Hour 2: The Hot Dog & An Empanada (feat. Amin Elhassan)

Summary

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The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz

Episode: Hour 2: The Hot Dog & An Empanada (feat. Amin Elhassan)
Date: February 17, 2026
Location: The Elser Hotel, Downtown Miami
Guests: Amin Elhassan, Tony, Greg Cody, Mike Ryan, Jeremy, Zaslow, Chris

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Episode Overview

This fast-paced episode focuses on the aftermath and spectacle of NBA All-Star Weekend, featuring Amin Elhassan's on-the-ground insights and the show’s signature blend of irreverent sports talk, pop culture riffs, inside jokes, and listener engagement. The panel debates March Madness futures, NBA All-Star Game intensity, rumors surrounding NBA stars and social media, and celebrates the collision of food, culture, and sports. The episode closes with a heated and hilarious debate over Leonardo DiCaprio’s best films.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Bet the Castle: March Madness Futures

• (00:35) Tony lays out his March Madness pick: the Houston Cougars at +750, emphasizing their strong defense and rising star Kingston Fleming.
  • Notable quote:
    “If you’re going to build a March Madness winner, you need a star. And then you need a great team around them of guys that'll never make it to the NBA. And that’s what I like looking at. Houston, great defensive team.” (01:24, Tony)
• Value in betting after a team loss is discussed, highlighting betting strategy over pure sport prediction.
  • Notable quote:
    “That's why I get 'em after a loss. We need you. Exactly right. You get them after a loss, you get more juice on it.” (01:58, Tony)

2. College Basketball State of Play

• (02:42) Michigan Basketball gets its due—Dusty May's impact, Michigan’s dominating performances, and their strengthening odds on the national stage.
• (03:06) Mike Ryan notes the renaissance in college basketball, where more players stick around and “develop,” enhancing the season's excitement.

3. All-Star Weekend Reflections with Amin Elhassan

• (03:49) Montage launches, featuring Amin's interviews and reactions from players, focusing on the competitive spirit (or lack thereof) in the All-Star Game.
  • Quote:
    “The intensity the older generation been talking about, I don’t know if I seen it." (03:49, Amin Elhassan)
• Wembanyama’s impact:
  • “Wimpy set the tone…he came out playing hard, so it’s hard not to match that.” (04:05, Amin Elhassan)
• Funny exchange about what to give up for life, Twitter or video games.
  • Quote:
    “I'm gonna go Twitter. Cause they don’t deserve to hear this God level talk. I’m giving to them. They take it for granted.” (04:36, Amin Elhassan)

4. NBA Twitter & Kevin Durant's Burner Accounts

• (07:04) Jeremy and the crew ponder KD’s supposed burner accounts after All-Star Weekend, ultimately agreeing that the social media frenzy is likely circumstantial, not evidential.
  • Insight:
    “It is too complete. The sentences are too complete. It’s not even his Twitter style.” (07:52, Greg Cody)

5. Adam Silver, NBA Economics & Tanking

• (08:20) Discussion pivots to Adam Silver’s recent comments about not losing sight of fans, with Mike Ryan positing it’s primarily about rights holders and gambling partners, not genuine fan concern.
  • Quote:
    “I think the people that are actually going to bring about change are the people that are pumping the big money, the billions of dollars into the league.” (09:13, Mike Ryan)
• (09:25) Amin details why the NBA’s "egregious tanking" is problematic not just for fans but for gambling and sponsorship integrity.

6. All-Star Game Venue & Experience

• (10:39) Greg Cody and Amin debate the logistics and vibe of All-Star Weekend in LA versus other venues. Amin credits LA’s Intuit Dome as “the most technologically advanced sports arena in the galaxy.”
  • Traffic and spread-out events undercut the experience, despite the arena’s quality.
  • Quote:
    “La la land. The All Star game—most watched since 2011, probably because everyone was stuck in traffic in the Intuit Dome. The most technologically advanced sports arena in the galaxy.” (17:03, Amin Elhassan)

7. All-Star Game Intensity: What Fans Want

• (11:31–13:42) Extended discussion about the desired intensity level for NBA All-Star Games. Most agree they don’t want playoff-level defense, but rather the effort shown in high-end summer pickup games.
  • Quote:
    “We asked for you guys to play as hard as you do in the summer pickup games… That’s the level of intensity we were looking for. And they delivered.” (12:00, Greg Cody)

8. Amin's All-Star Weekend Observations (Weekend Notes)

• (16:45) Amin delivers rapid-fire, humor-laced observations on LA traffic jams, bizarre food combos (“Hot dog and an empanada—the most unlikely pairings. Symbolism. Bring the country together.”), and social media viral moments.
  • Commentary on his own viral “broken jumper” video and internet culture’s tendency to decontextualize clips.
  • Roasting Austin Rivers’ response to his criticism:
    Quote:
    “Don't say my opinion doesn’t matter. When you and multiple people surrounding you who I shall not name, but you know, who have contacted me one way or another.” (23:39, Amin Elhassan)

9. Pop Culture: Shia LaBeouf’s New Orleans Rampage

• (25:58) Recap of bizarre reports on Shia LaBeouf’s shirtless, cashless, and belligerent escapade through New Orleans.
  • Quote:
    “There's three types of people in this world. People who show up to the bar with a shirt on and people who don't. I show up with the shirt.” (26:34, Greg Cody)

10. Leonardo DiCaprio Movie Debate

• (29:30–36:52) Zaslow presents his top five Leo movies (heavily debated), sparking a roundtable with Dan, Mike, Stugotz, and Amin re-ranking and re-litigating DiCaprio’s filmography.
  • Points of contention: Shutter Island in the top five (“Nobody puts that in his top five.” – Greg Cody, 30:31), Departed’s “rat” ending, The Revenant (“That movie sucks.” – Dan, 32:55), and whether Margot Robbie’s nudity counts toward Wolf of Wall Street being #1.
  • Amin’s pick for Leo’s most underrated role: “Django Unchained. None of us had ever seen Leo as a villain and he played it to the hilt.” (34:44, Amin Elhassan)
  • Gangs of New York gets Amin’s nod as the snubbed masterpiece.
  • The panel pokes fun at each others’ "movie guy" credentials, with Dan’s approach—balancing Leo’s performance and "hotness" factor—coming under attack.

