Hour 2: The Shit-ification of America Continues

Summary

The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz Episode: Hour 2 - The Shit-ification of America Continues Release Date: March 12, 2025

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1. Introduction and Entertainment Spotlight

The episode kicks off with Stugotz (00:12) introducing the Hulu series Deli Boys, a comedic take on two brothers discovering their late father's hidden life as a drug kingpin. He humorously summarizes the plot:

“Deli Boys is now streaming on Hulu.” (00:21)

This segment sets a light-hearted tone before delving into more serious discussions.

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2. Sports Betting Analysis: ACC Basketball Tournament

Dan Le Batard (01:03) transitions into the world of sports betting with Billy Gill, discussing the ACC basketball tournament. Highlighting Notre Dame's surprising progression to the second round, Le Batard notes their underwhelming performance:

“They are a ten and a half point dog against North Carolina.” (02:14)

Stugotz (02:19) backs Dan's take, confidently predicting:

“I'm gonna say that they're gonna cover ride the Ducks.” (03:27)

This segment blends insightful analysis with the show's signature humor, emphasizing their confidence in the Taylor's Tar Heels.

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3. Hockey Focus: Anaheim Ducks vs. Utah Hockey Club

The conversation shifts to hockey as Stugotz (02:19) provides a detailed analysis of the Anaheim Ducks' performance against the Utah Hockey Club. He explains the Ducks' strategy and history against Utah:

“Either way, 54 is only a 1 goal difference.” (02:21)

He predicts that despite the Ducks' mediocre record, they will cover the spread:

“They're gonna cover ride the Ducks.” (03:27)

This segment showcases the hosts' deep dive into specific sports strategies and outcomes.

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4. March Madness Tournament and Fan Engagement

Stugotz (04:56) discusses the upcoming March Madness tournament, inviting fans to participate by submitting videos explaining why they should watch games with Dan or why they're the biggest fans. He emphasizes the importance of authenticity and creativity in submissions:

“Be funny, be less.” (05:53)

“Be yourself because there's a lot of... you're just talking about whatever you want.” (06:00)

This interactive segment highlights the show's commitment to engaging with its audience creatively.

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5. Airline Industry Critique: The Decline of Southwest Airlines

A significant portion of the episode critiques the transformation of Southwest Airlines from a budget-friendly carrier to a more conventional, fee-laden airline. Chris Cote (15:58) provides a case study on Southwest, outlining the factors that once made it a favorite:

“Number one, they don't have unions. Number two, they have the same aircraft.” (15:58)

Dan Le Batard (12:57) laments the loss of perks like free bag checks, reflecting on personal experiences with Southwest's affordability and flexibility:

“Now it costs a ton of money and you got to pay for bags, apparently.” (15:18)

The hosts discuss how Southwest's competitive edge has eroded due to rising fuel prices and changing consumer expectations, questioning the airline's future viability.

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6. Tiger Woods' Achilles Tear and Its Implications

The episode delves into the unfortunate news of Tiger Woods suffering a ruptured Achilles (29:40). Mike Ryan (30:33) expresses concern over Tiger's ability to return to competitive golf, considering his age and the severity of the injury:

“This has been the bad driver story of his.” (33:37)

Chris Cote (33:01) humorously speculates on Tiger's potential future, intertwining the conversation with jokes about giving Tiger's son, Charlie Woods, an animal nickname to boost his own profile:

“We should give him an animal name.” (35:34)

The discussion highlights the broader theme of aging athletes grappling with physical setbacks and the pressure to maintain their legacy.

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7. Humorous Banter and Light-Hearted Moments

Throughout the episode, the hosts engage in playful banter, particularly around naming conventions and humorous misunderstandings. Notable exchanges include debates over animal names for sports figures and exaggerated tales of trying to keep up with the show's fast-paced humor.

For example, Chris Cote and Stugotz (32:33) joke about renaming Tiger Woods' son:

“Channing Junior cheeseburger.” (12:09)

“Zebra Woods.” (39:06)

These moments inject levity into the show, balancing the more serious discussions with laughter and camaraderie.

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8. Audience Engagement and Interactive Segments

The show consistently invites audience participation, especially through fan submissions for tournaments and polls. Stugotz (08:33) encourages listeners to submit videos showcasing their enthusiasm, emphasizing the importance of being genuine and concise:

“Be 30 seconds or less.” (05:57)

This emphasis on interactivity fosters a strong connection between the hosts and their audience, making listeners feel integral to the show's dynamic.

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9. Conclusion

The episode wraps up with reflections on the discussed topics, particularly the state of consumer-friendly businesses like Southwest Airlines and the resilience of aging sports legends like Tiger Woods. Dan Le Batard (39:54) contemplates the end of eras in sports, tying back to the episode's overarching theme of America's "Shit-ification."

“The thing is now I believe this is going to lead to a lot of fraud in these videos.” (08:18)

This concluding thought ties together the show's critique of societal changes with personal anecdotes and industry analyses.

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Notable Quotes:

• Stugotz (02:19): “I'm gonna say that they're gonna cover ride the Ducks.”
• Chris Cote (15:58): “Number one, they don't have unions. Number two, they have the same aircraft.”
• Dan Le Batard (12:57): “Now it costs a ton of money and you got to pay for bags, apparently.”
• Mike Ryan (33:37): “This has been the bad driver story of his.”

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Final Thoughts

In "Hour 2: The Shit-ification of America Continues," Dan Le Batard and Stugotz, alongside their co-hosts, navigate a diverse array of topics ranging from sports betting and hockey analyses to critical examinations of major airlines and impactful athlete injuries. The blend of in-depth discussions, humor, and audience engagement creates a compelling and multifaceted episode that resonates with both avid listeners and newcomers alike.

Transcript

[Dan Le Batard]

You're listening to Giraffe Kings Network.

[Stugotz]

Okay, check this. Deli boy's on Hulu. Two brothers, Raj and Mir, are living the high life, not a care in the world. When their old man dies, it all vanishes.

