5 Major NFL Storylines As Training Camps Open | Hour 2

Summary

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The Dan Le Batard Show: "5 Major NFL Storylines As Training Camps Open | Hour 2"

Date: July 27, 2026
Location: Live from The Elser Hotel in Downtown Miami
Host: Dan Le Batard
Panelists: Mike Ryan, Greg Cody, Pablo Torre, and others

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Overview

This episode dives into the biggest NFL storylines as training camps set to open, then veers through a wild mix of sports intrigue, media criticism, and offbeat observations. The Le Batard crew blends NFL news, broadcast shenanigans, media scandals, and irreverent pop culture riffs—delivering trademark wit, skepticism, and storytelling throughout.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Mike Lombardi and UNC Football Dysfunction

[01:29 - 05:10]

• Pablo Torre reviews the unfolding saga involving Mike Lombardi (UNC’s now-suspended general manager), touching on previous reports from his PTFO show.
  • Lombardi is described as one of the "top five least-liked people in the entire NFL" and someone with a "pattern of disappearing from jobs, including in the media." (Pablo Torre, 02:55)
  • His close ties to Bill Belichick have arguably kept him aloft: “Loyalty to Belichick has been his foremost skill and talent this entire time.” (Pablo Torre, 04:05)
  • Recent developments include a human resources complaint by a former UNC staffer, separate from Belichick’s direct influence. UNC is “immensely frustrated” with both Lombardi and Jordan Hudson (the head coach's girlfriend), who has been making public record requests including seeking Torre’s own correspondence with the university.
  • The broader dynamic paints UNC football under Belichick as a “disaster,” with organizational chaos and power struggles.

“This vehicle, the North Carolina football team under Belichick, has been as disastrous as literally any program...in recent memory.”
— Pablo Torre, [04:50]

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2. White House Correspondents Dinner: Media, Trump, and Epstein Files

[05:22 - 10:32]

• Dan, Mike, and Pablo recount the unsettling yet surreal moments at the recent White House Correspondents Dinner:
  • Wolf Blitzer introduces the Wall Street Journal journalists awarded for their Epstein reporting—while Trump, feet away, grins and shrugs on camera, even amid references to lawsuits and threats.
  • Pablo Torre: “Donald Trump...signaling to everybody that he does not see the harm in what it is that he does to our country. I say that kind of smiling because the video is hilarious...All of it feels like pro wrestling, even the stuff you'd imagine would be most damaging.” ([07:38])
  • The panel underscores Trump’s desire to be accepted by the press despite attacking them: “He just so desperately wants people to like him...Why don’t you like me more?” ([09:10])

“He will sue media organizations...but at the same time, he just so desperately wants people to like him.”
— Pablo Torre, [09:00]

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3. Around the NFL: 5 Major Storylines (Panel Voting & Banter)

[14:44 - 25:21, NFL storylines continue throughout episode]

Mike Ryan presents five top NFL headlines, with the panel debating what’s most intriguing:

The Stories:

1. Aaron Donald attempting a comeback with the Rams after two years’ retirement
2. Kyle Shanahan’s severe pre-season accident
   • 40 stitches in his face, broken nose/ribs/hand, severe concussion
   • The intrigue: offensive line coach Chris Foerster (former Dolphins assistant, infamous for cocaine scandal video) becomes interim head coach—a meteoric and unlikely redemption story.
3. Tyreek Hill’s leg injury and uncertain future
   • “He has no power in his leg and looks like he has no free agent value.” (Mike Ryan, [15:25])
4. Tony Romo’s OWI (Operating While Intoxicated)
   • Panel riffs on the different state-by-state terms for DUIs.
5. Diego Pavia released by the Ravens before camp
   • Released without ever throwing a ball—commentary on how hard it is for “cocky quarterbacks” without obvious talent or stature.

Panel Consensus:
Shanahan/Foerster story wins for drama and redemption arc. The crew jokes about Forster’s past:

“He was snorting cocaine or...a powder that looked like cocaine off his desk while sending it to a sex worker in Vegas. Because cocaine and sex, evidently, is a magical combination.”
— Mike Ryan, [17:15]

They reflect on how rare it is for a coach to be sidelined by such a serious off-field accident, and how it echoes Jack McKinney’s accident leading to Pat Riley’s Lakers legacy (referenced at [24:47]).

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4. Corey Heim, NASCAR, and Michael Jordan’s Racing Win

[18:58 - 20:37]

• Michael Jordan’s racing team, 23XI, wins again at the Brickyard via part-time driver Corey Heim, who’s surprised the field without playoff eligibility.
• Corey Heim’s rivalry with Carson Hocevar (who flipped Heim the finger during the race) provides comic fodder:

“Carson gave Corey Heim the middle finger during the race...You may have came by and told you you were number one.”
— Dan Le Batard, [20:20]

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5. NFL Side-stories: Tyreek Hill, Tony Romo, Broadcasters’ Mystique, and the Tom Brady “Overexposure” Effect

[25:21 - 41:12]

• Tyreek Hill: The group questions why teams aren’t even interested in taking a flyer on him. “He can’t actually run faster than anyone anymore, and so no one’s interested...No one’s even taking a flyer...” (Dan, [27:50])
• Tony Romo: Discussion of his broadcast trajectory—praised at first for calling plays before they happened, but interest and quality have faded:
  • “Tony Romo’s stock started going down with everyone, including his employers, who reportedly had an intervention because they didn’t think he was working hard enough...” (Mike Ryan, [33:16])
• Tom Brady: They dig into why Brady’s unprecedented greatness in the NFL hasn’t translated to media or personal likability.
  • “We like our immortals to feel immortal. And I’ve got friends...living in what I call sad dad village...We know a little bit too much about his life.” (Mike Ryan, [38:54])
  • “Tom Brady in the social media age is coming off as...available to us. We don’t want to see you everywhere cheapening your excellence by doing a bad bit with Logan Paul.” (Dan, [35:05])
• The Performative Brand: The hosts riff on the difference between athletes whose mystique lives in stories (Jordan) vs. those who “overexpose” themselves (Brady):

