Hour 2: Remember COVID? (feat. Amin Elhassan)

Summary

The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz

Episode: Hour 2: Remember COVID?
Date: September 8, 2025
Special Guest: Amin Elhassan

---

Episode Overview

Broadcasting from Miami’s Elser Hotel, Dan Le Batard, Stugotz, and crew (including Greg and Chris Cody, Billy Gil, Mike Ryan, and guest Amin Elhassan) blend their signature sports banter with pop culture riffs and irreverent commentary. This hour pivots between bizarre sports news, celebrity drama, and the ongoing Clippers-Kawhi Leonard scandal, while Amin delivers his always anticipated “Weekend Observations.”

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Spitting Incidents in Sports & Pandemic Reflections

[02:15 – 03:23]

• The crew riff on last week's bizarre trend: four high-profile spitting incidents in sports, including Gator's loss to South Florida being pinned on a spitting penalty.
• Chris Cody jokes, "Imagine spitting on people during COVID," sparking a brief aside on how much more severe the consequences would have been then.
• Juju is tasked to put a Twitter poll: “Would you have gone to prison for spitting on someone during COVID?”
  Notable Quote:

“I think you go to jail if you spit on someone during COVID. Like actually, I think you would have gone to jail if not prison.”
—Chris Cody [03:13]

---

2. NASCAR Drama & Denny Hamlin’s Heel Turn

[03:29 – 06:29]

• Mike Ryan breaks down why Denny Hamlin is the best story in NASCAR: he’s both suing NASCAR over the unfair charter system and fighting for his first career championship, all while co-owning a team with Michael Jordan.
• The lack of respect and financial struggles facing owners is explained. Hamlin gave a classic villain speech after winning his last race.
  Notable Quotes:

“Y'all can boo me, but you can either get on the bandwagon or you can get run over by it.”
—Denny Hamlin soundbite, echoed by Amin [04:36-04:40]

• The room teases Mike for his enthusiasm but, underneath, they all agree the story is “incredibly brave, incredibly vulnerable, dangerous even.”
  Notable Quote:

"You think that’s lame? That’s iconic! The guy is suing NASCAR!”
—Mike Ryan [04:48]

---

3. Greg Cody’s First Class Flight Adventure

[07:46 – 13:25]

• Greg Cody shares a wide-eyed story of flying first class for the first time: being surprised drink service starts before takeoff, big plates of free food, and generous whiskey pours.
• The crew teases him for looking underdressed and accuses him of "first class shaming."
• Chris Cody opines: “You're not exactly dressing first class.”
  Greg retorts: “Between all of us... who flew first class this weekend, raise your hand. ... I’m the only—my hand’s raised.”
  Notable Quote:

“Let me tell you something. This first class... pretty good. ... She goes, ‘Sir, can I get you a drink?’ ... I’m drinking my whiskey... I didn’t even know that, and then she comes up, ‘Would you like dinner?’... This plate was so big, I had to move my iPad off my tray...”
—Greg Cody [08:40–11:16]

---

4. Clippers, Kawhi, and the Aspiration Scandal: Pablo Torre’s Reporting

[17:00 – 24:58]

• Amin Elhassan breaks down Pablo Torre’s viral reporting on the scandal involving the LA Clippers, Kawhi Leonard, and financial company Aspiration:
  • Millions paid to “no-show jobs,” the exposé making Pablo’s podcast #1.
  • Amir discusses the difference between initial dismissive statements from the Clippers and later, more cautious ones after legal review.
  • Amin shares that league insiders think the Clippers are "screwed" not just for the size of the payments but the incriminating paper trail.
• Mark Cuban’s bizarrely circular defense of Ballmer is dissected—Cuban says “rich people don’t know how much money they have,” and both Cuban and Ballmer seem to contradict their own defenses.
• Amin: “The goal of a scam is to make money. If I'm a scammer, yes, I’ll pay Leo DiCaprio and Drake... Why pay $28M to a guy [Kawhi] who’s not even that famous outside basketball and isn’t bringing more money in?”
  [21:46] Notable Quote:

“You need to tell me how paying $28 million to Kawhi Leonard helped them, because I can't see how it helped Aspiration one bit.”
—Amin Elhassan

---

5. Media Ethics & “Snitching” Debate

[26:41 – 27:59]

• The crew plays a podcast clip where Channing Frye calls Pablo’s reporting “snitching.” Amin pushes back, saying the media’s job is to expose wrongdoing, not cover it up.
• Amin roasts perceived confusion: “Channing went to University of Arizona, not known for its academics. ... What are you talking about, snitching? Where are we in life?”
• The roundtable jokes about “media members” saying their job is to help cover up stories, not break them.

---

6. Amin’s Weekend Observations

[32:33 – 48:03]

Football and Nonsense

• Amin runs through his classic rapid-fire game notes:
  • Dolphins made Daniel Jones competent ("the Giants couldn't do in five years").
  • Greg Cody should “stand strong” with his Dolphins’ prediction, even if people accuse him of being a homer.
  • Baltimore “starts [the] season like it ended: choking.”
  • A surreal tangent on methods for fictional, hypothetical murder, prompted by earlier mafia jokes.
  • Ongoing banter about quirky NFL coaches, miscast Juniors/Seniors suffixes, and famous Instagram algorithms (“My algorithm on Instagram is...all boobs.” —Greg Cody [16:00]).

NBA/Clippers Update

• Steve Ballmer's "He did it, not me" defense is senseless; Amin ridicules his answers to Ramona Shelburne.
• More skewering of Mark Cuban’s logic.
  • Amin: “He could have lied, anyhow. He could have said, ‘not yet,’ but he didn’t... Is that Steve Ballmer’s ejection button?” [25:58]

Sports and Pop Culture Bits

• Critique of the NBA’s failed previous investigations compared to Pablo Torre’s.
• Drake’s continued gambling “curse.”
  • Amin: “I’m going to start a new segment where we just bet the opposite of Drake.” [39:27]
• Hot takes on suspended players (Angel Reese), NFL mascots, and unexpected sex toy interruptions during football games.
• Gags about first-class privilege, Instagram addiction, and failed “Eclectic Coach” personas (Mike McDaniel/ Joe Mazzulla).

