Hour 1: Rory McIlroy Wins Back-to-Back Masters, plus Whoopi Goldberg In-Studio

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. Xfinity tech support. How can I help? I can't get Jurassic Park back online without... Oh, you just need Xfinity. Plug in your gateway and you're good.

0:39Rich Eisen:All set. Luckily, Xfinity has reliable, self-healing Wi-Fi that keeps you safe from threats. Wow. You can even boost speeds to your most important devices. Get reliable Wi-Fi at one price for five years. Guaranteed. Xfinity. Imagine that. Watch Jurassic Park with Xfinity. Restrictions apply. Select plans only. 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.

1:21Subscribe at youtube.com slash richeisenshow and you'll never miss a moment. Now, on with the show. It's a tap-in. Live from New York City, it's the Rich Eisen Show. It's back-to-back for McElroy. Today's guests, host of The View and Academy Award winner, Whoopi Goldberg. NFL Network insider, Ian Rapoport. ESPN broadcaster, Joe Tessitore. ESPN NFL draft analyst, Matt Miller. And now, it's Rich Eisen.

2:26Rich Eisen:One piece, thankfully, fresh off of a sports center in Bristol, Connecticut. That went down on Sunday night. Now I'm here with you at 844-204-RICH is the number to dial on the program. As everyone can see, Chris Brockman, good to see you sit right next to me here in New York City. You're not wimping. You look pretty spry. Did you see? I walked in. I'm standing up straight. I'm walking around. I actually ran it twice, too. Oh. Made it through. Made it through. And so we are here. Meanwhile, Mike Del Tufo and TJ Jefferson are back in the Los Angeles studios. Good to see you, Mikey. Good to see you, Rich.

3:00Rich Eisen:And then there's TJ. What's up, TJ? Hey, TJ. Is it lit? I got a series. I got some new candles yesterday. Of course, left them at home this morning. So we'll have the candle back tomorrow. Oh, okay. Good to know. And so you're not with us here because you've got no contest wrestling. Stop it. you've got big no contest wrestling shows to do there in Los Angeles before you go to Wrestlemania this weekend, correct? We have a great guest tomorrow you know, a lot of people consider Ric Flair to be the greatest professional wrestler of all time, so it's pretty amazing that he has a child who is also considered to be the best of what they do, his daughter Charlotte Flair will be joining us tomorrow, and we're really looking forward to having Charlotte the queen and then you'll be in you and O'Shea will be at WrestleMania this weekend and uh just a few minutes ago uh we ran into Joe Tessitore in the green room here uh in the uh Bob Iger the Bob Iger building the Hudson Studios of uh of Disney no test uh Joe Tess is going to join us in hour number three yeah he's gonna be there and uh he's gonna be busy WrestleMania weekend yeah yeah WrestleMania 42.

4:12Rich Eisen:Joe Tess is going to be joining us in hour number three. Matt Miller joining us in hour number three as well as the NFL draft is 10 days away. Ian Rappaport's making his way to the studio. So Chris, you and I are going to have a chop it up with Ian for much of hour two. It's an overreaction Monday, Monday. So that'll be hour two. But making her way down the hallway from the view set that's right in the basement here. Whoopi Goldberg's coming here. I being here for whoopies. I mean it's amazing it's whoopie Goldberg man she's a legend but at least someone with locks will be representing on the show today even if it's not me so locks in LA gotta keep the streak alive it was funny it was when we saw Joe Tess in the green room it was me and you Chris and Sean Mitchell Rich Eisen show digital coordinating producer all of us are bald I felt like Robert don't worry we have people with hair on the staff Tess walks in with his beautiful black locks.