“We should stop saying you’re the Michael Jordan of something because that’s open for debate in American football king sport in this country. Tom Brady, he passed that six rings thing and he did it at an age where we’ve never seen possible. He’s the greatest...”
— Dan Le Batard, [37:28]

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6. Miscellaneous and Baseball as Comic Relief

[41:12 - End]

• Marlins’ 12-game losing streak is called “morally offensive” for a franchise that’s “had some bad teams.”

“Salvador Perez being the Kansas City Royals home run leader over George Brett is something I will never accept...It’s simply wrong.”
— Dan Le Batard, [42:09]

• Absurd rumors float through, including a comic misunderstanding of a supposed “112 mph pitch.”
  • “He threw 112 miles an hour.” (Dan, [42:33])
  • Rest of the panel: “No way...Your desk is stupid.” (Greg Cody, [42:49])

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Notable Quotes and Moments

• On Mike Lombardi’s reputation: “He was described to me as one of the top five least liked people in the entire NFL.” (Pablo Torre, [02:55])
• On White House Correspondents Dinner video:
  “Donald Trump...has the feeling of a guy for whom this all feels like pro wrestling, even the stuff you’d imagine would be most damaging.” (Pablo Torre, [07:48])
• On Shanahan’s injuries:
  “40 stitches on the face. You look like Frankenstein.” (Greg Cody, [15:25])
• On Chris Foerster as interim head coach:
  “I did not have a situation where this would run the mighty 49ers dynasty that is being undone only by the power plant next door that continues to injure its players...” (Mike Ryan, [18:02])
• On Tyreek Hill’s diminished value:
  “He’s the one that’s allowed to play at that size because he’s faster than everyone else. [Now] he can’t run anymore.” (Mike Ryan, [27:30])
• On Tony Romo as a broadcaster:
  “There has been nobody in the history of my sports broadcasting watching that has been able to do what Tony Romo did. But the evolution of the game changes so much that once he lost that parlor trick...Tony Romo’s stock started going down with everyone.” (Mike Ryan, [33:00])
• On athlete mystique (Jordan vs. Brady):
  “We write the mythology around them...Let the writers, let the storytellers handle the storytelling. You just handled the play. We’ve got the marketing...There’s been a backlash against Tom Brady because he’s a little too available.” (Dan, [35:10])

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Important Timestamps

• [01:29] — Opening: Pablo Torre explains Mike Lombardi’s saga and UNC football controversy
• [06:12] — Wolf Blitzer awards Epstein reporting at WHCA Dinner; Trump’s reaction dissected
• [14:44] — Mike Ryan lists “5 Big NFL Stories”; panel debates most compelling
• [17:04 - 18:02] — Chris Foerster’s “comeback” story and taking over as 49ers' interim coach
• [20:00] — Michael Jordan’s part-time NASCAR driver story and Corey Heim’s finger
• [25:25] — Recurring bit on Tyreek Hill’s injury, future, and NFL value
• [33:25] — Tony Romo’s broadcasting rise and fall; industry impact
• [35:05] — Tom Brady, public perception, and why athlete mythology matters
• [41:12] — Marlins’ 12-game losing streak, absurd baseball stats, and closing comic banter

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Conclusion

This episode showcases how The Dan Le Batard Show melds sharp football analysis, insider media stories, and relentless humor—even when tackling scandals or sports-world absurdities. The panel’s freewheeling conversation, with memorable quips and on-point skepticism, is a treat for any sports and pop culture fan—summarizing all the barstool debates and locker room legends with clever irreverence and honesty.

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Transcript

[Dan Levitar]

Summer is pretty much my favorite time to be a sports fan. The biggest soccer tournament of the summer just wrapped up. Baseball's on every night, racing never takes a weekend off. And my calendar basically revolves around first pitches, green flags, and whatever game everybody's texting about. I realized I'm the MVP of my group. I'm always the friend that says, hey, I've got it. I've got a place. I've got some ice cold Miller Lights. I got the tv. I got a big, comfy blue leather couch. Come on over. That's the behavior of a Miller Time mvp. I almost never watch the big ones alone. I'd much rather be with my friends. And if I am alone, we're texting, we're sipping on our Miller Lites, toasting the day, toasting the big games. For me, Miller Lite is just a part of a big game routine. It's brewed for taste with simple ingredients, clean, refreshing, and easy to drink, especially in the Miami heat. It's a true American pilsner. And the original light beer is since 1975. An all American summer starts with an all American beer Miller lite. Go to millerlight.com dan to find delivery options near you, or you can pick up some Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer. It's Miller time. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces. You are listening to the Dan Lebatar show in partnership with the DraftKings sports app, now live in all 50 states.

[Mike Ryan]

This household was nuts. James Johnson, his parents and all eight siblings have earned black belts of varying degrees. His father, Willie, won 10 national karate titles and five world championships, and his mother has captured five national titles. That house was nuts. Pablo Torre is with us. Explain to me what happened or what you think happened here or give us all the information you can give us based on the reporting you've done around Belichick and Mike Lombardi, for Mike Lombardi being he's been let go on paid administrative leave. And some people are reporting that it's a human resources complaint by a former UNC front office employee, Pete Thamel among them.

