Dan Promises Boog Sciambi THOUSANDS of Dollars To End ALS | Hour 1

Summary

---

Podcast Summary: "Dan Promises Boog Sciambi THOUSANDS of Dollars To End ALS | Hour 1"

The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Date: May 21, 2026
Hosts: Dan Le Batard, Stugotz, with guests including Boog Sciambi, Chris Cwik, Greg Cody, Tony Kornheiser, Jeremy Woo

---

Episode Overview

This episode blends classic, irreverent Le Batard sports talk with a heartfelt fundraising effort for ALS support. The crew, broadcasting from Miami’s Elser Hotel, gets creative with a donation challenge aimed at Lou Gehrig’s Day, featuring Boog Sciambi and a running bit around integrating Greg Cody’s absurd catchphrases into a Chicago Cubs broadcast—all for charity. The discussion weaves baseball, NBA trades, playful bickering, and commentary on shifting sports media dynamics, maintaining the show's signature mix of playful banter and genuine cause-driven motivation.

---

Key Segments & Insights

Project Main Street and ALS Fundraising Challenge

[00:14-01:25] Raising Awareness for ALS

• Dan Le Batard and Boog Sciambi highlight “Project Main Street,” an ALS charity, especially in the run-up to Lou Gehrig’s Day (June 2).
• Boog discusses his long-term involvement and efforts to have athletes wear "End ALS" shirts to raise visibility:
  • “We got, you know, Paul Skeens and Bobby Witt Jr. and Mike Trout and…Mark Few and Danny Hurley…a ton of guys, and Hall of Fame guys as well.” (Boog Sciambi, 01:25)
  • Shirts are available in all MLB team styles with proceeds supporting ALS patients.
• The show encourages listeners to visit ProjectMainStreet.org and highlights how much the initiative has grown.

---

The Greg Cody Catchphrase Challenge

[04:18-16:34] Turning Nonsense into Fundraising

• The core bit: Dan, Tony, and crew attempt to bribe Boog Sciambi into using wacky, old-school Greg Cody catchphrases during a Cubs broadcast, pledging donations per phrase to Project Main Street.
• Catchphrases include gems like:
  • “I’m fuller than Vern Fuller.”
  • “Where’s my click click?”
  • “Hey, Butterfinger.”
  • “You gotta eat a peck of dirt before you die.”
  • “You’re gonna go to Buffalo with Bernie Parmalee.”
• Memorable Moments & Quotes:
  • Tony Kornheiser offers: “I will give $500 for every one of these you use... How many do you think you can get in?” (09:23)
  • Dan ups the ante for harder phrases, negotiating up to $1,000 for the most absurd.
  • Boog good-naturedly plays along, negotiating which phrases might be possible without ruining broadcast credibility.
  • Dan: “I would love to get...‘you’re gonna go to Buffalo with Bernie Parmalee,’ so I will definitely try to get that in and scare up the cash from you guys.” (19:36)

---

Baseball and NBA Discussion

[16:57-26:41] Sports Talk, Stats, and Trade Speculation

Cubs & Brewers, Paul Skenes’ Era

• Brief commentary on the Brewers sweeping the Cubs.
• Detailed breakdown of Paul Skenes’ astonishing pitching:
  • “His fastball average is 100 miles an hour, and he gets extension, so the perceived velocity is like 102. He’s the hardest throwing starter in the history of the sport…striking out 40% of the guys.” (Dan Le Batard, 17:20)

Debating the Giannis Trade Market

• The crew debates recent reports that the trade market for Giannis Antetokounmpo is “lukewarm.”
• Tony Kornheiser: “It cannot be accurate that the market for Giannis...is actually lukewarm.” (24:01)
• Boog and Chris break down possible trade packages, the value of younger players, and shifting asset valuations.
• A running joke: Knicks fan (Tony) “doesn’t understand” the value of younger, cost-controlled players.

---

NBA Playoffs: Physicality, Flopping & Player Takes

[28:57-36:43] Finals-Style Basketball and Interview Oddities

Thunder vs. Spurs: Playoff Physicality

• The hosts debate “physical vs. dirty” playoff play:
  • Chris Cwik: “There's a difference between [physicality] and what looks like you’re trying to hurt guys.” (29:46)
  • Lou Dort & SGA’s play styles draw scrutiny; Wembanyama’s flopping called out by Boog and Chris for hypocrisy in complaints about roughness.

Hartenstein & SGA: The Postgame Non-Answer

• Breakdown of a bizarre, non-committal postgame soundbite from SGA on teammate Isaiah Hartenstein’s impact:
  • “I’m not sure if it was good, to be honest.” (SGA via Boog, 32:58)
• Group theorizes reasons for the awkward answer; connect it to broader issues about the NBA’s challenge in making stars like SGA “marketable.”

---

Sports Media Evolution: Journalism versus Entertainment

[38:41- End] The Diminishing Space for Journalism

• Dan raises concern over the future of independent journalism, particularly as leagues partner with entertainment giants (e.g., Netflix, Prime, Peacock):
  • Story told about ESPN pulling back on NFL concussion coverage due to league pressure—where business trumps journalism.
  • Dan: “Eventually, John Skipper...realized...between his league partnership and the truth—Oh, I'm the conflict. And he decided to stop concussion coverage...” (~41:00)
• The crew debates audience indifference to these changes and the inevitable trend toward sports content designed around entertainment rather than watchdog journalism.

