Hour 1: THAT'S WEIRD, RIGHT? (feat. Michael Wilbon & Dave Dameshek)

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz

Episode: Hour 1: THAT'S WEIRD, RIGHT?
Date: February 6, 2026
Featured Guests: Michael Wilbon & Dave Dameshek

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Episode Overview

Broadcasting from the Elser Hotel in Miami, Dan Le Batard, Stugotz, and the crew deliver their signature irreverent and thoughtful takes on Super Bowl 60, oddities in sports and pop culture, and the state of sports journalism. The hour blends field reports from Media Night with Dave Dameshek’s shenanigans, Michael Wilbon’s poignant reflections on the decline of the Washington Post’s legendary sports section, and wide-ranging discussions that ping-pong from NBA load management to ski jumpers injecting hyaluronic acid—to gain a midair advantage.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Super Bowl 60 Media Night Tomfoolery

(01:44-06:42)

• Dave Dameshek takes listeners behind the scenes at Super Bowl Media Night with his comedic line of questioning, including bits about mustaches, "must-win" games, and Patriots/Seahawks team identity.

• Recurring Bit: Dameshek repeatedly asks players, “Is this a must-win game?” highlighting both the cliché of the question and the often literal-minded responses.

• Fashion Interlude: The crew discusses wild Super Bowl player arrivals and style choices (e.g., “You look crazy!” [04:18]), which segues into the silliness and unpredictability of Media Day.

  “If you throw a touchdown in the super bowl, will you do this? Like twist your mustache? Like, hahahaha.”
  — Dan Le Batard (04:02)

• Meta-Commentary: The hosts reflect on comedy’s challenge in the media-saturated Super Bowl environment, with Dan and Mike Yam giving Dameshek his flowers for making Media Day actually funny.

2. Mediocrity, Parity, and Super Bowl Hype

(06:47-09:49)

• Fan Excitement: The group notes the relative lack of enthusiasm about this Super Bowl due to the absence of “dynasties” and general team unfamiliarity.

• Defensive Debate: An advanced metrics discussion debates whether Seattle’s defense surpasses those of Denver or Houston, teasing out the tension between “the eye test” and DVOA rankings.

  “To my eye...I think the Texans had a vibe of being more overwhelming in the second half...But I mean, think about it. The Seahawks, that’s an all-time dominant defense.”
  — Dave Dameshek (08:31)

3. Uniforms, “Plum Sick in My Balls,” and Nostalgia

(09:49-11:32)

• Uniform Disgust: Dameshek and Mike Yam vent about unsightly Super Bowl uniforms replacing beloved “OG getups” for the Patriots and Seahawks.

• Signature Phrase: Dameshek introduces the phrase “plum sick in my balls” to express his spiritual and visceral displeasure.

  “My TV is going to go on and I’m going to be feeling sick in my balls because I’m going to be looking at whatever mess that Patriots getup is supposed to be instead of the glorious Pat Patriots.”
  — Dave Dameshek (10:29)

  The hosts riff on the meaning of the phrase and the general malaise surrounding Super Bowl aesthetics.

4. Super Bowl Matchup & Betting Angles

(11:32-15:55)

• Perceptions: The panel is mystified by the strong betting support for Seattle (minus 4.5 points), with nearly no optimism for a Patriots upset. Sam Darnold’s reputation for volatility is cited as New England’s primary hope.
• Kenneth Walker as MVP: Dameshek floats Kenneth Walker as the likely Super Bowl MVP.
• Favorite Prop Bet: Dameshek advocates for the “safety” bet, comparing it to craps’ Yo11 wager (“You just sit there for 60 minutes and root for the ball to go into the end zone…” [14:13]).

5. State of the Washington Post’s Sports Section — Michael Wilbon Interview

(18:59-26:53)

• Personal and Professional Loss: Wilbon, deeply emotional, speaks on the demise of the Post’s iconic sports section and what it has meant to his life and career.

  "It’s disgusting, it’s disheartening, it’s as bad a feeling professionally as I’ve had in my life to know that the Washington Post sports section is gone, essentially, and the newspaper...is just not going to be what it was."
  — Michael Wilbon (19:44)

• Anger and Context: Wilbon’s frustration is not just with management, but with broader changes—editors' lack of communication with staff, indifference, and a climate where “major institutions go away and there’s nothing you can do.”

• Bezos Critique: Wilbon calls Jeff Bezos “a lightweight...just a cream puff,” lambasting his stewardship of the Post.
  (23:08)

• Capitalism and Journalism: The hosts grapple with the profit imperative versus the traditional firewalls between editorial and business, with Wilbon insisting there were “ways to handle things” that respected humanity and tradition.
  (24:24-25:34)

6. The Transformation of Sports Journalism

(27:32-28:49)

• Specialization vs. Generalization: Wilbon rails against ESPN for making everyone a “specialist,” lamenting the demise of the “generalists” era, when journalists covered all sports across all seasons.

  “People being generalists. There’s no generalists anymore...You and I reported on everything...”
  — Michael Wilbon (28:19)

7. Wilbon on Today’s NBA and Sports Fandom

(28:49-32:50)

• Disdain for Load Management: Wilbon expresses love for basketball, but loathes today’s NBA—players rarely play full seasons, fans can’t reliably see stars perform, and networks fragment viewership.

