Hour 2: Amin's Taylor Hicks Story (feat. Shohei Petrovic)

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz

Episode: Hour 2: Amin's Taylor Hicks Story (feat. Shohei Petrovic)
Date: October 20, 2025
Location: Live from the Elser Hotel, Downtown Miami

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Overview

Hour 2 of the Dan Le Batard Show delivers a fast-paced blend of sports debate, offbeat pop culture commentary, signature chaos, and signature comedic tangents. The crew—Dan, Stugotz, Greg Cody, Mike Ryan, Amin Elhassan, and others—unpacks the fallout from a daring daytime Louvre heist, marvels at sports upsets and NIL-fueled absurdity in college football, dives into Amin’s legendary Taylor Hicks story, and offers irreverent “Weekend Observations.” Throughout, they riff on everything from inside-job heist tropes to the economics of coaching buyouts, never passing on a chance for a running joke.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

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1. The Paris Louvre Daylight Heist

[05:44–13:24]

• Recap of the Heist:
  Dan narrates the wild story of a crew, dressed as construction workers, breaking into the Louvre in broad daylight and making off with priceless jewels, some belonging to Napoleon III's wife. The thieves used an aerial lift, portable saws, and escaped on scooters: “It’s so very French.” (05:44)
• Room Takedowns:
  • “Why do daylight robberies always happen in broad daylight? Why isn’t it ever just daylight?” — Dan LeBatard (06:34)
  • Jokes about lax museum security and speculation about an inside job:
    “Hey Louvre, how about a little security? It’s got to be an inside job.” — Dan (06:54)
  • Greg Cody questions the resale prospects: “There’s only one of its kind. I don’t know how you pawn this stuff.” (07:56)
• Heist Movie Scenarios:
  • Dan and the crew play out the archetypal “fencer” (fence) role, referencing movie tropes (“Claude, the monocle guy”). (08:06)
  • Mike Ryan brings levity: “Usually the best heist ever, you’ve never heard of it.” (13:13)
• Reflections on Modern Heists:
  • The challenge of escaping surveillance in the modern world—still, everyone is confident the culprits will be caught.
  • The consensus: “This is the greatest proof of our theory ever. Four guys and a vest—you can get into anything.” — Dan (10:50)
• Memorable Moment:
  Zaslow reveals he was at the Louvre days prior, and trashes the Mona Lisa:
  “Mona Lisa, very small. Unimpressed.” — Zaslow (13:04)

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2. Weekend Observations With Amin Elhassan

[17:08–29:33]

• Amin takes center stage, reading his irreverent and rapid-fire takeaways from the sports weekend.
• Christian McCaffrey Marvel:
  “Make no mistake, Christian McCaffrey is back.” — Amin (17:36)
• Tua Tagovailoa’s Tough Game:
  Amin skewers Tua’s poor performance:
  • “I feel like I’ll have French toast with a side of aluminum roofing unleaded, please. Ladies and gentlemen, Kaiser Wilhelm and the Beach Boys. End quote. Yes, CTE, Dan. Not the fun kind, but I try to make it fun.” (18:14)
• Coach Mike McDaniel’s Confidence:
  “Mike McDaniel addressed the media with all the confidence of Chris Rock requesting lingual contact with his testicles.” (18:35)
• Taylor Hicks Vegas Story:
  [19:36–20:26]
  Amin pauses for his much-teased Taylor Hicks anecdote:
  • “Let me tell you my Taylor Hicks story. I’m in Vegas at Caesars. Cabana to our left, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul. Cabana to our right: Taylor Hicks. And he’s singing Waka Flocka’s ‘Oh Let’s Do It’ word for word. I was mind blown.” — Amin (19:36)
  • “Anyone else would be [starstruck by] Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul... We’re like: the guy from American Idol!” (19:47)
  • “When he sang Levon, it changed me.” — Amin (19:47)
• Haynes King Hype:
  Amin stumps for the Georgia Tech QB:
  • “Best running quarterback in the nation! Let’s go, Jackets!” (20:58)
• Miami Observational Humor:
  • “Something I can confirm is uniquely Miami: CVS IMAs. Not in LA, not in Arizona… only Miami!” — Amin (21:40)
• Riffs on Airline Superstitions & Celtics Petty Victories:
  • “To the person on my flight who refused to switch seats because you don’t like the number 5... get outta here.” (22:47)
• Missed Connections & Commercial Rants:
  • New segment, “Missed Connections,” then a comical rant about A-list stars pitching cell phone plans:
  • “Are brands paying more, or are celebrities more desperate? Why are Zoe Saldana and Jeff Bridges doing commercials for cell phone service? ...That really pisses me off.” — Amin (25:39)
• AI & Hollywood:
  • “M. Night Shyamalan and Nicholas Sparks are collaborating. Maybe AI scripts aren’t so bad.” (26:05)
• Shohei Petrovic Bit:
  Amin imagines a near-future sports world with American kids called Shohei:
  • “Top five Shoheis in sports, 25 years from now...” (27:17)
• Louvre Heist Power Rankings:
  Amin ranks things almost as fast as the Louvre heist:
  • “Me at any blackjack table, Bronny’s minutes per game, my prom night...” (28:49)
• Classic Bit:
  • “Those are the weekend observations.” (29:33)

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3. NIL Money, Coaching Carousel, & SEC/FSU Dynamics

[33:16–39:41]

• Rapid-Fire Reactions on College Football:
  • Greg Cody riffs about coaches being fired even after wins, the out-of-control private equity entering the NIL world, and how schools like Missouri and Vanderbilt can now compete just by throwing $20 million at their program. (33:16–36:03)
• Florida Coaching Drama:
  • “We did better with Dan Mullen. That wasn’t good enough, because Florida’s standard is not where Vanderbilt and Missouri’s is.” — Greg Cody (36:01)
• Buyout Mania:
  • Dan reports the numbers: “The nine firings so far... buyouts have totaled $116 million already this season.” (36:25)
  • FSU’s Mike Norvell’s potential buyout is “about $55 million,” illustrating the scale of the college coaching big-money merry-go-round. (39:30)
• Stanford Pulls Off an Upset:
  • Breaking down how Stanford, with a season full of bad losses and only 3 wins, managed to upset FSU after FSU routed Alabama.
  • “What happened late in that game, FSU had no offense against Stanford... That program is in disarray.” — Greg (37:19)

