Hour 1: Mark Zuckerberg's New Look (feat. Pablo Torre)

Summary

The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz – Episode Summary: "Hour 1: Mark Zuckerberg's New Look" (Feat. Pablo Torre)
Release Date: January 9, 2025

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1. Introduction

In this episode of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, hosts Dan Le Batard and Stugotz delve into a variety of topics ranging from high-profile sports mishaps to the evolving landscape of tech giants. Special guest Pablo Torre joins the conversation, bringing his journalistic insight into the discussion surrounding Mark Zuckerberg’s recent transformations and the broader implications for content moderation on social media platforms.

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2. Mickey Arison’s “Stay White” Gaffe

The episode kicks off with a retrospective look at a notable blunder by Mickey Arison, the owner of the Miami Heat. During a championship rally, Arison intended to encourage fans with the slogan "Stay white hot." However, nervousness got the better of him, and he mistakenly urged "Stay white," inadvertently echoing racially charged rhetoric.

• Mike Ryan (02:11): "Stay white is not Miami's very ethnic. Miami's very black and brown and also white. But to tell a bunch of people to stay white and to have it sound kind of Aryan was not the Miami Heat's best moment."

This slip-up became a recurring topic on the show, with the hosts humorously integrating it into their segments. Billy adds an anecdote about referencing the mistake on social media, leading to a light-hearted exchange about Arison's reaction.

• Billy (05:30): "He just slipped up. Instead of saying, say white hot, he told his fans to stay white. And our show seized on that..."

The discussion highlights the challenges public figures face in maintaining composure during high-pressure events and the unintended consequences of momentary lapses.

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3. Mark Zuckerberg’s Transformation and Content Moderation Challenges

A significant portion of the episode features Pablo Torre discussing Mark Zuckerberg’s recent embrace of mixed martial arts (MMA) and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, marking a stark shift from his traditionally awkward public persona.

• Stugotz (09:06): "Mark Zuckerberg works out like, we are jocks."

The conversation transitions to the political dimensions of these changes, particularly Zuckerberg's collaboration with Dana White, the president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), who now sits on Meta's board. This alliance is viewed as a strategic move in response to the current political climate, especially concerning content moderation on social media platforms.

• Stugotz (10:55): "Content moderation was always about how do we protect our own asses."

The hosts delve into the complexities of free speech versus responsible content management, citing the difficulties tech CEOs face in dictating what is permissible on their platforms.

• Stugotz (11:57): "Content moderation is, in fact, really hard. Look at Elon’s approach to X..."

Amin Elhassan raises concerns about the ethical implications of reducing content moderation to appease particular political factions, questioning the long-term effects on free speech and platform integrity.

• Amin Elhassan (14:17): "America wants this. And it's one thing to say, hey, I don't want the burden of censorship..."

The discussion underscores the precarious balance tech companies must maintain between fostering open dialogue and preventing harmful content, especially in an era of heightened political polarization.

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4. The “Venmo Fine” Comedy Segment

Injecting humor into the episode, the hosts introduce a fictional “Venmo Fine” system designed to regulate the on-air behavior of the show's members. This segment serves as a satirical take on sponsorship integrations and internal show dynamics.

• Mike Ryan (25:10): "The new fine system is in place so that you respect the sponsor."

The playful banter includes fines for minor infractions, such as coughing or not listening, adding a layer of comedic relief to the episode.

• Lucy (26:50): "Venmo. Do you know, forward $10 to the fine bucket. Thank you."

This segment highlights the show's ability to blend humorous elements with ongoing discussions, keeping the audience entertained while addressing sponsorships creatively.

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5. NIL Agreements and College Sports Turmoil

Shifting focus to collegiate athletics, the hosts discuss the evolving landscape of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) agreements. Mike Ryan raises concerns about potential corruption and the enforcement challenges faced by colleges.

• Mike Ryan (30:55): "No, I just think America is literally being on fire... and we sit here and make it about culture wars or politics."

Dan LeBatard counters by explaining that many schools have outsourced their NIL operations to specialized companies, which implement legal protections to manage athlete compensation effectively.

• Dan LeBatard (31:25): "Most schools protect themselves with these contracts in place..."

However, Billy points out that some programs, like Florida State's, have struggled with internal management, leading to issues of transparency and athlete dissatisfaction.

• Billy (32:19): "Florida State's nil program is not very broad, buttoned up..."

The discussion emphasizes the growing pains of integrating NIL into college sports, balancing athlete empowerment with institutional oversight.

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6. Prop Betting and Sports Anecdotes

The episode lightens the mood with a conversation about sports betting, particularly focusing on prop bets and the unpredictability inherent in them. Mike Ryan shares personal experiences of losing bets due to unforeseen player injuries.

• Mike Ryan (40:13): "I have Patrick Mahomes rushing yards. I get the over. And then he kneels down three times at the end of the game and I lose my over."

Billy and Dan LeBatard contribute their own stories of near-misses and the thrill of high-stakes betting, illustrating the camaraderie and competitive spirit among the hosts.

• Billy (41:11): "I took every over and I juiced up the receptions and I hit literally seven of eight legs..."

These anecdotes provide a relatable touch for listeners who engage in similar betting activities, showcasing the hosts' investment and emotional rollercoasters tied to sports outcomes.

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7. Upcoming Segments and Guest Insights

As the episode progresses, hosts tease upcoming segments and guests, maintaining engagement and anticipation for future content. Pablo Torre promotes his own podcast, "Pablo Torre Finds Out," highlighting its unique approach to sports journalism.

• Mike Ryan (36:56): "Pablo Torre Finds Out is very different. There are not a lot of people or there's not anybody doing exactly what he is doing."

Additionally, plans for future interviews, including a segment with Kevin Wilds and Nick Wright, hint at deeper explorations into sports media dynamics and rivalries within the industry.

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8. Conclusion

The episode concludes with a blend of humor, critical analysis, and personal anecdotes, encapsulating the show's signature style of merging sports commentary with cultural and social discussions. The hosts adeptly navigate through serious topics like content moderation and NIL agreements while interspersing lighter segments that resonate with their audience.