  “I wanted to come and sit down and watch a real game between Oklahoma City and San Antonio...half the people aren’t playing, which is the norm...It pisses me off most. Load management. [...] Dudes used to wear canvas shoes with no tape and they played 82, and now guys have everything and they can’t play 60 games...”
  — Michael Wilbon (29:09–32:50)

• Old Guys and Young Fans: Wilbon rejects the idea that just older fans are frustrated; even his teenage son finds the modern NBA hard to follow.

8. Super Bowl Betting and Esoterica

(34:25-36:30)

• The hosts dive into women’s Olympic hockey odds, Super Bowl spread picks (Patriots +5), and Mike Vrabel’s success as an underdog.
• Discussion of odd protestations regarding anonymous quotes about the halftime show being “too international,” and political affiliations by NFL position group.

9. Skiing, Penile Injections, and Athletic Extremes

(36:30-39:12)

• Bizarre Olympic Innovation: The crew erupts in disbelief over a New York Times/Athletic report on Olympic ski jumpers injecting hyaluronic acid into their penises to increase the size of their uniforms and gain aerodynamic advantage.

  “So I read the story and the explanation...was...just an extra 2 square inches of fabric...can potentially give you over five feet of flight in carry.”
  — Jeremy [Explaining] (37:30)

• Cue much joking about "small advantages," hammers, and penalties for tastelessness.

10. Closing Reflections and Banter

(39:48-40:37)

• Wilbon’s segment leaves the crew ruminating on the sadness of institutional decline and the passionate but cantankerous nature of sports lifers.

  “It is old man yelling at the cloud. But like, I agree with all of that. I'm totally with him on everything he said about the NBA.”
  — Dan Le Batard (40:01)

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Memorable Quotes & Notable Moments (with Timestamps)

• On must-win games:
  “Dave, is this a must win game? I think it is. It’s the Super Bowl.”
  — Dan Le Batard (04:50)

• On the decline of the Post:
  “It’s as bad a feeling professionally as I’ve had in my life to know that the Washington Post sports section is gone.”
  — Michael Wilbon (19:44)

• Vitriol for Bezos:
  “He’s just a lightweight...just to be scared, just lightweight. Just a cream puff.”
  — Michael Wilbon (23:08)

• NBA frustration:
  “Dudes used to wear canvas shoes with no tape and they played 82 and now guys have everything and they got...they can’t play 60 games and that. I don’t like that. I hate that.”
  — Michael Wilbon (32:26)

• Olympic absurdity:
  “There are skiers injecting themselves in the penis, enhancing their penises to fly further...it makes your junk bigger, I guess. And seemingly temporarily.”
  — Mike Yam & Dan Le Batard (36:58–38:06)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 1:44: Dave Dameshek’s Super Bowl Media Night Bit
• 6:42: Parity and Super Bowl Enthusiasm
• 8:31: Seattle’s Defense vs. Houston and Denver
• 9:49: Uniform Aesthetics and “Plum Sick in My Balls”
• 18:59: Michael Wilbon on the End of the Washington Post Sports Section
• 23:08: Wilbon’s Bezos Critique
• 28:49: Wilbon on the Demise of Generalist Sports Journalism
• 29:09–32:50: Wilbon’s NBA Fandom Rant (Load Management, Streaming, Old Guy/Lost Fans)
• 34:25: Against the Spread and Betting Segment
• 36:30–38:06: Ski Jumpers and Penile Injection Story
• 40:01: Show Reflection on Wilbon’s Interview

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Tone and Language Highlights

• The episode is classic Le Batard Show: irreverent, quick-witted, at times absurd, but not afraid to get serious—particularly in Wilbon’s heartfelt segment.
• Dameshek’s Media Night segment is playful and sardonic; Wilbon’s interview is personal, emotional, and occasionally cutting.
• The back half swings between sports nerd humor (advanced stats, betting) and pop culture/political commentary, always with an undercurrent of disbelief at the world’s weirdness.

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Summary prepared for listeners seeking the full flavor, humor, and insight of the show—without the ads or filler.

Transcript

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[Michael Wilbon]

This is the Dan Levator show with the Stugats podcast.

[Dan Le Batard]

Hi and hello, my fellow football Americans. It's your old pal Dave Damasc. It's Super Bowl 60 media night. Some people here are going to answer questions. Other people are going to ask questions. Which one am I? Let's find out. Do you think that Tom Brady wants to see you win a Super Bowl? Becoming the second Patriots QB to That's a good question. I think it's something you have to ask him. Do you think it's weird that the New England Patriots are named after the revolutionary soldiers who beat back the Brits? But now, when the Patriots honor the best players they've Ever had. What do they give them a red coat? That's weird, isn't it? Does that make Seattle now America's team?

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah, I don't know the whole history behind, you know, the Patriots, the red coats.

[Dan Le Batard]

But that's weird, right? Then we beat the Brits and they're wearing red coats. I think they're announcing something about themselves.

[Michael Wilbon]

So you're saying they representing the Brits?

[Dan Le Batard]

I mean, that's what it says. Like they're telling us and you saying.

[Michael Wilbon]

Since we, you know, we're Navy, we's America's team.

[Dan Le Batard]

And the last team you were on proved fraudulent. They're not America's team. Is it the Seahawks now?

[Michael Wilbon]

Well, that's something for America to answer. Let's start a poll.

[Dan Le Batard]

We're getting the ball down the field. The clock's ticking down. I'm gonna run out onto the field in a second here to try and win the Super Bowl. You haven't. You haven't given to thinking that one through. You know, if the moment happens, it happens. But yeah, I'm just trying to keep it all the same. If it does happen. Now that we've had this conversation, will you think of me? First off, let's talk about the mustache. What went into it? Yeah, I've never grown a mustache in my life. I really can't, as you can tell. No, yeah, I can tell. I was gonna say as much. Got into the season, we lost, I shaved it, we won. I'm like, you know what? I'm just gonna keep this a winning, losing thing.

