It’s episode 450. Break out the confetti.
I’m happy to have Rich Eisen from the NFL Network on the show. Eisen has a new podcast on NFL.com as part of his new blog called Get Rick Quick. It’s seriously the best name ever. We discuss that.
The podcast is only a few weeks old and not only is he getting some of the biggest names in the NFL — Drew Brees and LaDanian Tomlinson in back-to-back weeks — he’s chatting with some of the biggest celebrities in the entertainment world as well. Who, pray tell, did he have on his show? None other than Larry David. That’s who.
I hate you already, Eisen.
But first…
We talk about the Randy Moss trade in the context of breaking news, and how the NFLN handles such important football related items. Is there a Bat signal that shines over Eisen’s house to get into the office? As he suggests, that’s just reserved for Favre.
We do discuss that idea — Eisen getting called in to be the lead anchor on major stories like Brian Williams for the NBC breaking news items — in context of how much the network has grown in the last six or seven seasons. A few years ago, there may have actually been that signal, or a least a bevy of emails, texts and phone calls. Now, well, now he gets to go to “take your dad to school day.”
We talk about the “distraction” of big news like Randy Moss being traded and if the distraction, itself, is more based on the actual players involved or more the intense media crush that comes with news like this. “Of course it’s a distraction…you’re shoving your microphone in my nose.”
We also talk a lot about Eisen’s new show, and how his new deal with the network has given him some additional ways to get in front of the NFL audience — podcast, blog, hosting the pre-game show, etc.
We run through a lot of what makes podcasting great — the long form interviews, the ability to speak in something longer than a soundbite — and discuss his interview with Larry David. Then, of course, with the NFL at his back, I wonder who else he’ll try to get on the show. I mean, come on, it’s Rich Eisen and the NFL. He’s getting anyone he wants (grits teeth).
His reply: Tom Brady, because he never does interviews like that, and Jon Stewart. (shakes fist). I tell him that I’ve tried about 100 times to get Stewart on the show, even going with the “I’m a Jew from New Jersey who played soccer” angle. Nothing. If Eisen gets him, which he will, I’ll have to hate him even more.
Eisen does talk about the time he was on The Daily Show to promote the 20,000th SportsCenter. He bombed. That will be found.
The Jon Stewart conversation spins into Jews running the media and more specifically why people like Rick Sanchez don’t remember they are BEING RECORDED when talking on the radio. What is it about radio (or podcasts) that gets people in the media to say thing they’d never say on TV? It’s confounding. But fantastic for those of us who ply this particular trade.
And no, I can’t get Eisen to blame everything on the Jews who run the media, despite my efforts. But we do talk about how we want athletes to speak candidly, then crush them once they do.
That leads to a conversation about Twitter and how vital a tool it’s become in the media business…and by business I mean the industry. We also talk about the phenomenal ratings for the NFL, how that may be negatively impacting attendance and if the increased numbers on TV for games translates to ratings for the NFL Network. In short, Eisen doesn’t know. He’s not worried about people watching, so much as putting on a good show. That’s a pretty good way to go about your job.
Thanks to Rich, and to you for listening to all these shows.