Hour 2: Charles Barkley & Guest Host Suzy Shuster, plus Rich Joins in from London

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0:35Rich Eisen:As the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the U.S., Telemundo is set to present its most expansive coverage ever. 700 hours of programming, live on-site presence at all 104 matches, and with multi-view and real-time 4K, Xfinity will deliver the most innovative and immersive sports viewing experience for fans watching on Telemundo, Peacock, Fox, and FS1. Learn more at ComcastCorporation.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. Miss the show?

1:15We've got a podcast so you can listen anytime. But here's the best part. Our YouTube channel. Subscribe at youtube.com slash richeisenshow and you'll never miss a moment. Now, on with the show. This is the Rich Eisen Show. Let me break it down for you again. With guest host, Suzy Schuster. From the Rich Eisen Show's studio in Los Angeles. Bad Yankee Loose. Earlier on the show, NFL Network insider, Tom Palacero. Coming up, basketball Hall of Famer, Charles Barkley. Vibe Check co-host, Cheneo Gumake. Pro Football Hall of Famer, Michael Irvin. And now, Suzy Schuster. Hey, everybody. Hour number two underway.

2:04Susie Schuster. Happy to be here with you here on Disney Plus on ESPN, the app, and listen to us on ESPN radio presented by Progressive Insurance. 844-204. Rich is the number to call. Really happy to be with you here while Rich is over in London. Chris, hello, TJ. Hello, Susie. Nice to be with you. You know how I like to come to the show, right, guys? I like to come laden with friends. I like to book as best I can. And what I like to do is like to flex. Because you guys know me. I like to flex a little bit. So I reached out to my favorite. Now, if Shaquille O 'Neal hears that, then I'm going to really take it.

2:42But I called Charles and I said, come on, Charles. Would you do me a favor? Would you come on with me? And good to see you, Charles Barkley. Thank you, babe. Thanks for having me. I appreciate it. Hey, listen. Hey, tell Shaquille. I'm doing great. I am doing really well, but I had a great summer. Didn't do anything but play golf all summer. So I don't do a lot. I try to stay off the airwaves. And it's obviously going to ramp back up in the next week or so. But I try to stay off television, stay in my lane, and play golf every day. So I had a great summer. Now, you said tell Shaquille O 'Neal what.

3:16Let's start something here, please. The guy shouldn't be jealous of me, okay? I'm me. He's not. Just deal with it. I mean, just deal with it. But if he hears that I, if I called you a favorite, I mean, there's no doubt that my phone's going to light up right now. That's just jealousy. Hey, listen, just because you can't reach somebody's level don't mean you can't, hey, don't keep striving. Just keep reaching. I just want to know who's skinnier right now, you or Shaquille. You know, I've had a great summer, Suze. You know, I dedicated this summer to myself. I was, you know, I gained, I got really fat the last few years when I got my hips.

4:02And obviously I had bad eating habits too. You don't get fat just from getting new hips. You know, and I peaked out about 355. And I joined this company called Road.co, taking this drug called ZepBound about, I can't even remember how long ago it was. I started at 355 and I weighed last week and I was 285. Wow.

4:23Rich Eisen:Wow. But I took the entire summer just to work out, learn to eat better, and play golf every day. So my goal weight, which is not a goal I'm going to get to, is 270. Like I say, I started at 355. I got about 15 of my fat-ass friends on the ground. So it's good. I take a shot once a week. Like I say, I'm 285 now. I started 355. I want to get to 270. But I took the entire summer just to get in shape, to be honest with you, and play golf every day. So it's been a great summer for me. You know, Shaquille always used to say, you know, I was never fat. I was just big. And I'd say, well, I was in the locker room with you for three years.

5:04I mean, come on, I'm just saying. And he would just. He was only fat during the summer. He got in shape during the season. That's true. You could just be on the Beverly Hills diet, which is tequila. It's like basically, you know, coffee in the morning, tequila at night. It's a vegetable. I'm just saying that it's not always a bad idea. Yeah, you know, I've never understood the fascination with coffee. I tried coffee three days of my life. You know, I read this article, I think it was about four years ago, where it said coffee was good for you. So that was like my New Year's resolution. And I drink coffee for three days.