[Michael Wilbon]

And Sam Darnold and the boys just.

[Dan Le Batard]

Decided to win a lot of football games in a.

[Mike Yam]

And so that's why I still have it.

[Dan Le Batard]

You would like to play in the super bowl, right? Yeah, maybe. Let me hand it off a couple times. Drew Lock says that he would like to take a few snaps in the Super Bowl. Can you make that happen? Despite the fact that the guy can't even grow a decent mustache.

[Mike Yam]

Oh, man. That's your opinion.

[Dan Le Batard]

I think his mustache looks great, Coach, given the hirsuit quality of your starting quarterback and never mind the backup. What quality of them? The hirsuit, the beard. That red beard that he wears. Hairy.

[Mike Yam]

All right.

[Dan Le Batard]

If you throw a touchdown in the super bowl, will you do this? Like twist your mustache? Like, hahahaha. Probably not. I don't know if I can really reach through the helmet. Too easy. Stefan, have you seen a picture of yourself getting off the plane the other day? Yeah, man, you look crazy.

[Michael Wilbon]

You think so?

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, I mean, I don't think I could pull that look off.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah, it was. It was like some archive Chanel, some old Jacques Moose boots, like some stuff that you're probably not even interested in.

[Dan Le Batard]

No, I'm interested. I just couldn't pull it off.

[Michael Wilbon]

It's all guys let you hold the next outfit.

[Dan Le Batard]

Is this a must win game?

[Michael Wilbon]

A must win.

[Mike Yam]

Yeah, I think every time we go.

[Michael Wilbon]

Out is a must win game.

[Dan Le Batard]

Is this a must win game? Is every game a must win game?

[Michael Wilbon]

Every game is a must win game. This a must win game. I think you just ask that yourself and see what you want me to say that.

[Dan Le Batard]

Dave, is this a must win game? I think it is. It's the Super Bowl.

[Michael Wilbon]

There we go.

[Dan Le Batard]

What does Drake think?

[Mike Yam]

There we go.

[Michael Wilbon]

Exact same thing. You just said.

[Dan Le Batard]

We did it. Ask questions. You just saw me do that. I hope you enjoyed it. I certainly did. Dan Michek.

[Mike Yam]

Al, that was excellent. I really enjoyed that the first time. I enjoyed it just as much as the second time. Mike, what was your favorite part of that? There's a degree of difficulty. Not many people actually make good stuff from media day, even though plenty of people are there trying to make funny stuff. You were delighted. I rarely hear Mike roar with laughter at anything and it's just cause yammercheck is being Yammercheck.

[Michael Wilbon]

Correct.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's weird.

[Mike Yam]

But that's weird, right?

[Dan Le Batard]

You look crazy.

[Mike Yam]

What were your thoughts there as you did that? How did you feel about your work and how have you enjoyed super bowl week out there?

[Dan Le Batard]

Couldn't be prouder, Dan. Couldn't be prouder of what my life's added up to taking me to this point. The listen, it's a must win game. That's what I'm here to report.

[Mike Yam]

How many times have you done that in a row? How many years in a row have you gone to the super bowl and asked people if it were a must win game? Is it more than a decade now?

[Dan Le Batard]

Oh, I didn't do it the last couple of years, but yeah, I've done it off and on. I bet you I've done that at least about 10 times now. And I always feel, I always get pangs of, you know, days before, boy, is this, is this pretty hacky. Just doing the same bit, just asking them if it's a must win game. And I can rationalize that it's okay because the responders stay fresh, they keep it fresh. And it really also hinges on some third party self serious person nearby hearing it and then reporting it out to the world.

[Mike Yam]

Some idiot just asked if this is a must win game. Media night sucks.

[Dan Le Batard]

And then once it, once it gets out into the world, that's when I become delighted. But that's weird, right? How much did Jason Myers hate you, Dave? Jason Myers did not seem impressed. He didn't. But I think we can all agree that he is going to think about me if he has to run out there for the, for the game winning kick. I also thought about asking because people are underwhelmed, if you haven't heard by this super bowl matchup and that's what we've talked about, parody equals mediocrity. And now nobody knows who these teams are really because we don't have dynasties, I guess. And so people are, people are underwhelmed. I think it would have been funny, but I thought too rude to ask the Patriots can they name five members of the Seahawks and the Seahawks if they could name five members of the Patriots?

[Mike Yam]

No, you should have done that. That would have been great, actually.

[Dan Le Batard]

I bet they wouldn't have. Right? There's no way that the Seahawks could name five guys on the Patriots.

[Mike Yam]

I would have liked to see them, you know, stammer and try and figure out the answer to your question and not being able to do it by numbers, which is how some of these guys do film work. But help answer a couple of questions for us from earlier in the show. We're waiting for Michael Wilbon here. He'll be here shortly to talk about what's going on at the Washington Post. But we were talking before about defensive metrics and the advanced metrics in sports football. America does a very good job Mondays and Fridays of tackling history, tackling, analysis, tackling. Funny. I don't know if you feel like you can accurately answer this question, but how do you answer the question of is Seattle's defense actually better than Denver and Houston's? Even though according to to DVOA it.

