Hour 1: The Face Of Blue Collar

Summary

The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz

Episode: Hour 1: The Face Of Blue Collar

Date: March 31, 2026

📍 Location: Elser Hotel, Downtown Miami

---

Overview

This episode blends the show’s signature mix of humor, sports analysis, and pop-culture reflection, focusing primarily on NCAA basketball (with a special spotlight on women’s college basketball and the evolving dynamics around NIL and transfer rules), addiction and agency in high-profile athletes (centered around Tiger Woods), and a comic “Back in My Day” segment about bowling culture. The hosts and regulars dig into the tension between tradition and change in sports, compassion versus accountability in personal failings, and finding the relatable “blue collar” face amidst modern excess.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Women’s NCAA Basketball: Dominance, NIL, and the Changing Landscape

• Stat of the Day (01:12): For only the fifth time, all four #1 seeds reached the Women’s NCAA Final Four, none with a win closer than ten points.

  "Not a single one of those number one seeds had a game decided by 10 points or fewer on their path to Phoenix." — Stugotz (01:12)

• South Carolina’s Run: Noted for six straight Final Fours, third-longest streak in NCAA history (men’s or women’s).
• Shift in Competition: Discussion about the gap between ‘haves and have-nots’ in women’s basketball, making Cinderella runs nearly impossible nowadays.

  “The gap is so big. It’s so hard for a Cinderella story to happen in women’s college basketball the way it does on the men’s side.” — Tony (04:44)

• NIL Impact: Legacy programs adapted slowly to the NIL era, but now we’re seeing a return to old dominance.

  “...all these legacy programs just thought the logo would do the recruiting. And it took them, like, a season and a half to realize, oh, okay. I guess we have to dedicate the resources…” — Stugotz (05:24)

• Coaching Burnout: UCLA’s Corey Close admits to being exhausted by NIL and transfer portal demands.

  “I’ve never been as tired as I’ve been in the last two years... It’s made me think how much longer I can do this.” — Mike Ryan quoting Corey Close (08:32)

2. College Coaching in the New Era

• Retirement Wave: Multiple respected coaches (e.g., Tony Bennett, Katie Meyer) leaving due to how the landscape has changed (NIL, transfer portal, realignment).
• Changing Power Dynamics: Players now hold powers once reserved for coaches; returnees from the pros lament the new headaches of the college game.

  “...you basically [have] given the players the same amount of freedoms that a pro player has. You can’t coach like that on the pro level... It’s all the bad sides of college, none of the upsides of the pros.” — Tony (12:45)

• Universal Discontent: Most college football coaches would prefer the NFL now, per agents.

  “Every single coach in football is trying to make it to the pros.” — Stugotz (13:42)

3. Tiger Woods, Addiction, and Agency

• New Developments: Tiger’s police report shows signs of impairment, leading to broader debates on addiction as sickness versus weakness.
• Personal Experience: Stugotz shares about his mother’s addiction and stresses the coexistence of illness and accountability.

  “My mom was sick. She was also an asshole for doing that with children in the car. It's not hard.” — Stugotz (26:29)

• ‘Sickness vs. Weakness’ Debate: Colleagues discuss empathy, judgment, and the nuances between personal agency and disease.

  “When we say ‘it’s a sickness,’ it then allows for the addict to say, none of this was my fault... But... you do have some agency in this.” — Tony (28:28)

• Rock Bottom for the Wealthy: Greg Cody and Tony wonder what ‘rock bottom’ means for someone with money and fame like Tiger.

  “When you’ve got the kind of money that Tiger has, what is rock bottom?... He’s not going to lose a billion dollars.” — Greg Cody (22:46)

4. Comic Relief: “Back in My Day—Bowling”

[29:59 - 32:13]

• Jon’s Bowling Rant: Satirizes the modern “pro” approach among amateurs in bowling leagues vs. his “old school” style.

  “All bowlers nowadays except me have this in common. Everybody thinks they’re a pro. They waltz into the bowling alley with rolling luggage full of 4, 5, 6 different bowling balls. I’m the only one in my entire league, no lie, with a single handheld bag containing one ball.” — Jon (31:03)

• Memorable rules for “true” bowling: Three fingers, two ball limit, “no name on your shirt because you’re in a handicap league for a reason, Jack.”
• Vivid visual:

  “The poor waitress trying to bring me another bucket of Miller Lite has to weave through a slalom of luggage ridiculum.” — Jon (31:27)

• **Laughter and teasing about “the face of blue collar,” the “three balls” quip, and team names.
  [continues ~33:46]

5. NBA and Sports Stat Nuggets

• MVP Race Update: Discussion of Luka Dončić’s and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s (SGA) historic stats in MVP contention.
  • Luka: Averaging 36.5 points over the last 16 games, 49.5% shooting, 39% from three.
  • SGA: “Front runner for MVP.”

  “Reddick is trying to make Luka the MVP.” — Mike Ryan (35:29)

• Historic Spurs Stat:
  • “Six games with 40 or more points in his NBA career, Victor Wembanyama has. Do you know how many 40-point games the Iceman George Gervin had...? 69.” — Greg Cody (38:33)
  • The “nice man” joke thread spawns playful banter about 69 and “three balls.”

