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Dan LeBatard
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Adnan Virk
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Chris Cody
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Dan
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Adnan Virk
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Dan
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Jeremy
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Tony
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Chris Cody
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Tony
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Chris Cody
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Adnan Virk
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Jeremy
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Dan
Amin just asked me the question and I don't know the answer. Is there any man on television who it takes longer to get dressed in the morning than Cam Newton? Anybody in sports history of television because he's looking at the number of layers that Cam Newton is wearing right now. It's vest, its bow tie, its shirt, its jacket. It's clearly not Adnan Virk. Adnan Virk would not qualify as the person. It takes the longest amount of time in the morning to get dressed. But I don't have a better nominee.
Dan LeBatard
Barry Melrose, Cam Newton.
Chris Cody
Barry wears a suit, slicks his hair back.
Dan LeBatard
No, he's got like a vest that's a layered suit that he's got on there.
Chris Cody
It's nothing near Cam Newton.
Jeremy
He sticks his hand in any body of water, toilet, sink, whatever. Just gets his hand went and slicks it back real good.
Dan
Put it on the poll. Does Barry Melrose.
Tony
No, don't stop.
Chris Cody
What?
Tony
He's sick, guys.
Adnan Virk
Oh, he's sick. Been over here.
Tony
Like, let's stop. No one's taking a cue.
Chris Cody
You can't make.
Jeremy
Maybe he's sick.
Dan
He still slicks his hair back. My fault. I didn't know that.
Chris Cody
That has nothing to do with his disease.
Dan
Adnan Burke is with us now and he's got a hat on. The bill is a little ragged. He is celebrating the Toronto Blue Jays in a way that is clearly and obviously biased.
Dan LeBatard
It's the worst seen.
Dan
It's a bad bill. It's beaten up. It's an old hat.
Matthew Berry
200 bucks.
Dan
It looks a little too comfortable. He's the host of MLB Tonight and Amazon Prime Monday Night Hockey. You can listen and subscribe to his NHL unscripted with Virk and Demers on Iheart. And his book Cinephile Interviews, Essays and Tales from the Red Carpet is available now. That's his real passion. He pretends to care about sports. It's movies that he cares about the most. Max Scherzer last night had the best old guy performance of the evening. I don't know how he did that. Adnan, thank you for joining us. He's been terrible for a while. He's 41 years old and he's the original 100 mile an hour thrower and he's out there farting 94 miles an hour and he's a dinosaur. And he scared his manager and yelled at him and Schneider ran back to the dugout and said afterward, yes, I was scared. I shouldn't have been out there. I was only there for a couple of seconds. I shouldn't have been.
Dan LeBatard
That is horrifying.
Adnan Virk
No, no.
Dan
But it was totally crazy. All of it. I've not seen the way that manager usually represent is I'm in charge. That guy ran back to the dugout because he looked deep into both of Max Scherzer's different colored eyes and he was haunted and he just Ran back to the dugout. In terms of impressive, willful things you've seen in baseball, Adnan, Max Scherzer going back and getting back some Mad Max to save Toronto season and beat Toronto's ace. How impressive does that one rank? Old guy performance. Willful performance.
Adnan Virk
And it was remarkable because if you go by the numbers, Luis Castillo had a 0.70 ERA in his last six starts going into this game. So for the Mariners, you see, all right, Luis Castillo is going to shove. He's going to be brilliant. And for Scherz, as you mentioned, he's been tired for a while. He had a 8.79 ERA his last four postseason starts going back to 2002. As far as recent vintage, his last starts in the month of September had an ERA over 10 and in the first inning, an ERA of 12.64. There's no reason Max Scherzer should pitch like he did last night. And yet he was throwing his fat fastest fastball in a year and a half. And he did so with a curveball, which he basically invented later in his career. He threw 10 curveballs, all for strikes, and four of his five strikeouts came on that very same curveball. But all that gets obscured by, as you mentioned, that wonderful tete a tete with John Schneider. Now, when Schneider runs to the man like that, as Buck Martinez and Dan Shulman said, that's him basically going to check on his pitcher just to say, are you good? Well, Max clearly was furious and yelled, I'm good. Let's go. And John Schneider scurried back to the dugout, terrified to do anything else. Max Scherzer, I don't think, Dan. It would have been hysterical if Brandi Rosarina had then taken him deep. But thankfully, Scherzer gets out of it. And then I said, they can't take him out in the next inning. Everyone's scared to take him out. He starts a sixth inning, gets a couple outs. This time, John Schneider quickly motions to his left arm, allows nothing to be said but 87 pitches. As you said, a willful performance. At 41 years of age, that was Max Scherzer's 500th start, regular season and postseason. He's thrown over 50,000 pitches in baseball, and he gets his first win since the 2019 World Series. Remarkable. And as you said, it saved the season. The Jays lose that, they're down 3:1. They're probably cooked now. It's the best of three. Toronto's got a home field.
Dan
Can you explain, though? You just said 2002. You went back to. He's been, he's been good before 2002. What was the stat you just gave us from 2002?
Adnan Virk
I apologize. His postseason, 8.79 ERA. His last four postseason starts going back to 2022.
Dan
We left, okay? I was like, what are you talk. Talking about?
Adnan Virk
That doesn't sound like a good pitcher.
Chris Cody
It's been 20 years, okay, but it had.
Dan
But it has been three years since dinosaur Scherzer had a fastball that scared anybody.
Adnan Virk
And he's the first pitcher ever to pitch for six different teams the postseason, which is both a nod to his longevity and the fact he hasn't stayed in one place for too long. Like, Max is a hired gun wherever he goes. He's looking to, to bolster his reputation again. He's a Hall of Famer. We all know that, but he has not pitched like this, period. Think about this, Dan. He hadn't pitched since September 24th. He wasn't on the roster for the Division Series. Toronto could have lost against the Yankees, and Max Scherzer would not have seen the mound. And yet, in their most pivotal start of the season, the first time the Jays are in the CS for the first time in nine years, they turn to this 41 year old, grizzled veteran. And he shoved. He was brilliant. Two runs and five and two thirds of Max Scherzer. At this day and age, that could be the last start of his career. Incredible.