[Dan Le Batard]

Is to my eye. That's what I mean, listen, we've talked about it. You know, I rely more on what the what my heart, my gut tell me than what those numbers say, Dan. But yeah, I think the Texans had a vibe of being more overwhelming in the second half of the season in terms of just if they get ahead of you, they're going to unleash the hounds and you're going to your QB is going to struggle. I think it's a negligible difference at least between the Texans and, and the Seahawks. And I don't feel like the Broncos are as good. But you know what have you done for me lately? And what did we just last see? And I'm surprised there hasn't been more conversation about the performance that the Seahawks most recently put out there. I mean, the Rams are great and a lot of people, including you, Dan, very clearly. Really, Dan, really like those Rams even more than I did and a lot of other people did. The Rams were, were real good. But I mean, think about it. The Seahawks, that's an all time dominant defense. What we just saw in Seattle, it's. If you measure it based on that, it's not last seen. Wasn't that great.

[Mike Yam]

I remember the Tampa game against Seattle in Seattle where Baker was better than Sam Darnold somehow. And I'm holding it against the Seahawks.

[Dan Le Batard]

How great were those uniforms, Dave? One of the greatest games of all time. We talked about it already and I don't want to get bogged down with it, but I, but I, but, but I'm plum sick in my balls about the fact that, that we have to look at the mess that we're going to look at. But don't. We already went over this and what's done is. Your what. But that's weird, right?

[Mike Yam]

Your plum sick in your balls.

[Michael Wilbon]

That's right.

[Mike Yam]

What do you mean that's right? I don't even know that's wrong. It's not right.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's not, not a good feeling. I'm just, I'm just trying to, I'm just trying to be.

[Mike Yam]

But I don't even know what that feeling is. Was it. What does it mean to be plugged in my balls?

[Dan Le Batard]

You ever, you ever get, you ever get, you ever get punched? You know, down below, everybody, anybody just gives you a good grazing and you feel that.

[Mike Yam]

What?

[Dan Le Batard]

The field. Not punch. In fact, if you get a grazing down there, that feeling, it's. You get kind of nauseated. That. That's what I mean. And I meant that spiritually my TV is going to go on and I'm going to be feeling sick in my balls because I'm going to be looking at whatever mess that Patriots get up is supposed to be instead of the glorious Pat Patriots against the, the royal blue and the silver of the. Of the Seahawks OG getups. Oh, yes. You don't care, Dan. But, but Mike and I, it's not.

[Mike Yam]

That I don't care. I'm just stuck on plum sick in the balls. Like what, what, what is plumsick? I don't even know what that expression means.

[Dan Le Batard]

I'll plum over the moon. You know, that kind of thing. It May make. It's like, like quite as a colloquialism. It's like, I'm quite sure, you know, I'm. I'm plum sick in my balls. Now you get it. But that's weird, right? Thank you, Zas. And I'm sorry about the Florida Panthers. Let's go, Pence. Pence doing real well.

[Mike Yam]

Real well on Dominique's live show last night. Last night Marcus Spears came out and said the notion that this is supposed to be some cakewalk for Seattle has really made me sick. Made me sick.

[Dan Le Batard]

Not in his balls though.

[Mike Yam]

The. The people are betting Seattle minus four and a half. The people.

[Dan Le Batard]

Can you believe this, Dan? I mean, for real, that is. I, you know, I bounced off of many dozens of people in San Francisco, which as a reminder, this is a Super Bowl 49 rematch in the home of the 49ers, which is the San Francisco 49ers, which is nowhere near San Francisco. It's very confusing. I know you guys were talking about the San Jose and San Francisco thing, but anyway, of the dozens of people that I bounced off of, mostly informed people, I don't get any sort of. Any sort of positivity around the Patriots chances in this game. It's really weird. This is. It's not like it's a nine and the numbers nine and a half, it's four and a half and everybody is on the Seahawks.

[Michael Wilbon]

Right?

[Dan Le Batard]

Weird, right? Yes, it is weird. It is very strange to me that that's the case. And of course I. We've gone round and round about obviously postseason QB wins and Sam Darnold has now washed off the previous stink by winning a big time postseason game. But he's still Sam Darnold and that's to me the Patriots chance is that he could conceivably do what Sam Darnold sometimes does, which is throw three picks and that can certainly swing the game. So yeah, I mean that. The thing I don't think is going to happen though is and I think a lot of people are depending on this. If you're trying to talk yourself into New England is boy, Drake May he consistently makes plays with his legs. I think that's the thing that the Seahawks are going to be intent on taking away because if they do, I really don't see where the Patriots are equipped to keep up to keep up against that Seahawks.

[Mike Yam]

Well, I, I think the argument behalf of the Patriots is that yes, Drake may can run better than anyone other than Josh Allen at the position. He is exceptional against the blitz. Deep ball is Better than any deep ball in the league. But I also think an argument to be made on behalf of the Patriots is they've lost three times this season, all by one score. Like that team could be undefeated. And I don't think if it were undefeated, a whole lot of people would be questioning them in this Super Bowl.

