Is An MLB Lockout Inevitable In 2027? | Hour 2

Summary

Podcast Summary

Podcast: The Dan Le Batard Show
Episode: Is An MLB Lockout Inevitable In 2027? | Hour 2
Date: June 26, 2026
Location: Live from Elser Hotel, Downtown Miami

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Episode Overview

This episode blends the signature humor, sports banter, and insightful commentary that fans expect from The Dan Le Batard Show. While the headline topic centers on the looming threat of a Major League Baseball (MLB) lockout in 2027, the crew covers a wide swath of topics: viral bear encounters, classic sports movie gripes, the nuances of sports labor negotiations, zany moments from the world of NASCAR, and local Miami sports developments. The tone oscillates from silly and irreverent to genuinely thoughtful—especially in the hour’s deep dive into the economics of baseball.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. NASCAR Street Race Chaos & Talladega Nights (01:42-05:03)

• Summary: Tony recaps a wild NASCAR street race at a San Diego naval base, involving F1 crossover driver Kevin Magnussen and a Talladega Nights-style scuffle with NASCAR’s Noah Gragson.
• Key Moment: Discussion about unfamiliar drivers, celebrity cameos (Jimmy Johnson, Sam Van Gundy), and the surprise win by Corey Heim, who celebrates at Top Gun’s iconic bar.
• Fun Quote:
  • Tony: “He’s an actor.”
  • Dan: “Not Corey Haim, but spelled the same.” (04:19)
• Zany sports overlap and pop culture references set the playful tone.

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2. Viral Bear Encounter and “Sacrificing” the Dog (05:03-15:31)

• Summary: Dan introduces a trending video of a woman and her dog confronting a grizzly on a hike. The team unpacks “proper” bear protocol—and the moral question of whether you’d let a dog take the hit for you.
• Notable Quotes and Moments:
  • Dominique: “You’re here because when shit gets a little sticky, you handle it... like, ask you, you should be ready to go.” (09:07)
  • Dan (on the moral dilemma): “I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.” (11:28)
  • Jeremy: “This is why women choose the bear.” (08:54)
• Analysis: Lively debate about the instinct to protect versus the reality of survival; plenty of gallows humor and light meme references.
• Memorable Exchange: Dominique reframes “sacrificing” the dog as letting it fulfill its “ultimate duty.” Dan remains deeply uncomfortable with the premise.

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3. Messy Movie Tangents: 'Cast Away' and Relationship Math (13:46-24:43)

• Summary: Zaslow and Dominique riff on the logic and emotional beats of 'Cast Away,' especially Helen Hunt’s post-Hanks romantic timeline and that infamous lost Jeep.
• Fun Quotes:
  • Zaslow: “Hey, lady, I almost died on an island. What?” (14:47)
  • Dominique: “Some people love ball, some people don’t. I thought you loved ball...” (24:28)
• Analysis: Classic show digression into movie logic, sports as a proxy for life, and plenty of tongue-in-cheek “hot takes.”
• Memorable Moment: The gang tries to back-calculate how quickly Helen Hunt’s character moved on, blending sports nerdery and soap opera breakdown.

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4. Breaking MLB News & Dugout Hijinks (17:19-20:14)

• Summary: The Mets fire manager Carlos Mendoza; Jeremy notes the Marlins now have the NL East’s longest-tenured manager. The crew then reminisces about legendary dugout pranksters—setting teammates’ shoes on fire, bubblegum pranks, and other “crimes.”
• Key Quotes:
  • Zaslow: “Setting people on fire is funny.” (19:37)
  • Dan: “Set of people on fire is definitely a crime.” (19:41)
• Analysis: Commentary on how sports culture (and “acceptable” pranks) has shifted, with an eye toward the goofy and the criminal.

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5. MLB Labor Fight: Is a Lockout Coming? (26:42-36:35)

Segment Timestamps: 26:42–36:35

• Summary: With the current CBA set to expire soon, Dan and Jeremy break down MLB’s new proposals:
  • Five years to free agency for players 30+, instead of six.
  • Max contract length (5 years for new teams, 6 for same team).
  • Salary cap introduction, maximum contract percentages, higher minimum salaries.
  • Owners’ attempts to present these offers publicly as player-friendly.
• Dominique's Analysis: A masterclass on sports labor:
  • Owners trying to “suppress the wages of the employees in order to create more revenue.”
  • Salary cap/max contract stirs division among players (star vs. non-star).
  • Percentage of revenue to players in MLB is already behind other sports like football and basketball.
  • “Are you willing to take the pain and sacrifice of not working to get what it is that you want?” (32:00)
• Notable Quotes:
  • Bruce Meyer (via Jeremy): “The league has done us a favor because their proposals are... extremely bad for players... it’s actually been a benefit for our unity.” (31:24)
  • Dan: “Is there any reason to believe this is the negotiation where the players finally agree to a salary cap?” (31:44)
  • Dominique: “The leverage continues to shift in favor of big business... The unity and the strength of the players hasn’t been tested in modern Major League Baseball.” (32:00)
• Consensus: The group doubts players will cave, but recognizes owners’ leverage is growing. The major risk: a work stoppage that would chill baseball’s current resurgence.

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6. NBA Rumor Mill & Lavar Ball Clip (36:45-43:34)

• Summary: Pivot to NBA free agency preview; Tony rolls a clip of Lavar Ball claiming the Timberwolves need all three Ball brothers for a championship.
• Quote Highlight:
  • Lavar Ball: “Wherever them Ball boys together can’t lose. You want the championship? Get the mother two. And I guarantee a championship. Trust me when I tell you.” (37:17)
  • Dominique: “He’s a washed up stripper... Like, I got one more dance for you, baby.” (38:59)
• Analysis: Show’s penchant for both poking fun and appreciating the spectacle of outsized sports personalities.

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7. NBA & Coaching Contracts: Value and Leverage (43:41-44:34)

• Summary: Quick hits on the NBA, focusing on player contract entitlement (should everyone get the max?) and a unique below-market contract for a newly hired NBA head coach, Mike Annori.
• Dominique: Recaps how these systems (max contracts, team/player leverage) can backfire and how treatment of coaches impacts team culture.
• Quotes:
  • “If you’re getting such a small salary for a coach, the team can make you wait three years until you get that good payday, you know?” (42:55)

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8. Local Miami Sports and “Hellebuck Girl” Song (45:42–48:37)

• Summary: The crew sets up a World Cup watch party at a Miami bar and debuts a tongue-in-cheek Panthers-themed anthem ("Hellebuck Girl") inspired by a potential trade for Connor Hellebuyck.
• Memorable Moment: Jeremy's over-the-top song, complete with spelling out “PANTHERS” incorrectly, gets a friendly ribbing.

