Hour 1: Mike Ryan's Patriotic Sacrifice

Summary

The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz

Episode: Hour 1: Mike Ryan's Patriotic Sacrifice
Date: February 24, 2026
Location: Elser Hotel, Downtown Miami

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Episode Overview

This hour of The Dan Le Batard Show brings the usual cast of Dan, Stugotz, Greg Cody, Amin Elhassan, Tony Reali, and others together for a fast-paced, freewheeling discussion blending South Florida culture, sports talk, pop culture commentary, and the group's unique brand of humor.
Main themes:

• Internet fandom wars, review bombing, and media narratives
• Dramatic restructuring of football and its rules
• The ongoing debate: local team loyalty vs. patriotic fervor
• Media trust, AI fakes, and Kevin Durant's “burner” saga
• Classic show banter on nostalgia, food, and sports

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

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A. IMDb Review Bombing: Fandom Wars

Timestamps: [01:08]–[07:00]

• Background: Dan launches into how the IMDb ratings for TV episodes have become battlegrounds for rival fanbases—specifically, Game of Thrones (and its prequel, "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms") fans versus Breaking Bad devotees.
  • Notably, episode 5 of "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" hit a 10.0 rating, drawing ire and retaliation from Breaking Bad fans (and vice versa).
• Chris explains: Rather than true quality, episodes are now rated based on preemptive or reactive fan review bombing, often through mass one-star votes or bots.
  • “This has become an all out war where they each keep going down on the list. And now these are two incredible episodes of TV that are just nowhere near rated where they're supposed to be.” — Chris [06:12]
• Reflection: The crew riff on the absurdity, with Amin labeling participants as “nerds,” and Jeremy pushing, “Go do something. Go get a life" [06:57].
• Who would do it most among the crew? Jokes fly about Dan, Zaz, and others being the "IMDB rating spammers," devolving into hilarious stereotyping of “soda drinker’s body,” basements, and root beer tastes.
  • “We don't have basements in Florida. Just keep saying things that are factually incorrect.” — Dan [07:47]
• Memorable moment: Root beer debate: “That root beer was a vomit. It tasted like toothpaste.” — Dan [08:13–08:20]

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B. Ice Cream as Adulting (and Zaz Slander)

Timestamps: [08:49]–[10:16]

• Debate: Ice cream favorites—Cookies and Cream (“the goat answer,” Tony [08:55]), churro, mint chip, and Greg Cody's “adult” preference, maple walnut.
• The talk devolves into playful teasing about what counts as “adult” ice cream and who in the crew “looks like they have a basement.”
• Self-esteem issues are joked about as Amin calls out “soda drinker’s body” and Muppets.
  • “That reflects poorly on him ultimately. Not on us.” — Dan [09:59]

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C. Football Strategy & Rule Changes: Kicking & Punting

Timestamps: [10:49]–[15:10], [17:14]–[21:09]

• Scenario: The group debates new football rules in the UFL, especially around kicking: should a team take end zone shots or go for a massive field goal after penalties?
• Tony: Advocates for “fun” and dramatic long kicks, invoking kicker legends like Sebastian Janikowski [12:47].
• Amin: Pushes back, arguing kicking has become too dominant, deviating from the creators’ intentions. “We should effort to marginalize kickers, not to enhance their role in football games.” [18:00]
• Stugotz: “But we've effectively killed the punter. And this is good.” [19:34]
• Chat with a real UFL head coach: Confirms even at the pro level, strategy would be go for the endzone, not settle for a deep kick [20:01].
• Underlying theme: Is fun/quirkiness or tradition/strategy more important for the sport’s future?

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D. Local vs. National Team Loyalty: The “Patriotic Sacrifice”

Timestamps: [21:09]–[27:26]

• Debate: Would the crew prefer their local teams (e.g., Florida Panthers) to win championships or for Team USA to win Olympic gold?
  • “You have the balls to say right now that you would rather the US won that gold this weekend than the Panthers win another Stanley Cup?” — Dan [22:32]
• Stugotz: Claims ultimate patriotism, describing a “sacrifice” of going to a gentleman’s club to celebrate with the right “for all us libs... we could be just as patriotic.” [22:59]
• Amin: “Black and gold, over red, white and blue all day for this guy.” [21:34] (meaning local Pittsburgh loyalty trumps national sentiment)
• Comic moment: Greg Cody’s “I was chanting USA the entire game. My wife goes, ‘shut up, I want to hear the TV.’” [22:13]
• Theatrics: The group accuses each other of being fake Americans or “closet Canadians,” demanding passport proof [23:25].

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E. Postgame/Patriotic Revelry & Mike’s Spanish on the Mic

Timestamps: [26:03]–[27:16]

• Stugotz: Recounts how he was “reluctantly” handed a mic and told to say something in Spanish at a Panthers celebration, with “Let’s go States!” as his triumphant closer. [27:18]
  • “Look, I keep them on their heels. And, Greg, you'd be proud of me. I did end it all with a let's go, States.” — Stugotz [27:18]
• Tony/others: Joke about DJ Genesis, Mike Ryan’s proficiency (or lack thereof) in Spanish, and Miami’s cross-cultural sporting scene.

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F. Nostalgia, Mistaken Identity, and Greg’s Reporting Past

Timestamps: [27:29]–[32:00]

• Amin: Shares a childhood story about giving gold-medal Olympian Mark Johnson a ride, paralleling it with Stugotz wading through postgame celebrations out of “civic duty as a patriot.” [24:37]
• Amin’s bar story: Mistakes an Atlanta Braves hat for Alabama Crimson Tide, jabbing at sports fan signaling and color confusion [27:29].
• Kevin Durant Burner Saga & Media Literacy:
  • Tony: Lampoons the leap from rumor to “fact” in the KD burner controversy, drawing a parallel with “I want to believe” from The X Files.
    • “That is the era we're in now... because people want to believe it, that's all they need.” — Tony [30:02]
  • Amin: Calls for journalistic rigor, bemoaning a shift to info “only that agents and teams want to be issued to the public” [37:01].
  • Greg Cody: Reflects on his own days as a “newsbreaker” and how minor scoops weren’t enough to cut it—leading him to columnism.

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G. Miami Sports Hot Takes: Don Shula vs. Dan Marino

Timestamps: [38:16]–[41:32]

• Amin: Hot take—Don Shula “failed Dan Marino,” which Dan says is “a pretty common thought down here.” (Discussion on lack of defense or running game for Marino leading to no Super Bowl) [40:23]
• Greg Cody: Defends his infamous “trade Marino” column—claims history vindicates the take, though Marino avoided him after [38:45].

