Hour 1: Hour 1: Heat-Hornets Play-In Game Reactions, plus Ohio State WR Carnell Tate

0:00Rich Eisen:For some of us, personal finances aren't just personal. They include a lot more people than ourselves. Loved ones, neighbours, the communities we call home, and the causes we hold in our hearts. At Thrivent, we help plan your financial picture with the bigger picture in mind. Because even though our business is helping guide your finances, our ambition is to make it mean so much more. Thrivent, where money means more. Connect with us at Thrivent.com. This is the Rich Eisen Show. Hey, everybody. Can't get enough of the Rich Eisen Show? You're in luck. You can find us everywhere. Watch us weekdays on Disney Plus from noon to 3 Eastern.

0:44Miss the show? We've got a podcast so you can listen anytime. But here's the best part. Our YouTube channel. Subscribe at youtube.com slash Rich Eisen Show and you'll never miss a moment. Now, on with the show. We are back, baby. We are back. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. We are back. We are back. This is the Rich Eisen Show. And it's over. The Harden's win. Today's gasps. 2026 NFL Draft prospect, Carnell Tate. The Ringer NFL Draft analyst, Todd McShay. Actor and comedian, David Spain. And now it's Rich Eisen.

1:31Rich Eisen:Draft class is going to be first up as we are eight days away from the NFL draft. Todd McShay of the Ringer is going to be joining us. And speaking of ringing, he rang a mock draft bell with five different shocking trades that he's predicting. Hey, let's go. And we'll review his work before he joins us in hour number two. And then David Spade stops by. That's our three. It's always fun when David Spade is here on the program. And then there's you at 844-204-RICH, whether you're watching on Disney +, the ESPN app, or listening on ESPN Radio or SiriusXM Channel 80. I've got a power rankings today of the power rankings of the NBA playoff field.

2:15Rich Eisen:Oh, yeah. Ten all the way up to one. That's later on. And as I mentioned, we're eager to hear from you to chime in. Good to see you over there, Chris Brockman. How are you? Hey, Rich. Great to see you, man. DJ Mikey D is in these nuts in person. We're going to see TJ Jefferson. The candle is lit. Oh, it's a beautiful looking candle. New candle. Welcome back, fellas. It was weird in here yesterday without you guys. Well, I'm glad to be here. I didn't say we missed you. I just said it was weird. Okay. Understood. Very good. So let's start with the play-in tournament. Now, we're always wondering, where do the points go?

2:50Rich Eisen:You know what I mean? Like it doesn't count in anything for an all time situation except within the world of the playing tournament. What I mean, the all world situation, I mean, it doesn't count on your career stats. Doesn't count on those stats. Right. You could score 84 and it wouldn't matter. Wouldn't matter. It's sort of, again, that Phantom Zone that was in the Superman movies in the 70s. I don't know where it goes. Can Tatum score 50 in one of those games? It's great. It means nothing. It's lovely. But listen, does it matter when it actually leaves a mark about who can advance or not in the playoffs?

3:34Rich Eisen:If a tree falls in the play-in tournament, does it make a noise? Well, the 9-10 game last night, the first play-in tournament game, which is technically the playoffs. it's not you know it's it's it's loser goes home winner advance for the right to be the eight seed last night the Charlotte Hornets taking on the Miami Heat and there's so many things to take away from this game the way it ended for instance a three-point lead for the Miami Heat late and And you could see on the faces of all the Charlotte Hornet fans that have seen this season go so well for them. From Con Canipple having a rookie of the year type campaign.

4:25Rich Eisen:If you said a Duke player is going to win rookie of the year, you'd go, oh, it's Cooper Fleck. Not this kid, but he's been so amazing. And yet he got benched with a minute and a half to go. Yeah, he's glad those stats don't count. He had a brutal night. And the Heat are doing Heat-like things. which is dominating much of an evening with a play-in tournament on the line and then maybe going on a run and you don't want to see the heat. And they're doing heat-like things, winning when you don't expect them to or leading when you don't expect them to. And the guy who back in the day I said, don't get rid of to acquire Giannis Antetokounmpo to date, still the worst take I've ever had in the history of this program.

