Hour 2: Kurt Helin, NBC Sports

0:00Brain Webber:So good, so good, so good. New markdowns up to 70 % off are at Nordstrom Rack stores now. And that means so many new reasons to rack. Because I always find something amazing. There's so many good brands. Because there's always something new. Join the Nordiclub to unlock exclusive discounts, shop new arrivals first, and more. Plus, buy online and pick up at your favorite rack store for free. Great brands, great prices. That's why you rack.

0:31Brain Webber:Monster Energy. Everybody knows White Monster Zero Ultra. That's the OG. It kicked off this whole Zero Sugar Energy drink thing. But Ultra is a whole lineup now. You've got Strawberry Dreams, Blue Hawaiian, Sunrise, and Vice Guava. And they all bring the Monster Energy punch. So if you've been living in the white can, branch out. Ultra's got a flavor for every vibe. And every single one is Zero Sugar. Tap the banner to learn more. 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.

1:13Brain Webber: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. Now, on with the show. Oh my God, you guys are my favorites. 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.

1:43Kurt Helin:I've got a long resume. Google me, it saves time.

1:46Brain Webber:From The Rich Eisen Show's studio in Los Angeles. And now, sitting in for Rich, it's Brian Weber.

1:59Kurt Helin:To the program, always an honor to sit in for Rich and the guys enjoying the much-deserved day off on this President's Day. I come to you from our Regal Studios in Southern California, where very few people seem to care about the NBA All-Star weekend, especially All-Star Saturday night, which was the afternoon here on the West Coast. But we're going to jump right in, talking about the resurrection of the All-Star game. It was watchable. What do you know? NBA players can actually expend effort when they want to. In 20 minutes, we'll talk football with the Combine starting next week. Which team has the worst QB situation heading into the draft?

2:42Kurt Helin:And there is news in the NFL because, as you know by now, say it with me, there is no offseason in the National Football League. No holiday when it comes to transactions. Not stunning news, but significant to a degree. As expected, the Dolphins, with a regime change, new GM, new head coach, and Jeff Halfley, have released Tyreek Hill. So in 20 minutes, we'll talk about potential landing spots for the Cheetah. Wide open here in the first hour of the program. You can pick up the phone, 844-204-RICH. That is 844-204-7424. Coming up in 45 minutes, we'll bookend the NBA talk to kick off the first hour of the show.

3:24Kurt Helin:We'll get into the tanking crisis. Thank you very much. Is there anything realistically that Commissioner Adam Silver can do to preserve competitive integrity? Just two guests along the way because I'm delusional enough to think I'm just that fascinating. Plus, I'm only here selectively by design. There's a reason why I am a guest host at this stage of my career. So, in addition to the NBA thoughts that are coming up momentarily, we will get the analysis of what happened over the weekend and spin it forward to the post-All-Star Game break action when we're joined by Curt Heelan of NBCSports .com.

4:04Kurt Helin:In the next hour, final hour, we will talk NFL with Eric Edom of NFL.com. If you want to get interactive, you can always hit me up on the X platform. Tweet at me. I don't get paid by Elon, so I'll go old school. My handle is B.W. Weber, Weber with two Bs. I probably should not admit this because going young is always a wise course of action in our business, but I'm older than my way too enthusiastic delivery at 9.03 local time here in Los Angeles would suggest. So I got a head start in my career roughly 35 years ago because I was almost psychotically passionate about sports, and I used to get extraordinarily worked up over All-Star games.

4:49Kurt Helin:Now, some of that was a byproduct of scarcity. I didn't see a lot of Xavier McDaniel when he played for the Supersonics when I grew up in the New York Tri-State area. So when all the All-Stars got together, it was meaningful because every game wasn't available on my phone. But as I've gotten a little bit older and maybe more beat up, I try not to get worked up over things that are merely exhibitions and designed to entertain, but that's been the problem with the All-Star Game. If you're not compelling, if you're not interesting, if the players don't seem to give a damn, why should we? So I was optimistic that the format changed, and we're not going to go through the whole chronology, the history of the All-Star Game.

