Is Michael Biehn The WORST ACTOR OF ALL-TIME? | Hour 1

Summary

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The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz

Episode: Is Michael Biehn The WORST ACTOR OF ALL-TIME? | Hour 1
Date: May 7, 2026

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Episode Overview

Broadcasting from Miami's Elser Hotel, Dan Le Batard, Stugotz, and crew blend sports talk, pop-culture banter, and sharp comedic takes in this lively episode. The discussion ricochets from blockbuster summer movies and the Mortal Kombat franchise, to an unexpectedly heated debate: Is Michael Biehn the worst actor ever? The crew also examines Draymond Green’s attempted transition to television, the business realities of the upcoming FIFA World Cup in the US, and much more—all with their signature humor and Miami flair.

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Key Segments & Discussion Points

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1. Weekend Plans, Rolling Loud & WWE ([00:16])

• Dave Damashek shares he's dropping his son at Rolling Loud in Orlando, a major hip-hop fest, before heading to Tampa with another son for WWE's Backlash.
• Playful confusion ensues about what Rolling Loud actually is and commentary on current music scenes.
• Banter about Playboi Carti, camo shirts, and generational cultural references.

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2. Mortal Kombat 2 Hype & Summer Blockbusters ([02:00]–[11:13])

• Mike Ryan is "so pumped" for Mortal Kombat 2's opening night, including antics like wearing a Raiden hat and taking a “white shirt red wine challenge.”
• Dan Le Batard: “I am so pumped for. For this movie. I have watched all the Mortal Kombat movies. Skipped over Annihilation because I actually did an episode of Cinephobe on Annihilation.” [02:00]
• Debate over how many Mortal Kombat films exist, lore accuracy, and why the new sequel is titled MK2.
• Strong Rotten Tomatoes, media, and IGN scores are cited; predictions that audience scores for MK2 will be even higher.
• Pablo Torre lampoons the concept of 4DX movie seats: “I don't want my moviegoing experience to involve other senses... I don't need wind. I don't need rain coming down. I don't.” [05:11]
• Riffing about blockbusters spawning Barbenheimer-like double features.
• Dave Damashek: “If there were an incarnation where Miranda Priestley was a DLC for a Mortal Kombat video game, she'd be deadly.” [04:11]
• The crew lampoons upcoming movie releases (Toy Story 5, Spider-Man, Jackass, etc.) and discusses how tentpole summer blockbusters are now released.
• Satirical discussion of the Toy Story 5 villain: “Tablet time. Ooh.” [09:25]

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3. Is Michael Biehn the Worst Actor Ever? ([13:16]–[14:10])

• Cinephobe’s tradition of the “Michael Biehn Ass On Award” is explained, referencing Biehn's perceived poor acting.
• Pablo Torre: “We literally call it the Michael Biehn ass on award because the opposite of acting your ass off is acting your ass on. That’s how bad he is. He’s terrible in it. He actually messes up drinking a beer. He doesn’t know how to drink a beer correctly.” [13:47]
• Crew cracks up over Biehn’s performance, with Mike Ryan defending his work in "Tombstone."
• Clarifications on Mortal Kombat character lore, actor changes, and inside jokes about soundtrack deep-dives.

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4. Draymond Green on Inside the NBA – TV Chemistry & Likability ([18:53]–[26:49])

• Dave Damashek critiques Draymond Green's debut on Inside the NBA: “I don’t like Draymond Green. I don’t like hearing from him... I want to feel like it’s fun. I want to enjoy what I’m watching. And I don’t think he gives off a likable presence.” [19:53]
• The crew contrasts Barkley's instant post-playing charisma with Draymond's more abrasive on-air persona.
• Barkley/Green exchange dissected: Draymond tries a zinger about not wanting to look like Barkley did late in his career, but the joke falls flat.
  — [22:12] Pablo Torre: “I think that's what he was trying to go for because... everyone knows that Charles Barkley was a great player.”
• Mike Ryan: “You’re not a funny jokester fella. So don’t jump in against one of the best in the business and try to do that and get a response. And Charles Barkley, to his credit, gave him exactly what he should have. Nothing.” [25:43]
• Philosophical riff on how “being an asshole” is often mistaken for being funny.

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5. Athletes Living in Orlando – A Central Florida Mystery ([31:48]–[34:26])

• Why do so many athletes (e.g., Tiger Woods, Grant Hill) choose Orlando over Miami?
• Pablo Torre: “That’s how the rich stay rich.” [32:38]
• Miami is lauded as the better city, but Orlando’s appeal for families, real estate, and access is noted.
• Gentle ribbing about college affiliations and Florida geography.

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6. The Business of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the US ([34:31]–[42:23])

• The crew discusses shocking lack of ticket sales (U.S. opening match only 40k sold), astronomical prices (even "lesser" matches starting at ~$800 face), and lack of hotel booms outside Miami and Atlanta.
• Dan Le Batard: “FIFA... has decided they are more than fine having a half full stadium than a full stadium, provided that they don't betray their price point.” [35:33]
• Pablo Torre: “We, congratulations, America. We late stage capitalism the World Cup today. This is... the most unstoppable—and people are willing participants in this.” [40:21]
• How US anti-immigration issues, high prices, and global sentiment have led to a poor tourism outlook for the World Cup, compared unfavorably to 1994’s legacy.
• Discussion of potential (but unlikely) World Cup boycotts and the scope of the tournament: “This is like 10 Super Bowls... the biggest event on the planet.” [40:35]
• Miami and Atlanta are uniquely benefiting due to higher-profile matches and tourism draw, unlike Kansas City and other host sites.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “We literally call it the Michael Biehn Ass On Award because the opposite of acting your ass off is acting your ass on.”
   — Pablo Torre [13:47]

• On Draymond Green:
   “Your primary trait, as far as I can tell, and I've watched your whole career, is acting like a douchebag. You're not a funny guy, so don't try to be funny.”
   — Mike Ryan [24:43]

• On Summer Blockbusters:
   “I would just stay incorrected. When I'm wrong, I say I'm wrong. Like Jerry Orbach at the end of Dirty Dancing.”
   — Mike Ryan [10:10]

• On Movie Gimmicks:
   “I don't want my moviegoing experience to involve other senses... I don't need wind. I don't need rain coming down.”
   — Pablo Torre [05:11]

• World Cup Snark:
   “FIFA... is more than fine having a half full stadium than a full stadium, provided that they don't betray their price point.”
   — Dan Le Batard [35:33]

• Pop-Culture Zinger:
   “If there were an incarnation where Miranda Priestley was a DLC for a Mortal Kombat video game, she'd be deadly.”
   — Dave Damashek [04:11]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:16] – Dave’s weekend: Rolling Loud & WWE plans
• [02:00] – Mortal Kombat 2 hype: moviegoing rituals, lore chat
• [07:01] – Summer movie season: what’s coming, what’s missing
• [13:16] – Michael Biehn: actor roast, Cinephobe tradition explained
• [18:53] – Draymond Green’s TV debut: likability and media chemistry
• [31:48] – Orlando vs. Miami: athlete migration
• [34:31] – World Cup 2026: ticketing, tourism, economic letdown

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Episode Takeaways

• The episode is a spirited blend of pop-culture, sports, roasting, and debate—classic Le Batard & Stugotz formula.
• Crew opinions are strong and often hilarious, especially regarding movie culture and sports media personalities.
• The deeper dives into World Cup economics and TV personalities offer insightful perspective, layered with the group’s trademark irreverence.