11. NBA: Celtics’ Chemistry without Jason Tatum

• (37:41) Tony and Amin discuss Jalen Brown’s subtle shade toward Jason Tatum on social media, questioning if the Celtics can be just as good without their superstar.
  • Insight:
    “Celtics have a great chance to go back to the finals this year, even if Tatum doesn’t play a second. And I don’t have a problem with [Brown] feeling that way. But perhaps not the best teammate move to post that online.” (38:02, Amin Elhassan)
• (39:45) Panel agrees team chemistry is high, and leadership will wisely integrate Tatum back in “slow,” post-injury.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

Hot Takes & Humor

• Tony’s betting wisdom: “You get them after a loss, you get more juice on it.” (01:58)
• Amin, on explaining NBA All-Star Weekend:
  “Highlight of my weekend—explaining to someone in a crowded bar what All-Star Weekend is, then having to explain what an All-Star is.” (19:20)
• Panel, on The Departed’s ending:
  “The lack of subtlety there really undid the entire thing for me.” (30:02, Mike Ryan)
• Amin, on Gangs of New York:
  “The Departed is nothing more than an apology because Gangs of New York got snubbed.” (35:21)
• Greg Cody, on Shia LaBeouf:
  “Three types of people in this world: people who show up to the bar with a shirt on and people who don’t. I show up with the shirt.” (26:34)

Cultural Observations

• Weekend Sports Pop Culture: Hot dogs, empanadas, viral videos, and March Madness under one roof.
• NBA Gossip & “Burner Account” Mania: Spectatorship of celebrity activity on social media taken to sometimes absurd lengths.
• Odes to Traffic: LA’s gridlock becomes its own character during All-Star Weekend.

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Bet the Castle & CBB Futures: 00:35–02:30
• All-Star Game Reflection & Montage: 03:45–06:29
• Kevin Durant Twitter/Burner Accounts: 07:04–08:20
• Adam Silver, NBA Sponsorship, Tanking: 08:20–11:11
• All-Star Weekend Logistics/Traffic: 10:39–12:20
• Intensity Wanted in NBA All-Star Game: 11:31–13:42
• Amin’s Weekend Observations: 16:45–23:17
• Viral Moments & Austin Rivers Beef: 23:17–24:31
• Shia LaBeouf in New Orleans: 25:58–26:34, 27:56–28:03
• Leonardo DiCaprio Top 5 Debate: 29:30–36:52
• Celtics Chemistry & Jalen Brown/Tatum Discussion: 37:41–41:07

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Overall Tone

The episode is characteristically playful, insightful, and occasionally chaotic, with quick pivots from sports analysis to pop culture and meta-commentary about media and virality. Amin's dry wit and deep NBA knowledge flavor a strong episode for listeners who value the blend of serious sports talk and absurdist wit.

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Recommended For:
Listeners who want a rundown on NBA All-Star Weekend, college hoops fate, inside-basketball banter, and podcast hosts riffing like friends at a bar—only with more hot takes, cultural asides, and passionate movie arguments.

Transcript

[Dan Le Batard]

This is the Dan Levatar show with the Stugats podcast.

[Stugats]

Amin Elhasan will join us fresh off of the All Star Game appearance. All Star Weekend. And we also have a montage package that we're going to get to in a second. But Tony's in position right now. Put it on the poll at LeBatard show. Who retires first, LeBron or Greg Cody? Tony is in position right now. He is going to bet the castle. It sits 60 seconds. It's delicious, it's tasty. And a castle is being bet. Take it away, Tony.

[Tony]

Hey, Dano. All right, so we've got the White Castle sliders. I'm going with jalapeno cheese today. That's my slider of choice. I'm gonna throw 60 seconds on the clock and then give you guys the bet. The castle. So here we go.

[Stugats]

Hot take. So you're giving us a literal hot take?

[Tony]

Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

[Greg Cody]

So.

[Tony]

All right, 60 seconds on the clock. I am betting the castle on the Houston Cougars. We're going into March. We're going into the tournament. I know they just lost to Iowa State in a bad fashion. They had a phantom kickball that ended up turning the game. They, they had a 10 point lead, then lost by a couple of three. But I'm going to tell you this. Houston Cougars, tough defensive team. Number two in the country, Kingston Flemings. I want you guys to remember that name. Baller should be up there on the, on the, on the draft buzz. There should be more Debance Peterson.

[Stugats]

So up there on the draft buzz. Up there.

[Tony]

He should be higher up on draft buzz that he is right now. Getting Kingston Flemings. You're going to like that name come March. I'm going to give you the Cougars plus 750 to win the tournament. Okay, They're. I think they have the third highest odds. I like their mix of defense. I like Kingston Fleming. You need, if you're going to build a, a March Madness winner, you need a star. And then you need a great team around them of guys that'll never make it to the NBA. And that's what I like looking at. Houston, great defensive team. Kelvin Sampson and them boys.

[Stugats]

Here we go.

[Tony]

Ah, the beat. Take these out so I can get.

[Stugats]

Them a little time for you to do it though, after they did lose the late game.

[Tony]

But see, that's where you get the best value, Dan. That's why I know you're, you're, you're not, you're not thinking the right way. That's what I get him after a loss. We need you. Exactly right. You get them after a loss, you get more juice on it. DraftKings is giving you plus 750 for the second best defensive team in the country with Kelvin Sampson and them boys, plus Kingston Fleming. Dan, like, how much do you want?

[Stugats]

Let's see here.

[Jeremy]

Bet the Castle is presented by White Castle. Hunger says, eat. Cravings say eat this. And with White Castle's 100% beef, beef, grilled onions, melty cheese, and steamy buns that hold it all together, how can you not crave thy castle?

