Hour 2: And The Chicken Tastes Like Wood

Summary

The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz

Hour 2: "And The Chicken Tastes Like Wood"

Date: March 10, 2026
Location: Elser Hotel, Downtown Miami
Hosts: Dan Le Batard, Stugotz, Tony, Jeremy + guests

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Overview

This hour of the show was characteristically lively, mixing deep dives into sports moments, pop-culture nostalgia, and the blurred lines between sports and societal changes. The hosts discuss legacies in entertainment and sports, grapple hilariously (and sometimes poignantly) with the passage of time, and debate the growing influence of gambling and corruption in competition. Notably, the tone is energetic, irreverent, and self-effacing throughout.

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Key Segments & Discussion Points

1. Jim Carrey, Dan Marino, and “Ace Ventura” Movie History

(00:00–03:19)

• Dan tells a story about seeing Louie Anderson and Jim Carrey perform stand-up before they were famous.
• Discussion of "In Living Color" and its impact—especially the halftime Super Bowl show and how it changed what the NFL did for halftime entertainment.
• The cast recounts the origin story of Dan Marino's cameo in "Ace Ventura," with Jim Carrey winning Marino over by showing up in-character at a restaurant.
  • Tony: “Dan Marino had options. Either get percentage points…or he could get a salary... He picked salary. I’m sure he wishes he had the points.” (02:22)
• Reflection on movie risk-taking: Ace Ventura was expected to flop; Courteney Cox was unknown.
• Humorous slip about "mannerisms vs. manures" leads to a playful argument.

2. Magic City Night & NBA, Cancelled by Backlash

(04:16–08:19)

• Explores the cancellation of the Atlanta Hawks’ planned “Magic City Night”—ostensibly to celebrate chicken wings, but unmistakably tied to the infamous Atlanta strip club.

  • Dan: “Magic City is more of an Atlanta iconic institution than the Atlanta Hawks.” (06:35)

• Discussion on Adam Silver’s lack of proactive leadership; the league only acts in response to backlash, especially sponsor pressure.

• Shout out to Luke Kornet for speaking up and effecting change—though the crew jokes about how "Luke" chants will sound like boos.

• Commentary on American repression and why adult entertainment thrives, especially in Atlanta.

  • Dan: “I believe that America is super repressed in a lot of places. I believe that porn is wildly popular, at least in part because these repressions keep things in hiding.” (06:44)

3. UFC at the White House & Fighter Pay Problems

(08:23–13:04)

• Speculation on the UFC’s unprecedented “Freedom250” event—on the White House lawn, mostly for military families. The crew jokes about ticketing and wildly varying stadium size rumors (3,000 to 100,000 seats).

• Discussion of star absences: No Jon Jones, no Conor McGregor, and whether the card is as strong as Miami’s.

• Delve into why Jon Jones isn’t on the card: Stalled contract negotiations, Jones’ unpredictability, UFC unwillingness to pay top dollar.

  • Dan: “Jon Jones is the best fighter in the history of the sport, in my opinion.” (10:35)
  • Jeremy: “...they tried to give you $40 million to fight Tom Aspinall. We're not going to give you that now.” (12:24)

4. UFC Corruption & Gambling Allegations

(14:10–18:03)

• Addresses suspicious circumstances surrounding Michael Johnson’s recent fight—which had outside rumors swirling about fixing and his nephew being held hostage.

  • Jeremy relays: “Michael Johnson has been paid to lose by round 2 TKO today. The Gang—Gangster’s Disciples—are holding his nephew hostage…Could be BS, but then the fight ends exactly as predicted.” (14:49)

• Multiple gambling sites pulled the bout; the outcome eerily matched rumors.

• Raises questions about integrity in UFC, low fighter pay, and how susceptible the sport is to fixing.

  • Dan: “UFC is about as vulnerable to fixing and corruption as anything in sports…it's human cockfighting.” (17:00)

5. NHL/Florida Panthers – The Bobrovsky Contract & Loyalty

(18:04–22:41)

• Panthers’ decision not to trade struggling goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky is dissected.

  • Stugotz is sentimental, values player loyalty.

  • Tony appreciates the messaging (“defiant”) from management, refusing to blame the team's performance entirely on Bobrovsky amidst injuries.

  • Realism about Bob’s age (37) and contract; debate over whether this is the start of irreversible decline.

  • Panther fans seem content to ride with the two-time champion goalie one more year.

  • Dan: “Where are you guys with the idea that his age would suggest this season is a harbinger of things to come?” (21:06)

6. NFL Pass Rushers – Maxx Crosby’s Standing

(22:56–25:54)

• Dan creates an “eye test” ranking: Myles Garrett, Micah Parsons, and then Maxx Crosby as the scariest pass rushers.
  • Longtime show joke: “Should Maxx have three X’s in his name because his pass rushing is pornographic?”
  • The crew debates Crosby’s year (“complicated”), his franchise’s direction, and who else belongs in the upper echelon.
  • Jeremy and Tony note the tier beneath the top two: Aidan Hutchinson, T.J. Watt, Daniil Hunter, Trey Hendrickson.

7. Nostalgia and “Oldies” in Pop Culture: Is Jay-Z ‘Oldies’?

(27:18–38:39)

• Starts with a Scarface movie anecdote—the film was almost rated X due to the infamous chainsaw scene.
• Big generational debate: Is Scarface (over 40 years old) still culturally relevant to young people?
• Dan asks if hip-hop stars like Jay-Z and 90s/early 2000s artists are now “oldies” to younger generations.