This episode is a treat for fans of sports, movies, and comic social commentary—whether or not you care about Michael Biehn’s acting skills.

Transcript

[Dan Le Batard]

This is the Dan Levatar show with

[Mike Ryan]

the Stu Guts podcast.

[Zach Lowe]

This episode of the Dan Levittart show

[Mike Ryan]

is presented by firefighters. I mean, DraftKings.

[Dan Le Batard]

DraftKings.

[Mike Ryan]

The Crown is yours.

[Dave Damashek]

So I'm very excited for this weekend, Dave Damaschek. I am. I'm going. I'm going to Orlando and Tampa because I have to take my older son and his friends to Rolling Loud. All right. Which is at Camping World Stadium.

[Dan Le Batard]

Are you going to be at Rolling Loud?

[Dave Damashek]

No.

[Dan Le Batard]

What is that?

[Dave Damashek]

I'm not going. It's like the biggest hip hop festival, right?

[Eagle Eye]

It's a massive hip hop festival concert. That happens sometimes down here.

[Mike Ryan]

It used to be down here.

[Pablo Torre]

No, they can't. They moved it right here. They moved it. Yeah. By the way, what's the loud sound? Is that like. Because the music is really loud?

[Dave Damashek]

Probably.

[Pablo Torre]

Okay. And you're rolling. Because we're all rolling to Orlando for the Loud concert.

[Zach Lowe]

Pungent.

[Dave Damashek]

So I got to take my son and his friends. I'm dropping them off. They're doing Rolling Loud the entire weekend in Orlando. Friday, Saturday, Sunday. My son loves rap music. All right. And Arab fighters. Oh, loves the Arab fighters.

[Eagle Eye]

Big one today for the Arab fighters on Saturday.

[Dave Damashek]

Is that right?

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah.

[Dave Damashek]

So I'm dropping them off there. And me and my other son today

[Dan Le Batard]

on Saturday, Big one, comma, Saturday.

[Dave Damashek]

My younger son and I are going to Tampa for WWE this weekend. This Saturday night, we're going to WWE pay per view. All right. Backlash.

[Pablo Torre]

Backlash.

[Dave Damashek]

So.

[Pablo Torre]

Backlash.

[Dave Damashek]

So I'm very excited for this weekend, but I don't know if I'm as excited as Mike Ryan is for this weekend.

[Dan Le Batard]

I mean, it's a big day tomorrow.

[Dave Damashek]

Well, tonight, I mean, it's out tonight.

[Dan Le Batard]

Tonight is a big day. Tonight is a big day. Saturday and Friday. No, no. Tonight. I'm making fun of you, pal. I'm not listening. I'm looking at the ruling loud NBA youngboy.

[Eagle Eye]

Yeah, you a big playboy Carti guy.

[Dave Damashek]

My. My son loves Playboi Carti. Remember I came in here wearing a Playboi Carti shirt after the concert.

[Eagle Eye]

Yeah.

[Dan Le Batard]

ZAZ. Today is Mortal Kombat 2 night. Yep. And got the 40x seats. Gonna take the white shirt red wine challenge and see if I can keep that white shirt clean the entire time. And I feel bad for whoever's sitting behind me. Cause I'm gonna be wearing the Raiden hat too. All right. I am so pumped for. For this movie. I have watched all the Mortal Kombat movies. Skipped over Annihilation because I actually did an Episode of Cinephobe on Annihilation.

[Dave Damashek]

How many are there?

[Dan Le Batard]

Like live action films? Yeah, this would be the fourth.

[Mike Ryan]

Why is this one called Mortal Kombat 2 then?

[Dan Le Batard]

Because it's the sequel to the 2021 Mortal Kombat, which they rebooted. The franchise was a reboot of the franchise.

[Mike Ryan]

I see.

[Dan Le Batard]

Did you know that the first ever platinum dance record was Sub Zero? The Mortal Kombat soundtrack.

[Pablo Torre]

Johnny Cage.

[Dan Le Batard]

We have apparently replaced the hero from the first film.

[Dave Damashek]

Oh, good, That's a good start.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, because Cole Young sucked.

[Dave Damashek]

Who's gonna be the villain? Is it still Shang Tsung?

[Dan Le Batard]

Shang Tsung is still there.

[Dave Damashek]

Okay.

[Dan Le Batard]

But Shao Kahn appears to be like the big heavy in this one. And that follows proper Mortal Kombat lore. Is that a spoiler you just gave with the main character thing? No, no, no, no, no. He's. He's in the trailer.

[Pablo Torre]

Okay.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah.

[Dave Damashek]

I mean, but this one, Johnny Cage is the Johnny Cage.

[Dan Le Batard]

Have you seen the reviews for this thing?

[Dave Damashek]

No, people like it. You want me look on Rotten Tomatoes.

[Dan Le Batard]

IGN score is 8, which is great.

[Dave Damashek]

I don't care about that. I don't care about that.

[Dan Le Batard]

Last Rotten Tomatoes I saw was 70%. I saw a clip that they put out.

[Dave Damashek]

Media or audience?

[Dan Le Batard]

70% media.

[Mike Ryan]

Okay.

[Pablo Torre]

The audience score is going to be like 98% or something like that.

[Dave Damashek]

There no audience score yet for Mortal Kombat 2 because it's just coming out tonight. But the audit. But the 73%, which I would say for a movie like this is very high.

[Dan Le Batard]

This should have came out last week. We should have had combat. Where's Prada? Or something. Devil Wears Combat.

[Dave Damashek]

Oh, like Barbenheimer.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, where, where the, you know, the husband and wives, they just split up and then the boys watch Mortal Kombat and Zaz can go follow his wife and watch Devil Wears Prada too.

[Dave Damashek]

Can I feel like I'm not embarrassed? Okay, you could say to many times

[Dan Le Batard]

you wouldn't be embarrassed. Look, I like Devil Wears Prada. In fact, if there were an incarnation where Miranda Priestley was a DLC for a Mortal Kombat video game, she'd be deadly.