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Notable Quotes (with Timestamps)

• On franchise parity and owner-labor conflict:
  • Dominique: “If you think about a bunch of different McDonald’s... in this scenario, I would say McDonald’s should pool all their money and then split it equally... But rather than that, they say, like, nah, we’re going to find another way to suppress the wages of the employees.” (28:34)
• On the hard line against an MLB salary cap:
  • Jeremy (quoting Bruce Meyer): “The league has done us a favor because their proposals are... so obviously and extremely bad for players... that it’s actually been a benefit for our unity.” (31:24)
• On the cost of CBA battles:
  • Dominique: “Maybe the players win, maybe the owners win, but if the fight goes all the way to the end, obviously it’s us who loses.” (33:17)
• On sacrificing the dog to a bear:
  • Dominique: “It’s not a sacrifice. You’re allowing the dog to do the dog’s job.” (11:49)
  • Dan: “I don’t like the way you’re talking either.” (12:44)
• On sports prank traditions:
  • Zaslow: “Hilarious. That’s a crime. Setting people on fire is funny.” (19:35–19:37)

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Memorable/Quirky Exchanges

• “Tell your story. No one’s happy about sacrificing the dog.” (12:31)
• Lavar Ball, committed to the brand, even as the panel gently ribs him for being “washed.”
• Endless movie plot logic debates: From 'Cast Away' to Helen Hunt’s Jeep.
• “We quite literally are parking their car in the same garage.” (21:31)

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Conclusion

Despite the episode’s “MLB lockout” headline, this hour delivers trademark Le Batard Show chaos: a deft blend of sports labor analysis, classic humor, movie tangents, viral oddities, and Miami-local color. Among all the levity, their nuanced breakdown of the coming storm in MLB collective bargaining stands out for both depth and accessibility. Whether you tune in for laughs or labor history, there’s something here for every kind of sports fan.

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• NASCAR Street Race & Fights – 01:42–05:03
• Bear Encounter / Would You Sacrifice Your Dog? – 05:03–15:31
• 'Cast Away' and Movie Digressions – 13:46–24:43
• Mets Fire Manager & Dugout Pranks – 17:19–20:14
• MLB Lockout Labor Discussion – 26:42–36:35
• NBA Free Agency Rumor Mill (Lavar Ball) – 36:45–39:18
• NBA Coaching Contracts – 43:41–44:34
• Miami Sports, “Hellebuck Girl” Song – 45:42–48:37

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End of Summary

Transcript

[Dominique]

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[Listener/Caller]

This is sick.

[Dominique]

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[Jeremy]

Are all batteries the same? That's like asking if all soccer players are the same. Take Messi, the most decorated player ever. Is there any other player who has achieved that? No, just him. Now take Duracell.

[Dominique]

Is there any other battery with powerboost ingredients inside?

[Jeremy]

No, just Duracell. Remember, goats only trust goats because they're built different. And Messi only trusts Duracell.

[Dan Levitar]

You are listening to the Dan Lebatar show in partnership with the DraftKings Sports App, now live in all 50 states.

[Tony]

I know everybody was so bummed that I was on vacation watching soccer because they wanted a recap of the first ever street race in San Diego. That's right. They race at a naval base. How America is that? But the real fireworks came after the race. Guys, are you familiar with Kevin Magnussen?

[Jeremy]

Yep.

[Dan Levitar]

Yes.

[Tony]

He sounds like a weightlifter, but he's a Formula one driver. That's his core discipline and he raced in this race. A lot of big names were. Jimmy Johnson was racing, believe it or not, the former coach of the Dallas Cowboys. Yeah, he was there, didn't do well. But Kevin Magnussen was there. And this was a great moment between American NASCAR fans. Like, all right, let's see what you can do. F1 guy. He actually pulled off a pretty fast lap. But Noah Gragson is a NASCAR driver and shades of Talladega Nights, the fight between Sacha Baron Cohen and Will Ferrell's character. Noah Gragson took issue with the European Formula 1 driver because of how he was driving on the track. And they had this testy exchange.

[Zaslow]

What's your problem?

[Dominique]

You guys come over here. You drive off in the corner

[Zaslow]

what's your problem?

[Dominique]

Wreck.

[Zaslow]

Why?

[Mike Ryan]

I was.

[Listener/Caller]

Get out of Noah.

[Zaslow]

I'm done with this.

[Listener/Caller]

Let's go.

[Dominique]

I'm done with this.

[Dan Levitar]

I'm done with it.

[Tony]

Noah backed down there a little bit once. Once. Kev was like, wait, are we really doing this?

[Dominique]

Yeah.

[Dan Levitar]

The guy on the left seemed like a dick in that spot. Like he's all up in his face, and all he's doing is repeating himself like, you know. You know, step up or get out of here.

[Tony]

I like Noah.

[Dan Levitar]

He.

[Tony]

He's been very good about cameo. Always get them to tell people to pay off their chugs. Big Noah guy. But, yeah, I think he kind of backed down there and do something.

[Dan Levitar]

Player.

[Tony]

This race was eventful. Everyone, look. SVG was a huge favorite in this race. Sam Van Gundy, Jimmy Johnson, former Cowboys coach, all in this race. Shane Van Ginsbergen is one of the greatest road course drivers ever, if not the greatest already. And I listen, I assumed he was going to win, but Austin Hill, who's now taking over for the recently tragically passed Kyle Busch, made a kind of a rookie mistake on the track and took out Connor Zillich and SVG2great2, the two favorites in that race. So it was a wide open race, and we get one of the most unlikely NASCAR winners of all time, Corey Heim, a name that many of you.

[Dan Levitar]

He's an actor.

[Tony]

Not Corey Haim, but it's spelled in a similar fashion. And Corey Haim won this race. You know where they filmed Top Gun? Zaz. They filmed it in San Diego. Do you know where Corey Heim went to celebrate in his full tracksuit after winning this race? To the famous bar from Top Gun.

[Zaslow]

Yeah.

[Tony]

Yeah. Show the image on the screen. This had to be a moment.

[Dan Levitar]

Nice.

[Tony]

Yeah.

[Dan Levitar]

So.

[Tony]

And by the way, svg, you got another road course here coming up, so I imagine. I think it's Sonoma. I imagine he's going to be all right and win another road course race, provided that there aren't any other idiots on the track. And for every lap, keep it fun. Keep it Cuervo. Thank you for presenting Gearhead.

[Dan Levitar]

Thank you, Cuervo. Guys, I gotta show you something. Dave, I don't know if you saw this yet, all right, but there's a video that has gone viral on Twitter. You know, sometimes videos go viral on Twitter, and there was a video that went viral. It's going viral on Twitter right now of this woman. She went hiking, and she's hiking with her dog. Looks like a German shepherd. I think I'm going To play the video for you here, and we can kind of all experience it together if you haven't seen it yet. And on this hike, she runs into a brown grizzly bear. Now, from what I understand before we hit play on the video, the black grizzly bears are a lot less dangerous, I believe, than the brown grizzly bear. Right. The one, like, correct me if I'm wrong here. The black one.

[Tony]

You're not even sure there is such a thing. But I keep cooking the black.

[Dan Levitar]

You play dead. You're. Yeah, you're supposed to, like, like, make yourself small and just kind of free.

[Tony]

But there isn't a black grizzly bear. You just mean black bears in general.

[Dan Levitar]

Oh, all right. Whatever, man.

[Zaslow]

Yeah, black grizzly.

[Tony]

The grizzly bear is famously brown.

[Dan Levitar]

Okay, fine. And. And the brown grizzly bear, man, you

[Tony]

know, there has to be some facts, all right? You just can't go unchecked.

