Rice on the Mics
Welcome to "Rice on the Mics", where sports talk comes with no script, no filter, and just the right amount of chaos. Hosted by Ian Rice, this is the spot for real fans who love the game but aren’t afraid to call out the bad takes, blown calls, and overpaid benchwarmers. Whether it's a legendary performance, a brutal choke job, or your fantasy team crashing and burning, we’re here to break it down like it’s last call at the bar. No corporate PR spin, no forced debates—just unfiltered sports talk with passion, personality, and maybe a little trash talk along the way. If you’re looking for stats read off a teleprompter, you’re in the wrong place. But if you want bold opinions, real conversations, and the kind of debates that might get a drink thrown at you, pull up a mic and let’s go.
Rice on the Mics
Taylor Ham, Glazed Ham, Cade Cunningham - It Don't Matter
Ready for a brutally honest take on New York sports? This episode tackles the early-season hysteria surrounding Juan Soto's Mets struggles, the Knicks' playoff invasion of Detroit, and the Aaron Rodgers Jets drama that has fans divided.
First up: the great Soto panic. Yankees and Mets fans are already performing Shakespeare in group chats over their new superstar's adjustment period. But while everyone's screaming "Jason Bay 2.0," let's remember that Pete Alonso has already smashed seven homers thanks partially to the Soto effect. New York loves eating its own until you win – but patience might be exactly what's needed here. Meanwhile, Yankees fans should be more concerned about their pitching woes than Soto's bat.
The Knicks faithful are preparing for war as Detroit attempts to limit their takeover of Little Caesars Arena by restricting ticket sales. Good luck with that. The Garden travels, and with Brunson back after the team found their rhythm during his absence, this squad looks dangerous. Cade Cunningham might be a certified hooper, but how will he handle 20,000 New Yorkers screaming in his face during his playoff debut?
And then there's Aaron Rodgers – the philosopher king rather than quarterback. His drama with new Jets coach Aaron Glenn reveals everything about why the team might be better off without him. As one deliriously hopeful Jets fan puts it: "I'd rather have a stable regimen, a real identity, and a no-bullshit locker room" than whatever Rodgers is selling right now.
Next week brings full NFL draft coverage – who's rising, who's falling, and what your team did right (or horribly wrong). Follow @RiceontheRadio on Instagram and call 732-588-6869 to leave a message for the show. Your hot take might just make it on air!
I guess there's only one way to find out. Let's do it to it right? Taylor Ham Glazed, ham Cade Cunningham, it don't matter. Knicks in five. I said it, I meant it, and now you're hearing it stolen in the wild. Detroit trying to block the Knicks fans from buying tickets because they know what's coming. The garden travels. Baby Cade's about to get cooked like Sunday breakfast. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0. All engine running. Boy oh boy. I got a stacked episode for you today. Is that a shuggling in Queens or just some New York paranoia? Little Nick's Cade Country, that's what we're calling it. Cade country, nah, and everybody got fired. So cool. Roger's out speaking of getting fired, aaron Glenn in and the Jets find themselves in it again. You know already, you've tuned in. This is Rice on the Mic's, episode 8. Let's get going.
Speaker 1:Well, we're about just about over two weeks into the season and Yankee fans are already doing Shakespeare in the group chats over Juan Soto. He's struggling, he's struggling, he's. He's pressing, as everybody likes to call it, but he's fouling stuff off. He's working the counts. He's making good contact. I've seen him rip. He's making good contact. I've seen him rip so many balls hard as shit fouled on the line. He's not broken, he's adjusting. Let's call it adjusting. Okay, every hitter has that, I don't know 2 for 18, one for 11 stretch, but it just it feels bigger. One when you're a Met and you're in New York and two when you're a $750 million face of the franchise. But here we are, met fans freaking out Jason Bay 2.0 trending on Twitter. Guys, please, please, I'm here to say, as your resident Met lover, met aficionado, met savant, maybe Met, even autistic, chill out. Okay, everything's going to be fine. Look, lindor is hitting in April. That's something that never happens. Okay, and, as I've said before, pete is seeing the benefits because Soto's not getting the pitches. Well, guess what? Eventually, they're going to start giving the pitches to Soto because they don't want to do with Pete. Pete's got seven home runs already Seven. He only needed 26 to break the record for all-time home runs for the Mets this year.
Speaker 1:Boys, mets fans need to relax, okay, and Yankee fans too. Look, they're acting like Soto. Forgot how to hit no. And Yankee fans too. Look, they're acting like Soto. Forgot how to hit no, just showed up in a town where 0-4 is a federal case. Hell, 0-5 is a federal case. And I will say everybody panicked a little bit a couple games ago, went over five, three strikeouts, and you know when does Soto strike out.