6. Notable Memorable Moments & Quotes

• On College Sports Culture Change:

  “You have empowered the players, and all the coaches are miserable.” — Amin Elhassan (12:16)

• On Agency in Addiction:

  “When you’re sick, you seek treatment. When you’re physically ill, you seek treatment. When you’re mentally ill, it’s wise to seek treatment.” — Jeremy (29:18)

• On Bowling League Absurdity:

  “It’s an epidemic. You feel like you’re going through an airport. People are pulling bags of luggage with nothing but bowling balls.” — Jon (33:38)

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Start of the Day & NCAA Women’s Final Four Stat: 01:12
• South Carolina’s Historical Run/NIL Dynamics: 02:16–06:04
• Coaches on Burnout, NIL/Transfer Portal Impact: 08:32–12:45
• Tiger Woods, Addiction, and Agency: 16:19–26:29
• Back in My Day – Bowling: 29:59–32:13
• NBA MVP & SGA/Luka Stats, “Nice Man” Joke: 35:03–39:24

---

Tone & Delivery

The episode strikes a balance of comedic riffing (“stat of the day” singing, bowling absurdities, 69 jokes) with honest, sometimes raw exchanges about family, loss, and sports’ evolving landscape. The crew’s empathy and exasperation surface equally as they debate addiction, fairness, and the future of their favorite games—delivered with their trademark blend of sarcasm, wistfulness, and irreverence.

---

For Listeners:

This hour is a mosaic of laughter, nostalgia, and substantive debate, connecting today’s headlines about the NCAA, NBA, and Tiger Woods to perennial issues about personal agency, societal change, and the culture of fandom. Whether you’re tuning in for the sports insights or the “everyman” bowling rants, the episode offers plenty of perspective, heart, and humor.

Transcript

[Lincoln Nautilus Hybrid Advertiser]

Whether you bond over streaming binge worthy videos, watching sports recaps, video gaming, or by unplugging altogether, the 2026 Lincoln Nautilus Hybrid helps keep you connected throughout your journey. Learn [e-mail] available connectivity, features and functionality vary by model. Package pricing, trials and term lengths vary by model. Video streaming and games are only available. While Park

[Kraft Mac and Cheese Advertiser]

Kraft Mac and Cheese is better than 90s hip hop, we'll remind you of your childhood without making you feel incredibly old. Kraft Mac and Cheese Best Thing Ever.

[Dan LeBatard]

This is the Dan Levator show with the Stugats Podcast. Start of the day, start of the day it is your start of the day Start of the day start of the day it is the start of the day Start of the day, Start of the day it is the start of the day Start of the day, Start of the day it is the

[Stugats]

start of the day this Saturday is presented by Money Lion. Download the Money lion app or visit moneylion.com to learn more. Moneylion Make Money Money Easy this set comes courtesy of NCAA Buzzer Beaters. For the fifth time in women's NCAA tournament history, all four number one seeds have reached the Final Four. Even crazier than that, though, not a single one of those number one seeds had a game decided by 10 points or fewer on their path to Phoenix. I mean, I've been watching this tournament for like the last two rounds. Number one, Blanca Quinones for UConn. That's a good player. Really incredible. Ecuadorian.

[Mike Ryan]

UConn's pretty good.

[Stugats]

Yeah, they're pretty good. So good, in fact, that South Carolina, we'd all agree. Good team.

[Tony]

Great team.

[Stugats]

Yeah. Before this tournament started, I couldn't believe my eyes when I looked at DK Sportsbook because you could lock them in at plus 850. Yeah, they're a number one seed. Perennial title favorite. Their plus 600.

[Tony]

Now they're plus 600 after last night. By the way, six straight Final Fours for South Carolina. That's the third longest streak in NCAA history. Men's or women's?

[Mike Ryan]

A number of things to clean up here because there's news breaking. Olivier rue, the Florida 7 foot 9 center, has entered the transfer portal. He's available to all. There is a 7 foot 9 sophomore. Oh, look at Tony shaking his head. Grande Porguto.

[Stugats]

Yeah.

[Greg Cody]

Una tatua. A statue.

[Amin Elhassan]

Yeah.

[Mike Ryan]

He can't Play.

[Stugats]

If you're 7 foot 9 and not a top 50 recruit, you're stiff.

[Mike Ryan]

He is literally a stiff. That 7 foot 9 doesn't move around very well. What are you Smiling about.

[Jon]

I would take him in a heartbeat if I were almost any coach in the league who thinks I'm good enough to turn 7 foot 9 into something.

[Mike Ryan]

I mean, he couldn't get on the floor. He's much slower and he's much more rigid than everyone out there. He just can't play well.

[Jon]

He couldn't get on the floor for a very good team. It doesn't mean he can't get on the floor for a team that's 13 and 18 and bringing in a new coach. I'm just saying there are dozens of major college programs who need to take a shot on this kid. Because every coach who's worth his salt thinks that he can turn around the guy that nobody else can help. And maybe they can. I would if I were a college team. 7 9. Damn right. I'd take a get cement feet transfer.

[Mike Ryan]

Put it on the poll. Yeah, Air. Air cement Nikes. Put it on the poll at Lebatard show. Is the 7 foot 9 sophomore still physically growing? If you're a sophomore and if you're a sophomore in college, aren't you still growing?

[Jon]

So he's 19, right? Is he 19?

[Amin Elhassan]

Yeah.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah.

[Jon]

Okay. Who thinks any 19 year old is fully formed? He can get quicker. He can be taught to play at his height.

[Stugats]

Weird endorsement of the 7 foot 9

[Mike Ryan]

stiff a dry cleaning rack cannot get.

[Greg Cody]

He could be more agile, right?

[Stugats]

Florida tried him in two sports. He wasn't good enough at either. But one last thing on the women's tournament. Are we finally going to get good games in this final four? I've watched all four of these teams play. Jaime Hawkes, his sister plays for ucla. They're all super good. The tournament's proven that. But are we going to get like these clash of titans or is it just going to be UConn running through the entire competition?