Notable Observations and Jokes:

• “If your father isn’t famous, I’m not including the ‘Jr.’” — Amin [38:13]
• "LeBron James living in a $37 million mansion that isn't his dream home is proof that everyone is miserable." — Amin [47:19]
• “Serbia lost to Finland... I guess you could say Serbia’s EuroBasket run is finished.” — Amin [45:33]
• Ranking of "Top 5 Things Where the Original Was Better," ending with “the dinosaurs,” because they didn’t cause the climate change that killed them. [46:44]

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On spitting and COVID:
  "Imagine spitting on people during COVID. ...I think you go to jail if you spit on someone during COVID." —Chris Cody [03:04, 03:13]

• On Denny Hamlin’s villain arc:
  “You can either get on the bandwagon or you can get run over by it.” —Amin quoting Denny Hamlin [04:40]

• On the Clippers scandal:
  “These guys are criminals... you need to tell me how paying $28 million to Kawhi Leonard helped them, because I can't see how it helped Aspiration one bit.” —Amin Elhassan [21:46]

• On covering up vs. exposing wrongdoing:
  “The media’s job is as a watchdog, it’s to make sure these things come to light.” —Amin Elhassan [27:59]

• On first-class flights:
  "This first class ... pretty good. ... I had to move my iPad off my tray ... this first class is incredible." —Greg Cody [11:16]

• Amin’s pop culture digression:
  “My algorithm on Instagram is... all boobs.” —Greg Cody [16:00]

• On LeBron James and home ownership:
  "LeBron James living in a $37 million mansion that isn't his dream home is proof that everyone is miserable. We're all in our own personal hell." —Amin Elhassan [47:19]

---

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Spitting & COVID consequences: [02:15 – 03:23]
• NASCAR: Denny Hamlin drama: [03:29 – 06:29]
• Greg Cody’s first class adventure: [07:46 – 13:25]
• Clippers, Kawhi & Aspiration scandal: [17:00 – 24:58]
• "Snitching" in sports journalism: [26:41 – 27:59]
• Amin’s "Weekend Observations": [32:33 – 48:03]

---

Tone & Style

The episode is true to the show's signature: rapid-fire, irreverent, and self-aware, blending informed sports takes, inside jokes, and pop culture references. Amin’s voice is especially sardonic, while Greg’s stories add a note of earnest (if clueless) delight. Dan deftly steers between chaos and pointed analysis. The show never takes itself too seriously but lands enough insight for casual and diehard sports fans alike.

---

End Note

Fans of the show will appreciate the blend of serious reporting (Clippers scandal), classic jokes (first-class shaming, murder hypotheticals), and the same oddball camaraderie that makes the Dan Le Batard Show a mainstay in sports and pop culture commentary.

Transcript

[Amin Alhassan]

Man, banks love their little gotcha moments, don't they? Overdraft fee. You missed a payment. That's a fee processing fee. For what exactly? Like for printing the receipt? Come on man. Time gets it. Every dollar counts. Set up direct deposit and suddenly there are no monthly fees, no maintenance fees. Payments can even arrive up to two days early. Folks, that's not banking. That's a head start. Learn [e-mail] Dan Things happen, right? Life happens. What are you going to do about it? Well, guess what? Time offers free overdraft up to $200 on debit card purchases. Over $30 billion already spotted to members. And with 47,000 fee free ATMs more than the top three national banks combined, access is everywhere. Could have used this when I was younger. Work on your financial goals through Chime today. Open an account in 2 [e-mail] dan thechime.com Dan Chime feels like progress Chime.

[Commercial Announcer]

Is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services and debit card provided by the Bancor Bank NA or Stride Bank NA members, FDIC spot and eligibility requirements and overdraft limits apply. Timing depends on submission of payment file fees. Apply it out of network ATMs, bank ranking and number of ATMs according to U.S. news and World Report 2023 Chime checking account required. When did making plans get this complicated? It's time to streamline with WhatsApp, the 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. All protected with end to end encryption. It's time for WhatsApp message privately with everyone. Learn [e-mail] this episode is brought to you by State Farm. Checking off the boxes on your to do list is a great feeling. And when it comes to checking off, a State Farm agent can help you choose an option that's right for you. Whether you prefer talking in person on the phone or using the award winning app, it's nice knowing you have help finding coverage that best fits your needs. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.

[Dan Le Batard]

This is the Dan Levatar show with the Stugats podcast.

I know that you guys don't want to talk about anything but football, but Amin Alhassan is going to be here in a moment with some of his weekend options. I still don't think we've gotten appropriately to the story about Gator Player spits on someone and that's the reason that they lose as an 18 point favorite to South Florida at home.

[Greg Cody]

But three spitting incidents last week.

[Dan Le Batard]

Well, four if you count Dak Prescott, if you make it two separate spitting incidents. But yes, it's a little bit strange to have four of these spitting incidents in 10 days.

[Billy Gil]

If you're the Eagles coach in the next team meeting with Jalen Carter, are you like, see what you did? Now the Gators are doing it. See the. See the imprint that you have on these kids.

[Greg Cody]

Negative role model.

[Chris Cody]

I don't think that came up.

[Billy Gil]

Be better. It's a coaching moment, remember?

[Chris Cody]

Like Covid.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, that's.

[Chris Cody]

Imagine spitting on people during COVID It's.

[Dan Le Batard]

A good point, but we don't have time for it because we've got to move to all the other things happening all across sports.

[Chris Cody]

I think you go to jail if you spit on someone during COVID Right? Like, like actually, I think you would have gone to jail if not prison.

[Amin Alhassan]

Yeah, that's true.

[Dan Le Batard]

Put it on the poll Juju at lebatard show. Would you have gone to prison if you had spit on someone during COVID.

[Billy Gil]

We can't get to that.

[Dan Le Batard]

But no, we don't have time for that. But just if we're going to just glance through tennis and oh, what an all time great said. Everyone's better than him now. Okay, let's just move on. How about nascar? Mike, where's your gear head? Get the gearhead. Put it on. You'll have one chance at this because we've got too much to talk about today. So you're going to have to do it like they do with the cars in that sport. Fast.

[Mike Ryan]

Okay? Denny Hamilton is the best story in motorsports right now because not only is he suing nascar, but he's also an active driver and he's a driver trying to tra. Trying to chase down his first ever NASCAR championship. That's right. Denny Hamlin's been a name that you've probably known tangentially with that sport for 20 plus years. He's won Daytona a few times, but he's never won the big one. The big one being a championship. He won the race yesterday. Gave another trademark Heelish speech. But there might be anti hero vibes here for Denny Hamlin because he's trying to reform the sport. A sport that does need reforming. And he's going to do it potentially by winning this championship and demanding he be heard. Here's Denny Hamlin after winning the most recent NASCAR race.

[Dan Le Batard]

Y' all can boo me, but you.

[Amin Alhassan]

Can either get on the bandwagon or you can get run over by it.

[Dan Le Batard]

Do you still love the boos?

[Billy Gil]

Bring em, Bring em all lame trash talk.

[Mike Ryan]

You think that's lame? That's iconic. The guy is suing nascar. He's like, either get on the bandwagon or get run over it.

[Dan Le Batard]

What are you, Chris? He is in full villain mode. He's. You don't like when a guy is challenging everyone in his sport to a fight?

[Billy Gil]

Just seemed kind of lame to me. Like, oh, get on board or get run over.

[Mike Ryan]

You're kind of lame to me. That is so badass. He's suing nascar.

[Dan Le Batard]

He doesn't want to talk about anything except football.

[Chris Cody]

What's a lawsuit about?

[Dan Le Batard]

Charters?

[Mike Ryan]

Because they're not charters. Yeah, we went over this during the Michael Jordan that Michael Jordan's among the teams suing NASCAR right now because the charter system is unfair. You essentially pay a franchise fee and it puts you in the hole. It's impossible to make money in this sport. Michael Jordan's fine losing money, but he's not being fine with your disrespect. And Denny Hamlin's not fine with it either. Now, even though Denny Hamlin races for another team, Joe Gibbs Racing, he co owns that team with Michael Jordan. So he's trying to win this, this cup series for Joe Gibbs Racing, all while trying to fight for he and Michael Jordan's team to get access to charters and reform the sport. It's incredibly brave, incredibly vulnerable, dangerous even. In fact, some people were having fun with the fact that while he was crossing the checkered flag, the feed actually cut out. So you didn't get a great call of Denny Hamlin winning this race, but then he talked that shit afterwards. Denny Hamlin becoming likable.