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H. NBA MVP Odds & The Award’s Shifting Value

Timestamps: [42:45]–[46:48]

• Bet the Castle Segment: Jeremy and Tony discuss the new 65-game threshold for NBA MVP eligibility, arguing it may lead to future “asterisk” MVPs.
• Value bets: Cade Cunningham at +500, Jalen Brown at +3000.
• “Are we going to get to a year... where we're going to remember Cade Cunningham won that fake MVP because other guys were disqualified?” — Dan [44:12]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On IMDb Fandom Wars:

• “This has become an all out war... these are two incredible episodes of TV that are just nowhere near rated where they're supposed to be.” — Chris [06:12]
• “Go get a life.” — Dan [06:57]
• “We don't have basements in Florida. Just keep saying things that are factually incorrect.” — Dan [07:47]

On Local vs. National Loyalty:

• “Black and gold, over red, white and blue all day for this guy.” — Amin [21:34]
• “I was chanting USA the entire game. My wife goes, ‘shut up, I want to hear the TV.’” — Greg Cody [22:13]
• “I did that because it was my civic duty as a patriot.” — Stugotz [25:33]

On Sports Media & Belief:

• “We should ask more of one another than to simply believe something because it sounds like something that makes us happy.” — Tony [31:07]
• “That's why you got a soda drinker's body. But if we're talking about facts and reality, there's none of that associated with this story.” — Tony (to Dan) [32:05]

On Don Shula & Marino:

• “Don Shula flopped for the entirety of Dan Marino's career and cost the...the number one reason.” — Amin [40:23]
• “I think he realized he had somebody that if he had given a better defense to or a running game... they should have traded Marino when they had a chance to get a windfall for him.” — Greg Cody [41:00]

On NBA MVP Eligibility:

• “Are we going to get to a year... where we're going to remember Cade Cunningham won that fake MVP because other guys were disqualified?” — Dan [44:12]
• “The biggest thing, he's campaigning too much, man. The guy talks about it left and right. Everyone who's voting is like, ‘shut the hell up.’” — Amin on Jaylen Brown [46:40]

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• IMDb Review Bombing: [01:08]–[07:00]
• Ice Cream “Adulthood” Debate: [08:49]–[10:16]
• Football Kicking, Punting, and Rule Change Debate: [10:49]–[15:10], [17:14]–[21:09]
• Patriotic Sacrifice, Local vs. National Debate: [21:09]–[27:26]
• Mike Ryan’s Spanish Moment & DJ Genesis: [26:03]–[27:16]
• Media Literacy, Kevin Durant & Journalism Rants: [27:29]–[37:40]
• Shula & Marino Hot Takes: [38:16]–[41:32]
• NBA MVP Odds, “Bet the Castle” Segment: [42:45]–[46:48]

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Wrap-Up

This episode embodies the unpredictable blend of humor, sports analysis, and cultural commentary that defines the Le Batard show. From the silliness of fan review wars to deeply felt (and often comedic) debates on sports tradition and nationalism, the crew brings sharp insights—never far from comedy or self-parody. Ultimately, whether dissecting media rumors, sharing bar stories about Olympic legends, or defending a controversial sports column, they do it all with a conversational, irreverent style that keeps things fun and fresh.

Transcript

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[Greg Cody]

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[Stugats]

This is the Dan Levator show with the Stugats podcast.

[Dan Le Batard]

So something really weird stupid is happening on IMDb. Dave, you know what IMDb is? Sure I do, Greg. You know what IMDb is?

[Greg Cody]

I don't know what it stands for, but it's something to do with film.

[Amin Elhassan]

Internet Movie database.

[Dan Le Batard]

Oh, I thought it's international. It's the Internet.

[Amin Elhassan]

Oh, yeah, maybe you're right.

[Tony Reali]

It's Internet.

[Greg Cody]

Okay, one of those.

[Dan Le Batard]

But you see how like I. I believed in you, Dave, that I thought immediately I must be wrong and you must be right. Like I believed in you.

[Amin Elhassan]

It's international.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, I think it's international.

[Amin Elhassan]

International movie or Internet.

[Tony Reali]

It was Internet.

[Amin Elhassan]

Wow.

[Dan Le Batard]

Oh, so Dave is right.

[Amin Elhassan]

Yes, there you go.

[Tony Reali]

The guy who lives in Hollywood is right. The guy who lives in Hollywood, Florida is wrong.

[Amin Elhassan]

Wow.

[Dan Le Batard]

Okay. Learn something new every day.

[Greg Cody]

Grew up in Hollywood, Florida.

[Dan Le Batard]

Internet movie database.

[Amin Elhassan]

You were going to be condescending to him.

[Dan Le Batard]

No, I was. I was giving him a comment that I believed him right away. And I was. My instincts were correct to believe that he was right. And I was wrong. My instincts were right. I get credit. Props as low kingpin. So something really stupid is happening on the Internet movie database between two fan bases of shows. You ready for this, Greg? So a new show that I have been watching, which just wrapped up a couple days ago, is a Game of Thrones spin off a prequel, if you will, called A Night of the Seven Kingdoms, which. Oh my God, what a.

[Tony Reali]

Love it.

[Dan Le Batard]

What a show. I loved it from the get go. I mean, come on.

[Tony Reali]

I didn't know what I was getting into.

[Dan Le Batard]

Me neither.

[Tony Reali]

Game of Thrones prequel.

[Chris]

Right.

[Tony Reali]

And I was like, okay, let's see

[Dan Le Batard]

what you thought it was a dragon.

[Tony Reali]

House of Dragon, which I thought is okay.

[Dan Le Batard]

Well, first season, House of Dragons. Really good.

[Tony Reali]

I thought it was okay. I thought it was okay. So I turned this on with the same kind of expectation. And, like, the first scene ends with the guy taking a dump by the tree right in the middle of the credit.

[Dan Le Batard]

And they do the fake out of the opening credit.

[Tony Reali]

Yeah. And so I'm like, are they trying to be funny? And then by episode two, I realized, oh, they're trying and succeeding.

[Dan Le Batard]

They're trying to be funny, and this show's got succeeding heart, and it's gonna make you feel good. And it's a tremendous show. And so it just wrapped up the first season, six or seven episodes, I think six episodes a couple of nights ago. And it's a great, great season. If you' fan of Game of Thrones, you should watch it. But it's a completely different tone from Game of Thrones. And I think it was episode four, maybe four or five for Night of the Seven Kingdoms that on the Internet movie database 5, episode 5, the just one on the Internet movie database, it was immediately scored a perfect 10.0. And it's a great episode. It's really, really great. It deserves a 10.0. It was given a 10.0. And then breaking Bad fans who, of course, very famously the episode Osmandias. Spoiler alert. If you haven't watched Breaking Bad, Osmandias is the one where Hank meets his fate.

[Tony Reali]

Well, just. Just say it's. It's all.

[Dan Le Batard]

You didn't say spoiler.

[Tony Reali]

You just say it's the best. It got a 10. A perfect 10. That's all you need.

[Dan Le Batard]

I don't need anything extra. You don't need to say what happened in the episode.

[Amin Elhassan]

You're allowed to bring it up.

[Tony Reali]

It's when Hank picks up the book

[Dan Le Batard]

and he sees the name Walter White.

[Amin Elhassan]

I mean, you're allowed to bring up what happen in Breaking Bad at this point. Come on, Dan.

[Tony Reali]

Irrelevant to his stories.

