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Rich Paul Stopped His First Podcast to Take a Very Important Call From Shams Charania
Rich Paul has started a podcast. The first episode of Game Over with Max Kellerman and Rich Paul debuted on Tuesday with Paul and co-host Max Kellerman discussing the Chiefs, Bills, Lakers, Thunder, Giannis and the NBA Cup.
We know that's what was talked about because the opening of the podcast on all audio and video formats features them them writing the topics on a white board as if they did not plan what they were going to talk about until they got to their immense, barren and epically lit studio.
After that they wheeled away the board and got down to business with nothing but two mics, two chairs and a table where they could set their waters and phones.
Keeping their phones nearby was a particularly important touch because it allowed Paul to demonstrate how plugged in he is by stopping the podcast to answer a phone call from ESPN's Shams Charania.
While that did not make the final cut of the podcast, it was featured on the show's official Instagram page as a breakout clip.
It's unclear why they would take this out while leaving the pre-show meeting in to start the first episode, but here we are. Paul purportedly told Charania that he was doing his podcast, but had to take the call because, "You're Shams. I had to take it. You're my guy."
Then after asking Charania what he needed Paul listens for a moment while Kellerman tries not to eavesdrop. After a few brief seconds Paul says, "Okay perfect," and hangs up.
Kellerman inquires who usually gives who information during calls between Paul and Charania and LeBron James's longtime agent tells his new podcast partner, "Don't worry about all that."
The Game Over podcast is scheduled to run Monday, Wednesday and Friday, but considering how in-demand Paul appears, you have to wonder if they'll be able to stick to that schedule.
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Stephen Douglas is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in media since 2008 and now casts a wide net with coverage across all sports. Douglas spent more than a decade with The Big Lead and previously wrote for Uproxx and The Sporting News. He has three children, two degrees and one now unverified Twitter account.