Tony
Adnan, does this hat hold any sentimental value?
Matthew Berry
I hate this hat.
Adnan Virk
I feel like he bought it, but.
Chris Cody
It worn like it's not.
Adnan Virk
It's not like I've had this hat.
Dan LeBatard
Right before this, right before the segment started, I saw him do the move of like, totally scrunching it up.
Tony
I'm like, oh, that has sucks.
Adnan Virk
Now, Mike and Chris, you're absolutely right. It's my eldest son Yusuf's hat. So Mike is right about the nostalgic value. He's now 17. He's had this hat forever. And I said rather.
Tony
I know it still sucks. Like, that's fine. I wanted to know, like, what kind of nostalgia we were dealing with. Now that you've said that.
Jeremy
Melrose territory, is this an acceptable hat?
Tony
Sucks. A dirty one.
Adnan Virk
It's not my best hat. The brim is brutal. You guys are absolutely right about that. It's a, it's a sad excuse for a hat, there's no question about it. But the Jays are not a sad excuse for an organization. At least.
Dan
One of the things that I enjoy about the baseball lexicon is when New Verbiage gets thrown in. You just said he shoved, which I assume is short for he shoved the baseball up there. Like. And you guys now use this. In baseball, everyone says he shoved instead of saying the rest of the phrase. It is what it means, correct? When did that become okay in baseball for announcers to just be on the broadcast and saying, hey, he shoved that baseball right up their ass?
Adnan Virk
We'd have to check with our buddy, bookshop be damned. But I'm going to say within the last seven to eight years, I've heard that more become a part of baseball parlance. What are you looking for tonight? I think he's going to shove. Another expression I only ever hear in baseball I never heard anywhere else, is the game got banged. Like, you know, my son's literally game. No one says the game got banged tonight. But in baseball, if there's a rain out, they just said the game got banged. Everyone understands what that means.
Chris Cody
So in basketball, there's a famous saying, it only takes one, right? When it means, oh, who's going to. How the hell is he going to fall that long in the draft? Or who's going to draft him or who's going to sign that guy to that deal? The saying is it only takes one, meaning it only takes one team or one general manager to do it. But that's not the full saying. The full thing is it only takes one, asshole. But they clean it up to it only takes one.
Dan
I didn't realize that shoved had been around for eight years. Did you know that, Tony? Were you.
Tony
It's like a dealt kind of situation.
Dan LeBatard
Like he's dealing right now.
Tony
He dealt, he shoved.
Dan
Yeah, the hat. Are you a Blue Jays fan? Is your son a Blue Jays fan? Are you. Do you. What's the emotional investment in one of the better Blue Jay teams that we've seen along in a long time? When I do believe that baseball and this country are rooting for the Mariners to be the team that represents the American League against the Dodgers.
Adnan Virk
Yeah, as you guys have said in the show, Dan, it's the US versus the world. I understand this is a pro Mariners contingent here on the show, but, you know, for the Blue Jays, I was just back home for, as we call it, Canadian Thanksgiving. And I got to tell you, I was there working for Amazon. You mentioned the Monday night Hockey. We did the Leafs Red Wings game, which they moved the game up for baseball. Think about that. This is Canada. Everyone says religion is hockey.
Dan
No, no.
Adnan Virk
Baseball is running. They moved the leafs game at 2 o' clock Eastern Red Wings leaf. So everyone can watch the Blue Jays game of five, which I was able to do with John Morosi and others, and the appetite for this team to win again. It's been a long time, Dan, since 1993. As you know, when those Blue Jays teams went back to back, they were the kings of the baseball world. They were the ones acquiring Dave Winfield or David Cohen or Paul Mulder, all these hired hands to go along with the nucleus of Roberto Alomar and Devon White and John Olrood. So it's been a long time since the Jays have been the envy of the baseball world. Everyone knows if they get there, they'd be the underdog against the Dodgers. But the ratings wise, you know, I was looking at the numbers. Canada's a country of 35 million. They're getting numbers of 7 million. For example, that's NFL numbers like 30 million Canadians are watching. If you extrapolate it in terms of the US audience to Canadian audience. So there's a rabid appetite right now for the Blue Jays. I think people would love to see this team go deep north of the border. And even I think in this country they realize what an exciting team this is. Dan, let's talk a little bit about Vladimir Guerrero Jr. What he's doing is unbelievable. This is a superstar whose 14 year, $500 million contract kicks in next season. And I say this to you as a longtime lifelong baseball fan. What's more important, more impressive? Five home runs this postseason or only one strikeout? As you know, Reggie Jackson hit a lot of home runs. He also struck out a ton. That's what you get with power hitters. Not with Vlad. Five homers, yet only one K. That is remarkable bat to ball skills.
Dan
He also has this plate discipline that his father did not have as a great bad ball hitter. He's better than his father, is he not? And that's, that's an impossible thing to say. His father's a Hall of Famer.
Adnan Virk
Yeah, I mean, his father was incredible. As you said, the bad ball hitter at a different body than Vlad. Obviously. He was tall and lean and kind of flailing all over the place. But I think what Vlad Jr. Is able to do, the way he punishes this baseball, if you look at exit field on the sport, virtually no one aside from Aaron Judge hits the ball harder than Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Even if it's not always home runs. It's hard contact every single time. And to have that kind of discipline, it's amazing. Thank God the Jays locked him up for the next 14 years.
Dan
You mentioned, though, Canada and Canadian pride and how many people are watching this baseball team. I'm not sure that the audience really understands that Canada doesn't beat America at sports. Like the Blue Jays are the only thing that beats America at sports. And it was a long ass time ago. Canada loses the Raptors. Okay, But I'm saying, when it comes to generational allegiances and who's the team that my parents are going to pass down? It's going to be the Blue Jays of Cedo Gaston because Canada never gets to be better than America in sports. Fine, you. You chose the outlier. But the Blue Jays matter to Canada because the. The Blue Jays have made Canada feel like a winner. No one's in. No one in hockey's done it.