[Amin Elhassan]

Okay.

[Greg Cody]

It's like me saying, spoiler alert. The US Won the gold medal.

[Tony Reali]

Well, that one. That's a little too fresh. We're not even a week out.

[Dan Le Batard]

So Osmandias, originally, very famously on the Internet movie database, got a 10.0, also well deserved. While apparently the Breaking Bad fans are mad that another show, in this case Night of the Seven kingdoms, received a 10.0. And what happens when you're mad about another show score, you have to. You have to spam the rating on IMDb.com I mean, can you explain what that means?

[Tony Reali]

Yes. So basically, whether it's manually or via bots, they have gone in and actively. One star voted this episode. That is a great episode, just to reduce its overall average so that their favorite episode of their favorite show remains the. The Sitting in the Crown.

[Dan Le Batard]

Who gives a shit?

[Tony Reali]

Well, then I'll tell you who gives a shit. Fans of Knights of the Seven Kingdom because they went back and they did the same thing to them. And now your perfect 10.0 Breaking Bad is gone.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's what you get.

[Tony Reali]

That's what you get.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's what you get.

[Stugats]

What's interesting, Someone figure it out.

[Chris]

What's interesting about this is that I don't believe the game, the Game of Thrones episode, or The Night of Seven Kingdom episode ever actually reached a 10.0. What happens with, with the Breaking Bad side of it is apparently whenever these prestige TV shows, the ones with bigger fan bases are inching toward that 10.0, Breaking Bad fans will preemptively strike and make sure that it never gets there. So, like, for example, there was a heated sickness, there was a heated rivalry episode that reached a 10.0, and I think might even still be at a 10.0. But not the same level of fandom, not the same level of reviews. There's like maybe a thousand reviews there, as opposed to tens of thousands of reviews like there are with the others. And so Game of Thrones fandom was mad it never got to the 10.0. So they went and started bombing Ozymandias and this has become an all out war where they each keep going down on the list. And now these are two incredible episodes of TV that are just nowhere near rated where they're supposed to be.

[Jeremy]

So we have more evidence of people being absolutely psychotic.

[Amin Elhassan]

Yeah, nerds.

[Jeremy]

And these people are all among us. They're all around us. Like, there might be somebody out there that did this.

[Amin Elhassan]

Who among us that was sitting in their computer like, you know what I'm gonna do?

[Jeremy]

I'm gonna press one star 47 times this hour. And it's like, what is wrong with you? Go do something.

[Dan Le Batard]

Go get a life.

[Tony Reali]

Go outside.

[Amin Elhassan]

Touch the grass. Go walk the dog.

[Tony Reali]

I like this idea that Chris just presented. Let's assume that there's someone among us who did this. Who would it be? What's the answer?

[Chris]

Me.

[Tony Reali]

I thought you could say Dan, because Dan loves Breaking Bad.

[Dan Le Batard]

Well, it's got to be someone who. I don't know how to work a computer.

[Tony Reali]

It's a good point.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's got to be the first thing about that. Someone who's super passionate about their favorite television.

[Amin Elhassan]

I could see Zaz being a voter.

[Tony Reali]

Oh, yeah, I could see. I could see you look. Yeah, you got that.

[Dan Le Batard]

I'm the one who brought it up and said that this is a sickness.

[Jeremy]

Yeah, but he was smelt it, dealt it.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah, exactly. Yeah, Zaz did it.

[Tony Reali]

Let me tell you. I can imagine zaz sitting there, 2 liter of Coke next to him.

[Dan Le Batard]

I don't drink soda.

[Tony Reali]

You got a soda drink. His body sitting in his grandma's basement under the computer. Big.

[Dan Le Batard]

We don't have basements in Florida. Just keep saying things that are factually incorrect.

[Tony Reali]

But you look like it.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah, you look like you have a basement.

[Amin Elhassan]

Has had rude beans though.

[Dan Le Batard]

What does that mean?

[Tony Reali]

You look like your grandmother has a basement.

[Stugats]

When you see it, you know it.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah, exactly.

[Amin Elhassan]

You have had root beer though, right? You've now tried it.

[Dan Le Batard]

Unfortunately, I have on mystery crate a couple episodes ago. Go back in the archives. You could check it out. I tasted a bunch of drinks that I'd never had before and that root beer was a vomit.

[Amin Elhassan]

And if I understood your review correctly, it had a minty flavor.

[Dan Le Batard]

It tasted like toothpaste.

[Amin Elhassan]

That's interesting. I enjoy. I will generally when I am. Because just to be clear, I am not so dorky that I would go onto IMDb and argue about Breaking Bad or otherwise. I'm busy making my list about the best position groups and. And stuff like that and. And ice cream rankings. And mint chip is at the top of the pile. I don't like it though. When my wife. When I. When I mean, she'll let me taste it, she still tastes like toothpaste.

[Jeremy]

Yeah, it's gross.

[Dan Le Batard]

It has like a freshness to it.

[Amin Elhassan]

And then it gets in my head and it ruins my. My ice cream eating experience.

[Tony Reali]

Cookies and cream is the only. The goat answer.

[Jeremy]

The goat.

[Amin Elhassan]

The only good answer. Come on.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah. Gotta be maple walnut. Sorry.

[Stugats]

A good.

[Amin Elhassan]

A good new entry into the conversation. Churro. Churro. Because what we were talking about is cinnamon. Cinnamon ice cream. And that makes the winner stand. It still goes mint chip one. And I think churro has now scratched itself above even coconut.

[Dan Le Batard]

How can a flavor I've never heard of be your favorite?

[Greg Cody]

You've never heard of maple walnut?

[Tony Reali]

It's a great ice cream zest.

[Amin Elhassan]

I've never.

[Dan Le Batard]

I'm the only one never had it

[Amin Elhassan]

I've heard him say it my whole life. I've never heard of maple walnut.

[Tony Reali]

I've had maple walnuts. Greg's. Absolutely.

[Greg Cody]

It's especially big in the New England area. But you can get it to. Publix has it. I mean, you can get it down here. It's divine. It's what I would call an adult ice cream. You know, the churro and mint and all this stuff is not adult ice cream.

[Tony Reali]

Greg. You're talking about adult ice cream to a man who looks like he carries a 2 liter coke with him wherever he goes.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's bullshit. I don't think he.

[Tony Reali]

Look how he's dressed. Do you think this guy knows about maple walnut and adult ice creams? No way.

[Amin Elhassan]

Zaz, here's what I want you to know. Here's the good news. Amin clearly has self esteem issues. He goes at you about having a soda drinker's body. He calls other people unnamed. He refers to them as muppets. You know that. That reflects poorly on him ultimately. Not on us.

[Tony Reali]

I'm just an adult. Along with Greg Cody.

[Greg Cody]

Thank you. Thank you, Amin.

[Dan Le Batard]

So you're all settling on me being the one who would spam the rating on IMDb?

[Tony Reali]

Absolutely.

[Amin Elhassan]

Of the seven, how many we got here? Of the eight of us? Yeah, you're my vote.