---

Notable Quotes & Moments

• Boog Sciambi, on the fundraising challenge:
  “I’ll send you the full list so you can really drink the full list.” (07:14)
• Greg Cody’s classic catchphrase countdown:
  “Number 60: I’m fuller than Vern Fuller… 37: Nice hat, asshole…” (05:00–06:05)
• Dan, deadpan about odds of working catchphrases in:
  “I could get a decent amount of them in.” (09:58)
• Tony Kornheiser teasing Boog:
  “You’re not creative or talented enough.” (15:19)
• On media changes:
  “You good with that just being the new norm?” (Dan, ~41:35)

---

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|---------------------------------------------------| | 00:14 | ALS shoutout and intro to Project Main Street | | 01:25 | Boog discusses growth and athlete involvement | | 04:18 | Introducing the Greg Cody catchphrase challenge | | 09:23 | Donations per catchphrase—negotiations begin | | 16:57 | Brewers sweep Cubs, Brewers’ “athleticism,” Skenes| | 22:03 | Breaking down the “lukewarm” Giannis market | | 28:57 | NBA playoffs: rough play, policing “dirty” | | 32:53 | SGA’s awkward Hartenstein postgame soundbite | | 38:41 | Sports media evolution and journalism |

---

Style, Tone & Energy

The language remains sarcastic, quick-witted, and irreverent—with classic Stugotz digressions, relentless in-jokes, and a mix of earnest fundraising and playful clowning. The affection between the participants shines through, especially in the lengths they'll go to for Boog’s on-air challenge and mutual teasing. The segment on shifting media/journalism is more somber and reflective, providing texture and seriousness at the episode’s close.

---

For Listeners Who Haven’t Tuned In

This episode is a quintessential slice of Le Batard—half silly sports radio, half genuine call to action, peppered with playful shenanigans, inside jokes, and meaningful fundraising. The main throughline—the challenge to sneak absurd phrases into a major league broadcast for ALS donations—provides structure, with smart, fast pivots to the burning issues in MLB and NBA, and an honest look at the changing landscape of sports media.

---

For more, or to support ALS patients, visit ProjectMainStreet.org.

Transcript

[Dan LeBatard]

This is the dan levatar show with the stu guts podcast.

[Boog Sciambi]

This episode of the Dan Lebatard show is presented by DraftKings. DraftKings. The Crown is yours.

[Chris Cwik]

June 2nd is Lou Gehrig's day. Go to Project Main Street.org to help raise funds for those living with ALS. You can get your End ALS shirts as well.

[Boog Sciambi]

I'm wearing.

[Chris Cwik]

Dan, you're wearing your NDLS shirt. Right? And look. Look at Boog. Boog. Look at that head of hair on you. Look at that. Look at you. How are you, Boogie?

[Dan LeBatard]

How you guys doing? It's nice to see you this morning.

[Chris Cwik]

You got your end ALS shirt behind you there.

[Dan LeBatard]

That's. That.

[Chris Cwik]

That's the nose. The other one. Yeah, there you go. It's tough because it's, you know, mirrors. That's. That's a Cubs version of the NDL shirt you have for every Major League Baseball team available, right?

[Dan LeBatard]

Yeah. Yep. All 30 and portion of the proceeds go to Project Main street to help people living with ALS. You can go to Project Main Street.org and you can donate, you know, five bucks, ten bucks, whatever.

[Chris Cwik]

Can you. I spoke to you about this recently, obviously, and you've been. You've been doing this for Project Main street for 20 plus years now. But can you explain to everyone in the audience who maybe doesn't know how much it's all grown and everyone you got participating in what you have going on in raising funds?

[Dan LeBatard]

Yeah, I mean, we're just trying to raise awareness. Unfortunately, it's a. It's a very underfunded disease. It's a disease. I think, you know, you think back, most people probably. I think half the people probably don't even know. Remember what the Ice Bucket Challenge was for? It was for als, and it was started by Pete Frates, who was a BC baseball player. Pete and Pat Quinn, who have both since died. And I basically just wanted to reach out and get the shirts on, you know, and put them on social media. So we got, you know, Paul Skeens and Bobby Witt Jr. And Mike Trout and, you know, all the Cubs and around the league and, you know, Mark Few and Danny Hurley and, yeah, a ton of guys, you know, and hall of Fame guys as well. So I had a good one. I sent the shirt to Greg Maddox and we had everybody take a picture and then say, end ALS and then say, hi, I'm Greg Maddox. Get your shirt on and wear it on June 2nd, Lou Gehrig Day. And he. All he sent me was a video that just said, and owls

[Boog Sciambi]

I love Boog's background.

[Dan LeBatard]

Now.

[Boog Sciambi]

I also hang all my old credentials on door handles. I do the same exact thing.

[Dan LeBatard]

Yeah, yeah, there.

[Chris Cwik]

What would happen if, like, if you got rid of those credentials? Like, are you afraid that if, you know, that event happens again, they're not going to let you in? What's the deal there?

[Dan LeBatard]

It's a great question. I don't really know why I have them. I'll go throw them out right now live on the air if you want me to.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I would. Yes, please do that. Do that for us. Declutter your house and just.

[Dan LeBatard]

Do you have a favorite declutter? Yes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Do you have one that's your favorite? Do you have something in your house? Do you have a treasured bit of memorabilia that is more treasured than all the others?

[Dan LeBatard]

I would say my press credential. When I went to the Olympics in 2000, I looked really skinny on the. On the picture, so I like that, Jack.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, you weren't skinny. You were jacked. You were. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. You were super. You were. You looked like Mike Allstott today.

[Dan LeBatard]

I don't think I have a real favorite piece of memory. I mean, at this point, it's. I mean, look, I had two Marlins, World Series rings. I guess I got to say that those are the two things. Right?

[Chris Cwik]

Can I tell you, there was one time when I was doing the show with Boog that I was scared because he grabbed me one time.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He's very strong.

[Chris Cwik]

He's so strong.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, like.

[Chris Cwik]

Like, Boog's a big guy, so obviously already strong, but, like, he's so much stronger than you think he is.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, I will explain to you when it is. I learned it. Me and my brother attacked him from both sides, and he lifted his arms like Chewbacca and threw us across the kitchen, the two of us. It's. It's.

[Chris Cwik]

You're too strong, Boo.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's unbelievably. It's ridiculous. And his calves, he would beat you over the head with them.

[Dan LeBatard]

I'm just old now, but thank you.

[Tony Kornheiser]

We have a recommendation for you here. We're trying to see. I don't know what the right amount of money is that I would have to offer you to do this for a Cubs broadcast. But Greg Cody has an assortment of catchphrases. 60 of them that he is counting down.