[Chris Cote]

Poof.

[Stugotz]

And they find out he didn't just own a deli, but he was a drug kingpin. And they're like, what the. Throw in their ruthless aunt? Some guys who want to kill them. And keeping Dad's drug business going sounds amazing, right? Deli Boys is now streaming on Hulu.

[Walmart Announcer]

The kids are still at practice, and I have no idea what's for dinner. You can get a rotisserie chicken and two sides for just $15 in as fast as an hour with Walmart Express Delivery. Who said that? Who's in my house? Don't play with me. Cause I'm not the one. It's just your friendly Walmart announcer. This is a commercial.

[Dan Le Batard]

Oh, okay. You were saying dinner for a family was just $15.

[Walmart Announcer]

Yep. It'll be at your door by the time you get the kids home from practice. Order now. Welcome to your Walmart. Subject to availability restrictions and fees apply.

[Dan Le Batard]

Now that was a helpful commercial.

[Don Le Batard]

This is the Dan Levator show with the Stugats podc.

[Billy Gill]

It's time for against the Spread, and it is brought to you by our friends at DraftKings. DraftKings. The Crown is yours. Jess, what do we got?

[Dan Le Batard]

Well, well, well. It's college men's ACC basketball tournament time, and somehow Notre Dame has gone on to the second round. They're playing North Carolina today. I don't watch a lot of men's college hoops, but I do watch Notre Dame, and they are not very good. They got away with 1Y in the first round against Pitt. A controversial foul call at the end of the game. And so they are a ten and a half point dog against North Carolina. Taylor's Tar Heels. So I'm taking Taylor's Tar Heels to.

[Stugotz]

Cover that against the Spread.

[Billy Gill]

Billy, bring us home.

[Stugotz]

I'm gonna head onto the ice since my team, the Anaheim Ducks. Wow. They haven't. They don't have the best record. They only have 63 points in the Western Conference. But they're taking on the Utah Hockey Club just ahead of them in the standing with 67 points. Now, here's the thing. We're 3.0when we take the Ducks in against the spread, not because they've won all those games, but because they've covered. And in hockey, essentially every game is a one and a half point or goal spread. Right now, how have they done against each other head to head? Great question. They have played two times this year. October 16th and December 22nd. Both times the Anaheim Ducks came out victorious by escape of 54 in October was in overtime. In December, it was a shootout that decided the game. Either way, 54 is only a 1 goal difference. And here games in Utah, Utah Hockey club is favored by one and a half goals. They haven't beat the Ducks yet this year. In the last five, both teams are two and three. You know what? I'm not gonna say that the Ducks are gonna win, but I am gonna say that they're gonna cover ride the Ducks. You know what we say here at against the spread.

[Chris Cote]

Against the spread.

[Stugotz]

Ducks fly together.

[Billy Gill]

Whoo.

[Stugotz]

Against a spread.

[Chris Cote]

The quack attack is back.

[Mike Ryan]

Jack College hoops. We are doing a Sunday live stream. We should not be.

[Chris Cote]

Why not?

[Mike Ryan]

Because I believe it's the least informed college basketball selection show that there has ever been.

[Billy Gill]

That's why you tune in because we're going to be having fun.

[Chris Cote]

Wait, is Stugot going to be here for it? I don't know.

[Mike Ryan]

I don't know.

[Chris Cote]

It can't be the least.

[Mike Ryan]

It's a. It's a good question. But on Sunday, we are doing a livestream during selection Sunday and we're gonna have an assortment of surprises for you. I'm also gonna be surprised by them because I was dragged into this because I'm pretty sure Billy's just trying to agitate me by giving me away as a reward at the end of our own March Madness March Sadness tournament, which over the years has been deteriorating.

[Stugotz]

Well, I mean, because of your attitude, I would say you're setting this up like this is terrible. If we were to embrace this as you know, we could as a show, this would be great. I would. I would advise people to go to levitard af.com if you want to be part of this year's tournament. I went through late night yesterday. I was watching the videos and I kind of was viewing it as though I was conducting job interviews while I was watching these videos. And it was really giving me a glimpse into who I would hire at certain positions. And I don't know if you guys would agree with my hires, but I was on the hiring committee last night. And I will say this. We got some options here.

[Chris Cote]

Wow.

[Stugotz]

Okay. So if I were you guys, I would get in because I will. I will tell you this, and I don't want to create any urgency here, but we're going to be ranking these People the next, I'd say two days. So if you want to get in, I think today is kind of right around the last opportunity you're going to have. Unless you want to do tomorrow. And then maybe we'll check it tomorrow. But we're starting to rank these teams and lo and behold, we have surpassed the 64 entrance that I was, I was hoping that we would get. So we're gonna, we're gonna be eliminating people right now. I got two folders. You're gonna want to be in one of the two folders. The two folder options right now are approved and the other option is reviewed. Not approved. That's the folder you want to avoid. Don't want to be in that one. So come in, send a video, levitard af, submit and tell us why you, you should be watching the game with Dan or why you're the biggest fan or really whatever you want. Because I've, I've learned in watching these videos, some of you are not sticking to a script whatsoever. You're just talking about whatever you want are the rules.

[Billy Gill]

Be funny, be less.

[Stugotz]

Be 30 seconds or less. Like really is the most important rule.

[Billy Gill]

You funny is your best way on Be you.

[Stugotz]

I would say be you because there's a lot of. If I'm going to tell you University, really, don't, don't.

[Chris Cote]

I'm going to say this right. Don't be you.

[Stugotz]

No, no, be you. Because I can tell you right now, the reviewed not approved folder filled with some funny guys that were not very funny. So if you're trying to be a funny guy, I'm not sure how you're gonna do on this job interview. So if you want, I would even say if you're taking this seriously, like a job interview, maybe you wear a suit, maybe a dress to impress, maybe a dress for the job that you try.