[Greg Cody]

I think Jeremy might as well. I think Jeremy in the whole other room.

[Amin Elhassan]

Then I don't think he'd be in there. You know, then Rose would be.

[Tony Reali]

I've got Jeremy on Blue sky posting. Obviously I don't have him actually going into IMDb because everyone knows that that is a haven for people on the alt, right?

[Chris]

Yeah, that's right.

[Stugats]

All right, it's third and goal. You just got a personal foul. You're backed up to the 25 yard line. You're down four. Do you take two shots into the end zone or do you back it up to the 43 yard line?

[Dan Le Batard]

It's gonna ruin the game. Yeah, it's gonna ruin the game.

[Tony Reali]

It makes the game so much more fun.

[Stugats]

What do you do? Answer the question. Do you take the two shots into the end zone or do you back it up to the 43 yard line to set up a four point kick?

[Dan Le Batard]

So you're telling me you think it's good for the game that on that second down the quarterback is going to run backwards 15 yards and then fall down? Well, you think that's good for the game?

[Tony Reali]

Depends on who my kicker is. If I have automatic owl. I'm doing that, man. Give me, give me back There. Hell yeah. You know what we're going to do? I'm not even going to do that. I'm just going to have a running back all the way back there and get the long snapper and have him long snap the hell out of now.

[Dan Le Batard]

And that's good for the game.

[Amin Elhassan]

I don't want anyone to get hurt with the actual play being run. So I'm just going to say something really offensive to an official. Get a penalty 15 yards.

[Stugats]

Well, I've also done some digging. The UFL chat has helpfully pointed out that you cannot run backwards to set up a punt because remember, they've outlawed punts from inside the 50. So if you're like right there in no man's land, some team might take the same logic and be like, well, let me back myself up. It won't work like that. You're not allowed to punt even if you get backed up by penalty or by runs like you. So you're still committed like this.

[Tony Reali]

I like this. I like this. Because punts not fun, but long kicks fun to win the game. It's such a ballsy move to say I know we've got two strikes at it. Nope, going to use one to go backward. And then I'm going to trot out what's automatically Brett Aubrey or someone like that or what's my man from? Gosh, Vinatieri. Oh, get him out there, man. Oh, what about Sebastian Janikowski? He was born for this. I get him out of retirement. Sebastian Janikowski. I've seen him like 90 yard field goals before a game. When he was at Florida State, you

[Dan Le Batard]

saw him make a 90 yard field

[Tony Reali]

goal for the game when he was at Florida State. Yeah, he used to. So what he used to do is they would like literally where the kickoff is. He would kick through the uprights from where the kickoff spot was. He is the most incredible kicker I've ever seen in my life and that's the reason why he went first round as a kicker.

[Dan Le Batard]

Think about that.

[Greg Cody]

Another half a foot guy, right?

[Amin Elhassan]

Because the Raiders were in the league. That's why he went first overall.

[Chris]

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[Dan Le Batard]

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[Stugats]

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[Dan Le Batard]

Don LeBatard, you owe me everything.

[Tony Reali]

You owe me everything.

[Greg Cody]

You have added 10 years to my career.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yes, I have.

[Greg Cody]

This man has. You haven't.

[Commercial Announcer]

That man.

[Greg Cody]

Who the hell are you?

[Stugats]

St.

[Greg Cody]

I am.

[Dan Le Batard]

Who the hell are.

[Greg Cody]

You're a rude young man.

[Dan Le Batard]

You're a fool.

[Amin Elhassan]

You're. You're a fool.

[Greg Cody]

I already called you a fool.

[Stugats]

You can't call me a idiot again. It's a fool.

[Dan Le Batard]

Idiot.

[Stugats]

Twice. You're an idiot for dismissing how much I've helped you.

[Dan Le Batard]

This is the D? Ler show with the two gods.

[Amin Elhassan]

Here's the fundamental flaw with all these kicking related things is that we have convinced ourselves because of circumstance that it's exciting. Obviously, when your team wins at the gun on a field goal, you're excited about it. It is not the most exciting way to end football games. We're consumed by phrases like sudden death and that sounds great. What would be better? What would be more satisfying ultimately is to play. Yes, that. You read my mind. No, would be to play out the full overtime. To play out, we should mar. We should effort to marginalize kickers, not to enhance their role in football games. It's too much. As I already said, when guys were going out there to make 38 yard field goals and there was some doubt about their ability to do that, that was an interesting element of the game. The fact that you can run a guy out there because you barely got across midfield and come away with three points is not the way that the game was, was laid out in the mindset. The punter, the creators of the game, did not imagine that there would ever be human beings out there nailing 65 yard field goals with consistency.

[Tony Reali]

You know what the creators of the game also did not imagine? A guy throwing the ball to someone down the field.

[Amin Elhassan]

I know.

[Tony Reali]

Life evolves. Life finds a way. You got to let it find a way. Like the strategy.

[Amin Elhassan]

The forward pass improved the game. My point is kicking from 65 yards and making 75% of them is not a satisfying outcome for the sport.

[Stugats]

Ultimately, who do you hate more, kickers or punters? For me it's easy.

[Greg Cody]

Punt, punt.

[Amin Elhassan]

You hate punters.

[Stugats]

We have, I think we phased them out here with this new rule. So yeah, maybe we boosted the credentials of the kicker on your roster, maybe just a little bit more, made them

[Dan Le Batard]

a little bit more important.

[Stugats]

But we've effectively killed the punter. And this is good. By the way, the UFL chat has reached out to a current UFL head coach, ran that very same scenario. What would you do? Two shots into the end zone or back your team up for a four point kick? And he said, what'd he say?

[Dan Le Batard]

Well, he said, that's my gimmick.

[Stugats]

He would take two shots in the end zone.

[Chris]

Wow.

[Tony Reali]

See, that's a coach right there.

[Chris]

What a chat.

[Amin Elhassan]

Having access to a coach.

[Tony Reali]

It is. That's it. That is a great chat.

[Greg Cody]

I can't believe there's a UFL chat.

[Tony Reali]

But like you guys are assuming that everyone's gonna do it the new way. No, that's the beauty of it. Is there gonna be traditionalists. They're gonna be traditionalists. No, we're going for the end zone and then there's gonna be one wacky guy, maybe a Mike McDaniel. The UFL says, wait a second guys, watch this. And when they do it and everyone's like, what are they doing? Oh my God, he's got a Big fan of the. Oh, no. The kicker's coming. They're going for four. And then he hits it and everyone's gonna lose their mind. I don't know why you guys hate fun.

[Amin Elhassan]

Well, the seven people in the stands are going to lose their minds. UFL nail biter. This is an entire losers conversation that I refuse to participate in any further. Because you're talking about the ufl, which is desperate enough to do something so foolish as this. Listen, the AFL mattered, the USFL mattered. And those are the only two side leagues that ever mattered in pro football, buddy.

[Tony Reali]

Let me tell you something. You calling us losers? You want a Canada win? You're the truth.