5:13Rich Eisen:Tyler Hero starts going off and I'm sitting there even thinking to myself off hey with Giannis sitting at home hey wondering and people wondering in his early 30s is what's going on with him and I'm like hey Tyler Hero doing a hero like things without a cape certainly because Bam Adebayo is not out there put a pin in that for a moment and Kobe White comes to the rescue and he had to shoot a three with mere seconds to go essentially off the inbounds without taking a dribble because the heat could foul him and prevent him from shooting a three and instead he takes it off the inbounds and just launches one up in the air and somehow someway touched nothing but the bottom of the net yeah that was tight and it was wild that was an amazing moment for him to do that and what he did coming off the bench last night and his minutes for charlotte was really remarkable forcing overtime in which charlotte has a two possession lead only to have tyler hero make a three and shoot three from the free throw line after stealing one from lamello ball and now they're at one and lamello with the heat having a foul to give they don't foul him or there's no foul called as he makes his way to the basket lays it in no timeouts remaining for the heat they go down and uh block the game winning attempt for the heat and miles bridges with a huge block shot And that's all she wrote.

6:55Rich Eisen:And celebration ensues. The Hornets move on. The Hornets move on. Bell, pardon me, ball is going off. He's hitting the mascot a couple of times in the face. and sure we could sit here and talk about how the heat had an opportunity to win multiple times and ball with the game winner in overtime and con canipple despite being benched for all of overtime after the last 90 plus ticks of regulation has a chance to now move on and one win away from facing the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the NBA playoffs, but really it's all about whether Ball should have been in the game at all. At all. Bam Adebayo played 11 minutes last night.

7:47Rich Eisen:That's it. And the reason why is because he went straight down on his back and didn't return. And the reason why he went straight down on his back is because of a collision that happened in real time with no foul called. And then the prime video replay eventually shows LaMelo Ball as he went down to the ground. His going down to the ground didn't cause Bam Adebayo to tumble over. What really did as Adebayo's momentum was taking him out of bounds was Ball using his left hand to grab the plant foot of Adebayo and yank it out from under him. A clear, flagrant violation of any rule you could come up with, whether it's in the rulebook or it's just a player code.

8:48100 percent there's no other way to put it and after the game eric spolster didn't hold back i didn't see it but that i don't think it's cute i don't think it's funny i think it's a stupid play it's a dangerous play obviously our uh best player is out i'm not making an excuse the hornets played great, you know, and they made those plays down the stretch. We had our opportunities to win. I just, that's a shame. You know, he should be penalized for that. I don't think that belongs in the game. You know, tripping guys, you know, shenanigans. And, you know, Curtis was there. It's his responsibility to see that.

9:27And if it's not his responsibility, then Zach's got to see it. If, you know, somebody has got to see that.

9:32Rich Eisen:And that, you know, he should have been thrown out of the game, you know, for that. He should have been thrown out of the game for it. i'm not lying i just don't know how everybody missed it nobody it happened well nobody saw it in real time well even spo said he missed it here's the thing i've got the pool report um rod boone of the charlotte observer spoke to the crew chief i don't believe it's from uh hollywood shuffle crew chief not the assistant crew chief crew chief winky dinky no zach zarba question why was the play not reviewed in time zarba the play wasn't whistled in real time play continued with a fast break and because play wasn't stopped immediately and there was no whistle on the play the window to review the play was closed play was stopped after a change of possession and then a timeout so by rule our window to review that play then is closed follow-up question was it later reviewed by the officiating crew in the locker room or by the replay center our crew said zarba we review all our plays so we reviewed the play at halftime question should i have should it have risen to the level of a flagrant foul if reviewed uh how do you think a hypothetical is going to be answered by an official who totally missed it right uh at this point that goes to league operations and they'll make a determination on that in the coming days so they will make that determination and was the play not reviewed in real go from there so it's going to be up to the league office right now what do they do because you could see it is a flagrant maneuver by ball who said i guess he was disoriented because his head was hit yeah he got hammered on the play i got it and got a no call and so he didn't know where he was and so he thought maybe the guy who kicked him in the head was the guy to his left so he'll just yank yank his leg out from under him i don't know oh wait a minute it wasn't the guy who hit me it's just the heat's best player which maybe he didn't know i get it this was his response after the game i apologize on that one i mean i got hit in the head and didn't really know where i was but i'm gonna check on him and see if he's okay and everything yeah check on him lamello it kind of looks like on film that you might have grabbed his leg i mean did you intentionally grab his leg i haven't even seen like i said i got hit in the head didn't even know where I was, but yeah, just playing basketball.

11:57But like I said, sorry and I'm going to check on him.