5:09Rich Eisen:So let's start this show with the green jacket conversation. Yeah, buddy. And I know you're a Rory guy. Yeah. And last year, he was the feel-good story, if you will, trying to win his first green jacket in his 16th attempt. And then, in so doing, would complete a career Grand Slam, which only a handful of players have ever done. And we all know he needed every shot, every inch of Augusta National extra holes to actually pull that thing off against Justin Rose, who finished in second place for the third time in his master's career. And we went off the air on Friday and you're like, it looks like Rory is just going to go pretty much wild.

6:01Rich Eisen:He got off to a hot start, and then throughout the afternoon, you know, the lead balloons to six, and it's the largest midway point Masters lead of all time. It looks like this could be an absolute runaway, and the monkey's now off his back, and he's free and clear to just dominate. And then, you know, the course bit back. Well, and so did everyone else, too, on Saturday, and why it's called Moving Day at Augusta, and why we keep saying that the best part about Augusta National in many ways, about the playing. I always love the fact that there's no cell phones there and people can actually live in the moment and see how things are going around on the course as they're watching some hand-operated scoreboard pop the leaderboard up.

6:46Rich Eisen:Like, people are learning that way about an event that you could watch on an app if you're outside the grounds. But the best part of Augusta National, the playing, is that no lead is safe and also no deficit is too large essentially to overcome. And going into Saturday, Rory McIlroy had this stat in his favor. 32 of the previous 35 Masters winners were within four shots of the lead going into Saturday. And going into Saturday, no player was in four shots of the lead of Rory McIlroy. But that doesn't matter when you're Scotty Scheffler, who shot a 65. Yeah, he was 12 shots back going into the weekend.

7:29Rich Eisen:And Cameron Young, who shot a 65. Two guys shot 65. Rory goes one over. And all of a sudden, with Justin Rose now also doing his thing and Sam Burns sticking around at the top five, we had ourselves a big fat Sunday of Masters competition. And sure enough, Rory loses the lead within four holes to start Masters Sunday. And after he three jacks, number four, he's now three down. He was, and Justin Rose was the one who started filling the void. Then he makes the turn. He has back-to-back bogeys on 11 and 12, two of three bogeys in the back nine. Adios. Cameron Young starts to falter himself. He couldn't put the shots together.

8:15Rich Eisen:Golf is just amazing. It is. Cameron Young had the hottest putter maybe, you know, on Friday and Saturday. I looked this up on the second nine, Rich Eisen. He had 11 birdies in the first three rounds. On Sunday, nine pars. And Scheffler became a parring machine as well on Sunday. I think he went nine or ten straight holes with a par. Until he hit 15. Then he birdies. After being in the trees on his tee shot. Correct. And then 16. He fires one exactly where you need to have it on 16, which is to the right of the flag, about 20 feet, and let it roll down. Rolls down. And then jars that birdie. And you're like, is Scotty going to win this?

8:57Rich Eisen:And then 17 happens. And that's one of the toughest holes to birdie. And he has a birdie putt that just misses the hole. I mean, it looked like Jack Nicklaus, the famous yes, sir, coming down the hill. And it was right there. And as close as you could possibly get to not going in, it just didn't drop. And so that way, Rory has everything going in his favor. and all he needs to do is just stay out of the water, essentially. And on 15, Firethorn, as it's known on the scorecard in Augusta National, and I did not know this about him, but Nance mentioned this, I do believe, either during Friday or Saturday's coverage of The Masters.

9:41On CBS.

9:42Rich Eisen:And, well, Paramount Plus and ESPN and Amazon. Everywhere. Okay, so, but on ESPN as well. um so that i didn't know that um rory started a new production company and calls it firethorne productions oh because 15 has been very very good to him oh interesting at augusta losing the shot of his life of course last year in last year's win and now this year he's at firethorne with a three shot lead and he played it safe he laid up well 100 yards in i thought he put that one in water and i think he did too you saw he he bent down and he was talking to it and it hit i think it hit a foot beyond where it would have bounced back in the creek yeah and it weirdly i mean you hit that shot straight up 100 times and probably 99 of them have the backspin and it pulls it back that one weirdly took a bounce and hopped forward and stayed and then he nukes he he nukes his tee He shot on 16 beyond the hole and he's off the green tiger chip spot.