Adnan Virk
No, there's no question about that. Canadian team has not won since 1993. The Leafs have not won the cup since 1967. But Mike and Tony are right to at least mention the rafters in Kauai. 2019 was a massive moment for the country. We all know the impact that guys like Steve Nash and Vince Carter have had on basketball North. But I would agree with you, Dan. People have asked me what's a bigger deal if the Blue Jays won the World Series or the raptors winning in 2019. I would say the Blue Jays because that's a generational thing. You know, again, the Raptors is massive when they won and basketball is huge as a mean nose north of the border. But I do think if the Blue Jays won, I mean, this would really just wrap up.
Chris Cody
The entire country is all dwarfed by the Leafs, right?
Tony
How quickly we forget Toronto FC's 2017 title reign.
Dan
The thing, the thing that triggered the thought for me, Adnan, is the idea of while I'd forgotten, Toronto chose Raptors because Kawhi Leonard was a mercenary. The Vladimir Carrero, the Vladimir Guerrero family is royalty in Canada at least because Vlad Jr's dad is the. Is the one who made the Expos matter.
Adnan Virk
Right? And I'm still trying to figure out who killed the Montreal Expos. But I look. I look forward to watching this Netflix documentary trying to get some answers on this. But yeah, I mean father and some revere people forget. Dan, Vlad's Canadian. I was like, no, no, he doesn't just play for Canadian team. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Is a proud Canadian and he is thrilled be in Toronto. He's the emblem, the cornerstone of that franchise from the Expos. The Jays people love the Guerreros.
Dan
You just made a reference that made me think we've gone too long without talking to Billy Gil, who has a top five list of the things he will not miss from around here as he leaves Adnan as part of Billy's goodbye today. I cannot wait to hear how many Olis this one has. Things that things that Billy Gill will not miss around here.
Jeremy
So it's the top five things that I won't miss from here. We have some olis, as you mentioned.
Dan
I can't wait to hear how many olis we have.
Jeremy
We have 34 OLIs. Oh, God damn it.
Dan
I knew this was a quick 30.
Jeremy
34 oli. And we get the top five. All right. Oli number 34, lamb for lunch three times a week.
Tony
That was kind of craz. Roy eats all the lamb, by the way.
Chris Cody
Lamb is great.
Jeremy
Eats all the lambs. Lamb's not bad. But three times a week is excessive.
Chris Cody
These ungrateful people. Dan, you're feeding them lamb. This is a luxurious meat, Roy.
Dan LeBatard
You don't eat. You don't eat four lamb chops.
Jeremy
Yeah, I eat two. Oli number 33, wondering where Stu Gotz is when he's supposed to be on a Zoom recording. Oli number 32, wondering where Stu Gotz is when he's supposed to be in studio for a recording. Oli 31. Just generally wondering where Stugatz is. Oli number 30. Parking in one parking garage, running across the street and dodging traffic to enter our office in another parking garage. Oli number 29.
Tony
This happened at two different places.
Dan
I know.
Jeremy
Oli number 29. Tony's top five.
Tony
You know what? Better than I thought it was gonna be. I thought that was the top fiver for sure.
Jeremy
Oli 28, Samson.
Adnan Virk
Wow.
Jeremy
And I just like, there's a lot of people out there. I just want to kind of get out of this. A lot of people out there saying, like, samson's the reason that you're leaving. Samson's the reason you're leaving. They're tagging him and it's this whole thing and, like, he's going through, like, all this stuff and it's like, please, you know, he is the reason, but leave him alone. Oli number 27, Taylor. Oli number 27.
Adnan Virk
Six.
Jeremy
Jeremy's songs. Oli 25. All of Tony's clearly made up stories.
Tony
I thought I was out unscathed there.
Jeremy
Oli number 24. Lying to intrepid journalist Mike Schur about how normal the environment is during an interview for Slate magazine.
Chris Cody
Oh, man.
Jeremy
Had no clue.
Adnan Virk
I thought he was in college.
Jeremy
Oli number 23 Geno. Keep an eye on Geno.
Dan LeBatard
Things you're not gonna miss.
Jeremy
Keep an eye on bad egg. Geno.
Tony
Bad egg.
Dan LeBatard
So hurt by that.
Jeremy
Keep an eye on star of football.
Tony
America thinks he's got everybody fooled.
Jeremy
Oli number 22 talking about Pat McAfee. Oli 21 talking about Joe Rogan. Oli 20 talking about Shane Gillis. Oli number 19, Rose spilling her matcha every Wednesday and only on Wednesday. Oli number 18, asking Dan Patrick what love was like growing up for the fourth time because he didn't answer the previous three times. Oli number 17, keeping up with what's bothering Billy Corbin.
Adnan Virk
You too, huh?
Jeremy
A little too low. Olai number 16, Mike Fuentes pretending he doesn't care about anything while wearing a black bass pro shop hat. Mike Fuentes pretending he doesn't care about anything while wearing a blue Bass pro shop hat. Oli number 14, Mike Fuentes pretending he doesn't care about anything while wearing a green Bass pro shop. Oli number 13, Willow.
Dan
Number one for me.
Jeremy
Oli number 12, Mike French is pretending he doesn't care about anything while wearing a red bass pro shop hat.
Dan LeBatard
After Willow.
Jeremy
Oli number 11, Jess burping in the makeup room. Oli number 10. That other dog, Ethan clearly kicked. Oli number nine, Zazzo talking about his manner. Oli number eight, knowing Dan must have talked to Adam McKay recently because we spent 40 minutes debating whether or not we're going to die from the rising ocean water or the sky being on fire, even though those probably would have canceled each other out. Oli number seven. The you being back.
Chris Cody
Wow.
Tony
Getting out in time.
