getting it, the exposure and trying to penetrate the casual fan, right? There is. There is a huge soccer world in the United States. Soccer moms, soccer kids.
- [37:49]
Podcast Host
Right.
- [37:50]
Ricky Ricardo
College soccer is huge. The only place where soccer hasn't penetrated is really MLS has kind of hit. They have a level, okay. They need to continue to grow, but it's still very far away from the leagues in Mexico or in Europe or in South America. The event has been wonderful. The crowds have been great, the TV ratings through the roof. There's everything positive. The Final Four teams first time in, I don't know how many years that the four top ranked teams are competing against each other. I thought you know, it was the most disappointing performance of all of them was Team United States on the night that they got eliminated.
- [38:35]
Kit Kat Jingle Singer
Right.
- [38:37]
Ricky Ricardo
It's almost like they didn't show up to play.
- [38:39]
Podcast Host
Absolutely not.
- [38:40]
Ricky Ricardo
But even with having said that, I think the American fever and desire for more football, for more soccer has grown. So, you know, the basic intention from FIFA to grow this game in North America, the combination of Canada, Mexico and the United States, it's been an overwhelming success. I expect the World cup to come back to North America sooner than later. We have the infrastructure, we have the stadiums. We have everything in place to do it like just about nobody else can around the world. At the same time, when this final is over on Sunday the 19th, and a winner is crowned and they have a parade and a celebration in a foreign country, by the time we start talking about training camp and who maybe, you know, had a cramp or a pulled muscle at the end of July in NFL training camps, my question is, how much of the World cup will we even remember when football. And, um. And who's the top five collegiate team?
- [39:50]
Podcast Host
Right, Exactly.
- [39:52]
Ricky Ricardo
What. When football takes our. Over our lives again in August and September and going forward, you know, will. How much of the wonderful time we had in June and July with. With the World cup, how much of that will linger in our minds? That's the question.
- [40:09]
Podcast Host
Absolutely. That I think you talk about. The casual fan, right? The casual fan is the American football fan, right. And when football's on, reality is. Nothing else matters to anybody, right?
- [40:19]
Ricky Ricardo
Nothing.
- [40:20]
Podcast Host
And that's. That's just kind of the dynamic of it. But I think, you know, one thing about what's interesting to me about the United States, right. Is. Is the melting pot that the United States is.
- [40:30]
Ricky Ricardo
Right.
- [40:30]
Podcast Host
You have so much influence from Europe, from South America, Central America. Right. All over the globe where they are big soccer fans and they bring that fanhood into the United States. I think if we focus too much on the people that are already here, yes, they're. They're accustomed to being American football fans. But when we talk about the people that are coming into the US Right, Younger demographic, people that. That. That are Latinos, Latinas, you know, Europeans, that. People that actually already love soccer, if they can bring that kind of culture into. Into us as fans, then maybe we can kind of have like, that happy medium where we're getting a little bit of both American football, soccer and. And everything else in between, right. Big three is basketball, baseball and football. But there's already trends showing that soccer is just starting to climb, that leaderboard and in my opinion, I wouldn't be shocked if soccer is number two in the next 10, 15 years as. As part of viewership, just because of the. The people that are going to come and end up living here in the United States. The trends don't lie.
- [41:34]
Ricky Ricardo
The game is growing around the. We saw how well the African countries participated in this tournament, so it's progressing in different parts of the world. Where we need to see soccer get really competitive is here.
- [41:50]
Podcast Host
Yes.
- [41:51]
Ricky Ricardo
The American sports fan will only love soccer if there's something to cling on. Team usa. Mls. You know, having Messi play for Inter Miami is huge.
- [42:03]
Podcast Host
Massive. Yeah.
- [42:03]
Ricky Ricardo
It reminds me, when I was, you know, a much younger man of when Pele was here with the North American Soccer League and the New York Cosmos. They were getting 78,000 fans at Giant Stadium for every match, but it didn't spread to the rest of the country. So MLS is the key to getting soccer here more popular. And then the national team has got to represent in a stronger manner in international competition, friendlies, whatever. You know, tournaments going forward. You know, the. The American sports fan wants a winner. That's why they love the Yankees. That's why they love the. The Celtics. That's why they love. I was going to say the Cowboys. They haven't won anything in a long time, but you know what I mean? America loves a winner. So we need for Team USA to be much more competitive going forward so that the American sports fan can lean on a winner because that's what you need to succeed in the U.S. yeah,
- [43:05]
Podcast Host
I think that's what's unfortunate with the way that last game went for Team USA was, you know, you had an opportunity to prove something, and it was the opposite. Right. It feels like we're on this hamster wheel with Team USA, right? Where I made it to this round of 16 a couple times. I know they had to play an extra round because there was more teams this year, right? So they looked the part up to that point. The momentum was behind the team. Everybody was like, holy cow, this might be the best Team USA team we've ever seen. And they were doing their part to sell it. But when the opportunity came to really bring the people in, you make it to the final eight, you beat a top 10 team that in Belgium, right. That hadn't really looked great up to that point. But at the end of the day, there's still a national or global powerhouse, right? That was a team and an opportunity that you came and it stunk, right? Because you look at the Game, first five minutes and you're like, oh, my God, if this is how it's going to go, this team has no chance. And, and that was the full 90 minute picture. That team got dominated the whole game. Pulisic, unfortunately, apparently was hurt. Definitely did not look the part of the superstar. And then you have everything kind of leading into it, right. Battling in getting his red card.