Speaker 1:But it's not the player, it's just a little bit of pressure. New York eats its own until you win, god. Look at Namath Jets fans are still holding on to Namath. We'll hold on, we'll get back to that. Look at Messier If you win in New York, you don't just never pay for a meal in your life. You walk on water like Jesus.
Speaker 1:Okay, everything's going to be fine with Soto. My fans need to relax. They need to dial it back a little bit. Got to remember he's adjusting, he's figuring it out. He picked us though, boys Us, and that only opens the door to more and more free agents. You want protection in the lineup. You'll get it. Vientos is going to be real hot soon. Mcneil's coming back. The Beatty experiment is over. Acuna's going to be in this lineup, which is the speed that we need. Marte is always good for some stuff, even if it is old age.
Speaker 1:I'm super excited about this midseason and look, I'm sorry if it seems like I'm killing the Yankees or I'm about to kill the Yankees. I'm really just getting on the fans because they're getting on me, but they're winning games as of right now, and they're first in their division as of right now and their first in their division as of right now. But outside of Max Fried, the pitching has been horrendous. My god, rodan got shelled again, and fine, you're striking guys out, but everyone is waiting on bated breath for the implosion after the umpire gives you a bad call. Okay, and they aren't going to give you the benefit of the doubt, by the way, either. You've walked 12 guys in already in four starts.
Speaker 1:Stroman, who every Yankee fan in spring training wanted out, now has to stay because you don't have anybody else. He gets Shelled again. Look, he's a ground ball pitcher that notoriously starts hot in the first half and then loses it in the second half. And if he's losing in the first half, oh boy, I'll give him credit. It's tough to be a ground ball pitcher in a small ballpark, but it's not like there's errors, it's. It's just he's getting shelled.
Speaker 1:And will warren, who's the prospect? That was, you know, supposed to come up like lise hill and fill that role, and you know he gets stepped in shit with him with the rookie of the year, and now you're just expected to have the rookie of the year again with him. I mean, he got pulled after two innings yesterday. That's not what you're looking for, not at all. But again the Yanks, they're winning and it's because of the hitting. Judge is already off to a monster year.
Speaker 1:Ben Rice shout out. Rice on the mics is looking pretty good, he's looking great and he's first base and catcher eligible so he can kind of carry a third catcher without having to carry a third catcher. Jason Dominguez, kid can play, can play man. You know everybody shit on him for left and then he can't feel and this, and yeah, sometimes it looks a little rough, but the rule is if you hit you don't sit and he's in. So just maybe let's start wearing some rec specs.
Speaker 1:After that, contact got knocked out. And gold, goldie's great. Goldie's looking good. He's a true professional. We love Goldie around here and anything was better than Rizzo from last year. So if four of the nine guys in your lineup are hitting, you're going to win some games. So I'm not entirely killing the Yankees, I'm giving credit where credit is due. But oh boy, that pitching. You guys better figure it out. Better figure it out quick. Well, maybe not quick, it is April. I can't say it's only April for the Mets and better figure out quick for the Yankees. So it's April, but I'll be fair, there's some work to be done. Also, just some quick news around the league before we really dive into the meat here.
Speaker 1:Judge, wbc captain, another New Yorker. I'm not mad at it, I'm happy about it. Another New Yorker captain for the World Baseball Classic. Going back to David Wright when he was Captain America, now Judge gets to be Captain America. That's kind of cool to see. I'm happy he gets to stay in New York.
Speaker 1:The ageless wonder Kershaw came back Three scoreless in his return. Nice moment. But you know, let's be honest, here he's really only there for a couple innings. Here and there He'll probably be in the bullpen in the playoffs. And Spencer Schreider, for the Braves, came back Five scoreless. That's how you really return. He looked pretty damn good too, which you know Mets have dug. Excuse me, excuse me, braves have dug themselves a good hole, so we'll see if that helps them climbing out. And then Justin Steele for the Cubbies.
Speaker 1:Tough to say, elbow surgery. They're not calling it Tommy John, but usually if you're a pitcher and you end up having elbow surgery, let's put one and one together. That makes Tommy John the big take from all of this is that it's April. Guys, yankees didn't forget how to pitch and Juan Soto didn't forget how to hit, but it seems like New York definitely has forgotten how to breathe. Take a minute, boys, take a minute Detroit. Limiting ticket sales.
Speaker 1:The Knicks aren't just coming, they're invading. The matchup's locked in. Cade Cunningham. He's a sacrificial ham. See what I did there Taylor Ham, glazed Ham. Cade Cunningham, knicks in five. They don't want Knicks fans showing up. But here's the thing Nobody travels like New York.