5:38Susie, that's the nastiest tasting stuff in the history of civilization. Oh, my God. We're going to have to have a fight right now. I can't even, the minute I wake up, all I think about is, can I get coffee in my body as fast as possible? I don't understand that. Like I say, I've only did it three days of my life. And it sucked. I'm not even sure what it, it just tasted nasty. I'm not even sure what it tasted. It just tasted disgusting. I tried it for three days and I'm like, you know what? I'd rather be unhealthy than drink this crap every day. Oh my God, it's like my favorite thing. My favorite thing is a hot steaming cup of coffee.

6:18But listen, I could waste the entire interview talking about what we like and we dislike, but I think that, you know, I might hear it from the guys in the audience here, but so I will ask you a couple of questions and we'll move on. But then we'll go back to coffee and tequila because really what else matters? Congrats on the Inside the NBA. Coming back to you guys on ESPN Making It's debut, two nights of season opening NBA action. Wednesday, October 22nd, Thursday, October 23rd. The pregame show airing 6 to 7 Eastern on October 22nd on ESPN and ESPN 2. 630 to 730 on October 23rd on ESPN. And both postgame shows will begin on ESPN both nights immediately following these double headers.

6:58So what do we expect to see here? Great question. We don't know. We think everything is going to be the same to a certain degree. but number one it's going to be an honor and a privilege to work for ESPN you know I've said this before I'm not just uh saying it they're the greatest sports network in the history of television so it's going to be an honor to work for them uh I am so glad they picked up our show for the people who behind the scenes because you know there was hundreds of people there's still hundreds of people who lost their job and that's unfortunate but there was hundreds of people who were going to lose their job because we lost the NBA package.

7:38So I'm so happy for those people at Turner. And thanks to ESPN for picking up our show. We hope and think it's going to be the same, which that sounds good in theory. But we met with them a couple of weeks ago and they said we're going to try to keep everything the same as possible. So that made us feel a lot better. So I'm really looking forward to it. But, you know, it's always getting exciting this time of the year, Suze, because the season's starting. You know, we haven't been doing anything since, like, I think the season ended, like, June the 10th, 15th, somewhere in there. So I haven't done anything basketball-related since then.

8:22So you get tired of it at that point, but now you're starting to get the juices flowing. There are some incredible storylines this season. Let me tell you something. I don't care who you have on your show this week while Richard's on spring break. There's not one single person can come on you on this show this week and tell you who's going to win the Eastern Conference. Zero, right? You can bring Einstein on here. You can bring Shakespeare. You can bring anybody you want on your show. I have zero idea who's going to win the Eastern Conference. The West, Oklahoma City is obviously the team to beat.

9:02but Kevin Durant going to Houston is going to be great. The Joker finally getting some help in Denver. Luka look like he's in fantastic shape, and LeBron is always awesome. The West is going to be great, but, man, it's going to be – I'll tell you what's crazy about the Eastern Conference. If – and it's a big damn if. It's a big damn if. If my Philadelphia 76ers could get healthy, they could actually win the East. But, hey, listen, they haven't been healthy in years, years, years. But I'm telling you, if Embiid and Paul George get healthy, they could win the East. But obviously Cleveland and the Knicks are going to be good.

9:50But they're not overwhelming favorites. Giannis in Milwaukee with Miles Turner now, they're going to be good. The Atlanta Hawks had a great summer. so man I can't wait to watch the East. The West like I say the West is going to have a bunch of top heavy teams they're going to be good. Zion looks like he's in great shape but man the East is going to be fun to watch. Now I don't want to hurt Doc Rivers' feelings here but what did you make of the honest conversation about possibly wanting to be in a trade to the next? You know it's interesting how these guys they feel like they're entitled to play for the championship every year.