[Stugats]

That is a good one. I didn't like the bet, but I did like the burger. Jalapeno cheese is the way to go. I thought the timing was suspicious. Dusty May is pretty good at what he does, by the way. Right?

[Dan Le Batard]

Michigan, they win every game by like 30.

[Stugats]

I mean, but whatever it is that happened at FAU that they weren't able to parlay, he's now the number one team in the country, and they're in a much better position than they were during the emotional Juwan Howard years. Michigan was very good last year, but they're even better this year. Arizona has now lost a couple of times. Lost the other night to Texas Tech. Do you like Michigan, Mike?

[Mike Ryan]

I do. I like Destiny a lot. An incredible college basketball slate this week. They're breaking up some conference play.

[Dan Le Batard]

Time to stop paying attention.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah, I think they realize they got the sports calendar now and they're trying to put their best foot forward there. It's an exciting sport now with all these players kind of sticking around and developing there. Yeah, I'm hugely into it. I really do like Michigan. But, Dan, that's where you get the value after a loss. Their odds are a little bit worse, if you still have faith. Now is when you invest. You.

[Stugats]

Hodl Amin's going to join us here in a second to do some of the stuff from All Star Weekend. But let's fire off that montage as we wait for him.

[Greg Cody]

You're not going to give more effort this year, or is it kind of like it is what it is at this point?

[Amin Elhassan]

Yeah, it is what it is at this point. The intensity the older generation been talking about, I don't know if I seen it.

[Stugats]

It's a game we love, you know. It's a game I personally cherish.

[Greg Cody]

So being competitive is the least I can do.

[Amin Elhassan]

I ain't gonna lie. Wimpy set the tone like, he came out playing hard, so it's hard not to match that. So shit that what happened.

[Stugats]

And what do you.

[Amin Elhassan]

Sorry for my language.

[Greg Cody]

That's what happened. Yeah. What were you thinking when Book was going off?

[Amin Elhassan]

I was praying on his downfall. Give up one thing for the rest of your life. Twitter or video games? Which one would it be? I'm gonna go Twitter. Cause they don't deserve to hear this God level like talk. I'm giving to them. They take it for granted.

[Jeremy]

The seventh hottest player of all time.

[Stugats]

When you say hot, what you mean?

[Amin Elhassan]

You talking about basketball?

[Zaslow]

Handsome job.

[Greg Cody]

Do you have a favorite moment during time in Chicago during the 90s? I always enjoyed watching us beat Indiana.

[Amin Elhassan]

My old lady ain't gonna like that. I mean, I ain't gonna lie, you know, my mom and dad did a pretty good job.

[Greg Cody]

You did push off Michael on that one playbook. Come on, Mr. President. Everybody knows.

[Amin Elhassan]

My old lady ain't gonna like that, though. She be want me to, you know, suppress this shit like that, you know, I be trying to hide. They ain't wrong, though. They probably got me a little low on the least honest.

[Greg Cody]

He had to come back in Game 7, though. President Obama was here. The Obamas was here. Did that give you any extra motivation to play any harder tonight?

[Amin Elhassan]

He my favorite person in the world. We was kicking it yesterday, me and him. I had a great time yesterday, so I told him I was gonna put on a show for him.

[Greg Cody]

What's up, my brother? If you were like, more athletic, what. What kind of question is that? We won because we young and turned honest. We need to see you in Miami.

[Mike Ryan]

This year for the K.

[Greg Cody]

Inkling of what you want to do. Yeah, I mean, I want to live when I know you guys know. I don't know.

[Stugats]

I have no idea. Just want to.

[Greg Cody]

Just want to live, that's all. Bron close to retirement. Have you given any more thought into whether you'd like to become the future face of the league?

[Amin Elhassan]

Man, them folk got Wemby Yummo. That what they got going on? They got Wemby Yummo.

[Greg Cody]

They'll be all right.

[Amin Elhassan]

Are you going to shed a tear when LeBron retires? Am I going to shed a tear? I might cry a little bit when he retires.

[Greg Cody]

Like, be honest.

[Amin Elhassan]

Are you going to shed a tear?

[Jeremy]

No.

[Stugats]

Damian Lillard praying for the downfall of Devin Booker. Also, Kevin Durant talking about Twitter. Have we found out whether or not Kevin Durant is indeed hiding in the shadows in Twitter with tiny accounts with small followers? What's happening? What's he doing? What do we know what's factual as it relates to Kevin Durant and what he's doing with his shadow accounts. You guys want to answer my question or you and Jeremy just as tried to.

[Jeremy]

It is.

[Mike Ryan]

Mike was on me.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's not on me.

[Jeremy]

Yeah, it seems like there may be burner accounts that have been thrown out there that could possibly be Kevin Durant. It felt a little too perfect with some of the things that were being said. I don't know that it was Kevin Durant. I. I see a mean in camera here, shaking his head. Cause I don't think he thinks it's Kevin Durant either. But a total explosion over the weekend. You saw Durant on his phone all weekend long. So everybody thought right after the Burner scandal started that it was potentially him. But, I mean, do you have different information?

[Greg Cody]

This has been a big weekend for people putting together circumstantial evidence and just going crazy and just assuming it's fact. And it's amazing, right? The Michael Jordan video and now the Kevin Durant. Because the guy's checking his phone now. That means.

[Jeremy]

Oh, he.

[Greg Cody]

Cause he's responding because he's really worried about Twitter. That's not him. It's not. First of all, it is too complete. The sentences are too complete. It's not even his Twitter style. Regardless of whether you go back to his burners or his actual account, that's not what he sounds like. And so the first time I read it, that ain't him. And then, sure enough, I did some digging. I asked behind the scenes, I got my sources, and I said, yeah, it's not him. But people wanted to believe. They want to believe.

