Hour 2: Tom Pelissero, Antonio Freeman Talks Son’s World Cup Heroics, plus Collin Morikawa on PGA Tour Relegation

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1:27Now, on with the show. With the first pick, the Washington Wizards select the Rich Eisen Show with guest host Tom Pelissero. God, I love that guy. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. Earlier on the show, ESPN senior NBA writer Vincent Goodwill. Coming up, two-time major champion Colin Morikawa. Super Bowl champion receiver Antonio Freeman. And now, sitting in for Rich, it's Tom Pelissero.

2:01Tom Pelissero:Welcome back to a Rich Eisenless edition of the Rich Eisen Show. Tom Pellicero in for Rich. As promised, one hour from right now, I hold in my hand the top 10 storylines that will play out between now and the NFL regular season opener, which is how many days away, Brockman? Well, if you're not counting today, 76. You count the day you're on. It's 11 weeks, 77 days from right now. You count the day. I don't know. The day's not over. Yeah, well, I mean, we're in the day, though. It could end. I mean, yes, we all could be dead tomorrow, but I'm pretty sure we're counting today. I'm with you on this.

2:39A little dark.

2:40Tom Pelissero:Meanwhile, Cromwell, Connecticut, site of one of the signature events on the PGA Tour. Teen off tomorrow. The Travelers Championship airs on Golf Channel and ESPN Plus Thursday through Sunday and NBC on Saturday and Sunday. one of the top players in the world, Colin Morikawa, two-time major champ, joining us right now. Colin, thank you a ton for being here. How's the weather? How are we looking out there? I'm trying to figure out if we count today or not. I'm like, I'm listening. Okay, hold on. Let's put this in your terms. So on Thursday of the Travelers Championship, how many more days would you say there are until the championship is done?

3:21Until it's done?

3:25four and a half are we counting half days it's a four day tournament my day's over my day's over after this this day's done for me

3:36Tom Pelissero:but the day that it ends counts it's Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday that's a four day tournament 77 to the start we're doing good we're doing good beautiful day out here first two days weren't so great a lot of rain, little soft conditions. But it's good. It's good to be done with the U.S. Open, kind of get that stress over with and finally be out here. Travelers makes it a great week for us. So we're excited. Hopefully make some birdies. I'm sure part of the stress is the playing conditions, as always at the U.S. Open, always at Shinnecock. How much do you have to adjust the mindset, the play style when you go from that course to the TPC River Islands?

4:17You know, it's not as big of a mindset because we have a game plan that we set forth and out here, you know, it's just being able to attack different holes. But yeah, I think when you're at a U.S. Open, I mean, par is a great score out here. Like you might get frustrated if you make four or five, six pars in a row. But knowing that this golf course and you have 18 holes and essentially you can make birdie on every single one. We've seen some low scores in the past. Like you have to be patient with yourself. And I think we're going to get some pretty good conditions this week to see some low scoring.

4:47Tom Pelissero:Is there any? Listen, this is a very prestigious tournament. obviously the travelers championship is there any trap game type of impact that you have to guard against you talk about the stress that goes into playing through a u.s open all of a sudden you i don't know if you drove or you took the ferry or however you got there you're in a completely different setting now still a very important tournament how do you if at all have to kind of guard against that i think in the beginning of the week you know monday tuesday a lot of us are taking a light you know it's a little bit different practice schedule you're kind of resting the body Some guys are on four weeks in a row.

5:19This is my third week in a row. And just being able to judge that. But, you know, come tomorrow, I'm going to go 100 percent into it, 110 percent, knowing that, you know, essentially everything matters throughout a regular season to make playoffs. Well, last signature event of the year, like you want to go off on a bang into our last major at the Open Championship. So you want to be informed right now, not just saying, you know, it's the week after a major, like let's cruise into it.

