Hour 2: Larry David Talks Knicks-Spurs, Rich’s Top 5, plus NFL Insider Tom Pelissero

19:55Rich Eisen:1978 Game 163 against the Red Sox Yeah, that one And let's not forget Aaron Boone That's a good one Off the knuckleballer Yeah, off of Wakefield Yeah, that one, that was great Um Matto Matto, Matto That's another one, a Rangers and the 94. Yeah. Okay. I like that. And Tyreek, the helmet. The helmet catch. Yeah. No Jets on that top five, huh? No Jets moments. I wonder why.

20:38Rich Eisen:But what was it like in the arena that night? Walk me through the emotions you were going through that night, LD. You know, I'm a half-empty guy. That glass just never gets filled, no matter what I do. So no matter what it is, I'm thinking that I'm here just from the very fact that I'm there. Why are they going to make me go home happy? So that, you know, that's my thinking. It'll be a miracle if I can go home happy. But the building itself, it was so charged. It was filled, you know, an hour before. You never see that. There's usually empty seats when the game starts. And it was, you know, you couldn't breathe, really.

21:42It was just like every second, every play was life and death.

21:49Rich Eisen:Yeah, and then look at your reaction here. When that Ananobi tip was right in front of you. That was right in front of me, yeah. That was right in front of me. I couldn't believe that he took the shot from 30 feet. Yeah, no. Which kind of surprised me. It was a long shot, and they only had a win by – They were only down one point. They only needed a basket, but yeah, I'll take it. What was amazing to me was when I saw the replay of the inbounds pass, they had a second and a half left.

22:29That Castle, it was wide open under the basket. That if Towns didn't tip that ball, we would have lost the game.

22:36Rich Eisen:The crazy thing is, Larry, that the clock should have started the minute Cat tipped the ball. And had Castle corralled it and not been blocked by Hart and put the basket in, they would have gone to replay and probably waved off the Spurs winning basket. Wow. Could you imagine if that's the way the game ended? Oh, my God. Yeah, that would have been too much. You know, but instead it just sparked a massive celebration and it looked like nobody wanted to leave after the game. Right. That's the way it looked like to me. Yeah. Yeah. People were just so stunned. They couldn't, they couldn't move. They were just milling about.

23:18Yeah. Right. And you would. And I was a Miller. Yeah.

23:22Rich Eisen:I was a Miller. Yeah. At any point in time, did you think of tripping Wemby, putting your feet up? Did you think that was the only way that you could have stopped him in the first half? I'm very foot conscious now. Very foot conscious. Because you were right there. Your seats are right next to the Spurs bench. Yeah. You know, the Spurs have an assistant coach. I guess it's okay for Mitch Johnson to stand up the whole time. Okay.

23:53But a lot of times you're standing right in front of me and I'm, you know, I'm going, okay, come on, Mitch. But they have an assistant coach.

24:03Rich Eisen:Yeah. And he's also going back and forth. And, you know, I'm starting to yell at him. I'm going, hey, man, come on. Come on. Give us a break here. So are you saying he's not highly ranked enough to block your view? Exactly. The coach, you can accept blocking views. Even then, I think it's rude. I think the coach should have a little consideration for people watching the game. You can't see anything. But okay, he's the coach. But still, if I was the coach of a team, I'd be thinking, oh, you know, these people, I won't get up. I won't get up. I would be cognizant of the people watching. That sounds a lot like George giving a seat to the security guard because he's standing all day.

24:57Rich Eisen:That's what that sounds like. Absolutely. That's exactly right. That's exactly right. Yes. He's concerned about the security guards and he wants them to be comfortable. But to have two of them up and down like that, that's not good. That's not good. And it's a little showy. It's a little showy. Do you need the assistant running up and down in front of you screaming? We don't need that. Why is he doing that? It's not right. You're right. We should make a note of that. How important could that be what he's screaming out? Can't the coach scream out what he's screaming out? They need both of them.

25:38Rich Eisen:You're right. So a couple last ones for you, LD, and I'll let you go on with your Friday. What is it like to see Wembenyama in person? How massive is he physically as he's walking to the check-in right? Oh, I mean, the giant. But I was thinking this today. Okay. I was thinking that with my game, you know, my game underneath, you know, underneath a lot of moves. You understood your post, your post level. My post, even outside. I had some moves outside. I can go left. I was able to go left and put up a jumper. I was thinking with my game, if you put me at seven, four, I think, I think I would be that good.

26:21I really do.