Overall, "Hour 1: Mark Zuckerberg's New Look" offers a comprehensive and engaging exploration of current events in sports and tech, enriched by the hosts' dynamic interactions and insightful guest contributions.

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Notable Quotes:

• Mike Ryan [02:11]: "Stay white is not Miami's very ethnic. Miami's very black and brown and also white..."

• Stugotz [09:06]: "Mark Zuckerberg works out like, we are jocks."

• Amin Elhassan [14:17]: "America wants this. And it's one thing to say, hey, I don't want the burden of censorship..."

• Dan LeBatard [31:25]: "Most schools protect themselves with these contracts in place..."

• Mike Ryan [40:13]: "I have Patrick Mahomes rushing yards. I get the over. And then he kneels down three times at the end of the game and I lose my over."

These quotes capture the essence of the discussions and highlight the hosts' perspectives on the various topics covered in the episode.

Transcript

[Dan LeBatard]

You're listening to giraffkings Network.

[Stugotz]

You know that sound? It's the sound of money hitting your Venmo account. A friend paying you back. Or maybe it's getting cash back from your favorite business when you pay with the Venmo debit card. Or it's realizing you can pay with Venmo at checkout at thousands of brands. Now there are so many more ways to answer the question. What's your Venmo? Download Venmo. Today the Venmo MasterCard is issued by the Bancorp Bank N.A. pursuant to license by MasterCard International Incorporated. DOSH Cash Back Terms apply.

[Mike Ryan]

You know what's smart?

[Greg Cody]

Enjoying a fresh gourmet meal at home.

[Dan LeBatard]

That you didn't have to cook meat.

[Greg Cody]

Factor your loophole in the laws of mealtime.

[Dan LeBatard]

Chef crafted meals delivered with a tap.

[Greg Cody]

Ready in just two minutes. You know what's even smarter?

[Dan LeBatard]

Treating yourself without cheating your goals.

[Greg Cody]

Factor is dietitian approved, chef prepared, and you plated. Pretty smart, huh? Refresh your routine and eat smart with factor. Learn more@Factor Meals.com this is the Dan.

[Lucy]

Levator show with the Stugats podcast.

[Stugotz]

This is behind the bit. This is behind the bit. This is behind the bit.

[Pablo Torre]

We take you back to a better time in the show's history. A time, at least for me, where I was happiest because we were at espn.

[Mike Ryan]

All right, go enjoy the party.

[Stugotz]

Take care.

[Amin Elhassan]

Good talking.

[Mike Ryan]

I'm sorry I couldn't get you in trouble. I was trying so hard. Mickey Best from Tim, huh? Stay white.

[Billy]

Come on.

[Mike Ryan]

I meant that in the most loving way possible. Yeah, the backstory on that is funny because Mickey Harrison is the owner of the Miami Heat. At the Heat championship rally that had a whole lot of people at it, the slogan for that year was white hot. And they won the championship. And he was nervous speaking in front of people because he's not really a public person that way. And instead of saying to everybody, stay white hot, he said to a whole lot of white people in a very divided Miami, stay white. In and sort of echoing white supremacist rally kind of way, which is not really what you're going for.

[Pablo Torre]

And I'm certain he wasn't going for that.

[Mike Ryan]

Stay white is not Miami's very ethnic. Miami's very black and brown and also white. But to tell a bunch of people to stay white and to have it sound kind of Aryan was not the Miami Heat's best moment.

[Billy]

He just slipped up. Instead of saying, say white hot, he told his fans to stay white. And our show seized on that, and we would use that as a sounder. It would be in something called the end of show montage. It was just a sound. Whenever we would sui, people say white was a part of it. So that was his first interview with us since Dan had made a mockery of that one public speaking mishap. And that's why you hear someone in the background go, oh. Reacting to it. But Dan, credit to him, told Mickey to his face to stay white.

[Pablo Torre]

Mickey Arison is a friend of yours. It really. Where it gets tricky. And I think probably why he might be a little bit upset is he realized he was embarrassed enough already. He had made the mistake. He meant to say, stay white hot. He said, stay white. He doesn't need to hear it from his friend.

[Mike Ryan]

We played it a lot. I know we played it a lot. We could have played it less. We could be talking about it less now. I don't know that he's had a worse. A more embarrassing public moment. So to have me bringing it up all the time. Less. Less than pleasant for him, actually.

[Jared]

I have a funny story about that. So Mickey, who is the owner of Carnival Corporation, was showing off one of his boats, one of his new boats. And, like, the deck and the chairs were all white, you know, like. And I referenced it to everybody, quote, tweeting on Twitter or X or whatever you want to call it.

[Mike Ryan]

I don't care.

[Jared]

It was in quotes. I think stay white. Apparently Mickey forgot that he said that and didn't get the joke. I guess he thought it was a kind of a racial comment. And he texted Dan, like, what the is your producer doing here? Like, what's going on? State white. And Dan went up to me and said, hey, Mickey is asking about what you're saying here. Like, what's going on? I was like, you don't remember what.

[Stugotz]

He said at the parade?

[Jared]

He said, stay white. And I brought it up as a reference like. And Dan laughed about it. So he had to explain that to him, which was pretty funny, I bet.

[Mike Ryan]

But yes, I remember Mickey Harrison not being happy about that. I don't remember the.

[Pablo Torre]

But that's something that.

[Stugotz]

With you.

[Pablo Torre]

Like, you don't forget that. Like Roy sending that and him saying, I forgot about it.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah. He called you. Yes, he did. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He doesn't. He doesn't like that we had that much fun with that. Why would he like that?

[Pablo Torre]

No, the amount of calls Dan has taken over the years.

[Mike Ryan]

Yes. Because one of us has done something.

[Billy]

Yes.

[Mike Ryan]

I'm so proud of Roy. A Lot of those. I've had a lot of those for me.

[Pablo Torre]

Mostly.

[Mike Ryan]

Mostly you? Yes.