Jeremy
Oli number six, Chris combining words.
Dan LeBatard
Thought I was gonna be missed.
Jeremy
Oh, no. Kurds. Oli number five. Pretending a means impressions aren't all exactly the same. Oli number four, Louis. Oli number three. Losing Lucy talking about Jasper the doll. Oli number two, Jason showing me eating or yawning or playing on my phone while vice presidential candidate is talking about how he'd fix the United States. Oli number one, Robert Quinlan Costas.
Adnan Virk
All right, hold on to this.
Dan
I want to tease that. I want to tease the five. Till later. Now that we finally gotten to the five and made Adnan sit through all five while he's got hot and baseball information that he wants to give to the American public. We'll get to Billy's top five before the end of the show. Also, Jeremy saying that he wants to get in and say goodbye to you in a more loving fashion. We'll see if we get to that as well. I will remind people again that Adnan's book, Cinephile Interviews, Essays and Tales from the Red Carpet is available now. Are you, like a lot of people, hoping that the Dodgers lose because you can't break baseball just because you got the best TV contract and you get into the playoffs for 13 straight years and you have all the best players?
Adnan Virk
Yeah. My main issue, Dan, it's not animus towards the Dodgers for that reason. It's just, as a baseball fan, if I don't have a dog in the race, I want as much baseball as possible. So I'm training for the brewers yesterday to make this a competitive series. Once it goes 3 0, I'm like, well, it's a fed accompli. This thing's done. So game for today. I guess if Milwaukee would like to extend the agony, I suppose we can do that. But then this series is going to be done in five and in rather short order. It's certainly frustrating for Dodgers haters, but at the same time, I applaud them for their excellence. Their starting pitching dam this Postseason has a 1.54 ERA. That is unbelievable. In today's game, with so many people saying, well, starting pitching doesn't matter. It's all about bullpens. They said, no, we're going to go ahead and get the best starters available. And how about this? We're basically going to punt in the regular season. We really don't care about it. We'll coast and win the division. Maybe we'll win 90, 95 games. You won't be the number one seed. Who hairs? Because come playoff time, Blake's down will have thrown 70 innings for Blake Snell. Right now, it's June 1st. He's as fresh as a daisy. He can throw eight innings with no problem whatsoever. Yellow Moto's been a horse for them. Ohtani, we don't need him to start game four. And Tyler Glassner starts game three. He's an ace on most teams.
Jeremy
Well, that's.
Dan
That's the thing I've never seen before. A team built in baseball for the playoffs is not something I have seen before. These Dodgers, right, they.
Adnan Virk
They clearly said to themselves, dan, we don't care about the regular season. Even if we get it as a wild card, what do we care? It's all right. We'll win the division. Well, we won't even have a buy. It's fin. Fine. We'll win no matter what because we have the starters. We have the horses. You know, offensive. They have not been a Juggernaut. They scored three runs against the Brewers. They're scratching out some runs. Mookie Betts has been better. Ohtani's done virtually nothing offensively. Had a triple yesterday, his first the postseason. He's been awfully quiet. It's guys like Tommy Edmonds stepping up your max muncies. Those ones getting timely hits, it's their pitching. And even the bullpen dam, which should have been a weakness. They just moved the starters to the bullpen. We don't have a closer. We'll get Roki Sasaki to be the closer. Greg, Great. No problem. He can get three outs for us.
Chris Cody
This is good for baseball, right? For the Dodgers to be just a machine that keeps going back.
Dan
Well, I. It can't be good for baseball that the Dodgers are the new Yankees, that they are great for baseball, that they are just money. We will throw money at everything and everyone will drown in our money.
Adnan Virk
I'm torn on it. I mean, a part of me says, yeah, in any sport, if you have a team that feels dynastic, if it's either love him or hate him, that's good for the sport. If the Cowboys are rolling in football, Panthers, Panthers in hockey, big win for the Flyers, by the way. Cody Couturia, two goals, two assists. But I think ultimately, if you look at the sport, maybe, maybe back to back titles is good for the sport. To Maine's point, the Dodgers go back to back. LA is a huge robust fan base. But then the Dan's point, if it goes three straight years, the Dodgers and you're spending your way to a title that causes a lot of acrimony throughout the sport.
Dan
You can't, you can't break baseball just because you got the best TV contract.
Adnan Virk
But do you fault a team for willing to do whatever it takes to win, Win right back in the day, Dan, we'd applaud George Steinberg say he cares about winning more than anybody. He'll spend $200 million. Are not the Dodgers following the same script?
Dan
I guess, except that I always thought that someone would and had a chance against the Yankees. What I'm watching from the Dodgers starting pitching. What I'm watching that Shohei Ohtani doesn't have to get a hit. It doesn't matter. Like he can strike out all the time and they don't need it. Like that's crazy.
Adnan Virk
Yeah, it is funny when Shoy Otani's offense can become an afterthought. And we've seen, it's well documented, when he pitches, his offense suffers. So I've been of the mind. Now, what's your 3 0? You don't need Ohtani to start game four. Like now. It's just a luxury like now. Just, just. It's fine.
Dan
Well, we'll start.
Adnan Virk
We'll have a bullpen game. What the hell? It's okay. Clayton Kershaw can start. Billy's favorite. Just for Billy's farewell.
Dan
Yeah, that's what the Yankees never could do. Like, that's that the Yankees never had any of what you just said. Hey, we'll keep Babe Ruth in the dugout. We don't need him today. What kind of insanity is that?
Adnan Virk
Yeah, and it's. Listen, it's not going to get any better anytime soon. Like if you're a Dodgers hater, all these guys are locked up. Like, imagine if Sasaki is actually healthy next season and pitches a full year. Imagine if these guys are actually healthy and pitch the full year. I mean, then they're even scarier. But does it matter to them? Again, the regular season doesn't matter to the Dodgers. Doesn't matter to a lot of teams. Now the extra wild card, you go, let's just get 85 wins and get in the playoffs and get hot at the right time. And so far it's working to a T when it comes to this Dodgers script.