[Tony]

Yeah, I mean I think like first of all, TCU last night was a good game up until their best player got hurt and then like South Carolina just beat him on in attrition. But yeah, no, I think you've reached a point now where these are all elite programs. These are all elite teams. And by the way, three out of the four was it were in the final four last year. So it's like this is. There's a continuity there which where I think we're going to get good games. But this also highlights kind of what I've been talking about for women's college basketball for a while, which is the haves and the have nots. The gap is so Big. And so it's like, it's so hard for a Cinderella story to happen in women's college basketball the way it does on the men's side.

[Stugats]

What happened with NIL in that sport is really interesting because around 2022, 2023, you did have Cinderellas. Hell, Miami made an Elite Eight and gave Kim Mulkey and LSU a good game in that tournament. You had these programs that were, I guess, on the forefront of nil, and you had all these legacy programs that just thought the logo would do the recruiting. And it took them, like, a season and a half to realize, oh, okay. I guess we have to dedicate the resources. Even though we're Kentucky, Even though we're UConn women's, and now we're getting back to a day and age where it's like the mid-90s. You had Tennessee, Louisiana Tech, and Yukon, and then everybody else is. Have not.

[Mike Ryan]

Well, everyone says that Gino Ariema's this team is the most overwhelming that you have seen in the modern era.

[Tony]

Dan, I got to tell you, like, watching South Carolina last night, I was. All I could think of was LSU a couple of years ago and how I was like, why are they guarding Caitlin Clark like this? And you guys, well, Kim Mokis, I'm like, that doesn't mean she's making the right decision out there. Contrast with South Carolina last night. And I'm like, this is a machine. They're executing so well. On every single play, I could tell what the first, second, and third read was. And there was no hesitation at all. These girls, these ladies, excuse me, were playing the game plan to a T. And so when you talk about UConn and Dino Auriemma and how overwhelming they are, this is going to be a great example of execution versus talent to me, because for South Carolina to be plus 600, obviously the only team with minus is Yukon. Yeah, right. This tells me, like, okay, well put.

[Mike Ryan]

As a gambler, the only team with minus.

[Tony]

Yes, I'm notorious gambler me no Hassan. But it's going to be the exact example of what we were talking about yesterday, which is like, hey, you can't overcome a massive talent gap, but you can overcome a talent gap with good coaching and good execution.

[Stugats]

Tune in for Quinones Stay for the Fugees bumper music, because this tournament nailed it with Ready or Not as its official song.

[Mike Ryan]

Thank you to the video team for putting an assortment of failing robots behind Tony. Just keep playing an assortment of failing

[Greg Cody]

robots, like, arresting that robot, like, six cops behind them. Just like Carrying them down the stairs.

[Mike Ryan]

We have now. Now is the time to laugh at the robots because soon we will no longer be able to do this. And we look back at this time when we've been imprisoned by them as. As a reminder of how dumb we were. But Amin, I wanted to keep talking about chalk advancing and what it is that Mike Ryan said about Nil because Corey Close, the coach at ucla, this, this is one of the powers. This is. This is one of the people who's winning as the distance between the great and the less than great is. Is as large as it. Emma was making his name in that sport with the Rebecca Lobos of the world. And they were just that much more dominant than anyone else. Corey Close says, quote, I've never been as tired as I've been in the last two years. And it's made me think how much longer I can do this. And I'm just being transparent with you about that. There are so many things that are harder and we keep losing incredible people on the men's and women's side.

[Amin Elhassan]

Now, Jeff Waltz, the Louisville coach, countered

[Mike Ryan]

with this and a lot of people countered with some version of this. I'm friends with Corey. My favorite line I would tell her is if you don't like your job, find a new one. I'm listening this morning at 4:20 as the workers outside my window at the hotel in the street are working. I mean, you choose your profession. If you don't like it, find a new profession.

[Stugats]

That's what many of them are doing, by the way, that a lot of them are titans of the game champions.

[Tony]

Tony Bennett.

[Stugats]

Tony Bennett umps and quits because he doesn't like it anymore down here. We had Katie Meyer be an incredible women's coach for 20 years, and I mean reached a tournament, advanced to the Elite Eight, historic high water marks for the program. And just as you think she's finally getting everything together, she walks away from the sport because of the way that it changed.

[Tony]

And there ain't no wrong with that. There's nothing wrong with that.

[Stugats]

If, I mean, I will judge you for quitting.

[Tony]

No, I won't.

[Stugats]

I mean, you got Tony Bennett. I will forever judge. Still a young man.

[Tony]

To me, it's like if you've decided you don't want to put up with these new factors, that's fine. Now to me, when you start to blame things, that's where it becomes problematic. You know, the college coaches I've talked to, you know what they hate more than nil or they hate more than the transfer portal was the realignment because of football. That's what they all hate. It's like we were all in conferences that made sense geographically, and now all of a sudden we're going road trips from Chicago to Los Angeles all the

[Stugats]

time about this in press conferences, the Big Ten, the acc, credit to the Cal schools because they're actually not doing it because they were kind of in no man's land. But the Big Ten schools do not shut up about this.

[Jon]

I think Corey Close is being more truthful than the coach who says, if you don't like your job, do something else. The complication of college basketball because of the portal in nil. It's what drove Laryn Yaga into retirement. Now, granted he was an old guy, but it's. I would not want to be a college basketball coach now in a way that I didn't think even consider five, seven years ago.