11:59Rich Eisen:Yeah, that is not a basketball move. I don't understand if he's why would he be sorry if he said it was a basketball move and he didn't know where he was and he didn't know if he did it intentionally because he got hit in the head. Well, he's probably sorry that Bam had to miss the game. Yeah, I mean, as he's going down, he does take Bam's knee to his head. I'm not No, I don't think it was Bam's knee to his head. I think it was somebody else behind him. No, here's the deal. I understand why the TV, we didn't catch it watching it live because it happened right in front of Conk and Apple. So right from the broadcast point of view, you couldn't exactly tell that he pulled his foot out.

12:36Rich Eisen:But there was a referee standing right there. Like I'm watching this over and over. But how did he not see it? Because the play is moving on. No, it's moving on. Listen, I understand that you'd like for an official to see absolutely everything. But you know what we have? we have cameras yeah and whatever the construct is here that does not allow this to be reviewed and have something adjudicated in the game in which it happens it happened really fast the whole sequence if you can see it and we can see it you should use it and it's not like oh oh, well, wait a minute, play played on. But if you slow everything down to slow motion, then yeah, it looks bad.

13:26Rich Eisen:If you watch it in real time. He grabbed Bam and yanked his foot. Why would he do that? Why would he do that? Frustrated because he got hit in the head? It's flagrant, and you could see it, and he should not have been in the game after it. Oh, you want him ejected for that? Absolutely. I think this is tech worthy. I don't know if this is ejection. Okay. Tech worthy then? Sure. Tech worthy for sure. Give me something. Yeah. You should review it. Something. Absolutely. You're right. I think that's something. This may be one of those hockey situations where, you know, the reason why I bring that up is there's a moment in a game, somebody gets a misconduct or a major, and then that guy who is the recipient of the behavior that causes the major to be given out, that person is now out for a week and a half, and now you want that guy who created the injury suspended for longer than you did in real time?

14:27Rich Eisen:That I might be playing the result here? Because you don't know that he's not returning. But that's flagrant, man. And that's Bam out of bio. That's their best player. I don't blame Spoelstra for saying something. And now we'll see what the league says. What does the association do? Because it now is on them. do you sit you sit ball in this must-have game for the charlotte hornets he yanked his foot out man there's no other way to put it hand in the cookie jar busted by prime video unfortunately for him that wasn't the 15 second window with technical difficulties We caught that. They were on the air for that one.

15:12Rich Eisen:And we saw it. We didn't see it until after the fact. But it doesn't matter if it's after the fact it happened. And you can see it. And that's what the NFL is now fixing, where you can come in and say, wait a minute, we saw you shove first on the eye in the sky. Now, if you catch that two plays, three plays later, will they come in and do that then? Will they then hit somebody with an ejection three plays later? I hope so. It shouldn't be time. It shouldn't be like, oh, the play played on, and so the rules say it's got to be within a certain construct. No, we found it. We saw it. It happened. We'll see what happens here.

15:58Rich Eisen:Because maybe it's a flagrant what? They'll give him a flagrant so it'll count towards a total that could aggregate. but I don't blame Spolster for saying he should be ejected for that. That's our best player who was going down with some momentum or might have been able to brace his fall, but didn't because somebody made him go ass over tea kettle. Yeah. Yeah, Chris Haines saying the league is going to review the situation. Yeah, they are. And have a ruling before Friday. At this point, said Zach Zarba, crew chief. At this point, that goes to league operations. We'll see. We'll see what happens next.

16:40Rich Eisen:Which really, all this just takes away from... That game was awesome. What Charlotte's done this year, this turnaround, that no one all year has really been paying attention to... Or talking about... Or talking to until... We spoke about the other stuff first. You know, so it takes away from that, which stinks for... Well, playing ball. Yeah. By the way, and Lomelo had the game winner last night. And played awesome. He's... Listen, let me just say this. He is electric. He is a star of the sport, but he has some impulse problems on the court and behind the wheel of a car, as people in Charlotte will attest.

17:19Rich Eisen:True. As he has an interesting way of approaching intersections. And he had an intersection last night with the foot of one of the best players in the sport. And the league is going to have to do something about it. because there's cameras 844-204-RICH is the number to dial right here on the Rich Eisen show Carnell Tate everybody best wide receiver in the draft you'll be okay you're gonna be professional here I'm where's he from the Ohio State University at Columbus Ohio best in the Best wide receiver available. Yeah. And he had a moment where he stuck it to my alma mater. As a matter of fact, saying going up top to him kind of set the tone for a day where I felt like it wasn't going to be our day.