[Pablo Torre]

Yeah, I mean, so we did an episode about Mike Lombardi 9 months ago on PTFO that was a bit of a deep dive into, like, what is this guy's whole deal? How did he become the highest paid general manager in college football? And it fits into this general understanding of. And you've heard me talk about this endlessly with you guys, but Bill Belichick gets the job to be the highest paid public employee in the state of North Carolina. And his two advisors, the two people on his shoulder, one is Jordan Hudson, as previously exhaustively reported, and the other is Mike Lombardi. And Mike Lombardi, from the beginning, has warned this trail of just not just unlikability. And he was described to me as one of the top five least liked people in the entire NFL. But just like actual outright dysfunction, he's had a bit of a pattern of disappearing from jobs, including in the media. And so what we reported in that episode, among many other things, which I'll sort of use to get us back to what was just broken by Pete Thamel, I believe, was the first to break the seal on it. You know, he went to Saudi Arabia mysteriously to raise money for North Carolina. We broke that story. That was last summer. He is somebody who has embellished his resume repeatedly. He wrote in his book about how crucial a part he was of the 49ers championship team. And then we talked to Bill Walsh's son who said, you know, he was getting sandwiches, he got a ring from the Patriots. We reported around the Patriots organization and found that he got basically the sort of ring that you get if you're a family member of a coach. And the person who, of course, directed the awarding of such a gift was Belichick. And so loyalty to Belichick has been his foremost skill and talent this entire time. And what you're seeing now as this report about this human rights, sorry, human resources complaint that gets to this paid administrative leave situation is that at a certain point, what has developed recently is that the University of North Carolina has become immensely frustrated by Jordan Hudson and Mike Lombardi. Jordan Hudson, we've previously talked about on ptfo, has been filing public records requests. Stan. Of the university. So just to recap that, the head coach's girlfriend has been making public records filings, requesting my name, requesting other reporters information, because she does not trust the university. And now Mike Lombardi, you could argue, has the actual steering wheel in terms of just organizational hierarchy. He is now finally being told, you can't be here anymore. And the reporting has been that this is not because of Bill Belichick, but because of the university itself. And so, yes, this vehicle, the North Carolina football team under Belichick, has been as disastrous as literally any program that I think has existed, certainly in recent memory.

[Mike Ryan]

Please be more careful with your words. Human resources is the violation, not human rights. That would be a much larger, much

[Pablo Torre]

larger a UN Investigation as opposed to uncs.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah, Mike, you have from the world of politics and the world of human rights violations. The White House Correspondents Dinner was rescheduled and I want to play some video here. Can you set up the context for Pablo on what needs to be known here from Wolf Blitzer and the gang?

[Dan Levitar]

Yeah, for Pablo and the listening audience. Because this is surreal and compelling even if you don't watch it. What I'm about to tell you is this is from the White House Court Correspondents Dinner. Wolf Blitzer is mere feet away from President Donald Trump. As Wolf Blitzer introduces the award winners for the Katherine Graham Award for courage and accountability, reporting on Jeffrey Epstein. Now for the audio listeners I will describe. Donald Trump is just making smiling faces and shrugging his shoulders as this whole thing goes down. Hit it.

[Mike Ryan]

This year's award goes to the Wall Street Journal. The Journal's courageous reporting on President Trump's past relationship with financier Jeffrey Epstein triggered the release of the so called Epstein Files, thousands of documents that might otherwise have remained hidden from the public. And despite the President's threat of a lawsuit, the Journal published a story about a provocative letter to Epstein bearing President Trump's signature. Trump quickly filed a $20 billion lawsuit against the Journal, revealing reporter Khadija Safdar's home address. Her family had to be relocated. The Journal was kicked off of Air Force One. But the reporters continue to file revelatory stories. Please welcome the winners of the Kathryn Graham Award from the Wall Street Journal. $20 billion. And he's shrugging and smiling and it's

[Greg Cody]

just now he's shaking all their head.

[Mike Ryan]

It's all a clown show. Pablo, you've done a lot of reporting on Epstein. I encourage people to look at what he's done with Julie Brown, the Miami Herald reporter, and with others. What are your thoughts here on what would be an otherwise funny video if it wasn't completely tragic?

[Pablo Torre]

So I watched this live. I'm a sort of sicko who watches this thing. Cuz I was waiting for the main event, which was that this was the thing that everybody in the political press and beyond was aware was going to be awkward. And what you saw was the President of the United States basically signaling to everybody that he does not see the harm in what it is that he does to our country. And I say that kind of smiling because the video is hilarious. Right? Like he had a choice. Donald Trump had a choice. Would you scowl or would you shrug? Would you, you know, even maybe walk away or would you stay and shake hands and all of it has the feeling of a guy for whom this all feels like pro wrestling, Even the stuff that you'd imagine would be most damaging, which is to say that the Journal reported in the Epstein birthday book, which you. You've exhaustively talked about on my show, an illustration drawn by Donald Trump that he then sued over, claiming that it wasn't drawn by him, it was. May every day be another wonderful secret is what he wrote or paraphrasing that to Jeffrey Epstein in the birthday book organized by Ghislaine Maxwell. But here's the subtext to all of it, Dan. If you watch the whole thing, which I unfortunately did, Donald Trump wants. He shows up there, right? Because he wants nothing more than to be liked by the media. Like, that's the real bizarre relationship here. It's that he will sue media organizations. He will intimidate the freedom of speech being practiced by people who are trying to bring the truth in the public interest to our country, which is what the Wall Street Journal, which is not known, by the way, as a liberal rag, to be clear, that's what they did. But at the same time, he just so desperately wants people to like him. And I know that because in his speech, which was an hour and a half roughly, he explicitly said, basically, why don't you like me more? I talk to all of you guys, why don't you like me? And he was saying it with a bit of a smile again, but it just revealed what this is all about, which is he wants to walk into a room and feel like anyone there is a fan of his. And even the reporters who reported that stuff about him. And that was his mode that he went to, which made everybody feel like they're going insane, because that's the only priority across his entire political existence he has ever had.