[Chris Cody]

Why is he racing for someone else's team? Like, if you own your own team, wouldn't winning a championship for yourself be better than winning one for someone else?

[Amin Alhassan]

Boring suit.

[Mike Ryan]

Oh, he needs to win as the driver though, to cement his legacy.

[Dan Le Batard]

I want to apologize to you that you get so little support when you talk NASCAR rally.

[Mike Ryan]

It's nascar. It's a football Monday. It's fine. I mean, charter, you guys obviously weren't dialed into TV1. The Enjoy Illinois 300. That was the TV1 with sound for me.

[Dan Le Batard]

I'm going to try with Amin Elhassan here in a moment to keep as much football out of this hour as I can because I'd like to have a show that is a little bit balanced. If we could on these Football Mondays as we get overrun. Business decision well, what are you thinking? What have you.

[Amin Alhassan]

Football, Football, football.

[Dan Le Batard]

What shots have you not gotten off today?

[Chris Cody]

I don't need to get off shots. I'm just here to talk some football.

[Dan Le Batard]

What do you want?

[Chris Cody]

Thank you, Greg. Greg gets it. Football is back, Jack. Damn right, right.

[Dan Le Batard]

Do you have anything other than that, though? Like, if you want to talk football for real. Do you. What. What have we not talked about that the Duke has not opened?

[Chris Cody]

Well, we talked about the Steelers already. We talked about the dog.

[Dan Le Batard]

Not looking to review what we have talked about.

[Chris Cody]

We were talking about spitting. We stopped talking about spitting for a little bit. Plenty of college going around the shulables right around the corner. We talked about that earlier. Football to be talked about.

[Dan Le Batard]

There is. But also there is to be talked about.

[Chris Cody]

Monday night Tilt.

[Dan Le Batard]

Tonight, Jonathan Zaslow's meteoric ascent through the priciest places in media entertainment. He is flying first class.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah, baby.

[Dan Le Batard]

He is landing in suites. He's sending me photos. Every time he lands in a suite, he is getting giant rooms on the road because of how good his college football coverage is.

[Greg Cody]

I will be honest. Week one, my suite, it was a little too big, but this week it was. That was the right kind of. That was the right size.

[Dan Le Batard]

How about first class? What are the. What are the first class adventures you've been experiencing? Very few people at ESPN get first.

[Greg Cody]

Class, so I'm not a big first class guy my entire life, but I'm flying first class now. Mike, I didn't appreciate you trying to call me out on my way to Dallas this weekend.

[Billy Gil]

Didn't look like first class.

[Mike Ryan]

It wasn't first class.

[Greg Cody]

Well, it wasn't because I was flying Southwest. Yeah, I was sitting in the first.

[Mike Ryan]

Was there a reason for that?

[Greg Cody]

No. I mean, it was. It was direct flight, so I flew Southwest.

[Mike Ryan]

Is there a shortage of premium airliners flying from South Florida to Dallas? It seems like that's a hub. That's a hub city to hub city.

[Greg Cody]

I wanted to go, so I was sitting in the front seat in Southwest. But on the way back, I was sitting first class, or I wasn't on Southwest. I was flying American on the way back, and I was sitting first class. And let me tell you something. This first class. Pretty good. Pretty good. We're about to take off. See, I'm not used to first class. We're about to take off, and the young lady, she comes up, goes, sir, can I get you a drink? And I think about it for a second before takeoff. Before takeoff. And I think about it for a second like yeah, whiskey on the rocks. Let's get after it. You know, why the hell not?

[Chris Cody]

You're not flying.

[Greg Cody]

I'm not flying the plane. And so I'm drinking my whiskey, you know, whatever. And then like 25 minutes later, we're about to take off. She comes up to me. She's like, sir, I have to take your drink. I'm like, oh, really? I guess you can't have the drink while we're. I'm not flying the plane. Why can't I drink my drink while we're taking off? Is something gonna happen? Is there gonna be like, you gotta.

[Billy Gil]

Have your tray tables up. So where's the drink go?

[Greg Cody]

In my hand, wrapping my arms down.

[Mike Ryan]

They're usually not good with trusting you to do that the right way.

[Greg Cody]

So. So she wants to take it. So I take a huge gulp, Obviously, Greg, I'm not trying to let the whiskey go away.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah, you gotta savor that.

[Greg Cody]

It tastes so good when it touches my lips.

[Chris Cody]

She even know who you were when she took it from you?

[Greg Cody]

Who cares, man?

[Amin Alhassan]

She took it.

[Billy Gil]

I don't think.

[Mike Ryan]

Who does she think she is, Mickey Harrison?

[Greg Cody]

So I take a huge gulp. It doesn't. You know, it's not all of it. I'm not trying to make the face.

[Billy Gil]

When you take a big sip of whiskey.

[Greg Cody]

You're like, no, I'm a grown up. I'm a grown up. I don't make faces when I drink my whiskey. And so I. I give her back. The drink is still a little bit of it left. I'm a little bit annoyed, you know, I mean, it's not her fault, but I'm a little bit noise like, man, like, I'm, you know, I'm gonna pay for that drink, and you're taking it from me. I was a little bit annoyed. And then right when we. After we take off, she comes right back up to me and she goes, sir, what brands were you drinking? I'm gonna bring you another drink. Like, oh, hell yeah. And I told her, wood for reserve, please. And that's when I realized, oh, I'm not even paying for these drinks. They're just coming for free. I didn't even know that. And then she comes up to me a little bit after that, like, sir, would you like dinner? I'm like, oh, what do you have? And so I order some kind of pasta salad. I thought I was gonna get, like, some little bowl. She brings me an entire plate. I got this pasta salad. I got a side of veggies. I got another little salad. I Got a cake. This plate was so big, I had to move my iPad off my tray where I'm watching football to make room for this spread that she brought me. This first class is incredible.

[Amin Alhassan]

What are you, Jed Clampett in Beverly Hills? You've never flown first class before?

[Greg Cody]

I had a great flight home. This was wonderful. And then look at all privilege.

[Dan Le Batard]

Look at old privilege over here. He's talking one of the original Beverly Hillbillies, the old guy. But Craig Cody, looking down his nose at others because. Because his wife's a law partner.

[Greg Cody]

The sports writers getting first hear about the cake.

[Mike Ryan]

He got cake, too.

[Chris Cody]

A little bit of a cake right there.

[Mike Ryan]

Okay.

[Greg Cody]

A little bit of a cake right there.

[Chris Cody]

What kind of cake?

[Greg Cody]

I don't know. It was some, like, honey bs, you know. I don't know, man.

[Dan Le Batard]

It wasn't as free cake.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah, it was that free cake, first class. And so, you know, I ate up all the. And then they took my tray and then guess what happened next, Billy?

[Chris Cody]

What?

[Greg Cody]

She said, would you like another drink?

[Amin Alhassan]

What?

[Chris Cody]

And you said, no, thank you.

[Billy Gil]

You're hammered at this point.