10:33As a great player, you should feel like I'm a great player. If I get any help with going to win, and you got to give Milwaukee Bucks credit, I wish the person loved me as much as the Bucks love Giannis. I really do. They went out and got him Dane Lillard. They went out and got him Miles Turner. They have done everything possible to try to make the Bucs win again. So the notion that he don't feel like they're doing everything in their power, they have done everything. Seriously, I want a person to love me as much as the Bucs love Giannis. I mean, they did. They went out and got Dame. They went out and got Miles Turner.

11:13They've done everything possible. So it's unfortunate that he feels like he's entitled to win a championship every year. Everybody wants to win a championship. But the Bucs have done everything they possibly could. It's disheartened for me to hear him thinking, like, if we don't win the championship this year, I want to be out of here. I hate hearing that. You have to wonder, with that situation, what the Bucs would do then. I mean, how they would rebuild if they were to move him out, because he is one of the greatest players of his generation. Well, when you trade a great player like that, you're going to go to the bottom of the pile.

11:50That's just the bottom line. I don't think they own a draft pick for the next five or six years. Same thing with my Phoenix Suns. We're going to have to go back to the back of the line because we traded all our assets for Kevin Durant, and that obviously was a complete failure. So I hope he stays in Milwaukee because he's a great player and he's a great kid too. Great kid, great kid. I love everything about Giannis. He plays hard every night. But I just find it fascinating when these guys feel like I'm entitled to win a championship or, you know what, I want to move. I know. I know. But at the same time, you can see the allure to him of playing in New York City.

12:31All right, the Lakers are down the street from this studio. I'm curious. Have you ever sat out an entire preseason with a nerve irritation in your glute? You know, for the lamers at home, that means your ass hurts. You know, you might have some dummies out there who don't know what glute means. Listen, I have no problem with a guy being that old sitting out. He's not going to gain anything in the preseason. LeBron has paid his dues way beyond what he's done for the NBA. And the Lakers, they just got to stay healthy for the playoffs. It doesn't matter what they accomplish during the regular season or anything like that.

13:15You know, every year, depending on the sport, there's only a few teams that have to win the championship or their seasons of us. The Lakers are on that list and LeBron at his age, you got to hope he can stay healthy because it's a long season. It's a real long season. So I just think that it's no big deal. But the Lakers, you know, they are going to be interesting because it's like, we don't know what's going to happen, but it's going to be fun watching. That's the beauty of sports. You get to sit back and watch in real time. If I was J.J. Redick, I would literally bubble wrap him and basically have an army escort to and from.

13:56Why would you even want to see him on the court? You know exactly what he's going to do. Luke is basically working out 27 hours a day. I think what he's doing makes a lot of sense. I mean, right? I'm not wrong here. No, you're 100 % right. LeBron, what is he going to accomplish playing 20 minutes in the preseason? First of all, half the guys he plays against ain't going to be in the league in a week and a half. They're going to be working somewhere. So, no, there's no need to play at his age. I think the preseason is great for young guys because when you're a young guy, that's probably some of the best players you're ever going to play against, even if they don't make the NBA.

14:34They're still going to be some of the best players you ever play against. There's a lot of good players that's not going to make it. So just play your young guys. And the number one thing with the Lakers, they got to find a way to develop their bench. We know what Luka and LeBron's going to do. I tell you the guy, the key is going to be DeAndre Ayton. And he's got to play well because he's a free agent. He ran his way out of Phoenix and Portland because he wasn't happy. But, you know, guys like him who are going to be a free agent, he's got to play well. If he can't play well with Luka and LeBron, he can't play.

15:11I mean, if you can't play well with those two guys, that's a big guy. But all you got to do is run the floor. You're going to get layups and dunks or alley-oops on the other end. So it's a great situation. But he's going to have to play at a high level because he's going to have to play good defense behind those guys. Because LeBron's not a great defender anymore. And Luka's never been a great defender. And he's going to make up for their rebounding because the Lakers always put a small team out there. Charles Barkley joining us here on the Rich Eisen Show. I'm Susie Schuster. And for Rich Eisen here on ESPN Radio, presented by Progressive Insurance.

15:45Charles, who is the team that we're not talking about that strikes your curiosity?

15:53Wow, that's a really good question.