  • Stugotz shares his son's total disinterest in 90s rap: “It does not register to him.” (29:56)

  • Tony argues that early 2000s hip hop is now basically oldies radio fodder for kids.

  • They try to pinpoint the dividing line—2003 or 2005—as the “oldies” cutoff.

  • Playful polling: Is "Gold Digger" by Kanye and Jamie Foxx (2005) an oldie?

  • Relates aging of pop culture to feelings of personal aging (“We sound washed”).

  • Tony: “Right now, this generation is further removed from Jay Z than I was from the Beatles when I was growing up. Which is crazy to say.” (33:12)

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• "Dan Marino had options... He picked salary. I’m sure he wishes he had the points." – Tony (02:22)
• "Magic City is more of an Atlanta iconic institution than the Atlanta Hawks." – Dan (06:35)
• "Jon Jones is the best fighter in the history of the sport, in my opinion." – Dan (10:35)
• "UFC is about as vulnerable to fixing and corruption as anything in sports…it's human cockfighting." – Dan (17:00)
• "It does not register to him. And I feel like movies like Scarface are the same thing." – Stugotz (29:56)
• "This generation is further removed from Jay Z than I was from the Beatles." – Tony (33:12)
• “We sound washed.” – Tony (32:54)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00–03:19 — Jim Carrey, Dan Marino & ‘Ace Ventura’, In Living Color
• 04:16–08:19 — Magic City Night, NBA sponsorship & cancel culture
• 08:23–13:04 — UFC at the White House, Jon Jones absence, fighter pay
• 14:10–18:03 — UFC gambling/fight fixing allegations
• 18:04–22:41 — Panthers’ loyalty to Bobrovsky & contract realism
• 22:56–25:54 — NFL pass rusher tiers, Maxx Crosby debate
• 27:18–38:39 — Scarface, “oldies” in music/pop-culture, generational divides

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Lighthearted Banter & Running Gags

• Ongoing “would like a word” jokes about forgotten NBA players.
• Tony’s shelved Miami Heat 90s-rapper character (31:12).
• Wrestling over whether “Gold Digger,” NSYNC, and Green Day’s "American Idiot" are “oldies.”
• Dan’s incredulity at feeling old by cultural timelines.

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Takeaway

This hour offers a quintessential Le Batard Show blend—sports and cultural discussion that doesn’t take itself too seriously, mined for both generational melancholy and comic gold. Whether mocking the shifting sands of “oldies” music or the clownishness of pro leagues chasing or fleeing controversy, the show revels in pop-culture nostalgia, self-deprecating humor, and earnest conversation about change.

For those who missed it:
If you enjoy passionate sports chatter with a comedic edge, the hour covers everything from NFL line play to the philosophical implications of Jay-Z as classic rock, all filtered through the cast’s unmistakable Miami sensibility.

Transcript

[Dan Le Batard]

This is the Dan Levator show with the Stugats podcast. I remember many years ago, I obviously didn't know who these people would become, but almost one of the first times I'd ever seen stand up, I was in Los Angeles and the performers were Louie Anderson and Jim Carrey. So. And it was before, obviously they were what they would end up becoming. Jim Carrey to is one of the most talented people in the history of Hollywood. And there's a great story involving how it is that Dan Marino came to be on Ace Pet Detective, which is obviously the role that made Jim Carrey a movie star. He was on In Living Color before that, right? And then he goes on. For those of you who do not remember, In Living Color at one point stole the halftime audience from the Super Bowl. And it's when the NFL stopped doing small things as their halftime show because In Living Color legitimately ended up. Ended up revolutionizing what Fox would become by existing as a television show.

[Unidentified Male 1]

After that In Living Color halftime show, they immediately got Michael Jackson.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's. That's how you do it.

[Stugats]

That show was must see every week. In Living Color. Incredible show. So funny.

[Tony]

Well, I know Jim Carrey's been in the mood in the news lately. He's not a clone. I think he just is an aging actor in Hollywood that got so good.

[Stugats]

I don't understand that whole thing. Like, people that doesn't. It looks exactly like Jim Carrey now.

[Jeremy]

The eyes didn't look like him. To be real, the eyes didn't look like him.

[Tony]

I don't think so either. I was talking to a friend yesterday and he reminded me of a story that is out there on the Internet of the first time Dan Marino met Jim Carrey. Are you guys aware of this story, how Dan Marino got talked into appearing in Ace Pet Detective? Morgan Creek produced it. It was a small independent movie, basically because of all the reasons that we just listed. Jim Carrey not a proven leading. And Dan Marino at the time height of his popularity, he wasn't so sure this was something that he wanted to do. So he. He's like, I'm gonna be in LA for a couple days. Sure, I'll meet with Jim. Because the producers are like, you gotta meet this guy. Dan Marino gets frustrated because he's at this restaurant waiting for Jim Carrey. Jim Carrey's like 20 minutes late and he's about to leave. And Jim Carrey shows up to the meeting as Ace Ventura, like doing rules. Like he. He's just entertaining Dan Marino in character as Ace Ventura. Dan Marino is so impressed that he decides, I'm going to take a little risk here and I'm going to join this little independent movie. But here's the thing. Dan Marino had options. Either get percentage points on what ended up being a huge, successful box office, smash hit movie that launched Jim Carrey into being the biggest movie star, or he could get a salary and he's like, I like Jim. I believe in this project. Pay me up front.

[Dan Le Batard]

No.

