Hour 3: Rich’s ‘4-Downs’ Giants Season Preview, plus Emmy-Winning Actor Eric Braeden In-Studio

0:01Rich Eisen:This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. You think you know a browser, but Gemini and Chrome, that's new. It can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50-page restoration block, or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks. Gemini and Chrome is here for it. Ready to make anything online make sense? There's no place like Chrome. Check responses set up required. Compatibility and availability varies 18+. As soccer takes center stage this summer, Comcast helps bring the experience home to America as the exclusive Spanish language home of the tournament in the U.S.

0:35Rich Eisen:Telemundo is set to present its most expansive coverage ever 700 hours of programming live on-site presence at all 104 matches and with multi-view and real-time 4K Xfinity will deliver the most innovative and immersive sports viewing experience for fans watching on Telemundo, Peacock, Fox and FS1 Learn more at ComcastCorporation.com This is the Rich Eisen Show Hey, everybody. Can't get enough of The Rich Eisen Show? You're in luck. You can find us everywhere. Watch us weekdays on Disney Plus from noon to 3 Eastern. Miss the show? We've got a podcast so you can listen anytime. But here's the best part.

1:15Our YouTube channel. Subscribe at youtube.com slash Rich Eisen Show and you'll never miss a moment. Now, on with the show.

1:25Rich Eisen:How do you feel right now, Chris? A little nervous. This is the Rich Eisen Show. Chris saying on this show that if LeBron joins the Miami Heat, have fun in the play-in tournament, and that we should all begin to ready ourselves for LeBron to be a non-factor this season. Earlier on the show, NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame musician Flavor Flav. Coming up, Emmy Award winning actor Eric Braden. And now, it's Rich Eisen. our number three of the rich eisen show is on the air first two hours tom pellicero and flavor two names you just don't hear in the same sentence i'll do you one better uh eric braden uh the man who plays victor newman as he has for decades on the young and the restless uh which just got the most daytime nominations eight emmy nominations 18 of them um including um eric for once again best actor in a daytime drama and it's been the number one daytime drama series and it's premiered back in 1973 on CBS and so Eric's going to come on out he wants to talk World Cup soccer he's a guy who's played he's a former pro soccer player and he wants to talk a lot of soccer and then if you recall Last time he was here, we had him read dramatic renditions of real coach rants.

3:02Rich Eisen:Last two times. Last two times we had him do that. This time we're going to switch it up and have him read renditions of famous sports movie quotes and speeches as Victor Newman. And again, you've got the music, right? So there's a dramatic music. So that's coming up. I wouldn't miss it. It's going to be a lot of fun. He also has a connection to us here. You know, his son Christian is the writer-director of the Den of Thieves movies. That's right. He had a lot to say about O'Shea in the back. And if I'm not mistaken, he said last time one of his good friends is Stephen A. Smith, right? Didn't he say that once?

3:38Rich Eisen:I think he may have mentioned it. Okay. So, bottom line is don't go anywhere. Victor Newman, folks. Let's go to the state of Texas for a couple of our favorites. Let's start out in West Texas, El Paso's Manny. Manny! What's going on, Manny? Manny! Buenos dias, amigos. Man, calling in always gives me mucho, mucho joy. Thank you. May it just for the second time. Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Brockman. That's awesome, man. Congratulations on that. Thanks, man. Appreciate that, man. Okay, so, sir, I heard your story on Monday about your feel-good story of the American Century Classic. I have a pretty good feel-good story, too.

4:18Rich Eisen:So, Ted Lasso I saw the interview with Phil Dunster And it automatically goes, Dana Rojas is everyone's favorite character Some of them Dana Rojas, Chris Fernandez Is officially a pro soccer player He had gotten injured And now he's signed As a last Saturday Played his first game as a professional player For the El Paso Locomotive He's a local boy here in town And it reminds me of another story A long time ago, El Paso Sun Kings minor league baseball team had a young guy named Kurt Russell, who if he didn't get hurt tearing his rotator cuff, would have made it for the pros playing for the California Angels.

4:56Rich Eisen:So if he had not gotten hurt, we would be saying Snake Klitschkin is someone else. Now, my question to you, sir. With all due respect, Mr. Eisen, what's more likely, a golf score that you're proud of, that you want to frame the scorecard, or kicking a soccer ball with a spin on it to hit the top right corner of a goal. Top right corner. Thank you, man. Great show. We have Slaver Slay. We have Victor Newman. We have Tom Pellicer. I love being the show. You like to give away Joyce for free, sir. Thank you very much. That's easy. A golf card that I can frame and be proud of. I can break 90 on good courses if I'm locked in and feeling good and whatever.

