Hour 1: Red (Card) White & Blue

0:01This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. You think you know a browser, but Gemini and Chrome, that's new. It can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50-page restoration block, or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks. Gemini and Chrome is here for it. Ready to make anything online make sense? There's no place like Chrome. Check responses set up required, compatibility and availability varies 18+. Are all batteries the same? That's like asking if all soccer players are the same. Take Messi, the most decorated player ever.

0:36Is there any other player who has achieved that? No, just him. Now take Duracell. Is there any other battery with Power Boost ingredients inside? No, just Duracell. Goats only trust goats because they're built different. And Messi only trusts Duracell. 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. Miss 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.

1:23Now, on with the show. Oh, my God. You guys are my favorite. This is the Rich Eisen Show. The one and only. Rich Eisen. I know what I'm talking about. That's the headline. The Rich Eisen Show. With guest host, Brian Weber. I mean, honestly, he's brilliant. Brian Weber. I've got a long resume. Google me. It saves time. From the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. And now, sitting in for Rich, it's Brian Weber. Graham, always an hour to sit in for Rich. And the fellows, we appreciate you spending part of this national holiday with us. No need to check the calendar. It's not July 4th. It is still July 3rd.

2:06And today is a Friday. That means tomorrow is a Saturday. But because Independence Day falls on a weekend, that means we get a bonus holiday on a Friday. So we're in a great frame of mind. The goal is to keep you entertained over the next three hours with verbal pyrotechnics. You can pick up the phone, 844-204-RICH in all candor, because if you've endured my approach in the past, it is still a major opportunity for me anytime I get to keep the chair warm for Mr. Eisen. So I have the standard four hours of content I'm going to try to cram into our three hours together. Your best bet for interaction is the X platform.

2:49That is B.W. Weber. Weber with two Bs. Because we are now a soccer-crazy nation, we will look ahead to the biggest match in the history of American soccer for now. Taking on Belgium Monday, round of 16, with the red card that will live in infamy. A ton of NBA to get to in 20 minutes. Even though it's been a couple days, It feels like Boston fans are still enraged about the Jalen Brown trade. We'll hear from Jalen himself. And if he's talking, you can probably guess he's on Twitch because he's all about that life. No guest in the first hour of the program. We're wide open, and I'm delusional enough to think I'm just that interesting.

3:34We will talk more NBA in addition to everything I'm going to cover coming up in 20 minutes when we're joined in the second hour of the show by Kurt Heelan. lead NBA writer for NBC sports.com final hour. And let me say for the first of many times, as my references will suggest, I am older than my dynamic energetic approach as I give myself props for no reason would indicate I talk baseball as part of July 4th weekend. And we'll achieve that goal final hour of the show. When we say hello to gay blacks of USA today. So, driving in and consuming a ton of sports media as I normally do, in addition to a couple pizzas as we go stripes to kick off the program, suddenly I hear a ton of soccer experts across all of sports media.

4:28And now I feel like I have to flex. Because if you were with us last Friday, and I expect any time you have a fill-in hack, you think, wait a minute, when was the last time Brian Weber filling in for Rich? and it's always important to remind you that the telephone number is 844-204-RICH, 844-204-7424. I went through a long recitation of my soccer resume because I felt insecure as I was going to break things down. Now, anybody with a microphone and half a brain is spouting opinions like they are the great Eric Rinaldo. So I don't have to mention again, I saw Pele play in person at Giant Stadium in 1977.

5:10I don't have to go back to the fact that I was a huge fan of the major indoor soccer league in the early 80s. I don't have to bring up that I covered the first MLS game played at Spartan Stadium in the San Francisco Bay Area when the great Eric Rinalda tallied in what was a game that will live forever. And I was lucky enough to call high-end college soccer for national championship winning programs like UCLA before the Pac-12 was murdered. I say all of that to say this. Even with all of that soccer knowledge and insight at my disposal, allegedly, I wish I had a better explanation for the red card that changed everything on Wednesday.

5:54Of course, I'm talking about what went down with Fuloran Balligan. We call him Fuloran now. because we are a soccer crazy nation. Balogun gets the red card, even though he was not ticketed with a yellow card in real time. They go to VAR, and not only was he sent off for the remainder of the game, and credit the tenacity of Team USA for not blinking in a high-leverage situation, and you probably know because that game did a monster TV rating, They scored another goal, a man down to defeat Bosnia Herzegovina 2-0. But given the parameters of soccer, and we'll talk about the possibility of perhaps FIFA doing the right thing.