[Chris Cwik]

60?

[Tony Kornheiser]

60? Yes. It used to be 50, but now it is 60. And so we're just going to play them for you real quick. If you want to write down any of these you tell me the amount of money I have to give to this cause per. Per usage. Because we don't know what's right. We don't want to desecrate your broadcast, but let's just play all of the.

[Dan LeBatard]

You kind of do, though.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, kind of, but for a good cause. So go ahead and play them here for Boog and let's see which of them he thinks he can use.

[Greg Cody]

Number 60. I'm Fuller than Vern Fuller. 59. Where's my click click? 58. Hey, Butterfinger. 57. Punt. 56. Scranton. 55. I'm busy in a one armed paper hanger. 54. George up Georgia. 53. I'm the kind of guy that.

[Dan LeBatard]

52.

[Greg Cody]

Ball on the jack. 51. Hey, hey, with the monkeys, baby. 50. Thank you, Billy. 49. I love him like a pet. 48. Who made it a salad? 47. We're rolling now, huh? 46. Your brain beating me? 45. Let's go States. 44. Driver comfort is paramount. 43. Dummy up, save up. 42 catches catch, can. 41. Doesn't make it right. 40. So on and so forth. 39.

[Dan LeBatard]

Very good.

[Greg Cody]

38. The Little League Theory. 37. Nice hat, asshole. 36. The others, they all learn from me. 35. Don't go showering to try to please me. 34. Look at that jerk. 33. It's like a packing house in here. 32. What'd you learn? 31. Hee haw. 3. Bada up. 30. I'm not gonna take a quiz. 29. Sassafras. 28. Would we rake a window? 27.

[Boog Sciambi]

Hello.

[Greg Cody]

26. Who won? 25. Trailers for sale or rent. 24. You gotta eat a peck of dirt before you die. 23. Three words. We are the Lobos. And now, 22, you're gonna go to Buffalo with Bernie Parmalee and number 21, Rappy Cat.

[Dan LeBatard]

Your thoughts?

[Chris Cwik]

How many of those? Thank you, Gorgon.

[Dan LeBatard]

It went really fast. And in typical, like they're. I mean, I could work a lot of them in. I. I don't really want to work much of them in. I'd be interested in possibly getting a little sassafras in there.

[Tony Kornheiser]

How much would I have to give you to make it something that tempts you to, you know, push the envelope a little bit? Because you laughed. You laughed at a couple of them. You. Would you like to hear the going

[Dan LeBatard]

to Buffalo with Bertie Parmale? Like, what am I? I mean, gonna be tough. That's like taking me.

[Jeremy Woo]

Save that for the stretch.

[Dan LeBatard]

My old talk radio days.

[Boog Sciambi]

I'll send you the full list. I'll send you the full list so you can really drink the full list.

[Chris Cwik]

But.

[Tony Kornheiser]

But let's play it. Let's just play it for him again and just let's. I want him again.

[Boog Sciambi]

Play it again.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's right. Well, I want him. We did it very f. And so I want. I want him to be able to absorb some of them. Let's play him.

[Dan LeBatard]

He gets to 20. I thought he only got to 20.

[Boog Sciambi]

Yeah, well, he's updating it every week. So that's like. We're still updating it. So the next 10 weeks he'll do the rest.

[Chris Cwik]

You remember about those radio teases, Boog?

[Dan LeBatard]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Chris Cwik]

That's what.

[Dan LeBatard]

Yes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Played for him again. Go ahead and play for him again.

[Boog Sciambi]

Okay, let's play it again.

[Greg Cody]

Number 60. I'm Fuller than Vern Fuller. 59. Where's my click click? 58. Hey, Butterfinger. 57. Punt. 56. Scranton. 55. I'm busy in a one arm paper hanger. 54. Georgia, Georgia. 53. I'm the kind of guy that.

[Dan LeBatard]

52.

[Greg Cody]

Ball on the jack. 51. Hey, hey, with the monkeys, baby. 50. Thank you, Billy. 49. I love him like a pet. 48. Who made it a salad? 47. We're rolling now, huh? 46. You're brain beating me. 45. Let's go, States. 44. Driver comfort is paramount. 43. Dummy up, save up. 42 catches catch can. 41. Doesn't make it right. 40. So on and so forth. 39.

[Dan LeBatard]

Very good.

[Greg Cody]

38. The Little League Theory. 37. Nice hat, asshole. 36. The others, they all learn from me. 35. Don't go showering to try to please me. 34. Look at that jerk. 33. It's like a packing house in here. 32. What'd you learn? 31. Hee haw. 3. Badam. 30. I'm not gonna take a quiz. 29. Sassafras.

[Dan LeBatard]

28.

[Greg Cody]

Would we break a window? 27.

[Boog Sciambi]

Hello.

[Greg Cody]

26. Who won? 25. Trailers for sale or rent. 24. You gotta eat a peck of dirt before you die. 23. Three words. We are the Lobos. And now, 22, you're gonna go to Buffalo with Bernie Parmalee and number 21, Rappy Cac.

[Dan LeBatard]

Yeah.

[Jeremy Woo]

One more time.

[Dan LeBatard]

I will not.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I will give $500 for every one of these you use to projectmainstreet.org for any one of these that you use. How many do you think you can get in? Because there are some. There are about 20 here that I don't think it's possible for you to get in. I don't think you have enough creativity in you to be able to get some of these in here.

[Chris Cwik]

It's not his fault.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's not his fault. I don't think anybody could. He's doing a. He's doing a serious thing. He's doing a baseball broadcast.

[Chris Cwik]

You don't think he could work in. You're going to Buffalo with Bernie?

[Jeremy Woo]

No, I'm with Dan. He's not talented.

[Dan LeBatard]

That hurts. I think I could get a decent amount of them in.

[Boog Sciambi]

Don't make it right.

[Dan LeBatard]

I'm looking at him right now.

[Boog Sciambi]

You're the kind of guy that.

