Hour 3: ‘Overreaction Tuesday,’ Knicks Dynasty Debate, plus ESPN CFB Analyst Josh Pate

16 Jun 2026 · 46 min · 13 chapters

Ask about this episode

Ask anything about it. ChatGPT or Claude reads this page and answers with the times it was said.

Connect VO and ask about every podcast you hear, including the moments you saved. Add to ChatGPT · Add to Claude

In short

Hour 3 of The Rich Eisen Show celebrates the New York Knicks’ NBA championship and debates whether it signals a Knicks “run” or just a one-off, then pivots to college football legal drama involving Texas Tech QB Brendan Sorsby and ESPN CFB analyst Josh Pate’s take.

Guests/backgrounds

Josh Pate is an ESPN college football analyst (Josh Pate College Football Show). Earlier hours referenced MLB insider Jeff Passan and NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero, but this hour’s main guest segment is Pate.

Key claims

The Knicks’ title could be the start of a dynasty, citing roster stability and Jalen Brunson’s “closer” trajectory. Overreaction Tuesday argues Spurs “should’ve” lost to OKC in Game 7 to avoid backlash around Wembanyama. Pate argues Texas Tech’s injunction attempt was doomed by optics and later legal escalation after Texas AG Ken Paxton’s letter, which enabled Big 12 recourse.

Notable examples

James Dolan’s pre-playoff speech promising rings for players’ significant others; Brunson’s closeout performance comparisons to Michael Jordan; Wembanyama’s children’s hospital visit; Texas Tech’s 22-minute video; Paxton’s letter; Big 12 media-day/week-one chaos counterfactual.

Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.

Chapters

Tap a time to open that second in VO

Intro to Overreaction Tuesday

0:01 to 0:24

Rich sets the stage for Overreaction Tuesday and revisits the Knicks' championship.

“Catch your favorite teams and players, plus MLB Network and ESPN app features like Multiview, syncing your stats, key plays, bets, and fantasy, all in one place.”

Intro to Overreaction Tuesday

1:00 to 3:06

Rich sets the stage for Overreaction Tuesday and revisits the Knicks' championship.

“I couldn't believe that it was happening.”

Knicks Championship Celebration

3:06 to 8:42

Rich discusses the impact of the Knicks' championship win and its significance.

“We're about to have a, an overreaction Monday on a Tuesday in a moment, but just want to revisit what we spoke about quite a bit yesterday.”

Future of the Knicks

8:42 to 14:00

Exploration of the potential for the Knicks to become a dynasty.

“Because there hasn't been a repeat champion in, what, nine years?”

Playoff Reflections: Knicks and Giants Dominance

14:00 to 15:50

Discussing the unexpected playoff successes of the Knicks and Giants and their management changes.

“We never, you never would have thought that this was possible in January.”

Overreaction Tuesday: Knicks Championship Debate

15:50 to 17:20

A lively debate about the Knicks' performance compared to past Giants' success and the hype around the team.

“The discount code DELTUFO is not working.”

The Spurs and the Knicks: Championship Dynamics

17:20 to 19:10

Analyzing the dynamics of the Spurs' loss and its implications for the Knicks' performance in the finals.

“They led for 72 % of the minutes played in this whole series.”

Wemby and the Spurs: Lessons from Finals

19:10 to 20:40

Discussing Wemby's finals performance and the growth opportunities for the Spurs moving forward.

“This is why you're so good at overreaction Monday and Monday on a Tuesday or Tuesday on a Wednesday, whatever the hell day is with the Y that we do this.”

Brunson's Departure: Mavericks' Missed Opportunities

20:40 to 23:10

Exploring the implications of Jalen Brunson's exit from Dallas and its historical context.

“Regardless of what people are saying about Lemby.”

World Cup Insights: Grass Fields Debate

23:10 to 24:52

Discussing the benefits of grass fields in NFL stadiums highlighted by the World Cup.

“It's a Cape Verde overreaction Monday topic.”
Show all 13 chapters

Texas Tech's Legal Troubles and Impacts

28:00 to 41:02

Learn about Texas Tech's recent legal challenges and their implications for the college football landscape.

“So, all right, Josh, what happened in Texas Tech over the last eight days after we last talked with Brendan Sorsby getting a ruling in his favor to play this year?”

Nostalgia of Knicks Fans

42:03 to 43:51

Explore the emotional connection between fans and their teams through generations.

“I mean, because when the Yankees won, Mets fans are like, I'm not going to that parade.”

Marking Time with Championships

43:51 to 45:09

Discussion on how championships represent significant life moments for fans.

“I can only hope that your daughter isn't 56 by the next time.”
Hear the part that matters, and keep it.Open this episode in VO. Double tap your headphones to save a moment as you listen.
Get VO free

Transcript

Automatic transcript. May contain errors.

0:00MLB.tv on ESPN is your home for every out-of-market game, live or on demand. Catch your favorite teams and players, plus MLB Network and ESPN app features like Multiview, syncing your stats, key plays, bets, and fantasy, all in one place. Sign up now for MLB.tv in the ESPN app. Separate subscriptions required, blackouts and other terms apply. Visit stream.espn.com slash MLB TV for more information.