10:47Rich Eisen:And then he puts it to basically almost replicate what Tiger was unbelievable to par that 17. He's got to hit us. He hits a, his approach shot, right. He has to chip it, gets it to within a foot. His short game was unbelievable. Then all he's got to do is just bogey 18 and he hits a drive. Like I would have done. It was so far. My favorite. I don't know if we've got a Getty image of this or not, a shot of it for our still for our television broadcast. But the shot of Rory McIlroy finding his ball in the pine straw, needing to get the patrons. By the way, on next to the 10th fairway. And the look that he had on his face.

11:33Rich Eisen:OK, but I'll describe it. The look that he had on his face is the look I have on my face. about 90 of the time when i play golf which is i cannot believe i just did this right i cannot believe i am in this place i am an awful person with bad karma yep and no talent now he can get rid of the no talent part right uh because the shot next shot he hits he hooks it around the tree and he gets it right into the front just what he was trying to do all he's got to do is basically get it on the green and then two putt and that and that's what he does to win to win the green jacket but it's just amazing how you can go from having a career grand slam playing with house money all weekend or butler cabin money as we were talking about all weekend then you get to 18 and you're right there for your second green jacket in a row but moments before you are hating yourself you're like underneath the tree standing on the pine straw it's just such a golf moment that just just again lends more humanity for him as he is the photograph we're showing here now before his celebration was him realizing his he put his hands in his yeah after he had he got it right to two inches and he knew i'm going to tap in for my second green jacket and And he let it, I guess the realization finally hit him here.

13:02Rich Eisen:And what he does is joins Tiger, Jack, and Nick Faldo as the only back-to-back champions in the history of this amazing event. But he is forever, probably, the record holder now of something that I can't imagine would ever be beaten. which is the longest stretch of not winning your first of anybody who's won two in a row. That's unbelievable. He went 16 years without one, and now he's got two in a row. Yeah, more than 10 years without a major at all, and now wins back-to-back Masters. I mean, I said it last year. if you were a Rory McIlroy fan you got the full experience over the weekend the guy does something no one's ever done before he has a six shot lead going into the weekend you think this is going to be a coronation he's going to shoot 20 under and win by 10 shots he gives the lead away in one day and then finds himself three back after four holes on Sunday and ends up ultimately kind of cruising to the win albeit the drama on 18 in the lasts like six holes we didn't even talk about the incredible tee shot on 12 no one goes after the pin on 12 on sunday he hit the most perfect shot to six feet hits birdie there and it kind of felt like it was almost over at that point and so uh if there was a sense that you thought that him already having one jacket in the closet and a career grand slam completed that that allowed him the freedom to win a second one and I think he'd agree with it.

14:46I thought it was so difficult to win last year because of trying to win the Masters and the

14:51Rich Eisen:Grand Slam and then this year I realized it's just really difficult to win the Masters. I tried to convince myself it was both but yeah just incredible you know I obviously did the bulk of my work on Thursday and Friday. And, you know, I don't think I would have believed anyone if they said to me, you know, all you have to do is shoot even par for the weekend and you'll win. But yeah, just absolutely delighted to be able to get it done. You know, having a six shot lead going into the weekend, it would have been a bitter pill to swallow if I wasn't able to get myself over the finish line. Just again, one to root for, you know.

15:37Rich Eisen:No doubt. And he just had to, and this is the mental part about it, you just can't take your foot off the pedal. You can't keep your hands on 10-2 at Augusta, because if you're too careful, that's when you're going to get bit. Yeah, it's almost like a prevent defense in the NFL. Right. It prevents you from winning. And so he talked about staying aggressive, which is just remarkable, again, that this is the mental game that you play, that somebody at his level has to play with himself to try and win a second jacket in a row. Going back to last year, I had that three or four shot cushion going to the 13th tee and I started to be a little defensive.