[Mike Ryan]

Larynaga is an interesting one because he got in the middle of this to the Final Four and he would be guilty of being what Amin is accusing him of. You didn't start complaining about him until you started losing, until you produced a roster that was 7 and 24 last year with the players that you had. And that's when you started complaining about it. Closer here to the professional football team. I'm going to talk to Jeff Hafley about this on South Beach Sessions, but when I've heard him talk about what his experience was as the head coach of Boston College, he was arriving at his dreams. You know how these coaches live, right? It's 20 hour days. You're doing, you know what the lowest levels of this look like.

[Amin Elhassan]

It's 20 hours a day, thanklessly, to get to your dream job.

[Mike Ryan]

You're running a college program and you get there and you realize, oh, my God, this is gross. I hate this.

[Amin Elhassan]

I don't like who I am. This is, this is foul. I'm, I'm dealing all the time with parents and family and money. And it's not even joke, just playing

[Mike Ryan]

time, which could make me plenty unpopular.

[Amin Elhassan]

It's business, but with fewer rules than we've had around business. So the player being empowered laps upon your shoulders with what must be a litany of endless daily headaches that put you to sleep at night and then you can't sleep and you get up in the morning and you've got another endless list of things to get to. I imagine that all of these coaches

[Mike Ryan]

are dealing with this.

[Amin Elhassan]

The ugliest parts of, oh, it's just a bunch of greedy Teenagers.

[Dan LeBatard]

Yeah.

[Tony]

Like it. Look, any coach who's gone and coached at the pro level and then come back down, they've all seen the light. Like, oh, my God, like that. The ability to just focus on basketball, not have to worry about the coaches show and this, these boosters need to meet and all that. It's so much stuff that you have to deal with on the collegiate level. But the trade off was I tell these little piss ants to do whatever I tell them to do and they got to do it, and that's it. And now you've removed that power dynamic. You basically given the players the same amount of freedoms that a pro player has. You can't coach like that on the pro level. You can't tell, hey, man, you gotta do it this way. Like, no, Hell no, man. I make more than you do. Well, now that at the concept, but you still have to deal with TAs and like study halls and this guy didn't make it. So it's all the bad sides of college, none of the upsides of the pros. And that makes it, I can imagine, to be a difficult thing.

[Stugats]

I've spoken to a bunch of agents that rep coaches throughout all the ranks, and they all tell me universal consensus. Outside of a handful of outliers, we got one of them down here in Coral Gables. Every single coach in football is trying to make it to the pros. Every single one. This is crazy. And there is no real blueprint to fix it. Just hail Marys. Hey, Roy, buddy. Yo. You know that energy shift when the game gets good and everybody all together in unison knows to stand up on their feet? Oh, absolutely.

[Dan LeBatard]

Mike.

[Jon]

Yeah.

[Stugats]

You've been at many big time sporting events. You know that moment quite well. That's what it's like when you take your first sip of Cuervo.

[Greg Cody]

Oh, delicious.

[Stugats]

It's the signal that says, we're not checking the time anymore, pal. It's when small talk turns into stories. Cuervo, man. It's that high five. A random stranger effect. That's right. The game is popping. You're hugging people you never met before. That's the kind of energy that Cuervo brings. It's so smooth, so delicious. That's the Cuervo effect. Keep it Cuervo.

[Tony]

Folks, listen up.

[DraftKings Advertiser]

DraftKings Sportsbook, the number one sportsbook for live betting, is built for March. The tournament is unpredictable, but the rewards are guaranteed. And DraftKings is delivering some of the most generous rewards in the market. New to DraftKings, bet just $5 and get $200 in bonus bets instantly. Download the DraftKings sportsbook app now and use code DAN. That's code DAN to turn five bucks into 200 in bonus bets instantly in partnership with DraftKings. The crown is yours.

[Kraft Mac and Cheese Advertiser]

Gambling problem. Call 1-800-GAMBLER or 1-800-MY-STET. NEW YORK. Call 877-8-HOPE and WHY or text HOPE and WHY. CONNECTICUT. Call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org on behalf of Boothill Casino in Kansas. WA may apply in Illinois, 21 and over in most states. Void in Ontario, restrictions apply. Bonus bets expire seven days after issuance. For additional terms or responsible gaming resources, see sportsbook.draftkings.com promos Limited time offer.

[Stugats]

Don LeBatard I'll get some golf ASMR Stu Gats.

[Jon]

Oh, me.

[Dan LeBatard]

This is the Dan Levatar show with the Stugats.

[Mike Ryan]

We're going to get to Greg Cody's back in my day in a second here. But I want to relive something from earlier in the show. I don't remember, Greg, how it is, what it is we were talking about specifically. But you were surprised by my question. And the reason I gathered you were surprised by my question is because of how you reacted to it.

[Jon]

It's AI.

[Tony]

He's right.

[Jon]

It wasn't me.

[Mike Ryan]

I want to ask you, as the news comes out here on Tiger woods, the police report has been released. Okay. He glanced at his phone when in the. And the car ahead of him slowed down. So it's, it is a common affliction on the roadways. I don't know if you guys have noticed the sheer number of people texting on the highway, texting at 55, 60, 65 and 70 miles an hour at LeBatard Show. Have you noticed the number of people texting at 70 miles an hour?

[Stugats]

I haven't because I've been looking at my phone.

[Jon]

Yeah.