[Stugats]

I want to give you some information here that we were talking about during the break. I mean, and get your thoughts, because Mike Ryan is saying that Adam Silver is talking about sponsors. When he says, we can't lose sight of the money, we can't lose sight. He says, we better not lose sight of our fans. People who work and support the league day in and day out. Mike is questioning whether or not it's his fans that he's worried about.

[Mike Ryan]

It's cool to cup your hand to your ear and say, like, it's. It's because of the fans. But I think the. The money that he's worried about and the people that are actually giving feedback, probably DraftKings. Among them are these new rights holders. They had so many new broadcast partners get rolled out recently, and I think they all take issue with. We don't know if the superstar that we're advertising is going to play in this game, and we don't know if the teams are going to be trying as hard.

[Dan Le Batard]

So it has nothing to do with fans, it has nothing to do with paying customers.

[Stugats]

You're saying he said fans. He did say.

[Mike Ryan]

I know what he said. But I think the people that are actually going to bring about change are the people that are pumping the big money, the billions of dollars into the league.

[Greg Cody]

I mean, yeah, yeah, Mike, I, I'm inclined to agree with you. Maybe not to the extent that, oh, he's just talking about them and the fans don't matter. Obviously the fans matter, but it's not about a certain superstar didn't play in a game because again, we've had that for a while. Even with the gambling houses around, even with broadcast partners. Right, we've had that. That's. I think there's, there's a level of egregious tanking that we've seen that this is where it raises red flag. And what I mean by that is the idea that these are the available lineups, these are the guys that are going to play the lines and the spreads and all the stuff are created based on that. And then a team is winning a game and say, you know what? That's not the outcome I was looking for. Hey, my two best players, you guys are going to sit not because you did something wrong or you hurt or you're nursing or you're on minutes restriction. I just don't feel like putting you back in because we're trying to get a certain outcome out of this that at that point begins to impact and affect the lines and the gambling stuff that's happening in a way that had they sat those guys out from the get go, say they're not playing tonight, would not have impacted it. So yes, Mike, I think you're right. That is probably one of the loudest shareholders or stakeholders, excuse me, who's complaining about some of the recent tanking, egregious violations.

[Stugats]

How was your weekend?

[Greg Cody]

It was cool. I mean like LA is just not great for an event that is as spread out as All Star Weekend. It's just a lot of traffic and to be honest with you, the. Even though the building was superb, I mean into a dome, I cannot praise it enough. It is a world class facility, but it's kind of out there and in order to access everything and then you lump in the Olympics are happening. So everything was on earlier. It was just, it was an adjustment I don't think many people were ready for.

[Stugats]

Well, sleepy with traffic is one thing. That's not the energy or buzz that came off the game nationally. I'm surprised that to be in the center of it, what has always been a basketball celebration has always been a great deal of fun that you're lamenting kind of spread out traffic as opposed to the energy that's come off it, which is they cared and they fixed it.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah, I'm not lamenting. And you asked me how the weekend was. You didn't ask me how Sunday was. Sunday was superb. Sunday was. Exactly, by the way, Sunday's all we were asking for. For all these years. I heard Kevin Durant in his, in his comments say, oh, I watched the old All Star games. They weren't going like it was game seven. Nobody ever asked for game seven. No, I did this with Zaz on the radio yesterday. Nobody asked for game seven. Nobody asked for playoff intensity, nobody asked for regular season intensity, Nobody asked for preseason intensity. We asked for you guys to play as hard as you do in the summer pickup games that we see countless clips of every summer. That's the level of intensity we were looking for, not what has been happening the last few years. And they delivered. And so to me, it has nothing to do with format or east versus west or mini games. It has everything to do with the players showed up to play.

[Stugats]

It's a pretty good point though, Amin is making, and I wonder if people have lost sight of this, that basically, until the last half of the fourth quarter of all All Star Games, everyone's running around out there showing far less effort at any time in history than they during an NBA actual basketball game, preseason game, or anything else. And then you ramp it up if the game's close in the last five minutes. That's how they've always played it.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah, but even they're running up and down. Not taking it seriously. Fifteen years ago was a much higher level than what's happened before. What I mean by that is when you watch people play basketball, typically just it doesn't matter what the stakes are. There's a guy trying to do something offensively and then there's another guy trying to stop him defensively. Right? What we got in the last few years was a guy trying to do something offensively, and then the guy on defense said, go right ahead, I don't care. You know, and it start. I always said the watershed moment for me was in New Orleans, I want to say 2017. Giannis is coming down the court and Steph Curry lies down on the court like he's on defense, like, oh, you know what? I don't want any parts of this. And he lies flat down. And I said, it's funny. It's a HAHA moment, but. But it triggered things where people were like, yo, we don't have to do anything. Let's just make it a layup line. And that's the difference. We want a basketball game, not a layup line. It doesn't have to be Game 7, but we need at least a basketball game.

[Mike Ryan]

Hey, everybody, it's Mike Ryan. Now, if you've been following the show, you know I've been traveling, been super busy, been supporting my favorite football team with mixed results, right? Not the greatest hang so far in 2026. I try to find every excuse in the book. I had one buddy that was trying to invite me out. I wanted to stay in. He's like, come on, let's watch this NBA game. So I go over to his house. I watched this NBA game, and guess what? Something amazing happened. He pulled out the Miller Lights, and I knew right away I made the right call. Next thing you know, we're toasting, we're celebrating, we're having a great time. We're talking about nostalgia, we're talking about old friends that we had. And it was all things to Miller Light that icebreaker. Because when you actually say yes and you actually show up, you want a beer that fits the moment. For me, that's Miller Lite. Legendary moments. Start with 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 Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.

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[Dan Le Batard]

Don Lebatard is there.

[Stugats]

Back in my day.

[Zaslow]

There is actually.

[Mike Ryan]

What are you not going to tell anyone? Wait a minute, you guys. Guys, why would you have been doing this? It's a Tuesday.

[Dan Le Batard]

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

[Stugats]

I hope I have.