18:20Rich Eisen:And guess what? It wasn't. I'm fine. Okay. I'm fine with it. Just making sure. I'm fine with it. You know. You got yours. The WNBA draft gave me an idea of how it's going to feel to say a school over and over and over again in the top 10. No doubt. So you know how a USC alumni or player is watching this. That's correct. Yeah, got it. 844-204-RICH is the number to dial. Carnell Tate. And then, man, we will review the work of Todd McShay before he joins us. Some wild scenarios in his latest mock. Rich Eisen here. The April 15th tax deadline is coming fast, but don't worry. Hand off your taxes to a TurboTax expert today.

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20:12Rich Eisen:Make every day feel epic in an all-new Hyundai Palisade Hybrid with up to an EPA-estimated 619 miles of range on select trims, advanced tech, and class-leading interior space. Because when you're hauling kids' gear, snacks, and backpacks, space matters. And so does comfort. Just make sure they keep their cleats off the seats. Visit HyundaiUSA.com or call 562-314-4603 for details. For some of us, personal finances aren't just personal. They include a lot more people than ourselves. Loved ones, neighbors, the communities we call home, and the causes we hold in our hearts. At Thrivent, we help plan your financial picture with the bigger picture in mind.

20:54Rich Eisen:Because even though our business is helping guide your finances, our ambition is to make it mean so much more. Thrivent, where money means more. Connect with us at Thrivent.com. The Rich Isis Show Podcast. Here on the Rich Eisen Show on Disney +, the ESPN app, ESPN radio, Sirius XM, Channel 80. He is, without question, the best receiver available in this year's draft. And we'll have a short night, one week from this coming Thursday. And he went to the Ohio State University. And he is joining us courtesy of the Snickers ice cream. Ladies and gentlemen, hands together for Carnell Tate. How are you, Carnell?

21:39Rich Eisen:I'm doing great. How are you doing? I'm doing fine. Where have I found you in your journey to the NFL? Right now, I'm in Dallas right now. I got a couple of branches, and I got a couple of media things I got to knock on as well. All right. And I like the Snickers chill. Yeah. Chain that you got going on right now? Yes, sir. It's part of our campaign about chilling the hot takes. Okay. Oh. What hot takes are you chilling, Carnell? It's draft. You know, a lot of times throughout the draft, a lot of hot takes pop up here and there about questions about your game. So, yeah, you got to stay chill with the sneakers ice cream bar.

22:23Rich Eisen:Who's questioning your game? Who's doing that? A lot of people. I mean, a lot of people on social media, you know how it gets. Oh, don't look. Don't listen to that, Carnell Tate. Don't do that. No, in all honesty, I don't know of a single person that does not have you as the top wide receiver in this year's draft. Carnot. Okay. At all. At all. So let's jump into your draft process so far. How many teams have you personally visited so far? I believe I visited five. I have two more. So I started my journey with Cleveland. Then I went down to Kansas City. And then I went to Baltimore. Then I went to Titans.

23:04titans and then i went to the saints then i got the commanders and giants left okay uh let me take

23:11Rich Eisen:one at a time here um cleveland ohio you do realize there are a lot of individuals familiar with your work that would love for your tour to stop there as well right oh yeah i'm very familiar with that i mean cleveland's right up the street from us probably only a hour and a half two hour drive from the facility from the facility in columbus ohio is what you're referring to yes sir okay just want to make sure about all that so uh how you know how comfortable were you when you went to cleveland and yeah i was very comfortable i mean at this point the process is all about football just uh touring the facility uh talking to the coaches there them getting a feel for your personality you're getting a feel for them as per and generally then it's ultimately just talking football.

23:57Don't see how smart you are and your IQ as a football player.

24:00Rich Eisen:You do realize that if you wind up in Baltimore and not Cleveland, everybody that's excited for you to go to Cleveland would be absolutely looking for the nearest bridge to jump off. Carnell, right? You're aware of that? Yeah, I know that rival runs deep, especially in division rivals. So yeah, I'm very familiar and I'm very aware of that as well. Yeah, there's a history long before you were born, Carnell Tate, long before you were born. Did you meet Lamar when you were in Baltimore? I did not. When I went up there, the guys weren't in the building yet. Okay, they were not. They just got it, yeah.