[Dan Levitar]

Thank you.

[Dominique]

I mean, it just seems also, like, unnecessary distinctions. Like, we go to this. It's a woman, It's a bear, it's a dog.

[Dan Levitar]

Well, no, no.

[Dominique]

Let's get to this.

[Dan Levitar]

No, no, no. There's a major distinction. No, no.

[Dominique]

No unnecessary distinction for this conversation. And you're just really nailing. I let it slide a bunch of times. You're really nailing this black brown thing a lot unnecessarily. A bear's a bear.

[Dan Levitar]

I don't think that's true.

[Dominique]

Ask Romigal. They have different temperaments.

[Dan Levitar]

I don't think that's true.

[Dominique]

The white ones, no.

[Zaslow]

But Zazlow's. The white ones are actually, like, Ryan is right. At a black. If you say a brown grizzly bear, it's like saying a striped zebra. Right?

[Dan Levitar]

All right, fine, fine.

[Zaslow]

The.

[Dan Levitar]

The brown bear, though, you're. You're. You definitely are not supposed to run. And you're supposed to try and scare it. Right. But it'll mess you up. The grizzly bear. So, anyway, let's go to the video here. It's rather terrifying, this encounter. This woman and her dog. I think it's a German shepherd as a grizzly. A brown one. A grizzly bear comes up on them. Go ahead. Let's see.

[Zaslow]

No, go away.

[Dan Levitar]

She's trying to, like, scare it, you know, making weird voices. Bears getting closer and closer. Now it's kind of deciding what do they want to do. She's kind of doing what Ron said. Yeah. And now the bear is kind of creeping pretty close. And now the bear's really close.

[Listener/Caller]

Hey.

[Dan Levitar]

Hey.

[Listener/Caller]

Stop it.

[Dan Levitar]

And now it's on its hind legs, which is really scary.

[Zaslow]

Stop it.

[Dominique]

Not.

[Listener/Caller]

No.

[Zaslow]

Hey, hey.

[Dan Levitar]

That bear's really. It's. It's scary watching this, right?

[Zaslow]

Go and wait.

[Dan Levitar]

She's very brave.

[Zaslow]

Dad. Dad.

[Dominique]

Hey.

[Listener/Caller]

Stop.

[Dominique]

Enough.

[Zaslow]

Get, Get. Go, go.

[Dan Levitar]

And now the bear kind of retreats behind, like, a fence. And she's got enough room now between her and the bear, where now she makes, like, a run for it with the dog. And apparently she made it out safe. And, like, I don't know if all of you guys have seen that video yet, but, like, my toes. Coral, watch it. That video is intense. It's pretty scary.

[Jeremy]

This is why women choose the bear.

[Dominique]

Toast. Go you thing.

[Dan Levitar]

I wouldn't this be why the woman. Women don't choose the bear.

[Dominique]

You like bears, huh?

[Tony]

Okay, toes curled.

[Dominique]

I don't even want to admit what

[Zaslow]

I was just thinking I would have

[Dominique]

done in that spot. You were. You. You were doing. You were thinking the right thing. I hope, like, if it. If hits the fan there, you just got to let the dog go. No, not if the fan. That's the dog's job. That's why you're here. That's why you're here. It's showtime. Backup quarterback. The starter just went down.

[Listener/Caller]

Get in there.

[Dominique]

Take a snap.

[Zaslow]

You're just sacrificing your dog.

[Dominique]

I'm not sacrificing my dog. I'm allowing my dog to do what dogs are here to do. Die. Protect me, and save me. You think that I don't need a dog to be my friend?

[Listener/Caller]

I love you.

[Dominique]

We can be friends.

[Jeremy]

I will tell your story.

[Dominique]

It's.

[Zaslow]

It's like. It's.

[Dan Levitar]

I will make sure they remember you.

[Dominique]

It's like you are the superstar athlete. You have a crew of friends. I will win a picture of you in my. In the living room. I will tell everyone that walks in about your tail. When the shit hits the fan, the police show up. It's his. That's why you here, dog.

[Jeremy]

How will you tell that story?

[Dominique]

I feed you. That's why you're here. I give you shelter. You're here because when shit get a little sticky, you handle it. You get out of here. Like what? Ask you? You should be ready to go insane that there's even a conversation. What are you like, oh, Jeremy, you're putting the dog behind you. Like, I'm fighting this fight.

[Jeremy]

I'm trying to do. I'm trying. I'm trying to, at least for a little while, do what this woman did and scare the bear. That's what you're supposed to do anyway, right?

[Dominique]

So I'm not, my, my immediate reaction is not to sacrifice my dog. My first reaction, wrong word. But as soon as bear is circling me, I'm like, at least, like, all right, maybe if I let it go, it'll run that way.

[Tony]

What if it was a cat?

[Dan Levitar]

Oh, definitely not the dog part.

[Dominique]

Same thing.

[Dan Levitar]

The dog part is the part that makes me the most uncomfortable because I'm, I don't want, I don't want to have to watch this bear mutilate my dog. It's.

[Tony]

And that's before or after you come?

[Dan Levitar]

That's the scariest part for me. And this dog is a German, so it's not like you could pick up the dog and kind of protect it. The dog's too big, you know, and

[Dominique]

you can't protect it. What are you talking about? Pick up the dog? Try to protect. What do you even say, no, I

[Dan Levitar]

gotta protect my dog, man. In that.

[Dominique]

So you're gonna pick up the dog. We're going down for the dog.

[Tony]

That's my dog.

[Zaslow]

You don't stand there and watch the bear eat the dog, though, right? No, I run.

[Dominique]

I'm running.

[Jeremy]

Yeah, but then you turn and look

[Dan Levitar]

and you see it just ripping it to shredding. Live with myself. No, no, no. I wouldn't be able to live myself.

[Dominique]

You wouldn't be able to live. You were the dog.

[Jay]

You're choosing the dog.

[Dan Levitar]

I'm choosing to do whatever it takes to protect both of us.

[Jeremy]

So do you.

[Dominique]

You give the dog the keys and you say, go, Fido. Be free. Drive away. I'll handle this.

[Dan Levitar]

I, I, I'm not sacrificing the dog.

[Dominique]

Don't just pick a different word. You're allowing the dog to do the dog's job.

[Jay]

The ultimate duty.

[Zaslow]

In my mind, the dog could be

[Dominique]

fast enough to get away from the bear, like, maybe the dog.

[Listener/Caller]

No, it's not.

[Dominique]

You're denying, you're denying the dog its instinct to do the thing. You're saying, hey, dog, don't be a dog.

[Dan Levitar]

But I got to know, like, sometimes the dog doesn't know any better. You got to know better. The dog's going to. The dog's going to die. Dog serves no chance against.

[Dominique]

We're in the wild. Which one of you, you or the dog thinks that they know better? In this situation, the dog knows better.

[Dan Levitar]

Got to protect the dog.

[Dominique]

Go do your thing, dog. Yeah, go, dog.

[Dan Levitar]

No, I got to protect the dog.

[Dominique]

And I'm going to do what we do. We drive. I'm driving. You're dogging perfect.

[Dan Levitar]

I'm so uncomfortable with the whole situation there.