[Jeremy]

Do we know how much it was?

[Tony]

I'm sure he, in retrospect, wishes he had the points.

[Dan Le Batard]

Ace Ventura was not supposed to succeed in any way. There were a number of people who thought Jim Carrey was making a terrible decision by choosing to lift that as a project.

[Stugats]

And Courteney Cox was nobody at the time.

[Tony]

There was a couple moments in cinematic history in the buildup to a movie being produced that I wish I was a fly on the wall for. That's one of them. The other ones, the famous cabin that John Travolta and Nicolas Cage both rented out together to spend a weekend picking up each other's mannerisms as they prepared for Face Off.

[Stugats]

I want to take his face off.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, I think it's mannerisms. This makes me the asshole, because everyone knew what you were trying to say and I'm correcting, but you made it manures, which made it sound a little closer to manure than man. So I just. Yeah, I'm the jerk for that.

[Tony]

Are they not both right?

[Dan Le Batard]

I don't think it's mannerism.

[Tony]

Is it a tomato, tomato situation?

[Dan Le Batard]

I've never heard of mannerisms.

[Tony]

It's not mannerisms.

[Unidentified Male 2]

I've never heard mannerisms.

[Tony]

All right, I'm sorry. I apologize. I got that wrong. You see how refreshing that is, Tony?

[Unidentified Male 2]

I'm really glad we got bogged down in it, though.

[Tony]

Dan, just admit that you're wrong about something.

[Jeremy]

But the what? The Wizards.

[Dan Le Batard]

Speaking of, I like the way Zaz

[Jeremy]

is looking at me.

[Dan Le Batard]

By the way, speaking of changing course, it's funnier if we never mention it. The Atlanta Hawks and the NBA have had to cancel Magic City Night. They tried to disguise it as a night about chicken wings and lemon pepper chicken wings and iconic establishment culture in Atlanta, but instead, they just run away from the whole thing. I don't suppose that I can blame them. And in the statement that Adams Silver made about it, he did go out of his way to mention sponsors. He said fans as well. But I'm guessing they got enough blowback from people who pay money to make it. Not worth it. These promotions aren't that big a deal, and this has gotten too much attention. And because I'm guessing other sponsors are not happy with the idea of a strip club being tied to the NBA, it's easier to move away from it than it is to continue down this path. And Luke Cornette should feel pretty good about using his voice to get his beliefs to change something.

[Stugats]

Oh, but, Dan, the next time the spurs play at the Hawks, they're going to boo him out the building. I mean, like public enemy number one, Luke Cornette.

[Unidentified Male 2]

But the benefit for him is that when fans cheer for him, it sounds the same way, because they just go, Luke. So he's just going to be encouraged by it.

[Dan Le Batard]

The thing that Luke Cornett should feel good about is he had an opinion. He voiced it. It wasn't, I would say, a popular opinion, but he made that he was the change that he sought. Luke Cornett ended up getting that night canceled. That's what happened there.

[Stugats]

But it's not any kind of leadership from Adam Silver in the NBA. Like, you would have figured when this came across your desk that the league, that one of your teams was doing this, you would have thought to stop for a moment and be like, probably not a good idea. And you got the predicted results, which was people didn't like it. And like you said, probably sponsors didn't like it. And that Adam Silver's like, oh, I guess this wasn't a good idea. And they end up canceling it. And now it ends up being like this huge thing because, oh, what do you cancel it for?

[Dan Le Batard]

We love it.

[Stugats]

It's part of our culture. And it's, again, it's just Adam Silver not showing any kind of leadership.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's a reaction to the reaction. It's not action. Correct. It's not proactive. But Luke Cornett got this change. That's what happened. He gave his opinion on this. It was an opinion that money could get behind. I believe that America is super repressed in a lot of places. I believe that porn is wildly popular, at least in part because these repressions keep things in hiding. Obviously, the adult entertainment industry is something that is always flourishing, and it flourishes more and better in very few places than it does at Magic City, which I will say again, is more of an Atlanta iconic institution than the Atlanta Hawks. They tried to make the night about chicken wings, though. What are you making faces?

[Jeremy]

What are you doing there? Come on. The human highlight reel. Dominique Wilkins was like a word.

[Dan Le Batard]

I mean, that's 40 years ago. Forty years ago, the human Highlight film was back when highlight film was a thing.

[Unidentified Male 1]

I mean spot web.

[Dan Le Batard]

What are we doing?

[Tony]

Kyle Korver, ISO Joe Tabocephalosha, John Konkak, Jeff Teague.

[Dan Le Batard]

I think, I think Tony just made him Kyle Khancak.

[Jeremy]

I didn't say at all. I didn't say anything.

[Unidentified Male 1]

I said John Konkak.

[Dan Le Batard]

I thought John Konkak.

[Jeremy]

Kyle Korver.

[Dan Le Batard]

Kyle Korver got fused to make it Kyle Konkak.

[Jeremy]

That wasn't me.

[Stugats]

Boy, that'd be a shitty player.

[Dan Le Batard]

What it'd be down in the post. It would be giant. And then he would also have range from three. I wanted to talk about a little bit what's going on in ufc. I've told you that that sport is about as vulnerable to fixing and corruption as anything in sports, college basketball included, because the pay is so bad and all you have to do is one fighter. And something happened during the UFC card that Tony was broadcasting on Saturday that looked awfully suspicious. But before we get to that, I just wanted to ask you guys if you had any opinions about this White House UFC fight Dana White is putting on the lawn of the White house UFC Freedom250.