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4. Notable Jokes, Running Gags, and Quotes

• Broad Daylight Heist:
  • “Why do daylight robberies always happen in broad daylight? Why isn’t it ever just daylight? What’s broad about it?” — Dan (06:34)
• Fake Expertise on Jewel Heists:
  • “You guys agree with us or disagree? Like, there’s no way you can just steal a crown jewel and then it’s not retrievable.” — Greg Cody (11:22)
• Movie Star Commercials:
  • “Back when we had movie stars as a traditional construct. Like now they are commercial pitchmen.” — Greg (25:56)
• Mona Lisa Disrespect:
  • “He went after the Mona Lisa. If you are someone who does not like Europe... Zaslow speaks your language.” — Greg (13:13)
  • “You can’t spell xenophobic without Zazz.” — Dan (13:24)
• Buyout Escalation:
  • “If you do have a Bit of a coaching and NIL edge, you too can be Vanderbilt or Missouri or one of these schools now competing at the top of the SEC....” — Greg Cody (34:45)
• Shohei Bit:
  • “The number one Shohei in American sports 25 years from now: Shohei Shyamalan Jenkins, wide receiver for the Chiefs.” — Amin (27:44)
• Vegas Vets:
  • “Four guys at least... women can be jewel heights too. If you saw Ocean’s 8, was that the one with the... where it was all women crew?” — Dan (11:03)
• Quick Hits:
  • “Christian McCaffrey is back.” — Amin (17:36)
  • “Mike McDaniel addressed the media... with all the confidence of Chris Rock requesting lingual contact with his testicles.” — Amin (18:35)
  • “I can’t bring myself to trust anyone named McCorkle.” — Dan (17:51)

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5. Timestamps – Segment Highlights

• Louvre Heist Story Start: 05:44
• Heist Movie/Fence Bit: 08:06
• Zaslow’s Louvre/Mona Lisa Take: 12:55–13:24
• Amin’s Weekend Observations: 17:08
• Taylor Hicks Vegas Story: 19:36–20:26
• Amin’s Shohei Bits: 27:17
• Louvre Heist Power Rankings: 28:49
• College Football Coaching Drama: 33:16–39:41

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Tone & Language

The episode retains the familiar witty, irreverent banter and inside-joke humor that defines The Dan Le Batard Show. Conversation is rapid-fire and tangent-filled, with hosts and guests riffing, roasting each other, and never taking themselves—or sports drama—too seriously.

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For Listeners Who Missed It

This hour is emblematic of the show’s best: a comedic but sharp take on serious (and not-so-serious) sports stories, mixed with genuine personality and pop culture references. Amin's Taylor Hicks story is a show highlight, injecting both surprise and laughter. The crew's discussion of the Louvre heist is both a parody of true crime obsession and a sly commentary on our fixation with cinematic crime. College football’s ever-escalating arms race is dissected with equal parts sarcasm and exasperation.

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If you want:

• A sports show that’s as interested in the absurd as the results,
• Sports commentary with movie and culture riffs,
• Unpredictable storytelling (Taylor Hicks in a Vegas cabana singing Waka Flocka!),
• And groupthink mockery of everything from Mona Lisa’s stature to “broad daylight” clichés,

This hour of The Dan Le Batard Show delivers.

Transcript

[Tony]

All right, Smirnoff, Official vodka of the NFL. The world's number one vodka. Here's the deal. Game day is everything. The noise, the rituals, the passion, the dip, the wings, the dip. Again, Smirnoff belongs in that mix. Because if you're tailgating or hosting or just sitting there checking your fantasy lineup every 30 seconds, you need Smirnoff. Otherwise, it's not a real game day. They've been doing this since 1864, which is. I don't even want to do the math. A long time. They're award winning, they make cocktails super easy, and they're all about bringing fans together. So, yeah, we do game days. That's their thing. And if you're over 21, you should, too. Grab a bottle of Smirnoff at your local retailer and head to smirnoff.com to find recipes of delicious cocktails perfect for game day. Please drink responsibly. Smirnoff 21 vodka distilled from grain, 40% alcohol by volume. The Smirnoff Company, New York, New York. Please do not share with anyone under legal drinking age.

[Mike Ryan]

Now's a good time to remember where tequila's story truly began. In 1795, Cuervo invented tequila.

[Greg Cody]

Cuervo.

[Mike Ryan]

What are you doing here?

[Greg Cody]

Cuervo. Anytime someone says Cuervo, I show up.

[Mike Ryan]

Well, I do know that to be true. But even during ad reads like Cuervo, I think you could lay out, especially for one of our great partners.

[Greg Cody]

Sweet, delicious Cuervo.

[Mike Ryan]

Since then, Cuervo has stayed true to its roots. The same family, the same land, the same passion.

[Greg Cody]

Cuervo.

[Mike Ryan]

So enjoy the tequila that started it all. Cuervo.

[Greg Cody]

Cuervo.

[Mike Ryan]

The tequila that invented tequila. Proximo. Cuervo.com, please drink responsibly.

[Greg Cody]

Cuervo.

[WhatsApp Announcer]

When did making plans get this complicated? It's time to streamline with WhatsApp, the.

[Greg Cody]

Secure messaging app that brings the whole group together. Use polls to settle dinner plans, send event invites and pin messages so no one forgets mom, 60th and never miss a meme or milestone.

[WhatsApp Announcer]

All protected with end to end encryption. It's time for WhatsApp.

[Amin]

Message privately with everyone.

[Greg Cody]

Learn [e-mail] this is the Dan Levator show with the Stugats podcast.

[Jane Levy]

In the time of nil, we pay.

[Amin]

The money to obtain hurricanes who are now quick as a bunny with a team that Dan called the best in 20 years.

[Greg Cody]

With one loss, they all feed on Mike Ryan's tears.