[Mike Ryan]

Try. In other words, not try.

[Stugotz]

Don't be yourself.

[Dan Le Batard]

Don't try.

[Stugotz]

How about this?

[Dan Le Batard]

You're funny. And then be yourself.

[Stugotz]

Here, here's the best advice I can give you. Try to be yourself or the version of yourself that you think I would pass through to the next round, whatever that means in 30 seconds or less.

[Chris Cote]

Billy, I would pay money to commission a Pretty Woman style montage of you watching these videos and shaking your head no, no, no, no, no.

[Stugotz]

It's very sad. I was, I had all the lights out because it was after bedtime in my house and, you know, light gets through the cracks of the door, so I was literally just sitting in the dark.

[Billy Gill]

It was after ice Cream time.

[Stugotz]

Dude. It was like 8:40. It was a late night. It was a late night.

[Chris Cote]

Do you have Jon Gruden closet with like mounds of tapes and then just screens and you're watching?

[Stugotz]

No, I have an office that I could have done it in but I decided I'm gonna do this on the couch. But again, it was pitch black and the only light was coming from my laptop last night while I was watching these videos. It was, it was very sad, if I'm gonna be honest with you. It was very sad night.

[Mike Ryan]

It feels a little sad, you hiding under the covers.

[Stugotz]

We put the sad and sadness last night in the Gil household. Yeah.

[Mike Ryan]

All right. So Billy Gill is working hard on a tournament. The big reward at the end is you get to watch the game with me. I don't even want the obligation of having the game with somebody.

[Stugotz]

Can I, can I tell you something? And I'm gonna break the fourth wall here and I, I shouldn't, but.

[Mike Ryan]

Well, don't dance.

[Dan Le Batard]

No, I want to hear it.

[Stugotz]

I just want you guys to be in the process. So I was doing this and the thing is now I believe this is going to lead to a lot of fraud in these videos. One of the people that I passed through was submitting a video from Alaska and very clearly from Alaska, outside in the glaciers, drinking coffee, making his pitch as to why he would.

[Billy Gill]

That's a good start. Yeah, start.

[Stugotz]

I honestly thought I'm going to pass this through and leave the fate of this person up to the fans just because I want to see logistically how we're going to arrange to get someone here from Alaska. He was, he was on the fence. And I said, you know what?

[Dan Le Batard]

Oh, we didn't promise like first class tickets.

[Stugotz]

Well, no, no, no. Greyhound, dude, A greyhound.

[Chris Cote]

You got to leave now.

[Stugotz]

Yeah.

[Dan Le Batard]

Anyways, a 30 day cruise heading out.

[Stugotz]

Levitar af.com if you want to submit a video here, you know, join us for the fun.

[Chris Cote]

I'm here for this guy doing the. What is it? St. Peter's run to the final four. Just solely based on. You're in the middle of nowhere.

[Mike Ryan]

I've just noticed Billy a couple of times while promoting this that one of the things he keeps doing is, well, the fans can vote for whatever it is that they want.

[Stugotz]

Yeah, it's a fan voting thing.

[Mike Ryan]

So you can vote for somebody that you'd simply find funny sitting next to Dan for an entire game.

[Chris Cote]

Oh, wow.

[Stugotz]

It's up to the fans. This is democracy.

[Dan Le Batard]

That would be the best outcome.

[Mike Ryan]

This is what he's Trying to do pro democracy.

[Stugotz]

I'm not gonna apologize for that, Billy.

[Chris Cote]

I'm gonna apologize to you. You're right. Be yourself. Because if I know how the depths of the weirdness of our fan base goes, I want the weirdest.

[Stugotz]

I'll tell you this, next to Dan, we have a type. We definitely have a type, dude.

[Dan Le Batard]

I mean, steak sauce isn't gonna win.

[Stugotz]

I haven't seen steak sauce yet. I don't think.

[Mike Ryan]

Great, more steak sauce talk.

[Stugotz]

Set this up.

[Mike Ryan]

I always love when that happens. Can we do stat of the day, please?

[Don Le Batard]

Start of the day, start of the day. It is the start of the day. Start of the day it is the start of the day. Start of the day, Start of the day it is the start of the day. Start of the day. Start of the day. It is the start of the day.

[Chris Cote]

Dan with the Cavs come from behind victory last night against the Brooklyn Nets. They have now won 15 games in a row for the second time in. Excuse me, for the second time this season in NBA history, only five other teams have done that. Won 15 plus games in a row twice in the same season. The last team to do it was the 2006, 2007 Phoenix Suns where I was employed.

[Mike Ryan]

Wow. A self involved stat of the day. You did that just to celebrate you. They've had three 12 game winning streaks, which suggests that they.

[Billy Gill]

What did that team win?

[Chris Cote]

I mean, 61 games.

[Billy Gill]

Yeah, but what else?

[Chris Cote]

Cute. Oh, we won. David Stern's asshole interpretation of what coming off the bench for a fight means.

[Billy Gill]

That year, that was.

[Chris Cote]

That year.

[Mike Ryan]

That was the best. That's the best Phoenix Suns team there's ever been. Better than the Barkley team. There's a Suns team that made the final.

[Chris Cote]

Yeah, there's two Suns teams that made the finals. The Devin Booker, Chris Paul team most recently and then the Barkley and 93 team. And it's funny on Oddball, which you can check out Monday through Thursday on DraftKings Network. Me and Izzy, we interviewed Channing Fry yesterday, asking him about questions about the Suns. Excuse me, about the Cavs. Put him under the spotlight, right? For him to defend the Cavs. And he said all these platitudes and he thinks this team's going to win the championship. And I mean, he just kept praising and praising how, like this is unprecedented, what they're doing. And then I asked him, so if they played the 2016 Cavs, they'd beat you guys, right? And he's like, oh, hell no. Right. And so that's what I feel like When I talk about, like, those Suns teams, a lot of. I think that was the sun's the best Suns team ever. But I'm pretty sure if we asked Charles, he'd tell us that he'd stomp us.