[Zaslow]

Okay, here it is. Sorry, adultery.

[Mike Ryan]

We're waiting for this one.

[Dan Le Batard]

This is the Dan Levatar show with the stugats.

[Stugats]

We're gonna get to the weekend observations from Amin in a second, but did you find anything interesting from the commissioner's comments on all subjects?

[Greg Cody]

Let's do weekend observations first.

[Stugats]

All right.

[Dan Le Batard]

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

[Amin Elhassan]

I mean.

[Greg Cody]

Weekend observations is brought to you by Miller Lite. Legendary moments Start with a light. Dan. After enduring perhaps the non the worst non weather related logistical nightmare of All Star week in history, including a Friday where I was commuting for over four and a half hours. I never ever want to hear you speak of Miami traffic again. La la land. The All Star game Most watched since 2011 probably because everyone was stuck in traffic into a dome. The most technologically advanced sports arena in the galaxy. They have facial recognition software so you don't have to even pull up your tickets off the phone. They have T shirt cannons in the scoreboard. At one point I'm fairly sure multiple laser sights fixed on my sternum. Pablo Torre finds out how Amino Hasson was assassinated at All Star Weekend. Phoenix All Star Weekend next year I'm going on the record to say will be the best All Star weekend ever. We got the weather, we got the logistics. We got no traffic. We got the best airport in the country. No complaints. Other than what's gonna happen on the floor, who knows? New Year's resolution for everyone in the room right now. Zaz, Greg, Tony, Chris, Mike, Jeremy. If Dan starts a statement with forgive me, I need you to shrilly hit him back. I shall not forgive you. It's a crutch. Dan, we're helping you here.

[Stugats]

He's on our ticks. Hopefully he doesn't seize on help me understand.

[Greg Cody]

Chris. Paul. Way to waste everyone's time. Zaz losing his shirt gambling in Vegas. Were you hanging out with Beetle?

[Stugats]

No.

[Greg Cody]

Okay, because apparently there's a slot machine that just prints money, but I'm doing it wrong. Death, taxes, and Jerome Williams at an NBA All Star game. America's house guest. Listen to you guys talk about the NC State crowd chanting the F word. I didn't know which F word it was until Greg Cody. Wait, hold on. If you're 12 years old listening to the pod, please put on earmuffs. I didn't know which one it was until Greg Cody said, that's my first time ever hearing Greg cuss. Thank you, role model. Thank you, Amin. Highlight of my weekend. Explaining to someone in a crowded bar what All Star Weekend is, then having to explain what an All Star is. Good to see LA was really engaged with All Star Weekend. Death, taxes, and Dan poorly reciting the contents of audio, then calling for it to be played. We're trying to help you here, Dan. All constructive Adam Silver. Nobody does a press conference like him. Boy, he's like freaking Barry Sanders out there. I tried. I asked the question, Dan. He wriggled so easily, I felt stupid. He's good. All Star Weekend. Media dining. Hot dog and an empanada. The most unlikely appearings. Symbolism. Bring the country together. Hot dog and an empanada. No.

[Stugats]

Okay.

[Greg Cody]

New Year's resolution. No more door shenanigans for events. I have shenand enough in my life. I shall not shenanigan. Cinephobe episode 300 crossover starring Anthony Mackie, Wayne Brady and Eva Pickford. From America's Next Top Model. A movie that fundamentally has no grasp on how basketball, gambling, college admissions or commercials work. Cinephobe. Wherever you get. Podcasts. Damian Lillard beat everyone on one leg. Greatness. Speaking of greatness, the Internet somehow rediscovered my broken jumper video despite the fact that it was two years ago. I made a viral decontextualization infomercial that did numbers, sold hoodies that commemorated it, and it's been replayed on this show about 7 million times in the two years since it happened. Like it just happened right there. I can't wait for the Internet to get a hold of Ron Harper trying to make a layup in the year 2045. Speaking of viral decontextualization Shams. Victim of viral decontextualization. Everyone killing him. Oh, he sucks. Whatever. This is him during the breaks because Giannis was freezing him out the game. This dude's draining jumper after jumper. Giannis made it so he wouldn't get any Shots. I got your back, Shams. You're a shooter. Don't let the Internet take your viral moment and decontextualize it. Michael Jordan, victim of viral decontextualization. It was Ice. He's tugging the shirt. Stop running with the first salacious thing. You guys here on the Internet, the dunk contest. Not a victim of viral decontextualization. Put it down. At least for a couple years. Hey, Austin Rivers. I'm gonna wait for the screenshot to come up. Austin Rivers. This is in response to the video of me with the jump shot. Austin Justin Rivers, you also are not a victim of viral decontextualization. Your career was what it was, man. Your teammates felt how they felt about you. Your options around the league dried up and became what they became. And neither my failed jump shot nor a new CBA have anything to do with why your playing career ended. A lot of people may not care about my opinion, but I know you certainly do. I'm still waiting on that most improved player award you promised me you'd win back in Staples, what, five, six years ago?

[Stugats]

For those of you who do not have the video, Austin Rivers wrote of Amin, he's always been ass, and nobody's worried about his opinion anyways.

[Greg Cody]

There's one guy. You know what I believe? Nobody. There's one guy who's worried about my opinion. It's the guy who talked to me in a hallway and said, oh, why do you hate me?

[Dan Le Batard]

Is that your Austin river question?

[Stugats]

That sounded like an Austin Rivers impersonation.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah, I'm gonna just say this. I'll say this. I actually respected him for it. Because a lot of players, what they do is they woof, woof, woof, woof, woof. And then when you're there, they don't say shit. At least he came out to me and he said shit. But don't say my opinion. Doesn't matter. When you and multiple people surrounding you who I shall not name, but you know, who have con contacted me one way or another.

[Stugats]

Did Doc contact you? What would that have sounded like if he had contacted you?

[Greg Cody]

I'm not saying I don't have time. I don't have time. I, I, I don't care about its opinion. We're trying to win games. We got Cam Thomas. Hey, he's hell of a ball player.