5:43Rich Eisen:no i can do that not the pressure of like if i miss one shot i'm gonna double on the hole i'm gonna get the two points i can't get i mean that's the intensity of the american century by the way championship that's the intensity of it if i go out there and i'm like oh if i double okay i'll just move on to the next hole right which i should have that same mentality there it's just very difficult to figure that out but i i mean he was at top right to bend it in which I'd have to start on the outside of the goal and then wind up in there or figure out how to kick it from the outside of my foot to get that spin.

6:17Rich Eisen:That is just not happening. Not happening. So I at least can admit that. All right, now let's go to our friend in San Antonio. Would I take I-10 to get there from El Paso, Jimmy? Is that how I do it? What are you asking me? Good job, Jimmy. All right, very good. What's going on? I didn't mean to start off with a question for you, but you have the floor, Jimmy. Go for it. Hey, shout out to T-Bone. How's T-Bone doing in Carl? Is he going to hit more World Cup bets without knowing anything about the sport? Yeah, probably. Probably. Probably. So I've been watching the World Cup a lot, but that's not on my rundown today.

6:59What's on your rundown? So, well, first I have to congratulate Brockman. Smart move, signing the prenup. Congratulations, sir.

7:07Rich Eisen:Good one. The what now? No. You signed the prenup, right? Yeah. Okay, Cap, smart move. Congratulations. I didn't even think about that. You probably should have had this. I mean, Sarah Tiana is like, you know, she's becoming bigger and bigger in this industry. So good point, Jim. You should be asking Sarah this question.

7:34Rich Eisen:All right, okay. No, you shouldn't. Did she make me to sign one? All right. That's what I'm saying. Let me move forward so we don't derail this. Page term it, Jimmy. Yeah. All right. I want to talk LeBron, Spurs, and Knicks. First, we'll get the Knicks out of the way. Al in Dallas, Alejandro, you quoted when you and Rich were all drooling over your championship that the Knicks dominated. You should have said dominated the Eastern Conference. They did not dominate the Spurs. I just wanted to correct you, sir, out of respect. No, no, it's okay, Jimmy. Just once again reminding you how long an NBA game is.

8:20Rich Eisen:But I don't mean to. Oh, so you want extra time now? No, no, no. Just how long the games last 48 minutes in the NBA. 16 points differential in five games. 16 points over five games. That's not dominant. Jimmy, you can't like all of these memes of all of these World Cup memes of when teams blow it, that they're showing Victor Wembenyama pointing to his head saying that was the moment when, you know, Egypt was up 2-0. That was the moment, you know, yada, yada, yada. But I don't mean to denigrate you're the one who brought the Knicks up, but go for it. What else you got, Jimmy? Finally, now Spurs and LeBron.

9:01Wimby signing the contract that he signed saved over$53 million. We signed the biggest offseason signing is Billy Donovan. That is huge for the Spurs.

9:13Rich Eisen:I saw that. I saw that. And the reason nobody mentions LeBron coming to San Antonio, playing with Wimby, Billy Donovan, and Mitrovich, our head coach, is because that scares the hell out of the league. Mitrovich. It's a good one. I like that one. I hadn't heard that one. I guess they yeah you did I said it before on your show you just won't listen maybe guilty as charged right there alright Jimmy take care buddy thanks Jimmy and San Antonio going down the whole list right there I think you do take I-10 to go from El Paso to San Antonio not that I know my Texas geography like the back of my hand but I can't believe I'll confirm And it's the same I-10 that's out here that you can take.

10:01Rich Eisen:Goes all the way. Isn't it? Yeah, it goes all the way, coast to coast. Life is a highway. Remember, even numbers go east-west. Thank you. I know that. Thank you very much. All right. I've got a four downs, everybody. It is I-10. Thank you, sir. Appreciate that. I've got a four downs. Nine-hour drive. Okay. I've got a four downs, everybody. You know, we're going pick by pick or order by order of the draft order. down the list to get to all 32 teams at some point. We're going to end up having to bleed into the second round because not everyone had a first round pick. Anyway, long story short. We've been doing it all week, and I'll be doing it every single time.

10:38Rich Eisen:I'm in the chair all the way up until kickoff of the season. It's now time for four downs number five, which means it's time for the New York football giants. Four downs presented by LinkedIn. Four downs with Rich. Here we go. Why did he stop? All right, everybody. Four Downs with Rich presented by LinkedIn for the New York Giants. I do believe first down has been called, so let's get right down to it. Will Jackson Dart take care of himself better? Period. End of story. I do believe John Harbaugh has sat him down and explained to him that you're the quarterback of the Big Blue, not the quarterback in the Big Blue tent.

11:24Rich Eisen:this is a very important distinction and him last year get the podium saying you know it's the way i've always played this is the way i'm always gonna play and it's just like dude really and then he came out this year and he sounded a lot more understanding of sliding and you can still be aggressive and you could still be a guy who uses your legs and that's an important part of what makes you great if you can get to that greatness level. And he did seem to have a better understanding of it. But the bottom line is, if you want to be great, you've got to be out there. And will he take care of himself better?