[Billy Gill]

You just opened up a door for another game. Channing Frosty. Channing.

[Greg Cody]

Channing side salad.

[Chris Cote]

Channing Junior cheeseburger.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's what I said. Channing McMuffin.

[Billy Gill]

Channing Junior Channing Junior.

[Chris Cote]

Channing Nuggets. What are the nuggets called?

[Dan Le Batard]

Channing Happy Meal.

[Chris Cote]

Well, now you guys are going cross brands.

[Stugotz]

Channing Con Leche.

[Chris Cote]

Oh, you got another one.

[Dan Le Batard]

Channing Bacon.

[Chris Cote]

Oh, Channing Bacon. There you go.

[Billy Gill]

Doesn't ring, doesn't flow.

[Dan Le Batard]

No, it's heaven or fry.

[Stugotz]

Yeah.

[Mike Ryan]

Did I hear Jessica threatening Southwest Airlines earlier?

[Dan Le Batard]

I mean, God, it is just the shit. Ification of America continues. Private equity taking our precious consumer friendly brands and companies and then making them just like every other company that is extracting every last penny from the consumer. They are getting rid of their free bag check policy. One of the only reasons you would ever fly on Southwest.

[Billy Gill]

Also two reasons. I like a line. I like getting in line. Like, what am I? I'm 17. All right, I'll stand right here.

[Chris Cote]

You like the open seating?

[Billy Gill]

17? I'm 6. Oh, which number are you? What number are you? You're 12 or you're supposed to be up there. What are you doing back here? Get up there. You guys don't do this.

[Mike Ryan]

You like this.

[Billy Gill]

I do like it. Like the whole, like, the moment of what number are you? And you have to ask people, I'm six. Sorry, I'm up here.

[Chris Cote]

Do you. You follow that rule? You strike me as someone is like.

[Billy Gill]

I don't like it one through 30.

[Chris Cote]

And you're like, I'm B60.

[Billy Gill]

But I don't like it when somebody's not.

[Dan Le Batard]

You're no Chris. You're a floater for sure. You're kind of hovering around the middle point where you know, you're exactly where my number is.

[Billy Gill]

I'm. I'm seven. I am like, oh, this is five and ten. I am standing right in the middle, right where seven would be.

[Dan Le Batard]

Respectfully, I don't believe you.

[Chris Cote]

Respectfully, I'm telling you, it's Southwest. Get them chickens out. Get them chickens.

[Don Le Batard]

Yo, chicken thigh.

[Chris Cote]

Let me go to business.

[Billy Gill]

Only I do pull my shopping cart away. I put my shopping cart away.

[Dan Le Batard]

No, you don't.

[Chris Cote]

I don't like this new development of one chicken coming in in the defense, right? They're the fraud Chickens. There's no. There's no public defender chicken in there.

[Mike Ryan]

The chickens used to be undefeated, but then they. I think they got beat the other day by Taylor, and it was the first time the chickens have ever been beaten and they've never. And they haven't been the same since.

[Chris Cote]

I would say Taylor, that's an upset that would shake any franchise.

[Mike Ryan]

There was something. I think that's what happened. The chickens used to be undefeated, and then, very quiet. The chickens took a loss out of nowhere.

[Chris Cote]

And some might say they came home to roost. Hmm.

[Stugotz]

Yeah.

[Dan Le Batard]

Anyways, Southwest used to be the budget airline where you want to get away. It costs $80 to fly from Midway to Phoenix sky harbor. And you get two free bags, and you don't have a seat. You probably sit in the middle somewhere in the back because you forgot to check in 24 hours ahead or you remembered. But there were so many people that paid for the early bird check in that you were still in B35 anyways.

[Chris Cote]

Bastards.

[Dan Le Batard]

Now it costs a ton of money and you got to pay for bags, apparently. Why would you ever fly Southwest?

[Chris Cote]

And they're going to do assigned seating, too.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's just a regular airline now. But they're just all the same aircraft. Okay. And like, their system is also still ancient because they had that huge outage a couple years ago because there was a snowstorm, and they do a different thing than every other airline, and they go from city to city to city instead of having, like, these major hubs or some. I remember reading some dark rap deep rabbit hole about Southwest and why they couldn't recover from this big snowstorm. So I assuming they haven't updated that yet. Maybe they have. It's just like, why would you do this?

[Chris Cote]

You guys ever learn something in school and then think, when am I ever going to use this? And then like, decades later, it's like.

[Dan Le Batard]

Oh, my God, Yes, Literally everything I learned about the Cold War. But go on.

[Chris Cote]

All right, so I did a case study on Southwest when I was in business school. Right. And so their whole thing was based on two things, right? Or three things. Number one, they don't have unions. Right. Number two, they have the same aircraft. As Jessica said, every single plane in the fleet is a 737. Why is that? So that way, if anything goes wrong, they can just slide another plane over if there's a part. Every single Southwest hub has that part because it's all the same plane. And then number three, at the time, this was. Right. This has been right before the Housing crash, right around time, the housing crash, they had shorted. They locked in on the gas prices. So when oil prices spiked for everybody, they stayed low. That's how they had the low fares. Now, in time, that ran out, right? And so the oil prices start going up, fuel prices started going up, and so their fares started going up. But they still were able to get around it, like I said, because of lack of unions and because of this ability to mix and match around. But what's happened, and particularly since COVID is the traveler has become, quote, unquote, more sophisticated. The CEO of Southwest talked about this. People want perks like an upgrade to first class, which obviously Southwest doesn't have. People want the ability to choose their seat because of what Jessica described. No one wants to pay. If I'm paying the same fare on a Southwest flight as I would a United and American flight, and I have to risk Maybe sitting in 32B, not so much. Not such a great proposition. And so what happened was they had an advantage early on, but their advantages are running out. So even now, as they're rolling out new 737s, those 737s are still less advanced than the equivalent from American and Delta and the other planes. So basically, for the same fare, I'm not getting quite the same experience. And that's why.