[Pablo Torre]

What about Devil Wears Nada?

[Dan Le Batard]

I like Part two better.

[Pablo Torre]

Did they make a sequel?

[Dan Le Batard]

Did you see the clip that they put out? They put out basically like a four minute chunk of a fight of a fight scene between Liu Kang and Kung Lao. Now if you remember in the first film, Kung Lao dies.

[Dave Damashek]

How's he alive?

[Dan Le Batard]

Quan Chi. Quan Chi is a character in Mortal Kombat 2. And, and what Quan Chi does is he raises people from the dead.

[Dave Damashek]

So like pet Sematary style.

[Dan Le Batard]

But now they're evil. And you can tell that's pet cemetery. Yeah, yeah. You can tell Kung Lao is evil because he's got like a little black stuff around his eye. And so, like, he's fighting.

[Dave Damashek]

So you go with the whole crew tonight?

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, like eight of us. We got the movable chairs. I'll hold onto my Raiden hat.

[Dave Damashek]

And we're telling you, I almost fell off. All right. One time I went.

[Pablo Torre]

I don't know why you guys like

[Dan Le Batard]

this man want to feel every punch.

[Pablo Torre]

I don't want to my moviegoing experience to have to involve other senses than my eyes and my ears. I don't need wind. I don't need rain coming down. I don't.

[Dan Le Batard]

I know what I'm getting into. We talked this out. Rain is not in this movie. Maybe Mortal Kombat.

[Mike Ryan]

I'm not trying to shake while I'm eating my popcorn and bunch of crunch.

[Dave Damashek]

What about fire? Will there be fire?

[Dan Le Batard]

Fire is not a character. Smoke.

[Dave Damashek]

No. I don't know. Coming out of the seats, will there be fire?

[Dan Le Batard]

There's sometimes like mistake.

[Mike Ryan]

Is it because you're a Pulitzer winner now, Amin that you're too classy to experience emotions and other senses beyond what you're looking at? What is it? You're too dignified to be rained on?

[Dan Le Batard]

What are you talking about?

[Mike Ryan]

What is the bad side? Explain to me the negative of what if your movie going experience also involved delicious smells along the way? I mean, of course that would be better. That's an upgrade.

[Pablo Torre]

Well, Mr. Damoshek, in my esteemed opinion, my humble esteemed opinion, I would say that the movie going experience was created years ago to engage the intellectual portions of our brain. Meaning that we are perceiving what we see and what we hear. And from there let our synapses make those connections. When you start to involve the more base feelings of temperature. Oh, it's cold, it's hot. And moisture. Oh, something spit on me. Or maybe that's just the theater. Now you're just distract from the real artistry that's happening over there.

[Mike Ryan]

Says who?

[Pablo Torre]

Says a Pulitzer Prize winner.

[Dan Le Batard]

Well, I hope someone's spine gets ripped out.

[Mike Ryan]

Are these. I know. The movie industry is in jeopardy. And that's why they should do everything they can to do things like this. Forward thinking.

[Dan Le Batard]

$27.

[Mike Ryan]

To create. Yes, to create different senses and everything else. And heighten the experience. Summertime used to be the summer movie season.

[Dan Le Batard]

The blockbuster starts In May, Right.

[Mike Ryan]

It would start like late April, early May. Is this it? Is this what Hollywood has? This isn't the best that we're gonna get in summer?

[Dave Damashek]

No. Spider Man's coming out soon, right?

[Mike Ryan]

Okay, I'm not clear. I'm not.

[Dan Le Batard]

Are you talking about Devil Wears Prada 2?

[Mike Ryan]

I'm just saying if Devil Wears Prada 2 in Mortal Kombat 2 or the two big hopes for Hollywood, consider me underwhelmed.

[Dan Le Batard]

Really? I feel like that's delivering.

[Pablo Torre]

So the way this works. Let me explain Hollywood to you, Mr. Damaschek. Typically, April, late April, early May signifies the start of blockbuster season. But the biggest blockbusters do not come at the front end. These are kind of the appetizers to get people ready for a summer of going to the movies. Because that's a place where it's nice and air conditioned.

[Mike Ryan]

June and like, and then, I know also, like, the big end of the release schedule is July 4th ish weekend. That's about well through July and August.

[Pablo Torre]

The.

[Mike Ryan]

The big swings that didn't hit according to the execs are shelved and pushed to August and beyond. But Will Smith always made his Hay in the 90s on July 4th.

[Pablo Torre]

July 4th weekend is the pinnacle.

[Dan Le Batard]

And what's coming out, I don't know. Yeah, but then Marvel changed the math and then Marvel, the big tentpole Marvel would come out in May.

[Dave Damashek]

And.

[Dan Le Batard]

And now they're doing. We'll see. Everyone's sticking to their guns.

[Pablo Torre]

Dunesday, Doomsday is going to be a December release, and that's the same weekend as Dune.

[Dave Damashek]

That's why I said Dunes day.

[Pablo Torre]

I didn't pick up on his enunciation. Maybe some elocution classes for you, Mr. Ryan.

[Mike Ryan]

So wait, Spider Man? That's it? That's all we have left?

[Zach Lowe]

I've got, I've got a list here of the movies that are coming out over the next few weeks through the rest of the summer.

[Mike Ryan]

Okay, what do you got?

[Zach Lowe]

Star wars, the Mandalorian and Grogu.

[Dave Damashek]

Okay, that's excellent.

[Zach Lowe]

May 22nd.

[Dave Damashek]

Excellent.

[Zach Lowe]

Then you'll have I love Boosters. The breadwinner.

[Dave Damashek]

That's what the girl from One Battle After Another.

[Zach Lowe]

Masters of the universe, June 5, scary

[Mike Ryan]

movie, fat White Face.

[Zach Lowe]

Oh, then Disclosure Day, which is the Spielberg. That's June 12th. That's going to be a big deal.

[Dan Le Batard]

Wait till you see Spielberg's marketing budget when we have actual aliens invading.

[Zach Lowe]

The following weekend you'll have Toy Story 5 big, which is a big one.

[Dan Le Batard]

You know who the. You know the villain is in Toy Story 5.

[Dave Damashek]

No, the iPad.

[Dan Le Batard]

Tablet time.

[Dave Damashek]

Ooh.

[Pablo Torre]

Wow,

[Dan Le Batard]

everyone. Yeah.

[Zach Lowe]

That's beautiful.

[Dan Le Batard]

I'm looking at Amin's arms.

[Pablo Torre]

Goosebumps. That's a. That's a great story.

[Zach Lowe]

Yeah. Jackass best in last.

[Dan Le Batard]

I can't wait.