[Jane Levy]

But screw the haters.

[Amin]

Mike will still make the playoffs, you know what I'm saying? So long as someone loses and gobs up their lead in the because, oh shit, we no longer control our destiny.

[Jane Levy]

And Mike Ryan saying I'm insane to complain.

[Amin]

We got Bane. Mario's still building in I don't know the game. Hey man, don't believe everything's on the qb.

[Greg Cody]

He can throw four picks and blame.

[Jane Levy]

The guys on his team and it is fine. Mario once again got to a fourth quarter and blew another chance to win.

[Amin]

So. So what? We lost to Louisville.

[Greg Cody]

I'm a loser, baby.

[Amin]

Nothing new for Miami. So what? We lost to Louisville. I'm a loser, baby. Nothing new for Miami.

[Greg Cody]

I don't think that there are some college football stuff stories that we're going to have time for today. I don't think we're going to get to Clemson losing to smu. I don't think we're going to get to Brian Kelly and lsu. I do think we're going to get to Florida and Florida State. But before we go any further, you, Greg Cody, realize how close you are to having to walk to Seattle, correct?

[Dan LeBatard]

I know in jest I made that. You know I made that.

[Jane Levy]

But you know, we did find a.

[Greg Cody]

Seattle and I believe Illinois, right, Jeremy? A little town.

[Jane Levy]

Yeah, it was a village. Also, I just want to make clear that song is by Beck. Loser by Beck. So it was layered.

[Amin]

Isn't the quarterback from Miami named Beck?

[Jane Levy]

Yeah, yeah, you get it.

[Greg Cody]

Oh, it's a very layered song about how they're losers in Miami. So you could walk to Seattle, Illinois. Hypothetically. Can I get the sound here as Jeremy tries to torment us and I insist on bullying him, Can I get the sound of him reacting to Jane Levy calling him a boy toy?

[Jane Levy]

The pitch clock. Jane, thank you so much for taking the time to join me today.

[Greg Cody]

For you, boy toy, anything.

[Jane Levy]

She makes me giggle. I love her. I'm not ashamed of that at all.

[Amin]

You laugh like an anime character. You laugh like the Pillsbury Doughboy.

[Greg Cody]

I love her leaning into the boy toy thing. We will get to Amin's weekend observations in a second, but I do believe that I have subject matter in front of me that is only other connection point that we would have that I say Rivals 90s baseball on something that everyone around here wants to talk about whenever it is present and it is simply the old fashioned heist. When there is a heist, everyone has the language of heist and they know that they want to talk. I don't know about whether it's Pierce Brosnan, Thomas Crown Affair. I don't know if it's the Italian Job, whatever dumb ass movie we enjoy around here because it's a heist movie. It's happened at the Louvre. The Louvre. I don't know the items that have been stolen. Mike has told me that there is a quick Cliff Notes version of the story that we have via audio here that will get everyone caught up very quickly.

[WhatsApp Announcer]

A group of well trained and really organized thieves broke into the Louvre museum in Paris and in a matter of minutes successfully made off with priceless jewels. At least one that once belonged to Napoleon's wife. This is not a new Ocean's Eleven movie. This actually happened yesterday. And what is even crazier, it was a in broad daylight and the museum was open with tourists and security and you know, people in it. The jewel thieves dressed as construction workers used an aerial lift to get up to a window and then they had portable saws to cut through the glass of both the window and then the case where the jewels were on display. They made off with their haul on. Are you ready for this? Scooters? It's so very French. Now it would seem in their haste they may have dropped one item, a crown believed to belong to Napoleon's wife, Emperor Empress Eugenie, which was discovered damaged outside of the gallery.

[Greg Cody]

My lady gives off AI.

[Dan LeBatard]

Why? Why do daylight robberies always happen in broad daylight? Why isn't it ever just daylight? What's broad about it? It's daylight.

[Greg Cody]

That's your takeaway from that story?

[Dan LeBatard]

And also, hey, Louvre, how about a little security? Like is anybody guarding the jewels? What's going on here? Got to be an inside job. Somebody who's working was in on this.

[Greg Cody]

Time to throw away journalistic credibility and get reckless.

[Dan LeBatard]

I know what makes here is something.

[Greg Cody]

We like to call reckless speculation.

[Amin]

You're good.

[Dan LeBatard]

Inside job. Inside job.

[Amin]

I hate to correct the eminently credible New York Post. It's actually Napoleon III wife, not the original Napoleon.

[Greg Cody]

A royal crown was stolen and just left in the alley.

[Amin]

The crown jewels were stolen. The crown was left behind, but the.

[Greg Cody]

Crown was just left behind. So this is an old fashioned heist in, as they said, broad daylight, not just daylight. Are there any other details that we need here? She said priceless. There. That seems pretty worthless.

[Jane Levy]

It's true.

[Greg Cody]

The crown, there's no price on it. Well, they're going to be hard to resell I would imagine, right? Like there's only one of its kind. I don't know how you pawn this stuff. I don't Know how it sells on the open market? Not going to surprise you. I'm not an international thief.

[Amin]

You don't know. How many movies have you watched, Dan Levitar. It's a fence. You go to a fencer. Why is he called a fence? I don't know, but they call him fencers. And he goes, and the first thing he does is he pulls out the little monocle thing and he looks at it and then he low balls the shit out of the heisters. And the heisters, like, come on, Claude, you told us you would pay us big for this. Like, yeah, but the heat is too, too hot right now. You got to sit, lay low for a while. And then Claude kind of comes back with an offer that's good enough because they need enough money to get to Mexico. Once they get to Mexico, no extradition.

[Dan LeBatard]

Claude's no dummy.

[Greg Cody]

Ocean 11. Ocean Ocean 12. These are the most famous versions of these movies that we love, but this is in real life. This is a heist. It sounds less romantic than you would think if it's in broad daylight with saws.

[Dan LeBatard]

Yeah. And plus the three thieves supposedly were wearing ski masks, so how.

[Greg Cody]

That's not true. They were dressed as construction.

[Amin]

Construction workers.