[Greg Cody]

Was there any reaction to it? Any backlash?

[Jared]

Oh, we. We laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed. It was. It was hilarious. As far as it was just us. I don't know about anybody else, but it was just. It was just us. Mickey Harrison yelled that out as he was leaving the podium.

[Mike Ryan]

Greg Cody just said during the break that if Jared Goff wins mvp, he will indeed shave his eyebrows. He just made that pledge. Amin was made very happy by that pledge. We need to stop playing the stay white thing. We need to stop doing that because you're going to. It's going to make. I promised Mickey Harrison we wouldn't do very much of that anymore.

[Amin Elhassan]

Stay white.

[Jared]

The echo, man.

[Amin Elhassan]

The echo takes it to other levels. Stay white.

[Mike Ryan]

Well, it's streets with thousands of black people on them. It's a parade. He's speaking at a parade. And it's Miami. It's the center of Miami. It's right across the street. And he's a nervous public speaker.

[Amin Elhassan]

Stay white.

[Mike Ryan]

I've made a mistake. I'm doing a lot of apologizing today. There are some secrets here to the doing of the show, and I hope Mike Ryan starts revealing some of those in the second half of our oral history. And, you know, there are little delights I notice all the time. I will follow Billy's face anywhere. It made the show difficult to do yesterday because he was a dinosaur. And during the break, I'll follow Mike's face on something that I see in enthusiasm, but I don't know entirely what it is. And clearly I aired last segment talking too much. Football quarterback, because I lost Mike Ryan last 10 minutes of that segment because I can see on his face there was something involving Pat Burrow that had delighted him. And I needed to follow that wherever it is that it went. And I failed to follow that because I. I saw that you and Jeremy. I lost him entirely because he was thinking 19, you know, or 2001.

[Billy]

University of Miami baseball, 1996. Pat Burrell season, one of the greatest freshman seasons in the History of college baseball. 484 batting average. PEP roll was incredible. And I think you owe him an apology for not even considering him here when you're talking about Cam Ward having the greatest individual season in, um, athletics history.

[Amin Elhassan]

Now, Mike, you said one of the greatest freshman seasons ever, and then you said he batted.484. Is there another freshman season you could think of? Anywhere that competes with that?

[Billy]

Well, I. I wanted to hedge my bet specifically in that sport because, you know, I don't know college bas. If you go to college baseball, if.

[Mike Ryan]

You mark Kats will bat.500 in a college baseball season like they're the very best of college baseball players will put up some ridiculous batting average.

[Chris]

There's one player, and I can go back and find it, who hit over.550 in a single season and that is the single season leader. But as a freshman to that point, no one had ever as a freshman hit for a.480 batting average or higher. So Pat Burrell had set the single season freshman record.

[Billy]

So I was absolutely hooked on that. You mentioned the next oral history episode, what we do with that. We're actually hitting pause on the narrative storytelling of the oral history this week because we wanted to have a special like halftime episode where we focus on all the wonderful co host that have joined our show, all the talents that have sat in the seat that Greg is sitting in right now. It's an episode that shines a spotlight on Amin and Greg and others.

[Mike Ryan]

One of them is Pablo Torre and he has a new podcast, it's not so New Anymore. Pablo Torre finds out it is getting a lot of critical acclaim. He does real inspired journalism there. And as our journalistic conscience here at Meadowlark Media, can you tell me what you make of everything happening with Mark Zuckerberg and whatever it is Zuckerberg is doing these days as Elon Musk tries to buy America and four people are going to have the finances to be able to running to run the entire world here in about six minutes.

[Stugotz]

Yeah, it's a great story. It's a great story that's founded like superficially in Mark Zuckerberg. And we did an episode about this early on 2023, an episode about Mark Zuckerberg falling in love with mixed martial arts and Brazilian jiu jitsu. You've sort of seen his, I've seen is since college, his visual appearance, his style evolve. He was one of the most awkward people on the planet. If you ever seen that video about him talking about a sweet baby Ray's barbecue sauce. You know that. And he's since sort of restyled himself into this MMA guy. And what he's doing now with Dana White is look, it's very transparent just on a political level. Like Dana White is a surrogate for Donald Trump. Facebook like Amazon, like every multinational corporation in America is figuring out how do we now deal with the guy, the president who wants us to. Yeah. Show our fealty to Him. And so Dana White being on the board of Meta is shocking. Only if you don't follow that story. But I think there's a bigger story about content moderation here. So, like, I mean, look, there's gonna be me talking for a while, guys. You want to make fun of me now? Should I wait? Should I?

[Mike Ryan]

Well, thank you. I'm glad that you actually stopped yourself here, because Mike had stopped listening. He.

[Billy]

I'm actually going down there to talk about the IMG Academy head coaching hire that Bill Belichick just made.

[Mike Ryan]

Okay. Yeah.

[Billy]

All right.

[Stugotz]

Yeah.

[Mike Ryan]

He's not interested in what it is that you're talking about as it relates to Dana White and collapsing systems of all kinds. But you want to continue.

[Stugotz]

Yeah. Like the whole idea of free speech. Right. That's the whole platform. And so content moderation, when it was not Donald Trump as the president, when the culture was in the other part of the pendulum swing, Content moderation. I used to say this was the reason why all of these tech CEOs, the richest people in the world, were stressed out about their jobs because they had to do the hard act of basically being a Supreme Court justice and trying to figure out what speech is allowed, what is dangerous, what is free, what's okay, what's not, what's harassment, what's abuse. It's an impossible question that literally, the Supreme Court has really hard. Yeah. Really, really hard times trying to solve.

[Mike Ryan]

All right.

[Stugotz]

And what.

[Mike Ryan]

No, I just. I want to stop you for just a second. Just one second. Okay. I know there are a lot of global things to be worried about, and one of them, I don't know whether it goes in your top 10 or not, is the. That the richest people in the world are getting even richer as we create more desperation between the haves and the have nots. And I read the other day that Jeff Bezos had a 6. $600 million wedding in Aspen, and I was wondering if any he came out.