6:39And that would be breaking news because if you know anything about that corrupt organization, they never do the right thing. But the United States, in the process of appealing, there is a chance that FIFA could overrule that red card. But once that ruling was made, immediately all thoughts went to United States has to survive and advance a man down. And they have to prepare to play for the first time in this World Cup, a team with a better ranking because everything is aligned properly for USA, USA. They're going to have to do it without their leading scores. So let's get analysis from somebody who knows even more than I do.

7:20In fact, you see him across all of the ESPN platforms. It is soccer analyst Hercules Gomez explaining on first take how Balogun's absence due to the red card will change the entire dynamic of Monday's match. It is devastating, and it could tilt the series in Belgium's way. This is a pick-em in Vegas terms, this Belgium versus the U.S. men's national team without a follower on Balogun. He was the ex-factor for the U.S. men's national team. Landon Donovan had a World Cup where he scored three goals. Before that, you've got to go to 19-30. to find another forward with three or more goals. Foller & Balogun had the ability in this World Cup to battle the world's greatest forwards for the Golden Boot.

7:58Now, I'm not trying to get crazier. This is realistic. The way the U.S. Men's Nation is playing, the way Foller & Balogun is playing, he had the ability to climb the goal-scoring charts. Now, the U.S. Men's Nation will face a very talented Belgium team without one of their best players. Certainly a significant development. And it's interesting how, because we use the gambling framework so much more in a mainstream fashion, after all, now it's legalized in a majority of American states, and it's a huge part of what we do in sports media, we sometimes forget when we talk about how the odds are set up, the whole purpose is to get even money on both sides of the proposition so the books don't get burned.

8:42There's a reason why they have those tall, glittering buildings in Las Vegas. So the fact that the United States still, depending on where you're looking for the odds, has a better chance of winning this match than Belgium also tells you about all of the support, all the American dollars that are pouring in. But to call this pick-em without Balogun strikes me as just over-the-top myopic. And I don't mean to be negative, although it is the lifeblood of what we do in sports talk radio. And maybe I've just been waiting too long for the United States to finally take the next step with a reminder in 2002.

9:27Now, that's not that long ago for me. That's a contemporary reference. Bruce Arena's team led by a young Landon Donovan before he went wacky with whatever that hair appliance is. And I'm glad Fox is having fun with it because how can you ignore that there's a rodent on his head right now? But United States made it to the quarterfinals. In fact, if you recall the particulars, and I do because I have no life and I appreciate the beautiful game. We, because of an American team, I'm going to go we. We lost to Germany, won nothing, and Germany went on to win it all. So this is not unprecedented as to what's being accomplished.

10:05The difference is, and I'm sure even casual fans have heard about this or maybe have an idea because there are so many games on TV. When the field was expanded this year, strictly out of a standpoint of getting more revenue because everything's about maximizing dough. The notion was it might be a watered down bracket. I think if we're going to be objective, it has been a positive development because we've seen countries that we never foresaw. Like Cape Verde, who's going to run into the potential death sentence of taking on the great Messi in Argentina today. But for that nation to make it to knockout play is absolutely sensational.

10:47Still, with the United States having everything set up to be successful, finally going out and getting a coach and paying him$6 million to do it, and Mauricio Pochettino, who understands how to set the culture and earn the respect of his players. I'm not taking a shot at Greg Berhalter, who had success, and it's great to see his son Sebastian out there. That's got to be a feel-good moment. But we're not looking for moral victories anymore. This is not about the soccer cliches of earning an orange slice. Given the resources and given the talent on this roster led by Baligan, it's another indication of how dynamic he is and how the style of play that the American side has put together has evolved.

11:38This is the most athletic and most aggressive American team I've seen. and I've been watching soccer for more than a minute. Plus, you got to have goaltending. There's your deep insight to kick off the program. I'm Brian Weber, in for Rich Eisen. And anytime someone squanders education like I have, I am pleased to remind folks of his alma mater, the Harvard man, Matt Freeze, has been brilliant in goal. A couple of shutouts. And even with the added pressure of having the power play, to mix the hockey metaphor situation for Bosnia. Herskovina the other night still came up with a clean sheet. United States has more depth.

12:19United States has more athleticism. United States has more confidence with the players who have come back from four years ago in Qatar. All of those reasons were out there coming into the tournament, which was why I was optimistic at a minimum United States would make it through to the knockout round. And I mentioned if you care about the particulars of the rankings, which can be misleading, this will be the first time coming up on Monday with the massive home field advantage in Seattle. If you caught the match against Australia, the atmosphere was electric. But for the first time, United States is going to play a team with a better ranking.