[Greg Cody]

You're wrong about that, Billy. I said, yes, I would like another, please.

[Dan Le Batard]

So you have taken off, though. You're in your first hour and you're four whiskeys in.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah, this is like the first 30 minutes. I'm hammered by, you know, 45 minutes into this flight. I'm having a great time.

[Dan Le Batard]

Greg Cody, has the Miami Herald ever bought you a first class flight?

[Amin Alhassan]

No.

[Dan Le Batard]

So what are you saying? That you've never flown first class? Because he's excited about first class. Why are you first class? Shaming him.

[Mike Ryan]

I'm not, but you are.

[Dan Le Batard]

Well, you called him Jed Clampett, the original Beverly Hillbilly.

[Billy Gil]

I don't even know what that reference means.

[Mike Ryan]

I'm so happy for his success.

[Dan Le Batard]

Thanks, man.

[Mike Ryan]

That sounded incredible. He made first class seem like a place that, you know, that's. That's goals right there.

[Greg Cody]

I loved it. I couldn't believe it.

[Chris Cody]

Now, are you going to continue flying first class?

[Greg Cody]

Well, it depends if it's available on the flight. Like, it's not necessarily available on every flight that I choose. Like, you know, my Southwest flight on the way there this weekend.

[Chris Cody]

Because here's. Here's my question. I don't mean to upset you potentially here, but you're not exactly dressing first class.

[Greg Cody]

Don't you worry about that.

[Chris Cody]

I feel like when you go first class, you have to wear a certain. You have to have a certain look about you. It's not a Backwards heat hat.

[Greg Cody]

You would be wrong.

[Chris Cody]

And a wrinkly T shirt.

[Billy Gil]

You know, some guy in business attire with his laptop open. I'm like, this guy seems.

[Chris Cody]

I think you need a sport coat. With all due respect, first class.

[Mike Ryan]

He knows what first class looks.

[Billy Gil]

You got to wear a watch.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah. Let me ask you a question. Between all of us, this room and that room right there, who flew first class this weekend, raise your hand. Oh, wow, what a shocker. I'm the only. My hand raised, so I'm pretty sure I know what you need to do.

[Billy Gil]

Everyone.

[Greg Cody]

When you're in first class.

[Billy Gil]

Everyone's wearing a watch in first class.

[Amin Alhassan]

Nobody else flew this weekend.

[Mike Ryan]

This is a great breakdown of SMU.

[Dan Le Batard]

Baylor put it on the poll at LeBatard show. Is it okay to fall asleep last night with five minutes left in the Sunday Night Football game?

[Commercial Announcer]

This episode is supported by FX's the Lowdown, starring Ethan Hawke. Allow us to introduce you to Lee Raybon, a quirky journalist slash rare bookstore owner, unofficial truth seeker, who's always on the tail of his latest conspiracy. This time, his most recent expose puts him head to head with a powerful family that rules Tulsa. Meaning only one thing. He must be onto something big. FX's the Lowdown premieres September 23rd on FX stream on Hulu.

You know what nobody tells you about being a new dad? It's not just the diapers and the wipes. That's obvious. It's the hidden stuff. The baby swing after we already purchased the other baby swing. The bouncer, the pack n play, the 20 different bottles. Because apparently my kid hates every single one. Except the most expensive one, which is.

[Mike Ryan]

The glass, by the way.

[Commercial Announcer]

Don't get me started on late food delivery orders with my wife and me too tired to even look or cook or think about food. I'm staring at my bank account like, where did it all go? That's where Monarch money comes in. It's like a financial tool belt for everyone, not just dads. You link all your accounts, your credit cards, investments, even the old stuff from jobs you forgot about. And it lays out in a way that even a sleep deprived parent like me can actually understand. Normally, money talks are stressful, but with Monarch, we can track everything together, set goals, and actually feel like we're on the same team. Less stress, more clarity. And finally, a plan for our daughter's future. Don't let financial opportunity slip through the cracks. Use code danonarchmoney.com in your browser for half off your first year, that's 50% off your first [e-mail] with code DAN.

[Billy Gil]

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 Zen and keep finding rewards that fit your [e-mail] rewards warning. This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical.

[Greg Cody]

Don Levitard My algorithm on Instagram is Dan it's all boobs.

[Mike Ryan]

Stugats.

[Greg Cody]

It's a good algorithm.

[Amin Alhassan]

This is the Dan Levatar show with the stugats.

[Chris Cody]

Zaz were you filling in for someone on Friday who just didn't go to work to cook?

[Greg Cody]

Oh my God, yeah. Well, I do every Friday night with Amber Wilson. She hosts Amber and Ian on ESPN Radio. That's Ian Fitzsimmons. And but, but I do the show with her on Friday nights because we travel and we do the show on location wherever we are. But listen to this crap. Ian Fitzsimmons lives in Dallas, Texas. So instead of doing his show on Friday night, which I'm glad to do the show, I want to do the show. But instead of doing the show that his name is on, he was cooking for everybody at ESPN Radio at his home, except for me and Amber. We're working and he's cooking for everybody else.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's how Freddie Fitz does it. Everybody.

[Greg Cody]

That's not a real person.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's why you're a bigger star than Freddie Fitz and you'll always be a bigger star than Freddie Fitz. Amin Alhassan is joining us now and we're always delighted to see him. We're going to get to his weekend observations in a second. But before we do so what can you update us on the Pablo Clippers beef at the We've left this behind and it's still a giant story. Pablo Torre has the number one sports podcast in America right now because it's such a giant story and because he's so far ahead on this story. Amin, you helped with the initial unveiling. What have you found interesting about over the weekend Clippers reaction? Everything happening around what appears to be a giant scandal now, like because people are realizing, wait a minute, it's no matter what your cynicism, you have millions and millions of dollars for a no show job is sort of beyond the pale on what we thought we were doing where we were skirting the rules.

[Amin Alhassan]

Right? I think, Dan, first of all, the idea that Pablo is kind of just shooting from his hip, which is what many people kind of initially came out, even the Clippers. Their first statement said something like, are easily provable or provably false or something like that. And then, as Pablo noted, they put out a revised statement that sounded like the first one, except the words provably false was removed. That's the lawyers. The lawyers got in there like, buddy, you guys cannot prove that these allegations are false. At the very least, Mark Cuban getting in a Twitter fight with Pablo. And then basically Pablo having to bail on the live stream we were doing, because Mark Cuban was like, he's ready to go right now. And then Mark Cuban got on and. And talked in circles. Basically, his main point was, hey, rich people don't know how much money they have or how much money they're investing in stuff. So that was interesting. But the other thing, Dan, was all the text messages I got from people around the league in various capacities, team employees, former team employees, league execs, agents, and all of it was something along the lines of, yeah, this happens, but, oh, I think they're screwed. Because everyone sees it's not just the magnitude of the money, Dan. It's also the amount of stuff in writing that links all these parties together.

[Dan Le Batard]

Mike, what are you guys laughing about back there?

[Mike Ryan]

That Mark even took to social media to be like, hey, I talked in circles for an additional two hours. Yeah, good at it.