[Mike Ryan]

Pablo Torre finds out is the name of the podcast. It is exploding. Everyone loves it. High praise from every corner of the universe. Thank you, Pablo. And I urge you to check out what he's done on Epstein, because that stuff is also very thorough, very interesting, and it's not stuff that I've seen in a whole lot of places. So his library, his catalog is very impressive. Thank you, Pablo. Good talking to you.

[Pablo Torre]

Thank you, Dan. Appreciate it.

[Mike Ryan]

I'm going to give you an item from Sam Quinn of CBS on LeBron before moving on to other subjects. 37 players in the NBA last season touched the ball at least 68.4 times per game. Weird number, that one. Five of them play for the Sixers. It's Maxey, It's Edgecombe, it's LeBron James. It's Joel Embiid, it's Jaylen Brown. It's going to be fascinating, it really is. To see whether this thing works or it implodes.

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[Mike Ryan]

in there, but if you tell anyone, I'll deny it.

[Dan Levitar]

Mike Ryan, don't just stare at it, eat it.

[Greg Cody]

This is the Dan Levatar Show.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Foreign.

[Mike Ryan]

Mike is making subtle illusions here that it is time to get to gearhead. I'm not ready quite yet to get to gearhead. I have for your perusal, for everyone's perusal here, five football stories. Five of them. And I want you guys to tell me which is the most interesting of the five American football stories. 1. Aaron Donald is going through the regimented process of trying to rejoin the Rams. Kyle Shanahan has been in a terrible accident that got 40 stitches on his face. It broke his nose, his ribs, his hand. He got a severe concussion. He's not even capable of actually running his team.

[Greg Cody]

40 stitches on the face. You look like Frankenstein.

[Mike Ryan]

You think 40 stitches on the face is worse than ribs broken, nose broken, hand broken? Because that's one hell of an accident in the scene. Severe concussion is terrible as well. Tyreek Hill says he has no power in his leg and has. It looks like no free agent value. A month before or less than a month before camps open, Tony Romo quietly gets an owi, which. I don't know what that is. I just thought it was DUI or dwi. I don't know what an OWI operating.

[Greg Cody]

I think it's operating.

[Mike Ryan]

Do you guys. Do you guys know what an O W I is and the difference between an OWI and a DUI and a dwi? Because the only classification I have heard are DUI and dwi, and I don't know what an OWI is. I don't know, Dan. And then the other one is Diego Pavia being released by the Ravens before they've even thrown a football. Like, he went out there the way Tony went out to FIU and threw an imaginary football, and then they waved him. And this whole Pavia experience, man, if you're a cocky quarterback, you better be good. Like, if you're going to be the guy who wants to break all the.

[Dan Levitar]

Well, if they give us the balls, we can actually show us that we're good. Like, what am I supposed to do throwing an imaginary football?

[Greg Cody]

Better be taller than Shakira.

[Guest or Additional Panelist]

It seems that OWI and DUI are just based off states. Like, they're just referred to as different things.

[Greg Cody]

But am I right? Is it operating?

[Dan Levitar]

Yes.

[Guest or Additional Panelist]

Operating while intoxicated versus driving under the influence. It's just state by state they call semantics.

[Mike Ryan]

Which is the most interesting of those stories. Do we have different votes, or does. Does the group have a uniform? And consensus number one from among those five, Shanahan.

[Greg Cody]

Next time we see him, it's like Frankenstein.

[Dan Levitar]

That's not even the interesting part about it. It's who replaced him?

[Mike Ryan]

Does America understand who replaced him? Because this is quite the comeback story. I'm willing to do a metal arc documentary on this and a 30 for 30 if anyone's interested, because this is a story of real redemption. And I did not see a path all those years ago when the only story that the Miami Dolphins produce in a single season that made national headlines was an offensive line coach who was snorting cocaine or a powder that looked like cocaine off his desk while send it to a sex worker in Las Vegas. Because cocaine and sex evidently is a magical combination.

[Dan Levitar]

Right? I mean, that stuff has happened before in sports, but rarely do you ever have video as compelling. That's what kind of separated it.

[Greg Cody]

He had those grains in his Nose

[Guest or Additional Panelist]

selfie mode in like a meeting room.

[Mike Ryan]

Chris Forster is his name and he deserves to outlive the shame of that. I just didn't think he would, you

[Greg Cody]

know about those big grains.

[Mike Ryan]

I did not have a situation where this would run the mighty 49ers dynasty that is being undone only by the power plant next door that continues to injure its players and make them brittle. But I don't believe that most people reading this story. Is this the that you guys are choosing that as the most interesting one? Because that's a. That I just gave you five really good football stories to chew on that the Diego Pavi experience. That's a little bit crazy. They haven't even gotten to camp. Like they've seen enough. They've seen enough that that he can't be the fourth string quarterback when Skyler Thompson's the third stringer.