[Mike Ryan]

So he glanced at his phone and the car ahead of him slowed down. Officers said he was lethargic, slow and sweating profusely. His eyes were bloodshot, glassy and extremely dilated. And two white pills were in his pocket. Hydricodone, which is pretty strong. I don't know. Can you look up for me if hydrocordone is as strong as oxycontin and if it's in the family of stuff. Jeremy, because two white pills in the pocket. I wanted to get back to something that we were discussing yesterday, the first time I was ever introduced to the conversation in sports around addiction. Baseball had suspended Steve Howe five times. And Tommy Lasorda was going crazy because Daryl Strawberry was suspended. And Tommy Lasorda was speaking for a lot of people when he said of Daryl Strawberry, that's not a sickness, that's a weakness. That, that was a choice being made.

[Amin Elhassan]

When we talk about yesterday, Tiger woods

[Mike Ryan]

getting help or needing to get help. When you view everything happening with Tiger woods, do you guys think he's still

[Amin Elhassan]

making choices for himself on how it is that he's doing this?

[Mike Ryan]

Or you believe he's addicted to the pain relief medicine that comes after seven back surgeries?

[Amin Elhassan]

If you had to choose and be

[Tony]

right, then he's choosing not to have a driver. That's a, that's a clear one. That's not him. High 24 7, not mean in his right mind. That's, that's a dude is choosing not to have a driver. And everything else becomes secondary after that because if he has a driver, these accidents don't happen. Now he still has a problem, perhaps with substances. He still has an underlying problem, like we talked about yesterday, like what puts you in a frame of mind where you feel the need to do this beyond the physical pain. All those things, yes, still exist and still need to be addressed. But at the very least a driver would solve.

[Amin Elhassan]

Fair enough, but that's not what I'm talking about here. Yes, that would eliminate some risks involved for himself and others. Anthony Joshua also had a driver. Bad things can happen all over the

[Mike Ryan]

place for a lot of different reasons.

[Amin Elhassan]

I'm talking though, specifically sickness or weakness.

[Mike Ryan]

Where are you on this sickness or weakness?

[Stugats]

We're not turning this into a first take debate. It's both. I am a firm believer of that. As someone that had a mother that died because they were a drug addict, I see other families and I see other people make the decision that my mother couldn't, which was to really try and get clean and get clean, not half measures. So while I understand it's a sickness, I also don't think you can totally absolve somebody of the choices that they make here.

[Jon]

If it's an addiction, the definition is that it's out of his control. Whether it's an addiction to pills or alcohol or some of both. I believe he is incapable right now of behaving. I really do. And when he says he doesn't want a driver because it invades his privacy.

[Mike Ryan]

It's also why he didn't want a urine test. Cuz they knew what he was gonna, what they were gonna find.

[Jon]

Right.

[Stugats]

Is it fair, Is it fair to Say he's not capable of behaving. I mean, he went to TGL just fine. He's been in social settings and no one's been like, man, Tiger's. Tiger's a mess.

[Jon]

Well, that just means he's a functioning alcoholic, you know, I mean, an alcoholic.

[Tony]

Functional addict.

[Jon]

Functional addict. I mean, addict. Somebody who's out of control of their behavior is capable of having episodes where they're capable of hitting a golf ball into a mat, into a video mat.

[Stugats]

Yeah, I don't know. I can't answer the question. Is he high when he's playing golf? I don't know. He just flipped the car in a neighborhood and I think golfing, like, if he were that level, he wouldn't be flipping a car.

[Amin Elhassan]

You're pulled over by the police and you have two of these pills in your pocket. Like, you're taken to the station because you have pain medication so readily available that at 2 o' clock in the afternoon on a Friday, you do not wish to be without it. It's on your person. It's what they find on you. When you're sweating profusely, your eyes are dilated, and you guys saw the mug shot. Like that, that, that mug shot.

[Stugats]

Which one?

[Amin Elhassan]

Beyond age. That mug shot was haunting.

[Jon]

Yeah.

[Amin Elhassan]

Incriminating. Incriminating, but just haunting to look. Look at everything that's happening there and to be filled with sadness looking at a man's face. When he used to represent vitality, he used to represent youth.

[Jon]

Yeah. And also I think that looking at my phone is the excuse you use. That's more palatable than. I was hammered. I was out of my mind, you know, I mean, he did use that, too.

[Stugats]

I mean, there were several other distractions on top of what was in his system.

[Jeremy]

Oxy, by the way, is 1.5 times more potent than hydrocodone. But hydro stays in your system about twice as long.

[Tony]

So that's called the delayed release, the

[Greg Cody]

long release, the extendo.

[Tony]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Look, man, there's no easy way to say this, right, in that he's someone who has a massive problem. That's the only way you could say you have a massive problem and you need help. That's it. Regardless of whether it's a choice or a sickness, he has a massive problem and he needs help. And the one thing that he should not be doing until he receives said help is operate heavy machinery. I think that's one thing that we can all agree on. And it's crazy to me that he can't agree on. It like, yo, Tiger, what are you doing in your life? He says it's because of a privacy thing. He don't want to drive her. Like, come on, bro. You.

[Dan LeBatard]

You.

[Tony]

You can't.

[Greg Cody]

You get somebody to sign an NDA? And you don't have to worry about anything. You're Tiger woods, for God's sake. But I mean, to that point, like, usually get to the point of rock bottom when you've lost everything, when you've lost all your money, where you have to make a change, when you've got the kind of money that Tiger has, what is rock bottom? He's not going to lose a billion dollars. Like, what is his rock bottom? Killing somebody, hurting himself. Past. You know, past repair. Like, he's already been at that point.

[Tony]

Like, I wonder. I remember John Mulaney's Stand up, where he's talking about the intervention and how they pulled it off on him. And, like, I wonder if he needs, like, an intervention, because, like, hey, I'm gonna tell you this. That picture of him you talk about the mugshot, Dan. How about the picture of him in the cop car with his head resting against the window? That's the one. To me, that's haunting. It's like, you want your kids to see that, man? They'll be like, yeah, that's my dad again.