Speaker 1:Brunson goes down early and somehow the Knicks click. They find it out. They figure it out. Og's giving you 28 a game, bridges is giving you 21 a game. They found a groove without Brunson. Now that he's back, oh boy, don't forget, he's the league leader in playoff points in only one season with the Knicks. Brunson's injury forced them to move the ball around and trust each other, which is what this team was missing. That and toughness. And with Robinson Mack, oh, they are so tough now, they're dangerous. One would even say, and I'll give Cade his credit he's a certified hooper, he is, he's a damn good player. But the garden in the playoffs, that's a different beast. Nice little welcoming party for him. Huh, they play tough and they play scrappy, but we'll see how tough you want to be when 20,000 New Yorkers are screamed in your face Welcome to your first time in the playoffs, kid Ha ha.
Speaker 1:The meme with the NBA is always uh, this league. And there's plenty of that to go around. First of all, the Nuggets three seed, six seed, wherever they ended up fired their coach, NGM, five games before the playoffs, and then the owner claims that it was months in the making and it was something we were going to do. So what's that? The all-star break? That's a genius way to run the franchise. Without mellow and yoke and jokage. This franchise would be hanging out with the Hornets, oh boy. And speaking of fucking front office comedy, the 76ers I'm sorry, the Philadelphia 76ers who thought Paul George and Joel Embiid was a good idea together. Yeah, two guys that never play. They're locked into a bloated roster and they're keeping both their GM and coach, but saying things need to change. That's the best John Mara impression I've ever seen in my entire life On our beautifully ran Instagram.
Speaker 1:At Rice on the Radio this week, I ran a poll. That was what's worse for the game Otani and friends, orca and lebron because otani and mookie and freddie and tayyash and all the pitchers you know, still 22 guys on the roster 24, 22 whereas 22. Whereas Luke LeBron, it's 11. And when you have two of the top five, maybe top four players in the league on the same team, it's big trouble and the results overwhelmingly anti-Ohtani. No surprise there, though, because you know Luka's number 77 Laker jersey is number one in sales and he's been there what a month. Maybe Coming to your local frat house, white boy who thinks he knows ball rocking a Luka jersey.
Speaker 1:Lakers have a lot of potential to make some serious noise this year, and CBS is salivating over the potential ratings. If Golden State takes care of business with Houston, which they should, another young team, kind of like Detroit, plays fast, golden State should take care of it. Playoff, jimmy, is a real thing. That means in the second round round you'll have LeBron versus Curry, okay, and then probably OKC. So let's say LeBron takes care of Golden State, right? So that means in the Western Conference Final you're looking at LeBron OKC with Luka who. Luka took care of OKC last year before they went to the finals in Dallas. Then in the finals finals you're going to Cleveland versus LeBron or Celtics-Lakers.
Speaker 1:What's the record Because it'll probably get broken, and I got to touch on the Bucs here probably get broken. And I gotta touch on the bucks here. Damian lillard, first round out blood clots, but if you ask me, it's the whole playoffs, especially since I think the bucks are uh, gonna get bounced in the first round anyway. But that leads me to the bigger point, with giannis who might finally say I'm out because here's the thing, here's the thing.
Speaker 1:Okay, giannis strikes me as the guy who loves basketball and he works hard and he fixes his game and he doesn't really take games off. He might rest a little bit, but not like the other players, but I think he hates the long grind of it. He's built for the playoffs and to dominate in like seven game series, not 82 game seasons. He wants to win. Mvps are cool, and being the greek freak and having his weird sense of humor weird sense of humor that's all great. But I know he wants rings okay, plural.
Speaker 1:And is there a universe where him and brunson are leading the knicks to glory road down the canyon of heroes? I think he'd take that call. I mean him and brunson. I think that's what he hoped for, him and Lillard, and it never happened, you'd have to give up. I mean shit. At the minimum it probably starts with OJ, just to even make the money work, I guess. But man, if there's a universe where Giannis is in New York and it's not with the Nets and it's Brunson and Giannis, oh, it's a Knicks fan's wet dream. But listen, playoffs are about to start and I'm hyped. Okay, I was talking some shit about the Knicks getting bounced in the first round, looking for some hot takes. Now, after reassessing, I'm all in. I'm all in. Give me the gentleman's sweep for the Knicks and then it's on to Boston for an age-old rivalry. Go Knicks boys, go Knicks.
Speaker 1:Let's get this out of the way, because my, my blood's been boiling about something and I really I got to let it out. Okay, aaron Rodgers is done, not done, physically, done here, mentally, emotionally, spiritually. He gone, good riddance. Not because you're washed, not because you're a bad guy, even though you're a little douchey sometimes but because you're washed. Not because you're a bad guy, even though you're a little douchey sometimes but because you're a diva, a legend. A legend, no doubt. A first ball, first ballot hall of famer, no doubt, but a drama king in every step of the way.