16:00I think the wild card is probably Toronto. I like Toronto. I think Toronto is going to surprise some people in the East because there's no dominant team in the East. I mean, I'm looking at Tatum going to be out pretty much all year. If even he come back, he won't be the same. Halliburton's probably going to sit out for the whole year. I think Toronto could be a sleeper in the East. And in the West, I think all eyes have to go down to Zion, man, because when that kid's in shape, he's special, but he's always hurt. and uh so you can't bank on it uh but as i said to you earlier don't sleep on my philadelphia 76ers right right i i listen and it's a big if i mean joel joel has been hurt every year basically paul george is getting older and he's starting to break down but i'm telling you if the 76ers could get healthy.

17:02You got an MVP and obviously an Embiid. You got an all-star player in Paul George. Maxie is an all-star. The kid from Duke is a hell of a player, McClain. The kid, BJ, they just drafted this year. I like him a lot. The Sixers could be the sleeper team in the East. I'm telling you. All right. You heard it here first on the Rich Eisen Show. That said, you said the very famous word, the important word, if. if because God knows we've seen Paul George struggle through so many seasons and same with Joel but it's a tough one that's a that's a very big if uh let me ask you a question about the WNBA what do you foresee happening between the team I'm sorry the league and its commissioner because boy these are dark times for a league that is seeing unprecedented audiences coming to it yeah they need to be very careful they're walking on thin ice right now uh suzy number one i i wish those ladies luck i want them to get paid as much as possible i wish them nothing but the best but let me tell you something i had michael jordan larry bird magic johnson i've had some of the greatest players ever and we went on strike listen you got to be careful of trying to figure out I know they're doing some great things, but you can't overplay your hand.

18:31Like I say, I want those ladies to make as much money as possible. And I don't want to be one of those fools, get on TV and say, I don't know their financial workings. I don't know how all that stuff working. But I will tell you this. As a league that had Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, and 100 great players, I think we went on strike three times. So this notion, just because you got power and talent, these billionaire owners just going to give you everything you want. That's not going to happen. That's not going to happen. So I wish those ladies great success. I hope they get paid what they what they deserve.

19:10But you can overplay your hand. Like I say, in the NBA, we're like, no, we're not going to go on strike. Like, they need us. We are like, you know what I was doing, Sue? Sitting my black ass at home unemployed. These guys, like, I remember sitting in those meetings. They're like, no, they're not going to strike. They're not. No, we too important. Blah, blah, blah. When the season started, I was sitting at home playing damn tiddlywinks. And I want to tell the women, like I say, I wish they get as much money as possible. I wish them nothing but the best. but you have to really be careful over playing your hand because listen uh one thing about people who make money they are never going to be billionaires billionaires always have the upper hand on millionaires okay no matter how many millions you got you're not a billionaire so you always have to be careful over playing your hand what you do is you try to make the best deal possible in the moment and keep growing and make it bad things like that but you have to be careful over playing your hand well i i gotta tell you there's bad blood we see it between collier and engelbert all the time and they're playing it out and unrivaled gives them a different level of looks like a little bit of leverage there but but we will watch this unfortunately Yeah, but you know, it's interesting you say that because I love Nafisa.

20:40I was really rooting for her to win MVP this year. So, listen, she has a – and she's one of the owners of Unrivals, which we produce. We own our network. If they screw around and go on strike, a bunch of those star players can go to Unrivals and they can start their own league. so that's that's actually a point i'm making this notion because you got to understand one thing about these negotiations and i've been in these negotiations the stars aren't the same with the regular players let's get that out the way uh the stars are the one who drive the league but most of the rank and file are regular good players if if if if the wmba went on strike and all this asia nafisa nafisa's already down there caitlin all those girls went to unrival they could start their own league with their own equity and make three times proud of the money they're making now.

21:46Now, that would screw all the other players in the WNBA, but you have to understand something. And like I say, I've been in these negotiations. Everybody's not on the same playing field. The stars are up here. Then there's some all-stars like right here. But the majority of players in sports are on the bottom rung. That's not an insult. That's just a fact. most of the players in all sports are on the bottom rung they're not up there with the superstars or the guys who are great players most of those guys and i'm gonna use this and it's not as a most of those guys are special teams players in all sports and that's no disrespect but to think that we're all on the same level playing field when it comes to salaries endorsements and things we are 100 % wrong.