16:18Rich Eisen:I hit three wood off the tee, tried to play it as a three shotter. That came back to bite me a little bit. So today I stayed aggressive, even though I hit three really per tee shots on 13 the first three days. I just stayed aggressive and finally I made a good swing and hit a good tee shot and left myself an eight iron in which was you know it could have been a more routine birdie if I had a hit a better second shot but you know was able to put it down there to within eight feet and hold that putt so I think staying aggressive and and staying committed you know that especially on those two holes definitely served me this week.

17:02If you

17:03Rich Eisen:had told me that after Saturday's moving day and how everybody caught up, that Scotty Scheffler would become the first player at the Masters to have a bogey-less weekend since Byron Nelson did it in 1942. crazy i would have thought rory would lose to scheffler yep by multiple shots by multiple shots yeah and he still didn't scheffler finished second was right there um and you know scheffler and rose and young and burns um just to name four uh are probably the ones who are walking around today you know like going through this shot or whatever um and obviously the fact that scheffler has one he can at least be able to get to sleep a little bit sooner you know um it was remarkable and and and i just sit here and wonder can he go three in a row like i know that's not fair to even say right now it's not but rich i'm having the same thoughts i mean fred couples said it after friday's round is this guy ever gonna lose here again right i know and now you're wondering how How many more majors is Rory going to win?

18:27Rich Eisen:Is he going to get to like, he already tied Phil now at six. Can he get to seven? Can he get to eight? Is he going to threaten double digits? It seems like he's playing as good a golf if he's ever played right now at 37 years old. Did you see just one last one? And then we'll throw out a break. Whoopi Goldberg's making her way to our set right now. That Scheffler after his 65 was asked by a member of the media about what, you know, what he should have or could have done. You shot a 65, but you think about what you should have or could have done. And he's just like, he next questioned the guy and then said it was a stupid question.

19:03Rich Eisen:Because could you imagine, I think this all the time. Shane Lowry, aces six on Sunday, has multiple aces at the Masters now in his career. First guy to do that. And I'm thinking to myself, could you imagine having any of these moments for one split second in your life at the Masters, in this setup, in this spot, in front of those patrons, on TV, everybody watching, everybody talking, one shot. And instead, you put a 65 together on a Saturday at the Masters, and somebody's like, could you have gotten 63, 62? I would have had the same – I do not blame him at all for having that reaction. I think, was it last year or the year before?

19:44Rich Eisen:Someone asked Brooks Koepka, like, hey, do you think a 59 is possible here? And he goes, so you've never played here before. No, great. It's stupid. If you're not, if you're not, if you don't, if you throw it in the right spot, you're rewarded. If you don't, you're not. That simple. And it's that simple. You know what I mean? Like, and I know you could say that about any golf course, but this one in particular, more than any other, and no other golf course and no other event makes me want to go tee it up right away more than, than the master. We're playing this afternoon, right? We are not. Oh, dang it.

20:15Rich Eisen:We are not. But we are here on the Rich Eisen Show here in New York City. 844-204-RICH is the number to dial. Joe Tessitore and Matt Miller in hour three. Ian Rappaport in hour two to give us everything 10 days out of the draft. We're going to chop it up with him. We'll talk about my weekend, as much as you're interested in. Yeah, buddy. About SportsCenter last night. I'm working on about three hours sleep. Yeah, man. Didn't even get to say congrats. That was so cool. I appreciate it. No, that was pretty cool. Yeah, that was awesome. So we'll hit on all of that. And thank you. I appreciate that, TJ.

20:53Rich Eisen:I got an LFG text from him just as I went on the air. My phone was buzzing. I'm like, who's texting me right now? Well, you went on a little early. I know we did. Yeah. I know, because Inside the NBA tapped out a couple of segments earlier than we thought. But at any rate, it was great to see those guys on ESPN and right before I pop on on Bristol. But let's take a break. Whoopi Goldberg is going to join us right here on the Rich Eisen Show in New York City. EGOT winner coming in.