[Dave Damashek]

There's a new jackass.

[Dan Le Batard]

I'm in on that last. They have a. In the trailer, a robot's going up someone's butt.

[Dave Damashek]

Dave, you're off base. This is a great odyssey.

[Pablo Torre]

Oh, yeah. There's a lot of commercials every single day.

[Dave Damashek]

Congrats.

[Dan Le Batard]

Can we get a new graphic designer for Christopher Nolan?

[Pablo Torre]

No.

[Zach Lowe]

You'll have Spider man at the end of July, and then, of course, at the beginning of August, Paw Patrol, the dino movie.

[Mike Ryan]

I've had it with the Spider man storyline. About, like he has to give up so much personally to save the world. All right, we've been down that road already. I would. I do stay incorrected. When I'm wrong, I say I'm wrong. Like Jerry or back at the end of Dirty Dancing.

[Pablo Torre]

No, he wasn't.

[Mike Ryan]

That's a. That's a great lineup of movies. I think I still would rather see a documentary of Chris Cody V. The Firefighter Athletic.

[Zach Lowe]

In November, you're getting a new Cat in the Hat and a new Hunger Games. That Hunger Games songwriters on the reaping. Gonna be incredible.

[Pablo Torre]

That's late November. Right now they're trying to build off that Christmas crowd. That's what we're building towards. That's also award season.

[Zach Lowe]

That's Bill Hader playing Cat in the Hat.

[Pablo Torre]

Yeah, that's right.

[Dan Le Batard]

Baraka is in this one, and he fights Johnny Ca. I can tell from the. The trailer.

[Pablo Torre]

I won't watch it. Malia, I'll be right back.

[Dave Damashek]

I want to. You know what? I think I want to rewatch the Mortal Kombat movies before because I am going to see this one.

[Dan Le Batard]

Of course, the 2021. I can catch you up.

[Dave Damashek]

No, I'd like to see that one again. And I don't remember the original ones at all. I'll just say them.

[Dan Le Batard]

Shang Tsung is a bad guy in both 95 and 2021. In 2021, we don't actually get into Mortal Kombat. Shang Tsung is just cheating. Skirting the rules, trying to kill all the would be competitors in Mortal Kombat.

[Dave Damashek]

So are we gonna have Mortal Kombat?

[Dan Le Batard]

Earthrealm has lost nine consecutive Mortal Kombat bad streak. And if you lose a tenth, that means Shao Kahn can invade Earthrealm.

[Mike Ryan]

Oh, I'd Rather hear about Zazlow's dreams.

[Dan Le Batard]

Wait, you never went to the arcade? Popped a couple quarters in and. And hit a toasty. I'm older than you, Mike.

[Mike Ryan]

I was playing.

[Dan Le Batard]

You were in, like, college and I was playing.

[Mike Ryan]

I was playing Karate Champ.

[Dan Le Batard]

Point.

[Zach Lowe]

Galaga Guy.

[Mike Ryan]

Half point. No, Galaga was when I was. When I was an adolescent.

[Dan Le Batard]

Roddy Champ was a good Street Fighter II. Immortal Kombat around the summer of 94. What are you doing?

[Mike Ryan]

Well, and it was also. I was playing a lot of NHL 94 is what I was playing around then.

[Dan Le Batard]

Okay, but I mean, Mortal Kombat was a sensation of an arcade game in 1994. As I mentioned, the soundtrack was the first ever dance soundtrack to go platinum. They were playing that Mortal Kombat theme song on top 40 radio stations. It was a. It was a huge moment in time.

[Mike Ryan]

All right, listen, we're from different generations.

[Dan Le Batard]

Scorpion Guy used to be Sub Zero.

[Mike Ryan]

Now just plain zero.

[Pablo Torre]

Name the movie that's Last Action Hero.

[Mike Ryan]

Nah, that's the Running Man. The.

[Dave Damashek]

Oh, gee, I don't think I ever saw Mortal Kombat Annihilation. I don't remember.

[Mike Ryan]

Good.

[Pablo Torre]

Great movie.

[Dave Damashek]

Can I tell you. Can you guess what the media score is for Mortal Kombat Annihilation?

[Pablo Torre]

I'm going to tell you it's well below 40% because we reviewed it on Cinefo, the podcast where Zach Harper and I watch movies that are poorly rated on Rotten Tomatoes and try to ascertain whether they're accurately poorly rated or maybe they didn't get a fair shake. It's Cinephone. You get it wherever you get podcasts, it's produced by Anthony Mays. And today we got the movie that I am trying to stall to remember the name of. What was the movie? Oh. Navy Seals starring Charlie Sheen. Charlie Sheen.

[Dan Le Batard]

Great flick.

[Pablo Torre]

Michael Biehn. Who we given the lifetime award? Worst actor ever. Michael B.

[Dan Le Batard]

Really?

[Pablo Torre]

He's awful. Not in this movie. He's awful in this movie. But in terms of him being the worst actor ever, we literally named our

[Dan Le Batard]

worst actor award after him instead of watching Game 6 of the 1997 World Series. Because even back then I was cocksure that the Marlins weren't going to win that game. I watched Navy Seals.

[Dave Damashek]

That's a terrible.

[Mike Ryan]

Michael. First of all, I know Michael Biehn's child. I know his son, his grown son. And I am going to pass along this. This opinion.

[Pablo Torre]

We literally call it the Michael Biehn ass on award because the opposite of acting your ass off is acting your ass on. That's how bad he is. He's terrible in it. He actually messes up drinking a beer. He doesn't know how to drink a beer correctly. It's unbelievable.

[Dave Damashek]

Does that mean, like, it does go all over his chin?

[Pablo Torre]

What does that mean? Yes, that's exactly what it means. He tries to take a sip of beer and misses, which means he can't even act.

[Dan Le Batard]

How are he sitting in a 4 dx seat?

[Mike Ryan]

I think you're wrong. I sincerely think Johnny Ringo is a great character.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's Johnny Cage. No, no, no. His legal name is John Carlton. We found that out listening back to the soundtrack this morning.

[Mike Ryan]

You don't like Johnny Ring. You don't like Johnny Ringo.

[Zach Lowe]

I'm more of a Johnny Paul guy.

[Dan Le Batard]

The other night I was staying in. At least that was a plan. Then the text from my buddy Eagle Eye comes in. Mike, we've got the games on. I say, yeah. I grab a pack of Miller Lite and immediately my plan's gone. Now it's playoff basketball. Every possession feels huge. Baseball's on another screen, and I somehow care about that, too. Everybody's got takes flying. Nobody's watching. Just one thing and we're all way more into it than we ever expected. It was one of those nights that you take a sip, you look around and you think, yeah, this was the right move. That's why I reached for Miller Lite. It's clean, refreshing, easy to drink, brewed for taste with simple ingredients just 96 calories and 3.2 carbs. The original light beer since 1975. And it still hits different cheers to legendary moments with Miller Lite. Great taste. 96 calories. Go to millerlight.com dan to find delivery options near you. Or you can pick up some Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer. It's Miller time. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Co. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 96 calories, 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.