[Stugats]

We got Cam Thomas is.

[Dan Le Batard]

Get out of here.

[Greg Cody]

Qui Leonard, world class Hooper. Qui Leonard, world class, low talker, dude. I stood right next to him, could not hear a word. I'm like, what is anyone Hearing this. One of the crazy things about All Star Weekend is running into the same YouTuber at a zillion events and having no idea who he was, only to later find out he's like the Michael Jackson level of fame on YouTube, not Drew Ski. But now I know how Dan feels. Dan, I got you. Now I know how that feels. Whenever. Oh, my God, it's gooby to gooey. I'm like, oh, okay. Dude, that guy had front row access to everything. Who was it? Amin, I think. I don't know. I swear to God, I'm not even trying to be coy. I don't know who he is. White kid about my height, foofy hair. That seems like all of them, though. So shout out to him. He was a nice guy. Shout out to Kyrie Irving. You're a real one, brother. See that? He wore the press shirt. Journalism matters. Not just here, globally, everyone. Speaking of journalism, headline in the Hollywood reporter, Shia LaBeouf's Marty Bro, Mardi Gras Barclaw quote, he's terrorizing the city.

[Stugats]

Yeah, this. I read about this. So he's fallen off the wagon, and he's showing up in places with no cash and no shirt, right? Yeah.

[Greg Cody]

Here we go, then. The mercurial actor, allegedly sober for years, has been letting loose for nearly a week in New Orleans in the lead up to Fat Tuesday. Eyewitnesses say he showed up at a bar, stands, shirt or cash, in an inebriated state and was, quote, somewhat belligerent. There's three types of people in this world. People who show up to the bar with a shirt on and people who don't. I show up with the shirt.

[Stugats]

And the third?

[Greg Cody]

Oh, there's people in the Epstein files. They're all going to hell. Speaking of hell, Art Briles. Those are the weekend observations. You saw the game winning play once.

[Dan Le Batard]

But have to replay it three times.

[Greg Cody]

On the way back to the hotel. Because some moments don't end at the buzzer. Life's a trip. Make the most of it at Best Western. Book, direct and [e-mail].

[Dan Le Batard]

Kraft Mac and cheese is better than 90s hip hop. We'll remind you of your childhood without making you feel incredibly old. Kraft Mac and Cheese. Best thing ever. Don Le Quiet man.

[Stugats]

Yes.

[Zaslow]

You know, I'm a married man. I don't cheat on my wife. Despite that gratuitous line in back in sts. I wish you were here. My wife. I really miss her. No, I don't. That's the thing about being married, you know, you're not allowed to say, I don't miss my wife. I've been gone two days. I haven't been gone long enough to miss my wife. I'm sorry. I call her. I'm on the phone with her. 30 seconds. You know, what am I. Hello? All right. All right, we'll see ya. All right. And then, you know, I'm gonna see her in two days. How's jumping, Charlie?

[Greg Cody]

Good.

[Dan Le Batard]

This is the Dan Levatar show with the stugats.

[Mike Ryan]

We have an update on the Shia LaBeouf rampage throughout New Orleans.

[Dan Le Batard]

Love this story.

[Mike Ryan]

He was arrested this morning.

[Greg Cody]

Oh, simple battery. Oh, no.

[Stugats]

I don't think that if we start studying that story, that that's going to end up being sad as hell. Funny. I think it's going to end up being a descent into some dark places.

[Greg Cody]

I think he's going in character, preparing for a role. That guy's a thespian, ladies and gentlemen. He'll find a way to connect with a character, even if it means putting his sobriety on the line.

[Stugats]

You have been someone who has publicly questioned Zaslow's movie taste. Zaslow has a top five for us for your insp. Top five Leonardo DiCaprio movies based on him watching this weekend, One battle after another. Tony's making a no face.

[Tony]

I was watching the first like 25, 30 minutes of it. I was like, meh. I think I'm good.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's why you're not movie guy.

[Mike Ryan]

Same here.

[Stugats]

I enjoyed it. I just heard Greg Cody's stomach. We get what you mean, Greg. This has been making an appearance in the last hour of the show, the last few shows. You can hear what's happening. You've got nothing but coffee in your belly, and I can hear it going. Groaning from your inside. I know we can. I. I'm pretty sure that they can.

[Jeremy]

Hear far from the mic.

[Greg Cody]

If.

[Stugats]

Yeah, if me and Zaslow can hear it over here, I'm guessing the microphone, which is much closer to you, is picking up your stomach.

[Dan Le Batard]

His stomach is closer to the mic than his mouth.

[Zaslow]

I hate to say it's dancing swords, though.

[Stugats]

I mean, it sounds like dancing. Do you have Oli or do you have.

[Dan Le Batard]

No, we got right to it here.

[Stugats]

Top five.

[Dan Le Batard]

We got right to it.

[Stugats]

How did you feel about one battle after another?

[Dan Le Batard]

I, I, I.

[Stugats]

It's.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's one of the best movies I've ever seen.

[Greg Cody]

Why don't we let.

[Jeremy]

Let's do top five and then talk about it?

[Stugats]

All right. Thank you, Chris. Good advice.

[Tony]

You're a sucker.

[Dan Le Batard]

Number five, the Departed.

[Stugats]

Crappy ending, padded.

[Dan Le Batard]

Now you gotta understand the way it did this. It's a balance of great movie and great Leo performance. Okay, number crappy ending, a rat running across.

[Mike Ryan]

Come on, Dan.

[Stugats]

A rat.

[Mike Ryan]

Imagine seeing that entire movie.

[Greg Cody]

I'm like, I'm with you, Dan.

[Mike Ryan]

The lack of subtlety there really undid the entire thing for me. How about you just ended before the rat crawls across the screen and be like, ah, that's one of the best movies ever.

[Stugats]

I would have. I would have said that if you hadn't ended it that way. You can't end. Remember the Titan with Sunshine Running an 80 year old reverse fool.