12:05Rich Eisen:Are we going to see these moments where he's blown up on the sidelines like he was against New England last year? I'll never forget that. Was that Christian Ellis, right? I'll never forget that one because he'd already been blown up several times and he did it again. that's first down as for second down the injuries that we're talking about obviously Dart had some unavailable moments but second down is do Malik Neighbors and Cam Scadaboo look like themselves again and if so when Neighbors coming back from the knee and Scatitibo as our friend Mr. Garvey called it here on the program coming back from that leg shattering and when When Cam was on this program a couple of months ago, he said he was on track for being back.

12:52Rich Eisen:And Malik Nabors, what you're always hearing about, this, that, the other thing. Cleanups. That it didn't go completely, you know, without issue repairing that knee. Because, hey, man, you look at the depth chart for the Giants, and there's some throwbacks. Odell's there, which I saw him in New York City. as well. Oh, interesting. Yeah, it was good to see Odell in New York when I was there. Was he dancing? I did not see him dancing, but we did hug it out. Oh! Yes. What kind of club was this? It was not a club. And so, it was good to see Odell, and I also saw at that affair in New York as well, Juju Smith-Schuster, who's a giant as well.

13:45Rich Eisen:Juju on the beat. By the way, introducing Juju Smith-Schuster to Susie Schuster. It was outstanding. Doctor, Doctor. It was like a Doctor, Doctor. It was an Uma Oprah moment. Susie Schuster, Juju Smith-Schuster. Smith-Schuster, Susie Schuster. They're like, are we cousins? Uh-huh. But anyway, my point is, Malik Neighbors is the clear number one if he's healthy, and Cam Skatitibo is the clear number one if he's healthy. I mean, Tyrone Tracy's there still, and, you know, Devin Singletary's still there still, and weapons. I got it, but these two are, let's see what we got. Number three, third down.

14:22Rich Eisen:Third down here. Can the defense improve without Sexy Dexy? Now, listen, I know Dexter Lawrence was having an off year last year, but he's still Dexter Lawrence. I don't think he's completely having diminished returns. We'll see what happens in Cincinnati. But man, man, oh man. I mean, you take Dexter Lawrence out of the middle. That's one thing. and you know you take a look at who they have the New York Giants at that position moving forward and the one name that jumps off the page at me is Tremaine Edmonds they added him at the right inside linebacker and you know the listed at the left inside linebacker is a guy named Arvel Reese now if you're getting if these guys are going to play anywhere remotely inside That's one thing.

15:10Rich Eisen:But you've got Abdul Carter, Brian Burns, Arvel Reese. You also have Kayvon Thibodeau at some point. DJ Reader is a guy that's going to be a nose tackle that you're going to be talking about this defense. Boy, I mean, you look at Edmonds and Reese. Yeah, it's going to be fun. Those are big dudes. And how the defense is being remade and looking with also Burns and Thibodeau and Abdul Carter in year two. That's a shrug emoji. Can they be better? We'll see. And fourth down. Fourth down. How will John Harbaugh remake the Giants in his own image? The Giants have never had, by the way, a coach who takes over for them already has a Super Bowl ring.

15:57Rich Eisen:He's the first. Nobody's ever come in and said, I've got one already. Because as you know, Parcells won him while there. Coughlin won it while there. They didn't have it walking in. This guy does. and the way that he showed up. Remember, it took a while for T's to be crossed and I's to get dotted. Everybody's saying it's because he's been given different powers or sway or say that the Maras and the Tishes have not told a coach, you got it. I mean, a remaking from everything probably in ways that we don't even know from the outside of the building in. How does that manifest itself? Then obviously the conversation about what was going down with Jackson Dart and Abdul Carter about a Jackson Dart local appearance and how that created potentially a split, a stir.

16:48Rich Eisen:We'll see if that really means anything of the season. But how does John Harbaugh get everyone to play on the same page? And how does John Harbaugh remake the Giants in his image? Because I'll tell you what, man. Man, Giant fans are like, okay, we've got John Harbaugh now in a way that Ravens fans had, I guess, gotten a little bit tired of or over. Well, not in this spot. G-Men fans are like, we've got an adult in the room, not like Dayball wasn't or others weren't. But Dayball, it was his first time at it as a head coach. Joe Judge, Pat Shermer, right? You know what I'm saying? I could keep going back till Coughlin left.

17:33Rich Eisen:they got a bona fide Super Bowl winning long time tenured head coach taken over in a way that the Giants have never seen one how does that work and does that mean more wins does he plus them up because his brother certainly pluses teams up when he goes somewhere new and John hasn't gone somewhere new in a long time right and this is someplace new is blue, big blue, and they've been that way for decades, doing it in a certain way. I mean, the Maras have the guys, I shouldn't say that, the guy. Wellington Maras' nickname is on the damn football. And that's my four downs on the New York Giants coming into this season.