[Dan LeBatard]

They had ski masks on, which is all the weird.

[Greg Cody]

There's video everywhere. Is the problem.

[Amin]

Everywhere.

[Greg Cody]

It's gonna be hard. I don't know how. You can't get away with something like this. Right? We'll see.

[Dan LeBatard]

No, they won't get away with it.

[Amin]

We'll see. Do we have any. Any suspects who are in the area at the time that we can kind of shorten the list to.

[Greg Cody]

This is not possible to pull off in the modern age, is it not? The heist might be, but you will be caught and you will not be able to sell them.

[Dan LeBatard]

Right. There's got. How many hundreds of video cameras are there in the Louvre? I mean, you don't get away with this. They will be caught, especially because it was an inside job. So one of them is connected with the Louvre. So they will be caught.

[Greg Cody]

We're speaking with an expertise I don't believe you or I have in a matter of hours.

[Dan LeBatard]

In a matter of hours.

[Jane Levy]

No. In great defense, it really doesn't make any sense to have this happen without an inside job. Because it's never happened before.

[Dan LeBatard]

Yes.

[Jane Levy]

Why would they be able to do this now? It makes no sense. Unless there was someone who was in the area that hadn't been been there before.

[Dan LeBatard]

Thank you, Billy.

[Amin]

Guys, these heist teams, you guys are still focused on who actually grabbed the jewels and ran. You got to remember, there's other elements. There's guys are on lookout. There's guys who are acting like they're tourists going around taking pictures with their wife. Maybe they're, you know, down the hall, literally. Where is it? Literally down the hall. The Mona Lisa. So a lot of people. That's the most popular thing there. So you got a bunch of people taking pictures by the Mona Lisa. Like, hey, I'm on vacation here. Where are you from? I'm from Florida. I'm an American. And then you do that. Oops, I spilled my latte. Everyone pays attention. That's when the construction workers come out, grab the sub, get back out. Now you know what they do? Unzip, take it off, put on, like, sunglasses, maybe a camera. And now we're on scooters, and now we look like tourists. Come on.

[Greg Cody]

It's pretty good the way that you've got the heist handled. We've also established before today's show that any one of us, if we were wearing a vest of some sort and had a ladder under our arm, we would be able to get access to just about anything we wanted to.

[Amin]

This is the greatest proof of our theory ever. Four guys at least. Maybe more could be. Also, women don't want to discriminate here because women can be jewel heist, too. If you saw Ocean's 8, was that the one with. The one where it was all with the crew?

[Mike Ryan]

Or as Dan calls it, Ocean 8?

[Greg Cody]

It's one word. Ocean 8. It's a verb.

[Amin]

So you do this, you get the stuff, and then you get out of here. They proved it. Our theory is correct. We should start going to games now. Like this. Super bowl, here we come.

[Greg Cody]

Are you guys in agreement that Greg and I, who are not professionals, are armed with any information whatsoever other than watching and listening to movies of this kind? When we say with confidence, these people will be found shortly, and these are not things you can sell as if he and I are running in international black market circles. You guys agree with us or disagree on that? Like, there's no way you can just steal a crown jewel and then it's not retrievable.

[Amin]

Right?

[Greg Cody]

What is the. Like, I know the screen painting in Norway was stolen one time, but the most. The most famous of the heists that was international in nature, that secured the greatest thing that has never been restored. What. What is represented by the greatest of the heights of the heists?

[Dan LeBatard]

I would say Denver winning that game Sunday over the Giants.

[Amin]

You know what well done.

[Greg Cody]

That's pretty good right there.

[Dan LeBatard]

I'm here for you. Usually down late.

[Mike Ryan]

The best heist ever. You've never heard of of the most.

[Greg Cody]

Valuable thing ever stolen.

[Mike Ryan]

Never heard of it because oftentimes if you watch National Treasure, you put like a perfectly great replica in its place. You don't even know it's stolen.

[Greg Cody]

I'm seeing in 2016, $70 million worth of Bitcoin was stolen. Yeah, not really what we're talking about. Boring. Not exactly something you make out of documentary or a movie out of this great. The great heist of just, you know, I had to click on computer and stole a bunch of, you know, currency that was electronic.

[Amin]

The Mona Lisa was stolen 100 years ago.

[Greg Cody]

ZAZ went and saw the Mona Lisa here recently and called her overrated and small, I believe.

[Mike Ryan]

How recent?

[Greg Cody]

How recent was it as. Weren't you just. I was there a few days ago. You were. You were at the Louvre a few days was what, like four days ago? Five days ago? I was there a few days ago.

[Dan LeBatard]

Interesting.

[Amin]

Mona Lisa, very small.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah, he was unimpressed. He went after her on Zaslow Show 2.0. If you did not hear it, he went after the Mona Lisa. If you are someone who does not like Europe things, thinks things in Europe are overrated. Zaslo speaks your language. And the totally xenophobic Zaslow Show 2.0.

[Amin]

You can't spell xenopho without Zaz.

[Tony]

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[Mike Ryan]

Howdy listeners. It's Mike Ryan and Chris Cody. Hey everyone. Hey Chris. We love hanging out so much. You were at my birthday the other day.

[Dan LeBatard]

You're old.

[Mike Ryan]

You know what I saw in your hand?

[Amin]

What?

[Mike Ryan]

A can of Miller. Whether it's a can, whether it's a bottle, a draft pour of Miller Lite. The draft pour. You see that beautiful iconic color. Ah, the cold right away.

[Greg Cody]

The ice coldness to it. Oh, so good.

[Mike Ryan]

Yes, Chris, the ice coldness to it. Oh, whether you're hanging out with me on my birthday because I'm old or you're at a game, you know that Miller Lite just makes every special time a Miller time. That's how you make the special times by making a Miller times. Game day just hits different with Miller Lite in your hand. Hittin different from jaw dropping touchdowns to fantasy heartbreaks. It's a beer that has been there for every moment. 50 years of great taste, simple ingredients and that iconic golden color. That coldness, Chris, that.

[Greg Cody]

That icy coldness.