[Eagle Eye]

Most valuable promotions in Netflix are bringing you a blockbuster MMA event with a triple header of fan favorite fighters on Saturday, May 16. This marks Netflix's first ever MMA fight and it's going to be massive. In the main event, she returns to the Octagon. Ronda Rousey returns to shake up the world of combat sports. Stepping back into the cage for the first time in nearly a decade to take on fellow women's MMA pioneer Gina Carano. Plus, combat sports icon Nate Diaz faces off against Platinum Mike Perry, two of the toughest, most relentless fighters going head to head. Plus the big man is back. Francis Ngannou, widely regarded as the hardest puncher in MMA history, takes on Felipe Linz in a heavyweight showdown. You will not want to miss five rounds. Five minutes each. One chance to leave it all in the cage. Don't miss it. Watch Ronda Rousey versus Gino Carano, live only on Netflix. Saturday, May 16th at 9:00pm Eastern, 6:00pm Pacific.

[Dan Le Batard]

Hey, Roy, buddy. Yo. You know that energy shift when the game gets good and everybody all together in unison knows to stand up on their feet? Oh, absolutely, Mike.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah.

[Dan Le Batard]

You've been at many big time sporting events. You know that moment quite well. That's what it's like when you take your first sip of Cuervo.

[Pablo Torre]

Oh, delicious.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's the signal that says, we're not checking the time anymore, pal. It's when small talk turns into stories. Cuervo, man. It's that high five, a random stranger effect. That's right. The game is popping. You're hugging people you never met before. That's the kind of energy that Cuervo brings. It's so smooth, so delicious. That's the Cuervo effect. Keep it Cuervo.

[Pablo Torre]

Don Levitard.

[Dan Le Batard]

It sounds to me like everybody could

[Zach Lowe]

use a hug, because a hug is

[Dan Le Batard]

always the right size. Stugats. All I have put in my body today is three cups of coffee and an entire cup of go to the pound.

[Mike Ryan]

Don't let him fool you. He said in the break that he's jittery.

[Dave Damashek]

This is the Dan Levatar show with the Stugach. Mortal Kombat Annihilation. Rotten tomatoes. Media score 4%.

[Dan Le Batard]

Do you know who was in that movie?

[Dave Damashek]

No.

[Dan Le Batard]

All right, well, I mean, you should check the name. Mataro. Mataro, as you know, in Mortal Kombat lore is that half man, half horse, that centaur. So it's played by an actor whose credentials are hilarious. All right, I'll just go ahead and say it. Malibu from American Gladiators.

[Dave Damashek]

What, the guy with the hair?

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, yeah, he played Mataro.

[Pablo Torre]

By the way, that's Cinephobe episode 79, if you're looking for it. Also, episode 79 and a half is Mike Ryan sitting down and going over the. The key plot points with us. So check it out. Cinepobel, wherever you get. Podcast.

[Dave Damashek]

Oh, James Remar is Lord Raiden, huh?

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, well, they recast them.

[Dave Damashek]

Yeah.

[Dan Le Batard]

From Mortal Kombat 1 in 1995, which was played by Christopher Lambert.

[Pablo Torre]

Lambert, yeah.

[Dave Damashek]

Wow. Look at that.

[Pablo Torre]

That is Malibu hall of Fame.

[Dave Damashek]

Look at him.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, I don't think So I don't think so.

[Pablo Torre]

He's got a weird voice, that Lambert guy. It kind of sounds like this, but not quite

[Dave Damashek]

so. Last night, the NBA was on espn, which means you had Inside the NBA and making his playoff debut. His postseason debut on Inside the NBA was Draymond Green. That's right. Coming from fresh off his controversy with Austin Rivers. They're going back and forth, they're throwing haymakers on each other's podcasts. And so Draymond Green, who everybody assumes is going to have a TV media career once his career is done, obviously. Look, full disclosure, I don't like Draymond Green. I don't, I don't. I don't like hearing from him. I disagree with most of the things he says, so I'm certainly coming from a biased place, but I watched Draymond Green on that show last night, and who knows how much longer Inside the NBA is going to be on the air. Like, like it feels like there's an end date, you know, so maybe it won't even be that show that Draymond Green eventually joins when he's done with his playing career. But I watched Draymond Green on a show like that, and it doesn't work for me. Like, I, I find him to, I don't find him likable. And especially on a show like that, I want to feel like it's fun. I want to, I want to enjoy what I'm watching. And I don't think he gives off a likable presence. And, and, and the way that I would, I would even justify my thought. There is Charles Barkley. When Barkley was a player, he was nasty, not a nice guy. And the way he played was not nice. The way he treated people on the court was not nice. And a lot of times he was not terribly nice with the media as well. But when Charles Barkley got on that cameraman right from the get go, post career, there was something about him. It's like, oh, you know what? This guy gives off good vibes. I like seeing him. I like hearing from him. And I don't feel that with Draymond Green. I watch him up there, I hear him talking like, I don't like this guy. I don't, I don't like him.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah, he seems like he's doing a WWE character. And it is funny. We talked about that previously. Some of the most loathsome characters when they were in there primary career. John Madden was, I mean, people now would be stunned to learn when he was the Raiders coach, he Was, you know, basically the head douchebag of, like, we want to be villains and all of that kind of stuff.

[Zach Lowe]

He was a coach.

[Mike Ryan]

Alex Rodriguez was, you know, was a loathsome Yankee, and everybody found him delightful when he turned into a broadcaster. It is weird how Charles Barkley, as far as that goes, the Draymond stuff was such garbage, because just at its foundation. Do you, Draymond, think that your career. I would rather have Draymond's career than Charles Barkley's because I would like to win titles. But do you actually think, Draymond, that your career compares with Charles Barkley's? Because it doesn't.

[Dave Damashek]

Well, so listen to this from last night. This is, you know, some. I don't remember at what point in the show this was, but these guys bust balls. I mean, we. We know the way that is. They. They go at each other, you know, especially Shaq and Charles. Shaq was not on the show last night, but here's Draymond Green when they were talking about the end of his career. End of Draymond's career coming. And like, what's the end game? What's it going to look like?

[Pablo Torre]

Nobody WINS when they're 37, 38. But you said what you said. I want to hear if he believes what you're talking.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah.

[Pablo Torre]

I mean, I think the goal is just to not look like you in the Houston Rockets uniform. Yeah. Is ultimately the goal for us.