[Chris Cwik]

Nice hat, asshole. Could be tough.

[Boog Sciambi]

We're rolling now.

[Dan LeBatard]

That'd be hard.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The one we want most, and I might be willing to pay more for this, is you saying, like a parrot out of the side of your mouth. Very good, Very good, Very good, Very good. Yes.

[Dan LeBatard]

Yes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's.

[Chris Cwik]

Please.

[Jeremy Woo]

That's three bidet up, though.

[Dan LeBatard]

First strikeout.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That one made you happy. You laughed harder at Hee Haw three. Bidet up.

[Dan LeBatard]

Hee Haw three. I think. I mean, honestly, the best part about Hee Haw 3, and Chris probably doesn't even know this. Like, I remember hearing about he haw three when Chris is, like, 11.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's right. I came up.

[Dan LeBatard]

I'm not even kidding. Like, hearing about Greg umpiring and doing that and Chris being like, dad, stop.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It'd be weird. It'd be weird if Chris was playing street baseball at 36 with his dad last week. All right. Can you do this? Is tonight the night that we're doing. Doing this book? Like, are we doing it tonight or when or when would we be doing this?

[Dan LeBatard]

Well, so you want very good, and you want very good.

[Boog Sciambi]

I want.

[Dan LeBatard]

You want.

[Boog Sciambi]

Yeah, we want this.

[Dan LeBatard]

And then you want he haw three.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes, sassafras. Yes, sassafras. But you have some others here. You could. You. Your brain beat me. You could get 500 pretty easy here and there with a couple of these. That wouldn't cost you very much.

[Boog Sciambi]

This count is fuller than Vern Full. Oh, that'd be so good.

[Dan LeBatard]

This count is fuller than Vern. Fuller is really good.

[Jeremy Woo]

And we've decided collectively, we'll allow you to say bunt instead of punt.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Bunt.

[Dan LeBatard]

You'll allow me to say what?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Bunt.

[Jeremy Woo]

Bunt.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Bunt instead of punt.

[Jeremy Woo]

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

[Boog Sciambi]

I know it. Well, it's usually When I show up, everybody goes crazy.

[Jeremy Woo]

Yeah. You usually take all the credit for it, but it's because Tony usually walks in with Cuervo.

[Greg Cody]

Walking like this.

[Jeremy Woo]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Cuervo is a thing that turns hanging out into this is the night.

[Boog Sciambi]

It has that effect on people.

[Dan LeBatard]

It does.

[Jeremy Woo]

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, hooting and hollering.

[Dan LeBatard]

Keep it, Cuervo.

[Greg Cody]

Keep it Cuervo, baby.

[Jeremy Woo]

Boar's Head brings to the deli the

[Dan LeBatard]

taste of deep fried turkey. One bite and flavor takes over. Perfectly seasoned and deliciously golden. Fried boar's Heads got it right, like they always do. And take it from a guy who knows a little bit about turkey, Boar's Head should be your go to Deli Meat, a backyard tradition available at the deli. Presenting the Friar's turkey breast only from Boar's Head. Discover the craftsmanship behind every bite at your local Boar's Head deli. Boar's Head committed to craft since 1905.

[Jeremy Woo]

Howdy, listeners. We're in that part of the sports calendar where you got multiple big games going on simultaneously, and you gotta decide either to make the investment in multiple screens or to prioritize one thing. And one thing I always prioritize when I'm watching a game is Miller Lite. That's right. Miller Lite can make your time spent watching these games with a buddy or pal even better. That moment where the game tips off. The NBA playoffs are rocking. You toast that white can and you think immediately after that first sip, you made the right call. That is the glory of Miller Lite. I reach for it every time. It's clean, refreshing, easy to drink, brewed for taste, with simple ingredients, just 96 calories and 3.2 carbs. The original light beer since 1975. And it still hits different cheers to legendary moments with Miller Lite. Great taste. 96 calories. 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 Co. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.

[Dan LeBatard]

Don LeBatard.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You don't remember the idea?

[Boog Sciambi]

I was probably, like, that kind of thing.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Something.

[Greg Cody]

Okay. No, the home run call was that kind of swing. That kind of thing.

[Dan LeBatard]

Stugats. Oh, it's a good call.

[Greg Cody]

Thank you. And plus, it doesn't matter who's hitting it. Like, you're not tailoring it to a particular name. You know, all that jazz, you know, you don't gotta do that.

[Dan LeBatard]

Oh, that would be a great call.

[Greg Cody]

Swing.

[Dan LeBatard]

That kind of thing. This is the Dan Levatar show with the stugats.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I don't know that Chris Cody knows this story. Don't you secretly hate his father for a printed betrayal?

[Boog Sciambi]

You do this all the time with everybody around here.

[Jeremy Woo]

I will pay you. I mean, $1,000 for. You're gonna go to Buffalo with Burning Parmale. I will donate a thousand myself to see how you do that.

[Dan LeBatard]

Okay. I want to feel. I want to negotiate a little bit. I feel like. Yeah. Thousand dollars. You're gonna go to Buffalo with Bernie Parmelee? I gotta figure out a way to get that in.

[Jeremy Woo]

A thousand dollars? It's a promise.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You're not creative or talented enough.

[Dan LeBatard]

And then. All right, so. Very good. Bernie Parmalee, the parrot. Very good. Hee haw. Three. This counts. Fuller than. Vern Fuller.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Hey, Butterfinger.

[Boog Sciambi]

Guy makes an air. Hey, Butterfinger.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Hey, Butterfinger. Are you doing. Are you doing it tonight, though?

[Chris Cwik]

Or are we.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Are we gonna do it?

[Dan LeBatard]

I have a game tonight.

[Tony Kornheiser]

When are we doing it? June 2nd. No, you got too much to do June 2nd. You're doing too much that day.

[Dan LeBatard]

I got too much to do June 2nd. I could. I could do it in the next probably couple games. I was going to say Friday, but Apple TV is doing it Friday, so Saturday or Sunday.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Just got to tell our listeners so they know. They know that they got it.