[Stugats]

What kind of crowd does like can you buy tickets?

[Tony]

There will be 100,000 person stadium built.

[Jeremy]

A lot of it is for military families and veterans and stuff like that. It's not going to be a huge event. They're not going to make a ton of money. They're going to lose a lot of money on it from the production standpoint and like what they're going to put on the lawn. So there's not like a huge tickets. Like we can't buy tickets to it.

[Tony]

You know the seating will be somewhere between 3,000 and 100,000 seats depending on who you're listening to.

[Dan Le Batard]

Jon Jones doesn't appear to be partaking. Conor McGregor doesn't appear to be partaking. The card isn't as good as the Miami card. It's an okay card. Some people. You think it's as good as the Miami card?

[Stugats]

I saw how wanna rated it. Very high of a card.

[Jeremy]

Yeah, I think anytime you have Ilya Tapori on a card, it's gonna go over. I think there's a lot of good stuff there. Alex Pereira is looking to be the first time three division champion in the UFC. Started at middleweight at 185, then won the 205 belt and now going up to heavyweight trying to fight Cyril gone to win that sp.

[Dan Le Batard]

You can't have this. It's not going to be A bad card. You can't do this kind of event, what they're trying to do. Those of you who do not like politics with your sports, I suspect aren't ob. Objecting to this being on the White House lawn, even though it's a bit of a desecration of everything that is at the center of Washington. But John Jones specifically is saying, hey, cut me if you're not going to pay me, if you're low balling me, just let me go. Because all of a sudden it would be. Jon Jones is 38. Jon Jones has not fought in two years since he beat Stipe in the heavyweight division. Jon Jones is the best fighter in the history of the sport, in my opinion. You can quibble with it. If you think it's Anderson Silver or someone else, you can quibble. But I love Jon Jones as a fighter. The fact that he has dominated that sport while appearing to have a drug problem is. Makes his domination all the more.

[Tony]

Don't count him out. He's had other problems too.

[Dan Le Batard]

Impressive. But him being lowballed on this fight and not being on this card, that's, I mean, that it would have been the easiest thing in the world to put him on this card.

[Jeremy]

You would think, Dan. And again, I'm not going to stand up here for UFC brass and make excuses, but Jon is also not the easiest to deal with when it comes to, you know, getting a contract, agreeing to a fight at a certain, you know, a certain way at a certain time and, and with money. So they've been trying to set up after he won the heavyweight title and then basically retired, they wanted to set up Tom Aspinall versus Jon Jones. That would have been the biggest fight on the planet. It would have been incredible. John really tested for the first time with an elite heavyweight. That didn't happen. Why?

[Stugats]

The.

[Jeremy]

The contract? No, it's not enough money. No, it's the, it was the money, but I don't want to do it anymore. So there's been this back and forth

[Dan Le Batard]

with, I don't think Jon Jones wanted to fight at this age. Aspinall.

[Jeremy]

He didn't want to fight Tom Aspinall prior to the eye post because now he's had multiple surgeries and we don't know if Tom Aspinall is ever going to be Tom Aspinall again. That's a side point. But when you.

[Dan Le Batard]

We don't even know if he's going to fight again.

[Jeremy]

Correct. We don't know if he's going to fight again. We hope he will, but he may be completely done. He. He signed with, with a new, a new management team. Like there's a lot of stuff there. So with the White House card, they've already had this two years back and forth with John negotiating, just trying to get on a regular UFC card. Now John wants to be on the White House card.

[Unidentified Male 2]

Cool.

[Jeremy]

Now what are we going to do? We tried to give you $40 million to fight Tom Aspinall. We're not going to give you that now. Right. You want to be on this card

[Stugats]

now, do we have any idea what the number is?

[Jeremy]

We do not. But he got lowballed, he said. And of course it's a he said, he said situation, but when you look at it, it's like you don't have the leverage here, John. You want to fight on a card that we're not going to put together for you because you may flake out at the last second. Now, the conversation that would have made this White House card incredible. Was Islam, who's the 170 champ, fighting Ilia Topuria? That would have been the biggest fight you could make.

[Stugats]

So why did they do that?

[Jeremy]

Because Islam is apparently hurt his hand, doesn't want to fight. Ilya Toporia. 170. That's a whole nother story.

[Tony]

And his name is Islam Makashev.

[Jeremy]

He's Russian, though.

[Tony]

What did you get? The White House?

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[Stugats]

See moneylion.com Don LeBatard to U.S. residents.

[Dan Le Batard]

Oh, wow. That's for sure.

[Tony]

It's in there. It's better. You think I haven't been practicing, Stu?

[Dan Le Batard]

I didn't realize we had a substitute. Complicated legacy projected by headquarters road. Huh?

[Jeremy]

441 power line road. Second down to nine.

[Stugats]

This is the Dan Levatar show with the St.

[Dan Le Batard]

What did you guys make? I didn't care to look of the fixing allegations from this weekend. It was the same fighter who previously had been pulled off a card for suspicious gambling activity.

[Tony]

Yeah.

[Jeremy]

So Michael Johnson is the guy in question. He had his, his, his fight pulled earlier this year from a bout With Anthony Hernandez, I want to say it was. So he fought Drew Dober this weekend.

[Tony]

Should we be careful here on front end? Because 100% he's alleged all this is alleged it came from a gambling account. However, the way that it played out seems to give the initial tweet some credence. Go ahead, Tone.