[Dan Le Batard]

This, honestly was stunning to watch happen. I mean, I don't know if you're informed. I feel like you're super, super informed here, and you can allow people to see inside of what the second episode of Pablo Torre finds out was where Mark Cuban, armed with very few facts, underestimated the amount of information Pablo had. So Pablo's got all of this information that is not only credible, but just fair fact finding.

[Amin Alhassan]

And.

[Dan Le Batard]

And Cuban's response is some form again and again of, well, Steve Ballmer's not that dumb, right?

[Amin Alhassan]

But at the same time, almost infantilizing Steve Ballmers like, he was a victim. He got taken advantage of. And Pablo rightly points out, like, which one is it? Is he Mr. Magoo? Or is he. Is he, like, just like a guy who. It wasn't. Didn't do his due diligence because he's rich and he's got other people to do that, and they didn't do that. Mark Cuban brings up a story about how he got scammed. And it's just like, none of this really makes sense because at the end of the day, Cuban and Ballmer, who, by the way, we need to get to his conversation with Ramona Shelburne. Because I was like, man, you should not have done that. You should not have sat down and answered those questions that prematurely. But then here's the thing they keep coming back to. Well, these guys are scammers, of course. Why would they do this? Other scammers. This is what I know about scammers. And really most criminal enterprises. The goal is to make money. So if my goal is to scam people to make money, yes, I'll pay Leonardo DiCaprio. Yes, I'll pay Drake, yes, I'll pay Robert Downey Jr. Because they're going to go out and spread the gospel and bring me more money. Why would I pay $28 million to a guy who's not even the most famous dude in his sport, who's notoriously a recluse, who's not going to do anything for me?

[Dan Le Batard]

Four times as much as you're paying any and all of the other celebrities who are bigger celebrities and better spokesman than he.

[Amin Alhassan]

Yes. It's literally the duality of they're more famous than him, and also, oh, they're going to burn a calorie to sell our scam to the world and legitimize it. This guy's doing none of that. And he's not even that famous outside of basketball to begin with. Why are they paying him the most? How does that help the scam? Okay, I get it. They're scammers. You're right, Mark Cuban. You're right, Steve Ballmer. These guys are criminals. They're awful people. They took advantage of people. You need to tell me how paying $28 million to Kwai Leonard helped them, because I can't see how it helped aspiration one bit.

[Dan Le Batard]

I want to get back to the Ballmer interview, but before we head down that path, I want to get Zaz's thoughts for Amin and just reiterate, okay, that what Pablo Tory finds out is doing the degree of difficulty on it. He's got these people pinned with facts. They are facts thoroughly reported by the most ethical of journalism. And they're pinned in. In a way that makes Ballmer a bit panicked, have to go on television before he's ready to talk about things he might not be totally prepared to talk about. I just want to point out again, the NBA investigated some of this stuff. What Pablo did is more thorough in its findings than an nva, an NBA investigation that wasn't able to find things like this. So I just want people to understand that Pablo's degree of Difficulty on this. He's got to have the facts in his corner in order to be as confident as he is.

[Amin Alhassan]

Yeah, I would say, I would clarify. The NBA did their investigation back in 2019, 2020. These, these events happen after that, number one. Number two, much of Pablo's findings are based on aspirations bankruptcy filing and those documents and that we looked at therein. So we had access to stuff that even if the NBA had done their investigation in 2021, they wouldn't have had access to any of these documents. There's nothing that would have compelled aspiration to hand over that stuff as opposed to bankruptcy.

[Dan Le Batard]

I'm saying the fishiness around all the Kawaii stuff has led to investigations and it wasn't able to be to look like there was this much circumstantial evidence until all of the bankruptcy filings and fraud.

[Amin Alhassan]

Right, right. But, but I think the bigger thing is that the Clippers have been investigated multiple times under Steve Ballmer over these things. That was another thing a lot of people forgot. DeAndre Jordan, remember the whole thing with the chair and the emoji war and all that stuff when he was almost a maverick then he wasn't. Yeah, the Clippers did some cap server convention during that as well. They kind of set up a side deal with Lexus to pay DeAndre Jordan. The NBA find them $250,000 for that. So at this point with Steve Ballmer, it's not just a case of, hey man, this looks fishy. It's also, you're a repeat offender. This ain't your first rodeo.

[Greg Cody]

Well, except Ballmer kept saying to Ramona Shelburne there, we know the rules. They know the rules. Okay, man, they know the rules. Except Uncle Dennis keeps asking for things that are against the rules. And you know the rules, but you got tagged for this in the past already with that Lexus deal. So who cares that you know the rules and they know the rules? But back to the Cuban thing real quick. Like, Cuban's whole M.O. the whole time as to why he's Team Bomber was because like Pablo kept stating his reporting in what is believed to be fact through his reporting. And Cuban's response every time was just, I don't believe Bomber's dumb enough to fall for this. And then like. And Cuban then went over an old email that aspiration sent him at the time wanting him to be an investor. And Cuban specifically says the reason he didn't go along with it was because it was really aggressive and the money raised several red flags white. Ballmer go along with it.

[Amin Alhassan]

Then Zaz, that dude, it was so crazy to hear Mark Cuban make points that were actively working against his argument. Right? When he said that, I'm like, do you realize what you're saying? You said, steve Ballmer is always too smart to fall for that kind of thing or to do that kind of thing. And then you're telling me that these people you sniffed out within one email, Steve Ballmer with the. The full distance with, come on. And then Steve Ballmer with Ramona. I mean, she asked him, hey, how do we know you guys are doing? He said, because it's against the rules. I'm like, that's not an argument. Right? Then he went on, this is my favorite part of the interview by far. He says Ramona asked him, have you spoken to Kwai? He says, no. She says, would you like to hear what he has to say about all this? And Steve Barber says, no, it's not my business. It's quiet business. I'm like, what if you and me, Zaz, were accused of robbing a bank and I know we didn't do it, or at least I didn't do it, Wouldn't I pick up the phone and say, zaz, isn't this crazy? They think we robbed the bank. Why would I be like, oh, no, I can't talk to Zaz. That might look fishy. It would only look fishy if I actually did something. He could have. He could have lied anyhow. He could have said, not yet. I haven't talked to him yet. And then literally never talked to him, but just still say, not yet. But he didn't. He made it clear, that's not me, that's him. And that's the part where I'm wondering is if that's Steve Ballmer's ejection button, which is, oh, we didn't know anything about it. This is quiet Uncle Dennis all on their own, acting illicitly. Which, it still isn't a strong enough argument, but it might be the argument he tries to run with.

[Greg Cody]

And when he was asked, you know, why was aspiration paying Kawhi Leonard to not do anything? You're like, oh, I don't know. There's scammers. Don't scammers normally want you to pay them to do nothing?

[Amin Alhassan]

Right.

[Greg Cody]

Not the other way around.

[Dan Le Batard]

I mean. I mean, let's play this sound for you from Channing Fry. You tell me what your thoughts are here on him reacting with Kendrick Perkins and Richard Jefferson here on the Road Tripping podcast.

[Amin Alhassan]

First of all, why are you Snitching?

[Dan Le Batard]

No.

[Amin Alhassan]

Why are you snitching?

[Greg Cody]

Who cares?

[Dan Le Batard]

Why you snitching?

[Amin Alhassan]

Who snitching? Who's snitching?