[Mike Ryan]

So Jessica's out, you're out. This is the last straw for you. Once you've charged me for my bags, that's it. Southwest, your days are numbered. What's the nature of the threat?

[Dan Le Batard]

Yes, it costs now probably the same as any other airline if you have to fly with multiple bags. It used to be like you bring a big suitcase and your golf clubs and they both be free. That costs like $80 on United or American.

[Chris Cote]

You want me to hit you with some. Unless you have status, some more hard facts here. You know, the wanna get away fair that everyone loves the $80 from Midway to Phoenix. Now they're gonna. There used to be no change fees, right? And same day flight change, they got rid of those.

[Dan Le Batard]

What? Okay, so like my all of college, I used to go to as many away Notre Dame games as I could go to. And I would do it super cheap. I would drive to Midway from South Bend, fly on like a 60 flight. I'd book like the 10:30pm flight on Southwest and accrued all these miles and you could change it at the last minute. And if something comes up that's cheaper, you can keep the difference. And like there's a credit, whatever. Like, it was super cheap to fly anywhere domestically, especially if you went out of, like, small or shitty air.

[Chris Cote]

Like, that's where they used to fly in. Yes, that was airports. One of the things they used to keep the prices low. They flew into the unpopular airports.

[Stugotz]

They.

[Chris Cote]

I remember when they didn't go to LaGuardia or JFK, you had to fly into Long Island. Islip.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yes, right.

[Chris Cote]

Yes, I remember when they didn't fly into. I don't think they flew into O'Hare. They were just Midway.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, they just started flying out of O'Hare, I think, in the last, like, two years.

[Chris Cote]

Fort Worth? No. Dallas. Love Field.

[Mike Ryan]

Yes.

[Chris Cote]

Right. So that was their whole thing. And all of those things slowly but surely have fallen by the wayside because guess what? No one wants to fly into Islam.

[Stugotz]

Okay, check this. Deli Boys on Hulu. Two brothers, Raj and Mir, are living the high life, not a care in the world. When their old man dies, it all vanishes.

[Chris Cote]

Poof.

[Stugotz]

And they find out he didn't just own a deli, but he was a drug kingpin. And they're like, what the. Throw in their ruthless aunt, some guys who want to kill them. And keeping Dad's drug business going sounds amazing, right? Deli Boys is now streaming on Hulu.

[Dan Le Batard]

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[Don Le Batard]

Don LeBatard.

[Dan Le Batard]

Mr. Mr.

[Mike Ryan]

Shirt.

[Dan Le Batard]

If I may say for a second, Miami. They were simulating the snap count the entire game and they were clapping at the line of scrimmage. And the only thing I want to see clapping are are them cheeks on Mrs. Met in my face. Max Shirt. All right, so that's one thing st. They're a bunch of cheaters, Dan. And you know who should be cheating? Mrs. Met on Mr. Met. And he can watch if he wants.

[Don Le Batard]

This is the Dan lebatar show with the stun.

[Mike Ryan]

What did you do on Southwest? Like, what does it think? But why were you doing a case study on Southwest? Southwest Airlines. Can you guys look up something for me? My understanding is the original premise for Federal Express was submitted as a thesis in college and got a C minus. As a business that would never be able to function. Federal Express, why is it or how is it that you came to be doing a case study on Southwest?

[Chris Cote]

You've never sounded older than calling FedEx Federal Express.

[Mike Ryan]

I'm sorry.

[Dan Le Batard]

We forgive you. Yeah, that's okay. That's an okay thing to.

[Mike Ryan]

Thank you.

[Dan Le Batard]

Okay. Mistake.

[Chris Cote]

We accept your point.

[Mike Ryan]

The young people accept this. How did you mean that?

[Billy Gill]

I'm not gonna lie. I was like, what the hell is he talking about? And then I just like, oh, Dan.

[Chris Cote]

When you're in business school, it's basically just case studies. They take businesses that are successful, some businesses that aren't successful, and you do a whole, like, deep dive into what made them great or what made them not great.

[Mike Ryan]

Well, let me ask you this question as someone who cares about the business of basketball. Did you see what Brian Phillips wrot? I think he wrote this for the Ringer. It was a story about how it is our consuming habits have changed, specifically as it relates to sports and basketball. And when we talk about ratings around here, and I generally hate ratings talk as emblematic of anything but ratings talk when it's paired with the changing habits of viewers in basketball who are basically not just basketball, but we are many people consuming sports through tweets, through data points, through clicks, through clips, through reels, through highlights, not necessarily games. And I'm not sure that's bad. As long as the economy of interest gets fed, I don't think it matters that our habits are changing so much that we are often consuming sports. Many people, without watching the games, they're just getting Cliff Notes.

[Chris Cote]

Dan. It's awful for one simple reason. And this all goes back to the NBA issue with the ratings, which is we can't monetize that, or at least not to the scale that we can monetize TV ratings. And so while Brian Phillips wrote this wonderful piece, it's pretty much echoing something that I said, I think on this show maybe three years ago where I told the story of. We had a caller call in. I was doing my SiriusXM NBA radio show. Caller calls in and he says, I listen to SiriusXMXM NBA radio every single day. I follow all the newsbreakers. Brian Winhurst, Chris Haynes, Mark Stein, all the guys, right? I'm reading all the opinion pieces and then the deep data analysis from Kevin Arnovitz and from Tom Habestrow and Zach Lowe. Every day I open up YouTube and I watch the game shorts and stuff. I'm on Instagram, I'm watching all the highlights. He's like, this is someone. I said, this is the perfect customer. He touches our product on every level. And then he said, I haven't watched a game in two years. So the number one way we make money, the number one place we make money, that guy does not consume there. But all the free samples at the mall that we give out, the Costco samples, pretty much, he's devouring them. He's going to Costco every day. He's getting all the free samples, but he's not actually buying anything in this analogy.