[Jon]

Well, I feel bad for Tiger Woods. Maybe I'm alone because I think he's out of control. I don't think he's capable of reining in his own inability to control himself. And when he's publicly embarrassing himself, he's supposed to be such a private man. That's why he's not hiring the chauffeur that he can, well afford. And yet he's going through these public embarrassments and posing for police photos. I mean, that's terrible to look at. I feel bad for the guy. You know, I don't condemn him because I think he's just incapable of fighting his addictions. Right now, he probably does need an intervention, because it's clear not just the latest episode, but years of these wrong steps, that he's incapable of controlling his behaviors.

[Mike Ryan]

That suggests to me both sickness and weakness. The distinction I'm making between the two that Tommy Lasorda didn't make when talking about Darryl Strawberry is, if it's something you view as a sickness, it doesn't come with your judgment. If you're viewing it as a weakness, it is coming with an inability to extend that person compassion. I believe that what you're seeing play

[Amin Elhassan]

out in front of you he could have lost a leg in a previous accident and is not learning from whatever it is needs to be learned here. You hear in sports all the time that some pain or some shame will result in growth, will result in improvement. Did he or did he not almost lose his leg, never mind whatever it is that he's suffering the compounds the problem because the car accident to a body that has had seven back surgeries, when it's a car accident at that, at that size of car accident where you're almost losing your leg, your body holds all sorts of trauma in it that requires pain medication.

[Jon]

Yes. And it derailed his career when he had that auto accident and he's never recovered from it. He's 50 now. He should be dominating on what used to be called the Senior Tour.

[Mike Ryan]

Ken, I thought about this when Myles Garrett got into his accident. I've told you guys the story. I was riding a bicycle 10 years ago down the street and somebody opened the car door as I was riding the bicycle and the bicycle stopped. The door did not give, didn't come off on the car door and I

[Amin Elhassan]

sort of flipped over the handlebars.

[Mike Ryan]

I have been dealing for 10 years

[Amin Elhassan]

with the things that happen when your body seizes up like that in a moment because of whatever the adrenaline rush is. If you're in a car accident that almost takes your leg, don't you imagine, nevermind the derailing of the career that whatever Tiger woods his back pain was because he needed seven back surgeries is going to be compounded by whatever it is absorbing the car rolling over is going to do to your body.

[Stugats]

You can have empathy and judge somebody. This one I think is pretty easy for pundits to weigh in on who aren't super comfortable talking about things like addiction issues. You have all the resources in the world. Get a driver. My mom drove with me and my sister in the car while she was impaired. She crashed into a mailbox and the car got totaled because it was a cement mailbox. My mom was sick. She was also an asshole for doing that with children in the car. It's not hard.

[Microsoft 365 Copilot Advertiser]

The world moves fast. Your workday even faster. Pitching products, drafting reports, analyzing data. Microsoft 365 Copilot is your AI assistant for work built into Word, Excel, PowerPoint and other Microsoft 365 apps you use. Helping you quickly write, analyze, create and summarize so you can cut through clutter and clear a path to your best work. Learn [e-mail] M365 copilot.

[Depop Advertiser]

Your little one grew three inches overnight. Adorable. Also expensive. Sell their pint sized pieces on Depop and list them in minutes with no selling fees because somewhere a dad refuses to pay full price for the clothes his kids will outgrow tomorrow and he's ready to buy your son's entire wardrobe right now. Consider your future growth. Bird budget secured. Start selling on Depop where taste recognizes taste. Payment processing fees and boosting fees still apply. See website for details.

[Comcast Advertiser]

Nothing brings people together quite like Team USA at the Olympic Winter Games. From NBCUniversal's iconic storytelling to the innovative technology across Xfinity and Peacock, Comcast brings the Olympic Games home to America, sharing every moment with millions. When Team USA steps onto the world stage, people aren't just watching, they're cheering together. This winter, everyone is all on the same. Team Comcast, proud partner of Team usa

[Tony]

Dan When I was growing up back in my day, there was a saying that people used to say, the devil made me do it. You remember that one? The devil made me do it. Right. And what that's saying is, is it basically absolves 100% of the responsibility. It's not to say that it's not a sickness. It's not to say that like these people aren't suffering. But when we say open the door and it's like, yeah, it's a sickness, it then allows for the addict to say, none of this was my fault. I'm just, I'm a victim. I'm sick. And it's like, hey, yes, but also, you do have some agency in this. Maybe not as much agency as someone who's clear headed and sober, but you do have some agency. And that's the part that we're coming back to with Tiger woods is he has agency in all of this. It's not just the devil made me do it.

[Jeremy]

When you're sick, you seek treatment. When you're physically ill, you seek treatment. When you're mentally ill, it's wise to seek treatment. Tiger woods has all of the resources in the world. Seek that treatment if you have that problem. And if you are sick, seek that treatment.

[Mike Ryan]

Greg Cody has informed us that he has it back in my day. For the first time in many, many weeks, I cannot wait to hear where we end up on this palate cleansing joyride.

[Dan LeBatard]

And now it is time to take

[Amin Elhassan]

a trip down memory lane. Here's your guide, Greg Cody with back in my day.