[Dan LeBatard]

You want what. What's so. Like, a weekday is better?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, the Skeens game. You guys got skins.

[Boog Sciambi]

Thursday, May 28, Skenes against the Cubs.

[Dan LeBatard]

I am not working that game. Oh, Sassafras.

[Jeremy Woo]

Hell of a gig.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You got your brain beating me.

[Dan LeBatard]

That's right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Don't you secretly have animosity toward Greg Cody for a betrayal from many years ago?

[Chris Cwik]

I don't think.

[Dan LeBatard]

I think I let it go. I think I let. Yeah, I won. I won, like, $10,000 playing blackjack. And then Cody wrote about it. I was like. And when I talked to him about it, I was like, greg, why'd you do that? Or at least, why wouldn't you check with me? And he was like, oh.

[Boog Sciambi]

He's like, you're brain beating me.

[Dan LeBatard]

Sorry.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The crew here, unfortunately, has developed out of nowhere a giant interest in the brewers that just swept your beloved Cubs in a very difficult. In a very difficult division. It's an athletic brewers team.

[Jeremy Woo]

Oh, there's only one reason I don't care about the athleticism. I care about throwing gas. Explain this guy to the audience because we have not spoken about their ace.

[Dan LeBatard]

Yeah. Mr. Owski is the. I mean, it's. It's absurd. He's throwing pitches 102 miles. He. What's hysterical is that his fastball average is 100 miles an hour, and he gets extension. So the perceived velocity is like 102. Yeah, he's the hardest throwing starter in the history of the sport, and he's striking out 40% of the guys that he faces. It's. It's a joke how good he is. Yeah.

[Boog Sciambi]

Perceived velocity kind of feels like. Feels like temperature. Like the velocity is what it is. Get out of here with feels like velocity. Not you, boogie.

[Dan LeBatard]

I would say that it. I would say that if you just, like, open your brain up for a second, it would be, you know, it's basically. It's basically your brain, how hard the guy throws, and then he's releasing it closer.

[Boog Sciambi]

My bigger beef is what feels like temperature. I got news for you. Whatever it feels like, that's the temperature.

[Tony Kornheiser]

But what he's saying is this guy is also so long that where his release point is is closer to the batter than other human beings long.

[Dan LeBatard]

That's correct. Yeah, I get you on the feels like thing. I understand. I mean, in Miami, you're not dealing with a lot of feels like temperature, really.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, yeah, we are. Yeah, we are. Because when it gets humid, you know, when it gets humid. When I landed the other day and the Pilot said it's 95. It's the middle of May and 95,

[Boog Sciambi]

that was a hot week, though, to be fair.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It was. It felt like 105, though.

[Dan LeBatard]

It was like 46 last night. the end of our game.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You guys have to remind me of the day we're doing this so that we can tell the listeners, because what Boog is doing here, he has dedicated a great deal of his care and time over the last several years to making something that is taking over baseball. On Lou Gehrig Day, June 2. Go to project main main street.org they are raising money for those living with ALS. And they're cool T shirts. You can get your own team. If you have a favorite team, it's project main street.org make sure to let us know, Boog, the day that we're doing this so that we can make sure that our listeners are there and enjoying. How many of those do you think you can get off if you had to Take a guess.

[Dan LeBatard]

I would say I'm going to. I'm going to try to get three or four of them in. Three, four, five in that. In that range. So I would love to get. If I can get. You're going to go to Buffalo with Bernie Parmalee, so I will definitely try to try to get that in and scare up the cash from you guys.

[Chris Cwik]

Amazing. What will the reaction be to that?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, I can't wait.

[Chris Cwik]

So confused.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It is confusing. Any other good ones on here before we let him go? Anything on here that has a degree of difficulty that we would pay more for?

[Dan LeBatard]

I think that if. If in a big spot, a Cub pitcher gets a strikeout and I really lean Into Hee Haw 3, I think that's worth $1,000.

[Boog Sciambi]

You gotta have. Yeah, you gotta have a bidet. That'd be great.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You gotta have the bidet up. You gotta go.

[Boog Sciambi]

He Haw3. Little pause, but.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So if it's only Hee Haw3, it's $500. If he throws in bidet up, it's a thousand. Okay, Deal? Deal. Do we have a deal?

[Dan LeBatard]

Boot Deal.

[Tony Kornheiser]

There it is. He is the voice of the Chicago Cubs, the voice of Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN Radio. And Zaz had it right. A tremendous head of hair. Just. Just really good today. Nice seeing you, buddy. I love you.

[Dan LeBatard]

Love you guys.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The Giannis conversation, we were beginning to have got a little bit sidetracked as it was happening. What are you smiling about, Tony? Good job.

[Boog Sciambi]

Boog is funny, man. I like boogers. Makes funny faces, too. He does. He was mogging a lot during the. During the mogging. Yeah, he was on screen. He looks maximum moggy. Was like kind of raising the eyebrow. Doing a little like the people's or not people's elbow, but the Rock's eyebrow.

[Chris Cwik]

You had trouble. Remember the people?

[Boog Sciambi]

No, I'm not a dork, so I don't know.

[Chris Cwik]

He did a thing with his eyebrow and like you didn't know that.

[Boog Sciambi]

Your head on the brow. Thank you, Chris.

[Chris Cwik]

Just seems weird.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Giannis. The idea that this sport not only has broken its main players, but has evolved somewhere beyond Giannis where trade interest in somebody who, when he first arrived at dominance, we kind of thought that that looked like an unprecedented physical human being, that the sport would this quickly evolve beyond his usefulness in a way that Zach Lowe and Bill Simmons are saying that the market is lukewarm on damaged goods is crazy to me.

[Chris Cwik]

Well, I'll tell you what's also interesting is this is a league that you had to have Veterans, your best players had to be older and experienced. It was not a young person's league. You do not win with young teams. And now it seems like everyone wants young guys. And the Thunder, the Spurs, they're going to be around forever now. They're probably the two best teams. They're super young and it used to be that is not the formula for winning.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And Giannis is no longer super young guy. I'm going to say it again, though. This player, never available. Like, it's just not something that's usually so that you can change your franchise's fortunes. But there has been damage done here in a number of places, not the least of which is they haven't been good enough with him while trying to build around him in a way that the league has evolved past. Because he's not one of the good three point shooters.