[Mike Ryan]

That icy coldness. The original light beer since 1975 and still hittin different five decades later. Miller Lite Great Taste, 96 calories. Go to millerlight.com dan to find delivery options near you. Or you can pick up some Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer. It's Miller time. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Co. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.

[Greg Cody]

I see coldness. What does Zyn give you? Not just smoke free nicotine satisfaction, but real freedom. Freedom to do what you love and choose your rewards. With Zinn rewards, you can redeem points for premium tech outdoor gear and gift cards to your favorite retailers. Find your Zinn and keep finding rewards that fit your [e-mail] rewards warning. This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical. Don Lebatard is there back in my day.

[Dan LeBatard]

There is actually.

[Mike Ryan]

Were you not gonna tell anyone? Wait a minute, you guys. Guys, it's a Tuesday.

[Greg Cody]

Stugats. Here's your guy, Greg Cody with Back in my Day.

[Dan LeBatard]

Okay, here it is. Sorry, adultery.

[Mike Ryan]

Waiting for this one.

[Greg Cody]

This is the D Levitar show with the st. Let's go ahead and introduced Amin's weekend observations. I almost slept there. Yeah, that's fine. I'll wait for it.

[Jane Levy]

I'll give you another one. The Pink Panther diamond. I mean that was. That was a big one. And they Were eating hample gills.

[Mike Ryan]

Not a real diamond. I love an off mic O.

[Greg Cody]

It is time for to share his game notes. No one in the media will tell you what happened better than my boy.

[Amin]

I mean. Weekend observations is presented by Miller Light. Dan. We questioned if the end was nigh. We saw the writing on the wall. We read the tea leaves. We did our own research. But last night against a Falcons team that was riding high off of Wynn versus Buffalo, he put up two hundo yards in rushing and receiving and two TDs. Just like that. Make no mistake, Christian McCaffrey is back.

[Greg Cody]

That's nuts, isn't it?

[Amin]

CMC.

[Greg Cody]

It's just crazy. He's just like seven functioning bones.

[Amin]

I can't bring myself to trust anyone named McCorkle.

[Greg Cody]

Put it on the poll at LeBatard show. Can you bring yourself to trust anyone named McCorkle?

[Amin]

Even though they blew a 19 point 4th quarter lead, I'm happy the Giants finally got their QB. We'll be putting a dort in the league's neck for the next decade.

[Dan LeBatard]

Yes.

[Greg Cody]

Yes.

[Amin]

Pooro tuatanga wailoa. 12 of 23 for 100 yards, 3 ints, sacked twice and benched by Mike McDaniel in the. In a whooping at the hands of the hapless Cleveland Browns. Greg, stay strong. I feel a second half push coming. Diamond hands. After the game, Tua spoke to the media and he said, quote, I'm definitely not happy about my play this year. I feel like I'll have French toast with a side of aluminum roofing unleaded, please. Ladies and gentlemen, Kaiser Wilhelm and the Beach Boys. End quote. Yes, Cte Dan. Not the fun kind, but I try to make it fun. Mike McDaniel addressed the media about the benching of Tua with all the confidence of Chris Rock, requesting lingual contact with his testicles. You guys remember that bit? Excuse me.

[Greg Cody]

Excuse me.

[Amin]

Could you. Could you please. Good God. I haven't seen anyone stutter that much since Ben Stiller started as Tug Speedman. Starring a Simple Jack.

[Greg Cody]

Couldn't be made today.

[Amin]

Reuben stuttered. I'm sorry. Yeah, 2004.

[Dan LeBatard]

That's my kind of humor.

[Amin]

Reuben suttered was this guy from American Idol.

[Dan LeBatard]

Yeah, I remember.

[Amin]

Okay.

[Mike Ryan]

You think I don't remember?

[Amin]

Shout out to Taylor Hicks. Man, that dude is cool. That dude is cool. Let me tell you something about. Okay, I'm stopping weekend observations for a second to tell you my Taylor Hicks story. I'm in Vegas. I'm at the club at Caesars with one of my buddies. Assistant Coach, his buddy works as a manager at this super extreme nightclub, takes us to a cabana which oversees the whole dance floor. We go there. The cabana to our left is Carmelo Anthony. And I want to say Chris Paul and some other NBA guys. We're like, whatever. The cabana to our right is Taylor Hicks, and he's singing word for word. I don't know that. To Waka Flocka. Oh, let's do it. And I was mind blown. And my buddy was like, you know what? Anyone else in the world would be like, carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul. And we're like the guy from American Idol kind of looks like Mark Cuban.

[Greg Cody]

When he sang Levon, it changed me.

[Amin]

Oh, my God. All right, back to weekend observations. 14 carries, 120 yards, and a one touchdown. If a running back put up those numbers, what would we say? Zaz?

[Greg Cody]

Pretty good.

[Amin]

Yeah, pretty good, right? If a QB put up those numbers, we'd say he's Haynes King. Best running quarterback in the nation. Let's go, Jackets. We cracked the top 10.

[Greg Cody]

You grounded Duke to dust in the fourth quarter with your offense.

[Amin]

With his legs. This guy's amazing. I can't believe the nation isn't enthralled by Haynes King.

[Greg Cody]

They're late arriving to one of the fringe schools. But the fact that he's winning games like that guy should be in the Heisman conversation. I'm not kidding.

[Dan LeBatard]

Yeah, of course he can take Beck's place.

[Mike Ryan]

They almost lost Wake Forest. They probably should have.

[Amin]

Yeah. But you know why they didn't?

[Mike Ryan]

Haynes King.

[Amin]

There you go. You know what? He has moxie and guts. Balls is the word we're looking for.

[Greg Cody]

But also, Wake Forest went for two and shouldn't have and could have won the game while Haynes King was on the sideline.

[Amin]

How many yards per carry you think he averages?

[Jane Levy]

Carrie Underwood?

[Amin]

There you go. Thank you. I've been all around this country. Something I can confirm is Uniquely Miami CVS IMAs. What's the MAS? Is it those? I'm serious. Like Dan, you say, oh, this is uniquely Miami. We're like, dan, this happens everywhere. I swear to God. Not in la, not in Arizona, not anywhere with a strong Spanish population have I ever seen CVS IMAs.

