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The first half of the 2026 MLB season has given us enough evidence to stop talking about what teams were supposed to be.

Ian breaks down the Mets’ complete collapse, who David Stearns should consider moving at the trade deadline, and why trading Francisco Lindor would signal something much bigger than a normal sell-off.

Across town, the Yankees remain one of the American League’s best teams—but Aaron Judge’s absence exposed just how narrow their championship path becomes without him. Ian also looks at their deadline needs, Cam Schlittler’s Cy Young case and a potential playoff matchup with Tampa Bay.

Plus, it is time to check the receipts on the preseason edition of Rolling the Dice with Rice, sort MLB into contenders, surprises and disappointments, revisit the award races, make a World Series prediction and review the ABS challenge system.

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Episode 76: The 2026 World Cup Became Too Big to Ignore

After a two-week break, Rice on the Radio returns with something a little different: a World Cup episode.

The 2026 World Cup has taken over the sports conversation. The United States had the stage, the crowd, the ratings and the chance to make a real run at home—but Belgium ended that dream with a 4–1 knockout-round win.

Ian breaks down why the U.S. exit is both progress and a missed opportunity, why the Balogun controversy became one of the strangest stories of the tournament, and why a record American soccer audience makes the loss sting even more.

Friend of the show Danny joins during halftime of USA-Belgium to give a real soccer fan’s view of the tournament, the U.S. team, Haaland, Messi, Mbappé and the remaining contenders.

Then Ian reacts to the second half, the U.S. elimination, Argentina’s wild comeback, Norway’s Haaland-led run, and a quarterfinal field featuring France, Morocco, Spain, Belgium, Norway, England, Argentina and Switzerland.

This is not Rice on the Radio becoming a full-time soccer podcast.

Probably.

But this World Cup deserved an episode.

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The Knicks finally gave New York the parade. Now baseball has brought the city right back to reality.

Episode 75 of Rice on the Radio gets back into Major League Baseball with the Yankees and Mets moving in very different directions after the Knicks championship high.

The Yankees are still good, still dangerous, and still in the championship conversation, but Aaron Judge being hurt changes the entire feel of the season. Ian breaks down the Yankees’ first real stress test, Ben Rice becoming a legitimate breakout story, Cam Schlittler looking like homegrown front-line pitching, the veteran stability from Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger, and Gerrit Cole, and why the deadline priority should be a trustworthy late-inning bullpen arm.

Then it’s Mets time.

The rotation is a disaster, the roster feels clunky, and the David Stearns honeymoon is over. The Mets still have bright spots — Juan Soto is still Juan Soto, Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing look like real pieces, Nolan McLean and Christian Scott have shown flashes, and Francisco Lindor’s return helps — but this season is slipping fast.

The Knicks set the standard. The Yankees are trying to chase it. The Mets are trying to figure out what comes next.

Tell someone you love them and spread good energy.

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The New York Knicks are NBA champions.

Episode 74 is the one I never knew if I’d actually get to make. After 53 years, the Knicks finally won it all, and this episode is about more than just a trophy. It’s about redemption.

Jalen Brunson became the King of New York and Finals MVP. Karl-Anthony Towns changed the way his entire career will be talked about. OG Anunoby gave Knicks fans a play that belongs forever in franchise lore. Mikal Bridges made “fuck them picks” age beautifully. Josh Hart, Mitchell Robinson, Landry Shamet, Jose Alvarado, Leon Rose, Mike Brown — everybody gets their moment.

We also get into Game 4’s impossible comeback, Game 5 in Atlantic City, the Wemby poll, why the Knicks were too tough to be rattled, and why this championship feels like the beginning of something, not the end.

The Knicks are champions. Build the statue. Go Knicks.

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The New York Knicks are two wins away from an NBA championship.

Ian reacts to the Knicks stealing Games 1 and 2 of the NBA Finals in San Antonio, Jalen Brunson continuing to prove he is the best closer in basketball, Karl-Anthony Towns changing the series against Victor Wembanyama, Josh Hart doing all the dirty work, and why this Knicks team looks like the more grown, more battle-tested group through two games.