24:31Rich Eisen:All right. And then the Saints, did you see Chris Olave there? Did you run into him? No, I didn't see him. So as I'm going throughout the beginning of these visits, none of the players were told they were fortunate enough yet because it's obvious when you have a new coaching staff, the players can report earlier. So the only team that was working out was the Titans. Okay, so did you meet Cam Ward? when yesterday i did okay so what sort of uh conversations you have with him in tennessee carnell uh he was just telling me uh enjoy the process asking where i'm in the process and where i'm at in the business as far as that he was just saying enjoy enjoy the process bro it only happens once in a lifetime so just enjoy and have fun with it it's not easy to enjoy it though you know because again like i know you're you're going to all these places um but at the end of the day it is not your choice where you wind up, right?

25:23Rich Eisen:No, definitely not. No, sir. How are you handling all of that? How are you? I'm cool. I'm just staying chill for real. Like, it's out of my control. I've done all I can do on the football terms of it. So, it's just sitting back and relaxing. Okay. What will a team get if they draft Carnell Tate? A team will get a complete player. I can stretch the field. I can make the contested catch. And then I'm someone willing to block her. and I can run the routes to get open. So I think you get it all. What do you think you need to improve on? I don't really know. I'll probably just say press. I mean, there's very few clips of me getting press in college, so that's probably the biggest question right there.

26:03Rich Eisen:Okay. You could say nothing. There's nothing for you to improve on. I love how you would stop. Like every answer you've had in this conversation to this point, you've had an answer for me right away. But it's fine. It's fine. I've seen you play. I can see what you can do. And so can the rest of the NFL. And, you know, the Saints, you know, are obviously in the top 10. And they have a history of choosing players from your spot. Olave, obviously, can't guard Mike, who's kind of an OG in this equation. You know, you got the commanders who have the ultimate OG in McLaurin sitting right there as well.

26:41Rich Eisen:Why did you choose Ohio? Pardon me. The Ohio State. Why did you choose them, Carnell? Well, ultimately, I would say I had a great relationship with Coach Hartline. He's done it at elite level, so it was only right for me to get that experience from him. He played at the highest level, so everyone was trying to do what he did, and he was just pouring all his experience down to us. Man, it was my dream school. I grew up with Buckeye. I always watched them. And then ultimately, if you want to go first round, as a receiver, you go to Ohio State. So, Hartline, huh? He's the guy? Yes, sir. All right.

27:12Rich Eisen:How do you think now that he's gone, things are going to work for Ohio State recruiting kids like yourself, Carnell? I think it'll continue to go on the trajectory it is now. I believe it was receiving you before Heartline got there, and it ultimately will be receiving you after he leaves. Are you aware of my collegiate affiliation, Carnell? No, I'm not aware of yours. What's yours? Get ready, Carnell. Hold on. Settle down. Back off. Back off. Back off. um uh let me ask you this question do you follow college basketball carnell tate i do i do i do follow college basketball are you aware of who won the national championship last week in college basketball yes i am can you tell me the name of the school team of north let me tell you something i looked at the final score i looked at the bottom graphic I looked at the box score.

28:11Rich Eisen:It wasn't team up north versus UConn. It wasn't that. I see. I can say your team name. I can say the Ohio State Buckeyes. I can show you what the rivalry means. That's what it means to you. Wow. Never heard it put that way. Put what way? Put what way? That it means more to them. You know what? That might be true. but i mean can you guys in the control room put up that photograph of carnell in the snow just to show you again i'm fine with this being the photograph chosen by my my my production staff that's ill you know oh you just got up you're getting something wait hold on a second now you're back i know where this took place i know what happened i know how you're I got these from y 'all.

29:08Rich Eisen:Wow. Those are the, can I look at them? I've never seen the gold pants before. Let me see it. Let me see it right here. Let me see it right here. Okay. Very good. No, hold it up a little bit more. Okay. So why, you do realize that's Michigan colors. Why are we calling them gold pants? I don't understand. I don't know, but they gold pants. I got a victory, so. Okay. okay well i'm glad you did because so many of your uh uh your colleagues before you got none of them you know over an entire four-year period but you're aware of that but see i'm just showing you that i don't care that that photograph is the moment where i'm sitting in my living room realizing it's just not going to happen for a fifth time in a row for me today and so you know i i i totally get this rivalry but you still just can't say can you say the letter M?