[Dan Le Batard]

Like, we don't want to.

[Pablo Torre]

What does that look like? Did you see it? I'm just asking. I saw it.

[Dave Damashek]

Okay. I don't know what Draymond's referencing there, because in Charles's last year of his career, which he only played like 20 games, broke his leg, didn't get to go out of the way that he wanted to, but in Charles's last year of his career in Houston, he averaged more points than any year of Draymond Green's career. He averaged more rebounds than any year of Draymond Green's career. Like, why would Draymond not want to go out looking like Charles did?

[Pablo Torre]

So I understand. I am going to be the Draymond apologist. Inside the NBA is a very jocular show. Right.

[Dave Damashek]

Did that feel jocular?

[Pablo Torre]

I think he was trying to, and it fell flat. I think that's what he was trying to go for. And I think even Kenny was trying to, like, all right, let me alright with it. So he wanted him to kind of go on, and then Charles would come back on him, but he just kind of stopped there. Like, he Didn't. He's not good at that part, obviously. Not yet. He doesn't have the chemistry with those guys. But I think that's what he was going for because, like, everyone knows that Charles Barkley was a great player. I don't think there's anybody who's ever, oh, Charles was garbage or whatever. Charles obviously was a great player. Houston, towards the end, I think there's

[Dave Damashek]

probably people who are young who watch that show and have no idea Charles was what he was because not only are they too young to have seen him play, but the way the other guys on the show talk about him for never having won.

[Pablo Torre]

Yeah, maybe that's. Maybe that's the case. I think Draymond is being. He's trying to have a. Have a laugh, have a go. Right. In the same way that Dave keeps talking about Chris fantasizing about his sister in law.

[Dave Damashek]

Stop.

[Pablo Torre]

But you know, like, I think it just fell flat. And, you know, that's. That's what happens when you're on live TV and you're trying to do something with people you have no connection with.

[Mike Ryan]

No, that's what happen when you have not earned the right to bust chops because there's no track record of you being a funny person. The idea that I'm in a position because Charles Barkley is funny and Shaq is funny, and so now I'm gonna keep up with the Joneses. Hey, Draymond. What indication is there that you're funny? You get histrionic and shout down your head coach in public. You punch teammates out. That's what we know about you. Your primary trait, as far as I can tell, and I've watched your whole career, is acting like a douchebag. You're not a funny guy, so don't try to be funny.

[Pablo Torre]

This is what I've discovered in all my travels through all the land, is that rare is the person who is self aware to say, I'm not funny. Most people think they're funny. Well, the vast majority of people think they are funny.

[Mike Ryan]

I mean, boy, true, true fella. Because people will tell you all sorts of terrible things about themselves. And I'm not just talking about Chris Cody. People will tell you that. They're like, I know I'm not the most handsome guy in the world. Like, that's a weird concession to make about oneself. Man, you're much nicer than I am. Like, I'm not the brightest ball, but I make up for it by working hard. People will tell you all those things. No one thinks they don't get the joke. Now, some people will acknowledge I maybe shouldn't be telling the jokes, but I get all the jokes. This is Draymond putting himself in a position to be the joke teller. When, like I say, you're. You're a shit stir. You're a.

[Dan Le Batard]

You're.

[Mike Ryan]

You're. You're not. You're not a funny jokester fella. So don't jump in against one of the best in the business and try to do that and get a response. And Chaz Barkley, to his credit, gave him exactly what he should have. Nothing. You don't rise to my level in basketball terms or comedically sit there and twist.

[Zach Lowe]

No, I know I'm nice, handsome and smart, but I'm not funny.

[Dave Damashek]

Gotta find a way to be likable. If you're gonna be on television, you have to.

[Zach Lowe]

I'm also likable.

[Pablo Torre]

I think what I would say is he's excellent at basketball analysis. He's really good at breaking down plays and telling you what's happening and telling you all the things and that. There are a lot of people zaz, you might say, are more likable, but there aren't many more people who are better than him at giving you actual analysis. When he was talking about how to guard Victor Wembanyama, he's telling you actual analysis. He's not just a. Well, you just gotta be physical with him. He's telling you about where you want him to catch, where you don't want him to catch, how much space you want to give him all those things. He's really good at breaking down the game. And that's why he is going to have a job somewhere whenever his career

[Mike Ryan]

is over, just to go back to it, not to overdo it, but we have replaced as a society in a lot of different places that you look with being funny, with just being an asshole. And a lot of people are not delineating the two. Like, oh, he's.

[Dave Damashek]

He.

[Mike Ryan]

He's. He's really. No, you're just being a troll. You're not being funny. You know, you're not. You didn't get the best of me in that back and forth as. As we traded barbs. You just acted like an asshole.

[Pablo Torre]

Oh, look at this guy over here. Why don't you go suck one, huh? Dave D', Amosek, he's so funny.

[Mike Ryan]

Do you see how funny he is?

[Pablo Torre]

It's Dave Damosheka. What's the deal with his mustache, huh? Is it the savor flavor? Something like that, huh?

[Mike Ryan]

Hysterical.

[Zach Lowe]

Andrew Dice Clay.

[Pablo Torre]

Yeah, something like that. That's. That's what I think of an asshole that people think is funny.

[Zach Lowe]

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[Eagle Eye]

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[Dave Damashek]

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[Mike Ryan]

Coach.

[Dave Damashek]

Sweetie.

[Dan Le Batard]

Stugats.

[Dave Damashek]

I should go say hello.

[Dan Le Batard]

This is the Dan lebatar Show with the Stugats.

[Dave Damashek]

I saw Andrew Dice play at the Sunrise Musical Theater. When it doesn't exist anymore. Why, almost 30 years ago, I'd say I saw Andrew Dice Clay. I was probably 16, saw him with my father. All right. Both of us were so excited. Bill Plaschke. So no, both of us were so excited to see Andrew Dice Clay. It was not a good idea.

[Pablo Torre]

Oh, look at his soda drink. A kid over here in the front row with his pops.

[Dave Damashek]

Oh, it was, it was so vulgar. That. And look, it's not like we, you know, we're pretty liberal, the things that we talk about and say in my home, you know, but sitting right next to your father when every, when I say every other joke, when every other joke was the C word a little bit rough. A little bit rough next to your dad.

[Pablo Torre]

Now, I don't know, because our commander in chief let us know if it's by C. It might be C, S, E, A.

[Mike Ryan]

See you next Tuesday.

[Dave Damashek]

You came after the C. And it's not a good word. And every other joke was that it was a little bit rough.

[Eagle Eye]

Oh, you get the cold sweat sitting next to your old man.