[Jeremy Woo]

It's not surprising that the market is lukewarm. You say that this player is never available. He's literally been made available the last two cycles. I think everybody's over this guy.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It seems clear. But what I'm marveling at is. And Zaz, you know basketball enough to know this, a player who caves in every single defense when he has the ball is usually not someone that you can get. He's. He's someone that you either get and keep or you're stuck without being able to develop someone like that. Because in the history of human bodies, there have been very few that function that way. He. Before, when Benyama was popularizing. I can go from the free throw line and just reach over and dunk.

[Chris Cwik]

Yeah. The reason teams are going to do it is because if. Or whatever team winds up doing it, if the market is in fact lukewarm, like maybe the offer that the Heat we're making at the deadline, they could even pull back a little.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That can't be accurate. It cannot be accurate that the market for Giannis onto Campo is actually lukewarm.

[Boog Sciambi]

It's surprising to see what Bobby Marks threw out there in terms of the.

[Chris Cwik]

Because that's less than what we thought the Heat were offering.

[Boog Sciambi]

Yeah, it would be what we thought the minimum offer would be, which was Tyler Herro, Khalil Ware, Nikola Jovic, and then a haul of picks from there and wasn't even that much of a haul.

[Chris Cwik]

I think. I think he put in like two picks there, but it was three. Three.

[Boog Sciambi]

There's three. It's all the. All the picks that they could trade without maneuvering anything else. I think there is a maneuver they could make to make that Four picks.

[Chris Cwik]

If that's what the Heat would offer, if that's what it would take. Tyler Hero, Keller, where getting off Nikola Jovic and whatever draft picks you have

[Boog Sciambi]

to do that swap at the end. So it's two first and a swap in 29, but one of the first is in 33.

[Chris Cwik]

Yeah, who gives a shit? You know, like if that's what they'd be offering, you have to do it. If you're Miami.

[Dan LeBatard]

Well.

[Boog Sciambi]

And you'd still have a lot of flexibility. Like they still have Andrew Wiggins on a potential player option. Bring back a free agent. Now you could also take those players and do sign in trades and ship them for other stars that you could then really start building something around. If you don't want those to just be complimentary pieces. I'm looking at somebody in la, I'm

[Tony Kornheiser]

looking at what you guys just put on the screen. That's not going to do it. There's no circumstance under which you're going to get them to take your shitty Knicks fan Yovich, this asshole Jovic contract and you're not going to get back his brother and an assortment Miles Turner and an assortment of contracts that they don't want.

[Chris Cwik]

I mean, like I hear you, but it's not like Bobby March doesn't know what he's talking about.

[Jeremy Woo]

Like, yeah, I, I'm not. With us being like, get out of here. Zach Lowe and Bobby Marks telling us that the market is lukewarm.

[Chris Cwik]

They have a hell of a better

[Jeremy Woo]

idea than we do.

[Chris Cwik]

Yeah, Bobby Marks isn't just throwing up bullshit.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's not gonna do it though. They're not gonna take your bad contracts and you don't have to take any of their bad.

[Boog Sciambi]

I don't think you're looking at this the right way. Yeah. Knicks fan over here doesn't understand that Tyler Hero is on an expiring deal and Khalil Ware is a uber talented young player and Niko Jovic is 22 years old. You're not, you're not getting him at 30 million a year. You're getting him at I believe between 13 and 16 over the course of four years. As a team, by the way, that would be purposefully now starting a rebuild. That that's a guy you're perfectly comfortable taking a risk on.

[Chris Cwik]

And we're talking about giving up three first round picks. I'm telling you, the days of trading away five first round picks. Desmond Bain, Rudy Gobert, Mikel Bridges, that's

[Boog Sciambi]

done well especially for a player at this age, like at this age.

[Chris Cwik]

The NBA playoffs are here, and DraftKings Sportsbook, an official sports betting partner in the NBA, brings excitement to every game all postseason long. When the lights get brightest, the best players in the world show you exactly who they are. Playoff stars turn it up round by round, and DraftKings turns it up with them from the first round through the finals. Bet player props Bet live. Stay in the action the entire time. New DraftKings customers bet just $5 and you'll get $100 in bonus bets instantly. Download the DraftKings sportsbook app. Use Code Dan so you're ready for the moment. That's code Dan. Turn five bucks into 100 in bonus bets instantly. In partnership with DraftKings. The crown is yours.

[Boog Sciambi]

Gambling problem. Call 1-800- gambler or 1-800- Meyer reset New York. Call 877-8-HOPE and wire.

[Dan LeBatard]

Text HOPE and why Connecticut?

[Boog Sciambi]

Call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org on behalf

[Chris Cwik]

of Boothill Casino in Kansas.

[Boog Sciambi]

Wager tax pass through may apply in

[Chris Cwik]

Illinois, 21 and over in most states. Void.

[Boog Sciambi]

In Ontario, restrictions apply.

[Chris Cwik]

Bonus bets expire seven days after issuance.

[Boog Sciambi]

For additional terms and responsible gaming resources,

[Chris Cwik]

see sportsbook.draftkings.com promos Limited time offer this

[Boog Sciambi]

episode is brought to you by State Farm. You know those friends who support your preference for PODC road trips. That's the energy State Farm brings to insurance. With over 19,000 local agents, they help you find the coverage that fits your needs so you can spend less time worrying about insurance and more time enjoying the ride. Download the State Farm app or go [e-mail] like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.

[Dan LeBatard]

Don LeBatard.

[Boog Sciambi]

I think I would have been on his side.

[Dan LeBatard]

I would have looked at you like,

[Jeremy Woo]

what did you say?

[Boog Sciambi]

I'm telling you, me and my friend, the rest of the way home, all we kept saying was, I ain't cheating.