26:23Rich Eisen:So you're saying, hold on a minute, just so I'm understanding. If you had Wemba Nyama's height, that's the only difference here. That's exactly right. Yeah, that's exactly right. Neck up, neck down, you know, you could be him if you're only seven foot four. Easily, easily. Yeah. My game could have translated.

26:50My game. could have translated to the NBA if I was 7 '4".

26:57Rich Eisen:Yes, I believe that for sure. Are you also fluent in French? Or that's another... That's a separator here. No, no, that's... Okay, that's a separator. I know a couple of Yiddish words in the, you know. So you gave him a Kinahara? You're giving Wembenyama Kinahara? Is that where you're going with that? also did you see this he's he's he's an you know he's he's amazing he is amazing and i couldn't believe they weren't going to him down low the knicks are knicks are in a penalty fourth quarter they're hoisting up threes what a bonus that was i couldn't believe yeah i i don't get why he's not playing in the post neither do i but i don't know you know having maybe he doesn't play well with his back to the basket.

27:45You remember Wilt? Wilt had that great fadeaway. Yes. Remember, he would take a step back and bank it off. Right.

27:54Rich Eisen:Yeah. I don't know. Heaven forbid there's a game six. You might be able to ask the assistant coach that. I won't be. I won't. I'm not going to game six. You're not? Oh. What? No. This is so bad for my health. You know? What are you trying to do? Kill me? I'm not going. I don't even know if I can watch it. I think I'm done watching. Come on. I can't. It's too much. It's too much for me. Game five, I'll be able to watch because, okay, well, we still got a six and seven. Right. But game six, back at the Garden, that's going to be one of those things. I don't know what I'm going to do. I have to say, if we lose game six, i am going to be very very nervous i don't know i if we look look where i'm going see see mr half empty don't don't get me started don't get me started because i i just see the the the worst in things okay don't know um but i guess it's paid off for me you know so yes it has life larry and the pursuit of unhappiness debuts june 26th 9 p.m eastern on hbo and hbo max this is your next project very funny and exciting ld yeah looking forward to it yeah i think it's funny and it's fun and it's you know i was a i was a history major in college and only because, well, it was kind of the easiest thing for me to major in.

29:35Everything else seemed a little, you know, what else should there be? Right. I suppose English, but that's a lot of reading.

29:47I mean, in English, yeah, you're going to be an English major. They're going to sign a lot of books. So I just thought history, I was able to memorize the stuff. And finally, it paid off.

29:58Rich Eisen:It paid off. Well, again, it's your imagining of what it was like back in these historic moments for these history-making moments to happen. Right. That's what this is coming up. Yeah. Some are made up and some are based on real facts that I've injected myself into the conversation. so the boston tea party the creation of the wright brothers flights you know what if larry david in a way playing a character was involved in these history making absolutely yes exactly yeah it's coming to hb and everyone should definitely watch it it is outstanding coming up uh life larry in the pursuit of unhappiness debuts june 26 9 p.m eastern on hbo available on hbo max One last thing.

30:47Rich Eisen:I don't know if you saw this, if this wound up in your text chains or an inbox. Somebody had a picture of you with Jerry after the game. And the caption is the Spurs know how to take the lead. They just don't know how to hold the lead. And that's the really most important part of the lead is the holding. I saw that. I just I love that. I thought that was so funny. Yeah. You know, and just we're just we're just taking down baskets. Yeah, that was really funny. Yeah. Yeah. That was good stuff. Larry, thanks for the time. I really appreciate it. I hope to I hope to share a game five moment with you, if not, then a game six.

31:32Rich Eisen:But do we are we watching it live on Saturday or are we assuming Saturday? So Saturday starts at 5.30 Pacific time. Correct, sir. And, you know, by the time the first half is over, now we're encroaching into the dinner area. It's Saturday night. I am married. She's not really that into it. So I have to kind of work this somehow.

32:08Rich Eisen:your wife is going to understand this is the next larry this is yeah yeah that's that's true that's that's true she understands yeah yeah i could i could tape the second half but i i i no i don't think i could i i couldn't take the second no i i'm gonna watch it there we go okay terrific so so uh but you know if it's a if it's a if it's a divorce it'll be worth it if they win if they win yeah understood yeah yeah otherwise then that's a lose lose that's for sure right yeah ld you're the best thanks for the time okay man you got it that's larry david everybody right here on the rich eyes and show life larry and the pursuit of unhappiness it's brilliant and it debuts june 26 non-eastern on hbo available to stream on hbo max as well well that went as well as i had hoped of course cultivated that caper oh my god larry david man my uh my cheeks hurt cheeks hurt that's what happens all right that was just he's a half glass guy normally the party nor he's not there for stuff back to this him and johnny mac i love that i i wouldn't did he pick so is that the assistant he's referring to the guy on the right that doesn't have a higher right a high enough ranking to have the the temerity to block his view yeah patrol the sideline like mitch johnson he understands but the assistant sit down i saw that on social media this morning and there's videos of him like, just get out of the way.