0:30Rich Eisen:This is the Rich Eisen Show. Hey, everybody. Can't get enough of the Rich Eisen Show? You're in luck. You can find us everywhere. Watch us weekdays on Disney Plus from noon to 3 Eastern. Miss the show? We've got a podcast so you can listen anytime. But here's the best part. Our YouTube channel. Subscribe at youtube.com slash Rich Eisen Show and you'll never miss a moment. Now, on with the show. This is the Rich Eisen Show. Mike Brown. My God, what a job he did. I couldn't believe that it was happening. From the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. I'm even so happy I would hug James Domer for a split second.

1:14Earlier on the show, MLB insider Jeff Passan. NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero. Coming up, ESPN college football analyst Josh Pate. And now it's Rich Heisen.

1:30Rich Eisen:Hour number three of the Rich Heisen show is on the air. It's been a very Brendan Soresby heavy program with the Texas Tech quarterback apparently getting set to tap out on his legal path to playing in the NCAA this year and go to the NFL and say, I'd like to join you now and have a supplemental draft. and we talked about it with Tom Pelissero from the NFL perspective of things, Josh Pate, who he spoke about, who I think we last spoke with two Mondays ago when Sorsby first got a ruling from a Tarrant County judge there in Texas saying you could just sit out two games and play because the NCAA didn't support you in your battle with mental illness in the form of a gambling addiction.

2:27Rich Eisen:Josh is going to join us with his two cents on that. 844-204-RICH is the number to dial. Jeff Passan showed up, and we had a very entertaining and informative and enlightening chat with the Baseball Insider in Hour One. If you missed any of our show, there's our YouTube channel. Over 1.1 million subscribers slash followers there right now. Um, and there's also the Disney plus page that, uh, you can watch us live through and check out all of our archive material, including this episode today, as soon as it's over. We appreciate you doing that. There's our podcast. You can listen to us as well. Uh, 844-204-RICH is the number to dial on the program.

3:06Rich Eisen:We're about to have a, an overreaction Monday on a Tuesday in a moment, but just want to revisit what we spoke about quite a bit yesterday. and that's the New York Knicks winning a championship. This is day three of my life where I can recall waking up in the morning and say my Knicks are NBA champions. I still can't believe it's happened. It really is unbelievable. I'm enjoying watching them go through the media car wash, if you will, all over Jimmy Fallon's program. I think every Knicks showed up on Jimmy Fallon last night. I love all that stuff. I can't wait for the parade. The parade is on Thursday.

3:37Rich Eisen:I like championship parades. I just love, you know, everything. Everybody's kind of endearing. Mike Brown is endearing. The fact that he sings, who let the dogs out because that's what his flag football team that he coached when he was in San Antonio as an assistant under Popovich. That's what they were. They were called the dogs and that was their chance. So he mentioned that from the podium before game one of that series. And I'm like, this will be used as a moment after the finals to point out that either Mike Brown was not ready for prime time or was keeping everybody loosey-goosey and is a champion head coach.

4:12Rich Eisen:Thank goodness it's the latter. and you're seeing him and Brunson saying he's got to stop doing that. And apparently they didn't know the background to this. Oh, okay. Baja men twist to the story that I did not see coming. Yeah, he was with Cat and Brunson last night. I forget what show. Yes. They looked utterly embarrassed by him. Well, you know what? It's fun. It's endearing. It's great. Even I believe Brunson and Josh Hart's podcast put out a video of James Dolan talking to the team before the playoff run. Did you see this? I've seen clips of this. And his speech was inspiring. Like, I was totally blown away by it.

5:00Rich Eisen:For real? Yes. I'm not kidding. I watched it. I'm like, way to go, man. What a message to deliver to this team. And the thing that really hit me, the thing that really hit me is he said to all of them, when we win the championship, he basically said, I believe you can win this. You've just got to sacrifice. You've got to, you've just got to, for these next 10 weeks, place everything else aside and focus on this. and he said at one point when we win the championship not only will you get a ring but i'll give a ring to your significant other or spouse yeah i always thought wondered about that and he goes i think most of you in this room have one but if you don't pick out whoever's the most important person in your life to help you get to this point and win it all that person will get a ring that's pretty dope he turned into oprah like you'll get a ring you'll get a ring and your wife will get a ring and your girlfriend will get a ring or your mom will get a ring or your dad will get it like it was unbelievable and i'm like where the hell has this guy been you know the only other way i've seen him face forward is toxic or at least that's the way i read it i i was i was looking at it i'm like this is unbelievable have you changed your thoughts a little bit listen man winning helps and and and he is he got it done and the knicks got it done and the front office got it done and the players have gotten it done and i'm gonna go here uh-oh i'm going in this direction because all of this stuff about how hey the knicks are likable and i like these guys and this is amazing and look what the city feels like and look what they've done for the city and look what they've done for themselves because james dolan did tell them if you win a championship it will change your life it will change your life it will change all of our lives he said it will change my life and and everybody's talking about this about how great it's for the city and great for this and great for that and i'm getting texts from people congratulating me and it's great it's awesome and it's brought people together there's a little bit of a subtext of this is a one-off little bit of a subtext that this is a one off.