[Jon]

Bowling. I'm in a weekly bowling league. Why? Because I'm an everyman, a lunch pail guy, the face of blue collar And I love it. The camaraderie, the competition. Not a lot of people know bowling was the first thing I covered at the Miami Herald even before high school sports. I was a teenager. I'd sneak my friends names into the bowling agate with a made up score. As a kid I'd nap on a Saturday to the muffled scatter and clatter of pins and the droning commentary of Krish Schenkel. Ah, but bowling has changed from what it was back in my day. We're in a handicap league, meaning all different levels of player, women and men. On any given Wednesday night, the person bowling on the next lane might be a sharpie with six strikes in a row or might be a gutter duster lucky to make a single pin spare. But all bowlers nowadays except me have this in common. Everybody thinks they're a pro. They waltz into the bowling alley with rolling luggage full of 4, 5, 6 different bowling balls. I'm the only one in my entire league, no lie, with a single handheld bag containing one ball. The others have a ball for oily lane conditions, another ball for dry lanes, a ball for particular spare combos, please. The ball racks get filled up and there's so many bags and rollers of surplus balls. The poor waitress trying to bring me another bucket of Miller Light has to weave through a slalom of luggage ridiculum. Also, fella wearing his name and script on the back of your bowling shirt, nobody knows who you are or cares you're bowling a 138. Get in your lane. And I don't mean lane 11. Also, Don Carter, quit dancing into my lane with your body English after the ball leaves your hands. Another thing, if you're not using three fingers, two digits and a thumb, you're not bowling. Make bowling bowling again. Three fingers, a two ball limit and no name on your shirt because you're in a handicap league for a reason, Jack. Also bring back Kris Schenkel even though he's dead. I'm Greg Cody and that's how it was back in my day. Yeah.

[Mike Ryan]

Is that a Greg Cody first down? Are you guys?

[Jon]

I don't do. I can't do that.

[Stugats]

He's marching up and down the field today.

[Jon]

I can't do that.

[Mike Ryan]

You sound a bit winded.

[Amin Elhassan]

You guys were shaking your head.

[Mike Ryan]

Do you agree or disagree with some of his bowling takes there? It seemed like the fingers was a problem.

[Amin Elhassan]

The holding of the ball you guys

[Mike Ryan]

seem to disagree with in there.

[Tony]

I didn't know. My bad. I didn't know that the people were coming with multiple balls in the back.

[Jon]

Oh, my God. I'm going to Wednesday night. I'm going to take photos of what I'm talking about. It's an epidemic. It really is. In the bowling circles. It's an epidemic. And bowlers out there, y' all know what I'm talking about.

[Greg Cody]

Greg, there's no way you take a picture of it on Wednesday night, you're going to completely forget.

[Stugats]

1, 2.

[Greg Cody]

Don't you play? Do you play or do you bowl? Like. What's the adjective?

[Jon]

I bowl.

[Greg Cody]

You bowl. Okay, so it's not play. You don't play bowling.

[Jon]

Oh, I'm serious about it. I ain't playing.

[Greg Cody]

Got a boy. You bowl with Chris, right? Chris is a part of your team. Aren't you guys like the Thundercats or something?

[Jon]

It's like. Well, the jets this year, you know, it's like, storm NFL. We all get the name of an NFL team at random. And we happen to be the jets, which.

[Greg Cody]

That's the lady that. That. That announces all the team names, right where you said Storm NFL.

[Jon]

Storm NFL.

[Greg Cody]

So Chris has multiple balls.

[Jon]

Yeah. Christopher comes with, like, three balls.

[Tony]

Really?

[Greg Cody]

Chris has got three balls?

[Jon]

Yeah. And that's. And that's average amount. A lot of guys, it's. I swear there, you. You. You feel like you're going through an airport. People are pulling bags of luggage with nothing but bowling balls. And they all have these fancy shoes. They have the little sock that goes over the shoe that they don't take off until they're stepping onto the lane itself. It's powder on their hands. It's just like. It's ridiculous, this handicap league. People who are no better at bowling than me with all these accoutrements. It's ridiculous.

[Stugats]

And those balls are different weight, correct?

[Jon]

Different weight, different surface. You know, some of them are made for an oily lane. I'm looking at a piece of wood. I can't tell whether it's a dry lane or oily. It's shiny. They're all shiny, these lanes. What does that mean, Greg?

[Greg Cody]

All you need is one ball, a raggedy pair of shoes, and about 12 miller lights.

[Jon]

Thank you very much. You got that right. And here's the. Here's the weird part. I tend to bowl better in my third game, even though that's when I've, you know, got a little hammer time going on. You know what I mean?

[Jeremy]

It's because you're not overthinking it.

[Jon]

It could be.

[Jeremy]

It's gotta be that.

[Mike Ryan]

But also.

[Jon]

Yeah, it relaxes you A little bit.

[Jeremy]

You consider yourself the face of blue collar.

[Jon]

Yeah. Yeah, I really am.

[Tony]

I agree.

[Jon]

Yeah, you don't.

[Mike Ryan]

I mean, he's going to the bowling alley with the equivalent of a lunch pail. He's going with one bag, one bowl style.

[Amin Elhassan]

Just a Casey at the bat poem tucked into his bowling bag from the 1880s.

[Jon]

Thank you.

[Mike Ryan]

You mentioned the Jets. David Furones has a great stat here.

[Amin Elhassan]

You ready?

[Mike Ryan]

The last quarterback to lead the Dolphins and the jets to a division title is the same.

[Amin Elhassan]

It's Chad Pennington in both instances. Do you realize how long ago that was?

[Greg Cody]

18 years.

