Michael Blaustein Talks ‘Taste Me’ Comedy Tour & ‘Stiff Socks’ Podcast w/Rich

Michael Blaustein walked into The Rich Eisen Show wearing a Knicks shirt underneath a Knicks jacket, and he was not apologizing for any of it.

"This is the best time of my life," Blaustein told Rich as he settled in. The comedian and Stiff Socks Podcast co-host was riding a wave that most Knicks fans can only dream about, and he had the superstitious rituals to prove it. Since the team's last loss on April 23rd, the opening night of the NFL Draft, Blaustein had been wearing the same underwear. "My girlfriend moved out," he admitted. "It's terrible. But I believe in magic."

Rich wasn't entirely shocked. Blaustein's Knicks fandom traces back to a John Starks poster on his childhood bedroom wall in Maryland, long before he understood what he was looking at. His father, from Brooklyn, handed it down like a genetic condition. "I told you backstage, John Starks poster on my wall before I even knew what color was," Blaustein said. The Wizards never had a chance.

Game two of the NBA Finals against San Antonio was on that night, and Blaustein had already been to game two of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cavs, sitting behind a basket with thunder sticks. He was convinced he personally affected the Cavs' free throw shooting. "I helped," he said, completely serious.

The conversation turned to Jalen Brunson, and Blaustein went full disciple. He would name a daughter Jalen Brunson Blaustein, he said, without hesitation. The Bieber connection sealed it for him: Brunson has been listening to Justin Bieber since winning the NCAA championship at Villanova, and he still does it before games. "That visual is super fundamental to me," Blaustein said. "Jalen Brunson getting hyped up to Bieber for game two is so funny to me."

Rich noted that Brunson didn't receive a single fifth-place MVP vote, and pointed out that winning the title would change that conversation fast. "Hopefully three wins away from changing that narrative. That's for damn sure," Rich said.

On Victor Wembanyama, Blaustein was honest in a way only a true fan can be. He likes the guy. He likes Stephon Castle. He went looking for a hateable Spurs player and came up empty. "There's nobody on this team that, part of me is like, where is there like a Dillon Brooks type dude who I can start to hate on," he said. The Spurs, he acknowledged, were not a speed bump.

Rich read off the full Wemby stat line from game one: 26 points, 12 rebounds, 3 blocks, a career-high 15 missed shots. Despite all that, it was only the fourth time since blocks became an official stat in 1974 that a player posted that stat line in their NBA Finals debut, joining Elvin Hayes, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Shaquille O'Neal. Blaustein's reaction was essentially: yes, and that's terrifying.

The final stretch of the interview drifted into tennis, specifically Blaustein's growing conviction that he could win a point off Carlos Alcaraz. He was not entirely kidding. His plan involved repeatedly dinking until Alcaraz crept to the net, then uncorking a 95-mile-an-hour line drive straight at him. "It's my point," Blaustein said. When Rich asked how proficient he actually was at tennis, the answer was concise: "Not."

Rich came around anyway. "I like this," he said. "I'm going to take what I said back. I think you can."

Blaustein's Taste Me Tour hits Joliet, Illinois and Springfield, Massachusetts before closing out its final leg in Canada. Tickets at blaucomedy.com.