[Greg Cody]

Yes, IMOR. That means, like, you can get, like a Santeria ritual in the back if you can you.

[Amin]

Because it looks like the same as a regular CVS to me. I walked around, I was like, this is just cvs.

[Mike Ryan]

They just play my na there.

[Amin]

It's a playlist. That's right.

[Mike Ryan]

It's the difference? Honestly?

[Amin]

Bijan Robinson, Kajuka, sumo wrestler. In a phone booth. See, a phone booth, Jeremy, was this thing back in the day in the 20 CB, you had to like when you make a call. You didn't have cell phones. You have to use landlines. So you put a coin in.

[Jane Levy]

What's a landline?

[Amin]

Well, okay, so it's like a phone that has like a wire attached to.

[Jane Levy]

The wall, but then you can't take it anywhere.

[Amin]

No, it stays put. Yeah, all right.

[Greg Cody]

No, it needs the music.

[Mike Ryan]

Superman also, you said.

[Amin]

Okay. No, I like it when the music.

[Mike Ryan]

Take his costume off. It's a misnomer that Superman would change into a costume. His costume is actually Clark Kent. See, the real Superman is Superman. It's Kal El.

[Amin]

To the person on my flight who refused to switch seats with someone because you don't like the number 5.

[Greg Cody]

Get out of here, you miserable. Get out of here.

[Amin]

I swear to God gets asked, hey, me and my boyfriend are over here. Can we switch? They're in row three. He's in row five. And the lady is like, I don't like the number five.

[Greg Cody]

Come on.

[Amin]

That was her whole thing. I gave away her gender.

[Dan LeBatard]

Yeah.

[Amin]

Joe Missoula made his coaching staff play versus Celtics media. They won 57. 4 and made a big deal about it across all Celtics official social media accounts. As if that proves some sort of point. Maybe if you didn't measure yourself against washed up former D3 athletes like J. King.

[Greg Cody]

Oh, no.

[Amin]

You wouldn't blow multiple 20 point leads in the playoffs.

[Greg Cody]

Oh, no.

[Amin]

NBC running promos for Michael Jordan. Segments called Insights to excellence. Goosebumps. So is he gonna be on tomorrow?

[Greg Cody]

He's gonna be right.

[Amin]

He's gonna be on. On opening night. Okay, special segment. Him and Mike Tirico. Insights to excellence.

[Greg Cody]

Okay, come on.

[Amin]

Tell me you won't tune into that, Dan. Yeah, there you go.

[Jane Levy]

Michael Jordan sparks.

[Amin]

There are 83 players on opening day NBA rosters who were born after LeBron made his NBA debut. That's depressing. FIFA cracking down on ticket scalping by forcing resale of tickets to their own ticket site, then charging 15% commission to the seller and 15% commission to the buyer. That's not just a heady play. It's a bicycle kick from outside the box in extra time of a World cup final game with a get price of $15,000. It's crazy. Like, this is the high. Prior to this World Cup, Dan, you could only resell for face value. You couldn't. You couldn't like price gouge. FIFA said we're gonna get rid of all these scalpers. You only do it on our marketplace, by the way. No limits to what you can resell for.

[Jane Levy]

Why?

[Amin]

Because they're getting 15% on both sides.

[Greg Cody]

Ouch.

[Amin]

Unbelievable. I'm debuting a mini segment called Missed Connections.

[Mike Ryan]

It's almost like FIFA might be corrupt.

[Amin]

Oh, my God. Pablo Torre finds out. Debuting a new mini segment called Missed Connections. You were the cute blonde at the supermarket mopping on aisle five. I was the guy who dropped a family sized jar of kosher dills. Are brands paying more nowadays or are celebrities more desperate? Why are Zoe Saldana and Jeff Bridges doing commercials for cell phone service? That really pisses me off. Like the guys from Scrubs. Okay, you guys were famous once upon a time. Now you don't have a lot going on. You can do these ads fine. That's normal. That's what we've always grown up with in terms of commercials. Now we're getting like Hollywood A listers doing like regular ads.

[Greg Cody]

You're right about this. I don't believe enough people are talking about this. There are all sorts of movie stars who used to be movie stars who are cashing out in a way that is beneath them.

[Amin]

They're still movie star. If they used to be, I'd be fine. But you're still a movie star. Bradley Cooper doing uber eats commercials.

[Greg Cody]

I'm saying back his eyes. Back when we had movie stars as a traditional construct is what I meant. Like now they are commercial pitch men for whatever.

[Amin]

It's like whenever I see them doing like paid for reads on podcasts and stuff, like, you're too rich for this. You're too fake. That's for us, the D listers. Jesus. Leave some scrums.

[Dan LeBatard]

Miller Light.

[Amin]

Yep. M. Night Shyamalan, Nicholas Sparks are collabing on a project and now I'm wondering if AI created scripts and movies are such a bad idea. Did you know that early on M. Night was supposed to do the film adaptation to the Notebook? This is a true story.

[Greg Cody]

Get the hell out of here.

[Amin]

I heard it on npr. Said he was.

[Greg Cody]

That feels like a weird happen to know. I heard it on npr. Npr it like you just hit that as the verifier. Like, I heard it on npr. This is a fact.

[Amin]

Yeah, it was. They interviewed them and he said like, actually I. I got to work with Nicholas early on because I was supposed to do the film adaptation to Notebook and then the studio went in a different direction. My question is, what do you think the twist Would have been had he gotten his his way. Ryan Gosling goes to World War II to fight alongside the Nazis. Yeah. Can't wait for American sports 25 years from now when there's a shit ton of athletes across all races and ethnicities named Shohei. Top five Shohei's in sports 25 years from now.

[Mike Ryan]

Oh, wow.

[Greg Cody]

Okay.