[Amin Elhassan]

That's Crip. But that's crazy for. For the last time it to happen for both franchises. The quarterbacks the same. Chad Pennington came closer to winning the MVP here because of what he did

[Mike Ryan]

with the Dolphins and he did with, with the Jets. I've got some basketball stats to throw your guys way as JJ Redick is now adding his voice to Lucas should win the MVP. Okay, you have last night in OKC, free throws attempted by Shay Gilgeous Alexander. The last two games in OKC, 41 free throws attempted by the entire Knicks and Pistons teams combined in their games the last two nights versus the Thunder. 40. This is not a good thing. The way that she Gilges Alexander is saying, I'm the mvp. I let the speak. I let the game speak for me. Reddick is trying to make Luca the MVP.

[Amin Elhassan]

And the stats for Luca over the last 16 games are crazy at the time when this is being decided. Lucas averaging 36 and a half points. That's Jordan territory. That's Jordan at his best territory. He's shooting better than Jordan did. He's shooting 49.5% on 36 and a half points a game and 39% from three.

[Mike Ryan]

He's also got eight rebounds, seven assists, two steals. And they're 14 and two in their last 16. LeBron as the oldest player in the league had a triple double again.

[Amin Elhassan]

And it's the, it's the perfect role

[Mike Ryan]

for him to be playing at this point in his career. Like that's happened fairly quietly all things considered.

[Amin Elhassan]

The seeding of the team to Luka. Luka's allowed to go 20 for 27. I'm sorry, 12 for 27 because Luka's allowed to take all the shots. I mean, LeBron is playing the perfect complimentary game.

[Mike Ryan]

Taking a secondary role to Luka here.

[Tony]

Yeah, I mean, the best that he could possibly do at this stage of his career. Yeah, sure. Luka didn't play last night. By the way, he was suspended for that 16 technical foul that he incurred the other night, which of course lined up perfectly because they're playing the Wizards, who nobody really cares about. But yeah, no, I think LeBron is doing the best he could possibly do. Do I wish he was shooting better from three? Sure. Like, I mean, there's ways he could be better, but it's like given that his entire career has been the ball is in my hands and I decide whether we succeed or fail. And now he's off ball. It is pretty remarkable how well he's playing.

[Greg Cody]

To go back to the SGA point, obviously, him being the front runner for mvp, you've got Wemby, who's now talked his way and obviously played his way into being number two.

[Mike Ryan]

Great, Lucas.

[Jon]

Yeah.

[Greg Cody]

Great game last night. 41. I saw a stat, by the way. I don't know if you. Do you want to start of the day, Dan?

[Amin Elhassan]

Another one, Another one.

[Stugats]

Just a quick one.

[Mike Ryan]

Sure.

[Dan LeBatard]

Start of the day. Start of the day. It is your start of the day. Start of the day. Start of the day. It is the start of the day. Start of the day. Start of the day. It is the start of the day. Start of the day. Start of the day. It is part of the day.

[Greg Cody]

Six games with 40 or more points in his NBA career, Victor Wembanyama has. Do you know how many 40 point games the Iceman George Gervin had as the san Antonio Spur? 69.

[Jon]

69.

[Greg Cody]

40 point games for the Iceman.

[Mike Ryan]

Pretty good. The nice man.

[Greg Cody]

Attaboy. So with that, I mean, obviously SGA won the MVP last year. Wemby has not.

[Jon]

Oh, wow.

[Mike Ryan]

Nice man.

[Amin Elhassan]

I defer here to Greg Cody.

[Mike Ryan]

What are your thoughts there on the 69 joke?

[Jon]

You called him the nice man.

[Mike Ryan]

You didn't even notice the joke, did you?

[Jon]

Yeah. No, I didn't.

[Stugats]

Of all the people to turn to and ask for the nuance of the 69 joke. You turn to your left.

[Jon]

No, you know, it's too easy.

[Greg Cody]

He's in a handicap bowling league.

[Jon]

I don't like to say, obviously pun related and stuff like that. I might have given it a very good. But that's about it.

[Mike Ryan]

Michelle Beadle is going to join us in a little bit to talk about this and other things.

[Greg Cody]

Wait, what was the stat George Gervin has? 69, 48.

[Stugats]

But what about Wemby?

[Greg Cody]

He's got six. I mean, he's only played for three years.

[Jon]

All right.

[Greg Cody]

It's a nice man thing. Nice man. Chris has got three balls. Greg Cody said it, not me.

[Stugats]

He would know more than anybody.

[Jon]

He's got at least three.

[Amin Elhassan]

Do you realize though the general communications fracture in playing my dad singing stat of the day and Jeremy a cast member looking at you and saying so when are you going to give us the stat? Whoever's fault it is, it doesn't matter. Do you realize the communication fractured?

[Stugats]

No, we know, we know.

[Greg Cody]

Prince has got three balls.

[Mike and Nick Movie Advertiser]

The comedy movie event of the year. Mike and Nick and Nick and Alice. Now streaming only on Hulu and Disney plus.

[Lincoln Nautilus Hybrid Advertiser]

Time to party.

[Mike Ryan]

That's a great attitude.

[Mike and Nick Movie Advertiser]

It's a time traveling ass kicking movie event.

[Amin Elhassan]

You sound insane.

[Mike and Nick Movie Advertiser]

Starring Vince Vaughn, James Marsden and Asa Gonzalez.

[Stugats]

I thought you were a clone.

[Lincoln Nautilus Hybrid Advertiser]

Well, clones aren't real, dummy.

[Mike Ryan]

And time machines are super grounded in reality.

[Mike and Nick Movie Advertiser]

Mike and Nick and Nick and Alice. Rated R Written and directed by Ben David Grabinski Only on Hulu and Hulu on Disney plus for bundle subscribers.