Dan
Adnan, thank you. We will talk to you soon. Appreciate all of the insight. Catch him. Host of MLB Tonight and Amazon Prime Monday Night Hockey. Thank you, sir.
Adnan Virk
Love you guys. Billy will be missed. And by the way, I just want to read Dan's lovely blurb to me for Cinephile. Adnan Burke is ill, sick, troubled, diagnosed with acute Scorsese. His addiction to film is neither healthy nor sane. He really thinks the world needs more of his thoughts on movies. I hate that. He's right. The great Dan Levater. Thank you.
Tony
Thank you.
Dan
Thank you, Adnan. We appreciate it. Can you get for me the last time Jeremy and what Jeremy's got going on because he wants to get in on the show. It's crowded today. We want to get to our emotional goodbye to Billy and Jeremy keeps trying to horn in on what it is that we're doing to talk baseball. And what are you doing in the bullpen, Jeremy, what do you have for us to honor Billy today?
Dan LeBatard
No, Dan, I just really appreciate the.
Jeremy
Space that Billy has provided for me.
Dan LeBatard
To be able to talk baseball, to talk Marlins with him. I'm wearing a Marlins hat in his honor today. And it's because we had times talking about that team.
Jeremy
I remember, you know, when you swallowed him whole on that 2018 opportunity for him to be out at opening.
Adnan Virk
Oh, what?
Jeremy
Shut up, Jeremy.
Dan
Shut up.
Jeremy
Jeremy.
Dan
Please just wrap it up.
Jeremy
You are not Billy.
Tony
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Dan LeBatard
Get nutty with Hampton Farms, the official peanut of bowl season, bringing you the ultimate game day snack. There's nothing like the roar of the crowd, the thrill of the play, and the satisfying crack of fresh in shell peanuts. From the first kickoff to the final whistle, Hampton Farms peanuts keeps your energy high and your taste buds happy. Join the celebration of college football with every delicious crunch. Purchase for sharing with friends, tailgating outside the stadium or cheering from the couch. Grab a bag from the produce aisle of your local grocery store and savor the game one peanut at a time.
Tony
All right, look, it's the holidays again and people are running around and getting stressed out and they're asking me, me, Roy, what should I get? What should I do? Give me some recipes. And every year I tell them the same exact thing. Get meat. It's not that hard.
Matthew Berry
It's not that complicated.
Tony
It's meat. In Omaha Steaks, they deliver the world's best steak experience. USDA certified tender steaks. It tastes like someone actually cares about you. Burgers, steaks, comfort mills, all that stuff makes you go, mm hmm, that'll work. And now during the cyber sale, you can get 50% off site wide and an extra 20% off select favorites@omahasteaks.com plus all listeners get an extra $35 off with promo Dan at checkout. I've had Omaha Steaks many times. I've given them out too. People lose their minds. You hand them that box and suddenly they think you're the greatest human alive. Five generations, same family, 100% guarantee. Save big on unforgettable gifts with omaha steaks. Visit omahasteaks.com for 50% off site wide and an extra 20% off select favorite during the cyber sale. And for an extra $35 off, use promo code DAN at checkout. That's omahasteaks.com promo code-A N at checkout to supply C site for details.
Dan
Don LeBatard.
Jeremy
Could I interest any of you in an opportunity to make money where I buy some calling cards and I sell them to you and then you get three friends and then you're making money off the ones they sell.
Dan
Stugats. And he's tanked.
Jeremy
The more friends, the more you make friends. I mean, this is the Dan Levatar show with the stugats.
Dan
Chris Cody, I mean, has somehow fallen in love with Joe Missoula. I don't know how you feel about Joe Missoula. I asked Nick Wright after Joe Missoula won the championship a serious question. Is he a good coach? Still don't know. Why have you fallen in love with Joe Mazzulla?
Dan LeBatard
Well, his quotes are great. Like he's just kind of like, you know, I don't know, he's just got.
Jeremy
A vibe with the media.
Dan LeBatard
But this year, you know, teams do this. We've played in softball games before seasons. Teams do media games. You know, baseball does softball and the Celtics. We're going to have a media game where media player, media people play versus each other. And at the last second, Joe Missoula announced, not this year. This year you guys are playing against coaches. So we have a B roll here of them playing this game. It's harmless. You see Missoula there walking past mid court and he celebrates a basket here. And you think it's a game winning basket. And this is like, wow, a close game. And you watch Missoula here, he gets a fist pack pump and he fist bumps and they pan over. The coaches are winning 57 to 4. And it's just like, I love the fact that he's just like, you're not playing the media this year. You're playing the coaches. We're gonna rock your ass. We're gonna boat race you 57 4. And I just, he's growing on me. I mean, I like Joe Mazzulla.
Tony
I like it.
Jeremy
I like it.
Dan
I'm.
Chris Cody
I'm. Look, I think he's in the same place that Mike McDaniel was in. Difference is, he won a championship. Mike McDaniel didn't. But it's still the same thing, which is all this cute stuff is cool when you're winning. All the quirky answers and a T shirt says, God, jiu jitsu and coffee and all. All that stuff is cool when you're winning. When you stop winning, the patience and the tolerance for all the quirkiness goes right out the window. And so this year, I think the Celtics are going to be good still. They still have good players. They added Anthony Simons, who I think is going to be really good for them. But it's like, we'll see how much appetite Boston has for them when they're not dominant, when they're not the best team in the league. Also to Jay King of the Athletic, who was in that game and then wrote afterward, and he was so ashamed and embarrassed. I texted him, I said, I read it, and I said, pathetic art. Pathetic article. Jay King, did he have any of the four points? You should have gone even harder. Roasted. You should have roasted Missoula for bad decisions, wearing down his coaches with a full court press. Then I said, you got to double down, man. And don't let any of those coaches get injured this year. If they do, you immediately tie it into too many minutes during a meaningless game. And then afterward, he said, jaylen Brown asked everyone, does anyone want to do meaningless?