[Dan LeBatard]

Stugats.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's like, why did you guys get your ass? Yes, I think he got your ass.

[Boog Sciambi]

I got his way. Chris. Chris won this one for sure. Not pathetic. Jeremy, it was great.

[Dan LeBatard]

This is the D Levitar show with the st.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Can you guys tell me from last night's game how much this is going to estimate escalate. If we're two games in and we're already at Hartenstein's not playing basketball and Wembanyama's just being like, they're of course going to zealously try to protect their title by any means necessary. On the line or not on the line. And what you have to do when you're talking about game planning for anybody over a seven game series is you have to to physical Wembanyama up. You must do that. And you're going to do it with a team that's not only a defending champion, but a defending champion that plays very difficult defense and many people think also doesn't mind dabbling in the dirty look.

[Chris Cwik]

You totally have to play a super physical game once we get to this point in the playoffs. I love, I grew up with Heat, Knicks. I mean I wish we last night felt like Heat Nicks, you know, not score wise. But the style of play, it was a battle every single time they had the ball. And I, I like that kind of physicality. But there's a difference between that and what looks like you're trying to hurt guys. Like there's. I don't know what explanation Hartenstein can give for grabbing Stefan Castle by his hair from behind. You know, I don't know what kind of explanation Chet Holmgren can give for stepping on Wembanyama's foot right as the free throw is shot. These are plays that will hurt. You're trying to do these things to hurt people and this Thunder team now, like I know we had a mean on last week or two weeks ago and he was pushing back. He doesn't understand why people don't like watching the Thunder. It's this like they're dirty. We didn't even mention Lou Dort. I don't know why I said we. I'm the only one talking right now. I didn't mention Lou Dort and Shay Gilders. Alexander is fucking falling, Dan. Every time he shoots, he's falling to the ground, man.

[Jeremy Woo]

They're doing these super cuts on him. And now I can't get it out of my mind. I'm fixated on him. I'm locked in and he's falling down. Every time you say it's part of

[Boog Sciambi]

the game, it's part of his game.

[Jeremy Woo]

Yes. And I hate it. It's not good sportsmanship.

[Chris Cwik]

Tricking the referees is part of his game.

[Jeremy Woo]

He's trying to trick the referees into giving him a foul that he doesn't deserve.

[Dan LeBatard]

It's cheating.

[Boog Sciambi]

And that's the way that I look at it, guys. We've been talking about James Harden for six months on this show. James Harden was the archetype of not in positive light. I know, I know people don't like him.

[Jeremy Woo]

People don't like Embiid for those reasons. But nobody's been worse at it or better at it, depending on how you look at it, than sga.

[Chris Cwik]

That tough. Watch, man, this Thunder team is like, they went from darlings to ooh, I don't like you pretty quick.

[Boog Sciambi]

That's just the greatness of what they are, right? Like outside of sga, there's a lot of guys who are role players, who are good players. But okay, the Chet and Wemby thing, that's just them going back to their 17 year old games in FIBA where they don't like each other. And Wemby's gotten the best of chat for 10 years.

[Greg Cody]

Right?

[Boog Sciambi]

Like that's what that is. The SGA thing, that's part of his game. Wemby's also, I don't know, we conveniently didn't mention him diving at SGA's knees for a loose ball he wasn't going to get yesterday. We didn't say that. Wemby, one or two times a game, flies into the stands inexplicable because he's a guy that's super strong and has a super strong core and legs and flies 20ft into the. Into the.

[Chris Cwik]

Yeah, like that's what's.

[Boog Sciambi]

He flops too. Like, I don't want to hear that. People are playing him tough and then he's gonna get hurt. He flops his ass off.

[Chris Cwik]

Harnstein, though, is going to be a point of emphasis now, the remainder of this series, as long as he's out there, played a lot more last night than he did in game number one. And, and so I don't know if you saw this, Dan, after the game ended last night, the on court reporter, I think her name is Zora, Zora Stevenson. Does that sound right?

[Boog Sciambi]

That's right.

[Chris Cwik]

And she, she asked Shea, God, is Alexander on the court, what kind of difference Hartenstein made? Listen to this.

[Boog Sciambi]

Now, you all made a pivot defensively hard on Wemby. What kind of impact did Isaiah have tonight?

[Dan LeBatard]

I'm not sure if it was good, to be honest.

[Boog Sciambi]

Yeah, break that down for me.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Say again.

[Boog Sciambi]

Break that down for me. Why was this impact not good?

[Tony Kornheiser]

It was all right.

[Greg Cody]

It was good.

[Dan LeBatard]

It was good.

[Tony Kornheiser]

We.

[Boog Sciambi]

Yeah, we wanted to switch it up, give them different looks.

[Dan LeBatard]

Yeah, that's what it's about when you

[Boog Sciambi]

play against good players.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You gotta switch it up, make sure

[Dan LeBatard]

the rhythm is not the same.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And we did that tonight.

[Boog Sciambi]

Appreciate the honesty. Thank you.

[Chris Cwik]

Okay, first of all, excellent job by her. Excellent job.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The follow. The follow was important.

[Chris Cwik]

Excellent job. Yes. That was terrific. That was weird though, right where you

[Tony Kornheiser]

Just never hear that. Yeah, I don't know. I don't know what to make of it, actually.

[Chris Cwik]

Well, okay, so let's add a little bit more. So obviously that had everyone who was in attendance. The media members are now buzzing.

[Dan LeBatard]

Hey, here.

[Chris Cwik]

What she said on court right after game ended. And so we're talking probably like 25, 30 minutes later is when the players start to come out to the podium. Of course, Shea Gilt is. Alexander is out there to address the media, and he's asked about that.

[Dan LeBatard]

Shay, your answer on Hart in the post game interview on the court was different than the one in here. Can you just kind of explain what was going on there? I didn't really hear. And then once I realized what she said, I gave her the right answer. Yeah. At first I didn't. I heard it wrong. What she said.