[Dominique]

Tell your story. No one's happy about sacrificing the dog.

[Dan Levitar]

I wouldn't be able to literally, in

[Dominique]

a life or death situation.

[Zaslow]

I. I appreciate that.

[Jeremy]

Chris at least admits it now. It's a sacrifice.

[Dominique]

The word sacrifice is not a sacrifice.

[Jeremy]

It's a sacrifice.

[Dominique]

It's not a sacrifice.

[Dan Levitar]

I don't know, man. I don't like it. I don't like the way you're talking either.

[Jay]

The dog gets in the line of fire. That's what he's born to do.

[Dominique]

Y'.

[Zaslow]

All.

[Dominique]

You're talking y' all and your dogs, man. I don't get it.

[Zaslow]

You know people eat bear.

[Jay]

I heard it's a great.

[Zaslow]

I heard it a few years ago. Why are we not eating? Why are we wasting this beast? The flesh of this beast? And then I was corrected. No, no. People in certain parts of the world do eat bear.

[Dan Levitar]

That's what the woman should have said. If you don't leave now, I'm going to eat.

[Zaslow]

She. She deserves the MVP though. Let's. Let's honor her. She knew to make those noises and stuff. Zaslow. You wouldn't know it. I wouldn't know to go around that. That would have some impact. It's sort of like Tom, I. I cast Away. I don't like Castaway for a number of reasons. The movie we can dig. We can deep dive it at a later date. But specifically here I don't like the. The idea that he knows how to start a fire and everything. I think it's a much more intriguing treating film. If it's Zaslow in that spot, how do you. Or Damage. How do you make your way on a deserted island? You don't. I think that's a more entertaining.

[Dominique]

Can I just say. Can I just jump in for a second and say that? Whenever you throw a topic to someone, it's like you're flipping a coin and in your mind you're like, all right, they can go this way or that way. When you throw something to Damachek, it is like it's rolling seven die. Like it could go anywhere. And it's so exciting. It adds a thrill to the show where it's like, I'll say anything to him. Who cast away.

[Tony]

Yeah, you can eat Bear. You go to Castaway. You can go to the Hanks.

[Zaslow]

You know, he's deserted on this island. And then he has what he has to get by how he does like. Like people do in prison. He has to get by with the volleyball, and he does what he does, and that's that. But he survives. He somehow impossibly escapes this island, and he makes his way back to civilization. And then he goes to visit the woman to whom he was engaged, and within 90 seconds, she's like, you missed the Titans. They almost won the Super Bowl. Hey, lady, I almost died on an island. What?

[Listener/Caller]

What?

[Zaslow]

What are you talking. I don't care about the Titans. That movie sucks.

[Listener/Caller]

What.

[Dominique]

What version of Castaway did you see? What did he do with the volleyball in that movie?

[Zaslow]

Well, I think it's implied.

[Lavar Ball]

Oh.

[Zaslow]

Got a face and everything.

[Dan Levitar]

Look, I. I'm gonna tell you something. I think we agree on one care

[Zaslow]

more about that volleyball than Zaslow does his dog.

[Dan Levitar]

I. That's not true. I think we could agree on one thing here. This woman. This woman deserves a toast.

[Jeremy]

Yes, she does. Absolutely.

[Zaslow]

What a great effort by you, lady.

[Dan Levitar]

How about that? A toast from Cuervo. That's right.

[Dominique]

Keep it fun. Keep it Cuervo. This lady, like as I may, I would have sacrificed the dog.

[Zaslow]

She did not.

[Dominique]

She was brave, and she's worth a toast. Many toasts.

[Listener/Caller]

I'd say

[Tony]

Tony, you know that moment at a party or at a tailgate where everything just sort of clicks?

[Zaslow]

I know it.

[Jay]

Well, it's usually when I show up, everybody goes crazy.

[Tony]

Yeah. You usually take all the credit for it, but it's because Tony usually walks in with Cuervo. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Cuervo is a thing that turns hanging out into this is the night.

[Jay]

It has that effect on people.

[Zaslow]

It does.

[Tony]

You usually take the credit for it. But again, it's the Cuervo effect. It's like that moment in a big game where everyone in the crowd just starts standing up, hootin and hollering. Keep it Cuervo.

[Jay]

Keep it cuervo, baby.

[Tony]

For 22 years on this show, we've debated the greatest athletes of all time. Who's the goat in football? Who's the goat in soccer? Who's the goat in hoops? One thing that we all know is Dan's the goat of finding the worst possible take. But there's another kind of MVP goat that doesn't get enough credit. The friend who knows to show up with enough Miller Lights plus extra ice, because they just know the one who already has seats at the bar when you walk up. That is a Miller Time nvp. I've been on this show long enough to know that Dan is going to make everything about his feelings, and Jeremy is Going to push back on whatever I just said. But here's something nobody on this show will argue with. Miller Lite is the summer beer. The original light beer since 1975. This summer, recognize your MVPs. We all have that one friend who makes every game better. Now it's time to give them their moment. Head over to Miller Lite's social media pages to learn more about being a Miller Time mvp. 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.

[Dan Levitar]

Dan Lebatar the Packers win or the Bear lose. Bears lose. Jonathan Saslow Shit. Do you want to know how that. What were the kids doing? This is the Dan Levatare Show. Breaking news here real quick in the world of Major League Baseball. How about this. The New York Mets have fallen. Fire manager Carlos Mendoza. They are 34 and 47. Go ahead, Jeremy. I know this is your lane, your time to shine.

[Jeremy]

That means that Marlins manager Clayton McCullough, who was in year two of managing the Miami Marlins, is the longest tenured manager in the National League East.

[Dominique]

Wow.

[Dan Levitar]

How about that Crazy.

[Jeremy]

The amount of turnover that division has had.

[Dan Levitar]

How many managers have been fired midseason from that division?

[Jeremy]

Now the. It's the Phillies who fired Rob Thompson. Don Mattingly is their manager now. And now the Mets just did that. Walt Weiss took over this year for the Braves. They're having a great original Marlon Short, and I believe it's Butera is the manager now of the Nationals who's like younger than half of Major League Baseball, and he's their manager. So Clayton McCullough is the longest tenured manager in that division, as the Marlins, of course, are off to their third best start in club history at the half.

[Dan Levitar]

There you go. All right, so Mets fire manager Carlos Mendoza. Dave, I know you were all fired up earlier today. Jazz Chisholm with the lollipop the other day at second base. And then he was kind of shoving it in the. In the camera with all the lollipops. What do you got for me there? Are you fired up over Jazz Chisholm and lollipops?

[Zaslow]

Well, I just felt, yeah, he got a lot of attention for it. And as a man of justice, I wanted to honor UL Washington, who used to play shortstop in Major League Baseball. He would stand out there the whole game with a toothpick in his mouth. That seems extra dangerous and unnecessarily so, but I admire it. Nevertheless. The thing that gets me down, though, is the. Remember Jay Johnstone, the clown prince of baseball and how hilarious he was? And everybody pointed at him, and you were expected to laugh along with it because he used to do stuff like he would blow a bu. He'd be in the dugout, and he would have bubble gum, and he would blow a bubble, and he would leave the bubble. Then he would take the bubble, he put it on top of his head. Wait, get this, though. Sometimes he would take a lighter, and then he would set his teammate's foot on fire. That's a felony.