13:03The Belgians, number nine in the current FIFA rankings. Although if you've watched them play at all, and you did, you probably saw their last game with the miraculous comeback. Down 2-0, five minutes to go. Not only did they come back to tie it, they win it on a penalty kick an extra time. Talk about on the verge of an absolute disaster. Instead now a chance to face the United States without their top goal scorer. And if you care about the nerdy aspect of the Belgian team, their experience. but that also means they're older and you have the quicker turnaround in knockout play. United States may be with fresher legs, but the question is who is going to show up, what matters the most, without Balogun.

13:50And I'm looking at you, Christian Pulisic, because we have been told you are the face of American soccer. We've been told you are the most skilled player ever to put on that jersey. Well, in my opinion, and yes, as a film host, I'm throwing the gauntlet. it's time for Pulisic to show up. I'm not saying he's got to go out there, have a brace or a bicycle kick goal. I'm saying he's got to be more of an offensive catalyst. And the good news, presumably, he looks to be fully healed from that calf injury. Now is the opportunity for the biggest name in American soccer to meet the magnitude of the moment.

14:29And with this match coming up on Monday, we will pause the soccer portion of the program now. I'm fortunate enough to be back with you on Monday. So hopefully you're not turning off your audio device right now. But when I return on Monday, we will hit this match up hard and get you fully lined up with a little bit more detail about who else Team USA can count on as they try to continue this historic run and reach the quarterfinals for just the second time in World Cup history. No need to go back to 1930 with a run to the semifinals. and yes i'm old i'm not that old i did not do highlights of that for rich back in the day i'm brian weber in for rich eisen just getting warmed up on this busy day before july 4th 844-204-rich 844-204-7424 is the number to call coming up in just over 30 minutes because nobody can buy sports and entertainment better than Mr.

15:29Rising. You might have heard Taylor Swift and Travis Kelsey are getting married tonight. I've already gotten married tonight with the bash being held at Madison Square Garden. Where does that belong amongst the most famous events in the history of the world's most famous arena? We'll get there, but straight ahead, got to hit the hardwood. 48 hours later, does the Celtics decision to trade Jalen Brown to the Sixers make any more sense now? I'm Brian Weber. Always a blast to sit in for Mr. Eisen. I appreciate you sharing part of your holiday with us here on The Rich Eisen Show. The Rich Eisen Show podcast.

16:15Rich Eisen here with some advice. If high interest credit card debt is grinding you down, it might be time to call an audible with a SoFi personal loan. It consolidates your debt into one low monthly payment with no fees required. And with as soon as the same day funding, you can make the right play fast. Call an audible on your debt today at SoFi.com slash debt play. Loans originated by SoFi Bank N.A. Member FDIC. Terms and conditions apply. NMLS 696891. Fast funds terms apply at SoFi.com slash debt play. Save$2 when you buy two cans of Superior Products Coverall Tire Dressing. Plus receive four times O rewards points now at O 'Reilly Auto Parts.

16:55Coverall delivers long-lasting shine. Visit your O 'Reilly Auto Parts store or OReillyAuto.com. A bandwagon fan. The biggest insult in sports. But this summer, during the FIFA World Cup, it's an invitation, America. Never watched soccer before? Perfect. Think a corner kick is a karate move? Sure, why not? Prefer sports where players can use their hands? Me too. Just here for the snacks? Now we're talking. So grab a bag of Lay's and jump on the bandwagon. We're undefeated. Lay's, the official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup 2026.

17:35And we're back with you. Friday edition of the Rich Eisen Show. We are live on the 3rd of July. A variety of ways you can get involved. The phone number is iconic. 844-204-RICH, 844-204-7424, or the conversation never stops on the X platform. My handle is BWWeber, Weber with two Bs. Hope you're enjoying the program. However you're listening on our great affiliates, the ESPN Radio app, Sirius XM Channel 80, or my former employers at TuneIn. It's all about forward promotion, especially on a holiday, because you have so many other things going on, whether you're heading to the beach or getting ready to barbecue.