[Greg Cody]

That is true.

[Amin Elhassan]

That is true.

[Dan Le Batard]

USA.

[Tony Reali]

USA.

[Amin Elhassan]

You're the Jeremy's champion. I'm 10. USA too. I listen. There was an asterisk. How dare you. I put an asterisk next to that. That if one player, Sidney Crosby could

[Jeremy]

score the goal in what sweater?

[Amin Elhassan]

A Canadian sweater.

[Jeremy]

Okay.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's all you got to say?

[Stugats]

You're done, trader.

[Jeremy]

You're done.

[Amin Elhassan]

Hey, guess what? I'll go one further. I'll go one further than that, Benedict Arnold.

[Tony Reali]

What you got for us?

[Amin Elhassan]

Red, white and blue. Great. Black and gold, over red, white and blue all day for this guy.

[Tony Reali]

Look at this guy.

[Amin Elhassan]

Exactly.

[Tony Reali]

The ultimate capitalist. Me, above.

[Dan Le Batard]

We.

[Amin Elhassan]

No, I'm rooting for my region. Think globally, act locally. That's what I'm rooting. Locally, I'm rooting for.

[Dan Le Batard]

I'm with you.

[Amin Elhassan]

The banks of the three rivers.

[Tony Reali]

I'm with you two traders.

[Dan Le Batard]

Not the black and gold part, but in theory, I'm with you.

[Amin Elhassan]

Right? Sure, of course.

[Tony Reali]

Shame. Shame on both of you.

[Dan Le Batard]

How is it? How is it, shame? Like I would rather the Panthers win a Stanley cup than the US Win gold. The Olympics, I mean, like, whatever. You won two already.

[Tony Reali]

They've won three. This is the third gold medal ever.

[Dan Le Batard]

I understand.

[Amin Elhassan]

On the other hand, Greg Cody in Vegas waking up at 5am to watch the American.

[Jeremy]

Right there.

[Stugats]

Real American service.

[Greg Cody]

I was chanting USA the entire game. My wife goes, shut up. I want to hear the tv. It was a wonderful game. I was so thrilled to get up that early. And how about Connor Mc Overrated feather.

[Tony Reali]

Oh, yeah, take that.

[Amin Elhassan]

Zero points in all the games that matter.

[Greg Cody]

How about that, Mike?

[Dan Le Batard]

You have the balls to say right now that you would rather the US Won that gold this weekend than the Panthers win another Stanley Cup? Do you have the balls to actually

[Stugats]

say that here to be deposed? I'm asking a question. I like winning gold, baby. That was awesome. Why do I have to pick one?

[Amin Elhassan]

What is I gotta choose? Don't ask me that.

[Stugats]

I don't have to choose. No one loves this country more than me.

[Dan Le Batard]

Nobody, nobody, nobody.

[Stugats]

And that's why I was there. You're not service to all us libs out there. While Clay Travis is taking photos from 11 while. While people from the right are lifting this team up to propagandize them and normalize their agenda. I was there for us pushing the lib agenda, saying we could be just as patriotic. You should be thanking me, not ask me. Mind benders.

[Greg Cody]

Man of the people.

[Tony Reali]

Not like you. Clay Travis was there loser.

[Amin Elhassan]

You.

[Tony Reali]

Yeah, I'm talking to you, my loser. Because you would rather. Yeah, exactly.

[Stugats]

You have dual citizenship.

[Greg Cody]

Anti American.

[Tony Reali]

Show us your passport.

[Dan Le Batard]

I was born here and my passport says United States.

[Tony Reali]

Well, I don't know about that.

[Jeremy]

What's the other one?

[Stugats]

Says another Santa Fe College.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's. You know that don't bring that bullshit.

[Jeremy]

Is that the bullshit?

[Dan Le Batard]

That's the bullshit right there.

[Stugats]

You're Canadian too.

[Jeremy]

That red passport is the bullshit.

[Dan Le Batard]

I'm not Canadian. And my father. My father hears you say as we

[Greg Cody]

very angry at you, closet Canadian.

[Amin Elhassan]

I think. I think Amin, the man looking back at him in the mirror is the liar. And I think Tony, the man looking back at him.

[Dan Le Batard]

You know about that man look in

[Amin Elhassan]

the mirror is all about the mirror as well.

[Jeremy]

If you think he has never lied

[Amin Elhassan]

to me, you would rap. Well, listen, if. If the guy looking back in the mirror is telling you that you deep down would rather have the USA gold over a Stanley Cup.

[Jeremy]

I would absolutely want the USA gold over Stanley Cup.

[Amin Elhassan]

I don't care about the Stanley Cup.

[Tony Reali]

Some of us love this country so much.

[Stugats]

Some of us love this country so much. That on a Monday night they would go to a gentleman's club and be surrounded by liquor vices, butts. Just to show you and the right wing media that people on the left can get down with it too.

[Amin Elhassan]

Can I tell you something? Back in 1980, I was a wee lad.

[Chris]

Go on.

[Amin Elhassan]

And I have no GD explanation for how this happened. But my old man was working with the Pittsburgh Penguins. But somehow, of all the human beings who could have done this. My old man was asked, and I was in the car with him. To give Olympic champion Mark Johnson. The great goal scorer from the 1980 US team, of course, to give him a ride. I don't know where we were that we had to transport him. I don't think it was the airport to the Civic Arena.

[Tony Reali]

To play a lot of extra details in this story.

[Amin Elhassan]

I was in a car with Mark Johnson, like, 48 hours after he put the gold medal on. I was essentially Cash Patel before Cash Patel.

[Stugats]

And I had to see my way through a sea of. To order a tequila soda. Lime. Because I love this country that much.

[Amin Elhassan]

Everybody. Oh, they cleared out of the way. Look at the guy with the pretty eyes. Here he comes.

[Stugats]

No, there was a lot of. I know you hate this, but let's take this picture. I know you hate this, but let's have small talk. And I did that because it was my civic duty as a patriot.

[Tony Reali]

Thank you for your service as someone

[Stugats]

that loves the United States of America more than you can ever imagine.

[Amin Elhassan]

That's not a USA Sweater you're wearing. It's a Florida Panthers one.

[Stugats]

My USA Soaked.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's right.

[Stugats]

Soaked. And sweat.

[Tony Reali]

And champagne.

[Stugats]

And champagne.

[Tony Reali]

And tequila.

[Amin Elhassan]

Tequila.

[Tony Reali]

And cigar smoke.

[Stugats]

There was so much cigar smoke.

[Tony Reali]

Oh, my God.

[Stugats]

I did that for you.

[Dan Le Batard]

Was there a player you were forced to kibitz with last night?

[Stugats]

I don't know what that word means.

[Dan Le Batard]

Chat.

[Stugats]

Chat with. No, I did. I was given the mic, reluctantly, and I was told to say something in Spanish.

[Tony Reali]

Shout out to DJ Genesis. Oof.

[Jeremy]

Put you in a bad spot there.

[Tony Reali]

Hold on.