[Jeremy]

So I was on my way over to Det. Flamingo on Saturday getting ready for the fights, and I see this tweet pop up on my timeline. Michael Johnson has been paid to lose by round two, TKO. Today, the gang called Gangster's Disciples coming out of St. Louis, Missouri are holding his nephew hostage. So I see that tweet and I'm like, huh, okay, could be bs, could be something like, I don't know, I don't know who this guy is. I don't know this account. I've later been informed there was a big whale gambler whose account it is.

[Tony]

And for context, Johnson was on a fight that months prior was pulled, right, because of suspicious line activity.

[Jeremy]

Right? So as the night is progressing, there's a lot of people, Ariel Helwani, Connor Burks, guys that are plugged into the sport are like, hey, there's a lot of line shifting on the Michael Johnson Drew Dober fight. Something is happening. DraftKings pulled it, a bunch of other books pulled it and it was like, we're not going to pull the fight, but something is happening here. And then wouldn't you know it, as they said in the second round, tko, like complete again. It's easy to say he had his hand down, but he got hit with a. With a counter punch that knocked his lights out and it was over. And then this came out afterwards and I'll read it for you verbatim. Wifebeaterwhite said, I was lying. And all I know is Malcolm is back home, alive and well, and he can focus on becoming a D1 basketball player. I don't know if this is true. I don't know if this is a great, fantastical story that was able to have the thread point of the actual knockout being in the second round like it was called. I think Pablo needs to do some investigating on it because I think there's an interesting story there. If that is true.

[Dan Le Batard]

The NCAA is going to be using tech to monitor tournament officials for betting because all of this stuff has to be looked at more carefully because you have the integrity of sports at risk and more importantly, the sports, you have money at risk with these things.

[Jeremy]

And again, allegedly, if you have your nephew being taken by a Gang in the city that you're living in, you'd figured you'd throw the fight, right?

[Tony]

Like, is that allegedly? Allegedly.

[Jeremy]

Allegedly. Allegedly. Allegedly. But you would kind of think twice and be like, all right, let me find an out here.

[Unidentified Male 2]

No, Josh Childress would like a word.

[Dan Le Batard]

I think that we find ourselves in some territory here that is really difficult to navigate. But UFC has a specific problem on its hands because of all the major sports that we have, it's the one that climbed right out of the gutter and it's the one that has the. Oh yeah, we love that line. The best or the most terrible history that you could possibly have with paying people like you have throughout sports, you have a bunch of stuff that's collectively bargained. So if players are underpaid, they have themselves to blame because they're negotiating something. But in ufc, you perpetually have the fighters complaining about how much they're paid. And you have a lot of professionals who have had a lot of professional fights having second jobs, or you have the stories of some of them living out of their cars because they don't get enough money. This is super susceptible to all of this stuff. It's human cockfighting.

[Unidentified Male 2]

Damari Carroll would like a word.

[Dan Le Batard]

Were you guys excited that the Panthers were able to or decided to keep Bobrovsky? Yes, because he's been bad this year and he's a two time defending champion goaltender and he. Say what you will about whoever you think is the Panthers best or most important player, but they've won the last two seasons because they have a hot goaltender who was bad this season. Were you surprised that they didn't trade him?

[Stugats]

No, I. I'm not surprised they didn't trade him. I think there is a sense of loyalty to this player and I think that they also believe that, that this season it has a better chance of being a blip on the radar than him completely falling off a cliff. As long as they're next year and get Sasha Barkov back, I think they're probably right. Or the very least I'm willing to see if they're right. But I'm also very emotional when it comes to stuff like this. Like, I'm bad at trading away players who I love, and I would much rather see Sergey Bobrovsky never play for another team again.

[Tony]

As a Panther fan, I kind of needed to pick me up. The gold medal was nice and all that, but then you come right back and you have devastating losses to your playoff chances. And it's getting to that point in the calendar where the, the schedule's congested and they're big games every night and you're starting to feel sad that you're going to miss out on the playoffs. Playoff hockey is incredible. And right around the trade deadline, Panthers were playing some of their worst hockey and just vibes were down. And what I appreciated was almost a defiant message from Bill Zito at the deadline saying like, no, we're only not in this conversation because the injuries, because everyone around the league was pumping their fist. This. When they saw Barkov go down in a heap.

[Stugats]

It was essentially like the same thing. When you add a player to the, to the room and it's like, hey, this means that, that we're really good. We believe in you. I feel like by not trading away Bobrovsky, Mike, that, that was.

[Dan Le Batard]

That.

[Stugats]

That was Zito also saying, we believe in you.

[Tony]

I love the message and it, that, yeah, champs, you. You're two time champs. You get to puff your chest out a little bit. You got lucky. You got one over. We're gonna be back and you're going to hate. When we come back.

[Unidentified Male 2]

Josh Smith would like a word.

[Stugats]

And just the way that they talk about him, those guys in that dressing room, I, I think they would have been really upset if Bob Rovsky was not the goalie next year.

[Tony]

Yeah, I think it's also, it's a tough contract to move. I'm not sure how much interest there was. Like, this could also be a convenient defiance, a little bit rally around the guy. But. But it's not like Spencer Knight is in the system there.

[Stugats]

There is extend him.

[Tony]

Yeah. There is no logical person to kind of take the reins from Sergey Bobrovsky. And you want to be able to have that kind of buttoned up before you make a move like that. Because he is a legend. 72 is going to be hung up in the rafters, no doubt.

[Dan Le Batard]

Sergey Babka.