[Mike Ryan]

And so it doesn't matter, though. Television's paying for the games. It doesn't matter whether that person is consuming the games the way you want them to, like their dollars eventually, but you get their dollars. If we're doing a spectrum of he's. That person isn't the norm. That person is one of the changing ways of how it is that we consume this stuff. As long as you have both, as long as you have television paying for that product and you have the interest over here, what difference does it make?

[Chris Cote]

So that was the prevailing theory over the last maybe eight, 10 years, right. But then we got our first kind of like crack in the permafrost, if you will. And that's David Zaslav, the CEO of Warner Brothers Discovery, saying, why do we need to play for the NBA? That's a lot of money. We could take that money and spend it on other things.

[Mike Ryan]

He recently defended that decision, incidentally. Recently said, that was good. He said, we've gone into other sports and we've saved money over there and.

[Chris Cote]

The shares have gone up, like, at least in the short term. Right now.

[Dan Le Batard]

I wouldn't look now.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah. Now is not a brutal week.

[Stugotz]

Don't look now.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah.

[Greg Cody]

At Yale in 1965, Frederick Smith wrote a paper in which he outlined that there would be hubs and spokes that would help create something that eventually would be FedEx. He started it in 1971 after serving four years in the Marine Corps in Vietnam. He fed into the story that this paper received to see, but in fact, there's no way to verify it. He later, in a 2002 interview, said that he doesn't really remember what grade that he got. So for 40 years, this story perpetuated and continues to this day. Dan, 20 years after he clarified that was back in 1965.

[Dan Le Batard]

And now his son is the offensive coordinator for the Steelers.

[Chris Cote]

Sunrise, Sunset.

[Mike Ryan]

Mad Dog looks smoldering on first take. He's going silver fox. He's going a lot of gray stubble. And this is the best that he's ever looked on television.

[Stugotz]

Good look, Dan.

[Mike Ryan]

Yes. Mad Dog has totally reinvented himself and has become a juggernaut here in the modern age.

[Chris Cote]

Isn't it amazing? In the history of mankind, we went from a time where beards are cool, and then all of a sudden, beards aren't cool. And then beards are cool and the beards aren't cool, and now beards are cool again.

[Mike Ryan]

Are they? Put it on the poll at Lebatard show. Are beards cool again? Yes or no?

[Chris Cote]

Look at how many people have beards like Mad Dog. Would never have had a beard 10 years ago.

[Dan Le Batard]

I think they're widely accepted in professional settings now, where maybe 20 years ago you had to. You know, even the Yankees changed their.

[Chris Cote]

Facial hair because of date events.

[Mike Ryan]

Do you guys have any reaction? We're late in the show today. And yesterday, I'm not going to say that anything around Tiger woods happens quietly, but Tiger woods ruptured his Achilles. Tiger woods has not been golf relevant in a long time, although he is still obviously very famous. And the resume is something that's going to endure. He will draw crowds wherever he goes for the remainder of his life. But to hear Achilles tear and then to hear him say, it went well, I'll be back soon. I just thought to myself, no, that's all over. Like, everything there is over. Once we've gotten to the Achilles portion of I've had bad back and everything else, doesn't that just signal that that's the end of everything going on? Well, with his body?

[Chris Cote]

No, Dan, because you gotta understand. Tiger woods now has a blueprint he's got to follow. It's LeBron and Bronny. And now he's got his own little Bronny. And he's got to play on the Tour at the same time as Bronny. And that's what the new thing is. Now, everyone, every great athlete you see now, their new mission is to do it long enough for their protege. Or not their protege, their prodigy. Progeny. Progeny. That's the word I'm looking for. Their progeny to compete with them at the same time. That's the ultimate flex, right? It's like, how great am I? Yeah. That thing that came out of my ball sack, like, 15, 18 years ago, now it's doing the same thing I'm doing.

[Stugotz]

I don't know that he'd phrase it that.

[Chris Cote]

That's how he phrased it.

[Dan Le Batard]

I mean, it really didn't come out of.

[Chris Cote]

It came out of his ball sack directly. Well, it took a route.

[Stugotz]

There's two.

[Chris Cote]

But it started in his ball sack.

[Stugotz]

Well, okay.

[Dan Le Batard]

Part of it.

[Chris Cote]

Ball sack sports.

[Dan Le Batard]

I don't think you can give his ball sack even half the credit. Really.

[Chris Cote]

Not half the credit?

[Dan Le Batard]

Maybe 49% to his ball sack. And that's being generous.

[Chris Cote]

50. 50 action. I gotta start in there. You know, it starts and then it heads somewhere else, but it starts here.

[Stugotz]

Where does it.

[Chris Cote]

Where does it head?

[Stugotz]

So, Tiger, did he get hurt in his own, like, digital golf league? Tgl? Because he's saying that he didn't, but that's all the activity that we've seen him doing lately. But he also then can't go out and say, I got injured in this league that I started and you guys should still watch it and it's fun and no one ever gets hurt. Right.

[Chris Cote]

I've been to his. One of his putt putt courses, which is called Pop a Papa Shot. Papa Papa.

[Billy Gill]

That has nothing to do with tgl, but.

[Stugotz]

Okay, well, hold on. Let's see where it's going.

[Mike Ryan]

No, it's not going anywhere. Pretty much died right there. Nope. They just. He wanted to get in there, didn't have anything spit out a. Burped out a couple of words, nothing made sense, and he just bailed on the whole thing.

[Don Le Batard]

Time to throw away all journalistic credibility and get reckless. Here is something we like to call reckless speculation.

[Chris Cote]

You're good.

[Stugotz]

I'm not recklessly speculating anything. I'm just asking if anyone saying there's.

[Mike Ryan]

A cover up with Tiger Wood.

[Stugotz]

No, I wouldn't. I didn't say that. I'm asking if you guys. Why you guys aren't saying that? Yeah, why aren't you guys saying that is what I'm asking.