[Stugats]

It was. I wish I would have done, like, the call and repeat. I would have gotten a nice little pop there. I just started chanting, leave.

[Chris]

It died.

[Stugats]

And that went over.

[Tony Reali]

Yeah, now. Now I've got a theory about this. Our. Our buddy DJ Genesis, who is. Who I've learned last night is the official DJ for. For the Panthers. I had no. I know him. I've been knowing him from the streets. And I was like, wait a second. Why does he have a ring on his finger? And I was like, oh, snap. Put two and two together. So he's like, oh, shout out Mike Ryan.

[Dan Le Batard]

He's here.

[Tony Reali]

Oh, shout out to Dan Leitard show. And he's, oh, shout out Amin. Amin's here. Everyone's here. And he said, mike, get in here. And he's like, yo, hey, we're in Miami. So we. If you guys aren't from Miami, welcome to Miami. This is how we do things. Mike, say some in Spanish. And I. I was like, I don't think Mike speaks Spanish like that. But I'm like, maybe. Maybe I don't know Mike as well as I thought I did. And as soon as Mike went up there and said. I was like, oh, no, he's got nothing.

[Stugats]

He's going.

[Dan Le Batard]

Right?

[Amin Elhassan]

It worked.

[Greg Cody]

Damn.

[Tony Reali]

But it Was like. It was like. I thought it was. I told you earlier. I thought he was going to, like,

[Stugats]

go, he'll cross over, right?

[Tony Reali]

Oh, my God, his Spanish is amazing. I was like, nope. He just kept going, right?

[Stugats]

Yep.

[Tony Reali]

But it did work. You did get it.

[Stugats]

Look, I keep them on their heels. And, Greg, you'd be proud of me. I did end it all with a let's go, States.

[Greg Cody]

Did you really?

[Stugats]

I did.

[Greg Cody]

Nice. Yes, I am proud of you.

[Amin Elhassan]

Can I. You know, speaking of rooting interests and such, I was at the bar, the hotel bar last night, and I met a lovely couple and was yapping about this, that, and the other. And at one point I said to the guy, take a look at this. I said, so you're a Tide fan? And he became outraged. And he said, a Tide fan? How. How could you say such a thing? And I said, well, your hat is a. Clearly an Alabama Crimson Tide. And he turned it around and he said, no, no, it's an Atlanta Braves hat.

[Dan Le Batard]

Oh, that's obvious.

[Greg Cody]

No, it was obvious color, though. That's.

[Amin Elhassan]

It's a white hat with red.

[Commercial Announcer]

With.

[Amin Elhassan]

With crimson.

[Dan Le Batard]

Shame on the Braves. Shame on the Braves.

[Chris]

Very obvious. Atlanta Braves.

[Dan Le Batard]

Look, you thought that it was the

[Amin Elhassan]

first thing I thought. I bet maybe you don't wear a white hat. The Braves don't wear white hats. They wear navy hats. That's what I said to him. I said, go get the proper hat. And then this mistake won't happen again. You'll have this conversation again, 0% for the rest of your life. If you wear the Braves hat, you're wearing a white hat with a red A on it. Of course, I think, why is it

[Jeremy]

the background on your phone?

[Amin Elhassan]

Wonderful.

[Dan Le Batard]

Let me make that my wallpaper.

[Stugats]

That is how it happens with Dave. When you meet him out in public, he'll just start yelling at you like that.

[Dan Le Batard]

And now you're in his wallpaper on his phone.

[Chris]

Well, he had a lovely night with that couple.

[Dan Le Batard]

I mean, I'm glad you're here today. I know you're here yesterday, but I was not here yesterday. I'm glad you're here today, because last week, you know, I wanted to get into the Kevin Durant, you know, Twitter stuff. But we trust you and your sources and your NBA knowledge, and you told us that it's bullshit, that it's like. Like it's Kevin Durant. It's not like, yes, he has had burner accounts before, but this is not one of those cases where he's saying things about former teammates. So I'm glad you're here today, because I do want to get some more of your thoughts on how this discourse with Kevin Durant, it's not going away, is it?

[Tony Reali]

So, Zaz, this is an interesting thing. You know about that X Files. Yeah, you remember the X Files?

[Stugats]

Yeah.

[Tony Reali]

Do you remember the X Files movie?

[Dan Le Batard]

I saw that.

[Tony Reali]

Yeah. X Files movie came out. Few years after the X Files show stopped.

[Dan Le Batard]

They finally slept together in the movie.

[Tony Reali]

Yes, they did. But the big thing about the X

[Dan Le Batard]

Files movie, the only reason to make

[Tony Reali]

the movie, the marketing campaign, was a bunch of posters of famous kind of conspiracies, like a UFO and Loch Ness or whatever. And just the tagline, I want to believe.

[Dan Le Batard]

Right?

[Tony Reali]

I want to believe. Incredibly prescient, because that is the era we're in now. Forget about fake news or whatever. We're in an era where you don't even have to concoct a elaborate ruse to trick people. You can just say, I think he did it. And because people want to believe it, that's all they need. I was texting with Dan this weekend, and Dan was like, I don't know. And I said, dan, what's the evidence? What everyone's talking about? I said, dan, everyone's talking about it like it's him. But I've never seen anyone connect the dots the way we did when we found out Brian Colangelo's burner when he was a GM of the Sixers.

[Jeremy]

From the new slant.

[Tony Reali]

We don't have anything. We just have people saying, well, yeah, he doesn't like his teammates. That's it. So this belief comes solely from the fact of belief and not from anything else. And I think all of us. I was gonna say people in the media or whatever, but all of us, we should ask more of one another than to simply believe something because it sounds like something that makes us happy. Like, oh, yeah, I love it. I love the idea that Kevin Drant is killing his teammates this way. But the reality is beyond, like I said, the people I talked to, and also the syntax of the tweets, which is like, that's not how he tweets. That's not how he talks. I've seen him talk shit about people, both on the record, off the record, behind the scenes.

[Dan Le Batard]

Right.

[Tony Reali]

And through a burner. Also, he doesn't talk about people with full names. I miss Ben Simmons. He never would say that. He never would say that way. But beyond that, that's just me using my deductive reasoning and logic. I'm just asking anybody who actually thinks it's him. All right, what's your proof? Other than he had a burner five, six years ago, there's nothing and we just have to hold each other to a higher standard of look, it's a funny joke. I'm with you for the jokes. The jokes are forever. I don't need fact behind jokes. That's why you got a soda drinker's body. But if we're talking about facts and reality, there's none of that associated with this story.

[Commercial Announcer]

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[Dan Le Batard]

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[Stugats]

This week, the PGA Tour's best players go prime time with TGL, presented by SoFi in doubleheader action. Atlanta Drive takes on both Boston Common Golf and Los Angeles Golf Club, plus two primetime matchups on Tuesday. Keep up it's Golf. Tune in Monday and Tuesday at 5pm and 9pm Eastern only on ESPN, ESPN2, and the ESPN app.

[Dan Le Batard]

Don LeBatard.