7:21Rich Eisen:This championship? And I'm saying what if this is the start of a run for the ages? Not just this six week, ten week playoff run that what they did is one of the most impressive runs ever in many metrics. But what if Brunson and his performance is actually now going to make him a Jordan-esque closer that you can't stop at the end of the day? What if they raise the banner and the Knicks are a clear-cut, front-running team, and even if not, even if not, even if they are the two-seater, the three-seater, and they're going to have some regular season issues like they've had, where they're not a 60-win team, they're not blowing the doors off places, but they're good enough and they're going to get a home court advantage spot in the first round and then comes next April.

8:27Rich Eisen:And it's like, okay, good luck beating them again because they know how to close. They've got the rings. What if this is the beginning of a run in a back-to-back championship for the New York Knicks? Why can't that happen? Because there hasn't been a repeat champion in, what, nine years? Denver thought it. Milwaukee thought it. Boston thought it. Oklahoma City thought it. I understand. There's a lot of parody in the league right now. But why not? It's awesome. Just outside of that, talent-wise, coaching-wise, team-wise, chemistry-wise. Why not? I mean. I got it. I hear you. Are you on the Franco plan today?

9:08Rich Eisen:What does that mean? I call her Franco. In Texas saying that the Raiders are going 12-5 next year? No, I think this is far more realistic of a possibility than that. Drug testing at work? No, no, no, no. Why not? Yeah, sure. Why not? Hey, he's a Knick fan. I meant that in support. Why not? Why not indeed? Because they're young. They're good. There's no contractual re-signings that are going to bust this thing up in the immediate horizon, I don't believe. Now, but Brunson's got a contract coming up, what, next year? Yeah, but guess what's not going to be a problem, I think, at the end of the day.

9:47Rich Eisen:If he's already taken a buck 13 less. You think he's going to do that again? I don't know. Let me tell you what he's not going to do again. Well, how do you know that? How do we know that? How do we know that that's going to be required anyway? Well, maybe not. We don't. But you already got the deal, and it wasn't like a 10 million, 100 plus million. I'm just saying. His wife would slap him if he did that. It feels to me that the subtext of everything is like, nice run you had there, man. Hold on. Mitchell Robinson is a free agent. Great. Okay. Jose Alvarado is up after next year. Cat is in two years.

10:21Cat's owed a lot of money. He's owed$118 million over the next two seasons. Let's see how it goes. OG is signed through the next three years. Same thing with Jalen Brunson, but he is on the cheap, cheap now around$40 million over the next three years.

10:35Rich Eisen:I'm just saying, why not? a run why can't they be the front runners why can't they be that team you know and they're inspiring everyone else dan campbell's talking about it in detroit for crying out loud to finally get there uh with a pretty loyal fan base um you know it's pretty special uh to watch what they did you know and whether you like it or not you respect it you know you respect what it took to get through all that and to overcome and, you know, and to will it to happen, to make it happen, you know. So I think there's something to that. And look, that's what we're striving for. I mean, just doesn't, it does matter, but it doesn't.

11:20Rich Eisen:And man, it's about winning. And it's about winning a championship, whether you did it last year or you hadn't done it 50 years or 30 years, you just, that's why we're in this business, man, to be the best of the best. and that's what drives you. Well, obviously the Pistons winning or the Tigers winning or the Wings winning or the Lions winning. I think the Lions in particular though would be similar to what the Knicks have engendered for New York City. Detroit's not a two-sport team town. Right. Like New York is. But I'll tell you this. I know a lot of state fans up there in East Lansing that can't stand me and I can't stand them, that if the Lions won, they would come together just like the Yankee and Met fans are right now in New York.

12:12Rich Eisen:And that's why I'm thinking maybe a light bulb's gone over the head of Dan Campbell over this sort of thing. Why the hell not for the Knicks to go and be dynastic? Yeah, baby. I'm saying it now. I'm saying it before the parade. Yeah, good luck. But Al and Dallas, you hear what I'm saying, Al? Are you picking up what I'm putting down, Al, on this front? Yeah, I think it's great. I mean, this is unbelievable. I mean, I'll take a big hit of what Franco took, too, if it takes this happening. Absolutely. But I'm not saying Franco's saying the Raiders are going 12-5 after. No, I'm just joking. No, I know.

12:53Rich Eisen:I think that's what I'm talking about. It's a far more realm of a possibility. Brunson, you heard what I had to say yesterday, right? Brunson doing to the Spurs is, you know, on par of Jordan, on the par of Michael Jordan, 45 points in a closeout game on a road of an NBA Finals. You know, like, why can't he be that guy again and again and again? And now suddenly he has ascended even greater to the heights that he's currently at. Why not? We'll put it past him. I'm not. I mean, he has just shooshued the doubters forever. This has been an amazing, amazing run. You know, I don't know what it's like.