[Billy]

And really, in a way that he hasn't publicly, it was fake. Slam the hell out of that story.

[Mike Ryan]

Okay, so there are no details being reported about a $600 million wedding, because when I saw that these guys are already funding things that cost more than that to just do space. Space competitions.

[Amin Elhassan]

I love the idea that he says, whoever said I had a $600 million wedding is outright lying. It's preposterous. We're just dating.

[Billy]

I mean, yeah, he didn't volunteer the number, but look, there's a lot of online conjecture about Jeff Bezos, and he's Never really been all that compelled to come out as strongly as he did. So I'm guessing something was off there when the reported detail was 600 million doll out on social media and blasted it.

[Stugotz]

But the through line here is that they are coming out strongly, and I mean that literally. Like, Jeff Bezos is jacked now, Mark Zuckerberg works out like, these guys have become the other side of the cultural aisle when it comes from Nerdville now to like, we are jocks. And what I was going to say about the content moderation thing is simply that they don't have to worry about that question anymore, because now content moderation is what they always wanted it to be, which was just satiating the people who could get them in trouble. Content moderation was always about how do we protect our own asses. And now the people holding them to account are not some larger democracy with sensitivity towards minority groups. It's just the one guy. And so on the board of Meta is Dana White. We know his general approach to quote, unquote, free speech, and we know that he's now dissolving. Mark Zuckerberg is the board that he had tried to install. That would be a pseudo Supreme Court in terms of figuring out what's okay and what's not so everybody can stop pretending that they cared about content moderation and now it's just straight appeasement, which is, again, predictable, but also very funny visually.

[Amin Elhassan]

Pablo, one of the most shocking things I think about that video was the part where he says, in part, this decision is because, well, we saw the election. He outright says it like, the people are smoking. They don't care about this stuff. America wants this. And it's one thing to say, hey, I don't want the burden of censorship. It's one thing to say, hey, we're going from removing content to reducing mistakes in removing content. Like, all those things I think you can make a rational argument for and see, like, yeah, that makes sense. But when he blatantly says, yeah, the election results also let us know that, like, times are changing, that was the part I was shocked that he would admit out loud.

[Stugotz]

Yeah. And by the way, like, I don't have a good solution. Right. Content moderation is, in fact, really hard. Look at Elon's approach to X. His approach has been a winning one, a quote, unquote, popular one. To go to the rhetoric that Amin was just citing there, I don't have a good solution. It's literally why I keep on repeating this. The Supreme Court has to rule over these Free speech issues. There is no easy standard for what is fire in a crowded theater versus abuse of minorities. It's incredibly hard and it's a case by case basis. And it's not best left to tech companies, but to what Amin is saying. Like they're basically saying, yeah, look, Trump won and people don't care anymore about this. And I think that is, I guess, statistically narrowly true. He won a majority. That is more narrow than the rhetoric suggests. But also I think it's broadly true because everyone else is just exhausted. It's exhausted. Everybody here, I think, is tired of the argument about can this person say this or not. Even people who care about the trampled upon smaller groups in this country that are being, you know, not just punched down upon, but like roundhouse kicked off of platforms. All of us are like, I guess that's just what it is and I don't blame you.

[Amin Elhassan]

The other thing, Pablo, is there's also degrees to all of this, right? There's degrees when you say people shouldn't be allowed to say this. One of the things that's been happening over the last couple of days is as these fires are raging in California in the past, Twitter has been like a great resource for people in these crisis moments of where to get help, where to avoid all these kind of informational things. And instead Twitter has been flooded cuz the algorithm is flooding the timelines with shit that's not really relevant to people trying to get information in time of a crisis. And that's kind of the thing. It's one of these things like, hey, you should say unhoused instead of homeless versus actual actionable things that people need out of these devices.

[Stugotz]

Yeah, it's one thing if it's just, hey, that's a sex worker, not a prostitute. And then it's like, okay, let's, you know, whatever we're all exhausted by. But when the people in charge aren't good at surfacing important, necessary, helpful speech, that's where you're like, I. It maybe is a problem that all of this, that all of us, that everybody everywhere, is working for a tech company whose incentives are not actually in the direction of the broader benefit of human beings, but rather the self interest of the people who run these platforms. That would be an issue to the.

[Mike Ryan]

Symbolism is a bit amazing that we would be having any kind of conversation about America literally being on fire. And you go to the Internet for help in an emergency and it's people arguing about whether we've got cancel culture. Like, I mean, it's asinine art when you're looking, when I'm calling friends in California, very worried about them. And they're like, it's so much worse than even the video could possibly show you because you've got hurricane winds blowing fire all over parts of California that, that weren't expecting fire of any kind and they can't put anything out. And we sit here and make it about culture wars or politics.

[Pablo Torre]

Stu, got your. I want to tell you a story. I'm serious here. My wife and my two daughters, they begged me to buy a peloton. So I bought a peloton. And then I watched that peloton sit in my office and stare at me. So you know what I did one day I looked at it and so I decided to get off my ass and I jumped on the peloton because no one else was using it and I paid for it. I mean, so why not? Then I realized eventually that they bought it for me. And I got to tell you, way more challenging than I could have ever imagined. Peloton coaches are walking the walk. I love the coaches. I do the Grateful Dead one. It's fantastic. They have a sub 3 hour marathon runner, military trained athletes, a former college basketball player, and so many other well rounded coaches on their team. All this experience really shows in their classes, which are never short of challenging, especially for me. So I jumped on it that first time. It was challenging, more challenging than I thought. And then I wanted to beat the bike and so I kept jumping on it and I absolutely love it. I. I mean, I'm the only one who uses it. But again, they got it for me. I mean, I had no idea. That's a little passive aggressive, don't you think? Find your push. Find your power with [e-mail].