- [44:10]
Kit Kat Jingle Singer
Right.
- [44:11]
Podcast Host
So he was able to play. And then it was like, oh, my God, we really got to put this on because we became like the global enemy. It was like, oh, my God, these guys are pulling strings over there to get their best right to play. And you can make the argument that should have never been a red card to begin with, but still, that was the opportunity at hand. And it's unfortunate, what with what Team USA did, you know, to, to, to prove their point. And I think that's the most frustrating part about all of that.
- [44:35]
Ricky Ricardo
I agree with you. Having the involvement come from, you know, even the President of the United States getting involved, it left a bad taste in the mouth of the soccer world.
- [44:46]
Podcast Host
Absolutely.
- [44:47]
Ricky Ricardo
Regardless of whether he deserved the red card or not, which is a whole nother debate.
- [44:51]
Podcast Host
Absolutely. All right, so before we wrap it up, I want to ask you one quick question. You know, being a broadcaster now for, for your career, being able to cover the Eagles who have won Super Bowls, being able to cover the Yankees, what's been your favorite maybe moment in sports to be able to call?
- [45:11]
Ricky Ricardo
Oh, well, you can go on YouTube and pull up, pull some of my calls.
- [45:15]
Podcast Host
I've seen them.
- [45:16]
Ricky Ricardo
But for me, for me personally, baseball wise, Aaron Judge's 62nd home run when he tied, you know, Roger MARIS, Babe Ruth, 60, 61, 62. That pursuit that Judge had of being the Yankee season leader, the American League season leader, you know, remember, there's, there's an asterisk about some of the home run records in Major League Baseball. Bonds and Maguire, of course, but this was as pure as you can get. 62, Aaron Judge right down to the wire in Arlington. So being able to call those home runs where he's putting his name next to Babe Ruth, Roger Maris and them standing alone at 62, that was wonderful. At the end of, was it 20, I guess, the 22 season with Aaron Judge and obviously with the Eagles, The Eagles had, had never won a Super Bowl. And I saw grown men in their 60s, 70s and 80s in tears, crying in just pure joy when the Philadelphia Eagles finally delivered a Super bowl at the parade. The ownership has been wonderful. I've got, you know, I Don't have them with me here, but I've got all three rings, the two super bowl winners and the, and the NFC championship jewelry and just to see the out and out joy of Eagle fans. But especially that first one, the second one, fine. You know, everybody enjoy, but people thought that first one would never happen. And it was in Minnesota, it was against Brady and the Patriots. A last minute Hail Mary from Brady to Gronkowski right there under my broadcast booth. And when I saw that ball land on the ground and Bill Belichick go out to shake the hand of Doug Peterson, then you knew that game was over. It was a joy, it was a call that came out of me very organically, very naturally that I'll never forget. You know, people remind me of that and the, the double doink that no senor. No senor. On the missed kick in Chicago. So I'd rank those right there, top three judge no senor. The super bowl with the Eagles, that's amazing.
- [47:33]
Podcast Host
What, what a, what a cool experience, right? Like to be able to, to pursue not only what you're, you're, you're passionate about from like a fan perspective, but what also you're, you're, you're good at, right? Like to be able to have that voice and have that energy and that charisma and, and not only that, representing, you know, the Latinos that are here that are sports fans, right? Being able to kind of feel a culture in a sport that, you know, has been very Americanized over the years. So being able to be that bridge has got to be amazing.
- [48:00]
Ricky Ricardo
Being the bridge, you. That's the key word. I've taken pride over my music career and, and now in sports, I'm bilingual. I'm a switch hitter. You know, they say switch hitter. I'm a switch speaker. I do both. And being that bridge for years has been my thing. And God has blessed me with the ability to do that. There's only one thing that makes it better, my friend, and that is when you put a little something on it and you do it. With DraftKings, you gotta get the DraftKings app available now in all 50 states. Estang espanol. So you can bet in English, you can bet in Spanish. All the numbers are there for all the baseball, the World cup, the football. When the NBA comes back, it'll all be there. They've got it all. They have it in English, they have it in Spanish. You can turn 5 bucks into 200. Get the DraftKings app in Espanol or in English, just play responsibly. It's all we ask. Play responsibly. Enjoy. But, you know, a little flavor to your sports with DraftKings.
- [49:04]
Podcast Host
I love it. I love it. El Sasson is with DraftKings. And we are ready for the second half of baseball. We're ready for football season, and we're ready for this finale of the World cup to kind of wrap up summer over here in the States. Ricky, it has been a pleasure being able to talk to you. I hope we could do this again. You know, maybe we do something.
- [49:22]
Ricky Ricardo
Absolutely.
- [49:23]
Podcast Host
Around before football season. Pero un. Thank you so much. And I really enjoyed this conversation.
- [49:33]
Ricky Ricardo
Always.
- [49:35]
Podcast Host
All right, guys, thank you all for tuning in. And we'll see you guys on the next episode.