[Dan Le Batard]

You think I was going to look

[Zach Lowe]

over and you'd be like, what did you just take?

[Dave Damashek]

I mean, both of us realize this was not the best for us to be at together.

[Mike Ryan]

I have two things. First of all, I think I'd be interested in the means take on who would win in a one on one competition.

[Dave Damashek]

Leave the firefighter out of this.

[Mike Ryan]

Charles Barkley or the firefighter. No, Charles Barkley or Draymond Green. But also, Zaz, I think it's lovely. And look at how you and your old man did it. Now, you and your boys go on these trips, but when you say Orlando, I'm always struck by this as someone not from. From Florida, why do so many athletes settle in Orlando? Specifically, why don't they come to Miami? Why don't you? You know, it seems like there are some. Some better destinations to me. I'm an outsider. I haven't been to Disneyland since I was a little kid, so.

[Eagle Eye]

Disney World over here. By the way.

[Dan Le Batard]

Keep your Disneyland over there. We do Disney World here.

[Zach Lowe]

Disney World.

[Pablo Torre]

This Mustachio clown doesn't even know the difference. In Disneyland at Disney World.

[Mike Ryan]

Oh, what's the answer to that? Why is everybody. Why did Ty Gron down? Why do they all go to one place?

[Pablo Torre]

Real estate prices. Hey, what country do you live in?

[Mike Ryan]

Oh, but they're the richest people on the planet.

[Pablo Torre]

Hey, that's how the rich stay rich.

[Dan Le Batard]

Oh, guy gets it.

[Pablo Torre]

Should I call you upon punt?

[Mike Ryan]

Okay. It's cheaper because there's not as much good stuff there. Right. Isn't Miami better?

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah.

[Mike Ryan]

That's why you live in Miami instead of Orlando, because it's a better life experience.

[Dave Damashek]

I don't know what to tell you. I mean, I live down here.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah. More celebrities live in Miami.

[Dave Damashek]

Yeah. I'm not sure it's a completely accurate thought that you have.

[Zach Lowe]

Yeah, a lot of athletes live in Orlando.

[Mike Ryan]

Even Tigers.

[Dan Le Batard]

More athletes live in Miami.

[Pablo Torre]

It's Tiger Woods. It's Grant Hill.

[Mike Ryan]

Tiger lives in Jupiter.

[Pablo Torre]

Who are those people that all live together in the same and shit a lot?

[Mike Ryan]

No, no, no. I think a weird percentage brothers live in Orlando. Live in Orlando.

[Pablo Torre]

Just one of them.

[Zach Lowe]

It's more, I would imagine athletes with families that actually, like, care about that end. Hey, we're near Disney World. We're near whatever else. There's accessibility to an international airport.

[Mike Ryan]

You're trying to help him out.

[Dan Le Batard]

You're being a teammate, but it's not a thing anymore.

[Eagle Eye]

He's an Orlando guy, though.

[Dan Le Batard]

That was a late 90s thing.

[Dave Damashek]

I do love Orlando. He went in Orlando. I did too, for a little. But I transferred.

[Eagle Eye]

So did I.

[Mike Ryan]

They kicked to Santa Fe.

[Dan Le Batard]

Santa Fe?

[Dave Damashek]

No, I transferred from ucf, Dave.

[Zach Lowe]

To the University of Florida after going to Santa Fe.

[Mike Ryan]

I know. You know, I get. Listen, I'm. I'm a hypocrite. I root for two college football teams. I think it's very weird that you're a graduate of Gainesville and you root for the Canes.

[Dave Damashek]

It's not weird. I've explained it a hundred times.

[Dan Le Batard]

I went to a community college.

[Dave Damashek]

I did not do that either. You know what? I'm not doing this again right now. Okay? If you want my what's your deal with community college archives? And go listen to my ex.

[Eagle Eye]

Yeah, I went to two community colleges.

[Dan Le Batard]

What's wrong with that?

[Dave Damashek]

That's great, Valencia. But I was able shout out awesome for you guys. But I was able to get into a full blown university.

[Dan Le Batard]

So did I. I got into one after lie.

[Eagle Eye]

I did.

[Zach Lowe]

A pro paid me to go to school.

[Dave Damashek]

All right, Your choice, Mike. Speaking of which, the World cup is right around the corner.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's right.

[Dave Damashek]

And two things I have noticed. Number one, these games are not sold out, which is kind of crazy.

[Dan Le Batard]

Especially when there's definitely one that sold out, which Colombia, Portugal is like one of the hardest tickets in the history of.

[Dave Damashek]

That's down here, right?

[Dan Le Batard]

Athletics.

[Dave Damashek]

It's down here.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yes.

[Dave Damashek]

But. But overall, like, you know, games of the United States are playing in the United States. Not sold out.

[Dan Le Batard]

Home opener has 40,000 tickets sold that last year.

[Dave Damashek]

That's bad.

[Dan Le Batard]

A couple of weeks ago. Yeah, it's real bad.

[Dave Damashek]

That's bad. These ticket prices are outrageous. And I saw the president of FIFA came out and made some type of analogy toward, you know, in the United States. Well, if you're going to go to a college football game or NFL game, these are, these are the same prices. Like this is what tickets cost here. I don't know that that's necessarily true.

[Mike Ryan]

What is it? Can you tell what the price is for.

[Dave Damashek]

For a lot of these games as the.

[Mike Ryan]

The.

[Dave Damashek]

Not Colombia, Portugal, but like the lesser games, even cheapest tickets, like 800 bucks just to get into the building.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's amazing.

[Mike Ryan]

On secondary markets or the face of the no face.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, face value.

[Pablo Torre]

They're not sold out.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah. And FIFA also kind of controls market too. Match made in heaven.

[Dave Damashek]

Yeah.

[Dan Le Batard]

These tickets haven't been sold and the American ticketing industry just. They couldn't be more over the moon to have one another.

[Mike Ryan]

And what is the face then?

[Dan Le Batard]

Way too expensive.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah.

[Dave Damashek]

800.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah. So like FIFA, which is a curious decision for a not for profit organization, has decided that they are more than fine having a half full stadium than a full stadium, provided that they don't betray their price point. They don't care about the concessions or fulfilling any of the promises that they made to host cities. And the number one promise that they made to host cities lumped into this big promise that was gonna be like 10 Super Bowls.

[Mike Ryan]

Right.

[Dan Le Batard]

Was that your hotel and tourism industry will boom.

[Pablo Torre]

Economic boom.

[Dan Le Batard]

And then Forbes came out this week with a study. They have described the World cup, the hotel industry has described the World cup as a quote Non event.

[Pablo Torre]

That's insane.

[Mike Ryan]

Wow.