[Unidentified Male 2]

Marvin Williams would like a word.

[Dan Le Batard]

Where are you guys with the idea that his age would suggest that this season is a harbinger of things to come? Especially given that the three years that he just had were a surprise to me because I haven't forgotten the way you guys were crushing Bobrovsky and that contract before the last three years when he was as important a piece as a championship contender has ever had down here in any sport because of his value. Where are you on his age and the season that he just had? It can be the end because this year's Bobrovsky reminded me of the guy you guys were complaining about for several years before the last three years.

[Tony]

Yeah. And it was warranted, by the way. Like, it's not like we got you. Like the Panthers themselves didn't believe in Bobrovsky. Alex Lyon got them into the playoffs. Alex Lyon was goalie number one.

[Stugats]

And then Spencer Knight, too.

[Tony]

Yeah, yeah. Like, they kept trying out other goalies because this was believed to be a bad contract. But Bob is only 37 years old and at that position you can play well into your 40s.

[Stugats]

I think it is completely reasonable that this is the start of the drop off and that he's not going to bounce back. But based on his history and what he's done for the franchise and based on everybody playing in front of him and how good we know the team in front of him is when they are healthy, I'm willing to find out for sure next year.

[Unidentified Male 1]

To Mike's point earlier about having somebody in the pipeline to possibly replace Sergei Bobrovsky, the Panthers have a protected top 10 pick this year, so if they win the lottery or whatever place they end up in the lottery, they can draft possibly a goaltender in the place.

[Dan Le Batard]

Jeremy, would you do me the favor, please, of looking at Pro Football Focus for what it is that I'm about to ask? Because in that, in the NFL, when I do some of the analysis with my eyes, I think most people listening to this would just simply concede that Myles Garrett and Micah Parsons are the two best pass rushers that exist in that league. But if I was doing this with just my eyes and not looking at any of the metrics, I would say Max Crosby would be third for me on most unblocked edge rushing thing that there is in the league.

[Jeremy]

Edge. I was going to say Chris Jones up the middle is pretty unstoppable also.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yes, that's a different skill set. And I'm always amazed when anybody can get pressure up the middle like Aaron Donald. But when I'm doing all of this with my eyes, okay. I would make the argument that Myles Garrett is as unblockable as anything that's ever existed in that league. And I think of Micah Parsons as second on that list. The Raiders are are smart in getting rid of him at 28 years old because of how much they were able to get back for him and because they have so many holes to fill and they're not likely to fill them all before he's done playing there. So they are selling high on Max Crosby. But are you guys with me? We've talked before. We've made the poll before. Should Max have three X's in his name because his pass rushing is pornographic. Are you guys in agreement with me that he is the third best pass rusher in the league?

[Tony]

Last year was kind of a complicated year. That's a franchise in transition and his numbers don't actually stack up there. Hutchinson is viewed as better than him. I mean, it was a real off year for Crosby. But I'm with you. I believe in the player. I mean, who scares you on that defense? It's Max Crosby and Max Crosby is an incredible player. And that's a big time year for, for Baltimore because that's pushing your chips into the table with an A quarterback that relies heavily on his physical traits. It's already shown slightly signs of decline. So I, I love Max Crosby. I'm glad that he's going to be playing in important games in that division. It should be fun. They're going to be games where you're, you're just glued to the TV and you watch Miles Garrett take his turn and then Max Crosby the next. But I don't know about the franchise direction over there.

[Stugats]

Sucks if you're Joe Burrow, right? I mean, every year like your offensive line stinks. They sack you a lot. And it's like here we're also going to throw in Max Crawford.

[Jeremy]

Here's this guy who should have three X's in his name instead of two. I think, I think the two live at the top. And there's like a third tier of a lot of those guys. The Hutchinson's, the Max Crosby.

[Tony]

Let's not forget Watt, who's also in that division.

[Jeremy]

Jj, excuse me, TJ Watt, the Daniil Hunters. Trey Hendrickson, who hasn't really had an ability to go out and do stuff because of the contract situation and he got hurt. It's like there's a good hodgepodge of guys in that mix that are in that Max Crosby tier.

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[Dan Le Batard]

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[Dan Le Batard]

Don LeBatard what is the worst part of the life? Stugats

[Unidentified Male 2]

the worst part of the life of what?

[Stugats]

This is the Dan Levitar show with the Stugach.

[Dan Le Batard]

Speaking of X ratings, I saw the other day, and I was not aware of this, that Scarface came very, very close to being X rated. They were going to make Scarface X rated. And not until an assortment of people went before the ratings board and said, hey, this chainsaw scene doesn't actually have the chainsaw touching flesh at any point. That's the way that they got Scarface to be off of an X rating. Because it wasn't something that was seen. It was imagined more than seen. Do you believe ZSAs? I know you're of a certain age, but Scarface because it's something from Miami, because for many people it begins Al Pacino's ascent, even though it started long before then. Do you believe that younger audiences still have an appreciation for a movie that is now, I'm guessing more than. Is it more than 40 years old?

[Stugats]

It's probably right at 40 years. Maybe a little more maybe.