[Dan Le Batard]

I'm not saying it because he. I don't think he said where he tore it.

[Stugotz]

No, I think he. I think he said, I did. I definitely didn't do it here.

[Dan Le Batard]

Achilles hurt. And I went to the doctor and they're like, by the way, it's ruptured.

[Billy Gill]

I believe he said in ramping up for this upcoming season.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, he wanted to play later. I think next month.

[Stugotz]

But he'll play with Charlie. Like the Golden Bear is out there for a tournament a year. You know what I mean? Like he.

[Dan Le Batard]

Nicholson.

[Stugotz]

Yeah, he just has to be out there for.

[Billy Gill]

You know, Nicholson hasn't played a tournament since probably 2002.

[Chris Cote]

Jack Nicholson.

[Stugotz]

Jack Nicholson shows up. Arnold Palmer, whatever the hell his name is. Whatever.

[Dan Le Batard]

I just purposely up. Chris. I said Jack Nicholas earlier when we were talking about A Few Good Men and no one corrected.

[Mike Ryan]

I thought you were doing that on purpose. I thought that was a joke.

[Stugotz]

So many references during the show, it's impossible to keep up. Honestly, the Lil Wayne one today was incredible.

[Dan Le Batard]

Chris, I got your ass.

[Billy Gill]

When did Billy think Jack Nicholas last played in the tournament is what I want?

[Stugotz]

Dude, he's. He like Jack Nicholas or A.R. palmer. One of them is always out there, like at Augusta.

[Billy Gill]

Warner Palmer's no longer with us.

[Dan Le Batard]

Oh, we did the loose.

[Billy Gill]

Arnold Palmer.

[Stugotz]

Where'd he go?

[Billy Gill]

Wow. Arnold Palmer is no longer with us.

[Stugotz]

Dead.

[Billy Gill]

Yes.

[Chris Cote]

He lives in the drink, though.

[Billy Gill]

The old golfers would come out to the Masters and hit the first tee shot. Is that what you're talking about?

[Stugotz]

Yeah. They go out there, they play, they walk around. After two holes are like, oh, my back. And then they stop. That's a cheeky. Do this with Charlie and now that he has his computer digital golf simulator, he goes out there tgl. Like he could definitely play with Char. Wasn't Charlie throwing him chicken nuggets the other day?

[Dan Le Batard]

They have played together. He got a hole in one is a whole thing.

[Stugotz]

Yeah, exactly.

[Dan Le Batard]

He means on the PGA Tour. I guess Charlie's still very young.

[Chris Cote]

Also.

[Dan Le Batard]

My. The reason I'm not recklessly speculating about Tiger woods getting hurt is because this is what Tiger woods does. He gets hurt. He's just been like this. It's very unfortunate because he's one of the greatest golfers of all time. But this has been the bad driver story of his.

[Stugotz]

Multiple instances.

[Mike Ryan]

When you hear the story of his.

[Dan Le Batard]

Career for like two decades now is that he's had all these injuries probably from being really good at golf and the way he plays golf.

[Chris Cote]

We're burying the lead here. The real issue is that his son's name is Charlie.

[Stugotz]

What?

[Chris Cote]

Gotta be Tiger Jr. Man.

[Stugotz]

Dude, I have such a good idea. And I'm wondering if Tiki. I think. I think only a meme will follow me on this one because it's just. It's kind of out there, this idea. It's been a while since we've heard any headlines on these people, right? Dude, live should sign Charlie woods. And then you just put woods on all of your like promotional stuff going forward. You throw a boatload of money at Charlie woods if you're live just to get people out there. And like, is Tiger not gonna go to support his son? Because that's crazy, right? You sign Charlie woods to a massive deal if you're live and you find a way to get Tiger there by kind of going around the system where Tiger wouldn't sign with them.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's why I feel a little bad for Bronnie because we're talking about like mapping out this chart for a 16 year old dude list inside. Brian, dad is the most famous person at his sport in probably of all time. Obviously, LeBron may be second most. We're not going to do that debate today.

[Chris Cote]

Why not?

[Dan Le Batard]

But he never had a chance, like never had a chance at like choosing or being normal in their sport. It just like makes me feel. I don't feel the most bad for Them. There's obviously people in the world I feel worse for, but this is why I feel a little bad for Brian.

[Billy Gill]

Tiger's real name is Eldrick. I think we need to get Bronnie and Charlie animal names. Nicknames that replace their names. Tiger's real name is Eldrick. We call him Tiger.

[Stugotz]

Yeah.

[Don Le Batard]

Cubs.

[Billy Gill]

Good one, Bronnie. Maybe we give an animal name to. Or Charlie can just take on the same thing his dad did.

[Stugotz]

Why does. Why does Bronnie need an animal name?

[Billy Gill]

Just because it helps.

[Chris Cote]

No, I'm telling you what Billy said is accurate. We want to get Charlie some money. But you know how you do that? By not naming him Charlie. You got to name him Tiger or Tiggy or Tigger or something like Tigger Woods. Tigger Woods.

[Stugotz]

Eeyore Woods.

[Chris Cote]

No, Tigger Woods. Tigger Woods. Careful, because, well. Yeah. Tiga. Tiga Woods. How about that? Tiga Woods.

[Mike Ryan]

I've been scared for a minute.

[Stugotz]

J. Cole write his music or not.

[Chris Cote]

Wild Billy Wednesday.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah.

[Dan Le Batard]

Do you guys want to hear a funny headline? Someone just sent me? Kevin Bacon spent a day as a regular person quote. I was like, this sucks.

[Mike Ryan]

I was gonna just say Charlie Bacon. Put Charlie Bacon on the live post.

[Chris Cote]

Bacon woods.

[Mike Ryan]

Again. Getting back to the story from yesterday, though, the idea that Tiger woods would now have an Achilles tear. When I heard that you give me old athlete plus Achilles tear almost throughout the history of sports, I'm saying, okay, everything there is now over because.