[Amin]

Oli. Shohei Petrovich, MLS striker. Except he'll say it's Petrovic, dumbass. Oli. Shohei Fontaine Jeffries, starting point guard in the WNBA. Number five, Shohei LaFleur, NHL goalie. Number four, Shohei Valenzuela, Golden Glove shortstop in the MLB. Number three, Shohei Friedman, mov pitcher struck out 12. Number two, Shohei Abdul Rahman, MMA fighter. And the number one Shohei in American sports 25 years from now, Shohei Shyamalan Jenkins, wide receiver for the Chiefs.

[Greg Cody]

That's a good name.

[Dan LeBatard]

Shohei. The money?

[Amin]

No thanks. There was a heist at the Louvre this weekend. That's the museum Zaz went to to go see the Mona Lisa. It took four minutes and happened during business hours. I know what you're thinking. How could that happen? Who was guarding the Louvre? Turns out it was Rudy Gobert. But the heister just ran high pick and roll the whole time. Greg. So, top five things the Louvre heist was almost faster than. Almost faster than Oli me at any blackjack table ever. Doesn't matter how much money, doesn't matter what the minimum bet is within like three and a half minutes. I'm done.

[Greg Cody]

I'm always. You're just bad. I'm always horrible.

[Amin]

Blackjack number five minutes per game. Bronnie will average this season just a hair under four minutes. Number four, Miyond Prom night. Just a couple hairs under four minutes. Number three, Mut Ninja Warrior. Number two. Mutant Ninja Warrior. The second time. And the number one thing that the Louvre heist was almost faster than. The Canes reign at number two home game. Unranked opponent. Yeah, four ints. Mike, what the hell happened, man? Yeah, speaking of hell. Art Briles. Those are the weekend observations.

[Greg Cody]

Thank you, Amin. Amin will be at the watch party with us in Kendall. Greg Cody is not yet confirmed, but I urge you to make plans to be with us that night. It's going to be a good deal of fun.

[Jane Levy]

I don't know about you guys, but I'm someone that's constantly adding stuff to different carts on random websites. Like there's a teal marlins hat that's been calling to me for like two and a half years. That I'm constantly getting advertisements for is something eventually I'll purchase because I keep those things in the cart. Then I see it. That beautiful, glowing purple shop pay button.

[Greg Cody]

Boom.

[Jane Levy]

Checkout's done. I don't even have to get up and find my wallet. That, my friends, is Shopify magic. That little purple button means that the store is powered by Shopify, which doesn't just make it easy to buy, but ridiculously easy to start and run your own business, too. Whether you're a giant like Mattel or Gymshark or, you know, just launching something weird from your garage, Shopify has your back. Let's be real. If we can run a show with this much chaos, you can run a business with Shopify with hundreds of beautiful templates, tools for payments, inventory analytics, marketing. It goes on and on, and it's all in one place. If you want to see less carts being abandoned, it's time for you to head over to Shopify. Sign up for your $1 per month trial and start selling today. At shopify.com, go to shopify.comshopify.com.

[Mike Ryan]

Quick break here to talk to you about the official ticketing partner of the Dan LeBatard show, folks, it's Mike Ryan. You know how much I love this product. I use it frequently. I'm often buying tickets on the secondary market, and for me, gametime has always been the best place to go for NFL tickets, concert tickets, comedy shows. It's just the best. Here's why. Zone deals Favorites Panoramic seat views. The lowest price guarantee where GameTime will credit you 110% of the difference. I love that thing. GameTime's ticket coverage. Your purchase is covered with the most flexible customer service policy in the ticketing industry. Get all those guarantees, pal. Join what many in our show have already done. They download that Gametime app because Gametime guarantees you can trust you'll be getting 100% authentic tickets on time and at the best price. Plus, fees are always included. So what you see is what you pay. Take the guesswork out of buying NFL tickets with GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account and use code DAN for ten twenty dollars off your first purchase terms. Apply again. Create an account and redeem code dan for $20 off swipe tap ticket. Go download the Gametime app today.

[Jane Levy]

Folks.

[Greg Cody]

Fuel your game day with the unbeatable crunch of Hampton Farms, the official peanut of bowl season. Perfect for sharing with friends, tailgating outside the stadium, or cheering from the couch. Grab a bag from the produce aisle of your Local. Local grocery store and savor the game.

[Amin]

One peanut at a time.

[Greg Cody]

Let's get nutty. Don LeBatard.

[Dan LeBatard]

Quiet man.

[Greg Cody]

Yes.

[Dan LeBatard]

You know, I'm a married man. I don't cheat on my wife. Despite that gratuitous line in back in my stugats, I wish you were here. My wife. I really miss her. No, I don't. That's the thing about being married, you know, you're not allowed to say, I don't miss my wife. I've been gone two days. I haven't been gone long enough to miss my wife.

[Mike Ryan]

Wife.

[Dan LeBatard]

I'm sorry. I call her. I'm on the phone with her. 30 seconds. You know, what am I. Hello? All right. All right. We'll see you. All right. And then, you know, I'm going to see her in two days. I was jumping Charlie.

[Greg Cody]

Good. This is the D Ler show with the sts, the college football stories of the weekend. More, I'm going to say regionally, even though Billy Napier being fired after a win is unusual, but they look so impressive against Mississippi State and the money's gotten so high. You're talking about $2 million of private equity in the Big Ten. And the SEC is the most competitive. This is how it's going to be now. You can lose your job after a win. You could lose your job if simply Florida whiffs the smell of no, we're better than Mississippi State. And we've got to prove it in a way that makes us something that feels more like it belong with Oklahoma and with. With Texas and again at the top of the standing. Somehow Alabama gets a pick six, a 99 yard pick six. And Alabama somehow lost to FSU. Somebody explained to me how FSU goes from swamping Alabama, winning by two touchdowns to going to Stanford and losing when Stanford is as bad as there was in Division 1. Somebody explain it to me, please.

[Amin]

I don't get it.

[Mike Ryan]

The SEC is not that good.

[Greg Cody]

You don't think Alabama is that good?

[Mike Ryan]

Alabama looks like a different team, but we're also taking the results. But they got their asses handed to them by fsu. You can say they were underprepared, but we just forget about all of that. That's a. It's a terrible loss. But this is the SEC branding. You have a team like Tennessee whose best win is against Mississippi State, ranked ahead of teams like Louisville and usf.