18:20So I need you to hang around for at least another 25 minutes, and then I'm going to put you on layaway. I'll give you credit, and I owe you, and we can redeem it on Monday. Coming up then, the world's most famous arena, as they came up with themselves as a marketing slogan. I'm saying they because I'm trying not to be a New Yorker anymore. I left the city 35 years ago, but I'm looking for healthy detachment. Madison Square Garden, the new garden, because if you know history, there's been several of them. This one opened in 1968. the 8th hosting let's call it the wedding bash the celebration between Taylor Swift Travis Kelsey in fact that's probably where Rich is now I don't ask Rich anything other than when the phone rings it's not a question it's a yes I see Eisen pop up on caller ID I just say yes presuming he needs me to fill in but given his stature as the face of NFL Network and the football connection to the soiree at msg maybe that's why rich has the day off he and susie have trekked back to his hometown of new york city to be amongst the hoi polloi well this is a sports show after all so coming up a little bit later on in this first hour of the program where should we position the wedding bash even though according to reports they've already gotten married no surprise taylor swift travis Kelsey at the Garden compared to, say, Game 4 that we just witnessed.

19:52The greatest comeback in the history of the NBA Finals. Down 29 were the Knicks. We'll get there coming up. In advance of connecting entertainment to seminal events on the Big Word Friday in the NBA, I've had a couple days to sift through all of the implications of the Jalen Brown trade. And before I share my thoughts on how Boston arrived at that conclusion and how they had to settle for so little in return, it's always best to check in with the principals. In fact, we can hear from Jalen Brown himself. As you know, he's very comfortable on Twitch. He went back to that platform last night sharing his mindset after the big trade.

20:38Pack your bag. Sayonara, buddy. Out of here. I will say, you know what I mean? I'm still processing everything, to be honest. It's a bunch of excitement, disappointment, it's a bunch of emotions. I'm still processing everything, so give me some time. But I'm also looking forward to what's to come next. I will say there was definitely a message being sent, and that message was received. I wasn't thrilled with the amount of respect that was showed during this process. I think there was a bit of a lack of respect. I think it was fine at one point, And then out of nowhere, things just kind of went left.

21:13And I think Brad is probably getting a lot of the criticism. I wasn't thrilled the way he facilitated some of the conversations, but I definitely think there's more to it. And I'm glad I set up the precise background of that sound on Twitch. Otherwise, you would be hitting your radio or dropping your phone. Do not adjust your audio device. There was nothing wrong with your speaker that, for lack of a better term, bloop you would think i would know more about what it actually is called with a degree of specificity having worked in radio for 35 years whatever that twitch sound was let you know that jalen was kicking it once more on social media many interesting takeaways among them he received the message well the message was pretty clear we no longer want you to play for the boston Celtics alluding to Brad is now former president of basketball operations Brad Stevens who effectively had to come up with any solution for the Jalen Brown problem that has a few different factors that led to the outcome Jalen participated in it according to reports by either not feeling that he got enough respect, especially this year when he carried the team without Jason Tatum and went down with a torn ACL last year against the Knicks in the playoffs.

22:38And that was reflected, if you care about the details of MVP bounding, Jalen Brown came in sixth, telling you just how much those who cover the league closely respected and identified the way he balled out. Now that's balanced by Brian Wintouris, of course, the man who knows more about the NBA along with Shams and a handful of other folks than the rest of us combined. Wendy has said, and you can check out not only his thoughts on ESPN.com, but we've been playing some of the sound here on ESPN Radio, that there was a perception within the Celtic organization that last year, Jalen Brown wasn't even the MVP of his own team because that franchise leans into analytics so healthy They think it's healthily.

23:29And so robustly, they crunched the numbers, and they thought that Derek White had a more efficient and effective season than Jalen Brown. Well, that's just nonsensical. And I'm all for smart. I'm all for having a brain that works, especially in sports, in which too often for decades we just turned to people and said, well, what does your gut tell you? You have to have a balancing act. There's nothing wrong with data-driven analysis, but in what world can you say objectively, Derek White had a better year than Jalen Brown? But it gets back to the internal dynamics of that team. It gets back to the fact that Tatum is seen, and I can understand the distinction, as the one.

24:16And Brown was always going to be the 1A, even though he was spectacular without Tatum this year. There's also the perception that Brown maybe expressed too many opinions about not feeling that he was appreciated internally. There was a disconnect. Now, you can also point out that whenever there was conversation about who's going to move, it was always Jalen Brown. Go back to when Kevin Durant was available last year before he went to Houston. Jalen Brown's name was shot publicly. It could not have been more obvious that the Celtics were willing to move on from him with all the Giannis trade talk that went on for what felt like years before he finally took his talent to South Beach.