[Greg Cody]

The Dan LeBatard show with Stu Gotts is sponsored by BetterHelp. Every January feels like a fresh start. 365 blank pages just waiting for your story to be written in 2025. Maybe you're ready for a plot twist, Ready to revise the parts of your story holding you back. Life isn't about New Year's resolutions that disappear by February. It's about picking up the pen and becoming the author of your life. Therapy can help you do just that. Therapy isn't just for the big traumas. It's for anyone who wants to grow, heal and thrive with better help. Therapy is convenient and affordable. It's fully online. You can access it anywhere, anytime, BetterHelp connects over 5 million people with a network of 30,000 licensed therapists, specialized, experienced and ready to help. If it's not a right fit, you can switch therapists at any time at no extra cost. Write your story with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com DLB today to get 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelp. H-E-L-P.com DLB.

[Chris]

Hey, happy new year, friends. It's 2025, and a new year can mean new opportunities for a lot of you out there. I imagine you spent the last couple of weeks sitting and thinking how to make your 2025 special different and set yourself in the right direction. One way that you can do so is actually by following my boss Dan Lebatard's path and starting your own business. You might have a lot of questions. How do I get started? How do I come up with a brand? How do I sell stuff to people? What am I even going to sell? Just take a deep breath. Shopify has got you. Shopify makes it simple to create your brand, open for business and get your first sale. Get your store up, running easily with thousands of customizable templates. No coding or design skills required. All you need to do is drag and drop. But I know you're thinking, what happens if I don't act now? Will I regret it? What if someone beats me to the idea? Don't kick yourself when you hear this again in a year because you didn't do anything. Now with Shopify, your first sale is closer than you think. Established in 2025. Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? Sign up for your $1 per month trial period at shopify.com/batard all lowercase go to shopify.com butard to start selling with Shopify today.

[Mike Ryan]

Shopify.com LeBatard Billy, somebody has written in here. I need way more.

[Lucy]

I'm sorry.

[Chris]

I just said in his headset. Haven't you been to all of them, too?

[Lucy]

It sounded like you were speaking aloud.

[Mike Ryan]

God.

[Lucy]

My bad. Totally on me. That's 100 on me.

[Mike Ryan]

All right, Stugach.

[Lucy]

But that goes without saying, right? That it couldn't happen.

[Mike Ryan]

Well, now he said it, didn't.

[Billy]

He didn't say it again.

[Mike Ryan]

Greg.

[Lucy]

My apologies, Greg.

[Mike Ryan]

Why Greg? Yeah, Greg.

[Pablo Torre]

He apologized.

[Mike Ryan]

Craig.

[Pablo Torre]

Sincerely.

[Mike Ryan]

This is the Dan Levitar show with the stug. Let me move off of this into a sports thing that I want to get Mike and Lucy to. This happened during the break and I'm just curious because we're adding more and more games. We want More and more football as fire burns. And America needs the distraction of football more. And football becomes bigger and bigger and bigger and all the rules change. And college coaches don't even want to be in charge because really, I'm going to fight everybody over money during desperate times. Okay, that seems hard. Leonard Hamilton at the universe at FSU got sued by six players because they say, hey, we're owed 1.5 million in nil and you haven't given it to us. And where is it? And here's a boycott. We're not coming to practice. I imagine stuff like this is happening all over the place if people are trying to get control of. Of things and the rules keep changing. When you guys saw Leonard Hamilton, coach Michael Jordan did a great job at the University of Miami, when no one did a great job at the University of Miami. Has been kind of a titan at basketball at fsu, they don't have any preordained right to always be good, and they're often good because of Leonard Hamilton. He's been there for a long time. For an old man to get hit with this particular problem of guys aren't coming to practice, where's my 1.5 mil? Isn't that happening everywhere right now?

[Billy]

No, you'd hear about it. You heard about this. We have social media, which if. If you're feeling helpless and people aren't paying attention to you, you know that you could put a tweet out there and websites, including in the college football space, would gobble that up. So, no, I don't think it's happening everywhere. I've heard of, like, a handful of times. We had Jaden Rashada, Sue, Florida, and even Billy Napier directly. Jayden Richado, who's had a checkered history, has entered the portal once again. But no, I don't think it's that. That big of an issue because it's not really something that we're not all searching for. That is great. Clickbait.

[Lucy]

Also, 1.5 million sounds like a pretty small number for a major college program to cover, right?

[Billy]

For college basketball seems like a hefty number.

[Mike Ryan]

That's a funny thing for Greg Cody.

[Billy]

To say, like a real hefty number.

[Lucy]

I mean, get it. With everything happening now, if you're at a major school like Michigan or Texas, 1.5 million is nothing.

[Billy]

College basketball, men's college basketball, that is a really hefty number.

[Amin Elhassan]

And especially, you got to think about it. It's. We're not talking about Duke basketball here.

[Billy]

Florida State, multiple guys, too. Like multiple guys, six players.

[Amin Elhassan]

So it's 250 a piece. 250 a piece.

[Mike Ryan]

I mean, it's half your team. It's going to be half your starters, right?

[Lucy]

No, sorry.

[Mike Ryan]

Half your roster.

[Billy]

Wait, the total is one or.

[Mike Ryan]

Oh, we got a new fine. We got a new fine on the Venmo fine bucket. Is that your phone?

[Lucy]

No. Oh, yes, it is.

[Amin Elhassan]

It is literally what happened?

[Lucy]

I blame the show because here's what happened. My phone was off to begin the show.

[Amin Elhassan]

Yeah.

[Lucy]

But then when I was sent into the. The penalty box.

[Amin Elhassan]

Yeah.

[Lucy]

I almost said the game room, but.

[Billy]

You understand you actually have to pay this now because, like, it's one thing people say that they don't have cash, but now that we have the Venmo find.

[Lucy]

How much do I have?

[Mike Ryan]

Look, this is the new find system. Venmo bucket fine chart. $1 for mistake, $2 for coughing or Fleming. $3 for pestering of any kind, $5 for tone, $7 for not listening. I didn't give you the $7 fine before when you weren't listening, but $10 for a phone interruption. According to the now sponsored Venmo bucket, these fines will be paid. If you do not pay it, it will be taken out of your paycheck. They will now be. Now, Dan, you're going to. This is sponsored. Now, we can't mess with the money. We can't. We can't mess with the sponsors. It goes into the fine bucket, and then if it gets picked at the grid of death, anytime next year, a lucky employee gets all of the fine money.