[Dominique]

Hilarious.

[Listener/Caller]

It's a.

[Zaslow]

It's a crime. Setting people on fire is funny.

[Dan Levitar]

Set of people on fire is definitely a crime.

[Zaslow]

What now?

[Dan Levitar]

But if you do it in a baseball dugout, it's hilarious. Whatever. That guy set fire.

[Jay]

Who are you guys talking about?

[Dan Levitar]

We're talking about old baseball players. You said prince hijinks in the dugout.

[Zaslow]

But. But it was. It was a universally accepted law that Jay Johnstone was hilarious. Can't you see how funny it is? He puts gum on people's hats.

[Jay]

What was his batting average?

[Dominique]

He's a lefty.

[Zaslow]

Batted a thousand in the comedy department.

[Dan Levitar]

I like. I.

[Listener/Caller]

That.

[Dan Levitar]

That was. That was my favorite. One of my favorite parts about Mr. Baseball. What a movie. Mr. Tom Selleck. Mr. Baseball. That's a great movie.

[Jay]

And.

[Dan Levitar]

And. And. And they used to. They used to light their. Their cleats on fire when the guy wasn't paying attention. And then it was hilarious when he noticed because his foot was burning off.

[Zaslow]

Hanks is on the island, and he's engaged to Helen Hunt, and he, you know, focuses on her picture and all of that. It's four years he's gone. He's. He's lost to the world. Helen Hunt, during that time, finds a new man and makes a baby with her and the baby with him. It's CHRIS Noth. It's Mr. Big, from what's it called?

[Dan Levitar]

You know, I think it's.

[Tony]

Whatever it is, I'm not watching.

[Zaslow]

He. She.

[Tony]

What.

[Zaslow]

What's going on with Helen Hunt there? She's a grieving woman, but she also has time to. To make time with the dentist and make a baby with him and start a whole new life while Hanks is off. But.

[Listener/Caller]

But

[Zaslow]

convinces Chris Noth to keep the Jeep of Tom Hanks, who died at sea. Died in a plane crash. Why is Chris Noth signing off, keeping the dead fiance's car in his garage? What the hell?

[Dominique]

People differently, man. People breathe differently.

[Tony]

They quite literally are Parking their car in the same garage.

[Zaslow]

I mean, that's pretty creepy stuff.

[Dan Levitar]

It does seem like she's moving.

[Zaslow]

Why do you want to keep the car?

[Dominique]

Hey, I understand why you draw the line there. Like, it's the same house. Bedroom, bed.

[Tony]

It's like a serial killer token.

[Dominique]

There you go. There's lots of other things about Dexter, but the car, Helen, it's.

[Zaslow]

I, I, I appreciate that you've gone through a tough time, but do we, do we have to keep his car in our home? You Forever? Like we're just going to keep it. Look, Jeeps, nobody's going to drive it.

[Tony]

Jeeps age gracefully, and they become collector's items. Was it a wrangler?

[Zaslow]

Practical choice.

[Tony]

Yeah. Was it a wrangler? If it was a. If it's a wrangler, you got to keep it.

[Zaslow]

Cherokee.

[Tony]

It sounded like you took issue with the four years thing.

[Dan Levitar]

Yeah, right. It feels like you thought that she didn't grieve long enough.

[Zaslow]

No, she clearly.

[Tony]

Biological clock. Helen Hunt up there. She wanted to have a family. Clearly.

[Zaslow]

Do the math on this.

[Tony]

Okay.

[Zaslow]

He. His plane crashes, right? So he's gone. Now we assume that he, he died with the rest of the crew there. So, what, six months? Because now she again. They live together. They had a funeral, and they have. Right. And the baby, if I remember correctly, maybe a year old. It's not a brand new baby. It's not like a month old baby. It's at least six months old. So you can back into that like she was with, she was with Chris. Not within a year. Within a year.

[Dominique]

Well, I mean, my, my guess. My guess is that a traumatic experience like that makes you value your time and things that maybe you have put off in the past. You would say, I'm not putting this off anymore. I'm not going to waste time thinking about what's going to be, when it's going to be. I'm going to do the things that I've always wanted to have a family right now. Let her grieve the way she wants to grieve. Be just the judgment. You don't have more judgment. Tom Hanks. It didn't take him long to find that volleyball, did it? I judging him with that volleyball.

[Zaslow]

But this isn't about. This isn't about Helen Hunt. It's about Tom Hanks and what he went through, and she should be able to relate to that. Instead, like I say, she opens her front door, which, by the way, she's standing at the front door in the middle of the night when Hank shows up there, and her. Her husband and her new child are sleeping upstairs, and she's down there waiting on him to crack the door open. And like I say, instead of here.

[Jay]

Oh, my God.

[Zaslow]

What did you do? How did you survive all that? I can't imagine. Well, yeah, how did you. What did you eat day to day to sustain life? No. She's launching into a story about you missed the Super Bowl. We have a team here now in Nashville. Did you hear? It's complete. Our Memphis. We have. We have a football team. We have. We came up just one yard short. Do you know who Kevin Dyson. Oh, I guess you don't know who Kevin Dyson is because you were on that island. But he almost scored. Like, what the hell's wrong with you, lady? I was trying to cling to life so I could get back to you, and you're telling me about the football game.

[Dominique]

Some people love ball, some people don't. I thought you loved ball. It's pretty clear to me that you don't appreciate that. The most important thing is, is ball, like, he got home and you know what? He was one yard short. Exactly. Well, not one yard short. You said they got a baby.

[Dan Levitar]

All fair points.

[Dominique]

Hello, listeners.

[Jeremy]

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[Mike Ryan]

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[Dan Levitar]

availability various 18 Dan Levitar can I tell you something? I don't know, maybe like a month ago and I decided to watch Pitch Clock and I told Jeremy Jonathan Saslow, this is a good show you're doing. This is the Dan Levatar Show.

[Lavar Ball]

Foreign.

[Dan Levitar]

Jeremy, I know you're fired up about this potential new MLB CBA and these proposals that the, that the league is going to come up with ahead of what, you know, looks like a, you know, potential labor work stoppage here. What, what is, what are some of the things that we need to know about that are being proposed here?

[Jeremy]

Yeah, I'm, I'm really concerned about where this is headed because it doesn't seem like the MLB and the MLBPA could be further apart right now within a salary cap sport, which is what they want in baseball right now. That is Major League Baseball, not the Players association. That's the owners.

[Dan Levitar]

Right, of course. And for context, the players have said for years that a salary cap is a nonstarter, it will never happen.

[Jeremy]

That's right, and it continues to be the case. And so within this next CBA, MLB proposed five years to free agency for players 30 or older instead of six years. So allowing players to reach free agency earlier, which would be a good thing. No qualifying offers, no deferred contracts, a max contract of five years for free agents, switching teams, that can only be 15% of the salary. So this upcoming year, that would be a five year, $202 million contract.