13:41You know, I have the experience of all four of my teams winning championships while I'm around. It's been fortunate. This is like Giant-type-esque stuff. You know, not 86 Giants, not 86 Mets, not teams that were expected to win. You talk to us in January, you know, we've been here kibitzing for years, right? We never, you never would have thought that this was possible in January. And then when the Celtics got hot, you know, we still even doubted it going into the playoff side. I'd probably lose to Detroit, the public Celtics. This is the greatest playoff run since, you know, my Giants. And I think it's even better, you know, to be honest with you.

14:19I agree. Because the sheer dominance. I mean, it's unbelievable. But it and it all starts, Rich, with if you go back and just look at, you know, I hate to be New York centric, but I'm going to be. You look at that when when the ownership finally makes changes to management that gets it and knows what it's doing. Yes. I mean, I think we all kind of dismiss Leon Rose and World Wide West unless you're really kind of new, you know, and the basketball connections that they have. I mean, you see what the Giants did with George Young. You see what the Yankees did with, you know, Watson, Michael and Cashman.

14:51the Mets with Frank Cashman, for God's sakes, and David Shekens. I mean, it all starts there. He tried. Phil Jackson, he tried. Didn't work. But this has been an unbelievable month, right? Guys like you and I are brought back into the fray. People like you're a Knick fan, I'm like, I bleed blue and orange, and so do you. but we just got, you know, like any other fan, we just got disenchanted with a poor product.

15:26Rich Eisen:Yeah, and I bleed blue and orange for basketball. That's, as you know, Al. The other one, not so much, which is why I just give you an example here for the Knicks. That's a Met fan on the phone. I'm a Yankee fan. We're rooting for the same team here. And then after that, I got to turn my back on you. You know what I mean? The only team we root for, I guess, right? I mean, you know, to be honest, I mean, Rangers, but you're not really a big hockey guy, you know, but like, I guess, you know, you're not an Islander fan. Al, I appreciate the call. I got another problem. I got one more problem, Rich.

15:52Okay. The discount code DELTUFO is not working. I don't know.

15:58Rich Eisen:I got to work on that. I got to work on that. I don't know. We'll send you off to his bots to handle it. Thank you. I also got to push back. This is not as good as the 07 Giants. I mean, the Knicks had the fourth best title odds entering this season. The Giants were 15th heading into that year, and they were the sixth seed in the playoffs. I hear you. I hear you. And you're in a one-and-done situation. No, I hear you. But I don't know, man. The Knicks. And they beat a team in the finals that was going to be the best NFL team ever. I will accept your pushback. They didn't beat a bunch of rookies.

16:41Rich Eisen:Well, I mean, we were overreacting. I know what I'm just saying. It's the overreaction Monday on a Tuesday. Go ahead and hit it. Hit it, please. That was terrible. That was crap. That was garbage. It just, like, sucks. Overreaction. Mondays. Monday. On a Tuesday. What do you got over there, Chris? Hey, guys, everybody. Happy Tuesday. Good to see you. Hey. I'm coming out hot, Rich. You're riding high. All of New York is riding high. I know. I usually ride high in April and get shot down in May, and now I'm riding high in June. You're back up again in June. It's a whole new lyric for That's Life, you know?

17:16Rich Eisen:But here's the thing, guys. The Knicks didn't win the NBA championship. The Spurs lost it. Come on. What are we talking about? The Spurs were such a better team. They led for 72 % of the minutes played in this whole series. But basketball games last for 100 % of the time. Come on now, man. Don't be ridiculous. Don't be ridiculous. The Spurs lost it. The Knicks still had to make shots. They still had to put one. I'm not even going to dignify this with the conversation. And you're doing this just to, you know what my answer is going to be. And you're doing this just to rile me up to start. It's absurd.

17:54Rich Eisen:By the way, tonight would have been, I believe, the analytics game six between the Cavs and the Spurs. I don't know who would be up three games to two. But we dominated the whole, you know, we dominated most of the time. The other time we sucked and we lost. That's what happened. When is that Cavs analytics parade? Is that tomorrow or Friday? I don't know. I think it's virtual. It's a Zoom parade? Yeah, it's a Zoom. I think so. All right. I just had to get that out of the way. Okay, good. But here's the thing, and I think this is a good point. Hear me out on this one. Okay. The Spurs would have been better off losing Game 7 to the Thunder.

18:36Why? Why? Because here's the thing. If they would have just lost Game 7 to the Thunder, right, it would have been, oh, great plucky Spurs team. They're really fun to watch. They're a year away. They're going to get there. Wemby's not the villain. He's not hated by everyone across the world right now for his alleged cheap shots and see you never. Everyone would have still liked them heading into next season. They would have been a happy, plucky group. And, you know, you could have beat the Thunder. That would have been a really fun, entertaining series. But now everybody hates the Spurs. What are we doing?

19:07Rich Eisen:It would have been better off losing game seven to the Thunder. This is why you're so good at overreaction Monday and Monday on a Tuesday or Tuesday on a Wednesday, whatever the hell day is with the Y that we do this. It's because this is always. No, no, no, no. It's because a lot of the topic bars and topics that are put out there are based on what people are saying about a team. Okay. Unlikable Wemby, for instance. All this villain talk. No, I know. We loved Wemby two weeks ago. How many people know? Do we know? Did anybody? Hopefully everyone saw the video of Wemby and I believe Champagny went to a children's hospital in San Antonio.