Plus, Game 3 comes back to Madison Square Garden for the first NBA Finals game at MSG since 1999. The Garden is going to be chaos, the city is losing its mind, and the Spurs are desperate. But the job is not finished.

The Knicks are up 2-0.

The parade is two wins away.

But man.

It is right there.

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The New York Knicks are four wins away from their first NBA championship since 1973, and Ian is not tiptoeing into the Finals preview.

Knicks in six.

In this episode of Rice on the Radio, Ian previews the Knicks vs. Spurs NBA Finals matchup, the 1999 rematch, and why this specific Knicks team feels built for the moment. Victor Wembanyama is already one of the scariest players the league has ever seen, but the Knicks have real answers: Jalen Brunson’s control, Karl-Anthony Towns’ spacing, OG Anunoby’s physicality, Josh Hart’s chaos, Mitchell Robinson’s rebounding, Landry Shamet’s shooting, and Mike Brown’s adjustments.

This is not just about stopping Wemby. It is about making him work, making San Antonio’s young roster prove it, and taking advantage of Game 1 before the Spurs fully come down from their emotional Western Conference Finals win over Oklahoma City.

The city is starving. This team has been doubted. The moment is here.

Knicks in six.

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Episode 71 of Rice on the Radio lands on a perfect NFL chaos day.

Ian breaks down A.J. Brown being traded to the New England Patriots, why Mike Vrabel and Drake Maye just became a much bigger problem in the AFC East, and why the Eagles’ return feels light even if Philadelphia needed a reset.

Then it’s Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams, a massive move from a team that keeps proving it can be aggressive without being reckless. The Rams are trying to win now with Matthew Stafford while still preparing for the future, and Garrett finally gets the kind of January stage his talent deserves.

After that, the focus comes back to New York. Odell Beckham Jr. is back with the Giants, but this is not 2016. Ian talks through the nostalgia, the real expectations, Malik Nabers’ injury concern, and why Jaxson Dart’s Year 2 leap needs to come with patience, maturity, and fewer unnecessary hits.

The episode closes with the Jets, where the bar is not “win the offseason.” It is proving Aaron Glenn, Frank Reich, Darren Mougey, Geno Smith, Garrett Wilson, Breece Hall, and Cade Klubnik are part of a real foundation instead of another one-year reset.

NFL offseason chaos, New York football realism, and a reminder that sometimes the timing just needs one more day to cook.

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New York baseball is sitting in two completely different places.

The Yankees just got Gerrit Cole back, and he looked a lot less like a pitcher easing his way back from Tommy John surgery and a lot more like the ace walking back into the room. Aaron Judge is in a rough stretch, but that feels more like normal baseball turbulence than real panic. Ben Rice keeps making the case that his bat is too valuable to mess with behind the plate, and the Rays are putting real pressure on the AL East race.

Then there are the Mets.

The record still gives just enough 2024 flashback hope to keep fans from fully letting go, but the roster construction, leadership questions, offensive inconsistency, and looming trade deadline decisions are getting harder to ignore. Should the Mets sell if they are still buried by the deadline? Who is actually part of the future? And how dangerous would it be to chase a big bat like Yordan Alvarez if it means taking on bad money with MLB’s next CBA fight and possible salary cap structure hanging over the sport?

This episode is a New York baseball check-in built around one bigger idea: the cost of pretending.

The Yankees look like a contender trying to finish the roster.
The Mets look like an expensive team still trying to define one.

Topics include Gerrit Cole’s return, Aaron Judge’s slump, Ben Rice’s role, Anthony Volpe, the Rays’ pressure on the Yankees, Mets deadline questions, Carson Benge, AJ Ewing, Nolan McLean, Juan Soto, Carlos Mendoza, David Stearns, Steve Cohen, Yordan Alvarez, Tarik Skubal, the Astros as potential sellers, and MLB’s looming CBA/salary cap battle.

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