[Dan Levitar]

Tough look.

[Guest or Additional Panelist]

Yeah.

[Greg Cody]

Why is it that crazy like Diago Pavi is. Like he even got a chance. He's tiny.

[Mike Ryan]

Tyreek Hill too. He's got his bad leg.

[Greg Cody]

You didn't even mention Vrabel. You saw Vrabel over the weekend. So here's a dog. I dare you to ask me. Tough question.

[Dan Levitar]

He used the dog as a beat shield. So many to chew on. But they're all in the pit because we're taking some left turns.

[Greg Cody]

What do you mean?

[Dan Levitar]

You said before we get to it we'll decide. Guys, we were racing at the Brickyard. I mean one of the most famous tracks in all the world. And there was a really interesting story here. Michael Jordan wins at the Brickyard in back to back years. But he doesn't win with a full time driver. That's right, a part time driver has taken the NASCAR scene by storm. Corey Heim already won in Coronado Base at San Diego. He had a top 10 finish at Chicagoland Speedway. He is not eligible for the playoff format in NASCAR because he is not a full time cup series driver. He only races occasionally for 23xi. That's the racing team that Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin co own. And while this race didn't have action, the fact that Corey Heim has done this, being a part timer, he had a lot of success in the truck series. He is pretty amazing. He's 24 years old. And while the race wasn't super compelling, there was one great moment where another young hotshot, Carson Hosvar who along with Spire Motorsports has had a tremendous season. Carson gave Corey Heim the middle finger during the race and the great studio team led by Morty Smith, our great friend over there at TNT and espn asked Corey Heim if he saw it. I want to get your thoughts on it. You and host of our well documented. You've raced each other very hard over the time we're right here. I want to know did you see this? Nope. You would be looking at your commitment line but you may have came by and told you you were number one.

[Mike Ryan]

Handed them a big fat L after that one.

[Dan Levitar]

I'm time talking that shit for every lap. Keep it fun. Keep it Cuervo.

[Mike Ryan]

Chris Cody, did you have a vote for me? Aaron Donald snuck under the radar with all of you guys there where you what was his story again?

[Dan Levitar]

As I want to the headline, what was it?

[Mike Ryan]

That he has to go through a regimented process. The Rams are in the process of going through a regimented process to bring him back after two years of retirement. That is horrifying. If you are an offensive line and it's Myles Garrett and Aaron Donald, like that's just. It's not in any way reasonable. It's not fair. I don't understand how the Rams can afford this. The Rams also have now they've replenished their cornerbacks when they were. We can say they're a punt return away from being what the Seahawks were, right? Like a punt return or a bounce in that Just the most spectacular Thursday night game in the history of Thursday night games was the Seahawks coming back against the Rams after being dominated by the Rams. And the Rams going from a one seed to a five seed. And they replenished by the Rams came as close as you can come without being in the super bowl to having a team that we would all acknowledge is worthy of the super bowl, including having an MVP at quarterback. Aaron Donald finds this enticing enough that seems like an unpleasant position to play. Finds this enticing enough after two years to say, you know what? I want back in the game and I want back in the game because of how easy Myles Garrett is going to make things. But we have to break away from that story to show you Mike Vrabel entering a press box or entering a press conference with a dog as a meat shield, daring anyone to ask him a tough question when he's got the dog cradled under his right arm. Let's show this, please. That time of year. Do my best here with bb. Okay, so welcome everybody. It's good to see you guys.

[Greg Cody]

Dog's terrible.

[Mike Ryan]

The dog doesn't want any tough questions.

[Guest or Additional Panelist]

What could have been better? Maybe like a first responder just like arm in arm with a first responder.

[Greg Cody]

Whale.

[Guest or Additional Panelist]

A teacher.

[Dan Levitar]

Save the whales. And he's got a whale behind him.

[Greg Cody]

A teacher of the year.

[Guest or Additional Panelist]

Yes. Before I start here, I'd like to honor Ms. McGillicuddy here, who.

[Mike Ryan]

It's gotta be a puppy, though, right? It's gotta be a cuter dog then. Not that there's anything wrong with that dog.

[Greg Cody]

It's not.

[Dan Levitar]

Look, I think that might be a puppy. Yeah, just a big puppy.

[Mike Ryan]

It needs to be a smaller puppy. I'm going to find the way to criticize this. I'm going to find the way to. It's hard. You got to work at it. But he could have chosen a better dog. He could have chosen a dog that would have made the questions even softer.

[Guest or Additional Panelist]

If you could.

[Dan Levitar]

Taking issue with the type of dog.

[Mike Ryan]

If you want to have the correct dog. If you want to have the correct dog. That is correct. That is what I'm doing.

[Dan Levitar]

You are zagging, my friend.

[Mike Ryan]

That is correct. If you want to have the correct dog, it has to be a dog whose paws are too big for its body, it has not yet learned how to walk correctly, and its paws make it a little extra clumsy. That dog doesn't look like it's clumsy enough if it were somewhere other than under the armpit of the disgraced coach of the New England Patriots.

[Dan Levitar]

Now, as he entered the room, he said, it's that time of year again. Which leads me to believe that this is a move that he has done before. However, he must have been really happy with the timing of that time of

[Greg Cody]

year this year to think debate is. The debate is, do you come out with a puppy in that spot to avoid the tough questions or. Make a wish, kid. I'm gonna go with the pup.

[Guest or Additional Panelist]

Maybe have, like, chocolates for everyone. You just are walking around the room here.