[Stugats]

I'm not gonna apologize.

[Greg Cody]

I wouldn't expect you to apologize. Then you're a giant infant, okay? You have no control over your emotions. You have no control over your emotions when you're calling someone you know an idiot. I don't deserve it.

[Stugats]

Okay?

[Greg Cody]

I don't deserve it.

[Stugats]

All right?

[Greg Cody]

And you're a fool for saying it.

[Stugats]

Okay? Stugats.

[Greg Cody]

You're a fool. Yeah, I was kind of following.

[Dan Le Batard]

Oh, you're locking in right now.

[Stugats]

You're locking in on us.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah.

[Amin Elhassan]

All right.

[Stugats]

Let's drop the gloves, pal. You should be thanking me.

[Jeremy]

For what?

[Stugats]

Every day.

[Jeremy]

For what?

[Stugats]

For what I've done around this character. And the second gets real for you. You want to come at me and

[Dan Le Batard]

call me a fool?

[Tony Reali]

Huh?

[Stugats]

No, no, no.

[Tony Reali]

Seriously, Jeremy.

[Amin Elhassan]

Seriously.

[Stugats]

I've added 10 years to your career.

[Dan Le Batard]

This is the Dan Levatar show with the stugats.

[Greg Cody]

I think we believe this solely because it fits the narrative of how we perceive Kevin Durant and his career and everything he's done. And to me, that's what makes AI so potentially dangerous, is that AI often fits the narrative. And if it does, we're more apt to believe it and not even question it.

[Tony Reali]

Absolutely. Absolutely. And also, AI through, you know, through videos, through AI Slop. Let's just call it what it is. Can provide people the evidence that Prior had been unavailable. Well, here's a video of him talking about it when it's not real.

[Dan Le Batard]

Why didn't he just say, it's not me?

[Tony Reali]

I don't know. My guess is people told him, hey, don't talk about it. It'll go away. And sure enough, by the way, the LaMelo ball accident took over Twitter and Instagram and threads.

[Dan Le Batard]

So KD liked the accident?

[Stugats]

Yeah.

[Tony Reali]

Well, yeah, of course it distracts.

[Stugats]

They say, if you really want something to go away, don't give it any oxygen.

[Tony Reali]

Because the other thing, the other reality of this era beyond, I want to believe is what's next. People are always onto what's next. And unless it's something massive and even massive things, man. I work with Pablo on real journalism, real fact finding, real unearthing about this clippers aspiration, cap circ convention allegation and people are sick of it. Like, oh, find something new. Like we're finding new information.

[Amin Elhassan]

Thank goodness for that work that you and Pablo are actually doing. Because as I've talked with him about, we now accept insiders who give out the information only that agents and teams want to be issued to the public. They now count as journalists in this weird new reality, when in fact they're not journalists. They're just passing off spiked thoughts from party that are incented to pass those off. And you have the wealthiest, the most affluent people at ESPN announcing into a microphone. Who needs reporters? They're bringing us down, man. We don't need actual reporting. It's just sports after all.

[Tony Reali]

Sad state of affairs. Greg, I'm curious, were you ever. I know you've been a columnist for a while, but were you ever a newsbreaker in any way? I know that the landscape has changed, but was newsbreaking ever a part of your news?

[Stugats]

It was at one time.

[Greg Cody]

That's probably the reason they kicked me upstairs to be a columnist is that when I was a reporter, I wasn't breaking big stories. Now I did cover, um, football from 84 to 88 when there were a lot of off field arrests. And so one of my sources was a guy for the campus police. And yes, I did break a fair share of.

[Dan Le Batard]

Do you have like a top three stories you broke? Who hated you the most? Like, if I were to ask you right now, what are the three breaking news that come to your mind immediately? That, that you, you. You used. Yeah.

[Stugats]

Well said.

[Greg Cody]

I would not know because they're minor stories.

[Dan Le Batard]

I couldn't see that properly.

[Greg Cody]

I traded Marino. Does that count?

[Stugats]

That was a big one.

[Tony Reali]

That's not a report.

[Greg Cody]

I think it was a report.

[Stugats]

That was an opinion.

[Dan Le Batard]

So regrettable opinion is what that was.

[Greg Cody]

No, it wasn't. I also.

[Dan Le Batard]

It wasn't regrettable?

[Greg Cody]

No. Hell no.

[Dan Le Batard]

How is it not regrettable? I saw what became of Scott Mitchell.

[Greg Cody]

I don't regret it to this day. I think the history and the way everything played out exonerated my opinion. Now, to this day, Dan Marino really doesn't really like to talk to me much. But nevertheless, does he like to talk to anyone? I think I was right. I think in retrospect, they should have traded Marino when they had a chance to get a windfall for him.

[Tony Reali]

The unthinkable.

[Dan Le Batard]

I'm gonna try and distract from my. My mistake. And, Tony, today is your lucky day. That means we're doing Bet the Castle. So why don't you go pick something up? Yeah. Take your position. I'm very jealous.

[Chris]

I'm jealous.

[Dan Le Batard]

Let me go do it. I love Bet the Castle. Nope, you stay right there.

[Greg Cody]

I would love.

[Dan Le Batard]

Tony's gonna do it. Tony will get set up or Bet the Castle. And we'll talk to you in a moment.

[Amin Elhassan]

This is. This is. I've just learned that Greg Cody advocated for trading away.

[Dan Le Batard]

You don't know this story.

[Amin Elhassan]

I've seen the article hanging on the wall.

[Greg Cody]

I'm upset because he's a Pittsburgh guy. That's the only reason.

[Amin Elhassan]

No, no, no. NFL teams call in 1983, called my home to talk to my old man to see if the rumors about Dan Marino were true.

[Dan Le Batard]

Why don't you read some of it?

[Amin Elhassan]

That's the.

[Dan Le Batard]

Right there.

[Amin Elhassan]

You can read it quietly. Just let us know your thoughts.

[Tony Reali]

By the way, this is after a Dolphins win. That's my favorite part.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah.

[Tony Reali]

30 chiefs, then the unthinkable.

[Dan Le Batard]

This is back in. What, 93. Is this? 93.

[Greg Cody]

Ish. Something like that.

[Dan Le Batard]

93.

[Amin Elhassan]

Greg and I have discussed this before. My hot take where Marino's concerned is that. Is that Don Shula failed him.

[Stugats]

The.

[Amin Elhassan]

The legend Don Shula. And I don't know if this gets me in hot water in. In Miami to say so, but Dan, you know, Don Shula flopped for the entirety of Dan Marino's career and cost the. The number one reason.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's a pretty common thought down here.

[Jeremy]

Is it?

[Amin Elhassan]

Oh, okay.

[Jeremy]

I didn't know.

[Stugats]

I didn't know.

[Dan Le Batard]

If that didn't get him. The defense didn't give him a running game. Yeah, it's common thought. No.

[Amin Elhassan]

Okay, well, excuse me, Zaz.

[Tony Reali]

No, no, I'm.