[Stugotz]

Wait, wait, wait.

[Dan Le Batard]

You can't do this. The day after the Aaron Rodgers conversation.

[Mike Ryan]

I think that the Achilles tear to an old athlete is such a. Such a rigorous, difficult rehab that Aaron's injury that I. Yeah, but Tiger woods is how old now? He's not 42.

[Stugotz]

But it's a different sport.

[Mike Ryan]

I know it's a different sport, but you just.

[Stugotz]

David's Love III's running around playing golf still, isn't he? No, I think he is.

[Chris Cote]

Ain't nobody telling me, like, oh, yo, I tore my Achilles. I'll never play golf well again. Get out of here, man.

[Mike Ryan]

I just think his body has broken so many different times and ways that when he's mentioning Jack Nicklaus, which I assume you're doing, because It's. He's got 18 majors that. That's the reason you're still playing if you're Tiger woods, is to try to get to 18 by any means necessary so that you in your 50s can have the moment that Jack Nicklaus had when he was tor. When. What was the age Jack Nicklaus was when he Won his last major.

[Chris Cote]

They'll look that up. But I just want to point out that Mike Ryan, of all people, hit a hole in one. I don't think that sport is that hard.

[Mike Ryan]

Okay.

[Billy Gill]

Don't turn into a hole in one. It's not. It was, like, seven feet from the hole. Okay, you talking about the par 3.

[Chris Cote]

With the driver with the white?

[Mike Ryan]

Don't do.

[Greg Cody]

Nicholas was 46.

[Stugotz]

It's always still alive.

[Greg Cody]

But you know what Tiger could do if he wants to stick around is he could follow that path that you're not saying LeBron James is taking and just do some PEDs.

[Chris Cote]

He's wondering. No, no. You'd have to ask someone else to ask.

[Greg Cody]

Okay, so should I ask Dan if he wants to ask if Tiger should. Dan, do you want to ask if Tiger should take some PEDs here to recover from the Achilles injury?

[Mike Ryan]

You know, I'm okay with all people who want to use whatever medicine and science they can use in order to keep themselves feeling good and feeling younger.

[Dan Le Batard]

I just want to hear Chris say Arnold Palmer again.

[Billy Gill]

The Warner Palmer's.

[Mike Ryan]

It's a tough one.

[Billy Gill]

That's good. I can't say it happened. I tried saying. I was like, hey, I have the sound.

[Mike Ryan]

That's happened to me. I can't say that that's happened to me.

[Billy Gill]

The Warner Palmer. Too many Ls.

[Mike Ryan]

You've made it. You've made it.

[Billy Gill]

One word should be Palmer. If it was Palmer, this would be way easier. Arnold Palmer.

[Stugotz]

We should give him an animal name.

[Chris Cote]

Tiger.

[Billy Gill]

Warner Palmer's.

[Chris Cote]

Tiger Palmer.

[Stugotz]

Zebra Woods.

[Chris Cote]

Zebra Woods. But that means his dad is hunting him. No, Tigers don't hunt zebras.

[Mike Ryan]

How did you guys receive this news? How did you. Chris, you're the only golf fan among us here.

[Billy Gill]

It's sad, bad. Like, you just want to see Tiger at this point. And this means we're not gonna see him.

[Dan Le Batard]

This is the second time in the show day. First, Dan's like, no one watches college basketball. I'm sitting right here. Then Dan's like, no one watches golf. I'm sitting right here. I.

[Chris Cote]

Yes.

[Stugotz]

Charlie con leche the honor.

[Billy Gill]

Palmer.

[Mike Ryan]

Do you have thoughts on this?

[Dan Le Batard]

Well, let's hear what Chris says about how he received the news.

[Billy Gill]

No, I just said that I don't.

[Dan Le Batard]

Won't.

[Billy Gill]

It's sad that Tiger won't be seen at this point. You're not expecting him to win. You're not expecting him to even compete. You just want him see. You want to see him start a tournament and finish the tournament, and it doesn't look like we're ever going to see that again.

[Dan Le Batard]

For me, it felt like the crescendo and like the great moment was the Masters. And it kind of felt like it. That it was great because we knew that was probably it.

[Mike Ryan]

Right.

[Billy Gill]

But that teased you and was like, oh, is he gonna be back now? For.

[Dan Le Batard]

It was just like, did not tease me a little bit. I was like, this is actually insane that this happened. And, and that's. I mean, that was why. Because I didn't think it would ever happen again.

[Billy Gill]

When he's been healthy, he could still compete, but the health thing is just never gonna happen again.

[Mike Ryan]

What does that mean exactly when he's healthy? When you get to the legendary parts of careers where the audience or the customer is experiencing the end of your career is sad. There are famous moments that I remember and famous moments that are talked about in sports. It's. Muhammad Ali is one I remember beat up by Trevor Berbick in the Bahamas. Willie Mays stumbling out of a batter's box at the end of his career. I don't know if this felt like that to you guys, but because of his age, because of a waning excellence that comes with that age. The only reason we're talking about hope here is because of what Amin does, which is golfing's not that hard, but it is that hard. And it's hard on the body and when you have back issues specifically, and then other stuff starts breaking down as well. He's already having difficulty just walking walking courses. It's. There's a. He's playing with a great deal of pain in pursuit of whatever it is that he used to be.

[Billy Gill]

This didn't feel like that because we didn't see the injury. We just saw the post on social media. We've. We've had moments like that with those times where he hit the shot and then just collapse on the course.

[Dan Le Batard]

Right. Or like walk. Watching him like walk Augusta and like, you could tell he was just in pain.

[Chris Cote]

Yeah, you tell me the dude doesn't walk no more.

[Mike Ryan]

It's.

[Billy Gill]

Dude, he can't walk Augusta.

[Mike Ryan]

Greg Cody made the argument that he should be the only one allowed to.

[Billy Gill]

Use a car, which I agree with.

[I]

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