Speaker 1:Look what you're putting Pittsburgh through right now. You have a standing contract with them and you're doing throwing drills with DK which, by the way, I don't know how that's not tampering, but okay, fine. And now you're dragging it out to the draft, to what. See who they take in the first round and maybe you'll go play for them. And yeah, I admit I was all in. I was the delusional Jet fan. I thought they were going to the bowl, I thought they were about to take over, going to run. But the truth, you want the truth. You didn't want to lead, you wanted to be courted. You wanted to be the philosopher king, not a quarterback.
Speaker 1:Talked about the Seoul Lombardi Trophy and how it looked lonely and fed the fans everything they wanted to hear to get behind you. And what? Now? You're mad about a phone call, about a meeting at 30 seconds, 20 minutes. Be real, if they didn't call you and just cut you, you'd say they didn't even reach out to me. And even if they called you once, you'd say, wow, just one call, there's no winning with you. And not saying Aaron Glenn's name at all during your magazine interview. Come on, come on, that's petty and that's weak. And what now? Now you're mad at Glenn. Because what? Because what? Because he's setting the tone.
Speaker 1:Robert Sala gets fired four games and they replace him with a middle linebacker defensive coach. That was in way over his head. Yeah, no shit, everybody looked to you. So when Glenn says, I don't need guys looking back at you during a team meeting and make sure that we're doing the right thing, you, I, him, everyone understands exactly what the fuck he's saying and what he's trying to build, and that's the Parcells mentality that I've been so desperately looking for. You were the damn coach for 12 games last year. Pretty much you ran the show. You were the voice. Fuck. You picked your terrible offensive coordinator because what you guys bonded over? Some movie quotes, some awesome power quotes Get the fuck out of here. So, of course, buyers, fans, teammates, whoever they're going to look to you for direction. That's what happens when you're the guy commanding everything from the sideline without a headset. You can't be mad when people expect you to lead after you literally made yourself the fucking leader.
Speaker 1:Now, meanwhile, aaron Glenn's setting the tone. Garrett Wilson he's in Sauce. He's in Sauce. He's in. Quinton Williams he was super vocal about you leaving Yep. Haven't heard anything from him. Seems like he's on track now.
Speaker 1:You think the team needed coddling? No, no, no, no, no. They needed direction. That was the issue last year. It wasn't talent, it was the coaching. And then they fired the coach and they looked to you and it was too much on your plate.
Speaker 1:Now, now that the plan's in motion, time to see what kind of coach Glenn really is. Table set, locker room is locked in and the bar Jesus Christ, the bar for the J jets, it's not even that fucking high. Just make the damn playoffs and the drought, that's it. That's literally all we're looking for here. As a jet fan god, it's lit, that's it. Use the draft, grab a tackle and build the identity. Run the damn ball, punch you in the mouth and rip the face. Mask off your opponent off on defense. That is what Bart Scott talked about all the time when he came over to this team. He used to tell you all the time from the AFC North games. You felt those games three days after because how physical they were. Okay, he brought that mentality to the Jets and that's what Glenn is trying to bring. That's what wins games. And you know what.
Speaker 1:I don't even expect, even if you go on, to go, do good. Whatever you're going to do, god bless, I don't expect Fields to be you or Mahomes or that kind of quarterback. He's not throwing for 35 touches in 3,000 yards, but behind a monster o-line he might run in seven. Oh, and Brees Hall and Braylon Allen yeah, that's a two-headed monster that I'm willing to fucking stake my reputation to. Oh, and on top of it, too, garrett Wilson gets to get. Get to be the shifty receiver that he is with his college quarterback. Look, look.
Speaker 1:Okay, I know it sounds dumb to say that I'm glad we got rid of a Hall of Fame quarterback, but I am. I'd rather have a stable regimen, a real identity and a no bullshit locker room and hope that actually sticks, not hope that evaporates with your next fucking Instagram post or your next mcafee interview. Okay, as a jet fan, today is a good day. It's a great day to be a jet fan. I don't care how anyone spends it. We just added more hope to the bank, and that's worth more than whatever the fuck rogers is selling right now. There is hope, jet fans. I promise you that. That's all I got for the league this week.
Speaker 1:Next episode, we'll go full war room getting ready for the draft and that is a wrap on Episode 8. Knicks are coming, soto is going to be just fine, and Rodgers, well, he's probably halfway through his next darkness retreat. We'll be back next week with a full NFL draft breakdown who's rising, who went where, who reached what the Jets did right, what the Giants did right, what they both did wrong. We'll cover it all. For now, though, follow the show at Rice on the Radio on Instagram. Tap in, vote on the polls, call the show 732-588-6869. Leave a message. I'll put you on the pod. I want to argue with you. Hell, maybe you'll even become a regular. Okay, tell a friend. Tell a friend who needs better sports takes in their life. You got them right here on rice, on the mice and, as always, tell someone you love them. Spread good energy in this world. What you give is what you get. Peace.