[Dan Le Batard]

Do you think that there are a couple of generations that don't have any appreciation whatsoever for Scarface? And it's lost on today's 20 year old because it's too old of a movie. I was actually having this conversation with Dominique Foxworth the other day because I'm like, 90s can't be 90s music can't already be considered oldies, can it? And he's like, yes, absolutely. And so I'm like, so you're telling me that now Jay Z is an oldie. Like hip hop is 50 years old. You're telling me that. And I know that Jay Z and Snoop Dogg are in their 50s and that hip hop is 50, but you're telling me that Jay Z's music classif

[Tony]

as oldies now he's celebrating two album releases this year. The 25th anniversary of one and the 30th anniversary of another. Yeah, when I was a little kid, I was always wondering, how does this genre age? Because it's always at the cutting edge of hypnos. Right? Are we really going to see 60 plus year old rappers touring? What does that look like? And the answer is yes. And it, it looks pretty awesome. They get live bands behind them, the energy is good and they focus more on performance and it's actually much better. A lot of the contemporary rap concerts,

[Stugats]

my Older son is way into rap music. Today's rap music. And you know the rap that I was listening to in the 90s, Tupac, Biggie, Wuang like it does not.

[Tony]

I would have thought you listen to rap that went like this.

[Dan Le Batard]

It.

[Stugats]

It does not register to him. And. And I feel like movies like Scarface are the same thing. When that generation around that age, when they see, you know, the film looks a little bit grainy, they're not sitting and watching that movie.

[Jeremy]

Han Zaz. So you're telling me your kid listens to Cream and the first couple melodies

[Stugats]

he does nothing slow. It's too slow for him.

[Jeremy]

Too slow.

[Stugats]

Yeah.

[Dan Le Batard]

I've wondered what it is that Mike is talking about there because you've heard me say a ton of times that comedians and comedy doesn't tend to age well. Hip hop aging. There are not a lot of rappers. 2 Chainz was able to do it late in his career, but generally speaking, the 50 year old rapper does lose look ridiculous.

[Tony]

I don't know. Can I take it behind the curtain? When the Miami Heat were going on and I had all these Heat characters, there was one character that I was working really, really hard on that was a Miami Heat expert, but would only deliver the lines as a early 90s hip hop artist. And it was just. I had to freestyle a lot and it was going to be that delivery and I could never get it off the ground. If you listen to hip hop back then, everybody had the same cadence. Yeah, it's 80s like Rapper's Delight. You're at the Hill Gang and the

[Dan Le Batard]

chicken tastes like wood.

[Tony]

Yeah, dump it in Paleolenic. And I just, I'm like, is this racist? It might be a meme would call me racist if I did this.

[Dan Le Batard]

It didn't seem like you had confidence when you delivered that you did it with.

[Tony]

Well, because I have to move like the body.

[Dan Le Batard]

It.

[Tony]

It goes with the. You know. That's why I decided that one's on the shelf. That's a character that never happened.

[Unidentified Male 1]

No, Vanilla Ice. That's your reference. You can go off of that.

[Tony]

I appreciate it it. You're more of an ally to me than Amin is.

[Unidentified Male 2]

Zaza Pachoulia would like a word.

[Tony]

I should have said Jokic is also miserable. What have given me the one white

[Dan Le Batard]

Jay Z is going to end up touring and is going to try and advance the entertainment of it.

[Tony]

You think? Because I don't know, he's got these anniversaries and there's all sorts of Internet sleuthing on some dates. Potentially in Brooklyn that line up with these anniversaries. And he just re released Dead Presidents and it sounds good. Yeah, it was remastered and all that. But that's the only evidence that we have. And the timing may not be super right for Jay Z right now.

[Dan Le Batard]

It runs risks. Right. It can look cartoonishly ridiculous to have somebody in their 50s preening as cutting edge hip hop. I just, I'm. I gotta think there are some people listening to this right now who would be saying just reflexively the way that I would, Jay Z can't be oldies. Oldies is like Sinatra. It's. I understand he's in his 50s, but you can't tell me that the music of Jay Z is classified as oldies.

[Tony]

Yes, it is. Yeah, it is. Yeah. We sound washed.

[Stugats]

How can it not be?

[Unidentified Male 2]

Yeah, I mean, you guys are old, but when your oldies is different than.

[Tony]

So you hear Jay Z and it's like you might as well be talking about the Beatles.

[Dan Le Batard]

I think oldies is crooners. Like, I think oldies as. Yeah, the big band, the Beatles.

[Tony]

Well, but I mean, because like right now, this generation is further removed from Jay Z than I was from the Beatles when I was growing up. Which is crazy to say. Yeah, that freaking old man.

[Unidentified Male 2]

Yep.

[Tony]

40.

[Unidentified Male 2]

Yeah.

[Tony]

Like a ton of bricks. I'm a bad shoulder guy.

[Jeremy]

My shoulder got better, by the way.

[Tony]

Really? Yeah. What'd you do?

[Jeremy]

Nothing.

[Tony]

I slept on the side. I was like cooked again.

[Unidentified Male 2]

Like for me, born in the USA by Bruce Springsteen when I was 10 years old is basically what, like how to save a Life by the Fray is to a 10 year old now. Okay, that's the age.

[Dan Le Batard]

All right, but let's. So where. What's the line on this though? So early 2000s. Like where. How far do I go back before it becomes oldies? Like how, where, where is the line on both pop culture and give me a date on what it is?

[Tony]

It's even more extreme than that because like Fetty Wap is considered oldies now.

[Dan Le Batard]

So Tupac is oldies now.

[Tony]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Tupac is like big bands. Yeah. Like no, most of the people. Yeah, it is.

[Jeremy]

I'm sorry.

[Tony]

Uh huh.

[Jeremy]

Picture me rolling in my 500 Bens is.

[Tony]

Might as well be like.