[Dan Le Batard]

I'm backing you up here. I'm bullying you. That's not something that people would be mad that you said about.

[Stugats]

Okay.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's what I'm saying.

[Greg Cody]

I think it's absolutely true. Because when Shula was very old, the last interview I ever did with him before he did passed away was I asked him, what's your biggest regret? And he said that I could never win one for Danny. So I think he realized he had somebody that if he had given a better defense to or a running game. I asked Marino once, who was the best running back you ever played For. And there was an awkward 10 or 15 second silence before he finally answered. I think he said Tony Nathan, but he have. He never had a Ricky Williams or a great running back.

[Jeremy]

He.

[Greg Cody]

He never had a top five defense, I don't think. And so that's. Yeah, that's. That's tough.

[Stugats]

Chris, do you have that audio I messaged you about?

[Dan Le Batard]

If I were to ask you right now, what are the three breaking news that come to your mind immediately? That. That you. You. You used. Yeah.

[Stugats]

Well, said.

[Dan Le Batard]

Not gonna be able to sleep tonight. Like I'm be lying down in bed trying to sleep. I would ask you right now, what are the three breaking news that come to your mind immediately? That. That you. You. You used.

[Stugats]

Yeah.

[Dan Le Batard]

Well, said be lying in bed staring up the sky like you, you.

[Chris]

You used.

[Dan Le Batard]

And then I'll go check my phone and people are gonna be making fun of me on Twitter.

[Amin Elhassan]

Heavy is the head that wears the crown.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah, that big head.

[Tony Reali]

Big crown.

[Dan Le Batard]

As I continue to try and distract. Let's go out to Tony. Let's do back the Castle.

[Jeremy]

Can we play it one more time before we go to Beth?

[Greg Cody]

The Castle.

[Dan Le Batard]

If I would ask you right now, what are the three breaking news that come to your mind immediately? That. That you.

[Chris]

You.

[Dan Le Batard]

You used.

[Stugats]

Yeah.

[Dan Le Batard]

Well, Grace, there's nothing I can do the remainder of this show. Cover that up.

[Jeremy]

That was terrible. That was terrible. But you know, it's not terrible. White Castle burgers. We're doing better.

[Dan Le Batard]

Castle, baby.

[Jeremy]

Let's go.

[Tony Reali]

Love me some White Castle.

[Jeremy]

So the NBA is in full swing. Second half is starting right now. And we're going to be looking at the. The NBA MVP and the odds for NBA mvp. Amin, I know you know about this, Zaz. You probably know about this, but there's a threshold that NBA MVPs need to. Need to make. As far as games played.

[Tony Reali]

I'm gonna go through threshold.

[Jeremy]

Dumb threshold. I completely agree, but a very current situation for a lot of the top guys in the NBA race right now. So you got Jokic, who only needs to miss one more game to be disqualified. Wemby misses four games, he's disqualified. Luca misses five games, he's disqualified. Sga, who's going to be reevaluated with a core muscle injury six games before he's disqualified from winning MVP. So that leads Cade Cunningham with 11 games that he would need to miss to miss MVP. He's right now in most sportsbooks at +500 to win the MVP. And if you're giving me value, Jalen Brown is at plus 3,000 in a lot of sportsbooks, obviously. He's been playing a ton, and I think the race is really between those two, because if I tell you Jokic misses one more game, I'd be like, yeah, I agree. Wemby misses four games. He could miss a month. It doesn't matter. SGA the same. They're trying to keep him healthy.

[Stugats]

Luke.

[Jeremy]

I don't think he's going to win the MVP anyway. But I'm gonna take Cade Cunningham at plus 500. And I did all this stuff without pressing the 60 seconds for the. But that's fine because I can. Yeah, but I can. I can redo it, so.

[Dan Le Batard]

No, that's okay. Like, I mean, are we gonna get to a year? Like, I. I originally liked the 65 games. Now I think it's a major problem. I think they have to get away from it, because I think what's going to wind up happening is, like, if whoever. Maybe it's Kate Cunningham who winds up winning it because you have other guys who are disqualified in five years from now, six years from now, we're going to remember Kate Cunningham won that fake MVP because he only won it because the other guys who really deserved it were disqualified. Like, that's going to be the narrative.

[Tony Reali]

You know, the weird thing is no one ever remembers that. No one ever remembers.

[Dan Le Batard]

People say that about Derrick Rose's mvp.

[Tony Reali]

No, they don't. People just say, Derrick Rose is the youngest MVP ever. Now, people here remember that LeBron was

[Dan Le Batard]

way better, and it was just, we are the best.

[Tony Reali]

The PR campaign was. Was heavy against them. Him for that first year. But not only that.

[Jeremy]

I mean, really quick. Steve Nash, I know you. That's your. I know that's your guy. I know that's your guy.

[Stugats]

But if you look at his stats,

[Jeremy]

you know, the second stats, the second MVP LeBron had 31, 7 and 6. What are we talking about?

[Tony Reali]

We're talking about a team that people thought was gonna make the playoffs.

[Jeremy]

There it was. So, I mean, do you like Jalen Brown at +3000 or do you like Cade Cunningham at +500?

[Tony Reali]

I like Kate Cunningham at +500. Man. That's a really. I feel like that's a safe one.

[Stugats]

Thank you for researching that. That is actually a good play. You outline the case, and that's Bet

[Amin Elhassan]

the Castle, which is presented by White Castle. Circumstantially, though, the Jalen Brown argument should be better or should be more prominent than it is.

[Tony Reali]

I'll tell you why. What's working against Jaylen Brown. There's two things working against him. Number one is statistically, there's not a strong argument for him.

[Dan Le Batard]

Chris Cody has more to say.

[Tony Reali]

Oh, I'm sorry.

[Amin Elhassan]

Bet the castle is presented to you by White Castle. Hunger says eat. Cravings say eat this. And with white castles, 100% beef, grilled onions, melty cheese, and steamy buns that hold it all together. How can you not crave thy castle?

[Dan Le Batard]

Support those that support us.

[Tony Reali]

Thanks, Dan's conscience. So, number one, there's a statistical argument that his stats aren't strong enough efficiently enough. Number two, he does not move the needle in terms of plus minus. All the advanced metrics don't really have him high. He's a good. I'm not saying he's bad, but it's just not elite. Number three, the on off is particularly damning that the Celtics perform pretty well when he's not on the floor versus when he when he is on the floor. So it's not like a Jokic thing where it's like when he goes off the floor, it falls apart. But the biggest thing, he's campaigning too much, man. The guy talks about it left and right. Everyone who's voting is like, shut the hell up. And that's the biggest thing. The thorn in his side.

[Stugats]

I had to say, not now, but maybe check back a little later. At least eight times last night, and I did that for America.

[Commercial Announcer]

Close your eyes.

[Tony Reali]

Exhale.

[Greg Cody]

Feel your body relax and let go

[Tony Reali]

of whatever you're carrying today.

[Commercial Announcer]

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[Dan Le Batard]

Oh, my gosh, they're so fast.

[Commercial Announcer]

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