5:34Kurt Helin:It was founded in the 1950s, the fund, the NBA Players Association Pension Fund. Clearly, I have no life as it's coming to the first couple minutes of the program. I'm Brian Weber in for Rich. Hop aboard at 844-204-RICH. That's 7424. But the tipping point occurred a few years ago. What was that debacle at Indy? Something like 211 to 194. 168. I looked it up just to confirm. 168 combined three-pointers in that dumpster fire. So Adam Silver had no choice but to blow the thing up. They went with the minigame format last year with a tournament style as well. That was better. And then they figured, okay, whenever there is something that can be in doubt in sports, go with patriotism, go with nationalism, especially an Olympic year.

6:29Kurt Helin:USA, USA against the world. And the format worked. Now, I don't think it was primarily driven based on that aspect of nationalism. I think it really came down to the man we're going to hear from momentarily, Wemby, who truly is a unicorn, setting the tone, heading into All-Star Weekend, saying, I'm going to play. I'm going to treat this as a real game. And when you have somebody who's going to be the next face of the league coming out with that kind of bold statement, I don't think it's a coincidence that other dudes responded. In fact, if you watched any of the action yesterday, and it was a lot more watchable because they were bite-sized chunks, the mini-games also led to players having a real shot of going out and balling out because they only had to play 12 minutes instead of going through the motions for an unwatchable 48-minute affair.

7:26Kurt Helin:from the very outset, from Jump Street in the first game. Wemby came out with a dunk, then he railed a three-pointer, showing that, in fact, he was going to back up his words. So let us hear from Wemby after the game, summing up what he thought was a stellar all-star game experience. The very least. But it is amazing, and again, I'm not going to get into some kind of cultural examination. Why does it take a young man from France to, quote-unquote, save the all-star game. I think the players at some point were guilted into trying. I think there is a generational gap because the next fellow we're going to hear from is also one of the young faces of the league.

8:10Kurt Helin:If you want to get nerdy, and this really would be the demonstration of absolutely having no life, you could argue Kawhi Leonard perhaps should have been the MVP. Although by the time we got to the championship game, USA USA versus USA USA he flamed out so I got no problem with Anthony Edwards picking up the hardware and I did find it interesting that we got the endorsement from another transcendent star who happens to be well beneath his 30th birthday that he talking about the Ant-Man also is a fan of the new approach and that is exactly what we want from our athletes trans transparency honesty candor and honesty and i know people out there especially on a holiday and if you are working one of the little known powers as a fill-in hack is i get to tell you you can mail it in today stick it to the man in fact you can mail it in because the mailman isn't even working don't go downstairs and check your mailbox if you still do that of course i do because all my references are dated in 1985 put your feet up but if you are driving around right now saying wait a minute here's a young multi-millionaire telling me he decided to play hard because the game was shorter that's a you problem and back to my evolving mindset about everything in life control the controllables it's never going to be the way it was in any of these sports not even just the all-star game format because I could sit here and shout about Pete Rose knocking over Ray Fossey before I was even born, but we know that highlight will live forever.

9:54Kurt Helin:The world has changed. These guys are friends on and off the court. They're all their own individual corporation. So the bloodlust that we used to see is never coming back. And that's okay. We're just looking for a baseline of minimal efforts. And we saw it yesterday. So the answer moving forward until we have the next crisis in the NBA and what is it about basketball that all we do and if you remember me probably not because I do fill in for other platforms as well I'm very fortunate to be a guest host occasionally in demand but I was in for Rich throughout the majority of Christmas week and I'm the guy who was telling you on Christmas day I was more interested in the five NBA matchups in the NFL understanding the NFL crushes everything in its path and I used to work at NFL Network I I am more of a hoops fan just because I like the sport better aesthetically.

10:49Kurt Helin:And we all played basketball to a degree because all you needed was a ball and a hoop. Football, yeah, you could tackle your buddies on the concrete if you're old school from the mean streets of Brooklyn. Or if you can find some field near your house. But all it took coming up was either you're going to shoot baskets in your backyard or go to the local playground or play pickup with your friends. maybe because we all have some sort of personal connection to basketball, but all we do is slam the NBA, and I understand the reasons why we have the objections. The three-point revolution has been a negative for this league.