5:46Tom Pelissero:So you talk about the playoffs and the other things at stake. Come 2028, these stakes are going to be different for many players on the tour. I'm sure you had an opportunity to review all the changes that were unveiled in a press conference a couple of days ago. You've got two parallel championship tours going on. There's promotion, there's relegation. Look how small the type is on this graphic as we try to get all the changes in. When you first heard this, you knew that they were evaluating these potential changes. Colin, what was your reaction? uh excitement you know i think this is actually creating more opportunities for everyone and um the one thing we haven't had in professional golf is just a clear-cut schedule and i think when you look at all this you know you look at all these numbers you know what we're playing for if you own a pga tour card uh in 2028 whether you're on the championship series or the challenger series you are going to know what schedule you're going to be playing and that's been rare in professional golf and i get it there's a meritocracy that people love the openness of what the pga tour has to offer but at the same time the stress of waiting at tournaments you know isn't fun like you want to know what you're going to be playing and building out your schedule every other sport kind of does that and i think it's gonna be great for the for the guys out on tour and at the end of the day you play great golf you're going to be where you want to be have you heard any any negative feedback i mean you're around other golfers all the time have you heard anyone who's like i don't i don't like these changes no no no and you know i i think there hasn't been as much talk amongst us players as you might think and i think that's a good thing um and i think that shows like these changes are are for the better and obviously we're making a lot of changes for the fans and i hope the fans are going to enjoy it at the same time um you're going to see a lot of us compete against uh each other a lot more with slightly bigger fields with cuts like things that are natural to the game of golf and uh that's all you know positives i think in in two years colin morikawa is our guest uh speaking of the fans here uh they didn't seem to be big fans of wyndham clark uh during during the u.s open and we know golf listen it's a it's a different type of a sport you there's an expectation among the spectators unless you're playing in the waste management open where it seems like all the governor's off on those things there's certain things you're not supposed to do.

8:03Tom Pelissero:When you heard, and I'm sure you picked up on some of it here, where is the line in your mind in terms of what constitutes your run of the mill chirping versus things that in this case literally had some people removed from the premises? Yeah, I mean, for golf, I mean, definitely don't be saying anything, talking while we're swinging, you know, while we're actually hitting the shot. You know, there's a line of what you can and can't say. I think that's that's people's ethics and morals that you know you have to determine yourself um i like i think windham handled it uh amazingly i think he did a very very good job he was very poised about it um and he proved that his golf game was good enough to to beat all of us and at the end of the day your golf game can speak wonders for yourself i've gotten to know windham really well over the last few years uh we're on the olympic team together and you know we spent a lot of time together on a couple trips.

8:56And, you know, look, I think he regrets. I know he does. You know, he said it, I think, the last couple of days of what he's done a couple of times throughout the past year. Look, I regret a couple of things that I've done, but you have to learn and move on from it and learn from it. And we just continue to grow. And that's that's what we do as people. But as fans, you know, I wasn't there, but at the same time, you know, he's he's American and he's won the U.S. Open before. So I don't get the animosity, but people have their right to root for who they want and it was what it was. Yeah, Colin, following up on that, Eamon Lynch on the Golf Channel this week said that he wasn't sure if New York should host any more big events coming off of this past weekend and kind of went on with some of the things the fans were saying to the European Ryder Cup players at the Ryder Cup last year.

9:47Did you think about that or what has been the talk about maybe taking some of these events away from New York and the fans? That's a tough one. You know, it's hard to generalize a full state and a population like that. You know, I get the statement. I mean, I think last year at the Ryder Cup, definitely crossing lines when you're throwing stuff at people. Look, golf is so intimate. So when people can stand up next to a rope and you have a rope, that that's the definition of what you can't cross versus, you know, you know, you're in a stadium for other sports and you can't hear anything. That's a big difference.

10:21Um, it, I love playing in New York. I think it's amazing. I think Beth page was awesome. Um, could it have been better? Yes. Uh, could, you know, last week with Wyndham could have been better. Yes. But at the same time, like people have to find ways to come out to golf courses, cheer us on. Like we enjoy that energy when people are out there. Um, I don't think they deserve to lose it. You know, I think there's ways to respect that and find the right type of crowd. But like I said, it is what it is. For me, I don't hear a lot of it. So it's just you kind of go along with it. But you want to have an enjoyable crowd.

10:57And I think that creates an atmosphere. That's what this week, the Traveler Championship, a lot of us enjoy it because of the crowd out there. And that makes weeks a little bit more special compared to some other ones. So hopefully we can see that at some major championships. Maybe not cross that line and just have people enjoying it for what it is. That's great. I know let's talk about you. You mentioned you are playing for the third week in a row. How are you feeling, you know, since the back injury at the players? Is that all fully healed? Are you back to 100 %? How are you feeling physically?

11:29yeah i don't know if i'm quite 100 percent um i'm definitely doing better than what i was you know through the masters and even at the pga championship um was able to take some time off and just kind of settle in a little bit but it's just it's it's uncomfortableness you know i heard it on the golf course i don't want to hurt it again we have major championships big events uh week in week out oops you gotta move they're on a timer it's like i'm just like That's your guys's timer. I was in a random office right here at the golf course. So it's, you know, it's not where I want it to be, but I've got to keep pushing.

12:06I've got to find ways to get the ball in the hole. And I'm going to get over it. You know, I know it will at some point, but we're just not quite there. What's great is that the game still feels pretty good. So when everything's clicking, I feel like I can go out and compete. It's just, I got to put in a little bit more work before the rounds, after the rounds, to make sure, you know, I'm staying healthy. throughout the four days.