[Pablo Torre]

That's insane. Like, compare and contrast what Qatar looked like four years ago in terms of just massive amounts of people coming in hotels. They had to build hotels to accommodate all these throngs of people coming in. They built mass transit to accommodate all these throngs of fans going to the games. And then four years later, we're here, and this is supposed to be the greatest World cup of them all. You know, when you listen to people talk about the 94 World cup, they speak in such glowing terms because they say usually when you go play in the World cup, the main stadium, where the opening game and the closing game is, that one's a big, like, 80,000 seater, but a lot of the other ones are like 20, 30,000. And they said the United States was the first time they ever had a World cup where every single stadium was an 80,000 seater. Right. Because they're all NFL stadiums. And so it lent itself to this great accessibility to games for people from everywhere. Fast forward to this World cup. And the infrastructure is there in terms of the stadiums, but because of multiple things. Number one, the ticket pricing. Number two, let's face it, anti American sentiment, because of the foreign policies and all that, people don't want to come here. And even the ones that do want to come here are facing massive, massive obstacles. We're talking about people being told you need a $15,000 down payment in order to get a visa just to come and watch the World Cup.

[Mike Ryan]

I'm surprised, legitimately, and not to be, you know, get up on Mount Pius about it or anything, but I asked Pablo Turi that, and I said, you know, he's a. I don't know if you heard of him. He's a Pulitzer Prize winner. I asked him. So he's smart. Why are we not hearing at least threats from some of these nations that they were gonna boycott? You heard a little of that maybe three, four months ago. And Pablo said, nah, they would just. FIFA would just immediately replace them, and all the other participating countries would just move on very quickly. It would not make the political dust up. It wouldn't get the attention that you think it.

[Dan Le Batard]

Some. Some countries had a discourse about a Germany considered it at the end, at the very least, but it's a World Cup. It's the biggest event on the planet. Your athletes, probably. There are so many participants that this is their only shot to compete at the World Cup. You just don't punt on a World Cup.

[Mike Ryan]

I get it. But accept that the pushback on that is if people are not traveling to do it, that's an indication of where their interest level is.

[Dan Le Batard]

They'll watch it at home and they'll root on their team. What's really unfortunate is the 94 World cup, as Amin referenced, I think it's still to date the most profitable World Cup.

[Pablo Torre]

They sold more tickets than any other World Cup.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah. The United States in particular. Of the three host nations, because the United States is co hosting along with Canada and Mexico, the United States is so well positioned to host this tournament. In particular, it's the biggest World cup ever. And it was part of the reason why 15 years ago when this thing started coming to fruition, you were super excited. You couldn't help but think like, man, how much further along is our men's national team going to be 15, 20 years from now? Soccer is growing and you can, you can follow Southampton if you're in the United States, where before you could only like follow Arsenal or Manchester United or Chelsea. There's so much access to this game now. And you thought, 20 years down the line, man, we'll be able to just go right into the stratosphere with this. And now even soccer fans are down on this because of. It cannot be ignored. The tourism industry is feeling the pinch of this because of global policies and other things.

[Pablo Torre]

Right. Like, I don't wanna make it seem like the only thing, but it's definitely part of it.

[Dan Le Batard]

The economy is tied into some of the policies.

[Pablo Torre]

Absolutely right, Absolutely. So the way I've been describing it is we, Congratulations, America. We late stage capitalism. The World cup today, like, this is

[Dan Le Batard]

the most unstoppable and people are willing participant in this.

[Mike Ryan]

Of course.

[Pablo Torre]

Johnny Infantino is like, yeah, let's go, let's do it. Here, here. A peace prize. Whatever it takes, right? The idea that. And we can't stress that enough, we have, I think we have a very cosmopolitan audience this show, but still, like, a lot of them are just dumb old Americans. You guys don't understand. This is like 10 Super Bowls, right? The idea of this sporting event, it's bigger than the Olympics. It's bigger than the Super Bowl. It's bigger than any ever in the history of mankind. You said, why don't they boycott? You know how many times people have boycotted a World Cup? Never in the history of the World Cup. They suspended the World cup because of a world war.

[Dan Le Batard]

Iran's not.

[Pablo Torre]

Iran's like, hey, we're still on our way.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, Iran's playing in it, by all accounts. And the only two markets host Cities that are reporting that, you know, the hotel business is good, or Miami, because

[Dave Damashek]

they have El Palacio sold out. I'm sure.

[Dan Le Batard]

I'm sure Miami is a great host city, and it's having a lot of big marquee games down here, and it's a gateway to the Americas. Atlanta is also close. So Atlanta and Miami are the only cities that are reporting a big boom from the World Cup. You would think places like Kansas City. First thing that I would. I'm going to one World cup match as of right now, where I might go to a second in Guadalajara. But the first one. The first one I'm going to is in MetLife Stadium.

[Dave Damashek]

You're going to Guadalajara?

[Pablo Torre]

Guadalajara.

[Eagle Eye]

We've been before.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah.

[Mike Ryan]

Great place.

[Dan Le Batard]

I love Guadalajara. I could watch Colombia in Guadalajara, and that'll be cheaper than watching them here.

[Mike Ryan]

There are also games in Canada, right?

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah.

[Mike Ryan]

So it's going to be an especially embarrassing thing when Mexico and Canada fill those stadiums. Or are they. Are they struggling?

[Pablo Torre]

Not only those stadiums, but again, this is the important part. The hotels, the restaurants, the bars, the nightclubs.

[Dan Le Batard]

So naturally, that's what it's about. I was excited to be a host nation. I knew Miami would be a host city, but I'm like, man, those tickets are probably gonna be insane. I probably saved more money, and a lot of my friends have done this traveling to another city. So you would think a city like Kansas City would really benefit from having the World cup there. And because why? Who would go to Kansas City to watch a World cup game? Kansas City reporting dead last when it comes to hotel boom Guadalajara. The other night, I was staying in. At least that was a plan. Then the text from my buddy Eagle Eye comes in. Mike, we've got the games on. I say, yeah. I grab a pack of Miller Lite, and immediately my plan's gone. Now it's playoff basketball. Every possession feels huge. Baseball's on another screen, and I. I somehow care about that, too. Everybody's got takes flying. Nobody's watching. Just one thing, and we're all way more into it than we ever expected. It was one of those nights that you take a sip, you look around and you think, yeah, this was the right move. That's why I reached for Miller Lite. It's clean, refreshing, easy to drink, brewed for taste, with simple ingredients, just 96 calories and 3.2 carbs. The original light beer since 1975. And it still hits different cheers to legendary moments with Miller lite. Great taste. 96 calories go to millerlight.com dan to find delivery options near you. Or you can pick up some Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer. It's Miller time. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Co. Milwaukee, Wisconsin 96 calories, 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.