[Dan Le Batard]

You're, I mean listen, the, the overstatement of again, people talking themselves into something into this. This alleged truth is that the Patriots are a ham and egg team because the competition they played there was no Virginia Tech out there for them. These were, these were pro football teams that they were beating after all. And I don't like as we discussed the last time too, the thing that is that you immediately look at hyper is JSN really makes that Seahawks offense go. And the Patriots have Christian Gonzalez, who you would think has a real good chance of slowing him down, quieting him a little bit. And then you think, what are the Seahawks going to do? The answer to me is Kenneth Walker. Look at what Kenneth Walker's done the last six weeks or so. He's been pretty undeniable as a pass catcher as well as running the ball. I think that's the difference in the game. I think, I think Kenneth Walker ends up being your Super Bowl 60 MVP. But the bet that is most fun to make, not that you asked, is, is the safety bet. It's my favorite bet to make in a Super bowl. It's the Yo11 of pro football. You just sit there for 60 minutes and root for the ball to go into the end zone or go through the end zone or for. Or for a 300 pound man.

[Mike Yam]

Again. Again with the recycled turds from football America. Danishek, I need you to stop recycling.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's not a recycled. That's me trying to the general public, your audience, Dan. I'm trying to help them out to enjoy it a little bit more. You know what would make it a little bit better? 11 to 1 odds when it comes through, that's what's going to be nice. I don't.

[Mike Yam]

But you can't recycle these turds from Football America. Keep those over there and they won't become refreshed turds.

[Dan Le Batard]

I don't know. I don't know why I'm being attacked in front of a legend. Like I see Michael Wilbon is waiting and this is, this, this is what I get. I want to talk about the Pro bowl and how it stinks. And I want to tell you about the. Oh, hey, by the way, every. Congratulations to everybody who's anti woke. They're.

[Mike Yam]

They're gonna stick it upon flee the premises. They're not. They're not gonna Kid Rock with your yammering, your take this, take this woksters.

[Dan Le Batard]

I'm gonna go listen to Kid Rock on purpose. Haha. I win again.

[Mike Yam]

Get him out of here. Football America Monday and Fridays. I'm telling you, it's excellent. He's weird.

[Dan Le Batard]

I'm sick.

[Mike Yam]

He's weird, right?

[Dan Le Batard]

He's weird, right? You look crazy, but that's weird, right? He's weird, right?

[Mike Yam]

Get him out of here. Enough.

[Dan Le Batard]

Guys, let me tell you something.

[Mike Yam]

One of the greatest joys of my life was when they finally opened the.

[Dan Le Batard]

White Castle in my neighborhood in Phoenix, Arizona. I lost my mind because I'm so used to eating White Castle at home.

[Michael Wilbon]

When I was in New York.

[Dan Le Batard]

Now I can have all the time in Phoenix, but when I come to Miami, there's no White Castle. So you know what I do?

[Mike Yam]

Go to the freezer aisle because right.

[Dan Le Batard]

There they got the variety pack with.

[Mike Yam]

All the great White Castle flavor in there.

[Dan Le Batard]

You're getting a lot of slider styles. You're getting classic American cheese, you're getting jalapeno cheese. And if you're a bacon lover, you're.

[Mike Yam]

Getting that new cheddar bacon cheese sliders.

[Dan Le Batard]

The classic cheese gives you all the taste of a great American burger. While jalapeno cheese sliders give a serving.

[Michael Wilbon]

Of spicy to each bite.

[Dan Le Batard]

And the new cheddar bacon cheese, that.

[Mike Yam]

Literally brings home the bacon folks. With real pieces of bacon and cheddar flavored cheese. Guys, I know what you're thinking. Your mouth is watering. My mouth is watering just reading this.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's completely normal. You can find each of these sliders where?

[Mike Yam]

In the grocery store in the freezer aisle. Bonus.

[Dan Le Batard]

They're all in the same box.

[Michael Wilbon]

You don't even have to.

[Dan Le Batard]

Oh, I gotta get four boxes. No, it's one variety box.

[Mike Yam]

It's got them all in it. Perfect for game day, late nights, or.

[Dan Le Batard]

Anytime you just want something awesomely oniony, satisfying, steamy and unapologetically cheesy.

[Mike Yam]

White Castle. Crave thy castle don Levatar. Football.

[Michael Wilbon]

Football, football. St.

[Dan Le Batard]

Guts.

[Michael Wilbon]

This is the Dan Levatar show with the St.

[Mike Yam]

Let's get a real talker and a real broadcaster in here. Michael Wilbond. Pardon the interruption. And most famously, I think the Washington Post. And good God, was I heartbroken to see everything that just happened at the Washington Post. And we welcome in Wilbond here because for many years he and Kornheiser helped carry what has always been one of the greatest sports sections there has ever been. Now, I don't know, Michael, how much you've been watching what Will Lewis, the guy who dismantled this sports department, was doing walking the NFL red carpet. But how are you feeling, and thank you for making the time for us here during a busy time. How are you feeling about everything that's going on at the Washington Post?

[Michael Wilbon]

Devastated, Dan. I mean, no, I'm not paying any attention to Will Lewis. I'm not paying any attention to any of the Washington Post execs and what they could be doing. I don't know them. I've never met them. I had little regard for them anyway, long before any of this. And to be honest with you, I haven't joined any chat groups and text threads. It's disgusting, it's disheartening. It's as bad a feeling professionally as I've had in my life to know that the Washington Post sports section is gone, essentially, and the newspaper is never is just not going to be what it was. I walked in the door there as an intern at 20 years old and I left at 51. I worked the first 31 years of my adult life at the Washington Post, proudly, arrogantly, enthusiastically. It's responsible for everything I have. So I'm pissed off.

[Mike Yam]

Who are you pissed off at?