[Dan Le Batard]

You just did whatever. I don't know what hit a marching band while also though doing an accordion of symbols. But you were playing the cymbals like an accordion and you were doing marching band.

[Jeremy]

You know, I didn't take band in high school.

[Unidentified Male 2]

Luki Blaylock would like a word.

[Dan Le Batard]

Answer my question. That was the Original name for Pearl Jam, wasn't it?

[Stugats]

Yes.

[Dan Le Batard]

Did you know that, Jeremy, that the original name Put it on the Pole at LeBatard show? Did you know that the original name for Pearl Jam band name was Mookie Blaylock?

[Unidentified Male 2]

I did not know that. I didn't know that Dead Left Shrimp was a name of a Band of Horses song.

[Tony]

Yeah.

[Dan Le Batard]

So now Pearl Jam is oldies as well.

[Unidentified Male 2]

Yeah.

[Stugats]

I mean, they're on. They're on 106 FM here in South Florida. Like, that's. That's classic rock.

[Dan Le Batard]

What is the date? Give me. Can you guys help me with the date? Is it 2000? Like two. Before 2005?

[Unidentified Male 2]

Yeah, I think 20 years. I think once you cross the 20, you think 30 is oldies. So what is. What is 20?

[Stugats]

Like, I don't think anything in this century in the 2000s is oldies. I gotta go. 30 years.

[Tony]

Really? Yeah, man. Early 2000s. Hip hop. Those are throwback jams.

[Dan Le Batard]

You guys are basically making Britney Spears oldies. You're making NSYNC oldies.

[Tony]

Yep, that's right.

[Unidentified Male 2]

If they played NSYNC at a bar mitzvah right now, that would be for the parents, not for the kids.

[Dan Le Batard]

Backstreet Boys oldies.

[Tony]

Yes.

[Dan Le Batard]

So give me. Where's the line? What's the name I can give you that's right on the line where you guys are? Well, I'm trying.

[Tony]

I'm just gonna pick a year and say it with conviction.

[Dan Le Batard]

No, I'm trying.

[Tony]

If it happened before the Marlins won their last World Series, it's an oldie.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's not. It's not about conviction here. It's. I want the. The spot. That would be the tipping point on our argument where it is that you guys would put a name and you would say that's a bridge too far. I'm not willing to call that Oldies is American Idiot.

[Unidentified Male 2]

The album by green day oldies 2004 album.

[Tony]

Yeah. It's an oldie. Yeah, that's a. That's on classic rock stations.

[Unidentified Male 2]

Yeah. No, that's why it's. I'm trying to figure out the line

[Dan Le Batard]

that is what we're doing as an exercise. And I'm trying to think of something that would create an argument between us where it is that all of you would object to. You're saying, no, I'm not gonna. I'm not willing to.

[Stugats]

For the century.

[Dan Le Batard]

Because you're doing it differently than they're doing it. They're saying at the 20 year mark, 2005.

[Tony]

Yeah, but you're old. We don't get to decide what's an oldie? Is my point. The original point in hip hop is like the core audience is so much younger that their relationship with older music is totally skewed. You remember being a kid watching those videos on MTV. They weren't alive and wouldn't be alive for another 15 years. So it might as well be prehistoric to them.

[Unidentified Male 2]

Don'tcha by the Pussycat Dolls. Oldies.

[Tony]

Nah. A couple years, though.

[Unidentified Male 2]

2005.

[Dan Le Batard]

Put it on the poll, please. Juju at Lebatard Show Is any song sung before 2005 now an oldie? What are you guys doing with 2005? I guess you're doing 2006.

[Tony]

I feel like 03. I feel like 03 is my number. I'm sticking with 03.

[Dan Le Batard]

So it's 23 years for you. 23 years for you is where for the Marlin, for some reason, the Marlinship is the landmark.

[Tony]

Yeah. Cause Jesus walks. I don't think Jesus walks his right fringe.

[Jeremy]

That was 04, I think.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah.

[Tony]

No, not quite old enough.

[Jeremy]

I'm doing the 97.3 the coast kind of math.

[Tony]

Gnarly Charlie today.

[Jeremy]

So we're looking at 2000s being the today's. So now we're like the 20s, Charlie. 22 thousands. 2000s and 2000s.

[Tony]

I wonder what he's up to. Gnarly Charlie.

[Dan Le Batard]

Gold Digger is an oldie.

[Tony]

No, no.

[Jeremy]

Maybe it might be.

[Tony]

No, we're getting right to the point. No, we're getting right to the point where Kanye had the guest feature and that's oldie.

[Unidentified Male 2]

It's 2005.

[Tony]

We're getting to it. It's 03, and I feel pretty good about it.

[Dan Le Batard]

Put it on the poll. Juju as well. Juju got it. It is not Gotti anymore. Is Gold Digger by Kanye and Jamie Foxx and Oldie. That's what I was looking for, Tony. That face where you're like, what's the line? What's the tipping point?

[Stugats]

Thank you.

[TGL Playoffs Announcer]

Shot clocks, big shots, upsets, aces. TGL playoffs are here. First Atlanta Drive starts their repeat run against Los Angeles Golf Club.

[Dan Le Batard]

Then.

[TGL Playoffs Announcer]

Then Rory's Boston Common golf and Tigers, Jupiter Lynx face off in their playoff debuts. Who will advance? Keep up its playoffs. Tune in Tuesday, March 17th at 6:30pm and 9pm only on ESPN and the ESPN applause.