33:47Rich Eisen:Oh, is that right? I was like, this is a real Curve episode. Is that real? Okay. I saw it this morning. 844-204-RICH, number to dial right here on the Rich Eisen Show, where you never know who's going to stop by. Greg Berhalter, the former U.S. men's national team coach and now the coach of Chicago Fire Everybody. He's coming up in hour number three.

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35:57Rich Eisen:The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast. The stars at the FIFA World Cup, Hyundai already has its eyes on the next generation of talent. the future stars who are already turning heads at age 14 because next doesn't wait for an invitation and neither do we hyundai has always moved the future within reach we did it when we made advanced safety standard on every vehicle and engineered evs with ultra fast charging capability and we're still doing it every day the future isn't some far-off concept it's already here. Next starts now. Hyundai, an official partner of FIFA. How much fun was that chat with Larry David?

36:36This is a dream.

36:38Rich Eisen:It was for us. He's the greatest. He sure is. 844-204-RICH, number to dial here on the program. Ross in New Jersey. What's up, Ross? Mr. Rich, how's it going, man? How are you, sir? I'm going to speak. Okay, buddy. What's on your mind? I'm doing awesome, man. It's starting to feel a little bit more real, but it still doesn't feel all that real. You got to dig, man.

37:03Tom Pelissero:Like last time I talked to you, we're going on, what, 15-plus years since the team lasted in. The city was the second of the two Eli rings. And the way they've been doing it, you've kind of had a mix of everything, right? The blowout wins against Cleveland and Philly. I feel like the word blowout is an understatement. And then the comeback wins, the flair for the dramatic streak. You have the all-time comeback against Cleveland, and now that feels like some run-of-the-muck, you know, kind of middle of the week comeback compared to what they did the other night. And just the OG shot, too, off the rip feels like one of those all-time moments, like the David Tyree helmet catch, the Buckner play, just in this city alone, but from an all-time perspective.

37:42Tom Pelissero:And seeing that in live time, knowing it's going to be immortalized, like some of those plays to that extent, seeing that in live time, knowing the immortalization that's going to come with it The live time was pretty awesome, man. And it's starting to feel a little bit more real, but I feel like I'm still living in like a pipe dream with it.

37:59Rich Eisen:Ross, I'm with you, man. And I appreciate the call. I mean, Tim Legler said it in hour number one. They're going to be playing that tip in the open montage of NBA finals for the next 50 years. No doubt. You know, along with the shot or shove of Brian Russell. You know? Only at the Knicks win, though. I don't know about even if the Spurs come back and win it's still what then it becomes like the Julio Jones catch yeah in that Super Bowl against New England yeah the home run we were talking about playing this player hit against the Cubs like it's forgotten great moments in sports history and I think that's part of the reason why everybody who was able to stick around after that game felt like all right we're up three games to one this is a lead that's frequent like historically insurmountable yeah 37 and one right and so we are now it was as if they're like we're we're celebrating the championship now yeah that was one of the coolest moments about game four no one wanted to leave the arena yeah everyone was just hanging out kind of talking about what did we just see what did we just sharing the experiences it was awesome yeah you know so uh that's why i'm now leading we just larry by the way gave a top five list i just asked him if we're we're og ranked in terms of you know new york sports moments of all time and he went through a five so he was pretty good stole my thunder a little bit but he he named he named a couple moments that i did not put on here oh um here are my top five new york sports memory and moments presented by Hyundai.

39:44Rich Eisen:Hit it. High five. One, two, three, four, five. Rich's Top 5. Alright, the OG Ananobi putback for the Knicks to complete the biggest comeback in the history of the NBA Finals. It led me to talk about this and we just hit it with Larry David. Here are my Top 5 New York sports memories or moments presented by Hyundai. Number 5 was the 1996 Yankees World Series four-game win streak. I can't choose which one out of them all after the Yankees dropped the first two in Yankee Stadium to the unbeatable at the time, Atlanta Braves. And then they had to go to Atlanta Fulton County Stadium with John Smoltz on the mound and Pettit and Smoltz had a brilliant game three.