Adnan Virk
Ha ha ha ha ha.
Chris Cody
I said, when he says that, you say, let's do it. Because we're not like these little Gen Z snively whining, oh, I had a.
Dan
Bad day, and now I have to talk to the media. It's part of your job.
Chris Cody
Man up.
Tony
How many points did you have scored?
Chris Cody
Me?
Tony
Yeah.
Chris Cody
You know what I would have done? I would have locked up Joe Missoula.
Tony
Wow.
Chris Cody
Yeah.
Dan
And you would have said, no, I'm.
Matthew Berry
Not even scoring tonight.
Tony
You're not scoring.
Chris Cody
You're not scoring. And by the way, if he gets by me throwing something dirty.
Tony
Yeah, chicken wing.
Chris Cody
Chicken wing. I'll let them know we're not here. You know what? We're here to compete. We're not just here like, oh, my God, you guys. So good.
Tony
No easy ones.
Dan
Get out of here. Matthew Berry's here. Hey, Matthew Berry.
Jeremy
Matthew Barry. Matthew Barry.
Dan LeBatard
Matthew Barry.
Matthew Berry
It ended quicker than I thought it was going.
Adnan Virk
There you go. That's what she gotta get the timing. Go ahead.
Matthew Berry
Oh, all right, here we go. And every game this season but one, the Detroit Lions have allowed multiple touchdown passes. And among their issues, deep pass attempts, their bottom five of the NFL and both yards and touchdowns allowed on deep passes. Who do they play this week? Baker Mayfield.
Chris Cody
Who?
Matthew Berry
By the way, only one quarterback in the NFL has more deep pass attempts than Baker Mayfield. Start Baker. I don't care who is his wide receivers are. By the way, other side of the ball last week. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers years have allowed at least 340 passing yards to an opposing quarterback in two straight weeks. Those quarterbacks, Mac Jones and Sam Darnold. Don't get cute. You're starting Jared Goff. By the way, in the two games since Braylon Allen went on IR, Breeze hall has gotten 82% of the jets running back touches. I know you're like the jets are awful, but get this. Three of the last four running backs to get at least 15 touches against the Carolina Panthers have scored at least 16 fantasy points. They've also given up two receiving touchdowns. Chance to opposing running backs. Don't get weird about it. You're starting Breeze Hall. Okay. Over the last four weeks, no team has allowed more rushing yards per game or a higher yards per carry against two running backs than the Miami Dolphins. Dan, I'm sure you're aware of that. They've actually given up at least 20 fantasy points to an opposing running back in four of their past five games. Believe it or not, the Browns are actually favored in a game this week. So Quinton Judkins should have a nice game against Miami. No team in the NFL has allowed more rushing touchdowns to running backs than the Tennessee Titans. They've in fact given up at least one rushing touchdown to a running back in every game this year. Believe it or not, Ramon Dre Stevenson has seen 83% of the Patriots goal line attempts over the last two weeks. I think Ramon gets in the end zone against Tennessee and variables revenge game over the last four weeks, only two teams in the NFL a lot more furniture points to opposing wide receivers than the Colts. Lad McConkey has five red zone targets in just the past two games. The three games that Rashid Rice played last year, he had a 34% target shot. Everyone in fantasy football has been waiting to get Rasheed Rice off their bench onto the field. You know who else has? Asher Mahomes. Don't get cute. You're starting Rasheed Rice this week for three straight weeks. Three straight weeks. Travis Hunter's route participation has increased Last week it was a season I 86% and Liam Cohen of the Jaguars said this week the team is making it a priority to design and call more plays in which Travis Hunter is the number one option. Last week only one tight end ran more routes than Cade Otten. And with all the injuries to the Tampa Bay's pass catchers, Kate Otten saw a target share of 26. Last week. Over the last two years when Otten gets at least a 20 target share, he averages almost 15 fantasy points per game. And last week last one here Dan only four teams allowed more yards per game to opposing Titans than the Miami Dolphins. They will give that. They also give the seventh most fantasy points to tight ends David and Joku is banged up. This is a Herald fan and win week for the Browns.
Jeremy
Harold Fanon Matthew Perry Matthew Perry Matthew.
Dan
Perry Matthew Barry Watch and stream full episodes of Fantasy Football Happy Hour with Matthew Barry, NBC Sports Peacock get personalized info and tools for all things fantasy and sports betting@fantasy life.com I really can't believe what Matthew Barry just said. I saw 18 months of Patrick Mahomes be less than Patrick Mahomes because he didn't have his wide receivers Matthew Berry saying Baker Mayfield don't care who his receivers are. Receivers do not matter. Take take Baker Mayfield. What kind of insanity is that?
Matthew Berry
Baker has managed. I mean last week Tez Johnson, Cameron Johnson again, Kate Otten, you know he made a mecca. Buka is currently the the betting favorite to be offensive rookie of the year. We'll see because of the injury if that happens. But like Bakers has made everyone great, great. Baker's made everyone great. And Mahomes I think hasn't had to do that just because his defense has been so good over the last couple years and they've had people in or out as well. But look, Mahomes is great. He's the goat I am. He's amazing. First Battle hall of Famer. I get all that. But if I had an MVP vote and you took it today, Baker Mayfield's the MVP of the NFL.
Dan
Matthew, good seeing you. A total insanity. Everything he just said, I cannot believe it's the middle of the season in 2025 and Mahomes needs receivers. But Don B. Baker, Baker doesn't need receivers.
Matthew Berry
Okay, you disagree with that?
Dan
Take no, I don't. I just can't believe that it's true.
Matthew Berry
Yeah, look, but Mahomes has been good the last couple of weeks as well. I mean again, Xavier Worthy and Hollywood Brown, you know he was missing Xavier Worthy for a few weeks. I think it's a fair. I think it's a fair criticism or question. He just.
Tony
I don't know.
Matthew Berry
Baker's been playing better. You know, it is. It is sort of insane to think that.