12:26Tom Pelissero:Colin, I think you're being played off by whoever's office you're sitting in here. We appreciate the time, man. Best of luck out there this week. Travelers Championship. You can watch it on the Golf Channel and ESPN Plus on Thursday through Sunday and on NBC on Saturday and Sunday. Best of luck, Colin. Appreciate you, man. Thanks, guys. Appreciate it. Thanks, Colin. Tremendous insight right there. That was awesome. From Colin. What would be the proper deterrent to fans crossing the line? I don't ever remember seeing something like what we saw in that city at the U.S. Open. Because he's right. Not that you should heckle anybody or cross the line with anyone, but it's an American at the U.S.

13:04Tom Pelissero:Open. Right. And he's, you know, completing his swing and you hear, watch out for the nationwide tour. Like, get in the bunker. Should it be, I mean, should we just give him, like, if you're going to get thrown out before that happens, you get one driver at point blank range, like tee it up, just smash it right into your chest. what would it take i don't know see i i understand like look if you want to kind of try to get in guys heads at a international team event you know like the rider cup where there is you know you're cheering for it's it's our country against their country yeah i i get you know being a little rowdy but don't cross a line where it's personal you know the attacks last year on shane lowry and rory's wife like just absolutely over over the line but how do you police it there's no other sport i don't know i mean tennis to a degree tennis yeah where you're supposed to react at certain times i just don't remember i think svp said this too it's i don't remember it ever being like this at these big golf tournaments no nothing i don't remember i've watched virtually every major i don't ever remember is it just jackasses like recording themselves so they can go viral on instagram and tiktok like i just don't understand like what do we could it could be partly that just the confrontational culture we're in i mean the the fact that if you want to go viral you got to get in a fistfight or do something stupid or whatever like that that's viewed as a positive and not a negative that you being escorted out of the u.s open and on national tv by the marshals yeah that that's like you can now sell like that's my oh man badger that honor it was awesome yeah like that's that that's everything though that's everything across society you know like i have to step out of the way from people you know i'm going to get a coffee like doing their tiktoks in the middle of it like you're actively disrupting just american life in general with all this dumb stuff and i get that it's ingrained and it's part of gen z like my kids they're not on tiktok but like they make the silly dance videos and stuff and i'm just sitting there going please no they are not doing it out in public like you said kind of disrupting just the flow of everyday life i literally got stepped on because somebody was backing up in a starbucks at the draft to like Because you have to hit the button and then back up fast.

15:15Tom Pelissero:I got run over. I'm holding coffee. Fully suited up, ready to go over to the venue. I'm just like, didn't spill on myself. Good coffee control in that moment. But it's like, why are you backing up, period? Why is anyone ever just turn around? Is anyone behind you? Turn around. Make your own decision. See what's around you. You're not in your car and you just hit the gas and go back and see what happens. why are you why are you backing up like that as a person i don't know and it's part of that culture weird times that my my world i am the main character in my universe you are merely a character in it and guys yelling out you're gonna get relegated he's a professional golfer you're a jackass in a polo shirt over here but like to colin's point it's in an american winning the U.S.

16:08Open, leading, trying to close us out over other Americans. Like, I get it. I get it to a small extent, I guess, if, like, you know, it was a European player, if it was Rory or someone from another country, you know, who was chasing Wyndham down. But it was Wyndham was playing with Scotty Sheffler. Okay, great. Everyone wants Scotty to win. Cool. I like Scotty, too. But Sam Burns, an American, chasing him down. and it's just Keith Mitchell, American, chasing him down. We're all in this together. Can we just cheer? Wyndham played unbelievably dominant for four straight days. That should be applauded universally.

16:45Tom Pelissero:Antonio Freeman is going to join us in just a little bit here. Super Bowl champion with the Green Bay Packers, and his son's doing okay as well. You want to talk about American sports? You are allowed to cheer in soccer. They're going to be doing it at SoFi Stadium tomorrow night. Antonio Freeman joined us on the show right after this. Running a small business means every hire matters. Bad hire costs time and money, but the right one helps your business grow. The challenge? Finding that person without sorting through resumes. That's where LinkedIn Hiring Pro comes in. It screens candidates so you can focus on conversations with qualified talent.

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17:39Rich Eisen here, and summer's here too. And that means it's travel season. My favorite summer trip last year was to Sao Paulo, Brazil. With so many fans traveling for the Los Angeles against Kansas City game, they got to see how lively the city is. I love the culture and the amazing food that I'm still craving. Those memories remind everyone that it's that time of year to plan a little getaway. And that's why summer has a way of turning weekends into big events. One minute, it's a normal week. And then all of a sudden, a huge concert, sporting event, or festival brings people in from all over.