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19:06Rich Eisen:Terms and conditions apply. NMLS 696891. Victor Newman himself. Eric Braden is back on The Rich Eisen Show. We'll bring him back out here in a moment.

19:24Rich Eisen:Rich Eisen here. Running a small business means every hire matters. A 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. With Hiring Pro, you can hire with confidence and build the team you need. Join the 2.7 million small businesses using LinkedIn to hire. Get started by posting your job for free at linkedin.com. Terms and conditions apply. While the world watches the stars at the FIFA World Cup this summer, Hyundai has its eyes on the next generation of talent.

20:01Rich Eisen: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. Because the future isn't some far-off concept, it's already here. Next starts now. Hyundai, an official partner of FIFA. The Rich Eisen Show podcast. The radio audience has just returned. The man who plays Victor Newman on The Young and the Restless, having just received an Emmy nomination himself, one of 18 for the most daytime Emmy nominations for Young and the Restless.

20:44Rich Eisen:Eric Braden is here back on the program, and it is great to see you, sir. Nice to see you. You know, I said to you in the back, have you been watching World Cup? And you looked at me like I'd grown three heads. You're locked in on this thing, right? I'm coming down from it slowly. Right? It's an addiction. It is an addiction. I'm slowly coming down from it. So now I don't really care about who wins on Sunday. Why? Why? I respect both teams. Okay. Enormously. Okay. And part of me wishes that Messi will win it one more time. Right. Because that's the last time we see him in a World Cup. I agree.

21:23On the other hand, Spain is a fantastic team. Spain is the most disciplined team I've seen play. But that has to do with the fact they all play for Barcelona. Most of them. Right. So they play with each other all year long.

21:37Rich Eisen:Doesn't Messi, though? They attack. Well, yes. Yes, right. But he's now in Miami. Thank you. Right. But the point is that Spain as a team, I mean, they attack as a team. They defend as a team. One of their players loses the ball. The others, three or four, come right away. They look like an organism. They look like an organism, right? And certainly against France after they got that penalty kick to go at 1-0. And I thought the French would win. Me too. Because they have these three brilliant forwards. Mpappe and Dembele and Ulysse. Fantastic forwards. I compare them to the three tenors. The three tenors, you know?

22:19Rich Eisen:Yes, of course. And brilliant players. But it's a team sport. And the discipline is far more important. So you think Spain's going to beat Argentina on some? I think so. No kidding. Yeah. But with Messi, you don't know. That cross that Messi sent into the box in a game they had just equalized because he had set up his teammate in a more conventional manner. Right. by absorbing the defense to him and then hitting it to his guy to score from distance. That cross, I've watched, has to be at least 50 times over, right? Right, but let me tell you what happened. Please.

23:00The English defense covered him very well for about 85 minutes. Very well. He is extraordinary. Right. But then he moved to the right wing. He stayed there. ostensibly unobserved, and how they did not see that. You don't leave a guy like Messi alone ever.

23:25Rich Eisen:Right. Ever. When I coached and played, always made sure that the best player on the other team, you covered him with one of your worst players, but was well-conditioned. You say, stay with him for the entire 90 minutes or 150 minutes or whatever. But you stay with him, and nothing but that. It drives those players nuts. The brilliant players. Even Messi doesn't like it at all. You stay with him. Wherever he goes, stay with him. They didn't do that. And I don't understand that. I must say, for the first time, I kind of felt for the Brits. And, you know, I'm from Germany, so we have a known, not very warm feelings for each other.

24:06Yes. But in this case, I felt for them.

24:09Rich Eisen:Well, what do you think of the German national team that has been struggling? The German national team has sucked. Simple as it is. They have a coach who should not be coaching on that level. His Nagelsmann, I call him Hummelmann, which is a pejorative term, and should not ever have coached the German team. Their mistake, very simple tactical mistake, they forgot to attack over the wings. When you attack over the wings, you open up their defense. only Barcelona with Messi, Iniesta and those people could attack through the middle because they're brilliant at very short passes. Brilliant. No one else is.

24:54So the Germans try to imitate that. So we have a right wing on the German team called Zahner, very good player. But when he got the ball in the right wing, you want him to go down to the touchline, right? The goal line. He always turned inside, wanted to show off how good he was. He got stuck. it's how a coach cannot see that immediately yes you use as many open spaces and soccer as you can you open up their defense by playing the wings and going down to the touchline which allows you then as messi did to pass the ball right in front of the goalie or diagonally back because we play defense as i have for many years you go back with a guy who runs all the way to the goal line right Yes.