[Chris Cwik]

What could. I don't know if he's lying. I don't know. But what could he possibly have thought she said? If it was. If the answer was. I don't know if it helped.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I don't know what to make of that. Let's play the original sound again just so that I can remind everybody this is a human being. Okay. That the league is having some trouble marketing because the way we've done some of this stuff in the past with Michael Jordan and others, you don't have to give us any personality. We'll write the mythology around you. Just be yourself. This person's not easy to sell on sound bites because he doesn't say anything interesting ever. And this team with him as its face doesn't quite have a personality outside of its playing style other than they're young guys who are having fun. And when I hear Shai Gilgeous Alexander talk, I don't hear sales. I don't hear somebody who is marketing himself. He's just being himself. And I did not understand what it is he thinks the question was.

[Chris Cwik]

You all made a pivot defensively hard on Wemby.

[Boog Sciambi]

What kind of impact did Isaiah have tonight?

[Dan LeBatard]

I'm not sure if it was good, to be honest.

[Boog Sciambi]

Yeah, break that down for me.

[Chris Cwik]

Say again.

[Boog Sciambi]

Break that down for me. Why was this impact not good?

[Tony Kornheiser]

It was all right.

[Dan LeBatard]

It was good.

[Boog Sciambi]

It was good.

[Tony Kornheiser]

We.

[Boog Sciambi]

Yeah, we want to switch it up,

[Tony Kornheiser]

give them different looks.

[Dan LeBatard]

Yeah, that's what it's about when you

[Boog Sciambi]

play against good players.

[Dan LeBatard]

You got to switch it up, make sure the rhythm's not the same.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And we did that tonight.

[Boog Sciambi]

Appreciate the honesty. Thank you.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Theories? Any theories? We got any theories, audience? We got any Theories.

[Jeremy Woo]

I've been distracted.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Just bored by the interview.

[Jeremy Woo]

Yeah, I mean, muscle memory type of thing. And just looking around.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, yes, I would say that anybody who's doing a halftime interview who doesn't want to be there and wants to just shut their brain off entirely can just go into we're gonna be more aggressive or aggressive. Just say aggressive. They all have a handful of cliches that they can go to watch in these interviews. How often aggressive is the one that gets chosen there. But I don't have a theory on what just happened there.

[Jeremy Woo]

Could have made a grand if he just merely said, you're gonna go to

[Tony Kornheiser]

Buffalo with Bernie Parmalee.

[Jeremy Woo]

I dare you to work that in Boomshambi. I doubt your talent.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Thousand dol you were giving. I offered only 500 because I thought he was going to choose 20 of them. He only went three or four. And now I feel cheap and I feel like I'm not charitable. I feel like I'm pro ALS all of a sudden.

[Jeremy Woo]

Yeah. I also don't want him to pick a weekend game. We got stuff going on. Let's keep negotiating behind the scenes that Thursday would have been perfect skiings. You have the TV to yourself. Give me a little afternoon matinee. You know, I love a matinee. I'm a matinee marauder. You know that about me.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I really, really found funny Tony looking up the other day and saying of baseball day games. Who's that for, brother?

[Boog Sciambi]

Seriously, everybody's at work. Everybody's doing stuff. I know in Miami. Nobody's working, nobody's doing anything.

[Jeremy Woo]

The crown is yours.

[Boog Sciambi]

It's for their well being because of the travel they have to do.

[Jeremy Woo]

Yes. And my well being.

[Dan LeBatard]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

But it's for betting action at a time. There is no Betting Act. No 1,200 people in the stands. I know, but that's not what that's for. Baseball's actually smart to do that because they have the betting audience to themselves during.

[Chris Cwik]

It's called getaway day, guys.

[Dan LeBatard]

Yeah. Yeah, it is.

[Boog Sciambi]

That's a little benefit. But it's because of travel.

[Dan LeBatard]

Uh huh.

[Jeremy Woo]

And it's also ingrained in the fiber of the sport. And that's all great.

[Tony Kornheiser]

We've talked about it the first time that it came up and I'm the one that mentioned yes, these baseball teams have to land in another city at not five o' clock in the morning. And that's the reason there are days. But Tony's curious and befuddled. Who's that for? Because you're watching in Tampa, you're watching nine people in the stands on a Wednesday at 2:00'.

[Chris Cwik]

Clock.

[Jeremy Woo]

Jeremy's right, which is why you often see 1:35pm NBA games.

[Boog Sciambi]

So I have Kyle Schwaber over one

[Dan LeBatard]

and a half bases.

[Boog Sciambi]

They play every day, guys. It's every day, not every other day.

[Chris Cwik]

How many people would be at the 1:35pm Wednesday afternoon NBA game?

[Jeremy Woo]

If it's a matinee, I'm there. You know that about me.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It would be such a good lane for some of these leagues to take to actually make more day games.

[Jeremy Woo]

Hey, that's what the European expansion is for.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They're going to have to do some of these evolutions. You saw that the NFL is going to have Wednesday night games at some point. There's not going to be a time where you can't get some sort of action on sports. Like, people are going to move into those spaces because everyone wants and needs the programming. I did want to get back into a conversation, though, that we started the other day. You guys don't actually care, right? That prime and Peacock and everyone, Netflix, they're not gonna do journalism like that's done the journalism around where this is headed. With these partnerships, there's going to be less and less discomfort and less and less truth between how it is entities work together. I've told you guys the story, and this is one of the places it can happen, but it can happen anywhere where there's power. When the concussion stuff was being reported by NPR and football didn't like the concussion stuff being reported and didn't like that one of their league partners, espn, had a partnership with NPR to report the concussion stuff. Eventually, John Skipper, the most powerful man in sports or person in sports at the time, realized as that was climbing up to him between his league partnership and the truth. Oh, I'm the conflict. And he decided to stop concussion coverage. Got out of the concussion reporting business because ESPN was trying to do journalism where there was business and there was the intersection where the NFL, the NFL players could look up and say, your brain beating me, like right there. The reporting stopped because John Skipper looked up and was like, yeah, need the money. You good with that? Like, you good with that just being the new norm?