11:31Kurt Helin:There has to be a degree of balance. I'd like to see some traditional big men, and then you get Wemby, who truly is one of one because he has that unbelievably unique skill set. we complain about load management i get it if you were somebody who paid big money for the one visit that lebron and the lakers were making your town and lebron's not the guy to point the finger at and coming up as we tip off our number two we will get into his future if you're looking for the most passive aggressive and cryptic answer about lebron could this be your last all-star game You'll get that answer from the king coming up to start the second hour.

12:10Kurt Helin:I am not minimizing load management, the avalanche of threes, and tanking, which we're going to talk about on the business end of this hour. I'm just saying that we don't dissect the NFL for having hideous officiating. That's uneven. And now replay assist coming from New York City. We still watch and we love the game. But for whatever reason, in hoops, we spend the majority of time pointing out what is wrong. And I don't want to live my life that way. So the game is designed to be a celebration of the sport. Mission accomplished yesterday with the return of energy, with the return of competition, because you could pick whatever that line is, however many years ago it was.

13:00Kurt Helin:Was it five years ago? Was it a decade? somewhere along the way it became a drag for these guys they just didn't want to be there yes the slam dunk competition is abysmal and I'm not coming up with some fix-it panacea because that thing is dead it's a coffin on roller skates but if you're willing to take some chances as the The NBA does. I don't love the NBA Cup, but I understand why it exists. I thought the play-in was a worthless gimmick. Undeniably, it's been a success. And, of course, now, if we're talking about the NBA, what is a potential solution for tanking? Let's have another tournament.

13:43Kurt Helin:But we'll get there coming up in a half hour. Some total, I was just looking to be entertained. I wanted to believe the players cared as much as we do as fans. And if you watch the product, I don't think it's even a conversation worth having. It was undeniably much better with Wemby leading the way. There was talk that this might be a one-off in terms of USA versus the world because it coincided with the Olympic year. The NBA, for all their problems, they're not fools. I think you move forward with this format, and as we heard from Anthony Edwards, you stick with the mini-games. Now, if you want to quibble, by the time we got to the fourth game, maybe it was one too many, and you saw some of the older players, like Kawhi, hitting the wall.

14:33Kurt Helin:But that is just parsing something for the sake of poking holes in it. You put it in a big-picture perspective. Dare I say the NBA All-Star game was fantastic. I won't go that far, but at least it was watchable. I'm Brian Weber in for Rich. You can pick up the phone, 844-204-RICH. That is 844-204-7424. Hit me up on the X platform, B.W. Weber. Weber with two Bs. We'll get back to the NBA and the tanking issue that refuses to go away. Coming up in 30 minutes, we'll hear from the commission self. Straight ahead, NFL has no days off, including President's Day. We've got reaction to today's news. The Tyreek Hill has been released by the Dolphins, and the NFL Combine starts a week from today.

15:23Kurt Helin:Which team has the worst quarterback situation on the road to the draft? Just getting warmed up on a very busy holiday edition of the program. I'm Brian Weber, in for Rich, here on The Rich Eisen Show.

15:36Brain Webber:The Rich Eisen Show podcast.

15:37Kurt Helin:and we're back with you always a blast to keep the chair warm for rich and the guys do not worry mr eisen and the crew back with you tomorrow 844-204-rich the number to call if you want to have at it on social media bw weber weber with two b's is my handle coming up in 30 minutes we'll return to the nba we'll hear from adam silver who's always measured but if he's capable of going on tilt of going full throttle is somewhere in his arsenal he came close this weekend talking about what is clearly becoming a tanking crisis in his league we'll get there before we wind down in this first hour of the program with a reminder if you miss any portion of any show you can catch up any time with the podcast that'll be pushed out at the conclusion of the show so with the nba all-star game returning to the forefront of our consciousness and I don't want to turn up the hype machine too much but once we get beyond the Super Bowl we're looking for things to captivate us to capture our attention and I know there's a lot of you who are saying hey fill-in guy whoever you are over enunciating I'm not going to watch a minute of the NBA and so maybe the playoffs that is fine you do you but there's a large portion of the viewing when rich is on the simulcast and listening audience here on espm radio that loves hoops i realize the ratings will be complicated because they went head-to-head with the daytona 500 with that wild conclusion and what do you know michael jordan is back in the winner's circle in another sport but whether it was wemby whether There was the format change.