19:44Rich Eisen:Guy is just young, immature at that moment in time. And like I said, in the same way that I love how games 45 and 63 and 72 matter to him in the regular season, him losing in game five of these finals where everything was going well enough for most of the games, I think is a lesson for him and how to be professional in moments where you're not playing your best and you get a result that you're upset with. And one of the things he also said that he learned is how mistakes get magnified in these situations. So I believe the five games in which they played against the Knicks will be highly valuable for them moving forward to make them a better team and better in crunch time and better here and better there.

20:36Rich Eisen:And it will better serve them than getting knocked out in game seven. Regardless of what people are saying about Lemby. Let him go hang with the monks and get over it. If that bothers him. I don't think it's weird. What else you got over there, Chris? You know, we talk a lot about Jalen Brunson, his path from Dallas to New York. And I'm looking at, analyze that. And you combine letting him go with Luke, the crazy ass Luca trade. It's the biggest roster blunder in NBA history, TJ. It's worse than Bowie over Jordan and Darko over Mello and the Dirk trade on draft night. Kobe to the Lakers. Sonics trading Pippen.

21:17It's worse than all of those combined.

21:20Rich Eisen:It's tough to argue. They had them both. They had both of them. Same draft. I know we're playing the result. Same team. We're playing the result. but you knew Luka being traded in the manner in which he was traded was absurd Brunson at the time yeah but now I know combined with what would you what would you have paid him a hundred million dollars to stay put in Dallas and be the backup until Kyrie was done or whatever is that what what it was backup no they got Kyrie after that's right I mean whoever he was backing up at the time he would eventually played his way you don't think I mean I know I'm trying to push back here obviously inartfully and inaccurately.

22:01Rich Eisen:So I can't push back. I don't think this is an overreaction, Chris. It's so bad. Sorry, Mavericks. It's so bad. What else you got over there? You know, there's a young guy in San Antonio and he had a rough finals. You know, Mitch Johnson had a rough NBA finals, but he's a young up-and-coming coach. However, TJ, old Mitch better worry he doesn't get Doug Collins. I think they like him and i think he's got the same way that they're hey you know who else was a young promising coach coaching a young superstar doug collins well what happened to that guy i got it he got more than one year though i don't know i this is this is i'm worried for me he got reinsdorfed and he got i'm worried for me he got croused you know what i mean i i don't think you should i think it's just as much of a learning curve for him what if steve kerr wants to go back home to san not Oneo.

22:51Okay.

22:53Rich Eisen:That's a different story, but you got a young coach. He's going to grow with these young players. Can I say this is an overreaction now, but put a pin in it. What else you got, Chris? I'm still fired. I'm, I'm world cup high. I'm still riding high from the U S win on Friday night. They're playing again this Friday. It's a Cape Verde overreaction Monday topic. No, not Cape Verde. It's us. We're winning the group and we're making the semifinals. Oh. Semi-finals for this team. Riding hot. So we are winning multiple knockouts. Multiple knockouts. Just like Greg Burt Halter said. Just like the coach predicted.

23:31Rich Eisen:Semi-finals. Final four. I'm with you. Let's go. I'm with you. Come on. I'm not going to be sitting here on tape saying this is an overreaction. No. This is absurd. And then it gets played back when they do it. No. I'm not doing that. This is happening. I'm not doing that. All right. Last one. I'm not being that guy. No. Why would you want to be that guy? Look at those uniforms. Yeah. Fantastic. Yeah. You don't want to end up on the video that comes out after when it's in black and white with the sad boys in the hood sax music. I don't want to do that. I don't want to be the one being the algae in the reflection pool.

24:05Rich Eisen:No. No, it's going to get fixed. Oh, okay. The World Cup. Here's the last one, guys. Yeah. The World Cup and all these NFL stadiums, it's proven that they should all have grass fields. What are we doing? It looks amazing. I don't know. I mean, but it's just for six weeks. Figure it out. I like it, too. They do look amazing. They look so good. They do look amazing. And you know that's what the players want. Give it to them. I don't think that's an overreaction either. Is that a Sarah Tiano one? I know she's all about that. No, she likes it. No, I came up with that. Oh, you did? This was all me this week.

24:42Rich Eisen:Okay. No outsourcing. You've got a professional writer to punch up your material in your house, buddy. Good stuff. That's overreaction Monday on a Tuesday right there. While the world watches the stars at the FIFA World Cup, Hyundai 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.

25:14Rich Eisen:The future isn't some far off concept, people. It's already here. Next starts now. Hyundai, an official partner of FIFA. Josh Pate is next. This is The Rich Eisen Show.

Read the full transcript

25:29Rich Eisen:The Rich Eisen Show podcast.

25:36Rich Eisen:While the world watches the stars of the FIFA World Cup, Hyundai has its eyes on the next generation of talent. 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. Because the future isn't some far-off concept. It's already here. Next starts now. Hyundai, an official partner of FIFA. Oh, oh, oh, O 'Reilly. Check engine, ABS, or maintenance light on.