22:43I hear you. Since you brought up special teams, before I lose you, let's talk about football for a second. Who do you like out there right now? Well, I'm an Eagles fan. We got a big game tonight against the Giants. Big game tonight. We haven't played great, but we've been winning. We beat the Rams on a lucky-ass play on a block kick. Then it came back to bite us last week against the Broncos. We had the big lead, and we only ran the ball seven times. We got my cousin, which I'm lying. He's not my cousin. I just claim him because he's great, Saquon. We only ran the ball seven times. When you got a two-touchdown lead, I'm pretty damn sure you should be running the ball.

23:30We only ran the ball seven times. Saquon only ran the ball seven times. That's terrible coaching right there. You got a 14-point lead. You just run the ball every time. Time's on your side. But I'm a big Eagles fan. Obviously, this is coming off a Super Bowl. We got high expectations. I would really love to see the Buffalo Bills win the Super Bowl because I think those fans deserve it, and I'm a big Josh Allen fan. Or I would like to see Jared Goff because I think that guy gets zero respect around the NFL. I'm a big Lamar Jackson fan, but this season's probably gone. Uh, he's out right now. He's probably going to miss this week and they got to buy next week.

24:10So this season probably going for the Ravens, but I would love to see, uh, Jared golf or Josh Allen win a Superbowl. Josh is the best. He's probably the best quarterback in NFL right now, in my opinion. And Jared golf is probably the least respected great player in the NFL. I mean, what that guy does is just win, win, win. And I don't understand why he don't ever get any respect. But right now, man, I love football season. College football is going on right now. This is great. We got Georgia this weekend down at Auburn. It's a must-win for us, probably, because we started out 3-0, and we're on a two-game losing streak, and Georgia, other than Alabama, is probably our biggest rival.

24:54So I'm really looking forward to the Georgia-Auburn game. Man, football season's just great. Susie, I don't do anything on the weekend. I get up first thing in the morning, and call my bookie and get all the lines for Saturday and Sunday. Then I go to the casino to the sports book and bet. That's all I do. I play golf every day except Saturday and Sunday because I refuse because there's no way you can stand over a driver and one about the point spread on a game and not shank it. So I play golf five days a week, but I never play golf on a weekend because, listen, you can't stand over a putt and worry about a point spread.

25:35You just got to worry about the break. You got to worry about the break. You can't be worried about, well, they're getting three and a half or three. What's your Super Bowl prediction? Really quick, really quick. Eagles? No, Detroit line against the Buffalo Bills. Let's go. Bills win their first Super Bowl. Shout out to the great Bruce Smith, Thurman Thomas, Jim Kelly, Cornelius Bennett, and my man Daryl. Oh, man, what's Daryl's last name? Talley.

26:06Rich Eisen:Daryl Talley. Daryl Talley. I used to love those guys. And I'll tell you something about those guys. Probably the most underrated great thing that ever happened in sports because they didn't win the Super Bowl. I think those guys, and it's unfortunate, those guys never got the credit and respect they deserve to go to four straight Super Bowls is one of the great achievements in sports history, but because people won't give them their due because they didn't win one of those Super Bowls. But I think those guys going to, because going to four straight Super Bowls has never happened, probably will never happen again.

26:44One of the greatest accomplishments in sports history. This goes unclaimed. Charles, you're the best. Thanks for making the time for me. Appreciate it. I can't wait to see you on Inside the NBA on ESPN. Yes. My goat. You're the best. I cannot wait. Hey, listen, thank you for having me. You know you're my girl. When I tell Rich, I say hello when he gets back from spring break. Okay? I promise I will. And when Rich asks you to come on the show, just say no. I only come on when Susie's there. Wow. You have a deal. Charles, I love you. Thanks, bud. I love you. Thanks, babe. Take care. See you, Chuck.

27:17Lots more Rich Eisen's show when we come back. Yeah, that's exactly how I roll.