[Dan Le Batard]

The reporter. The reporter's job is to snitch. Our job job is to keep it quiet. Right. Like Ballmer didn't tell. Kawhi didn't tell.

[Amin Alhassan]

So Pablo's doing what he's supposed to.

[Dan Le Batard]

Do, and he's doing an absolute great job. Shot him out for this investigation.

[Amin Alhassan]

Yeah. Channing went to University of Arizona, not known for its academics, so sometimes some of these things do fly over his head. He's a bright guy, but I got to blame his education at that point. No. What are you talking about, snitching? Where are we in life?

[Dan Le Batard]

If.

[Amin Alhassan]

When I was growing up, snitching was. If you were doing the dirt. If you're in this thing, that's what snitching is. Right. So if I'm also doing this tampering cap circumvention stuff, I can't be the whistleblower of the source. That would be snitching. But for the rest of us, I don't. I don't working. I'm not doing this. It's not my job to make sure that you're doing all right. If the media's job is as a watchdog, it's to make sure these things come to light.

[Dan Le Batard]

What's Richard Jefferson doing saying my job is to hide that stuff? Isn't he a media member now?

[Amin Alhassan]

Well, he's doing. He's doing the multiple hats thing where, you know, he. He's bald, so he has to wear hats all the time.

[Billy Gil]

Players want other players to get paid.

[Chris Cody]

Sounds like a bunch of snitches talking to me. Pocket watching Kawhi wondering where is he getting all that money from? It's not your goddamn business where he's getting that money from. Pablo, mind your own business. Where are you getting your money from?

[Mike Ryan]

Howdy, folks, it's Mike Ryan. It's also NFL season. Lots of big time matchups. You know, your boy is an NFL free agent, so he's looking all across that NFL schedule for the very best games. And when I do, my very first and only stop is the Game Time app. Because the gametime app gives the advantage back to the fans. It's a hack for unlocking amazing tickets and experiences in just a few taps. It's incredibly easy to use. And the Game time guarantee means that you can trust that you'll get 100% authentic tickets on time and at the very best price plus fees are always included. So what you see is what you pay. You have incredible features such as zone deals. You get to save even more when you choose a section and let gametime choose the seats. You get panoramic seat views. If you know nothing about the venue you're about to buy tickets for, this is a huge tool. Take the guesswork out of buying NFL tickets with GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account and use code DAN for $20 off your first purchase terms. Apply. Again, create an account and redeem Code dan button for $20 off. Swipe tap ticket. Go download the gametime app today I.

[Dan Le Batard]

Want to talk about home security for a minute. For the longest time I thought it was just alarms and sirens that once somebody breaks in you deal with it. But when you think about it, that's already too late. That's reactive. I had my car broken into on my property a while back. The only thing I could do was call 91 1. That's reactive. I don't like leaving things up to chance. That's why I decided to install SimpliSafe.

[Amin Alhassan]

Why?

[Dan Le Batard]

Because they flipped the idea of home security by making it proactive. Their Active Guard Outdoor Protection uses AI powered cameras to actually identify people lurking around your property. And here's the key. SimpliSafe's monitoring agents step in before anything goes down. They'll talk directly to intruders through the camera, light them up with spotlights, and even call the cops if they need to. That's not reacting, that's stopping crime before it starts. No contracts, no hidden fees. That's why they've been named Best home security system by U.S. news & World Report five years in a row and they back it up with a 60 day money back guarantee. SimpliSafe is offering Le Bald show listeners 50% off a new system with professional monitoring. Plus your first month is free. Visit SimpliSafe.com DLB to claim the offer. That's SimpliSafe.com DLB there's no safe like Simplisafe.

[Commercial Announcer]

What's up listeners? I don't know about you, but when I was a kid I certainly dreamed big. I think when we were all kids, we dreamed big. Whether we wanted to be astronauts, presidents. Personally, I wanted to be a pitcher for the then Florida Marlins. Now we're dreaming of something else like owning our own businesses. But let's be honest, launching it is total chaos. Websites and shipping, your cousin who wants to collab. It's a mess. That's where Shopify comes in. They power 10% of all E commerce in the United States from brands like Mattel to your aunt's candle shop. Can't design a site. Shopify's got ready to go templates. Need help writing copy or touching up pics? AI tools want customers built in email and social tools. And if you get stuck 24. 7 support real award winning human beings. Turn those dreams into and give them the best shot at success with Shopify. Sign up for your $1 per month trial and start selling today at shopify.com batard go to shopify.com shopify.com/batard Don LeBatard doesn't matter.

[Amin Alhassan]

Anywhere. We could do it in Buffalo or Baltimore. Eva, he said you could do it. Where? Anywhere. Oh, whoa. Oh. That's crazy. That's crazy. That's crazy. He could do it anyway. That's crazy. Murder. Murder. Tell him Stugach.

[Mike Ryan]

I had no idea Mean had that in his locker.

[Amin Alhassan]

That might be his best.

[Mike Ryan]

That's crazy.

[Amin Alhassan]

I'm not kidding. That's crazy. That's crazy. Killer. It's two America's dead. You don't get it. This is the Dan Levitar show with the Stugach.

[Dan Le Batard]

Time now for Amin's Weekend Observations.

[Greg Cody]

It is time for. I mean, to share his game notes.

[Amin Alhassan]

No one in the media will tell you what happened better than my boy.

[Dan Le Batard]

I mean.

[Amin Alhassan]

Weekend Observations is presented by Miller Lite Dan. My eyebrows are singed, my hair is blown back and I smell a bit like burnt bacon because just like that, make no mistake, like, my Sundays are now cooked. Yeah. Weekend Observations will officially be on Mondays from now on. Yeah, unless they're not like, next Monday. Cynthia and Carl, we need to have a conversation. The Dolphins did something yesterday that the Giants couldn't do in five years. Made Daniel Jones into a competent quarterback.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah.

[Amin Alhassan]

Greg Cody, stand strong. You double down. You don't let these guys suck you off the ledge. Don't change that season prediction.

[Dan Le Batard]

He's so homorific. Like, you can't.

[Amin Alhassan]

Here's the problem. Greg. Greg. This is what I'll say to you. This is in your support. If anything happens from here on out that continues to be bad, you've already lost the crowd. Everyone thinks you're already a homer. But if anything good happens, you get to be the guy who said, told you so. Told you it was just one game. You don't give up. Hold strong. Baltimore starts its season just like it ended last season. Choking. Jerry Jones needs to check if he still has the receipts for the Micah Parsons Deal. Maybe you could get store credit. You ever do that? Guys, if I get something like, I made a mistake. You go back and they're like, well, we can't give you your cash back. Well, your store credit. Why do people say, say choke someone out with their bare hands? Would it be any more benign if you did it with gloves on? No. Okay. No, that's.

[Dan Le Batard]

Benign means it's a good point. Sorry. No, I was just thinking about it. Give us a deck. We weren't.

[Amin Alhassan]

It's not that.

[Dan Le Batard]

The joke wasn't good. You made me think, yes, we do it with the bare hands because it makes the extra syllables make it sound like more.

[Billy Gil]

Because I might otherwise do it with like a rope or something.

[Greg Cody]

Or what if, like a headlock.

[Dan Le Batard]

You can do one of those moves the mafia does where you're in the back seat of the car and you do it with a wire.