Dan
No, it is. It's totally nuts. Matthew, thank you. We appreciate the time. We appreciate that you make it quick. Our apologies that the zoom and the music left you totally vulnerable there. Going as fast as you possibly could without the music. You need to buoy you. We'll do better next time. Thank you, sir. We probably won't do better next time. We're going to have Billy's top five and the club. We're going to put it in the last segment and say goodbye to Billy in a way that finally gets to his top five. 34 Olis on things that, that he won't miss. I honestly thought it was going to be 1,000,030. I thought my impressions sound different.
Tony
It's the holidays and the 50th anniversary of Miller Lite. The holidays are all about gathering around with family and friends. So why don't you bring out a cornucopia of that beautiful white canned Miller Lite or draft, whatever it is. You know it's going to be a special time when you bring out Miller Lite because Miller Lite makes special time. Miller Time. Whether it's a late night hang after the holiday party party or standing around a fire pit with a fam, Miller Lite just fits. It's a taste you know you can depend on. Brewed for flavor with simple ingredients like malted barley, rich balanced toffee notes, and that iconic golden color. And at 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces, it lets you enjoy the season without weighing you down. The original light beer since 1975 and still hitting different 50 years later, the best holiday beers are the ones you don't expect. Expect 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. Tis Miller time. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Co. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.
Jeremy
There's a reason Chevy trucks are known for their dependability. Because they show up no matter the.
Dan
Weather, push forward no matter the terrain, and deliver. That's why Chevrolets earn more dependability awards.
Jeremy
For for trucks than any other brand.
Dan
In 2025, according to J.D. power. Because in every Chevy truck, like every Chevy driver, dependability comes standard.
Jeremy
Visit Chevy.com to learn more. Chevrolet received the highest total number of awards among all the trucks in the J.D.
Dan
Power 2025 U.S. vehicle Dependability Study Awards based on 2022 models.
Adnan Virk
Newer models may be shown. Visit J.D. power.com awards for more details. Chevrolet together, let's drive. Extra value meals are back.
Matthew Berry
That means 10 tender juicy McNuggets and medium fries and a drink are just $8 only at McDonald' time only.
Adnan Virk
Prices and participation may vary. Prices may be higher in Hawaii, Alaska and California. And for delivery.
Jeremy
Don lebatar Photography is not as hard as it's made out to be. And now with computers, I mean you can make anything look like anything. It's almost cheating. It's not fair. If you push a button, it takes a thousand pictures. You're going to find a good one in the batch.
Dan
There were a lot of photographers there taking thousands of pictures. One got that photograph. Okay, good retort stugats.
Jeremy
Haven't you ever passed by photographers? I guarantee you when that shot was taken, we didn't just hear. That's not what you heard. If you were by that camera.
Adnan Virk
Like.
Dan
In my ear with that.
Adnan Virk
He does a good camera.
Jeremy
This is the Dan Levatar show with the stugats.
Dan
Only the greatest of expenses on how to celebrate Billy Gill's final segment on the show. With us, we have an assortment of toys that suggest Great enthusiasm.
Jeremy
Crack it. It's fun. I just did. No, no, you gotta enjoy.
Dan
Before we get to this party celebrating his punctuation, Billy Gill's 15 year extraordinary run on our show. Chris Cody, tell people about the watch party we're gonna do very close to Billy's hood. Closer to Tony's hood.
Tony
My hood.
Dan
We don't do this very often. The hood. A rod's hood. The Watch Party with Miller Lite. Give people the details.
Dan LeBatard
That's right, Dan. We're throwing a Miller for Thursday night football. Dolphins versus Ravens at Flanagan's in Kendall, Southwest 88th street and Kendall Drive. Join us Thursday, October 30th for a Halloween block party. Costumes encourage. The whole crew will be there. Dan, Chris Roy, Tony, Jeremy Amin, Dave Damczyk and more. Billy, party starts at six.
Dan
Billy, I do want to do the top five things Billy Gill will not miss about being here for 15 years. Hell of a run, Gil. 15 years doing any job is a hell of a run.
Tony
And after all those years, Dan calls you Gil for the very first time.
Jeremy
Let down. His vulnerabilities are on a last name basis.
Dan
Number five.
Jeremy
Well, no, there's a new Oli Oli. Number one, B. Dan interrupting the top five to get to Adnan Virk talking about George Steinbrenner. Number five, Danny B. Remembering to bring everything on a trip trip except one thing. And that one thing was usually the thing that made all the other things work.
Tony
Yes, thank you.
Jeremy
Number four.
Dan LeBatard
I thought you were gonna say Danny B bringing something up at the end of a meeting.
Jeremy
No, that's Jason's role. Number four, the useless sound montage. It's so good. Number three, finding out things that happen in the company from awful announcing.
Chris Cody
I still am.
Jeremy
Number two, the grid of Dentek punishments.
Dan
You didn't have to suffer many of them.
Jeremy
Number one thing I will not miss from the show, being asked where people is.
Dan
What a triumphant return for Billy Gill. Would anyone like to say anything heartfelt here in the last couple of minutes that we officially have with Billy Gill, or do you just want to talk more about Joe Flacco and Max Scherzer?
Tony
I mean, lost in all that, Aaron Rodgers looking pretty good this season. That throw a couple of interceptions.
Dan
That throw. Aaron Rodgers made a throw longer than anyone has made in the league since 2017. That Hail Mary throw. No one's thrown a football that far since 2017.
Chris Cody
I just like this opportunity to plug episode 169 of Cinefo. Billy was on that one. We did speed too, so cruise control.
Tony
Yep.
Dan LeBatard
Greg has Greg Cody asked you to be on his podcast yet?
Dan
Yeah.
Jeremy
Your dad's gonna be so mad at me because he. He, like, texted me a couple nights ago asking for comment on his article. And I was like, no, I will not give you a statement for this thing that you're leaking. Like, no, I'm not participating in that.