[Dan Levitar]

So not just a salary cap they're proposing, they're proposing actual max contract, including

[Jeremy]

a six year deal to stay with your own team. So six for 265, I believe, would be the look for the upcoming season. Obviously you juxtapose that with where contracts are right now. Like Juan Soto was on a 15 year, 760 something million dollars contract. So you could say it's ridiculous, but it's what a free market allows for Juan Soto to demand. And Dominique, I'm, I'm fascinated by what your perspective would be here. Obviously with your, your union work.

[Dominique]

I mean, they're always going to be really far apart at the beginning. That's the way. And we're still in the early stages, but this CBA negotiation is like just about every other one is it comes down to the owners having issues with each other. And rather than sorting out their own issues, they decide that they can agree upon taking it from the players. Because what I think they're trying to argue is that certain teams not argue, certain teams have a distinct advantage in baseball. Because they do, they're able to generate more revenue. And so, like this is there's a bunch of franchises. So if you think about a bunch of different McDonald's, like their franchises around the country, there are certain McDonald's that are in neighborhoods that are going to make a lot more money than others. In this scenario, I would say that, you know what you do. McDonald's should pool all their money and then split it equally and then do whatever you want. That's how you solve it. But rather than that, they say, like, nah, we're going to find another way to suppress the wages of the employees in order to create more revenue. It's not as much about parody as they will have you believe, obviously. And I think most like modern sports fans recognize that. And the max salary thing, it's another tool that they use to kind of turn the middle and lower class to try to create a divide where it's like, all right, if we cap their salaries, that means that the rest of you are going to get more money. If we raise the floor, the rest are going to get more money. It's looking to create division there. So this is like traditional labor stuff. And I think the most interesting thing, or the reason why I think that's pretty important is because the percentage of revenue that goes to baseball players is lower, last time I checked, than it. Than it is for football in basketball. So it's not necessarily about them spending too much money. That's not the problem. It's their goal is to find a way to suppress the salaries further, not necessarily to create parity. If they would split their revenue amongst all the teams the way they wanted to and then make it fair that way, then we'd be fine.

[Jeremy]

And to your point, they've also proposed and they put it out on MLB social media, like the MLB account, which is the account that goes out to the common fan where they're finding highlights and graphics like, you don't really see that often. Normally these things are done through, like MLB communications, but on the MLB account, they have this whole long post and within the graphic, they included the fact where they say they've accepted MLBPA's free agency proposal, which would get them out in five years, they've accepted MLB's. MLBPA's proposal to eliminate the qualifying offer system. But what they said is they proposed a historic increase to the minimum salary, a $1 million minimum for all players with at least two years of service and for zero and one year players who accrue a full year of service. And so what they're trying to do is show you, and it's true the minimum would go up, but with that cap, you put them in a really different space. There is a quote from Bruce Meyer, who's the interim head of the mlbpa, and he said, I'll tell you with all honesty, I have never seen this degree of unity at this point among agents and players. I think honestly, the league has done us a favor because their proposals are in fact, so obviously and extremely bad for players at all levels that it's actually been a benefit for our unity. Anybody who's banking on Major League Baseball players cracking, it's never happened. It's not going to happen. And that's why we're the only ones who don't have a salary cap.

[Dan Levitar]

Yeah, I mean, is there, is there any reason to believe that this is going to be the negotiation where the players finally agree to a salary cap? I mean, they're, they are, they have been adamant for literally ever that they are not going to agree to a salary cap.

[Dominique]

Yeah, I mean, I think there's reason to believe it because the leverage continues to shift in the favor of big business and in this country and in sports in particular. And also I do think that the players, the unity and the strength of the players hasn't been tested in modern Major League Baseball. So it'll be interesting to see if they've managed to maintain that solidarity and commitment. Please cut me off if I get boring, because this is something I get really passionate about. And all the CBAs that I've been a part of and all the CBA negotiations that I've watched and all the things that I've read about labor's unions, we always end up in the same place. And I think all union leaders and people involved in unions will sell to you that we're going to be able to beat them by using this special tactic. We'll beat them in court, or we'll beat them by turning the public against them, or I have this trick maneuver. I'll out negotiate them in the room. Ultimately, what it comes down to is, are you willing to say no? Are you willing to take the pain and the sacrifice of not working to get what it is that you want. Baseball's been willing to do that many times. They'll be tested again, and we'll find out. And the worst part about it is maybe the players win, maybe the owners win, but if the fight goes all the way to the end, obviously, it's us who loses. And ultimately, baseball as a product, because it just felt like it got fun again.

[Jeremy]

That's the thing.

[Dominique]

Like last week, like, everybody.

[Jeremy]

Everybody these last couple of years, because of some of the changes that they've made to pace of play and strategy.

[Dan Levitar]

No, no. I'm disgusted by the two of them back there. I'm disgusted with the two.

[Dominique]

Everybody's so bored.

[Dan Levitar]

Yeah, yeah. You, Tony, and you, Mike Ryan. I'm disgusted with the two of you.

[Dominique]

Okay? And Jeremy talking about nerd stuff.

[Dan Levitar]

No, Dominique is talking about important stuff. Serious stuff. And you guys, you're. You're children. Okay? And there are. There are very. There are images behind you, phallic images behind you that you. You are laughing about. Tony.

[Zaslow]

What.

[Dan Levitar]

Why are you guys behaving in such a manner?

[Jay]

Also, there was a wet sneeze, and

[Dominique]

then I. Chris had a real. And Tony was like. It was a wet sneeze.

[Jay]

It broke through the barrier of his hands and went like.

[Dominique]

No, it went into my hands.

[Dan Levitar]

One to one to five on the. On the wet sneeze meter, where we

[Dominique]

at at a 10. I put it at a three because there was zero phlegm, mucus. You know, I was sick last week.

[Jeremy]

Like, that was.

[Dominique]

It was just natural mist. Can't be a sneeze mist. Natural. You realize this is still, like, going everywhere?

[Dan Levitar]

No, not if you do it properly.

[Dominique]

It's going down.

[Dan Levitar]

Like, if you sneeze into your elbow

[Dominique]

properly, that's better than spitting all over all your hands. And then you're touching all the controls. You're shaking. No, I wiped it off with a tissue. Yeah, that's disinfected. Just beautiful.

[Zaslow]

Why does. What's so important about what Tom Hanks is doing as an American that. That he has to. He has to go off because his important job of overnighting stuff, he has to go like, sorry, I got to leave the Christmas party right now. Work calls. Like, what. What's the emergency about delivering packages for Federal Express? It's crazy that that's the premise of why he has to get on that plane that night. It's Christmas night. We understand. Right. But, Dominique, I feel like you're right about the owners trying to pit the players against other players, but isn't something that, as well, aren't all the other owners kind of raw with the Dodgers and the deferred payment thing?

[Dominique]

Yeah.

[Zaslow]

Isn't that really a hole in the operation that they're resentful of? On the same level of like, all the NHL hated the Devils for figuring out the loophole of. Of left wing lock, neutral zone. It's. You've. You found a crack in the system that you can exploit. Right.