17:24Kurt Helin:I was actually pleasantly surprised to see a semblance of defense yesterday. So the All-Star game is back. NFL news never seems to slow down, especially this time of the year. As we ramp up for the combine, franchise tag designations come out in a week or so. That means players are either looking over their shoulder to get a tag they don't want, like George Pickens in Dallas, or it's time to clean up the books in advance of the start of the new league here coming up in early March to free up money for free agent frenzy. So a purge is underway in South Florida, and none of this is surprising when you consider the change at the top of the org chart, got a new GM and head coach, Jeff Halfley, both from the Green Bay Packer organization.

18:20Kurt Helin:And we'll talk about Tua coming up in the final hour of the program when we're joined by Eric Edelm, who's Rich's colleague at NFL Network. I'm Brian Weber in for Rich. We're live on this President's Day, and you can be a part of the program. Hit me up on XBWWeber, Weber with two Bs. Whatever the future holds for Tua Tungavailoa, Miami clearly looking for cap space if, in fact, they just decide to eat the remaining money on his contract. So, as I mentioned, these are predictable moves that became official today. Say goodbye to Bradley Chubb on defense. And the headline is Tyreek Hill is no longer a member of the Dolphins.

19:00Kurt Helin:31 years old. You know about the injury problem last year. Had that gruesome leg injury. Only played four games. So, he'll be coming back from a torn ACL. I just saw a tweet from Tom Pellisaro, another one of Rich's colleagues at NFL Network, saying, It's unclear when Tyreek will be available, so it's no guarantee he'll be out there for week one. And you know about his checkered past. I don't have to play the hits and go through all of the off-field issues. But remember, in college he had legal trouble. That got him jettisoned from Oklahoma State, wound up at West Alabama as somebody who loves the draft and has been fortunate to cover the combine three times in person.

19:42Kurt Helin:It was interesting to me early in his career, and I understand NFL announcers on the network level have to be careful with the words they use because of the relationship with the league. But you would hear things like, how in the world did this fast guy, Tyreek Hill, wind up being a fifth-round pick? Well, look at the police blotter. There were major character issues. He's 31 years old, which is not where you want to be in this league, especially with the bumper crop of wide receivers. This is the golden age of receivers, and I don't know why. I know I'm supposed to know everything about everything as a guest host.

20:25Kurt Helin:Maybe it's guys who might have ventured towards basketball, realizing, okay, the NFL is king, although you can make more money in hoops. I don't know why the position seems to have been transformed over the last 10 years. Maybe it's the gloves. We always go back to OBJ and a Spider-Man catch. The gloves do help. But we just have an embarrassment of riches at this position. Just think about JSN. I know we got banged up in the Super Bowl. Justin Jefferson. I don't have to go through every playmaker across the league. And if you're looking ahead to the draft, Ohio State has become University of Wide Receivers.

21:03Kurt Helin:Carnell Tate projected to be their latest top 10 pick. So what does the future hold for Tyreek Hill? The knee-jerk reaction will be a reunion with the Chiefs. I could see that. Obviously, he didn't leave on great terms because he was looking for more dough. And the Chiefs said, thank you. Enjoy your time in Miami. But it feels like the return of Eric Biennemi as the offensive coordinator could be part of that reunion. him, Buffalo comes to mind because they really have never effectively replaced the fond digs. And I'll believe Joe Brady, at least I'll take him at face value that he's willing to give Keon Coleman a second, third and fourth chance.

21:46Kurt Helin:But when you have the owner of the franchise, Terry Pagula getting into the minutia of how that pick was made to try to defend his GM, And Brandon Bean, who he promoted after he whacked his head coach, doesn't feel like Keon's got a bright future in Western New York. So we'll talk about this coming up as the program continues. And as I mentioned, we'll get real-time analysis from Eric Edelm of NFL Network in the last hour of the show. I'm Brian Weber in for Rich. Eric is also a draft specialist. So if you, like myself, love the Underwear Olympics, and it's not just what you see on your screen, The whole point of the combine is it's an unofficial football convention.