26:13Take the guesswork out of your warning lights with O 'Reilly Veriscan.

26:17Rich Eisen:The service is free and provides a report with solutions verified by ASE certified master technicians. And if you need help, we could recommend a shop for you. Ask for O 'Reilly Veriscan today. O, O, O, O 'Reilly. Auto Parts.

26:40Rich Eisen here, and summer's here too.

26:42Rich Eisen: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. And when that happens, visitors start looking for places to stay all across your city.

27:17Rich Eisen:So if you're already planning a summer trip of your own, you could list your space on Airbnb and earn a little extra cash while you're away. It doesn't have to be some big year-round commitment. It's about making the most of a busy weekend when your place would just be empty otherwise. I can tell you, people love finding a place that helps them feel connected to the city that they're visiting. If your city's about to have a big summer moment, this is a great time to maximize your space. Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at Airbnb.com slash host.

27:54Rich Eisen:Josh Pate is here. Our radio audience has returned. Josh Pate of the Josh Pate College Football Show and all the other spots on ESPN right here on the Rich Eisen Show. So, all right, Josh, what happened in Texas Tech over the last eight days after we last talked with Brendan Sorsby getting a ruling in his favor to play this year? Well, I think maybe some people calculated that eventually if they turned the eye of the stove off, it would just slowly cool down. It would slowly diffuse. And really when they got that injunction, maybe people thought it would go that way. It did not go that way. As it turned out, it was never going to go that way.

28:31and a couple of things that were key indicators to me, Rich, were number one, when they got the injunction, which led to a high likelihood he was going to play. Not a certainty, but a high likelihood he was going to play. I thought Texas Tech needed to just keep their mouth shut. I thought the best, most shrewd PR move at that point would be to tell them, shut up, don't say a word. You just got a favorable ruling. Vast majority of the college football public and just society at large looks at it and thinks that's the wrong decision. They think it's more a loophole or a breakdown in the structure than something that should have happened.

29:07Nothing you say at this point is going to turn an ounce of public opinion your way. Well, they released a 22 minute video with five guys from Texas Tech, all some of whom I know very, very closely. They're great people. They were largely telling the truth in that video, but it didn't matter because of the optics of it. No one even bothered to listen to the video. They just saw it as, oh, well, they got their way and now they're going to try and gaslight us into explaining why this is a good thing. Or they're trying to explain their approach. The public didn't have time for it. The public didn't want to hear it.

29:40That was part one that led me to realize this is not going anywhere. But then part two, I don't pretend to understand all the legalese of this, but the Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton, when he sent that letter, sort of on behalf of Texas Tech the other day, as it's been explained to me, that opened a whole new door, that opened a whole new can of worms on this thing. And it provided the Big 12 and the other member institutions in the Big 12 who were not prepared to take this lying down, it provided them legal recourse. It allowed them to return to serve, in other words. And I think even over the last 24 hours, it became very apparent the dam had broken.

30:22And it became very apparent we're fighting to lose in battle. At this point, the temperature has changed. The wind direction has changed. And then it's just I don't know if they feel this way, but I feel in the immediate aftermath of him declaring for the supplemental draft, it's best for all parties because you can never prove a counterfactual like you could never know how something was going to play out when it doesn't. But I don't think it takes too creative a mind, Rich, to go down the road of what it would have been like at Big 12 media days. what it would have been like in the lead up to week one, what it would have been like maybe with, you know, people with political aspirations in other big 12 states trying to make a name for themselves the week that they're going to play Texas Tech and trying to get injunctions and trying to do all this sort of thing.

31:07It was going to be a really, really ugly scene for everyone involved. And so now you rid yourself of that and look for it for the Texas Tech piece of all this. I think there were a lot of lessons learned out there because in moments of crisis, like if you're a major organization, you want a united voice. You want a single voice. And it felt like there were about three or four different voices coming out of Lubbock. And it's just as long as you learn from it, it's not a total failure. And I could say that about Brendan Soresby. I could say that about the NCAA. I said that about a lot of entities here.

31:41But I think the end result here is, yeah, things changed. and the result of those things changing, I think, is a net win for all parties involved.

31:50Rich Eisen:Well, it's not just that too, Josh. It's just 22-year-old quarterbacks in college football are supposed to be enjoying the spotlight or the spotlight they're trying to deal with is the pressure of playing the position, not being the avatar of what's wrong in college athletics, which is what Brendan Soresby has been for quite some time. And even if you do feel for whatever reason that his checking into an inpatient rehab program was part of the plan to try and get a judge to say this is an affliction that the NCAA should be trying to help him through, not punish him for what caused him to go in, that you're still talking about a 22-year-old kid with clearly something on his brain, on his mind that needs to be dealt with.

32:37Rich Eisen:Anybody know how he's doing right now through all of this, Josh? Or that's just kind of second, third hand information that nobody's really checking in on, you know? To my knowledge, he hasn't spoken publicly. I haven't talked to him. He went in the building, to my knowledge, when I was out there a couple of weeks ago. So, I mean, it's actually interesting that you asked that question, which means it's a good question. I don't know. I have no idea. I will say this. Um, maybe this will be spoken about a little bit more in the coming weeks when there's nothing left to lose and people unpack their real feelings on this.