[Mike Ryan]

Have a chocolate. A tray, like a tray of. Of gourmet chocolates. Like, the finest. Not just regular chocolates. Not just, you know, you don't want, like, a Halloween bowl filled with, like, little Snickers snacks. You want to have high quality. The gourmet chocolates. The question I wanted to ask you guys around the Kyle Shanahan story is, have you ever heard of a coach being disabled before a season starts from being able to coach his team because he gets into an accident so severe two months before the season that he has a broken nose, a broken hand, broken ribs, and 40 stitches on his face and a concussion so bad that we need someone else to run the team while he recovers? Like, what Kind of precedent is there for that.

[Dan Levitar]

The Showtime Lakers, I was going to say.

[Greg Cody]

I just watched that a few weeks ago for the first time. That's almost exactly what happened. He was like 15.

[Mike Ryan]

It's a bicycle accident. Right. He was just. It wasn't a car accident with an suv.

[Greg Cody]

Right.

[Mike Ryan]

But it was a bat. It was a bad enough accident. That. That's. Is that how Pat Riley got his chance?

[Greg Cody]

That is one coach. No.

[Dan Levitar]

Yeah. Paul Russ said it was a domino. No doubt.

[Guest or Additional Panelist]

I remember that episode in the show.

[Greg Cody]

But Riley became assistant coach as a result of the accident. Yes.

[Dan Levitar]

Jack McKinney was the name of the

[Greg Cody]

coach, by the way.

[Mike Ryan]

The Kyle Shanahan story sort of came out of nowhere where you're reading this weekend, that the accident is severe enough that the team that was at the top of the conference for the 10 years before the Rams in Seattle started fighting over the top of the conference, this coach being out and then being replaced by Chris Forster, whose claim to fame in football, outside of football, to those who aren't in the game, the claim to fame that he has is he's got a scandal unlike any other assistant coach in the history of the league, where during the video age, he was betrayed by a sex worker who put out the video of him snorting blow, or what appeared to be blow off of what appeared to be his desk at work while trying to lure her into another rendezvous, making guttural noises.

[Dan Levitar]

I like how careful we're being. It was like we're doing. Appeared. And allegedly on this one, that one was. Yeah. No, he told us as much. It wasn't a car accident, but Bruce Arians became coach of the year and an eventual super bowl champion because Chuck Pagano got ill. Was that before the season? I'm not even sure. Like, right before the.

[Mike Ryan]

The Tyreek Hill story, I think is also interesting because his leg shattered in a way that made me wonder at the time. Is that career threatening? Is that career ending? And then, for some reason, Greg Cody immediately just believed Drew Rosenhau. He said the surgery was great, everything will be fine, he'll be ready and valuable and himself again next season. But at this point, it is really, really rare for somebody to have that kind of talent that you will overlook everything else because he's got that kind of talent where you're watching a football game and you're looking at somebody and you're like, he's faster than everyone else. There are a bunch of athletes on the field and he's the fastest one. He's the one that's allowed to play at that size. No one else at that size is on the field. He's the one that's allowed to at that size because he's faster than everyone else. And what becomes the mark on the line on we will not look past all of the other reasons it's hard to sign you. Oh, he can't run anymore. He can't actually run faster than anyone anymore. And so no one's interested that he's. He is jobless right now. No one's even taking a flyer on the idea of we'll offer you something small just to wish, you know, just to see if we've got something in camp. This would be the easiest thing in the world for the Chiefs to do, would it not just to like what, but they've got their own problems with misbehaving wide receivers. Why are they going to welcome something back into their locker room that's not as fast as it used to be.

[Greg Cody]

We didn't even mention this weekend Brandon Iuk who there's something going on there. He claims he purchased a $10 million home in Virginia this weekend.

[Guest or Additional Panelist]

That story's crazy because, you know, he

[Greg Cody]

plays for the Commanders now.

[Dan Levitar]

I don't, I don't. I don't like that. I don't like that story one bit. I mean, Tyreek probably will get a chance if his body recovers. No one's taking a chance on him because look what he said about his leg. Who would sign anybody? It could be Jerry Rice.

[Mike Ryan]

Oh, because you can get this person cheap. This is the lowest that the value is ever going to be on something like this. And so you're just going risk versus Reward.

[Dan Levitar]

Yeah, but it can happen towards the later end of the season or possibly next season. It seems like it. The recovery is not going well by his own admission, and it seemed like a really bad injury as it happened.

[Greg Cody]

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[Guest or Additional Panelist]

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[Dan Levitar]

Tony, you know that moment at a party or at a tailgate where everything just sort of clicks?

[Greg Cody]

I know it well.

[Dan Levitar]

It's usually when I show up, everybody goes crazy. Yeah. You usually take all the credit for it, but it's because Tony usually walks in with Cuervo.

[Mike Ryan]

Walking like this.

[Dan Levitar]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Cuervo is a thing that turns hanging out into this is the night. It has that effect on people. It does. You usually take the credit for it, but again, it's the Cuervo effect. It's like that moment in a big game where everyone in the crowd just starts standing up, hootin and hollering. Keep it Cuervo.

[Mike Ryan]

Keep it Cuervo, baby. Down, Levitar.

[Dan Levitar]

I think when he goes on tour, I shoot you. He gets like Michael Jackson level reaction.

[Greg Cody]

Really gets Michael Jackson reaction.

[Dan Levitar]

Yes.

[Greg Cody]

Michael Jackson.

[Dan Levitar]

Yes.

[Greg Cody]

The King of Pop.

[Dan Levitar]

Yes, he does.

[Greg Cody]

Michael Jackson.