40:34Rich Eisen:And then there was that Mark Waller's moment, Jim Laird's homering in game four. Game five, The Yankees won that one, and then Game 6 was when they won their first World Series since I was, let me get this right, a 9-year-old in 1978. And Joe Girardi, triple, they beat Greg Maddox. Jimmy Key, what is he, 45, Jimmy Key, was the game-winning pitcher in Game 6. I'll just choose that four-game win streak in that World Series that looked pretty dark before the dawn. number four on the list is the New York Rangers break the curse um again I don't talk much hockey around here um I but when you're emotionally invested in it that that's what it's all about and I grew up listening to Rangers hockey on the radio and Marv Albert calling the the action I mean Brian Leach getting it done Mike Richter between the pipes and their own number 11 it's interesting enough you know back in the day number 11 Mark Messier who's leading the charge to try and win a championship for the first time in over 50 years.

41:38Rich Eisen:Number 11, Jalen Brunson. There's a lot of similarities going down right now between the Rangers' run in 94 breaking the curse and what the Knicks are doing right now. Hopefully they do complete it and not make it tighter like the Rangers did against the Vancouver Canucks back in the day. Number three, this is personal to me because I was covering it for ESPN Radio, And I will never forget being in the New York Yankees dugout tunnel in the old Yankee Stadium, not knowing what was going down in this extra inning game of this World Series game. But just when Derek Jeter homered to become the first Mr.

42:21Rich Eisen:November, because this game went past midnight into November 1st because of the fact that the season was delayed because of 9-11. and I'll never forget being the guy who was conducting interviews for ESPN radio in 2001 and everybody's screaming Jeter just homered go go go and we got pushed out I get goosebumps thinking about it we get pushed out onto the Yankee Stadium turf of the old Yankee Stadium where I grew up as a kid watching the Yankees and I just saw Jeter rounding third pumping his fist and I looked up and I saw 56 ,000 fans going absolutely crazy. I will never forget this moment as long as I live professionally, personally, and that cross-section of that moment makes it number three on this list.

43:06Rich Eisen:Number two is what we saw Wednesday night, the OG Ananobi putback, a.k.a. the Wu game for everybody out there. Because also, I mean, Wu-Tang Clan from Staten Island, like yours truly, So this moment, again, I can't believe it happened. I still don't believe it happened. And I understand, again, that the Knicks have to finish this thing off, right? Have to. In the same way the Buckner play for your Mets was not the end of the World Series. They still had to finish it off. They still had to be a game seven after a rain delay, I might add. Gold medal victory over the Soviets. I'm just going on and on and on about these great moments that everybody in the years after think that ended things.

43:59Rich Eisen:Knicks need to finish it off. Number one, this is what finished off the 1977 World Series and sealed me as a Yankee fan for the rest of my life. Reggie Jackson's three home run game. I was an eight-year-old kid. I will never forget this. I will never forget Howard Cosell at the mic. You know, I can't, I will never forget that. Because again, Howard Cosell and Marv Albert are why I fell in love with sports broadcasting and why I do what I do today. And Reggie Jackson is why I'm a Yankee fan today. And this is my greatest sports moment in memory. Go ahead and hit the button. Oh, all right, we'll get one more.

44:37Rich Eisen:And I'll do this too. Again, this is what sealed me as a Knicks fan. Again, I grew up loving the Knicks in the 70s. but when Bernard King went back-to-back 50-point games in 1984 in the state of Texas, this is when I'm like, okay, things can be particularly special for the New York Knicks. And the first guy that the ABC broadcast showed after the game ended, the first former Knick that the ABC broadcast popped on was Bernard King. And that was a special moment for me. I love Bernard King. Jalen Brunson's getting up there, man. Jalen Brunson is more 30-point games in last year's playoffs, 10. That set the record for most in a single postseason for the Knicks.

45:22Rich Eisen:He now has eight, as many as Bernard King's previous record was. So Brunson is in the Bernard King realm in terms of what he's doing on the court and in terms of what he's doing for fans like me. That's my top five brought to you by Hyundai. Discover what's next at your local Hyundai dealer, like our next generation EV. the Ioniq 9 Hyundai, official partner of FIFA World Cup 2026. Speaking of that, the former U.S. men's national team coach, Greg Berhalter, stopping by before tonight's World Cup debut of the current iteration involving his son of the U.S. men's national team. The Ridge Eisen Show podcast.