33:16You know, it was viewed externally as Texas Tech was making every move here. You know, Texas Tech was the one making every argument. And to some degree, they did. Brendan Sorsby and his camp, if you want to call it that, they were sort of the ones leading charge on this. They were the ones leading the charge on filing this, filing that, saying this, saying that. Now, ultimately, it doesn't really matter. It's the same message. Where it's coming from is sort of irrelevant. The only reason I present that is the question you just asked, whether he's going to be eligible this year or not, or whether he's going to play college football this year or not.

33:55Well, if the basis for the reason for this whole thing is to be believed and I believe it, well, then that reality is still there. If you're talking to me about gambling addiction as the reason for all this, well, that reason is still there. And I've never suffered from addiction personally. Many of us have. Many people in this audience have. There may be people in the audience that have suffered and slash are currently dealing with gambling addiction. But whatever kind of addiction it is, there's not an off switch on it. And so if it is to be believed that this was authentic and I got every reason to believe it was, well, that's something that's ongoing.

34:32And until we hear from him and until we get full testimonial from that side of the table, so to speak, that answer is anyone's guess.

34:42Rich Eisen:and then one of the posts that i saw uh across my screen today is like a clip from planes trains and automobiles of john candy with steve martin after they have a uh scary life-changing experience and steve martin is just absolutely done with john candy just livid with him and john candy's laughing and saying wow we can laugh about it now that we're we're all right right and john candy He has the Texas Tech logo on him. Steve Martin has the Big 12 logo on him. And it was brilliant. It's funny, but also somewhat true. Like, what's the relation? Like, what happens now that this thing has gone in this direction?

35:23Rich Eisen:Josh? I don't know that that thing thaws for a while. And it's just kind of me feeling it from the outside. Right. There were some things said. There were some shots taken. And I, Rich, I fully believe there was a movement mounting to take matters into their own hands as a conference. Because what do we have? I don't even know, 15 or 16 teams in that league. Well, whatever that number is, minus one, the one being Texas Tech, everyone else was in pretty much lockstep. This is the wrong move, that we don't want him playing there. We don't think he should be able to play there. Whatever you feel about that, it's whatever you feel about that.

36:02And Texas Tech's well aware of that. Texas Tech, mind you, this is already a program. This is already a group of people. Lubbock, Texas, culturally, West Texas, the vibe is already defaulted to it's sort of an us against the world mentality out here. West Texas is a long way from Dallas and Houston. It is a different planet than those places. I happen to love it out there. Most of America has never been there. And so when you combine that attitude and the defensive nature, the willingness to fight at a moment's notice, when you combine that with the circumstances that just presented themselves, maybe it contextualizes Texas Tech's actions a little bit more in this.

36:44But then, like you said, once it's kind of gone, the lingering effect is Texas Tech feeling some type of way towards their own conference. No one's forgetting this. You know, it's situations done. No one's forgetting it. So I think it may be frosty for quite a while.

37:01Rich Eisen:And the Soresby camp didn't see a lot of this coming or didn't think about it or you know what I mean? Like, hey, if we force if we do get this ruling, there will be such holy heck going on that it might not even be worth the squeeze to the point where you may have to go to the NFL because we're not going to get a resolution prior to that safety valve having a June 26th. second deadline, right? Like they didn't see that coming. You know, I really think there was a lot of underestimation about how much blowback there would be because of the specifics of this. You know, you could, you could take this into another compartment.

37:43Maybe a guy's got an ongoing investigation into some type of criminal behavior or activity or whatever. And that may be in the societal scope of things way worse than betting on games, but strictly within the confines of the sport, the outcomes of the games and the integrity of it, that's paramount. And that was, you know, what had everyone up in arms, the NCAA. I mean, they stumbled nine ways from Sunday when it came to the Baylor situation, the sexual assault situation a long time ago. But like a lot of people look at the NCAA and don't even expect them to be capable of being the governing body that oversees investigating that or maybe the Penn State deal before the Baylor deal.

38:28But enforcing basic rules like you can't bet on the games, that should be inside the NCAA's purview. And so I think they looked at it, Rich, and I think they severely underestimated the blowback if they did get their injunction on that. They thought they could game the system here. and they thought because of the way the calendar works, if we get our injunction, we can just drag it out and we'll play our season. And at that point, it'll be moot. And look, maybe if the circumstances didn't involve betting, maybe people would begrudgingly look at it and say, oh, well, system's broken. They were just, it was a pill that no one was willing to swallow on this.

39:03And that's why it is really important. Those crisis management teams, those PR firms, they get paid a lot of money. In these cases, you've got to have someone that can see through the fog and guide you on this stuff. Otherwise, you act in a nature that really makes it look like you're unaware of how the outside world is thinking.