[Greg Cody]

That's a good move.

[Amin Alhassan]

I always wanted to do that. Yeah. Machete.

[Billy Gil]

When you see it, you're like that seems like if you ever had to.

[Mike Ryan]

You always wanted to murder somebody.

[Billy Gil]

No, I'm saying thing if you had to attack somebody, you're like, from behind. Get the. Like you.

[Dan Le Batard]

You obviously know what I'm talking about. I know what you're talking about, but I didn't go to the next place of volunteering that I want to do that.

[Billy Gil]

If I was ever going to attack somebody.

[Mike Ryan]

This is how I probably always wanted to attack somebody. To murder them.

[Greg Cody]

We definitely know what you're talking about. That's why we're confused that you're openly admitting you want to murder.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's weird.

[Chris Cody]

Who would you theoretically want to murder?

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, when you've thought about it, who were you doing it?

[Greg Cody]

The first person that came to mind.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah.

[Mike Ryan]

Premeditated. This, please.

[Chris Cody]

Not that it would ever happen. Just, you know, who might it be?

[Greg Cody]

Say it into the microphone.

[Mike Ryan]

You have till the end of the segment to take something back. Just so you know.

[Billy Gil]

You know, I'm using some judgment here and not answer this question.

[Amin Alhassan]

Good idea.

[Chris Cody]

Be clear now. If anyone gets murdered around you, no one's going to suspect you because you didn't say a name.

[Amin Alhassan]

Chris. Yes. Listen to me. Double down, take a bait, come back with your top five ways you would murder someone. That's how you do it.

[Billy Gil]

All right, I'm on it.

[Amin Alhassan]

Because that's how you win. You give in now you've lost. You lost to the terrorists. Jaden Daniels. Effortless. How many people saw that DeAndre Hopkins touchdown and thought, game over.

[Chris Cody]

Winner of the Weekend me.

[Amin Alhassan]

I am people. Guilty. Good to see Gino Smith picking up right where he left off the last time I paid attention to him. Guy's a winner when I watch you.

[Dan Le Batard]

For those who do not know, Amino Hassan, I believe has the single greatest prediction in the history of this show. In the 20 year history of the show, he got Geno Smith stats almost exactly right. The season that Geno Smith had, that was a season better than any of us thought he would ever have. Almost exactly right. Touchdowns, interceptions, all of it.

[Amin Alhassan]

Yards.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yards. Crazy how close he was before the season.

[Amin Alhassan]

Season. Just the history of this show, huh?

[Dan Le Batard]

I've rarely heard predictions better than that one.

[Amin Alhassan]

Hey, there's no better agent for procrastination than a random Instagram reel. It's not from an account you follow. Nobody sent it to you. It just appeared and you started watching procrastinate instead of doing your work.

[Dan Le Batard]

Why'd you. What did you see?

[Amin Alhassan]

I saw this whole thing about cricket. This. It was a documentary. I didn't watch the whole documentary. It was just a clip in the documentary. But like these. The British dude in the documentary, like at the time, they're like, oh, we're gonna make the West Indies team grovel. He used those terms. We're gonna make them grovel. And the West Indies team, they didn't like that because there's a white guy telling mostly black and other colored people that they're going to make like, they're gonna grovel to the bridge dude. So they went out and whooped his ass. And I was so locked in, I don't give a about cricket. But I was like, wow. Then I realized, oh, shit, I have to finish these weekend observations. What am I doing?

[Greg Cody]

My reels are a lot of boobs.

[Amin Alhassan]

Attaboy. Travis Etienne can scoot. Do you guys say Travis Etienne or do you say Travis Etienne Jr. No need for the Junior. We know it's not his dad. Exactly. If your father isn't famous, I'm not including the Junior. Similarly, if your son isn't famous, I'm not including the senior talking to you. Marcus Morris. We call Marcus Morris senior. Why is Junior coming up? He's like three ridiculous.

[Dan Le Batard]

I don't know if any of you had the reaction. Not to damper this at all, but when I heard Stingley Jr. To the medical tent over the weekend, like, I had an immediate reflex on. I don't like hearing Stingley to a medical tent because I associate that name only with paralysis. Even though. Even though his son is a great football player.

[Amin Alhassan]

Yeah, he Is way to damper the mood.

[Dan Le Batard]

Sorry.

[Amin Alhassan]

I knew Sinner was cooked in the US Open final when I saw Drake bet 300,000 on him. Aubrey Graham, the polar opposite of the Midas touch man.

[Dan Le Batard]

He's a terrible gambler.

[Greg Cody]

Does he ever win bets?

[Dan Le Batard]

Like what? He's terrible. Like why. Why is. Does he have these giant public bets that always lose?

[Amin Alhassan]

I'm gonna start a new segment on DraftKings where we just bet the opposite of Drake.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's just crazy, though. How much money has he lost? I understand he's wildly, wildly wealthy, but he loses giant bets all the time, and it can't be the. He can't be making the only. The ones that he's showing us.

[Amin Alhassan]

Well, the ones he shows us is the ones he loses. I've never seen him post one and then he won afterwards. So maybe there's something to that. Maybe Pablo Torre can uncover that. Pablo Torre uncovering an alleged massive salary cap circumvention story. Only for some people to be disappointed that Pablo Torre didn't uncover the Epstein files tells you what kind of run Pablo Torre is on. Ptfo, Steve Ballmer, Dane The Clippers abided by the rules because that's the right thing to do. I'll try that next time. I pulled over for speeding, Officer. I was doing the speed limit. Why? Well, that's the right thing to do. Never mind. You got the radar gun that got me doing 75. Steve Ballmer investing 50 million into aspiration. Who happened to compensate Kai Leonard $48 million. Coincidence.

[Dan Le Batard]

Allegedly.

[Amin Alhassan]

To be fair to Steve Ballmer, 50 million to him is literally worth 3 cents to a regular person.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's right.

[Amin Alhassan]

Puka Nakua deserves a second song. Yeti get on that. My guy. Tenday, Tony saying the Giants have the best defensive line in the NFL. Pump your brakes. But also, I hope you're right. If you take Joe Missoula, made him wear glasses, gave him a little more hair, and made him a lot less successful. You'd get Mike McDaniel, this guy, he goes into the press conferences, he always says something weird, and then the team goes out there and lays a fart.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, it's been a. Yeah, it's been really bad, Dan.

[Amin Alhassan]

You don't get to be quirky and eclectic if you're not winning.

[Dan Le Batard]

No, that's.

[Amin Alhassan]

We agree to that. Right?

[Dan Le Batard]

And certainly not if you're losing like that.

[Amin Alhassan]

Like Joe Missoula hanging on by a thread. We're gonna see this year. How. How long the. The equ. Eclectic. Quirky. I think of Things differently bit goes when the Celtics aren't the best team in the conference. Mike McDaniel grew up with Dan Soder. I didn't know that. You guys know that. Did you guys know that I knew that? That's a yes or no. Thank you.

[Greg Cody]

I do.

[Dan Le Batard]

No.

[Amin Alhassan]

Can't check out on me that hard, guys. Just. I'm sorry.