[Dan Levitar]

Michael Jackson.

[Greg Cody]

Michael Jackson. And there's I show speed. Similar response.

[Dan Levitar]

Similar response.

[Greg Cody]

Similar crowd reactions. You don't know about Michael Jackson. I show speed. Okay.

[Mike Ryan]

Jonathan Sasselo.

[Dan Levitar]

You sound. You sound him like an embarrassing person. You sound old as.

[Greg Cody]

This is the Dan Levatar Show.

[Mike Ryan]

The Tony Romo story. Whether you're calling it owi, DWI or anything else, where are we on? Tony Romo broke into broadcasting as one of the most seismic developments in the history of broadcasting. It is really sports broadcasting. It is really rare for someone to start as a novice on broadcast television on one of the single greatest platforms and immediately get nothing but applause when the person has no experience. And the reason he was getting nothing but applause is because this is the primary reason. It's not just his affection for the game or his enthusiasm. The primary reason was that Tony Romo is the first guy I've ever heard in the history of sports broadcasting who was so recently in the game and had such fluency for what it is that he was watching that he was impressing everybody by telling you what was going to happen before it happened. There was no. There has been nobody in the history of my sports broadcasting watching that has been able to do what Tony Romo did. But the evolution of the game changes so much that once he lost that parlor trick, almost immediately, what was. Tony Romo's stock started going down with everyone, including his employers, who reportedly had an intervention because they didn't think he was working hard enough at what he was doing. But why would you, if you were getting tens of millions of dollars and you come out with a splash. And there's never been a novice of any sort in broadcasting who gets that much applause for like, I can't believe how good he is at picking plays before they have.

[Dan Levitar]

It's like, this is easy.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Why?

[Dan Levitar]

You just want me to go up here and say what I see?

[Pablo Torre]

All right, cool.

[Dan Levitar]

Yeah. Now he's kind of entered the John Madden realm of. I'm just tuning in for the guttural noises.

[Mike Ryan]

Has his star diminished enough that you guys are thinking that whatever it is between him and Nance, that make them one of the premier broadcast teams in the league, but no longer the premier broadcast team in the league by. By obs observers, that you think, given that his employers had to stage what was called an intervention to get him to work harder. Now you have an incident like this that doesn't have obviously the kind of shame that would end someone like Mark Sanchez's career, but it has a shame involved that if you were looking to. If you were looking for a reason to get rid of somebody, this kind of publicity is reason enough.

[Dan Levitar]

They were the unquestioned leaders as far as Bess Booth that people tuned in on. Now, I think you know Buck and Aikman, who are calling a Super bowl this year, I believe pass them Mike Tirico, Collinsworth ahead of them. And one of the forgotten storylines as people weighed in with a ton of Tom Brady takes. Yesterday was a forgotten part of last season where Tom Brady really improved towards the latter part of last season and was actually pretty spectacular for the the bar that he established in the postseason.

[Mike Ryan]

Can we talk a little bit about what we talked about briefly with Jessica last week, where I, I, I, I've always found what I'm about to say interesting, okay? Over the course of my sports lifetime, generally speaking, the very best at something, whether it's Derek Jeter or Michael Jordan, somebody who's regarded as the greatest in their sport, when those people aren't actually interesting in interviews or as personality types, when the excellence is just on the field, the marketers, the managers, all of those people will make it so that their story gets told in a way that makes them greater and more interesting than they are. Nike went and got Spike Lee to make Michael Jordan's commercials. Michael Jordan has never been terribly interesting as a talker. Michael Jordan is interesting as a player. His play, his art speaks for him. But this has been the case for a lot of great athletes. We'll write the mythology around them, okay? This is something that we do. And in those instances, them being reclusive or mysterious serves the mythology. Let the writers, let the storytellers handle the storytelling. You just handled the play. We've got the marketing. There's been a backlash against Tom Brady because he's a little too available. Tom Brady in the social media age is coming off as, hey, you're like Michael Jordan when he was wearing the dad jeans. We want you to be more excellent than that. We want you to be less available to us. We don't want to see you everywhere cheapening your excellence by doing a bad bit with Logan Paul. What's happening with Tom Brady where now that the broadcasting has actually gotten a little better and isn't terrible now the coolness is dripping away where a whole lot of people are, I'm seeing too much of you. I'd like to see a little bit less of you.

[Greg Cody]

I think it's a little bit of midlife crisis. I really do, where he's trying stuff. He wants to do stuff that he has never been allowed to do, essentially. I mean, look, he's only got one life. We only have one life. And 20 years, whatever it was in the NFL, he wasn't allowed to do any of this crap. And now it's just like, you know what? Eff it. I want to have a little bit of fun, even if it makes me look weird.

[Dan Levitar]

I mean, that continues something that carried on in Tampa where it seemed as though, all right, I did the patriot way for long enough. And what zaz is saying appears to be playing out. The wrestling thing is a little weird.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah. That think is weird.

[Dan Levitar]

You know I don't know if he'll get talked out of that but the I I know people that swear by good nut that he is sitting on an empire with what he's doing there. He's leveraging his name recognition. I like his his athletic wear line. I don't. I like Tom Brady and I think you mentioned Michael Jordan. He's that class. We should stop saying you're the Michael Jordan of something because that's open for debate in American football king sport in this country. Tom Brady, he passed that six rings thing and he did it at an age where we've never seen possible. He's the greatest zaz you know about that good nut.

[Greg Cody]

I don't actually.