[Amin Elhassan]

Now, Dan, I have a clarifying question, because as you see here on the sheet, the fine print says fines are doubled on Tuesdays because of Greg Cody. Tuesdays. But Greg didn't come in on Tuesday. This Thursday acts as a proxy for the Tuesday. I would argue that the fine should still be doubled.

[Lucy]

No, I would not. It invalidates the entire fine fine, quite frankly.

[Billy]

No, it doesn't.

[Mike Ryan]

No.

[Billy]

Just give 10 bucks to the Venmo.

[Lucy]

Venmo. Do you know, forward $10 to the fine bucket. Thank you. All right, done.

[Billy]

You just. That's not how that works. That's not how it works.

[Stugotz]

That's not even how you fake pretending.

[Chris]

Like you know how it works.

[Lucy]

Venmo cover me, by the way. Plus, I'm ill. Venmo, cover me. The fine print of that, that says if someone is under the weather, you're.

[Billy]

Just making things up. We saw the fine print.

[Jared]

All right.

[Stugotz]

To create a bit of a through line here, I think. So Greg is On one end of the how old do you think this guy is? Spectrum. I do think Leonard Hamilton is shockingly old.

[Mike Ryan]

Yes. He's about Greg's age. In fact, you know what? I might.

[Stugotz]

He's 76. He's crazy.

[Mike Ryan]

He's older than Greg Cody by six years.

[Chris]

Imagine that.

[Lucy]

Good for you.

[Amin Elhassan]

Leo Black don't crack.

[Lucy]

I didn't know he was that old, quite frankly. He looks good. He does.

[Stugotz]

He looks incredible. Mark Jones is also on this list, by the way. ESPN announcer Mark Jones. Do you guys know how old Mark Jones is? Have you done this already?

[Lucy]

No. How old, Mark.

[Stugotz]

How old do you think Mark Jones is?

[Lucy]

49.

[Billy]

I was gonna say Mark Jones is.

[Stugotz]

Mark Jones is 63 years old.

[Amin Elhassan]

What?

[Jared]

You're lying.

[Chris]

That is crazy.

[Amin Elhassan]

Mark Jones is a little too suspiciously in good shape.

[Mike Ryan]

Put it on the poll, please. That Lebbetard show is Mark Jones a little too suspiciously in shape. Are you shocked that Mark Jones is 63 years old? Are you shocked that Leonard Hamilton is 76 years old? And put all three of them together. Which of these shocks you the most? Because I want to put that in front of you guys. You guys seem to be surprised by Mark Jones. But Leonard Hamilton being 76 floored me. That. That's two more dollars for Greg.

[Lucy]

No, because I pressed the red button.

[Billy]

He did.

[Stugotz]

Yeah, that's true.

[Lucy]

What does you owe money for the fine bucket to. For mis representing me?

[Mike Ryan]

It just says $2 for coughing. It doesn't say anything about a microphone or anything. Just says, look, coughing.

[Billy]

Can we actually pay this thing, though? Because we have a corporate sponsor now. We actually.

[Mike Ryan]

So thank you. So. So listen, okay, Because I'm tired of this and I'm fed up any control over my company. Look, our sponsors make us the thing that gets to exist when nothing like this exists. Okay, you're disrespecting. Venmo pays for that by not doing this correctly and by ignoring this. We've had to put this system in place so that you respect the sponsor. And I'm not joking when I say if you do not pay these fines, they will be taken out of your paycheck.

[Lucy]

I am going to pay, okay?

[Stugotz]

But what I want to.

[Mike Ryan]

What I want to address with all of you, stand down. Let. Is that Greg Cody just decided. Because I know his son is annoyed by this as a life thing. The furthest that Greg Cody has come in technology is doing this to his phone. Venmo, do this for me.

[Lucy]

Yes, that's the way it should work.

[Mike Ryan]

That is. Chris, you have seen that he dictate your father treats his phone as a tape recorder and an assistant that sends messages for him because his fat fingers are too lazy to type. Where's your back in my dad.

[Lucy]

It's not Tuesday. That's a Tuesday.

[Chris]

So you have one. Nah, he's right.

[Lucy]

Thank you.

[Chris]

It's not Tuesday.

[Billy]

You know what else? You know what else we got glue six. We're making you appear eyebrow less.

[Mike Ryan]

There we go.

[Billy]

That's gonna happen.

[Chris]

We have Mina coming up in the next hour. During that interview, you will see in the bottom right, my dad losing his eyebrows.

[Mike Ryan]

Lucy, are you going to do this for us? Are you going to administer this?

[Dan LeBatard]

Yes. I've been watching TikTok tutorials on how to get rid of an eyebrow. We are missing some things we need. CVS was lacking in the red color corrector, so it may not be perfect. But I'm gonna do my very best. I've watched four TikTok videos, so I'm basically an expert on the matter.

[Mike Ryan]

Thank you. So can I now get your opinion when Mike is saying that this isn't a normal thing with Leonard Hamilton, what kind of chaos is unseen? No matter what social media we're talking about in a no rules type of governance where these coaches are getting a little bit overwhelmed by. Once the players have total freedom and everyone can grab at money, this stuff is going to get, you know, contaminated and feel from afar like it can be corrupt.

[Dan LeBatard]

Some of this that I think people don't realize is a lot of these schools actually export out their nil operations. And there are legit companies who run like Penn State's nil just for an example. So when things like this happen, those nil organizations that are literally businesses in charge of running that school's operation, they have lawyers and legal teams in place so that schools are protected. I don't believe that every school has sort of like an outsourced nil, but like it offers a little bit more protection. Where I think you haven't really seen this that much. Like, Rashad is a good case. This is a good example. But for the most part, like schools have these contracts in place where it's like, okay, well, if you're here, this is how you're going to get money. And if you. You have to do appearances in this county to prevent people from transferring and whatnot. But like, there are legal protections in this. I don't know what Florida State's nil operation is, but most schools protect themselves.