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19:39Tom Pelissero:Antonio Freeman, Super Bowl champ with the Packers. NFL veteran joining us right now. the father of Alex Freeman, as our radio audience rejoins. So Alex scores that goal, Antonio, for the U.S. It's on Father's Day. It's an unusual goal, obviously. Take me through where you're watching that and your emotions as you see and then hear that the goal counted for the U.S.

20:09you know just to be a part of this process and and to be there for alex um he's put the work in he's uh he's committed himself when no one was watching um you know i i just happen to be the one to do it first you know just his work ethic man i wish i had his work ethic his focus his determination and he's watched a lot of greatness you know he's always been a soccer fan he's always loved soccer and as a parent you know you just want to rally around your kid and get behind them with whatever makes them smile and whatever they're excited about and that was just the case here in soccer you know it was brainer you know i want the best for you and i want you to wake up every morning excited about going to work and excited about getting better And I think that's what we've seen from Alex in the last 18 months is his ability to be ready for when his opportunity was presented.

21:10And that's something that he and I constantly talk about more than anything is just be ready when your opportunity comes. Because sometimes you only get one opportunity. So he's taking that advice and, man, he's really ran with it.

21:23Tom Pelissero:When did you know? When did you know, not just that he was going to be a soccer player, maybe not playing the other kind of football, but that he was legit, that he really had a chance to play at this highest level? I mean, he played academy soccer, you know, and a lot of kids play academy soccer. But he just seemed to stand out at each and every game. You could see the gravitation from the other players, just that he was different. He was something special. They called him Little Free. And, man, he's just gone out and he didn't get a chance to watch me during my days of greatness. But thankfully, there's YouTube and different outlets that he can watch it on.

22:10But he went to American Heritage in South Florida. And there's a large pedigree of just pure athletes and a plethora of former athletes that are involved, that was involved in their program. And there was a lot of pressure on Alex to come play football. And, you know, it was tough to tell my former colleagues like, hey, he's not going to play football. He's playing soccer. And I got behind him, you know, and he's just really taken off.

22:43Tom Pelissero:What was the response there? If you're telling whether it's Favre, Desmond, Howard, any number of those guys, what was their reaction when he said, all right, he's going to be a soccer star? You know, for most of my friends, they were really supportive. I think I was more disappointed. I was more like, man, he's going to play soccer. You know, I didn't know soccer, and I knew I couldn't teach him soccer. It was kind of a hands-off thing, but, you know, you mentioned it. A guy like Desmond Howard, Derek Mays, Leroy Butler, you know, Robert Brooks. The list goes on and on. I got a call from Brett Favre the other day.

23:22So, you know, just the support has been amazing. After the game, having over 400 text messages, that's just text. And, you know, it's just been an exciting ride. And, you know, it was never something that I boasted out there. It was something that I put in the universe. So a lot of my colleagues and former teammates, you know, they're really excited and surprised that it's still football, but yet it's the other one.

23:52Tom Pelissero:Yes, it's American football. It truly is American football just in its own way. My favorite part about that goal, Antonio, was it was a very American football goal in that just like NFL games, you had to see the ball go in and then it's ruled not a score and then there's like a three minute delay while they watch replays and then they give it to them here i did you know the rule in terms of the offside because i'll be very candid i watched it i heard the experts saying no he's not offside this is going to go return to a goal and i had no idea what the hell they were talking about well you know the funny thing for me is uh i was learning soccer but i was only watching my kid and during his teenage years and early on at america at orlando city in the air academy he was a winger you know so he was a guy that scored goals so i specifically watched him those guys typically never come back on a defensive end so i never knew what offsides was and then when he got the call up from orlando city they moved him to right fullback so again I'm just watching my kid.

25:01And now after like, it's been like five years, I've been trying to figure out this on offsides thing. And now I'm watching my kid for like 15 minutes. And now suddenly I can see the imaginary line that goes on the back line that is offsides. So when I watched that actual footage, I knew that Alex was on sides because now I understand what offsides is. And he was clearly probably six to eight inches, maybe, away from being offsides. But man, just an electric moment, like you mentioned, the pause, it just sets the stage for such a dramatic scene. you know and then when he finally got the the notification that it was a goal just to see his very accomplished teammates I mean these guys are accomplished already they're playing overseas already their careers are already in line and just to see man those guys just rally around him and they're so excited you know for the youngest kid on the team that really made the hair on my arm stand up and know that my kid's in a good place.

26:17He's getting to learn from some really genuine, great professionals in the sport. So I'm happy for where he is right now.