22:33Kurt Helin:Personnel executives, GMs, quote-unquote football journalists, bloggers. Is the NFL going to embrace all these kids on TikTok the way the NBA has? I was watching the coverage of the Stars' media availability on Saturday, and there were more people holding a camera on a stick. I'm sure there's a term there. That was very eloquently described as a wordsmith. A camera on a stick. There are more content creators than actual basketball journalists. Welcome to Media in 2026. But when we get to the draft, after all of the conversations that occur at St. Elmo's and the fine steakhouses across Indy, and perhaps Mark Sanchez will be a cautionary tale, nothing good happens after midnight during the combine.

23:21Kurt Helin:Most of the attention is going to be focused on the presumptive number one overall pick. It seems like a done deal. Fernando Mendoza on his way to Vegas to play for the Raiders. He has nothing to prove at the combine. Probably won't throw. But because it is a gathering of football minds and it advances the conversation of the NFL, the chatter out there comes down to a few things that we kick around every year. Especially for a quarterback. Does player X have the potential to develop into a franchise quarterback? And secondarily, what's the cop? Well, ESPN's NFL draft analyst, Fieldgate, you see him on NFL Live and across the other platforms here on ESPN, had an interesting parallel for Mendoza.

24:09Kurt Helin:He linked him to a fellow who just won the Lombardi trophy.

24:15Brain Webber:Rich Eisen here. You know that feeling of handing off your taxes and then hearing nothing? total radio silence. Well, not anymore. Now your taxes are done for you by a TurboTax full service expert who checks for every deduction and keeps you in the loop with real-time updates on your phone. Just match with your dedicated expert, upload your docs, and go live your life, confident you're getting every dollar you deserve. This is how taxes should be. Visit TurboTax.com today to learn more. Real-time updates only in iOS mobile app. Only available with TurboTax full service experts. In my line of work, I'm fortunate enough to travel quite a bit covering the biggest moments through the football season.

24:57Brain Webber:While I'm on the road, I sometimes miss the comforts of home, which is why when I travel with my family, we always check Airbnb for places to stay. It's our home away from home, providing the comfort and safety that allows us to wind down and relax. Families like mine are looking for homes that fit their needs to make new memories in and your home may be exactly what they're looking for. If you're looking to save up for a new addition to your house or a once-in-a-lifetime trip to see your favorite band in another country, for instance, hosting your house on Airbnb could help you reach those goals.

25:31Brain Webber:It's easy to list your home for short trips or extended periods of time, allowing your house to earn you some extra money. Make your home work for you while you're away and enjoy the benefits of hosting on Airbnb. Your home may be worth more than you think. Find out how much at Airbnb.com slash host. O 'Reilly Auto Parts can help take the guesswork out of your check engine, ABS, or maintenance light with O 'Reilly Veriscan. The service is free and provides a report with solutions verified by ASE certified master technicians. O 'Reilly Veriscan can identify the most likely problem with just one scan.

26:10Brain Webber:If you need help, O 'Reilly Auto Parts can recommend a shop for you. Don't ignore a check engine, ABS, or maintenance light. Ask for O 'Reilly Veriscan today. A free service exclusively at O 'Reilly Auto Parts.

26:25Kurt Helin:That's an interesting point of comparison and one I had not thought of. I've heard in terms of quarterbacks in, let's say, the last 15 years, if you want to backdate things, and I'll give you a contemporary name as well, But quarterbacks who've had success, 6 '5", but not burly. We're not talking about a Ben Roethlisberger kind of physique. I've heard Mendoza compared to Matt Ryan. Insert your own neck joke there. But Matty Ice won an MVP, and he's going to go to the Hall of Fame because all the premier quarterbacks now, other than Eli, who just has to wait his turn as a two-time Super Bowl MVP, are going to get there because of the massive stat padding that's occurred in a league that's all about one position and one position only and airing it out.

27:10Kurt Helin:I've also heard a comparison to Jared Goff. That strikes me as lazy. That's just the Cal thing, right? Goff went to Cal, number one overall pick to the Rams, and I give him credit like Sam Darnold for reinventing himself, although I still have a hard time divorcing my memory bank from my opinion-making part of my brain. How in the world did Jared Goff play that poorly on Christmas Day in a game the Lions had to have against Max Brosmer? Remember him? As we talk about quarterback situations, Minnesota's spicy. We'll get there coming up. I'm Brian Weber in for Rich. The goal is to be interactive, but as a veteran of holidays, I know few people want to talk to a substitute teacher.