[Billy]

Well, you mentioned Florida State and I think it's Important context to know that. We find out a lot in the public space about Florida states historically nil program because it's not very broad, buttoned up. Look, there's people argue about Money and Fortune 500 companies, so a lot of these issues you never hear about. I thought this deal was this way. All that stuff stays in house. And it's the key to having a good collective is making sure no one knows about this stuff and being able to find solutions to these disagreements when they do pop up. Because you're talking in some cases about hundreds and hundreds of athletes that are receiving nil from one collector. If you know about it. If you get essentially held hostage the way that FSUS collective was over the Orange bowl, it shows you bad leadership within that collective as well.

[Stugotz]

Pablo, if I can distill this down a little simpler, I think there's a solution here. They should just use Venmo. Because on Venmo there's an awesome feature that I think Greg would enjoy. When you have to label what you're paying someone for, whether you be a college coach who owes back pay to a new generation of athletes, or a 70 year old man apparently who is delinquent in all, all sorts of ways, you pick an emoji, Greg, and that emoji can signal with some degree of privacy and resentment why you're paying this. So I encourage you to select the emoji for your fines in the new Venmo regime.

[Mike Ryan]

What is the final tally on Greg Cody's finding? The $10 phone interruption that are we letting him slide on the $7 not listed? Because now the fine bucket is going to be a richer thing, right? Somebody stole. I'm still offended by that. I don't know how we haven't had an investigation. An employee at this company stole hundreds of dollars that were in the fine bucket. Yes, there were hundreds.

[Stugotz]

Wait, wait, that was never. That was never solved.

[Mike Ryan]

Never solved. And I think Bob the engineer got a bad rap. It was a difficult time at the Clevelander. I'm pretty sure that a lot of people were accusing him. I would never.

[Amin Elhassan]

It wasn't Bob.

[Mike Ryan]

It was. I don't. I would never.

[Amin Elhassan]

It wasn't Bob.

[Mike Ryan]

Look, I'm pretty sure Stugots did it. I'm pretty sure.

[Stugotz]

I mean, statistically speaking. Yeah, that sounds right.

[Mike Ryan]

Pablo, what is coming up on Pablo Torre finds out. I will tell the people Again. It's unusual to win this many awards. There aren't actually a lot of non athletes coming into the sports podcast space, which is very popular and Having a hit thing. And he has a hit thing. What are. And he's got this. Oh, he's got the blue check mark army. They run with him.

[Stugotz]

Yeah, that's right.

[Mike Ryan]

The msnbc. Yeah, the liberal elite. It's such a. And it's an. It's a. Yeah, it's one. It's a country club podcast.

[Chris]

Blue check marks are now the other side, by the way.

[Mike Ryan]

That's right. Forgive me, my information's dated. My bad. Thank you.

[Stugotz]

The ivory tower. Yeah, no, no check mark anymore. Tuesday's episode, which I encourage you to. To enjoy. If you guys know the worst sports commercial in the history of sports television. The sportsmanship commercial.

[Billy]

Oh, no. I thought it was what a pro wants.

[Amin Elhassan]

I took the ball, coach.

[Stugotz]

Yeah, exactly. Amin. This kid Alex went into hiding because he was so dunked upon by the entire Internet that he has been hidden. We have found him. We brought him into a studio. It took literal years to acquire his trust. That was Tuesday's episode. It takes us from the Supreme Court, which again, I keep on saying for real reasons, to the Dalai Lama, to Dame Lillard. All of that happened today. We have an episode about explaining, like the whole debate and the science underneath the trans athletes thing for people who may maybe actually have skepticism about the ivory tower. It's for you. Then tomorrow, my arch nemesis, Dan Nick Wright, noted terrible person, is joined by his co host Kevin Wilds, and they join me on tomorrow's show to talk about the art of giving takes. So screw him. But he's also on the show tomorrow.

[Amin Elhassan]

I can tell Pablo spent a lot of time in Miami and around us because he said Dale Llama.

[Stugotz]

By the way, Pit bull. Pitbull. How old do you think Pitbull is?

[Mike Ryan]

Oh, he's got to be 50 now.

[Billy]

Anything is possible. I'm gonna say 67.

[Mike Ryan]

Armando is. I'm gonna say 50. 57. No way.

[Billy]

This number just grading off of the. The Mark Jones curve.

[Chris]

We're not playing the game.

[Amin Elhassan]

I'm saying He's. He's 4. 51.

[Chris]

28.

[Billy]

I'm gonna say he's in his 40s. Come on.

[Lucy]

17.

[Stugotz]

Pitbull's 43.

[Chris]

Guys, he's so right in the middle.

[Amin Elhassan]

He's younger than I am.

[Billy]

Young man.

[Chris]

He's 20. Pitbull's younger than Mark Jones.

[Stugotz]

Pitbull is younger than Amin and Mark Jones and me. Shocking.

[Mike Ryan]

Pablo, thank you for being on with us. We appreciate the time. Pablo Torre Finds out is the name of the podcast. I encourage you to listen to it because it is Very different. There are not a lot of people or there's not anybody doing exactly what he is doing. What you. You still want to. I can't.

[Stugotz]

I. I just continue. I. I continue to distrust all of you. But I appreciate the time.

[Mike Ryan]

Okay, thank you. I thought I already said goodbye to you.

[Billy]

You can learn about our show's history with Pablo Torre on this week's upcoming episode of the Oral History.

[Mike Ryan]

Yes, I'm sure he'll be listening and can't wait to just hear either his voice or something about him. Pablo Torre, basically, what he is doing with Pablo Torre finds out is just going to the depths of his narcissism and then.

[Stugotz]

Okay, we've gotten further from the compliment phase, and I think we just ended. Probably just ended there. Yeah.

[Amin Elhassan]

I'm really excited about this episode with Kevin Wilds, who used to be my boss when I worked on the jump, and Nick Wright.