[Jane Levy]

Good loss is better than good wins, Mike.

[Mike Ryan]

And that wasn't even a good loss.

[Jane Levy]

Alabama, they got their ass team in the brand name.

[Greg Cody]

What's Funny about what they're saying, as is what just happened to Billy Napier at Florida is basically. This is a kind. It's condensed, but it's basically this. Everyone in the SEC is competing for the big dollars. And if you do have a bit of a coaching and nil edge, you too can be Vanderbilt or Missouri or one of these schools that's now competing at the top of the SEC when those were never allowed to compete it. Never mind the top of the sec, they've always been the doormat. So when Florida is merely a little better at home than Mississippi State and loses to South Florida and Vanderbilt and Missouri matter now they can win any weekend against Alabama. Everything at the top end of the SEC is they're all throwing money at it because it's never been easier to get to the top of the sport. If you have $20 million. If you have $20 million that people have an expendable income, you could be Vanderbilt or Missouri or Texas Tech or one of these other schools buying your way right to the top of the game. And. And Florida's behind now because Florida had the head start. Florida has the tradition, has the history, has the expectation of excellence, but now they're officially behind. And Billy Napier, you're out on your ass because that's not good enough. We did better with Dan Mullen. That wasn't good enough because Florida's standard is not where Vanderbilt and Missouri's is.

[Dan LeBatard]

Well, they gave Billy Napier three and a half years and his combined record is 22 and 23. You don't do mediocrity if you're the Florida Gators. And the buyout doesn't matter anymore. It doesn't matter how high it is. Front Office Sports reported today that the nine firings so far in CBA in the top level, the buyouts have totaled $116 million already this season.

[Greg Cody]

Oh, but it's mattering in Tallahassee that you can't.

[Mike Ryan]

The buyout is absolutely mattering in Tallahassee.

[Greg Cody]

You can't go, Greg. You cannot go from the weirdness of we were ATOP the sport 13 and one quarterback away. Our quarterback gets injured the next season, we're 2 and 10, and then we're good enough to beat Alabama. But then we go to Stanford. Not just Stanford, Pittsburgh. FSU is weird. Fsu. Whether the SEC is what Mike says it is or not, you win at home against Alabama by two touchdowns, you're gonna get everyone's attention. I don't have a good way of.

[Amin]

Explaining what's going on with FSU because.

[Greg Cody]

I understand they didn't play anyone great those next couple of weeks after Alabama. But that FSU team, like, it looked like they were back, you know, it looked like. I don't team two years ago that went undefeated, but they look like a legitimate team. And then, I mean, this weekend you lose the way that you did out there. And Jeremy, Jeremy, please get for me the game logs on Stanford this year because I don't think it was late.

[Mike Ryan]

At night and he's favored by 30 points against Sanford.

[Greg Cody]

What happened late in that game? FSU, it was a late game, okay? And all of a sudden you have no offense that FSU can get against Stanford. But when I give you the game logs on Stanford, that program's in disarray. But Andrew Luck, the GM, asked someone for 50 million and got it.

[Mike Ryan]

Beautiful job by me.

[Greg Cody]

Ask someone for 50 million as a donor to Stanford and that gets you in the game. Now do you realize the market inefficiency that someone that Andrew Luck just exploited? Wait a minute. I can get in that game for $50 million if I know the right person. I can actually run an athletic program that competes. What he inherited post David Shaw is how bad a team is this?

[Jane Levy]

This team this season is 3 and 4. They lost at Hawaii by 3. They lost at BYU 27, 2, 3. They won at home against Boston College by 10 points. They lost at Virginia by 28, 48 to 20. They beat San Jose State by a point at home and had just come off Getting crushed by SMU 34 to 10 before beating Florida State.

[Greg Cody]

How do they do that?

[Jane Levy]

Welcome to the Gus Malzahn experience.

[Mike Ryan]

Mike Norvell Last won an ACC game when he was 42. He's 44 now. This is, you know, after they said the ACC wasn't good enough for them and demanded a new salaries, a new revenue share structure because they were the class of the conference. And then they haven't beaten anyone in the conference since.

[Greg Cody]

What is his buyout again? I'm sorry, Norvell, because this is the game that we're playing now in the state of Florida. It's a business. It's a business game. Do you have $20 million to get into the game? Do you have the money to buy James Franklin's $50 million? Like you understand that this is welcoming all the local car dealers to help us fund our program so that we can have a 50 million. Look, the Ohio State roster, it was viewed as all sorts of expensive. $21 million in sports isn't that expensive. They sell that they could sell that with some well placed concessions and merch like the the sport is a giant thing. And the amount of dollars that we're talking about that buys out James Franklin Now 50 million is not that much.

[Jane Levy]

Mike Norvell would be owed about $55 million. Gus Malzahn, the offensive coordinator would get another 3.6. Tony White, the defensive coordinator, 2.6.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah, I've seen pretty high estimates for what that buy would take for the entire staff. And look, boosters have to pay for these buyouts even in today's nil age. So they have to pay for nil and the buyouts. And FSU does not have the same kind of that Florida has, nor do they have the SEC money.

[Amin]

An idea for a movie. Boosters millions.

[Mike Ryan]

Now's a good time to remember where Tequila's story truly began. In 1795, Cuervo invented tequila. Cuervo, what are you doing here?

[Greg Cody]

Cuervo? Anytime someone says Cuervo, I show up.

[Mike Ryan]

Well, I do know that to be true. But even during ad reads like Cuervo, I think he could lay out especially for one one of our great partners.

[Greg Cody]

Sweet, delicious Cuervo.

[Mike Ryan]

Since then, Cuervo has stayed true to its roots. The same family, the same land, the same passion.

[Greg Cody]

Cuervo.

[Mike Ryan]

So enjoy the tequila that started it all. Cuervo. Cuervo, the tequila that invented tequila. Proximo Cuervo. Com. Please drink responsibly.

[Greg Cody]

Cuervo.