25:01So if you're Jalen Brown, I can fully understand feeling slighted. And at that point, it's, to use the old divorce term, irreconcilable differences. Someone's got to go. Something's got to change. And that's how we get Brown to Philadelphia. But if we're just looking at the details of the trade, and I'm not saying this necessarily because I'm based in Southern California. As I come to you from our Regal Studios in Los Angeles, I'm Brian Weber in for Rich. Hop aboard 844-204-RICH. 844-204-7424. The conversation never stops on the X platform. That is B.W. Weber. Weber with two Bs. In just over 15 minutes, we link the nuptials between Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce to the world of sports.

25:48Where does it belong amongst the most famous events at MSG? I'm here in Southern California, so I pay attention, believe it or not, to the Clippers as well. There is another team, and we'll talk LeBron and the Lakers in just over a half hour to tip off hour number two. I think if you just line up the package that the Clippers got in return for Kawhi Leonard from the Raptors, sending him back to a team he wants to play for, and he'll be virtually in basketball Siberia again. And I know the Raptors are a quality organization, and they have a good roster, and he and Scotty Barnes can make a difference in the now muddle East, but players who are tucked away in Toronto, we rarely think about unless they're making a run to the title like Kawhi did in 2019.

26:36But for Kawhi Leonard, Clippers got Brandon Ingram, another player two first and two seconds for Jalen Brown coming off the best season of his career Brad Stevens could only get Paul George and I don't want to pick on Paul George because it's just too easy it's like a human pinata but you know beyond the PED suspension this year playoff P is a joke beyond the alliteration because he has come up very small in big postseason situations and he's dealt with a slew of injuries and he's not young so that's the best you can get for jalen brown while some of that was a byproduct of brown becoming a distressed asset because of the very public nature of the yannis trade talk once it was clear boston put him up on the block what would you expect another gm to do unless they're committing professional malpractice and line that Shams had the other day on SportsCenter that if you're just looking for a way to process this in real life terms, the best Brad Stevens and the Celtics could do for Jalen Brown was get 40 cents on the dollar.

27:55And it's quite an evolution because Shams also had the report that when the trade discussions between Boston and Philly started, the initial ask by Brad Stevens was five first round picks. He went the full McHale Bridges and he wanted B.J. Edgecombe coming off his solid rookie year along with George. So if you start there and the goal is to meet somewhere in the middle, swing and a miss by Brad Stevens who was one of the most respected GMs in all of sports. So why did he do the deal? Well, in part he had to do the deal. There was no way you could bring Brown back given how toxic things have gotten according to reports in Boston.

28:38Secondarily, this is boring, so I'll do it briefly, but and this is also a result of my years of being a fill-in host during the summertime. Not too long ago, and thank goodness the content gods have smiled upon us with the World Cup to be a major topic, not too long ago NBA free agency was tremendous. In fact, you could argue It was the best part of the NBA calendar with all the player movement. The league trying to emulate the NFL, looking for more parity, and you have to at least concede that point has been hammered home. That goal has been accomplished. We've had now eight consecutive different championships, won by eight teams over the span of eight years that never happened before in the history of the NBA.

29:26And that's the NFL-style parity they want because the NFL is king for so many reasons. Among them, hope. Just about every year, something like 23 of the last 24 years, a team has gone from worst to first. We just saw the Patriots benefit from their very straightforward schedule. I'll be kind on a holiday. Let's tell it like it is. Easy schedule to make that run from last place all the way to the Super Bowl. But once that more rigid CBA was agreed to by the players, who should have done more to object to it, but players are not missing game checks in modern sports, and that's going to be a fascinating thing to track when the baseball players get locked out at the end of the season.

30:12But let's just be grounded in the moment. It's only July. I don't have to go to baseball Armageddon when we get to November. The new CBA with that dreaded second apron you've heard about was the owners deciding to put handcuffs on themselves financially because they had no self-control. And they came up with this system that said, we can't spend unlimited dollars anymore. If we do, it's really hard to make any transactions. So once Boston's previous ownership decided to go Supermax with Tatum and Supermax with Brown, you knew long term. Both those guys were not going to be there for years to come.

30:53And if you're making a decision between Tatum over Brown, I can understand why Boston did that from a basketball perspective and from the standpoint of personalities. According to reports, Jalen is just not always to deal with, easy to deal with. Most organizations can't be delighted that he's that transparent on social media as he is. Now, it hasn't hurt Kevin Durant, but Durant's also a veteran much further along in his career. So, I think Boston reviewed last year's surprising success. Remember, conventional wisdom around the league was once Tatum went down, last season was going to be a gap year.