Dan LeBatard
And then he's like, well, come on my podcast.
Jeremy
I was like, please don't do that. And then, yeah, later, he's like, incidentally, while I have you here, maybe we could do a podcast episode. Maybe you could come on as early as Friday, if not, you know, Saturday or Sunday. And then I got a text from him yesterday that I need to respond to that I haven't opened yet because I knew exactly where it was, but it's like, hope the day went well. And I just saw dot dot. And I was like, okay, this is just. We're checking in to see when the availability might be.
Dan
He's not gonna stop.
Adnan Virk
No, I know he's a bit of.
Dan
A stalker on this.
Jeremy
I need to get back to him. I feel bad I haven't gotten back to him. I have a lot of people to get back get back to that have reached out over the past couple days. So like thank you to everyone who's reached out. I'll get back to you. Except maybe not Greg. We'll see how that goes.
Dan
He's just trying to use you for clicks. If you've got any lovely or final words, those can be the final ones that you want as punctuation. If not, we're going to play the song here again and see if it, you know, I can keep it together. Gilly.
Jeremy
You became the dude as you vaulted higher A useless sound not hard to find and our love for you it was forged in fire every time you blew your mind Skeptical at times but nuance always knows how to make us feel without you on the show, you won't be back Jack, our favorite hypochondriac. So bang those pots and pans into.
Adnan Virk
The sky.
Jeremy
To go where apple pies and eagles fly it's hard to say goodbye. An onion won't be the thing to make us cry when it's hard to say goodbye Die.
Chris Cody
It really is like he died.
Dan
We loved you, Gilly.
Tony
Past tense.
Dan LeBatard
Hey everyone, it's Jeremy here and I want to talk to you about Black Friday game day. Cuz Black Friday game day is coming to prime with an epic day of live sports. Black Friday football is back with the.
Jeremy
Chicago Bears taking on the Philadelphia Eagles at 3pm Eastern.
Dan LeBatard
That's followed by an Emirates NBA cup double header. Bucks Knicks at 7pm and Mavs Lakers at 10pm and the whole day starts with the Capital One Skins game as.
Jeremy
Four elite PGA golfers meet with $4 million on the line. Black Friday game day, the Capital One.
Dan LeBatard
Skins game at 9am Bears Eagles NFL action at 3pm and the final night.
Jeremy
Of Emirates NBA cup group play with.
Dan LeBatard
Bucksnicks at 7 and Mavs Lakers at 10.
Jeremy
Only on Prime.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Episode: Hour 1: Happy Thanksgiling Day 2 Pt. 3!
Date: November 28, 2025
Broadcasting from the Elser Hotel in downtown Miami, Dan Le Batard, Stugotz, and the regular crew serve up a quintessentially zany hour that blends sports analysis with pop culture riffs, personal anecdotes, and inside jokes. The central themes this hour were Major League Baseball playoffs (with a focus on Max Scherzer and the Toronto Blue Jays), evolving sports lingo, Canadian sports pride, and the emotional (and comedic) farewell to long-time producer Billy Gill. The show weaves in fantasy football tips from Matthew Berry and closes with laughter, nostalgia, and some truly heartfelt (and offbeat) tributes.
Segment Start: [03:38]
Dan and Adnan Virk (host of MLB Tonight and Cinephile author) break down Max Scherzer’s improbable, gutsy playoff performance for Toronto, highlighting his age (41), recent struggles, and the psychological moment between Scherzer and manager John Schneider.
Key Stats: Scherzer's curveball mastery, 500th start, first win since 2019 World Series, only two runs allowed over 5 2/3, "thrown over 50,000 pitches in baseball," (05:05 – 07:19).
Segment Start: [21:02]
Dan and Adnan dissect whether the Dodgers’ approach—huge TV contract, relentless free agent signings, starting pitching depth—"breaks" baseball or is simply excellence.
Adnan marvels at Dodgers’ pitching depth, notes the erosion of regular season importance, and the "just get into the playoffs" mentality for contending teams.
Segment Start: [34:09]
Berry unloads a fast-paced flurry of fantasy football notes, featuring:
Dan reacts incredulously to Berry's claims that Baker doesn’t need receivers while Mahomes (somehow) supposedly does: "But Mahomes has been good...But look, Mahomes is great. He's the goat...But...Baker's been playing better." (38:22–38:36)
The Baseball Lexicon Digression (08:48–10:06): The crew mulls over words like "shoved" and "banged", and compares the shorthand and inside language in other sports.
Show’s Meta Commentary: Wry asides about the show’s dynamics—frequently asking "where is Stugotz?", frustration with company communications appearing first on media blogs, and the absurd length management of farewell bits.
Mazzulla the Quirky Coach (31:01): Chris Cody’s offbeat praise for the Celtics coach’s style; the panel underscores how quirky coaching is only celebrated as long as a team is winning.
If you missed the episode, expect:
For fans, longtime or new, this hour is a snapshot of “The Dan Le Batard Show” ethos: hilarious, thoughtful, oddball, sentimental, and never short on hot takes.
| Topic | Timestamp | |---------------------------------------------------|-----------| | Cam Newton vs. Barry Melrose: TV Fashion | 02:17 | | Max Scherzer’s Playoff Performance | 03:38 | | Blue Jays & Canada Sports Discussion | 10:34 | | Billy Gill’s Top Five + 34 OLIs | 15:06 | | Baseball/Sports Lingo Segment | 08:48 | | Dodgers’ Playoff Dominance | 21:02 | | Fantasy Football Advice (Matthew Berry) | 34:09 | | Celtics Coach Joe Mazzulla Segment | 31:01 | | Billy Gill Farewell, Final Tributes | 42:55 | | Jeremy's Farewell Song | 46:20 |
Best Quote
"An onion won't be the thing to make us cry when it's hard to say goodbye."
– Jeremy, singing for Billy Gill’s farewell (47:06)
End of summary for "Hour 1: Happy Thanksgiling Day 2 Pt. 3!"