[Billy]

I'm happy that you mentioned that because Kevin Wilds is like an iconic producer.

[Amin Elhassan]

Yeah. I don't know how many people know that.

[Billy]

And like, all producers fell in love with a camera and microphone.

[Amin Elhassan]

And a microphone. Absolutely. They all come over this side, don't they? Except for Matthew Kugler. But I am. I also stand with Pablo in that Nick Wright is a horrible person.

[Mike Ryan]

You're sitting and so you're also sitting.

[Amin Elhassan]

Yeah, I stand. I. I stand hunched over with Pablo and that Nick White is a halt. Well, there's another fine.

[Mike Ryan]

$2.

[Lucy]

No, I push the button.

[Billy]

He pushed the button.

[Mike Ryan]

It just says push the button. No, push the button.

[Billy]

Come on, you gotta. We gotta do a little something for him. He's battling here.

[Lucy]

Thank you, Mike. He.

[Billy]

He did the right thing. Now if he just coughed right into the microphone, then that's a fine.

[Mike Ryan]

But I'm just saying. I'm trying to go by what the sponsor.

[Billy]

We're actually trying to get some payoffs here. So let's give him a win and let's get our 10 bucks.

[Amin Elhassan]

So that's. Wait, that's the barter. Like if he doesn't.

[Billy]

If he's reaching for the cough button.

[Lucy]

Why is there a cough button there if it's not to be depressed?

[Mike Ryan]

No, that's. I'm.

[Billy]

You're supposed to suppress a cough a little bit so it's not picked up by the other one.

[Amin Elhassan]

It's supposed to be pressed.

[Mike Ryan]

He was in the middle of making his point then. We all worry for you. It's like.

[Lucy]

It's a tricky worry for me.

[Mike Ryan]

It.

[Amin Elhassan]

What?

[Chris]

Why did you say that like that?

[Mike Ryan]

I don't understand why he keeps doing broadcaster voice.

[Chris]

You're not narrating this. You're here.

[Mike Ryan]

His only move today.

[Chris]

He talks as if he's, like talking over the room.

[Mike Ryan]

His only move today is he's sick. He's playing hurt. And so the only joke he's got is the last thing I'll say is is going to be said in a ridiculous voice. And so before everyone ends this segment and before Greg Cody ruins the rest of what we have going, the thing I wanted to ask all of you because I know some of you are gambling. You guys are doing prop bet stuff. Do you think that we could come up with a new segment that because of the people around here who are gambling every week, somebody in our group is going to have the worst bet beat? I bring this up for a reason. Okay. Because the over under on the number for David Montgomery in Detroit rushing yards this season was 775 and a half yards. And he got to 775 and then his knee blew up.

[Amin Elhassan]

No.

[Mike Ryan]

And so he got there easily. Like if you. It would have been an easy winning bet because the Lions were going to be overwhelming at running the ball and are even more overwhelming than you thought they'd be. But he got within a half yard and then his knee blew out. All he needed is one more play for a half yard and he would have gotten it. Do you think that we'd have enough bad beats around here? I know Mike is throwing down so many prop bets as it's. It can't be healthy, the amount of prop betting that Mike Ryan is doing because he's.

[Billy]

I think I do a healthy amount.

[Mike Ryan]

He's looking. He's finding a lot of advantages. Look, Billy's pretty good at the prop bets, too. There is some money to be found around prop bets. If you know a little bit about systems and matchups and stuff, there's money to be made. Do you have have a bad beat every weekend?

[Billy]

Yeah. Yeah. Volume shooter on the props. Go for the bigger paydays. And then I have one that makes me like about even on the weekend. I'm like, man, how much fun was had? So much fun.

[Mike Ryan]

I have lost either four or five times this season. I have Patrick Mahomes rushing yards. I get the over. I have the over. And then he kneels down three times at the end of the game and I lose my over.

[Billy]

I came a catch short on devonte Adams because I was just like last game of the regular season, potentially Aaron Rodgers, last game ever. He's just going to go out feeding Devonte Adams. So I took every over and I juiced up the receptions and I got it up to six and a half and I hit literally seven of eight legs and I just needed one catch, but that doesn't even land on me. I need that to feel alive.

[Mike Ryan]

Lucy, you felt alive on the field at the University of Texas. I saw you. You were radiant. You're glowing.

[Dan LeBatard]

Yeah. Ricky Williams and I are best friends now. Well, not exactly. I said, oh, Ricky, isn't it so great that we've become good friends? And he didn't respond, but I think he meant yes.

[Chris]

How high did you get with him?

[Dan LeBatard]

I did not. I'm a professional media member that wasn't credentialed. So Dan overwent the system and then brought Ricky Williams, and it was really cool, but will never be allowed back in Texas.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah, that one kind of backfired on me.

[Dan LeBatard]

But they had so much fun.

[Chris]

Do we have Ricky, like, sneak Lucy in?

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah.

[Dan LeBatard]

It wasn't very sneaky, though. Someone for security came up and was like, hey, you don't have a pass. Are you with Ricky Williams? And I said, yep. They go, okay, that's fine.

[Mike Ryan]

I mean, he. He did sort of say, have I not done enough for these people? Like, for the. Like. I mean, the fields, like, named after in.

[Greg Cody]

The Dan LeBatard show with Stu Gotts is sponsored by Better Help. Every January feels like a fresh start. 365 blank pages just waiting for your story to be written. In 2025, maybe you're ready for a plot twist, ready to revise the parts of your story holding you back. Life isn't about New Year's resolutions that disappear by February. It's about picking up the pen and becoming the author of your life. There are therapy can help you do just that. Therapy isn't just for the big traumas. It's for anyone who wants to grow, heal and thrive with BetterHelp. Therapy is convenient and affordable. It's fully online. You can access it anywhere, anytime, BetterHelp connects over 5 million people with a network of 30,000 licensed therapists, specialized, experienced, and ready to help. If it's not a right fit, you can switch therapists at any time at no extra cost.

[Chris]

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[Greg Cody]

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[Chris]

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