[Michael Wilbon]

The world. I understand that there are conditions. Things go away. Things go away bigger than the Washington Post. You know, when my dad was in the prime of his life, and even, well, prime of his life, for sure, the three sports that mattered, the only three sports that mattered were boxing, baseball and horse racing. Well, boxing is gone the way we knew it, right? I mean, don't tell me mma, boxing, boxing's gone. It doesn't exist in any form that resembles what obsessed America in the context of sports. For a hundred years, from the 1880s to the 1980s, horse racing doesn't exist in any form that he knew. And baseball is a place now where they trot out, you know, a bullpen day in the World Series. It's. It's doesn't. People would stop at Windows, in big cities, at department stores, to watch the World Series if they didn't have TV yet. And so there are major institutions that go away and there's nothing you can do about it. Times change, interests changed, change, fascinations change, the way we consume things, it changes. And so am I mad at that. Yeah, that doesn't mean I don't understand it. But then mad at the people, the executives, you Started mentioning who could have done some things to stave this off but didn't really care to or didn't understand how to or weren't smart enough to. Either way, I'm pissed at them. It's just. It's, you know, you're howling at the moon, and this might have come anyway. It seems like it was coming anyway. The Washington Post is the only newspaper that's, you know, taken at least to eight counts. So I get it. But it doesn't mean I'm not angry about it.

[Mike Yam]

You called Bezos a lightweight. Right?

[Michael Wilbon]

At least I could have been worse. He's a lightweight. What he did with Kamala Harris endorsed the newspaper. What he did with the wonderful slogan democracy dies in darkness. He's just a lightweight at. At best, he's just another afraid dude, man. I can't even imagine having that money and being afraid of a constituency or a dude in the White House or so beholden to just being what he is, which is a delivery man. He's great at it. The best ever. But just to be scared, just lightweight. Just a cream puff.

[Mike Yam]

What do you do?

[Michael Wilbon]

Really? If I saw him, I wouldn't shake his hand. Never met him. I wouldn't shake his hand.

[Mike Yam]

What do you do with the idea that Mike Ryan espoused on the show yesterday? Hey, these things have to make money. And I know you and I lived during a glorious time where the money was separated from the editorial, but in today's America and in capitalism, is Bezos supposed to just keep taking $100 million loss every year?

[Michael Wilbon]

Not necessarily. But there are ways to handle things. Dann, again, I'm not saying I don't understand, but there are ways to handle things. And we can. You know, I'll compare it to sports. You know, you hear all the time We. You and I hear all the time from athletes we know when they get traded or cut, released, whatever, that. They heard it on sports talk radio. They heard the warriors decided to bring Draymond Green in and talk to them and say, hey, here's what could happen. Bezos. So you mean Bezos and none of his agents, his lightweight agents, can talk to a staff that they employ? I'm not saying. Again, I'm not saying I don't understand. And it might have to go away. It didn't have to go away like this. Where people are on assignment at the Winter Olympics and don't even know if they'll be kept there or brought home. There's just lightweight, classless, gutless stuff that happens in every industry. And you hope it doesn't happen in yours. And this is happening not just in my industry, but to a place I called home for 30 years.

[Mike Yam]

Well, there are wartime journalists being let go in other countries. Never mind that they're not sending reporters to the national spring training or some of them.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah, or exactly like they're.

[Dan Le Batard]

They.

[Michael Wilbon]

We're just talking about the context of sports. But yes, I'm a. Yes. Yes, I know our correspondence for decades. Yes, it's far more egregious than anything in sports. You asked me about my experience and what I'm focused in on and listening to and paying attention to. And it's my little corner of the world. Former corner of the world first. But yes, the whole newspaper, the Washington Post, it sits on my desk every day in my home. I don't just consume it digitally. I pay to receive it. The newspaper, like it's 1960. I grew up delivering newspapers when I was a kid in Chicago. Two of them. They're gonna die, too, probably. But I get the Washington Post here at my home, so I'm aware of everything that goes on in it. Not just the sports section, but it all makes. All of it. The way it was handled makes me angry. And I would tell anybody that to their face.

[Mike Yam]

How dare you say boxing is dead when just recently we were given this moment in boxing and you're out here blaspheming against boxing no longer being as relevant as it was as this guy gets his toupee knocked off in the middle of the ring in a heavyweight fight, that matters, he loses his hair. How dare you say boxing dudes.

[Michael Wilbon]

That's a lie. Because these two dudes ain't in any heavyweight fight that matters.

[Mike Yam]

Your corner of the world here. When you speak of sports, your greatest passion is and always has been basketball.

[Michael Wilbon]

Not necessarily. I'm seasonal. I'm a seasonal dude. I mean, I have been more prominent in your face the last 15 years doing basketball before that, I did football before that, I did college basketball before that. I mean, there are times of tennis and golf. That's one of the things about the Washington Post, one of the things ESPN destroyed. And yes, I'm blaming ESPN for making everybody a specialist. By the way, you see behind me, behind my left ear is a picture of Joe Louis raising Muhammad Ali's hand. That was boxing. But I interrupt. I'm sorry, what are you going to say about my.

[Mike Yam]

I don't know yet. He has been destroying something. You know, that's catnip for me. Yeah, I don't. But I don't even know what it is that you had them destroying with your special.

[Michael Wilbon]

Well, people. People being generalists. They're no generalists anymore. They're just specific shows. Specific things where people host or report on specific things. Not everything. You and I reported on every. We did everything. When college basketball season was over, I went to baseball. When baseball was over, I went to football. When football was not over, but kind of over, I went to basketball, because it was basically over in December then.