[Dan Le Batard]

You know what I mean? I'm sorry. I was talking to Chris about yeti. He's got a song about the dolphins that I wanted to play at the end of the segment. And so I wasn't listening to what you were saying. Please.

[Amin Alhassan]

17 people in that room.

[Billy Gil]

Streeter, that's.

[Amin Alhassan]

You weren't listening. Chris wasn't listening. Everybody else can't give me.

[Billy Gil]

I'm working on my top five ways I would kill someone.

[Chris Cody]

I'm conflicted because someone else. Yeah, we're in a room where Chris is actively googling on a work computer how best ways to murder someone. I mean, so it's like, am I now.

[Dan Le Batard]

I'm sorry.

[Chris Cody]

Complicit.

[Dan Le Batard]

We didn't participate. Keep it moving, please. Thanks for not bringing attention to it. Chris Cody, number five, sword fight. Oh, that's a good place.

[Chris Cody]

You would have to win.

[Dan Le Batard]

Number four. Another four. Number four.

[Billy Gil]

Number four. Slowly poison them over time.

[Dan Le Batard]

I like that. Number three.

[Billy Gil]

That was your way to choke with the wire in a car from behind. Number two, cut their brakes.

[Dan Le Batard]

Oh, and number one, trick them into.

[Billy Gil]

Entering the lion's pit at the zoo.

[Mike Ryan]

Put some thoughts into this.

[Amin Alhassan]

All right.

[Dan Le Batard]

Excellent work.

[Amin Alhassan]

Pride of a lion. I like number one.

[Commercial Announcer]

Pride of a lot.

[Chris Cody]

Another lion pass this week at Zoo Miami.

[Amin Alhassan]

Okay. All right.

[Dan Le Batard]

Way to bring it down.

[Chris Cody]

I didn't kill it. Chris's friend did.

[Amin Alhassan]

Maybe Chris did.

[Chris Cody]

Lions den. Yeah, friend.

[Amin Alhassan]

All right.

[Chris Cody]

Killed the lion. Who saw that coming?

[Dan Le Batard]

Go ahead. I mean.

[Amin Alhassan]

Angel Reese. Suspended by the Chicago sky for a half for comments detrimental to the team. They're 10 and 31. Sounds like the team is detrimental to the team. Also suspended for just a half. Either go full game or go home. Cowards.

[Billy Gil]

It's the move. Whenever it's a good player, you do it for a half.

[Amin Alhassan]

Yes, but they're 10 and 31.

[Greg Cody]

That's right. They didn't want to give away another game.

[Amin Alhassan]

Jackson dart should start. Russell Wilson should retire. Someone threw a green lifeless thing on the field of an NFL game. It's called the Jets. Oh, man. That just killed them.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yes, that's a good joke.

[Amin Alhassan]

Tore their hearts up.

[Dan Le Batard]

Where. Where is the sex toy? Do we have video of the sex Toy landing on the field. There it is. Yeah, there it is. Confirmed. That's. That right there is. American football has returned a referee just throwing a dildo 20 yards.

[Greg Cody]

I just like that. It has to be green. Like, you're not doing it right. If it's not green going forward, the.

[Mike Ryan]

Confirming sound, we need to hear the whole thing because when it starts and it doesn't end, it can be inappropriate.

[Billy Gil]

I feel bad for that official. Like, he has to pick it up.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's embarrassed that the Internet's forever. And now he's just got a dildo in his hand. He's wandering around.

[Billy Gil]

I'm him. I'm like, can I get a paper towel?

[Dan Le Batard]

He's at the top of his job and he can't. Yeah, he needs something.

[Mike Ryan]

You get what I'm saying? Because it goes.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yes.

[Billy Gil]

Is there anything he wouldn't grab if he's like, oh, I can't.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's.

[Amin Alhassan]

I'm not touching.

[Dan Le Batard]

Close this out. I mean.

[Amin Alhassan]

It took not being a jet for Aaron Rodgers to look like Aaron Rodgers. Serbia lost to Finland despite 33 points and eight rebounds by Jokic. I guess you could say Serbia's Eurobasket run is finished.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, see, that's a good joke. Nice, Nice.

[Amin Alhassan]

Yeah, that always helps when you have to point out that's a good joke. And people laugh harder then to get the people. The people upset that I'm doing Weekend observations. I get it. We always miss the original because it was better. Never gone to a bar and found out that your favorite bartender was replaced with a guy named Steve. I'm Steve. What can I get you? Top five things where the original was better. Oli. Jerry Garcia as the original lead singer for the Grateful Dead. Number five, Chevy Chase as the original Weekend Update host. Number four, Janet Hubert, the original Aunt Viv. Number three, Lewis Wilson as the original Batman. Very, very racist movie, that original Batman. You can watch it on Tubi, I think. Number two, Backrub, the original name for Google.

[Dan Le Batard]

Put it on the poll, please.

[Amin Alhassan]

I'm not making that up at Levitard show.

[Dan Le Batard]

Did you know that Backrub was the original name for Google?

[Amin Alhassan]

And the number one thing where the original was better? The dinosaurs. The original dominant species is wiped out by climate change. They're better because they didn't cause the climate. Climate change. It just happened to them, I guess. Arch Manning had a red dot on San Jose State. Miami beat Bethune Cookman 45. 3. Georgia Tech beat Gardner Webb 59 12. Florida State beat East Texas A M 77. 3. Alabama beat Louisiana Monroe 77 and nothing. And Oregon beat Oklahoma City State 69. 3. One of these things is not like the other. LeBron James demolished his 37 million dollar mansion so he can build his dream home. LeBron James living in a 37 million dollar mansion that isn't his dream home is proof that everyone is miserable. We're all in our own personal hell. Dano Peaking of hell Art Briles those are the weekends.

[Dan Le Batard]

Ran out of music twice. Thank you Amain. Good talking to you.

[Amin Alhassan]

I work hard.

[Mike Ryan]

Hey listeners, it's Mike. Hey, Billy Gill.

[Chris Cody]

Hey.

[Mike Ryan]

Hey Billy, As a proud member of your inner circle, remember when we were hanging out last weekend?

[Chris Cody]

Oh yeah. Fishtail Palms.

[Mike Ryan]

Fishtail Palms. Great memories we made. Kids playing in the pool and in our hands, a nice ice cold pan of Miller Light. It was so hot out.

[Chris Cody]

I know, but it was so cold in my hand.

[Mike Ryan]

We took that first sip. It was crisp. It was refreshing. Oh man. There is nothing like cracking open a Miller Light with your crew and your inner circle bones.

[Chris Cody]

Hell yeah. We fist bumped.

[Mike Ryan]

Whether it's we we actually really did. Whether it's that touchdown.

[Chris Cody]

Make a sound. But I just thought bam.

[Amin Alhassan]

Boom.

[Mike Ryan]

Whether it's that touchdown you didn't see coming, or just arguing about fantasy lineups. You and I did plenty of that. Miller Lite has been the taste that you can depend on for 50 years. Brewed for flavor with simple ingredients, rich toffee notes and that iconic golden color. And here's a kicker.

[Amin Alhassan]

Billy. What?

[Mike Ryan]

It's just 96 calories.

[Greg Cody]

What?

[Mike Ryan]

3.2 carbs per 12 ounces. The original light beer since 1975 and still hitting 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.