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22:00Rich Eisen: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. 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. Rich Eisen here. A SoFi personal loan is here to help you achieve something once thought impossible, overcoming high-interest credit card debt. Walk the tightrope of your finances with one low fixed-rate monthly payment, no fees required, and as soon as the same-day funding.

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23:03the rich eyes and show podcast whoopi goldberg here on the rich eyes and show and our radio

23:08Rich Eisen:audience just re rejoined our broadcast um and it's i'm so psyched to have you here you just mentioned tennis i imagine if you had venus serena on your show oh yeah yeah yeah yeah because i remember when i first started doing sports center uh in the 90s uh and the early aughts with steward Scott, who I know you crossed paths with quite a bit back in the day, which may be the last time I saw you. Might be. But that I remember Serena, when she started, it was like, well, here comes the sister. Can she be as good as Venus? And it's like, yeah, she can be. You know, I think people had a very interesting feeling about them because they couldn't believe what they were seeing with the two of them.

23:59They couldn't believe two sisters could be playing the way that they did. But, you know, you think about all the, for me, the black women who played tennis, the ones we never heard about and the ones we did hear about that we don't talk about now, like Althea Gibson. You know, we don't talk about her. She was extraordinary. I mean, when you think about the women who were out there doing these things, you know, they were at the time for us, they were one offs. Now we know where the women are. We know what they're playing. But when I was a kid, they were really one offs, you know, and to see women playing tennis.

24:42I know it seems dopey, but Billie Jean was all I knew. You know, really, I mean, you saw the people that she played, but you remembered Billie Jean.

24:51Rich Eisen:Well, I mean, she created basically women's tennis that we currently know as today. Yeah. And is such a major titan when it comes to sports. So let's talk about the All Women's Sport Network that you co-founded. Yeah. Why did you feel the need to get something started like that? Because I talked about this with whoever was in charge many years ago. at ESPN and said, I would like to see this happen. I have some ideas. And they were like, okay. Yeah, good. Okay, well, thank you. And people would say things to me at all the networks. They would say things like, oh, well, you know, nobody wants to see women's sports.

25:35But I did. And I knew if I wanted to see it, maybe other people did too. And then I started traveling in the world, And I wanted to see what other people were doing. And so our network is the All Women's Sports Network, and it covers women's sports throughout the world, whatever sport they're playing. And, you know, we've got the wrestlers. We've got the tennis players. We've got the hockey players. We've got the roller derby queens. We've got as many sports as you can name and some that you've never heard of. because for lots of women around the world, this is their way that they can be in a group of women doing stuff and not get any hassle.

26:18These are ways of women coming forward and putting themselves forward to do different stuff. And because I always knew, you know, in the old days, you know, you used to be able to, you had to own an NBA team in order to be part of a WNBA team. I never owned an NBA team. I knew people that owned, but they weren't looking for me to come in and be part of it. Now, you know, you see what's happening with the WNBA. And I'm so proud of them because they didn't stop. They didn't stop fighting. And I know it sounds like we, as women, are kvetching a lot about what we're not getting. But when you see these women play, they are worth their weight in gold.

27:08They are doing the work that their male counterparts are doing. And they're doing that in all of the sports. There's not a sport that's being played that isn't being played equally well by women, except people aren't used to seeing women do. They're not used to seeing women play football. I love the female football league. I love it. I wish I could play. I wish I could run, but I can't. But there are so many things. So I wanted to see it. And suddenly, about a year and a half ago, someone said, oh, I'll help you do that. And I said, really? It's only been 18 years I've been trying to get this done.

27:49He said, no, we'll do it. So we got with a group called the Jungle Network, and they've put us on around the world. You can find us in lots of different places. I think we probably sent you all the information to put out there. But it's kind of groovy.