[Mike Yam]

But my question on basketball was going to be, as someone who. Clearly, you love basketball. Your son Matthew, you've taught him to love basketball.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yes.

[Mike Yam]

The sport today in its evolved form, where players are getting hurt all over the place, they're playing a different style. 53 is a game. Everything that's happening in the sport. Do you love it the same way that you did?

[Michael Wilbon]

I hate it. I hate it this week more than ever. I wanted to come and sit down and watch a real game between Oklahoma City and San Antonio the other night. And then I find out half the people aren't playing, which is the norm. It's the norm for half the people you paid to see. Whether you paid to see in person or at home on one of the nine streaming services. That makes it so you don't even know where the games are. You don't even know where they are. Is it on Prime? Is it on espn? Is it on NBC? Where the NBA tv? Where the hell's the game? I can't find it. I was with Charles Barkley one night in Arizona recently. We're having dinner and we were like, hey, we gotta go watch that game. And Charles and I both looked at each other go, where's the game? Where is it? Two people who are employed to talk about basketball on national television don't know where the damn game is.

[Mike Yam]

Yeah, but that's just old guys. That's just.

[Michael Wilbon]

No, it's not old guys. No, it is, isn't. It actually isn't. I asked my son about it. He's 17. He plays high school basketball. No, it isn't just old guys. It's funnier because it's old guys. You're right about that. But no, I don't know. I don't. I don't like what it's become. I don't like All Star Weekend. Talk about lightweight and talk about The. The. The NBA's had years to address and fix the All Star Game and apparently is afraid to. Who do they not want to cross? They don't want to cross LeBron. They don't want to cross. Who is. They don't want to offend Steph. I doubt. I doubt it's those two guys because they. They're up for anything that. That. That promotes and sells the. And. And makes the product better. But who are they? Who's the league afraid to offend? You want to put a game out there of international players versus us, you'd have interest in that. The moment the Super Bowl's over, you'd have fascination with that. It's scared to do it. And they come up with three teams. It's just lazy. You know what it is? I know. I'm not going to curse and say what I want to say. You know what it is? Starts with a B and an S. That's just that part of it. The product. There's so many great players playing great young players. And I do like that. I love that the league is less old than it used to be. And it's always been a league where you had to. To play a long time to become great and be in a position with a band of people to challenge and contend. It's a little different now. And you got more teams now. I like that they're 8, 10 teams that look like they could really challenge, if not eight, six or eight challenge for a championship. I love that. I love the international stars. So there are things about the game I love overall. The fact that you don't even know when you're going to see them is what pisses me off most. Load management. Whether people are. I don't question injuries, Dan, in any sport, but damn if. If we're told all the time. My son comes in and says, oh, dad, athletes, the players now are bigger, stronger, faster, more athletic. Then how come their asses are hurt every night? The best in treatment in medicine and technology and equipment. Dudes used to wear canvas shoes with no tape and they played 82 and now guys have everything and they got. They can't play 60 games and that. I don't like that. I hate that. And it's. It may not be just the NBA, but the NBA seems to major in that right now.

[Mike Yam]

Love you, buddy. Always good seeing your face. Always good talking to you. Thank you for making time for us.

[Michael Wilbon]

Now you got me all riled up.

[Mike Yam]

I did once you got to canvas shoes and no tape. I'm like, that guy is now in a hostile. He's in a hostile mood. I've sent him into the rest of his day filled with hostility.

[Michael Wilbon]

Don't let me forget as I leave you commercial Flights. But they're all great. They're the greatest athletes on the planet. They may be, but they can't play more than 50 games. Come on now. The rest of us are all fools all the time because we consume it. We keep consuming it. Keep buying it. Keep watching it.

[Mike Yam]

Love you, buddy.

[Michael Wilbon]

Love you, too.

[Dan Le Batard]

He's saying he's right.

[Mike Yam]

See you later. Of course he's right. Canvas shoes with no tape. They used to play 82 with canvas shoes and no tape.

[Dan Le Batard]

I love him.

[Mike Yam]

He's. He's been the greatest for a long time. Always good when Michael Wilbon makes time for us.

[Dan Le Batard]

Don LeBatard in terms of Heat fans, the most irrational of us right now.

[Mike Yam]

What?

[Michael Wilbon]

What's the pivot?

[Dan Le Batard]

Irrational.

[Mike Yam]

St. You don't hear your voice? Your voice. You. If I were making a cartoon thing that was meant to symbolize irrational, that's the voice I would give higher.

[Dan Le Batard]

Premise. Premise.

[Michael Wilbon]

This is the D Ler show with the St. GS.

[Mike Yam]

Let's do against the sp.

[Michael Wilbon]

Against.

[Dan Le Batard]

The spread is presented by DraftKings.

[Michael Wilbon]

DraftKings.

[Dan Le Batard]

The Crown is yours. Rory, what do we got?

[Michael Wilbon]

Women's Olympic hockey tomorrow the United States plays Finland. They are five and a half goal favorites.

[Dan Le Batard]

Jesus.

[Michael Wilbon]

They won five to one against Czechia yesterday. DraftKings has the United States winning gold at minus 150 and minus 10,000 the medal while Finland is 35 to one to win gold, plus 200 to medal. That's the Porsche as of last night. And keep an eye on Leela Edwards. She's going to be a star. Go with the United States at five and a half.

[Dan Le Batard]

Wow.

[Michael Wilbon]

The favorites.