[Tony]

80 year old reverse.

[Greg Cody]

Wow.

[Stugats]

80 yard reverse.

[Dan Le Batard]

Number four, Shutter Island.

[Greg Cody]

Good movie.

[Stugats]

That's a stunner in the top five.

[Dan Le Batard]

Well, the ending is a. That. That's a twist right there. I love it.

[Greg Cody]

Nobody puts that in his top five.

[Stugats]

Nobody.

[Zaslow]

Nobody.

[Dan Le Batard]

Number three, Inception. You understood Inception, Dan, or did you have to watch it a few times?

[Stugats]

I mean, I understood it, but I feel confused. I didn't totally get it right there.

[Dan Le Batard]

You know, dream after dream after dream. Whatever. Number two, One battle after another, you're out to lunch. This was some movie. Somebody backed me up here. This was an incredible movie. I loved it. I can't wait to watch it again.

[Mike Ryan]

It was a good movie, but I don't think it cracks the top five. But hey, it hit with certain people.

[Stugats]

I would also say that DiCaprio was less good in that than Sean Penn was. Now maybe Sean Penn.

[Jeremy]

Unbelievable.

[Stugats]

Maybe Sean Penn had an easier character to portray. But it's rare that a movie gets stolen from DiCaprio.

[Dan Le Batard]

Unbelievable. You know about that? Reverse Weird.

[Greg Cody]

Whoa.

[Tony]

Didn't get that part. All I saw was horny Sean Penn at the base camp or whatever. And I was like, I think I'm good.

[Stugats]

Yeah, number one.

[Dan Le Batard]

Obviously, if you're doing a Leo top five, Wolf of Wall street comes in at number one. I mean, the movie's hilarious. The entire movie is laughing out loud and Margot Robbie is naked. What are we talking about here? Wolf of Wall street, number one.

[Stugats]

I mean, what is. What are your thoughts on this list?

[Greg Cody]

I'm sorry, I thought we were doing Leo DiCaprio's best roles, not Margot Robbie's Hot.

[Dan Le Batard]

I told you. It's a balance of movie and Leo's performance.

[Stugats]

So your top two. One of them is about a woman being nude, and the second one is Sean Penn was better than he was in it.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's a balance. Dan, what do you want to do? Not understand.

[Stugats]

Well, you're not a movie guy. I mean, has accused you of this. He has accused you of failing at movies. Your. Do you have any other thoughts here? Mean, before we let you go?

[Greg Cody]

I've got a list I just had. It just popped up right here. I don't know where it came from, but I got one.

[Stugats]

Okay, so you're gonna do your own top five.

[Greg Cody]

All right, sure, why not? I mean, it just had. I just had it lying around. Oli, catch me if you can. Great movie, great writing, great acting by him. He didn't have a. Have to have a whole lot of range in it, but he did a great job. Oli, don't look up.

[Stugats]

That's very high. Very high.

[Greg Cody]

Great performance and a great message in that movie Company Man. Oh, lie. The Revenant.

[Dan Le Batard]

That movie sucks.

[Stugats]

The bear was. He was amazing. The bear was the bigger star and then we put it on the Polo Avatar show. Bigger star in the revenant. DiCaprio or the bear.

[Greg Cody]

Also, Oli. Relax, guys. All right, Number five, Inception. I really believed he didn't know if he was going to see his kids again. That dude looked had the desperation of a guy who hadn't seen his kids in a long time. Number four, what's Eaten Gilbert Grape?

[Dan Le Batard]

Oh, very good.

[Greg Cody]

Very good, young DiCaprio.

[Dan Le Batard]

Very good.

[Greg Cody]

Look at this. This is when we realized this isn't a regular child actor. This is a guy who's got some chops.

[Stugats]

How did you feel about Leo playing basketball in Basketball Diaries? How poorly he played basketball. Do you have any objections? When a guy plays basketball poorly, does it affect your enjoyment of the movie?

[Greg Cody]

It does, but I'm happy to report that Leo apparently took it to heart because he's a much better basketball player now. He plays pick up ball in LA with a select group of people. And I've heard Leo. Not bad. Viral decontextualization don't do that to Leo. Number three, Wolf of Wall Street. That is right. It's a funny movie, but it's also a serious movie. It's a funny, serious movie. They did a great job of playing both of those things. And Margot Robbie's hot number two, Django Unchained. None of us had ever seen Leo as a villain and he played it to the hilt. I mean, look, I've never seen a racist character so racist that I was kind of actually like, yo, that guy's actually pretty good.

[Stugats]

I admire. I admire how well you're selling that you're a racist. I.

[Mike Ryan]

That's Sam Rockwell would Like a word.

[Stugats]

That is an act job.

[Greg Cody]

One of the great lines of that movie, when he talk about one of the slaves who is fighters called Eskimo Joe and Christoph Waltz says, why do they call him Eskimo Joe? And Leo, in the most dismissive, what an actual true racist slave owner would say, he said, who knows how these blanks get these. Maybe he caught a cold once and I was dying in the theater. Nobody else laughed at it. I was dying laughing. It is such an incredibly well written line. I don't know if noted, perhaps racist. Quentin Tarantino wrote it, or that's Leo's ad lib, but it was well delivered. He did an incredible job. Number one.

[Stugats]

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Noted, perhaps racist like that.

[Jeremy]

No, that's exactly. That's exactly what you should say. Noted, perhaps, solid couch.

[Greg Cody]

I like his movies.

[Stugats]

But wait, wait, wait. You're either a noted racist or you're not a noted racist. You're not a noted, perhaps racist.

[Greg Cody]

Well, tomato, tomato, Number one. Number one, Dan. Number one. The movie that he should have won best actor in, the movie that should have won best film. The movie that should have won best supporting actor for my man Daniel Day Lewis, it's gangs in New York. The Departed is nothing more than an apology because gangs in New York got snubbed. That movie was one of Scorsese's greatest movies ever. The Departed was hack color by numbers with a hack ending. Hey, I'm the leader of the mob. I'm gonna do all of these murders myself. And then when I get shot and I die, I'm gonna die like this.