[Dominique]

The owners in all the major sports do a pretty good job of keeping their own issues internal. But as I said at the start of this is like the beef is always between them, but they can't sort out what their issues are and they normally agree upon. You know what? I can make my life better by making another owner's life a little bit more difficult, or I can make all of the owners lives a little bit better by trying to make the players lives a little bit difficult, a little bit more difficult. So, like, they agree upon that. You're right. Like, almost every issue that comes up in a CBA is a result of some beef that two owners had with each other. Not necessarily an issue that they have with the players. It's just they agree that they can gang up on the weaker party, which I know players don't get the sympathy, and not that they need the sympathy, but they are the weaker party in this.

[Lavar Ball]

Got to eat a pack of dirt before you die.

[Dan Levitar]

That's what I'm talking about. Tony, it's your time to shine.

[Dominique]

Bring us back.

[Dan Levitar]

We are a few days away from NBA free agency officially starting. The draft concluded a couple of nights ago with the second round, also known as the Bronny James Memorial second round of the NBA draft. Tony, lots. Lots of rumors, lots of stories. What are some things we need to know about?

[Jay]

Yeah, we're gonna crank up the rumor mill here. I got a couple of stories that I want you guys to. To comment on. First one is the more of the fallout from the Lamelo ball trade over to Minnesota. Lavar Ball came out and had a couple of words for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

[Lavar Ball]

Minnesota Timberwolves. Y' all did the coldest move in the game. You went and got that mellow. Yes. But here's the thing. Let me give you the recipe. You got to get the other two ball boys. You get the other two ball boys. It will be the most watched team ever in the NBA. Trust me when I tell you. You don't think I'm just talking? No, I'm not. Mello can't win it by itself. But I tell you with his brothers, I guarantee y' all a championship. The chemistry and the goddamn speed of the game. I never taught my boys to play by themselves, but together you can't beat them. And with that avod, you already a superstar, so you know what to do. You will take a chance. So go get them boys. You can get Lonzo, damn near for nothing. You can get Jello, damn near for nothing. Guess what? Coming off the bench, starting team chemistry, morale in the locker room, whatever you want. Wherever them ball boys together can't lose. You want the championship? Get the mother too. And I guarantee a championship. Trust me when I tell you

[Jay]

I might swerve.

[Tony]

In that corner was the zoom camera following his gut.

[Dominique]

I loved that part.

[Dan Levitar]

You know, the four balls got that peg leg now.

[Tony]

I, I thought we talked about this

[Home Depot Advertiser]

size.

[Jay]

What do you think about Lavar Ball?

[Dan Levitar]

I love him. I do, I love him. I feel a little bit bad for him these days because he also revealed that his wife left him, you know, and that's obviously not funny.

[Dominique]

It felt like someone doing a Lavar Ball impersonation. He lost his mojo. It was like, I can still do this. And it was like he went to his closet and pulled out a wrinkly big baller brand shirt and put it on. It was like, I'm going to do it again, guys. And then there was no heart. It's like a washed up rapper going on tour.

[Tony]

You think I'm just talking.

[Listener/Caller]

Yeah.

[Dominique]

He's like, yes, he's a washed up stripper. Like, I got one more dance for you, baby. Like, no, stop it. I don't want this dance.

[Zaslow]

Lavar.

[Tony]

I'm just here to have a couple drinks. I just got here.

[Jay]

My buddies invited me.

[Zaslow]

Yeah, good.

[Dan Levitar]

Went out and got that mellow coldest. Moving again.

[Tony]

I don't have any cash.

[Listener/Caller]

Sorry.

[Dominique]

You can be a moment.

[Dan Levitar]

What else you got, Tony?

[Jay]

Another storyline. Jalen Duran plans to explore a sign and trade with negotiations stalling with the Pistons.

[Dan Levitar]

Yeah, so I saw this. Jalen Duran is, he's like insulted that the Pistons aren't offering him the max contract. And this one's always funny to me, Dominique. And I know you're, you're a pro player and you should be, and I'm always going to be pro team because I'm a fan and you know, a team wants the best for the team and the player in most cases is going to want what's best for him and his family, which is certainly understandable. But just because there is a maximum allowable contract doesn't mean when you're a good player, your team has to give you the maximum allowable contract. And this is where it's funny, because, you know, there's, hey, it's not. The player will always tell you or a lot of times tell you. It's not impersonal. It's business. But then when the team does the thing where it's not personal, it's business, the player then gets insulted. And we all saw the postseason that Jalen Duran just had. He stunk. He stunk. And so instead of $58 million a year, they're offering him $44 million a year. And it's like super insulting.

[Dominique]

I mean, this is a live demonstration of exactly what I was just talking about. Like, the NBA instituted the max salary because the owners were not able to be able to negotiate against the star players. And the result of the max salary is, of course, you suppress some of the salaries, but the result is also there's this signpost that's going to draw people up. And so like, they created this problem. And if you want to put your foot down, it's the same thing. Put your foot down and don't pay him, then that's fine. Someone will pay him the money. And I understand that he can make more with the Pistons then he can elsewhere. That's a challenge. But I don't think that the point that you made about the players saying it's a business, that's how it worked. I think it went the other way where the owners and the teams are like, this is a business and the players reacted to it. It's not that the players are like, don't have it hard feelings. This is a business. I'm forcing my way out. It was the other way around. So of course I saw the playoffs. I get why you wouldn't want to pay J or Jaden Doran that amount of money. However, I recognize that they created this structure that's going to happen this way. And so like, you're going to have to, at some point stop trying to make rules to avoid yourself having to be the bad guy or make the tough decision. Sooner or later you're going to have to make the tough decision. So make the tough decision and don't blame, don't blame him.

[Dan Levitar]

What else you got? Tony Zaz?

[Jay]

Sorry, I'm just upsetting to report Mike Onori, longtime grinder and bench coach for a lot of different teams, assigned a three year contract. Obviously we've talked about it. Not really plus one, plus one. And I'm looking through and I've looked at four or five different articles, a bunch of different reports. I can't get a dollar figure attached to what it is that he's making.

[Dan Levitar]

Oh, I think I heard it was like 1.5.

[Jay]

Really? All I see is that it's underneath the below market, you know, base value.

[Dan Levitar]

Yeah, it definitely is. I think it's 1.5, which is less than some big time assistant coaches in the NBA. I've never seen anything like this. I know the coaches association president, which is J.B. bickerstaff. He was not happy, nor should be. This is very unconventional where he gets a guaranteed one year and then the team can force you for another year and the team can force you for another year. Like, that's, that's kind of nuts. But at the same time, no one forced Mike and Ori to sign it.

[Jay]

No. And that's the part. It's like you talk about the Lev. Like he's looking at him being like, all right, I may not get another chance to be a head coach somewhere. And like, this is a disaster, but at least if I play well, I'll get the one plus one plus one, and then I can go get something else. Maybe later in a couple.

[Dan Levitar]

Yeah, but it's like, man, you. If you're, if you're getting such a small salary for a coach, the team can make you wait three years until you get that good payday, you know?

[Dominique]

Yeah.

[Jay]

Hopefully with another team.

[Dominique]

Yeah, it's. It sucks. But I mean, they obviously have the ability to do it. I think sometimes these things kind of backfire when you feel like you're taking advantage of somebody or mistreating them. If he works out to be pretty good, I'm not sure how, how happy he's going to be to show up at work. And of course you'll say, shut up. Show up at the work, do your job. It's your job. But like, these things matter. I think how you treat people, it ultimately comes back and other people make decisions based on.