[Mike Ryan]

The business that Tom Brady has believes in that keeps him very young and keeps him nutritionally sound that he swears by. Like he does absolutely have some health secrets that I think are worth admiring because he played till 45 years old in football and clearly had some science help. Whatever it is that he was doing organically, he had some help there that actually proved to be visionary.

[Dan Levitar]

He's ruined it for every other elite quarterback that was his contemporary. We hold it against them that they can't do what Tom Brady did. Aaron Rodgers is being looked at as sad. Oh, look at how you run run out onto the field as a New York jet. Look how wash Drew Brees was towards the end. The only guy that ever came close to impressing me as much as what Philip Rivers did last years which is still not talked about enough.

[Mike Ryan]

Philip Rivers coming off of the couch, having the body as if he had been on the couch. Still having the Cheeto crumbs on his fingers when he would throw some of those out routes.

[Dan Levitar]

He went down to the wire at the eventual super bowl champions. Look at the stats from that game.

[Mike Ryan]

The thing that I wanted to address though as it related to Tom Brady. We like our immortals to be immortal, to feel immortal. And I've got a couple of friends that I make fun of because they live over here in what I call sad dad village where it's just a bunch of div dads. We know a little bit too much about his life. We know a little bit too much about the jujitsu instructor. We know a little bit too much about the fact that he's wandering the earth right now as a single man. And it's not something that looks quite as excellent as his immortality. We can agree on that. Right. Like, there's next to nothing that he can do that looks as excellent as his immortality. But I think Mike's. If not alone, I think Mike's in the minority on both liking Tom Brady and liking what he's doing right now. I think a lot of people are doing a recoiling and a judging about some of the things that Tom Brady is doing in public. If I'm arriving at the conclusion that people want to see a little less of Tom Brady, I think the Logan

[Greg Cody]

Paul was the tipping point. I think that has really started this

[Dan Levitar]

conversation because people don't like Logan Paul.

[Greg Cody]

It's weird. Like, what? Wait, hold on. You're Collabing with the YouTube guy, Logan Paul, who. Who everyone believes is unlikable. And then you add in the WWE part. I. I think it's his version of acting like he's not. He's not a movie star. He's not going to be in movies. But, oh, wait, wwe. That's acting like I could do that.

[Dan Levitar]

He's totally going to spin that to a win if it goes. How ridiculous is it going to be to watch Tom Brady in some sort of wrestling match against Logan Paul?

[Greg Cody]

He's going to wrestle Logan Paul in Saudi Arabia.

[Dan Levitar]

Everybody is going to be into that. Everybody is going to be curious. It is going to get people talking. I understand the overexposing thing and people not liking his personality. I think there are guys that are just so great that I'm. I'm good not doubting them. Philip Rivers off the couch, 18 for 27, a touchdown and a pick, 120 yards.

[Greg Cody]

I enjoyed watching him.

[Dan Levitar]

We did doubt because we felt like we had enough representative data to suggest Tom Brady, you are just a bad commentator. I came out and said it. I'm like, this isn't working. And from the moment I said it, I. I'm done doubting Tom Brady.

[Mike Ryan]

I'm done believing in the Marlins for the same reason. As soon as I said they were a playoff team, they lost 12 straight franchise record. As soon as I said it, AAA's

[Pablo Torre]

lost 12 in a row, too.

[Greg Cody]

Oh, my God.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

That can't be true.

[Guest or Additional Panelist]

It's true.

[Mike Ryan]

Yesterday they were up three nothing headed into the eighth. They allow a four spot in the eighth. They've lost. They've. They got swept by the Padres. They got swept by the Brewers. These are good teams. They got swept by the Guardians, and they got swept by the Astros. Less good of a team, but they. They. They got swept by Everybody. And it's 12 straight losses. Has there been A losing streak that long in baseball this year, this is a franchise record. The Marlins have never. They've had some bad teams. They've never lost 12 in a row before. Has there been a losing streak that long in the sport? There are a number of things about the sport in its present form that I don't understand. Salvador Perez being the Kansas City Royals home run leader over George Brett is something I will never accept. He's still playing and he looks exactly the way that he would look if he were still playing in like the Venezuelan League or the Mexican League or 10 years, 10 years past his prime. Let's call it chunky and leave it at that. He's the Royals career leader in home runs and that's morally offensive. You can't put that ahead of George Brett. It's simply wrong.

[Dan Levitar]

Very few baseball things come across my desk, Dan. And one thing that came across my desk this weekend, I don't know how to pronounce his name. Miser Mizarowski.

[Mike Ryan]

Is that striking out the first two

[Dan Levitar]

112 miles an hour?

[Mike Ryan]

No, that can't be right.

[Dan Levitar]

He threw 112 miles an hour.

[Mike Ryan]

That's not that. You read.

[Dan Levitar]

The guy went opposite.

[Guest or Additional Panelist]

Might have been 1001200 mile an hour pitches. That's more likely.

[Mike Ryan]

There is no chance.

[Greg Cody]

No way.

[Mike Ryan]

There's no Tony 211 miles an hour. I understand your confusion.

[Dan Levitar]

It came across my desk then, though,

[Mike Ryan]

so I got to check. You read it wrong. It's your desk.

[Greg Cody]

Stupid. Stupid. My desk?

[Dan Levitar]

Yeah, I've seen your desk. Your desk is stupid.

[Greg Cody]

I'm not saying things like someone's throwing 112 miles an hour. Your desk is stupid.

[Dan Levitar]

Person that passed me the paper, not.

[Greg Cody]

Not put it on the pole.

[Mike Ryan]

Is Tony's desk stupid.