39:24Rich Eisen:And interestingly enough, Josh, just to put a ribbon on it, I mean, you do think that it should be within the purview of the NCAA to have teeth in handling some sort of a gambling suspension. Yet, what really did start this is what you said, what really got the ball rolling was the Big 12 saying, we feel we should suspend him under our rules. And Ken Paxton, the attorney general of Texas, basically filing preemptively saying, if you try that, there's going to be a big hell to pay. And then other attorneys general in other states in the Big 12 are like, well, we're going to chime in, too. And that seemed to raise this a heck of a lot more than the NCAA saying we want an expedited answer on whether this ruling that Sorsby got two Mondays ago can get handled now.

40:11Rich Eisen:It seems like the Big 12 and the attorney generals or attorneys general getting involved. That was it. That seemed to be the one that is the accelerant. A lot of people who I view as being far smarter and more adept legally than me have said point blank. If Ken Paxton doesn't say what he said, if he doesn't write that letter, Brendan Sorsby is probably playing for Texas Tech this fall. So whatever that domino was, that's a really, really big domino because legally what it did, and again, I'm going to skate around this because I'm not going to try and use terms I don't understand. It provided the Big 12 the ability to do something legally more than just yell and shout and put out statements on Twitter.

40:55Once that happened and once he used the language that he did, it was game on.

41:01Rich Eisen:Josh, thanks for the time. Greatly appreciate it. Well, I look forward to chatting with you more, brother. Thanks again. Appreciate you, Rich. You got it. Everybody check out Josh Picks. Right here on The Rich Eisen Show. I like that guy. The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast.

41:24Rich Eisen:Back here on The Rich Eisen Show. All right, let's sneak in Jay in Los Angeles here on the program. What's up, Jay? Hey. Oh, my God. How you doing, Rich? What's going on? Is everything all right, Jay? Let's go. I'm doing phenomenal. Let's go next. Okay, buddy. Whoever, not born, but raised in New York since the age of four. Okay.

41:49And I've waited a long time for this, you know?

41:52Rich Eisen:Yeah, I'm with you. I've seen the Yankees win. I've seen the New York Giants win. but there's nothing like the New York Knicks winning that brings a city together like this. No doubt, Jay. I mean, because when the Yankees won, Mets fans are like, I'm not going to that parade. When the Giants won, Jets fans are like, do I want to go to that parade? Do I not? They do so they can figure it out, what it feels like. That's right. Knicks fans, get them all. That's horrible. But the reason I'm calling is, yes. but I have a two and a half year old daughter and we had some people over on Saturday. My voice is so hoarse, so please forgive me.

42:35I hear it. I was yelling so much. She went to bed at 7.30 and 8.30. My wife goes downstairs and brings her back up. It's like four minutes left in the game. And Mackie, my daughter, Michaela Mackie, sat on my lap. Oh, boy. And we're going, let's go Knicks. And she sat there and going, Papa, let's go Knicks. I love it. Nothing better than that in my entire life. I cannot even explain how amazing. Yes, I live in L.A. and this is a Dodger town, a Lakers town, and all that beautiful stuff. But also people in Los Angeles don't understand sometimes, please forgive me for saying this, is, you know, New York is a city built on friendships and love.

43:36Rich Eisen:well and you know and obviously jay i i would feel the same way you know of saying that to other cities that listen to us right now would probably proffer to say the same thing all i will say this because we're almost out of time for the show is i'm so sorry no it's all good you're sharing man and i love it and i appreciate that story you said about your your daughter you know i just i don't i doubt my dad had me on his knee watching clyde fraser and the rest of the nicks close out the Lakers in 1973 watching on television. I can only hope that your daughter isn't 56 by the next time. I know. Like I am right now because I was basically your daughter's age when they won the last time.

44:17Rich Eisen:Thank you for the call, Jay. I was actually, no, I was three and a half. I was turning four. Yeah. You know, turning four. And that's the neat thing about generations, right? Passed down. We say that all the time here. when championships are won, and certainly by fan bases that have been waiting a long time. It's the marking of time. When Michigan won it all, I was remembering when I was on campus, running from my fraternity house to the Michigan Daily to close the newspaper, and how old I was when I was in college then. And now I'm talking about the marking of time here, and can't believe that I'm actually a guy that's talking about championships won by his teams.

45:06Rich Eisen:You know, and the Michigan weight would have been shorter if it wasn't for Brunson, so he owed me. We've got a heck of a show tomorrow. We'll talk about that on Disney+. We've got multiple championship coaches. Thanks for listening to the Rich Eisen Show podcast. You can watch and listen to the Rich Eisen Show live weekdays from noon to 3 Eastern on ESPN Radio, Disney +, and on the ESPN app, The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast.

From the publisher

Knicks fan Rich ponders the possibility of a New York dynasty with many more NBA titles for Jalen Brunson and company for years to come.

In ‘Overreaction Tuesday’ Rich weighs in on the San Antonio Spurs, Jalen Brunson, the World Cup, and more.

ESPN CFB Analyst Josh Pate and Rich discuss the ripple effect of Brendan Sorsby abandoning his quest to play for Texas Tech next season to enter the NFL Supplemental Draft.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

More from The Rich Eisen Show

All 1,076 episodes
Hour 3: ‘Overreaction Tuesday,’ Knicks Dynasty Debate, plus ESPN CFB Analyst Josh PateThe Rich Eisen Show · 46 min
Listen in VO