[Stugats]

Spoiler alert.

[Greg Cody]

Come on, man.

[Stugats]

The Oscar. He's only won one Oscar, right? Just one. And. And I don't think anybody would, man. Very few people would have the Revenant as his number one.

[Mike Ryan]

It was a great performance. So he was. He was brilliant in the Aviator too. Probably should have gotten some acclaim for that. But the movie wasn't. Wasn't great. I'm a little disappointed. Like, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. It's so high on the rewatchable scale.

[Greg Cody]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Mike Ryan]

He deserves an Oli at the very least.

[Dan Le Batard]

You see that like a movie like Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. And I would even put Django up in Unchained there as well. I don't feel like DiCaprio is the star of those movies, so that's why they didn't make my top five.

[Mike Ryan]

I mean, those are two films that, you know, he's not probably the most remembered performer.

[Greg Cody]

Right.

[Mike Ryan]

Look. Clip. What Booth like, has a spin off for Netflix. Like, he's the one that has the star of that, but Rick Dalton's incredible in that. Like their chemistry. That is very much like two guys carrying a movie together, I think.

[Greg Cody]

Come on. Him snapping his finger, that's the most member remembered scene from the entire movie. Same thing with Django. Him kind of like the zoom in and he kind of smiles.

[Mike Ryan]

Very memeable. Like, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, he has two of those. He not just the finger point, but also the. The child telling him that was like superlative acting. And he was.

[Dan Le Batard]

He's the best. He is my favorite actor. He is the best.

[Tony]

I mean, switching gears really quick over to the NBA, did you see when JB put up the post of him? Basically the Celtics without Jason Tatum. And with Jason Tatum and they were kind of exactly the same numbers. Have you ever seen a co star do that to somebody who's coming off an injury? And can you tell me why the Celtics are just as good without Jason Tatum?

[Greg Cody]

Well, I'll say this, Tony, I think he's doing like a streamer thing. And apparently this is what they do. I think this is him trying to do his night job, essentially, which may not be the most helpful thing. But also, you know, he's got a point. For years he was saying about himself, I'm a number one player. And people are like, no, you're not. And it's like, well, maybe he is. So I think the Celtics have a great chance to go back to the finals this year, even if Tatum doesn't play a second. And I don't have a problem with him feeling that way. But perhaps not the best teammate. Move to post that online. And then what would you. What was your other question?

[Tony]

I don't know.

[Dan Le Batard]

I mean, I do have a question, though, since you were there in LA over the weekend. Like, do you have any info about what happened with Jalen Brown with this party in Beverly Hills? Because somebody's lying. Like, he see the Beverly Hills Police Department put out a statement and then Jaylen Brown completely refuted the statement. Like, somebody's lying here.

[Greg Cody]

Well, the one thing that's true is that they didn't have a permit. And Jaylen Brown is saying the owner of the house has held several events, including this, some this week without. Without having a permit. And so that's why, like, we didn't do anything wrong. The Beverly Hills Police Department saying they don't have a permit. That's why we shut it down. I don't know if There was a complaint. Jaylen Brown says there wasn't really noises like a panel. It wasn't like a party or anything. So I think the truth is probably somewhere in the middle where it's like, yeah, someone probably was like, I'm gonna mess rain on this guy's parade. How dare these people be here, or whatever. But also, they kind of got you if you don't have a permit. I would say that the owner of the house is probably most to blame more than anybody because he told Jaylen Brown, you're fine. You can do it here. And we don't need a permit on.

[Jeremy]

The Celtics, Jalen Brown playing this well, this team, to me, is as good as any in the East. Like, has an opportunity to win the Eastern Conference as presently constructed. A little worried when Jason Tatum comes back, it's going to ruin everything. That their chemistry is so good right now that there are a whole bunch of guys that he's never played with on this.

[Tony]

This is the opposite of what the take you had when Tyler Hero was supposed to come back in and be just another perfect piece of the puzzle.

[Jeremy]

No, see, that's a different thing. He could be a complimentary player. Jayson Tatum wants to be the guy Jaylen Brown wants to be. The Jalen Brown clearly has a wide receiver personality. Like, this is a guy with it with. With a level of an ego who wants to be the man, has been the man. A top five MVP candidate this season. And I'm just saying there's a chance that everything that's rolling right could potentially get pushed off track for a little bit.

[Greg Cody]

Jeremy, you think Jason Tatum is going to return less than 12 months after an Achilles injury and say, pass me to rock. I need my 25 shots. He's not going to play like that. They're not going to put him in that position. Even if he came in like that, Joe Missoula or Brad Stevens are going to let him know, like, yo, you come along slow, you'll probably come off the bench. We'll use you in spurts. Because, again, the idea is that this Guy is owed $300 million to be a great Celtic for a long time. Not to go balls to the wall early off of an Achilles injury. That doesn't even make any sense.

[Stugats]

Why are the balls to the wall?

[Greg Cody]

That's how you know you're really trying hard. Balls up against the wall.

[Mike Ryan]

Hey, everybody, it's Mike Ryan. Now, if you've been following the show, you know, I've been traveling, been super busy, been supporting my favorite football team with mixed results, right? Not the greatest hang so far in 2026. I try to find every excuse in the book. I had one buddy that was trying to invite me out. I wanted to stay in. He's like, come on, let's watch this NBA game. So I go over to his house, I watch this NBA game, and guess what? Something amazing happened. And he pulled out the Miller Lights. And I knew right away I made the right call. Next thing you know, we're toasting, we're celebrating, we're having a great time. We're talking about nostalgia, we're talking about old friends that we had. And it was all thanks to Miller Lite, that icebreaker. Because when you actually say yes and you actually show up, you want a beer that fits the moment. For me, that's Miller Lite. Legendary moments. Start with 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.