[Dan Le Batard]

Mike, that is a lot that he gave us there. I'm taking the Super Bowl. The line's going up. Everybody keep an eye on. I'm gonna watch this and you can get it at five in some places. I like it at five. So let's take the Patriots and Mike Vrabel against a public Seattle Seahawks team. I like Mike Vrabel in these spots. If you eliminate need a bad Tennessee Titans team. One of the worst Tennessee Titans teams in franchise history. His record ATS and straight up as a dog is an all time deal for gamblers everywhere.

[Michael Wilbon]

So I'm going to lean on the.

[Dan Le Batard]

Pat so you like the bigger number.

[Michael Wilbon]

I'm going to take the five with the pats.

[Mike Yam]

The athletic wrote a story the other day in which they were quoting an assortment of an anonymous players. Did you see this at all, Zazlov? About the halftime show? How do they feel about the halftime show? And an anonymous player said I think they're going a little too far with all of these international acts. He's from Puerto Rico.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah.

[Dan Le Batard]

There's Buddy. They don't know that. Yeah.

[Mike Yam]

What position. What position is that? Anonymous player. Kicker. Is it a kicker? Because I thought offensive line.

[Dan Le Batard]

Offensive line for sure.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah.

[Dan Le Batard]

Guards. There was a study on, like political leanings by position in the NFL. Okay. Further away you get from the ball, the more left of center they get. But there's actually not a lot of left of center dudes. Millionaires in the NFL. Like the tax thing. I found they're willing to overlook a lot.

[Mike Yam]

Did you guys see this story? Also from the Athletic? It legitimately confused me. The New York Times and the Athletic, where, because the Olympics have indeed started, there are skiers injecting themselves in the penis, enhancing their penises to fly further. And I think it was something called a hydraulic acid into their penises.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's right. Why?

[Michael Wilbon]

Come on this.

[Mike Yam]

I don't understand how that would make you fly further in skiing. I'm at a bit of a loss as to how any of this would work in terms of physics. And it doesn't seem to be something to me that would be worth it if you get a small advantage, but a large.

[Dan Le Batard]

An average sized advantage.

[Mike Yam]

A large needle in the penis. Yeah. In order to inject yourself. You can explain this to me, Jeremy.

[Dan Le Batard]

So I read the story and the explanation in the story was that they're doing so. So that they can increase the size of their uniforms because just an extra 2 square inches of fabric on the entire uniform being like loose can potentially give you over five feet of flight in carry.

[Michael Wilbon]

It's a game of inches.

[Dan Le Batard]

It is a game of inches. And apparently just gaining an extra inch or two could potentially change whether you meddle or not. Wait, why can't. I'm sorry, Mike.

[Michael Wilbon]

Why can't they just wear the bigger.

[Dan Le Batard]

You know, they. They fit you for your uniform because it's supposed to be skin tight. So you take that shot and it makes your junk bigger, I guess. And seemingly temporarily.

[Michael Wilbon]

Send me that link. Hell yeah, brother.

[Mike Yam]

There are all sorts of advantages that people will go and seek when they're competing against others in the margins for their advantages. I know a number of football players who wear smaller shoulder pads because they want to be more aerodynamic. I think people would be surprised at the lengths all athletes go to get the smallest of advantages. I. I think that.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, I mean, I have a huge advantage. Mine is also quite big.

[Mike Yam]

Is this what we're doing now? You know what I Don't know what the penalty.

[Dan Le Batard]

Well, he said his was. Like if I didn't say mine was, people might think that I have a smaller one. Dan was insinuating small advantages. None of us have a small advantage. You have a big one, right? Mine's not that big. That's in a word. Penalty, two minutes.

[Michael Wilbon]

Personal and foul.

[Mike Yam]

Everyone, everyone out. Out.

[Dan Le Batard]

YouTube show ends in 90 seconds.

[Mike Yam]

That's fine. We'll delay the penalty until said Chris has one. They'll d. Yeah, I. Okay. I don't want to first.

[Dan Le Batard]

30 seconds out.

[Mike Yam]

Everybody out.

[Dan Le Batard]

30 seconds on Monday.

[Michael Wilbon]

Congrats on right.

[Mike Yam]

Cuz they're only ran left in the show. Congrats on the Hammer, all of you. Get your dick hammers out of here, all of you. I don't have any use for any of you. How short are we of a here? Get out of here. I'm on your dad's side on all matters. I side with your father on all things. Again with the dickhammer ghost sound, Roy?

[Michael Wilbon]

I didn't play it. That was Chris.

[Mike Yam]

What do you mean? He was out of the room.

[Michael Wilbon]

That's the last thing he did before he left.

[Mike Yam]

What did you think of Will Bonds.

[Dan Le Batard]

As I enjoyed hearing from him.

[Mike Yam]

You seemed a little bored. There was no. It was. Oh, it was old man shaking his fist at the.

[Dan Le Batard]

No, but I agree with those. I agree with that. It is old man yelling at the cloud. But like, I agree with all of that. I'm totally with him on everything he said about the NBA.

[Mike Yam]

You don't care about the journalism stuff the way that he and I do. Right?

[Dan Le Batard]

Well, I mean, I've never been a writer, you know, I've never worked for a newspaper, so I don't care about it in that.

[Mike Yam]

But it's not about writing. It's about protecting basic freedoms and having balance when it comes to power and injustice.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, no, that part I care about. Absolutely. But I mean, you know, you probably feel similar. Like Wilbur's telling you it's life inside death with him. And that's. That's.

[Michael Wilbon]

That's like very serious.

[Mike Yam]

That's a terrible way to end the show.