[Dan Levitar]

Well, and this is combined with the new owner is apparently a huge cheapskate.

[Jay]

Yeah. And what they did to Thiago Splitter also when Chauncey Billups got roped up, second game of the season, Thiago Splitter comes in and does an amazing job, leads him to the, to the, to the playoffs. And it's like, all right, we're talking to other coaches. We'll get a guy who's going to take 1000% less than you will.

[Dan Levitar]

You got anything else for us?

[Jay]

I did really quick Mike Annori. People probably don't know who he is. He drops some gems during halftime and post game press conferences.

[Tony]

Nothing fast. Break points.

[Lavar Ball]

Boom.

[Tony]

Goes to dynamite. There goes our lead. We got to treat Bane like you do the elf on a shelf on Christmas morning. You got to find him. He makes everybody comfortable. He's like popcorn during Saturday night movies. Our paint defense was like 7:11 open 24 hours. Realized they had hits on like Donkey Kong the way they started out. First time all year that we were kind of on almost like a hot mess express.

[Dan Levitar]

So he's just doing material at halftime, doing bits. I like it.

[Jeremy]

I'm fully in.

[Dominique]

I like what coaching is. You just do a bunch of bits. Feel like that by right there is worth more money.

[Dan Levitar]

Yeah.

[Zaslow]

No Hot foot.

[Dan Levitar]

He's fun now. I dig it. Those are the things for us to look out for, I guess over the next few days there.

[Jay]

Tony and Jaylen Brown. Where is he gonna end up?

[Jeremy]

Also LeBron James.

[Dan Levitar]

Yes.

[Jeremy]

To the Miami Heat.

[Dan Levitar]

All right. We're still doing the up. And there is. There's the picture Supergirl. Mike and Tony can't stop laughing at.

[Tony]

Got that D.C. good Lord.

[Dominique]

Real mature.

[Dan Levitar]

Down Levitar.

[Listener/Caller]

There's sunglasses in boxes today. Putting my bed in the hospital. Ending our lives all the same.

[Dan Levitar]

Jeremy Tache.

[Listener/Caller]

It's the final nightgown.

[Dan Levitar]

This is the dan levatar show. Ah, yes. It is almost the weekend. Very excited. First. First time in a long time for me, Dominique. I am not working this weekend. I have no work this weekend. Get to get to chill. We have our world cup watch party tomorrow night right at Lost Boys on Flagler. All right.

[Tony]

Lost Boy clubhouse, which is right in front of Lost Boy right here in downtown Miami. I don't know if you've seen this setup. It is unreal.

[Dan Levitar]

Really. I'm coming. I'm going to be there.

[Tony]

Yeah. The atmosphere is going to be incredible. It's all presented by our partners over at DraftKings Sports Good. An app that is all available in all 50 states live in all 50, including the sunshine State.

[Dan Levitar]

Dave, they got garlic rolls. You're going to come. Garlic rolls.

[Zaslow]

Count me in. Ship some over to me. Can you uber them across the country?

[Dan Levitar]

Yeah, I guess so. Whatever, man. So tomorrow night, 7:30pm on Flagler. Lost Boy Clubhouse. Jeremy. So we sent you into the lab earlier show you got very excited about the potential of the Florida Panthers possibly acquiring Connor Hellebuk. Right. What can you want to. You want to set up what you came up for us here?

[Jeremy]

Well, Dominique said don't look at me like that, Mike.

[Dan Levitar]

Let's just roll through it, all right? It's a play on dog.

[Jeremy]

He said hella buck girl so that's what I did. The rest is history.

[Listener/Caller]

Every time that you shoot that puck, my man so I am a hella buck girl I am a hella buck girl every time that you shoot that puck my man gunner, he don't give a cause I am a hella buck girl I am a hell of a buck girl blast that shot. What? That shot. Ooh, blast that shot let me hear you say the floor ritter panthers. B a n t h, r s the floor rita panthers. B a n t h, r s the floor ritter panthers. P a n t h, r s the floor. Ritter panthers. B a n t h, r s every time that you shoot that puppy, my man. Every time that you shoot that, my man.

[Dan Levitar]

He's gonna love when we play that for him.

[Dominique]

Oh, yeah, for sure.

[Jeremy]

When he gets traded here, it's the first thing we do, right?

[Tony]

Jeremy made a bop. Thank you.

[Dan Levitar]

That's a really good job there, Jeremy. How about that? I ain't no hella buck girl I'm really surprised.

[Tony]

Yeah, that one was good.

[Dan Levitar]

Yeah, that one was good.

[Dominique]

Normally terrible. I mean, it's just a vibe, man. It's a vibe.

[Jeremy]

Yeah. Creativity, it's fine.

[Dominique]

Panthers.

[Jeremy]

P A, N, T, H, R S. It's fine.

[Dan Levitar]

It's okay.

[Dominique]

You.

[Jeremy]

How would you read that? Panthers.

[Dan Levitar]

Yeah, that's why I said that's. I didn't say it's not okay.

[Zaslow]

No, no, I know.

[Dominique]

Okay.

[Jeremy]

I was looking at you, but I meant it sort of generally with the vibe for the. For the people who inevitably.

[Tony]

You didn't spell Panthers, right?

[Jeremy]

No, it's all right. I spelled Panthers right.

[Dan Levitar]

Good job. Excellent. All right. So hopefully. I don't know. I mean, can we arrive here on Monday morning and the Florida Panthers have a new starting goalie? That'd be really fun.

[Jeremy]

Can you imagine starting forward for the Heat?

[Lavar Ball]

Yeah.

[Zaslow]

Kawhi.

[Tony]

Connor Hellebuck. Insane.

[Dan Levitar]

Which. Which would have been a bigger acquisition. Giannis to the Heat or Connor Hellabach?

[Tony]

Connor Hellebuck.

[Dominique]

Oh, God.

[Tony]

What? He's best at his position. He's an American hero. Not the best at his position anymore.

[Dan Levitar]

Not an American hero either, that's for sure.

[Jeremy]

He's not an American hero. That much I can give you.

[Tony]

What's his position? Big guy in the middle. Clearly not the best at that anymore. Clearly not the best.

[Jay]

Power forward's kind of down across the league. You're thinking about all the big guys or centers.

[Tony]

He's. He's a big. He plays the middle.

[Jay]

But he's a.

[Tony]

But he's a, like, guard.

[Dan Levitar]

Huh? He.

[Mike Ryan]

He.

[Jeremy]

Because he can play like a guard.

[Jay]

Yeah.

[Zaslow]

I'm not.

[Tony]

Let me. Let me. Let me be abundantly clear.

[Dan Levitar]

Go on.

[Tony]

You are so wrong.

[Mike Ryan]

He's a point.

[Dominique]

I don't know.

[Tony]

Giannis is better than Connor Hellebuck.

[Jay]

He's a point.

[Dominique]

No, I don't know.

[Zaslow]

You are.

[Mike Ryan]

You are.

[Tony]

I don't want to call you a name, but you're stupid.

[Listener/Caller]

Whoa.